American Standard Version of 1901
Versliste
searching what time or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did point unto, when it testified beforehand the sufferings {Greek: unto.}of Christ, and the glories that should follow them.
For no prophecy ever {Greek: was brought.}came by the will of man: but men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit.
He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world knew him not.
Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the {Hebrew: words.}history of Samuel the seer, and in the {Hebrew: words.}history of Nathan the prophet, and in the {Hebrew: words.}history of Gad the seer,
Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the {Hebrew: words.}history of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of {Hebrew: Jedai, or Jedo.}Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat?
Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the {Hebrew: words.}histories of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer, {Or, in reckoning the genealogies}after the manner of genealogies? And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually.
Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the {Hebrew: words.}history of Jehu the son of Hanani, {Or, who is mentioned}which is inserted in the book of the kings of Israel.
Thus saith Jehovah to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him, and I will loose the loins of kings; to open the doors before him, and the gates shall not be shut:
And when the children of Israel cried unto Jehovah, Jehovah raised up a saviour to the children of Israel, who saved them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother.
(And Jehovah gave Israel a saviour, so that they went out from under the hand of the Syrians; and the children of Israel dwelt in their tents as beforetime.
Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their adversaries, who distressed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours who saved them out of the hand of their adversaries.
And it was so, because the children of Israel had sinned against Jehovah their God, who brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods,
and walked in the statutes of the nations, whom Jehovah cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they {Or, practised}made.
And the children of Israel did secretly things that were not right against Jehovah their God: and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city;
and they set them up {Or, obelisks}pillars and Asherim upon every high hill, and under every green tree;
and there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the nations whom Jehovah carried away before them; and they wrought wicked things to provoke Jehovah to anger;
and they served idols, whereof Jehovah had said unto them, Ye shall not do this thing.
Yet Jehovah testified unto Israel, and unto Judah, by every prophet, and every seer, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets.
Notwithstanding, they would not hear, but hardened their neck, like to the neck of their fathers, who believed not in Jehovah their God.
And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified unto them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the nations that were round about them, concerning whom Jehovah had charged them that they should not do like them.
And they forsook all the commandments of Jehovah their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made an Asherah, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.
And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke him to anger.
Therefore Jehovah was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.
Also Judah kept not the commandments of Jehovah their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they {Or, practised}made.
And Jehovah rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight.
For he rent Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam {According to another reading, drew Israel away.}drove Israel from following Jehovah, and made them sin a great sin.
And the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them;
until Jehovah removed Israel out of his sight, as he spake by all his servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.
Cry {Hebrew: with the throat.}aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and declare unto my people their transgression, and to the house of Jacob their sins.
And I saw, when, for this very cause that backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a bill of divorcement, yet treacherous Judah her sister feared not; but she also went and played the harlot.
The word that came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying,
Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
and say thou unto them, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: Cursed be the man that heareth not the words of this covenant,
which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God;
that I may establish the oath which I sware unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day. Then answered I, and said, Amen, O Jehovah.
And Jehovah said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them.
For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day that I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even unto this day, rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice.
Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the stubbornness of their evil heart: therefore I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did them not.
And Jehovah said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words; and they are gone after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers.
Therefore thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and they shall cry unto me, but I will not hearken unto them.
Then shall the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem go and cry unto the gods unto which they offer incense: but they will not save them at all in the time of their {Hebrew: evil.}trouble.
For according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to the {Hebrew: shame.}shameful thing, even altars to burn incense unto Baal.
Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them; for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me because of their {Hebrew: evil.}trouble.
What hath my beloved to do in my house, seeing she hath wrought lewdness {The text is obscure. The Septuagint has Shall vows and holy flesh take away from thee thy wickednesses, or shall thou escape by these?}with many, and the holy flesh is passed from thee? {Or, when thine evil cometh}when thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest.
Jehovah called thy name, A green olive-tree, fair with goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken.
For Jehovah of hosts, who planted thee, hath pronounced evil against thee, because of the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have wrought for themselves in provoking me to anger by offering incense unto Baal.
And Jehovah gave me knowledge of it, and I knew it: then thou showedst me their doings.
But I was like a gentle lamb that is led to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with the {Hebrew: bread.}fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered.
But, O Jehovah of hosts, who judgest righteously, who triest the {Hebrew: reins.}heart and the mind, I shall see thy vengeance on them; for unto thee have I revealed my cause.
Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning the men of Anathoth, that seek thy life, saying, Thou shalt not prophesy in the name of Jehovah, that thou die not by our hand;
therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Behold, I will {Hebrew: visit upon.}punish them: the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine;
and there shall be no remnant unto them: for I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth, {Or, in the year}even the year of their visitation.
Bring no more {Hebrew: an oblation of vanity.}vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; new moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies, — {Or, I cannot away with, it is iniquity, even me solemn meeting}I cannot away with iniquity and the solemn meeting.
He that killeth an ox is as he that slayeth a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as he that breaketh a dog's neck; he that offereth {Or, a meal-offering}an oblation, as he that offereth swine's blood; he that {Hebrew: maketh a memorial of.}burneth frankincense, as he that blesseth an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations:
He that killeth an ox is as he that slayeth a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as he that breaketh a dog's neck; he that offereth {Or, a meal-offering}an oblation, as he that offereth swine's blood; he that {Hebrew: maketh a memorial of.}burneth frankincense, as he that blesseth an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations:
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.
And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.Deliver me, O Jehovah, from the evil man;Preserve me from the violent man:
Who devise mischiefs in their heart;Continually do they {Or, stir up wars}gather themselves together for war.
They have sharpened their tongue like a serpent;Adders' poison is under their lips.[Selah
Keep me, O Jehovah, from the hands of the wicked;Preserve me from the violent man:Who have purposed to thrust aside my steps.
The proud have hid a snare for me, and cords;They have spread a net by the wayside;They have set gins for me. [Selah
I said unto Jehovah, Thou art my God:Give ear unto the voice of my supplications, O Jehovah.
O Jehovah the Lord, the strength of my salvation,Thou hast covered my head in the day of battle.
Grant not, O Jehovah, the desires of the wicked;Further not his evil device, lest they exalt themselves. [Selah
As for the head of those that compass me about,Let the mischief of their own lips cover them.
Let burning coals fall upon them:Let them be cast into the fire,Into {Or, floods}deep pits, whence they shall not rise.
{Hebrew: A man to tongue.}An evil speaker shall not be established in the earth:Evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him.
I know that Jehovah will maintain the cause of the afflicted,And justice for the needy.
Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name:The upright shall dwell in thy presence.
How is the faithful city become a harlot! she that was full of justice! righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers.
Again the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations;
and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah unto Jerusalem: {Or, Thine origin}Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of the Canaanite; the Amorite was thy father, and thy mother was a Hittite.
And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to cleanse thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.
No eye pitied thee, to do any of these things unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, for that thy person was abhorred, in the day that thou wast born.
And when I passed by thee, and saw thee weltering in thy blood, I said unto thee, Though thou art in thy blood, live; yea, I said unto thee, Though thou art in thy blood, live.
I {Hebrew: made thee a myriad.}caused thee to multiply as that which groweth in the field, and thou didst increase and wax great, and thou attainedst to {Hebrew: ornament of ornaments.}excellent ornament; thy breasts were fashioned, and thy hair was grown; yet thou wast naked and bare.
Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord Jehovah, and thou becamest mine.
Then washed I thee with water; yea, I thoroughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.
I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with {Or, porpoise-skin}sealskin, and I {Or, bound thee with attire of fine linen}girded thee about with fine linen, and covered thee with silk.
And I decked thee with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck.
And I put a ring upon thy nose, and ear-rings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thy head.
Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil; and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper unto royal estate.
And thy renown went forth among the nations for thy beauty; for it was perfect, through my majesty which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord Jehovah.
But thou didst trust in thy beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy whoredoms on every one that passed by; his it was.
And thou didst take of thy garments, and madest for thee high places decked with divers colors, and playedst the harlot upon them: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so.
Thou didst also take thy {Or, beautiful vessels}fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest for thee {Or, male images}images of men, and didst play the harlot with them;
and thou tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them, and didst set mine oil and mine incense before them.
My bread also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou didst even set it before them for a sweet savor; and thus it was, saith the Lord Jehovah.
Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Were thy whoredoms a small matter,
that thou hast slain my children, and delivered them up, in {Or, setting them apart Hebrew: making them pass over.}causing them to pass through the fire unto them?
And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast weltering in thy blood.
And it is come to pass after all thy wickedness, (woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord Jehovah),
that thou hast built unto thee a vaulted place, and hast made thee a lofty place in every street.
Thou hast built thy lofty place at the head of every way, and hast made thy beauty an abomination, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredom.
Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians, thy neighbors, great of flesh; and hast multiplied thy whoredom, to provoke me to anger.
Behold therefore, I have stretched out my hand over thee, and have diminished thine {Or, allowance}ordinary food, and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, that are ashamed of thy lewd way.
Thou hast played the harlot also with the Assyrians, because thou wast insatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet thou wast not satisfied.
Thou hast moreover multiplied thy whoredom unto the land of {Or, Canaan}traffic, unto Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied herewith.
How weak is thy heart, saith the Lord Jehovah, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an impudent harlot;
in that thou buildest thy vaulted place at the head of every way, and makest thy lofty place in every street, and hast not been as a harlot, {Or, that scoffeth at her hire}in that thou scornest hire.
A wife that committeth adultery! that taketh strangers instead of her husband!
They give gifts to all harlots; but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and bribest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredoms.
And thou art different from other women in thy whoredoms, in that none followeth thee to play the harlot; and whereas thou givest hire, and no hire is given unto thee, therefore thou art different.
Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of Jehovah:
Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Because thy {Hebrew: brass.}filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness uncovered through thy whoredoms with thy lovers; and because of all the idols of thy abominations, and for the blood of thy children, that thou didst give unto them;
therefore behold, I will gather all thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated; I will even gather them against thee on every side, and will uncover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness.
And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will bring upon thee the blood of wrath and jealousy.
I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thy vaulted place, and break down thy lofty places; and they shall strip thee of thy clothes, and take thy fair jewels; and they shall leave thee naked and bare.
They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords.
And they shall burn thy houses with fire, and execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women; and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou shalt also give no hire any more.
So will I cause my wrath toward thee to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry.
Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast raged against me in all these things; therefore, behold, I also will bring thy way upon thy head, saith the Lord Jehovah: and {Or, hast thou not committed &c.?}thou shalt not commit this lewdness with all thine abominations.
Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter.
Thou art the daughter of thy mother, that loatheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children: your mother was a Hittite, and your father an Amorite.
And thine elder sister is Samaria, that dwelleth at thy left hand, she and her daughters; and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.
Yet hast thou not walked in their ways, nor done after their abominations; but, as if that were a very little thing, thou wast more corrupt than they in all thy ways.
As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters.
Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom: pride, fulness of bread, and prosperous ease was in her and in her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away {Or, when I saw it}as I saw good.
Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters by all thine abominations which thou hast done.
Thou also, bear thou thine own shame, in that thou hast given judgment for thy {Or, sister}sisters; through thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they, they are more righteous than thou: yea, be thou also confounded, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters.
And I will {Or, return to}turn again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, and the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them;
that thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be ashamed because of all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them.
And thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate; and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate; and thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate.
For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride,
before thy wickedness was uncovered, as at the time of the reproach of the daughters of Syria, and of all that are round about her, the daughters of the Philistines, that do despite unto thee round about.
Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine abominations, saith Jehovah.
For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will also deal with thee as thou hast done, who hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant.
Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.
Then shalt thou remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder sisters and thy younger; and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant.
And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah;
that thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more, because of thy shame, when I have forgiven thee all that thou hast done, saith the Lord Jehovah.
The word of Jehovah came again unto me, saying,
Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother:
and they played the harlot in Egypt; they played the harlot in their youth; there were their breasts pressed, and there was handled the bosom of their virginity.
And the names of them were Oholah the elder, and Oholibah her sister: and they became mine, and they bare sons and daughters. And as for their names, Samaria is {That is, Her tent.}Oholah, and Jerusalem {That is, My tent is in her.}Oholibah.
And Oholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbors,
who were clothed with blue, governors and {Or, deputies See Jeremiah 51:23, &c.}rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses.
And she bestowed her whoredoms upon them, the choicest men of Assyria all of them; and on whomsoever she doted, with all their idols she defiled herself.
Neither hath she left her whoredoms {Or, brought from Egypt}since the days of Egypt; for in her youth they lay with her, and they handled the bosom of her virginity; and they poured out their whoredom upon her.
Wherefore I delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted.
These uncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and her daughters; and her they slew with the sword: and she became a {Hebrew: name.}byword among women; for they executed judgments upon her.
And her sister Oholibah saw this, yet was she more corrupt in her doting than she, and in her whoredoms which were more than the whoredoms of her sister.
She doted upon the Assyrians, governors and rulers, her neighbors, clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men.
And I saw that she was defiled; they both took one way.
And she increased her whoredoms; for she saw men portrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion,
girded with girdles upon their loins, with flowing turbans upon their heads, all of them princes to look upon, after the likeness of the Babylonians in {Or, the land of whose nativity is Chaldea}Chaldea, the land of their nativity.
And {Hebrew: at the sight of her eyes.}as soon as she saw them she doted upon them, and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea.
And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her soul was alienated from them.
So she uncovered her whoredoms, and uncovered her nakedness: then my soul was alienated from her, like as my soul was alienated from her sister.
Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, remembering the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.
And she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.
Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in the handling of thy bosom by the Egyptians for the breasts of thy youth.
Therefore, O Oholibah, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy soul is alienated, and I will bring them against thee on every side:
the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them; desirable young men, governors and rulers all of them, princes and {Or, counsellors Hebrew: called.}men of renown, all of them riding upon horses.
And they shall come against thee with weapons, chariots, and {Or, wheels}wagons, and with a company of peoples; they shall set themselves against thee with buckler and shield and helmet round about; and I will commit the judgment unto them, and they shall judge thee according to their judgments.
And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal with thee in fury; they shall take away thy nose and thine ears; and thy residue shall fall by the sword: they shall take thy sons and thy daughters; and thy residue shall be devoured by the fire.
They shall also strip thee of thy clothes, and take away thy fair jewels.
Thus will I make thy lewdness to cease from thee, and thy whoredom brought from the land of Egypt; so that thou shalt not lift up thine eyes unto them, nor remember Egypt any more.
For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will deliver thee into the hand of them whom thou hatest, into the hand of them from whom thy soul is alienated;
and they shall deal with thee in hatred, and shall take away all thy labor, and shall leave thee naked and bare; and the nakedness of thy whoredoms shall be uncovered, both thy lewdness and thy whoredoms.
These things shall be done unto thee, for that thou hast played the harlot after the nations, and because thou art polluted with their idols.
Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister; therefore will I give her cup into thy hand.
Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Thou shalt drink of thy sister's cup, which is deep and large; thou shalt be laughed to scorn and had in derision; {Or, to much to endure}it containeth much.
Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and desolation, with the cup of thy sister Samaria.
Thou shalt even drink it and drain it out, and thou shalt gnaw the sherds thereof, and shalt tear thy breasts; for I have spoken it, saith the Lord Jehovah.
Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because thou hast forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewdness and thy whoredoms.
Jehovah said moreover unto me: Son of man, wilt thou judge Oholah and Oholibah? then declare unto them their abominations.
For they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands; and with their idols have they committed adultery; and they have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass through the fire unto them to be devoured.
Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths.
For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus have they done in the midst of my house.
And furthermore ye have sent for men {Or, to come}that come from far, unto whom a messenger was sent, and, lo, they came; for whom thou didst wash thyself, paint thine eyes, and deck thyself with ornaments,
and sit upon a stately bed, with a table prepared before it, whereupon thou didst set mine incense and mine oil.
And the voice of a multitude being at ease was with her: and with men of the common sort were brought drunkards from the wilderness; and they put bracelets upon the hands of them twain, and beautiful crowns upon their heads.
Then said I {Or, She that is old will commit adulteries}of her that was old in adulteries, Now will they play {Hebrew: her whoredoms.}the harlot with her, {Or, even with her}and she with them.
And they went in unto her, as they go in unto a harlot: so went they in unto Oholah and unto Oholibah, the lewd women.
And righteous men, they shall judge them with the judgment of adulteresses, and with the judgment of women that shed blood; because they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands.
For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will bring up a company against them, and will give them to be tossed to and fro and robbed.
And the company shall stone them with stones, and despatch them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses with fire.
Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness.
And they shall recompense your lewdness upon you, and ye shall bear the sins of your idols; and ye shall know that I am the Lord Jehovah.
Hear the word of Jehovah, ye {Or, judges}rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the {Or, teaching}law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.
And thine elder sister is Samaria, that dwelleth at thy left hand, she and her daughters; and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.
The elder and the honorable man, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.
Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves; every one loveth bribes, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.
How is the faithful city become a harlot! she that was full of justice! righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers.
Behold, the princes of Israel, every one according to his {Hebrew: arm.}power, have been in thee to shed blood.
Hear the word of Jehovah, ye {Or, judges}rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the {Or, teaching}law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.
And the angel of Jehovah appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil-doers, children that deal corruptly! they have forsaken Jehovah, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are estranged and gone backward.
For this city hath been to me a provocation of mine anger and of my wrath from the day that they built it even unto this day; that I should remove it from before my face,
For, behold, I have made thee this day a fortified city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land.
Behold, I have made thy face hard against their faces, and thy forehead hard against their foreheads.
Then he cried in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, {Or, Draw ye near that &c.}Cause ye them that have charge over the city to draw near, every man with his destroying weapon in his hand.
And behold, six men came from the way of the upper gate, which lieth toward the north, every man with his {Or, battle-axes}slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man in the midst of them clothed in linen, with a writer's inkhorn {Hebrew: upon his loins.}by his side. And they went in, and stood beside the brazen altar.
And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon it was, to the threshold of the house: and he called to the man clothed in linen, who had the writer's inkhorn {Hebrew: upon his loins.}by his side.
And Jehovah said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry over all the abominations that are done in the midst thereof.
And to the others he said in my hearing, Go ye through the city after him, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity;
slay {Hebrew: to destruction.}utterly the old man, the young man and the virgin, and little children and women; but come not near any man upon whom is the mark: and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the {Or, elders}old men that were before the house.
And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and smote in the city.
And it came to pass, while they were smiting, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord Jehovah! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy wrath upon Jerusalem?
Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of {Or, perverseness}wresting of judgment: for they say, Jehovah hath forsaken the land, and Jehovah seeth not.
And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will bring their way upon their head.
And behold, the man clothed in linen, who had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me.
and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Woe to the women that sew pillows upon all {Hebrew: joints of the hands.}elbows, and make kerchiefs for the head of persons of every stature to hunt souls! {Or, Ye hunt…and ye save &c.}Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and save souls alive {Or, that are yours}for yourselves?
Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there is no peace; and when one buildeth up {Or, a slight wall}a wall, behold, they daub it with {Or, whitewash So in verse 11, 14, 15.}untempered mortar:
They have healed also the {Or, breach}hurt of {Another reading is, the daughter of my people, as in chapter 8:11, 21}my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there is no peace; and when one buildeth up {Or, a slight wall}a wall, behold, they daub it with {Or, whitewash So in verse 11, 14, 15.}untempered mortar:
I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience bearing witness with me in the Holy Spirit,
that I have great sorrow and unceasing pain in my heart.
For I could {Or, pray}wish that I myself were anathema from Christ for my brethren's sake, my kinsmen according to the flesh:
My anguish, my anguish! {Another reading is, I will wait patiently}I am pained at {Hebrew: the walls of my heart.}my very heart; my heart is disquieted in me; I cannot hold my peace; because {Or, as otherwised read, my soul heareth}thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.
The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet they lean upon Jehovah, and say, Is not Jehovah in the midst of us? no evil shall come upon us.
Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; nevertheless I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation.
And ye have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hearken unto lies.
O Jehovah, thou hast {Or, enticed}persuaded me, and I was persuaded; thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am become a laughing-stock all the day, every one mocketh me.
For if I {See marginal note on chapter 1:17.}preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of; for necessity is laid upon me; for woe is unto me, if I {See marginal note on chapter 1:17.}preach not the gospel.
And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Is it thou, thou troubler of Israel?
And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee, because thou hast sold thyself to do that which is evil in the sight of Jehovah.
And when he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the ward was there, whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he laid hold on Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Thou art falling away to the Chaldeans.
The word of Jehovah that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought.
Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish, they sit in black upon the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.
And their nobles send their {Or, inferiors}little ones {Or, for water}to the waters: they come to the cisterns, and find no water; they return with their vessels empty; they are put to shame and confounded, and cover their heads.
Because of the ground which is {Or, dismayed}cracked, for that no rain hath been in the land, the plowmen are put to shame, they cover their heads.
Yea, the hind also in the field calveth, and forsaketh her young, because there is no grass.
And the wild asses stand on the bare heights, they pant for air like {Or, the crocodile}jackals; their eyes fail, because there is no herbage.
Though our iniquities testify against us, work thou for thy name's sake, O Jehovah; for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee.
O thou hope of Israel, the Saviour thereof in the time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a sojourner in the land, and as a wayfaring man that {Or, spreadeth his tent}turneth aside to tarry for a night?
Why shouldest thou be as a man affrighted, as a mighty man that cannot save? Yet thou, O Jehovah, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name; leave us not.
Thus saith Jehovah unto this people, Even so have they loved to wander; they have not refrained their feet: therefore Jehovah doth not accept them; now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins.
And Jehovah said unto me, Pray not for this people for their good.
When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt-offering and meal-offering, I will not accept them; but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.
Then said I, Ah, Lord Jehovah! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you {Hebrew: peace of truth.}assured peace in this place.
Then Jehovah said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name; I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake I unto them: they prophesy unto you a lying vision, and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their own heart.
Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land: By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed.
And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury them — them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters: for I will pour their wickedness upon them.
And thou shalt say this word unto them, Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease; for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous wound.
If I go forth into the field, then, behold, the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then, behold, {Hebrew: the sickness of famine.}they that are sick with famine! for both the prophet and the priest {Or, traffic}go about {Or, into a land that they know not}in the land, and have no knowledge.
Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? hath thy soul loathed Zion? why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of healing, and, behold, dismay!
We {Or, know}acknowledge, O Jehovah, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers; for we have sinned against thee.
Do not {Or, contemn}abhor us, for thy name's sake; do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us.
Are there any among the vanities of the nations that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O Jehovah our God? therefore we will wait for thee; for thou hast {Or, done}made all these things.
but they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until the wrath of Jehovah arose against his people, till there was no {Hebrew: healing.}remedy.
So Jeremiah abode in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken.
they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, they were tempted, they were slain with the sword: they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated
searching what time or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did point unto, when it testified beforehand the sufferings {Greek: unto.}of Christ, and the glories that should follow them.
For no prophecy ever {Greek: was brought.}came by the will of man: but men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit.
Wherefore, even as the Holy Spirit saith, {Psalm 95:7 ff.}To-day if ye shall hear his voice,
Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Spirit: as your fathers did, so do ye.
Now these things happened unto them {Greek: by way of figure.}by way of example; and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come.
Jehovah looked down from heaven upon the children of men,To see if there were any that did {Or, deal wisely}understand,That did seek after God.
A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.Jehovah, how are mine adversaries increased!Many are they that rise up against me.
Many there are that say {Or, to}of my soul,There is no {Or, salvation}help for him in God. [Selah
But thou, O Jehovah, art a shield about me;My glory and the lifter up of my head.
I cry unto Jehovah with my voice,And he answereth me out of his holy hill. [Selah
I laid me down and slept;I awaked; for Jehovah sustaineth me.
I will not be afraid of ten thousands of the peopleThat have set themselves against me round about.
Arise, O Jehovah; Save me, O my God:For thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone;Thou hast broken the teeth of the wicked.
{Or, Victory}Salvation belongeth unto Jehovah:Thy blessing be upon thy people. [Selah
for all {Greek: sinned.}have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God;
I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience bearing witness with me in the Holy Spirit,
that I have great sorrow and unceasing pain in my heart.
For I could {Or, pray}wish that I myself were anathema from Christ for my brethren's sake, my kinsmen according to the flesh:
who are Israelites; whose is the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;
whose are the fathers, and of whom is Christ as concerning the {Or, flesh; he who is over all, God, be blessed for ever.}flesh, who is over all, God blessed {Greek: unto the ages.}for ever. Amen.
But it is not as though the word of God hath come to nought. For they are not all Israel, that are of Israel:
neither, because they are Abraham's seed, are they all children: but, {Genesis 21:12}In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
That is, it is not the children of the flesh that are children of God; but the children of the promise are reckoned for a seed.
For this is a word of promise, {Genesis 18:10}According to this season will I come, and Sarah shall have a son.
And not only so; but Rebecca also having conceived by one, even by our father Isaac—
for the children being not yet born, neither having done anything good or bad, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth,
it was said unto her, {Genesis 25:23}The elder shall serve the younger.
Even as it is written, {Malachi 1:2 f}Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.
What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
For he saith to Moses, {Exodus 33:19}I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.
So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that hath mercy.
For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, {Exodus 9:16}For this very purpose did I raise thee up, that I might show in thee my power, and that my name might be published abroad in all the earth.
So then he hath mercy on whom he will, and whom he will be hardeneth.
Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he still find fault? For who withstandeth his will?
Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why didst thou make me thus?
Or hath not the potter a right over the clay, from the same lump to make one part a vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor?
What if God, {Or, although willing}willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering vessels of wrath fitted unto destruction:
{Some ancient authorities omit and.}and that he might make known the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy, which he afore prepared unto glory,
even us, whom he also called, not from the Jews only, but also from the Gentiles?
As he saith also in Hosea, {Hosea 2:23}I will call that my people, which was not my people;And her beloved, that was not beloved.
{Hosea 1:10}And it shall be, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people,There shall they be called sons of the living God.
And Isaiah crieth concerning Israel, {Isaiah 10:22 f.}If the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that shall be saved:
for the Lord will execute his word upon the earth, finishing it and cutting it short.
And, as Isaiah hath said before, {Isaiah 1:9}Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed,We had become as Sodom, and had been made like unto Gomorrah.
What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, who followed not after righteousness, attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith:
but Israel, following after a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law.
Wherefore? {Or, Because, doing it not by faith, but as it were by works, they stumbled}Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by works. They stumbled at the stone of stumbling;
even as it is written, {Isaiah 28:16}Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence:And he that believeth on {Or, it}him shall not be put to shame.
Where then is the glorying? It is excluded. By what manner of law? of works? Nay: but by a law of faith.
Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil-doers, children that deal corruptly! they have forsaken Jehovah, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are estranged and gone backward.
Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah: sound an alarm at Beth-aven; {Or, After thee, Benjamin!}behind thee, O Benjamin.
Israel hath cast off that which is good: the enemy shall pursue him.
But the {Hebrew: breaking.}destruction of transgressors and sinners shall be together, and they that forsake Jehovah shall be consumed.
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, {According to another reading, I have rejected.}I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I also will forget thy children.
And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be {Or, burnt}eaten up; I will break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down:
And your altars shall become desolate, and your sun-images shall be broken; and I will cast down your slain men before your idols.
And he shall break it as a potter's vessel is broken, breaking it in pieces without sparing; so that there shall not be found among the pieces thereof a sherd wherewith to take fire from the hearth, or to dip up water out of the cistern.
Therefore, O Oholibah, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy soul is alienated, and I will bring them against thee on every side:
The word of Jehovah came again unto me, saying,
Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother:
and they played the harlot in Egypt; they played the harlot in their youth; there were their breasts pressed, and there was handled the bosom of their virginity.
And the names of them were Oholah the elder, and Oholibah her sister: and they became mine, and they bare sons and daughters. And as for their names, Samaria is {That is, Her tent.}Oholah, and Jerusalem {That is, My tent is in her.}Oholibah.
And Oholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbors,
who were clothed with blue, governors and {Or, deputies See Jeremiah 51:23, &c.}rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses.
And she bestowed her whoredoms upon them, the choicest men of Assyria all of them; and on whomsoever she doted, with all their idols she defiled herself.
Neither hath she left her whoredoms {Or, brought from Egypt}since the days of Egypt; for in her youth they lay with her, and they handled the bosom of her virginity; and they poured out their whoredom upon her.
Wherefore I delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted.
These uncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and her daughters; and her they slew with the sword: and she became a {Hebrew: name.}byword among women; for they executed judgments upon her.
And her sister Oholibah saw this, yet was she more corrupt in her doting than she, and in her whoredoms which were more than the whoredoms of her sister.
She doted upon the Assyrians, governors and rulers, her neighbors, clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men.
And I saw that she was defiled; they both took one way.
And she increased her whoredoms; for she saw men portrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion,
girded with girdles upon their loins, with flowing turbans upon their heads, all of them princes to look upon, after the likeness of the Babylonians in {Or, the land of whose nativity is Chaldea}Chaldea, the land of their nativity.
And {Hebrew: at the sight of her eyes.}as soon as she saw them she doted upon them, and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea.
And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her soul was alienated from them.
So she uncovered her whoredoms, and uncovered her nakedness: then my soul was alienated from her, like as my soul was alienated from her sister.
Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, remembering the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.
And she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.
Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in the handling of thy bosom by the Egyptians for the breasts of thy youth.
Therefore, O Oholibah, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy soul is alienated, and I will bring them against thee on every side:
the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them; desirable young men, governors and rulers all of them, princes and {Or, counsellors Hebrew: called.}men of renown, all of them riding upon horses.
And they shall come against thee with weapons, chariots, and {Or, wheels}wagons, and with a company of peoples; they shall set themselves against thee with buckler and shield and helmet round about; and I will commit the judgment unto them, and they shall judge thee according to their judgments.
And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal with thee in fury; they shall take away thy nose and thine ears; and thy residue shall fall by the sword: they shall take thy sons and thy daughters; and thy residue shall be devoured by the fire.
They shall also strip thee of thy clothes, and take away thy fair jewels.
Thus will I make thy lewdness to cease from thee, and thy whoredom brought from the land of Egypt; so that thou shalt not lift up thine eyes unto them, nor remember Egypt any more.
For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will deliver thee into the hand of them whom thou hatest, into the hand of them from whom thy soul is alienated;
and they shall deal with thee in hatred, and shall take away all thy labor, and shall leave thee naked and bare; and the nakedness of thy whoredoms shall be uncovered, both thy lewdness and thy whoredoms.
These things shall be done unto thee, for that thou hast played the harlot after the nations, and because thou art polluted with their idols.
Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister; therefore will I give her cup into thy hand.
Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Thou shalt drink of thy sister's cup, which is deep and large; thou shalt be laughed to scorn and had in derision; {Or, to much to endure}it containeth much.
Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and desolation, with the cup of thy sister Samaria.
Thou shalt even drink it and drain it out, and thou shalt gnaw the sherds thereof, and shalt tear thy breasts; for I have spoken it, saith the Lord Jehovah.
Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because thou hast forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewdness and thy whoredoms.
Jehovah said moreover unto me: Son of man, wilt thou judge Oholah and Oholibah? then declare unto them their abominations.
For they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands; and with their idols have they committed adultery; and they have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass through the fire unto them to be devoured.
Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths.
For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus have they done in the midst of my house.
And furthermore ye have sent for men {Or, to come}that come from far, unto whom a messenger was sent, and, lo, they came; for whom thou didst wash thyself, paint thine eyes, and deck thyself with ornaments,
and sit upon a stately bed, with a table prepared before it, whereupon thou didst set mine incense and mine oil.
And the voice of a multitude being at ease was with her: and with men of the common sort were brought drunkards from the wilderness; and they put bracelets upon the hands of them twain, and beautiful crowns upon their heads.
Then said I {Or, She that is old will commit adulteries}of her that was old in adulteries, Now will they play {Hebrew: her whoredoms.}the harlot with her, {Or, even with her}and she with them.
And they went in unto her, as they go in unto a harlot: so went they in unto Oholah and unto Oholibah, the lewd women.
And righteous men, they shall judge them with the judgment of adulteresses, and with the judgment of women that shed blood; because they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands.
For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will bring up a company against them, and will give them to be tossed to and fro and robbed.
And the company shall stone them with stones, and despatch them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses with fire.
Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness.
And they shall recompense your lewdness upon you, and ye shall bear the sins of your idols; and ye shall know that I am the Lord Jehovah.
Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or in the days of your fathers?
Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.
That which {Probably, different kinds of locusts, or locusts in different stages of growth.}the palmer-worm hath left hath {Probably, different kinds of locusts, or locusts in different stages of growth.}the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath {Probably, different kinds of locusts, or locusts in different stages of growth.}the canker-worm eaten; and that which the canker-worm hath left hath {Probably, different kinds of locusts, or locusts in different stages of growth.}the caterpillar eaten.
Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and wail, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.
For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number; his teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the jaw-teeth of a lioness.
He hath laid my vine waste, and {Or, broken}barked my fig-tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it {Or, down}away; the branches thereof are made white.
Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.
The meal-offering and the drink-offering are cut off from the house of Jehovah; the priests, Jehovah's ministers, mourn.
The field is laid waste, the land mourneth; for the grain is destroyed, the new wine is {Or, ashamed}dried up, the oil languisheth.
{Or, The husbandmen are confounded, the vinedressers wail}Be confounded, O ye husbandmen, wail, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; for the harvest of the field is perished.
The vine is {Or, ashamed}withered, and the fig-tree languisheth; the pomegranate-tree, the palm-tree also, and the apple-tree, even all the trees of the field are withered: for joy is {Or, ashamed}withered away from the sons of men.
Refuse silver shall men call them, because Jehovah hath rejected them.
And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim.
For this city hath been to me a provocation of mine anger and of my wrath from the day that they built it even unto this day; that I should remove it from before my face,
The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (the same was the first year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon,)
which Jeremiah the prophet spake unto all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying:
From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even unto this day, these three and twenty years, the word of Jehovah hath come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising up early and speaking; but ye have not hearkened.
And Jehovah hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, (but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear),
saying, Return ye now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that Jehovah hath given unto you and to your fathers, from of old and even for evermore;
and go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the work of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.
Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, saith Jehovah; that ye may provoke me to anger with the work of your hands to your own hurt.
Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Because ye have not heard my words,
behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith Jehovah, and I will send unto Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about; and I will {Hebrew: devote.}utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and a hissing, and perpetual desolations.
Moreover I will {Hebrew: cause to perish from them.}take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp.
And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith Jehovah, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it {Hebrew: everlasting desolations.}desolate for ever.
And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations.
For many nations and great kings {Or, have made}shall make bondmen of them, even of them; and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the work of their hands.
For thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, unto me: Take this cup of the wine of wrath at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.
And they shall drink, and reel to and fro, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.
Then took I the cup at Jehovah's hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom Jehovah had sent me:
to wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and a curse, as it is this day;
Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people;
and all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of the Uz, and all the kings of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Gaza, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod;
Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon;
and all the kings of Tyre, and all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the {Or, coast-land}isle which is beyond the sea;
Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all that have the corners of their hair cut off;
and all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the wilderness;
and all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes;
and all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth: and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.
And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Drink ye, and be drunken, and spew, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.
And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thy hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Ye shall surely drink.
For, lo, I begin to work evil at the city which is called by my name; and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished; for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith Jehovah of hosts.
Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, Jehovah will roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he will mightily roar against his {Or, pasture}fold; he will give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.
A noise shall come even to the end of the earth; for Jehovah hath a controversy with the nations; he will enter into judgment with all flesh: as for the wicked, he will give them to the sword, saith Jehovah.
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great tempest shall be raised up from the uttermost parts of the earth.
And the slain of Jehovah shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the face of the ground.
Wail, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow in ashes, ye principal of the flock; for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are fully come, and ye shall fall like a goodly vessel.
And {Hebrew: flight shall perish from the shepherds and escape from &c.}the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape.
A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and the wailing of the principal of the flock! for Jehovah layeth waste their pasture.
And the peaceable folds are brought to silence because of the fierce anger of Jehovah.
He hath left his covert, as the lion; for their land is become an astonishment because of the fierceness of the oppressing sword, and because of his fierce anger.
Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and portray upon it a city, even Jerusalem:
and lay siege against it, and build forts against it, and cast up a mound against it; set camps also against it, and plant battering rams against it round about.
And take thou unto thee an iron {Or, flat plate}pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face toward it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.
Moreover lie thou upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it; according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it, thou shalt bear their iniquity.
For I have appointed the years of their iniquity to be unto thee a number of days, even three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.
And again, when thou hast accomplished these, thou shalt lie on thy right side, and shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah: forty days, each day for a year, have I appointed it unto thee.
And thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, with thine arm uncovered; and thou shalt prophesy against it.
And, behold, I lay bands upon thee, and thou shalt not turn thee from one side to the other, till thou hast accomplished the days of thy siege.
Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and spelt, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof; according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, even three hundred and ninety days, shalt thou eat thereof.
And thy food which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day: from time to time shalt thou eat it.
And thou shalt drink water by measure, the sixth part of a hin: from time to time shalt thou drink.
And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it in their sight with dung that cometh out of man.
And Jehovah said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their bread unclean, among the nations whither I will drive them.
Then said I, Ah Lord Jehovah! behold, my soul hath not been polluted; for from my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn of beasts; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth.
Then he said unto me, See, I have given thee cow's dung for man's dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread thereon.
Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with fearfulness; and they shall drink water by measure, and in dismay:
that they may want bread and water, and be dismayed one with another, and pine away in their iniquity.
And I will pursue after them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be {Or, a terror unto}tossed to and fro among all the kingdoms of the earth, to be an execration, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them;
I will even give them up to be {Or, a terror unto}tossed to and fro among all the kingdoms of the earth for evil; to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them.
to wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and a curse, as it is this day;
then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.
For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and wail; for the fierce anger of Jehovah is not turned back from us.
The princes of Judah are like them that remove the landmark: I will pour out my wrath upon them like water.
to go into the caverns of the rocks, and into the clefts of the ragged rocks, from before the terror of Jehovah, and from the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake mightily the earth.
For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will carry off, and there shall be none to deliver.
Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain; let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of Jehovah cometh, for it is nigh at hand;
a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, as the dawn spread upon the mountains; a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after them, even to the years of many generations.
A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and none hath escaped them.
The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as {Or, war-horses}horsemen, so do they run.
Like the noise of chariots on the tops of the mountains do they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.
At their presence the peoples are in anguish; all faces are waxed pale.
They run like mighty men; they climb the wall like men of war; and they march every one on his ways, and they break not their ranks.
Neither doth one thrust another; they march every one in his path; and {Or, when they fall around the weapons, they &c.}they burst through the weapons, and {Or, are not wounded}break not off their course.
They leap upon the city; they run upon the wall; they climb up into the houses; they enter in at the windows like a thief.
The earth quaketh before them; the heavens tremble; the sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.
And Jehovah uttereth his voice before his army; for his camp is very great; for he is strong that executeth his word; for the day of Jehovah is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?
Yet even now, saith Jehovah, turn ye unto me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto Jehovah your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
Who knoweth whether he will not turn and repent, and leave a blessing behind him, even a meal-offering and a drink-offering unto Jehovah your God?
Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly;
gather the people, sanctify the assembly, assemble the {Or, elders}old men, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts; let the bridegroom go forth from his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.
Let the priests, the ministers of Jehovah, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Jehovah, and give not thy heritage to reproach, that the nations should {Or, use a byward against them}rule over them: wherefore should they say among the peoples, Where is their God?
Then was Jehovah jealous for his land, and had pity on his people.
And Jehovah answered and said unto his people, Behold, I will send you grain, and new wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations;
but I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive it into a land barren and desolate, {Or, with its forepart}its forepart {Or, toward}into the eastern sea, and its hinder part {Or, toward}into the western sea; and its stench shall come up, and its ill savor shall come up, because it hath done great things.
Fear not, O land, be glad and rejoice; for Jehovah hath done great things.
Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field; for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth its fruit, the fig-tree and the vine do yield their strength.
Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in Jehovah your God; for he giveth you the former rain {Or in (or, for) righteousness}in just measure, and he causeth to come down for you the rain, the former rain and the latter rain, {Or, at the first}in the first month.
And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil.
And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the canker-worm, and the caterpillar, and the palmer-worm, my great army which I sent among you.
And ye shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and shall praise the name of Jehovah your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you; and my people shall never be put to shame.
And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am Jehovah your God, and there is none else; and my people shall never be put to shame.
{[Chapter 3:1 in Hebrew]}And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my Spirit.
And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh.
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of Jehovah shall be delivered; for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those that escape, as Jehovah hath said, and {Or, in the remnant whom &c.}among the remnant those whom Jehovah doth call.
To the {Or, teaching}law and to the testimony! {Or, surely according to this word shall they speak for whom there is no morning}if they speak not according to this word, surely there is no morning for them.
They come all of them for violence; {Hebrew: the eagerness (or, assembling) of their faces is &c.}the set of their faces is {Or, towards the east}forwards; and they gather captives as the sand.
The lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his caves with prey, and his dens with ravin.
Because thou hast plundered many nations, all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder thee, because of men's blood, and for the violence done to the land, to the city and to all that dwell therein.
Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and rapine; the prey departeth not.
And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made to stand upon two feet as a man; and a man's heart was given to it.
And, behold, another beast, a second, like to a bear; and {Or, as otherwise read, it raised up one dominion}it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.
After this I beheld, and, lo, another, like a leopard, which had upon its back four wings of a bird; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.
After this I saw in the night-visions, and, behold, a fourth beast, terrible and {Or, dreadful}powerful, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth; it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.
In that day Jehovah with his hard and great and strong sword will punish leviathan the {Or, gliding Or, fleeing}swift serpent, and leviathan the {Or, winding}crooked serpent; and he will slay the monster that is in the sea.
Wherefore it shall come to pass, that, when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will {Hebrew: visit upon.}punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks.
For he hath said, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I have understanding: and I have removed the bounds of the peoples, and have robbed their treasures, and like a valiant man I have brought down {Or, the inhabitants}them that sit on thrones:
and my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the peoples; and as one gathereth eggs that are forsaken, have I gathered all the earth: and there was none that moved the wing, or that opened the mouth, or chirped.
Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? shall the saw magnify itself against him that wieldeth it? as if a rod should wield them that lift it up, or as if a staff should lift up him that is not wood.
And thou saidst in thy heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; and I will sit upon the mount of congregation, in the uttermost parts of the north;
Behold, I am against thee, {Hebrew: O Pride.}O thou proud one, saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts; for thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee.
The word that came to Jeremiah from Jehovah in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar.
Now at that time the king of Babylon's army was besieging Jerusalem; and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard, which was in the king of Judah's house.
For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Wherefore dost thou prophesy, and say, Thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it;
and Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes;
and he shall bring Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, saith Jehovah: though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper?
And Jeremiah said, The word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee, saying, Buy thee my field that is in Anathoth; for the right of redemption is thine to buy it.
So Hanamel mine uncle's son came to me in the court of the guard according to the word of Jehovah, and said unto me, Buy my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth, which is in the land of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is thine, and the redemption is thine; buy it for thyself. Then I knew that this was the word of Jehovah.
And I bought the field that was in Anathoth of Hanamel mine uncle's son, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver.
And I subscribed the deed, and sealed it, and called witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances.
So I took the deed of the purchase, both that which was sealed, {Or, containing the terms and conditions}according to the law and custom, and that which was open:
and I delivered the deed of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel mine uncle's son, and in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the deed of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the guard.
And I charged Baruch before them, saying,
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, this deed of the purchase which is sealed, and this deed which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel; that they may continue many days.
For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall yet again be bought in this land.
Now after I had delivered the deed of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed unto Jehovah, saying,
Ah Lord Jehovah! behold, thou hast made the heavens and the earth by thy great power and by thine outstretched arm; there is nothing too {Or, wonderful}hard for thee,
who showest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them; the great, the mighty God, Jehovah of hosts is his name;
great in counsel, and mighty in work; whose eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men, to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:
who didst set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, even unto this day, {Or, and}both in Israel and among other men; and madest thee a name, as at this day;
and didst bring forth thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terror;
and gavest them this land, which thou didst swear to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey;
and they came in, and possessed it, but they obeyed not thy voice, neither walked in thy law; they have done nothing of all that thou commandedst them to do: therefore thou hast caused all this evil to come upon them.
Behold, the mounds, they are come unto the city to take it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans that fight against it, because of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence; and what thou hast spoken is come to pass; and, behold, thou seest it.
And thou hast said unto me, O Lord Jehovah, Buy thee the field for money, and call witnesses; whereas the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.
Then came the word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah, saying,
Behold, I am Jehovah, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me?
Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it:
and the Chaldeans, that fight against this city, shall come and set this city on fire, and burn it, with the houses, upon whose roofs they have offered incense unto Baal, and poured out drink-offerings unto other gods, to provoke me to anger.
For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done only that which was evil in my sight from their youth; for the children of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, saith Jehovah.
For this city hath been to me a provocation of mine anger and of my wrath from the day that they built it even unto this day; that I should remove it from before my face,
because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke me to anger, they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
And they have turned unto me the back, and not the face: and though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction.
But they set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to defile it.
And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my {Hebrew: heart.}mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.
And now therefore thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, concerning this city, whereof ye say, It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence:
Behold, I will gather them out of all the countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my wrath, and in great indignation; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely.
And they shall be my people, and I will be their God:
and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them:
and I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from following them, to do them good; and I will put my fear in their hearts, that they may not depart from me.
Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land {Hebrew: in truth.}assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul.
For thus saith Jehovah: Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them.
And fields shall be bought in this land, whereof ye say, It is desolate, without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.
Men shall buy fields for money, and subscribe the deeds, and seal them, and call witnesses, in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the hill-country, and in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the South: for I will cause their captivity to return, saith Jehovah.
Art thou better than No-amon, that was situate among the {Or, canals See Exodus 7:19.}rivers, that had the waters round about her; whose rampart was {That is, the Nile.}the sea, and her wall was of the sea?
and say unto Tyre, O thou that dwellest at the {Hebrew: entrances.}entry of the sea, that art the merchant of the peoples unto many isles, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Thou, O Tyre, hast said, I am perfect in beauty.
Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyre, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because thy heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a god, I sit in the seat of God, in the {Hebrew: heart.}midst of the seas; yet thou art man, and not God, though thou didst set thy heart as the heart of God; —
behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that is hidden from thee;
by thy wisdom and by thine understanding thou hast gotten thee {Or, power}riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures;
by thy great wisdom and by thy traffic hast thou increased thy {Or, power}riches, and thy heart is lifted up because of thy {Or, power}riches; —
And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month, in the first day of the month, that the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
Son of man, say unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude: Whom art thou like in thy greatness?
Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a forest-like shade, and of high stature; and its top was among the {Or, clouds}thick boughs.
The waters nourished it, the deep made it to grow: the rivers thereof ran round about its plantation; and it sent out its channels unto all the trees of the field.
Therefore its stature was exalted above all the trees of the field; and its boughs were multiplied, and its branches became long by reason of {Or, great}many waters, when it shot them forth.
All the birds of the heavens made their nests in its boughs; and under its branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young; and under its shadow dwelt all great nations.
Thus was it fair in its greatness, in the length of its branches; for its root was by {Or, great}many waters.
The cedars in the garden of God could not hide it; the fir-trees were not like its boughs, and the plane-trees were not as its branches; nor was any tree in the garden of God like unto it in its beauty.
I made it fair by the multitude of its branches, so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied it.
Therefore thus {Or, saith}said the Lord Jehovah: Because thou art exalted in stature, and he hath set his top among the {Or, clouds}thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height;
I will even deliver him into the hand of the mighty one of the nations; he shall surely deal with him; I have driven him out for his wickedness.
And strangers, the terrible of the nations, have cut him off, and have left him: upon the mountains and in all the valleys his branches are fallen, and his boughs are broken by all the watercourses of the land; and all the peoples of the earth are gone down from his shadow, and have left him.
Upon his ruin all the birds of the heavens shall dwell, and all the beasts of the field shall be upon his branches;
to the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves in their stature, neither set their top among the thick boughs, nor that their mighty ones stand up on their height, even all that drink water: for they are all delivered unto death, to the nether parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with them that go down to the pit.
{Or, Then shall the wind sweep by, and he shall pass away}Then shall he sweep by as a wind, and shall {Or, transgress}pass over, and be guilty, even he whose might is his god.
Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou art man, and not God, in the hand of him that {Or, profaneth}woundeth thee.
{Or, Woe to Asshur}Ho Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, the staff in whose hand is mine indignation!
I will send him against a profane nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and {Hebrew: to make them a treading down.}to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off nations not a few.
I was wroth with my people, I profaned mine inheritance, and gave them into thy hand: thou didst show them no mercy; upon the aged hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke.
For was not Israel a derision unto thee? was he found among thieves? for as often as thou speakest of him, thou waggest the head.
All that found them have devoured them; and their adversaries said, We are not guilty, because they have sinned against Jehovah, the habitation of righteousness, even Jehovah, the hope of their fathers.
and say unto the children of Ammon, Hear the word of the Lord Jehovah: Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Because thou saidst, Aha, against my sanctuary, when it was profaned; and against the land of Israel, when it was made desolate; and against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity:
And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy {Or, against}unto them,
and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Jehovah: Thus saith the Lord Jehovah to the mountains and to the hills, to the {Or, ravines}watercourses and to the valleys: Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places.
And your altars shall become desolate, and your sun-images shall be broken; and I will cast down your slain men before your idols.
And I will lay the dead bodies of the children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones round about your altars.
In all your dwelling-places the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and {Or, bear their guilt}made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your sun-images may be hewn down, and your works may be {Hebrew: blotted out.}abolished.
And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I am Jehovah.
Yet will I leave a remnant, in that ye shall have some that escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries.
And those of you that escape shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captive, how that {Or, I have broken for myself their &c.}I have been broken with their lewd heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which play the harlot after their idols: and they shall loathe themselves in their own sight for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.
And they shall know that I am Jehovah: I have not said in vain that I would do this evil unto them.
Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Smite with thy hand, and stamp with thy foot, and say, Alas! because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel; for they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.
He that is far off shall die of the pestilence; and he that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that remaineth and is {Or, preserved}besieged shall die by the famine: thus will I accomplish my wrath upon them.
And ye shall know that I am Jehovah, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, on all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick {Or, terebinth}oak, the places where they offered sweet savor to all their idols.
And I will stretch out my hand upon them, and make the land desolate and waste, {Or, more than}from the wilderness toward Diblah, throughout all their habitations: and they shall know that I am Jehovah.
They that fashion a graven image are all of them {Or, confusion}vanity; and the things that they delight in shall not profit; and their own witnesses see not, nor know: that they may be put to shame.
Who hath fashioned a god, or molten an image that is profitable for nothing?
Behold, {Or, all that join themselves thereto}all his fellows shall be put to shame; and the workmen, they are of men: let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; they shall fear, they shall be put to shame together.
The smith {Or, sharpeneth a tool}maketh an axe, and worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with his strong arm: yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth; he drinketh no water, and is faint.
The carpenter stretcheth out a line; he marketh it out with {Or, red ochre}a pencil; he shapeth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compasses, and shapeth it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house.
He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the holm-tree and the oak, and strengtheneth for himself one among the trees of the forest: he planteth {Or, an ash}a fir-tree, and the rain doth nourish it.
Then shall it be for a man to burn; and he taketh thereof, and warmeth himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread: yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto.
He burneth {Or, the half}part thereof in the fire; with {Or, the half}part thereof he eateth flesh; he roasteth roast, and is satisfied; yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire.
And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image; he falleth down unto it and worshippeth, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god.
They know not, neither do they consider: for he hath {Hebrew: daubed.}shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand.
And none calleth to mind, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree?
He feedeth on ashes; a deceived heart hath turned him aside; and he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?
A drought is upon her waters, and they shall be dried up; for it is a land of graven images, and they are mad over {Hebrew: terrors.}idols.
For all the gods of the peoples are {Or, things of nought}idols;But Jehovah made the heavens.
Jehovah looked down from heaven upon the children of men,To see if there were any that did {Or, deal wisely}understand,That did seek after God.
A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.Jehovah, how are mine adversaries increased!Many are they that rise up against me.
Many there are that say {Or, to}of my soul,There is no {Or, salvation}help for him in God. [Selah
But thou, O Jehovah, art a shield about me;My glory and the lifter up of my head.
I cry unto Jehovah with my voice,And he answereth me out of his holy hill. [Selah
I laid me down and slept;I awaked; for Jehovah sustaineth me.
I will not be afraid of ten thousands of the peopleThat have set themselves against me round about.
Arise, O Jehovah; Save me, O my God:For thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone;Thou hast broken the teeth of the wicked.
{Or, Victory}Salvation belongeth unto Jehovah:Thy blessing be upon thy people. [Selah
Lift up your eyes on high, {Or, and see: who hath created these? he that &c.}and see who hath created these, that bringeth out their host by number; he calleth them all by name; by the greatness of his might, and for that he is strong in power, not one is lacking.
Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are accounted as the small dust of the balance: behold, {Or, the isles are as the fine dust that is lifted up}he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.
For, lo, I begin to work evil at the city which is called by my name; and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished; for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith Jehovah of hosts.
{Or, Woe to Asshur}Ho Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, the staff in whose hand is mine indignation!
Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of thee, because the rod that smote thee is broken; for out of the serpent's root shall come forth an adder, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.
In that day Jehovah with his hard and great and strong sword will punish leviathan the {Or, gliding Or, fleeing}swift serpent, and leviathan the {Or, winding}crooked serpent; and he will slay the monster that is in the sea.
Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will bring a sword upon thee, and will cut off from thee man and beast.
In that day Jehovah with his hard and great and strong sword will punish leviathan the {Or, gliding Or, fleeing}swift serpent, and leviathan the {Or, winding}crooked serpent; and he will slay the monster that is in the sea.
speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great monster that lieth in the midst of his rivers, that hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself.
Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith Jehovah.
We have heard of the pride of Moab, that he is very proud; even of his arrogancy, and his pride, and his wrath; his boastings are nought.
For thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, unto me: Take this cup of the wine of wrath at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.
The word of Jehovah came also unto me, saying,
Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters, in this place.
For thus saith Jehovah concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bare them, and concerning their fathers that begat them in this land:
They shall die {Hebrew: deaths of sicknesses.}grievous deaths: they shall not be lamented, neither shall they be buried; they shall be as dung upon the face of the ground; and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the heavens, and for the beasts of the earth.
For thus saith Jehovah, Enter not into the house of mourning, neither go to lament, neither bemoan them; for I have taken away my peace from this people, saith Jehovah, even lovingkindness and tender mercies.
Both great and small shall die in this land; they shall not be buried, neither shall men lament for them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them;
neither shall men break bread for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead; neither shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother.
And thou shalt not go into the house of feasting to sit with them, to eat and to drink.
For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.
And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt show this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath Jehovah pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity? or what is our sin that we have committed against Jehovah our God?
then shalt thou say unto them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith Jehovah, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law;
and ye have done evil more than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the stubbornness of his evil heart, so that ye hearken not unto me:
therefore will I cast you forth out of this land into the land that ye have not known, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night; {Or, where}for I will show you no favor.
Therefore, behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that it shall no more be said, As Jehovah liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;
but, As Jehovah liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the countries whither he had driven them. And I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.
Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith Jehovah, and they shall fish them up; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks.
For mine eyes are upon all their ways; they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity concealed from mine eyes.
And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double, {Or, because they have polluted my land: they have filled mine inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable things and their abominations}because they have polluted my land with the carcasses of their detestable things, and have filled mine inheritance with their abominations.
O Jehovah, my strength, and my stronghold, and my refuge in the day of affliction, unto thee shall the nations come from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Our fathers have inherited nought but lies, even vanity and things wherein there is no profit.
Shall a man make unto himself gods, which yet are no gods?
Therefore, behold, I will cause them to know, this once will I cause them to know my hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is Jehovah.
And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the children of Ammon a couching-place for flocks: and ye shall know that I am Jehovah.
And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her a bare rock.
whose graves are set in the uttermost parts of the pit, and her company is round about her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who caused terror in the land of the living.
Again, in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this selfsame day: the king of Babylon {Hebrew: leaned upon.}drew close unto Jerusalem this selfsame day.
And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Set on the caldron, set it on, and also pour water into it:
gather the pieces thereof into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones.
Take the choice of the flock, and also a pile of wood for the bones under {Hebrew: it.}the caldron; make it boil well; yea, let the bones thereof be boiled in the midst of it.
Wherefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Woe to the bloody city, to the caldron whose {Or, scum}rust is therein, and whose {Or, scum}rust is not gone out of it! take out of it piece after piece; No lot is fallen upon it.
For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon the bare rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust.
That it may cause wrath to come up to take vengeance, I have set her blood upon the bare rock, that it should not be covered.
Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the pile great.
Heap on the wood, make the fire hot, boil well the flesh, and make thick the broth, and let the bones be burned.
Then set it empty upon the coals thereof, that it may be hot, and the brass thereof may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the rust of it may be consumed.
She hath wearied {Or, me}herself with toil; yet her great rust goeth not forth out of her; her rust {Or, is in the fire}goeth not forth by fire.
{Or, For thy filthy lewdness}In thy filthiness is lewdness: because I have cleansed thee and thou wast not cleansed, thou shalt not be cleansed from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my wrath toward thee to rest.
I, Jehovah, have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I will do it: I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord Jehovah.
Also the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet thou shalt neither mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down.
Sigh, {Hebrew: be silent.}but not aloud, make no mourning for the dead; bind thy headtire upon thee, and put thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men.
So I spake unto the people in the morning; and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.
And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so?
Then I said unto them, The word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and {Hebrew: the pity of your soul.}that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left behind shall fall by the sword.
And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.
And your tires shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away in your iniquities, and moan one toward another.
Thus shall Ezekiel be unto you a sign; according to all that he hath done shall ye do: when this cometh, then shall ye know that I am the Lord Jehovah.
And thou, son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their {Or, stronghold}strength, the joy of their {Or, beauty}glory, the desire of their eyes, and {Hebrew: the lifting up of their soul.}that whereupon they set their heart, their sons and their daughters,
that in that day he that escapeth shall come unto thee, to cause thee to hear it with thine ears?
In that day shall thy mouth be opened {Or, together with}to him that is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb: so shalt thou be a sign unto them; and they shall know that I am Jehovah.
The {Or, oracle concerning}burden of Dumah.One calleth unto me out of Seir, Watchman, {Or, what hour}what of the night? Watchman, {Or, what hour}what of the night?
Who is this that cometh from Edom, with {Or, crimsoned}dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.
Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winevat?
I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the peoples there was no man with me: yea, I {Or, will tread…and trample}trod them in mine anger, and trampled them in my wrath; and their {Or, strength}lifeblood {Or, shall be}is sprinkled upon my garments, and I {Or, will stain}have stained all my raiment.
For the day of vengeance {Or, is}was in my heart, and {Or, my year of redemption}the year of my redeemed is come.
And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my wrath, it upheld me.
And {Or, I will tread…and make…and I will pour out}I trod down the peoples in mine anger, and {Or, according to another reading, brake them in pieces}made them drunk in my wrath, and I {Or, brought down their strength to the earth}poured out their lifeblood on the earth.
Thou art my {Or, maul}battle-axe and weapons of war: and with thee will I break in pieces the nations; and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;
and with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider;
and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and him that rideth therein; and with thee will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces the old man and the youth; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the virgin;
and with thee will I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces {Or, lieutenants}governors and deputies.
And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans' pride, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
In the year that {The title of the Assyrian commander-in-chief.}Tartan came unto Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and took it;
at that time Jehovah spake by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go, and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put thy shoe from off thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.
And Jehovah said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot {Or, to be for three years a sign &c.}three years for a sign and a wonder concerning Egypt and concerning {Hebrew: Cush.}Ethiopia;
so shall the king of Assyria lead away the captives of Egypt, and the exiles of Ethiopia, young and old, naked and barefoot, and with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.
And they shall be dismayed and confounded, because of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory.
And the inhabitant of this coast-land shall say in that day, Behold, such is our expectation, whither we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria: and we, how shall we escape?
As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbor cities thereof, saith Jehovah, so shall no man dwell there, neither shall any son of man sojourn therein.
see, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down and to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.
{[Chapter 8:23 in Hebrew]} {Or, For}But there shall be no gloom to her that was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the latter time hath he made it glorious, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, {Or, the district}Galilee of the nations. {[Chapter 9:1 in Hebrew]}
Zion shall be redeemed with justice, and {Or, they that return of her}her converts with righteousness.
{Hebrew: shear jashub. See chapter 7:3.}A remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.
And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am Jehovah: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God; for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.
afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek Jehovah their God, and David their king, and shall come with fear unto Jehovah and to his goodness in the latter days.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea.
And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written {Or, unto life}among the living in Jerusalem;
{Or, But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten up}And if there be yet a tenth in it, it also shall in turn be {Or, burnt}eaten up: as a terebinth, and as an oak, {Or, whose substance is in them}whose {Or, substance}stock remaineth, when they {Or, cast their leaves}are felled; so the holy seed is the {Or, substance}stock thereof.
Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will {Or, give it them}place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.
My tabernacle also shall be {Or, over}with them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
And the nations shall know that {Or, I, Jehovah, do sanctify Israel}I am Jehovah that sanctifieth Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.
but, As Jehovah liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the countries whither he had driven them. And I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.
And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they shall look unto {According to some Massoretic text., him.}me whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born.
In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.
And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart;
the family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of the Shimeites apart, and their wives apart;
all the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.
Behold, he cometh with the clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they that pierced him; and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn over him. Even so, Amen.
In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLY UNTO JEHOVAH; and the pots in Jehovah's house shall be like the bowls before the altar.
The hand of Jehovah was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of Jehovah, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones.
And he caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many {Hebrew: upon the face of the valley.}in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.
And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord Jehovah, thou knowest.
Again he said unto me, Prophesy over these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of Jehovah.
Thus saith the Lord Jehovah unto these bones: Behold, I will cause {Or, spirit}breath to enter into you, and ye shall live.
And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put {Or, spirit}breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah.
So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a {Or, thundering}noise, and, behold, an earthquake; and the bones came together, bone to its bone.
And I beheld, and, lo, there were sinews upon them, and flesh came up, and skin covered them above; but there was no breath in them.
Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the {Or, breath}wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the {Or, breath}wind, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Come from the four winds, O {Or, wind Or, spirit}breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.
So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off.
Therefore prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, O my people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel.
And ye shall know that I am Jehovah, when I have opened your graves, and caused you to come up out of your graves, O my people.
And I will put my {Or, breath}Spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I will place you in your own land: and ye shall know that I, Jehovah, have spoken it and performed it, saith Jehovah.
Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, desolation nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.
I will greatly rejoice in Jehovah, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom {Hebrew: decketh himself as a priest.}decketh himself with a garland, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
and the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.
I bring near my righteousness, it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry; and I will {Or, give salvation in Zion, and my glory unto Israel}place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called {Or, Wonderful counsellor}Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, {Hebrew: Father of Eternity.}Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Or is God the God of Jews only? is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yea, of Gentiles also:
And he will {Hebrew: swallow up.}destroy in this mountain the face of the covering that covereth all peoples, and the veil that is spread over all nations.
At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of Jehovah; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of Jehovah, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the stubbornness of their evil heart.
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come peoples, and the inhabitants of {Or, great }many cities;
and the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to entreat the favor of Jehovah, and to seek Jehovah of hosts: I will go also.
Yea, many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek Jehovah of hosts in Jerusalem, and to entreat the favor of Jehovah.
And many peoples shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth {Or, instruction}the law, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem.
And many nations shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths. For out of Zion shall go forth {Or, instruction}the law, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem;
He will not {Or, burn dimly}fail nor be {Or, bruised}discouraged, till he have set justice in the earth; and the isles shall wait for his law.
In that day shall there be an altar to Jehovah in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to Jehovah.
The {Or, oracle concerning}burden of Tyre.Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Kittim it is revealed to them.
Be still, ye inhabitants of the coast, thou whom the merchants of Sidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished.
And on great waters the seed of the Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue; and she was the mart of nations.
Be thou ashamed, O Sidon; for the sea hath spoken, the stronghold of the sea, saying, I have not travailed, nor brought forth, neither have I nourished young men, nor brought up virgins.
{Or, As at the report concerning Egypt, so &c.}When the report cometh to Egypt, they shall be sorely pained at the report of Tyre.
Pass ye over to Tarshish; wail, ye inhabitants of the coast.
Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is {Or, of ancient days? her own feet shall carry &c.}of ancient days, whose feet carried her afar off to sojourn?
Who hath purposed this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honorable of the earth?
Jehovah of hosts hath purposed it, to {Hebrew: profane.}stain the pride of all glory, to bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth.
{Or, Overflow}Pass through thy land as the Nile, O daughter of Tarshish; there is no {Hebrew: girdle.}restraint any more.
He hath stretched out his hand over the sea, he hath shaken the kingdoms: Jehovah hath given commandment concerning {Or, the merchant people}Canaan, to destroy the strongholds thereof.
And he said, Thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon: arise, pass over to Kittim; even there shalt thou have no rest.
Behold, the land of the Chaldeans: {This people is no more; the Assyrians hath appointed it for the beasts of the wilderness.}this people was not; the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness; they set up their {Or, the towers thereof}towers; they {Or, raised up}overthrew the palaces thereof; they made it a ruin.
Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for your stronghold is laid waste.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years {Or, shall Tyre sing as a harlot}it shall be unto Tyre as in the song of the harlot.
Take a harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.
And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that Jehovah will visit Tyre, and she shall return to her hire, and shall play the harlot with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.
And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to Jehovah: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before Jehovah, to eat sufficiently, and for {Or, stately}durable clothing.
O Jehovah, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things, even counsels of old, in faithfulness and truth.
For thou hast made of a city a heap, of a fortified city a ruin, a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never be built.
Therefore shall a strong people glorify thee; a city of terrible nations shall fear thee.
For thou hast been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.
As the heat in a dry place wilt thou bring down the noise of strangers; as the heat by the shade of a cloud, the song of the terrible ones shall be brought low.
And in this mountain will Jehovah of hosts make unto all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.
And he will {Hebrew: swallow up.}destroy in this mountain the face of the covering that covereth all peoples, and the veil that is spread over all nations.
He hath swallowed up death for ever; and the Lord Jehovah will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the reproach of his people will he take away from off all the earth: for Jehovah hath spoken it.
And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is Jehovah; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
For in this mountain will the hand of Jehovah rest; and Moab shall be trodden down in his place, even as straw is trodden down {Another reading is , in the dunghill.}in the water of the dung-hill.
And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst {Or, of them}thereof, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim; but Jehovah will lay low {Or, their}his pride {Or, for all the craft}together with the craft of {Or, their}his hands.
And the high fortress of thy walls {Or, will he bring down, lay low, and bring &c.}hath he brought down, laid low, and brought to the ground, even to the dust.
For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name {Or, is}shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place {Or, incense and a pure oblation are offered}incense {Or, is}shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name {Or, is}shall be great among the Gentiles, saith Jehovah of hosts.
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall ye worship the Father.
Ye worship that which ye know not: we worship that which we know; for salvation is from the Jews.
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth: {Or, for such the Father also seeketh}for such doth the Father seek to be his worshippers.
{Or, God is spirit}God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship in spirit and truth.
I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; and place shall not be found for them.
I will make mention of {Or, Egypt}Rahab and Babylon as among them that know me:Behold, Philistia, and Tyre, with {Hebrew: Cush.}Ethiopia:This one was born there.
Yea, of Zion it shall be said, This one and that one was born in her;And the Most High himself will establish her.
Jehovah will count, when he writeth up the peoples,This one was born there. [Selah
And Jehovah shall be King over all the earth: in that day shall Jehovah be one, and his name one.
To him bear all the prophets witness, that through his name every one that believeth on him shall receive remission of sins.
{Or, Search the scriptures}Ye search the scriptures, because ye think that in them ye have eternal life; and these are they which bear witness of me;
And he said unto them, O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe {Or, after}in all that the prophets have spoken!
Behooved it not the Christ to suffer these things, and to enter into his glory?
And beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
Having therefore obtained the help that is from God, I stand unto this day testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses did say should come;
And Paul, looking stedfastly on the council, said, Brethren, I have lived before God in all good conscience until this day.
And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth.
Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: and sittest thou to judge me according to the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?
And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God's high priest?
And Paul said, I knew not, brethren, that he was high priest: for it is written, {Exodus 22:28}Thou shalt not speak evil of a ruler of thy people.
But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Brethren, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees: touching the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.
And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and Sadducees; and the assembly was divided.
For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit; but the Pharisees confess both.
And there arose a great clamor: and some of the scribes of the Pharisees part stood up, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: and what if a spirit hath spoken to him, or an angel?
And when there arose a great dissension, the {Or, military tribune Greek: chiliarch}chief captain, fearing lest Paul should be torn in pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them, and bring him into the castle.
And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer: for as thou hast testified concerning me at Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.
And when it was day, the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.
And they were more than forty that made this conspiracy.
And they came to the chief priests and the elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse, to taste nothing until we have killed Paul.
Now therefore do ye with the council signify to the {Or, military tribune Greek: chiliarch}chief captain that he bring him down unto you, as though ye would judge of his case more exactly: and we, before he comes near, are ready to slay him.
But Paul's sister's son heard of their lying in wait, {Or, having come in upon them, and he entered &c.}and he came and entered into the castle and told Paul.
And Paul called unto him one of the centurions, and said, Bring this young man unto the {Or, military tribune Greek: chiliarch}chief captain; for he hath something to tell him.
So he took him, and brought him to the {Or, military tribune Greek: chiliarch}chief captain, and saith, Paul the prisoner called me unto him, and asked me to bring this young man unto thee, who hath something to say to thee.
And the {Or, military tribune Greek: chiliarch}chief captain took him by the hand, and going aside asked him privately, What is it that thou hast to tell me?
And he said, The Jews have agreed to ask thee to bring down Paul tomorrow unto the council, as though thou wouldest inquire somewhat more exactly concerning him.
Do not thou therefore yield unto them: for there lie in wait for him of them more than forty men, who have bound themselves under a curse, neither to eat nor to drink till they have slain him: and now are they ready, looking for the promise from thee.
So the {Or, military tribune Greek: chiliarch}chief captain let the young man go, charging him, Tell no man that thou hast signified these things to me.
And he called unto him two of the centurions, and said, Make ready two hundred soldiers to go as far as Cæsarea, and horsemen threescore and ten, and spearmen two hundred, at the third hour of the night:
and he bade them provide beasts, that they might set Paul thereon, and bring him safe unto Felix the governor.
And he wrote a letter after this form:
Claudius Lysias unto the most excellent governor Felix, greeting.
This man was seized by the Jews, and was about to be slain of them, when I came upon them with the soldiers and rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman.
And desiring to know the cause wherefore they accused him, {Some ancient authorities omit I brought him down unto their council.}I brought him down unto their council:
whom I found to be accused about questions of their law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds.
And when it was shown to me that there would be a plot {Many ancient authorities read against the man on their part, I sent him to thee, charging &c.}against the man, I sent him to thee forthwith, charging his accusers also to speak against him before thee. {Many ancient authorities add Farewell.}
So the soldiers, as it was commanded them, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris.
But on the morrow they left the horsemen to go with him, and returned to the castle:
and they, when they came to Cæsarea and delivered the letter to the governor, presented Paul also before him.
And when he had read it, he asked of what province he was; and when he understood that he was of Cilicia,
I will hear thee fully, said he, when thine accusers also are come: and he commanded him to be kept in Herod's {Greek: Prætorium.}palace.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Let not your heart be troubled: {Or, ye believe in God}believe in God, believe also in me.
In my Father's house are many {Or, abiding-places}mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I come again, and will receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
{Many ancient authorities read And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.}And whither I go, ye know the way.
Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; how know we the way?
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one cometh unto the Father, but {Or, through}by me.
If ye had known me, ye would have known my Father also: from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and dost thou not know me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; how sayest thou, Show us the Father?
Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I say unto you I speak not from myself: but the Father abiding in me doeth his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto the Father.
And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If ye shall ask {Many ancient authorities add me.}anything in my name, that will I do.
If ye love me, ye will keep my commandments.
And I will {Greek: make request of.}pray the Father, and he shall give you another {Or, Advocate Or, Helper Greek: Paraclete.}Comforter, that he may be with you for ever,
even the Spirit of truth: whom the world cannot receive; for it beholdeth him not, neither knoweth him: ye know him; for he abideth with you, and shall be in you.
I will not leave you {Or, orphans}desolate: I come unto you.
Yet a little while, and the world beholdeth me no more; but ye behold me: because I live, {Or, and ye shall live.}ye shall live also.
In that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself unto him.
Judas (not Iscariot) saith unto him, Lord, what is come to pass that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my word: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
He that loveth me not keepeth not my words: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's who sent me.
These things have I spoken unto you, while yet abiding with you.
But the {Or, Advocate Or, Helper Greek: Paraclete. }Comforter, even the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said unto you.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful.
Ye heard how I said to you, I go away, and I come unto you. If ye loved me, ye would have rejoiced, because I go unto the Father: for the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe.
I will no more speak much with you, for the prince of the world cometh: and he hath nothing {Or, in me. 31 But that &c…I do, arise &c.}in me;
but that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.
And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.
Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no room, and ye be made to dwell alone in the midst of the land!
that lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall;
that sing idle songs to the sound of the viol; that invent for themselves instruments of music, {Or, like David's}like David;
that drink {Hebrew: in bowls of wine.}wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief oils; but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
And they covet fields, and seize them; and houses, and take them away: and they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.
In thee have they taken bribes to shed blood; thou hast taken interest and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbors by oppression, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord Jehovah.
And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own heart, Hear ye the word of Jehovah:
Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, {Or, and things which they have not seen}and have seen nothing!
O Israel, thy prophets have been like foxes in the waste places.
Ye have not gone up into the {Or, breaches}gaps, neither built up the wall for the house of Israel, to stand in the battle in the day of Jehovah.
They have seen falsehood and lying divination, that say, Jehovah saith; but Jehovah hath not sent them: and they {Or, have hoped}have made men to hope that the word would be confirmed.
Have ye not seen a false vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, in that ye say, Jehovah saith; albeit I have not spoken?
Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because ye have spoken falsehood, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord Jehovah.
And my hand shall be against the prophets that see false visions, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the {Or, secret}council of my people, neither shall they be written in the {Or, register}writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord Jehovah.
Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there is no peace; and when one buildeth up {Or, a slight wall}a wall, behold, they daub it with {Or, whitewash So in verse 11, 14, 15.}untempered mortar:
say unto them that daub it with untempered mortar, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it.
Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it?
Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will even rend it with a stormy wind in my wrath; and there shall be an overflowing shower in mine anger, and great hailstones in wrath to consume it.
So will I break down the wall that ye have daubed with untempered mortar, and bring it down to the ground, so that the foundation thereof shall be uncovered; and it shall fall, and ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof: and ye shall know that I am Jehovah.
Thus will I accomplish my wrath upon the wall, and upon them that have daubed it with untempered mortar; and I will say unto you, The wall is no more, neither they that daubed it;
to wit, the prophets of Israel that prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and that see visions of peace for her, and there is no peace, saith the Lord Jehovah.
And thou, son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people, that prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them,
and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Woe to the women that sew pillows upon all {Hebrew: joints of the hands.}elbows, and make kerchiefs for the head of persons of every stature to hunt souls! {Or, Ye hunt…and ye save &c.}Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and save souls alive {Or, that are yours}for yourselves?
And ye have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hearken unto lies.
Wherefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against your pillows, {Or, where ye hunt}wherewith ye there hunt the souls {Or, as birds}to make them fly, and I will tear them from your arms; and I will let the souls go, even the souls that ye hunt {Or, as birds}to make them fly.
Your kerchiefs also will I tear, and deliver my people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand to be hunted; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah.
Because with lies ye have grieved the heart of the righteous, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, {Or, by promising him life}and be saved alive:
Therefore ye shall no more see false visions, nor divine divinations: and I will deliver my people out of your hand; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah.
ye who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones;
And I said, Hear, I pray you, ye heads of Jacob, and rulers of the house of Israel: is it not for you to know justice?
ye who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones;
who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them, and break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron.
Then shall they cry unto Jehovah, but he will not answer them; yea, he will hide his face from them at that time, according as they have wrought evil in their doings.
Thus saith Jehovah concerning the prophets that make my people to err; that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and whoso putteth not into their mouths, they even {Hebrew: sanctify.}prepare war against him:
Therefore it shall be night unto you, that ye shall have no vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down upon the prophets, and the day shall be black over them.
And the seers shall be put to shame, and the diviners confounded; yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God.
But as for me, I am full of power {Or, even the Spirit}by the Spirit of Jehovah, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.
Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and rulers of the house of Israel, that abhor justice, and pervert all equity.
They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.
The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet they lean upon Jehovah, and say, Is not Jehovah in the midst of us? no evil shall come upon us.
Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.
they that pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father go unto the same maiden, to profane my holy name:
Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, that oppress the poor, that crush the needy, that say unto their lords, Bring, and let us drink.
Forasmuch therefore as ye trample upon the poor, and take exactions from him of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink the wine thereof.
Hear this, O ye that would swallow up the needy, and cause the poor of the land to fail,
saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell grain? and the sabbath, that we may {Hebrew: open.}set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and dealing falsely with balances of deceit;
that we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes, and sell the refuse of the wheat?
to turn aside the needy from justice, and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey!
They are waxed fat, they shine: yea, they overpass in deeds of wickedness; they plead not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, that they may prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.
Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves; every one loveth bribes, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.
None {Hebrew: called.}sueth in righteousness, and none pleadeth in truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.
Shall I be pure with wicked balances, and with a bag of deceitful weights?
Ye shall have just balances, and a just ephah, and a just bath.
The ephah and the bath shall be of one measure, that the bath may contain the tenth part of a homer, and the ephah the tenth part of a homer: the measure thereof shall be after the homer.
And the shekel shall be twenty gerahs; twenty shekels, five and twenty shekels, fifteen shekels, shall be your maneh.
Truly in vain is the help that is looked for from the hills, the {Or, noisy throng}tumult on the mountains: truly in Jehovah our God is the salvation of Israel.
For {Or, Jehovah of hosts hath a day}there shall be a day of Jehovah of hosts upon all that is proud and haughty, and upon all that is lifted up; and it shall be brought low;
and upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,
and upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up,
and upon every lofty tower, and upon every fortified wall,
and upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant {Or, watch-towers}imagery.
And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; and Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day.
Moreover Jehovah said, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with outstretched necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet;
therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and Jehovah will lay bare their secret parts.
In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets, and the {Or, networks}cauls, and the crescents;
the pendants, and the {Or, chains}bracelets, and the mufflers;
the headtires, and the ankle chains, and the sashes, and the perfume-boxes, and the amulets;
the rings, and the nose-jewels;
the festival robes, and the mantles, and the shawls, and the satchels;
the hand-mirrors, and the fine linen, and the turbans, and the veils.
And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet spices there shall be rottenness; and instead of a girdle, a rope; and instead of well set hair, baldness; and instead of a robe, a girding of sackcloth; branding instead of beauty.
And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord Jehovah fell there upon me.
Then I beheld, and, lo, a likeness as the appearance of fire; from the appearance of his loins and downward, fire; and from his loins and upward, as the appearance of brightness, {Or, as amber to look upon}as it were glowing metal.
And he put forth the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the gate of the inner court that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy.
And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the {Or, vision}appearance that I saw in the plain.
Then said he unto me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes now the way toward the north. So I lifted up mine eyes the way toward the north, and behold, northward of the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry.
And he said unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel do commit here, {Or, to get them far off}that I should go far off from my sanctuary? But {Or, turn thee yet again, and thou shall see greater abominations So also in verse 13, 15.}thou shalt again see yet other great abominations.
And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold, a hole in the wall.
Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold, a door.
And he said unto me, Go in, and see the wicked abominations that they do here.
So I went in and saw; and behold, every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about.
And there stood before them seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel; and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, every man with his censer in his hand; and the odor of the cloud of incense went up.
Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in his chambers of imagery? for they say, Jehovah seeth us not; Jehovah hath forsaken the land.
He said also unto me, Thou shalt again see yet other great abominations which they do.
Then he brought me to the door of the gate of Jehovah's house which was toward the north; and behold, there sat the women weeping for Tammuz.
Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? thou shalt again see yet greater abominations than these.
And he brought me into the inner court of Jehovah's house; and behold, at the door of the temple of Jehovah, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of Jehovah, and their faces toward the east; and they were worshipping the sun toward the east.
Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have turned again to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose.
Therefore will I also deal in wrath; mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity; and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.
And Ephraim is like a silly dove, without {Hebrew: heart.}understanding: they call unto Egypt, they go to Assyria.
When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to Assyria, and sent to {Or, a king that should contend}king Jareb: but he is not able to heal you, neither will he cure you of your wound.
Jehovah hath also a controversy with Judah, and will {Hebrew: visit upon.}punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him.
For thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they are filled with customs from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they strike hands with the children of foreigners.
Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways: as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God, they ask of me righteous judgments; they delight to draw near unto God.
Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find your own pleasure, and {Or, oppress all your laborers}exact all your labors.
Behold, ye fast for strife and contention, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: {Or, ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make &c.}ye fast not this day so as to make your voice to be heard on high.
Is such the fast that I have chosen? the day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a rush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to Jehovah?
Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah, are these.
And they have not cried unto me with their heart, but they howl upon their beds: they assemble themselves for grain and new wine; they rebel against me.
The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet they lean upon Jehovah, and say, Is not Jehovah in the midst of us? no evil shall come upon us.
A son honoreth his father, and a servant his master: if then I am a father, where is mine honor? and if I am a master, where is my fear? saith Jehovah of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?
Ye have wearied Jehovah with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? In that ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of Jehovah, and he delighteth in them; or where is the God of justice?
Your words have been stout against me, saith Jehovah. Yet ye say, What have we spoken against thee?
What unto me is the multitude of your sacrifices? saith Jehovah: I have had enough of the burnt-offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats.
When ye come {Or, as otherwisw read, to see my face}to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to trample my courts?
Bring no more {Hebrew: an oblation of vanity.}vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; new moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies, — {Or, I cannot away with, it is iniquity, even me solemn meeting}I cannot away with iniquity and the solemn meeting.
Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth; they are a {Or, cumbrance}trouble unto me; I am weary of bearing them.
And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.
Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
learn to do well; seek justice, {Or, set right the oppressor}relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
Oh that there were one among you that would shut the doors, that ye might not kindle fire on mine altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, saith Jehovah of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand.
I hate, I despise your feasts, and I {Hebrew: will not smell a savor.}will take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
Yea, though ye offer me {Or, burnt-offerings with your meal-offerings}your burnt-offerings and meal-offerings, I will not accept them; neither will I regard the {Or, ever-flowing}peace-offerings of your fat beasts.
Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.
For I desire {Or, kindness}goodness, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt-offerings.
Wherewith shall I come before Jehovah, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt-offerings, with calves a year old?
Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape gleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat; {Or, not first-ripe fig which my soul desired}my soul desireth the first-ripe fig.
The godly man is perished out of the earth, and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.
{Or, Both hands are put forth for evil to do it &c.}Their hands are upon that which is evil to do it diligently; the prince asketh, and the judge is ready for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth the evil desire of his soul: thus they weave it together.
The best of them is as a brier; {Or, the straightest is as it were taken from &c.}the most upright is worse than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen, even thy visitation, is come; now shall be their perplexity.
Trust ye not in a neighbor; put ye not confidence in a {Or, confidant}friend; keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.
For the son dishonoreth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house.
But as for me, {Or, in Jehovah will I keep watch}I will look unto Jehovah; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.
Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, Jehovah will be a light unto me.
I will bear the indignation of Jehovah, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.
Then mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her who said unto me, Where is Jehovah thy God? Mine eyes shall see my desire upon her; now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets.
{Or, In the day that thy walls are to be built}A day for building thy walls! in that day shall the {Or, boundary}decree be far removed.
In that day shall they come unto thee from Assyria and the cities of {Hebrew: Mazor.}Egypt, and from {Hebrew: Mazor.}Egypt even to the River, and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain.
Yet shall the land be desolate because of them that dwell therein, for the fruit of their doings.
{Or, Rule}Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thy heritage, which dwell solitarily, in the forest in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.
As in the days of thy coming forth out of the land of Egypt will I show unto them marvellous things.
The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might; they shall lay their hand upon their mouth; their ears shall be deaf.
They shall lick the dust like a serpent; like crawling things of the earth they shall come trembling out of their close places; they shall come with fear unto Jehovah our God, and shall be afraid because of thee.
Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth over the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in lovingkindness.
He will again have compassion upon us; he will {Or, subdue our iniquities}tread our iniquities under foot; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
{Or, Thou wilt show thy faithfulness &c.}Thou wilt {Hebrew: give.}perform the truth to Jacob, and the lovingkindness to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.
But of a truth I say unto you, There were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when there came a great famine over all the land;
and unto none of them was Elijah sent, but only to {Greek: Sarepta.}Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.
And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.
And when Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, {Many ancient authorities read With no man in Israel have I found so great faith.}I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the {Greek: powers.}mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
Then spake Jesus to the multitudes and to his disciples,
saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat:
all things therefore whatsoever they bid you, these do and observe: but do not ye after their works; for they say, and do not.
Yea, they bind heavy burdens {Many ancient authorities omit and grievous to be bourne.}and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger.
But all their works they do to be seen of men: for they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,
and love the chief place at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,
and the salutations in the marketplaces, and to be called of men, Rabbi.
But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your teacher, and all ye are brethren.
And call no man your father on the earth: for one is your Father, {Greek: the heavenly.}even he who is in heaven.
Neither be ye called masters: for one is your master, even the Christ.
But he that is {Greek: greater.}greatest among you shall be your {Or, minister}servant.
And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled; and whosoever shall humble himself shall be exalted.
But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye shut the kingdom of heaven {Greek: before.}against men: for ye enter not in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering in to enter. {Some authorities insert here, or after verse 12, verse 14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, even while for a pretence ye make long prayers: therefore ye shall receive greater condemnation. See Mark 12:40; Luke 20:47.}
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Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he is become so, ye make him twofold more a son of {Greek: Gehenna.}hell than yourselves.
Woe unto you, ye blind guides, that say, Whosoever shall swear by the {Or, sanctuary: as in verse 35.}temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the {Or, sanctuary: as in verse 35.}temple, he is a {Or, bound by his oath.}debtor.
Ye fools and blind: for which is greater, the gold, or the {Or, sanctuary: as in verse 35.}temple that hath sanctified the gold?
And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gift that is upon it, he is a {Or, bound by his oath.}debtor.
Ye blind: for which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?
He therefore that sweareth by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon.
And he that sweareth by the {Or, sanctuary: as in verse 35.}temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.
And he that sweareth by the heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye tithe mint and {Or, dill}anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice, and mercy, and faith: but these ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone.
Ye blind guides, that strain out the gnat, and swallow the camel!
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full from extortion and excess.
Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup and of the platter, that the outside thereof may become clean also.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.
Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but inwardly ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and garnish the tombs of the righteous,
and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we should not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
Wherefore ye witness to yourselves, that ye are sons of them that slew the prophets.
Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
Ye serpents, ye offspring of vipers, how shall ye escape the judgment of {Greek: Gehenna.}hell?
Therefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: some of them shall ye kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city:
that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of Abel the righteous unto the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom ye slew between the sanctuary and the altar.
Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her! how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Behold, your house is left unto you {Some ancient authorities omit desolate.}desolate.
For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, {Greek: more than.}a greater than Solomon is here.
For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you, {Isaiah 52:5.}even as it is written.
He saith unto them, Moses for your hardness of heart suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it hath not been so.
but I say unto you, that every one who is angry with his brother {Many ancient authorities insert without cause.} shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to his brother, {An expression of contempt.}Raca, shall be in danger of the council; and whosoever shall say, {Or, Moreh, a Hebrew expression of condemnation.}Thou fool, shall be in danger {Greek: unto or into.}of the {Greek: Gehenna of fire.}hell of fire.
Now late on the sabbath day, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled away the stone, and sat upon it.
His appearance was as lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
and for fear of him the watchers did quake, and became as dead men.
And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye; for I know that ye seek Jesus, who hath been crucified.
He is not here; for he is risen, even as he said. Come, see the place {Many ancient authorities read where he lay.}where the Lord lay.
And go quickly, and tell his disciples, He is risen from the dead; and lo, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.
And they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring his disciples word.
And behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and took hold of his feet, and {See marginal note on chapter 2:2.}worshipped him.
Then saith Jesus unto them, Fear not: go tell my brethren that they depart into Galilee, and there shall they see me.
Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city, and told unto the chief priests all the things that were come to pass.
And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave much money unto the soldiers,
saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.
And if this {Or, come too hearing before the governor}come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and rid you of care.
So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying was spread abroad among the Jews, and continueth until this day.
But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, unto the mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
And when they saw him, they {See marginal note on chapter 2:2.}worshipped him; but some doubted.
And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth.
Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit:
teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you {Greek: all the days.}always, even unto {Or, the consummation of the age.}the end of the world.
In that day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
the Kenite, and the Kenizzite, and the Kadmonite,
and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Rephaim,
and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.
Now this I say: A covenant confirmed beforehand by God, the law, which came four hundred and thirty years after, doth not disannul, so as to make the promise of none effect.
And in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full.
Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, Jehovah will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim? and have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?
Who are they among all the gods of these countries, that have delivered their country out of my hand, that Jehovah should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?
As my hand hath {Or, reached}found the kingdoms of the idols, whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria;
Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines, drank from them.
{[Chapter 3:31 in Aramaic]}Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all the peoples, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied unto you.
It hath seemed good unto me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God hath wrought toward me.
How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation.
{[Chapter 4:1 in Aramaic]}I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house, and flourishing in my palace.
I saw a dream which made me afraid; and the {Or, imaginations}thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.
Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream.
Then came in the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers; and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof.
But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and I told the dream before him, saying,
O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof.
Thus were the visions of my head upon my bed: I saw, and, behold, a tree in the midst of the earth; and the height thereof was great.
The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth.
The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was food for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the birds of the heavens dwelt in the branches thereof, and all flesh was fed from it.
I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and a holy one came down from heaven.
He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off its branches, shake off its leaves, and scatter its fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from its branches.
Nevertheless leave the stump of its roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven: and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth:
let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him.
The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, and the {Or, matter}demand by the word of the holy ones; to the intent that the living may know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the lowest of men.
This dream I, king Nebuchadnezzar, have seen; and thou, O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation, forasmuch as all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the interpretation; but thou art able; for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee.
Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was stricken dumb for a while, and his thoughts troubled him. The king answered and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine adversaries.
The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth;
whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was food for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the birds of the heavens had their habitation:
it is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong; for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth.
And whereas the king saw a watcher and a holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew down the tree, and destroy it; nevertheless leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field, and let it be wet with the dew of heaven: and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him;
this is the interpretation, O king, and it is the decree of the Most High, which is come upon my lord the king:
that thou shalt be driven from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and thou shalt be made to eat grass as oxen, and shalt be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee; till thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule.
Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and {Or, redeem}break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if there may be {Or, as otherwise read, a healing of thine error}a lengthening of thy tranquillity.
All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar.
At the end of twelve months he was walking {Aramaic: upon.}in the royal palace of Babylon.
The king spake and said, Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for the royal dwelling-place, by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?
While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken: The kingdom is departed from thee:
and thou shalt be driven from men; and they dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field; thou shalt be made to eat grass as oxen; and seven times shall pass over thee; until thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hair was grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws.
And at the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him that liveth for ever; for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom from generation to generation;
and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can {Aramaic: strike.}stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?
At the same time mine understanding returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent greatness was added unto me.
Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven; for all his works are truth, and his ways justice; and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.
And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams; and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep went from him.
Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the enchanters, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.
And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.
Then spake the Chaldeans to the king {Or, in Aramaic.}in the Syrian language, {Chapter 2:4-7, 28 is in Aramaic.}O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.
The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, {Or, The word is gone forth from me}The thing is gone from me: if ye make not known unto me the dream and the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
But if ye show the dream and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honor: therefore show me the dream and the interpretation thereof.
They answered the second time and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.
The king answered and said, I know of a certainty that ye would {Aramaic: buy the time.}gain time, because ye see {Or, the word is gone forth from me: that if &c.}the thing is gone from me.
But if ye make not known unto me the dream, there is but one law for you; for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can show me the interpretation thereof.
The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can show the king's matter, forasmuch as no king, {Or, be he never so great and powerful, hath &c.}lord, or ruler, hath asked such a thing of any magician, or enchanter, or Chaldean.
And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is no other that can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.
For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
So the decree went forth, and the wise men were to be slain; and they sought Daniel and his companions to be slain.
Then Daniel returned answer with counsel and prudence to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, who was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon;
he answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, Wherefore is the decree so urgent from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.
And Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would {Or, give him time}appoint him a time, {Or, that he might}and he would show the king the interpretation.
Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions:
that they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his companions should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever; for wisdom and might are his.
And he changeth the times and the seasons; he removeth kings, and setteth up kings; he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that have understanding;
he revealeth the deep and secret things; he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.
I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast now made known unto me what we desired of thee; for thou hast made known unto us the king's matter.
Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and said thus unto him: Destroy not the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show unto the king the interpretation.
Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the children of the captivity of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation.
The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?
Daniel answered before the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded can neither wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor soothsayers, show unto the king;
but there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and he hath made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these:
as for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter; and he that revealeth secrets hath made known to thee what shall come to pass.
But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but to the intent that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that thou mayest know the thoughts of thy heart.
Thou, O king, sawest, and, behold, a great image. This image, which was mighty, and whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the aspect thereof was terrible.
As for this image, its head was of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass,
its legs of iron, its feet part of iron, and part of clay.
Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon its feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them in pieces.
Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great {Or, rock}mountain, and filled the whole earth.
This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.
Thou, O king, art king of kings, unto whom the God of heaven hath given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory;
and wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens hath he given into thy hand, and hath made thee to rule over them all: thou art the head of gold.
And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee; and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron, forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things; and as iron that crusheth all these, shall it break in pieces and crush.
And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with {Or, earthenware}miry clay.
And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly {Or, brittle}broken.
And whereas thou sawest the iron mixed with {Or, earthenware}miry clay, they shall mingle themselves {Or, by}with the seed of men; but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron doth not mingle with clay.
And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty thereof be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
Forasmuch as thou sawest that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odors unto him.
The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou hast been able to reveal this secret.
Then the king made Daniel great, and gave him many great gifts, and made him to rule over the whole province of Babylon, and to be chief governor over all the wise men of Babylon.
And Daniel requested of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel was {Or, at the king's court}in the gate of the king.
{[Chapter 3:31 in Aramaic]}Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all the peoples, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied unto you.
It hath seemed good unto me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God hath wrought toward me.
How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation.
{[Chapter 4:1 in Aramaic]}I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house, and flourishing in my palace.
I saw a dream which made me afraid; and the {Or, imaginations}thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.
Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream.
Then came in the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers; and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof.
But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and I told the dream before him, saying,
O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof.
Thus were the visions of my head upon my bed: I saw, and, behold, a tree in the midst of the earth; and the height thereof was great.
The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth.
The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was food for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the birds of the heavens dwelt in the branches thereof, and all flesh was fed from it.
I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and a holy one came down from heaven.
He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off its branches, shake off its leaves, and scatter its fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from its branches.
Nevertheless leave the stump of its roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven: and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth:
let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him.
The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, and the {Or, matter}demand by the word of the holy ones; to the intent that the living may know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the lowest of men.
This dream I, king Nebuchadnezzar, have seen; and thou, O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation, forasmuch as all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the interpretation; but thou art able; for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee.
Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was stricken dumb for a while, and his thoughts troubled him. The king answered and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine adversaries.
The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth;
whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was food for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the birds of the heavens had their habitation:
it is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong; for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth.
And whereas the king saw a watcher and a holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew down the tree, and destroy it; nevertheless leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field, and let it be wet with the dew of heaven: and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him;
this is the interpretation, O king, and it is the decree of the Most High, which is come upon my lord the king:
that thou shalt be driven from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and thou shalt be made to eat grass as oxen, and shalt be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee; till thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule.
Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and {Or, redeem}break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if there may be {Or, as otherwise read, a healing of thine error}a lengthening of thy tranquillity.
All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar.
At the end of twelve months he was walking {Aramaic: upon.}in the royal palace of Babylon.
The king spake and said, Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for the royal dwelling-place, by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?
While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken: The kingdom is departed from thee:
and thou shalt be driven from men; and they dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field; thou shalt be made to eat grass as oxen; and seven times shall pass over thee; until thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hair was grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws.
And at the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him that liveth for ever; for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom from generation to generation;
and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can {Aramaic: strike.}stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?
At the same time mine understanding returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent greatness was added unto me.
Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven; for all his works are truth, and his ways justice; and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.
In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel {Aramaic: saw.}had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream and told the sum of the matters.
Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of heaven brake forth upon the great sea.
And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made to stand upon two feet as a man; and a man's heart was given to it.
And, behold, another beast, a second, like to a bear; and {Or, as otherwise read, it raised up one dominion}it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.
After this I beheld, and, lo, another, like a leopard, which had upon its back four wings of a bird; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.
After this I saw in the night-visions, and, behold, a fourth beast, terrible and {Or, dreadful}powerful, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth; it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.
I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.
I beheld till thrones were {Or, cast down}placed, and one that was ancient of days did sit: his raiment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames, and the wheels thereof burning fire.
A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousands of thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.
I beheld at that time because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake; I beheld even till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed, and it was given {Aramaic: to the burning of fire.}to be burned with fire.
And as for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.
I saw in the night-visions, and, behold, there came with the clouds of heaven one like unto a son of man, and he came even to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
As for me, Daniel, my spirit was grieved in the midst of {Aramaic: the sheath.}my body, and the visions of my head troubled me.
I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things.
These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, that shall arise out of the earth.
But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.
Then I desired to know the truth concerning the fourth beast, which was diverse from all of them, exceeding terrible, whose teeth were of iron, and its nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet;
and concerning the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, and before which three fell, even that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake great things, whose look was more stout than its fellows.
I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;
until the ancient of days came, and judgment was given {Or, for}to the saints of the Most High, and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all the kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall {Or, thresh it}tread it down, and break it in pieces.
And as for the ten horns, out of this kingdom shall ten kings arise: and another shall arise after them; and he shall be diverse from the former, and he shall put down three kings.
And he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High; and he shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and half a time.
But the judgment shall be set, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.
And the kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High: his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
{Aramaic: Hitherto.}Here is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts much troubled me, and my {Aramaic: brightness.}countenance was changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart.
In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto me, Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first.
And I saw in the vision; now it was so, that when I saw, I was in Shushan the {Or, castle}palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in the vision, and I was by the river Ulai.
Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.
I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; and no beasts could stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and magnified himself.
And as I was considering, behold, a he-goat came from the west over the face of the whole earth, and {Hebrew: none touched the ground.}touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.
And he came to the ram that had the two horns, which I saw standing before the river, and ran upon him in the fury of his power.
And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with anger against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns; and there was no power in the ram to stand before him; but he cast him down to the ground, and trampled upon him; and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand.
And the he-goat magnified himself exceedingly: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and instead of it there came up four notable horns toward the four winds of heaven.
And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the glorious land.
And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and some of the host and of the stars it cast down to the ground, and trampled upon them.
Yea, it magnified itself, even to the prince of the host; and {Another reading is, the continual burnt-offering was taken away from him.}it took away from him the continual burnt-offering, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.
And {Or, a host was given to it against the &c. Or, a host was set over the &c.}the host was given over to it together with the continual burnt-offering through transgression; and it cast down truth to the ground, and it did its pleasure and prospered.
Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said unto that certain one who spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the continual burnt-offering, and the transgression that maketh desolate, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?
And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred evenings and mornings; then shall the sanctuary be {Hebrew: justified.}cleansed.
And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, that I sought {Hebrew: understanding.}to understand it; and, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man.
And I heard a man's voice between the banks of the Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.
So he came near where I stood; and when he came, I was affrighted, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man; for the vision belongeth to the time of the end.
Now as he was speaking with me, I fell into a deep sleep with my face toward the ground; but he touched me, and set me {Or, where I had stood}upright.
And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the latter time of the indignation; for it belongeth to the appointed time of the end.
The ram which thou sawest, that had the two horns, they are the kings of Media and Persia.
And the rough he-goat is the king of {Hebrew: Javan.}Greece: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
And as for that which was broken, in the place whereof four stood up, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not with his power.
And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.
And his power shall be mighty, but not {Or, with his power See verse 22.}by his own power; and he shall {Or, corrupt}destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper and do his pleasure; and he shall {Or, corrupt}destroy the mighty ones and {Hebrew: people of the saints.}the holy people.
And through his policy he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and in their security shall he {Or, corrupt}destroy many: he shall also stand up against the prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.
And the vision of the evenings and mornings which hath been told is true: but shut thou up the vision; for it belongeth to many days to come.
And I, Daniel, fainted, and was sick certain days; then I rose up, and did the king's business: and I wondered at the vision, {Or, but there was none to make it understood}but none understood it.
And as for me, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to confirm and strengthen him.
And now will I show thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and when he is waxed strong through his riches, {Or, all this shall stir up the realm}he shall stir up all against the realm of {Hebrew: Javan.}Greece.
And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.
And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion wherewith he ruled; for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others besides these.
And the king of the south {Or, shall be strong; but one of his princes shall be &c.}shall be strong, and one of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion.
And at the end of years they shall join themselves together; and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to make {Or, equitable conditions}an agreement: but she shall not retain the strength of her arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm; but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in those times.
But out of a shoot from her roots shall one stand up in his {Or, office}place, who shall come {Or, against}unto the army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail.
And also their gods, with their {Or, princes}molten images, and with their goodly vessels of silver and of gold, shall he carry captive into Egypt; and he shall {Or, continue more years than &c.}refrain some years from the king of the north.
And he shall come into the realm of the king of the south, but he shall return into his own land.
And his sons shall war, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces, {Or, and he}which shall come on, and overflow, and pass through; and {Or, he}they shall return and war, even to his fortress.
And the king of the south shall be moved with anger, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north; and he shall set forth a great multitude, and the multitude shall be given into his hand.
And the multitude shall {Or, be carried away}be lifted up, and his heart shall be exalted; and he shall cast down tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail.
And the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former; and he shall come on at the end of the times, even {Or, for}of years, with a great army and with much substance.
And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south: also the children of the violent among thy people shall lift themselves up to establish the vision; but they shall fall.
So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mound, and take {Or, the fortified cities}a well-fortified city: and the forces of the south shall not stand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to stand.
But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him; and he shall stand in the glorious land, and in his hand shall be destruction.
And he shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and with him {Or, upright ones}equitable conditions; and he shall perform them: and he shall give him the daughter of women, {Or, to destroy it}to corrupt her; but {Or, it}she shall not stand, neither be for him.
After this shall he turn his face unto the {Or, coast-lands}isles, and shall take many: but a {Or, captain}prince shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease; yea, moreover, he shall cause his reproach to turn upon him.
Then he shall turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land; but he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found.
Then shall stand up in his {Or, office}place one that shall cause an exactor to pass through the glory of the kingdom; but within few days he shall be {Hebrew: broken.}destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle.
And in his {Or, office}place shall stand up a contemptible person, to whom they had not given the honor of the kingdom: but he shall come in time of security, and shall obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
And the overwhelming forces shall be overwhelmed from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of {Or, his covenant}the covenant.
And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully; for he shall come up, and shall become strong, with a small people.
In time of security shall he come even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them prey, and spoil, and substance: yea, he shall devise his devices against the strongholds, even for a time.
And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall war in battle with an exceeding great and mighty army; but he shall not stand; for they shall devise devices against him.
Yea, they that eat of his dainties shall {Hebrew: break.}destroy him, and his army shall overflow; and many shall fall down slain.
And as for both these kings, their hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table: but it shall not prosper; for yet the end shall be at the time appointed.
Then shall he return into his land with great substance; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do his pleasure, and return to his own land.
At the time appointed he shall return, and come into the south; but it shall not be in the latter time as it was in the former.
For ships of Kittim shall come against him; therefore he shall be grieved, and shall return, and have indignation against the holy covenant, and shall do his pleasure: he shall even return, and have regard unto them that forsake the holy covenant.
And forces shall stand on his part, and they shall profane the sanctuary, even the fortress, and shall take away the continual burnt-offering, and they shall set up the abomination that maketh desolate.
And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he {Hebrew: make profane.}pervert by flatteries; but the people that know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.
And {Or, the teachers of the people}they that are wise among the people shall instruct many; yet they shall fall by the sword and by flame, by captivity and by spoil, many days.
Now when they shall fall, they shall be helped with a little help; but many shall join themselves unto them with flatteries.
And some of {Or, the teachers}them that are wise shall fall, to refine them, and to purify, and to make them white, even to the time of the end; because it is yet for the time appointed.
And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods; and he shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished; for that which is determined shall be done.
Neither shall he regard the gods of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall magnify himself above all.
But in his {Or, office}place shall he honor the god of fortresses; and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
And he shall deal with the strongest fortresses by the help of a foreign god: {Or, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory}whosoever acknowledgeth him {Or, shall increase glory}he will increase with glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for a price.
And at the time of the end shall the king of the south {Hebrew: push at.}contend with him; and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass through.
He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall be delivered out of his hand: Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.
He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries; and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him; and he shall go forth with great fury to destroy and {Hebrew: to devote many.}utterly to sweep away many.
And he shall plant the tents of his palace {Or, between the seas at}between the sea and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.
The words of Amos, who was among the herdsmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
And he said, Jehovah will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the {Or, habitations}pastures of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.
Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Damascus, yea, for four, I will not {Or, revoke my word}turn away {Hebrew: it (and so in verse 6, 9, &c.).}the punishment thereof; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron.
But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, and it shall devour the palaces of Ben-hadad.
And I will break the bar of Damascus, and cut off {Or, him that sitteth on the throne (and so in verse 8).}the inhabitant from the valley of {That is, Vanity.}Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from {Or, Beth-eden}the house of Eden; and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, saith Jehovah.
Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Gaza, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they carried away captive {Hebrew: an entire captivity.}the whole people, to deliver them up to Edom.
But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, and it shall devour the palaces thereof.
And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holdeth the sceptre from Ashkelon; and I will turn my hand against Ekron; and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord Jehovah.
Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Tyre, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they delivered up {Hebrew: an entire captivity.}the whole people to Edom, and remembered not {Hebrew: the covenant of brethren.}the brotherly covenant.
But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyre, and it shall devour the palaces thereof.
Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Edom, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and {Hebrew: corrupted his compassions.}did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever.
But I will send a fire upon Teman, and it shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.
Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they may enlarge their border.
But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind;
and their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes together, saith Jehovah.
Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Moab, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime:
But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth; and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet;
and I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith Jehovah.
Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Judah, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have rejected the law of Jehovah, and have not kept his statutes, and their lies have caused them to err, after which their fathers did walk.
But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.
Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Israel, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have sold the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes—
they that pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father go unto the same maiden, to profane my holy name:
and they lay themselves down beside every altar upon clothes taken in pledge; and in the house of their God they drink the wine of such as have been fined.
Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.
Also I brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and led you forty years in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.
And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazirites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith Jehovah.
But ye gave the Nazirites wine to drink, and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.
Behold, {Or, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves}I will press you in your place, as a cart presseth that is full of sheaves.
And {Or, refuge shall fail the swift}flight shall perish from the swift; and the strong shall not strengthen his force; neither shall the mighty deliver {Hebrew: his soul (or, life).}himself;
neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself; neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver {Hebrew: his soul (or, life).}himself;
and he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith Jehovah.
Symeon hath rehearsed how first God visited the {See marginal note on chapter 5:42.}Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.