American Standard Version of 1901
Versliste
Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said,
Dominion and fear are with him;He maketh peace in his high places.
Is there any number of his armies?And upon whom doth not his light arise?
Shall mortal man {Or, be just before God}be more just than God?Shall a man {Or, be pure before his Maker}be more pure than his Maker?
What is man, that he should be clean?And he that is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
Speak ye {Hebrew: to the heart of.}comfortably to Jerusalem; and cry unto her, that her {Or, time of service}warfare is accomplished, that her {Or, punishment is accepted See Leviticus 26:43.}iniquity is pardoned, that she hath received of Jehovah's hand double for all her sins.
The voice of one {Or, that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way &c.}that crieth, Prepare ye in the wilderness the way of Jehovah; make level in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the uneven shall be made level, and the rough places a plain:
and the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.
The voice of one saying, Cry. And one said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field.
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, because the breath of Jehovah bloweth upon it; surely the people is grass.
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall stand forever.
{Or, O Zion, that bringest good tidings}O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up on a high mountain; {Or, O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings}O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold, your God!
Behold, the Lord Jehovah will come as a mighty one, and his arm will rule for him: Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.
He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and will gently lead those that have their young.
Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?
Who hath {Or, meted out}directed the Spirit of Jehovah, or being his counsellor hath taught him?
With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed to him the way of understanding?
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.
And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt-offering.
All the nations are as nothing before him; they are accounted by him as {Or, as a thing of nought}less than nothing, and {Or, confusion}vanity.
To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
The image, a workman hath cast it, and the goldsmith overlayeth it with gold, and casteth for it silver chains.
He that is too impoverished for such an oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a skilful workman to {Or, prepare}set up a graven image, that shall not be moved.
Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not {Or, understood the foundations}understood from the foundations of the earth?
It is he that sitteth above the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as {Or, gauze}a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in;
that bringeth princes to nothing; that maketh the judges of the earth as {Or, confusion}vanity.
{Or, Scarce are they planted, scarce are they sown, scarce hath their stock taken root in the earth, when he bloweth upon them &c.}Yea, they have not been planted; yea, they have not been sown; yea, their stock hath not taken root in the earth: moreover he bloweth upon them, and they wither, and the whirlwind taketh them away as stubble.
To whom then will ye liken me, that I should be equal to him? saith the Holy One.
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.
Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from Jehovah, and the justice due to me is passed away from my God?
Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard? {Or, Jehovah is an everylasting God, the Creator…he fainteth not &c.}The everlasting God, Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary; there is no searching of his understanding.
He giveth power to the faint; and to him that hath no might he increaseth strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
but they that wait for Jehovah shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.
And in that day thou shalt say, I will give thanks unto thee, O Jehovah; for though thou wast angry with me, {Or, let thine anger turn away, and comfort thou me}thine anger is turned away and thou comfortest me.
Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for Jehovah, even Jehovah, is my strength and song; and he is become my salvation.
Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.
And in that day shall ye say, Give thanks unto Jehovah, {Or, proclaim his name}call upon his name, declare his doings among the peoples, make mention that his name is exalted.
Sing unto Jehovah; for he hath done {Or, gloriously}excellent things: {Or, this is made known}let this be known in all the earth.
Cry aloud and shout, thou {Hebrew: inhabitress.}inhabitant of Zion; for great in the midst of thee is the Holy One of Israel.
The {Or, oracle}burden of the valley of vision.What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops?
O thou that art full of shoutings, a tumultuous city, a joyous town; thy slain are not slain with the sword, neither are they dead in battle.
All thy rulers fled away together, they were bound {Or, without the bow}by the archers; all that were found of thee were bound together; {Or, that had fled from far}they fled afar off.
Therefore said I, Look away from me, I will weep bitterly; {Or, hasten}labor not to comfort me for the destruction of the daughter of my people.
For it is a day of discomfiture, and of treading down, and of perplexity, from the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, in the valley of vision; a breaking down of the walls, and a crying to the {Or, mountain}mountains.
And Elam bare the quiver, with {Or, troops}chariots of men and horsemen; and Kir uncovered the shield.
And it came to pass, that thy choicest valleys were full of chariots, and the horsemen set themselves in array at the gate.
And he took away the covering of Judah; and thou didst look in that day to the armor in the house of the forest.
And ye saw the breaches of the city of David, that they were many; and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool;
and ye numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and ye brake down the houses to fortify the wall;
ye made also a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But ye looked not unto {Or, the maker thereof}him that had done this, neither had ye respect unto him that purposed it long ago.
And in that day did the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:
and behold, joy and gladness, slaying oxen and killing sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine: let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we shall die.
And Jehovah of hosts revealed himself in mine ears, Surely this iniquity shall not be {Or, expiated by}forgiven you till ye die, saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts.
Thus saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, Go, get thee unto this {Or, steward}treasurer, even unto Shebna, who is over the house, and say,
What doest thou here? and whom has thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out here a sepulchre? hewing him out a sepulchre on high, graving a habitation for himself in the rock!
Behold, Jehovah, {Or, O thou strong man}like a strong man, will hurl thee away violently; yea, he will {Or, lay fast hold on thee}wrap thee up closely.
He will surely wind thee round and round, and toss thee like a ball into a large country; there shalt thou die, and there shall be the chariots of thy glory, thou shame of thy lord's house.
And I will thrust thee from thine office; and from thy station shalt thou be pulled down.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah:
and I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand; and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.
And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; and he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a throne of glory to his father's house.
And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the issue, every small vessel, from the cups even to all the flagons.
In that day, saith Jehovah of hosts, shall the nail that was fastened in a sure place give way; and it shall be hewn down, and fall; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off; for Jehovah hath spoken it.
In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; salvation will he appoint for walls and bulwarks.
Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth faith may enter in.
{Or, A stedfast mind thou keepest in perfect peace, because it &c.}Thou wilt keep him {Hebrew: peace, peace.}in perfect peace, whose {Or, imagination}mind is stayed on thee; because he trusteth in thee.
Trust ye in Jehovah for ever; for in {Hebrw: Jah.}Jehovah, even Jehovah, is {Or, a rock of ages}an everlasting rock.
For he hath brought down them that dwell on high, the lofty city: he layeth it low, he layeth it low even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust.
The foot shall tread it down; even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy.
The way of the just is {Or, a right way; the path of the just thou directest alright}uprightness: thou that art upright dost {Or, level}direct the path of the just.
Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O Jehovah, have we waited for thee; to thy name, even to thy memorial name, is the desire of our soul.
With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee earnestly: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
Let favor be showed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness will he deal wrongfully, and will not behold the majesty of Jehovah.
Jehovah, thy hand is lifted up, yet they see not: but they shall see {Or, and be put to shame, in their envy at the people}thy zeal for the people, and be put to shame; yea, {Or, the fire of thine adversaries shall devour them}fire shall devour thine adversaries.
Jehovah, thou wilt ordain peace for us; for thou hast also wrought all our works for us.
O Jehovah our God, other lords besides thee have had dominion over us; but by thee only will we make mention of thy name.
{Or, The dead live not, the deceased rise not}They are dead, they shall not live; they are {Or, shades Hebrew: Rephaim.}deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all remembrance of them to perish.
Thou hast increased the nation, O Jehovah, thou hast increased the nation; thou art glorified; {Or, thou hadest removed it far unto all the ends of the earth}thou hast enlarged all the borders of the land.
Jehovah, in trouble have they {Or, looked for}visited thee; they poured out a {Hebrew: whisper.}prayer when thy chastening was upon them.
Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain and crieth out in her pangs; so we have been {Or, at thy presence}before thee, O Jehovah.
We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; {Or, neither have inhabitants of the world been born}neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.
Thy dead shall live; my dead bodies shall arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust; for thy dew is as the dew of {Or, light}herbs, and the earth shall cast forth {Or, the shades Hebrew: Raphaim.}the dead.
Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.
For, behold, Jehovah cometh forth out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
Who should not fear thee, O King of the nations? for {Or, it beseemeth thee}to thee doth it appertain; forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their royal estate, there is none like unto thee.
who being the effulgence of his glory, and {Or, the impress of his substance}the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had made purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
but ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, {Or, and to innumerable hosts, the general assembly of angels, and the church &c.}and to {Greek: myriads of angels.}innumerable hosts of angels,
And I saw, and I heard a voice of many angels round about the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;
who only hath immortality, dwelling in light unapproachable; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and power eternal. Amen.
And this is the message which we have heard from him and announce unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
he revealeth the deep and secret things; he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.