American Standard Version of 1901
Versliste
But let the righteous be glad; let them exult before God:Yea, let them rejoice with gladness.
Sing unto God, sing praises to his name:Cast up a highway for him that rideth through the deserts;His name is {Hebrew: Jah.}Jehovah; and exult ye before him.
A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows,Is God in his holy habitation.
God {Hebrew: maketh the solitary to dwell in a house.}setteth the solitary in families:He bringeth out the prisoners into prosperity;But the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before Jehovah, worshipping Jehovah.
And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites, stood up to praise Jehovah, the God of Israel, with an exceeding loud voice.
And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem: believe in Jehovah your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed them that should sing unto Jehovah, and give praise {Or, in the beauty of holiness}in holy array, as they went out before the army, and say, Give thanks unto Jehovah; for his lovingkindness endureth for ever.
And when they began to sing and to praise, Jehovah set liers-in-wait against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, that were come against Judah; and they were smitten.
For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.
And when Judah came to the watch-tower of the wilderness, they looked upon the multitude; and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and there were none that escaped.
And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches and {According to Vulgate, garments.}dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in taking the spoil, it was so much.
And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of {That is, Blessing.}Beracah; for there they blessed Jehovah: therefore the name of that place was called The valley of Beracah unto this day.
Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for Jehovah had made them to rejoice over their enemies.
And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of Jehovah.
And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of the countries, when they heard that Jehovah fought against the enemies of Israel.
So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet; for his God gave him rest round about.
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.
but they that have garnered it shall eat it, and praise Jehovah; and they that have gathered it shall drink it in the courts of my sanctuary.
Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee;In whose heart are the highways to Zion.
And in those days cometh John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judæa, saying,
Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
For this is he that was spoken of through Isaiah the prophet, saying, {Isaiah 40:3.}The voice of one crying in the wilderness,Make ye ready the way of the Lord,Make his paths straight.
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.
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.
And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, Jehovah, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am Jehovah, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments:
and I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah your God, who bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
And I will bring you in unto the land which I {Hebrew: lifted up my hand.}sware to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for a heritage: I am Jehovah.
Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me.
Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.
If thou afflict them at all, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry;
Cursed be he that wresteth the justice due to the sojourner, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen.
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.
If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, that will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and, though they chasten him, will not hearken unto them;
then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;
and they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.
And all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones: so shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.
So then ye are no more strangers and sojourners, but ye are fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God,