American Standard Version of 1901
Versliste
A Psalm of Asaph.O God, the nations are come into thine inheritance;Thy holy temple have they defiled;They have laid Jerusalem in heaps.
The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be food unto the birds of the heavens,The flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth.
Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem;And there was none to bury them.
We are become a reproach to our neighbors,A scoffing and derision to them that are round about us.
How long, O Jehovah? wilt thou be angry for ever?Shall thy jealousy burn like fire?
Pour out thy wrath upon the nations that know thee not,And upon the kingdoms that call not upon thy name.
For they have devoured Jacob,And laid waste his {Or, pasture}habitation.
Remember not against us the iniquities of our forefathers:Let thy tender mercies speedily meet us;For we are brought very low.
Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name;And deliver us, and {Or, expiate}forgive our sins, for thy name's sake.
Wherefore should the nations say,Where is their God?Let the avenging of the blood of thy servants which is shedBe known among the nations in our sight.
Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee:According to the greatness of {Hebrew: thine arm.}thy power preserve thou {Hebrew: the children of death.}those that are appointed to death;
And render unto our neighbors sevenfold into their bosomTheir reproach, wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord.
So we thy people and sheep of thy pastureWill give thee thanks for ever:We will show forth thy praise to all generations.
Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers that write perverseness;
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!
And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory?
{Or, Without me they shall bow down &c.}They shall only bow down under the prisoners, and shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
{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.
For he saith, Are not my princes all of them kings?
Is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus?
As my hand hath {Or, reached}found the kingdoms of the idols, whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria;
shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols?
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.
Therefore will the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and {Or, instead of}under his glory there shall be kindled a burning like the burning of fire.
And the light of Israel will be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame; and it will burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day.
And he will consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and it shall be {Or, as when a sick man pineth away}as when a standard-bearer fainteth.
And the remnant of the trees of his forest shall be few, so that a child may write them.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and they that are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again lean upon him that smote them, but shall lean upon Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
{Hebrew: shear jashub. See chapter 7:3.}A remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.
For though thy people, Israel, be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant {Hebrew: in it.}of them shall return: a destruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness.
For a full end, and that determined, will the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, make in the midst of all the {Or, land}earth.
Therefore thus saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of {Hebrew: Asshur.}the Assyrian, though he smite thee with the rod, and lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt.
For yet a very little while, and the indignation against thee shall be accomplished, and mine anger shall be directed to his destruction.
And Jehovah of hosts will stir up against him a scourge, as in the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb: and {Or, as his rod was over the sea, so shall he &c.}his rod will be over the sea, and he will lift it up after the manner of Egypt.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall depart from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed by reason of {Hebrew: oil.}fatness.
He is come to Aiath, he is passed through Migron; at Michmash he layeth up his baggage;
they are gone over the pass; {Or, Geba is our lodging, they cry}they have taken up their lodging at Geba; Ramah trembleth; Gibeah of Saul is fled.
Cry aloud with thy voice, O daughter of Gallim! hearken, O Laishah! O thou poor Anathoth!
Madmenah is a fugitive; the inhabitants of Gebim {Or, make their households flee}flee for safety.
This very day shall he halt at Nob: he shaketh his hand at the mount of the {Another reading is, house.}daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.
Behold, the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, will lop the boughs with terror: and the high of stature shall be hewn down, and the lofty shall be brought low.
And he will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one.
Woe to the crown of pride of the drunkards of Ephraim, and to the fading flower of his glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley of them that are {Hebrew: smitted down.}overcome with wine!
Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one; as a tempest of hail, a destroying storm, as a tempest of mighty waters overflowing, will he cast down to the earth {Or, with violence}with the hand.
The crown of pride of the drunkards of Ephraim shall be trodden under foot:
and the fading flower of his glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be as the first-ripe fig before the summer; which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up.
In that day will Jehovah of hosts become a crown of glory, and a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people;
and a spirit of justice to him that sitteth in judgment, and strength to them that turn back the battle {Or, to}at the gate.
And even these reel with wine, and stagger with strong drink; the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they stagger with strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.
{Or, Whom shall he teach…and whom shall he make…breasts. for &c.}Whom will he teach knowledge? and whom will he make to understand the {Or, report}message? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts?
For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept; {Or, rule}line upon line, line upon line; here a little, there a little.
{Or, For with stammering lips}Nay, but by men of strange lips and with another tongue will he speak to this people;
to whom he said, This is the rest, give ye rest to him that is weary; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.
Therefore shall the word of Jehovah be unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, there a little; that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
Wherefore hear the word of Jehovah, ye scoffers, that rule this people that is in Jerusalem:
Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us; for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I {Or, have laid}lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-stone of sure foundation: he that believeth shall not be in haste.
And I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plummet; and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding-place.
And your covenant with death shall be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
As often as it passeth though, it shall take you; for morning by morning shall it pass through, by day and by night: and it shall be nought but terror to understand the {Or, report}message.
For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it; and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it.
For Jehovah will rise up as in mount Perazim, he will be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon; that he may do his work, his strange work, and bring to pass his act, his strange act.
Now therefore be ye not scoffers, lest your bonds be made strong; for {Hebrew: destruction, and that decreed.}a decree of destruction have I heard from the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, upon the whole {Or, land}earth.
Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech.
Doth he that ploweth to sow plow continually? doth he continually open and harrow his ground?
When he hath levelled the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the {Or, black cumin (Nigella sativa)}fitches, and scatter the cummin, and put in the wheat in rows, and the barley in the appointed place, and the spelt in the border thereof?
{Or, And the traineth each of them aright; his God doth teach him}For his God doth instruct him aright, and doth teach him.
For the fitches are not threshed with a sharp threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod.
{Or, Is bread grain crushed? Nay, he will not ever be threshing it, and driving his cart wheels and his horses over it; he doth not crush it}Bread grain is ground; for he will not be always threshing it: and though the wheel of his cart and his horses scatter it, he doth not grind it.
This also cometh forth from Jehovah of hosts, who is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in {Or, effectual working}wisdom.
Behold, a day of Jehovah cometh, when thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
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.