4
Answer not a fool according to his folly,
lest thou also be like unto him.
5
Answer a fool according to his folly,
lest he be wise in his own conceit.
6
He that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool
cutteth off the feet, and drinketh damage.
7
The legs of the lame are not equal:
so is a parable in the mouth of fools.
1 4 5 0
P r o v e r b s
2 6
8
As he that bindeth a stone in a sling,
so is he that giveth honor to a fool.
9
As a thorn goeth up into the hand of a drunkard, so is a parable in the mouth of fools.
1 0
The great God that formed all things both rewardeth the fool, and rewardeth transgressors.
1 1
As a dog returneth to his vomit,
so a fool returneth to his folly.
1 2
Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit?
There is more hope of a fool than of him.
13
The slothful man saith, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets.
14
As the door turneth upon his hinges,
so doth the slothful upon his bed.
1 5
The slothful hideth his hand in his bosom; it grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth.
1 6
The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason.
1 7
He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears.
1 8
As a mad man who casteth firebrands, arrows, and death, 19
so is the man that deceiveth his neighbor, and saith, Am not I in sport?
2 0
Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth.
2 1
As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife.
2 2
The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
23
Burning lips and a wicked heart
are like a potsherd covered with silver dross.
2 4
He that hateth dissembleth with his lips,
and layeth up deceit within him;
2 5
when he speaketh fair, believe him not:
for there are seven abominations in his heart.
1 4 5 1
P r o v e r b s
2 7
2 6
Whose hatred is covered by deceit,
his wickedness shall be showed before the whole congregation.
2 7
Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein:
and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him.
2 8
A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin.
27
1
Boast not thyself of tomorrow;
for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
2
Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.
3
A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty;
but a fool’s wrath is heavier than them both.
4
Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?
5
Open rebuke is better than secret love.
6
Faithful are the wounds of a friend;
but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
7
The full soul loatheth a honeycomb;
but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.
8
As a bird that wandereth from her nest,
so is a man that wandereth from his place.
9
Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart:
so doth the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel.
1 0
Thine own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbor that is near than a brother far off.
1 1
My son, be wise, and make my heart glad,
that I may answer him that reproacheth me.
1 2
A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.
13
Take his garment that is surety for a stranger,
and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.
1 4 5 2
P r o v e r b s
2 7
14
He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice,
rising early in the morning,
it shall be counted a curse to him.
1 5
A continual dropping in a very rainy day
and a contentious woman are alike.
1 6
Whosoever hideth her hideth the wind,
and the ointment of his right hand, which bewrayeth itself.
1 7
Iron sharpeneth iron;
so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
1 8
Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honored.
19
As in water face answereth to face,
so the heart of man to man.
2 0
Hell and destruction are never full;
so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
2 1
As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise.
2 2
Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle,
yet will not his foolishness depart from him.
23
Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds:
2 4
for riches are not for ever:
and doth the crown endure to every generation?
2 5
The hay appeareth,
and the tender grass showeth itself,
and herbs of the mountains are gathered.
2 6
The lambs are for thy clothing,
and the goats are the price of the field.
2 7
And thou shalt have goats’ milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household,
and for the maintenance for thy maidens.
1 4 5 3
P r o v e r b s
2 8
28
The Wicked and the Righteous
1
The wicked flee when no man pursueth:
but the righteous are bold as a lion.
2
For the transgression of a land
many are the princes thereof:
but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged.
3
A poor man that oppresseth the poor
is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food.
4
They that forsake the law praise the wicked:
but such as keep the law contend with them.
5
Evil men understand not judgment:
but they that seek the Lord understand all things.
6
Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich.
7
Whoso keepeth the law is a wise son:
but he that is a companion of riotous men shameth his father.
8
He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor.
9
He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.
1 0
Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit:
but the upright shall have good things in possession.
1 1
The rich man is wise in his own conceit; but the poor that hath understanding searcheth him out.
1 2
When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory: but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden.
13
He that covereth his sins shall not prosper:
but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
14
Happy is the man that feareth always:
but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.
1 4 5 4
P r o v e r b s
29
1 5
As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear;
so is a wicked ruler over the poor people.
1 6
The prince that wanteth understanding is also a great oppressor: but he that hateth covetousness shall prolong his days.
1 7
A man that doeth violence to the blood of any person shall flee to the pit;
let no man stay him.
1 8
Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved:
but he that is perverse in his ways shall fall at once.
19
He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough.
2 0
A faithful man shall abound with blessings:
but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.
2 1
To have respect of persons is not good:
for, for a piece of bread that man will transgress.
2 2
He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.
23
He that rebuketh a man, afterward shall find more favor than he that flattereth with the tongue.
2 4
Whoso robbeth his father or his mother,
and saith, It is no transgression;
the same is the companion of a destroyer.
2 5
He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife:
but he that putteth his trust in the Lord shall be made fat.
2 6
He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool:
but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.
2 7
He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack:
but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.
2 8
When the wicked rise, men hide themselves:
but when they perish, the righteous increase.
29
1
He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.
1 4 5 5
P r o v e r b s
29
2
When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.
3
Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father:
but he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his substance.
4
The king by judgment establisheth the land:
but he that receiveth gifts overthroweth it.
5
A man that flattereth his neighbor
spreadeth a net for his feet.
6
In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare: but the righteous doth sing and rejoice.
7
The righteous considereth the cause of the poor: but the wicked regardeth not to know it.
8
Scornful men bring a city into a snare:
but wise men turn away wrath.
9
If a wise man contendeth with a foolish man, whether he rage or laugh, there is no rest.
1 0
The bloodthirsty hate the upright:
but the just seek his soul.
1 1
A fool uttereth all his mind:
but a wise man keepeth it in till afterward.
1 2
If a ruler hearken to lies,
all his servants are wicked.
13
The poor and the deceitful man meet together:
the Lord lighteneth both their eyes.
14
The king that faithfully judgeth the poor,
his throne shall be established for ever.
1 5
The rod and reproof give wisdom:
but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.
1 6
When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increaseth: but the righteous shall see their fall.
1 7
Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest;
yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul.
1 8
Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
19
A servant will not be corrected by words:
1 4 5 6
P r o v e r b s
3 0
for though he understand he will not answer.
2 0
Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words?
There is more hope of a fool than of him.
2 1
He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child shall have him become his son at the length.
2 2
An angry man stirreth up strife,
and a furious man aboundeth in transgression.
23
A man’s pride shall bring him low:
but honor shall uphold the humble in spirit.
2 4
Whoso is partner with a thief hateth his own soul: he heareth cursing, and bewrayeth it not.
2 5
The fear of man bringeth a snare:
but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.
2 6
Many seek the ruler’s favor;
but every man’s judgment cometh from the Lord.
2 7
An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.
30
The Observations of Agur
1
The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy.
The man spake unto Ithiel,
even unto Ithiel and Ucal,
2
Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man.
3
I neither learned wisdom,
nor have the knowledge of the holy.
4
Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended?
Who hath gathered the wind in his fists?
Who hath bound the waters in a garment?
Who hath established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name, and what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell?
5
Every word of God is pure:
1 4 5 7
P r o v e r b s
3 0
he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
6
Add thou not unto his words,
lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
7
Two things have I required of thee;
deny me them not before I die:
8
remove far from me vanity and lies;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with food convenient for me:
9
lest I be full, and deny thee,
and say, Who is the Lord ?
or lest I be poor, and steal,
and take the name of my God in vain.
1 0
Accuse not a servant unto his master,
lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty.
1 1
There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.
1 2
There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.
13
There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes!
And their eyelids are lifted up.
14
There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives,
to devour the poor from off the earth,
and the needy from among men.
1 5
The horseleech hath two daughters, crying, Give, give.
There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough: 1 6
the grave; and the barren womb;
the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough.
1 7
The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother,
the ravens of the valley shall pick it out,
and the young eagles shall eat it.
1 8
There be three things which are too wonderful for me,
1 4 5 8
P r o v e r b s
3 0
yea, four which I know not:
19
the way of an eagle in the air;
the way of a serpent upon a rock;
the way of a ship in the midst of the sea;
and the way of a man with a maid.
2 0
Such is the way of an adulterous woman;
she eateth, and wipeth her mouth,
and saith, I have done no wickedness.
2 1
For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear:
2 2
for a servant when he reigneth;
and a fool when he is filled with meat;
23
for an odious woman when she is married; and a handmaid that is heir to her mistress.
2 4
There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise:
2 5
the ants are a people not strong,
yet they prepare their meat in the summer;
2 6
the conies are but a feeble folk,
yet make they their houses in the rocks;
2 7
the locusts have no king,
yet go they forth all of them by bands;
2 8
the spider taketh hold with her hands,
and is in kings’ palaces.
29
There be three things which go well,
yea, four are comely in going:
3 0
a lion, which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any;
3 1
a greyhound; a he goat also;
and a king, against whom there is no rising up.
3 2
If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil,
lay thine hand upon thy mouth.
3 3
Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood:
1 4 5 9
P r o v e r b s
3 1
so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.
31
Admonitions to a King
1
The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him.
2
What, my son?
And what, the son of my womb?
And what, the son of my vows?
3
Give not thy strength unto women,
nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.
4
It is not for kings, O Lemuel,
it is not for kings to drink wine;
nor for princes strong drink:
5
lest they drink, and forget the law,
and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.
6
Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.
7
Let him drink, and forget his poverty,
and remember his misery no more.
8
Open thy mouth for the dumb
in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.
9
Open thy mouth, judge righteously,
and plead the cause of the poor and needy.
Praise of a Good Woman
1 0
Who can find a virtuous woman?
For her price is far above rubies.
1 1
The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
1 2
She will do him good and not evil
all the days of her life.
1 4 6 0
P r o v e r b s
3 1
13
She seeketh wool, and flax,
and worketh willingly with her hands.
14
She is like the merchants’ ships;
she bringeth her food from afar.
1 5
She riseth also while it is yet night,
and giveth meat to her household,
and a portion to her maidens.
1 6
She considereth a field, and buyeth it:
with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
1 7
She girdeth her loins with strength,
and strengtheneth her arms.
1 8
She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
19
She layeth her hands to the spindle,
and her hands hold the distaff.
2 0
She stretcheth our her hand to the poor;
yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
2 1
She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
2 2
She maketh herself coverings of tapestry;
her clothing is silk and purple.
23
Her husband is known in the gates,
when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
2 4
She maketh fine linen, and selleth it;
and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
2 5
Strength and honor are her clothing;
and she shall rejoice in time to come.
2 6
She openeth her mouth with wisdom;
and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
2 7
She looketh well to the ways of her household,
and eateth not the bread of idleness.
2 8
Her children arise up, and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praiseth her.
29
Many daughters have done virtuously,
but thou excellest them all.
1 4 6 1
P r o v e r b s
3 1
3 0
Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.
3 1
Give her of the fruit of her hands;
and let her own works praise her in the gates.
Or, the Preacher
[Ecclesiastes]
1
All Is Vanity
1
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
3
What profit hath a man of all his labor which he taketh under the sun?
4
One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.
5
The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.
6
The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.
7
All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full: unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.
8
All things are full of labor; man cannot utter it: the eye is not
satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
9
The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
1 0
Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.
1 1
There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any
remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.
1 4 6 3
E c c l e s i a s t e s
2
The Experience of the Preacher
1 2
¶ I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13
And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.
14
I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
1 5
That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.
1 6
¶ I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.
1 7
And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.
1 8
For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
2
1
I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also is vanity.
2
I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?
3
I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life.
4
I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards:
5
I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits:
6
I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees:
1 4 6 4
E c c l e s i a s t e s
2
7
I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me:
8
I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts.
9
¶ So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me.
1 0
And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labor: and this was my portion of all my labor.
1 1
Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I had labored to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.
1 2
¶ And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done.
13
Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness.
14
The wise man’s eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all.
1 5
Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity.
1 6
For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise man? as the fool.
1 7
Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
1 8
¶ Yea, I hated all my labor which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me.
19
And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labor wherein I have labored, and
1 4 6 5
E c c l e s i a s t e s
3
wherein I have showed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.
2 0
Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labor which I took under the sun.
2 1
For there is a man whose labor is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity; yet to a man that hath not labored therein shall he leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil.
2 2
For what hath man of all his labor, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath labored under the sun?
23
For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity.
2 4
¶ There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labor.
This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.
2 5
For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto, more than I?
2 6
For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight, wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God.
This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.
3
A Time for Everything
1
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
2
a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3
a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4
a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
1 4 6 6
E c c l e s i a s t e s
3
6
a time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7
a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8
a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
9
What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboreth?
1 0
¶ I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
1 1
He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.
1 2
I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.
13
And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labor, it is the gift of God.
14
I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.
1 5
That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.
The Injustice of Life
1 6
¶ And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.
1 7
I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.
1 8
I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.
19
For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they
1 4 6 7
E c c l e s i a s t e s
4
have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.
2 0
All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
2 1
Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?
2 2
Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?
4
1
So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.
2
Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead, more than the living which are yet alive.
3
Yea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.
4
¶ Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbor. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit.
5
¶ The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh.
6
¶ Better is a handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.
7
¶ Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun.
8
There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labor; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labor, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.
9
¶ Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor.
1 0
For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.
1 4 6 8
E c c l e s i a s t e s
5
1 1
Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?
1 2
And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
13
¶ Better is a poor and a wise child, than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished.
14
For out of prison he cometh to reign; whereas also he that is born in his kingdom becometh poor.
1 5
I considered all the living which walk under the sun, with the second child that shall stand up in his stead.
1 6
There is no end of all the people, even of all that have been before them: they also that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and vexation of spirit.
5
The Folly of Rash Vows
1
Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.
2
Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.
3
¶ For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.
4
¶ When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.
5
Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.
6
Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?
7
¶ For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God.
1 4 6 9
E c c l e s i a s t e s
5
The Vanity of Life
8
¶ If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they.
9
Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field.
1 0
¶ He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.
1 1
¶ When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes?
1 2
¶ The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.
13
¶ There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.
14
But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand.
1 5
As he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labor, which he may carry away in his hand.
1 6
And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath labored for the wind?
1 7
All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness.
1 8
¶ Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion.
19
Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God.
2 0
For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart.
1 4 7 0
E c c l e s i a s t e s
6
6
1
There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men:
2
a man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honor, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.
3
If a man beget a hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also that he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he.
4
For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness.
5
Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this hath
more rest than the other.
6
Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place?
7
¶ All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.
8
For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living?
9
Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit.
1 0
¶ That which hath been is named already, and it is known that it is man: neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he.
1 1
Seeing there be many things that increase vanity, what is man the better?
1 2
For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?
1 4 7 1
E c c l e s i a s t e s
7
7
Wisdom and Folly Compared
1
A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.
2
It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.
3
Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
4
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
5
It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.
6
For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.
7
Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart.
8
Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
9
Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.
1 0
Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this.
1 1
Wisdom is good with an inheritance: and by it there is profit to them that see the sun.
1 2
For wisdom is a defense, and money is a defense: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it.
13
Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked?
14
¶ In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him.
1 4 7 2
E c c l e s i a s t e s
7
1 5
¶ All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness.
1 6
Be not righteous over much, neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself?
1 7
Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?
1 8
It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from this withdraw not thine hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all.
19
¶ Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the city.
2 0
¶ For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
2 1
¶ Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken; lest thou hear thy servant curse thee:
2 2
for oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others.
23
¶ All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me.
2 4
That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can find it out?
2 5
I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness:
2 6
and I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.
2 7
Behold, this have I found, saith the Preacher, counting one by one, to find out the account;
2 8
which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.
29
Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.
1 4 7 3
E c c l e s i a s t e s
8
8
1
Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a
thing? a man’s wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed.
2
¶ I counsel thee to keep the king’s commandment, and that in regard of the oath of God.
3
Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him.
4
Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?
5
Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man’s heart discerneth both time and judgment.
6
Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him.
7
For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it shall be?
8
There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.
9
All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his own hurt.
The Inequalities of Life
1 0
¶ And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity.
1 1
Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
1 2
Though a sinner do evil a hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him:
1 4 74
E c c l e s i a s t e s
9
13
but it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.
14
¶ There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.
1 5
Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labor the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun.
1 6
¶ When I applied mine heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the earth: (for also there is that neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes:)
1 7
then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because though a man labor to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea further; though a wise man
think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it.
9
1
For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them.
2
All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.
3
This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.
4
For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
1 4 7 5
E c c l e s i a s t e s
9
5
For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
6
Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.
7
¶ Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.
8
¶ Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.
9
¶ Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labor which thou takest under the sun.
1 0
Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
1 1
¶ I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
1 2
For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
13
¶ This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me:
14
there was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it.
1 5
Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.
1 6
Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.
1 7
¶ The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools.
1 4 7 6
E c c l e s i a s t e s
1 0
1 8
Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.
10
The Excellence of Wisdom
1
Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savor: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honor.
2
A wise man’s heart is at his right hand; but a fool’s heart at his left.
3
Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way, his wisdom faileth him, and he saith to every one that he is a fool.
4
If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for yielding pacifieth great offenses.
5
¶ There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceedeth from the ruler:
6
folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place.
7
I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth.
8
He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh a hedge, a serpent shall bite him.
9
Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith; and he that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby.
1 0
If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct.
1 1
Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and a babbler is no better.
1 2
¶ The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself.
13
The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness: and the end of his talk is mischievous madness.
14
A fool also is full of words: a man cannot tell what shall be; and what shall be after him, who can tell him?
1 4 7 7
E c c l e s i a s t e s
1 1
1 5
The labor of the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth not how to go to the city.
1 6
¶ Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning!
1 7
Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!
1 8
By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.
19
A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money answereth all things.
2 0
Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.
11
1
Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.
2
Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.
3
If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.
4
He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.
5
As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.
6
In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.
7
¶ Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun:
1 4 7 8
E c c l e s i a s t e s
1 2
8
but if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.
Advice to the Young
9
¶ Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.
1 0
Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.
12
1
Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
2
while the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:
3
in the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened, 4
and the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low;
5
also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets: 6
or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
7
Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
1 4 7 9
E c c l e s i a s t e s
1 2
8
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; all is vanity.
The Whole Duty of Man
9
¶ And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.
1 0
The Preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.
1 1
¶ The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.
1 2
And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
13
¶ Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
14
For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
[Song of Solomon]
1
The Bride and the Daughters of Jerusalem
1
The Song of songs, which is Solomon’s.
2
Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth:
for thy love is better than wine.
3
Because of the savor of thy good ointments
thy name is as ointment poured forth,
therefore do the virgins love thee.
4
Draw me, we will run after thee:
the King hath brought me into his chambers:
we will be glad and rejoice in thee,
we will remember thy love more than wine:
the upright love thee.
5
I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar,
as the curtains of Solomon.
6
Look not upon me, because I am black,
because the sun hath looked upon me:
my mother’s children were angry with me;
they made me the keeper of the vineyards;
but mine own vineyard have I not kept.
7
Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside
by the flocks of thy companions?
8
If thou know not, O thou fairest among women,
go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock,
and feed thy kids beside the shepherds’ tents.
1 4 8 1
S o n g o f S o l o m o n 2
The Bride and the Bridegroom
9
I have compared thee, O my love,
to a company of horses in Pharaoh’s chariots.
1 0
Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels,
thy neck with chains of gold.
1 1
We will make thee borders of gold
with studs of silver.
1 2
While the King sitteth at his table,
my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof.
13
A bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts.
14
My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of Engedi.
1 5
Behold, thou art fair, my love;
behold, thou art fair;
thou hast doves’ eyes.
1 6
Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant: also our bed is green.
1 7
The beams of our house are cedar,
and our rafters of fir.
2
1
I am the rose of Sharon,
and the lily of the valleys.
2
As the lily among thorns,
so is my love among the daughters.
3
As the apple tree among the trees of the wood,
so is my beloved among the sons.
I sat down under his shadow with great delight,
and his fruit was sweet to my taste.
4
He brought me to the banqueting house,
and his banner over me was love.
5
Stay me with flagons,
1 4 8 2
S o n g o f S o l o m o n 2
comfort me with apples:
for I am sick of love.
6
His left hand is under my head,
and his right hand doth embrace me.
7
I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem,
by the roes, and by the hinds of the field,
that ye stir not up, nor awake my love,
till he please.
8
The voice of my beloved!
Behold, he cometh
leaping upon the mountains,
skipping upon the hills.
9
My beloved is like a roe or a young hart:
behold, he standeth behind our wall,
he looketh forth at the windows,
showing himself through the lattice.
1 0
My beloved spake, and said unto me,
Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
1 1
For, lo, the winter is past,
the rain is over and gone;
1 2
the flowers appear on the earth;
the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; 13
the fig tree putteth forth her green figs,
and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell.
Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
14
O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs,
let me see thy countenance,
let me hear thy voice;
for sweet is thy voice,
and thy countenance is comely.
1 5
Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.
1 6
My beloved is mine, and I am his:
1 4 8 3
S o n g o f S o l o m o n 3
he feedeth among the lilies.
1 7
Until the day break,
and the shadows flee away,
turn, my beloved,
and be thou like a roe or a young hart
upon the mountains of Bether.
3
The Bride’s Reverie
1
By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.
2
I will rise now, and go about the city
in the streets, and in the broad ways
I will seek him whom my soul loveth:
I sought him, but I found him not.
3
The watchmen that go about the city found me:
to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?
4
It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth:
I held him, and would not let him go,
until I had brought him into my mother’s house,
and into the chamber of her that conceived me.
5
I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem,
by the roes, and by the hinds of the field,
that ye stir not up, nor awake my love,
till he please.
The Wedding Procession
6
Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
with all powders of the merchant?
7
Behold his bed, which is Solomon’s;
1 4 8 4
S o n g o f S o l o m o n 4
threescore valiant men are about it,
of the valiant of Israel.
8
They all hold swords,
being expert in war:
every man hath his sword upon his thigh
because of fear in the night.
9
King Solomon made himself a chariot
of the wood of Lebanon.
1 0
He made the pillars thereof of silver,
the bottom thereof of gold,
the covering of it of purple,
the midst thereof being paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem.
1 1
Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him
in the day of his espousals,
and in the day of the gladness of his heart.
4
The Bridegroom Praises the Bride
1
Behold, thou art fair, my love;
behold, thou art fair;
thou hast doves’ eyes within thy locks:
thy hair is as a flock of goats,
that appear from mount Gilead.
2
Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing;
whereof every one bear twins,
and none is barren among them.
3
Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet,
and thy speech is comely:
thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks.
4
Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armory,
1 4 8 5
S o n g o f S o l o m o n 4
whereon there hang a thousand bucklers,
all shields of mighty men.
5
Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies.
6
Until the day break,
and the shadows flee away,
I will get me to the mountain of myrrh,
and to the hill of frankincense.
7
Thou art all fair, my love;
there is no spot in thee.
8
Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse,
with me from Lebanon:
look from the top of Amana,
from the top of Shenir and Hermon,
from the lions’ dens,
from the mountains of the leopards.
9
Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck.
1 0
How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse!
How much better is thy love than wine!
and the smell of thine ointments than all spices!
1 1
Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are under thy tongue;
and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.
1 2
A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.
13
Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard,
14
spikenard and saffron;
calamus and cinnamon,
with all trees of frankincense;
myrrh and aloes,
with all the chief spices:
1 5
a fountain of gardens,
1 4 8 6
S o n g o f S o l o m o n 5
a well of living waters,
and streams from Lebanon.
1 6
Awake, O north wind;
and come, thou south;
blow upon my garden,
that the spices thereof may flow out.
Let my beloved come into his garden,
and eat his pleasant fruits.
5
1
I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice;
I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey;
I have drunk my wine with my milk.
Eat, O friends; drink,
yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.
The Distress of Separation
2
I sleep, but my heart waketh:
it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love,
my dove, my undefiled:
for my head is filled with dew,
and my locks with the drops of the night.
3
I have put off my coat;
how shall I put it on?
I have washed my feet;
how shall I defile them?
4
My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him.
5
I rose up to open to my beloved;
and my hands dropped with myrrh,
and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh,
1 4 8 7
S o n g o f S o l o m o n 5
upon the handles of the lock.
6
I opened to my beloved;
but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake:
I sought him, but I could not find him;
I called him, but he gave me no answer.
7
The watchmen that went about the city found me,
they smote me, they wounded me;
the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me.
8
I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him,
that I am sick of love.
The Bride Praises the Bridegroom
9
What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women?
What is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us?
1 0
My beloved is white and ruddy,
the chiefest among ten thousand.
1 1
His head is as the most fine gold;
his locks are bushy, and black as a raven: 1 2
his eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set:
13
his cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh: 14
his hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires: 1 5
his legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars: 1 6
his mouth is most sweet:
yea, he is altogether lovely.
This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.
1 4 8 8
S o n g o f S o l o m o n 6
6
The Mutual Delight of the Bride and Bridegroom
1
Whither is thy beloved gone,
O thou fairest among women?
Whither is thy beloved turned aside?
that we may seek him with thee.
2
My beloved is gone down into his garden,
to the beds of spices,
to feed in the gardens,
and to gather lilies.
3
I am my beloved’s,
and my beloved is mine:
he feedeth among the lilies.
4
Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem,
terrible as an army with banners.
5
Turn away thine eyes from me,
for they have overcome me:
thy hair is as a flock of goats
that appear from Gilead:
6
thy teeth are as a flock of sheep
which go up from the washing,
whereof every one beareth twins,
and there is not one barren among them.
7
As a piece of a pomegranate
are thy temples within thy locks.
8
There are threescore queens,
and fourscore concubines,
and virgins without number.
9
My dove, my undefiled is but one;
she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her.
The daughters saw her, and blessed her;
1 4 8 9
S o n g o f S o l o m o n 7
yea, the queens and the concubines,
and they praised her.
1 0
Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun,
and terrible as an army with banners?
1 1
I went down into the garden of nuts
to see the fruits of the valley,
and to see whether the vine flourished,
and the pomegranates budded.
1 2
Or ever I was aware,
my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib.
13
Return, return, O Shulamite;
return, return, that we may look upon thee.
What will ye see in the Shulamite?
As it were the company of two armies.
7
1
How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince’s daughter!
The joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman.
2
Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor: thy belly is like a heap of wheat set about with lilies.
3
Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins.
4
Thy neck is as a tower of ivory;
thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bath-rabbim:
thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon
which looketh toward Damascus.
5
Thine head upon thee is like Carmel,
and the hair of thine head like purple;
the King is held in the galleries.
6
How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!
7
This thy stature is like to a palm tree,
and thy breasts to clusters of grapes.
1 4 9 0
S o n g o f S o l o m o n 8
8
I said, I will go up to the palm tree,
I will take hold of the boughs thereof:
now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose like apples;
9
and the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved, that goeth down sweetly,
causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak.
1 0
I am my beloved’s,
and his desire is toward me.
1 1
Come, my beloved,
let us go forth into the field;
let us lodge in the villages.
1 2
Let us get up early to the vineyards;
let us see if the vine flourish,
whether the tender grape appear,
and the pomegranates bud forth:
there will I give thee my loves.
13
The mandrakes give a smell,
and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.
8
1
O that thou wert as my brother,
that sucked the breasts of my mother!
When I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised.
2
I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother’s house, who would instruct me:
I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine
of the juice of my pomegranate.
3
His left hand should be under my head,
and his right hand should embrace me.
4
I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
that ye stir not up, nor awake my love,
1 4 9 1
S o n g o f S o l o m o n 8
until he please.
Love Is Strong as Death
5
Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?
I raised thee up under the apple tree:
there thy mother brought thee forth;
there she brought thee forth that bare thee.
6
Set me as a seal upon thine heart,
as a seal upon thine arm:
for love is strong as death;
jealousy is cruel as the grave:
the coals thereof are coals of fire,
which hath a most vehement flame.
7
Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can the floods drown it:
if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.
8
We have a little sister,
and she hath no breasts:
what shall we do for our sister
in the day when she shall be spoken for?
9
If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver: and if she be a door, we will inclose her with boards of cedar.
1 0
I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favor.
1 1
Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon;
he let out the vineyard unto keepers;
every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces of silver.
1 2
My vineyard, which is mine, is before me: thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand,
and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred.
13
Thou that dwellest in the gardens,
1 4 9 2
S o n g o f S o l o m o n 8
the companions hearken to thy voice:
cause me to hear it.
14
Make haste, my beloved,
and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart
upon the mountains of spices.
Isaiah
[Isaiah]
1
A Sinful Nation
1
The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
2
¶ Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken; I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
3
The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.
4
Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
5
¶ Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
6
From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
7
Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
8
And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.
9
Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.
1 4 9 4
I s a i a h
1
A Call to True Repentance
1 0
¶ Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.
1 1
To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord: I am full 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.
1 2
When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts?
13
Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.
14
Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.
1 5
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.
1 6
Wash ye, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
1 7
learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
1 8
¶ Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
19
If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: 2 0
but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
The Judgment and Redemption of Zion
2 1
¶ How is the faithful city become a harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.
2 2
Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water:
1 4 9 5
I s a i a h
2
23
thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.
2 4
¶ Therefore saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies.
2 5
And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin:
2 6
and I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counselors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city.
2 7
¶ Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.
2 8
And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed.
29
For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen.
3 0
For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water.
3 1
And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.
2
The Lord’s Universal Reign of Peace
1
The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2
¶ And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the L o r d ’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
3
And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, 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
1 4 9 6
I s a i a h
2
Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4
And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
The Lord’s Judgment on the Proud
5
¶ O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the L o r d .
6
Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers.
7
Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots:
8
their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made:
9
and the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not.
1 0
Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty.
1 1
The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down; and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.
1 2
¶ For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:
13
and upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,
14
and upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up,
1 5
and upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall, 1 6
and upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures.
1 4 9 7
I s a i a h
3
1 7
And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low; and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.
1 8
And the idols he shall utterly abolish.
19
And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
2 0
¶ In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;
2 1
to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
2 2
Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?
3
The Lord’s Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem
1
For, behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water,
2
the mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient,
3
the captain of fifty, and the honorable man, and the counselor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator.
4
And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.
5
And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbor: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honorable.
6
¶ When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father, saying, Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand:
1 4 9 8
I s a i a h
3
7
in that day shall he swear, saying, I will not be a healer; for in my house is neither bread nor clothing: make me not a ruler of the people.
8
For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the Lord, to provoke the eyes of his glory.
9
¶ The show of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.
1 0
Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall
eat the fruit of their doings.
1 1
Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his
hands shall be given him.
1 2
As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.
13
¶ The Lord standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people.
14
The Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof: for ye have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses.
1 5
What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord God of hosts.
Judgment on the Daughters of Zion
1 6
¶ Moreover the Lord saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet:
1 7
therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will discover their secret parts.
1 8
In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon,
1 4 9 9
I s a i a h
4
19
the chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers, 2 0
the bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings,
2 1
the rings, and nose jewels,
2 2
the changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins,
23
the glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the veils.
2 4
And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty.
2 5
Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war.
2 6
And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground.
4
1
And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel; only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.
Jerusalem’s Glorious Future
2
¶ In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.
3
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 among the living in Jerusalem:
4
when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.
5
And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the
1 5 0 0
I s a i a h
5
shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defense.
6
And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.
5
The Parable of the Vineyard
1
Now will I sing to my well-beloved
a song of my beloved touching his vineyard.
My well-beloved hath a vineyard
in a very fruitful hill:
2
and he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine,
and built a tower in the midst of it,
and also made a winepress therein:
and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.
3
And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.
4
What could have been done more to my vineyard,
that I have not done in it?
Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?
5
And now go to;
I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard:
I will take away the hedge thereof,
and it shall be eaten up;
and break down the wall thereof,
and it shall be trodden down:
6
and I will lay it waste:
it shall not be pruned, nor digged;
but there shall come up briers and thorns:
1 5 0 1
I s a i a h
5
I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
7
For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant:
and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.
Woes Pronounced on the Wicked
8
¶ Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth!
9
In mine ears said the Lord of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant.
1 0
Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of a homer shall yield an ephah.
1 1
¶ Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!
1 2
And the harp and the viol, the tabret and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of his hands.
13
¶ Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honorable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.
14
Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.
1 5
And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled: 1 6
but the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.
1 7
Then shall the lambs feed after their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat.
1 8
¶ Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope:
1 5 0 2
I s a i a h
5
19
that say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and
come, that we may know it!
2 0
Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
2 1
Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
2 2
Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:
23
which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!
2 4
¶ Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
2 5
Therefore is the anger of the Lord kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcasses were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
2 6
¶ And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:
2 7
none shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:
2 8
whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses’ hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind: 29
their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions; yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it.
3 0
And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow; and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.
1 5 0 3
I s a i a h
6
6
The Vision and Call of Isaiah
1
In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
2
Above it stood the seraphim: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
3
And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
4
And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
5
Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.
6
¶ Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 7
and he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
8
Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
9
And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
1 0
Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
1 1
Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,
1 2
and the Lord have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.
13
But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.
1 5 0 4
I s a i a h
7
7
Isaiah’s Message to Ahaz
1
And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it.
2
And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind.
3
¶ Then said the Lord unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shear-jashub [the remnant shall return] thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, in the highway of the fuller’s field;
4
and say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be faint-hearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.
5
Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying,
6
Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal:
7
thus saith the Lord God, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.
8
For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people.
9
And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.
1 0
¶ Moreover the Lord spake again unto Ahaz, saying, 1 1
Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.
1 2
But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord.
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And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?
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Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
1 5
Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.
1 6
For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.
1 7
The Lord shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father’s house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria.
1 8
¶ And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.
19
And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes.
2 0
¶ In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume the beard.
2 1
¶ And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow and two sheep;
2 2
and it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give, he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land.
23
¶ And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, it shall even be for briers and thorns.
2 4
With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns.
2 5
And on all hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns: but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle.
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8
Let the Lord Be Your Fear
1
Moreover the Lord said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man’s pen concerning Maher-shalal-hash-baz [in making speed to the spoil he hasteneth the prey].
2
And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.
3
And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son.
Then said the Lord to me, Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
4
For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.
5
¶ The Lord spake also unto me again, saying,
6
Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah’s son; 7
now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks:
8
and he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.
9
¶ Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces.
1 0
Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.
1 1
¶ For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying,
1 2
Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.
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Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.
14
And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
1 5
And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.
1 6
¶ Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.
1 7
And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.
1 8
Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.
19
And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?
2 0
To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
2 1
And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward.
2 2
And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.
9
The Birth and Reign of the Prince of Peace
1
Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun, and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.
2
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
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3
Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
4
For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian.
5
For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire.
6
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 Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
7
Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
The Lord’s Anger against Israel
8
¶ The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel.
9
And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart, 1 0
The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycamores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars.
1 1
Therefore the Lord shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and join his enemies together;
1 2
the Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
13
¶ For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the Lord of hosts.
14
Therefore the Lord will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day.
1 5
The ancient and honorable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.
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For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.
1 7
Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is a hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
1 8
¶ For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke.
19
Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire: no man shall spare his brother.
2 0
And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm:
2 1
Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh: and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
10
1
Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed; 2
to turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless!
3
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?
4
Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
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The Lord’s Use of Assyria
5
¶ O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation.
6
I will send him against a hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
7
Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few.
8
For he saith, Are not my princes altogether kings?
9
Is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus?
1 0
As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria; 1 1
shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols?
1 2
¶ Wherefore it shall come to pass, that, when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks.
13
For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man:
14
and my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped.
1 5
¶ Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood.
1 6
Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire.
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And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day;
1 8
and shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and they shall be as when a standardbearer fainteth.
19
And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them.
2 0
¶ And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
2 1
The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.
2 2
For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness.
23
For the Lord God of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land.
2 4
¶ Therefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt.
2 5
For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction.
2 6
And the Lord of hosts shall stir up a scourge for him according to the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb: and as his rod was upon the sea, so shall he lift it up after the manner of Egypt.
2 7
And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.
2 8
¶ He is come to Aiath, he is passed to Migron; at Michmash he hath laid up his carriages:
29
they are gone over the passage: they have taken up their lodging at Geba; Ramah is afraid; Gibeah of Saul is fled.
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Lift up thy voice, O daughter of Gallim: cause it to be heard unto Laish, O poor Anathoth.
3 1
Madmenah is removed; the inhabitants of Gebim gather themselves to flee.
3 2
As yet shall he remain at Nob that day: he shall shake his hand against the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.
3 3
¶ Behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, shall lop the bough with terror: and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall be humbled.
3 4
And he shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one.
11
The Righteous Reign of the Branch of Jesse
1
And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
2
and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; 3
and shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the L o r d .
¶ And he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
4
but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
5
And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
6
¶ The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
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7
And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8
And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.
9
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.
1 0
¶ And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.
1 1
¶ And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
1 2
And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
13
The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.
14
But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.
1 5
And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dry-shod.
1 6
And there shall be a highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.
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The Lord to Be Praised in That Day
1
And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.
2
¶ Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.
3
¶ Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.
4
And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.
5
Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.
6
Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.
13
The Oracle concerning Babylon
1
The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see.
2
¶ Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles.
3
I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones for mine anger, even them that rejoice in my highness.
4
The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the Lord of hosts mustereth the host of the battle.
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5
They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the L o r d , and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.
6
¶ Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7
Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt: 8
and they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9
¶ Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
1 0
For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
1 1
And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
1 2
I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13
Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.
14
And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up: they shall every man turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own land.
1 5
Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword.
1 6
Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished.
1 7
¶ Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.
1 8
Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children.
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19
And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’
excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
2 0
It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.
2 1
But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there.
2 2
And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.
14
The Proverb against the King of Babylon
1
For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.
2
And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the Lord for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.
3
¶ And it shall come to pass in the day that the Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve,
4
that thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!
5
The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.
6
He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.
7
The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.
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8
Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.
9
Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
1 0
All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?
1 1
Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.
1 2
¶ How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!
how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13
For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.
1 5
Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
1 6
They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
1 7
that made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?
1 8
All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.
19
But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcass trodden under feet.
2 0
Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.
2 1
¶ Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities.
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For I will rise up against them, saith the Lord of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the Lord.
23
I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts.
Assyria to Be Destroyed
2 4
¶ The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: 2 5
that I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders.
2 6
This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.
2 7
For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it?
and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?
The Oracle concerning Philistia
2 8
¶ In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden.
29
¶ Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent’s root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.
3 0
And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety: and I will kill thy root with famine, and he shall slay thy remnant.
3 1
Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times.
3 2
¶ What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation? That the Lord hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it.
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The Oracle concerning Moab
1
The burden of Moab.
¶ Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence:
2
he is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba: on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off.
3
In their streets they shall gird themselves with sackcloth: on the tops of their houses, and in their streets, every one shall howl, weeping abundantly.
4
And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh; their voice shall be heard even unto Jahaz: therefore the armed soldiers of Moab shall cry out; his life shall be grievous unto him.
5
My heart shall cry out for Moab; his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar, a heifer of three years old: for by the mounting up of Luhith with weeping shall they go it up; for in the way of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry of destruction.
6
For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate: for the hay is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing.
7
Therefore the abundance they have gotten, and that which they have laid up, shall they carry away to the brook of the willows.
8
For the cry is gone round about the borders of Moab; the howling thereof unto Eglaim, and the howling thereof unto Beer-elim.
9
For the waters of Dimon shall be full of blood: for I will bring more upon Dimon, lions upon him that escapeth of Moab, and upon the remnant of the land.
16
1
Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land from Sela to the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion.
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I s a i a h
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2
For it shall be, that, as a wandering bird cast out of the nest, so the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon.
3
Take counsel, execute judgment; make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday; hide the outcasts; bewray not him that wandereth.
4
Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler: for the extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of the land.
5
And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness.
6
¶ We have heard of the pride of Moab; he is very proud: even of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath: but his lies shall not be so.
7
Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab, every one shall howl: for the foundations of Kir-hareseth shall ye mourn; surely they are stricken.
8
¶ For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah: the lords of the heathen have broken down the principal plants thereof, they are come even unto Jazer, they wandered through the wilderness: her branches are stretched out, they are gone over the sea.
9
Therefore I will bewail with the weeping of Jazer the vine of Sibmah: I will water thee with my tears, O Heshbon, and Elealeh: for the shouting for thy summer fruits and for thy harvest is fallen.
1 0
And gladness is taken away, and joy out of the plentiful field; and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither shall there be shouting: the treaders shall tread out no wine in their presses; I have made their vintage shouting to cease.
1 1
Wherefore my bowels shall sound like a harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kir-haresh.
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And it shall come to pass, when it is seen that Moab is weary on the high place, that he shall come to his sanctuary to pray; but he shall not prevail.
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¶ This is the word that the Lord hath spoken concerning Moab since that time.
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But now the Lord hath spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of a hireling, and the glory of Moab shall be contemned, with all that great multitude; and the remnant shall be very small and feeble.
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The Oracle concerning Damascus
1
The burden of Damascus.
¶ Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
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The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.
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The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the Lord of hosts.
The Judgment on Israel
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¶ And in that day it shall come to pass, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean.
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And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; and it shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim.
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Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof, saith the Lord God of Israel.
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¶ At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel.
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And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall respect that which his fingers have made, either the groves, or the images.
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¶ In that day shall his strong cities be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left because of the children of Israel: and there shall be desolation.
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Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the Rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shalt set it with strange slips: 1 1
in the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.
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¶ Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
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The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
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And behold at eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us.
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A Prophecy concerning Ethiopia
1
Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia:
2
that sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled!
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All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye.
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¶ For so the Lord said unto me, I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.
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For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, he shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks, and take away and cut down the branches.
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They shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth: and the fowls shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them.
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¶ In that time shall the present be brought unto the Lord of hosts of a people scattered and peeled, and from a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, the mount Zion.
19
The Oracle concerning Egypt
1
The burden of Egypt.
¶ Behold, the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.
2
And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbor; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.
3
And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.
4
And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts.
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¶ And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up.
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And they shall turn the rivers far away; and the brooks of defense shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither.
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The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more.
8
The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish.
9
Moreover they that work in fine flax, and they that weave networks, shall be confounded.
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And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for fish.
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¶ Surely the princes of Zoan are fools, the counsel of the wise counselors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?
1 2
Where are they? where are thy wise men? and let them tell thee
now, and let them know what the Lord of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt.
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The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph are deceived; they have also seduced Egypt, even they that are the stay of the tribes thereof.
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The Lord hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit.
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Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head or tail, branch or rush, may do.
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¶ In that day shall Egypt be like unto women: and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which he shaketh over it.
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And the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt, every one that maketh mention thereof shall be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the Lord of hosts, which he hath determined against it.
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¶ In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the Lord of hosts; one shall be called, The city of destruction.
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¶ In that day shall there be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the Lord.
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And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the Lord because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them.
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And the Lord shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the Lord, and perform it.
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And the Lord shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and
they shall return even to the Lord, and he shall be entreated of them, and shall heal them.
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¶ In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians.
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¶ In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land: 2 5