# verses

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<pb/>‘Yet you say, “The way of the Lord is not just.” Hear, you Israelites: is my way unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust?


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If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin, they will die for it; because of the sin they have committed they will die.


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But if a wicked person turns away from the wickedness they have committed and does what is just and right, they will save their life.


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Because they consider all the offences they have committed and turn away from them, that person will surely live; they will not die.


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Yet the Israelites say, “The way of the Lord is not just.” Are my ways unjust, people of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unjust?


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<pb/>‘Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away from all your offences; then sin will not be your downfall.


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Rid yourselves of all the offences you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel?


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and say: <pb/><t>‘ “What a lioness was your mother </t><t>among the lions! </t><t>She lay down among them </t><t>and reared her cubs. </t>


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<t>She brought up one of her cubs, </t><t>and he became a strong lion. </t><t>He learned to tear the prey </t><t>and he became a man-eater. </t>


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<t>The nations heard about him, </t><t>and he was trapped in their pit. </t><t>They led him with hooks </t><t>to the land of Egypt. <pb/> </t>


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<t>‘ “When she saw her hope unfulfilled, </t><t>her expectation gone, </t><t>she took another of her cubs </t><t>and made him a strong lion. </t>


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<t>He prowled among the lions, </t><t>for he was now a strong lion. </t><t>He learned to tear the prey </t><t>and he became a man-eater. </t>


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<t>He broke down <f>[27]</f> their strongholds </t><t>and devastated their towns. </t><t>The land and all who were in it </t><t>were terrified by his roaring. </t>


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<t>Then the nations came against him, </t><t>those from regions round about. </t><t>They spread their net for him, </t><t>and he was trapped in their pit. </t>


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<t>With hooks they pulled him into a cage </t><t>and brought him to the king of Babylon. </t><t>They put him in prison, </t><t>so his roar was heard no longer </t><t>on the mountains of Israel. <pb/> </t>


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<t>‘ “Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard <f>[28]</f> </t><t>planted by the water; </t><t>it was fruitful and full of branches </t><t>because of abundant water. </t>


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<t>Its branches were strong, </t><t>fit for a ruler’s sceptre. </t><t>It towered high </t><t>above the thick foliage, </t><t>conspicuous for its height </t><t>and for its many branches. </t>


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<t>But it was uprooted in fury </t><t>and thrown to the ground. </t><t>The east wind made it shrivel, </t><t>it was stripped of its fruit; </t><t>its strong branches withered </t><t>and fire consumed them. </t>


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<t>Fire spread from one of its main <f>[29]</f> branches </t><t>and consumed its fruit. </t><t>No strong branch is left on it </t><t>fit for a ruler’s sceptre.” </t> <pb/>This is a lament and is to be used as a lament.’


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<pb/>In the seventh year, in the fifth month on the tenth day, some of the elders of Israel came to enquire of the LORD, and they sat down in front of me.


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‘Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them, “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: have you come to enquire of me? As surely as I live, I will not let you enquire of me, declares the Sovereign LORD.”


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<pb/>‘Will you judge them? Will you judge them, son of man? Then confront them with the detestable practices of their ancestors


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and say to them: “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: on the day I chose Israel, I swore with uplifted hand to the descendants of Jacob and revealed myself to them in Egypt. With uplifted hand I said to them, ‘I am the LORD your God.’


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On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of Egypt into a land I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands.


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And I said to them, ‘Each of you, get rid of the vile images you have set your eyes on, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.’


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<pb/>‘ “But they rebelled against me and would not listen to me; they did not get rid of the vile images they had set their eyes on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and spend my anger against them in Egypt.


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But for the sake of my name, I brought them out of Egypt. I did it to keep my name from being profaned in the eyes of the nations among whom they lived and in whose sight I had revealed myself to the Israelites.


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I gave them my decrees and made known to them my laws, by which the person who obeys them will live.


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Also I gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between us, so they would know that I the LORD made them holy.


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<pb/>‘ “Yet the people of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They did not follow my decrees but rejected my laws — by which the person who obeys them will live — and they utterly desecrated my Sabbaths. So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and destroy them in the wilderness.


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But for the sake of my name I did what would keep it from being profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.


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Also with uplifted hand I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land I had given them — a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands —


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because they rejected my laws and did not follow my decrees and desecrated my Sabbaths. For their hearts were devoted to their idols.


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I said to their children in the wilderness, ‘Do not follow the statutes of your parents or keep their laws or defile yourselves with their idols.


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Keep my Sabbaths holy, that they may be a sign between us. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.’


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<pb/>‘ “But the children rebelled against me: they did not follow my decrees, they were not careful to keep my laws, of which I said, ‘The person who obeys them will live by them,’ and they desecrated my Sabbaths. So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and spend my anger against them in the wilderness.


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But I withheld my hand, and for the sake of my name I did what would keep it from being profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.


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Also with uplifted hand I swore to them in the wilderness that I would disperse them among the nations and scatter them through the countries,


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because they had not obeyed my laws but had rejected my decrees and desecrated my Sabbaths, and their eyes lusted after their parents’ idols.


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I defiled them through their gifts — the sacrifice of every firstborn — that I might fill them with horror so that they would know that I am the LORD.”


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<pb/>‘Therefore, son of man, speak to the people of Israel and say to them, “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: in this also your ancestors blasphemed me by being unfaithful to me:


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when I brought them into the land I had sworn to give them and they saw any high hill or any leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices, made offerings that aroused my anger, presented their fragrant incense and poured out their drink offerings.


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Then I said to them: what is this high place you go to?” ’ (It is called Bamah <f>[30]</f> to this day.)


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<pb/>‘Therefore say to the Israelites: “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: will you defile yourselves the way your ancestors did and lust after their vile images?


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When you offer your gifts — the sacrifice of your children in the fire — you continue to defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. Am I to let you enquire of me, you Israelites? As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I will not let you enquire of me.


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<pb/>‘ “You say, ‘We want to be like the nations, like the peoples of the world, who serve wood and stone.’ But what you have in mind will never happen.


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As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I will reign over you with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with outpoured wrath.


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I will bring you from the nations and gather you from the countries where you have been scattered — with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with outpoured wrath.


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I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations and there, face to face, I will execute judgment upon you.


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As I judged your ancestors in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will judge you, declares the Sovereign LORD.


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I will take note of you as you pass under my rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant.


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I will purge you of those who revolt and rebel against me. Although I will bring them out of the land where they are living, yet they will not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD.


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<pb/>‘ “As for you, people of Israel, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: go and serve your idols, every one of you! But afterwards you will surely listen to me and no longer profane my holy name with your gifts and idols.


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For on my holy mountain, the high mountain of Israel, declares the Sovereign LORD, there in the land all the people of Israel will serve me, and there I will accept them. There I will require your offerings and your choice gifts, <f>[31]</f> along with all your holy sacrifices.


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I will accept you as fragrant incense when I bring you out from the nations and gather you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will be proved holy through you in the sight of the nations.


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Then you will know that I am the LORD, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the land I had sworn with uplifted hand to give to your ancestors.


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There you will remember your conduct and all the actions by which you have defiled yourselves, and you will loathe yourselves for all the evil you have done.


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You will know that I am the LORD, when I deal with you for my name’s sake and not according to your evil ways and your corrupt practices, you people of Israel, declares the Sovereign LORD.” ’


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‘Son of man, set your face towards the south; preach against the south and prophesy against the forest of the southland.


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Say to the southern forest: “Hear the word of the LORD. This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am about to set fire to you, and it will consume all your trees, both green and dry. The blazing flame will not be quenched, and every face from south to north will be scorched by it.


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<pb/>Then I said, ‘Sovereign LORD, they are saying of me, “Isn’t he just telling parables?” ’ <f>[32]</f>


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‘Son of man, set your face against Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuary. Prophesy against the land of Israel


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and say to her: “This is what the LORD says: I am against you. I will draw my sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked.


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Because I am going to cut off the righteous and the wicked, my sword will be unsheathed against everyone from south to north.


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Then all people will know that I the LORD have drawn my sword from its sheath; it will not return again.”


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And when they ask you, “Why are you groaning?” you shall say, “Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt with fear and every hand go limp; every spirit will become faint and every leg will be wet with urine.” It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign LORD.’


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‘Son of man, prophesy and say, “This is what the Lord says: <pb/><t>‘ “A sword, a sword, </t><t>sharpened and polished — </t>


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<t>sharpened for the slaughter, </t><t>polished to flash like lightning! </t> <pb/>‘ “Shall we rejoice in the sceptre of my royal son? The sword despises every such stick.


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<pb/><t>‘ “The sword is appointed to be polished, </t><t>to be grasped with the hand; </t><t>it is sharpened and polished, </t><t>made ready for the hand of the slayer. </t>


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<t>Cry out and wail, son of man, </t><t>for it is against my people; </t><t>it is against all the princes of Israel. </t><t>They are thrown to the sword </t><t>along with my people. </t><t>Therefore beat your breast. </t>


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<pb/>‘ “Testing will surely come. And what if even the sceptre, which the sword despises, does not continue? declares the Sovereign LORD.”


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<pb/><t>‘So then, son of man, prophesy </t><t>and strike your hands together. </t><t>Let the sword strike twice, </t><t>even three times. </t><t>It is a sword for slaughter — </t><t>a sword for great slaughter, </t><t>closing in on them from every side. </t>


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<t>So that hearts may melt with fear </t><t>and the fallen be many, </t><t>I have stationed the sword for slaughter <f>[34]</f> </t><t>at all their gates. </t><t>Look! It is forged to strike like lightning, </t><t>it is grasped for slaughter. </t>


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<t>Slash to the right, you sword, </t><t>then to the left, </t><t>wherever your blade is turned. </t>


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<t>I too will strike my hands together, </t><t>and my wrath will subside. </t><t>I the LORD have spoken.’ </t>


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‘Son of man, mark out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to take, both starting from the same country. Make a signpost where the road branches off to the city.


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Mark out one road for the sword to come against Rabbah of the Ammonites and another against Judah and fortified Jerusalem.


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For the king of Babylon will stop at the fork in the road, at the junction of the two roads, to seek an omen: he will cast lots with arrows, he will consult his idols, he will examine the liver.


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Into his right hand will come the lot for Jerusalem, where he is to set up battering-rams, to give the command to slaughter, to sound the battle cry, to set battering-rams against the gates, to build a ramp and to erect siege works.


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It will seem like a false omen to those who have sworn allegiance to him, but he will remind them of their guilt and take them captive.


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<pb/>‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “Because you people have brought to mind your guilt by your open rebellion, revealing your sins in all that you do — because you have done this, you will be taken captive.


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<pb/>‘ “You profane and wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come, whose time of punishment has reached its climax,


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this is what the Sovereign LORD says: take off the turban, remove the crown. It will not be as it was: The lowly will be exalted and the exalted will be brought low.


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A ruin! A ruin! I will make it a ruin! The crown will not be restored until he to whom it rightfully belongs shall come; to him I will give it.”


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<pb/>‘And you, son of man, prophesy and say, “This is what the Sovereign LORD says about the Ammonites and their insults: <pb/><t>‘ “A sword, a sword, </t><t>drawn for the slaughter, </t><t>polished to consume </t><t>and to flash like lightning! </t>


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<t>Despite false visions concerning you </t><t>and lying divinations about you, </t><t>it will be laid on the necks </t><t>of the wicked who are to be slain, </t><t>whose day has come, </t><t>whose time of punishment has reached its climax. <pb/> </t>


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<t>‘ “Let the sword return to its sheath. </t><t>In the place where you were created, </t><t>in the land of your ancestry, </t><t>I will judge you. </t>


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<t>I will pour out my wrath on you </t><t>and breathe out my fiery anger against you; </t><t>I will deliver you into the hands of brutal men, </t><t>men skilled in destruction. </t>


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<t>You will be fuel for the fire, </t><t>your blood will be shed in your land, </t><t>you will be remembered no more; </t><t>for I the LORD have spoken.” ’</t>


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<pb/>‘Son of man, will you judge her? Will you judge this city of bloodshed? Then confront her with all her detestable practices


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and say: “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: you city that brings on herself doom by shedding blood in her midst and defiles herself by making idols,


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you have become guilty because of the blood you have shed and have become defiled by the idols you have made. You have brought your days to a close, and the end of your years has come. Therefore I will make you an object of scorn to the nations and a laughing-stock to all the countries.


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In you they have treated father and mother with contempt; in you they have oppressed the foreigner and ill-treated the fatherless and the widow.


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In you are slanderers who are bent on shedding blood; in you are those who eat at the mountain shrines and commit lewd acts.


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In you are those who dishonour their father’s bed; in you are those who violate women during their period, when they are ceremonially unclean.


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In you one man commits a detestable offence with his neighbour’s wife, another shamefully defiles his daughter-in-law, and another violates his sister, his own father’s daughter.


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In you are people who accept bribes to shed blood; you take interest and make a profit from the poor. You extort unjust gain from your neighbours. And you have forgotten me, declares the Sovereign LORD.


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<pb/>‘ “I will surely strike my hands together at the unjust gain you have made and at the blood you have shed in your midst.


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Will your courage endure or your hands be strong in the day I deal with you? I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it.


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I will disperse you among the nations and scatter you through the countries; and I will put an end to your uncleanness.


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When you have been defiled <f>[35]</f> in the eyes of the nations, you will know that I am the LORD.” ’


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‘Son of man, the people of Israel have become dross to me; all of them are the copper, tin, iron and lead left inside a furnace. They are but the dross of silver.


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Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “Because you have all become dross, I will gather you into Jerusalem.


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As silver, copper, iron, lead and tin are gathered into a furnace to be melted with a fiery blast, so will I gather you in my anger and my wrath and put you inside the city and melt you.


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As silver is melted in a furnace, so you will be melted inside her, and you will know that I the LORD have poured out my wrath on you.” ’


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‘Son of man, say to the land, “You are a land that has not been cleansed or rained on in the day of wrath.”


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There is a conspiracy of her princes <f>[36]</f> within her like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they devour people, take treasures and precious things and make many widows within her.


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Her priests do violence to my law and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean; and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.


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Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey; they shed blood and kill people to make unjust gain.


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Her prophets whitewash these deeds for them by false visions and lying divinations. They say, “This is what the Sovereign LORD says” — when the LORD has not spoken.


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The people of the land practise extortion and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and ill-treat the foreigner, denying them justice.


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<pb/>‘I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so that I would not have to destroy it, but I found no-one.


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So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign LORD.’


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They became prostitutes in Egypt, engaging in prostitution from their youth. In that land their breasts were fondled and their virgin bosoms caressed.


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The elder one was named Oholah, and her sister was Oholibah. They were mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.


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<pb/>‘Oholah engaged in prostitution while she was still mine; and she lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians — warriors


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She gave herself as a prostitute to all the elite of the Assyrians and defiled herself with all the idols of everyone she lusted after.


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She did not give up the prostitution she began in Egypt, when during her youth men slept with her, caressed her virgin bosom and poured out their lust on her.


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They stripped her naked, took away her sons and daughters and killed her with the sword. She became a byword among women, and punishment was inflicted on her.


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<pb/>‘Her sister Oholibah saw this, yet in her lust and prostitution she was more depraved than her sister.


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She too lusted after the Assyrians — governors and commanders, warriors in full dress, mounted horsemen, all handsome young men.


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<pb/>‘But she carried her prostitution still further. She saw men portrayed on a wall, figures of Chaldeans <f>[37]</f> portrayed in red,


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with belts round their waists and flowing turbans on their heads; all of them looked like Babylonian chariot officers, natives of Chaldea. <f>[38]</f>


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Then the Babylonians came to her, to the bed of love, and in their lust they defiled her. After she had been defiled by them, she turned away from them in disgust.


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When she carried on her prostitution openly and exposed her naked body, I turned away from her in disgust, just as I had turned away from her sister.


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Yet she became more and more promiscuous as she recalled the days of her youth, when she was a prostitute in Egypt.


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There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses.


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So you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when in Egypt your bosom was caressed and your young breasts fondled. <f>[39]</f>


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<pb/>‘Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will stir up your lovers against you, those you turned away from in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side —


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the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, the men of Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, handsome young men, all of them governors and commanders, chariot officers and men of high rank, all mounted on horses.


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They will come against you with weapons, <f>[40]</f> chariots and wagons and with a throng of people; they will take up positions against you on every side with large and small shields and with helmets. I will turn you over to them for punishment, and they will punish you according to their standards.


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I will direct my jealous anger against you, and they will deal with you in fury. They will cut off your noses and your ears, and those of you who are left will fall by the sword. They will take away your sons and daughters, and those of you who are left will be consumed by fire.


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So I will put a stop to the lewdness and prostitution you began in Egypt. You will not look on these things with longing or remember Egypt anymore.


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<pb/>‘For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am about to deliver you into the hands of those you hate, to those you turned away from in disgust.


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They will deal with you in hatred and take away everything you have worked for. They will leave you stark naked, and the shame of your prostitution will be exposed. Your lewdness and promiscuity


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have brought this on you, because you lusted after the nations and defiled yourself with their idols.


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<pb/>‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: <pb/><t>‘You will drink your sister’s cup, </t><t>a cup large and deep; </t><t>it will bring scorn and derision, </t><t>for it holds so much. </t>


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<t>You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, </t><t>the cup of ruin and desolation, </t><t>the cup of your sister Samaria. </t>


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<t>You will drink it and drain it dry </t><t>and chew on its pieces — </t><t>and you will tear your breasts. </t> <pb/>I have spoken, declares the Sovereign LORD.


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<pb/>‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: since you have forgotten me and turned your back on me, you must bear the consequences of your lewdness and prostitution.’


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<pb/>The LORD said to me: ‘Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then confront them with their detestable practices,


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for they have committed adultery and blood is on their hands. They committed adultery with their idols; they even sacrificed their children, whom they bore to me, as food for them.


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They have also done this to me: at that same time they defiled my sanctuary and desecrated my Sabbaths.


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On the very day they sacrificed their children to their idols, they entered my sanctuary and desecrated it. That is what they did in my house.


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<pb/>‘They even sent messengers for men who came from far away, and when they arrived you bathed yourself for them, applied eye makeup and put on your jewellery.


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You sat on an elegant couch, with a table spread before it on which you had placed the incense and olive oil that belonged to me.


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<pb/>‘The noise of a carefree crowd was around her; drunkards were brought from the desert along with men from the rabble, and they put bracelets on the wrists of the woman and her sister and beautiful crowns on their heads.


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Then I said about the one worn out by adultery, “Now let them use her as a prostitute, for that is all she is.”


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And they slept with her. As men sleep with a prostitute, so they slept with those lewd women, Oholah and Oholibah.


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But righteous judges will sentence them to the punishment of women who commit adultery and shed blood, because they are adulterous and blood is on their hands.


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<pb/>‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: bring a mob against them and give them over to terror and plunder.


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The mob will stone them and cut them down with their swords; they will kill their sons and daughters and burn down their houses.


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<pb/>‘So I will put an end to lewdness in the land, that all women may take warning and not imitate you.


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You will suffer the penalty for your lewdness and bear the consequences of your sins of idolatry. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign LORD.’


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‘Son of man, record this date, this very date, because the king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day.


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Tell this rebellious people a parable and say to them: “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: <pb/><t>‘ “Put on the cooking pot; put it on </t><t>and pour water into it. </t>


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<t>Put into it the pieces of meat, </t><t>all the choice pieces — the leg and the shoulder. </t><t>Fill it with the best of these bones; </t>


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<t>take the pick of the flock. </t><t>Pile wood beneath it for the bones; </t><t>bring it to the boil </t><t>and cook the bones in it. </t>


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<pb/>‘ “For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: <pb/><t>‘ “Woe to the city of bloodshed, </t><t>to the pot now encrusted, </t><t>whose deposit will not go away! </t><t>Take the meat out piece by piece </t><t>in whatever order it comes. <pb/> </t>


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<t>‘ “For the blood she shed is in her midst: </t><t>she poured it on the bare rock; </t><t>she did not pour it on the ground, </t><t>where the dust would cover it. </t>


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<t>To stir up wrath and take revenge </t><t>I put her blood on the bare rock, </t><t>so that it would not be covered. </t>


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<pb/>‘ “Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: <pb/><t>‘ “Woe to the city of bloodshed! </t><t>I, too, will pile the wood high. </t>


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<t>So heap on the wood </t><t>and kindle the fire. </t><t>Cook the meat well, </t><t>mixing in the spices; </t><t>and let the bones be charred. </t>


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<t>Then set the empty pot on the coals </t><t>till it becomes hot and its copper glows, </t><t>so that its impurities may be melted </t><t>and its deposit burned away. </t>


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<t>It has frustrated all efforts; </t><t>its heavy deposit has not been removed, </t><t>not even by fire. </t>


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<pb/>‘ “Now your impurity is lewdness. Because I tried to cleanse you but you would not be cleansed from your impurity, you will not be clean again until my wrath against you has subsided.


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<pb/>‘ “I the LORD have spoken. The time has come for me to act. I will not hold back; I will not have pity, nor will I relent. You will be judged according to your conduct and your actions, declares the Sovereign LORD.” ’


text:
‘Son of man, with one blow I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes. Yet do not lament or weep or shed any tears.


text:
Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Keep your turban fastened and your sandals on your feet; do not cover your moustache and beard or eat the customary food of mourners.’


text:
<pb/>So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did as I had been commanded.


text:
<pb/>Then the people asked me, ‘Won’t you tell us what these things have to do with us? Why are you acting like this?’


text:
say to the people of Israel, “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am about to desecrate my sanctuary — the stronghold in which you take pride, the delight of your eyes, the object of your affection. The sons and daughters you left behind will fall by the sword.


text:
And you will do as I have done. You will not cover your moustache and beard or eat the customary food of mourners.


text:
You will keep your turbans on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will not mourn or weep but will waste away because of <f>[41]</f> your sins and groan among yourselves.


text:
Ezekiel will be a sign to you; you will do just as he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am the Sovereign LORD.”


text:
<pb/>‘And you, son of man, on the day I take away their stronghold, their joy and glory, the delight of their eyes, their heart’s desire, and their sons and daughters as well —


text:
At that time your mouth will be opened; you will speak with him and will no longer be silent. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the LORD.’


text:
Say to them, “Hear the word of the Sovereign LORD. This is what the Sovereign LORD says: because you said ‘Aha!’ over my sanctuary when it was desecrated and over the land of Israel when it was laid waste and over the people of Judah when they went into exile,


text:
therefore I am going to give you to the people of the East as a possession. They will set up their camps and pitch their tents among you; they will eat your fruit and drink your milk.


text:
I will turn Rabbah into a pasture for camels and Ammon into a resting-place for sheep. Then you will know that I am the LORD.


text:
For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet, rejoicing with all the malice of your heart against the land of Israel,


text:
therefore I will stretch out my hand against you and give you as plunder to the nations. I will wipe you out from among the nations and exterminate you from the countries. I will destroy you, and you will know that I am the LORD.” ’


text:
<pb/>‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: “Because Moab and Seir said, ‘Look, Judah has become like all the other nations,’


text:
therefore I will expose the flank of Moab, beginning at its frontier towns — Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon and Kiriathaim — the glory of that land.


text:
I will give Moab along with the Ammonites to the people of the East as a possession, so that the Ammonites will not be remembered among the nations;


text:
<pb/>‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: “Because Edom took revenge on Judah and became very guilty by doing so,


text:
therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will stretch out my hand against Edom and kill both man and beast. I will lay it waste, and from Teman to Dedan they will fall by the sword.


text:
I will take vengeance on Edom by the hand of my people Israel, and they will deal with Edom in accordance with my anger and my wrath; they will know my vengeance, declares the Sovereign LORD.” ’


text:
<pb/>‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: “Because the Philistines acted in vengeance and took revenge with malice in their hearts, and with ancient hostility sought to destroy Judah,


text:
therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am about to stretch out my hand against the Philistines, and I will wipe out the Kerethites and destroy those remaining along the coast.


text:
I will carry out great vengeance on them and punish them in my wrath. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I take vengeance on them.” ’


text:
<pb/>In the eleventh month of the twelfth <f>[42]</f> year, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me:


text:
‘Son of man, because Tyre has said of Jerusalem, “Aha! The gate to the nations is broken, and its doors have swung open to me; now that she lies in ruins I will prosper,”


text:
therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, Tyre, and I will bring many nations against you, like the sea casting up its waves.


text:
They will destroy the walls of Tyre and pull down her towers; I will scrape away her rubble and make her a bare rock.


text:
Out in the sea she will become a place to spread fishing nets, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign LORD. She will become plunder for the nations,


text:
and her settlements on the mainland will be ravaged by the sword. Then they will know that I am the LORD.


text:
<pb/>‘For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: from the north I am going to bring against Tyre Nebuchadnezzar <f>[43]</f> king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, with horsemen and a great army.


text:
He will ravage your settlements on the mainland with the sword; he will set up siege works against you, build a ramp up to your walls and raise his shields against you.


text:
He will direct the blows of his battering-rams against your walls and demolish your towers with his weapons.


text:
His horses will be so many that they will cover you with dust. Your walls will tremble at the noise of the warhorses, wagons and chariots when he enters your gates as men enter a city whose walls have been broken through.


text:
The hooves of his horses will trample all your streets; he will kill your people with the sword, and your strong pillars will fall to the ground.


text:
They will plunder your wealth and loot your merchandise; they will break down your walls and demolish your fine houses and throw your stones, timber and rubble into the sea.


text:
I will make you a bare rock, and you will become a place to spread fishing nets. You will never be rebuilt, for I the LORD have spoken, declares the Sovereign LORD.


text:
<pb/>‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says to Tyre: will not the coastlands tremble at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan and the slaughter takes place in you?


text:
Then all the princes of the coast will step down from their thrones and lay aside their robes and take off their embroidered garments. Clothed with terror, they will sit on the ground, trembling every moment, appalled at you.


text:
Then they will take up a lament concerning you and say to you: <pb/><t>‘ “How you are destroyed, city of renown, </t><t>peopled by men of the sea! </t><t>You were a power on the seas, </t><t>you and your citizens; </t><t>you put your terror </t><t>on all who lived there. </t>


text:
<t>Now the coastlands tremble </t><t>on the day of your fall; </t><t>the islands in the sea </t><t>are terrified at your collapse.” </t>


text:
<pb/>‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: when I make you a desolate city, like cities no longer inhabited, and when I bring the ocean depths over you and its vast waters cover you,


text:
then I will bring you down with those who go down to the pit, to the people of long ago. I will make you dwell in the earth below, as in ancient ruins, with those who go down to the pit, and you will not return or take your place <f>[44]</f> in the land of the living.


text:
I will bring you to a horrible end and you will be no more. You will be sought, but you will never again be found, declares the Sovereign LORD.’


text:
Say to Tyre, situated at the gateway to the sea, merchant of peoples on many coasts, “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: <pb/><t>‘ “You say, Tyre, </t><t>‘I am perfect in beauty.’ </t>


text:
<t>They made all your timbers </t><t>of juniper from Senir <f>[45]</f>; </t><t>they took a cedar from Lebanon </t><t>to make a mast for you. </t>


text:
<t>Of oaks from Bashan </t><t>they made your oars; </t><t>of cypress wood <f>[46]</f> from the coasts of Cyprus </t><t>they made your deck, adorned with ivory. </t>


text:
<t>Fine embroidered linen from Egypt was your sail </t><t>and served as your banner; </t><t>your awnings were of blue and purple </t><t>from the coasts of Elishah. </t>


text:
<t>Men of Sidon and Arvad were your oarsmen; </t><t>your skilled men, Tyre, were aboard as your sailors. </t>


text:
<t>Veteran craftsmen of Byblos were on board </t><t>as shipwrights to caulk your seams. </t><t>All the ships of the sea and their sailors </t><t>came alongside to trade for your wares. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘ “Men of Persia, Lydia and Put </t><t>served as soldiers in your army. </t><t>They hung their shields and helmets on your walls, </t><t>bringing you splendour. </t>


text:
<t>Men of Arvad and Helek </t><t>guarded your walls on every side; </t><t>men of Gammad </t><t>were in your towers. </t><t>They hung their shields around your walls; </t><t>they brought your beauty to perfection. </t>


text:
<pb/>‘ “Tarshish did business with you because of your great wealth of goods; they exchanged silver, iron, tin and lead for your merchandise.


text:
<pb/>‘ “Greece, Tubal and Meshek did business with you; they traded human beings and articles of bronze for your wares.


text:
<pb/>‘ “Men of Beth Togarmah exchanged chariot horses, cavalry horses and mules for your merchandise.


text:
<pb/>‘ “The men of Rhodes <f>[47]</f> traded with you, and many coastlands were your customers; they paid you with ivory tusks and ebony.


text:
<pb/>‘ “Aram <f>[48]</f> did business with you because of your many products; they exchanged turquoise, purple fabric, embroidered work, fine linen, coral and rubies for your merchandise.


text:
<pb/>‘ “Judah and Israel traded with you; they exchanged wheat from Minnith and confections, <f>[49]</f> honey, olive oil and balm for your wares.


text:
<pb/>‘ “Damascus did business with you because of your many products and great wealth of goods. They offered wine from Helbon, wool from Zahar


text:
<pb/>‘ “Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your customers; they did business with you in lambs, rams and goats.


text:
<pb/>‘ “The merchants of Sheba and Raamah traded with you; for your merchandise they exchanged the finest of all kinds of spices and precious stones, and gold.


text:
In your market-place they traded with you beautiful garments, blue fabric, embroidered work and multicoloured rugs with cords twisted and tightly knotted.


text:
<pb/><t>‘ “The ships of Tarshish serve </t><t>as carriers for your wares. </t><t>You are filled with heavy cargo </t><t>as you sail the sea. </t>


text:
<t>Your oarsmen take you </t><t>out to the high seas. </t><t>But the east wind will break you to pieces </t><t>far out at sea. </t>


text:
<t>Your wealth, merchandise and wares, </t><t>your mariners, sailors and shipwrights, </t><t>your merchants and all your soldiers, </t><t>and everyone else on board </t><t>will sink into the heart of the sea </t><t>on the day of your shipwreck. </t>


text:
<t>All who handle the oars </t><t>will abandon their ships; </t><t>the mariners and all the sailors </t><t>will stand on the shore. </t>


text:
<t>They will raise their voice </t><t>and cry bitterly over you; </t><t>they will sprinkle dust on their heads </t><t>and roll in ashes. </t>


text:
<t>They will shave their heads because of you </t><t>and will put on sackcloth. </t><t>They will weep over you with anguish of soul </t><t>and with bitter mourning. </t>


text:
<t>As they wail and mourn over you, </t><t>they will take up a lament concerning you: </t><t>‘Who was ever silenced like Tyre, </t><t>surrounded by the sea?’ </t>


text:
<t>When your merchandise went out on the seas, </t><t>you satisfied many nations; </t><t>with your great wealth and your wares </t><t>you enriched the kings of the earth. </t>


text:
<t>Now you are shattered by the sea </t><t>in the depths of the waters; </t><t>your wares and all your company </t><t>have gone down with you. </t>


text:
<t>All who live in the coastlands </t><t>are appalled at you; </t><t>their kings shudder with horror </t><t>and their faces are distorted with fear. </t>


text:
<t>The merchants among the nations scoff at you; </t><t>you have come to a horrible end </t><t>and will be no more.” ’</t>


text:
‘Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: <pb/><t>‘ “In the pride of your heart </t><t>you say, ‘I am a god; </t><t>I sit on the throne of a god </t><t>in the heart of the seas.’ </t><t>But you are a mere mortal and not a god, </t><t>though you think you are as wise as a god. </t>


text:
<t>By your wisdom and understanding </t><t>you have gained wealth for yourself </t><t>and amassed gold and silver </t><t>in your treasuries. </t>


text:
<t>By your great skill in trading </t><t>you have increased your wealth, </t><t>and because of your wealth </t><t>your heart has grown proud. </t>


text:
<pb/>‘ “Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: <pb/><t>‘ “Because you think you are wise, </t><t>as wise as a god, </t>


text:
<t>I am going to bring foreigners against you, </t><t>the most ruthless of nations; </t><t>they will draw their swords against your beauty and wisdom </t><t>and pierce your shining splendour. </t>


text:
<t>They will bring you down to the pit, </t><t>and you will die a violent death </t><t>in the heart of the seas. </t>


text:
<t>Will you then say, ‘I am a god,’ </t><t>in the presence of those who kill you? </t><t>You will be but a mortal, not a god, </t><t>in the hands of those who slay you. </t>


text:
<t>You will die the death of the uncircumcised </t><t>at the hands of foreigners. </t> <pb/>I have spoken, declares the Sovereign LORD.” ’


text:
‘Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: <pb/><t>‘ “You were the seal of perfection, </t><t>full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. </t>


text:
<t>You were in Eden, </t><t>the garden of God; </t><t>every precious stone adorned you: </t><t>carnelian, chrysolite and emerald, </t><t>topaz, onyx and jasper, </t><t>lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl. <f>[51]</f> </t><t>Your settings and mountings <f>[52]</f> were made of gold; </t><t>on the day you were created they were prepared. </t>


text:
<t>You were anointed as a guardian cherub, </t><t>for so I ordained you. </t><t>You were on the holy mount of God; </t><t>you walked among the fiery stones. </t>


text:
<t>You were blameless in your ways </t><t>from the day you were created </t><t>till wickedness was found in you. </t>


text:
<t>Through your widespread trade </t><t>you were filled with violence, </t><t>and you sinned. </t><t>So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, </t><t>and I expelled you, guardian cherub, </t><t>from among the fiery stones. </t>


text:
<t>Your heart became proud </t><t>on account of your beauty, </t><t>and you corrupted your wisdom </t><t>because of your splendour. </t><t>So I threw you to the earth; </t><t>I made a spectacle of you before kings. </t>


text:
<t>By your many sins and dishonest trade </t><t>you have desecrated your sanctuaries. </t><t>So I made a fire come out from you, </t><t>and it consumed you, </t><t>and I reduced you to ashes on the ground </t><t>in the sight of all who were watching. </t>


text:
<t>All the nations who knew you </t><t>are appalled at you; </t><t>you have come to a horrible end </t><t>and will be no more.” ’ </t>


text:
and say: “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: <pb/><t>‘ “I am against you, Sidon, </t><t>and among you I will display my glory. </t><t>You will know that I am the LORD, </t><t>when I inflict punishment on you </t><t>and within you am proved to be holy. </t>


text:
<t>I will send a plague upon you </t><t>and make blood flow in your streets. </t><t>The slain will fall within you, </t><t>with the sword against you on every side. </t><t>Then you will know that I am the LORD. </t>


text:
<pb/>‘ “No longer will the people of Israel have malicious neighbours who are painful briers and sharp thorns. Then they will know that I am the Sovereign LORD.


text:
<pb/>‘ “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: when I gather the people of Israel from the nations where they have been scattered, I will be proved holy through them in the sight of the nations. Then they will live in their own land, which I gave to my servant Jacob.


text:
They will live there in safety and will build houses and plant vineyards; they will live in safety when I inflict punishment on all their neighbours who maligned them. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God.” ’


text:
‘Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.


text:
Speak to him and say: “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: <pb/><t>‘ “I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, </t><t>you great monster lying among your streams. </t><t>You say, ‘The Nile belongs to me; </t><t>I made it for myself.’ </t>


text:
<t>But I will put hooks in your jaws </t><t>and make the fish of your streams stick to your scales. </t><t>I will pull you out from among your streams, </t><t>with all the fish sticking to your scales. </t>


text:
<t>I will leave you in the desert, </t><t>you and all the fish of your streams. </t><t>You will fall on the open field </t><t>and not be gathered or picked up. </t><t>I will give you as food </t><t>to the beasts of the earth and the birds of the sky. </t>


text:
<pb/>Then all who live in Egypt will know that I am the LORD. <pb/>‘ “You have been a staff of reed for the people of Israel.


text:
When they grasped you with their hands, you splintered and you tore open their shoulders; when they leaned on you, you broke and their backs were wrenched. <f>[53]</f>


text:
<pb/>‘ “Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will bring a sword against you and kill both man and beast.


text:
Egypt will become a desolate wasteland. Then they will know that I am the LORD. <pb/>‘ “Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine; I made it,’


text:
therefore I am against you and against your streams, and I will make the land of Egypt a ruin and a desolate waste from Migdol to Aswan, as far as the border of Cush. <f>[54]</f>


text:
I will make the land of Egypt desolate among devastated lands, and her cities will lie desolate for forty years among ruined cities. And I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries.


text:
<pb/>‘ “Yet this is what the Sovereign LORD says: at the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations where they were scattered.


text:
I will bring them back from captivity and return them to Upper Egypt, the land of their ancestry. There they will be a lowly kingdom.


text:
It will be the lowliest of kingdoms and will never again exalt itself above the other nations. I will make it so weak that it will never again rule over the nations.


text:
Egypt will no longer be a source of confidence for the people of Israel but will be a reminder of their sin in turning to her for help. Then they will know that I am the Sovereign LORD.” ’


text:
<pb/>In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month on the first day, the word of the LORD came to me:


text:
‘Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon drove his army in a hard campaign against Tyre; every head was rubbed bare and every shoulder made raw. Yet he and his army got no reward from the campaign he led against Tyre.


text:
Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am going to give Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will carry off its wealth. He will loot and plunder the land as pay for his army.


text:
I have given him Egypt as a reward for his efforts because he and his army did it for me, declares the Sovereign LORD.


text:
<pb/>‘On that day I will make a horn <f>[55]</f> grow for the Israelites, and I will open your mouth among them. Then they will know that I am the LORD.’


text:
‘Son of man, prophesy and say: “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: <pb/><t>‘ “Wail and say, </t><t>‘Alas for that day!’ </t>


text:
<t>For the day is near, </t><t>the day of the LORD is near — </t><t>a day of clouds, </t><t>a time of doom for the nations. </t>


text:
<t>A sword will come against Egypt, </t><t>and anguish will come upon Cush. <f>[56]</f> </t><t>When the slain fall in Egypt, </t><t>her wealth will be carried away </t><t>and her foundations torn down. </t>


text:
<pb/>Cush and Libya, Lydia and all Arabia, Kub and the people of the covenant land will fall by the sword along with Egypt.


text:
<pb/>‘ “This is what the LORD says: <pb/><t>‘ “The allies of Egypt will fall </t><t>and her proud strength will fail. </t><t>From Migdol to Aswan </t><t>they will fall by the sword within her, </t><t>declares the Sovereign LORD. </t>


text:
<t>They will be desolate </t><t>among desolate lands, </t><t>and their cities will lie </t><t>among ruined cities. </t>


text:
<t>Then they will know that I am the LORD, </t><t>when I set fire to Egypt </t><t>and all her helpers are crushed. </t>


text:
<pb/>‘ “On that day messengers will go out from me in ships to frighten Cush out of her complacency. Anguish will take hold of them on the day of Egypt’s doom, for it is sure to come.


text:
<pb/>‘ “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: <pb/><t>‘ “I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt </t><t>by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. </t>


text:
<t>He and his army — the most ruthless of nations — </t><t>will be brought in to destroy the land. </t><t>They will draw their swords against Egypt </t><t>and fill the land with the slain. </t>


text:
<t>I will dry up the waters of the Nile </t><t>and sell the land to an evil nation; </t><t>by the hand of foreigners </t><t>I will lay waste the land and everything in it. </t> <pb/>I the LORD have spoken.


text:
<pb/>‘ “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: <pb/><t>‘ “I will destroy the idols </t><t>and put an end to the images in Memphis. </t><t>No longer will there be a prince in Egypt, </t><t>and I will spread fear throughout the land. </t>


text:
<t>I will lay waste Upper Egypt, </t><t>set fire to Zoan </t><t>and inflict punishment on Thebes. </t>


text:
<t>I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium, </t><t>the stronghold of Egypt, </t><t>and wipe out the hordes of Thebes. </t>


text:
<t>I will set fire to Egypt; </t><t>Pelusium will writhe in agony. </t><t>Thebes will be taken by storm; </t><t>Memphis will be in constant distress. </t>


text:
<t>The young men of Heliopolis and Bubastis </t><t>will fall by the sword, </t><t>and the cities themselves will go into captivity. </t>


text:
<t>Dark will be the day at Tahpanhes </t><t>when I break the yoke of Egypt; </t><t>there her proud strength will come to an end. </t><t>She will be covered with clouds, </t><t>and her villages will go into captivity. </t>


text:
‘Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt. It has not been bound up to be healed or put in a splint so that it may become strong enough to hold a sword.


text:
Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt. I will break both his arms, the good arm as well as the broken one, and make the sword fall from his hand.


text:
I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him like a mortally wounded man.


text:
I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall limp. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he brandishes it against Egypt.


text:
I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries. Then they will know that I am the LORD.’


text:
‘Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes: <pb/><t>‘ “Who can be compared with you in majesty? </t>


text:
<t>Consider Assyria, once a cedar in Lebanon, </t><t>with beautiful branches overshadowing the forest; </t><t>it towered on high, </t><t>its top above the thick foliage. </t>


text:
<t>The waters nourished it, </t><t>deep springs made it grow tall; </t><t>their streams flowed </t><t>all around its base </t><t>and sent their channels </t><t>to all the trees of the field. </t>


text:
<t>So it towered higher </t><t>than all the trees of the field; </t><t>its boughs increased </t><t>and its branches grew long, </t><t>spreading because of abundant waters. </t>


text:
<t>All the birds of the sky </t><t>nested in its boughs, </t><t>all the wild animals </t><t>gave birth under its branches; </t><t>all the great nations </t><t>lived in its shade. </t>


text:
<t>It was majestic in beauty, </t><t>with its spreading boughs, </t><t>for its roots went down </t><t>to abundant waters. </t>


text:
<t>The cedars in the garden of God </t><t>could not rival it, </t><t>nor could the junipers </t><t>equal its boughs, </t><t>nor could the plane trees </t><t>compare with its branches — </t><t>no tree in the garden of God </t><t>could match its beauty. </t>


text:
<t>I made it beautiful </t><t>with abundant branches, </t><t>the envy of all the trees of Eden </t><t>in the garden of God. </t>


text:
<pb/>‘ “Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: because the great cedar towered over the thick foliage, and because it was proud of its height,


text:
I gave it into the hands of the ruler of the nations, for him to deal with according to its wickedness. I cast it aside,


text:
and the most ruthless of foreign nations cut it down and left it. Its boughs fell on the mountains and in all the valleys; its branches lay broken in all the ravines of the land. All the nations of the earth came out from under its shade and left it.


text:
Therefore no other trees by the waters are ever to tower proudly on high, lifting their tops above the thick foliage. No other trees so well-watered are ever to reach such a height; they are all destined for death, for the earth below, among mortals who go down to the realm of the dead.


text:
<pb/>‘ “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: on the day it was brought down to the realm of the dead I covered the deep springs with mourning for it; I held back its streams, and its abundant waters were restrained. Because of it I clothed Lebanon with gloom, and all the trees of the field withered away.


text:
I made the nations tremble at the sound of its fall when I brought it down to the realm of the dead to be with those who go down to the pit. Then all the trees of Eden, the choicest and best of Lebanon, the well-watered trees, were consoled in the earth below.


text:
They too, like the great cedar, had gone down to the realm of the dead, to those killed by the sword, along with the armed men who lived in its shade among the nations.


text:
<pb/>‘ “Which of the trees of Eden can be compared with you in splendour and majesty? Yet you, too, will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the earth below; you will lie among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword. <pb/>‘ “This is Pharaoh and all his hordes, declares the Sovereign LORD.” ’


text:
‘Son of man, take up a lament concerning Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him: <pb/><t>‘ “You are like a lion among the nations; </t><t>you are like a monster in the seas </t><t>thrashing about in your streams, </t><t>churning the water with your feet </t><t>and muddying the streams. </t>


text:
<pb/>‘ “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: <pb/><t>‘ “With a great throng of people </t><t>I will cast my net over you, </t><t>and they will haul you up in my net. </t>


text:
<t>I will throw you on the land </t><t>and hurl you on the open field. </t><t>I will let all the birds of the sky settle on you </t><t>and all the wild animals gorge themselves on you. </t>


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<t>I will drench the land with your flowing blood </t><t>all the way to the mountains, </t><t>and the ravines will be filled with your flesh. </t>


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<t>When I snuff you out, I will cover the heavens </t><t>and darken their stars; </t><t>I will cover the sun with a cloud, </t><t>and the moon will not give its light. </t>


text:
<t>All the shining lights in the heavens </t><t>I will darken over you; </t><t>I will bring darkness over your land, declares the Sovereign LORD. </t>


text:
<t>I will trouble the hearts of many peoples </t><t>when I bring about your destruction among the nations, </t><t>among <f>[57]</f> lands you have not known. </t>


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<t>I will cause many peoples to be appalled at you, </t><t>and their kings will shudder with horror because of you </t><t>when I brandish my sword before them. </t><t>On the day of your downfall </t><t>each of them will tremble </t><t>every moment for his life. </t>


text:
<pb/>‘ “For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: <pb/><t>‘ “The sword of the king of Babylon </t><t>will come against you. </t>


text:
<t>I will cause your hordes to fall </t><t>by the swords of mighty men — </t><t>the most ruthless of all nations. </t><t>They will shatter the pride of Egypt, </t><t>and all her hordes will be overthrown. </t>


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<t>I will destroy all her cattle </t><t>from beside abundant waters </t><t>no longer to be stirred by the foot of man </t><t>or muddied by the hooves of cattle. </t>


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<t>Then I will let her waters settle </t><t>and make her streams flow like oil, </t><t>declares the Sovereign LORD. </t>


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<t>When I make Egypt desolate </t><t>and strip the land of everything in it, </t><t>when I strike down all who live there, </t><t>then they will know that I am the LORD.” </t>


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<pb/>‘This is the lament they will chant for her. The daughters of the nations will chant it; for Egypt and all her hordes they will chant it, declares the Sovereign LORD.’


text:
‘Son of man, wail for the hordes of Egypt and consign to the earth below both her and the daughters of mighty nations, along with those who go down to the pit.


text:
They will fall among those killed by the sword. The sword is drawn; let her be dragged off with all her hordes.


text:
From within the realm of the dead the mighty leaders will say of Egypt and her allies, “They have come down and they lie with the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword.”


text:
<pb/>‘Assyria is there with her whole army; she is surrounded by the graves of all her slain, all who have fallen by the sword.


text:
Their graves are in the depths of the pit and her army lies around her grave. All who had spread terror in the land of the living are slain, fallen by the sword.


text:
<pb/>‘Elam is there, with all her hordes around her grave. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword. All who had spread terror in the land of the living went down uncircumcised to the earth below. They bear their shame with those who go down to the pit.


text:
A bed is made for her among the slain, with all her hordes around her grave. All of them are uncircumcised, killed by the sword. Because their terror had spread in the land of the living, they bear their shame with those who go down to the pit; they are laid among the slain.


text:
<pb/>‘Meshek and Tubal are there, with all their hordes around their graves. All of them are uncircumcised, killed by the sword because they spread their terror in the land of the living.


text:
But they do not lie with the fallen warriors of old, <f>[58]</f> who went down to the realm of the dead with their weapons of war — their swords placed under their heads and their shields <f>[59]</f> resting on their bones — though these warriors also had terrorised the land of the living.


text:
<pb/>‘You too, Pharaoh, will be broken and will lie among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword.


text:
<pb/>‘Edom is there, her kings and all her princes; despite their power, they are laid with those killed by the sword. They lie with the uncircumcised, with those who go down to the pit.


text:
<pb/>‘All the princes of the north and all the Sidonians are there; they went down with the slain in disgrace despite the terror caused by their power. They lie uncircumcised with those killed by the sword and bear their shame with those who go down to the pit.


text:
<pb/>‘Pharaoh — he and all his army — will see them and he will be consoled for all his hordes that were killed by the sword, declares the Sovereign LORD.


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Although I allowed him to spread terror in the land of the living, Pharaoh and all his hordes will be laid among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword, declares the Sovereign LORD.’


text:
‘Son of man, speak to your people and say to them: “When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman,


text:
then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head.


text:
Since they heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, their blood will be on their own head. If they had heeded the warning, they would have saved themselves.


text:
But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.”


text:
<pb/>‘Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.


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When I say to the wicked, “You wicked person, you will surely die,” and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for <f>[60]</f> their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.


text:
But if you do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do not do so, they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved.


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<pb/>‘Son of man, say to the Israelites, “This is what you are saying: ‘Our offences and sins weigh us down, and we are wasting away because of <f>[61]</f> them. How then can we live?’ ”


text:
Say to them, “As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?”


text:
<pb/>‘Therefore, son of man, say to your people, “If someone who is righteous disobeys, that person’s former righteousness will count for nothing. And if someone who is wicked repents, that person’s former wickedness will not bring condemnation. The righteous person who sins will not be allowed to live even though they were formerly righteous.”


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If I tell a righteous person that they will surely live, but then they trust in their righteousness and do evil, none of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered; they will die for the evil they have done.


text:
And if I say to a wicked person, “You will surely die,” but they then turn away from their sin and do what is just and right —


text:
if they give back what they took in pledge for a loan, return what they have stolen, follow the decrees that give life, and do no evil — that person will surely live; they will not die.


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None of the sins that person has committed will be remembered against them. They have done what is just and right; they will surely live.


text:
And if a wicked person turns away from their wickedness and does what is just and right, they will live by doing so.


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Yet you Israelites say, “The way of the Lord is not just.” But I will judge each of you according to your own ways.’


text:
<pb/>In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month on the fifth day, a man who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, ‘The city has fallen!’


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Now the evening before the man arrived, the hand of the LORD was on me, and he opened my mouth before the man came to me in the morning. So my mouth was opened and I was no longer silent.


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‘Son of man, the people living in those ruins in the land of Israel are saying, “Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land. But we are many; surely the land has been given to us as our possession.”


text:
Therefore say to them, “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: since you eat meat with the blood still in it and look to your idols and shed blood, should you then possess the land?


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You rely on your sword, you do detestable things, and each of you defiles his neighbour’s wife. Should you then possess the land?”


text:
<pb/>‘Say this to them: “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: as surely as I live, those who are left in the ruins will fall by the sword, those out in the country I will give to the wild animals to be devoured, and those in strongholds and caves will die of a plague.


text:
I will make the land a desolate waste, and her proud strength will come to an end, and the mountains of Israel will become desolate so that no-one will cross them.


text:
Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have made the land a desolate waste because of all the detestable things they have done.”


text:
<pb/>‘As for you, son of man, your people are talking together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, saying to each other, “Come and hear the message that has come from the LORD.”


text:
My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to hear your words, but they do not put them into practice. Their mouths speak of love, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain.


text:
Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice.


text:
<pb/>‘When all this comes true — and it surely will — then they will know that a prophet has been among them.’


text:
‘Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?


text:
You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock.


text:
You have not strengthened the weak or healed those who are ill or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally.


text:
So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals.


text:
My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no-one searched or looked for them.


text:
as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock,


text:
this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.


text:
<pb/>‘ “For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them.


text:
As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.


text:
I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land.


text:
I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.


text:
I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.


text:
<pb/>‘ “As for you, my flock, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will judge between one sheep and another, and between rams and goats.


text:
Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?


text:
<pb/>‘ “Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says to them: see, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.


text:
Because you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with your horns until you have driven them away,


text:
I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another.


text:
I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd.


text:
I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the LORD have spoken.


text:
<pb/>‘ “I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of savage beasts so that they may live in the wilderness and sleep in the forests in safety.


text:
I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing. <f>[62]</f> I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing.


text:
The trees will yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops; the people will be secure in their land. They will know that I am the LORD, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslaved them.


text:
They will no longer be plundered by the nations, nor will wild animals devour them. They will live in safety, and no-one will make them afraid.


text:
I will provide for them a land renowned for its crops, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations.


text:
Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them and that they, the Israelites, are my people, declares the Sovereign LORD.


text:
and say: “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, Mount Seir, and I will stretch out my hand against you and make you a desolate waste.


text:
<pb/>‘ “Because you harboured an ancient hostility and delivered the Israelites over to the sword at the time of their calamity, the time their punishment reached its climax,


text:
therefore as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I will give you over to bloodshed and it will pursue you. Since you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you.


text:
I will fill your mountains with the slain; those killed by the sword will fall on your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines.


text:
I will make you desolate for ever; your towns will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the LORD.


text:
<pb/>‘ “Because you have said, ‘These two nations and countries will be ours and we will take possession of them,’ even though I the LORD was there,


text:
therefore as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I will treat you in accordance with the anger and jealousy you showed in your hatred of them and I will make myself known among them when I judge you.


text:
Then you will know that I the LORD have heard all the contemptible things you have said against the mountains of Israel. You said, ‘They have been laid waste and have been given over to us to devour.’


text:
Because you rejoiced when the inheritance of Israel became desolate, that is how I will treat you. You will be desolate, Mount Seir, you and all of Edom. Then they will know that I am the LORD.” ’


text:
<pb/>‘Son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say, “Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD.


text:
This is what the Sovereign LORD says: the enemy said of you, ‘Aha! The ancient heights have become our possession.’ ”


text:
Therefore prophesy and say, “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: because they ravaged and crushed you from every side so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations and the object of people’s malicious talk and slander,


text:
therefore, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign LORD: this is what the Sovereign LORD says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, to the desolate ruins and the deserted towns that have been plundered and ridiculed by the rest of the nations around you —


text:
this is what the Sovereign LORD says: in my burning zeal I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against Edom, for with glee and with malice in their hearts they made my land their own possession so that they might plunder its pasture-land.”


text:
Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I speak in my jealous wrath because you have suffered the scorn of the nations.


text:
Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I swear with uplifted hand that the nations around you will also suffer scorn.


text:
<pb/>‘ “But you, mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit for my people Israel, for they will soon come home.


text:
and I will cause many people to live on you — yes, all of Israel. The towns will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt.


text:
I will increase the number of people and animals living on you, and they will be fruitful and become numerous. I will settle people on you as in the past and will make you prosper more than before. Then you will know that I am the LORD.


text:
I will cause people, my people Israel, to live on you. They will possess you, and you will be their inheritance; you will never again deprive them of their children.


text:
<pb/>‘ “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: because some say to you, ‘You devour people and deprive your nation of its children,’


text:
therefore you will no longer devour people or make your nation childless, declares the Sovereign LORD.


text:
No longer will I make you hear the taunts of the nations, and no longer will you suffer the scorn of the peoples or cause your nation to fall, declares the Sovereign LORD.” ’


text:
‘Son of man, when the people of Israel were living in their own land, they defiled it by their conduct and their actions. Their conduct was like a woman’s monthly uncleanness in my sight.


text:
So I poured out my wrath on them because they had shed blood in the land and because they had defiled it with their idols.


text:
I dispersed them among the nations, and they were scattered through the countries; I judged them according to their conduct and their actions.


text:
And wherever they went among the nations they profaned my holy name, for it was said of them, “These are the LORD’s people, and yet they had to leave his land.”


text:
I had concern for my holy name, which the people of Israel profaned among the nations where they had gone.


text:
<pb/>‘Therefore say to the Israelites, “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: it is not for your sake, people of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone.


text:
I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Sovereign LORD, when I am proved holy through you before their eyes.


text:
<pb/>‘ “For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land.


text:
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols.


text:
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.


text:
Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.


text:
I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the corn and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you.


text:
I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine.


text:
Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices.


text:
I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake, declares the Sovereign LORD. Be ashamed and disgraced for your conduct, people of Israel!


text:
<pb/>‘ “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: on the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt.


text:
The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through it.


text:
They will say, ‘This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited.’


text:
Then the nations around you that remain will know that I the LORD have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it.”


text:
<pb/>‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: once again I will yield to Israel’s plea and do this for them: I will make their people as numerous as sheep,


text:
as numerous as the flocks for offerings at Jerusalem during her appointed festivals. So will the ruined cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the LORD.’


text:
<pb/>The hand of the LORD was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.


text:
He led me to and fro among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry.


text:
<pb/>Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones and say to them, “Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!


text:
This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath <f>[63]</f> enter you, and you will come to life.


text:
I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.” ’


text:
<pb/>So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone.


text:
I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.


text:
<pb/>Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.” ’


text:
So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet — a vast army.


text:
<pb/>Then he said to me: ‘Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, “Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.”


text:
Therefore prophesy and say to them: “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel.


text:
Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them.


text:
I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.” ’


text:
‘Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, “Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him.” Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, “Belonging to Joseph (that is, to Ephraim) and all the Israelites associated with him.”


text:
say to them, “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph — which is in Ephraim’s hand — and of the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join it to Judah’s stick. I will make them into a single stick of wood, and they will become one in my hand.”


text:
and say to them, “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land.


text:
I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms.


text:
They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offences, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, <f>[64]</f> and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.


text:
<pb/>‘ “My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees.


text:
They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your ancestors lived. They and their children and their children’s children will live there for ever, and David my servant will be their prince for ever.


text:
I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them for ever.


text:
Then the nations will know that I the LORD make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them for ever.” ’


text:
‘Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of <f>[65]</f> Meshek and Tubal; prophesy against him


text:
and say: “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, Gog, chief prince of <f>[66]</f> Meshek and Tubal.


text:
I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army — your horses, your horsemen fully armed, and a great horde with large and small shields, all of them brandishing their swords.


text:
also Gomer with all its troops, and Beth Togarmah from the far north with all its troops — the many nations with you.


text:
<pb/>‘ “Get ready; be prepared, you and all the hordes gathered about you, and take command of them.


text:
After many days you will be called to arms. In future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and now all of them live in safety.


text:
You and all your troops and the many nations with you will go up, advancing like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land.


text:
<pb/>‘ “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: on that day thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil scheme.


text:
You will say, ‘I will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people — all of them living without walls and without gates and bars.


text:
I will plunder and loot and turn my hand against the resettled ruins and the people gathered from the nations, rich in livestock and goods, living at the centre of the land. <f>[68]</f>’


text:
Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all her villages <f>[69]</f> will say to you, ‘Have you come to plunder? Have you gathered your hordes to loot, to carry off silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods and to seize much plunder?’ ”


text:
<pb/>‘Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog: “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: in that day, when my people Israel are living in safety, will you not take notice of it?


text:
You will come from your place in the far north, you and many nations with you, all of them riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty army.


text:
You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land. In days to come, Gog, I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me when I am proved holy through you before their eyes.


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<pb/>‘ “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: you are the one I spoke of in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel. At that time they prophesied for years that I would bring you against them.


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This is what will happen in that day: when Gog attacks the land of Israel, my hot anger will be aroused, declares the Sovereign LORD.


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In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel.


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The fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble at my presence. The mountains will be overturned, the cliffs will crumble and every wall will fall to the ground.


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I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Sovereign LORD. Every man’s sword will be against his brother.


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I will execute judgment on him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulphur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him.


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And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”


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<pb/>‘Son of man, prophesy against Gog and say: “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, Gog, chief prince of <f>[70]</f> Meshek and Tubal.


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I will turn you around and drag you along. I will bring you from the far north and send you against the mountains of Israel.


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On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to all kinds of carrion birds and to the wild animals.


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I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in safety in the coastlands, and they will know that I am the LORD.


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<pb/>‘ “I will make known my holy name among my people Israel. I will no longer let my holy name be profaned, and the nations will know that I the LORD am the Holy One in Israel.


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It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign LORD. This is the day I have spoken of.


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<pb/>‘ “Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and use the weapons for fuel and burn them up — the small and large shields, the bows and arrows, the war clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them for fuel.


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They will not need to gather wood from the fields or cut it from the forests, because they will use the weapons for fuel. And they will plunder those who plundered them and loot those who looted them, declares the Sovereign LORD.


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<pb/>‘ “On that day I will give Gog a burial place in Israel, in the valley of those who travel east of the Sea. It will block the way of travellers, because Gog and all his hordes will be buried there. So it will be called the Valley of Hamon Gog. <f>[71]</f>


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All the people of the land will bury them, and the day I display my glory will be a memorable day for them, declares the Sovereign LORD.


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People will be continually employed in cleansing the land. They will spread out across the land and, along with others, they will bury any bodies that are lying on the ground. <pb/>‘ “After the seven months they will carry out a more detailed search.


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As they go through the land, anyone who sees a human bone will leave a marker beside it until the gravediggers bury it in the Valley of Hamon Gog,


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<pb/>‘Son of man, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: call out to every kind of bird and all the wild animals: “Assemble and come together from all around to the sacrifice I am preparing for you, the great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood.


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You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth as if they were rams and lambs, goats and bulls — all of them fattened animals from Bashan.


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At the sacrifice I am preparing for you, you will eat fat till you are glutted and drink blood till you are drunk.


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At my table you will eat your fill of horses and riders, mighty men and soldiers of every kind,” declares the Sovereign LORD.


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<pb/>‘I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the punishment I inflict and the hand I lay on them.


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And the nations will know that the people of Israel went into exile for their sin, because they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies, and they all fell by the sword.


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<pb/>‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will now restore the fortunes of Jacob <f>[73]</f> and will have compassion on all the people of Israel, and I will be zealous for my holy name.


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They will forget their shame and all the unfaithfulness they showed towards me when they lived in safety in their land with no-one to make them afraid.


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When I have brought them back from the nations and have gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will be proved holy through them in the sight of many nations.


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Then they will know that I am the LORD their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind.


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I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the people of Israel, declares the Sovereign LORD.’


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<pb/>In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth of the month, in the fourteenth year after the fall of the city — on that very day the hand of the LORD was on me and he took me there.


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In visions of God he took me to the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain, on whose south side were some buildings that looked like a city.


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He took me there, and I saw a man whose appearance was like bronze; he was standing in the gateway with a linen cord and a measuring rod in his hand.


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The man said to me, ‘Son of man, look carefully and listen closely and pay attention to everything I am going to show you, for that is why you have been brought here. Tell the people of Israel everything you see.’


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<pb/>I saw a wall completely surrounding the temple area. The length of the measuring rod in the man’s hand was six long cubits, <f>[74]</f> each of which was a cubit and a handbreadth. He measured the wall; it was one measuring rod thick and one rod high.


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<pb/>Then he went to the east gate. He climbed its steps and measured the threshold of the gate; it was one rod deep.


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The alcoves for the guards were one rod long and one rod wide, and the projecting walls between the alcoves were five cubits <f>[75]</f> thick. And the threshold of the gate next to the portico facing the temple was one rod deep.


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it <f>[76]</f> was eight cubits <f>[77]</f> deep and its jambs were two cubits <f>[78]</f> thick. The portico of the gateway faced the temple.


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<pb/>Inside the east gate were three alcoves on each side; the three had the same measurements, and the faces of the projecting walls on each side had the same measurements.


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Then he measured the width of the entrance of the gateway; it was ten cubits and its length was thirteen cubits. <f>[79]</f>


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Then he measured the gateway from the top of the rear wall of one alcove to the top of the opposite one; the distance was twenty-five cubits <f>[80]</f> from one parapet opening to the opposite one.


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He measured along the faces of the projecting walls all around the inside of the gateway — sixty cubits. <f>[81]</f> The measurement was up to the portico <f>[82]</f> facing the courtyard. <f>[83]</f>


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The distance from the entrance of the gateway to the far end of its portico was fifty cubits. <f>[84]</f>


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The alcoves and the projecting walls inside the gateway were surmounted by narrow parapet openings all round, as was the portico; the openings all round faced inward. The faces of the projecting walls were decorated with palm trees.


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<pb/>Then he brought me into the outer court. There I saw some rooms and a pavement that had been constructed all round the court; there were thirty rooms along the pavement.


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It abutted the sides of the gateways and was as wide as they were long; this was the lower pavement.


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Then he measured the distance from the inside of the lower gateway to the outside of the inner court; it was a hundred cubits <f>[85]</f> on the east side as well as on the north.


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Its alcoves — three on each side — its projecting walls and its portico had the same measurements as those of the first gateway. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.


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Its openings, its portico and its palm tree decorations had the same measurements as those of the gate facing east. Seven steps led up to it, with its portico opposite them.


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There was a gate to the inner court facing the north gate, just as there was on the east. He measured from one gate to the opposite one; it was a hundred cubits.


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<pb/>Then he led me to the south side and I saw the south gate. He measured its jambs and its portico, and they had the same measurements as the others.


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The gateway and its portico had narrow openings all round, like the openings of the others. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.


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Seven steps led up to it, with its portico opposite them; it had palm tree decorations on the faces of the projecting walls on each side.


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The inner court also had a gate facing south, and he measured from this gate to the outer gate on the south side; it was a hundred cubits.


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<pb/>Then he brought me into the inner court through the south gate, and he measured the south gate; it had the same measurements as the others.


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Its alcoves, its projecting walls and its portico had the same measurements as the others. The gateway and its portico had openings all round. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.


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(The porticoes of the gateways around the inner court were twenty-five cubits wide and five cubits deep.)


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<pb/>Then he brought me to the inner court on the east side, and he measured the gateway; it had the same measurements as the others.


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Its portico faced the outer court; palm trees decorated the jambs on either side, and eight steps led up to it.


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<pb/>Then he brought me to the north gate and measured it. It had the same measurements as the others,


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as did its alcoves, its projecting walls and its portico, and it had openings all round. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.


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Its portico <f>[86]</f> faced the outer court; palm trees decorated the jambs on either side, and eight steps led up to it.


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<pb/>A room with a doorway was by the portico in each of the inner gateways, where the burnt offerings were washed.


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In the portico of the gateway were two tables on each side, on which the burnt offerings, sin offerings <f>[87]</f> and guilt offerings were slaughtered.


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By the outside wall of the portico of the gateway, near the steps at the entrance of the north gateway were two tables, and on the other side of the steps were two tables.


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So there were four tables on one side of the gateway and four on the other — eight tables in all — on which the sacrifices were slaughtered.


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There were also four tables of dressed stone for the burnt offerings, each a cubit and a half long, a cubit and a half wide and a cubit high. <f>[88]</f> On them were placed the utensils for slaughtering the burnt offerings and the other sacrifices.


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And double-pronged hooks, each a handbreadth <f>[89]</f> long, were attached to the wall all round. The tables were for the flesh of the offerings.


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<pb/>Outside the inner gate, within the inner court, were two rooms, one <f>[90]</f> at the side of the north gate and facing south, and another at the side of the south <f>[91]</f> gate and facing north.


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and the room facing north is for the priests who guard the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, who are the only Levites who may draw near to the LORD to minister before him.’


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<pb/>Then he measured the court: it was square — a hundred cubits long and a hundred cubits wide. And the altar was in front of the temple.


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<pb/>He brought me to the portico of the temple and measured the jambs of the portico; they were five cubits wide on either side. The width of the entrance was fourteen cubits <f>[92]</f> and its projecting walls were <f>[93]</f> three cubits <f>[94]</f> wide on either side.


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The portico was twenty cubits <f>[95]</f> wide, and twelve <f>[96]</f> cubits <f>[97]</f> from front to back. It was reached by a flight of stairs, <f>[98]</f> and there were pillars on each side of the jambs.


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<pb/>Then the man brought me to the main hall and measured the jambs; the width of the jambs was six cubits <f>[99]</f> on each side. <f>[100]</f>


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The entrance was ten cubits <f>[101]</f> wide, and the projecting walls on each side of it were five cubits <f>[102]</f> wide. He also measured the main hall; it was forty cubits long and twenty cubits wide. <f>[103]</f>


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<pb/>Then he went into the inner sanctuary and measured the jambs of the entrance; each was two cubits <f>[104]</f> wide. The entrance was six cubits wide, and the projecting walls on each side of it were seven cubits <f>[105]</f> wide.


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And he measured the length of the inner sanctuary; it was twenty cubits, and its width was twenty cubits across the end of the main hall. He said to me, ‘This is the Most Holy Place.’


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<pb/>Then he measured the wall of the temple; it was six cubits thick, and each side room round the temple was four cubits <f>[106]</f> wide.


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The side rooms were on three levels, one above another, thirty on each level. There were ledges all round the wall of the temple to serve as supports for the side rooms, so that the supports were not inserted into the wall of the temple.


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The side rooms all round the temple were wider at each successive level. The structure surrounding the temple was built in ascending stages, so that the rooms widened as one went upwards. A stairway went up from the lowest floor to the top floor through the middle floor.


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<pb/>I saw that the temple had a raised base all round it, forming the foundation of the side rooms. It was the length of the rod, six long cubits.


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The outer wall of the side rooms was five cubits thick. The open area between the side rooms of the temple


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There were entrances to the side rooms from the open area, one on the north and another on the south; and the base adjoining the open area was five cubits wide all round.


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<pb/>The building facing the temple courtyard on the west side was seventy cubits <f>[107]</f> wide. The wall of the building was five cubits thick all round, and its length was ninety cubits. <f>[108]</f>


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<pb/>Then he measured the temple; it was a hundred cubits <f>[109]</f> long, and the temple courtyard and the building with its walls were also a hundred cubits long.


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The width of the temple courtyard on the east, including the front of the temple, was a hundred cubits.


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<pb/>Then he measured the length of the building facing the courtyard at the rear of the temple, including its galleries on each side; it was a hundred cubits. <pb/>The main hall, the inner sanctuary and the portico facing the court,


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as well as the thresholds and the narrow windows and galleries round the three of them — everything beyond and including the threshold was covered with wood. The floor, the wall up to the windows, and the windows were covered.


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In the space above the outside of the entrance to the inner sanctuary and on the walls at regular intervals all round the inner and outer sanctuary


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were carved cherubim and palm trees. Palm trees alternated with cherubim. Each cherub had two faces:


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the face of a human being towards the palm tree on one side and the face of a lion towards the palm tree on the other. They were carved all round the whole temple.


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From the floor to the area above the entrance, cherubim and palm trees were carved on the wall of the main hall.


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<pb/>The main hall had a rectangular door-frame, and the one at the front of the Most Holy Place was similar.


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There was a wooden altar three cubits <f>[110]</f> high and two cubits square <f>[111]</f>; its corners, its base <f>[112]</f> and its sides were of wood. The man said to me, ‘This is the table that is before the LORD.’


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And on the doors of the main hall were carved cherubim and palm trees like those carved on the walls, and there was a wooden overhang on the front of the portico.


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On the side walls of the portico were narrow windows with palm trees carved on each side. The side rooms of the temple also had overhangs.


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<pb/>Then the man led me northward into the outer court and brought me to the rooms opposite the temple courtyard and opposite the outer wall on the north side.


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Both in the section twenty cubits <f>[114]</f> from the inner court and in the section opposite the pavement of the outer court, gallery faced gallery at the three levels.


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In front of the rooms was an inner passageway ten cubits wide and a hundred cubits <f>[115]</f> long. <f>[116]</f> Their doors were on the north.


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Now the upper rooms were narrower, for the galleries took more space from them than from the rooms on the lower and middle floors of the building.


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The rooms on the top floor had no pillars, as the courts had; so they were smaller in floor space than those on the lower and middle floors.


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There was an outer wall parallel to the rooms and the outer court; it extended in front of the rooms for fifty cubits.


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While the row of rooms on the side next to the outer court was fifty cubits long, the row on the side nearest the sanctuary was a hundred cubits long.


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<pb/>On the south side <f>[117]</f> along the length of the wall of the outer court, adjoining the temple courtyard and opposite the outer wall, were rooms


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with a passageway in front of them. These were like the rooms on the north; they had the same length and width, with similar exits and dimensions. Similar to the doorways on the north


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were the doorways of the rooms on the south. There was a doorway at the beginning of the passageway that was parallel to the corresponding wall extending eastward, by which one enters the rooms.


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<pb/>Then he said to me, ‘The north and south rooms facing the temple courtyard are the priests’ rooms, where the priests who approach the LORD will eat the most holy offerings. There they will put the most holy offerings — the grain offerings, the sin offerings <f>[118]</f> and the guilt offerings — for the place is holy.


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Once the priests enter the holy precincts, they are not to go into the outer court until they leave behind the garments in which they minister, for these are holy. They are to put on other clothes before they go near the places that are for the people.’


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<pb/>When he had finished measuring what was inside the temple area, he led me out by the east gate and measured the area all around:


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he measured the east side with the measuring rod; it was five hundred cubits. <f>[119]</f>, <f>[120]</f>


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So he measured the area on all four sides. It had a wall round it, five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits wide, to separate the holy from the common.


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and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters, and the land was radiant with his glory.


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The vision I saw was like the vision I had seen when he <f>[122]</f> came to destroy the city and like the visions I had seen by the River Kebar, and I fell face down.


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Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.


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He said: ‘Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet. This is where I will live among the Israelites for ever. The people of Israel will never again defile my holy name — neither they nor their kings — by their prostitution and the funeral offerings <f>[123]</f> for their kings at their death. <f>[124]</f>


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When they placed their threshold next to my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with only a wall between me and them, they defiled my holy name by their detestable practices. So I destroyed them in my anger.


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Now let them put away from me their prostitution and the funeral offerings for their kings, and I will live among them for ever.


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<pb/>‘Son of man, describe the temple to the people of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their sins. Let them consider its perfection,


text:
and if they are ashamed of all they have done, make known to them the design of the temple — its arrangement, its exits and entrances — its whole design and all its regulations <f>[125]</f> and laws. Write these down before them so that they may be faithful to its design and follow all its regulations.


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<pb/>‘This is the law of the temple: all the surrounding area on top of the mountain will be most holy. Such is the law of the temple.


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<pb/>‘These are the measurements of the altar in long cubits, <f>[126]</f> that cubit being a cubit and a handbreadth: its gutter is a cubit deep and a cubit wide, with a kerb of one span <f>[127]</f> around the edge. And this is the height of the altar:


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from the gutter on the ground up to the lower ledge that goes round the altar it is two cubits high, and the ledge is a cubit wide. <f>[128]</f> From this lower ledge to the upper ledge that goes round the altar it is four cubits high, and that ledge is also a cubit wide. <f>[129]</f>


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The upper ledge also is square, fourteen cubits <f>[131]</f> long and fourteen cubits wide. All round the altar is a gutter of one cubit with a kerb of half a cubit. <f>[132]</f> The steps of the altar face east.’


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<pb/>Then he said to me, ‘Son of man, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: these will be the regulations for sacrificing burnt offerings and splashing blood against the altar when it is built:


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you are to give a young bull as a sin offering <f>[133]</f> to the Levitical priests of the family of Zadok, who come near to minister before me, declares the Sovereign LORD.


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You are to take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar and on the four corners of the upper ledge and all round the rim, and so purify the altar and make atonement for it.


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You are to take the bull for the sin offering and burn it in the designated part of the temple area outside the sanctuary.


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<pb/>‘On the second day you are to offer a male goat without defect for a sin offering, and the altar is to be purified as it was purified with the bull.


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When you have finished purifying it, you are to offer a young bull and a ram from the flock, both without defect.


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You are to offer them before the LORD, and the priests are to sprinkle salt on them and sacrifice them as a burnt offering to the LORD.


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<pb/>‘For seven days you are to provide a male goat daily for a sin offering; you are also to provide a young bull and a ram from the flock, both without defect.


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At the end of these days, from the eighth day on, the priests are to present your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar. Then I will accept you, declares the Sovereign LORD.’


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<pb/>Then the man brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, the one facing east, and it was shut.


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The LORD said to me, ‘This gate is to remain shut. It must not be opened; no-one may enter through it. It is to remain shut because the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered through it.


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The prince himself is the only one who may sit inside the gateway to eat in the presence of the LORD. He is to enter by way of the portico of the gateway and go out the same way.’


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<pb/>Then the man brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple. I looked and saw the glory of the LORD filling the temple of the LORD, and I fell face down.


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<pb/>The LORD said to me, ‘Son of man, look carefully, listen closely and give attention to everything I tell you concerning all the regulations and instructions regarding the temple of the LORD. Give attention to the entrance to the temple and all the exits of the sanctuary.


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Say to rebellious Israel, “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: enough of your detestable practices, people of Israel!


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In addition to all your other detestable practices, you brought foreigners uncircumcised in heart and flesh into my sanctuary, desecrating my temple while you offered me food, fat and blood, and you broke my covenant.


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Instead of carrying out your duty in regard to my holy things, you put others in charge of my sanctuary.


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This is what the Sovereign LORD says: no foreigner uncircumcised in heart and flesh is to enter my sanctuary, not even the foreigners who live among the Israelites.


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<pb/>‘ “The Levites who went far from me when Israel went astray and who wandered from me after their idols must bear the consequences of their sin.


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They may serve in my sanctuary, having charge of the gates of the temple and serving in it; they may slaughter the burnt offerings and sacrifices for the people and stand before the people and serve them.


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But because they served them in the presence of their idols and made the people of Israel fall into sin, therefore I have sworn with uplifted hand that they must bear the consequences of their sin, declares the Sovereign LORD.


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They are not to come near to serve me as priests or come near any of my holy things or my most holy offerings; they must bear the shame of their detestable practices.


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<pb/>‘ “But the Levitical priests, who are descendants of Zadok and who guarded my sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from me, are to come near to minister before me; they are to stand before me to offer sacrifices of fat and blood, declares the Sovereign LORD.


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They alone are to enter my sanctuary; they alone are to come near my table to minister before me and serve me as guards.


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<pb/>‘ “When they enter the gates of the inner court, they are to wear linen clothes; they must not wear any woollen garment while ministering at the gates of the inner court or inside the temple.


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They are to wear linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments round their waists. They must not wear anything that makes them perspire.


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When they go out into the outer court where the people are, they are to take off the clothes they have been ministering in and leave them in the sacred rooms, and put on other clothes, so that the people are not consecrated through contact with their garments.


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<pb/>‘ “They must not shave their heads or let their hair grow long, but they are to keep the hair of their heads trimmed.


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They must not marry widows or divorced women; they may marry only virgins of Israelite descent or widows of priests.


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They are to teach my people the difference between the holy and the common and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean.


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<pb/>‘ “In any dispute, the priests are to serve as judges and decide it according to my ordinances. They are to keep my laws and my decrees for all my appointed festivals, and they are to keep my Sabbaths holy.


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<pb/>‘ “A priest must not defile himself by going near a dead person; however, if the dead person was his father or mother, son or daughter, brother or unmarried sister, then he may defile himself.


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On the day he goes into the inner court of the sanctuary to minister in the sanctuary, he is to offer a sin offering <f>[134]</f> for himself, declares the Sovereign LORD.


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<pb/>‘ “I am to be the only inheritance the priests have. You are to give them no possession in Israel; I will be their possession.


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They will eat the grain offerings, the sin offerings and the guilt offerings; and everything in Israel devoted <f>[135]</f> to the LORD will belong to them.


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The best of all the firstfruits and of all your special gifts will belong to the priests. You are to give them the first portion of your ground meal so that a blessing may rest on your household.


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<pb/>‘ “When you allot the land as an inheritance, you are to present to the LORD a portion of the land as a sacred district, 25,000 cubits <f>[136]</f> long and 20,000 <f>[137]</f> cubits <f>[138]</f> wide; the entire area will be holy.


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Of this, a section 500 cubits <f>[139]</f> square is to be for the sanctuary, with 50 cubits <f>[140]</f> around it for open land.


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In the sacred district, measure off a section 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits <f>[141]</f> wide. In it will be the sanctuary, the Most Holy Place.


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It will be the sacred portion of the land for the priests, who minister in the sanctuary and who draw near to minister before the LORD. It will be a place for their houses as well as a holy place for the sanctuary.


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An area 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide will belong to the Levites, who serve in the temple, as their possession for towns to live in. <f>[142]</f>


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<pb/>‘ “You are to give the city as its property an area 5,000 cubits <f>[143]</f> wide and 25,000 cubits long, adjoining the sacred portion; it will belong to all Israel.


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<pb/>‘ “The prince will have the land bordering each side of the area formed by the sacred district and the property of the city. It will extend westward from the west side and eastward from the east side, running lengthwise from the western to the eastern border parallel to one of the tribal portions.


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This land will be his possession in Israel. And my princes will no longer oppress my people but will allow the people of Israel to possess the land according to their tribes.


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<pb/>‘ “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: you have gone far enough, princes of Israel! Give up your violence and oppression and do what is just and right. Stop dispossessing my people, declares the Sovereign LORD.


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The ephah and the bath are to be the same size, the bath containing a tenth of a homer and the ephah a tenth of a homer; the homer is to be the standard measure for both.


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The shekel <f>[146]</f> is to consist of twenty gerahs. Twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels equal one mina. <f>[147]</f>


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<pb/>‘ “This is the special gift you are to offer: a sixth of an ephah <f>[148]</f> from each homer of wheat and a sixth of an ephah <f>[149]</f> from each homer of barley.


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The prescribed portion of olive oil, measured by the bath, is a tenth of a bath <f>[150]</f> from each cor (which consists of ten baths or one homer, for ten baths are equivalent to a homer).


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Also one sheep is to be taken from every flock of two hundred from the well-watered pastures of Israel. These will be used for the grain offerings, burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to make atonement for the people, declares the Sovereign LORD.


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It will be the duty of the prince to provide the burnt offerings, grain offerings and drink offerings at the festivals, the New Moons and the Sabbaths — at all the appointed festivals of Israel. He will provide the sin offerings, <f>[151]</f> grain offerings, burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to make atonement for the Israelites.


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<pb/>‘ “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: in the first month on the first day you are to take a young bull without defect and purify the sanctuary.


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The priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the temple, on the four corners of the upper ledge of the altar and on the gateposts of the inner court.


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You are to do the same on the seventh day of the month for anyone who sins unintentionally or through ignorance; so you are to make atonement for the temple.


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<pb/>‘ “In the first month on the fourteenth day you are to observe the Passover, a festival lasting seven days, during which you shall eat bread made without yeast.


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On that day the prince is to provide a bull as a sin offering for himself and for all the people of the land.


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Every day during the seven days of the Festival he is to provide seven bulls and seven rams without defect as a burnt offering to the LORD, and a male goat for a sin offering.


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He is to provide as a grain offering an ephah for each bull and an ephah for each ram, along with a hin <f>[152]</f> of olive oil for each ephah.


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<pb/>‘ “During the seven days of the Festival, which begins in the seventh month on the fifteenth day, he is to make the same provision for sin offerings, burnt offerings, grain offerings and oil.


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<pb/>‘ “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: the gate of the inner court facing east is to be shut on the six working days, but on the Sabbath day and on the day of the New Moon it is to be opened.


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The prince is to enter from the outside through the portico of the gateway and stand by the gatepost. The priests are to sacrifice his burnt offering and his fellowship offerings. He is to bow down in worship at the threshold of the gateway and then go out, but the gate will not be shut until evening.


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On the Sabbaths and New Moons the people of the land are to worship in the presence of the LORD at the entrance of that gateway.


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The burnt offering the prince brings to the LORD on the Sabbath day is to be six male lambs and a ram, all without defect.


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The grain offering given with the ram is to be an ephah, <f>[153]</f> and the grain offering with the lambs is to be as much as he pleases, along with a hin <f>[154]</f> of olive oil for each ephah.


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He is to provide as a grain offering one ephah with the bull, one ephah with the ram, and with the lambs as much as he wants to give, along with a hin of oil for each ephah.


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When the prince enters, he is to go in through the portico of the gateway, and he is to come out the same way.


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<pb/>‘ “When the people of the land come before the LORD at the appointed festivals, whoever enters by the north gate to worship is to go out by the south gate; and whoever enters by the south gate is to go out by the north gate. No-one is to return through the gate by which they entered, but each is to go out by the opposite gate.


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At the feasts and the appointed festivals, the grain offering is to be an ephah with a bull, an ephah with a ram, and with the lambs as much as he pleases, along with a hin of oil for each ephah.


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<pb/>‘ “When the prince provides a freewill offering to the LORD — whether a burnt offering or fellowship offerings — the gate facing east is to be opened for him. He shall offer his burnt offering or his fellowship offerings as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and after he has gone out, the gate will be shut.


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<pb/>‘ “Every day you are to provide a year-old lamb without defect for a burnt offering to the LORD; morning by morning you shall provide it.


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You are also to provide with it morning by morning a grain offering, consisting of a sixth of an ephah <f>[155]</f> with a third of a hin <f>[156]</f> of oil to moisten the flour. The presenting of this grain offering to the LORD is a lasting ordinance.


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So the lamb and the grain offering and the oil shall be provided morning by morning for a regular burnt offering.


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<pb/>‘ “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: if the prince makes a gift from his inheritance to one of his sons, it will also belong to his descendants; it is to be their property by inheritance.


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If, however, he makes a gift from his inheritance to one of his servants, the servant may keep it until the year of freedom; then it will revert to the prince. His inheritance belongs to his sons only; it is theirs.


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The prince must not take any of the inheritance of the people, driving them off their property. He is to give his sons their inheritance out of his own property, so that not one of my people will be separated from their property.” ’


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<pb/>Then the man brought me through the entrance at the side of the gate to the sacred rooms facing north, which belonged to the priests, and showed me a place at the western end.


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He said to me, ‘This is the place where the priests are to cook the guilt offering and the sin offering <f>[157]</f> and bake the grain offering, to avoid bringing them into the outer court and consecrating the people.’


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<pb/>He then brought me to the outer court and led me round to its four corners, and I saw in each corner another court.


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In the four corners of the outer court were enclosed <f>[158]</f> courts, forty cubits long and thirty cubits wide; <f>[159]</f> each of the courts in the four corners was the same size.


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Around the inside of each of the four courts was a ledge of stone, with places for fire built all round under the ledge.


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He said to me, ‘These are the kitchens where those who minister at the temple are to cook the sacrifices of the people.’


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<pb/>The man brought me back to the entrance to the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple towards the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar.


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He then brought me out through the north gate and led me round the outside to the outer gate facing east, and the water was trickling from the south side.


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<pb/>As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits <f>[160]</f> and then led me through water that was ankle-deep.


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He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist.


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He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in — a river that no-one could cross.


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He said to me, ‘This water flows towards the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, <f>[161]</f> where it enters the Dead Sea. When it empties into the sea, the salty water there becomes fresh.


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Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live.


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Fishermen will stand along the shore; from En Gedi to En Eglaim there will be places for spreading nets. The fish will be of many kinds — like the fish of the Mediterranean Sea.


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Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.’


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<pb/>This is what the Sovereign LORD says: ‘These are the boundaries of the land that you will divide among the twelve tribes of Israel as their inheritance, with two portions for Joseph.


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You are to divide it equally among them. Because I swore with uplifted hand to give it to your ancestors, this land will become your inheritance.


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<pb/><t>‘This is to be the boundary of the land: <pb/>‘On the north side it will run from the Mediterranean Sea by the Hethlon road past Lebo Hamath to Zedad, </t>


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<t>Berothah <f>[162]</f> and Sibraim (which lies on the border between Damascus and Hamath), as far as Hazer Hattikon, which is on the border of Hauran. </t>


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<t>The boundary will extend from the sea to Hazar Enan, <f>[163]</f> along the northern border of Damascus, with the border of Hamath to the north. This will be the northern boundary. <pb/> </t>


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<t>On the east side the boundary will run between Hauran and Damascus, along the Jordan between Gilead and the land of Israel, to the Dead Sea and as far as Tamar. <f>[164]</f> This will be the eastern boundary. <pb/> </t>


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<t>On the south side it will run from Tamar as far as the waters of Meribah Kadesh, then along the Wadi of Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea. This will be the southern boundary. <pb/> </t>


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<t>On the west side, the Mediterranean Sea will be the boundary to a point opposite Lebo Hamath. This will be the western boundary. </t>


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You are to allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the foreigners residing among you and who have children. You are to consider them as native-born Israelites; along with you they are to be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel.


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In whatever tribe a foreigner resides, there you are to give them their inheritance,’ declares the Sovereign LORD.


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<pb/><t>‘These are the tribes, listed by name: <pb/>‘at the northern frontier, Dan will have one portion; it will follow the Hethlon road to Lebo Hamath; Hazar Enan and the northern border of Damascus next to Hamath will be part of its border from the east side to the west side. <pb/> </t>


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<t>Naphtali will have one portion; it will border the territory of Asher from east to west. <pb/> </t>


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<t>Manasseh will have one portion; it will border the territory of Naphtali from east to west. <pb/> </t>


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<t>Ephraim will have one portion; it will border the territory of Manasseh from east to west. <pb/> </t>


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<t>Reuben will have one portion; it will border the territory of Ephraim from east to west. <pb/> </t>


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<pb/>‘Bordering the territory of Judah from east to west will be the portion you are to present as a special gift. It will be 25,000 cubits <f>[165]</f> wide, and its length from east to west will equal one of the tribal portions; the sanctuary will be in the centre of it.


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<pb/>‘The special portion you are to offer to the LORD will be 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits <f>[166]</f> wide.


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This will be the sacred portion for the priests. It will be 25,000 cubits long on the north side, 10,000 cubits wide on the west side, 10,000 cubits wide on the east side and 25,000 cubits long on the south side. In the centre of it will be the sanctuary of the LORD.


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This will be for the consecrated priests, the Zadokites, who were faithful in serving me and did not go astray as the Levites did when the Israelites went astray.


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It will be a special gift to them from the sacred portion of the land, a most holy portion, bordering the territory of the Levites.


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<pb/>‘Alongside the territory of the priests, the Levites will be allotted a portion of land 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide. Its total length will be 25,000 cubits and its width 10,000 cubits.


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They must not sell or exchange any of it. This is the best of the land and must not pass into other hands, because it is holy to the LORD.


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<pb/>‘The remaining area, 5,000 cubits <f>[167]</f> wide and 25,000 cubits long, will be for the common use of the city, for houses and for pasture-land. The city will be in the centre of it


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and will have these measurements: the north side 4,500 cubits, <f>[168]</f> the south side 4,500 cubits, the east side 4,500 cubits, and the west side 4,500 cubits.


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The pasture-land for the city will be 250 cubits <f>[169]</f> on the north, 250 cubits on the south, 250 cubits on the east, and 250 cubits on the west.


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What remains of the area, bordering on the sacred portion and running the length of it, will be 10,000 cubits on the east side and 10,000 cubits on the west side. Its produce will supply food for the workers of the city.


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The entire portion will be a square, 25,000 cubits on each side. As a special gift you will set aside the sacred portion, along with the property of the city.


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<pb/>‘What remains on both sides of the area formed by the sacred portion and the property of the city will belong to the prince. It will extend eastward from the 25,000 cubits of the sacred portion to the eastern border, and westward from the 25,000 cubits to the western border. Both these areas running the length of the tribal portions will belong to the prince, and the sacred portion with the temple sanctuary will be in the centre of them.


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So the property of the Levites and the property of the city will lie in the centre of the area that belongs to the prince. The area belonging to the prince will lie between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin.


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<pb/><t>‘As for the rest of the tribes: <pb/>‘Benjamin will have one portion; it will extend from the east side to the west side. <pb/> </t>


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<t>Simeon will have one portion; it will border the territory of Benjamin from east to west. <pb/> </t>


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<t>Issachar will have one portion; it will border the territory of Simeon from east to west. <pb/> </t>


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<t>Zebulun will have one portion; it will border the territory of Issachar from east to west. <pb/> </t>


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<t>The southern boundary of Gad will run south from Tamar to the waters of Meribah Kadesh, then along the Wadi of Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea. <pb/> </t>


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<t>‘This is the land you are to allot as an inheritance to the tribes of Israel, and these will be their portions,’ declares the Sovereign LORD. <pb/> </t>


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<t>‘These will be the exits of the city: <pb/>‘beginning on the north side, which is 4,500 cubits long, </t>


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<t>the gates of the city will be named after the tribes of Israel. The three gates on the north side will be the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah and the gate of Levi. <pb/> </t>


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<t>On the east side, which is 4,500 cubits long, will be three gates: the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin and the gate of Dan. <pb/> </t>


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<t>On the south side, which measures 4,500 cubits, will be three gates: the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar and the gate of Zebulun. <pb/> </t>


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<t>On the west side, which is 4,500 cubits long, will be three gates: the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher and the gate of Naphtali. <pb/> </t>


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<t>‘The distance all around will be 18,000 cubits. <f>[170]</f> </t> <pb/>‘And the name of the city from that time on will be, “The LORD is there.”’


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<pb/>In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.


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And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia <f>[1]</f> and put in the treasure-house of his god.


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<pb/>Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility —


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young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. <f>[2]</f>


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The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service.


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The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.


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<pb/>But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself in this way.


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but the official told Daniel, ‘I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your <f>[3]</f> food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men of your age? The king would then have my head because of you.’


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<pb/>Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah,


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Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.’


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<pb/>At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food.


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So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.


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<pb/>To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.


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<pb/>At the end of the time set by the king to bring them into his service, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar.


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The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service.


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In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.


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<pb/>In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep.


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So the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers <f>[4]</f> to tell him what he had dreamed. When they came in and stood before the king,


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<pb/>Then the astrologers answered the king, <f>[6]</f> ‘May the king live for ever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it.’


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<pb/>The king replied to the astrologers, ‘This is what I have firmly decided: if you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble.


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But if you tell me the dream and explain it, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honour. So tell me the dream and interpret it for me.’


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<pb/>Then the king answered, ‘I am certain that you are trying to gain time, because you realise that this is what I have firmly decided:


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if you do not tell me the dream, there is only one penalty for you. You have conspired to tell me misleading and wicked things, hoping the situation will change. So then, tell me the dream, and I will know that you can interpret it for me.’


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<pb/>The astrologers answered the king, ‘There is no-one on earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer.


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What the king asks is too difficult. No-one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among humans.’


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<pb/>This made the king so angry and furious that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon.


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So the decree was issued to put the wise men to death, and men were sent to look for Daniel and his friends to put them to death.


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<pb/>When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact.


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He asked the king’s officer, ‘Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?’ Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel.


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At this, Daniel went in to the king and asked for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him.


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<pb/>Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.


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He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.


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During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven


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and said: <pb/><t>‘Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; </t><t>wisdom and power are his. </t>


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<t>He changes times and seasons; </t><t>he deposes kings and raises up others. </t><t>He gives wisdom to the wise </t><t>and knowledge to the discerning. </t>


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<t>He reveals deep and hidden things; </t><t>he knows what lies in darkness, </t><t>and light dwells with him. </t>


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<t>I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors: </t><t>you have given me wisdom and power, </t><t>you have made known to me what we asked of you, </t><t>you have made known to us the dream of the king.’ </t>


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<pb/>Then Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, ‘Do not execute the wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king, and I will interpret his dream for him.’


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<pb/>Arioch took Daniel to the king at once and said, ‘I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can tell the king what his dream means.’


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<pb/>The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar), ‘Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?’


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<pb/>Daniel replied, ‘No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about,


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but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you were lying in bed are these:


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<pb/>‘As Your Majesty was lying there, your mind turned to things to come, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen.


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As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have greater wisdom than anyone else alive, but so that Your Majesty may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went through your mind.


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<pb/>‘Your Majesty looked, and there before you stood a large statue — an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance.


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The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze,


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While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them.


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Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing-floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.


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Your Majesty, you are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory;


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in your hands he has placed all mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold.


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<pb/>‘After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth.


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Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron — for iron breaks and smashes everything — and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others.


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Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay.


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As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle.


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And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.


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<pb/>‘In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure for ever.


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This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands — a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces. <pb/>‘The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.’


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<pb/>Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honour and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him.


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The king said to Daniel, ‘Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.’


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<pb/>Then the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men.


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Moreover, at Daniel’s request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego chief ministers over the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained at the royal court.


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<pb/>King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, <f>[7]</f> and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.


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He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisors, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up.


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So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisors, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.


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<pb/>Then the herald loudly proclaimed, ‘Nations and peoples of every language, this is what you are commanded to do:


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as soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.


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<pb/>Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the nations and peoples of every language fell down and worshipped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.


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Your Majesty has issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold,


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But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon — Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego — who pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.’


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<pb/>Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king,


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and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, ‘Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up?


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Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?’


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<pb/>Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.


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If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us <f>[9]</f> from Your Majesty’s hand.


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But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.’


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<pb/>Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude towards them changed. He ordered the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than usual


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and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace.


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So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace.


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The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego,


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<pb/>Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisors, ‘Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?’ <pb/>They replied, ‘Certainly, Your Majesty.’


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<pb/>He said, ‘Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.’


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<pb/>Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, ‘Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!’ <pb/>So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire,


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and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisors crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.


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<pb/>Then Nebuchadnezzar said, ‘Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.


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Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.’


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<pb/> <f>[10]</f> <n>[1]</n> King Nebuchadnezzar, <pb/>To the nations and peoples of every language, who live in all the earth: <pb/>May you prosper greatly!


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<pb/>It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me.


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<pb/><t>How great are his signs, </t><t>how mighty his wonders! </t><t>His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; </t><t>his dominion endures from generation to generation. </t>


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I had a dream that made me afraid. As I was lying in bed, the images and visions that passed through my mind terrified me.


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When the magicians, enchanters, astrologers <f>[11]</f> and diviners came, I told them the dream, but they could not interpret it for me.


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Finally, Daniel came into my presence and I told him the dream. (He is called Belteshazzar, after the name of my god, and the spirit of the holy gods is in him.)


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<pb/>I said, ‘Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no mystery is too difficult for you. Here is my dream; interpret it for me.


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These are the visions I saw while lying in bed: I looked, and there before me stood a tree in the middle of the land. Its height was enormous.


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The tree grew large and strong and its top touched the sky; it was visible to the ends of the earth.


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Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit abundant, and on it was food for all. Under it the wild animals found shelter, and the birds lived in its branches; from it every creature was fed.


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<pb/>‘In the visions I saw while lying in bed, I looked, and there before me was a holy one, a messenger, <f>[12]</f> coming down from heaven.


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He called in a loud voice: “Cut down the tree and trim off its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it and the birds from its branches.


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But let the stump and its roots, bound with iron and bronze, remain in the ground, in the grass of the field. <pb/>‘ “Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him live with the animals among the plants of the earth.


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Let his mind be changed from that of a man and let him be given the mind of an animal, till seven times <f>[13]</f> pass by for him.


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<pb/>‘ “The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of people.”


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<pb/>‘This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now, Belteshazzar, tell me what it means, for none of the wise men in my kingdom can interpret it for me. But you can, because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.’


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<pb/>Then Daniel (also called Belteshazzar) was greatly perplexed for a time, and his thoughts terrified him. So the king said, ‘Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its meaning alarm you.’ <pb/>Belteshazzar answered, ‘My lord, if only the dream applied to your enemies and its meaning to your adversaries!


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The tree you saw, which grew large and strong, with its top touching the sky, visible to the whole earth,


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with beautiful leaves and abundant fruit, providing food for all, giving shelter to the wild animals, and having nesting places in its branches for the birds —


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Your Majesty, you are that tree! You have become great and strong; your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky, and your dominion extends to distant parts of the earth.


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<pb/>‘Your Majesty saw a holy one, a messenger, coming down from heaven and saying, “Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump, bound with iron and bronze, in the grass of the field, while its roots remain in the ground. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven; let him live with the wild animals, until seven times pass by for him.”


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<pb/>‘This is the interpretation, Your Majesty, and this is the decree the Most High has issued against my lord the king:


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you will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes.


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The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules.


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Therefore, Your Majesty, be pleased to accept my advice: renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue.’


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he said, ‘Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?’


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<pb/>Even as the words were on his lips, a voice came from heaven, ‘This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: your royal authority has been taken from you.


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You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes.’


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<pb/>Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like the ox. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.


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<pb/>At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes towards heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honoured and glorified him who lives for ever. <pb/><t>His dominion is an eternal dominion; </t><t>his kingdom endures from generation to generation. </t>


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<t>All the peoples of the earth </t><t>are regarded as nothing. </t><t>He does as he pleases </t><t>with the powers of heaven </t><t>and the peoples of the earth. </t><t>No-one can hold back his hand </t><t>or say to him: ‘What have you done?’ </t>


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<pb/>At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honour and splendour were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisors and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before.


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Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.


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While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzar his father <f>[14]</f> had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them.


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So they brought in the gold goblets that had been taken from the temple of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them.


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<pb/>Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote.


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His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his legs became weak and his knees were knocking.


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<pb/>The king summoned the enchanters, astrologers <f>[15]</f> and diviners. Then he said to these wise men of Babylon, ‘Whoever reads this writing and tells me what it means will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed round his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.’


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<pb/>Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or tell the king what it meant.


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<pb/>The queen, <f>[16]</f> hearing the voices of the king and his nobles, came into the banquet hall. ‘May the king live for ever!’ she said. ‘Don’t be alarmed! Don’t look so pale!


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There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the time of your father he was found to have insight and intelligence and wisdom like that of the gods. Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners.


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He did this because Daniel, whom the king called Belteshazzar, was found to have a keen mind and knowledge and understanding, and also the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles and solve difficult problems. Call for Daniel, and he will tell you what the writing means.’


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<pb/>So Daniel was brought before the king, and the king said to him, ‘Are you Daniel, one of the exiles my father the king brought from Judah?


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I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you and that you have insight, intelligence and outstanding wisdom.


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The wise men and enchanters were brought before me to read this writing and tell me what it means, but they could not explain it.


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Now I have heard that you are able to give interpretations and to solve difficult problems. If you can read this writing and tell me what it means, you will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed round your neck, and you will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.’


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<pb/>Then Daniel answered the king, ‘You may keep your gifts for yourself and give your rewards to someone else. Nevertheless, I will read the writing for the king and tell him what it means.


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<pb/>‘Your Majesty, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness and glory and splendour.


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Because of the high position he gave him, all the nations and peoples of every language dreaded and feared him. Those the king wanted to put to death, he put to death; those he wanted to spare, he spared; those he wanted to promote, he promoted; and those he wanted to humble, he humbled.


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But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory.


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He was driven away from people and given the mind of an animal; he lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like the ox; and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and sets over them anyone he wishes.


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<pb/>‘But you, Belshazzar, his son, <f>[17]</f> have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this.


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Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honour the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways.


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<pb/>‘Here is what these words mean: <pb/>‘<e>Mene</e> <f>[18]</f>: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.


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<pb/>Then at Belshazzar’s command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed round his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom.


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<pb/> <f>[23]</f> <n>[1]</n> It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom,


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with three chief ministers over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss.


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Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the chief ministers and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.


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At this, the chief ministers and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.


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Finally these men said, ‘We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.’


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<pb/>So these chief ministers and satraps went as a group to the king and said: ‘May King Darius live for ever!


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The royal ministers, prefects, satraps, advisors and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den.


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Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered — in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.’


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<pb/>Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened towards Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.


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So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: ‘Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into the lions’ den?’ <pb/>The king answered, ‘The decree stands — in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.’


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<pb/>Then they said to the king, ‘Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, Your Majesty, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day.’


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When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sunset to save him.


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<pb/>Then the men went as a group to King Darius and said to him, ‘Remember, Your Majesty, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed.’


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<pb/>So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, ‘May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!’


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<pb/>A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed.


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Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep.


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When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, ‘Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?’


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My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.’


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<pb/>The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.


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<pb/>At the king’s command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions’ den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.


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<pb/>Then King Darius wrote to all the nations and peoples of every language in all the earth: <pb/>‘May you prosper greatly!


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<pb/>‘I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. <pb/><t>‘For he is the living God </t><t>and he endures for ever; </t><t>his kingdom will not be destroyed, </t><t>his dominion will never end. </t>


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<t>He rescues and he saves; </t><t>he performs signs and wonders </t><t>in the heavens and on the earth. </t><t>He has rescued Daniel </t><t>from the power of the lions.’ </t>


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<pb/>In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying in bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream.


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<pb/>Daniel said: ‘In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea.


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<pb/>‘The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a human being, and the mind of a human was given to it.


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<pb/>‘And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, “Get up and eat your fill of flesh!”


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<pb/>‘After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.


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<pb/>‘After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast — terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.


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<pb/>‘While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being and a mouth that spoke boastfully.


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<pb/>‘As I looked, <pb/><t>‘thrones were set in place, </t><t>and the Ancient of Days took his seat. </t><t>His clothing was as white as snow; </t><t>the hair of his head was white like wool. </t><t>His throne was flaming with fire, </t><t>and its wheels were all ablaze. </t>


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<t>A river of fire was flowing, </t><t>coming out from before him. </t><t>Thousands upon thousands attended him; </t><t>ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. </t><t>The court was seated, </t><t>and the books were opened. </t>


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<pb/>‘Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire.


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(The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)


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<pb/>‘In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, <f>[25]</f> coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.


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He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.


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I approached one of those standing there and asked him the meaning of all this. <pb/>‘So he told me and gave me the interpretation of these things:


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But the holy people of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it for ever — yes, for ever and ever.”


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<pb/>‘Then I wanted to know the meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws — the beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left.


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I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell — the horn that looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully.


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until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favour of the holy people of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.


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<pb/>‘He gave me this explanation: “The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it.


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The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings.


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He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time. <f>[26]</f>


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Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.”


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<pb/>‘This is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was deeply troubled by my thoughts, and my face turned pale, but I kept the matter to myself.’


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<pb/>In the third year of King Belshazzar’s reign, I, Daniel, had a vision, after the one that had already appeared to me.


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In my vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa in the province of Elam; in the vision I was beside the Ulai Canal.


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I looked up, and there before me was a ram with two horns, standing beside the canal, and the horns were long. One of the horns was longer than the other but grew up later.


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I watched the ram as it charged towards the west and the north and the south. No animal could stand against it, and none could rescue from its power. It did as it pleased and became great.


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<pb/>As I was thinking about this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between its eyes came from the west, crossing the whole earth without touching the ground.


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It came towards the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and charged at it in great rage.


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I saw it attack the ram furiously, striking the ram and shattering its two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against it; the goat knocked it to the ground and trampled on it, and none could rescue the ram from its power.


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The goat became very great, but at the height of its power the large horn was broken off, and in its place four prominent horns grew up towards the four winds of heaven.


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<pb/>Out of one of them came another horn, which started small but grew in power to the south and to the east and towards the Beautiful Land.


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It grew until it reached the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry host down to the earth and trampled on them.


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It set itself up to be as great as the commander of the army of the LORD; it took away the daily sacrifice from the LORD, and his sanctuary was thrown down.


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Because of rebellion, the LORD’s people <f>[27]</f> and the daily sacrifice were given over to it. It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground.


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<pb/>Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to him, ‘How long will it take for the vision to be fulfilled — the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, the rebellion that causes desolation, the surrender of the sanctuary and the trampling underfoot of the LORD’s people?’


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<pb/>He said to me, ‘It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated.’


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<pb/>While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there before me stood one who looked like a man.


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And I heard a man’s voice from the Ulai calling, ‘Gabriel, tell this man the meaning of the vision.’


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<pb/>As he came near the place where I was standing, I was terrified and fell prostrate. ‘Son of man,’ <f>[28]</f> he said to me, ‘understand that the vision concerns the time of the end.’


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<pb/>While he was speaking to me, I was in a deep sleep, with my face to the ground. Then he touched me and raised me to my feet.


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<pb/>He said: ‘I am going to tell you what will happen later in the time of wrath, because the vision concerns the appointed time of the end. <f>[29]</f>


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The four horns that replaced the one that was broken off represent four kingdoms that will emerge from his nation but will not have the same power.


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<pb/>‘In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a fierce-looking king, a master of intrigue, will arise.


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He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy those who are mighty, the holy people.


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He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power.


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<pb/>‘The vision of the evenings and mornings that has been given you is true, but seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future.’


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<pb/>I, Daniel, was worn out. I lay exhausted for several days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business. I was appalled by the vision; it was beyond understanding.


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<pb/>In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes <f>[30]</f> (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian <f>[31]</f> kingdom —


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in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years.


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So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.


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<pb/>I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed: <pb/>‘Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments,


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we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws.


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We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land.


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<pb/>‘Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame — the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you.


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We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, LORD, because we have sinned against you.


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All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you. <pb/>‘Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you.


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You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing on us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem.


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Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favour of the LORD our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth.


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The LORD did not hesitate to bring the disaster on us, for the LORD our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him.


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<pb/>‘Now, Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong.


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Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us.


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<pb/>‘Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favour on your desolate sanctuary.


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Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy.


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Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.’


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<pb/>While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the LORD my God for his holy hill —


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while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice.


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As soon as you began to pray, a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the word and understand the vision:


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<pb/>‘Seventy “sevens” <f>[32]</f> are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish <f>[33]</f> transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place. <f>[34]</f>


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<pb/>‘Know and understand this: from the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, <f>[35]</f> the ruler, comes, there will be seven “sevens”, and sixty-two “sevens”. It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.


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After the sixty-two “sevens”, the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. <f>[36]</f> The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: war will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed.


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He will confirm a covenant with many for one “seven”. <f>[37]</f> In the middle of the “seven” <f>[38]</f> he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple <f>[39]</f> he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him. <f>[40]</f>’ <f>[41]</f>


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<pb/>In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a revelation was given to Daniel (who was called Belteshazzar). Its message was true and it concerned a great war. <f>[42]</f> The understanding of the message came to him in a vision.


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I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over.


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<pb/>On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris,


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I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz round his waist.


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His body was like topaz, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.


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<pb/>I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision; those who were with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves.


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So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless.


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Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground.


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He said, ‘Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you.’ And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling.


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<pb/>Then he continued, ‘Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.


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But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.


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Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.’


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Then one who looked like a man <f>[43]</f> touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and began to speak. I said to the one standing before me, ‘I am overcome with anguish because of the vision, my lord, and I feel very weak.


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‘Do not be afraid, you who are highly esteemed,’ he said. ‘Peace! Be strong now; be strong.’ <pb/>When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, ‘Speak, my lord, since you have given me strength.’


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<pb/>So he said, ‘Do you know why I have come to you? Soon I will return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I go, the prince of Greece will come;


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but first I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. (No-one supports me against them except Michael, your prince.


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<pb/>‘Now then, I tell you the truth: three more kings will arise in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer than all the others. When he has gained power by his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece.


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After he has arisen, his empire will be broken up and parcelled out towards the four winds of heaven. It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the power he exercised, because his empire will be uprooted and given to others.


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<pb/>‘The king of the South will become strong, but one of his commanders will become even stronger than he and will rule his own kingdom with great power.


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After some years, they will become allies. The daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to make an alliance, but she will not retain her power, and he and his power <f>[44]</f> will not last. In those days she will be betrayed, together with her royal escort and her father <f>[45]</f> and the one who supported her.


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<pb/>‘Someone from within her family will arise to take her place. He will attack the forces of the king of the North and enter his fortress; he will fight against them and be victorious.


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He will also seize their gods, their metal images and their valuable articles of silver and gold and carry them off to Egypt. For some years he will leave the king of the North alone.


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Then the king of the North will invade the realm of the king of the South but will retreat to his own country.


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His sons will prepare for war and assemble a great army, which will sweep on like an irresistible flood and carry the battle as far as his fortress.


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<pb/>‘Then the king of the South will march out in a rage and fight against the king of the North, who will raise a large army, but it will be defeated.


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When the army is carried off, the king of the South will be filled with pride and will slaughter many thousands, yet he will not remain triumphant.


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For the king of the North will muster another army, larger than the first; and after several years, he will advance with a huge army fully equipped.


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<pb/>‘In those times many will rise against the king of the South. Those who are violent among your own people will rebel in fulfilment of the vision, but without success.


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Then the king of the North will come and build up siege ramps and will capture a fortified city. The forces of the South will be powerless to resist; even their best troops will not have the strength to stand.


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The invader will do as he pleases; no-one will be able to stand against him. He will establish himself in the Beautiful Land and will have the power to destroy it.


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He will determine to come with the might of his entire kingdom and will make an alliance with the king of the South. And he will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom, but his plans <f>[46]</f> will not succeed or help him.


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Then he will turn his attention to the coastlands and will take many of them, but a commander will put an end to his insolence and will turn his insolence back on him.


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After this, he will turn back towards the fortresses of his own country but will stumble and fall, to be seen no more.


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<pb/>‘His successor will send out a tax collector to maintain the royal splendour. In a few years, however, he will be destroyed, yet not in anger or in battle.


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<pb/>‘He will be succeeded by a contemptible person who has not been given the honour of royalty. He will invade the kingdom when its people feel secure, and he will seize it through intrigue.


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Then an overwhelming army will be swept away before him; both it and a prince of the covenant will be destroyed.


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After coming to an agreement with him, he will act deceitfully, and with only a few people he will rise to power.


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When the richest provinces feel secure, he will invade them and will achieve what neither his fathers nor his forefathers did. He will distribute plunder, loot and wealth among his followers. He will plot the overthrow of fortresses — but only for a time.


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<pb/>‘With a large army he will stir up his strength and courage against the king of the South. The king of the South will wage war with a large and very powerful army, but he will not be able to stand because of the plots devised against him.


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Those who eat from the king’s provisions will try to destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall in battle.


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The two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will sit at the same table and lie to each other, but to no avail, because an end will still come at the appointed time.


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The king of the North will return to his own country with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant. He will take action against it and then return to his own country.


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<pb/>‘At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time the outcome will be different from what it was before.


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Ships of the western coastlands will oppose him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and vent his fury against the holy covenant. He will return and show favour to those who forsake the holy covenant.


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<pb/>‘His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation.


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With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.


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<pb/>‘Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered.


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Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.


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<pb/>‘The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place.


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He will show no regard for the gods of his ancestors or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all.


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Instead of them, he will honour a god of fortresses; a god unknown to his ancestors he will honour with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts.


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He will attack the mightiest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honour those who acknowledge him. He will make them rulers over many people and will distribute the land at a price. <f>[47]</f>


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<pb/>‘At the time of the end the king of the South will engage him in battle, and the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots and cavalry and a great fleet of ships. He will invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood.


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He will also invade the Beautiful Land. Many countries will fall, but Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from his hand.


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He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and all the riches of Egypt, with the Libyans and Cushites <f>[48]</f> in submission.


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But reports from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will set out in a great rage to destroy and annihilate many.


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He will pitch his royal tents between the seas at <f>[49]</f> the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he will come to his end, and no-one will help him.


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<pb/>‘At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people — everyone whose name is found written in the book — will be delivered.


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Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.


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Those who are wise <f>[50]</f> will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.


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But you, Daniel, roll up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge.’


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<pb/>Then I, Daniel, looked, and there before me stood two others, one on this bank of the river and one on the opposite bank.


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One of them said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, ‘How long will it be before these astonishing things are fulfilled?’


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<pb/>The man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, lifted his right hand and his left hand towards heaven, and I heard him swear by him who lives for ever, saying, ‘It will be for a time, times and half a time. <f>[51]</f> When the power of the holy people has been finally broken, all these things will be completed.’


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<pb/>I heard, but I did not understand. So I asked, ‘My lord, what will the outcome of all this be?’


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<pb/>He replied, ‘Go your way, Daniel, because the words are rolled up and sealed until the time of the end.


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Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand.


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<pb/>‘From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days.


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<pb/>‘As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance.’


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<pb/>The word of the LORD that came to Hosea son of Beeri during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the reign of Jeroboam son of Joash king of Israel:


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<pb/>When the LORD began to speak through Hosea, the LORD said to him, ‘Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the LORD.’


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<pb/>Then the LORD said to Hosea, ‘Call him Jezreel, because I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel.


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<pb/>Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the LORD said to Hosea, ‘Call her Lo-Ruhamah, <f>[1]</f> for I will no longer show love to Israel, that I should at all forgive them.


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Yet I will show love to Judah; and I will save them — not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but I, the LORD their God, will save them.’


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Then the LORD said, ‘Call him Lo-Ammi, <f>[2]</f> for you are not my people, and I am not your God. <f>[3]</f>


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<pb/>‘Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people”, they will be called “children of the living God”.


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The people of Judah and the people of Israel will come together; they will appoint one leader and will come up out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel. <f>[4]</f>


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<pb/> <f>[5]</f> <n>[1]</n> ‘Say of your brothers, “My people”, and of your sisters, “My loved one”.


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<pb/><t>‘Rebuke your mother, rebuke her, </t><t>for she is not my wife, </t><t>and I am not her husband. </t><t>Let her remove the adulterous look from her face </t><t>and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts. </t>


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<t>Otherwise I will strip her naked </t><t>and make her as bare as on the day she was born; </t><t>I will make her like a desert, </t><t>turn her into a parched land, </t><t>and slay her with thirst. </t>


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<t>Their mother has been unfaithful </t><t>and has conceived them in disgrace. </t><t>She said, “I will go after my lovers, </t><t>who give me my food and my water, </t><t>my wool and my linen, my olive oil and my drink.” </t>


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<t>Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes; </t><t>I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way. </t>


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<t>She will chase after her lovers but not catch them; </t><t>she will look for them but not find them. </t><t>Then she will say, </t><t>“I will go back to my husband as at first, </t><t>for then I was better off than now.” </t>


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<t>She has not acknowledged that I was the one </t><t>who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil, </t><t>who lavished on her the silver and gold — </t><t>which they used for Baal. <pb/> </t>


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<t>‘Therefore I will take away my corn when it ripens, </t><t>and my new wine when it is ready. </t><t>I will take back my wool and my linen, </t><t>intended to cover her naked body. </t>


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<t>So now I will expose her lewdness </t><t>before the eyes of her lovers; </t><t>no-one will take her out of my hands. </t>


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<t>I will stop all her celebrations: </t><t>her yearly festivals, her New Moons, </t><t>her Sabbath days — all her appointed festivals. </t>


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<t>I will ruin her vines and her fig-trees, </t><t>which she said were her pay from her lovers; </t><t>I will make them a thicket, </t><t>and wild animals will devour them. </t>


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<t>I will punish her for the days </t><t>she burned incense to the Baals; </t><t>she decked herself with rings and jewellery, </t><t>and went after her lovers, </t><t>but me she forgot,’ declares the LORD. <pb/> </t>


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<t>‘Therefore I am now going to allure her; </t><t>I will lead her into the wilderness </t><t>and speak tenderly to her. </t>


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<t>There I will give her back her vineyards, </t><t>and will make the Valley of Achor <f>[6]</f> a door of hope. </t><t>There she will respond <f>[7]</f> as in the days of her youth, </t><t>as in the day she came up out of Egypt. <pb/> </t>


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<t>‘In that day,’ declares the LORD, </t><t>‘you will call me “my husband”; </t><t>you will no longer call me “my master <f>[8]</f>”. </t>


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<t>I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips; </t><t>no longer will their names be invoked. </t>


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<t>In that day I will make a covenant for them </t><t>with the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky </t><t>and the creatures that move along the ground. </t><t>Bow and sword and battle </t><t>I will abolish from the land, </t><t>so that all may lie down in safety. </t>


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<t>I will betroth you to me for ever; </t><t>I will betroth you in <f>[9]</f> righteousness and justice, </t><t>in <f>[10]</f> love and compassion. </t>


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<t>‘In that day I will respond,’ </t><t>declares the LORD — </t><t>‘I will respond to the skies, </t><t>and they will respond to the earth; </t>


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<t>and the earth will respond to the grain, </t><t>the new wine and the olive oil, </t><t>and they will respond to Jezreel. <f>[11]</f> </t>


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<t>I will plant her for myself in the land; </t><t>I will show my love to the one I called “Not my loved one <f>[12]</f>”. </t><t>I will say to those called “Not my people <f>[13]</f>”, “You are my people”; </t><t>and they will say, “You are my God.” ’</t>


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<pb/>The LORD said to me, ‘Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.’


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<pb/>So I bought her for fifteen shekels <f>[14]</f> of silver and about a homer and a lethek <f>[15]</f> of barley.


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Then I told her, ‘You are to live with me for many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will behave the same way towards you.’


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<pb/>For the Israelites will live for many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or household gods.


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Afterwards the Israelites will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to his blessings in the last days.


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<pb/><t>Hear the word of the LORD, you Israelites, </t><t>because the LORD has a charge to bring </t><t>against you who live in the land: </t><t>‘There is no faithfulness, no love, </t><t>no acknowledgment of God in the land. </t>


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<t>There is only cursing, <f>[16]</f> lying and murder, </t><t>stealing and adultery; </t><t>they break all bounds, </t><t>and bloodshed follows bloodshed. </t>


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<t>Because of this the land dries up, </t><t>and all who live in it waste away; </t><t>the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky </t><t>and the fish in the sea are swept away. <pb/> </t>


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<t>‘But let no-one bring a charge, </t><t>let no-one accuse another, </t><t>for your people are like those </t><t>who bring charges against a priest. </t>


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<t>You stumble day and night, </t><t>and the prophets stumble with you. </t><t>So I will destroy your mother — </t>


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<t>my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. <pb/>‘Because you have rejected knowledge, </t><t>I also reject you as my priests; </t><t>because you have ignored the law of your God, </t><t>I also will ignore your children. </t>


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<t>The more priests there were, </t><t>the more they sinned against me; </t><t>they exchanged their glorious God <f>[17]</f> for something disgraceful. </t>


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<t>And it will be: like people, like priests. </t><t>I will punish both of them for their ways </t><t>and repay them for their deeds. <pb/> </t>


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<t>‘They will eat but not have enough; </t><t>they will engage in prostitution but not flourish, </t><t>because they have deserted the LORD </t><t>to give themselves </t>


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<t>My people consult a wooden idol, </t><t>and a diviner’s rod speaks to them. </t><t>A spirit of prostitution leads them astray; </t><t>they are unfaithful to their God. </t>


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<t>They sacrifice on the mountaintops </t><t>and burn offerings on the hills, </t><t>under oak, poplar and terebinth, </t><t>where the shade is pleasant. </t><t>Therefore your daughters turn to prostitution </t><t>and your daughters-in-law to adultery. <pb/> </t>


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<t>‘I will not punish your daughters </t><t>when they turn to prostitution, </t><t>nor your daughters-in-law </t><t>when they commit adultery, </t><t>because the men themselves consort with harlots </t><t>and sacrifice with shrine-prostitutes — </t><t>a people without understanding will come to ruin! <pb/> </t>


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<t>‘Though you, Israel, commit adultery, </t><t>do not let Judah become guilty. <pb/>‘Do not go to Gilgal; </t><t>do not go up to Beth Aven. <f>[18]</f> </t><t>And do not swear, “As surely as the LORD lives!” </t>


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<t>The Israelites are stubborn, </t><t>like a stubborn heifer. </t><t>How then can the LORD pasture them </t><t>like lambs in a meadow? </t>


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<t>Even when their drinks are gone, </t><t>they continue their prostitution; </t><t>their rulers dearly love shameful ways. </t>


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<pb/><t>‘Hear this, you priests! </t><t>Pay attention, you Israelites! </t><t>Listen, royal house! </t><t>This judgment is against you: </t><t>you have been a snare at Mizpah, </t><t>a net spread out on Tabor. </t>


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<t>I know all about Ephraim; </t><t>Israel is not hidden from me. </t><t>Ephraim, you have now turned to prostitution; </t><t>Israel is corrupt. <pb/> </t>


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<t>‘Their deeds do not permit them </t><t>to return to their God. </t><t>A spirit of prostitution is in their heart; </t><t>they do not acknowledge the LORD. </t>


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<t>Israel’s arrogance testifies against them; </t><t>the Israelites, even Ephraim, stumble in their sin; </t><t>Judah also stumbles with them. </t>


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<t>When they go with their flocks and herds </t><t>to seek the LORD, </t><t>they will not find him; </t><t>he has withdrawn himself from them. </t>


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<t>They are unfaithful to the LORD; </t><t>they give birth to illegitimate children. </t><t>When they celebrate their New Moon feasts, </t><t>he will devour <f>[19]</f> their fields. <pb/> </t>


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<t>‘Sound the trumpet in Gibeah, </t><t>the horn in Ramah. </t><t>Raise the battle cry in Beth Aven <f>[20]</f>; </t><t>lead on, Benjamin. </t>


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<t>Ephraim will be laid waste </t><t>on the day of reckoning. </t><t>Among the tribes of Israel </t><t>I proclaim what is certain. </t>


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<t>Judah’s leaders are like those </t><t>who move boundary stones. </t><t>I will pour out my wrath on them </t><t>like a flood of water. </t>


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<t>Ephraim is oppressed, </t><t>trampled in judgment, </t><t>intent on pursuing idols. <f>[21]</f> </t>


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<t>‘When Ephraim saw his sickness, </t><t>and Judah his sores, </t><t>then Ephraim turned to Assyria, </t><t>and sent to the great king for help. </t><t>But he is not able to cure you, </t><t>not able to heal your sores. </t>


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<t>For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, </t><t>like a great lion to Judah. </t><t>I will tear them to pieces and go away; </t><t>I will carry them off, with no-one to rescue them. </t>


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<t>Then I will return to my lair </t><t>until they have borne their guilt </t><t>and seek my face — </t><t>in their misery </t><t>they will earnestly seek me.’</t>


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<pb/><t>‘Come, let us return to the LORD. </t><t>He has torn us to pieces </t><t>but he will heal us; </t><t>he has injured us </t><t>but he will bind up our wounds. </t>


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<t>After two days he will revive us; </t><t>on the third day he will restore us, </t><t>that we may live in his presence. </t>


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<t>Let us acknowledge the LORD; </t><t>let us press on to acknowledge him. </t><t>As surely as the sun rises, </t><t>he will appear; </t><t>he will come to us like the winter rains, </t><t>like the spring rains that water the earth.’ <pb/> </t>


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<t>‘What can I do with you, Ephraim? </t><t>What can I do with you, Judah? </t><t>Your love is like the morning mist, </t><t>like the early dew that disappears. </t>


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<t>Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets, </t><t>I killed you with the words of my mouth — </t><t>then my judgments go forth like the sun. <f>[22]</f> </t>


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<t>For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, </t><t>and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings. </t>


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<t>As at Adam, <f>[23]</f> they have broken the covenant; </t><t>they were unfaithful to me there. </t>


text:
<t>As marauders lie in ambush for a victim, </t><t>so do bands of priests; </t><t>they murder on the road to Shechem, </t><t>carrying out their wicked schemes. </t>


text:
<t>I have seen a horrible thing in Israel: </t><t>there Ephraim is given to prostitution, </t><t>Israel is defiled. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘Also for you, Judah, </t><t>a harvest is appointed. <pb/>‘Whenever I would restore the fortunes of my people,</t>


text:
<pb/><t>whenever I would heal Israel, </t><t>the sins of Ephraim are exposed </t><t>and the crimes of Samaria revealed. </t><t>They practise deceit, </t><t>thieves break into houses, </t><t>bandits rob in the streets; </t>


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<t>but they do not realise </t><t>that I remember all their evil deeds. </t><t>Their sins engulf them; </t><t>they are always before me. <pb/> </t>


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<t>They are all adulterers, </t><t>burning like an oven </t><t>whose fire the baker need not stir </t><t>from the kneading of the dough till it rises. </t>


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<t>On the day of the festival of our king </t><t>the princes become inflamed with wine, </t><t>and he joins hands with the mockers. </t>


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<t>Their hearts are like an oven; </t><t>they approach him with intrigue. </t><t>Their passion smoulders all night; </t><t>in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire. </t>


text:
<t>All of them are hot as an oven; </t><t>they devour their rulers. </t><t>All their kings fall, </t><t>and none of them calls on me. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Foreigners sap his strength, </t><t>but he does not realise it. </t><t>His hair is sprinkled with grey, </t><t>but he does not notice. </t>


text:
<t>Israel’s arrogance testifies against him, </t><t>but despite all this </t><t>he does not return to the LORD his God </t><t>or search for him. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘Ephraim is like a dove, </t><t>easily deceived and senseless — </t><t>now calling to Egypt, </t><t>now turning to Assyria. </t>


text:
<t>When they go, I will throw my net over them; </t><t>I will pull them down like the birds in the sky. </t><t>When I hear them flocking together, </t><t>I will catch them. </t>


text:
<t>Woe to them, </t><t>because they have strayed from me! </t><t>Destruction to them, </t><t>because they have rebelled against me! </t><t>I long to redeem them </t><t>but they speak about me falsely. </t>


text:
<t>They do not cry out to me from their hearts </t><t>but wail on their beds. </t><t>They slash themselves, <f>[24]</f> appealing to their gods </t><t>for grain and new wine, </t><t>but they turn away from me. </t>


text:
<t>They do not turn to the Most High; </t><t>they are like a faulty bow. </t><t>Their leaders will fall by the sword </t><t>because of their insolent words. </t><t>For this they will be ridiculed </t><t>in the land of Egypt.</t>


text:
<pb/><t>‘Put the trumpet to your lips! </t><t>An eagle is over the house of the LORD </t><t>because the people have broken my covenant </t><t>and rebelled against my law. </t>


text:
<t>They set up kings without my consent; </t><t>they choose princes without my approval. </t><t>With their silver and gold </t><t>they make idols for themselves </t><t>to their own destruction. </t>


text:
<t>Throw out your calf-idol, Samaria! </t><t>My anger burns against them. </t><t>How long will they be incapable of purity? </t>


text:
<t>They are from Israel! </t><t>This calf — a metalworker has made it; </t><t>it is not God. </t><t>It will be broken in pieces, </t><t>that calf of Samaria. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘They sow the wind </t><t>and reap the whirlwind. </t><t>The stalk has no head; </t><t>it will produce no flour. </t><t>Were it to yield grain, </t><t>foreigners would swallow it up. </t>


text:
<t>Israel is swallowed up; </t><t>now she is among the nations </t><t>like something no-one wants. </t>


text:
<t>For they have gone up to Assyria </t><t>like a wild donkey wandering alone. </t><t>Ephraim has sold herself to lovers. </t>


text:
<t>Although they have sold themselves among the nations, </t><t>I will now gather them together. </t><t>They will begin to waste away </t><t>under the oppression of the mighty king. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘Though Ephraim built many altars for sin offerings, </t><t>these have become altars for sinning. </t>


text:
<t>I wrote for them the many things of my law, </t><t>but they regarded them as something foreign. </t>


text:
<t>Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to me, </t><t>and though they eat the meat, </t><t>the LORD is not pleased with them. </t><t>Now he will remember their wickedness </t><t>and punish their sins: </t><t>they will return to Egypt. </t>


text:
<t>Israel has forgotten his Maker </t><t>and built palaces; </t><t>Judah has fortified many towns. </t><t>But I will send fire on their cities </t><t>that will consume their fortresses.’</t>


text:
<pb/><t>Do not rejoice, Israel; </t><t>do not be jubilant like the other nations. </t><t>For you have been unfaithful to your God; </t><t>you love the wages of a prostitute </t><t>at every threshing-floor. </t>


text:
<t>Threshing-floors and winepresses will not feed the people; </t><t>the new wine will fail them. </t>


text:
<t>They will not remain in the LORD’s land; </t><t>Ephraim will return to Egypt </t><t>and eat unclean food in Assyria. </t>


text:
<t>They will not pour out wine offerings to the LORD, </t><t>nor will their sacrifices please him. </t><t>Such sacrifices will be to them like the bread of mourners; </t><t>all who eat them will be unclean. </t><t>This food will be for themselves; </t><t>it will not come into the temple of the LORD. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>What will you do on the day of your appointed festivals, </t><t>on the feast days of the LORD? </t>


text:
<t>Even if they escape from destruction, </t><t>Egypt will gather them, </t><t>and Memphis will bury them. </t><t>Their treasures of silver will be taken over by briers, </t><t>and thorns will overrun their tents. </t>


text:
<t>The days of punishment are coming, </t><t>the days of reckoning are at hand. </t><t>Let Israel know this. </t><t>Because your sins are so many </t><t>and your hostility so great, </t><t>the prophet is considered a fool, </t><t>the inspired person a maniac. </t>


text:
<t>The prophet, along with my God, </t><t>is the watchman over Ephraim, <f>[25]</f> </t><t>yet snares await him on all his paths, </t><t>and hostility in the house of his God. </t>


text:
<t>They have sunk deep into corruption, </t><t>as in the days of Gibeah. </t><t>God will remember their wickedness </t><t>and punish them for their sins. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘When I found Israel, </t><t>it was like finding grapes in the desert; </t><t>when I saw your ancestors, </t><t>it was like seeing the early fruit on the fig-tree. </t><t>But when they came to Baal Peor, </t><t>they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol </t><t>and became as vile as the thing they loved. </t>


text:
<t>Even if they bring up children, </t><t>I will bereave them of every one. </t><t>Woe to them </t><t>when I turn away from them! </t>


text:
<t>I have seen Ephraim, like Tyre, </t><t>planted in a pleasant place. </t><t>But Ephraim will bring out </t><t>their children to the slayer.’ <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Give them, LORD — </t><t>what will you give them? </t><t>Give them wombs that miscarry </t><t>and breasts that are dry. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘Because of all their wickedness in Gilgal, </t><t>I hated them there. </t><t>Because of their sinful deeds, </t><t>I will drive them out of my house. </t><t>I will no longer love them; </t><t>all their leaders are rebellious. </t>


text:
<t>Ephraim is blighted, </t><t>their root is withered, </t><t>they yield no fruit. </t><t>Even if they bear children, </t><t>I will slay their cherished offspring.’ <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>My God will reject them </t><t>because they have not obeyed him; </t><t>they will be wanderers among the nations.</t>


text:
<pb/><t>Israel was a spreading vine; </t><t>he brought forth fruit for himself. </t><t>As his fruit increased, </t><t>he built more altars; </t><t>as his land prospered, </t><t>he adorned his sacred stones. </t>


text:
<t>Their heart is deceitful, </t><t>and now they must bear their guilt. </t><t>The LORD will demolish their altars </t><t>and destroy their sacred stones. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Then they will say, ‘We have no king </t><t>because we did not revere the LORD. </t><t>But even if we had a king, </t><t>what could he do for us?’ </t>


text:
<t>They make many promises, </t><t>take false oaths </t><t>and make agreements; </t><t>therefore lawsuits spring up </t><t>like poisonous weeds in a ploughed field. </t>


text:
<t>The people who live in Samaria fear </t><t>for the calf-idol of Beth Aven. <f>[26]</f> </t><t>Its people will mourn over it, </t><t>and so will its idolatrous priests, </t><t>those who had rejoiced over its splendour, </t><t>because it is taken from them into exile. </t>


text:
<t>It will be carried to Assyria </t><t>as tribute for the great king. </t><t>Ephraim will be disgraced; </t><t>Israel will be ashamed of its foreign alliances. </t>


text:
<t>Samaria’s king will be destroyed, </t><t>swept away like a twig on the surface of the waters. </t>


text:
<t>The high places of wickedness <f>[27]</f> will be destroyed — </t><t>it is the sin of Israel. </t><t>Thorns and thistles will grow up </t><t>and cover their altars. </t><t>Then they will say to the mountains, ‘Cover us!’ </t><t>and to the hills, ‘Fall on us!’ <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘Since the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, Israel, </t><t>and there you have remained. <f>[28]</f> </t><t>Will not war again overtake </t><t>the evildoers in Gibeah? </t>


text:
<t>When I please, I will punish them; </t><t>nations will be gathered against them </t><t>to put them in bonds for their double sin. </t>


text:
<t>Ephraim is a trained heifer </t><t>that loves to thresh; </t><t>so I will put a yoke </t><t>on her fair neck. </t><t>I will drive Ephraim, </t><t>Judah must plough, </t><t>and Jacob must break up the ground. </t>


text:
<t>Sow righteousness for yourselves, </t><t>reap the fruit of unfailing love, </t><t>and break up your unploughed ground; </t><t>for it is time to seek the LORD, </t><t>until he comes </t><t>and showers his righteousness on you. </t>


text:
<t>But you have planted wickedness, </t><t>you have reaped evil, </t><t>you have eaten the fruit of deception. </t><t>Because you have depended on your own strength </t><t>and on your many warriors, </t>


text:
<t>the roar of battle will rise against your people, </t><t>so that all your fortresses will be devastated — </t><t>as Shalman devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle, </t><t>when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children. </t>


text:
<t>So will it happen to you, Bethel, </t><t>because your wickedness is great. </t><t>When that day dawns, </t><t>the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.</t>


text:
<t>But the more they were called, </t><t>the more they went away from me. <f>[29]</f> </t><t>They sacrificed to the Baals </t><t>and they burned incense to images. </t>


text:
<t>It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, </t><t>taking them by the arms; </t><t>but they did not realise </t><t>it was I who healed them. </t>


text:
<t>I led them with cords of human kindness, </t><t>with ties of love. </t><t>To them I was like one who lifts </t><t>a little child to the cheek, </t><t>and I bent down to feed them. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘Will they not return to Egypt </t><t>and will not Assyria rule over them </t><t>because they refuse to repent? </t>


text:
<t>A sword will flash in their cities; </t><t>it will devour their false prophets </t><t>and put an end to their plans. </t>


text:
<t>My people are determined to turn from me. </t><t>Even though they call me God Most High, </t><t>I will by no means exalt them. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘How can I give you up, Ephraim? </t><t>How can I hand you over, Israel? </t><t>How can I treat you like Admah? </t><t>How can I make you like Zeboyim? </t><t>My heart is changed within me; </t><t>all my compassion is aroused. </t>


text:
<t>I will not carry out my fierce anger, </t><t>nor will I devastate Ephraim again. </t><t>For I am God, and not a man — </t><t>the Holy One among you. </t><t>I will not come against their cities. </t>


text:
<t>They will follow the LORD; </t><t>he will roar like a lion. </t><t>When he roars, </t><t>his children will come trembling from the west. </t>


text:
<t>They will come from Egypt, </t><t>trembling like sparrows, </t><t>from Assyria, fluttering like doves. </t><t>I will settle them in their homes,’ </t><t>declares the LORD. </t>


text:
<t>Ephraim has surrounded me with lies, </t><t>Israel with deceit. </t><t>And Judah is unruly against God, </t><t>even against the faithful Holy One. <f>[30]</f></t>


text:
<pb/><t> <f>[31]</f> <n>[1]</n> Ephraim feeds on the wind; </t><t>he pursues the east wind all day </t><t>and multiplies lies and violence. </t><t>He makes a treaty with Assyria </t><t>and sends olive oil to Egypt. </t>


text:
<t>The LORD has a charge to bring against Judah; </t><t>he will punish Jacob <f>[32]</f> according to his ways </t><t>and repay him according to his deeds. </t>


text:
<t>He struggled with the angel and overcame him; </t><t>he wept and begged for his favour. </t><t>He found him at Bethel </t><t>and talked with him there — </t>


text:
<t>But you must return to your God; </t><t>maintain love and justice, </t><t>and wait for your God always. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Ephraim boasts, </t><t>‘I am very rich; I have become wealthy. </t><t>With all my wealth they will not find in me </t><t>any iniquity or sin.’ <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘I have been the LORD your God </t><t>ever since you came out of Egypt; </t><t>I will make you live in tents again, </t><t>as in the days of your appointed festivals. </t>


text:
<t>I spoke to the prophets, </t><t>gave them many visions </t><t>and told parables through them.’ <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Is Gilead wicked? </t><t>Its people are worthless! </t><t>Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal? </t><t>Their altars will be like piles of stones </t><t>on a ploughed field. </t>


text:
<t>Jacob fled to the country of Aram <f>[33]</f>; </t><t>Israel served to get a wife, </t><t>and to pay for her he tended sheep. </t>


text:
<t>The LORD used a prophet to bring Israel up from Egypt, </t><t>by a prophet he cared for him. </t>


text:
<t>But Ephraim has aroused his bitter anger; </t><t>his Lord will leave on him the guilt of his bloodshed </t><t>and will repay him for his contempt.</t>


text:
<pb/><t>When Ephraim spoke, people trembled; </t><t>he was exalted in Israel. </t><t>But he became guilty of Baal worship and died. </t>


text:
<t>Now they sin more and more; </t><t>they make idols for themselves from their silver, </t><t>cleverly fashioned images, </t><t>all of them the work of craftsmen. </t><t>It is said of these people, </t><t>‘They offer human sacrifices! </t><t>They kiss <f>[34]</f> calf-idols!’ </t>


text:
<t>Therefore they will be like the morning mist, </t><t>like the early dew that disappears, </t><t>like chaff swirling from a threshing-floor, </t><t>like smoke escaping through a window. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘But I have been the LORD your God </t><t>ever since you came out of Egypt. </t><t>You shall acknowledge no God but me, </t><t>no Saviour except me. </t>


text:
<t>When I fed them, they were satisfied; </t><t>when they were satisfied, they became proud; </t><t>then they forgot me. </t>


text:
<t>Like a bear robbed of her cubs, </t><t>I will attack them and rip them open; </t><t>like a lion I will devour them — </t><t>a wild animal will tear them apart. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Where is your king, that he may save you? </t><t>Where are your rulers in all your towns, </t><t>of whom you said, </t><t>“Give me a king and princes”? </t>


text:
<t>Pains as of a woman in childbirth come to him, </t><t>but he is a child without wisdom; </t><t>when the time arrives, </t><t>he doesn’t have the sense to come out of the womb. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘I will deliver this people from the power of the grave; </t><t>I will redeem them from death. </t><t>Where, O death, are your plagues? </t><t>Where, O grave, is your destruction? <pb/>‘I will have no compassion, </t>


text:
<t>even though he thrives among his brothers. </t><t>An east wind from the LORD will come, </t><t>blowing in from the desert; </t><t>his spring will fail </t><t>and his well dry up. </t><t>His storehouse will be plundered </t><t>of all its treasures. </t>


text:
<t>The people of Samaria must bear their guilt, </t><t>because they have rebelled against their God. </t><t>They will fall by the sword; </t><t>their little ones will be dashed to the ground, </t><t>their pregnant women ripped open.’ <f>[35]</f></t>


text:
<pb/><t> <f>[36]</f> <n>[1]</n> Return, Israel, to the LORD your God. </t><t>Your sins have been your downfall! </t>


text:
<t>Take words with you </t><t>and return to the LORD. </t><t>Say to him: </t><t>‘Forgive all our sins </t><t>and receive us graciously, </t><t>that we may offer the fruit of our lips. <f>[37]</f> </t>


text:
<t>Assyria cannot save us; </t><t>we will not mount warhorses. </t><t>We will never again say “Our gods” </t><t>to what our own hands have made, </t><t>for in you the fatherless find compassion.’ <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘I will heal their waywardness </t><t>and love them freely, </t><t>for my anger has turned away from them. </t>


text:
<t>I will be like the dew to Israel; </t><t>he will blossom like a lily. </t><t>Like a cedar of Lebanon </t><t>he will send down his roots; </t>


text:
<t>his young shoots will grow. </t><t>His splendour will be like an olive tree, </t><t>his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon. </t>


text:
<t>People will dwell again in his shade; </t><t>they will flourish like the corn, </t><t>they will blossom like the vine — </t><t>Israel’s fame will be like the wine of Lebanon. </t>


text:
<t>Ephraim, what more have I <f>[38]</f> to do with idols? </t><t>I will answer him and care for him. </t><t>I am like a flourishing juniper; </t><t>your fruitfulness comes from me.’ <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Who is wise? Let them realise these things. </t><t>Who is discerning? Let them understand. </t><t>The ways of the LORD are right; </t><t>the righteous walk in them, </t><t>but the rebellious stumble in them.</t>


text:
<pb/><t>Hear this, you elders; </t><t>listen, all who live in the land. </t><t>Has anything like this ever happened in your days </t><t>or in the days of your ancestors? </t>


text:
<t>Tell it to your children, </t><t>and let your children tell it to their children, </t><t>and their children to the next generation. </t>


text:
<t>What the locust swarm has left </t><t>the great locusts have eaten; </t><t>what the great locusts have left </t><t>the young locusts have eaten; </t><t>what the young locusts have left </t><t>other locusts <f>[1]</f> have eaten. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Wake up, you drunkards, and weep! </t><t>Wail, all you drinkers of wine; </t><t>wail because of the new wine, </t><t>for it has been snatched from your lips. </t>


text:
<t>A nation has invaded my land, </t><t>a mighty army without number; </t><t>it has the teeth of a lion, </t><t>the fangs of a lioness. </t>


text:
<t>It has laid waste my vines </t><t>and ruined my fig-trees. </t><t>It has stripped off their bark </t><t>and thrown it away, </t><t>leaving their branches white. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Grain offerings and drink offerings </t><t>are cut off from the house of the LORD. </t><t>The priests are in mourning, </t><t>those who minister before the LORD. </t>


text:
<t>The fields are ruined, </t><t>the ground is dried up; </t><t>the grain is destroyed, </t><t>the new wine is dried up, </t><t>the olive oil fails. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Despair, you farmers, </t><t>wail, you vine growers; </t><t>grieve for the wheat and the barley, </t><t>because the harvest of the field is destroyed. </t>


text:
<t>The vine is dried up </t><t>and the fig-tree is withered; </t><t>the pomegranate, the palm and the apple <f>[2]</f> tree — </t><t>all the trees of the field — are dried up. </t><t>Surely the people’s joy </t><t>is withered away. </t>


text:
<t>Put on sackcloth, you priests, and mourn; </t><t>wail, you who minister before the altar. </t><t>Come, spend the night in sackcloth, </t><t>you who minister before my God; </t><t>for the grain offerings and drink offerings </t><t>are withheld from the house of your God. </t>


text:
<t>Declare a holy fast; </t><t>call a sacred assembly. </t><t>Summon the elders </t><t>and all who live in the land </t><t>to the house of the LORD your God, </t><t>and cry out to the LORD. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Alas for that day! </t><t>For the day of the LORD is near; </t><t>it will come like destruction from the Almighty. <f>[3]</f> <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Has not the food been cut off </t><t>before our very eyes — </t><t>joy and gladness </t><t>from the house of our God? </t>


text:
<t>The seeds are shrivelled </t><t>beneath the clods. <f>[4]</f> </t><t>The storehouses are in ruins, </t><t>the granaries have been broken down, </t><t>for the grain has dried up. </t>


text:
<t>How the cattle moan! </t><t>The herds mill about </t><t>because they have no pasture; </t><t>even the flocks of sheep are suffering. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>To you, LORD, I call, </t><t>for fire has devoured the pastures in the wilderness </t><t>and flames have burned up all the trees of the field. </t>


text:
<t>Even the wild animals pant for you; </t><t>the streams of water have dried up </t><t>and fire has devoured the pastures in the wilderness.</t>


text:
<pb/><t>Blow the trumpet in Zion; </t><t>sound the alarm on my holy hill. <pb/>Let all who live in the land tremble, </t><t>for the day of the LORD is coming. </t><t>It is close at hand — </t>


text:
<t>a day of darkness and gloom, </t><t>a day of clouds and blackness. </t><t>Like dawn spreading across the mountains </t><t>a large and mighty army comes, </t><t>such as never was in ancient times </t><t>nor ever will be in ages to come. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Before them fire devours, </t><t>behind them a flame blazes. </t><t>Before them the land is like the garden of Eden, </t><t>behind them, a desert waste — </t><t>nothing escapes them. </t>


text:
<t>With a noise like that of chariots </t><t>they leap over the mountaintops, </t><t>like a crackling fire consuming stubble, </t><t>like a mighty army drawn up for battle. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>They charge like warriors; </t><t>they scale walls like soldiers. </t><t>They all march in line, </t><t>not swerving from their course. </t>


text:
<t>They do not jostle each other; </t><t>each marches straight ahead. </t><t>They plunge through defences </t><t>without breaking ranks. </t>


text:
<t>They rush upon the city; </t><t>they run along the wall. </t><t>They climb into the houses; </t><t>like thieves they enter through the windows. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Before them the earth shakes, </t><t>the heavens tremble, </t><t>the sun and moon are darkened, </t><t>and the stars no longer shine. </t>


text:
<t>The LORD thunders </t><t>at the head of his army; </t><t>his forces are beyond number, </t><t>and mighty is the army that obeys his command. </t><t>The day of the LORD is great; </t><t>it is dreadful. </t><t>Who can endure it? </t>


text:
<t>‘Even now,’ declares the LORD, </t><t>‘return to me with all your heart, </t><t>with fasting and weeping and mourning.’ <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Rend your heart </t><t>and not your garments. </t><t>Return to the LORD your God, </t><t>for he is gracious and compassionate, </t><t>slow to anger and abounding in love, </t><t>and he relents from sending calamity. </t>


text:
<t>Who knows? He may turn and relent </t><t>and leave behind a blessing — </t><t>grain offerings and drink offerings </t><t>for the LORD your God. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Gather the people, </t><t>consecrate the assembly; </t><t>bring together the elders, </t><t>gather the children, </t><t>those nursing at the breast. </t><t>Let the bridegroom leave his room </t><t>and the bride her chamber. </t>


text:
<t>Let the priests, who minister before the LORD, </t><t>weep between the portico and the altar. </t><t>Let them say, ‘Spare your people, LORD. </t><t>Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, </t><t>a byword among the nations. </t><t>Why should they say among the peoples, </t><t>“Where is their God?” ’ </t>


text:
<pb/>The LORD replied <f>[5]</f> to them: <pb/><t>‘I am sending you grain, new wine and olive oil, </t><t>enough to satisfy you fully; </t><t>never again will I make you </t><t>an object of scorn to the nations. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘I will drive the northern horde far from you, </t><t>pushing it into a parched and barren land; </t><t>its eastern ranks will drown in the Dead Sea </t><t>and its western ranks in the Mediterranean Sea. </t><t>And its stench will go up; </t><t>its smell will rise.’ <pb/>Surely he has done great things! </t>


text:
<t>Do not be afraid, land of Judah; </t><t>be glad and rejoice. </t><t>Surely the LORD has done great things! </t>


text:
<t>Do not be afraid, you wild animals, </t><t>for the pastures in the wilderness are becoming green. </t><t>The trees are bearing their fruit; </t><t>the fig-tree and the vine yield their riches. </t>


text:
<t>Be glad, people of Zion, </t><t>rejoice in the LORD your God, </t><t>for he has given you the autumn rains </t><t>because he is faithful. </t><t>He sends you abundant showers, </t><t>both autumn and spring rains, as before. </t>


text:
<t>The threshing-floors will be filled with grain; </t><t>the vats will overflow with new wine and oil. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten — </t><t>the great locust and the young locust, </t><t>the other locusts and the locust swarm <f>[6]</f> — </t><t>my great army that I sent among you. </t>


text:
<t>You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, </t><t>and you will praise the name of the LORD your God, </t><t>who has worked wonders for you; </t><t>never again will my people be shamed. </t>


text:
<t>Then you will know that I am in Israel, </t><t>that I am the LORD your God, </t><t>and that there is no other; </t><t>never again will my people be shamed. </t>


text:
<t>‘And afterwards, </t><t>I will pour out my Spirit on all people. </t><t>Your sons and daughters will prophesy, </t><t>your old men will dream dreams, </t><t>your young men will see visions. </t>


text:
<t>I will show wonders in the heavens </t><t>and on the earth, </t><t>blood and fire and billows of smoke. </t>


text:
<t>The sun will be turned to darkness </t><t>and the moon to blood </t><t>before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. </t>


text:
<t>And everyone who calls </t><t>on the name of the LORD will be saved; </t><t>for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem </t><t>there will be deliverance, </t><t>as the LORD has said, </t><t>even among the survivors </t><t>whom the LORD calls. <f>[7]</f></t>


text:
<pb/><t> <f>[8]</f> <n>[1]</n> ‘In those days and at that time, </t><t>when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, </t>


text:
<t>I will gather all nations </t><t>and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. <f>[9]</f> </t><t>There I will put them on trial </t><t>for what they did to my inheritance, my people Israel, </t><t>because they scattered my people among the nations </t><t>and divided up my land. </t>


text:
<t>They cast lots for my people </t><t>and traded boys for prostitutes; </t><t>they sold girls for wine to drink. </t>


text:
<pb/>‘Now what have you against me, Tyre and Sidon and all you regions of Philistia? Are you repaying me for something I have done? If you are paying me back, I will swiftly and speedily return on your own heads what you have done.


text:
You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, that you might send them far from their homeland.


text:
<pb/>‘See, I am going to rouse them out of the places to which you sold them, and I will return on your own heads what you have done.


text:
I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, a nation far away.’ The LORD has spoken.


text:
<pb/><t>Proclaim this among the nations: </t><t>Prepare for war! </t><t>Rouse the warriors! </t><t>Let all the fighting men draw near and attack. </t>


text:
<t>Beat your ploughshares into swords </t><t>and your pruning hooks into spears. </t><t>Let the weakling say, </t><t>‘I am strong!’ </t>


text:
<t>Come quickly, all you nations from every side, </t><t>and assemble there. <pb/>Bring down your warriors, LORD! <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘Let the nations be roused; </t><t>let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, </t><t>for there I will sit </t><t>to judge all the nations on every side. </t>


text:
<t>Swing the sickle, </t><t>for the harvest is ripe. </t><t>Come, trample the grapes, </t><t>for the winepress is full </t><t>and the vats overflow — </t><t>so great is their wickedness!’ <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Multitudes, multitudes </t><t>in the valley of decision! </t><t>For the day of the LORD is near </t><t>in the valley of decision. </t>


text:
<t>The LORD will roar from Zion </t><t>and thunder from Jerusalem; </t><t>the earth and the heavens will tremble. </t><t>But the LORD will be a refuge for his people, </t><t>a stronghold for the people of Israel. </t>


text:
<t>‘Then you will know that I, the LORD your God, </t><t>dwell in Zion, my holy hill. </t><t>Jerusalem will be holy; </t><t>never again will foreigners invade her. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘In that day the mountains will drip new wine, </t><t>and the hills will flow with milk; </t><t>all the ravines of Judah will run with water. </t><t>A fountain will flow out of the LORD’s house </t><t>and will water the valley of acacias. <f>[11]</f> </t>


text:
<t>But Egypt will be desolate, </t><t>Edom a desert waste, </t><t>because of violence done to the people of Judah, </t><t>in whose land they shed innocent blood. </t>


text:
<t>Shall I leave their innocent blood unavenged? </t><t>No, I will not.’ <pb/>The LORD dwells in Zion!</t>


text:
<pb/>The words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa — the vision he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake, when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash <f>[1]</f> was king of Israel.


text:
<pb/>He said: <pb/><t>‘The LORD roars from Zion </t><t>and thunders from Jerusalem; </t><t>the pastures of the shepherds dry up, </t><t>and the top of Carmel withers.’ </t>


text:
<pb/>This is what the LORD says: <pb/><t>‘For three sins of Damascus, </t><t>even for four, I will not relent. </t><t>Because she threshed Gilead </t><t>with sledges having iron teeth, </t>


text:
<t>I will send fire on the house of Hazael </t><t>that will consume the fortresses of Ben-Hadad. </t>


text:
<t>I will break down the gate of Damascus; </t><t>I will destroy the king who is in <f>[2]</f> the Valley of Aven <f>[3]</f> </t><t>and the one who holds the sceptre in Beth Eden. </t><t>The people of Aram will go into exile to Kir,’ </t><t>says the LORD. </t>


text:
<pb/>This is what the LORD says: <pb/><t>‘For three sins of Gaza, </t><t>even for four, I will not relent. </t><t>Because she took captive whole communities </t><t>and sold them to Edom, </t>


text:
<t>I will destroy the king <f>[4]</f> of Ashdod </t><t>and the one who holds the sceptre in Ashkelon. </t><t>I will turn my hand against Ekron, </t><t>till the last of the Philistines are dead,’ </t><t>says the Sovereign LORD. </t>


text:
<pb/>This is what the LORD says: <pb/><t>‘For three sins of Tyre, </t><t>even for four, I will not relent. </t><t>Because she sold whole communities of captives to Edom, </t><t>disregarding a treaty of brotherhood, </t>


text:
<pb/>This is what the LORD says: <pb/><t>‘For three sins of Edom, </t><t>even for four, I will not relent. </t><t>Because he pursued his brother with a sword </t><t>and slaughtered the women of the land, </t><t>because his anger raged continually </t><t>and his fury flamed unchecked, </t>


text:
<pb/>This is what the LORD says: <pb/><t>‘For three sins of Ammon, </t><t>even for four, I will not relent. </t><t>Because he ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead </t><t>in order to extend his borders, </t>


text:
<t>I will set fire to the walls of Rabbah </t><t>that will consume her fortresses </t><t>amid war cries on the day of battle, </t><t>amid violent winds on a stormy day. </t>


text:
<t>Her king <f>[5]</f> will go into exile, </t><t>he and his officials together,’ </t><t>says the LORD.</t>


text:
<pb/>This is what the LORD says: <pb/><t>‘For three sins of Moab, </t><t>even for four, I will not relent. </t><t>Because he burned to ashes </t><t>the bones of Edom’s king, </t>


text:
<t>I will send fire on Moab </t><t>that will consume the fortresses of Kerioth. <f>[6]</f> </t><t>Moab will go down in great tumult </t><t>amid war cries and the blast of the trumpet. </t>


text:
<pb/>This is what the LORD says: <pb/><t>‘For three sins of Judah, </t><t>even for four, I will not relent. </t><t>Because they have rejected the law of the LORD </t><t>and have not kept his decrees, </t><t>because they have been led astray by false gods, <f>[7]</f> </t><t>the gods <f>[8]</f> their ancestors followed, </t>


text:
<pb/>This is what the LORD says: <pb/><t>‘For three sins of Israel, </t><t>even for four, I will not relent. </t><t>They sell the innocent for silver, </t><t>and the needy for a pair of sandals. </t>


text:
<t>They trample on the heads of the poor </t><t>as on the dust of the ground </t><t>and deny justice to the oppressed. </t><t>Father and son use the same girl </t><t>and so profane my holy name. </t>


text:
<t>They lie down beside every altar </t><t>on garments taken in pledge. </t><t>In the house of their god </t><t>they drink wine taken as fines. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘Yet I destroyed the Amorites before them, </t><t>though they were tall as the cedars </t><t>and strong as the oaks. </t><t>I destroyed their fruit above </t><t>and their roots below. </t>


text:
<t>I brought you up out of Egypt </t><t>and led you for forty years in the wilderness </t><t>to give you the land of the Amorites. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘I also raised up prophets from among your children </t><t>and Nazirites from among your youths. </t><t>Is this not true, people of Israel?’ </t><t>declares the LORD. </t>


text:
<t>‘But you made the Nazirites drink wine </t><t>and commanded the prophets not to prophesy. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>The swift will not escape, </t><t>the strong will not muster their strength, </t><t>and the warrior will not save his life. </t>


text:
<t>The archer will not stand his ground, </t><t>the fleet-footed soldier will not get away, </t><t>and the horseman will not save his life. </t>


text:
<pb/>Hear this word, people of Israel, the word the LORD has spoken against you — against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt:


text:
<pb/><t>‘You only have I chosen </t><t>of all the families of the earth; </t><t>therefore I will punish you </t><t>for all your sins.’ <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Does a lion roar in the thicket </t><t>when it has no prey? </t><t>Does it growl in its den </t><t>when it has caught nothing? </t>


text:
<t>Does a bird swoop down to a trap on the ground </t><t>when no bait is there? </t><t>Does a trap spring up from the ground </t><t>if it has not caught anything? </t>


text:
<t>When a trumpet sounds in a city, </t><t>do not the people tremble? </t><t>When disaster comes to a city, </t><t>has not the LORD caused it? <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing </t><t>without revealing his plan </t><t>to his servants the prophets. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>The lion has roared — </t><t>who will not fear? </t><t>The Sovereign LORD has spoken — </t><t>who can but prophesy? <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Proclaim to the fortresses of Ashdod </t><t>and to the fortresses of Egypt: </t><t>‘Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria; </t><t>see the great unrest within her </t><t>and the oppression among her people.’ <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘They do not know how to do right,’ declares the LORD, </t><t>‘who store up in their fortresses </t><t>what they have plundered and looted.’ </t>


text:
<pb/>Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: <pb/><t>‘An enemy will overrun your land, </t><t>pull down your strongholds </t><t>and plunder your fortresses.’ </t>


text:
<pb/>This is what the LORD says: <pb/><t>‘As a shepherd rescues from the lion’s mouth </t><t>only two leg bones or a piece of an ear, </t><t>so will the Israelites living in Samaria be rescued, </t><t>with only the head of a bed </t><t>and a piece of fabric <f>[9]</f> from a couch. <f>[10]</f>’ </t>


text:
<pb/>‘Hear this and testify against the descendants of Jacob,’ declares the Lord, the LORD God Almighty.


text:
<pb/><t>‘On the day I punish Israel for her sins, </t><t>I will destroy the altars of Bethel; </t><t>the horns of the altar will be cut off </t><t>and fall to the ground. </t>


text:
<t>I will tear down the winter house </t><t>along with the summer house; </t><t>the houses adorned with ivory will be destroyed </t><t>and the mansions will be demolished,’ </t><t>declares the LORD.</t>


text:
<pb/><t>Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, </t><t>you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy </t><t>and say to your husbands, ‘Bring us some drinks!’ </t>


text:
<t>The Sovereign LORD has sworn by his holiness: </t><t>‘The time will surely come </t><t>when you will be taken away with hooks, </t><t>the last of you with fishhooks. <f>[11]</f> </t>


text:
<t>You will each go straight out </t><t>through breaches in the wall. </t><t>You will be cast out towards Harmon, <f>[12]</f>’ </t><t>declares the LORD. </t>


text:
<t>‘Go to Bethel and sin; </t><t>go to Gilgal and sin yet more. </t><t>Bring your sacrifices every morning, </t><t>your tithes every three years. <f>[13]</f> </t>


text:
<t>Burn leavened bread as a thank-offering </t><t>and brag about your freewill offerings — </t><t>boast about them, you Israelites, </t><t>for this is what you love to do,’ </t><t>declares the Sovereign LORD. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘I gave you empty stomachs in every city </t><t>and lack of bread in every town, </t><t>yet you have not returned to me,’ </t><t>declares the LORD. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘I also withheld rain from you </t><t>when the harvest was still three months away. </t><t>I sent rain on one town, </t><t>but withheld it from another. </t><t>One field had rain; </t><t>another had none and dried up. </t>


text:
<t>People staggered from town to town for water </t><t>but did not get enough to drink, </t><t>yet you have not returned to me,’ </t><t>declares the LORD. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘Many times I struck your gardens and vineyards, </t><t>destroying them with blight and mildew. </t><t>Locusts devoured your fig and olive trees, </t><t>yet you have not returned to me,’ </t><t>declares the LORD. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘I sent plagues among you </t><t>as I did to Egypt. </t><t>I killed your young men with the sword, </t><t>along with your captured horses. </t><t>I filled your nostrils with the stench of your camps, </t><t>yet you have not returned to me,’ </t><t>declares the LORD. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘I overthrew some of you </t><t>as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. </t><t>You were like a burning stick snatched from the fire, </t><t>yet you have not returned to me,’ </t><t>declares the LORD. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel, </t><t>and because I will do this to you, Israel, </t><t>prepare to meet your God.’ <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>He who forms the mountains, </t><t>who creates the wind, </t><t>and who reveals his thoughts to mankind, </t><t>who turns dawn to darkness, </t><t>and treads on the heights of the earth — </t><t>the LORD God Almighty is his name.</t>


text:
<pb/><t>‘Fallen is Virgin Israel, </t><t>never to rise again, </t><t>deserted in her own land, </t><t>with no-one to lift her up.’ </t>


text:
<pb/>This is what the Sovereign LORD says to Israel: <pb/><t>‘Your city that marches out a thousand strong </t><t>will have only a hundred left; </t><t>your town that marches out a hundred strong </t><t>will have only ten left.’ </t>


text:
<t>do not seek Bethel, </t><t>do not go to Gilgal, </t><t>do not journey to Beersheba. </t><t>For Gilgal will surely go into exile, </t><t>and Bethel will be reduced to nothing. <f>[14]</f>’ </t>


text:
<t>Seek the LORD and live, </t><t>or he will sweep through the tribes of Joseph like a fire; </t><t>it will devour them, </t><t>and Bethel will have no-one to quench it. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>There are those who turn justice into bitterness </t><t>and cast righteousness to the ground. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>He who made the Pleiades and Orion, </t><t>who turns midnight into dawn </t><t>and darkens day into night, </t><t>who calls for the waters of the sea </t><t>and pours them out over the face of the land — </t><t>the LORD is his name. </t>


text:
<t>With a blinding flash he destroys the stronghold </t><t>and brings the fortified city to ruin. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>There are those who hate the one who upholds justice in court </t><t>and detest the one who tells the truth. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>You levy a straw tax on the poor </t><t>and impose a tax on their grain. </t><t>Therefore, though you have built stone mansions, </t><t>you will not live in them; </t><t>though you have planted lush vineyards, </t><t>you will not drink their wine. </t>


text:
<t>For I know how many are your offences </t><t>and how great your sins. <pb/>There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes </t><t>and deprive the poor of justice in the courts. </t>


text:
<t>Seek good, not evil, </t><t>that you may live. </t><t>Then the LORD God Almighty will be with you, </t><t>just as you say he is. </t>


text:
<t>Hate evil, love good; </t><t>maintain justice in the courts. </t><t>Perhaps the LORD God Almighty will have mercy </t><t>on the remnant of Joseph. </t>


text:
<pb/>Therefore this is what the Lord, the LORD God Almighty, says: <pb/><t>‘There will be wailing in all the streets </t><t>and cries of anguish in every public square. </t><t>The farmers will be summoned to weep </t><t>and the mourners to wail. </t>


text:
<t>There will be wailing in all the vineyards, </t><t>for I will pass through your midst,’ </t><t>says the LORD. </t>


text:
<t>Woe to you who long </t><t>for the day of the LORD! </t><t>Why do you long for the day of the LORD? </t><t>That day will be darkness, not light. </t>


text:
<t>It will be as though a man fled from a lion </t><t>only to meet a bear, </t><t>as though he entered his house </t><t>and rested his hand on the wall </t><t>only to have a snake bite him. </t>


text:
<t>Will not the day of the LORD be darkness, not light — </t><t>pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness? <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, </t><t>I will not accept them. </t><t>Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, </t><t>I will have no regard for them. </t>


text:
<t>But let justice roll on like a river, </t><t>righteousness like a never-failing stream! <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings </t><t>for forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel? </t>


text:
<t>You have lifted up the shrine of your king, </t><t>the pedestal of your idols, </t><t>the star of your god <f>[15]</f> — </t><t>which you made for yourselves. </t>


text:
<t>Therefore I will send you into exile beyond Damascus,’ </t><t>says the LORD, whose name is God Almighty.</t>


text:
<pb/><t>Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, </t><t>and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, </t><t>you notable men of the foremost nation, </t><t>to whom the people of Israel come! </t>


text:
<t>Go to Kalneh and look at it; </t><t>go from there to great Hamath, </t><t>and then go down to Gath in Philistia. </t><t>Are they better off than your two kingdoms? </t><t>Is their land larger than yours? </t>


text:
<t>You lie on beds adorned with ivory </t><t>and lounge on your couches. </t><t>You dine on choice lambs </t><t>and fattened calves. </t>


text:
<t>You drink wine by the bowlful </t><t>and use the finest lotions, </t><t>but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph. </t>


text:
<t>Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile; </t><t>your feasting and lounging will end. </t>


text:
<pb/>The Sovereign LORD has sworn by himself — the LORD God Almighty declares: <pb/><t>‘I abhor the pride of Jacob </t><t>and detest his fortresses; </t><t>I will deliver up the city </t><t>and everything in it.’ </t>


text:
And if the relative who comes to carry the bodies out of the house to burn them <f>[16]</f> asks anyone who might be hiding there, ‘Is anyone else with you?’ and he says, ‘No,’ then he will go on to say, ‘Hush! We must not mention the name of the LORD.’


text:
<pb/><t>For the LORD has given the command, </t><t>and he will smash the great house into pieces </t><t>and the small house into bits. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Do horses run on the rocky crags? </t><t>Does one plough the sea <f>[17]</f> with oxen? </t><t>But you have turned justice into poison </t><t>and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness — </t>


text:
<t>you who rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar <f>[18]</f> </t><t>and say, ‘Did we not take Karnaim <f>[19]</f> by our own strength?’ <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>For the LORD God Almighty declares, </t><t>‘I will stir up a nation against you, Israel, </t><t>that will oppress you all the way </t><t>from Lebo Hamath to the valley of the Arabah.’</t>


text:
<pb/>This is what the Sovereign LORD showed me: he was preparing swarms of locusts after the king’s share had been harvested and just as the late crops were coming up.


text:
When they had stripped the land clean, I cried out, ‘Sovereign LORD, forgive! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!’


text:
<pb/>This is what the Sovereign LORD showed me: the Sovereign LORD was calling for judgment by fire; it dried up the great deep and devoured the land.


text:
<pb/>This is what he showed me: the Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, <f>[20]</f> with a plumb-line <f>[21]</f> in his hand.


text:
And the LORD asked me, ‘What do you see, Amos?’ <pb/>‘A plumb-line,’ I replied. <pb/>Then the Lord said, ‘Look, I am setting a plumb-line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.


text:
<pb/><t>‘The high places of Isaac will be destroyed </t><t>and the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined; </t><t>with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.’ </t>


text:
<pb/>Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel: ‘Amos is raising a conspiracy against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words.


text:
For this is what Amos is saying: <pb/><t>‘ “Jeroboam will die by the sword, </t><t>and Israel will surely go into exile, </t><t>away from their native land.” ’ </t>


text:
<pb/>Then Amaziah said to Amos, ‘Get out, you seer! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there.


text:
Don’t prophesy anymore at Bethel, because this is the king’s sanctuary and the temple of the kingdom.’


text:
<pb/>Amos answered Amaziah, ‘I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees.


text:
Now then, hear the word of the LORD. You say, <pb/><t>‘ “Do not prophesy against Israel, </t><t>and stop preaching against the descendants of Isaac.” </t>


text:
<pb/>‘Therefore this is what the LORD says: <pb/><t>‘ “Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, </t><t>and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. </t><t>Your land will be measured and divided up, </t><t>and you yourself will die in a pagan <f>[22]</f> country. </t><t>And Israel will surely go into exile, </t><t>away from their native land.” ’</t>


text:
‘What do you see, Amos?’ he asked. <pb/>‘A basket of ripe fruit,’ I answered. <pb/>Then the LORD said to me, ‘The time is ripe for my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.


text:
<pb/>‘In that day,’ declares the Sovereign LORD, ‘the songs in the temple will turn to wailing. <f>[23]</f> Many, many bodies — flung everywhere! Silence!’


text:
<pb/>saying, <pb/><t>‘When will the New Moon be over </t><t>that we may sell grain, </t><t>and the Sabbath be ended </t><t>that we may market wheat?’ — </t><t>skimping on the measure, </t><t>boosting the price </t><t>and cheating with dishonest scales, </t>


text:
<t>buying the poor with silver </t><t>and the needy for a pair of sandals, </t><t>selling even the sweepings with the wheat. </t>


text:
<pb/>The LORD has sworn by himself, the Pride of Jacob: ‘I will never forget anything they have done.


text:
<pb/><t>‘Will not the land tremble for this, </t><t>and all who live in it mourn? </t><t>The whole land will rise like the Nile; </t><t>it will be stirred up and then sink </t><t>like the river of Egypt. </t>


text:
<pb/>‘In that day,’ declares the Sovereign LORD, <pb/><t>‘I will make the sun go down at noon </t><t>and darken the earth in broad daylight. </t>


text:
<t>I will turn your religious festivals into mourning </t><t>and all your singing into weeping. </t><t>I will make all of you wear sackcloth </t><t>and shave your heads. </t><t>I will make that time like mourning for an only son </t><t>and the end of it like a bitter day. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘The days are coming,’ declares the Sovereign LORD, </t><t>‘when I will send a famine through the land — </t><t>not a famine of food or a thirst for water, </t><t>but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD. </t>


text:
<t>People will stagger from sea to sea </t><t>and wander from north to east, </t><t>searching for the word of the LORD, </t><t>but they will not find it. </t>


text:
<pb/>‘In that day <pb/><t>‘the lovely young women and strong young men </t><t>will faint because of thirst. </t>


text:
<t>Those who swear by the sin of Samaria — </t><t>who say, “As surely as your god lives, Dan”, </t><t>or, “As surely as the god <f>[24]</f> of Beersheba lives” — </t><t>they will fall, never to rise again.’</t>


text:
<pb/>I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said: <pb/><t>‘Strike the tops of the pillars </t><t>so that the thresholds shake. </t><t>Bring them down on the heads of all the people; </t><t>those who are left I will kill with the sword. </t><t>Not one will get away, </t><t>none will escape. </t>


text:
<t>Though they dig down to the depths below, </t><t>from there my hand will take them. </t><t>Though they climb up to the heavens above, </t><t>from there I will bring them down. </t>


text:
<t>Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel, </t><t>there I will hunt them down and seize them. </t><t>Though they hide from my eyes at the bottom of the sea, </t><t>there I will command the serpent to bite them. </t>


text:
<t>Though they are driven into exile by their enemies, </t><t>there I will command the sword to slay them. <pb/>‘I will keep my eye on them </t><t>for harm and not for good.’ <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>The Lord, the LORD Almighty — </t><t>he touches the earth and it melts, </t><t>and all who live in it mourn; </t><t>the whole land rises like the Nile, </t><t>then sinks like the river of Egypt; </t>


text:
<t>he builds his lofty palace <f>[25]</f> in the heavens </t><t>and sets its foundation <f>[26]</f> on the earth; </t><t>he calls for the waters of the sea </t><t>and pours them out over the face of the land — </t><t>the LORD is his name. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘Are not you Israelites </t><t>the same to me as the Cushites <f>[27]</f>?’ </t><t>declares the LORD. </t><t>‘Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt, </t><t>the Philistines from Caphtor <f>[28]</f> </t><t>and the Arameans from Kir? <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘Surely the eyes of the Sovereign LORD </t><t>are on the sinful kingdom. </t><t>I will destroy it </t><t>from the face of the earth. </t><t>Yet I will not totally destroy </t><t>the descendants of Jacob,’ </t><t>declares the LORD. </t>


text:
<t>‘For I will give the command, </t><t>and I will shake the people of Israel </t><t>among all the nations </t><t>as grain is shaken in a sieve, </t><t>and not a pebble will reach the ground. </t>


text:
<t>All the sinners among my people </t><t>will die by the sword, </t><t>all those who say, </t><t>“Disaster will not overtake or meet us.” </t>


text:
<pb/>‘In that day <pb/><t>‘I will restore David’s fallen shelter — </t><t>I will repair its broken walls </t><t>and restore its ruins — </t><t>and will rebuild it as it used to be, </t>


text:
<t>so that they may possess the remnant of Edom </t><t>and all the nations that bear my name, <f>[29]</f>’ </t><t>declares the LORD, who will do these things. </t>


text:
<pb/>‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, <pb/><t>‘when the reaper will be overtaken by the ploughman </t><t>and the planter by the one treading grapes. </t><t>New wine will drip from the mountains </t><t>and flow from all the hills, </t>


text:
<t>and I will bring my people Israel back from exile. <f>[30]</f> <pb/>‘They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. </t><t>They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; </t><t>they will make gardens and eat their fruit. </t>


text:
<t>I will plant Israel in their own land, </t><t>never again to be uprooted </t><t>from the land I have given them,’ </t> <pb/>says the LORD your God.


text:
<pb/>The vision of Obadiah. <pb/>This is what the Sovereign LORD says about Edom — <pb/><t>We have heard a message from the LORD: </t><t>an envoy was sent to the nations to say, </t><t>‘Rise, let us go against her for battle’ — <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>The pride of your heart has deceived you, </t><t>you who live in the clefts of the rocks <f>[1]</f> </t><t>and make your home on the heights, </t><t>you who say to yourself, </t><t>“Who can bring me down to the ground?” </t>


text:
<t>Though you soar like the eagle </t><t>and make your nest among the stars, </t><t>from there I will bring you down,’ </t><t>declares the LORD. </t>


text:
<t>‘If thieves came to you, </t><t>if robbers in the night — </t><t>oh, what a disaster awaits you! — </t><t>would they not steal only as much as they wanted? </t><t>If grape pickers came to you, </t><t>would they not leave a few grapes? </t>


text:
<t>All your allies will force you to the border; </t><t>your friends will deceive and overpower you; </t><t>those who eat your bread will set a trap for you, <f>[2]</f> </t><t>but you will not detect it. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘In that day,’ declares the LORD, </t><t>‘will I not destroy the wise men of Edom, </t><t>those of understanding in the mountains of Esau? </t>


text:
<t>Your warriors, Teman, will be terrified, </t><t>and everyone in Esau’s mountains </t><t>will be cut down in the slaughter. </t>


text:
<t>Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, </t><t>you will be covered with shame; </t><t>you will be destroyed for ever. </t>


text:
<t>On the day you stood aloof </t><t>while strangers carried off his wealth </t><t>and foreigners entered his gates </t><t>and cast lots for Jerusalem, </t><t>you were like one of them. </t>


text:
<t>You should not gloat over your brother </t><t>in the day of his misfortune, </t><t>nor rejoice over the people of Judah </t><t>in the day of their destruction, </t><t>nor boast so much </t><t>in the day of their trouble. </t>


text:
<t>You should not march through the gates of my people </t><t>in the day of their disaster, </t><t>nor gloat over them in their calamity </t><t>in the day of their disaster, </t><t>nor seize their wealth </t><t>in the day of their disaster. </t>


text:
<t>You should not wait at the crossroads </t><t>to cut down their fugitives, </t><t>nor hand over their survivors </t><t>in the day of their trouble. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘The day of the LORD is near </t><t>for all nations. </t><t>As you have done, it will be done to you; </t><t>your deeds will return upon your own head. </t>


text:
<t>Just as you drank on my holy hill, </t><t>so all the nations will drink continually; </t><t>they will drink and drink </t><t>and be as if they had never been. </t>


text:
<t>But on Mount Zion will be deliverance; </t><t>it will be holy, </t><t>and Jacob will possess his inheritance. </t>


text:
<t>Jacob will be a fire </t><t>and Joseph a flame; </t><t>Esau will be stubble, </t><t>and they will set him on fire and destroy him. </t><t>There will be no survivors </t><t>from Esau.’ </t><t>The LORD has spoken. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>People from the Negev will occupy </t><t>the mountains of Esau, </t><t>and people from the foothills will possess </t><t>the land of the Philistines. </t><t>They will occupy the fields of Ephraim and Samaria, </t><t>and Benjamin will possess Gilead. </t>


text:
<t>This company of Israelite exiles who are in Canaan </t><t>will possess the land as far as Zarephath; </t><t>the exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sepharad </t><t>will possess the towns of the Negev. </t>


text:
<t>Deliverers will go up on <f>[3]</f> Mount Zion </t><t>to govern the mountains of Esau. </t><t>And the kingdom will be the LORD’s.</t>


text:
‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.’


text:
<pb/>But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD.


text:
<pb/>Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.


text:
All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. <pb/>But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.


text:
The captain went to him and said, ‘How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.’


text:
<pb/>Then the sailors said to each other, ‘Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.’ They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.


text:
So they asked him, ‘Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?’


text:
<pb/>He answered, ‘I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.’


text:
<pb/>This terrified them and they asked, ‘What have you done?’ (They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so.)


text:
<pb/>The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, ‘What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?’


text:
<pb/>‘Pick me up and throw me into the sea,’ he replied, ‘and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.’


text:
<pb/>Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before.


text:
Then they cried out to the LORD, ‘Please, LORD, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, LORD, have done as you pleased.’


text:
At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him.


text:
<pb/>Now the LORD provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.


text:
He said: <pb/><t>‘In my distress I called to the LORD, </t><t>and he answered me. </t><t>From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, </t><t>and you listened to my cry. </t>


text:
<t>You hurled me into the depths, </t><t>into the very heart of the seas, </t><t>and the currents swirled about me; </t><t>all your waves and breakers </t><t>swept over me. </t>


text:
<t>I said, “I have been banished </t><t>from your sight; </t><t>yet I will look again </t><t>towards your holy temple.” </t>


text:
<t>The engulfing waters threatened me, <f>[2]</f> </t><t>the deep surrounded me; </t><t>seaweed was wrapped around my head. </t>


text:
<t>To the roots of the mountains I sank down; </t><t>the earth beneath barred me in for ever. </t><t>But you, LORD my God, </t><t>brought my life up from the pit. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘When my life was ebbing away, </t><t>I remembered you, LORD, </t><t>and my prayer rose to you, </t><t>to your holy temple. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>But I, with shouts of grateful praise, </t><t>will sacrifice to you. </t><t>What I have vowed I will make good. </t><t>I will say, “Salvation comes from the LORD.” ’ </t>


text:
<pb/>Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it.


text:
Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, ‘Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.’


text:
The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.


text:
<pb/>When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust.


text:
This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh: <pb/>‘By the decree of the king and his nobles: <pb/>Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink.


text:
But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence.


text:
Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.’


text:
<pb/>When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.


text:
He prayed to the LORD, ‘Isn’t this what I said, LORD, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.


text:
<pb/>Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city.


text:
Then the LORD God provided a leafy plant <f>[3]</f> and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant.


text:
When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, ‘It would be better for me to die than to live.’


text:
<pb/>But God said to Jonah, ‘Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?’ <pb/>‘It is,’ he said. ‘And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.’


text:
<pb/>But the LORD said, ‘You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight.


text:
And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left — and also many animals?’


text:
<pb/>The word of the LORD that came to Micah of Moresheth during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah — the vision he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.


text:
<pb/><t>Hear, you peoples, all of you, </t><t>listen, earth and all who live in it, </t><t>that the Sovereign LORD may bear witness against you, </t><t>the Lord from his holy temple. </t>


text:
<t>Look! The LORD is coming from his dwelling-place; </t><t>he comes down and treads on the heights of the earth. </t>


text:
<t>The mountains melt beneath him </t><t>and the valleys split apart, </t><t>like wax before the fire, </t><t>like water rushing down a slope. </t>


text:
<t>All this is because of Jacob’s transgression, </t><t>because of the sins of the people of Israel. </t><t>What is Jacob’s transgression? </t><t>Is it not Samaria? </t><t>What is Judah’s high place? </t><t>Is it not Jerusalem? <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of rubble, </t><t>a place for planting vineyards. </t><t>I will pour her stones into the valley </t><t>and lay bare her foundations. </t>


text:
<t>All her idols will be broken to pieces; </t><t>all her temple gifts will be burned with fire; </t><t>I will destroy all her images. </t><t>Since she gathered her gifts from the wages of prostitutes, </t><t>as the wages of prostitutes they will again be used.’ </t>


text:
<t>Because of this I will weep and wail; </t><t>I will go about barefoot and naked. </t><t>I will howl like a jackal </t><t>and moan like an owl. </t>


text:
<t>For Samaria’s plague is incurable; </t><t>it has spread to Judah. </t><t>It has reached the very gate of my people, </t><t>even to Jerusalem itself. </t>


text:
<t>Tell it not in Gath <f>[1]</f>; </t><t>weep not at all. </t><t>In Beth Ophrah <f>[2]</f> </t><t>roll in the dust. </t>


text:
<t>Pass by naked and in shame, </t><t>you who live in Shaphir. <f>[3]</f> </t><t>Those who live in Zaanan <f>[4]</f> </t><t>will not come out. </t><t>Beth Ezel is in mourning; </t><t>it no longer protects you. </t>


text:
<t>Those who live in Maroth <f>[5]</f> writhe in pain, </t><t>waiting for relief, </t><t>because disaster has come from the LORD, </t><t>even to the gate of Jerusalem. </t>


text:
<t>You who live in Lachish, </t><t>harness fast horses to the chariot. </t><t>You are where the sin of Daughter Zion began, </t><t>for the transgressions of Israel were found in you. </t>


text:
<t>Therefore you will give parting gifts </t><t>to Moresheth Gath. </t><t>The town of Akzib <f>[6]</f> will prove deceptive </t><t>to the kings of Israel. </t>


text:
<t>I will bring a conqueror against you </t><t>who live in Mareshah. <f>[7]</f> </t><t>The nobles of Israel </t><t>will flee to Adullam. </t>


text:
<t>Shave your head in mourning </t><t>for the children in whom you delight; </t><t>make yourself as bald as the vulture, </t><t>for they will go from you into exile.</t>


text:
<pb/><t>Woe to those who plan iniquity, </t><t>to those who plot evil on their beds! </t><t>At morning’s light they carry it out </t><t>because it is in their power to do it. </t>


text:
<t>They covet fields and seize them, </t><t>and houses, and take them. </t><t>They defraud people of their homes, </t><t>they rob them of their inheritance. </t>


text:
<pb/>Therefore, the LORD says: <pb/><t>‘I am planning disaster against this people, </t><t>from which you cannot save yourselves. </t><t>You will no longer walk proudly, </t><t>for it will be a time of calamity. </t>


text:
<t>In that day people will ridicule you; </t><t>they will taunt you with this mournful song: </t><t>“We are utterly ruined; </t><t>my people’s possession is divided up. </t><t>He takes it from me! </t><t>He assigns our fields to traitors.” ’ <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Therefore you will have no-one in the assembly of the LORD </t><t>to divide the land by lot. </t>


text:
<t>‘Do not prophesy,’ their prophets say. </t><t>‘Do not prophesy about these things; </t><t>disgrace will not overtake us.’ </t>


text:
<t>You descendants of Jacob, should it be said, </t><t>‘Does the LORD become <f>[8]</f> impatient? </t><t>Does he do such things?’ <pb/>‘Do not my words do good </t><t>to the one whose ways are upright? </t>


text:
<t>Lately my people have risen up </t><t>like an enemy. </t><t>You strip off the rich robe </t><t>from those who pass by without a care, </t><t>like men returning from battle. </t>


text:
<t>You drive the women of my people </t><t>from their pleasant homes. </t><t>You take away my blessing </t><t>from their children for ever. </t>


text:
<t>Get up, go away! </t><t>For this is not your resting-place, </t><t>because it is defiled, </t><t>it is ruined, beyond all remedy. </t>


text:
<t>If a liar and deceiver comes and says, </t><t>“I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,” </t><t>that would be just the prophet for this people! </t>


text:
<t>‘I will surely gather all of you, Jacob; </t><t>I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel. </t><t>I will bring them together like sheep in a sheepfold, </t><t>like a flock in its pasture; </t><t>the place will throng with people. </t>


text:
<t>The One who breaks open the way will go up before them; </t><t>they will break through the gate and go out. </t><t>Their King will pass through before them, </t><t>the LORD at their head.’</t>


text:
<pb/>Then I said, <pb/><t>‘Listen, you leaders of Jacob, </t><t>you rulers of Israel. </t><t>Should you not embrace justice, </t>


text:
<t>you who hate good and love evil; </t><t>who tear the skin from my people </t><t>and the flesh from their bones; </t>


text:
<t>who eat my people’s flesh, </t><t>strip off their skin </t><t>and break their bones in pieces; </t><t>who chop them up like meat for the pan, </t><t>like flesh for the pot?’ <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Then they will cry out to the LORD, </t><t>but he will not answer them. </t><t>At that time he will hide his face from them </t><t>because of the evil they have done. </t>


text:
<pb/>This is what the LORD says: <pb/><t>‘As for the prophets </t><t>who lead my people astray, </t><t>they proclaim “peace” </t><t>if they have something to eat, </t><t>but prepare to wage war against anyone </t><t>who refuses to feed them. </t>


text:
<t>Therefore night will come over you, without visions, </t><t>and darkness, without divination. </t><t>The sun will set for the prophets, </t><t>and the day will go dark for them. </t>


text:
<t>The seers will be ashamed </t><t>and the diviners disgraced. </t><t>They will all cover their faces </t><t>because there is no answer from God.’ </t>


text:
<t>But as for me, I am filled with power, </t><t>with the Spirit of the LORD, </t><t>and with justice and might, </t><t>to declare to Jacob his transgression, </t><t>to Israel his sin. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Hear this, you leaders of Jacob, </t><t>you rulers of Israel, </t><t>who despise justice </t><t>and distort all that is right; </t>


text:
<t>Her leaders judge for a bribe, </t><t>her priests teach for a price, </t><t>and her prophets tell fortunes for money. </t><t>Yet they look for the LORD’s support and say, </t><t>‘Is not the LORD among us? </t><t>No disaster will come upon us.’ </t>


text:
<t>Therefore because of you, </t><t>Zion will be ploughed like a field, </t><t>Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, </t><t>the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.</t>


text:
<pb/>In the last days <pb/><t>the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established </t><t>as the highest of the mountains; </t><t>it will be exalted above the hills, </t><t>and peoples will stream to it. </t>


text:
<pb/>Many nations will come and say, <pb/><t>‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, </t><t>to the temple of the God of Jacob. </t><t>He will teach us his ways, </t><t>so that we may walk in his paths.’ </t><t>The law will go out from Zion, </t><t>the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. </t>


text:
<t>He will judge between many peoples </t><t>and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. </t><t>They will beat their swords into ploughshares </t><t>and their spears into pruning hooks. </t><t>Nation will not take up sword against nation, </t><t>nor will they train for war anymore. </t>


text:
<t>Everyone will sit under their own vine </t><t>and under their own fig-tree, </t><t>and no-one will make them afraid, </t><t>for the LORD Almighty has spoken. </t>


text:
<t>All the nations may walk </t><t>in the name of their gods, </t><t>but we will walk in the name of the LORD </t><t>our God for ever and ever. </t>


text:
<t>‘In that day,’ declares the LORD, </t><t>‘I will gather the lame; </t><t>I will assemble the exiles </t><t>and those I have brought to grief. </t>


text:
<t>I will make the lame my remnant, </t><t>those driven away a strong nation. </t><t>The LORD will rule over them in Mount Zion </t><t>from that day and for ever. </t>


text:
<t>As for you, watchtower of the flock, </t><t>stronghold <f>[9]</f> of Daughter Zion, </t><t>the former dominion will be restored to you; </t><t>kingship will come to Daughter Jerusalem.’ <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Why do you now cry aloud — </t><t>have you no king <f>[10]</f>? </t><t>Has your ruler <f>[11]</f> perished, </t><t>that pain seizes you like that of a woman in labour? </t>


text:
<t>Writhe in agony, Daughter Zion, </t><t>like a woman in labour, </t><t>for now you must leave the city </t><t>to camp in the open field. </t><t>You will go to Babylon; </t><t>there you will be rescued. </t><t>There the LORD will redeem you </t><t>out of the hand of your enemies. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>But now many nations </t><t>are gathered against you. </t><t>They say, ‘Let her be defiled, </t><t>let our eyes gloat over Zion!’ </t>


text:
<t>But they do not know </t><t>the thoughts of the LORD; </t><t>they do not understand his plan, </t><t>that he has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing-floor. </t>


text:
<t>‘Rise and thresh, Daughter Zion, </t><t>for I will give you horns of iron; </t><t>I will give you hooves of bronze, </t><t>and you will break to pieces many nations.’ </t><t>You will devote their ill-gotten gains to the LORD, </t><t>their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.</t>


text:
<pb/><t> <f>[12]</f> <n>[1]</n> Marshal your troops now, city of troops, </t><t>for a siege is laid against us. </t><t>They will strike Israel’s ruler </t><t>on the cheek with a rod. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, </t><t>though you are small among the clans <f>[13]</f> of Judah, </t><t>out of you will come for me </t><t>one who will be ruler over Israel, </t><t>whose origins are from of old, </t><t>from ancient times.’ <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Therefore Israel will be abandoned </t><t>until the time when she who is in labour bears a son, </t><t>and the rest of his brothers return </t><t>to join the Israelites. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>He will stand and shepherd his flock </t><t>in the strength of the LORD, </t><t>in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. </t><t>And they will live securely, for then his greatness </t><t>will reach to the ends of the earth. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>And he will be our peace </t><t>when the Assyrians invade our land </t><t>and march through our fortresses. </t><t>We will raise against them seven shepherds, </t><t>even eight commanders, </t>


text:
<t>who will rule <f>[14]</f> the land of Assyria with the sword, </t><t>the land of Nimrod with drawn sword. <f>[15]</f> </t><t>He will deliver us from the Assyrians </t><t>when they invade our land </t><t>and march across our borders. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>The remnant of Jacob will be </t><t>in the midst of many peoples </t><t>like dew from the LORD, </t><t>like showers on the grass, </t><t>which do not wait for anyone </t><t>or depend on man. </t>


text:
<t>The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, </t><t>in the midst of many peoples, </t><t>like a lion among the beasts of the forest, </t><t>like a young lion among flocks of sheep, </t><t>which mauls and mangles as it goes, </t><t>and no-one can rescue. </t>


text:
<t>Your hand will be lifted up in triumph over your enemies, </t><t>and all your foes will be destroyed. </t>


text:
<pb/>‘In that day,’ declares the LORD, <pb/><t>‘I will destroy your horses from among you </t><t>and demolish your chariots. </t>


text:
<t>I will destroy your idols </t><t>and your sacred stones from among you; </t><t>you will no longer bow down </t><t>to the work of your hands. </t>


text:
<t>I will uproot from among you your Asherah poles <f>[16]</f> </t><t>when I demolish your cities. </t>


text:
<pb/>Listen to what the LORD says: <pb/><t>‘Stand up, plead my case before the mountains; </t><t>let the hills hear what you have to say. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘Hear, you mountains, the LORD’s accusation; </t><t>listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth. </t><t>For the LORD has a case against his people; </t><t>he is lodging a charge against Israel. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>I brought you up out of Egypt </t><t>and redeemed you from the land of slavery. </t><t>I sent Moses to lead you, </t><t>also Aaron and Miriam. </t>


text:
<t>My people, remember </t><t>what Balak king of Moab plotted </t><t>and what Balaam son of Beor answered. </t><t>Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, </t><t>that you may know the righteous acts of the LORD.’ <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>With what shall I come before the LORD </t><t>and bow down before the exalted God? </t><t>Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, </t><t>with calves a year old? </t>


text:
<t>Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, </t><t>with ten thousand rivers of oil? </t><t>Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, </t><t>the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? </t>


text:
<t>He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. </t><t>And what does the LORD require of you? </t><t>To act justly and to love mercy </t><t>and to walk humbly <f>[17]</f> with your God. </t>


text:
<t>Listen! The LORD is calling to the city — </t><t>and to fear your name is wisdom — </t><t>‘Heed the rod and the One who appointed it. <f>[18]</f> </t>


text:
<t>Am I still to forget your ill-gotten treasures, you wicked house, </t><t>and the short ephah, <f>[19]</f> which is accursed? </t>


text:
<t>Your rich people are violent; </t><t>your inhabitants are liars </t><t>and their tongues speak deceitfully. </t>


text:
<t>Therefore, I have begun to destroy you, </t><t>to ruin <f>[20]</f> you because of your sins. </t>


text:
<t>You will eat but not be satisfied; </t><t>your stomach will still be empty. <f>[21]</f> </t><t>You will store up but save nothing, </t><t>because what you save <f>[22]</f> I will give to the sword. </t>


text:
<t>You will plant but not harvest; </t><t>you will press olives but not use the oil, </t><t>you will crush grapes but not drink the wine. </t>


text:
<t>You have observed the statutes of Omri </t><t>and all the practices of Ahab’s house; </t><t>you have followed their traditions. </t><t>Therefore I will give you over to ruin </t><t>and your people to derision; </t><t>you will bear the scorn of the nations. <f>[23]</f>’</t>


text:
<pb/><t>What misery is mine! </t><t>I am like one who gathers summer fruit </t><t>at the gleaning of the vineyard; </t><t>there is no cluster of grapes to eat, </t><t>none of the early figs that I crave. </t>


text:
<t>The faithful have been swept from the land; </t><t>not one upright person remains. </t><t>Everyone lies in wait to shed blood; </t><t>they hunt each other with nets. </t>


text:
<t>Both hands are skilled in doing evil; </t><t>the ruler demands gifts, </t><t>the judge accepts bribes, </t><t>the powerful dictate what they desire — </t><t>they all conspire together. </t>


text:
<t>The best of them is like a brier, </t><t>the most upright worse than a thorn hedge. </t><t>The day God visits you has come, </t><t>the day your watchmen sound the alarm. </t><t>Now is the time of your confusion. </t>


text:
<t>Do not trust a neighbour; </t><t>put no confidence in a friend. </t><t>Even with the woman who lies in your embrace </t><t>guard the words of your lips. </t>


text:
<t>For a son dishonours his father, </t><t>a daughter rises up against her mother, </t><t>a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law — </t><t>a man’s enemies are the members of his own household. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, </t><t>I wait for God my Saviour; </t><t>my God will hear me. </t>


text:
<t>Do not gloat over me, my enemy! </t><t>Though I have fallen, I will rise. </t><t>Though I sit in darkness, </t><t>the LORD will be my light. </t>


text:
<t>Because I have sinned against him, </t><t>I will bear the LORD’s wrath, </t><t>until he pleads my case </t><t>and upholds my cause. </t><t>He will bring me out into the light; </t><t>I will see his righteousness. </t>


text:
<t>Then my enemy will see it </t><t>and will be covered with shame, </t><t>she who said to me, </t><t>‘Where is the LORD your God?’ </t><t>My eyes will see her downfall; </t><t>even now she will be trampled underfoot </t><t>like mire in the streets. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>In that day people will come to you </t><t>from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, </t><t>even from Egypt to the Euphrates </t><t>and from sea to sea </t><t>and from mountain to mountain. </t>


text:
<t>The earth will become desolate because of its inhabitants, </t><t>as the result of their deeds. </t>


text:
<t>Shepherd your people with your staff, </t><t>the flock of your inheritance, </t><t>which lives by itself in a forest, </t><t>in fertile pasture-lands. <f>[24]</f> </t><t>Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead </t><t>as in days long ago. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Nations will see and be ashamed, </t><t>deprived of all their power. </t><t>They will put their hands over their mouths </t><t>and their ears will become deaf. </t>


text:
<t>They will lick dust like a snake, </t><t>like creatures that crawl on the ground. </t><t>They will come trembling out of their dens; </t><t>they will turn in fear to the LORD our God </t><t>and will be afraid of you. </t>


text:
<t>Who is a God like you, </t><t>who pardons sin and forgives the transgression </t><t>of the remnant of his inheritance? </t><t>You do not stay angry for ever </t><t>but delight to show mercy. </t>


text:
<t>You will again have compassion on us; </t><t>you will tread our sins underfoot </t><t>and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. </t>


text:
<t>You will be faithful to Jacob, </t><t>and show love to Abraham, </t><t>as you pledged on oath to our ancestors </t><t>in days long ago.</t>


text:
<pb/><t>The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; </t><t>the LORD takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. </t><t>The LORD takes vengeance on his foes </t><t>and vents his wrath against his enemies. </t>


text:
<t>The LORD is slow to anger but great in power; </t><t>the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished. </t><t>His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, </t><t>and clouds are the dust of his feet. </t>


text:
<t>He rebukes the sea and dries it up; </t><t>he makes all the rivers run dry. </t><t>Bashan and Carmel wither </t><t>and the blossoms of Lebanon fade. </t>


text:
<t>The mountains quake before him </t><t>and the hills melt away. </t><t>The earth trembles at his presence, </t><t>the world and all who live in it. </t>


text:
<t>Who can withstand his indignation? </t><t>Who can endure his fierce anger? </t><t>His wrath is poured out like fire; </t><t>the rocks are shattered before him. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>The LORD is good, </t><t>a refuge in times of trouble. </t><t>He cares for those who trust in him, </t>


text:
<t>but with an overwhelming flood </t><t>he will make an end of Nineveh; </t><t>he will pursue his foes into the realm of darkness. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Whatever they plot against the LORD </t><t>he will bring <f>[1]</f> to an end; </t><t>trouble will not come a second time. </t>


text:
<t>They will be entangled among thorns </t><t>and drunk from their wine; </t><t>they will be consumed like dry stubble. <f>[2]</f> </t>


text:
<t>From you, Nineveh, has one come forth </t><t>who plots evil against the LORD </t><t>and devises wicked plans. </t>


text:
<pb/>This is what the LORD says: <pb/><t>‘Although they have allies and are numerous, </t><t>they will be destroyed and pass away. </t><t>Although I have afflicted you, Judah, </t><t>I will afflict you no more. </t>


text:
<t>The LORD has given a command concerning you, Nineveh: </t><t>‘You will have no descendants to bear your name. </t><t>I will destroy the images and idols </t><t>that are in the temple of your gods. </t><t>I will prepare your grave, </t><t>for you are vile.’ <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Look, there on the mountains, </t><t>the feet of one who brings good news, </t><t>who proclaims peace! </t><t>Celebrate your festivals, Judah, </t><t>and fulfil your vows. </t><t>No more will the wicked invade you; </t><t>they will be completely destroyed. <f>[3]</f></t>


text:
<pb/><t> <f>[4]</f> <n>[1]</n> An attacker advances against you, Nineveh. </t><t>Guard the fortress, </t><t>watch the road, </t><t>brace yourselves, </t><t>marshal all your strength! <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>The LORD will restore the splendour of Jacob </t><t>like the splendour of Israel, </t><t>though destroyers have laid them waste </t><t>and have ruined their vines. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>The shields of the soldiers are red; </t><t>the warriors are clad in scarlet. </t><t>The metal on the chariots flashes </t><t>on the day they are made ready; </t><t>the spears of juniper are brandished. <f>[5]</f> </t>


text:
<t>The chariots storm through the streets, </t><t>rushing back and forth through the squares. </t><t>They look like flaming torches; </t><t>they dart about like lightning. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Nineveh summons her picked troops, </t><t>yet they stumble on their way. </t><t>They dash to the city wall; </t><t>the protective shield is put in place. </t>


text:
<t>It is decreed <f>[6]</f> that Nineveh </t><t>be exiled and carried away. </t><t>Her female slaves moan like doves </t><t>and beat on their breasts. </t>


text:
<t>Nineveh is like a pool </t><t>whose water is draining away. </t><t>‘Stop! Stop!’ they cry, </t><t>but no-one turns back. </t>


text:
<t>Plunder the silver! </t><t>Plunder the gold! </t><t>The supply is endless, </t><t>the wealth from all its treasures! </t>


text:
<t>She is pillaged, plundered, stripped! </t><t>Hearts melt, knees give way, </t><t>bodies tremble, every face grows pale. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Where now is the lions’ den, </t><t>the place where they fed their young, </t><t>where the lion and lioness went, </t><t>and the cubs, with nothing to fear? </t>


text:
<t>The lion killed enough for his cubs </t><t>and strangled the prey for his mate, </t><t>filling his lairs with the kill </t><t>and his dens with the prey. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘I am against you,’ </t><t>declares the LORD Almighty. </t><t>‘I will burn up your chariots in smoke, </t><t>and the sword will devour your young lions. </t><t>I will leave you no prey on the earth. </t><t>The voices of your messengers </t><t>will no longer be heard.’</t>


text:
<pb/><t>Woe to the city of blood, </t><t>full of lies, </t><t>full of plunder, </t><t>never without victims! </t>


text:
<t>The crack of whips, </t><t>the clatter of wheels, </t><t>galloping horses </t><t>and jolting chariots! </t>


text:
<t>Charging cavalry, </t><t>flashing swords </t><t>and glittering spears! </t><t>Many casualties, </t><t>piles of dead, </t><t>bodies without number, </t><t>people stumbling over the corpses — </t>


text:
<t>all because of the wanton lust of a prostitute, </t><t>alluring, the mistress of sorceries, </t><t>who enslaved nations by her prostitution </t><t>and peoples by her witchcraft. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘I am against you,’ declares the LORD Almighty. </t><t>‘I will lift your skirts over your face. </t><t>I will show the nations your nakedness </t><t>and the kingdoms your shame. </t>


text:
<t>I will pelt you with filth, </t><t>I will treat you with contempt </t><t>and make you a spectacle. </t>


text:
<t>All who see you will flee from you and say, </t><t>“Nineveh is in ruins — who will mourn for her?” </t><t>Where can I find anyone to comfort you?’ <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Are you better than Thebes, </t><t>situated on the Nile, </t><t>with water around her? </t><t>The river was her defence, </t><t>the waters her wall. </t>


text:
<t>Cush <f>[7]</f> and Egypt were her boundless strength; </t><t>Put and Libya were among her allies. </t>


text:
<t>Yet she was taken captive </t><t>and went into exile. </t><t>Her infants were dashed to pieces </t><t>at every street corner. </t><t>Lots were cast for her nobles, </t><t>and all her great men were put in chains. </t>


text:
<t>You too will become drunk; </t><t>you will go into hiding </t><t>and seek refuge from the enemy. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>All your fortresses are like fig-trees </t><t>with their first ripe fruit; </t><t>when they are shaken, </t><t>the figs fall into the mouth of the eater. </t>


text:
<t>Look at your troops — </t><t>they are all weaklings. </t><t>The gates of your land </t><t>are wide open to your enemies; </t><t>fire has consumed the bars of your gates. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Draw water for the siege, </t><t>strengthen your defences! </t><t>Work the clay, </t><t>tread the mortar, </t><t>repair the brickwork! </t>


text:
<t>There the fire will consume you; </t><t>the sword will cut you down — </t><t>and it will devour you like a swarm of locusts. </t><t>Multiply like grasshoppers, </t><t>multiply like locusts! </t>


text:
<t>You have increased the number of your merchants </t><t>till they are more numerous than the stars in the sky, </t><t>but like locusts they strip the land </t><t>and then fly away. </t>


text:
<t>Your guards are like locusts, </t><t>your officials like swarms of locusts </t><t>that settle in the walls on a cold day — </t><t>but when the sun appears they fly away, </t><t>and no-one knows where. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>King of Assyria, your shepherds <f>[8]</f> slumber; </t><t>your nobles lie down to rest. </t><t>Your people are scattered on the mountains </t><t>with no-one to gather them. </t>


text:
<t>Nothing can heal you; </t><t>your wound is fatal. </t><t>All who hear the news about you </t><t>clap their hands at your fall, </t><t>for who has not felt </t><t>your endless cruelty?</t>


text:
<pb/><t>How long, LORD, must I call for help, </t><t>but you do not listen? </t><t>Or cry out to you, ‘Violence!’ </t><t>but you do not save? </t>


text:
<t>Why do you make me look at injustice? </t><t>Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? </t><t>Destruction and violence are before me; </t><t>there is strife, and conflict abounds. </t>


text:
<t>Therefore the law is paralysed, </t><t>and justice never prevails. </t><t>The wicked hem in the righteous, </t><t>so that justice is perverted. </t>


text:
<t>‘Look at the nations and watch — </t><t>and be utterly amazed. </t><t>For I am going to do something in your days </t><t>that you would not believe, </t><t>even if you were told. </t>


text:
<t>I am raising up the Babylonians, <f>[1]</f> </t><t>that ruthless and impetuous people, </t><t>who sweep across the whole earth </t><t>to seize dwellings not their own. </t>


text:
<t>They are a feared and dreaded people; </t><t>they are a law to themselves </t><t>and promote their own honour. </t>


text:
<t>Their horses are swifter than leopards, </t><t>fiercer than wolves at dusk. </t><t>Their cavalry gallops headlong; </t><t>their horsemen come from afar. </t><t>They fly like an eagle swooping to devour; </t>


text:
<t>they all come intent on violence. </t><t>Their hordes <f>[2]</f> advance like a desert wind </t><t>and gather prisoners like sand. </t>


text:
<t>They mock kings </t><t>and scoff at rulers. </t><t>They laugh at all fortified cities; </t><t>by building earthen ramps they capture them. </t>


text:
<t>Then they sweep past like the wind and go on — </t><t>guilty people, whose own strength is their god.’ </t>


text:
<t> LORD, are you not from everlasting? </t><t>My God, my Holy One, you <f>[3]</f> will never die. </t><t>You, LORD, have appointed them to execute judgment; </t><t>you, my Rock, have ordained them to punish. </t>


text:
<t>Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; </t><t>you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. </t><t>Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? </t><t>Why are you silent while the wicked </t><t>swallow up those more righteous than themselves? </t>


text:
<t>You have made people like the fish in the sea, </t><t>like the sea creatures that have no ruler. </t>


text:
<t>The wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks, </t><t>he catches them in his net, </t><t>he gathers them up in his drag-net; </t><t>and so he rejoices and is glad. </t>


text:
<t>Therefore he sacrifices to his net </t><t>and burns incense to his drag-net, </t><t>for by his net he lives in luxury </t><t>and enjoys the choicest food. </t>


text:
<pb/><t>I will stand at my watch </t><t>and station myself on the ramparts; </t><t>I will look to see what he will say to me, </t><t>and what answer I am to give to this complaint. <f>[4]</f> </t>


text:
<pb/>Then the LORD replied: <pb/><t>‘Write down the revelation </t><t>and make it plain on tablets </t><t>so that a herald <f>[5]</f> may run with it. </t>


text:
<t>For the revelation awaits an appointed time; </t><t>it speaks of the end </t><t>and will not prove false. </t><t>Though it linger, wait for it; </t><t>it <f>[6]</f> will certainly come </t><t>and will not delay. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘See, the enemy is puffed up; </t><t>his desires are not upright — </t><t>but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness <f>[7]</f> — </t>


text:
<t>indeed, wine betrays him; </t><t>he is arrogant and never at rest. </t><t>Because he is as greedy as the grave </t><t>and like death is never satisfied, </t><t>he gathers to himself all the nations </t><t>and takes captive all the peoples. </t>


text:
<pb/>‘Will not all of them taunt him with ridicule and scorn, saying, <pb/><t>‘ “Woe to him who piles up stolen goods </t><t>and makes himself wealthy by extortion! </t><t>How long must this go on?” </t>


text:
<t>Will not your creditors suddenly arise? </t><t>Will they not wake up and make you tremble? </t><t>Then you will become their prey. </t>


text:
<t>Because you have plundered many nations, </t><t>the peoples who are left will plunder you. </t><t>For you have shed human blood; </t><t>you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘Woe to him who builds his house by unjust gain, </t><t>setting his nest on high </t><t>to escape the clutches of ruin! </t>


text:
<t>You have plotted the ruin of many peoples, </t><t>shaming your own house and forfeiting your life. </t>


text:
<t>The stones of the wall will cry out, </t><t>and the beams of the woodwork will echo it. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Has not the LORD Almighty determined </t><t>that the people’s labour is only fuel for the fire, </t><t>that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing? </t>


text:
<t>For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD </t><t>as the waters cover the sea. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbours, </t><t>pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk, </t><t>so that he can gaze on their naked bodies! </t>


text:
<t>You will be filled with shame instead of glory. </t><t>Now it is your turn! Drink and let your nakedness be exposed <f>[8]</f>! </t><t>The cup from the LORD’s right hand is coming round to you, </t><t>and disgrace will cover your glory. </t>


text:
<t>The violence you have done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, </t><t>and your destruction of animals will terrify you. </t><t>For you have shed human blood; </t><t>you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘Of what value is an idol carved by a craftsman? </t><t>Or an image that teaches lies? </t><t>For the one who makes it trusts in his own creation; </t><t>he makes idols that cannot speak. </t>


text:
<t>Woe to him who says to wood, “Come to life!” </t><t>Or to lifeless stone, “Wake up!” </t><t>Can it give guidance? </t><t>It is covered with gold and silver; </t><t>there is no breath in it.’ <pb/> </t>


text:
<pb/><t> LORD, I have heard of your fame; </t><t>I stand in awe of your deeds, LORD. </t><t>Repeat them in our day, </t><t>in our time make them known; </t><t>in wrath remember mercy. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>God came from Teman, </t><t>the Holy One from Mount Paran. <f>[10]</f> </t><t>His glory covered the heavens </t><t>and his praise filled the earth. </t>


text:
<t>His splendour was like the sunrise; </t><t>rays flashed from his hand, </t><t>where his power was hidden. </t>


text:
<t>He stood, and shook the earth; </t><t>he looked, and made the nations tremble. </t><t>The ancient mountains crumbled </t><t>and the age-old hills collapsed — </t><t>but he marches on for ever. </t>


text:
<t>Were you angry with the rivers, LORD? </t><t>Was your wrath against the streams? </t><t>Did you rage against the sea </t><t>when you rode your horses </t><t>and your chariots to victory? </t>


text:
<t>You uncovered your bow, </t><t>you called for many arrows. </t><t>You split the earth with rivers; </t>


text:
<t>the mountains saw you and writhed. </t><t>Torrents of water swept by; </t><t>the deep roared </t><t>and lifted its waves on high. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Sun and moon stood still in the heavens </t><t>at the glint of your flying arrows, </t><t>at the lightning of your flashing spear. </t>


text:
<t>You came out to deliver your people, </t><t>to save your anointed one. </t><t>You crushed the leader of the land of wickedness, </t><t>you stripped him from head to foot. </t>


text:
<t>With his own spear you pierced his head </t><t>when his warriors stormed out to scatter us, </t><t>gloating as though about to devour </t><t>the wretched who were in hiding. </t>


text:
<t>I heard and my heart pounded, </t><t>my lips quivered at the sound; </t><t>decay crept into my bones, </t><t>and my legs trembled. </t><t>Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity </t><t>to come on the nation invading us. </t>


text:
<t>Though the fig-tree does not bud </t><t>and there are no grapes on the vines, </t><t>though the olive crop fails </t><t>and the fields produce no food, </t><t>though there are no sheep in the sheepfold </t><t>and no cattle in the stalls, </t>


text:
<t>The Sovereign LORD is my strength; </t><t>he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, </t><t>he enables me to tread on the heights. <pb/><e>For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.</e></t>


text:
<pb/>The word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, during the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah:


text:
<pb/><t>‘I will sweep away everything </t><t>from the face of the earth,’ </t><t>declares the LORD. </t>


text:
<t>‘I will sweep away both man and beast; </t><t>I will sweep away the birds in the sky </t><t>and the fish in the sea — </t><t>and the idols that cause the wicked to stumble.’ <f>[1]</f> <pb/>‘When I destroy all mankind </t><t>on the face of the earth,’ </t><t>declares the LORD, </t>


text:
<t>‘I will stretch out my hand against Judah </t><t>and against all who live in Jerusalem. </t><t>I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place, </t><t>the very names of the idolatrous priests — </t>


text:
<t>those who bow down on the roofs </t><t>to worship the starry host, </t><t>those who bow down and swear by the LORD </t><t>and who also swear by Molek, <f>[2]</f> </t>


text:
<t>those who turn back from following the LORD </t><t>and neither seek the LORD nor enquire of him.’ <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Be silent before the Sovereign LORD, </t><t>for the day of the LORD is near. </t><t>The LORD has prepared a sacrifice; </t><t>he has consecrated those he has invited. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘On the day of the LORD’s sacrifice </t><t>I will punish the officials </t><t>and the king’s sons </t><t>and all those clad </t><t>in foreign clothes. </t>


text:
<t>On that day I will punish </t><t>all who avoid stepping on the threshold, <f>[3]</f> </t><t>who fill the temple of their gods </t><t>with violence and deceit. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘On that day,’ </t><t>declares the LORD, </t><t>‘a cry will go up from the Fish Gate, </t><t>wailing from the New Quarter, </t><t>and a loud crash from the hills. </t>


text:
<t>Wail, you who live in the market district <f>[4]</f>; </t><t>all your merchants will be wiped out, </t><t>all who trade with <f>[5]</f> silver will be destroyed. </t>


text:
<t>At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps </t><t>and punish those who are complacent, </t><t>who are like wine left on its dregs, </t><t>who think, “The LORD will do nothing, </t><t>either good or bad.” </t>


text:
<t>Their wealth will be plundered, </t><t>their houses demolished. </t><t>Though they build houses, </t><t>they will not live in them; </t><t>though they plant vineyards, </t><t>they will not drink the wine.’ <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>The great day of the LORD is near — </t><t>near and coming quickly. </t><t>The cry on the day of the LORD is bitter; </t><t>the Mighty Warrior shouts his battle cry. </t>


text:
<t>That day will be a day of wrath — </t><t>a day of distress and anguish, </t><t>a day of trouble and ruin, </t><t>a day of darkness and gloom, </t><t>a day of clouds and blackness — </t>


text:
<t>a day of trumpet and battle cry </t><t>against the fortified cities </t><t>and against the corner towers. <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘I will bring such distress on all people </t><t>that they will grope about like those who are blind, </t><t>because they have sinned against the LORD. </t><t>Their blood will be poured out like dust </t><t>and their entrails like dung. </t>


text:
<t>Neither their silver nor their gold </t><t>will be able to save them </t><t>on the day of the LORD’s wrath.’ <pb/>In the fire of his jealousy </t><t>the whole earth will be consumed, </t><t>for he will make a sudden end </t><t>of all who live on the earth.</t>


text:
<t>before the decree takes effect </t><t>and that day passes like windblown chaff, </t><t>before the LORD’s fierce anger </t><t>comes upon you, </t><t>before the day of the LORD’s wrath </t><t>comes upon you. </t>


text:
<t>Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, </t><t>you who do what he commands. </t><t>Seek righteousness, seek humility; </t><t>perhaps you will be sheltered </t><t>on the day of the LORD’s anger. </t>


text:
<t>Gaza will be abandoned </t><t>and Ashkelon left in ruins. </t><t>At midday Ashdod will be emptied </t><t>and Ekron uprooted. </t>


text:
<t>Woe to you who live by the sea, </t><t>you Kerethite people; </t><t>the word of the LORD is against you, </t><t>Canaan, land of the Philistines. </t><t>He says, ‘I will destroy you, </t><t>and none will be left.’ </t>


text:
<t>The land by the sea will become pastures </t><t>having wells for shepherds </t><t>and sheepfolds for flocks. </t>


text:
<t>That land will belong </t><t>to the remnant of the people of Judah; </t><t>there they will find pasture. </t><t>In the evening they will lie down </t><t>in the houses of Ashkelon. </t><t>The LORD their God will care for them; </t><t>he will restore their fortunes. <f>[6]</f> </t>


text:
<t>‘I have heard the insults of Moab </t><t>and the taunts of the Ammonites, </t><t>who insulted my people </t><t>and made threats against their land. </t>


text:
<t>Therefore, as surely as I live,’ </t><t>declares the LORD Almighty, </t><t>the God of Israel, </t><t>‘surely Moab will become like Sodom, </t><t>the Ammonites like Gomorrah — </t><t>a place of weeds and salt pits, </t><t>a wasteland for ever. </t><t>The remnant of my people will plunder them; </t><t>the survivors of my nation will inherit their land.’ <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>This is what they will get in return for their pride, </t><t>for insulting and mocking </t><t>the people of the LORD Almighty. </t>


text:
<t>The LORD will be awesome to them </t><t>when he destroys all the gods of the earth. </t><t>Distant nations will bow down to him, </t><t>all of them in their own lands. </t>


text:
<t>He will stretch out his hand against the north </t><t>and destroy Assyria, </t><t>leaving Nineveh utterly desolate </t><t>and dry as the desert. </t>


text:
<t>Flocks and herds will lie down there, </t><t>creatures of every kind. </t><t>The desert owl and the screech owl </t><t>will roost on her columns. </t><t>Their hooting will echo through the windows, </t><t>rubble will fill the doorways, </t><t>the beams of cedar will be exposed. </t>


text:
<t>This is the city of revelry </t><t>that lived in safety. </t><t>She said to herself, </t><t>‘I am the one! And there is none besides me.’ </t><t>What a ruin she has become, </t><t>a lair for wild beasts! </t><t>All who pass by her scoff </t><t>and shake their fists.</t>


text:
<t>She obeys no-one, </t><t>she accepts no correction. </t><t>She does not trust in the LORD, </t><t>she does not draw near to her God. </t>


text:
<t>Her officials within her </t><t>are roaring lions; </t><t>her rulers are evening wolves, </t><t>who leave nothing for the morning. </t>


text:
<t>Her prophets are unprincipled; </t><t>they are treacherous people. </t><t>Her priests profane the sanctuary </t><t>and do violence to the law. </t>


text:
<t>The LORD within her is righteous; </t><t>he does no wrong. </t><t>Morning by morning he dispenses his justice, </t><t>and every new day he does not fail, </t><t>yet the unrighteous know no shame. </t>


text:
<t>‘I have destroyed nations; </t><t>their strongholds are demolished. </t><t>I have left their streets deserted, </t><t>with no-one passing through. </t><t>Their cities are laid waste; </t><t>they are deserted and empty. </t>


text:
<t>Of Jerusalem I thought, </t><t>“Surely you will fear me </t><t>and accept correction!” </t><t>Then her place of refuge <f>[8]</f> would not be destroyed, </t><t>nor all my punishments come upon <f>[9]</f> her. </t><t>But they were still eager </t><t>to act corruptly in all they did. </t>


text:
<t>Therefore wait for me,’ declares the LORD, </t><t>‘for the day I will stand up to testify. <f>[10]</f> </t><t>I have decided to assemble the nations, </t><t>to gather the kingdoms </t><t>and to pour out my wrath on them — </t><t>all my fierce anger. </t><t>The whole world will be consumed </t><t>by the fire of my jealous anger. </t>


text:
<t>‘Then I will purify the lips of the peoples, </t><t>that all of them may call on the name of the LORD </t><t>and serve him shoulder to shoulder. </t>


text:
<t>From beyond the rivers of Cush <f>[11]</f> </t><t>my worshippers, my scattered people, </t><t>will bring me offerings. </t>


text:
<t>On that day you, Jerusalem, will not be put to shame </t><t>for all the wrongs you have done to me, </t><t>because I will remove from you </t><t>your arrogant boasters. </t><t>Never again will you be haughty </t><t>on my holy hill. </t>


text:
<t>But I will leave within you </t><t>the meek and humble. </t><t>The remnant of Israel </t><t>will trust in the name of the LORD. </t>


text:
<t>They will do no wrong; </t><t>they will tell no lies. </t><t>A deceitful tongue </t><t>will not be found in their mouths. </t><t>They will eat and lie down </t><t>and no-one will make them afraid.’ <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>Sing, Daughter Zion; </t><t>shout aloud, Israel! </t><t>Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, </t><t>Daughter Jerusalem! </t>


text:
<t>The LORD has taken away your punishment, </t><t>he has turned back your enemy. </t><t>The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you; </t><t>never again will you fear any harm. </t>


text:
<t>On that day </t><t>they will say to Jerusalem, </t><t>‘Do not fear, Zion; </t><t>do not let your hands hang limp. </t>


text:
<t>The LORD your God is with you, </t><t>the Mighty Warrior who saves. </t><t>He will take great delight in you; </t><t>in his love he will no longer rebuke you, </t><t>but will rejoice over you with singing.’ <pb/> </t>


text:
<t>‘I will remove from you </t><t>all who mourn over the loss of your appointed festivals, </t><t>which is a burden and reproach for you. </t>


text:
<t>At that time I will deal </t><t>with all who oppressed you. </t><t>I will rescue the lame; </t><t>I will gather the exiles. </t><t>I will give them praise and honour </t><t>in every land where they have suffered shame. </t>


text:
<t>At that time I will gather you; </t><t>at that time I will bring you home. </t><t>I will give you honour and praise </t><t>among all the peoples of the earth </t><t>when I restore your fortunes <f>[12]</f> </t><t>before your very eyes,’ </t><t>says the LORD.</t>


text:
<pb/>In the second year of King Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jozadak, <f>[1]</f> the high priest:


text:
<pb/>This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘These people say, “The time has not yet come to rebuild the LORD’s house.” ’


text:
‘Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your panelled houses, while this house remains a ruin?’


text:
You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.’


text:
Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honoured,’ says the LORD.


text:
‘You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?’ declares the LORD Almighty. ‘Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house.


text:
I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the olive oil and everything else the ground produces, on people and livestock, and on all the labour of your hands.’


text:
<pb/>Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the LORD their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because the LORD their God had sent him. And the people feared the LORD.


text:
<pb/>Then Haggai, the LORD’s messenger, gave this message of the LORD to the people: ‘I am with you,’ declares the LORD.


text:
So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the LORD Almighty, their God,


text:
<pb/>on the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai:


text:
‘Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to Joshua son of Jozadak, <f>[2]</f> the high priest, and to the remnant of the people. Ask them,


text:
“Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing?


text:
But now be strong, Zerubbabel,” declares the LORD. “Be strong, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,” declares the LORD, “and work. For I am with you,” declares the LORD Almighty.


text:
“This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.”


text:
<pb/>‘This is what the LORD Almighty says: “In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.


text:
I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,” says the LORD Almighty.


text:
“The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,” says the LORD Almighty. “And in this place I will grant peace,” declares the LORD Almighty.’


text:
<pb/>On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Haggai:


text:
if someone carries consecrated meat in the fold of their garment, and that fold touches some bread or stew, some wine, olive oil or other food, does it become consecrated?” ’ <pb/>The priests answered, ‘No.’


text:
<pb/>Then Haggai said, ‘If a person defiled by contact with a dead body touches one of these things, does it become defiled?’ <pb/>‘Yes,’ the priests replied, ‘it becomes defiled.’


text:
<pb/>Then Haggai said, ‘ “So it is with this people and this nation in my sight,” declares the LORD. “Whatever they do and whatever they offer there is defiled.


text:
<pb/>‘ “Now give careful thought to this from this day on <f>[3]</f> — consider how things were before one stone was laid on another in the LORD’s temple.


text:
When anyone came to a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten. When anyone went to a wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were only twenty.


text:
I struck all the work of your hands with blight, mildew and hail, yet you did not return to me,” declares the LORD.


text:
“From this day on, from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, give careful thought to the day when the foundation of the LORD’s temple was laid. Give careful thought:


text:
is there yet any seed left in the barn? Until now, the vine and the fig-tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not borne fruit. <pb/>‘ “From this day on I will bless you.” ’


text:
I will overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms. I will overthrow chariots and their drivers; horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his brother.


text:
<pb/>‘ “On that day,” declares the LORD Almighty, “I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,” declares the LORD, “and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,” declares the LORD Almighty.’


text:
<pb/>In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo:


text:
Therefore tell the people: this is what the LORD Almighty says: “Return to me,” declares the LORD Almighty, “and I will return to you,” says the LORD Almighty.


text:
Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the earlier prophets proclaimed: this is what the LORD Almighty says: “Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices.” But they would not listen or pay attention to me, declares the LORD.


text:
But did not my words and my decrees, which I commanded my servants the prophets, overtake your ancestors? <pb/>‘Then they repented and said, “The LORD Almighty has done to us what our ways and practices deserve, just as he determined to do.” ’


text:
<pb/>On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo.


text:
<pb/>During the night I had a vision, and there before me was a man mounted on a red horse. He was standing among the myrtle trees in a ravine. Behind him were red, brown and white horses.


text:
<pb/>I asked, ‘What are these, my lord?’ <pb/>The angel who was talking with me answered, ‘I will show you what they are.’


text:
<pb/>Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, ‘They are the ones the LORD has sent to go throughout the earth.’


text:
<pb/>And they reported to the angel of the LORD who was standing among the myrtle trees, ‘We have gone throughout the earth and found the whole world at rest and in peace.’


text:
<pb/>Then the angel of the LORD said, ‘LORD Almighty, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and from the towns of Judah, which you have been angry with these seventy years?’


text:
<pb/>Then the angel who was speaking to me said, ‘Proclaim this word: this is what the LORD Almighty says: “I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion,


text:
and I am very angry with the nations that feel secure. I was only a little angry, but they went too far with the punishment.”


text:
<pb/>‘Therefore this is what the LORD says: “I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there my house will be rebuilt. And the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem,” declares the LORD Almighty.


text:
<pb/>‘Proclaim further: this is what the LORD Almighty says: “My towns will again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.” ’


text:
I asked the angel who was speaking to me, ‘What are these?’ <pb/>He answered me, ‘These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.’


text:
I asked, ‘What are these coming to do?’ <pb/>He answered, ‘These are the horns that scattered Judah so that no-one could raise their head, but the craftsmen have come to terrify them and throw down these horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter its people.’ <f>[1]</f>


text:
<pb/> <f>[2]</f> <n>[1]</n> Then I looked up, and there before me was a man with a measuring line in his hand.


text:
I asked, ‘Where are you going?’ <pb/>He answered me, ‘To measure Jerusalem, to find out how wide and how long it is.’


text:
and said to him: ‘Run, tell that young man, “Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of people and animals in it.


text:
And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,” declares the LORD, “and I will be its glory within.”


text:
<pb/>‘Come! Come! Flee from the land of the north,’ declares the LORD, ‘for I have scattered you to the four winds of heaven,’ declares the LORD.


text:
For this is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘After the Glorious One has sent me against the nations that have plundered you — for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye —


text:
I will surely raise my hand against them so that their slaves will plunder them. <f>[3]</f> Then you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me.


text:
<pb/>‘Shout and be glad, Daughter Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,’ declares the LORD.


text:
‘Many nations will be joined with the LORD in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you.


text:
<pb/>Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan <f>[4]</f> standing at his right side to accuse him.


text:
The LORD said to Satan, ‘The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?’


text:
The angel said to those who were standing before him, ‘Take off his filthy clothes.’ <pb/>Then he said to Joshua, ‘See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you.’


text:
<pb/>Then I said, ‘Put a clean turban on his head.’ So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the LORD stood by.


text:
‘This is what the LORD Almighty says: “If you will walk in obedience to me and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you a place among these standing here.


text:
<pb/>‘ “Listen, High Priest Joshua, you and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch.


text:
See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes <f>[5]</f> on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it,” says the LORD Almighty, “and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day.


text:
<pb/>‘ “In that day each of you will invite your neighbour to sit under your vine and fig-tree,” declares the LORD Almighty.’


text:
He asked me, ‘What do you see?’ <pb/>I answered, ‘I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lamps on it, with seven channels to the lamps.


text:
<pb/>So he said to me, ‘This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,” says the LORD Almighty.


text:
<pb/>‘What are you, mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of “God bless it! God bless it!” ’


text:
‘The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands will also complete it. Then you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you.


text:
<pb/>‘Who dares despise the day of small things, since the seven eyes of the LORD that range throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone <f>[6]</f> in the hand of Zerubbabel?’


text:
<pb/>Then I asked the angel, ‘What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?’


text:
<pb/>Again I asked him, ‘What are these two olive branches beside the two gold pipes that pour out golden oil?’


text:
<pb/>So he said, ‘These are the two who are anointed to <f>[7]</f> serve the Lord of all the earth.’


text:
<pb/>He asked me, ‘What do you see?’ <pb/>I answered, ‘I see a flying scroll, twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide. <f>[8]</f>’


text:
<pb/>And he said to me, ‘This is the curse that is going out over the whole land; for according to what it says on one side, every thief will be banished, and according to what it says on the other, everyone who swears falsely will be banished.


text:
The LORD Almighty declares, “I will send it out, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of anyone who swears falsely by my name. It will remain in that house and destroy it completely, both its timbers and its stones.” ’


text:
<pb/>Then the angel who was speaking to me came forward and said to me, ‘Look up and see what is appearing.’


text:
<pb/>I asked, ‘What is it?’ <pb/>He replied, ‘It is a basket.’ And he added, ‘This is the iniquity <f>[9]</f> of the people throughout the land.’


text:
He said, ‘This is wickedness,’ and he pushed her back into the basket and pushed its lead cover down on it.


text:
<pb/>Then I looked up — and there before me were two women, with the wind in their wings! They had wings like those of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between heaven and earth.


text:
<pb/>He replied, ‘To the country of Babylonia <f>[10]</f> to build a house for it. When the house is ready, the basket will be set there in its place.’


text:
<pb/>I looked up again, and there before me were four chariots coming out from between two mountains — mountains of bronze.


text:
<pb/>The angel answered me, ‘These are the four spirits <f>[11]</f> of heaven, going out from standing in the presence of the Lord of the whole world.


text:
The one with the black horses is going towards the north country, the one with the white horses towards the west, <f>[12]</f> and the one with the dappled horses towards the south.’


text:
<pb/>When the powerful horses went out, they were straining to go throughout the earth. And he said, ‘Go throughout the earth!’ So they went throughout the earth.


text:
<pb/>Then he called to me, ‘Look, those going towards the north country have given my Spirit <f>[13]</f> rest in the land of the north.’


text:
‘Take silver and gold from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon. Go the same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah.


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Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua son of Jozadak. <f>[14]</f>


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Tell him this is what the LORD Almighty says: “Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the LORD.


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It is he who will build the temple of the LORD, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he <f>[15]</f> will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.”


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The crown will be given to Heldai, <f>[16]</f> Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen <f>[17]</f> son of Zephaniah as a memorial in the temple of the LORD.


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Those who are far away will come and help to build the temple of the LORD, and you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you. This will happen if you diligently obey the LORD your God.’


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<pb/>In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev.


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The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek, together with their men, to entreat the LORD


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by asking the priests of the house of the LORD Almighty and the prophets, ‘Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?’


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‘Ask all the people of the land and the priests, “When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted?


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Are these not the words the LORD proclaimed through the earlier prophets when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills were settled?” ’


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‘This is what the LORD Almighty said: “Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.


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Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.”


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They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the LORD Almighty was very angry.


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<pb/>‘ “When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,” says the LORD Almighty.


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“I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no-one travelled through it. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.” ’


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<pb/>This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘I am very jealous for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her.’


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<pb/>This is what the LORD says: ‘I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City, and the mountain of the LORD Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain.’


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<pb/>This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each of them with cane in hand because of their age.


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<pb/>This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘It may seem marvellous to the remnant of this people at that time, but will it seem marvellous to me?’ declares the LORD Almighty.


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<pb/>This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘I will save my people from the countries of the east and the west.


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I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be my people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God.’


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<pb/>This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Now hear these words, “Let your hands be strong so that the temple may be built.” This is also what the prophets said who were present when the foundation was laid for the house of the LORD Almighty.


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Before that time there were no wages for people or hire for animals. No-one could go about their business safely because of their enemies, since I had turned everyone against their neighbour.


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But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as I did in the past,’ declares the LORD Almighty.


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<pb/>‘The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will produce its crops, and the heavens will drop their dew. I will give all these things as an inheritance to the remnant of this people.


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Just as you, Judah and Israel, have been a curse <f>[18]</f> among the nations, so I will save you, and you will be a blessing. <f>[19]</f> Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong.’


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<pb/>This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Just as I had determined to bring disaster on you and showed no pity when your ancestors angered me,’ says the LORD Almighty,


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These are the things you are to do: speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts;


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do not plot evil against each other, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this,’ declares the LORD.


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<pb/>This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah. Therefore love truth and peace.’


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<pb/>This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come,


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and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, “Let us go at once to entreat the LORD and seek the LORD Almighty. I myself am going.”


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And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the LORD Almighty and to entreat him.’


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<pb/>This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘In those days ten people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, “Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.” ’


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<pb/>A prophecy: <pb/><t>The word of the LORD is against the land of Hadrak </t><t>and will come to rest on Damascus — </t><t>for the eyes of all people and all the tribes of Israel </t><t>are on the LORD — <f>[20]</f> </t>


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<t>and on Hamath too, which borders on it, </t><t>and on Tyre and Sidon, though they are very skilful. </t>


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<t>Tyre has built herself a stronghold; </t><t>she has heaped up silver like dust, </t><t>and gold like the dirt of the streets. </t>


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<t>But the Lord will take away her possessions </t><t>and destroy her power on the sea, </t><t>and she will be consumed by fire. </t>


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<t>Ashkelon will see it and fear; </t><t>Gaza will writhe in agony, </t><t>and Ekron too, for her hope will wither. </t><t>Gaza will lose her king </t><t>and Ashkelon will be deserted. </t>


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<t>A mongrel people will occupy Ashdod, </t><t>and I will put an end to the pride of the Philistines. </t>


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<t>I will take the blood from their mouths, </t><t>the forbidden food from between their teeth. </t><t>Those who are left will belong to our God </t><t>and become a clan in Judah, </t><t>and Ekron will be like the Jebusites. </t>


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<t>But I will encamp at my temple </t><t>to guard it against marauding forces. </t><t>Never again will an oppressor overrun my people, </t><t>for now I am keeping watch. </t>


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<t>Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! </t><t>Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! </t><t>See, your king comes to you, </t><t>righteous and victorious, </t><t>lowly and riding on a donkey, </t><t>on a colt, the foal of a donkey. </t>


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<t>I will take away the chariots from Ephraim </t><t>and the warhorses from Jerusalem, </t><t>and the battle-bow will be broken. </t><t>He will proclaim peace to the nations. </t><t>His rule will extend from sea to sea </t><t>and from the River <f>[21]</f> to the ends of the earth. </t>


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<t>As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, </t><t>I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit. </t>


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<t>Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope; </t><t>even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you. </t>


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<t>I will bend Judah as I bend my bow </t><t>and fill it with Ephraim. </t><t>I will rouse your sons, Zion, </t><t>against your sons, Greece, </t><t>and make you like a warrior’s sword. </t>


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<t>Then the LORD will appear over them; </t><t>his arrow will flash like lightning. </t><t>The Sovereign LORD will sound the trumpet; </t><t>he will march in the storms of the south, </t>


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<t>and the LORD Almighty will shield them. </t><t>They will destroy </t><t>and overcome with slingstones. </t><t>They will drink and roar as with wine; </t><t>they will be full like a bowl </t><t>used for sprinkling <f>[22]</f> the corners of the altar. </t>


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<t>The LORD their God will save his people on that day </t><t>as a shepherd saves his flock. </t><t>They will sparkle in his land </t><t>like jewels in a crown. </t>


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<t>How attractive and beautiful they will be! </t><t>Grain will make the young men thrive, </t><t>and new wine the young women.</t>


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<pb/><t>Ask the LORD for rain in the springtime; </t><t>it is the LORD who sends the thunderstorms. </t><t>He gives showers of rain to all people, </t><t>and plants of the field to everyone. </t>


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<t>The idols speak deceitfully, </t><t>diviners see visions that lie; </t><t>they tell dreams that are false, </t><t>they give comfort in vain. </t><t>Therefore the people wander like sheep </t><t>oppressed for lack of a shepherd. <pb/> </t>


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<t>‘My anger burns against the shepherds, </t><t>and I will punish the leaders; </t><t>for the LORD Almighty will care </t><t>for his flock, the people of Judah, </t><t>and make them like a proud horse in battle. </t>


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<t>From Judah will come the cornerstone, </t><t>from him the tent peg, </t><t>from him the battle-bow, </t><t>from him every ruler. </t>


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<t>Together they <f>[23]</f> will be like warriors in battle </t><t>trampling their enemy into the mud of the streets. </t><t>They will fight because the LORD is with them, </t><t>and they will put the enemy horsemen to shame. <pb/> </t>


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<t>‘I will strengthen Judah </t><t>and save the tribes of Joseph. </t><t>I will restore them </t><t>because I have compassion on them. </t><t>They will be as though </t><t>I had not rejected them, </t><t>for I am the LORD their God </t><t>and I will answer them. </t>


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<t>The Ephraimites will become like warriors, </t><t>and their hearts will be glad as with wine. </t><t>Their children will see it and be joyful; </t><t>their hearts will rejoice in the LORD. </t>


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<t>I will signal for them </t><t>and gather them in. </t><t>Surely I will redeem them; </t><t>they will be as numerous as before. </t>


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<t>Though I scatter them among the peoples, </t><t>yet in distant lands they will remember me. </t><t>They and their children will survive, </t><t>and they will return. </t>


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<t>I will bring them back from Egypt </t><t>and gather them from Assyria. </t><t>I will bring them to Gilead and Lebanon, </t><t>and there will not be room enough for them. </t>


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<t>They will pass through the sea of trouble; </t><t>the surging sea will be subdued </t><t>and all the depths of the Nile will dry up. </t><t>Assyria’s pride will be brought down </t><t>and Egypt’s sceptre will pass away. </t>


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<t>I will strengthen them in the LORD </t><t>and in his name they will live securely,’ </t><t>declares the LORD.</t>


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<t>Wail, you juniper, for the cedar has fallen; </t><t>the stately trees are ruined! </t><t>Wail, oaks of Bashan; </t><t>the dense forest has been cut down! </t>


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<t>Listen to the wail of the shepherds: </t><t>their rich pastures are destroyed! </t><t>Listen to the roar of the lions; </t><t>the lush thicket of the Jordan is ruined! </t>


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Their buyers slaughter them and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, “Praise the LORD, I am rich!” Their own shepherds do not spare them.


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For I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will give everyone into the hands of their neighbours and their king. They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue anyone from their hands.’


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<pb/>So I shepherded the flock marked for slaughter, particularly the oppressed of the flock. Then I took two staffs and called one Favour and the other Union, and I shepherded the flock.


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and said, ‘I will not be your shepherd. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish. Let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.’


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<pb/>Then I took my staff called Favour and broke it, revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations.


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It was revoked on that day, and so the oppressed of the flock who were watching me knew it was the word of the LORD.


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<pb/>I told them, ‘If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.’ So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.


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<pb/>And the LORD said to me, ‘Throw it to the potter’ — the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter at the house of the LORD.


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For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hooves.


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<pb/><t>‘Woe to the worthless shepherd, </t><t>who deserts the flock! </t><t>May the sword strike his arm and his right eye! </t><t>May his arm be completely withered, </t><t>his right eye totally blinded!’</t>


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<pb/>A prophecy: the word of the LORD concerning Israel. <pb/>The LORD, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the human spirit within a person, declares:


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‘I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem.


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On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves.


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On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will keep a watchful eye over Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations.


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Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, “The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the LORD Almighty is their God.”


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<pb/>‘On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a brazier in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume all the surrounding peoples right and left, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place.


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<pb/>‘The LORD will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honour of the house of David and of Jerusalem’s inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah.


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On that day the LORD will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD going before them.


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<pb/>‘And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit <f>[24]</f> of grace and supplication. They will look on <f>[25]</f> me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.


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On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be as great as the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.


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The land will mourn, each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives,


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<pb/>‘On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.


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<pb/>‘On that day, I will banish the names of the idols from the land, and they will be remembered no more,’ declares the LORD Almighty. ‘I will remove both the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land.


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And if anyone still prophesies, their father and mother, to whom they were born, will say to them, “You must die, because you have told lies in the LORD’s name.” Then their own parents will stab the one who prophesies.


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<pb/>‘On that day every prophet will be ashamed of their prophetic vision. They will not put on a prophet’s garment of hair in order to deceive.


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Each will say, “I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth. <f>[26]</f>”


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If someone asks, “What are these wounds on your body <f>[27]</f>?” they will answer, “The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.”


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<pb/><t>‘Awake, sword, against my shepherd, </t><t>against the man who is close to me!’ </t><t>declares the LORD Almighty. </t><t>‘Strike the shepherd, </t><t>and the sheep will be scattered, </t><t>and I will turn my hand against the little ones. </t>


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<t>In the whole land,’ declares the LORD, </t><t>‘two-thirds will be struck down and perish; </t><t>yet one-third will be left in it. </t>


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<t>This third I will put into the fire; </t><t>I will refine them like silver </t><t>and test them like gold. </t><t>They will call on my name </t><t>and I will answer them; </t><t>I will say, “They are my people,” </t><t>and they will say, “The LORD is our God.” ’</t>


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<pb/>A day of the LORD is coming, Jerusalem, when your possessions will be plundered and divided up within your very walls.


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<pb/>I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city.


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On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south.


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You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake <f>[28]</f> in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.


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It will be a unique day — a day known only to the LORD — with no distinction between day and night. When evening comes, there will be light.


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<pb/>On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it east to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter.


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<pb/>The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name.


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<pb/>The whole land, from Geba to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem, will become like the Arabah. But Jerusalem will be raised up high from the Benjamin Gate to the site of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses, and will remain in its place.


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<pb/>This is the plague with which the LORD will strike all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.


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On that day people will be stricken by the LORD with great panic. They will seize each other by the hand and attack one another.


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Judah too will fight at Jerusalem. The wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected — great quantities of gold and silver and clothing.


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A similar plague will strike the horses and mules, the camels and donkeys, and all the animals in those camps.


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<pb/>Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.


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If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, they will have no rain.


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If the Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no rain. The LORD <f>[29]</f> will bring on them the plague he inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.


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This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.


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<pb/>On that day ‘Holy to the LORD’ will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots in the LORD’s house will be like the sacred bowls in front of the altar.


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Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the LORD Almighty, and all who come to sacrifice will take some of the pots and cook in them. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite <f>[30]</f> in the house of the LORD Almighty.


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<pb/>‘I have loved you,’ says the LORD. <pb/>‘But you ask, “How have you loved us?” <pb/>‘Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?’ declares the LORD. ‘Yet I have loved Jacob,


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but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his hill country into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.’


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<pb/>Edom may say, ‘Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins.’ <pb/>But this is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Wicked Land, a people always under the wrath of the LORD.


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You will see it with your own eyes and say, “Great is the LORD — even beyond the borders of Israel!”


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<pb/>‘A son honours his father, and a slave his master. If I am a father, where is the honour due to me? If I am a master, where is the respect due to me?’ says the LORD Almighty. <pb/>‘It is you priests who show contempt for my name. <pb/>‘But you ask, “How have we shown contempt for your name?”


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<pb/>‘By offering defiled food on my altar. <pb/>‘But you ask, “How have we defiled you?” <pb/>‘By saying that the LORD’s table is contemptible.


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When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?’ says the LORD Almighty.


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<pb/>‘Now plead with God to be gracious to us. With such offerings from your hands, will he accept you?’ — says the LORD Almighty.


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<pb/>‘Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you,’ says the LORD Almighty, ‘and I will accept no offering from your hands.


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My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to me, because my name will be great among the nations,’ says the LORD Almighty.


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And you say, “What a burden!” and you sniff at it contemptuously,’ says the LORD Almighty. <pb/>‘When you bring injured, lame or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?’ says the LORD.


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‘Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king,’ says the LORD Almighty, ‘and my name is to be feared among the nations.


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If you do not listen, and if you do not resolve to honour my name,’ says the LORD Almighty, ‘I will send a curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not resolved to honour me.


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<pb/>‘Because of you I will rebuke your descendants <f>[2]</f>; I will smear on your faces the dung from your festival sacrifices, and you will be carried off with it.


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And you will know that I have sent you this warning so that my covenant with Levi may continue,’ says the LORD Almighty.


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‘My covenant was with him, a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him; this called for reverence and he revered me and stood in awe of my name.


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True instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin.


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<pb/>‘For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger of the LORD Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth.


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But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the covenant with Levi,’ says the LORD Almighty.


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‘So I have caused you to be despised and humiliated before all the people, because you have not followed my ways but have shown partiality in matters of the law.’


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<pb/>Do we not all have one Father <f>[3]</f>? Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant of our ancestors by being unfaithful to one another?


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<pb/>Judah has been unfaithful. A detestable thing has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem: Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the LORD loves by marrying women who worship a foreign god.


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As for the man who does this, whoever he may be, may the LORD remove him from the tents of Jacob <f>[4]</f> — even though he brings an offering to the LORD Almighty.


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<pb/>Another thing you do: you flood the LORD’s altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer looks with favour on your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands.


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You ask, ‘Why?’ It is because the LORD is the witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.


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<pb/>Has not the one God made you? You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring. <f>[5]</f> So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.


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<pb/>‘The man who hates and divorces his wife,’ says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘does violence to the one he should protect,’ <f>[6]</f> says the LORD Almighty. <pb/>So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful.


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<pb/>You have wearied the LORD with your words. <pb/>‘How have we wearied him?’ you ask. <pb/>By saying, ‘All who do evil are good in the eyes of the LORD, and he is pleased with them’ or ‘Where is the God of justice?’


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<pb/>‘I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,’ says the LORD Almighty.


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<pb/>But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap.


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He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness,


text:
and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years.


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<pb/>‘So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud labourers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,’ says the LORD Almighty.


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Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,’ says the LORD Almighty. <pb/>‘But you ask, “How are we to return?”


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<pb/>‘Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. <pb/>‘But you ask, “How are we robbing you?” <pb/>‘In tithes and offerings.


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Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ says the LORD Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.


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I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,’ says the LORD Almighty.


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‘Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,’ says the LORD Almighty.


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<pb/>‘You have spoken arrogantly against me,’ says the LORD. <pb/>‘Yet you ask, “What have we said against you?”


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<pb/>‘You have said, “It is futile to serve God. What do we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the LORD Almighty?


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But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly evildoers prosper, and even when they put God to the test, they get away with it.” ’


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<pb/>Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honoured his name.


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<pb/>‘On the day when I act,’ says the LORD Almighty, ‘they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him.


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And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.


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<pb/> <f>[7]</f> <n>[1]</n> ‘Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘Not a root or a branch will be left to them.


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But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves.


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Then you will trample on the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I act,’ says the LORD Almighty.


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<pb/>‘Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel.


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<pb/>‘See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes.


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He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.’


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<pb/><t>This is the genealogy <f>[1]</f> of Jesus the Messiah <f>[2]</f> the son of David, the son of Abraham: <pb/> </t>


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<t>Abraham was the father of Isaac, <pb/>Isaac the father of Jacob, <pb/>Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, <pb/> </t>


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<t>Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, <pb/>Perez the father of Hezron, <pb/>Hezron the father of Ram, <pb/> </t>


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<t>Ram the father of Amminadab, <pb/>Amminadab the father of Nahshon, <pb/>Nahshon the father of Salmon, <pb/> </t>


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<t>Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, <pb/>Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, <pb/>Obed the father of Jesse, <pb/> </t>


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<t>and Jesse the father of King David. <pb/>David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, <pb/> </t>


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<t>Solomon the father of Rehoboam, <pb/>Rehoboam the father of Abijah, <pb/>Abijah the father of Asa, <pb/> </t>


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<t>Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, <pb/>Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, <pb/>Jehoram the father of Uzziah, <pb/> </t>


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<t>Uzziah the father of Jotham, <pb/>Jotham the father of Ahaz, <pb/>Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, <pb/> </t>


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<t>Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, <pb/>Manasseh the father of Amon, <pb/>Amon the father of Josiah, <pb/> </t>


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<t>and Josiah the father of Jeconiah <f>[3]</f> and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon. <pb/> </t>


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<t>After the exile to Babylon: <pb/>Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, <pb/>Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, <pb/> </t>


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<t>Zerubbabel the father of Abihud, <pb/>Abihud the father of Eliakim, <pb/>Eliakim the father of Azor, <pb/> </t>


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<t>Azor the father of Zadok, <pb/>Zadok the father of Akim, <pb/>Akim the father of Elihud, <pb/> </t>


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<t>Elihud the father of Eleazar, <pb/>Eleazar the father of Matthan, <pb/>Matthan the father of Jacob, <pb/> </t>


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<t>and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah. <pb/> </t>


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<t>Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah. </t>


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<pb/>This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about <f>[4]</f>: his mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.


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Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet <f>[5]</f> did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.


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<pb/>But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.


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She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, <f>[6]</f> because he will save his people from their sins.’


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‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ <f>[7]</f> (which means ‘God with us’).


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<pb/>When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.


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But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.


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<pb/>After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi <f>[8]</f> from the east came to Jerusalem


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and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’


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When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born.


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<pb/><t>‘ “But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, </t><t>are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; </t><t>for out of you will come a ruler </t><t>who will shepherd my people Israel.” <f>[9]</f>’ </t>


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<pb/>Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.


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He sent them to Bethlehem and said, ‘Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.’


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<pb/>After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.


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On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.


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And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.


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<pb/>When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. ‘Get up,’ he said, ‘take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.’


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where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘Out of Egypt I called my son.’ <f>[10]</f>


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<pb/>When Herod realised that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.


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<pb/><t>‘A voice is heard in Ramah, </t><t>weeping and great mourning, </t><t>Rachel weeping for her children </t><t>and refusing to be comforted, </t><t>because they are no more.’ <f>[11]</f> </t>


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and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.’


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But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee,


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and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.


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This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: <pb/><t>‘A voice of one calling in the wilderness, </t><t>“Prepare the way for the Lord, </t><t>make straight paths for him.” ’ <f>[12]</f> </t>


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<pb/>John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt round his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.


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<pb/>But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptising, he said to them: ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?


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And do not think you can say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father.” I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.


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The axe has been laid to the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.


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<pb/>‘I baptise you with <f>[13]</f> water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptise you with <f>[14]</f> the Holy Spirit and fire.


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His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.’


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<pb/>Jesus replied, <J>‘Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness.’</J> Then John consented.


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<pb/>As soon as Jesus was baptised, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.


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<pb/>Jesus answered, <J>‘It is written: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”</J> <f>[16]</f><J>’</J>


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‘If you are the Son of God,’ he said, ‘throw yourself down. For it is written: <pb/><t>‘ “He will command his angels concerning you, </t><t>and they will lift you up in their hands, </t><t>so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” <f>[17]</f> ’ </t>


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<pb/>Jesus answered him, <J>‘It is also written: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”</J> <f>[18]</f><J>’</J>


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<pb/>Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour.


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<pb/>Jesus said to him, <J>‘Away from me, Satan! For it is written: “Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”</J> <f>[19]</f><J>’</J>


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Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali —


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<pb/><t>‘Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, </t><t>the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, </t><t>Galilee of the Gentiles — </t>


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<t>the people living in darkness </t><t>have seen a great light; </t><t>on those living in the land of the shadow of death </t><t>a light has dawned.’ <f>[20]</f> </t>


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<pb/>From that time on Jesus began to preach, <J>‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’</J>


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<pb/>As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.


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<pb/>Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them,


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<pb/>Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and illness among the people.


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News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralysed; and he healed them.


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Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, <f>[21]</f> Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.


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<pb/>Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him,


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<pb/><t> <J>‘Blessed are the poor in spirit,</J> </t><t> <J>for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.</J> </t>


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<t> <J>Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,</J> </t><t> <J>for they will be filled.</J> </t>


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<t> <J>Blessed are the peacemakers,</J> </t><t> <J>for they will be called children of God.</J> </t>


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<t> <J>Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,</J> </t><t> <J>for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.</J> </t>


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<pb/> <J>‘Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.</J>


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<J>Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.</J>


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<J>Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.</J>


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<J>In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.</J>


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<J>For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.</J>


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<J>Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practises and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.</J>


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<J>For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, “You shall not murder,</J> <f>[22]</f> <J>and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.”</J>


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<J>But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister</J> <f>[23]</f>, <f>[24]</f> <J>will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, “<e>Raca</e>,”</J> <f>[25]</f> <J>is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, “You fool!” will be in danger of the fire of hell.</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you,</J>


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<J>leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison.</J>


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<J>But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.</J>


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<J>If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.</J>


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<J>And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘It has been said, “Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.”</J> <f>[27]</f>


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<J>But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, “Do not break your oath, but fulfil to the Lord the oaths you have made.”</J>


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<J>or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.</J>


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<J>All you need to say is simply “Yes,” or “No”; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.</J> <f>[28]</f>


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<J>But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.</J>


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<J>Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbour</J> <f>[30]</f> <J>and hate your enemy.”</J>


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<J>that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.</J>


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<J>If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?</J>


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<J>And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘Be careful not to practise your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honoured by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.</J>


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<J>But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,</J>


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<J>so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.</J>


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<J>But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.</J>


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<J>And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘This, then, is how you should pray:</J> <pb/><t> <J>‘ “Our Father in heaven,</J> </t><t> <J>hallowed be your name,</J> </t>


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<t> <J>your kingdom come,</J> </t><t> <J>your will be done,</J> </t><t> <J>on earth as it is in heaven.</J> </t>


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<t> <J>And lead us not into temptation,</J> <f>[31]</f> </t><t> <J>but deliver us from the evil one.</J> <f>[32]</f> <J>”</J> </t>


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<pb/> <J>For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘When you fast, do not look sombre as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.</J>


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<J>so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.</J>


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<J>But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy,</J> <f>[33]</f> <J>your whole body will be full of light.</J>


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<J>But if your eyes are unhealthy,</J> <f>[34]</f> <J>your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘No-one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?</J>


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<J>Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labour or spin.</J>


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<J>If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you — you of little faith?</J>


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<J>So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?”</J>


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<J>For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.</J>


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<J>But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.</J>


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<J>Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.</J>


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<J>For in the same way as you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?</J>


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<J>How can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?</J>


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<J>You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.</J>


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<J>For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.</J>


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<J>If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!</J>


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<J>So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.</J>


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<J>By their fruit you will recognise them. Do people pick grapes from thorn-bushes, or figs from thistles?</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.</J>


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<J>Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?”</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.</J>


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<J>The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.</J>


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<J>But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.</J>


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<J>The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.’</J>


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A man with leprosy <f>[36]</f> came and knelt before him and said, ‘Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.’


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<pb/>Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. <J>‘I am willing,’</J> he said. <J>‘Be clean!’</J> Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy.


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Then Jesus said to him, <J>‘See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.’</J>


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<pb/>The centurion replied, ‘Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.


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For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, “Go,” and he goes; and that one, “Come,” and he comes. I say to my servant, “Do this,” and he does it.’


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<pb/>When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, <J>‘Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.</J>


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<J>I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.</J>


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<J>But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’</J>


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<pb/>Then Jesus said to the centurion, <J>‘Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.’</J> And his servant was healed at that moment.


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<pb/>When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all who were ill.


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This was to fulfil what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: <pb/><t>‘He took up our infirmities </t><t>and bore our diseases.’ <f>[37]</f> </t>


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<pb/>Jesus replied, <J>‘Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’</J>


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Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.


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<pb/>He replied, <J>‘You of little faith, why are you so afraid?’</J> Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.


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<pb/>The men were amazed and asked, ‘What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!’


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<pb/>When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, <f>[38]</f> two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no-one could pass that way.


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‘What do you want with us, Son of God?’ they shouted. ‘Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?’


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<pb/>He said to them, <J>‘Go!’</J> So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water.


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Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men.


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Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.


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Some men brought to him a paralysed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, <J>‘Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.’</J>


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<J>But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.’</J> So he said to the paralysed man, <J>‘Get up, take your mat and go home.’</J>


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When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man.


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<pb/>As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. <J>‘Follow me,’</J> he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.


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<pb/>While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples.


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When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’


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<pb/>On hearing this, Jesus said, <J>‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but those who are ill.</J>


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<J>But go and learn what this means: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”</J> <f>[39]</f> <J>For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’</J>


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<pb/>Then John’s disciples came and asked him, ‘How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?’


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<pb/>Jesus answered, <J>‘How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘No-one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse.</J>


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<J>Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out, and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.’</J>


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<pb/>While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, ‘My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.’


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<pb/>Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak.


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<pb/>Jesus turned and saw her. <J>‘Take heart, daughter,’</J> he said, <J>‘your faith has healed you.’</J> And the woman was healed at that moment.


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<pb/>When Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s house and saw the noisy crowd and the people playing pipes,


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<pb/>As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, ‘Have mercy on us, Son of David!’


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<pb/>When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, <J>‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?’</J> <pb/>‘Yes, Lord,’ they replied.


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<pb/>While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus.


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And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, ‘Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.’


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<pb/>Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and illness.


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When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.


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<pb/>Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and illness.


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<pb/><t>These are the names of the twelve apostles: <pb/>first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; <pb/>James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; <pb/> </t>


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<t>Philip and Bartholomew; <pb/>Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; <pb/>James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; <pb/> </t>


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<pb/>These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: <J>‘Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans.</J>


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<J>Heal those who are ill, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,</J> <f>[40]</f> <J>drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.</J>


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<J>no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep.</J>


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<J>Whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave.</J>


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<J>If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you.</J>


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<J>If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet.</J>


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<J>Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.</J>


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<J>Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues.</J>


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<J>On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles.</J>


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<J>But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say,</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.</J>


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<J>You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.</J>


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<J>When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.</J>


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<J>It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.</J>


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<J>What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.</J>


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<J>Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.</J>


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<J>Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.</J> <f>[41]</f>


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<pb/> <J>‘Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.</J>


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<J>For I have come to turn</J> <pb/><t> <J>‘ “a man against his father,</J> </t><t> <J>a daughter against her mother,</J> </t><t> <J>a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law — </J> </t>


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<pb/> <J>‘Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.</J>


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<J>Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.</J>


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<J>Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward.</J>


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<J>And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.’</J>


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<pb/>After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee. <f>[43]</f>


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<J>the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy</J> <f>[44]</f> <J>are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.</J>


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<pb/>As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: <J>‘What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind?</J>


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<J>If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces.</J>


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<J>This is the one about whom it is written:</J> <pb/><t> <J>‘ “I will send my messenger ahead of you,</J> </t><t> <J>who will prepare your way before you.”</J> <f>[45]</f> </t>


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<pb/> <J>Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.</J>


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<J>From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence,</J> <f>[46]</f> <J>and violent people have been raiding it.</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the market-places and calling out to others:</J>


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<pb/><t> <J>‘ “We played the pipe for you,</J> </t><t> <J>and you did not dance;</J> </t><t> <J>we sang a dirge,</J> </t><t> <J>and you did not mourn.”</J> </t>


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<J>The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, “Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.” But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.’</J>


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<pb/>Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent.


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<J>‘Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.</J>


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<J>But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.</J>


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<J>And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades.</J> <f>[47]</f> <J>For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day.</J>


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<pb/>At that time Jesus said, <J>‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘All things have been committed to me by my Father. No-one knows the Son except the Father, and no-one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.</J>


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<J>Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.</J>


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<pb/>At that time Jesus went through the cornfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some ears of corn and eat them.


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When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, ‘Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.’


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<J>He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread — which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests.</J>


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<J>Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent?</J>


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<J>If you had known what these words mean, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice,”</J> <f>[48]</f> <J>you would not have condemned the innocent.</J>


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and a man with a shrivelled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, ‘Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?’


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<pb/>He said to them, <J>‘If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out?</J>


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<J>How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.’</J>


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<pb/>Then he said to the man, <J>‘Stretch out your hand.’</J> So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other.


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<pb/>Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill.


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<pb/><t>‘Here is my servant whom I have chosen, </t><t>the one I love, in whom I delight; </t><t>I will put my Spirit on him, </t><t>and he will proclaim justice to the nations. </t>


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<t>A bruised reed he will not break, </t><t>and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out, </t><t>till he has brought justice through to victory. </t>


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<pb/>Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see.


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<pb/>But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, ‘It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.’


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<pb/>Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, <J>‘Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.</J>


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<J>And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges.</J>


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<J>But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.</J>


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<J>And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.</J>


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<J>Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognised by its fruit.</J>


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<J>You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.</J>


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<J>A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.</J>


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<J>But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.</J>


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<pb/>Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, ‘Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.’


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<pb/>He answered, <J>‘A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.</J>


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<J>For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.</J>


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<J>The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here.</J>


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<J>The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here.</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it.</J>


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<J>Then it says, “I will return to the house I left.” When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order.</J>


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<J>Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.’</J>


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<pb/>While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him.


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Such large crowds gathered round him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore.


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<J>Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.</J>


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<J>But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.</J>


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<J>Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop — a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.</J>


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<pb/>He replied, <J>‘Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.</J>


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<J>Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.</J>


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<J>This is why I speak to them in parables:</J> <pb/><t> <J>‘Though seeing, they do not see;</J> </t><t> <J>though hearing, they do not hear or understand.</J> </t>


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<pb/> <J>In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:</J> <pb/><t> <J>‘ “You will be ever hearing but never understanding;</J> </t><t> <J>you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.</J> </t>


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<t> <J>For this people’s heart has become calloused;</J> </t><t> <J>they hardly hear with their ears,</J> </t><t> <J>and they have closed their eyes.</J> </t><t> <J>Otherwise they might see with their eyes,</J> </t><t> <J>hear with their ears,</J> </t><t> <J>understand with their hearts</J> </t><t> <J>and turn, and I would heal them.”</J> <f>[50]</f> </t>


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<J>For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.</J>


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<J>when anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path.</J>


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<J>The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.</J>


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<J>But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.</J>


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<J>The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.</J>


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<J>But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.’</J>


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<pb/>Jesus told them another parable: <J>‘The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.</J>


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<J>But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘The owner’s servants came to him and said, “Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?”</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘ “An enemy did this,” he replied.</J> <pb/> <J>‘The servants asked him, “Do you want us to go and pull them up?”</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘ “No,” he answered, “because while you are pulling up the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them.</J>


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<J>Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: first collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.” ’</J>


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<pb/>He told them another parable: <J>‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field.</J>


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<J>Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.’</J>


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<pb/>He told them still another parable: <J>‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about thirty kilograms of flour until it worked all through the dough.’</J>


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<pb/>Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable.


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So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: <pb/><t>‘I will open my mouth in parables, </t><t>I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.’ <f>[51]</f> </t>


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<pb/>Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, ‘Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.’


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<J>The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one,</J>


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<J>and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age.</J>


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<J>The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.</J>


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<J>They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.</J>


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<J>Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.</J>


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<pb/> <J>‘Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish.</J>


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<J>When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away.</J>


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<J>This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous</J>


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<pb/>He said to them, <J>‘Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.’</J>


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Coming to his home town, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. ‘Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?’ they asked.


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‘Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas?


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And they took offence at him. <pb/>But Jesus said to them, <J>‘A prophet is not without honour except in his own town and in his own home.’</J>


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and he said to his attendants, ‘This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.’


