shall cast the line by lot In the congregation of the LORD.
«' Preach ye not7, they preach; 'They shall not preach of these things, That they shall not take shame.' 7Do I change, 0 house of Jacob? Is the spirit of the LORD straitened? Are these His doings? Do not My words do good to him that walketh uprightly?
8But of late My people is risen up as an enemy; With the garment ye strip also the mantle From, them that pass by securely, so that they are as men returning from war. 9The women of My people ye cast out from their pleasant houses; From their young children ye take away My glory for ever. 10Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your resting-place; Because of the uncleanness thereof, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction.
ulf a man walking in wind and false- hood do lie: 'I will preach unto thee of wine and of strong drink'; He shall even be the preacher of this people.
12I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of tbee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will render them all as sheep in a fold; As a flock in the midst of their pasture, They shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men. 13The breaker is gone up before them; They have broken forth and passed on, MICAH By the gate, and are gone out thereat; And their king is passed on before them, And the LORD at the head of them.
Q And I said: Hear, I pray you, ye heads of Jacob, And rulers of the house of Israel: Is it not for you to know justice? 2Who hate the good, and love the evil; Who rob their skin from off them, And their flesh from off their bones, 3Who also eat tie flesh of my people, And flay their skin from off them, And break their bones; Yea, they chop them in pieces, as that which is in the pot, And as flesh within the caldron. *Then shall they cry unto the LORD, But He will not answer them; Yea, He will hide His face from them at that time, According as they have wrought evil in their doings.
saith the LORD concerning the prophets that make my people to err; That cry: 'Peace', when their teeth have any thing to Bite; And whoso putteth not into their mouths, They even prepare war against him: 6Theref ore it shall be night unto you, that ye shall have no vision; And it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; And the sun shall go down upon the prophets, And the day shall be black over them. 7And the seers shall be put to shame, and the diviners confounded; Yea, they shall all cover their upper lips; For there shall be no answer of God.
8But I truly am full of power by the spirit of the LORD, And of justice, and of might, To declare unto Jacob his trans- gression, And to Israel his sin.
9Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of " the house of Jacob, And rulers of the house of Israel, That abhor justice, and pervert all equity; 10That build up Zion with blood, And Jerusalem with iniquity. nThe heads thereof judge for reward, And the priests thereof teach for hire, And the prophets thereof divine for money, Yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say: 'Is not the LORD in the midst of us? No evil shall come upon us'? "Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, And Jerusalem shall become heaps, And the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.
A But in the end of days it shall come to pass, That the mountain of ^ the LORD'S house shall be established as the top of the mountains, And it shall be exalted above the hills; And peoples shall flow unto it. 2And many nations shall go and say: 'Come yel and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, And to the house of the God of Jacob; And He will teach us of His ways,, And we will walk in His paths '; MICAH For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 3And He shall judge between many peoples, And shall decide concerning mighty nations afar off; And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into priming-hooks, Nation shall not Hit up sword against nation, ' Neither shall they learn war any more. 4But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig-tree; And none shall make them afraid, For the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken.
6For let all the peoples walk each one in the name of its god, But we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever.
6In that day, saith the LORD, will I assemble her that halteth, And I will gather her that is driven away, And her that I have afflicted; 7And I will make her that halted a remnant, And her that was cast far off a mighty nation; And the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from thenceforth even for ever.
8And thou, Migdal-eder, the hill of the daughter of Zion, Unto thee shall it come; Yea, the former dominion shall come, The kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.
9Now why dost thou cry out aloud? Is there no King in thee, Is thy Counsellor perished, That pangs have taken hold of thee as of a woman in travail? 10Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, 0 daughter of Zion, Like a woman in travail; For now shalt thou go forth out of the city, And shalt dwell in the field, And shalt come even unto Babylon; There shalt thou be rescued; There shall the LORD redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.
11 And now many nations are assem- bled against thee, That say: 'Let her be defiled, and let our eye gaze upon Zion/ I2But they know not the thoughts of the LORD, Neither understand they His coun- sel; For He hath gathered them as the sheaves to the threshing-floor. 13Anse and thresh, O daughter of Zion; For I will make thy horn iron, And I will make thy hoofs brass; And thou shalt beat in pieces many peoples, And thou shalt devote their gain unto the LORD, And their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.
14Now shalt thou gather thyself in troops, 0 daughter of troops, They have laid siege against us; They smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.
£ But thou, Beth-lehem Ephrathah, Which art little to be among the thousands of Judah, Out of thee shall one come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; MICAH 63 Whose goings forth are from of old, from ancient days. 2Therefore will He give them up, Until the time that she who travaileth hath brought forth; Then the residue of his brethren shall return with the children of Israel. 3And he shall stand, and shall feed his flock in the strength of the LORD, In the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; And they shall abide, for then shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.
4And this shall be peace' When the Assyrian shall come into our land, And when he shall tread in our palaces, Then shall we raise agamst him seven shepherds, And eight princes among men. 5And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, And the land of Nimrod with the keen-edged sword; And he shall deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, And when he treadeth within our border.
6And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples, As dew from the LORD, as showers upon the grass, That are not looked for from man, Nor awaited at the hands of the sons of men. 7And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, As a lion among the beasts of the forest, As a young lion among the flocks of sheep, Who, if he go through, treadeth down and teareth m pieces, And there is none to deliver. 8Let Thy hand be lifted up above Thine adversaries, And let all Thine enemies be cut off.
9And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, That I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, And will destroy thy chariots; 10And I will cut off the cities of thy land, And will throw down all thy strong- holds; 11 And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thy hand; And thou shalt have no more sooth- sayers; 12And I will cut off thy graven images and thy pillars out of the midst of thee; And thou shalt no more worship the work of thy hands. 13And I will pluck up thy Asherim out of the midst of thee; And I will destroy thine enemies. 14And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the nations, Because they hearkened not.
£ Hear ye now what the LORD saith u Arise, contend thou before the mountains, And let the hills hear thy voice. 2Hear, 0 ye mountains, the LORD'S controversy, And ye enduring rocks, the founda- tions of the earth; For the LORD hath a controversy with His people, And He will plead with Israel. 80 My people, what have I done unto, thee?
And wherein have I wearied thee? Testify against Me.
64 MICAH 4For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, And redeemed thee out of the house of bondage, And I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. 50 My people, remember now what Balak king of Moab devised, And what Balaam the son of Beor answered him; From Shittim unto Gilgal, That ye may know the righteous acts of the LORD. 6:Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, And bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before Him with burnt- offerings, With calves of a year old? 'Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, With ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my first-born for my The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?' 8It hath been told thee, 0 man, what is good, And what the LORD doth require of thee Only to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.
9Hark! the LORD crieth unto the city— And it is wisdom to have regard for Thy name — Hear ye thte rod, and who hath appointed it.
10Are there yet the treasures of wick- edness in the house of the wicked, And the scant measure that is abominable? 11 'Shall I be pure with wicked balances, And with a bag of deceitful weights?' 12For the rich men thereof are full of violence, And the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, And their tongue is deceitful in their mouth 13Therefore I also do smite thee with a grievous wound; I do make thee desolate because of thy sins.
14Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied; And thy sickness shall be in thine inward parts. And thou shalt conceive, but shalt not bring forth; And whomsoever thou bringest forth will I give up to the sword. I5Thou shalt sow, but shalt not reap; Thou shalt tread the olives, but shalt not anoint thee with oil, And the vintage, but shalt not drink the wine.
I6For the statutes of Omri are kept, And all the works of the house of Ahab, And ye walk in their counsels; That I may make thee an astonish- ment, And the inhabitants thereof a hissing, And ye shall bear the reproach of My people.
17 Woe is me! for I am as the last of 1 the summer fruits, As the grape gleanings of the vint- age; There is no cluster to eat; Nor first-ripe fig which my soul desireth.
2The godly man is perished out of the earth, And the upright among men is no more; They all he in wait for blood; MICAH They hunt every man his brother with a net. 3Their hands are upon that which is evil to do it diligently; The prince asketh, and the judge is ready for a reward; And the great man, he uttereth the evil desire of his soul; Thus they weave it together. 4The best of them is as a brier; The most upright is worse than a thorn hedge; The day of thy watchmen, even thy visitation, is come; Now shall be their perplexity sTrust ye not in a friend, Put ye not confidence in a familiar friend; Keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom 6For the son dishonoureth the father, The daughter riseth up against her mother, The daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; A man's enemies are the men of his own house.
7'But as for, me, I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear me. 8Rejoice not against me, 0 mine enemy; Though I am fallen, I shall arise; Though I sit in darkness, the LORD is a light unto me. 9I will bear the indignation of the LORD, Because I have sinned against Him; Until He plead my cause, and execute judgment for me; He will bring me forth to the light, And I shall behold His righteous- ness.
10Then mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her; Who said unto me: Where is the LORD thy God?
Mine eyes shall gaze upon her; Now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets/ 11 'The day for building thy walls, even that day, shall be far re- moved/ 12There shall be a day when they shall come unto thee, From Assyria even to the cities of Egypt, And from Egypt even to the River, And from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain. 13And the land shall be desolate for them that dwell therein, Because of the fruit of their doings.
14Tend Thy people with Thy staff, the flock of Thy heritage, That dwell solitarily, as a forest in the midst of the fruitful field; Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old. 15'As in the days of thy coming forth put of the land of Egypt Will I show unto him, marvellous things/ 16The nations shall see and be put to shame for all their might; They shall lay their hand upon their mouth, Their ears shall be deaf. 17They shall lick the dust like a serpent; Like crawling things of the earth they shall come trembling out of their close places; They shall come with fear unto the LORD our God, And shall be afraid because of Thee. 18Who is a God like unto Thee, that pardoneth the iniquity, MICAH And passeth by the transgression of the remnant of Has heritage?
He retaineth not His anger for ever, Because He delighteth in mercy. l9He will again have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities; And Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. 20Thou wilt show faithfulness to Jacob, mercy to Abraham, As Thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.
NAHUM "| THE burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
2The LORD is a jealous and avenging God, The LORD avengeth and is full of wrath; The LORD taketh vengeance on His adversaries, And He reserveth wrath for His enemies. 3The LORD is long-suffering, and great in power, And will by no means clear the guilty; The LORD, in the whirlwind and in the storm is His way, And the clouds are the dust of His feet. 4He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, And drieth up all the rivers; Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, And the flower of Lebanon languish- eth.
^he mountains quake at Him, And the hills melt; And the earth is upheaved at His presence, Yea, the world, and all that dwell therein.
6Who can stand before His indigna- tion? And who can abide in the fierceness of His anger?
His fury is poured out like fire, And the rocks are broken asunder before Him 7The LORD is good, A stronghold in the day of trou- ble; And He knoweth them that take refuge in Him.
8But with an overrunning flood He will make a full end of the place thereof, And darkness shall pursue His enemies. What do ye devise against the LORD?
He will make a full end; Trouble shall not rise up the second time 10For though they be like tangled thorns, And be drunken according to their drink, They shall be devoured as stubble fully dry.
"Out of thee came he forth, That deviseth evil against the LORD, That counselleth wickedness.
NAHUM 12Thus saith the LORD: Though they be in full strength, and likewise many, Even so shall they be cut down, and he shall pass away; And though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more. 13And now will I break his yoke from off thee, And will burst thy bonds in sunder.
14And the LORD hath given com- mandment concerning thee, That no more of thy name be sown; Out of the house of thy god will I cut off The graven image and the molten image; I will make thy grave; for thou art become worthless.
O Behold upon the mountains the ^ feet of him That brmgeth good tidings, that announceth peace! Keep thy feasts, 0 Judah, Perform thy vows; For the wicked one shall no more pass through thee; He is utterly cut off.
2 A maul is come up before thy face; Guard the defences, Watch the way, make thy loins strong, Fortify thy power mightily! — 3For the LORD restoreth the pride of Jacob, As the pride of Israel; For the emptiers have emptied them out, And marred their vine-branches. — 4The shield of his mighty men is made red, The valiant men are in scarlet; The chariots are fire of steel in the day of his preparation, And the cypress spears are made to quiver.
5The chariots rush madly in the streets, They jostle one against another in the broad places; The appearance of them is like torches, They run to and fro like the light- nings.
6He bethmketh himself of his wor- thies; They stumble in their march; They make haste to the wall thereof, And the mantelet is prepared. 7The gates of the rivers are opened, And the palace is dissolved. 8And the queen is uncovered, she is carried away, And her handmaids moan as with the voice of doves, Tabering upon their breasts 9But Nineveh hath been from of old like a pool of water; Yet they flee away;' 'Stand, stand'; But none looketh back. 10Take ye the spoil of silver, take the spoil of gold; For there is no end of the store, Rich with all precious vessels. "She is empty, and void, and waste; And the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, And convulsion is in all loins, And the faces of them all have gathered blackness.
12Where is the den of the lions, Which was the feeding-place of the young lions, Where the lion and the lioness walked, And the lion's whelp, and none made them afraid?
NAHUM 13The lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps, And strangled for his lionesses, And filled his caves with prey, And his dens with ravin. 14Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts, And I will burn her chariots in the smoke, And the sword shall devour thy young lions; And I will cut off thy prey from the earth, And the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard.
O Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies and rapine, The prey departeth not.
2Hark! the whip, and hark! the rattling of wheels; And prancing horses, and bounding chariots; 3The horseman charging, And the flashing sword, and the glittering spear; And a multitude of slain, and a heap of carcasses; And there is no end of the corpses, And they stumble upon their corpses; 4Because of the multitude of the har- lotries of the well-favoured harlot, The mistress of witchcrafts, That selleth nations through her harlotries, And families through her witch- crafts.
5Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts, And I will uncover thy skirts upon thy face, And I will show the nations thy nakedness, And the kingdoms thy shame.
6And I will cast detestable things upon thee, and make thee vile, And will make thee as dung. 7And it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee Shall flee from thee, And say: ' Nineveh is laid waste; Who will bemoan her? Whence shall I seek comforters for thee?'
8Art thou better than No-amon, That was situate among the rivers, That had the waters round about her; Whose rampart was the sea, and of the sea her wall? 9Ethiopia and Egypt were thy strength, and it was infinite; Put and Lubim were thy helpers. 10Yet was she carried away, She went into captivity; Her young children also were dashed in pieces At' the head of all the streets; And they cast lots for her honour- able men, And all her great men were bound in chains.
uThou also shalt be drunken, Thou shalt swoon; Thou also shalt seek a refuge Because of the enemy.
12A11 thy fortresses shall be like fig- trees with the first-ripe figs* If they be shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater. 13Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women; The gates of thy land are set wide open unto thine enemies; The fire hath devoured thy bars. uDraw thee water for the siege, Strengthen thy fortresses; Go into the clay, and tread the mortar, Lay hold of the brickmould. 15There shall the fire devour thee; HABAKKUK The sword shall cut thee off, It shall devour thee like the canker- worm; Make thyself many as the canker- worm, Make thyself many as the locust. 16Thou hast multiplied thy mer- chants Above the stars of heaven; The canker-worm spreadeth itself, and flieth away. 17Thy crowned are as the locusts, And thy marshals as the swarms of grasshoppers, Which camp in the walls in the cold day, But when the sun ariseth they flee away, And their place is not known where they are.
18Thy shepherds slumber, 0 king of Assyria, Thy worthies are at rest; Thy people are scattered upon the mountains, And there is none to gather them. 19There is no assuaging of thy hurt, Thy wound is grievous; All that hear the report of thee Clap the hands over thee; For upon whom hath not thy wick- edness passed continually?
HABAKKUK 1 THE burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.
2How long, 0 LORD, shall I cry, And Thou wilt not hear?
I cry out unto Thee of violence, And Thou wilt not save.
3Why dost Thou show me iniquity, And beholdest mischief?
And why are spoiling and violence before me?
So that there is strife, and conten- tion ariseth.
4Therefore the law is slacked, And right doth never go forth; For the wicked doth beset the right- eous; Therefore right goeth forth per- verted.
6Look ye among the nations, and behold, • And wonder marvellously; For, behold, a work shall be wrought in your days, Which ye will not believe though it be told you.
6For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, That bitter and impetuous nation, That march through the breadth of the earth, To possess dwelling-places that are not theirs. 7They are terrible and dreadful; Their law and their majesty pro- ceed from themselves. ,8Their horses also are swifter than leopards, And are more fierce than the wolves of the desert; And their horsemen spread them- selves; Yea, their horsemen come from far, They fly as a vulture that hasteth to devour. 9They come all of them for violence; HABAKKUK Their faces are set eagerly as the east wind; And they gather captives as the sand.
10And they scoff at kings, And princes are a derision unto them; They deride every stronghold, For they heap up earth, and take it 1JThen their spirit doth pass over and transgress, And they become guilty Even they who impute their might unto their god.
12Art not Thou from everlasting, 0 LORD my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. 0 LORD, Thou hast ordained them for judgment, And Thou, 0 Rock, hast established them for correction. 13Thou that art of eyes too pure to behold evil, And that canst not look on mis- chief, Wherefore lookest Thou, when they deal treacherously, And holdest Thy peace, when the wicked swalloweth up The man that is more righteous than he; 14And makest men as the fishes of the sea, As the creeping things, that have no ruler over them? 15They take up all of them with the angle, They catch them in their net, And gather them in their drag; Therefore they rejoice and exult. "Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, And offer unto their drag; Because by them their portion is fat, And their food plenteous.
17Shall they therefore empty their net, And not spare to slay the nations continually?
O I will stand upon my watch, ^ And set me upon the tower, And will look out to see what He will speak by me, And what I shall answer when I am reproved. 2And the LORD answered me, and 'Write the vision, And make it plain upon tables, That a man may read it swiftly.
3For the vision is yet for the ap- pointed time, And it declareth of the end, and doth not lie; Though it tarry, wait for it; Because it will surely come, it will not delay/ 4Behold, his soul is puffed up, it is not upright in him; But the righteous shall live by his faith.
6Yea, moreover, wine is a treacher- ous dealer; The haughty man abideth not; He who enlargeth his desire as the nether-world, And is as death, and cannot be satisfied, But gathereth unto him all nations, And heapeth unto him all peo- ples.
6Shall not all these take up a parable against him, And a taunting riddle against him, And say: 'Woe to him that in- creaseth that which is not his!
How long? and that ladeth himself with many pledges!' 7Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall exact interest of thee, HABAKKUK And awake that shall violently shake thee, And thou shalt be for booties unto them? 8Because thou hast spoiled many nations, All the remnant of the peoples shall spoil thee; Because of men's blood, and for the violence done to the land, To the city and to alL that dwell therein.
9Woe to him that gaineth evil gains for his house, That he may set his nest on high, That he may be delivered from the power of evil! 10Thou hast devised shame to thy house, By cutting off many peoples, And hast forfeited thy life. nFor the stone shall cry out of the wall, And the beam out of the timber shall answer it.
12Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, And establisheth a city by iniquity! 13Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts That the peoples labour for the fire, And the nations weary themselves for vanity?
14For the earth shall be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea.
15Woe unto him that giveth his neigh- bour drink, That puttest thy venom thereto, and makest him drunken also, That thou mayest look on their nakedness' 16Thou art filled with shame instead of glory, Drink thou also, and be uncovered; The cup of the LORD'S right hand shall be turned unto thee, And filthiness shall be upon thy glory. 17For the violence done to Lebanon shall cover thee, And the destruction of the beasts, which made them afraid, Because of men's blood, and for the violence done to the land, To the city and to all that dwell therein.
18 What profiteth the graven image, That the maker thereof hath graven it, Even the molten image, and the teacher of lies; That the maker of his work trusteth therein, To make dumb idols? 19Woe unto him that saith to the wood: 'Awake7, To the dumb stone: 'Arise!' Can this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, And there is no breath at all in the midst of it.
20But the LORD is in His holy tem- ple, Let all the earth keep silence before Him.
O A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. Upon Shigionoth.
20 LORD, I have heard the report of Thee, and am afraid; 0 LORD, revive Thy work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember compassion.
HABAKKUK 3God cometh from Teman, And the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah His glory covereth the heavens, And the earth is full of His praise. 4And a brightness appeareth as the light; Rays hath He at His side; And there is the hiding of His power. 6Before Him goeth the pestilence, And fiery bolts go forth at His feet. 6He standeth, and shaketh the earth, He beholdeth, and maketh the na- tions to tremble; And the everlasting mountains are dashed in pieces, The ancient hills do bow; His goings are as of old. 7I see the tents of Cushan in afflic- tion; The curtains of the land of Midian do tremble. 8Is it, 0 LORD, that against the rivers, Is it that Thine anger is kindled against the rivers, Or Thy wrath against the sea? That thou dost ride upon Thy horses, Upon Thy chariots of victory? ^Thy bow is made quite bare; Sworn are the rods of the word.
Selah Thou dost cleave the earth with rivers. 10The mountains have seen Thee, and they tremble; The tempest of waters floweth over; The deep uttereth its voice, And lifteth up its hands on high uThe sun and moon stand still in their habitation; At the light of Thine arrows as they go, At the shining of Thy glittering spear. 12Thou marchest through the earth hi indignation, i Thou threshest the nations in anger. 13Thou art come forth for the de- liverance of Thy people, For the deliverance of Thine anoint- ed, Thou woundest the head out of the house of the wicked, Uncovering the foundation even unto the neck. Selah 14Thou hast stricken through with his own rods the head of his rulers, That come as a whirlwind to scatter me; Whose rejoicing is as to devour the poor secretly.
15Thou hast trodden the sea with Thy horses, The foaming of mighty waters. 16When I heard, mine inward parts trembled, My hps quivered at the voice; Rottenness entereth into my bones, And I tremble where I stand; That I should wait for the day of trouble, When he cometh up against the people that he invadeth. 17For though the fig-tree shall not blossom, Neither shall fruit be in the vines; The labour of the olive shall fail, And the fields shall yield no food; The flock shall be cut off from the fold, And there shall be no herd in the stalls; 18Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will exult in the God of my salva- tion. 19GoD, the Lord, is my strength, And He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, And He maketh me to walk upon my high places.
For the Leader. With my string- music.
ZEPHANIAH ZEPHANIAH 1 THE word of the LORD which came •*• unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of HezeMah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.
*I will utterly consume all things From off the face of the earth, Saith the LORD. 3I will consume man and beast, I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, And the stumblingblocks with the wicked; And I will cut off man from off the face of the earth, Saith the LORD. 4And I will stretch out My hand upon Judah, And upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; And I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, And the name of the idolatrous priests with the priests; 5And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; And them that worship, that swear to the LORD And swear by Malcam; ^hem also that are turned back from following the LORD; And those that have not sought the LORD, nor inquired after Him.
7Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD; For the day of the LORD is at hand, For the LORD hath prepared a sac- rifice, He hath consecrated His guests. 8And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD'S sacrifice, That I will punish the princes, and the king's sons, And all such as are clothed with foreign apparel. 9In the same day also will I punish old, That fill their master's house with violence and deceit.
10And in that day, saith the LORD, Hark! a cry from the fish gate, And a wailing from the second quarter, And a great crashing from the hills.
uWail, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, For all the merchant people are undone; All they that were laden with silver are cut off. 12And it shall come to pass at that time, That I will search Jerusalem with lamps; And I will punish the men that are settled on their lees, That say in their heart: 1 The LORD will not do good, neither will He do evil.'
13Therefore their wealth shall be- come a booty, And their houses a desolation; Yea, they shall build houses, but shall not inhabit them, And they shall plant vineyards, but shall not drink the wine