THE BOOKS OF THE WORD OF GOD

THE PROPHETS

ISAIE or ISAIAH

JEREMIE or JEREMIAH

THE LAMENTATIONS

OF JEREMIAH

EZEKIEL or JEHEZEKIEL

DANIEL

HOSEA or OSEAS

JOEL

AMOS

OBDAIAH or ADDIAH

JONAS or JONAH

MICHEAS or MICHEAH

NAHUM or NAUM

ABACUK or HABACUK

SOPHONIAS or ZOPHONIAH

AGGEUS or HAGGEUS

ZACHARIE or ZACHARIAH

MALACHIE or MALACHIAH

HEBREW BOOKS GATHERED

AGAIN INTO THE WORD

THE THIRD BOOK OF ESDRAS

THE FOURTH BOOK OF ESDRAS

TOBIAH or TOBIE

JUDITH or JEHUDITH

THE BOOK OF WISDOM

THE PRAYER OF MANASSEH

THE FIRST OF THE MACHABEES

THE SECOND OF THE MACHABEES

The Book of the Prophet Esaie or Isaiah

The First Chapter

The prophesy of Esaie the son of Amos, which he showed upon Juda and Jerusalem in the time of Oziah, Joatham, Ahaz, and Jehezekiah, Kings of Juda. Hear O' heaven hearken O' earth, for the Lord speaketh: I have nourished and brought up children, and they are fallen away from me. An ox knoweth his Lord, and an Ass his masters stall, but Israel knoweth nothing, my people hath no understanding. Alas for this sinful people, which are expert in blasphemies, a froward generation, unnatural children. They have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the holy one of Israel unto anger, and are gone backward. Wherefore should ye be plagued any more? For yee are ever falling away. The whole head is sick, and the heart is very heavy. From the sole of the foot unto the head, there is no whole part in all your body: but all are wounds, botches, sores and stripes, which can neither be helped, bound up, ner eased with any ointment.

Your land lieth waste, your cities are burnt up, your enemies devour your land, and you must be faine (obligated/ willing happy) to stand, and look upon it: and it is desolate, as it were with enemies in battle. Moreover the daughter of Zion is left alone like a cottage in a vineyard, like watch house in time of war, like a besieged city. And except the Lord of Hosts had left unto us a few alive: we should have been as Sodoma, and like unto Gomorra.

Hear the word of the Lord ye tyrants of Sodoma: and hearken unto the law of our God, thou people of Gomorra. Why offer ye so many sacrifices unto me? I am discontent for the burntofferings of wethers, and with the fatness of fed beasts. I have no pleasure in the blood of bullocks, lambs, and goats. When ye appear before me, who requireth you to tread within my porches? Offer me no more oblations, for it is but lost labor. I abhor your incense. I may not away with your new moons, your Sabbaths and solemn days. Your fastings are also in vain. I hate your new holy days and fastings, even from my very heart. They make me weary, I can not abide them. Though ye hold out your hands, yet I turn my eyes from you. And though you make many prayers, yet I hear nothing at all, for your hands are full of blood.

Wash you, make you clean, put away your evil thoughts out of my sight, cease from doing evil and violence. Learn to do right, let the widows complaint come before you. Now go to ( sayeth the Lord ) we well walk together. Is it not so? Though your sins be as red as scarlet, shall they not be whiter than snow? And though they were like purple, shall they be not like white wool? Is it not so? If ye be loving and obedient, ye shall enjoy the best thing that groweth in the land. But if ye be obstinate and rebellious, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for thus the Lord hath promised with his own mouth.

How happeneth it then that the righteous city ( which was full of equity ) is become unfaithful as an whore? righteousness dwelt in it, but now murder. Thy silver is turned to dross, and thy wine mixed with water. Thy princes are traitors and companions of thieves. They love gifts altogether, and follow rewards. As for the fatherless, they help him not to his right, neither will they let the widows causes come before them. Therefore speaketh the Lord God of Hosts the mighty one of Israel: Ah, I must ease me of mine enemies, and avenge me upon them. And therefore shall I lay my had upon thee, and burn out thy dross from the finest and purest, and put out all the lead, and set thy judges again as they were sometime, and thy Senators as they were from the beginning. The shalt thou be called the righteousness city, the faithful city. But Sion shall be redeemed with equity, and her captivity with righteousness. For the transgressors and ungodly, and such as are become unfaithful unto the Lord, must altogether be utterly destroyed.

And except ye be ashamed of the oaks trees wherein ye have so delighted, and of the gardens that ye have chosen: Ye shall be as an oak whose leaves are fallen away, and as a garden that hath no moistness. And as for the glory of these things, it shall be turned to straw, and he that made them to a spark. And they shall both burn together, so that no man shall be able to quench them.

The Second Chapter

Moreover this was the word that was opened unto Esaie the son of Amos, upon Juda and Jerusalem. It will be also in the process of time: That the hill where the house of the Lord is builded, shall be the chief among the hills, and shall be exalted above all little hills. And all the Heathen shall *preace (proclaim) unto him. And the multitude of the people shall go unto him, speaking thus one unto another: up, let us go up to the hill of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob: that he may show us his way, and that we may walk in his paths. For the law shall come out of Sion, and the word of God from Jerusalem, and shall give sentence among the Heathen, and shall reform the multitude of people: So that they shall break their swords and spears, to make scythes, sicles and saws thereof. From that time forth shall not one people lift up weapon against another, neither shall they learn to fight from thensforth. It is to thee that I cry ( O house of Jacob ) up, let us walk in the light of the Lord. But thou art scattered abroad with thy people ( O house of Jacob ) for ye go far beyond your fathers, whether it be in Sorcerers ( who ye had as the Philistines had ) or in *calkers of mens births,( astrologers) whereof ye have too many. As soon as your land was full of silver and gold, and no end of your treasure: so soon as your land was full of strong horses and no end of your chariots: Immediately was it full of Idols also, even works of their own hands, which yee yourselves have fashioned, and your fingers have made. There kneeleth a man, there falleth the man down before thee, so that thou canst not bring him away from thence.

And therefore get thee soon in to some rock, and hide thee in the ground from the sight of the fearful judge, and from the glory of his Majesty: Which casteth down the high looks of presumptuous persons, and bringeth low the pride of man, and he only shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the Lord of Hosts shall go over all pride and presumption, upon all them that exalt themselves, and shall bring them all down: upon all high stout Cedar trees of Libanus, and upon all the oaks of Basan, upon all high hills, and upon all stout mountains, upon all costly towers, and upon all strong walls, upon all ships of the sea, and upon everything that is glorious and pleasant to look upon.

And it shall bring down the pride of man, and lay mans presumptuousness full low, and the Lord shall only have the victory in that day. But the Idols shall utterly be rooted out. Men shall creep into holes of stone, and into caves of the earth, from the sight of the fearful judge, and from the glory of his majesty: what time as he shall make him up to shake the earth. *Then, then, shall cast away his gods of silver and gold, ( which he nevertheless had made to honor them ) unto Moles and Backs; (bats) that he may better creep into the caves and rocks, and into the clefts of hard stones, from the sight of the fearful judge and for the glory of his Majesty. *then, then (2)

The Third Chapter

Every man can eschue(avoid, escape) a person moved to anger, for what he doth wisely? Even so shall the Lord of Hosts take away from Jerusalem and from Juda, all possessions and power, all meat and drink, the captain and the soldier, the judge and the prophet, the wise and the aged man, the worshipful of fifty year old, and the honorable: the Senators, and the men of understanding: the masters of crafts and orators. And I shall give you children to be your princes,( sayeth the Lord ) and babes shall have the rule of you. One shall ever be doing violence and wrong to another. The boy will presume against the elder, and the vile person against the honorable. Ye when one shall take a friend of his own kindred by the bosom, and say: Thou hast clothing, thou shalt be our head, for thou mayest keep us from this fall and peril.

Then shall he swear and say: I can not help you. Moreover, there is neither meat nor clothing in my house, make me no ruler of the people. For Jerusalem and Juda must decay, because both their words and counsel are against the Lord, they provoke the presence of his Majesty unto anger. The changing of their countenance betrayeth them, yee they declare their own sins themselves, as the Sodomites, and hide them not. Woe be unto their souls, for they shall be heavily rewarded. Then shall they say: O happy are the godly, for they may enjoy the fruits of their studies. But woe be unto the ungodly and unrighteous for they shall be rewarded after their works. O my people, *ribaudes ( extortioners :MN) oppress thee, and women have rule of thee. O my people, thy leaders deceive thee, and tread out the way of thy footsteps. The Lord is here to commune of the matter, and standeth to give judgement with the people. The Lord shall come forth to reason with the Senators and princes of his people, and shall say thus unto them: It is ye that have burnt up my vineyard, the robbery of the poor is in your house. Wherefore do ye oppress my people, and marred the faces of the innocents? thus shall the Lord God of Hosts revile them.

Moreover thus sayeth the Lord: Seeing the daughters of Sion are become so proud, and come in with stretched out necks, and with vain wanton eyes: seeing they come in tripping so nicely with their feet: Therefore shall the Lord shave the heads of the daughters of Sion, and make their beauty bare in the day. In that day shall the Lord take away the gorgeousness of their apparel, and spangles, chains, *partlets, and collars, bracelets and hooves, that goodly flowered wide and boarded raiment, brushes and head bands, rings and garlands, holy day clothes and veils, kerchiefs and pins, glasses and smocks, bonnets and *taches.*partlets = ruffled covering for the neck. *taches = buckles, clasps, fasteners.

And instead of good smell there shall be stink among them. And for their girdles there shall be loose bands. And for well set hair there shall be baldness. Instead of a stomacher, a sackcloth, and for their beauty witherdness and son burning.

The Fourth Chapter

At that time their gates shall mourn and complain, and they shall sit as desolate flock upon the earth. Then shall wives take hold of one man, and say: We will lay all our meat and clothing together in common, only that we may be called thy wives, and that this shameful reproof be taken from us. After that time shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and mighty, and the fruit of the earth shall be fair and pleasant for those Israelites that shall spring thereof. Then shall the remnant in Sion and the remnant in Jerusalem be called holy: namely all such as are written among the living at Jerusalem: What time as the Lord shall wash away the desolation of the daughters of Sion, and purge the blood out from Jerusalem with the wind of his smoke and fire. Moreover upon all the dwellings of the hill of Sion and upon their whole congregation, shall the Lord provide a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for all their glory shall be preserved. And Jerusalem shall be a tabernacle for a shadow because of heat in the day time, and place and refuge where a man may keep him for weather and rain.

The Fifth Chapter

Now will then, I will sing my beloved friend a song of his vineyard. My beloved friend hath a vineyard in a very fruitful plenteous ground. This he hedged, this he walled round about, and planted it with goodly grapes. In the midst of it builded he a tower, and made a wine press therin. And afterward when he looked that it should bring him grapes, it brought forth thorns. I show you now my cause ( O ye Citizens of Jerusalem and whole of Juda ) : Judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. What more could have been done for it, that I have not done? Wherefore hath it given thorns, where I looked to have grapes of it?

Well, I shall tell you how I will do with my vineyard: I will take the hedge from it, that it may perish, and break down the wall, that it may be trodden under foot. I will lay it waste, that it shall neither be twisted nor cut, but bear thorns and briers. I will also forbid the clouds, that they shall not rain upon it. As for the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts it is the house of Israel, and whole Juda his planting. Of these he looked for equity, but see there is wrong: for righteousness, Lo, It is but misery.

Woe unto you that join one house to another, and bring one land so nigh unto another, till ye can get no more ground. Will ye dwell upon the earth alone? The Lord of Hosts roundeth me thus in mine ear: shall not many greater and more gorgeous houses be so waste, that no man shall dwell in them? And ten acres shall give but a Quart, and thirty bushels of feed shall give but three.

Woe unto them that rise up early to use themselves in drunkenness, and yet at night are more superfluous with wine. In those companies are harps and lutes, tabrets and pipes, and wine. But they regard not the work of the Lord, and consider not the operation of his hands. Therefore cometh my folk also in captivity, because they have no understanding. Their glory shall be mixed with hunger, and their pride shall be marred for thirst. Therefore gapeth hell, and openeth her mouth marvelous wide: that pride boasting and wisdom, with such as rejoice therin, may descend into it.

Thus shall man have a fall, he shall be brought low, and the high looks of the proud layed down. But the Lord of Hosts, that holy God: shall be exalted and untouched, when he shall declare his equity and righteousness after this manner: Then shall the lambs eat their appointed fodder, and shall feed plentiously in the mountains. Woe be unto vain persons, that draw wickedness unto them, as it were with a cord: and sin, as it were with a cart rope. Which use to speak on this manner: Let him make hast now, and go forth with his work, that we may see it. Let that counsel of the holy one of Israel come, and draw nye, that we may know it.

Woe be unto them that call evil good, and good evil: which make darkness light, and light darkness, that make sour sweet, and sweet sour. Woe be unto them that are wise in their own sight, and think themselves to have understanding. Woe be unto them that are conning men to sup out wine and expert to set up drunkenness. These give sentence with the ungodly for rewards, but condemn the just cause of the righteousness.

Therefore like as the fire licketh up the straw, as the flame consumeth the stubble: Even so ( when their root is full ) their blossom shall vanish away as dust or smoke: for they despise the law of the Lord of Hosts, and blaspheme the word of the holy maker of Israel.

Therefore is the wrath of the Lord kindled also against his people, and he shaketh his hand at them: yee he shall smite so, that the hills shall tremble. And their carcasses shall lie in the open streets, like mire. After all this, the wrath of God shall not cease, but he shall stretch his hand wider. And he shall give a token unto a strange people, and call unto them in a far country: and behold, they shall come hastily with speed. There is not one faint or feeble among them, no not a sluggish or slippery person. There shall not one of them put off the girdle from his loins, (Ephes 6:4 RN) ner loose the latchet of their shoe. Their arrows are sharp, and their bows bent. Their horses hoofs are like flint, and their cart wheels like a stormy wind. Their cry is as it were of a lion, and the roaring of them like lions whelps. They shall roar, and haunch up the prey, and no man shall recover it or get it from them. In that day they shall be fierce upon them, as the sea. And if we look unto the land, behold, it shall be all darkness and sorrow. If we look to heaven: behold, it shall be dark with careful desperation.

The Sixth Chapter

In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon an high and glorious seat, and his train filled the *palace. (kjv =temple) From above flakerd the Seraphins, where of every one had six wings. With two each covered his face, with two his feet, and with two he did fly. They cried also each one to other on this manner: holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Hosts. The whole world is full of his glory. Yee the guests and the doorchecks moved at their crying, and the house was full of smoke. Then I said: O woe is me. For I am astonished: that I (which am a man of unclean lips, and dwell among people that hath unclean lips also) should see the King and Lord of Hosts with mine eyes.

Then flew one of the Seraphins unto me, having a hot coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with the tongs, and touched my mouth, and said: Lo, this hath touched thy mouth, and thine unrighteousness is taken away, and thy sin is *forgiven. (kjv =purged) After this I heard the voice of the Lord talking advisement on this manner: Whom shall I send, and who will be our messenger? Then I said: Here am I, send me. And so he said: Go, and tell this people: Ye shall hear indeed, but ye shall not understand, ye shall plainly see, and not perceive. Harden the heart of this people, stop their ears, and shut their eyes, that they see not with their eyes, hear not with their ears, and understand not with their heart, and convert and be healed.

Then spake I: Lord, how long? And he answered: Until the cities be utterly without inhabitantors, and the houses without men, till the land be also desolate, and lie unbuilded. For the Lord shall take the men far away, so that the land shall lie waste. Nevertheless, the tenth part shall remain therin, for it shall convert and be fruitful, And likewise as the Terebintes and Oak trees bring forth their fruits, so shall the holy seed have fruit.

The Seventh Chapter

It happened in time of Ahaz the son of Joatham, which was the son of Oziah, king of Juda: that Razin the king of Syria, and Phakeh the son of Romaliah, King of Israel: went up toward Jerusalem to besiege it, but won it not. Now when the house of David ( that is Ahaz ) heard word thereof, that Syria and Ephraim were confederate together: His heart quaked ( yee and the hearts also of his people ) like as a tree in a field, that is moved with the wind.

Then said God unto Esia, Go meet Ahaz, ( thou, thy son Sear Jasub ) at the head of the over pole, in the foot path by the fullers ground, and say unto him, take heed to thyself and be still, but fear not, neither be fainthearted, for the two tails: that is: for these two smoking firebrands, the wrath and furriousness of Rezin in the Sirian and Romelies son: because that the King of Siria, Ephraim, and Romelies son have wickedly conspired against thee, saying: We will go down into Juda, vex them, and bring them under us, and set a king there, even the son of Tabeel. For thus saith the Lord God there to, It shall not so go forth, neither shall it come to pass: For the head city of the Sirians is Damascus, but the head of Damascus is Razin. And the chief city of Ephraim is Samaria, but the head of Samaria is Remaliahs son. And if ye believe not, there shall no promise be kept with you.

Moreover, God spake unto Ahaz, saying: require a token of the Lord thy God, whether it be toward the depth beneath or toward the height above. Then said Ahaz: I will require none, neither will I tempt the Lord. Then the Lord answered: Then hear too, ye house of David: Is it not enough for you, that ye be grievous unto men, but ye must grieve my God also? And therefore the Lord shall give you a token of himself: Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Emanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know *the evil. (kjv = to refuse the evil) and choose the good. But or ever the child come to knowledge, to eschue the evil and chose the good: The land ( that thou art so afraid for ) shall be desolate of both her kings.

The Lord also shall send a time upon thee, upon thy people, and upon thy fathers house, ( such as never came since the time that Ephraim departed from Juda ) through the king of the Assyrians. For at the same time shall the Lord *whistle (kjv = hiss ) for the flys that are about the water of Egypt, and for the *Bees in the Assirian land. These shall come, and shall light all in the valleys, and in the vaults of stone, upon all green things, and in all corners.

At the same time shall the Lord shave the hair of the head and feet and the beard clean off, with the razor that he shall pay them withal beyond the water: namely, with the King of the Assirians. At that time a man shall live with a cow, and two sheep. Then because of the abundance of milk, he shall make butter and eat it. So that every one that remaineth in the land, shall eat butter and honey. At the same time all vineyards ( though there be a thousand vines in one, and were sold for a thousand silverlings ) shall be turned to briers and thorns. Like as they shall come into the land with arrows and with bows, so shall all the land become briers and thorns. And as for all hills that are now hewn down, thou shalt not come upon them, for fear of briers and thorns. But the cattle shall be driven thither, and the sheep shall feed there.

The Eighth Chapter

Moreover the Lord said unto me: Take thee a great leaf, and write in it, as men do with a pen, *that he speed him to rob, and haste him to spoil. (kjv = upon Mahershalalhashbaz.) And immediately I called unto me faithful witnesses, Uriah the priest, and Zachariah the son of *Barachiah. (kjv = Jeberechiah.) After that I went unto the Prophetess, that now had conceived and born a son. Then said the Lord to me: give him this name: Maherschalalhashbas, that is: *( a speedy robber: an hasty spoiler ). (kjv leaves this entire line out) For why, or ever the child shall have knowledge to say: Abi and Im, ( that is father, and mother ): shall the riches of Damascus and the substance of Samaria be taken away, through the king of the Assirians.

The Lord spake also unto me, saying: For so much as this people refuseth the still running water of Silo, and put their delight in Razin and Romelies son: Behold the Lord shall bring mighty and great floods of water upon them: namely, the king of the Assirians with all his power. Which shall pour out his furriousness upon every man, and run over all their banks. And shall break in upon Juda, increasing in power, till he get him by the throat. He shall fill also the wideness of the land with his broad wings, O Emanuell. Go together ye people, and gather you, hearken to all ye of far countries. Muster you, and gather you: muster you and gather you, take your counsel together, yet must your counsel come to naught: go in handle withal, yet shall it not prosper. Except Emanuel: ( that is God) be with us. For the Lord chastised me, and took me by the hand, and warned me, saying unto me: that I should not walk in the ways of this people. He said moreover: round with none of them, whosoever say: yonder people are bound together. Nevertheless fear them not, neither be afraid of them, but sanctify the Lord of Hosts, let him be your fear and dread. For he is the sanctifying, a stone to stumble at , the rock to fall upon, a snare and a net to both the houses: to Israel, and the inhabitors of Jerusalem. And many shall stumble, fall, and be broken upon him: yee they shall be snared and taken.

Now lay the witness together ( said the Lord ) and seal the law with my disciples. Thus I wait upon the Lord that hath turned his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look *unto (kjv = for) him. But, lo, I as for me, and the children which the Lord hath given me: we are a token and a wonder in Israel, for the Lord of Hosts sake, which dwelleth upon the hill of Sion.

And therefore if they say unto you: ask counsel at the soothsayers, witches, charmers and conjurers, then make them this answer: Is there a people any where, that asketh counsel at his God: whether it be concerning the dead or the living. If any man want light, let him look upon the law and testimony whether they speak not after this meaning. If he do this he stumbleth and suffereth hunger. And if he suffer hunger, he is out of patience, and blasphemeth his king and his God. Then looketh he upward, and downward to the earth, and behold, there is trouble and darkness vexation is round about him, and the cloud of error. And out of such adversity he shall not escape.

The Ninth Chapter

Even like as in time past it hath been well seen, that the land of Zabulon and the land of Nephtali ( where through the sea way goeth over Jordan in to the land of Galilee ) was at the first in little trouble, but afterwards sore vexed.

Nevertheless the people that have dwelt in darkness, shall see a great light. As for them that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them shall the light shine. Shalt thou multiply the people, and not increase the joy also? They shall rejoice before thee even as men make marry in the harvest, and as men that have gotten the victory, when they deal the spoil. For thou shalt break the yoke of the peoples burden: the staff of his shoulder and the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Madian.

Moreover all *temerarious and seditious power ( yee where there is but a coat spilled with blood ) shall be burnt, and fed the fire. For unto us a child shall be born, and unto us a son shall be given. Upon his shoulders shall the kingdom lay, and he shall be called with his own name: the wondrous giver of counsel, the mighty God, the everlasting father, the prince of peace, he shall make no end to increase the kingdom and peace, and shall sit upon the seat of David and in his kingdom, to set up the same, to stablish it with equity and righteousness, from thence forth for evermore..This shall the jealousy of the Lord bring to pass.*temerarious as of teeming with activity, a street teeming with pedestrians; a garden abounding with flowers; roofs blanketing a city a highway crawling with carts; a house overflowing with guests; a parade route swarming with spectators. RN

The Lord sent a word in to Jacob, the same is come in to Israel. And the people also of Ephraim, and they that dwell in Samaria, can say with pride and high stomachs, on this manner: The tile work is fallen down, but we will build it with harder stones. The Mulberry timber is broken, but we shall set it up again with Cedar. Nevertheless, the Lord shall prepare Razin the enemy against them, and so order their adversaries, that the Sirians shall lay hold upon them before, and the Philistines behind, and so devour Israel with open mouth.

After all this, the wrath of the Lord shall not cease, but yet his hand shall be stretched out still. For the people turneth not unto him, that chastiseth them, neither do they seek the Lord of Hosts. Therefore the Lord shall root out of Israel both head and tail, branch and twig in one day.

By the head, is understand the Senator and honorable man, and by the tail, the Prophet that preacheth lies. For all they which enforme the people that they be in a right cause, such be deceivers.

Such as men think also to be perfect among these, are but cast away.

Therefore shall the Lord have no pleasure in their young men, neither favor their fatherless and widows. For they are all together hypocrites and wicked, and all their mouths speak folly. After all this shall not the Lords wrath cease, but yet his hand is stretched out still. For the ungodly burn, as a fire in the briers and thorns: And as it were out of a fire in the wood or a ready bush, so ascendeth the smoke of their pride.

For this cause shall the wrath of the Lord of Hosts fall upon the land, and the people shall be consumed, as it were with fire, no man shall spare his brother. If a man do turn him to the right hand, he shall famish, or to the left hand to eat, he shall not have enough. Every man shall eat the flesh of his own arm: Manasses shall eat Ephraim and Ephraim Manasses, and they both shall eat Juda. After all this shall not the Lords wrath cease, but yet shall his hand be stretched out still.

The Tenth Chapter

Woe unto you that make unrighteous laws, and devise things, which be hard for to keep: where through the poor are oppressed, on every side, and the innocents of my people are therewith robbed of judgement: the widows may be your prey, and that ye may rob the fatherless. What will ye do in the time of the visitation and destruction, that shall come from far? To whom will ye run for help? Or to whom will ye give your honor, that he may keep it? That ye come not among the prisoners, or lie among the dead? After all this shall not the wrath of the Lord cease, but yet shall his hand be stretched out still.

Woe be unto Assur, which is the staff of my wrath, in whos hand is the rod of my punishment. For I will send him among those hypocratish people, among the people that have deserved my disfavor shall I send him: that he may utterly rob them, spoil them, and tread them down like the mire of the street. Howbeit, his meaning is not so, neither thinketh his heart of this fashion. But he imagineth only, how he may overthrow and destroy much people, for he saith: Are not my princes all Kings? Is not Calno as easy to win, as Charchamis? Is it harder to conquer *Antiochia (kjv = Hamath) then Arphad? or is it lighter to over come *Damascus then *Samaria? (reversed in kjv) As woe say: I were able to win the kingdom of the Idolaters and their gods, but not Jerusalem and Samaria. Shall I not do unto *Jerusalem and her Images, as I did unto *Samaria and her Images? * (reversed in kjv)

Wherefore the Lord sayeth: As soon as I have performed my whole work upon the hill of Sion and Jerusalem, then will I also visit the noble and stout king of Assiria, with his wisdom and pride. For he standeth thus in his own conceit: This do I through the power of my own hand, and through my wisdom: For I am wise, I am he that remove the lands of the people, I rob their princes: and ( like one of the worthies) I drive them from their high seats. My hand hath found out the Hosts of the people, as it were a nest. And like as eggs, that were layed here and there, are gathered together: So do I gather all countries. And there is no man, that dare open his mouth, or once whisper.

But doth the axe boast itself, against him that heweth therewith? or doth the saw make any cracking, against him that ruleth it? That were even like, as if the rod did exalt itself against him that beareth it: or as though the staff should magnify itself, as who say: it were not wood. Therefore shall the Lord of hosts send him poverty in his riches, and burn up his power, as it were with a fire. But the light Israel shall be that fire, and his Sanctuary shall be the flame, and it shall kindle, and burn up his thorns and briers in one day. Yee all that glory of his woods and fields shall be consumed with *body and *soul. * (reversed in kjv) As for himself, he shall be as one chased away. The trees also of his field will be of such a number that a child may tell them.

After that day shall the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, seek no more comfort at him that smote them, but shall comfort themselves with faithfulness and truth in the Lord, the holy one of Israel. The remnant, yee and the Posterity of Jacob, shall convert unto God the mighty one. For though thy people ( O Israel ) be as the sand of the sea, yet shall but the remnant of them only convert unto him. Perfect is the judgement of him that floweth in righteousness, and therefore the Lord of Hosts shall perfectly fulfil the thing, that he hath determined in the midst of the whole world. Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Hosts: Thou my people, that dwellest in Sion, be not afraid for the king of the Assirians: He shall wag his staff at thee, yee and beat thee with the rod, as the Egyptians did some time: But soon after, shall my wrath and mine indignation be fulfilled against their blasphemes.

Moreover the Lord of Hosts shall prepare a scourge for him, like as was the punishment of Madian upon the mount of Oreb. And he shall lift up his rod over the sea, as he did sometime over the Egyptians. The shall his burden be taken from thy shoulders, and his yoke from thy neck, yee the same yoke shall be corrupt for very fatness. He shall come to Aiath, and go through toward Migron. But at Machmas shall he muster his Host, and go over the fiord. Gabaah will be their resting place, Rhamah shall be afraid, Gabaah Saul shall flee away. The voice of the noise of thy horses, (O daughter of Gallim ) shall be heard unto Laish and to Anathoth, which also shall be in trouble. Madmena shall tremble for fear, but the citizens Gabin are manly, yet shall he remain at Nob that day. After that, shall he lift up his hand against the mount Sion, against the hill of Jerusalem. But see, the Lord God of Hosts shall take away the proud from thence, with fear. He shall hew down the proud, and fell the high minded. The thorns of the wood shall be rooted out with iron, and Libanus shall have a mighty fall.

The Eleventh Chapter

After this there shall come a rod forth of the Kindred of Jesse, and a blossom out of his root. The spirit of the Lord shall light it: the spirit of wisdom, and understanding: the spirit of counsel, and strength: the spirit of knowledge, and of the fear of God: and shall make him fervent in the fear of God.

For he shall not give sentence, after the thing that shall be brought before his eyes, neither reprove a matter at the first hearing: but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and with holiness shall he *reform ( kjv = reprove ) the simple of the world.

He shall smite the world with the staff of his mouth, and with the breath of his mouth shall he slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, truth and faithfulness, the girding of his reins. Then shall the wolf dwell with the lamb, and the Leopard shall lie down by the goat. Bullocks, Lions and cattle shall keep company together, so that a little child shall drive them forth. The cow and the bear shall feed together, and their young ones shall lie together. The Lion shall eat straw like the ox, or the cow. The child while he sucketh, shall *have a desire to the serpents nest, and when he is weaned, he shall put his hand in to the Cockatrice den. No man shall do evil to another, no man shall destroy another, in all the hill of my Sanctuary. For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, even as though the water of the sea flowed over the earth. (kjv = play on the hole of the asp)

Then shall the gentiles enquirer after the root of Jesse,( which shall be set up for a token unto the Gentiles ) for his dwelling shall be glorious. At the same time shall the Lord take in hand again, to conquer the remnant of his people,( which are left alive ) From the Assirians, Egyptians, Arabians, Morians, Elamites, Caldeies, Antiochians and Islands of the sea. And he shall set up a token among the Gentiles, and gather together the dispersed of Israel, yee and the out casts of Juda from the four corners of the earth. The hatred of Ephraim and the enmity of Judah shall be clean rooted out. Ephraim shall bear no evil will to Judah, and Judah shall not hate Ephraim: but they both together shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the West: and spoil them together that dwell toward the East. The Idumites and the Moabites shall let their hands fall, and the Ammonites shall be obedient unto them.

The Lord also shall cleave the tongues of the Egyptians sea, and with a mighty wind shall he lift up his hand over the Nilus, and shall smite his seven streams and make men go over dryshod. And thus shall he make a way for his people, that remaineth from the Assirians, what time they departed out of the land of Egypt.

The Twelfth Chapter

So that then thou shalt say: O' Lord, I thank thee, for thou wast displeased at me, but thou hast refrained thy wrath, and hast mercy upon me. Behold, God is my health, in whom I trust, and am not afraid. For the Lord *God (kjv = JEHOVAH) is my strength, and my praise, he also shall be my refuge. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of the *Savioure, (kjv = salvation.) and then shall ye say: Lets us give thanks unto the Lord, and call upon his name, and declare his counsels among the people, and keep them in remembrance, for his name is excellent. O sing praises unto the Lord, for he doth great things, as it is known in all the world. Cry out, and be glad, thou that dwellest in Sion, for great is thy prince: the holy one of Israel.

The Thirteenth Chapter

This is the heavy burden of Babylon, which Esai the son of Amos did see. Make some tokens to the high hills, call unto them, hold up your hand, that the Princes may go in at the door. For I will send for my deputies and my giants ( sayeth the Lord )and in my wrath I will call for such, as triumph in my glory.

With that , me thought I heard in the mountains, a noise, like as it had been a great people: and a rushing, as though the Kingdoms of all nations had come together. ( And the Lord of Hosts was the Captain of the whole army ) As they had come not only out of far countries, but also from the ends of the heavens: Even the Lord himself with the ministers of his wrath, to destroy the whole land. Mourn therefore, for the day of the Lord is at hand, and cometh as a destroyer from the Almighty. Then shall all hands be letten down, and all mens hearts shall melt away, they shall stand in fear, carelessness and sorrow shall come upon them, and they shall have pain, as a woman that travaileth with child. One shall ever be abashed of another, and their faces shall burn like the flame.

For lo, the day of the Lord shall come, terrible, full of indignation and wrath: to make the land waste, and to root out the sin thereof. For the stars and *planets

(kjv = constellations) of heaven shall not give their light, the sun shall be quenched *in the rising, (kjv = in his going forth), and the moon will not shine with his light. And I will punish the wickedness of the world, and the sins of the ungodly, sayeth the Lord. The high stomachs of the proud will I take away, and will lay down the boasting of the tyrants. I will make a man dearer than fine gold, and a man to be more worth, than a golden wedge of Ophir. Moreover I will so shake the heaven, that the earth shall remove out of her place.

Thus shall it go with Babylon in the wrath of the Lord of Hosts in the day of his fearful indignation. And Babylon shall be as an hunted or chased doe, and as a flock without a shepherd. Every man shall turn to his own people, and flee each one into his own land. Who so is found alone, shall be shot through: And who so gather together, shall be destroyed with the sword. Their children shall be slain before their eyes, their houses spoiled, and their wives ravished. For lo, I shall bring up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver, nor be desirous of gold. Then shall young mens bows be snapped asunder. The Medes shall have no pity upon women with chid, and their faces shall not spare the children. And Babylon ( that glory of Kingdoms and beauty of the Caldees honor ) shall be destroyed, even as God destroyed Sodom and Gomorra. It shall never be more inhabited, neither shall there be any more dwelling place there, from generation to generation.

The Arabians shall make no more tents there, neither shall the shepherds make their folds there any more: but wild beasts shall lay there, and the houses shall be full of great Owls. Ostriches shall dwell there, and *apes (kjv = satyrs) shall dance there: the little owls shall cry in the palaces, one after another, and Dragons shall be in their pleasant parlors. And as for Babylons time it is at hand, and her days may not be long absent:

The Fourteenth Chapter

But the lord will be merciful unto Jacob, and take up Israel again, and set them in their own land. Strangers shall cleave unto them, and get them to the house of Jacob. They shall take the people, and carry them home with them. And the house of Israel shall have them in possession for servants and maidens in the land of the Lord. They shall take those prisoners, whose captives they had been afore: and rule those that had oppressed them. When the Lord shall bring thee to rest, from the travail, fear, and hard bondage that thou wast ladened with all: Then thou shalt use this mocking upon the King of Babylon, and say: How happeneth that the oppressor leaveth off? Is the gold tribute come to an end? Doubtless the Lord hath broken the staff of the ungodly, and the scepter of the lordly. Which when he is wroth smiteth the people with durable strokes, and in his wonders he persecuteth them, and tameth them continually. And therefore the whole world is at rest and quietness, and men sing for joy.

Yee, even the fir trees and the Cedars of Libanus rejoice at your fall, saying: Now that thou art laid down, there come no more up to destroy us. Hell also trembleth at thy coming, all mighty men and Princes of the earth, step forth be fore thee. All Kings of the earth, stand up from their seats, that they may all ( one after another ) sing and speak unto thee. Art thou wounded also as we? art thou become like unto us? Thy pomp and thy pride is gone down to hell: Moths shall be layed under thee, and worms *shall be thy covering. Note this word "covering"; their is but one covering, our Lord and redeemer Christ, only. RN

*Now art thou fallen from heaven,( O Lucifer ) thou fair morning child? (kjv = son of the morning.) hast thou gotten a fall even to the ground, thou that ( not withstanding ) didest subdue the people? And yet thou thoughtest in thine heart: I will climb up into heaven, and make my seat above the stars of God, I will sit upon the glorious mount toward the North, I will climb up above the clouds, and will be like the highest of all. Yet dare I lay, that thou shalt be brought down to the deep of hell. They that see thee, shall narrowly look upon thee, and think in themselves, saying: Is this the man, that brought all lands in fear, and made the kingdoms afraid: Is this he that made the world in a manner waste, and layed the cities to the ground, which let not his prisoners go home?

Now happeneth it, that the Kings of all people lay, every one at home in his own palace, with worship, and thou art cast out of thy grave like a wild branch: like as dead mens raiment that are shot through with the sword: as they that go down to the stones of the deep: as a dead corpse that is trodden under feet: and are not buried with them? Even because that thou hast not wasted thy land, and destroyed thy people. For the generation of the wicked shall be without honor, forever. There shall away be sought to destroy their children, for their fathers wickedness: They shall not rise up again to possess the land, and fill the world with castles and towns.

I will stand up against them, ( saith the Lord of hosts ) and root out the name and generation of Babylon ( saith the Lord ) and well give it to the Otters, and will make water puddles of it. and I will sweep it with the *besom (broom) of destruction, saith the Lord of Hosts. The Lord of Hosts hath sworn an oath, saying: It shall come to pass as I have determined: and shall be fulfilled as I have devised. The Assyrians shall be destroyed in my land, and upon my mountains will I tread them under foot. Where through his yoke shall be taken from your shoulders. This devise hath God taken through the whole world, and thus his hand stretched out over all the people. For if the Lord of Hosts determines a thing, who will disannul it? And if he stretch forth his hand, who will hold it in again?

The same year that King Ahaz died, God threatened by Esai on this manner: Rejoice not ( thou whole Palestina ) as though the rod of him that beateth thee were broken: For out of the serpents root, there shall wax a cockatrice, and the fruit shall be a fiery *worm. (kjv = flying serpent) But the poor shall feed of the best things, and the simple shall dwell in safety. Thy roots shall I destroy with hunger, and it shall slay thy remnant. Mourn yee ports, weep ye cities, and fear thou ( O whole Palestina ) for there shall come from the North a smoke, whos power no man may abide. Who shall then maintain the messages of the Gentiles? But the Lord stablishes Sion, and the poor of my people shall put their trust in him.

The Fifteenth Chapter

This is the heavy burden upon Moab: Ar of Moab was destroyed ( as me thought ) in the night season: The walls of Moab perished in the night, and vanished away: They went to Bajth, and Dibon in the high places, for to weep: Moab did mourn from Nebo to Medba: All their heads were polled, and all their beards were shaven. In their streets were they girded about with sackcloth. In all the tops of their houses and streets was there nothing, but mourning and weeping. Hesebon and Eleale cried, that their voice was heard unto Jahaz. The worthies also of Moab bleared and cried for very sorrow of their minds: Woe is my heart for Moabs sake. They fled unto the city of Zoar, which is like a fair fruitful bullock, they went up to Luhith, weeping. The way toward Horonaim was full of lamentation for the hurt. The waters of Nimrim were dried up, the grass was withered, and the herbs destroyed, and what necessary green thing there was beside. In like manner the thing that was left them of their substance, they carried it by the water to Araby. The cry went over the whole land of Moab: from Eglaim unto Beer, was there nothing but mourning. The waters of Dimon were full of blood, for the enemy had sent thither a bond of men, which as a lion lay and wait for the remnant of the land, and for them that were escaped.

The Sixteenth Chapter

Then sent the Lords of the land a man of war, from the rock that lieth toward the desert, unto the hill of the daughter of Zion. ( For as for the daughters of Moab, they were as it had been a trembling bird, that is put out of her nest, by the fury of Arnon. ) which messenger said : gather your counsel, come together, cover us with your shadow in the midday, as the night doth: hide the chased, and *bewray (disclose or betray) not them that are fled, let the persecuted Moabites dwell among you, be our open refuge against the destroyer: for the adversary oppresseth us, the robber undoeth us, and the tyrant driveth us out of our land. But the throne of your kingdom is full of grace, therefore he that sitteth upon it with faithfulness and truth in the house of David, know the thing, and do his diligence to help shortly, according to equity and righteousness. As for the Moabs pride ( shall they answer ) it is well known. And all thought they be excellent proud, arrogant and high minded: yet is their strength nothing like. And therefore Moab complaineth to Moab, where through they come all to mourn: and now that they be smitten, they take their devise beneath by the brick wall, and make their complaint.

The suburbs of Hesebon were made waste, and the Princes of the Gentiles hewed down the vineyards of Sibma, which were planted with noble grapes, and spread unto Jazer, and went unto the end of the desert, whose branches stretched their fellows forth beyond the sea. Therefore I mourned for Jazer, and for the vineyards of Sibma with great sorrow. I poured my tears upon Hesebon and Eleale, for all their songs were layed down, in their harvest and gathering of their grapes: Mirth and cheer was gone out of the field and vineyards, in so much, that no man was glad ner song. There went no treader into the winepress, their merry cheer was layed down. Wherefore my belly rumbled ( as it had been a lute ) for Moabs sake, and mine inward members, for the brick walls sake. For it happened thus also: when Moab saw that she was turned upside down: she went up high in to her Sanctuary, to make her prayer there, but she might not be helped. This is the devise, which the Lord took in hand at the time against Moab. But now the Lord sayeth thus: In three years shall the power of Moab with their pomp ( which is great ) be minished, like as the burden of a hired servant. And as for the remnant of them, they shall be less than a few, and not reckoned much worth.

The Seventeenth Chapter

This is the heavy burden upon Damascus: Behold, Damascus shall be no more a city, but a heap of broken stones. The cities of Aroer shall be waste: the cattle shall live there, and no man shall fraye (scare) them away. Ephraim shall no more be strong, and Damascus shall no more be a Kingdom. As for the remnant of the Syrians, it shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the Lord of Hosts. At that time shall the glory of Jacob be very poor, and his fatness lean. It shall happen to them, as when one sheareth in the harvest, which cutteth his hand full with the sickle, and when one gathereth the sheaves together in the valley, of Raphaim, there remaineth yet some ears over: Or as when one shaketh an olive tree, which sendeth but two or three olive berries above in the top, and four or five in the branches. Thus the Lord God of Israel hath spoken.

Then shall man convert again unto his maker, and turn his eyes to the holy one of Israel. And shall not turn to the altars that are the work of his own hands, neither shall he look upon *groves and images, which his fingers have wrought. At the same time shall their strong cities be desolate, like as were once the forsaken plows and corn, which they forsook, for fear of the children of Israel. *groves; these groves are men, signified as trees, RN

So shalt thou ( O Damascus ) be desolate, because thou hast forgotten God thy *Saviour (kjv = salvation), and hast not called to remembrance the rock of thy strength. Wherefore thou hast also set a fair plant, and grafted a strange branch. In the day when thou didest plant it, it was great, and gave soon the fruit of thy seed: But in the day of harvest, thou shalt reap an heap of sorrows and miseries.

Woe to the multitude of much people, that rush in like the sea, and to the heap of folk, that run over all like great waters. For though so many people increase as the flowing waters and though the be armed, yet they flee far off, and vanish away like the dust with the wind upon an hill, and as the whirlwind through a storm. Though they be fearful at night, yet in the morning it is gone with them. This is their portion, that do us harm, and heritage of them, that rob us.

The Eighteenth Chapter

Woe be unto the land of *flying ships, which is this side the flood of Ethiopia: which sendeth her message over the sea in ships of reeds upon the water: and sayeth go soon, and do your message unto a strange and hard folk: to a fearful people, and to a people that is further than this: to a desperate and *pilled folk, whose land is divided from us with rivers of water. Yee all ye that sit in the compass of the world, and dwell upon the earth: when the token shall be given upon the mountains, then look up: and when the horn bloweth, then harken to, for thus hath the Lord said unto me. I lay me down, and pondered the matter in my house, at the Noon day when it was hot: And there fell a mighty shower, like a dew, as it happeneth in Harvest. But the fruits were not yet ripe cut off, and the grapes were but young and green. Then one smote off, the grapes with an hook, yee he hewed down also the boughs and the branches, and did cast them away. And thus they were layed waste, for the fowls of the mountains, and for the beasts of the earth together. So that the fowls sat there upon, and the beasts of the earth wintered there. Then shall there be a present brought to the Lord of Hosts: even that hard folk, that fearful folk, and that further is then this: that desperate and pilled folk ( whose land is divided from us with floods of water ) unto the place of the name of the Lord of Hosts: even unto the hill of Sion. * *flying ships, this is exactly as it is written. *pilled; to be under extortion, extorted from. RN

The Nineteenth Chapter

This is the heavy burden upon Egypt: Behold, the Lord will ride upon a swift cloud, and come into Egypt. And the gods of Egypt shall tremble at his coming, and the heart of Egypt shall quake within her. For thus sayeth the Lord: I will stir up the Egyptians one against the other among themselves, so that one shall be ever against another, and one Kingdom against another. And Egypt well be choked with herself. When they ask counsel at their gods, at their Prophets, at their soothsayers and witches: then will I bring their counsel to naught. I will deliver Egypt also into the hands of grievous rulers, and a cruel King shall rule over them. The water of the sea shall be drawn out, Nilus shall stink away, and be drunk up. The rivers also shall be draw out, the wells shall decrease and draw away. Reed and rush shall fail, the grass by the waters side or upon the river bank, yee and whatsoever is sown by the waters, shall be withered, destroyed, and brought to naught. The fishers shall mourn, and all such as cast angles (hooks) in the water, shall complain, and they that spread their nets in the water, shall be fain hearted. Such as labor upon flax and silk, shall come to poverty, and they also that weave fine works. All the pounds (ponds) of Egypt, all the policy of their Moats and ditches shall come to naught.

Yee the indiscreet Princes of Zoan, the counsel of the wise Senators of Pharaoh, shall turn to foolishness: Those that dare boast and say of Pharaos behalf: I am come of wise people, I am come of the old regal Progeny. But where are now thy wise men? Let them tell thee and show thee, what the Lord of Hosts hath taken in hand against Egypt. Fools are those Princes of Zoan, and proud are the Princes of Noph: yee they deceive Egypt with their nobility of their flock. For the Lord hath made Egypt drunken with the spirit of error, and they shall use it in all matters: even like as a drunken man goeth spewing about. For Egypt shall lack good counsel, so that they shall know not what to do, neither beginning nor end, neither upon the land ner water. Then shall the Egyptians be like women, afraid and astounded, at the lifting up of the head, which the Lord of Hosts shall lift up over them. The land of Juda shall also make the Egyptians afraid, who so doth but speak upon it, shall put them in fear: And that because of the counsel, which the Lord of Hosts hath devised against them. Then shall the five cities of Egypt speak with the *Canaanites tongue, and swear by the Lord of Hosts, and *Heliopolis shall be one of them. At the same time shall the Lord of hosts have an altar in the midst of the land of Egypt, with this title thereby: Unto the Lord. This shall be a token or testimony unto the Lord of Hosts in the land of Egypt, when they shall cry unto him, because of those that oppress them: that he shall send them a Captain and a Saviour to deliver them. *Canaanites tongue; this from the Hebrew is the language of merchants. *Heliopolis; this city is not found in all the kjv even from 1611 to the present. From the references :Heliopolis 1. An ancient city of northern Egypt in the Nile River delta north of modern Cairo. It was the center of worship of the sun god Ra until the rise of Thebes (c. 2100 B.C.). Its importance as a historical repository with famed schools of philosophy and astronomy declined after the founding of Alexandria in the fourth century B.C. Two of its obelisks, both known as Cleopatras Needle, are now in London and in New York Citys Central Park. RN

Moreover, Egypt shall be brought unto the Lord, and the Egyptians shall also know the Lord at the same time: they shall do him reverence with peace offerings, and with meat offerings: they shall promise him offerings: yee and pay him also. Thus the Lord shall smite Egypt, and heal it again: and so shall they turn to the Lord, and he also shall have mercy upon them, and save them. Then shall there be a common way out of Egypt into Assyria. The Assyrians shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptians into Assyria. The Egyptians also and the Assyrians shall both have one Gods service. Then shall Israel with honor be the third to Egypt and Assur. And the Lord of Hosts shall bless them, saying: Blessed is my people of the Egyptians, Assur is the work of my hands, but Israel is mine inheritance.

The Twentieth Chapter

In the same year that Tharthan came unto Asdod, where Sargon the King of the Assyrians sent him, what time as he also besieged Asdod, and won it the same season: Then spake the Lord unto Esai the son of Amoz, saying: Go and loose off that sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoes from thy feet. And so he did, going naked and barefoot. Then said the Lord: where as my servant Esai goeth naked and barefoot, it is a token and signifying of the thing, that after three years shall come upon Egypt and Ethiopia. For even thus shall the King of Assyrians drive both young and old, as prisoners naked and barefoot, out of Egypt and Ethiopia. And shall discover the shame of Egypt. They shall be also at their wits end, and ashamed one of another: the Egyptians of the Morians, and the Morians of the Egyptians, at the sight of their glory. Moreover they that dwell in the Isles shall see even the same day: behold, this is our hope, to whom we fled to seek help, that we might be delivered from the King of the Assyrians. How will we escape?

The Twenty first Chapter

This is the heavy burden of the waste sea: A grievous vision was showed unto me, like as when a storm of wind and rain rusheth in from the wilderness, that terrible land. Who so may deceive ( said the voice ) let him deceive: Who so may destroy, let him destroy. Up Elam, besiege it O Madai, for I well still all their groanings. With this, the reines of my back were full of pain: Pangs came upon me, as upon a woman in travail. When I heard it, I was abashed: and when I looked up, I was afraid. Mine heart panted, I trembled for fear. The darkness made me fearful in my mind.

Yet soon make ready the table, ( said this voice ) keep the watch, eat and drink: Up ye Captains, take you to your shield, for thus the Lord hath charged me: Go thy way, set a watchman, that he may tell what he seeth. And when he had waited dilengently, he saw two horsemen: the one riding upon an Ass, the other upon a camel. And the lion cried: Lord, I have stand waiting all the whole day, and have kept my watch all the night. With that came there one riding upon a chariot, which answered, and said: Babylon is fallen, she is turned upside down, and all the images of her Gods are smitten to the ground. This ( O my fellow thresshers and fanners ) have I heard of the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, to show it unto you.

The heavy burden of Dumah.

One of the Seir, cried out to me: Watchman what hast thou espyed by night, watchman what hast thou espyed by night? The watchman answered: The day breaketh on, and the night is coming: If your request be earnest, then ask and come again.

The heavy burden upon Arabia.

At even (evening) ye shall abide in the wood, in the way toward Dedanim. Meet the thirsty with water ( o ye citizens of *Hema ) meet those with bread that are fled. For they shall run away from the weapon, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow, and from the great battle. For thus hath the Lord spoken unto me, over a year shall all the power of the Cedar be gone, like as when the office of an hired servant goeth out: And the remnant of the good Archers of Cedar, shall be very few: For the Lord God of Israel hath spoken it. *Hema; this is Hema not Tema ( as found in kjv ) both these names appear in the text, but each has a different meaning.

The Twenty second Chapter

The heavy burden upon the valley of visions. What hast thou there to do, that thou climbest up in to the house top, O thou city of miracles, *seditious and willful: seeing, thy slain men are neither killed with sword, nor dead in battle? For all thy Captains gat them to their horses from the ordinance, yee they are all together ridden away, and fled far off. When I perceived that, I said: away from me, that I may weep bitterly. Take no labor for to comfort me, as touching the destruction of my people. For this is that day of the Lord God of Hosts, where in he will plague, tread down, and weed out the valley of visions, and break down the walls, with such a crack, that it shall give a sound in the mountains. *seditious ; rebellious against the will of God. RN

I saw the Elamites take the quivers to cart and to horse, and the walls were bare of harness. Thy goodly valleys were full of chariots, and the horse men made them soon to besiege the gates. Then was the covering of Judah put from thence, and then was seen the siege of the timber house. There shall you see the rifts in the walls of the city of David, whereof there shall be many. Ye shall gather together the waters of the lower pool, and tell the houses of Jerusalem, and break of some of them to keep the walls. And ye shall make a pit betwixt the two walls of the water of the old pool, and nothing regard him, that took it in hand, and made it. And at the same time shall the Lord God of Hosts call men to weeping, mourning, to baldness and a putting on of sackcloth. But they to fulfill their lust and willfulness, slaughter oxen: they kill sheep, they eat costly meat, and drink wine, let us eat and drink, to morrow we shall die. Nevertheless, when the Lord of Hosts heard of it, he said: yee, if this wickedness of yours shall be remitted, ye must die for it. This hath the Lord God of Hosts spoken.

Thus saith the Lord God of Hosts: Go in to the treasury unto Sobna the governor, and say to him: What hast thou here to do? and from whence comest thou? that thou hast made the grave here? For he had caused a costly tomb of stone to be made for himself, a place to lie into be hewn out of a rock. Behold, the Lord shall cast thee out by violence, he will deck thee of another fashion, and put upon thee a strange cloth. He shall carry thee into a far country, like a ball with his hands. There shalt thou die, there shall the pomp of thy chariots have an end: thou villain of the house of the Lord: I will shoot thee out of thine office, and put thee from thy estate.

After this will I call my servant Eliakim the son of Helkiah, and array him with thy coat, and gird him with thy girdle, and I will give thy power in to his hand. He shall be a father of the citizens of Jerusalem, and of the kindred of Judah. I will also lay the key of Davids house upon his shoulders, and if he open, no man shall shut: and if he do shall shut, no man shall open. I will fasten him to a nail in the place of the most high faithfulness, and he shall be upon the glorious throne of his fathers house. They shall hang upon him all the glory of his fathers house, of the children and the childrens children, all apparel small and great, all instruments of measure and music. This shall come to pass ( saith the Lord of Hosts ) when the nail that is fastened to the place of the highest faithfulness, shall be plucked off. And when the weight that hangeth upon it, shall fall, be broken, and hewn in pieces. For the Lord himself had said it.

The Twenty third Chapter

An heavy burden upon Tyrus. Mourn ye ships of Tharsis, for she is thrown down to the ground, and conquered of them that are come from Cethim. The indwellers of the Islands, the merchants of Sidon, and they that occupy the see (sea),

( of whom thou wast full some time ) are at a point. For by see (sea) were their fruits brought unto thee, and all manner of corn by water. Thou wast the common market of all people. Sidon is sorry for it, yee and all the power of the see ( sea) complaineth, and sayeth :) that I had never traveled with child, that I had never born any, that I had neither nourished boy nor brought up daughter. As soon as Egypt perceiveth it, she will be as sorry as Tyrus it self. Go over the see (sea), mourn ye that dwell in the Isles. Is not that the glorious city, which hath been of long antiquity? Whose natives dwelling far off, commend her so greatly? Who hast devised such things upon Tyrus the crown of all cities, whose merchants and Captains were the highest in the world? Even the Lord of Hosts hath devised it, that he may put down all the pomp, and minish all the Glory of the world. Go through thy land ( O thou daughter of the see (sea) ) as men go over the water, and there is not a girdle more.

Thus the Lord that removeth the kingdoms, hath taken in hand against that mighty Canaan to root it out: hath stretched his hand over the see(sea), and said: From hence forth shalt thou make no more mirth, O daughter of Sidon: for thou shalt be put down of the Cethens. Stand up therefore, and go where the enemy will carry thee, where thou shalt also have no rest. Behold, (for thine example) The Chaldees were such a people, that no man was like them, Assur builded them: he set up his castles and palaces, and broke them down again. And therefore mourn ( ye ships of the see (sea) ) for your power shall be thrown down.

After that, shall seventy years of Tyrus, even as long as their Kings life was) be forgotten. And after seventy years, shall it happen to Tyrus as with an harlot that playeth upon the lute. Take thy lute ( say men to her) and go about the city, thou art yet an unknown wench, make pastime with diverse ballads, whereby thou mayest come into acquaintance. Thus shall it happen after seventy years. The lord shall visit the city of Tyrus, and it shall come again to her merchandise, and shall occupy with all the kingdoms that be in the world. But all her occupying and wining shall be hallowed unto the Lord. For then shall they lay up nothing behind them nor upon heaps: but the merchandise of Tirus shall belong to the citizens of the Lord, to feeding and suffering of the hungry, and to the clothing of the aged.

The Twenty fourth Chapter

Behold, the Lord waste and *plague the world, he shall make the face of the earth desolate, and scatter abroad the inhabitors thereof. Then shall the Priest be as the people, the master as the servant, the dame like the maid, the seller like the buyer, he that lendeth upon usury, like him that borroweth upon usury, the creditor like the debtor. Yee miserably shall the world be wasted and clean destroyed. For the Lord hath so determined in himself. The earth shall be heavy and decay: The face of the earth shall perish away, the proud people shall come to naught. For the earth is corrupt of her indwellers. For plagues; see Job (of the heart, and also the flesh) RN

For why? they have offended the law changed the ordinances, and made the everlasting testament of none effect. And therefore shall the curse devour the earth: for they that dwell theron have sinned, wherefore they shall be burnt also, and those that remain, shall be very few. The sweet wine shall mourn, the grapes shall be weak, and all that have been merry in heart, shall sigh. The mirth of tabrets shall be layed down, the cheer of the joyful shall cease, and the pleasure of the lutes shall have an end: there shall be no more wine be drunk with mirth, the beer shall be bitter to them that drink it, the wicked cities shall be broken down, all houses shall be shut, that no man may come in.

In the streets shall there be lift up a cry because of wine, all mens cheer shall vanish away, and all joy of the earth shall pass. Desolation shall remain in the cities, and the gates shall be smitten with wasteness. For it shall happen unto all lands and to all people, like as when a man smiteth down the olives, that are left on the olive tree: or seeketh after grapes, when the wine gathering is out. And those same ( that remain ) shall lift up their voice, and be glad, and shall magnify the glory of the Lord, even from the see {sea} and praise the name of the Lord God of Israel in the *valleys and Flondes (floods). kjv = isles of the sea. We heard songs sung to the praise of the righteous, from all the ends of the world. Therefore I must speak: O mine unfruitfulness, O my poverty. Woe is me, all is full of sinners, which offend of purpose and malice. And therefore ( O thou that dwellest upon the earth ) there is at hand for thee, fear, pit and snare. Who so escapeth the terrible cry, shall fall in to the pit. And if he come out of the pit, he shall be taken with the snare. For the windows above shall be opened, and the foundation of the earth shall move. The earth shall give a great crack, it shall have a sore ruin, and take an horrible fall. The earth shall stacker {stagger} like a drunken man, and be taken away like a tent. Her misdeeds shall lay heavy upon her, that she must fall, and never rise up again. At the same time shall the Lord muster together the high host above, and the Kings of the world upon the earth. These shall be coupled together as prisoners be, and shall be shut in one ward and punished innumerable days. The Moon and the Sun shall be ashamed, when the Lord of Hosts shall rule them at Jerusalem upon the mount Zion, before and with his excellent counsel.

The Twenty fifth Chapter

O' Lord, thou art my God, I will praise thee, and will magnify thy name: For thou bringest marvelous things to pass, according to thine old counsels, truly and steadfastly. Thou makest of towns, heap of stone: and of head cities, broken walls: The palaces of the wicked destroyest thou out of the city, that they shall never be builded again. Therefore the very rude people must magnify thee, and the cities of the cruel Heathen must fear thee. For thou art the poor mans help, and strength for the needful in his necessity.

Thou art a defense against evil weather, a shadow against the heat. But unto the presumptuous, thou art like a strong whistle wind, that casteth down the boasting of the ungodly: thou keepest men from heat, with the shadow of thy clouds, thou cuttest off the branches of the tyrants.

Moreover, the Lord of Hosts shall once prepare a feast for all people upon the hill: a plenteous, costly, pleasant feast, of fat and well fed beasts, of sweet and most pure things. Upon the hill shall he take away the side veil that hangeth before the face of all people, and the covering wherewith all Gentiles are covered. As for death he shall utterly consume it. The Lord God shall wipe away the tears from all faces, and take away the confusion of his people through the whole world. For the Lord himself hath said it.

At that time shall it be said: Lo, this is our God in whom we *put our trust, (kjv = have waited for him) and *he hath healed us. (kjv = and he will save us) This is the Lord we have waited for: Let us rejoice and delight in his health. For the hand of the Lord ceaseth upon this hill. But Moab shall be threshed down under him, like as the straw is trodden down under feet in a dung hill. For he stretch out his hands upon him, like as a swimmer doeth swim. And with the power of his hands shall he cast down his pomp. As for his strongholds and high walls: he shall bow them, cast them down, and fell them to the ground in to dust.

The Twenty sixth Chapter

Then shall the song be sung in the land of Judah. We have a strong city, the walls and the ordinance shall keep us. Open the gates, that the *good people may go in, which laboreth for the truth. (kjv = righteous nation) And thou, which art the doer and hast the matter in hand: shall provide for peace, even the peace that men hope for in thee. Hope still in the Lord, for in the Lord God is everlasting strength. For why? It is he, that bringeth low the high minded citizens, and cast down the proud cities. He casteth them to the ground, yee even in to the mire, that they may be trodden under the feet of the simple, and with the steps of the poor. Thou ( Lord ) considerest the path of the righteous, whether it be right. Therefore ( Lord ) we have a respect unto to the way of thy judgements, thy name and thy remembrance rejoice the soul. My soul lusteth after thee all the night long, and my mind hasteth freely to thee. For as soon as thy judgments are known to the world, then the inhabitors of the earth learn righteousness. But the ungodly ( though he have received grace ) yet learneth he not righteousness, but in the place where he is punished, he offendeth, and feareth not the glory of the Lord.

Lord, they will not see thine high hand, but they shall see it, and be confounded: when thou shalt devour them with the wrath of the people, and with the fire of thine enemies. But unto us, O' Lord, provide for peace: for thou workest in us all our works. O' Lord our God, though such Lords have domination upon us as know not thee: yet grant that we may hope only in thee, and keep thy name in remembrance. The malicious tyrants when they die, are neither in life nor resurrection, for thou visitest them and rooted them out, and destroyest all the memorial of them. Again, thou increaseth the people, O' Lord, thou increaseth the people thou shalt be praised and magnified in all of the ends of the world. The people that seek unto thee in trouble, that same adversary which they complain of is unto them a chastening before thee. Like as a wife with child ( when her travail cometh upon her ) is ashamed, cryeth and suffereth the pain: Even so are we, O' Lord, in thy sight. We are with child, we travaileth, and bear, and with the spirit we bring forth health, where through the earth is undestroyed, and the inhabitors of the world perish not. If the Lord leads, the above paragraph might be compared unto the kjv. RN

But as for thy dead men and ours, that be departed, they are in life and resurrection. They lay in the earth, they wake, and have joy: for thy dew is a dew of life and light. But the place of the malicious Tyrants is fallen away. So go now my people into thy chamber, and shut the door to thee, and suffer now the twinkling of an eye, till the wrath be over past. For behold, the Lord will go out of his habitation, and visit the wickedness of them that dwell upon the earth. He will discover the blood that she hath devoured, she shall never hide them, that she hath murdered.

The Twenty seventh Chapter

Then the Lord with his heavy, great, long sword shall visit Leviathan that invincible serpent: even Leviathan that crooked serpent, and shall slay the whalefish in the sea. At the same time shall men sing of the vineyard of Muscatel. I the Lord keep it, and water it in due season. I watch day and night, that no man break into it. I hear no evil will in my mind. Who will compel me, that I greatly forgetting all faithfulness, should burn it up at once with thorns and bushes? Or who will enforce me to keep or make peace? It will come to this point, that Jacob shall be rooted again, and Israel shall be green, and bare flowers, and they shall fill the whole world with their fruit. Smiteth he not his smiter even as he is smitten himself: Destroyeth he not the murders, as he is murdered ? Every man recompenseth with the measure that he receiveth: He museth upon his sore wind, as upon the days of extreme heat. And therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be thus reconciled. And so shall he take away all the fruit of his sins. As for the altar of stones, he shall make them all as stones beaten to powder: the groves and Idols shall not stand. The strong cities shall be desolate, and the fair cities shall be left like a wilderness. The cattle shall feed and lay their, and the sheep shall eat it up. Their harvest shall be burnt, their wives which were their beauty, when they came forth: shall be defiled. For it is a people without understanding, and therefore he that created them, shall not favor them and he that made them shall not be merciful to them. In that time shall the Lord shoot from the swift water of Euphrates, unto the river of Egypt. And there shall the children be chosen out one by one. Then shall the great trumpet be blown, so that those which have been destroyed in the Assirians land, and those that be scattered abroad in Egypt: shall come and worship the Lord at Jerusalem, upon the holy mount.

The Twenty eighth Chapter

Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunken *Ephraimites, and to the fading flower, to the glory of his pomp, that is upon the top of the plentious valley: which men be overladen with wine. Behold, the strength and power of the Lord shall break into the land on every side, like a tempest of hail, that beareth down strongholds, and like an horrible, mighty and overflowing water. And the proud crown of the drunken Ephraimites, shall be trodden under foot. And as the fading flower, which is upon the top of the plentious valley: it shall happen unto him, as to an untimely fruit before the harvest come. Which as soon as it is seen, is by and by devoured, or ever it come well in a mans hand. *Ephraimites; the Hebrew : double ash heap , double fruitful, increased. RN

Then shall the Lord of Hosts be a joyful crown, and a glorious garland unto the remnant of his people. Unto the lowly, he shall be a spirit of Judgement, and unto them that drive away the enemies from the gates, he shall be a spirit of strength. But hey go wrong by the reason of wine, they fall and stacker (stagger) because of strong drink. Yee even the priests and prophets themselves go amiss, they are drunken with wine, and weak brained through strong drink. They error in seeing, and in judgement they fail. for all tables are so full of vomit and filthiness, that no place is clean. What is he among them, that can teach, instruct or inform the children, which are weeded from suck or taken from the breasts: of any other fashion then: Command that may be commanded, bid that my be bidden, forbid that may be forbidden, keep back that may be kept back, here a little there a little. And therefor the Lord also shall speak with lisping lips and with a strange language unto these people, to whom he spake afore of this manner: This shall bring rest, if one refresh the weary, yee this shall bring rest. But they had no will to hear. And therefore the Lord shall answer their stubborns. Command that may be commanded, bid that my be bidden, forbid that may be forbidden, keep back that may be kept back, here a little there a little. That they may go forth, fall backward, be bruised, snared, and taken. Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye mockers that rule the Lords people, which is at Jerusalem. For ye comfort yourselves thus: Tush, death and we are at point, and as for hell, we have made a condition with it, that though it break out any sore plague, it shall not come upon us. For with deceit we shall escape, and with nimbleness we will defend ourselves. Therefore saith the Lord God: Behold, I will lay a stone in Sion, a great stone, a costly corner stone, for a sure foundation: that who so putteth his trust in him, shall not be confounded. Righteousness will I set up again in the balance, and judgement in the weights. The tempest of hail shall take away your refuge, that ye have to deceive withal: and the overflowing waters shall break down your strongholds of dissimulation. Thus the appointment you have made with death, shall be done away: and the consideration that ye made with hell, shall not stand. When the great destruction goeth through, it shall all to tread you. It shall take you quiet away before it. For it shall go forth early in the morning, and continue only that day and that night. And the very fear only shall teach you, when ye hear it. For the bed shall be so narrow that a man can not lie upon it: And the covering to small, that a man may not wind himself therin. For the Lord shall step forth as he did upon the mount Perazim, and take on as he did upon the dale of Gabaon: that he may bring forth his devise, his strange devise: and fulfill his work, his wonderful work. And therefore make no mocks at it, that your captivity increase not: for I have heard the Lord God of Hosts say, that there shall come a sudden destruction and plague upon the whole earth. Take heed, and hear my voice, ponder and *mark my words well. Goeth not the houseband man ever in due season earnestly to his land? He moweth and ploweth his ground to sow. And when he hath made it plain, he soweth it with *fetches (wheat like crop) or *comin (cumin like parsley). He soweth the wheat and Barley in their place, Milium and Rye also in their place. And that he may do it right, his God teacheth him and showeth him. For he treadeth not the fitches out with a wane (farm wagon), neither bringeth he the cart here and there over the comin, but he thresheth the fitches out with a flayle, and the comin with a rod. As for the wheat, he grindeth it to make bread thereof, In as much as he can not bring it to pass with treading out. For neither the bruising that the cart wheels make, ner his beasts can grind it. This and such like things come of the Lord of Hosts which is marvelous in counsel, and great in righteousness.

The Twenty ninth Chapter

Woe be unto thee O Ariel, thou city that David won. Take ye yet some years, and yet some feasts pass over: then shall Ariel be besieged, so that she shall be heavy and sorrowful, and shall be unto me even as a lion. For I will lay siege to thee round about, and keep thee in with towers, and grave up dikes against thee. And thou shalt be brought low, and speak out of the earth, and thy words shall go humbly out of the ground. Thy voice shall come out of the earth, like the voice of a witch, and thy talking shall groan out of the mire. For the multitude of thine enemies shall be like meal dust. And the number of Tyrants shall be as the dust that the wind taketh away suddenly. Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of Hosts with thunder, earthquake, and with a great crack, with the whistle wind, tempest, and the flame of a consuming fire. But now the multitude of all the people, that went out against Ariel: the whole host, the strongholds, and siege: is like a dream which appeareth at night. It is like when an hungry man dreameth that he is eating, and when he awaketh, he hath nothing: like as when a thirsty man dreameth that he is drinking, and when he awaketh he is faint, and his soul unpatient.

So is the multitude of all the people that muster themselves against hill of Sion. But ye shall be at your wits end, ye shall be abashed: ye shall stagger, and reel to and fro.

Ye shall be drunken, but not of wine. Ye shall fall, but not through drunkenness: For the Lord shall give you an hard sleeping spirit, and hold down your eyes: namely your Prophets and heads which should see, them shall he cover. And all visions shall be unto you, as the words that stand in a sealed letter, when one offereth it to a man that is learned, and sayeth: read us this letter. Then he answereth: I can not read it, for it is shut. But if it be given to one that is not learned, or say unto him: read this letter: Then sayeth he I can not read.

Therefore thus sayeth the Lord: For so much as this people draweth near me with their mouth, and praiseth me highly with their lips, where as their heart nevertheless is far from me, and the fear which they owe unto me, that turn they to mens laws and doctrines, therefore will I also show unto this people a marvelous, terrible, and great thing ( Namely this: ) I will destroy the wisdom of their wise, and the understanding of their learned men shall perish. Woe be unto them that seek so deep, to hide their imagination before the Lord, which rehearse their counsels in darkness, and say: who seeth us, or who knoweth us? Which imagination of yours is even as when the potters clay taketh advisement, as though the work might say to the workmaster : make me not, or as when an earthen vessel sayeth of the potter: he understandeth not. See ye not that it is hard by, that Libanus shall be turned in to Charmel, and that Charmel shall be taken as wood? Then shall the deaf man understand the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see without any cloud or darkness. The oppressed shall hold a merry feast in the Lord, and the poor shall rejoice in the holy one of Israel.

Then shall the furious people cease, and the mockers shall be put away, and all they that do wrong shall be plucked out, such as labor to draw men unto sin: and that deceive him, which reproveth them in the gate, and such as turn good persons to vanity. And therefore the Lord ( even the defender of Abraham ) sayeth thus unto the house of Jacob: Now shall not Jacob be ashamed, nor his face confounded, when he seeth among his children ( whom my hands have made ) such as hallow my name among them: that they may sanctify the holy one of Jacob, and fear the God of Israel. and that they which afore time were of an erroneous spirit, have now understanding, and that such as before could not speak, are now learned in my law.

The Thirtieth Chapter

Woe be unto those shrinking children ( saith the Lord ) which seek counsel, but not at me: which take a web in hand, but not after my will: that they may heap one sin upon another. They go down into Egypt, ( and ask me on counsel ) to seek help at he power of Pharaoh, and comfort in the shadow of the Egyptians. But Pharaohs help shall be your confusion, and the comfort in the Egyptians shadow shall be your own shame. Your rulers have been at Zoan, and your messengers came unto Hanes. But ye shall all be ashamed of the people that may not help you, which shall not bring you strength or comfort, but shame and confusion.

Your beasts have born burdens upon their backs toward the South, through the way that is full of peril and trouble, because of the lion and lions, of the Cockatrice and shutting dragon. Yee the Mules bear your substance, and the Camels brought your treasure upon their crooked backs, unto a people that can not help you. For the Egyptians help shall be but vain and lost. Therefore I told you also that your pride should have an end. Wherefore go hence and write them this in their tables, a note in a book: that it may remain by their posterity, and be still kept. For it is an obstinate people, unfaithful children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord.

They dare say to the Prophets: *Intromit yourselves with nothing, and unto the Soothsayers: tell us nothing for to come, but speak friendly words unto us, and preach us false things. Tread out of the way, go out of the path, turn the holy one of Israel from us. Therefore thus saith the holy one of Israel: In so much as ye have cast off your beauty, and comforted yourselves with power and nimbleness, and put your confidence therin: therefore shall ye have this mischief again for your destruction and fall, like as an high wall, that falleth because of some rift ( or blast ) whose breaking cometh suddenly. *intormit To cause or permit to enter; introduce or admit

And your destruction shall be like as an earthen pot, which breaketh no man touching it, yee and breaketh so sore, that a man shall not find a shever (shard) of it to fetch fire in, or to take water withal out of the pit. For the Lord God, even the holy one of Israel hath promised this: With still setting and rest shall ye be healed, in quietness and hope shall your strength lay. Notwithstanding ye regard it not, but ye will say: No, for thus we are constrained to flee upon horses. And therefore shall ye flee, we must ride upon swift beasts, and therefore your persecutors shall yet be swifter. A thousand of you shall flee for one, or at the most for five, which do but only give you evil words: until ye be desolate, as a ship mast upon an high mountain, and as a beacon on a high hill.

Yet standeth the Lord waiting, that he may have mercy upon you, and lifteth himself up, that he may receive you to grace. For the Lord God is righteous. Happy are all they that wait for him. For thus ( O thou people of Sion and ye citizens of Jerusalem ) shall ye never be in heaviness, for doubtless he will have mercy upon thee. As soon as he heareth the voice of thy cry, he will help thee. The Lord giveth you the bread of adversity, and the water of trouble. But thine instructor flyeth not far from thee, if thine eyes look unto thine instructor, and thine ears harken to his word, that cryeth after thee and sayeth: this is the way, go this, and turn neither to the right hand nor to the left.

Moreover, if ye destroy the silver works of your Idols, and cast away the golden *coapes (glorifying cape) that deck them withal ( as filthiness ) and say get you hence: Then well he give rain to the seed, that ye shall sow in the earth, and give you bread of increase of earth, so that all shall be plenteous and abundant. Thy cattle also shall he feed in the broad meadows, yee thine oxen and Mules that till the ground, shall eat good fodder, which is purged with the fan. Goodly rivers shall flow out of all his mountains and hills. In the day of the great slaughter when the towers shall fall, the moon shall shine as the sun, and the sunshine shall be seven fold, and have as much shine, as in seven days beside.

In that day shall the Lord bind up the bruised sores of his people, and heal their wounds. Behold, the glory of the Lord shall come from far, his face shall burn, that no man shall be able to abide it, his lips shall wag for very indignation, and his tongue shall be as a consuming fire. His breath like a vehement flood of water, which goeth up to the throat. That he may take away the people, which have turned themselves to vanity, and the bridle of error, that lieth in other folks chawes (jaws). But ye shall sing, as the use is in the night of the holy *solempnite. (solemn night)Ye shall rejoice from your heart, as they that come the pipe, when they go up to the mount of the Lord, unto the rock of Israel. The Lord also shall set up the power of his voice, and declare his terrible arm, with his angry countenance, yee and the flame of the consuming fire, with earthquake, tempest of wind, and hailstones. Then shall the Assyrians fear also because of the voice of the Lord, which shall smite him with the rod. And the same rod which the Lord will send upon him, shall move the whole foundation: with trumpet, with noise of war and battle to destroy. For he hath prepared the fire of pain since the beginning, yee even for Kings also. This hath he made deep and wide, the nourishing thereof is fire and wood innumerable which the breath of the Lord kindleth, as it were a match of brimstone.

The Thirty first Chapter

Woe be unto them that go down in to Egypt for help, and trust in horses, and comfort themselves in chariots, because they be many, and in horsemen because they be lusty and strong. But they regard not the holy one of Israel, and they ask no question of the Lord. Whereas he nevertheless plagueth the wicked, and yet goeth not from his word, when he steppeth forth, and taketh the victory against the household of the forward, and against the help of the evil doers. Now the Egyptians are men, and not God, and their horses flesh, and not spirit. And as soon as the Lord stretcheth out his hand, then shall the helper fall, and he that should have been helped, and shall all together be destroyed. For thus hath the Lord spoken unto me: Like as the lion or lions whelps roareth upon the prey that he hath gotten, and is not afraid, though the multitude of shepherds cry out upon him, neither abashed for all the heap of them: So shall the Lord of Hosts come down from the mount of Sion, and defend his hill. Like as birds flutter about their nests, so shall the Lord of Hosts keep, save, defend and deliver Jerusalem. Therefore, O ye children of Israel, turn again, like as ye have exceeded in your going back. For in that day every man shall cast out his Idols of silver and gold, which ye have made with your own sinful hands.

Assur also shall be slain with the sword, not with a mans sword. A sword shall devour him, but not a mans sword. And he shall flee from the slaughter, and his servants shall be taken prisoners. He shall go for fear to his strongholds, and his Princes shall flee from his badge. This hath the Lord spoken, whose light burneth in Sion, and his fire in Jerusalem.

The Thirty second Chapter

Behold, the king shall govern (kjv = reign) after the rule of righteousness, and the Princes shall rule according to the *balance of equity.(kjv = in judgment) He shall be unto men, as a defense *for the wind, and as a refuge *for the tempest, like as a river of water in a thirsty place, and the shadow of a great rock in a dry land. *(kjv = from) The eyes of the seeing shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear, shall take diligent heed. The heart of the unwise, shall attain to knowledge, and the unperfect tongue shall speak plainly and distinctly. Then shall the *nigarde be no more called gentle, nor the *churle liberal. But the churle will be churlishly minded, and his heart will work evil and play the hypocrite, and imagine abominations against God, to make the hungry lean, and withhold drink from the thirsty: These are the perilous weapons of the covetous, these be his shameful counsels: that he may beguile the poor with deceitful works, yee even there as he should give sentence with the poor. But the liberal person imagineth honest things, and cometh up with honesty. * these two words mean: nigard = miserly, cheap, petty, stingy and ignoble. churle = boorish, rude crude, fat with stingy desire for money. Also note: Used as an evil term against a member of any dark-skinned people. Used as a evil term for a member of any socially, economically, or politically deprived group of people: Indeed, as we see today, the world is up side down. RN

Up ( ye rich and idle *cities ) (kjv = women) harken unto my voice. Ye careless cities, *mark my words. After years and days shall ye be brought in fear, O ye careless cities. For the *Harvest shall be out, and the grape gathering shall not come. O ye rich idle cities ye that fear no peril, ye shall be abashed and removed: when ye see the bareness, the nakedness and the preparing to war. Ye shall knock upon your breasts, because of the pleasant field, and because of the fruitful vineyard. My peoples field shall bring thorns and thistles for every house is voluptuousness: and in the cities, wilfulness. The palaces also shall be broken, and the greatly occupied cities desolate. The towers and bulwarks shall be become dens for evermore, the pleasure of Mules shall be turned to pasture for sheep: unto the time, that the spirit be poured upon us from above. *Mark this word in all things. *It is worthy to note this capital letter of the word Harvest. RN

Then shall the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be reckoned for a wood. Then shall equity dwell in the desert, and righteousness in the fruitful land. And the reward (kjv = work) of righteousness shall be peace, and her fruit rest and quietness for ever. And my people shall dwell in the inns of peace, in my tabernacle and pleasure where there is enough in them all. And when the hail falleth, it shall fall in the wood and in the city. O how happy shall ye be, when ye shall safely sow your seed beside all waters, and drive thither the feet of your oxen and the asses.

The Thirty third Chapter

Therefore woe be unto thee ( O robber ) shalt thou not be robbed also? and unto thee that layest wait, as who say there should no wait be laid for thee: Woe unto thee which doest hurt, even so shall thou be hurt also. And as thou layest wait, so shall wait be laid for thee also.

Lord be merciful unto us, we wait for thee. *Thine arm is at a point to visit us, but thou our health in time of trouble. Grant that the people may flee at the anger of thy voice, and that at thine upstanding of the Gentiles may be scattered abroad, and that their people may be gathered, as the grasshoppers are commonly gathered together in a pit. Stand up Lord, thou that dwelleth on high: Let truth and faithfulness be in her time: power, health, wisdom, knowledge and the fear of God are her treasure. Behold, their angels cry without, the messengers of peace weep bitterly. The streets are waste, there walketh no man therin, the appointment is broken, the cities are dispised, they are not regarded, the desolate earth is in heaviness. Libanus taketh it but for a sport, that it is hewn down: Saron is like a wilderness: and Basan and Carmel are turned upside down. *And therefore saith the Lord. I will up, now will I get up, now will I arise. Ye shall conceive stubble, and bare straw, and your spirit shall be the fire, that it may consume you: and the people shall be burnt like lime, and as thorns burn that are hewn off, and cast in the fire. Of this last sentence compare kjv. RN

Now hearken to, ye that are far off of how I do with them, and consider my glory, ye that be at hand. The sinners in Sion are afraid and sudden fearfulness is come upon the cities. What is he among us ( say they ) that will dwell by that consuming fire? Which of us may abide that everlasting heat? He that leadeth a godly life ( say I ) and speaketh the truth: He that abhoreth to do violence and deceit: he that keepeth his hand that toucheth no reward: which stoppeth his ears, that he hear no counsel against the innocent: which holdeth down his eyes, that he see none evil. He it is, that shall dwell on high whose saverguard shall be in the true rock, to him shall be given the right true meat and drink. His eyes shall see the king in his glory: and in the wide world, and his heart shall delight in the fear of God. What shall then become of the scribe? of the Senator? what of him that teacheth children? There shalt thou not see a people of a strange tongue to have so diffused a language, that it may not be understood: neither so strange a speach but it shall be perceived.

There shall Sion be seen, the head city of our solemn feasts. There shall thine eyes see Jerusalem that glorious habitation: the tabernacle that never shall remove, whose nails shall never be taken out world without end, whose *coardes (courses) *everychone ( every each one ?) shall never corrupt: for the glorious Majesty of the Lord shall there be present among us. In that place, where fair broad rivers and streams are shall neither Galley row, ner great ship sail. For the Lord shall be our captain, the Lord shall be our law giver. The Lord shall be our king, and he himself shall be our Saviour. There are the *coards (courses) so layed abroad, that they can not be better: The mast set up of such a fashion, that no banner nor sail hangeth theron: but there is dealed great spoil, yee lame men run after the prey, There layeth no man that sayeth: I am sick, but all evil is taken away from the people, that dwell there.*coards (courses) possible reference to a ship it is the lowest sail. RN

The Thirty fourth Chapter

Come ye heathen and hear, take heed ye people. Hearken thou earth and all that is therin: thou round compass and all that groweth there upon, for the Lord is angry with all people, and his displeasure is kindled against all the multitude of them, to curse them, and to slay them. So that their slayen shall be cast out, and their bodies stink: that even the very hills should be wet with the blood of them. All the stars of heaven shall be consumed, and the heaven shall fold together like a roll, and all the stars thereof shall fall, like as the leaves fall from the vines and fig trees. For my sword( sayeth he ) shall be bathed in heaven, and shall immediately come down upon *Idumea, and upon the people which I have cursed for my vengeance. *"The red ones" from the Hebrew ; Edomites : Esau RN.

And the Lords sword is filled with blood, and be rusty with the fatness and blood of lambs and goats, with the fatness of the kidneys of wethers. For the Lord shall kill a great offering in Bosra. and in the land of Idumea. There shall the Unicorns fall with the Bulls, ( that is with the giants ) and their land shall be washed with blood, and their ground corrupt with fatness. Unto thee also ( O Sion ) shall come the day of the vengeance of God, and the year when thine own judgements shall be recompensed. Thy floods shall be turned to pitch, and thine earth to brimstone, and therewith shall the land be kindled, so that it shall not be quenched day ner night: But smoke evermore, and so forth to lie waste. And no man shall go through thy land forever: But Pelicans, Storks, great Owls, and Ravens shall have it in possession, and dwell therin.

God shall spread out the line of desolation upon it, and weight it with the stones of emptiness. When the kings are called upon, there shall be none, and all princes shall be away. Thorns shall grow in her palaces, nettles and thistles in their strongholds, that the dragons may have their pleasure therin, and that they may be a court for Ostriches. There shall strange *visures and monstrous beasts meet one another, and the wild keep company together. There shall the lamya lie, and have her lodging. There shall the hedge hog build, dig, be there at home, and bring forth his young ones. There shall the kites come together, each one to his like. *visures may be from viscera, which would be those that eviscerate: meaning to disembowel the dead or dying, as do vultures. All the above animals, are similitude of the natures of people, as revealed in the last line of this next paragraph. Hebrew root words do reveal these characters. RN

Seek through the scripture of the Lord and read it. There shall none of these things be left out, there shall not one (ner such like ) fail. For what his mouth commandeth, that same doeth his spirit gather together ( or fulfilleth ). Upon whomsoever the lot falleth, or whom he dealeth it with the line: those shall possess the inheritance from generation to generation, and dwell therin.

The Thirty fifth Chapter

But the desert and wilderness shall rejoice, the waste ground shall be glad, and flourish as a lily. She shall flourish pleasantly, and be joyful, and ever be giving thanks more and more. For the glory of Libanus, the beauty of Carmel and Saron shall be given her. These shall know the honor of the Lord, and the majesty of our God. And therefore strengthen the weak hands, and comfort (kjv =confirm) the feeble knees.

Say unto them that are of a fearful heart: Be of good cheer, and fear not. Behold, your God cometh, to take vengeance, and to reward, God cometh his own self, and will deliver you. Then shall the eyes of the blind be lightened, and the ears of the deaf opened. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart (deer) and the dumb mans tongue shall give thanks.

In the wilderness also there shall wells spring, and floods or water in the desert. The dry ground shall turn to rivers, and the thirsty to springs of water. Where as dragons dwelt afore, there shall grow sweet flowers and green rushes. There shall be foot paths and common streets, this shall be called the holy way. No unclean person shall go through it, for the Lord himself will go with them that way, and the ignorant (kjv = fools) shall not error, There shall be no lion, and no raving beast shall come therin, nor be there, but men shall go there free and safe. And the redeemed of the Lord shall convert, and come to Sion with thanksgiving. Everlasting joy shall they have, pleasure and gladness shall be among them. And as for all sorrow and heaviness, it shall vanish away.

The Thirty sixth Chapter

In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, came Sennaherib King of the Assyrians down, to lay siege unto all the strong cities of Judah. And the King of Assyrians sent Rabsakeh from Lachis toward Jerusalem, against King Hezekiah, with a grievous Host, which set him by the conduit of the over pool, in the way that goeth through the fullers land. And so there came forth unto him Eliakim, Helkiahs son, the President, Sobna the scribe, and Joah, Asaphs son, the Secretary.

And Rabsakeh said unto them: Tell Hezekiah, that the great king of Assyria sayeth thus unto him: What presumption is this, that thou trustest unto? Thou thinkest ( peradventure ) that thou hast counsel and power enough to maintain this war: or else where to trusteth thou, that thou casteth thy self off from me? Lo, thou puttest thy trust in a broken staff of reed ( I mean Egypt ) which he that leaneth upon, it goeth into his hand and shooteth him through. Even so is Pharaoh the King of Egypt, unto all them that trust in him. But if thou wouldest say unto me: We trust in the Lord our God: An goodly God in deed: whose High places and altars Hezekiah took down, and commanded Judah and to Jerusalem, to worship only before this altar. Abide that thou hast made a consideration with my lord the King of the Assyrians, that he should give thee two thousand horses: art thou able to set men there up? Seeing now that thou canest not resist the power of the smallest prince that my lord hath, how darest thou trust in the chariots and horsemen of Egypt? Moreover, thinkest thou that I am come down hither, to destroy this land without the Lords will? The Lord said unto me, go down into this land, that thou mayest destroy it.

Then said Eliakim, Sobna and Joah unto Rabsakeh: Speak to us thy servants ( we pray thee ) in the Syrians language, for we understand it well: And speak not to us in the Jews Tongue, lest the flock hear, which layeth upon the wall. Then answered Rabsakeh: Think ye, that the king sent me to speak this only to you? Hath he not sent me to them also, that lay upon the wall? that they be not compelled to eat their own dung, and drink their own stale (urine) with you?

And Rabsakeh stood stiff, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews tongue, and said: Now take heed, how the great king of the Assyrians giveth you a warning. Thus saith the king: Let not Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall not be able to deliver you. Moreover, let not Hezekiah comfort you in the Lord, when he sayeth: The Lord with out doubt shall defend us, and shall not give over this city into the hands of the King of the Assyrians, believe him not. But thus saith the King of Assyria: obtain my favor, incline to me: so may every man enjoy his vineyards and fig trees, and drink the water of his own cistern: Unto the time I come myself, and bring you into the land that is like your own: wherein is wheat and wine, which is both sown with seed, and planted with vineyards. Let not Hezekiah deceive you, when he sayeth unto you: The Lord will deliver us.

Might the Gods of the Gentiles keep every man his land, from the power of the King of the Assyrians? Where is the God of Sepharuaim? And who was able to deliver Samaria out of my hand? Or which of all the Gods of the lands, hath delivered their country out of my power, so that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem from my hand? Unto this Hezekiahs messengers held their tongues, and answered not one word: for the King had charged them, that they should give him none answer. So came Eliakim, Helkiahs son the President, Sobna the Scribe, and Joah Asaphs son the Secretary, unto Hezekiah with rent clothes, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.

The Thirty seventh Chapter

When Hezekiah heard that, he rent his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went to the temple of the Lord. But he sent Eliakim the President, Sobna the Scribe, with the eldest priests clothed in sackcloth, unto the Prophet Esai the son of Amoz, and they said unto him: Thus sayeth Hezekiah: This is the day of trouble, of plague, and of wrath: like as when a child cometh to the birth, but the woman hath no power to bring it forth. The Lord thy God ( no doubt ) hath well considered the words of Rabsakeh, whom his lord the King of Assyrians hath sent, to defy and blaspheme the living God: with such words as the Lord thy God hath heard right well. And therefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant, that yet are left. So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Esai.

And Esai gave them this answer: say thus unto your lord: Thus sayth the Lord: Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the King of the Assyrians servants have blasphemed me. Behold, I will cause a wind go over him, as soon he heareth it, he shall go again into his country, there I will destroy him with the sword. Now when Rabsakeh returned, he found the King of Assyria laying siege to Lobnah, for he had understand, that he was departed from Lachis. For there came a rumor, that Tharhakah King of Ethiopia was come forth to make war against him.

And when the King of Assyeria heard that, he sent other messengers to King Hezekiah with this commandment: Say thus to Hezekiah King of Judah: Let not thy God deceive thee, in whom thou hopest, and sayest: Jerusalem shall not be given into the hands of the King of Assyria. For thou knowest well how the Kings of Assyria have handled all the lands that they have subverted, and hopest thou to escape? Were the people of the Gentiles ( whom my progenitors conquered ) delivered any time through their gods? As namely, Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the children of Eden, which dwell at Thalassar. Where is the King of Hemah, and the King of Arphad, and the King of the city Separvaim, Ena, and Iva? Now when Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it, he went up into the house of the Lord, and opened the letter before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord on this manner : O' Lord of Hosts, thou God of Israel, which dwellest upon Cherubims, Thou art the God, that only is God of all the Kingdoms of the world, for thou only hast created heaven and earth. Incline thine ear Lord, and consider, open thine eyes, O' Lord, and see, and ponder all the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent his assemblage to blaspheme the living God. It is true, O' Lord, that the Kings of Assyria have conquered all kingdoms and lands, and cast their Gods in the fire. Notwithstanding, those were no gods, but the works of mens hands, of wood or stone, therefore they have destroyed them. Deliver us then, O' Lord our God, from the hands of Sennacherib, that all Kingdoms of the earth may know, that thou only art the Lord. Then Esai the son of Amoz sent unto Hezekiah, saying: Thus saith the Lord God of Israel: Whereas thou hast made thy prayer unto me, as touching Sennacherib, this is the answer, that the Lord hath given concerning him: Despised art thou, and mocked, O daughter of Sion, he hath shaken his head at thee, O daughter of Jerusalem . But thou Sennacherib, whom hast thou defied and blasphemed? And against whom hast thou lifted up thy voice, and exalted thy proud looks? even against the holy one of Israel. Thou with thy servants hast blasphemed the Lord, and thus holdest thou of thyself: I cover the high mountains, and sides of Libanus; and there I will cut down the high Cedar trees and the fairest Fir trees. I will up into the height of it, and into the chiefest of his timber woods. If there be no water, I will give drink. And as for waters of defense, I shall dry them up with the feet of my Host. Yee ( sayest thou ) hast thou not heard, what I have taken in hand, and brought to pass of old time? That same will I do now also: waste, destroy, and bring strong cities into heaps of stones. For their inhabitants shall be like lame men, brought in fear and confounded. They shall be like the grass and green herbs of the field, like the hay upon the housetops, that withered afore it be grown up.

I know thy ways, thy going forth and thy coming home, yee and thy madness against me. Therefore thy furriousness against me, and thy pride is come before me. I will put a ring in thy nose, and a bridle bit in the jaws of thee, and turn thee about, even the same way thou camest. I will give thee also this token, ( O Hezekiah ) this year shalt thou shall eat that is kept in store, and the next year such as groweth of himself, and in the third year ye shall sow and reap, yee ye shall plant vineyards, and enjoy the fruits thereof.

And such of the house of Judah as are escaped, shall come together, and the remnant shall take root beneath, and bring forth fruit above. For the escaped shall go out of Jerusalem, and the remnant from mount Sion.

And this shall the jealousy of the Lord of hosts bring to pass. Therefore thus saith the Lord, concerning the king of the Assyrians: He shall not come into the city, and shoot no arrow into it, there shall no *shride (charade) hurt it, neither shall they grave about it. The same way that he came, shall he recover, and not at this city, saith the Lord. And I will keep and save the city, sayeth he, for mine own, and for my servant Davids sake.

Thus the angel went forth, and slew of the Assyrians host, an hundred and eighty five thousand. And when men arose up early ( at Jerusalem:) Behold, all lay full of dead bodies. So Sennacherib the king of the Assyrians brake up, and dwelt at Nineve. Afterward it chanced, as he prayed in the temple of *Nesrah his god, that *Adramalech and *Sarazer his own sons slew him with the sword, and fled into the land of Ararat (kjv = Armenia). And Asarhadon his son reigned after him. *charade, pronounce today sh-ar-aid, meaning to use words to pretend something. Nisroch = "the great eagle" Adrammelech = "honor of the king" ,Sharezer or Sherezer = "prince of fire" Ararat = "the curse reversed: precipitation of curse" RN

The Thirty eighth Chapter

Not long afore this, was Hezekiah sick unto death: And the Prophet Esai the son of Amoz came unto him, and said: Thus commandeth the Lord: Set thine house in order: for thou must die, and shall not escape. Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, and said: Remember ( O' Lord ) that I have walked before thee in truth and a steadfast heart, and have done the thing that is pleasant to thee. And Hezekiah wept sore. Then said God unto Esai: Go and speak unto Hezekiah: The Lord God of David thy father sendeth thee this word: I heard thy prayer, and considered thy tears: behold I will put fifteen years more unto thy life, and deliver thee and the city also, from the hand of the king of Assyria, for I will defend the city. And take thee this token of the Lord, that he will do it, as he hath spoken: Behold, I will return the shadow of Ahaz dial, that now is layed out with the Sun and bring it ten degrees backward. So the Sun turned ten degrees backward, that which he was desended afore.

A thanksgiving, which Hezekiah King of Juda wrote,

when he had been sick, and was recovered.

I thought I should have gone to the gates of hell in my best age, and wanted the residue of my years.

I spake within myself: I shall never visit the Lord God in this life: I shall never see man among the dwellers of the world.

Mine age is folden up together, and taken away from me, like a shepherds cottage: my life is hewn off, like as a weaver cutteth off his web.

While I was yet taking my rest, he hewd me off, and made an end of me in one day.

I thought I would have lived until the morrow, but he bruised my bones like a lion, and made an end of me in one day.

Then chattered I like a swallow, and like a crane, and did mourn as a dove.

I lift up mine eyes to the height: O' Lord ( say I ) violence is done unto me, be thou surety for me.

What shall I speak or say, that he may do this? that I may live out all my years, yee in the bitterness of my life?

Verily ( Lord ) men must live in bitterness, and all my life must I pass over therin: For thou raisest me up, and wakest me. But lo, I will be well content with this bitterness.

Nevertheless my conversation hath so pleased thee, that thou wouldest not make an end of my life: so that thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.

For hell praiseth not thee, death doeth not magnify thee.

They that go down into the grave, praise not thy truth: but the living, yee the living acknowledge thee, like as I do this day.

The father telleth his children of thy faithfulness.

Deliver us ( O' Lord ) and we will sing praises in thy house, all the days of our lives.

And Esai said: take a plaster of figs, and lay it upon the sore, so that it be whole.

Then said Hezekiah: O what a great thing is this, that I should go up in to the house of the Lord.

The Thirty ninth Chapter

At that same time *Merodach Baladam, Baladams son King of Babylon, sent letters and presents to Hezekiah. For he understood how that he had been sick, and was recovered again. And Hezekiah was glad thereof, and showed them the commodities of his treasure, of silver, of gold, of spices and roots, of precious oils, and all that was in his cupboards and treasure houses. There was not one thing in Hezekiahs house, and throughout all his Kingdom, but he let them see it.

Then came Esai the Prophet to King Hezekiah, and said unto him: What have the men said, and from whence came they unto thee? Hezekiah answered: They came out of a far country unto me, out of Babylon. Esai said: What have they looked upon in thine house? Hezekiah answered: All that is in mine house have they seen: and there is nothing in my treasure, but I showed it them.

Then said Esai unto Hezekiah: Understand the word of the Lord of Hosts: Behold, the time will come, that everything which is in thine house, and all that thy progenitors have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried to Babylon, and nothing left behind. Thus saith the Lord. Yee and part of thy sons, that shall come of thee, and whom thou shall get, shall be carried hence, and become gelded chamberlains in the King of Babylons court. Then said Hezekiah to Esai: Now God prosper his own counsel, which thou hast told me. He said moreover: So that there be peace and faithfulness in my time. Merodach-baladan = "Marduk has given a son" Merodach = "thy rebellion" Baladam = "Bel (is his) lord)" Bel = "lord" 1) a chief Babylonian deity: Baal = "lord" IS MAN owner, husband, lord 1a) owner 1b) a husband 1c) citizens, inhabitants 1d) rulers, lords 1e) (noun of relationship used to characterise - ie, master of dreams) 1f) lord (used of foreign gods) RN

The Fortieth Chapter

Be of good cheer my people, be of good cheer, ( saith your God ) Comfort Jerusalem, and tell her, that her travail is at an end, that her offense is pardoned, that she hath received of the Lords hand sufficient correction for all her sins. A voice crieth: Prepared the way *for (kjv =of) the Lord in the wilderness, make straight the path for our God in the desert. Let all valleys be exalted, and every mountain and hill layed low. What so is crooked, let it be made straight, and let the rough places be made plain fields. For the glory of God shall appear, and all flesh shall see it. For why? The mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

The same voice spake: Now cry. And I said: What shall I cry? Then spake it: That all flesh is grass, and that all the beauty thereof, is as the flower of the field. When the grass withereth, the flower faileth away. Even so is, the people as grass, when the *breath ( kjv =the spirit) of the Lord bloweth upon *them.(kjv = it) Nevertheless, whether the grass wither, or the flower fade away: Yet the word of our God endureth forever. Moreover the voice cried thus: Go up unto the hill ( O Sion ) thou that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with power, O thou preacher Jerusalem. Lift it up without fear, and say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God, behold the Lord, even the Allmighty will come with power, and shall beare rule with his arm. Behold, he bringeth his treasure with him, and his works go before him. He shall gather the lambs together with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall kindly entreat those that beare young.

Who hath holden the waters in his fist? Who hath measured heaven with his span, and hath comprehended all the earth of the world in three fingers? Who hath weighed the mountains and the hills? Or who is of his counsel to teach him? And who hath he asked counsel, to make him understand, and to learn him the way of judgement: to teach him science: and to instruct him in the way of understanding. Behold, all people are in comparison of him, as a drop to a bucket full, and are counted as the least thing that the balance weigheth. Behold, the Isles are in comparison of him, as the shadow of the *son beam. Libanus is not sufficient to minister fire for his offering, and all the beasts thereof are not enough to one sacrifice. All people in comparison of him are reckoned as nothing, yee vain vanity and emptiness. This is the exact spelling; son. RN

To whom then will ye liken God? or what similitude will ye set up unto him? Shall the carver make him a carved image? and shall the goldsmith cover him with gold, or cast him into a form of silver plates? Moreover shall the image maker, that the poor man which is despoiled, may have something to set up also, seek out and choose a tree, that is not rotten, and carve thereout an image, that moveth not? Know ye not this ? Heard ye never of it ? Hath it not been preached unto you since the beginning? Have ye not been enformed of this since the foundation of the earth was layed: That he sitteth upon the circle of the world, and all the inhabitors of the world are in comparison of him, but as grasshoppers: That he spreadeth out the heavens as a covering (kjv = curtain) that he stretcheth them out, as a tent to dwell in: That he bringeth Princes to nothing, and the judges of the earth to dust: so that they be not planted, nor sown again, neither their stock rooted again in the earth? For as soon as he bloweth upon them, they wither and fade away like the straw in a whirlwind.

To whom now will ye liken me, and whom shall I be like, sayeth the holy one? Lift up your eyes on high, and consider. Who hath made those things, which come out by some great heaps? and can he call them all by names. For their is nothing hid unto the greatness of his power, strength, and might. Now then may Jacob think, or how may Israel say: My ways are hid from the Lord, and my God knoweth not my judgments. Knowest thou not, or hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, which made all the corners of the earth, is neither weary nor faint: and that his wisdom can not be comprehended? but that he giveth strength to the weary, and power to the faint, and the strongest men fall: But unto them that have the Lord before their eyes, shall strength be increased, Eagles wings shall grow upon them: When they run, they shall not fall: and when they go, they shall not be weary.

The Forty first Chapter

Be still ( ye Islands ) and harken unto me. Be strong ye people, Come hither, and show your cause, we will go to the law together. Who raiseth up the just from the rising of the Sun, and calleth him to go forth? Who casteth down the people, and subdueth the kings before him: that he may throw them all to the ground with his sword, and scatter them as stubble with his bow. He followeth upon them, and goeth safely himself, and cometh in no foot path with his feet. Who hath made, created, and called the generations from the beginning? Even I the Lord, which am the first, and with the last.

Behold ye Isles? that ye may fear, and ye ends of the earth, that ye may be abashed, draw nye, and came hither. Every man hath exhorted his neighbor; and brother, and bidden him be strong. The Smith comforted the molder, and the Ironsmith the hammer man, saying: It shall be good, that we fasten this cast work: and then they fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved. And thou Israel, my servant: Jacob my elect seed of Abraham my beloved, whom I led from the ends of the earth by the hand: For I called thee from far, and said unto thee: Thou shalt be my servant: I have chosen thee, and will not cast thee away: be not afraid, for I will be with thee. Look not behind thee, for I will be thy God, to strengthen thee, help thee, and to keep with this right hand of mine. Behold, all they that resist thee, shall come to confusion and shame: and thine adversaries shall be destroyed and brought to naught. So that who so seeketh after them, shall not find them. Thy destroyers shall perish, and so shall they that undertake to make battle against thee. For I thy Lord and God, will strengthen thy right hand. Even I that say unto thee: Fear not. I will help thee. Be not afraid thou little worm Jacob, and thou despised Israel for I will help thee, sayeth the Lord, and the holy one of Israel thine avenger. Behold, I will make thee a treading cart and a new *flayle, that thou mayest thresh and grind the mountains, and bring the hills to powder. Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them. But thou shalt rejoice in the Lord, and shall delight in the praising of the holy one of Israel. *flayle = a manual threshing device, consisting of a wooden staff.

When the thirsty and poor seek water, and find none, and when their tongue is dry of thirst: I give it them sayeth the Lord. I the God of Israel forsake them not. I bring forth floods in the hills, and wells in the plain fields. I turn the wilderness to rivers, and dry land to *condites (fountain) of water. I plant in the waste ground trees of Cedar, Box, Mire and Olives. And in the dry I set Fir trees, Elms, and Hawthorns together. All this do I, that they altogether may see a *mark, perceive with their hearts and consider, that the hand of the Lord maketh these things, and that the holy one of Israel bringeth them to pass. Stand at your cause ( saith the Lord ) and bring forth your strongest ground, counseleth the King of Jacob. Let the gods come forth themselves, and show us the things that are past, what they be: let them declare them unto us, that we may take them to heart, and know the hereafter. Either, let them show us things for to come, and tell us what shall be done hereafter: so shall we know, that they be gods. Show something, either good or bad: so will we both knowledge the same, and tell it out.

Behold, ye gods are of naught, and your making is of naught, but abomination hath chosen you. Nevertheless, I have waked up one from the North, and he shall come. And another from the East, which shall call upon my name, and shall come to the Princes, as the Potter to his clay, and as the Potter treadeth down the mire. Who told thee afore? So will we confess and say, that he is righteous. But there is none that showeth or declareth anything, there is none also that heareth your words. Behold, I will first grant them of Sion and Jerusalem to be Evangelists. But when I consider: there is not one among them that prophesieth, neither ( when I ask them ) that answereth one word, Lo, wicked are they and vain, with the things also that they take in hand: yee wind are they, and emptiness, with their images together.

The Forty second Chapter

Behold now therefore, this is my servant whom I will keep to myself: mine elect, In whom my soul shall be pacified. I will give him my spirit, that he may show forth judgement and equity among the Gentiles. He shall not be an out crier, nor an high minded person. His voice shall not be heard in the streets. A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoking flax shall he not quench: but faithfully and truly he shall give judgement. He shall neither be over seen or hasty, that he may restore righteousness unto the earth: and the Gentiles shall also keep his laws. For thus sayeth God the Lord unto him ( even he that, that made heavens, and spread them abroad and set forth the earth with her increase: which giveth bread unto the people that is in it, and to them that dwell therin ) I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and led thee by the hand. Therefore I will also defend thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, and to be the light of the Gentiles. That thou mayest open the eyes of the blind, let out the prisoners, and them that sit in darkness, out of the dungeon house. I my self, whose name is the Lord, which gave my power to none other, neither mine honor to the Gods: show you these new tidings, and tell you them or they come, for old things also are come to pass.

Sing therefore unto the Lord, a new song of thanks giving, blow out his praise unto the end of the world. They that be upon the sea, and all that is therin, praise him, the Isles and they that dwell in them. Let them be glad the sit upon rocks of stone, and let them cry down from the high mountains: ascribing almightiness unto the Lord, and magnifying him among the Gentiles. The Lord shall come forth as a giant, and take a stomach to himself as a fresh man of war. He shall roar and cry, and overcome his enemies.

I have long time holden my peace, ( sayeth the Lord ) should I therefore be still, and keep silence for ever? I will cry like a travailing woman, and once will I destroy, and devour. I will make waste both mountain and hill, and dry up every green thing that groweth theron. I will dry up the floods of water, and drink up the rivers. I will bring the blind into the street, that they know not: and lead them in to such a foot path that they are ignorant in. I shall make darkness light before them, and the thing that is crooked to be straight. These things will I do, and not forget them. And therefore let them convert, and be ashamed earnestly, that hope in Idols, and say to fashioned images: ye are our gods.

Hear, O ye deaf men, and sharpen your sights to see ( O ye blind ) But who is blinder than my servant? Or so deaf, as my messengers, whom I send unto thee? For who is so blind as my people, and they that have the rule of them? They are like, as if they understoodest much, and keepest nothing: or if one heard well, but were not obedient. The Lord be merciful unto them for his righteousness sake, that his word might be magnified and praised. Their young men belong all unto the snare, and shall be shut into prison houses. They shall be carried away captive, and no man shall loosen them. They shall be trodden under foot, and no man shall labor to bring them again. But who is he among you, that pondereth this in his mind, that considereth it, and taketh it for a warning in time to come?

Who suffered Jacob to be trodden under foot, and Israel to be spoiled? Did not the Lord? Now have we sinned against him, and have had no delight to walk in his ways, neither been obedient unto his law. Therefore hath he poured upon us his wrathful displeasure, and strong battle, which maketh us to have to do on every side, yet will we not understand: He burneth us up, yet sinketh it not in to our hearts.

The Forty third Chapter

But now, the Lord that made thee O Jacob, and he that fashioned thee, O Israel, Sayeth thus: Fear not, for I will defend thee. I have called thee by thy name, thou art mine own. When thou wentest in the water, I was by thee, that the strong floods should not pluck thee away. When thou walkest in the fire, it shall not burn thee, and the flame shall not kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the holy one of Israel, thy Saviour. I gave Egypt for thy deliverance, the Morains (kjv = Ethiopia) and the Sabees for thee: because thou wast dear in my sight, and because I set by thee, and loved thee. I *pilled all men for thee, and delivered all people for thy sake, that thou shouldest not fear, for I was with thee. I will bring thy seed from the East, and gather thee together from the West. I will say to the North, let go. And to the South, keep not back: but bring me my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the world: Namely, all those that be called after my name: For them have I created, fashioned, and made for mine honor. Egypt =land of double straight, power, fortresses, wealth (dominate civilizations)Morains = teachers ( of the doctrines of the world) Sabees = "drink thou" those that "drink" of the cup of the world; worldly beliefs. *pilled = to subject them to extortion, East: rise up with the son, West: from rest, from shaded place, from being bound, mortgaged, pledged, and occupied by merchants. North: from hidden treasures (treasures of God) those filled with the spirit and truth, of allmighty God. South: those of the right hand, who have been given the strength of God. From Hebrew roots. RN

Bring forth that people, whether they have eyes, or are blind, deaf or have ears. and the deaf that have ears. All nations shall come in one, and be gathered in one people. But which among yonder gods can declare such things, and tell us what is to come? Let them bring their witnesses, so shall they be free: for then men shall hear it, and say, it is truth. But I bring you witnesses ( saith the Lord ) even those that are my servants, whom I have chosen: to the intent that ye might be *certified(to know for certain) and give me faithful *credence: (claim acceptance and trustworthiness) yee and to consider, that I am he, before whom there was never any God, and that there shall be none after me. I am only the Lord, and without me there is no Saviour. I give warning, I make whole, I teach you that there should be no strange God among you. And this record must ye bear me yourselves, ( saith the Lord ) that I am God. And even he am I from the beginning, and there is none that can take any thing out of my hand. And what I do, no man can change.

Thus saith the Lord the holy one of Israel your redeemer: For your sake I will send to Babylon, and bring all the strongest of them from hence: Namely, the Chaldees that boast them of their ships: Even I the Lord your holy one, which have made Israel, and am your King. Moreover, thus saith the Lord, ( even he that maketh a way in the sea, and a footpath in the mighty waters: Which bringeth forth the chariots and horses, that they may fall asleep and never rise, and be extinct, like as *towe is quenched. tow = coarse fiber, maybe used as a wick. RN

Ye remember not the things of old, and regard nothing that is passed. Therefore behold, I shall make a new thing, and shortly shall it appear: ye shall well know it, I told it you afore, but I will tell it you again. I will make streets in the desert, and rivers of water in the wilderness. The wild beasts shall worship me: the dragon, and the Ostrich. For I shall give water in the wilderness, and streams in the desert: that I may give drink to my people, whom I choose. This people have I made for myself, and they shall show forth my praise. For thou ( Jacob ) wouldest not call upon me, but thou hadest an unlust toward me, O Israel. Thou gavest me not your young beasts for burnt offerings, neither didest thou honor me with thy sacrifices. Though boughtest me no dear spice with thy money, neither pourest the fat of thy sacrifices upon me. Howbeit I have not been chargeable unto thee in offerings, neither grievous in incense.

But thou hast ladened me with thy sins, and wearied me with thine ungodliness.

Where as I yet am even he only, that for mine own selfs sake do away thine offenses, and forget thy sins: so that I will never think upon them. Put me now in remembrance, for we will reason together, and show what thou hast for thee, to make equity. Thy first father offended sore, and thy *rulers (kjv = teachers) have sinned against me. Therefore I either suspended, or slew the cheifest Princes: I did curse Jacob, and gave Israel into reproof.

The Forty fourth Chapter

So hear now , O Jacob my servant, and Israel whom I have chosen. For thus saith the Lord, that made thee, fashioned thee, and helped thee, even from thy mothers womb: Be not afraid, O Jacob my servant, thou righteous, whom I have chosen. For I shall pour water upon the dry ground, and rivers upon the thirsty. I shall pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my increase upon thy stock. They shall grow together, like as the grass, and as the Willies (Willows) by the waters side. One will say: I am the Lords. Another will call under the name of Jacob. The third shall describe with his hand unto the Lord, and give himself under the name of Israel.

Moreover, thus hath the Lord spoken: even the King of Israel, and his avenger, the Lord of Hosts: I am the first and the last, and without me there is no God. For what is he, that was ever like me, which am from everlasting? Let him show his name, and do where through he may be likened unto me. Let him tell you forth plainly things, that are past, for to come: yee and that without any fear or stop. For have not I ever told you hitherto, and warned you? Ye can bear me record yourselves. Is there any God except me? or any maker, that I should not know him?

Wherefore all carvers of Idols are but vain, and their labor lost. They must bear record themselves, that ( seeing they can neither understand ) they shall be confounded. Who should now make a God, or fashion an Idol, that is profitable for nothing? Behold, all the fellowship of them must be brought to confusion. Let all the workmen of them come and stand together from among men: they must be abashed and confounded one with another. The smith taketh iron, and tempereth it with hot coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and maketh it with all the strength of his arms: yee, sometime he is faint from very hunger, and so thirsty that he hath no more power. The carpenter ( or image carver ) taketh meat of the timber: and spreadeth forth his line: he marketh it with some color: he planeth it, he ruleth it, and squareth it, and make it after the image of a man and according to the beauty of a man: that it may stand in the temple.

Moreover, he goeth out to hew down Cedar trees: He bringeth home Elms and Oaks, and other timber of the wood. Or else the Fir trees which he planted himself and such as the rain hath swelled, which would serveth for men to burn. Of this he taketh and warmeth himself withal: he maketh a fire of it to bake bread. And afterward maketh a God thereof, to honor it: and an Idol to kneel before it. One piece he burneth in the fire, with another he roasteth flesh, that he may eat roast, his belly full: with the third he warmeth himself, and sayeth: Aha, I am well warmed, I have been at the fire. And of the residue he maketh him a God, and an Idol for himself. He kneeleth before it, he worship it, he prayeth unto it, and sayeth: deliver me, for thou art my God.

Yet men neither consider ner understand, because their eyes are stopped, that they cannot see: and their hearts, that they can not perceive. They ponder not in their minds, for they have neither knowledge, ner understanding to think thus: I have burnt one piece in the fire: I have baked bread with the coals thereof, I have roasted flesh withal, and eaten it: shall I now of the residue make an abomination, and fall down before a rotten piece of wood? The keeping of dust, and foolishness of the heart hath turned them aside: so that none of them can have a free conscience to think: may not I error?

Consider this ( O Jacob and Israel ) for thou art my servant. I have made thee, that thou mightest serve me. O Israel, forget me not. As for thine offenses, I drive them away like the clouds, and thy sins as the mist. Turn ye again unto me, and I will deliver thee.

Be glad ye heavens, whom the Lord hath made, let all that is here beneath upon the earth, be joyful. Rejoice ye mountains and woods, with all the trees that are in you: for the Lord shall redeem Jacob, and show his glory upon Israel. For thus saith the Lord thy redeemer, even he that fashioned thee from thy mothers womb: I am the Lord, which do all things myself alone. I only have spread out the heavens and I only have layed the foundation of the earth. I destroy the tokens of witches, and make the Soothsayers go wrong. As for the wise, I turn them backward, and make their cunning foolishness.

But I set up the purpose of my servants, and fulfill the counsel of my messengers. I say unto Jerusalem: turn again: And to the cities of Juda, be ye builded again: and I repair their decayed places. I say to the ground: be dry. And I dry up thy water floods. I say to Cyrus: thou art mine herdsman: so that he shall fulfill all things after my will. I say unto Jerusalem: be thou builded, and to the temple: be thou fast grounded.

The Forty fifth Chapter

Thus saith the Lord unto Cyrus his anointed, whom he leadeth by the right hand: that the people may fall down before him: I will loose the girdles of Kings: that they shall open the (kjv =two leaved gates??) gates before thy face, and not to shut their doors. I will go before thee, and make the crooked straight. I shall break the brazen doors, and burst the iron bars. I shall give thee the hid treasure and the thing that is secretly kept: that thou mayest know, that I the God of Israel have called thee by thy name: and that for Jacob my servants sake, and for Israel my chosen. For I called thee by name, and ordened (ordained, ordered) thee or ever thou knewest me: Even I the Lord, before whom there is none other: for without me there is no God. I prepared the or ever thou knowest me: that it might be known from the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, that all is nothing without me. For I am the Lord, and there is else none. It is I that created the light, and darkness, I make peace, and trouble: yee even I the Lord do all these things. The heavens above shall drop down, and the clouds shall rain righteousness. The earth shall open itself, and bring forth health, and thereby shall righteousness flourish. Even I the Lord shall bring it to pass.

Woe be unto him that chideth (express disapproval) with his maker, the potsherd with the potter: Sayeth the clay to the potter: What makest thou? or thy work serveth for nothing? Woe be unto him, that saith to his father: Why begettest thou? And to his mother: Why bearest thou? Thus saith the Lord, even the holy one and maker of Israel: Ask me of things for to come, concerning my sons: and put me in remembrance, as touching the works of my hands: I have made the earth, and created man upon it. With my hands have I spread forth heaven, and given a commandment for all the Host thereof. I shall wake him up with righteousness, and order all his ways. He shall build my city, and let out my prisoners: and that for neither gifts or rewards, saith the Lord of Hosts.

The Lord hath said moreover: The occupiers of Egypt, the merchants of the Morains (kjv = Ethiopia) and Sabees, shall come unto thee with tribute, they shall be thine, they shall follow thee, and go with chains upon their feet. They shall fall down before thee, and make supplication unto thee. For God ( without whom there is none other God ) shall be with thee. O how profound art thou O' God, thou God and Saviour of Israel? Confounded be ye, and put to dishonor: go hence together with shame, all ye that be workmasters of error: ( that is worshipers of Idols ) But Israel shall be saved in the Lord, which is the everlasting salvation: They shall not come to shame or confusion, world without end.

For thus saith the Lord: even he that created heaven, the God that made the earth, that fashioned it, and set it forth: I have not made it for naught, but I made it to be inhabited. Even I the Lord, without whom there is none other. I have not spoken secretly, neither in dark places of the earth. It is not for naught, that I said unto the seed of Jacob: Seek me. I am the Lord, which when I speak, declareth the thing that is righteousness and true. Let them be gathered, and come together, let them draw nye hither, that are escaped of the people: Have they any understanding, that set up the stocks of their Idols, and praise unto a God, that cannot help them? Let men draw nye, let them come hither, and ask counsel of one another, and show forth: What is he, that told this before? or, who spake of it, ever since the beginning? Have not I the Lord done it: without whom there is none other God? the true God and Saviour, and there is else none but I : And therefore turn you unto me ( all ye ends of the earth ) so shall ye be saved, for I am God, and there is else none. I swear by myself: out of my mouth cometh the word of righteousness, and that may no man turn: but all knees shall bow unto me, and all tongues shall swear by me, saying: Verily in the Lord is my righteousness and strength. To him shall men come: but all they that think scorn of him, shall be confounded. And the whole seed of Israel shall be justified, and praised in the Lord.

The Forty sixth Chapter

Nevertheless, *Bel shall fall, (kjv = boweth down) and *Nebo shall be broken: (kjv = stoopeth) whose images are a burden for the beasts and cattle, to overladen them, and to make them weary. They shall sink down, and fall together: for they may not ease them of their burden, therefore must they go into captivity. Bel = "lord" a chief Babylonian deity, man, owner, husband , have, master, man given, adversary, archers, babbler, citizens, inhabitants ) rulers, lords, (noun of relationship used to characterize - ie, master of dreams) lord (used of foreign gods) Nebo = "prophet" of : of the Baal :who presided over learning and writings of the Greek Hermes, Latin Mercury, and Egyptian Thoth *(the mountain where Moses died) all from the Hebrew..RN

Hearken unto me, O house of *Jacob, and ye that remain yet of the household of Israel: whom I have borne from your mothers womb, and brought you up from your birth, till ye were grown: I, I which shall bear you unto your last age: I have made you, I will also nourish you, bear you and save you. Whom will ye make me like, in fashion or image, that I may be like him? Ye fools (no doubt ) will take out silver and gold out of your purses, and weigh it, and hire a goldsmith to make a God of it, that men may kneel down and worship it. Yet must he be taken on mens shoulders and borne, and set in his place, that he may stand and not move. Alas that men should cry unto him, which giveth no answer: and delivereth not the man that calleth upon him, from his trouble. Jacob = "heel holder" or "supplanter" 06117 `aqab {aw-kab}a primitive root; v AV - supplant take by the heel, stay, utterly, circumvent, follow at the heel, assail insidiously, overreach, attack at the heel , to hold back 06282 `athar {aw-thawr}from 06280;AV -thick, suppliants )worshipper, odor, incense (odoriferous smoke) 06280 `athar {aw-thar} a primitive root; AV - deceitful, multiplied, to be abundant, to be plentiful, to multiply, become abundant . from the Hebrew. RN

Consider this well, and be ashamed. Go into your own selves ( O ye renegades ) Remember the things which are past, since the beginning of the world: that I am God, and that there is else no God, yee and that there is nothing like unto me. In the beginning of a thing, I show the end thereof: and tell before, things that are not yet come to pass. With one word is my devise accomplished, and fulfilleth all my pleasure. I call a bird out of the East, and all that I take in hand, out of far countries, as soon as I command, I bring it hither: as soon as I think to devise a thing, I do it.

Hear me, O ye that are of an high stomach, but far from righteousness, I shall bring forth my righteousness. It is not far, and my health shall not tarry long away. I will lay health in Sion, and give Israel my glory.

The Forty seventh Chapter

But as for thee ( O daughter thou virgin Babylon ) Thou shall sit in the dust thou shall sit upon the ground, and not in a throne, ( O thou maiden of Chaldea ) Thou shalt no more be called tender and pleasant. Thou shalt bring forth the *querne and grind meal, put down thy stomacher and bear thy knees, and shalt wade through the water rivers. Thy shame shall be discovered, and thy *previties shall be seen. For I will avenge me of thee, and no man shall let me: sayeth our redeemer, which is called the Lord of Hosts, the holy one of Israel. *querne = hand held grain mill. *previties = secrets held between people, to cover up something corrupt. Not "private parts" as we have been told, see Genesis 3:11, when God asked Adam, "who told thee that thou wast naked"

Sit still, hold thy tongue, and get thee into some dark corner, O daughter Chaldea, for thou shalt no more be called lady of kingdoms. I was so wroth with my people, that I *punished mine inheritance, (kjv = polluted ) and give them into thy power. Nevertheless, thou showdest them no mercy, but even the very aged men of them, didest thou oppress right sore with thy yoke, and thou thoughtest thus. I shall be lady for ever. And beside all that, thou hast not regarded these things, neither cast, (carest) what should come after. Hear now therefore, thou willful, that sittest so careless, and speakest it thus in thine heart: I am alone, and wantony is there none: *I shall never be a widow, ner desolate again. And yet both these things shall come to thee upon one day in the twinkling of an eye: Namely widowhood, and desolation. They shall mightily fall upon thee, for the multitude of thy *witches, and for the great heap of thy *conjurers. For thou hast comforted thyself in deceitfulness, and hast said: No man seeth me. Thy own wisdom and conning has deceived thee. In that thou hast said: I am alone, and without me there is none. Therefore shall trouble come upon thee, and thou shall not know, from whence it shall arise. Mischief shall fall upon thee, which thou shalt not be able to put off. A sudden misery shall come upon thee, or ever thou be aware. *I shall never be a widow; see Apocalypse 18. Look to the Hebrew root words for the revealing definitions of witches and conjurers. see Hebrew Root Glossary. RN

Now go to thy conjurers, and to the multitude of thy witches ( whom thou hast been acquainted withal from thy youth ) if they may help thee, or strengthen thee. Thou hast hither to had many counsels of them, so let the heaven gazers and the beholders of stars come on now and deliver thee: yee and let them show, when these new things shall come upon thee. Behold, they shall be like straw, which if it be kindled with fire, no man may rid it for the vehemence of the flame: And yet it giveth no cinders to warm a man by, ner clear fire to sit by. Even so shall they be unto thee whom thou hast used and occupied from thy youth. Every one shall show thee his erroneous way, yet shall none of them defend thee.

The Forty eighth Chapter

Hear this, O thou house of Jacob: ye that are called by the name of Israel, and are come out of one stock with Judah: which swear by the name of the Lord, and bear witness by the God of Israel ( but not with truth and right ) which are called free men of the holy city, as they that look for comfort in the God of Israel, whos name is the Lord of Hosts.

The things that I showed you ever since the beginning: Have I not brought them to pass, immediately as they came out of my mouth, and declared them? And they are come? Howbeit I know that thou art obstinate, and that thy neck hath a iron vein, and thy brow is of brass. Nevertheless, I have ever since the beginning showed thee of things for to come, and declared them unto thee, or ever they came to pass: that thou shouldest not say: mine Idol hath done it, my carved or graven image hath showed it: Hear and consider all these things whether it was ye that prophesied them: But as for me, I told thee before at the beginning, new and secrete things that thou knowest not of: And some done now not of old time, whereof thou never heardest, before they were brought to pass: that thou can not say: I knew of them. Moreover there be some whereof thou hast neither heard nor know, neither have they been open unto thy ears afore time. For I know that thou wouldest maliciously offend, therefore I have called thee a transgressor, even from thy mothers womb.

Nevertheless for my names sake, I have withdrawn my wrath, and for mine honors sake I have over seen thee, so that I have not rooted the out. Behold, I have purged thee, and not for money. I have chosen thee in the fire of poverty, And that only for mine own sake, for I gave mine honor to none other, that thou shouldest not despise me. Hearken unto me O Jacob, and Israel whom I have called. I am even he that is, I am the first and the last. My hand is the foundation of the earth, and my right hand spanneth over the heavens. As soon as I called them they were there. Gather you all together, and hearken: Which of yonder gods hath declared this, that the Lord will do by the king of Babylon ( whom he loveth and favoreth ) and by the Chaldees his arm? I myself alone have told you this before. Yee I shall call him and bring him forth, and give him a prosperous journey. Come nye and hear this: have I spoken anything darkly since the beginning? when a thing begineth, I am there.

Wherefore the Lord God with his spirit hath sent me, And thus saith the Lord God thy avenger, the holy one of Israel: I am the Lord thy God, which teach thee profitable things, and lead thee the way, that thou shouldest go. If thou wilt now regard my commandment, thy wealthiness shall be as the water stream: and thy righteousness as the waves flowing in the sea. Thy seed shall be as the sand of the sea, and the fruit of thy body, like the gravel stones thereof: Thy name shall not be rooted out, nor destroyed before me. Ye shall go away from Babylon, and escape the Chaldees with a merry voice. This shall be spoken of, declared abroad, and go forth unto the end of the world: so that it shall be said: The Lord hath defended his servant Jacob, that they suffered no thirst, when they travailed in the wilderness. He clave the rocks a sunder, and the water gushed out. As for the ungodly, they have no peace, saith the Lord.

The Forty ninth Chapter

Ye Isles, hearken unto me, and take heed ye people from far: The Lord hath called me from my birth, and made mention of my name from my mothers womb: he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword, under the shadow of his hand hath he defended me, and hid me in his quiver, as a good arrow, and said unto me: Thou art my servant Israel, I will be honored in thee. Then answered I: I shall lese my labor, I shall spend my strength in vain. Nevertheless, I will commit my cause and my work unto the Lord my God. And now saith the Lord, even he that fashioned me from my mothers womb to be his servant, that I may bring Jacob again unto him: Howbeit, Israel shall not be not gathered unto him again. In whose sight I am great, which also is my Lord, my God and my strength. Let it be but a small thing, that thou art my servant, to set up the kindreds of Jacob, and to restore the destruction of Israel: If I make thee not also the light of the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my health unto the end of the world.

Moreover, thus saith the Lord the *avenger (kjv = Redeemer) and holy one of Israel, because of the abhorring and despising among the Gentiles, concerning the servant of all them that bear rule: Kings and princes shall see, and arise and worship, because of the Lord that he is faithful: and because of the holy one of Israel, which hath chosen thee.

And thus saith the Lord: In the time appointed will I be present with thee. And in the hour of health will I help thee, and deliver thee. I will make thee a pledge for the people, so that thou shalt help up the earth again, and challenge against the seated heritages: That thou mayest say to the prisoners: Go forth, and to them that are in darkness: come into the light, that they may feed in the high ways, and get their living in all places. There shall neither hunger nor thirst, heat nor Sun hurt them. For he that favoreth them shall lead them, and give them drink of the spring wells. I will make ways upon all my mountains, and my foot paths shall be exalted. And behold, they shall come from far: lo, some from the north and west, some from the *south. (kjv = land of Sinim) . Rejoice ye heavens, and sing praises thou earth: Talk of joy ye hills, for God will comfort his people, and have mercy upon his, that be in trouble.

Then shall Sion say: God hath forsaken me, and the Lord hath forgotten me. Doth a wife forget the child of her womb, and the son who she hath born? And though she forget, yet will not I forget thee. Behold, I have written thee up upon my hands, thy walls are ever in my sight. They that have broken thee down, shall make haste to build thee up again: and they that made thee waste shall dwell in thee. Lift up thine eyes, and look about thee: all these shall gather them together, and come to thee. As truly as I live ( saith the Lord ) thou shalt put them all upon thee, as an apparel, and gird them to thee, as an bride doth her jewels. As for thy land that layeth desolate, wasted and destroyed: it shall be too narrow for them, that shall dwell in it. And they that would devour thee, shall be far away. Then the child whom the barren shall bring forth unto thee, shall say in thine ear: This place is too narrow, sit near together, that I may have some room. Then shall thou think to thyself: Who hath begotten me these? seeing I am barren and alone, a captive and an out cast? And who hath nourished them up for me? I am desolate and alone, but from whence come these?

And therefore thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will stretch out mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my token to the people. They shall bring thy sons in their laps, and carry thy daughters unto thee upon their shoulders. For kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and Queens shall be thy nursing mothers. They shall fall before thee with their faces flat upon the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet: that thou mayest know, how that I am the Lord. And who so putteth his trust in me, shall not be confounded. Who so spoileth the giant of his praye ( prey) ? or who taketh the prisoners from the mighty? And therefore thus saith the Lord: The prisoners shall be taken from the giant, and the spoil delivered from the violent: for I will magnify thy cause against thine adversaries, and save thy sons. And feed thine enemies with their own flesh, and make them drink of their own blood, as of sweet wine. And all flesh shall know ( O Jacob ) that I am the Lord thy Saviour, a strong avenger.

The Fiftieth Chapter

Thus saith the Lord, Where is the bill of your mothers divorcement, that I sent unto her or who is the usurer, whom I sold you to? Behold, for your own offenses are ye sold: and because of your transgression, is your mother forsaken. For why would no man receive me, when I came? and when I called, no man gave me answer. Was my hand clean smitten off, that it might not help? or had I not power to deliver? Lo, at a word I drank up the sea, and of water floods I make dry land: so that for want of water, the fish corrupt and die of thirst. As for heaven, I clothe it with darkness, and put a sack upon it.

The Lord God hath given me a well learned tongue, so that I can comfort them which are troubled, yee and that in due season. He waked mine ear up by times in the morning ( as schoolmasters do ) that I might herk (hearken) The Lord God hath opened mine ear, therefore can I not say nay, ner withdraw myself, but I offer my back unto the smiters, and my cheeks to the nippers. I turn not my face from shame and spitting, for the Lord God hath helped me, therefore shall I not be confounded. I have hardened my face like a flint stone, for I am sure, that i shall not come to confusion. Mine advocate speaketh for me, who will then go with me to the liar? Let us stand one against another: if there be any that will reason with me, let him come here forth to me. Behold, the Lord God standeth by me, what is he that can condemn me? Lo, they shall be all like as an old cloth which moths shall eat up.

Therefore who so feareth the Lord among you, let him hear the voice of his servant. Who so walketh in darkness, and no light shineth upon him, let him hope in the Lord and hold him by his God. But take heed, ye have all kindled a fire, and girded yourselves with flame: Ye walk in the glistering of your own fire, and in the flame that ye have kindled. This cometh unto you from my hand, namely that ye shall sleep in sorrow.

The Fifty first Chapter

Hearken to me, ye that hold of righteousness, ye that seek the Lord: Take heed unto the stone, whereout ye are hewn, and to the grave whereout ye are digged. Consider Abraham your father, and Sara that bare you: how that I called him alone, and prospered him well, and increased him: how the Lord comforted Sion, and repaired all her decay: making her wilderness as the garden of the Lord. Mirth and joy was there, thanksgiving, and the voice of praise. Have respect unto me then, O my people, and lay thine ear to me: for a law and an ordinance shall go from me, to lighten the Gentiles. It is hard by, that my health and my righteousness shall go forth, and the people shall be ordered with mine arm.

The Islands ( that is the Gentiles ) shall hope in me, and put their trust in mine arm. Lift up your eyes toward heaven, and look upon the earth beneath. For the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall tear like a cloth, and they that dwell therein, shall perish in like manner. But my health endureth for ever, and my righteousness shall not cease. Therefore hearken unto me, ye that have pleasure in righteousness, thou people that bearest my law in their heart. Fear not the curse of men, be ye afraid of their blasphemes and revilings: For the worms and moth shall eat them up like cloth and wool. But my righteousness shall endure for ever, and my saving health from generation to generation. Wake up, wake up, and be strong: O thou arm of the Lord: wake up, like as in times past, ever and since the world began.

Art thou not *he, that hast wounded that proud lucifer, and hewn the dragon in pieces? (kjv =leaves out this entire line) Art not thou even he, which hath dried up the deep of the sea, which hast made plain the sea ground, that the delivered might go through? That the redeemed of the Lord, which turned again, might come with joy unto Sion, there to endure for ever? That mirth and gladness might be with them? Yee I, I am even he, that in all things giveth you consolation. What art thou then, that fearest a mortal man, the child of man, which goeth away as doeth the flour? And forgetest the Lord that made thee, that spread out the heavens, and laid the foundation of the earth. But thou art ever afraid for the sight of thine oppressor, which is ready to do harm: Where is the wrath of the oppressor? It cometh on fast, it maketh hast to appear: It shall not perish, that it should not be able to destroy, neither shall it fail for fault of nourishing. I am the Lord thy God, that make the sea to be still, and to rage: whose name is the Lord of Hosts. I shall put my word in thy mouth, and defend thee with the turning of my hand: that thou mayest plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Sion: Thou art my people.

Awake, awake, and stand up, O Jerusalem, thou that from the hand of the Lord, hast drunken out the cup of his wrath: thou that hast supped of, and sucked out the slumbering cup to the bottom. For among all the sons whom thou hast begotten, there is not one that may hold thee up: and not one to lead thee by the hand, of all the sons that thou hast nourished. Both these things are happened unto thee, but who is sorry for it. Yee, destruction, wasting, hunger and sword: but who hath comforted thee? Thy sons lay comfortless at the head of every street like a taken *venison, and are full of that terrible wrath of the Lord, and punishment of thy God. And therefore thou miserable and drunken ( howbeit not with wine ) Hear this: Thus saith thy Lord: thy Lord and God, the defender of his people: Behold, I will take the slumbering cup out of thy hand, even the cup with the dregs of my wrath: that from hence forth thou shalt never drink it any more, and will put it in their hand they that trouble thee: which have spoken to thy soul: stoop down, that we may go over thee: make thy body even with the ground, and as the street to go upon.*venison = game meat, this is to say, these sons feel like they are the "game meat" of the oppressors. RN

The Fifty second Chapter

Up Sion up, take thy strength unto thee: put on thy honest raiment O Jerusalem, thou city of the holy one. For from this time forth, there shall no uncircumcised ner unclean person come in thee. Shake thee from the dust, arise and stand up, O Jerusalem. Pluck out thy neck from the bond, O thou captive daughter Sion. For thus saith the Lord: Ye are sold for nought, therefore shall ye be redeemed also without any money.

For thus hath the Lord said: My people went down aforetime into Egypt, there to be strangers. Afterward did the king of the Assyrians oppress them, for naught. And now what profit is it to me ( saith the Lord ) that my people is freely carried away, and brought into heaviness by their rulers, and my name ever still blasphemed? Sayeth the Lord. But that my people may know my name, I myself shall speak in that day. Behold, here am I. O how beautiful are the feet of the Embassador, that bringeth the message from the mountain, and proclaimeth peace: That bringeth the good tidings, and preacheth health, and saith unto Sion: Thy God is the king. Thy watchmen shall lift up their voice, with loud voice shall they preach of him: for they shall see him present, when the Lord shall come again to Sion.

Be glad, O thou desolate Jerusalem, and rejoice together: for the Lord will comfort his people, he will deliver Jerusalem. The Lord will make bare his holy arm, and show it forth in the sight of all the Gentiles, and all the ends of the earth shall see the saving health of our God. Away, away, get you out from thence and touch no unclean thing. Go out from among such. And be clean ye that bear the vessel of the Lord. But ye shall not go out with sedition (revolt) nor make hast as they that flee away: for the Lord shall go before you, and the God of Israel shall keep the watch.

Behold, my servant shall deal wisely, therefore he shall be magnified, exalted and greatly honored. Like as the multitude shall wonder upon him, because his face shall be so deformed and no a mans face, and his beauty like no man: Even so shall the multitude of the Gentiles look unto him, and the kings shall shut their mouths before him. For they that have not been told of him, shall see him, and they that heard nothing of him, shall behold him.

The Fifty third Chapter

But who giveth credence unto our preaching? Or to whom is the arm of the Lord known? He shall grow before the Lord like as a branch, and as a root in the dry ground, he shall have neither beauty nor favor. When we look upon him, there shall be no fairness: we shall have no *lust(desire) unto him. He shall be the most simple, and despised of all, which yet hath good experience of sorrows and infirmities. We shall reckon him so simple and so vile, that we shall hide our faces from him. Now be it (of a truth) he only taketh away our infirmity, and beareth our pain: Yet we shall judge him, as though he were plagued and cast down of God: where as he

( notwithstanding ) shall be wounded for our offenses, and smitten for our wickedness. For the pain of our punishment shall be layed on him, and with his strips shall we be healed.

As for us, we go all astray ( like sheep ) everyone turneth his own way. But through him, the Lord pardoneth all our sins. He shall be pained and troubled, and shall not open his mouth. He shall be led as a sheep to be slain, yet shall he be as still as a lamb before the shearer, and not open his mouth. He shall be had away, his cause not heard, and with out any judgement: Whose generation yet no man may number, when he shall be cut off from the ground of the living: Which punishment shall go upon him, for the transgression of my people. His grave shall be given him with the condemned, and his crucifying with the thieves. Where as he did never violence ner unright, neither hath there been any deceitfulness in his mouth.

Yet hath it pleased the Lord to smite him with infirmity, that when he had made his soul an offering for sin, he might see long lasting seed. And this devise of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. With travail and labor of his soul, shall he obtain great riches. My righteous servant shall with his wisdom justify and deliver the multitude, for he shall bear away their sins. Therefore will I give him the multitude for his part, and he shall give divide the strong spoil because he shall give over his soul to death, and shall be reckoned among the transgressors, which nevertheless shall take away the sins of the multitude, and make intercession for the misdoers.

The Fifty fourth Chapter

Therefore be glad now, thou barren that barest not. Rejoice, sing and be merry, thou that art not with child: For the desolate hath no more children, then the married wife, saith the Lord. Make thy tent wider, and spread out the hangings of thy habitation: spare not, lay forth thy coards, and make fast thy stakes: for thou shalt break out on the right side and on the left, and thy seed shall have the Gentiles in possession, and dwell in the desolate cities. Fear not, for thou shalt not be confounded: Be not ashamed, for thou shalt not come to confusion. Yee thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the dishonor of thy wedowhead (widowhood). For he that made thee, shall be thy Lord and husband ( whose name is the Lord of Hosts ) and thine avenger shall be even the holy one of Israel, the Lord of the whole world. For the Lord shall call thee, being as a desolate sorrowful woman, and as a young wife that hath broken her wedlock: sayeth thy God.

A little while have I forsaken thee, but with great mercifulness will I take thee up unto me. When I was angry, I hid my face from thee for a little season, but through everlasting goodness shall I pardon thee, sayeth the Lord thy avenger. And this must be unto me as the water of Noe: for as like I have sworn that I will not bring the water of Noe any more upon the world: so have I sworn that I will never be angry with thee, nor reprove thee: The mountains shall remove, and the hills shall fall down: but my loving kindness shall not move, and the bond of my peace be shall not fall down from thee, saith the Lord thy merciful lover. Behold thou poor, vexed, and despised: I will make walls of precious stones, and thy foundation of Sapphires, thy windows of Crystal, thy gates of fine clear stone, and thy borders of pleasant stones. Thy children shall be taught of God, and I will give them plenteousness of peace. In righteousness shalt thou be grounded, and be far from oppression: for the which thou needest not be afraid, neither for hinderance, for it shall not come nye thee. Behold, the aleaunt ( alien ) that was far from thee, shall dwell with thee: and he that was sometime a stranger unto thee, shall be joined with thee: Behold, I make the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and he maketh a weapon after his handy work. I make also the waster to destroy: but all the weapons that are made against thee, shall not prosper. And as for all tongues, that shall resist thee in judgment, thou shalt over come them, and condemn them. This is the heritage of the Lords servants, and the righteousness that they shall have of me, saith the Lord.

The Fifty fifth Chapter

Come to the waters all yee, that be thirsty, and yee that have no money. Come, buy, that yee may have to eat. Come buy wine and milk, without any money, or money worth. Wherefore do ye lay out your money, for the thing that feedeth not, and spend your labor about the thing that satisfieth you not. But hearken unto me, and yee shall eat of the best, and your soul shall have her pleasure in plenteousness. Incline your ears, and come unto me, take heed, and your soul shall live. For I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.

Behold, I shall give him for a witness among the folk, for a Prince and Captain unto the people. Lo, thou shalt call an unknown people: and a people that had no knowledge of thee, shall run unto thee: because of the Lord thy God, the holy one of Israel, which glorifieth thee. Seek the Lord, while he may be found, and call upon him while he is nye. Let the ungodly man forsake his ways and the unrighteous his imaginations, and turn again unto the Lord: so shall he be merciful unto him: and to our God, for he is ready to forgive. For thus sayeth the Lord: my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways, but as far as the heavens are higher than the earth, so far do my ways exceed yours, and my thoughts yours. And like as the rain and snow cometh down from heaven, and returneth not thither again, but watereth the earth, maketh it fruitful and green, that it may give corn and bread unto the sower: So the word also that cometh out of my mouth shall not turn again void unto me, but shall accomplish my will and prosper the thing, whereto I sent it. And so shall yee go forth with joy, and be lead with peace. The mountains and the hills shall sing with you for joy, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. For thorns, there shall grow , Fir trees, and that Myrtle tree instead of briers. And this shall be done to the praise of the Lord, and for an everlasting token, that shall not be taken away.

The Fifty sixth Chapter

Thus saith the Lord: Keep ye equity, and do right, for my saving health shall come shortly, and my righteousness shall be opened. Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the mans child which keepeth the *same. (kjv = sabbath) *He that taketh heed, that he unhallow not the Sabbath ( that is ) he that keepeth himself that he do no evil. Then shall not the stranger, which cleaveth to the Lord, say: Alas the Lord hath shut me clean out from his people. Neither shall the gelded man say: Lo, I am a dried tree. For thus sayeth the Lord, first unto the gelded that keepeth my Sabbath: Namely: that holdeth greatly of the thing that pleaseth me, and keepeth my commandment: Unto them will I give in my household and within my walls, a better heritage and name then if they had been called sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not perish. Again, he sayeth unto the strangers that are disposed to stick to the Lord, to serve him, and to Love his name: That they shall be no bondman. And all they, which keep themselves, that they unhallow not the Sabbath, namely, that they fulfil my covenant: Them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar. For my house shall be an house of prayer for all people. * note here that the true keeping of the Sabbath is; he that keepeth himself from doing evil, each day, one day, at a time. RN

Thus saith the Lord God which gathered together the scattered of Israel: I will bring yet another congregation to him. All the beasts of the field, and all the beasts of the wood, shall come to devour him. For his watchmen are all blind, they have altogether no understanding, they are all dumb as dogs, no being able to bark, they are sleepy: sluggish are they, and lie snoring: they are shameless dogs, that never be satisfied. The shepherds also in like manner have no understanding, but every man turneth his own way, everyone after his own covetousness with all his power. Come ( say they ) I will fetch wine, so shall we fill ourselves, that we may be drunken. And do tomorrow, like as today, yee and much more.

The Fifty seventh Chapter

But in the mean season the righteous perisheth, and no man regardeth it in his heart, Good godly people are taken away, and no man considereth it. Namely: that the righteous is conveyed away through the wicked: that he himself might be at rest, lie quietly upon his bed, and live after his own pleasure. Come hither therefore ye charmers children, ye sons of adouvtry, and the whore: Wherein take ye your pleasure? Upon whom gape ye with your mouth, and bleat out your tongue? Are ye not children of *advoutry, and the seed of *dissimilation? Ye take your pleasure under the oaks, and under all green trees, the child being slain in the valleys, and the dens of stone. Thy part shall be with the stoney rocks by the river: Yee even these shall be thy part. For there thou hast poured meat and drink offerings unto them. Should I oversee that? (overlook that?) Thou hast made thy bed upon high mountains, thou wentest up thither, and there hast thou slain sacrifices. Behind the doors and posts, hast thou set up thy remembrance. When thou hast discovered thyself to another then me, when thou wentest down and made thy bed wider ( that is ) when thou didest carve the certain yonder Idols, and lovest their couches, where thou sawest them. Thou wentest straight to kings with oil and diverse ointments (that is ) thou hast sent thy messengers far off, and yet are thou fallen into the pit thereby. Thou hast had trouble for the multitude of thine own ways, yet saidest thou never: I will leave off. Thou thinkest to have life ( or health ) of thy self, and therefore thou believest not that thou art sick. For when wilt thou be abashed or fear, seeing thou hast broken thy promise, and rememberest me not, neither hast me in thy heart? Thinkest thou, that I also will hold my peace ( as afore time ) that thou fearest me not? Yee verily I will declare thy goodness and thy works but they shall not profit thee when thou cryest, let thy chosen heap deliver thee. But the wind shall take them all away, and carry them in to the air. Nevertheless, they that put their trust in me, shall inherit the land, and have my holy hill in possession. advoutry : see the word devoted, a-devoted; where the heart is: prefix: a meaning: not, without against. devoted to God, Christ, and the truth. Note also that this word is most often replaced in the kjv with adultery. see James 2 for adultery. dissimulation : Dictionary; the act or process of making or becoming dissimilar. distinct, diverse, unlike, incompatible, disparate. note: the word "religion" is not found in all the original text. RN

And therefore thus he sayeth: Make ready, make ready, and clean the street, take up what you can out of the way that leadeth to my people. For thus sayeth the high and excellent, even he that dwelleth in the everlasting, whose name is the holy one: I dwell high above and in the sanctuary, and with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit: that I may heal a troubled mind, and a contrite heart. For I chide not ever, and am not wroth without end. But the blasting goeth from me, though I make the breath. I am wroth with him for his covetousness and lust, I smite him, I hide me, and am angry, when he turneth himself, and followeth his own heart. But if I may see his right way again, I make him whole, I lead him and restore him unto them whom he maketh joyful, and that were sorry for him. I make the fruits of thanksgiving. I give peace unto them that are far off, and to them that are nye, say I the Lord, that make him whole. But the wicked are like the raging see, that cannot rest, whose water foameth with the mire and gravel. Even so the wicked have no peace, sayeth my God.

The Fifty eighth Chapter

And therefore cry now, as loud as thou canst. Leave not off, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their offenses , and the house of Jacob their sins. For they seek me daily, and will know my ways, even as it were a people that did right, and had not forsaken the statutes of their God. They argue with me concerning right judgement, and will pleate at the law with their God. Wherefore fast we ( they say ) and thou seest not? we put our lives to straightness, and thou regardest not?

Behold, when ye fast, your lust remaineth still: for ye do no less violence to your debtors : Lo, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with your fist that speaketh unto you. Ye fast not ( as some time ) that your voice might be heard above. Think ye this fast pleaseth me, that a man should chasten himself for a day, and to wring his head about like an hook in an heavy cloth and, to lie upon the earth? Should that be called fasting, or a day that pleaseth the Lord? But this fasting pleaseth me not, till that time be thou jowse (loose) him out of bondage, that is in thy danger: that thou break the oath of wicked bargains, that thou let the oppressed go free, and take from them all manner of burdens. It pleaseth not me, till thou deal thy bread to the hungry, and bring the poor fatherless home into thy house, when thou seest the naked that thou cover him, and hide not thy face from thine own flesh.

Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy health flourish right shortly: thy righteousness shall go before thee, and the glory of the Lord shall embrace thee.

Then if thou callest, the Lord shall answer thee: if thou shalt cryest, he shall say: Here I am. Yee If thou layest away thy burdens, and holdest thy fingers, and ceasest from blasphemous talking, if thou hast compassion on the hungry, and refresheth the troubled soul: Then shall thy light spring out in the darkness, and thy darkness shall be as noon day. The Lord shall ever be thy guide, and satisfy the desires of thine heart, and fill thy bones with merry. Thou shalt be like as a fresh watered garden, and like the fountain of water, that never leaveth running. Then the places that have ever been waste, shall be builded of thee: there shalt thou lay a foundation for many kindreds. Thou shalt be called the maker up of hedges, and the builder again of the way of the Sabbath.

Yee if thou turn thy feet from the Sabbath, so that thou do not the thing which pleaseth thy self in my holy day: then shalt thou be called unto the pleasant, holy, and glorious Sabbath of the Lord, where thou shalt be in honor: so that thou do not after thine own imagination, neither seek thine own will, ner speak thine own words. Then shalt thou have thy pleasure in the Lord, which shall carry thee high above the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the Lords own mouth hath so promised.

The Fifty ninth Chapter

Behold, the Lords hand is not so shortened that it cannot help, neither is his ear so stopped that it may not hear. But your misdeeds have separated you from your God, and your sins hide his face from you, that he heareth you not. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with unrighteousness: Your lips speak leasings, and your tongue setteth out wickedness. No man regardeth righteousness, and no man judgeth truly. Every man hopeth in vain things, and imagineth deceit, conceiveth weariness, and bringeth forth evil. They breed cockatrice eggs, and weave the spiders web. Whoso eateth of their eggs dieth. But if one treadeth upon them. there cometh up a serpent. Their web maketh no cloth and they may not cover themselves with their labors. Their deeds are the deeds of wickedness, and the work of robbery is in their hands. Their feet run to evil, and they make hast to shed innocent blood. Their counsels are wicked counsels, harm and destruction are in their ways. But the way of peace they know not. In their goings is there no equity, their ways are so crocked (crooked) that whosoever goeth therin, knoweth nothing of peace.

And this is the cause that equity is so far from us, and the righteousness cometh not nye, us. We look for light, lo, it is darkness: for the morning shine, see, we walk in the dark. We grope like the blind upon the wall, we grope even as one that hath none eyes. We stumble at the noon day as though it were toward night: in the falling places, like men that are half dead. We roar all like Bears, and mourn still like doves. We look for equity, but there is none: for health , but it is far from us. For our offenses are many before thee, and our sins testify against us. Yee we must confess that we offend, and knowledge that we do amiss: Namely transgress and disassemble against the Lord, and fall away from our God: using presumptuous and traitorous imaginations, and casting false matters in our hearts. And therefore is equity gone aside, and righteousness standeth far off: truth is fallen down in the street, and the thing that is plain and open, may not be showed. Yee the truth is laid in prison, and he that refraineth him self from evil, must be spoiled.

When the Lord saw this, it displeased him sore, that there was no where any equity. He saw also, that there was no man, which had pity thereof, or was grieved at it. And he held him by his own power, and cleaved to his own righteousness. He put righteousness upon him for a breast plate, and a fiery helmet of health upon his head. He put on wrath in stead of clothing, and took jealousy about him for a cloak: ( like as when a man goeth forth wrathfully to recompense his enemies, and to be avenged of his adversaries. ) Namely, that he might recompense and reward the Islands where through the name of the Lord might be feared, from the rising Sun: and his majesty, unto the going down of the same.

For he shall come as a violent water stream, which the wind of the Lord hath moved. But unto Sion there shall come a redeemer, and unto them in Jacob that turn from wickedness, sayeth the Lord. I will make this covenant with them, ( saith the Lord): My spirit that is come upon thee, and the words which I have put in thy mouth, shall never go out of thy mouth, nor out the mouth of thy childrens children, from this time forth for evermore.

The Sixtieth Chapter

And get thee up by times, for thy light cometh, and the glory of the Lord shall rise upon thee. For lo, while the darkness and cloud covereth the earth and the people, the Lord shall show the light, and his glory shall be seen in thee. The Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness that springeth forth upon thee. Lift up thine and look round about thee: All these gather themselves, and come to thee. Sons shall come unto thee from far, and daughters shall gather themselves to thee on every side. When thou seest this thou shall marvel exceedingly, and thine heart shall be opened: when the power of the sea shall be converted unto thee ( that is ) when the strength of the Gentiles shall come unto thee. The multitude of Camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Madian and Epha. All they of Saba shall come, bringing gold and incense, and showing the praise of the Lord. All the cattle of Cedar shall be gathered unto thee, the rams Nabaioth shall serve thee, to be offered upon mine altar, which I have chosen, and in the house of my glory which I have garnished. But what are these that flee here like clouds, and as the doves flying to their windows?

The isles also shall gather them unto me, and specially threw ships of the sea: that they may bring the sons from far, and their silver and gold with them, unto the name of the Lord thy God, unto the holy one of Israel, that hath glorified thee. Strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall do thee service. For when I am angry, I smite thee: and when it pleaseth me, I pardon thee. Thy gates shall stand open still both day and night, and never be shut: that the house of the Gentiles may come, and that their kings may be brought unto thee. For every people and kingdom that serveth not thee, shall perish, and be destroyed with the sword. The glory of the Libanus shall come unto thee: The fir trees, Boxes and Cedars together, to garnish the place of mine Sanctuary, for I will glorify the place of my feet.

Moreover those shall come kneeling unto thee, that have vexed thee: and all they that despised thee, shall fall down at thy foot. Thou shalt be called the city of the Lord, the holy Sion of Israel. Because thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee: I will make thee glorious for ever and ever , and joyful throughout all posterities. Thou shalt suck the milk of the Gentiles, and kings breasts shall feed thee. And thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and defender, the mighty one of Jacob. For brass, I will give thee gold, and for iron silver: for wood brass, and for stones iron. I will make peace thy river, and righteousness thine officer. Violence and robbery shall never be heard of in thy land, neither harm and destruction within thy borders. Thy walls shall be called health, and thy gates the praise of God. The Sun shall never be thy day light, and the light of the Moon shall never shine unto thee: but the Lord himself shall be thine everlasting light, and thy God shall be thy glory.

Thy Sun shall never go down, and thy Moon shall not be taken away, for the Lord himself shall be thine everlasting light, and thy sorrowful days shall be rewarded thee. Thy people shall all be godly and possess the land for ever: the flower of my planting, the work of my hands wherefor I will rejoice. The youngest and the least shall grow into a thousand, and the simplest into a strong people. I the Lord shall shortly bring this to pass in his time.

The Sixty first Chapter

The spirit of the Lord God is with me, for the Lord hath anointed me, and sent me to preach good tidings unto the poor, that I might bind up the wounded hearts, that I might preach deliverance to the captive, and the open the prison to them that are bound: That I might declare the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God: that I might comfort all them that are in heaviness. that I might give unto them that mourn in Sion, beauty in the stead of ashes, joyful ointment for sighing, pleasant raiment for and heavy mind: That they might be called excellent in righteousness, a planting of the Lord for him to rejoice in.

They shall build the long rough wildernesses, and set up the old desert. They shall repair the waste places, and such as have been void throughout many generations, Strangers shall stand and feed your cattle, and the Aliens shall be your plowmen and reapers. But ye shall be named the priests of the Lord, and men shall call you the servants of our God. Ye shall enjoy the goods of the Gentiles and triumph in their substance. For your great reproof and shame, shall they have joy that ye may have part with them. For they shall have double possession in their land and everlasting joy shall be with them. For I the Lord, which love right and hate robbery ( though it were offered to me) shall make their works full of faithfulness, and make an everlasting covenant with them.

Their seed also and their generation shall be known among the Gentiles, and among the people. All that see them, shall know that they are the blessed seed of the Lord. And therefore I am joyful in the Lord, and my soul rejoiceth in my God. For he shall put upon me the garment of health, and cover me with the mantle of righteousness. He shall deck me like a bridegroom, and as a bride that hath her apparel upon her. For like as the ground bringeth forth fruit, and as the garden shooteth forth seed: So shall the Lord God cause righteousness, and the fear of God to flourish forth before all Heathen.

The Sixty second Chapter

For Sions sake therefore will I not hold my *tongue (kjv =peace), and for Jerusalems sake I will not cease: until their righteousness break forth as a shining light, and their health as a burning lamp. Then shall the Gentiles see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory. Thou shalt be named with a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall show. Thou shalt be a crown in the hand of the Lord, and a glorious garland in the hand of thy God. From this time forth thou shalt never be called the forsaken, and thy land shall no more be called the wilderness. But thou shalt be called *Hephzibah, and thy land *Beula: for the Lord *loveth thee (kjv = delighteth), and thy land shall be inhabited. And like as a young man taketh a daughter to marriage, so shall God marry himself unto thy sons. And as a bridegroom is glad of his bride, so shall God rejoice over thee. ( kjv = so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.)*Hephzibah = "my delight is in her" the good pleasure, be pleased to do of God, to move, to bend down, *Beula = to marry, be lord (husband) to declare, to tell, to show, make known, to breath. RN

I will set watchmen upon thy walls, ( O Jerusalem ) which shall neither cease day or night to preach the Lord. And ye also shall not keep him close, nor leave to speak of him, until Jerusalem be set up and made the praise of the world. The Lord hath sworn by his right hand and by his strong arm, that from hence forth he will not give thee corn to be meat for thine enemies, ner thy vine ( wherein thou hast labored ) to be drink for the strangers. But they that have gathered in the corn, shall eat it, and give thanks to the Lord: and they that have born in the vine, shall drink it in the court of my Sanctuary.

Stand back, and depart a sunder, ye that stand under the gate: make room ye people, and repair the street, and take away the stones, and set out a token for the people. Behold, the Lord proclaimed in the ends of the world: Tell the daughter Sion: see, thy salvation cometh, behold, he bringeth his treasure with him, and his works go before him. For they whom the Lord delivereth, shall be called the holy people: and as for thee, thou shalt be named the greatly occupied, and not the forsaken.

The Sixty third Chapter

What is he this, that cometh from *Edom, with stained red clothes of *Bosra:( which is so costly cloth ) and cometh in so nimbly with all his strength: I am he that teacheth righteousness, and am of power to help. Wherefore then is thy clothing red, and thy raiment like his that treadeth the winepress? I have trodden the press myself alone, and of all people, there was not one with me. Thus have I trodden down mine enemies in my wrath, and set my feet upon them in my indignation: And their blood sprang upon my clothes, and so have I stained all my raiment. For that day of vengeance that I have taken in hand, and the year of my deliverance is come. I looked about me, and there was no man to show me any help, I fell down, and no man held me up. I trodden down the people in my wrath, and bathed them in my displeasure: In so much that I have shed their blood upon the earth.

I will declare the goodness of the Lord, ye and the praise of the Lord for all that he hath given us, for the great good that he hath done for Israel: which he hath given them of his own favor, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses. For he hath said: These no doubt shall be my people, and no shrinking children, and so he was their Saviour. In their troubles he forsook them not, but the angel that went forth from his presence delivered them: Of very love and kindness that he had unto them, redeemed he them: He hath born them, and carried them up even, since the world began. But after they provoked him to wrath and vexed his holy mind, he was their enemy, and fought against them himself. Yet remembered he the old time of Moses and his people: How he had brought them from the water of the sea, as a shepherd doeth with his sheep: how he had given his holy spirit among them: how he had led Moses by the right hand with his glorious arm: how he had divided the water before them ( whereby he gat himself an everlasting name ) how he led them in the deep, as an horse is led in the plain, that they should not stumble. The spirit of the Lord led them as a tame beast goeth in the field.

Thus ( O' God ) hast thou led thy people, to make thyself a glorious name withal. Look down then from heaven, and behold the dwelling place of thy Sanctuary and thy glory. How is it, that thy jealousy, thy strength, the multitude of thy mercies and thy loving kindness, will not be entreated us. Yet art thou our father: For Abraham knoweth us not, neither is Israel acquainted with us. But thou Lord art our father and redeemer, and thy name is everlasting. O' Lord wherefore hast thou led us out of thy way? Wherefore hast thou hardened our hearts, that we fear thee not ? Be at one with us again, for thy servants sake that are the generation of thine heritage. Thy people hath had but little of thy Sanctuary in possession, for our enemies have taken it in: And we are be come even as we were from the beginning: but thou art not their Lord, for they have not called upon thy name.

The Sixty fourth Chapter

Oh that thou wouldest cleave the heaven in sunder, and come down: that the mountains might melt away at thy presence, like as at an hot fire that the malicious might boil, as the water doth upon the fire: Whereby thy name might be known among thine enemies, and that the Gentiles might tremble before thee. That thou mightest come down with thy wondrous works, then should the hills melt away at thy presence. For since the beginning of the world there was none ( except thou O' God ) that heard or perceived, neither hath any seen what thou doest for them, that put their trust in thee.

Thou helpest him that doth right with cheerfulness, and them that think upon thy ways. But lo, thou art angry, for we offend, and have been ever in sin, and there is not one whole. We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as the clothes stained with the flours of a woman: we fall every each one as a leaf, for our sins carry us away like the wind. There is no man that calleth upon thy name, that standeth up to take hold of thee. Therefore hidest thou thy face from us and consumest us, because of our sins.

But now O' Lord, thou father of ours: we are the clay, and thou art our potter, and we all are the work of thy hands. Be not too sore displeased ( O' Lord ) and keep not our offenses too long in thy remembrance, but consider that we all are thy people. The cities of thy Sanctuary lay waste, Sion is a wilderness, and Jerusalem a desert. Our holy house which is our beauty, where our fathers praised thee, is burnt up: yee all our commodities and pleasures are wasted away. Wilt thou not be entreated ( Lord ) for all this? Wilt thou hold thy peace, and scourge us so sore?

The Sixty fifth Chapter

They shall seek me, that hitherto have not asked for me, they shall find me, that hitherto have not sought me. Then shall I say immediately to the people that never called upon my name: I am here, I am here. For thus long have I ever holden out my hands to an unfaithful people, that go not in the right way, but after their own imaginations: To a people that is ever defying me to my face. They make their oblations in gardens, and their smoke upon altars of brick, they lurk among the graves, and lie in the dens all night. They eat swine flesh, and unclean broth in their vessels. If thou comest nye them, they say: touch me not, for I am holier than thou.

All these men when I am angry, shall be turned to smoke and fire, that shall burn for ever. Behold, it is written before my face, and shall not be forgotten, but recompensed. I shall reward it them into their bosom: I mean your misdeeds, and the misdeeds of your fathers together ( saith the Lord ) which have made their smokes upon the mountains, and blasphemed me upon the hills: therefore will I measure their old deeds into their bosom again.

Moreover thus saith the Lord: like as when one would gather holy grapes, men say unto him: break it not off for it is holy: even so will I do also for my servants sakes, that I will not destroy them all. But I will take a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah one, to take possession of my hill. My chosen shall possess these things, and my servants shall dwell there. Saron shall be a sheepfold, and the valley of Achor shall give the stalling for the cattle of my people, that fear me. But as for you, ye are they, that have forsake the Lord, and forgotten my holy hill. Yee have set up an altar to fortune, and given rich drink offerings unto treasure. Therefore will I number you with the sword, that ye shall be destroyed all together. For when I called, no man gave me answer: when I spake, ye hearkened not unto me, but did wickedness before mine eyes, and chose the thing that pleased me not.

Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall have hunger. Behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall suffer thirst. Behold, my servants shall be merry, but ye shall be confounded. Behold, my servants shall rejoice for very quietness of heart: But ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and complain for vexation of mind. Your name shall not be sworn by among my chosen, for God the Lord shall slay you, and call his servants by another name. Whoso rejoiceth upon the earth, shall rejoice in the true God: And whoso sweareth upon the earth, shall swear in the true God. For the old enmity shall be forgotten, and taken away out of my sight. For lo, I shall make a new heaven, and a new earth. And as for the old, they shall never be thought upon, ner kept in mind: but men shall be glad and evermore rejoice, for the things, that I shall do.

For why? Behold, I shall make a joyful Jerusalem, yee I myself will rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad with my people: And the voice of weeping and wailing shall not be heard in her from thence forth. There shall never be child nor old man, that have not their full days. But when the child cometh to an hundred years old, it shall die. And if he that is an hundred years of age do wrong, he shall be cursed. They shall build houses, and dwell in them: they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another possess: they shall not plant, and another eat: But the life of my people shall be like a tree, and so shall the work of their hands.

My chosen shall live long, they shall not labor in vain, ner beget with trouble: for they are the high blessed of the Lord, and their fruits with them. And it shall be, that or ever they call, I shall answer them. While they are yet but thinking how to speak, I shall hear them. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat hay like the bullock. But earth shall be the serpents meat. There shall no man hurt nor slay another, in all my holy hill, sayeth the Lord.

The Sixty sixth Chapter

Thus saith the Lord: Heaven is my feet, and the earth is my footstool. Where shall now that house stand that ye build unto me? And where shall be the place, that I will dwell in ? As for these things, my hand hath made them all, and they are all created, saith the Lord. Which of them shall I then regard? Even him that is of a lowly troubled spirit, and standeth in awe of my works. For who so slayeth an ox for me, doeth me so great dishonor, as he that killeth a man. He that killeth a sheep for me, choketh a dog. He that bringeth me meat offerings, offereth swines blood: Who so maketh me a memorial of incense, praiseth the thing that is unright. Yet take they such ways in hand, and their soul delighteth in these abominations.

Therefore will I also have pleasure in laughing them to scorn, and the thing that they fear, will I bring upon them. For when I called no man gave answer: when I spake, they would not hear: But did wickedness before mine eyes, and chose the things that displeaseth me. Hear the word of God all ye, that fear the thing which he speaketh. Your brethren that hate you, and cast you out for my names sake, say: Let the Lord magnify himself, that we may see your gladness: and yet they shall be confounded.

For as touching the city and the temple, I hear the voice of the Lord, that will reward, and recompense his enemies: like as when a wife bringeth forth a man child, or ever she suffer the pain of the birth and anguish of the travail. Who ever heard or saw such things ? doth the ground bare in one day? or are the people born all at once, as Sion beareth her sons? For thus sayeth the Lord: Am I he that maketh other to beare, and beare not myself? Am not I he that beareth, and maketh barren? sayeth thy God. Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her. Be joyful with her, all ye that mourned for her. For ye shall suck comfort out of her breasts, and be satisfied. Ye shall taste, and have delight in the plenteousness of her power. For thus saith the Lord: behold, I will let peace into her, like a water flood, and the might of the Heathen like a flowing stream. Then shall thee suck, ye shall be born upon her sides, and be joyful upon her knees. For like as a child is comforted of his mother, so shall I comfort you, and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb.

Thus shall the hand of the Lord be known among his servants, and his indignation among his enemies. For behold, the Lord will come with fire, and his chariot shall be like a whirlwind, that he may recompense his vengeance in his wrath and indignation with flame of fire. For the Lord shall judge all flesh with the fire and with his sword, and there shall be a great number slain of the Lord. Such as have made themselves holy and clean in gardens, and those that have eaten swines flesh, mice, and other abominations, shall be taken away together, sayeth the Lord. For I will come to gather all people and tongues with their works and imaginations: these shall come, and see my glory. Unto them shall I give a token, and send certain of them ( that be delivered ) among the Gentiles: into Celicia, Atrica (Africa?)and Lidia ( where men can handle bows ) into Italye (Italy) also and Greek land.

The isles far off, that have not heard speak of me, and have not seen my glory, shall preach my praise among the Gentiles and shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord, out of all the people upon horses, chariots and horse litters, upon Mules and carts to Jerusalem my holy hill ( sayeth the Lord ) like as the children of Israel bring the offering in clean vessels, to the house of the Lord.

And I shall take out certain of them for to be priests and levites, sayeth the Lord. For like as the new heaven and the new earth which I will make, shall be fast established by me: ( sayeth the Lord ) So shall your seed and your name continue and there shall be a new Moon for the other, and a new Sabbath for the other, and all flesh shall come to worship before me ( sayeth the Lord ) And they shall go forth and look upon the *carions (dead bodies) of them that have transgressed against me. For their worms shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched, and all flesh shall abhor them. The end of the book of the Prophet EsaiThe Book of the Prophet Jeremie

The First Chapter

These are the Sermons of Jeremie the son of Helkiah the Priest, one of them that dwell at Anathoth in the land of Ben Jamin: when the Lord had first spoken to him, in the time of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his kingdom: and so during unto the time of Jehoakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, and until the eleven years of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah were ended: when Jerusalem was taken, even in the fifth Month. The word of the Lord spake thus unto me: Before I fashioned thee in thy mothers womb, I did know thee: And or ever thou wast born, I sanctified thee, and ordained thee, to be a Prophet unto the people. Then said I: O' Lord God, I am unmete, ( not creditable ) for I am but young. And the Lord answered me thus: Say not so, I am too young: For thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee unto, and whatsoever I command thee, thou shalt thou speak. Be not afraid of their faces, for I will be with thee, to deliver thee, saith the Lord.

And with that, the Lord stretched out his hand, and touched my mouth, and said moreover unto me. Behold I put my words in thy mouth, and this day I set thee over the people and kingdoms: that thou mayest root out, break off, destroy, and make waste: and that thou mayest build up and plant. After this, the Lord spake unto me saying: Jeremie, what seest thou? And I said: I see a waking rod. Then said the Lord: thou hast seen right, for I will watch diligently upon my word, to perform it.

It happened afterward, that the Lord spake to me again, and said: What seest thou? And I said: I see a seething pot, looking out of the north hitherward.

Then the Lord said unto me: Out of the north shall come a plague upon all the dwellers of the land. For lo, I will call all the officers of the kingdoms of the north ( saith the Lord ) And they shall come, and every one shall set his feet in the gates of Jerusalem, and in all their walls round about and through all the cities of Judah. And through them shall I declare my judgment, upon all the wickedness of those men that have forsaken me: that have offered unto strange gods and worshipped the works of their own hands.

And therefore gird up thy loins, arise, and tell them all, that I give thee in commandment. Fear them not, I will not have thee to be afraid of them. For behold, this day do I make thee a strong fenced town, an iron pillar, and a wall of steel against the whole land, against the kings and mighty men of Judah, against the priests and people of the land. They shall fight against thee, but they shall not be able to overcome thee: for I am with thee, to deliver thee, sayeth the Lord.

The Second Chapter

Moreover, the word of the Lord commanded me thus: Go thy way, and cry in the ears Jerusalem, and say: Thus saith the Lord: I remember thee for the kindness of thy youth, and because of thy steadfast love: in that thou followest me through the wilderness, in an untilled land. Thou Israel was hallowed unto the Lord, and so was his firstfruits. All they that devoured Israel, offended: misfortune fell upon them, saith the Lord. Hear therefore the word of the Lord, O thou house of Jacob, and all the generation of the house of Israel. Thus saith the Lord unto you.

What unfaithfulness found your fathers in me, that they went so far away from me, falling to lightness, and being so vain? They thought not in their hearts: Where have we left the Lord, that brought us out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a desert and rough land, through a dry and deadly land, yee a land that no man had gone through, and wherin no man had dwelt. And when I had brought you into a pleasant well builded land, that ye might enjoy the fruits and all the commodities of the same: ye went forth and defiled my land, and brought mine heritage to abomination.

The priests themselves said not once: Where is the Lord? They that have the law in their hands, know me not: The shepherds offend against me. The Prophets do service to Baal, and follow such things as bring them no profit.

Wherefore I am constrained ( saith the Lord ) to make my complaint upon you, and upon your children. Go into the Isles of Cethim, and look well: and send unto Cedar, take diligent heed: and see, whether such things be done there, whether the Gentiles themselves deal so falsely and untruly with their gods, ( which are no gods indeed ) But my people hath given over their high honor, for a thing that may not help them.

Be astonished ( O ye heavens ) be afraid, and abashed at such a thing, saith the Lord. For my people hath done two evils. They have forsaken me the well of the water of life, and digged them pits, yee vile and broken pits, that hold no water. Is Israel a bond servant, or one of the household? Why is he then so spoiled? Why do they roar and cry upon him, as a lion? They have made his land waste, his cities are so burnt up, that there is no man dwelling in them. Yee the children of Noph and Taphnes have defiled thy neck.

Come not this unto thee, because thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, ever since he led thee by the way? And what hast thou now to do in the street of Egypt? to drink foul water? Ether, what makest thou in the way of Assiria? To drink water of the flood? Thine own wickedness shall reprove thee, and thy turning away shall condemn thee: that thou mayest know and understand, how evil and hurtful a thing it is, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and not feared him, saith the Lord God of Hosts.

I have ever broken thy yoke of old, and burst thy bonds: yet sayest thou, I will no more serve, but ( like an harlot ) thou runnest about upon all high hills, and among all green trees where as I planted thee out of noble grapes and good roots. How art thou turned then in to a bitter, unfruitful, strange grape? Yee and that so sore: that though thou wash thee with *Nitrus and make thyself to favor with that sweet smelling herb of Borith: yet in my sight thou art stained with thy wickedness, sayeth the Lord thy God. *Nitrus = to shake tremble, loose, walls. to be loose of the walls (hedge of the Lord) replaced by the walls of false teachings. Borith = Berith meaning a covenant between men.( not of God) RN

Say not now: I am not unclean, and I have not followed strange Gods. Look upon thy own ways in the woods, valleys and dens: so shalt thou know, what thou hast done. Thou art like a swift Dromedary, that goeth easily his way: and thy wantonness is like a wild Ass, that useth the wilderness, and that snuffeth and bloweth at his will. Who can tame thee? All they that seek thee, shall not fail, but find thee in thy own uncleanness. Thou keepest thy foot from nakedness, and thy throat from thirst, and thinkest thus in thyself: tush: I will take no sorrow, I will love the strange gods, and hang upon them.

Like as a thief that is taken with the deed cometh to shame, even so is the house of Israel come to confusion: the common people, their kings and rulers, their priests and prophets. For they say to a stock, thou art my father, and to a stone: thou hast begotten me, yee they have turned their back upon me, and not their face. But in the time of their trouble, when they say: stand up, help us, I shall answer them: Where are now thy gods, that thou hast made thee? bid them stand up, and help thee in the time of need? For look how many cities thou hast ( O Judah ) so many gods hast thou also.

Wherefore then will ye go to law with me, seeing ye are all sinners against me, saith the Lord? In is but lost labor, that I smite your children, for they receive not my correction. Your own sword devoureth your prophets, like a devouring lion. If ye be the people of the Lord, then hearken unto his word: Am I then become a wilderness unto the people of Israel? or a land that hath no light? Wherefore sayeth my people then: we are fallen off, and we will come no more unto thee? Doth a maiden forget her raiment, or a bride her stomacher? And doth my people forget me so long? Why boasteth thou thy ways so highly ( to obtain favor there through ) when thou hast yet stained them with blasphemies?

Upon thy wings is found the blood of poor and innocent people, and that not in corners and holes only, but openly in all these places. Yet darest thou say: I am guiltless: Tush, his wrath can not come upon me. Behold, I will reason with thee because thou darest say: I have not offended. O how evil will it be for thee, to abide it: when it shall be known, how often thou hast gone backward? For thou shalt be confounded, as well of Egypt, as of the Assirians: yee thou shalt go thy way from them, and smite thy hands together upon thy head. Because the lord shall bring that confidence and hope of thine to naught, and thou shalt not prosper with all.

The Third Chapter

Commonly, when a man putteth away his wife, and she goeth from him, and marrieth with another, then the question is: should he restore unto her any more after that? Is not this field then defiled and unclean? But as for thee, thou hast played the harlot with many lovers, yet turn again to me, saith the Lord. Lift up thine eyes on every side, and look, if thou be not defiled. Thou hast waited for them in the streets, and as a murderer in the wilderness. Through thy whoredoms and blasphemes, the land is defiled.

This is the cause, that the rain and evening dew hath ceased. Thou hadst gotten thee an whores forehead, and canst not be ashamed. Else wouldest thou say unto me: O my father, thou art he that hast brought me up, and led me from my youth: Wilt thou then put me away and cast me off for ever? Or wilt thou withdraw thyself clean from me? Nevertheless, thou speakest such words, but thou art ever doing worse and worse.

The Lord said also unto me: in the time of Josiah the king: Hast thou seen what that shrinking Israel hath done? how she hath run upon all the high hills, and among all thick trees, and there played the harlot: hast thou seen also ( when she had done all this ) how I said unto her: that she should turn again unto me, and yet she is not returned? Judah that unfaithful sister of hers also saw this: Namely, that after I had seen the *advoutry of the stinking harlot Israel, I put her away, and give her a bill of divorcement. *advouterer: prefix "a" meaning not or without, devout: devotion; plain hearted to God only see James 2 for adultery

For all this, her unfaithful sister Judah was not ashamed, but went back and played the harlot also. Yee and the noise of her whoredom hath defiled the whole land. For she hath committed her *advoutry with stones and with stocks. *here we see the truth of this word, as these are devoted to any thing but our living God. see James 2 for adultery

Nevertheless, her unfaithful sister Judah is not turned unto me again with her whole heart, but *feignedly (pretended affection) , saith the Lord. And the Lord said unto me. The backslider Israel is more righteous, then the unfaithful Judah: and therefore go preach these words toward the north, and say: Thou shrinking Israel, turneth again ( saith the Lord ) and I will not turn my face from you, for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not always bare displeasure against thee: but on this condition, that thou know thy great blaspheme: Namely, that thou hast unfaithfully forsaken the Lord thy God, and hast made thyself partaker of strange Gods under all green trees, but hast no will to hear my voice, saith the Lord.

O ye shrinking children, turn again, sayeth the Lord: and I will be married with you. For I will take one out of the city, and two out of one generation from among you, and bring you out of Sion: and I will give you herdsmen after my own mind, which shall feed you with learning and wisdom. Moreover, when ye be increased and multiplied in the land, then ( saith the Lord ) there shall no more boast be made of the ark of the Lords Testament: No man shall think upon it, neither shall any man make mention of it: for from thence forth it shall neither be visited, ner honored with gifts.

Then shall Jerusalem be called the Lords seat and all Heathen shall be gathered unto it, for the name of the Lords sake, which shall be set up in Jerusalem. And from that time forth, they shall follow no more the imagination of their own froward heart.

Then those that be of the house of Judah shall go into the house of Israel: and they shall come together out of the North, into the same land that I have gave their fathers. I have showed also, how I took thee up being but a child, and give thee a pleasant land for thy heritage, yee and a goodly Hosts of the Heathen: and how I commanded thee, that thou shouldest call me father only, and not to shrink from me.

But like as a woman faileth her lover, so are ye unfaithful to me ( O ye house of Israel ) saith the Lord. And therefore the voice of the children of Israel was heard on every side, weeping and wailing: for they have defiled their way, and forgotten God their Lord.

O ye shrinking children, turn again ( saying: lo, we are thine, for thou art the Lord our God:) And so I will heal your backturnings. The hills fall, and all the high pride of the mountains, but the health of Israel standeth only upon God our Lord.

Confusion hath devoured our fathers labor from our youth up: yee their sheep and bullocks, their sons and daughters. So do we also sleep in our confusion, and shame covereth us: for we and our fathers from our youth up unto this day have sinned against the Lord our God, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.

The Fourth Chapter

O Israel, if thou wilt turn thee, then turn unto me, saith the Lord. And if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, thou shalt not be moved: And shalt swear: The Lord liveth: in truth, in equity and righteousness: and all people shall be fortuable and joyful in him. For thus saith the Lord, to all Judah and Jerusalem: plow your land, and sow not among the thorns.

Be circumcised in the Lord, and cut away the foreskins of your heart, all ye of Judah, and all the indwellers of Jerusalem: that my indignation break not out like fire and kindle, so that no man can quench it, because of the wickedness of your imaginations.

Preach in Judah and Jerusalem, cry out and speak: Blow the trumpets in the land, cry that every man may hear, and say: Gather you together, and we will go into the strong cities. Set up the token in Sion, speed you, and make no tarrying: for I will bring a great plague, and a great destruction from the north. For the spoiler of the Gentiles is broken up from his place, as a lion out of his den, that he may make the land waste, and destroy the cities, so that no man may dwell therin. Wherefore gird yourselves about with sackcloth, mourn and weep for the fearful wrath of the Lord shall not be withdrawn from you.

At the same time ( saith the Lord ) the heart of the kings and of the princes shall be gone, the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall be sore afraid. Then said I, O' Lord God, hast thou deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying: Ye shall have peace, and now the sword goeth through their lives? Then shall it be said to the people and to Jerusalem: there cometh a warm wind from the north through the way of my people, but neither to fan nor to cleanse.

After that shall there come unto me a strong wind, and then will I give sentence upon them. For lo, he cometh down as a cloud, and his chariots are like a stormy wind: his horsemen are swifter than the Eagle. Woe unto us, for we are destroyed. O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be helped. How long shall thy noisesome thoughts remain with thee?

For a voice from Dan and form the hill of Ephraim speaketh out, and telleth of a destruction. Behold the Heathen give Jerusalem a warning, and preach unto her, that her destroyers are coming from far countries. They tell the cities of Juda the same also, they shall give them warning in every place, like as watchmen in the field. For they have provoked me to wrath, saith the Lord.

Thy ways and thy thoughts, have brought thee unto this, this is thy own wickedness and disobedience, that hath possessed thine heart: Ah my belly, Ah my belly ( shalt thou cry) how is my heart so sore? my heart panteth within me, I cannot be still, for I have heard the crying of the trumpets, and the peals of war.

They cry murder upon murder, the whole land shall perish. Immediately my tents were destroyed, and my hangings in the twinkling of an eye. How long shall I see the tokens of war, and hear the noise of the trumpets.

Nevertheless this shall come upon them because my people is become foolish, and hath utterly no understanding. They are the children of foolishness, and without any discretion. To do evil, they have wit enough: but to do well, they have no wisdom. I have looked upon the earth, and see, it is waste and void. I looked toward heaven, and it had no shine.

I beheld the mountains, and they tremble, and all the hills were in fear. I looked about me, and there was nobody, and all the birds of the air were away. I marked well, and the plowed field was become waste: yee all their cities were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and indignation of his wrath.

For thus hath the Lord said: The whole land shall be desolate, yet will I not have then done. And therefore let the earth mourn, and let the heaven be sorry above: for the things that I have purposed and taken upon me to do, shall not repent me, and I will not go from it. The whole land shall flee, for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen: they shall run into dens in to woods, and climb up the rocks. All the cities shall be void, and no man dwelling therein.

What wilt thou now do, thou being destroyed? For though thou clothest thyself with scarlet, and deckest thee with gold: though thou paintest thy face with colors, yet shalt trim thyself in vain.

For those that hitherto have been thy great favorers, shall abhor thee, and go about to slay thee. For ( me think ) I hear a noise, like as it were of a woman travailing, or one laboring of her first child: Even the voice of the daughter Sion, that casteth out her arms, and sorroweth, saying: Ah woe is me, how sore vexed and faint is my heart, for them that are slain?

The Fifth Chapter

Look through Jerusalem, behold and see: Seek through her streets also within, if ye can find one man, that doeth equal and right, or that laboreth to be faithful: and I shall spare him ( sayeth the Lord ) For though they can say: the Lord liveth, yet do they swear to deceive: Where as thou ( O' Lord ) lookest only upon faith and truth.

Thou hast scourged them, but they took no repentance: thou hast corrected them for amendment, but they refused thy correction. They made their faces harder than stone, and would not amend.

Therefore thought I in myself: peradventure (perhaps, perchance) they are so simple and foolish, that they know nothing of the Lords way, and judgments of our God. Therefore will I go unto their heads and rulers, and talk with them: if they know the way of the Lord, and the judgments of our God. But these ( in like manner ) have broken the yoke, and burst the bonds in sunder.

Wherefore a lion out of the wood shall hurt them, and a wolf in the evening shall destroy them. The cat of the mountain shall lie lurking by their cities, to tare in pieces all of them, that come thereout. For their offenses are many, and their departing way is great. Should I then for all this have mercy upon thee? Thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods. And albeit (even if, even though) they were bound to me in marriage, yet they fell to advoutry, and hunted harlots houses.*advouterer: prefix "a" meaning not or without, devout: devotion; plain hearted to God, here devoted to the flesh. see James 2 for adultery

In the desire of uncleanly lust they are become like the stoned horse, every man neighed at his neighbors wife: Should I not correct this? saith the Lord.

Should I not be avenged of every people, that is like unto this? Climb up upon their walls and beat them down, but destroy them not utterly. Cut off their branches because they are not the Lords. For unfaithfully hath the house of Israel and Judah forsaken me, saith the Lord. They have denied the Lord, and said: It is not he. Tush, there shall no misfortune come upon us, we shall see neither sword nor hunger. As for the warning of the Prophets, they take it but for wind, yee there is none of these, which will tell them, that such things shall happen unto them.

Wherefore thus saith the Lord God of Hosts: Because ye speak such words, behold: The words that are in thy mouth will I turn to fire, and make the people to be wood, that it may consume them.

Lo, I will bring a people upon you from far, O house of Israel,( saith the Lord ) a mighty people, an old people, a people whos speech thou knowest not, neither understandeth what they say. Their arrows are sudden death, yee they themselves be very giants. This people shall eat up thy fruit and thy meat, yee they shall devour thy sons and thy daughters, thy sheep and thy bullocks.

They shall eat up thy grapes and figs. As for thy strong and well fenced cities, wherein thou didest trust, they shall destroy them with the sword. Nevertheless I will not then have done with you, saith the Lord. But if they say: wherefore doth the Lord our God all this unto us?

Then answer them: because, that like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, even so shall ye serve other gods also in a strange land. Preach this unto the house of Jacob, and cry it out in Judah, and say thus: Hear this ( thou foolish and undiscrete people ) ye have eyes, but ye see not: ears have ye, but hear not.

Fear ye not me, saith the Lord? Are ye not ashamed, to look me in the face? which bind the sea with the sand, so that it can not pass its bounds: for thou it rage, yet it can do nothing, and though the waves thereof do swell, yet may they not go over.

But this people hath a false and *obstinate heart, they are departed and gone away from me. They think not in their hearts: O let us fear the Lord our God, that giveth us rain, early and late, when need is: which keepeth ever still the harvest for us yearly. *obstinate= Stubbornly adhering to an attitude, an opinion, or a course of action;

Nevertheless your misdeeds have turned these from you, and your sins have robbed you hereof. For among my people are found wicked persons, that privately lay snares and wait for me, to take them and destroy them. And like as a net is full of birds, so are their houses full of that which they have gotten with falsehood and deceit. Hereof cometh their great substance and riches, hereof they are fat and wealthy, and blasphemies. They minister not the law, they make no end of the fatherless cause, they judge not the poor according to equity.

Should I not punish these things, saith the Lord? should I not be avenged of all such people, as these be? Horrible and grievous things are done in the land.

The Prophets teach falsely, and the priests follow them, and my people hath pleasure therin. What will become thereof at the last.

The Sixth Chapter

Come out of Jerusalem, ye strong children of Ben Jamin: blow up the trumpets ye Tecuites, set up a token unto Bethcarem, for a plague and great misery peepeth out from the North. Jerusalem = "teaching of peace" Benjamin = "son of the right hand" Tekoite 5, = see Tekoa "trumpet blast" 5 = "God given" Beth-haccerem = "house of the vineyard" North = secret, hidden ones, esteemed, hide from discovery, Hoshama = "whom Jehovah hears" from the Hebrew . RN

I will likened the daughter of Sion to a fair and tender woman, and to her will come the shepherds with their flocks. Their tents shall they shall pitch round about her, and every one shall feed them that are under his hand. Make battle against her (shall they say ) Arise, let us go up, while it is yet day.

Alas the day goeth away, and the night shadows fall down: Arise, let us go up by night, and destroy her strongholds, for thus hath the Lord of Hosts commanded. Hew down her trees, and set up bulwarks against Jerusalem. This is the city that must be punished, for in her is all maliciousness. Like as a conduit aboundeth in water, even so this city aboundeth in wickedness. Robbery and unrighteousness is heard in her, sorrow and wounds are ever there in my sight. Amend thee ( O Jerusalem ) lest I withdraw my heart from thee, and make thee desolate: and thy land also, that no man dwell in it. For thus saith the Lord of Hosts: The residue of Israel shall be gathered, as the remanent of grapes.

And therefore turn thine hand again in to the basket, like a grape gatherer. But unto whom shall I speak, whom shall I warn, that he may take heed? Their ears are so uncircumcised, that they may not hear.

Behold, they take the word of God but for scorn, and have no *lust ( deep love ) thereto. And therefore I am so full of thine indignation O' Lord, that I may suffer no longer. Shed out thy wrath upon the children that are without, and upon all young men. Yee the man must be taken prisoner with the wife, and the aged with the cripple. Their houses with their lands and wives shall be turned unto strangers, when I stretch out mine hand upon the inhabitors of this land, saith the Lord. For from the least to the most, they hang all upon covetousness: and from the prophet unto the priest, they go all about with falsehood and lies.

And beside that, they heal the hurt of my people with sweet words, saying peace, peace, when there is no peace at all. Therefore they must be ashamed, for they have committed abomination. But how could they be ashamed, when they know nothing, neither of shame or good nurture? Therefore they shall fall among the slain, and in the hour when I shall visit them, they shall be brought down, saith the Lord.

Thus saith the Lord: go into the streets, consider and make inquisition for the old way: and if it be the good and right way: then go therin, that ye may find rest for your souls. But if they say: we will not walk therin, and I will set watchmen over you, and therefore take heed unto the voice of the trumpet. But they say: we will not take heed. Hear therefore ye Gentiles, and thou congregation shalt know, what I have devised for them. Hear thou earth also: behold, I will cause a plague upon this people, even the fruit of their own imaginations.

For they have not been obedient unto my words and my law, but abhorred them. Wherefore bring ye me incense from Saba, and sweet smelling Calamus from far countries? Your burnt offerings displease me, and I rejoice not in your sacrifices.

And therefore thus saith the Lord: Behold, I will make this people fall, and there shall fall from among them the father with the children, one neighbor shall perish with another.

Moreover thus saith the Lord: Behold, there shall come a people from the North, and a great people shall rise from the ends of the earth, with bows and with darts shall they be weaponed: It is a rough an fierce people, an unmerciful people: their voice roareth like the sea, they ride upon horses well appointed to the battle against thee, O daughter Sion. Then shall this cry be heard: Our arms are feeble, heaviness an sorrow is come upon us, as upon a woman travailing with child. No man goeth forth in to the field, no man come upon the high street: for the sword and fear of the enemy shall be on every side.

Wherefore gird thee a sackcloth about thee ( O daughter of my people ) sprinkle thyself with ashes, mourn and weep bitterly, as upon the only beloved son: for the destroyer shall suddenly fall upon us. Thee have I set as a prover of my hard people, to seek out and try their ways. For they are all unfaithful and fallen away, they hang upon filthy lucre, they are clean brass and iron, for they have hurt and destroyed every man. The bellows are burnt in the fire, the lead is consumed, the melter melteth in vain, for the evil is not taken away from them. Therefore shall they be called naughty silver, because the Lord hath cast them out.

The Seventh Chapter

These are the words that God spake unto Jeremie: Stand under the gates of the Lords house, and cry out these words there, with a loud voice, and say: Hear the word of the Lord all ye of Judah, that go in this door, to honor the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts the God of Israel. Amend your ways and your counsels, and I will let you dwell in this place. Trust not in the false lying words, saying: saying here is the temple of the Lord, here is the temple of the Lord, here is the temple of the Lord.

For if ye amend your ways and your counsels, if ye will judge right between a man and his neighbor: If ye will not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow: if ye will not shed innocent blood in this place: if ye will not cleave to strange gods to your own destruction: then will I let you dwell in this place, yee in the land that I gave afore time unto your fathers forever. But take heed, yee trust in counsels, that beguile you and do you no good. For when ye have stolen, murdered, committed advoutry, and *penury (to cause poverty): When ye have offered unto Baal, following strange and unknown gods: Then come ye, and stand before me in this house, which hath my name given unto it, and say: Tush, we are absolved quiet, through we have done all these abominations.*advoutry: prefix "a" meaning not or without, devout: devotion; plain hearted to God, caused others to be devoted to something other than the living God. see James 2 for adultery

What? Think you this house that beareth my name, is a den of thieves? And these things are not done privately, but before mine eyes, sayeth the Lord. Go to my place in *Siloh, where unto I gave my name afore time, and look well what I did to the same place for the wickedness of my people of Israel. And now, though ye have done all these deeds ( sayeth the Lord ) and I myself rose up ever by times to warn you and to commune with you, yet would ye not hear me: I called, ye would not answer. And therefore even as I have done to Siloh, so will I do to this house, that my name is given unto ( and that ye put your trust in ) ye unto the place that I have given to you and your fathers. And I shall thrust you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren the whole seed of Ephraim. Shiloh = "place of rest"

Therefore thou shalt not pray for this people, thou shalt neither give thanks, nor bid prayer for them : thou shalt make no intercession to me for them for in no wise will I hear thee. Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Juda, and without Jerusalem? The children gather sticks, the fathers kindle fire, the mothers knead the dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven.

They pour out drink offerings unto strange gods, to provoke me to wrath: How be it they hurt not me ( saith the Lord ) but rather confound, and shame themselves.

And therefore thus saith the Lord God: Behold, my wrath and my indignation shall be poured out upon this place, upon men and cattle upon the trees in the field and upon and all the fruit of the land, and it shall burn so, that no man may quench it.

Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel: Yee heap up your burnt offerings with your sacrifices, and eat flesh. But when I brought your fathers out of Egypt, I spake no word unto them of burntofferings and sacrifices: but this I commanded them, saying: hearken and obey my voice, and I shall be your God, and ye shall be my people: so that ye walk in all the ways, which I have commanded you, that ye may prosper.

But they were not obedient, they inclined not their ears there unto, but went after their own imaginations and after the motions of their own wicked heart, and so turned themselves away, and converted not unto me. And this have they done, from the time that your fathers came out of Egypt, unto this day.

Nevertheless, I sent unto them my servants all the prophets: I rose up early and sent them word, yet would they not hearken, ner offer me their ears, but were obstinate and worse than their fathers. And thou shalt now speak all these words unto them, but they shall not hear thee: thou shalt cry upon them, but they shall not answer thee. Therefore shalt thou say unto them: this is the people, that neither heareth the voice of the Lord their God, nor receiveth his correction. Faithfulness and truth is clean rooted out of their mouth.

Wherefor cut off thine hair, and cast it away, take up a complaint in the whole land for the Lord shall cast away, and scatter the people, that he is displeased withal. For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the Lord. They have set up their abominations, in the house that hath my name, and have defiled it. They have also builded an altar at Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hennom: that they might burn their sons and their daughters, which I never commanded them, neither came it ever to my thought. And therefore behold, the days shall come ( saith the Lord ) that it shall no more be called Topheth, or the valley of the children of Hennom, but the valley of the slain, for in Topheth, they shall be buried, because they shall else have no room. Yee the dead bodies of this people shall be eaten up of the fowls of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, and no man shall fraie (scare) them away. And as for the voice of mirth and gladness of the cities of Judah, and Jerusalem the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride: I will make them cease, for the land shall be desolate.

The Eighth Chapter

At the same time, saith the Lord: the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of his princes, the bones of the priests, and prophets, yee and the bones of the citizens of Jerusalem, shall be brought out of their graves and layed against the Sun, the Moon and all the heavenly host: whom they loved, whom they served, whom they ran after, whom they sought and worshipped. They shall neither be gathered together ner buried, but shall lay upon the earth, to their shame and despising.

And all that remain of this wicked generation, shall desire rather to die than to live: wheresoever they remain, and where as I scatter them, saith the Lord of Hosts.

This shalt thou say unto them also: Thus saith the Lord: Do men fall also, that they arise not up again? And turn they so far away, that they never convert? Wherefore then is this people and Jerusalem gone so far back, that they turn not again. They are ever the longer the more obstinate, and will not be converted.

For I have looked, and considered: but there is no man that speaketh a good word: there is no man that taketh repentance for his sin, that will so much as say: wherefore have I done this? But every man ( as soon as he is turned back ) runneth forth still, like a wild horse in battle. The Stork knoweth his appointed time, the Turtledove, the Swallow and the Crane consider the time of travail: but my people will not know the time of the punishment of the Lord. How dare ye say then: we are wise, we have the law of the Lord among us?

Behold, the deceitful pen of the scribes, setteth forth lies: therefore shall the wise be confounded, they shall be afraid and taken: for lo, they have cast out the word of the Lord: what wisdom can then be among them? Wherefore, I will give their wives unto aliens, and their fields to destroyers.

From the lowest to the highest, they follow all filthy lucre: and from the Prophet unto the priest, they deal with all lies. Nevertheless, they heal the hurt of my people with sweet words, saying peace, peace where there is no peace at all.

*Fie for shame, how abominable things do they? and yet they be not ashamed, yee they know no shame. *Fie = used to express distaste or disapproval.

Wherefore in the time of their visitation, they shall fall among dead bodies, sayeth the Lord.

Moreover I will gather them in ( sayeth the Lord ) so that there shall not be one grape upon the vine, neither one fig upon the fig tree, and the leaves shall be plucked off.

Then will I cause them to depart, and say: why prolong we the time? Let us gather ourselves together, and go into the strong city, there shall we be in rest: for the Lord our God hath put us to silence, and given us water mixed with gall, to drink: because we have sinned against him.

We looked for peace, and we fair not the better, we waited for the time of health, and lo, there is nothing but trouble.

Then shall the noise of his horses be heard from Dan, the whole land shall be afraid at the neighing of his strong horses: for they shall go in, and devour the land, with all that is in it: the cities, and those that dwell therin. Moreover , I will send Cockatrices and serpents among you ( which will not be charmed ) and they shall bite you sayeth the Lord.

Sorrow is come upon me, and heaviness vexeth my heart: for lo, the voice of the crying of my people is heard from a far country: Is not the Lord in Sion? Is not the king in her? Wherefore then have they grieved me ( shall the Lord say ) with their images and foolish strange fashions? The harvest is gone, the Summer hath an end, and we are not helped. I am sore vexed, because of the hurt of my people: I am heavy and abashed, for there is no more *Tryacle at Gilaad, and there is no Physician, that can heal the hurt of my people.*Tryacle = speech of sentiment, or medicine, antidote against poison. molasses.

The Ninth Chapter

O Who will give my head water enough, and a well of tears for mine eyes: that I might weep night and day, for the slaughter of my people? Would God that I had a cottage some where far from folk, that I might leave my people, and go from them: for they be all advoutrers and a shrinking sort. They bend their tongues like bows, to shoot out lies: As for the truth, they may nothing away with all in the world. For they go from one wickedness to another, and hold nothing of me, sayeth the Lord. *advouterer: prefix "a" meaning not or without, devout: devotion; plain hearted to God see James 2 for adultery

Yee one must keep himself from another, no man may safely trust his own brother: for one brother undermineth another, and one neighbor begileth another. Yee one dissesembleth with another, and they deal with no truth. They have practiced their tongues to lie, and taken great pains to do mischief. They have set their stole in the midest of deceit, and for very disassembling falsehood they will not know me, sayeth the Lord.

Therefore thus saith the Lord of Hosts: behold, I will melt them, and try them, for what should I do else to my people? Their tongues are like sharp arrows, to speak disceat. With their mouth they speak peaceably to their neighbor, but privately they lay wait for him. Should I not punish them for these things, sayeth the Lord? Or should I not be avenged of any such people as this? Upon the mountains will I take up a lamentation and sorrowful cry, and a mourning upon the fair plains of the wilderness: Namely, how they are so burnt up, that no man goeth there any more: Yee a man shall not hear one beast cry there.

Birds and cattle are all gone from thence. I will make Jerusalem also an heap of stones, and a den of venomous worms. And I will make the cities of Judah so waste, that no man shall dwell therin. What man is so wise, as to understand this? Or to whom hath the Lord spoken by mouth, that he may show this, and say: O thou land, why perisheth thou so? Wherefore art thou burnt up, and like a wilderness, that no man goeth through? Yee the Lord himself told the same unto them, that forsook his law, and kept not the thing that he had given them in the commandment, neither lived thereafter: but followed the wickedness of their own hearts, and served strange gods, as their fathers had taught them.

Therefore, thus sayeth the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will feed this people with worm wood, and give them gall to drink. I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they ner their fathers have known: and I will send a sword among them, to persecute them, until I bring them to naught. Moreover, thus saith the Lord of Hosts: look that ye call for mourning wives, and send for wise men: that they come shortly, and sing a mourning song of you: that the tears may fall out of our eyes, and that our eye lids may gush out of water.

For there is a lamentable noise heard of Sion: O how are we so sore destroyed? O how are we so piteously confounded? We must forsake our own natural country, and we are shot out of our own lodgings. Yet hear the word of the Lord ( O ye women ) and let your ears regard the words of his mouth: that ye may learn your daughters to mourn, and that every one may teach her neighbouress, to make lamentation. Namely thus: Death is climbing up in at our windows, he is come into our houses, to destroy the child before the door, and the young man in the street.

But tell thou plainly, thus saith the Lord: The dead bodies of them shall lay upon the ground, as the dung upon the field, and as the hay after the mower, and there shall be no man to take them up. Moreover, thus saith the Lord: Let not the wise man rejoice in his wisdom, ner the strong man in his strength, neither the rich man in his riches: But who so will rejoice, let him rejoice in this, that he understandeth, and knoweth me: for I am the Lord, which do mercy, equity and righteousness upon the earth. Therefore have I pleasure in such things, saith the Lord. Behold, the time cometh, ( saith the Lord ) that I will visit all them, whose foreskin is uncircumcised. The Egyptians, the Jews, the Edomites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, and the shaven Madianites, that dwell in the wilderness. For all the Gentiles are uncircumcised in the flesh, but all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.

The Tenth Chapter

Hear the word of the Lord, that he speaketh unto thee, O thou house of Israel: Thus saith the Lord: Ye shall not learn after the manner of the Heathen, and ye shall not be afraid for the tokens of heaven: for the Heathen are afraid of such: yee all the customs and laws of the Gentiles are nothing, but vanity. They hew down a tree in the wood with the hands of the workman, and fashion it with the axe: they cover it over with gold or silver, they fasten it with nails and hammers, that it move not. It standeth as still as the palm tree, it can neither speak nor go, but must be borne. Be ye not afraid of such, for they can do neither good nor evil. But there is none like unto thee, O' Lord, and great is the name of thy power. Who would not fear thee? Or what king of the Gentiles would not obey thee?

For among all the wise men of the Gentiles, and in all their kingdoms, there is none that may be likened unto thee. They are all together unlearned and unwise. All their conning is but vanity: namely, wood, silver, which is brought out of Tharsis, and beaten to plates: and gold from Ophir, a work that is made with the hand of the craftsman and the caster, clothed with yellow silk and scarlet: even so is the work of their wise men altogether. But the Lord is a true God, a living God, and an everlasting king. If he be wroth, the earth shaketh: all the Gentiles may not abide his indignation.

As for their gods, it may well be said of them: they are gods, that made neither heaven ner earth: therefore shall they perish from the earth, and from all things under heaven. But ( as for our God ) he made the earth with his power, and with his wisdom hath he finished the whole compass of the world, with his discretion hath he spread out the heavens. At his voice the waters gather together in the air, he draweth up the clouds from the utmost parts of the earth: he turneth lighting to rain, and bringeth forth the winds out of their treasures: His wisdom maketh all men fools. And confounded be all the casters of images, for that they cast, is but a vain thing, and hath no life. The vain craftsmen with their works, that they in their vanity hath made, shall perish one with another in the time of visitation. Nevertheless, Jacobs portion is not such: but it is he, that hath made all things, and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The Lord of Hosts is his name. Put away thine uncleanness out of the land, thou that art in the strong cities. For thus saith the Lord: Behold, I will now thrust out the inhabitors of this land a great way off, and trouble them of such a fashion, that they shall no more be found.

Alas how am I hurt? Alas, how painful are my scourges unto me? For I consider this sorrow by myself, and I must suffer it. My tabernacle is destroyed, and all may coards are broken. My children are gone from me, and can no where be found. Now have I none to spread out my tent, or to set up my hangings. For the herdsmen have done foolishly, that they have not sought the Lord. Therefore have they dealt unwisely with their cattle, and all are scattered abroad. Behold, the noise is hard at hand, and the great sedition out of the north: to make the cities of Juda a wilderness, and a dwelling place for dragons. Now I know ( O' Lord ) that it is not in mans power to order his own ways, or to rule his own steps and goings. Therefore chasten thou us, O' Lord, but with favor and not in thy wrath, bring us not utterly to naught. Pour out thine indignation rather upon the Gentiles, that know thee not, and upon the people that call not on thy name: And that because they have consumed, devoured and destroyed Jacob, and have rooted out his glory.

The Eleventh Chapter

This is another Sermon, which the Lord commanded Jeremie for to preach, saying: Hear the words of the covenant, and speak unto all Judah, and to all them that dwell at Jerusalem. And say thou unto them: Thus saith the Lord God of Israel: Cursed be every one that is not obedient unto the words of this covenant: which I commanded unto your fathers, what time as I brought them out of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying: Be obedient unto my voice, and do according to all that I commanded you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God, and will keep my promise, that I have sworn unto your fathers: Namely, that I would give them a land which floweth with milk and honey, as ye see, it is come to pass unto this day. Then answered I, and said. Amen. It is even so O' Lord, as thou sayest.

Then the Lord said unto me again: preach this in the cities of Juda and round about Jerusalem, and say: Hear the words of this covenant, that ye may keep them. For I have diligently exhorted your fathers, ever since I brought them out of the Land of Egypt unto this day. I gave them warning by times, saying: hearken unto my voice: Nevertheless, they would not obey me, nor inclined their ears unto me, but followed the wicked imaginations of their own hearts. And therefore have I accused them as transgressors of all the words of this covenant, that I gave them to keep, which they (not with understanding ) have not kept.

And the Lord said unto me: It is found out, that whole Israel and all these citizens of Jerusalem are gone back. They have turned themselves to the blasphemes of their forefathers, which had no lust to hear my word. Even like wise have these also followed strange gods, and worshiped them. The house of Israel and Juda have broken my covenant, which I made with their fathers.

Therefore thus sayeth the Lord: Behold I will send a plague among you, which ye shall not be able to escape: and though ye cry unto me, I will not hear you. Then shall the towns of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem go, and call upon their gods unto whom they made their oblations: but they are not able to help them in the time of their trouble. For as many cities as thou hast, O Judah, so many gods hast thou also: And look how many streets there be in thee ( O Jerusalem ) so many shameful altars have ye set up, to offer upon them unto Baal. But pray not thou for this people, bid neither praise nor prayer for them, for though they cry unto me in their trouble, yet I will not hear them.

O thou beloved, why doest thou so shameful great blasphemies in my house? even as though that holy flesh might absolve thee, specially when thou hast made boast of thy wickedness. The Lord called thee a green olive tree, a fair one, a fruitful one, a goodly one: but now that there is so a contrary report of thee abroad, he will burn thee up, and destroy thy branches. For the Lord of hosts that planted thee hath devised a plague for thee ( O thou house of Israel and Judah ) for the evil that ye have done to provoke him to wrath, in that ye did service unto Baal.

This ( O' Lord ) have I learned of thee, and understand it, for thou hast showed me their imaginations. But I ( as a meek lamb ) was carried away to be slain: not knowing, that they had devised such a counsel against me saying: We will destroy his meat with wood, and drive him out of the land of the living: that his name shall never be thought upon. Therefore I will beseech thee now ( O' Lord of Hosts ) thou righteous judge, thou that tryest the reins and the hearts: let me see the avenged of them, for unto thee have I committed my cause. The Lord therefore spake thus of the citizens of Anathoth, that sought to slay me, saying: Preach not unto us in the name of the Lord, or else thou shalt die of our hands. Thus ( I say ) spake the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will visit you. Your young men shall perish with the sword, your sons and daughters shall utterly die of hunger, so that none shall remain. For upon the citizens of Anathoth will I bring a plague, the year of their visitation.

The Twelfth Chapter

O' Lord, thou art more righteous, then that I should dispute with thee: Nevertheless, let me talk with thee in things reasonable. How happeneth it, that the way of the ungodly is so prosperous? and that it goeth so well with them, which

( without any shame ) offend and live in wickedness? Thou plantest them, they take root, they grow, and bring forth fruit. They boast much of it, yet doest thou not punish them. But thou Lord ( to whom I am well known ) thou that hast seen, and proved my heart, take them away, like as a flock is carried to the slaughter house, and appoint them for the day of slaughter.

How long shall the land mourn, and all the herbs of the field perish, for the wickedness of them that dwell therin?

The cattle and the birds are gone, yet say they: tush, God will not destroy us utterly.

Seeing thou art weary in running with the footmen, how wilt thou then run with the horses? In a peaceable sure land thou mayest be safe, but how wilt thou do in the furious pride of Jordane? For thy brethren and thy kindred have all together despised thee, and cried out upon thee in thy absence. Believe them not, though they speak fair words to thee. As for me ( say I ) I have forsaken mine own dwelling place, and left mine heritage. My life also that I love so well, have I given into the hands of mine enemies. Mine heritage is become unto me, as a Lion in the wood. It cried out upon me, therefore have I forsaken it. Mine heritage is unto me, as a speckled bird, a bird of diverse colors is upon it. Go hence, and gather all the beasts of the field together, that they may eat it up.

Diverse herdsmen have broken down my vineyard, and trodden upon my portion. Of my pleasant portion, they have made a wilderness and desert. They have layed it waste and now that it is waste, it sigheth unto me. Yee the whole land is lieth waste, and no man regardeth it. The destroyers come over the *heeth (low shrub) every way , for the sword of the Lord shall consume from the one end of the land to the other, and no flesh shall have rest. They shall sow wheat, and reap thorns. They shall take heritage into possession, but it shall do them no good. And ye shall be confounded of your own winnings, because of the great wrath of the Lord.

Thus saith the Lord upon all mine evil neighbors, that lay hand on mine heritage, which I have given my people of Israel: Behold, I will pluck them ( namely Israel ) out of their land, and put out the house of Juda from among them. And when I have rooted them out, I will be at one with them again, and will have mercy upon them: and bring them again, every man to his own heritage, and to his own land. And if they ( namely that trouble my people ) will learn the ways of them, to swear by my name: The Lord liveth ( like as when they learned my people to swear by Baal ) then shall they be reckoned among my people. But if they will not obey, then I will root out the same folk, and destroy them, sayeth the Lord.

The Thirteenth Chapter

Moreover, thus said the Lord unto me: go thy way, and get thee a linen breech, and gird it about thy loins, and let it not be wet. Then I got me a breech, according to the commandment of the Lord, and put it about my loins. After this, the Lord spake unto me again: Take the breech that thou hast prepared and put it about thee, and get up, and go to the Euphrates, and hide it in a hole of the rock. So went I, and hid it, as the Lord commanded me. And it happened long after this, that the Lord spake unto me: Up, and get thee to Euphrates, and set the breech from thence, which I commanded thee to hide there. Then went I to Euphrates, and digged up, and took the breech from the place from where I had hid it: and, behold, the breech was corrupt, so that it was profitable for nothing.

Then said the Lord unto me: Thus saith the Lord: Even so will I corrupt the pride of Judah, and the high mind of Jerusalem. This people is a wicked people, they will not hear my word, they follow the wicked imaginations of their own heart, and hang upon strange Gods, them have they served and worshiped: and therefore they shall be as this breech, that serveth for nothing. For as straightly as a breech lieth upon a mans loins, so straightly did I bind the whole house of Israel, and the whole house of Juda unto me, sayeth the Lord: that they might be my people: that they might have a gorgeous name: that they might be in honor: but they would not obey me. Therefore lay this riddle before them, and say: Thus saith the Lord God of Israel: Every pot shall be filled with wine. And they shall say: thinkest thou we know not, that every pot shall be filled with wine? Then shalt thou say unto them: Thus saith the Lord: Behold, I shall fill all the inhabitors of this land with drunkenness, the Kings that sit upon Davids stool, the Priests and Prophets, with all that dwell at Jerusalem. And I will shute them one against another, yee the fathers against the sons, sayeth the Lord.

I will not pardon them, I will not spare them, ner have pity upon them: but destroy them. Be obedient, give ear, take no destain at it, for it is the Lord himself that speaketh. Honor the Lord your God herein, or he take his light from you, and or ever your feet stumble in darkness at the hill: lest when ye look for the light, he turn it into the shadow and darkness of death. But if ye will not hear me, that give you secret warning, I will mourn from my whole heart for your stubbornness. Piteously will I weep, and the tears shall gush out of mine eyes. For the Lords flock shall be carried away captive. Tell the king and the rulers: Humble yourselves, set you down low, for the crown of your glory shall fall from your head. The cities toward the south shall be shut up, and no man shall open them. All Juda shall be carried away captive, so that none shall remain.

Lift up your eyes, and behold them, that come from the North: Like a fat flock shall they fall upon thee. To whom will thou make thy moan, when they come upon thee, as on a woman travailing with child? And if thou wouldest say then in thine heart: Wherefore come these things upon me? Even for the multitude of thy blasphemes, shall thy hinder parts and thy feet be discovered. For like as the man of Inde may change his skin, and the cat of the mountains her spots: so may ye that be exercised in evil, do good. Therefore will I scatter you, like as the stubble that is taken away with the south wind. This shall be your portion, and the portion of your measure, where with ye shall be rewarded of me, saith the Lord: because ye have forgotten me, and put your trust in deceitful things. Therefore shall I turn thy clothes over thy head, and discover thy thighs, that thy privates may be seen, thy advoutry, thy deadly malice, thy beastliness, and thy shameful whoredom. For upon the fields and hills I have seen thy abominations. Wo be unto thee ( O Jerusalem ) when wilt thou ever be cleansed any more? *advoutry: prefix "a" meaning not or without, devout: devotion; plain hearted to God, being devoted to something or some one else. see James 2 for adultery

The Fourteenth Chapter

The word of the Lord showed unto Jeremie, concerning the *dearth (scarce, shortage) of the fruits. Judah shall mourn, men shall not go much more throw his gates: the land shall be no more had in reputation, and the cry of Jerusalem shall break out. The lords shall send their servants to fetch water, and when they come to the wells, they shall find no water, but shall carry their vessels home empty. They shall be ashamed and confounded, and shall cover their heads. For the ground shall be dried up, because there cometh no rain upon it. The plowmen also shall be ashamed, and shall cover their heads. The Hind shall forsake the young fawn, that he bringeth forth in the field because there shall be no grass. The wild Asses shall stand in the Moss, and draw in their wind like Dragons, their eyes shall fail for want of grass.

Doubtless our own wickedness reward us: But Lord do thou according to thy name, though our transgressions an sins be many. For thou art the comfort and help of Israel in time of trouble. Why wilt thou be as a stranger in the Land, and as one that goeth over the field, and cometh in only to remain for a night? Why wilt thou make thyself a coward, and as it were a giant that yet may not help? For thou art ours ( O' Lord ) and we bear thy name, therefore forsake us not.

Then spake the Lord, concerning this people that have pleasure to go nimbly with their feet, and leave not off, and therefore displease the Lord: in so much, that he will now bring again to remembrance all their misdeeds, and punish all their sins. Yee even thus said the Lord unto me: Thou shall not pray to do this people good. For though they fast, I will not hear their prayers. And though they offer burnt offerings and sacrifices, yet will not I accept them. For I will destroy them with the sword, hunger, and pestilence. Then answered I: O' Lord God, the prophets say unto them: Tush, ye shall see no sword, and no hunger shall come upon you, but the Lord shall give you continual rest in this place.

And the Lord said unto me: The prophets preach lies unto them in my name. I have not spoken with them, neither gave I them any charge, neither did I send them: yet they preach unto you false visions, charming vanity, and deceitfulness of their own heart. Therefore thus saith the Lord: As for those prophets that preach in my name, ( whom I nevertheless have not sent ) and that say: Tush, there shall neither battle, nor hunger be in this land: With sword and with hunger shall those prophets perish, and the people to whom they have preached shall be cast out of Jerusalem, die of hunger, and be slain with the sword ( and their shall be no man to bury them ) both they and their wives, their sons and their daughters. For thus will I pour their wickedness upon them. This shalt thou say also unto them: Mine eyes shall weep without ceasing day and night. For my people shall be destroyed with great harm, and shall perish with great plague. For if I go into the field, lo, it lieth full of slain men: If I come into the city, lo, they be all famished of hunger.

Yee their prophets also and priests shall be lead in to an unknown land.

Hast thou then utterly forsaken Juda? (said I ) Doest thou so abhor Sion? Or hast thou so plagued us, that we can be healed no more? We looked for peace, and there cometh no good: for the time of health, and lo, here is nothing but trouble. We knowledge ( O' Lord ) all our misdeeds, and the sins of our fathers, that we have offended thee. Be not displeased, O' Lord, for thy names sake, forget not thy loving kindness: Remember the throne of thine honor, break not the covenant, that thou hast made with us. Are there any among the gods of the Gentiles, that send rain or give the showers of heaven? Dost not thou it O' Lord our God, in whom we trust? Yee Lord, thou dost all these things.

The Fifteenth Chapter

Then spake the Lord unto me, and said: Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet have I no heart to this people. Drive them away, that they may go out of my sight. And if they say unto thee: Whither shall we go? Then tell them: The Lord giveth you this answer: Some unto death, some to the sword, some to hunger, some into captivity. For I will bring four plagues upon them saith the Lord. The sword shall strangle them, the dogs shall devour them, the fowls of the air, and the beasts of the earth shall eat them up, and destroy them. I will scatter them about also, in all kingdoms and lands to be plagued, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Juda, for the things that he did in Jerusalem.

Who shall then have pity on thee, O Jerusalem? Who shall be sorry for thee? Or who shall make intercession, to obtain peace for thee? seeing thou goest from me, and turnest backward, sayeth the Lord? Therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and I will not be entreated. I will scatter thee abroad with the fan on every side of the land: I will waste my people and destroy them, for they have had no lust to turn from their own ways. I will make their widows more in number, then the sands of the sea. Upon the mothers of their children, I shall bring a destroyer in the noon day. Suddenly and unawares, shall I send a fear upon their cities. She that hath born seven children, shall have none, her heart shall be full of sorrow.

The Sun shall fail her in the clear day, when she shall be confounded and faint for her very heaviness. As for those that remain, I will deliver them unto the sword of their enemies, sayeth the Lord. O mother, alas that ever thou didest bear me, an enemy and hated of the whole land: Though I never lent nor received upon usury, yet all men speak evil upon me. And the Lord answered me: Lead not I thee then unto good? Come not I unto thee, when thou art in trouble: and help thee, when thine enemy oppresseth thee? Doth one iron hurt another, or one metal that cometh from the North, another? As for your riches and treasure, I will give them out in to a pray, not for any money, but because of all your sins, that ye have done in all your coasts. And i will bring you with your enemies in to a land, that ye know not: for the fire that is kindled in my indignation, shall burn you up.

O' Lord ( said I then ) thou knowest all things, therefore remember me, and visit me, deliver me from my persecutors: Receive not my cause in thy long wrath, yet thou knowest, that for thy sake I suffer rebuke. When I had found thy words, I ate them up greedily: they have made my heart joyful and glad for I call upon thy name, O' Lord God of Hosts. I dwell not among the scorners, neither is my delight therin: but I dwell only in the fear of thy hand, for thou hast filled me with bitterness. Shall my heaviness endure forever? Are my plagues then so great that they may never be healed? Wilt thou be as a water, that falleth, and can not continue? Upon these words, thus said the Lord unto me: If thou wilt turn again, I shall set thee in my service: and if thou wilt take out the thing that is precious from the vile, thou shalt be even as my own mouth. They shall convert unto thee, but turn not thou unto them: and so shall I make thee a strong wall of steel against these people. They shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail. For I myself will be with thee, to help thee, and deliver thee, saith the Lord. And I will rid thee out of the hands of the wicked, and deliver thee out of the hand of Tyrants.

The Sixteenth Chapter

Moreover, thus sayeth the Lord unto me: Thou shalt take thee no wife, ner beget children in this place. For the children that are born in this place, of their mothers that have borne them, and their fathers that have begotten them in this land, Thus sayeth the Lord: They shall die an horrible death: and no man shall mourn for them, ner bury them, but they shall lie as dung upon the earth: They shall perish through the sword, and hunger, and their bodies shall be meat for the fowls of the air, and beasts of the earth. Again, thus saith the Lord: Go not unto them that come together for to mourn and weep: for I have taken my peace from this people ( saith the Lord ) yee my favor and my mercy. And in this land shall they die, old and young, and shall not be buried: no man shall beweep them, no man shall clip or shave himself for them.

There shall not one man visit another, to mourn with them for their dead, or to comfort them. One shall not offer another the cup of consolation to forget their heaviness for father and mother. Thou shalt not go into their feast house, to sit down, much less to eat or drink with them. For thus saith the Lord of Hosts the God of Israel: Behold, I shall take away out of this place, the voice of my mirth and gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride: yee and that in your days, that ye may see it.

Now when thou showest this people all these words, and they say unto thee: Wherefore hath the Lord devised all this great plague for us? Or what is the offense and sin, that we have done against the Lord our God? Then make thou them this answer: Because your fathers have forsaken me, ( saith the Lord ) and have cleaved unto strange gods, whom they have honored and worshiped: but me they have forsaken, and have not kept my law. And yee with your shameful blasphemes, have exceeded the wickedness of your fathers. For every one of you followeth the froward and evil imagination of his own heart, and is not obedient unto me.

Therefore will I cast you out of this land in to a land that ye and your fathers know not: and there shall ye sever strange gods day and night, there will I show you no favor. Behold therefore ( sayeth the Lord ) the days are come, that it shall no more be said: The Lord liveth, which brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt: but it shall be said, the Lord liveth, that brought the children of Israel from the North, and from all lands that I scattered them. For I will bring them again in to the land, that I gave unto their fathers.

Behold, ( sayeth the Lord ) I will send out many fishers to take them, and after that will I send out many hunters to hunt them out, from all mountains and hills and out of the caves of stones. For mine eyes behold all their ways, and they can not be hid from my face, neither can their wicked deeds be kept close out of my sight. But first will I sufficiently reward their shameful blasphemes and sins wherewith they have defiled my land: Namely, with their stinking Idols and abominations, wherewith they have filled mine heritage. O' Lord, my strength, my power, and refuge in time of trouble. The Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the world, and say: Verily our fathers have cleaved unto lies, their Idols are but vain and unprofitable. How can a man make those his gods, which are not able to be gods. And therefore I will once teach them, sayeth the Lord, I will show them my hand and my power, that they may know, that my name is the Lord.

The Seventeenth Chapter

Your sin ( O ye of the tribe of Judah ) is written in the table of your hearts, and graven so upon the edges of your altars with a pen of iron and with an adamant claw: that your children also may think upon your altars, woods, thick trees, high hills, mountains and fields. Wherefore, I will make all your substance and treasure be spoiled, for the great sin that ye have done upon your high places throughout all the coasts of your land. Ye shall be cast out also from the heritage, that I gave you. And I will subdue you under the heavy bondage of your enemies, in a land that ye know not. For ye have ministered fire to my indignation, which shall burn evermore. Thus saith the Lord: Cursed be the man that putteth his trust in man, that taketh flesh for his arm: and he, whose heart departeth from the Lord. He shall be like the *heeth (low shrub) that groweth in the wilderness. As for the good thing that is for to come, he shall not see it : but dwell in a dry place of the wilderness, in a salt and unoccupied land. O blessed is the man, that putteth his trust in the Lord, and whose hope is in the Lord himself. For he shall be as a tree, that is planted by the water side: which spreadeth out the root unto moistness, whom the heat can not harm, when it cometh, but his leaves are green. And though there grow but little fruit because of drought, yet is he not careful, but he never leaveth off to bring forth fruit. Among all things living, man hath the most disceitful and unsearchable heart.

Who shall then know it? Even I the Lord search out the ground of the heart, and try the reins, and reward every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his counsels.

The disceitful maketh a nest, but bring forth no young: He cometh by riches, but not righteously. In the midst of his life he must leave them behind him, and at the last be found very fool. But thou ( O' Lord ) whose throne is most glorious, excellent and most adequate, which dwelleth in the place of our holy rest: Thou art the comfort of Israel. All they that forsake thee, shall be confounded: all they that depart from thee, shall be written in earth, for they have forsaken the Lord the very *condite (conduit: fountain ) of the waters of life.

Heal me, O' Lord, and I shall be whole: save me, and I shall be saved, for thou art my praise. Behold, these men say unto me: Where is the word of the Lord? Let it come. Where as I nevertheless leading the flock in thy ways, have compelled none by violence. For I never desired any mans death, this knowest thou well. My words also are right before thee. Be not now terrible unto me, O' Lord, for thou art he in whom I hope, when I am in peril. Let my persecutors be confounded, but not me: let them be afraid, and not me. Thou shalt bring upon them the time of their plague, and shall destroy them right sore.

Again, thus hath the Lord said unto me: Go stand under the gate, where through the people and the kings of Juda go out and in, yee under all the gates of Jerusalem, and say unto them: Hear the word of the Lord, ye kings of Juda, and all thou people of Juda, and all ye citizens of Jerusalem, that go through this gate: Thus the Lord commandeth: Take heed for your lives, that ye carry no burden upon you in the Sabbath, to bring it through the gates of Jerusalem: ye shall bear no burden also out of your houses in the Sabbath, as I commanded your fathers. How be it they obeyed me not, neither harkened they unto me: but were obstinate and stubborn, and neither obeyed me, nor received my correction. Nevertheless, if ye will hear me (sayeth the Lord ) and bear no burden in to the city through this gate upon the Sabbath: If ye will hallow the Sabbath, so that ye do no work therin: then shall there go through the gates of this city, kings and princes, that shall sit upon the stool of David: They shall be carried upon chariots, and ride upon horses, both they and their princes. Yee whole Juda and all the citizens of Jerusalem shall go here through, and this city shall ever be the more and more inhabited. There shall come men also from the cities of Judah, from about Jerusalem, and from the land of Ben Jamin, from the plain fields, from the mountains and from the wilderness: which shall bring burntofferings, sacrifices, oblations, and incense, and offer up thanksgiving in the house of the Lord. But if ye will not be obedient unto me, to hallow the Sabbath: so that ye will bear your burdens through the gates of Jerusalem upon the Sabbath: Then shall I set fire upon the gates of Jerusalem, and it shall burn up the houses of Jerusalem, and no man shall quench it.

The Eighteenth Chapter

This is another communication, that God had with Jeremie, saying: Arise, and go down to the potters house, and there shall I tell thee more of my mind: Now when I came to the Potters house, I found him making his work upon a wheel. The vessel that the Potter made of clay, brake among his hands: So he began anew, and made another vessel, according to his mind. Then said the Lord thus unto me: May not I do with you, as this Potter doth, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord? Behold, ye house of Israel: ye are in my hand, even as the clay in the Potters hand.

When I take in hand to root out, to destroy, or to waste away any people or kingdom: if that people ( against whom I have thus devised ) convert from their wickedness: Immediately, I repent of the plague, that I devised to bring upon them. Again. When I take in hand, to build, or to plant a people or a kingdom: if the same people do evil before me, and hear not my voice: Immediately, I repent of the good, that I devised to do for them.

Speak now therefore unto whole Juda, and to them that dwell at Jerusalem: Thus saith the Lord: Behold, I am devising a plague for you, am taking a thing in hand against you.

Therefore let every man turn from his evil way, take upon you the thing that is good, and do right. But they say: No more of this, we will follow our own imaginations, and do every man according to the wilfulness of his own mind.

Therefore thus saith the Lord: Ask among the Heathen, if any man hath heard such horrible things, as the Daughter of Sion hath done. Shall not the snow ( that melteth upon the stony rocks of Libanus ) moisten the fields? Or may the springs of waters be so graven away, that they run no more, give moistness, ner make fruitful? But my people hath so forgotten me that they have made sacrifice unto vain Gods. And while they followed their own ways they are come out of the high street, and gone in to a foot way not used to be trodden. Where through they have brought their land into an everlasting wilderness and scorn: So that whosoever traveleth thereby, shall be abashed, and wag their heads. With an East wind will I scatter them, before their enemies. And when their destruction cometh, I will turn my back upon them, but not my face. Then said they: come, let us imagine something against this Jeremie. Yee this did even the priests, to whom the law was committed: the Senators, that were the wisest and the prophets, which wanted not the word of God. Come ( say they ) let us cut out his tongue, and let us not regard his words. Consider me, O' Lord, and hear the voice of mine enemies. Do they not recompense evil for good, when they dig a pit for my soul? Remember , how that I stood before thee, to speak for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them.

Therefore let their children die of hunger, and let them be oppressed with the sword. Let their wives be robbed of their children, and become widows: let their husbands be slain, let their young men be killed with the sword in the field. Let the noise be heard out of their houses, when the murderer cometh suddenly upon them: For they have digged a pit to take me, and layed snares for my feet. Yet Lord, thou knowest all their counsel, that they have devised, to slay me. And therefore forgive them not their wickedness, and let not their sin be put out of thy sight: but let them be judged before thee as the guilty: This shall thou do unto them in the time of thy indignation.

The Nineteenth Chapter

Moreover, thus said the Lord unto Jeremie. Go thy way, and buy thee an earthen pitcher, and bring forth the Senators, and the chief priests in to the valley of the children of Hennom, which lieth before the port that is made of brick, and show them there the words, that I shall tell thee, and say thus unto them: Hear the word of the Lord, ye kings of Judah, and ye citizens of Jerusalem: Thus saith the Lord of Hosts the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring such a plague upon this place, that the ears of all who hear it , shall glow. And that because they have forsaken me, and unhallowed this place, and have offered in it unto strange gods: whom neither they, their fathers, ner the kings of Judah have known. They have filled this place also with the blood of innocents, for they have set up an altar unto Baal, to burn their children for a burntoffering unto Baal, which I neither commanded, ner charged them, neither thought once thereupon.

Behold therefore, the time cometh ( saith the Lord ) that this place shall no more be called Topheth, ner the valley of the children of Hennom, but the valley of slaughter. For in this place will I slay the Senators of Juda and Jerusalem, and kill them down with the sword in the sight of their enemies, and of them that seek their lives. And their dead carcasses will I give to be meat for the fowls of the air, and beasts of the field. And I will make this city so desolate, and despised: that whoso goeth thereby, shall be abashed and jest upon her, because of all the plagues.

I will feed them also with the flesh of their sons and daughters. Yee every one shall eat up another in the besieging and straightness, wherewith their enemies ( that seek their lives ) shall keep them in. And the pitcher thou shalt break in the sight of the men, that shall be with thee, and say unto them: Thus saith the Lord of Hosts: Even so will I destroy this people and city: as a Potter breaketh a vessel, that cannot be made whole again.

In Topheth shall they be buried, for they shall have none other place. Thus will I do unto this place also, saith the Lord, and to them that dwell therin: yee I will do to this city as unto Topheth. For the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Judah are defiled, like as Topheth, because of all the houses, in whos parlors they did sacrifice unto all the host of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto strange gods. And so Jeremie came from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy, and stood in the court of the house of the Lord, and spake to all the people: Thus saith the Lord of Hosts the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon every town about it, all the plagues that I have devised against them: for they have been obstinate, and would not obey my warnings.

The Twentieth Chapter

When Phashur the priest, the son of Emer, chief in the house of the Lord, heard Jeremie preach so steadfastly: he Jeremie, and put him in the stocks, that are by the high gate of Ben Jamin, in the house of the Lord. The next day following Phashur brought Jeremie out of the stocks again. Then said Jeremie unto him: The Lord shall call thee no more Phashur ( that is excellent and increasing ) but Magor ( that is fearful and afraid ) everywhere. For thus saith the Lord: behold, I will make thee afraid, thee thy self and all that favor thee: which shall perish with the sword of their enemies, even before thy face.

And I will give whole Judah under the power of the king of Babylon, which shall carry some unto Babylon prisoners, and slay some with the sword. Moreover, all the substance of this land, all their precious and gorgeous works, all costliness, and all the treasure of the Kings of Judah: will I give in to the hands of their enemies, which shall spoil them, and carry them unto Babylon. But as for thee ( O Phashur ) thou shalt be carried unto Babylon with all thine household, and to Babylon shalt thou come, where thou shalt die, and be buried: thou and all thy favorers, to whom thou hast preached lies. *O' Lord, thou makest me weak, but thou refresheth me, and make me strong again. ( kjv = hast deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed:) All the day long am I despised, and laughed to scorn of every man: because I have now preached long against malicious Tyranny, and showed them of destruction. For the which cause they cast the word of the Lord in my teeth, and rake me ever to the worst.

Wherefore, I thought from hence forth, not to speak of him, ner to preach any more in his name. But the word of the Lord was a very burning fire in my heart and in my bones, which when I would have stopped, I might not. For why, I Heard so many *derisions (object of ridicule) and blasphemes, yee even of my own companions, and such as were conversant with me: which went about, to make me afraid, saying: upon him, let us go upon him, to fear him, and make him hold his tongue: that we may over come him, and be avenged of him.

But the Lord stood by me, like a mighty giant: therefore my persecutors fell, and could do nothing. They shall be sore confounded, for they have done unwisely, they shall have everlasting shame. And now, O' Lord of Hosts, thou righteous searcher ( which knowest the reins and the very hearts: ) let me see them punished, for unto thee I commit my cause.

Sing unto the Lord, and praise him, for he hath delivered the soul of the oppressed, from the hand of the violent. Cursed be the day, wherein I was born: unhappy be the day, wherein my mother brought me forth. Cursed be the man, that brought to my father the tidings, to make him glad, saying: thou hast gotten a son. Let it happen unto that man, as to the cities which the Lord turned upside down

( when he had heard long the wicked rumor of them ) because he slew me not, as soon as I came out of my mothers womb, and because my mother was not my grave herself, that the birth might not have come out, but remained still in her. Wherefore came I forth out of my mothers womb? To have experience of labor and sorrow? and to lead my life with shame?

The Twenty first Chapter

These are the words that the Lord spake unto Jeremie, what time as King Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Melchiah, and Sophaniah the son of Maasiah priest saying: Ask counsel at the Lord ( we Pray thee ) of our behalf, for Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon beseigeth us, if the Lord ( peradventure ) will deal with us, according to his marvelous power, and take him from us.

Then spake Jeremie. Give Zedekiah this answer. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel: behold, I will turn back the weapons, that ye have in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon and the Caldees, which besiege you round about the walls, and I will bring them together into the midst of this city, and I myself will fight against you, with an outstretched hand, and with a mighty arm, in great displeasure and terrible wrath: and will smite them, that dwell in this city, yee both man and cattle shall die of the pestilence.

And after this ( saith the Lord ) I shall deliver Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his servants, his people, ( and such as are escaped in the city, from the pestilence, sword, and hunger ) into the power of Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon: yee into the hands of their enemies, into the hands of those that follow upon their lives, which shall smite them with the sword: they shall not pity them, they shall not spare them, they shall have no mercy upon them.

And unto this people thou shalt say: Thus saith the Lord: behold, I lay before you the way of life and death. Whoso abideth in this city, shall perish: either with the sword, with hunger, or with pestilence. But whoso goeth out to hold on the Caldees part, that besiege it, he shall save his life, and shall win his soul for a prey. For I have set my face against this city ( saith the Lord ) to plague it, and to do it no good. It must be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and be burnt with fire.

And unto the house of the king of Judah, say thus: Hear ye the word of the Lord: ( O house of David ) for thus saith the Lord: Minister righteousness, and that soon, deliver the oppressed from the violent power: or ever my terrible wrath break out like a fire, and burn so, that no man may quench it, because of the wickedness of your imaginations. Behold, ( sayeth the Lord ) I will come upon you that dwell in the valleys, rocks and fields, and say: Tush, who will make us afraid? or who will come into our houses? For I will visit you ( sayeth the Lord ) because of the wickedness of your inventions, and will kindle such a fire in the wood, as shall consume all, that is about you.

The Twenty second Chapter

Thus saith the Lord also: Go down in to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there these words, and say: Hear the word of the Lord, thou king of Judah that sittest in the kingly seat of David: thou, and thy servants, and thy people, that go in and out of this gate. Thus saith the Lord commandeth: Keep equity and righteousness, deliver the oppressed from the power of the violent: do not grieve ner oppress the stranger, the fatherless, ner the widow, and shed no blood in this place.

And if ye will keep these things faithfully, then shall there come in at the door of this house kings, to sit upon Davids seat: they shall be carried in Chariots and ride upon horses, both they and their servants, and their people. But if ye will not be obedient unto these commandments, I swear by mine own self ( saith the Lord ) this house shall be waste. For thus hath the Lord spoken upon the kings house of Judah: Thou art the head, as Galaad in Libanus: What wilt thou lay of it, if I make thee not so waste ( and thy cities also ) that no man shall dwell therin? I will prepare a destroyer with his weapons for thee, to hew down thy special Cedar trees, and to cast them in the fire.

And all the people that go in this city, shall speak to one another: Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this noble city? Then shall it be answered: because they have broken the covenant of the Lord their God, and have worshipped and served other gods. Mourn not over the dead, and be not wo for them, but be sorry for him that departeth away: for he cometh not again, and seeth his native country no more. For thus saith the Lord, as touching Selum the son of Josiah king of Judah, which reigned after his father, and is carried out of this place: He shall never come hither again, for he shall die in the place, where unto he is led captive, and shall see this land no more. Wo worth him, that buildeth his house with unrighteousness, and his parlors with the good that he hath gotten by violence: which never recompenceth his neighbors labor, ner payeth him his hire. He thinketh in himself: I will build me a wide house, and gorgeous parlors: He causeth windows to be hewn therin, and the ceilings and *geastes (joists?) maketh he of Cedar, and painteth them with Zenober. Thinkest thou to reign, now that thou provokest me to wrath with the Cedar trees?

Did not thy father eat and drink, and prosper well, as long as he dealt with equity and righteousness? Yee when he helped the oppressed and poor to their right, then prospered he well.

From whence came this, but only because he had me before his eyes, saith the Lord. Nevertheless, as for thine eyes and thine heart, they look upon covetousness, to shed innocent blood, and to do wrong and violence. And therefore, thus saith the Lord against Jehoakim, the son of Josiah king of Judah: They shall not mourn for him ( as they used to do ) alas brother, alas sister: Neither shall they say unto him: Alas sir, alas for that noble prince. But as an Ass shall he be buried, corrupt and be cast without the gates of Jerusalem.

Climb up the hill of Libanus ( O thou daughter Sion ) lift up thy voice upon Basan, cry from all parts: for all thy lovers are destroyed. I gave thee warning, while thou wast yet in prosperity. But thou saidst: I will not hear. And this manner thou hast used from thy youth, that thou wouldest never hear my voice. All thy herdsmen shall be driven with the wind, and thy dearlings shall be carried away into captivity: Then shalt thou be brought to shame and confusion, because of all thy wickedness: thou that dwellest upon Libanus, and makest thy nest in the Cedars trees. O how great shall thy mourning be, when thy sorrows come upon thee, as a woman travailing with child?

As truly as I live ( sayeth the Lord ) Though Conaniah the son of Jehoakim king of Judah were the signet of my right hand, yet will I pluck him off: And I will give thee into the power of them that seek to slay thee, and into the power of them that thou fearest: into the power of Nabuchodonosor the King of Babylon, and into the power of the Caldees. Moreover, I will send thee, and thy mother that bare thee, into a strange land, where ye were not born, and there shall ye die. But as for the land that ye will desire to return unto, ye shall never come at it again. This man Conaniah shall be like an image robbed and torn to pieces, which pleaseth no man, for all his apparel. Wherefore both he and his seed shall be sent away, and cast out into the land, that they know not. O thou earth, earth, earth: hear the word of the Lord. Write this man among the outlaws, for no prosperity shall this man have all his life long. Neither shall any of his seed be so happy, as to sit upon the seat of David, and to bear rule in Juda.

The Twenty third Chapter

Woe be unto the shepherds, that destroy, and scatter my flock, saith the Lord. Wherefore, this is the commandment of the Lord God of Israel, unto the shepherds that feed my people: Ye scatter and thrust out my flock, and look not upon them. Therefore now will I visit the wickedness of your imaginations, saith the Lord: And I will gather together the remnant of my flock, from all lands that I have driven them unto, and will bring them again to their pastures, that they may grow and increase. I will set shepherds also over them, which shall feed them. They shall no more fear and dread, for there shall none of them be lost, saith the Lord. Behold, the time cometh, saith the Lord, that I will raise up the righteous branch of David, which shall bear rule, and discuss matters with wisdom, and shall set up equity and righteousness again in the earth.

In his time shall Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell without fear. And this is the name that they shall call him: even the Lord our righteous maker. And therefore behold, the time cometh, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said: the Lord liveth, which brought forth, and led the seed of the house of Israel, out of the North land, and from all countries where I had scattered them, and they shall dwell in their own land again.

My heart breaketh in my body because of the false prophets, all my bones shake: I am like a drunken man ( that by the reason of wine I can take no rest ) for very fear of the Lord, and of his holy words: Because the land is full of *advouters, where through it is destroyed and mourneth, and the pleasant pastures of the desert are dried up. Yee the way that men take, is wicked, and their governance is nothing like the holy word of the Lord. For the prophets and the priests themselves are polluted *ipocrites,(hypocrites) and their wickedness have I found in my house, sayeth the Lord. Wherefore, their way shall be slippery in the darkness, wherein they may stagger and fall. For I will bring a plague upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the Lord. I have seen folly among the Prophets of Samaria, that they preached for Baal, and deceived my people of Israel. *advouters: prefix "a" meaning not or without, devout: devotion; plain hearted to God, being devoted to something or some one else. see James 2 for adultery

I have seen also among the Prophets of Jerusalem foul *advoutry, and presumptuous lies. They take the most shameful men by the hand, flattering them, so that they can not return from their wickedness. All these with their citizens are unto me, as Sodom, and as the inhabitors of Gomorre. Here we see advoutry is manifest with presumptuous

(arrogant) lies,

Therefore thus saith the Lord of Hosts concerning the prophets: Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall. For from the prophets of Jerusalem is the sickness of hypocrisy come in to all the land.

And therefore the Lord of Hosts giveth you this warning: Hear not the words of the prophets, that preach unto you, and deceive you: for they speak the meaning of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say unto them, that despise me: The Lord hath spoken it: Tush, ye shall prosper right well. And unto all them, that walk after the lusts of their own heart, they say: Tush , there shall no misfortune happen you. For who hath sitten in the counsel of the Lord, that he hath heard and understand, what he is about to do? Who hath marked his devise, and heard it? Behold, the stormy weather of the Lord, that is, his indignation, shall go forth, and shall fall down upon the head of the ungodly. And the wrath of the Lord shall not turn away again, until he perform and fulfil the thought of his heart. And in the latter days ye shall know his meaning.

I have not sent these Prophets ( sayeth the Lord ) and yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, and yet they preached. But if they had continued in my counsel and heard my words: they had turned my people from their evil ways and wicked imaginations. Am I then God that seeth but the thing, which is nye at hand, and not that is afar off? sayeth the Lord. May any man hideth himself so, that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fulfill heaven and earth? saith the Lord. I have heard well enough, what the prophets say, that preach lies in my name, saying: I have dreamed, I have dreamed. How long will this continue in the prophets hearts, to tell lies, and to preach the crafty subtlety of their own heart? Whose purpose is ( with the dreams that everyone tell ) to make my people to forget my name, as their forefathers did, when Baal came up. The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell it: and he that understandeth my word, let him show it faithfully.

For what hath chaff and wheat to do together? saith the Lord. Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord, and like an hammer, that breaketh the hard stone? Therefore, thus sayeth the Lord: behold, I will upon the prophets, that steal my word privately from every man. Behold, here am I ( saith the Lord ) against the prophets, that take upon their tongues to speak: The Lord hath said it. Behold here am I ( sayeth the Lord ) against those prophets, that dare prophecy lies, and deceive my people with their vanities, and miracles, whom I never sent, ner commanded them. They shall do this people great harm, sayeth the Lord.

If this people, either any prophet or a priest ask thee, and say: What is the burden of the Lord? Thou shalt say unto them: What burden? Therefore will I cast you from me ( saith the Lord ) because ye yourselves are a burden. And that prophet, priest, or people, that useth this term ( the burden of the Lord ) him I will visit, and his house also.

But thus shall ye say, every one to another: What answer hath the Lord given? or what is the Lords commandment? And as for this burden of the Lord, ye shall speak no more of it: for every mans own word is his burden, because ye have altered the words of the living God the Lord of Hosts our God.

Thus shall every man say to the Prophets: what answer hath the Lord given? thee? Or, what sayeth the Lord? And not once to name the burden of the Lord. Therefore thus sayeth the lord: For so much as ye have used this term ( the burden of the Lord ) where as I not withstanding sent unto you, and forbade you to speak of the Lords burden.

Behold therefore, I will repute you as a burden, and will cast you out of my presence: yee and the city also, that I gave you and your fathers: and will bring you to an everlasting confusion, and in such a shame, as shall never be forgotten.

The Twenty fourth Chapter

The Lord showed me a vision, Behold, there stood two maundes (baskets) of figs before the Temple of the Lord, after that Nebuchodonosor king of Babylon had led away captive Jechoniah the son of Jehoakim king of Judah, the mighty men also of Judah, the workmasters, and conning men of Jerusalem, unto Babylon. In the one maunde (basket) were very good figs, even like as those that be first ripe. In the other maunde (basket) were very naughty figs, which might not be eaten, they were so evil. Then said the Lord unto me: What seest thou Jeremie? I said: figs, whereof some be very good, and some so evil, that no man may eat them.

Then came the word of the Lord unto me, after this manner: Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: like as thou knowest the good figs, so shall I know the men led away, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Caldees, for their profit: and I will set mine eyes upon them for the best, for I will bring them again in to this land: I will build them up, and not break them down: I will plant them, and not root them out. And I will give them an heart, to know, how that I am the Lord. They shall be my people, and I will be their God, for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.

And like as thou knowest the naughty figs, which may not be eaten, they are so evil: Even so will I ( saith the Lord ) let Zedekiah the King of Judah, ( ye and all his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem that remain over this land, and them also that dwell in Egypt) to be vexed and plagued in all kingdoms and lands. And will make them to be a reproof, a common byword, a laughing stock and shame, in all the places, where I shall scatter them. I will send the sword, hunger and pestilence among them, until I have clean consumed them out of the land, that I gave unto them and to their fathers.

The Twenty fifth Chapter

A Sermon that was given unto Jeremie, upon all the people of Judah: In the fourth year of Jehoakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that was, in the first year of Nebuchodonosor king of Babylon. Which sermon, Jeremie the prophet made unto all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabitantors of Jerusalem, on this manner.

From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, unto this present day, ( that is even twenty three year ) the word of the Lord hath been committed unto me. And so I have spoken unto you, I have risen up early, I have given you warning in season, but you would not hear me. Though the Lord hath sent his servants, all the prophets unto you in season: Yet would ye not obey, ye would not incline your ears to hear.

He said: turn again every man from his evil way, and from your wicked imaginations, and so shall ye dwell for ever in the land, that the Lord promised you and your forefathers: And go not after strange gods, serve them not, and anger me with the works of your hands: then will I not punish you. Nevertheless, ye would not hear me ( saith the Lord ) but have defiled me with the works of your hands, to your own great harm.

Wherefore thus saith the Lord of Hosts: Because, ye have not hearkened unto my word, Lo, I will send out, and call for all the people, that dwelleth in the North, saith the Lord, and will prepare Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon my servant, and will bring them upon this land, and upon all that dwell therin, and upon all the people that are about them, and will utterly root them out. I will make of them a wilderness, a mocking, and a continual desert.

Moreover, I will take from them the voice of gladness and solace, the voice of the bridegroom, and the bride, the voice of the anointed, with the *cresshettes (torch): and this whole land shall become a wilderness, and they shall serve the said people and the king of Babylon, three score years and ten (70). When the seventy years are expired, I will visit also the wickedness of the king of Babylon and his people saith the Lord: yee and the land of the Caldees, and will make it a perpetual wilderness, and will fulfil all my words upon that land which I have devised against it: yee all that is written in this book, which Jeremie hath prophesied of all people: so that they also shall be subdued unto diverse nations and great kings, for I will recompense them, according to their deeds and works of their own hands.

For thus hath the Lord God of Israel spoken unto me: Take this wine cup of indignation from my hand, that thou mayest cause all the people, to whom I send thee, for to drink of it: that when they have drunken thereof, they may be mad, and out of their wits, when the sword cometh, that I will send among them. Then took I the cup from the Lords hand, and made all the people drink thereof, unto whom the Lord had sent me. But first the city of Jerusalem, and all the cities of Judah, their kings and princes: to make them desolate, waste, despised and cursed according as it is come to pass this day. Yee and Pharao the king of Egypt, his servants, his princes and his people altogether one with another and all the kings of the land of Huz, all the kings of the Philistines land, Ascalon, Azah, Accaron and the remnant of Asood, the Edomites, the Moabites, and the Ammonites: all the kings of Tirus, and Sidon: the kings of the Isles, that are beyond the sea, Dedan, Thema, Buz and the shaven Ismaelites: all the kings of Araby, and ( generally ) all the kings that dwell in the desert: all the kings of Zamri, all the Kings of Elam, all the kings of the Meedes, all kings towards the north, whether they be far or nye, everyone with his neighbors: Yee and all the kingdoms that are upon the whole earth. The king of Sezach, said he, shall drink with them also.

And said thou unto them: This is the commandment of the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: Drink and be drunken, spue and fall, that ye never rise: and that through the sword, which I will send among you. But if they will no receive the cup of thy hand, and drink it, then tell them: Thus doth the Lord of Hosts threaten you: drink it ye shall, and that shortly. For lo, I bring a plague to the city, that my name is given unto: think ye then, that I will leave you unpunished? Ye shall not go quiet. For why, I call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the Lord of hosts.

Therefore tell them all these words, and say unto them: The Lord shall cry from above, and let his voice be heard from his holy habitation. With a great noise shall he cry from his court regal. He shall give a great voice ( like the grape gatherers ) and the sound thereof shall be heard unto the ends of the world. For the Lord hath a judgement to give upon all people, and will hold his court of justice with all flesh and punish the ungodly, saith the Lord.

For thus saith the Lord of Hosts: Behold, a miserable plague shall go from one people to another, and a great stormy water shall arise from all the ends of the earth. And the same day shall the Lord himself slay them, from one end of the earth to another. There shall no moan be made for any of them, none gathered up, none buried: but shall lie as dung upon the ground.

Mourn ( O ye shepherds ) and cry: sprinkle yourselves with ashes, O ye rams or the flock: for the time of your slaughter is fulfilled, and ye shall fall like vessels conningly made for pleasure.

The shepherds shall have no way to flee, and the rams of the flock shall not escape. Then shall the shepherds cry horribly, and the rams of the flock shall mourn: for the Lord shall consume their pasture, and their best fields shall lie dead because of the horrible wrath of the Lord. They shall forsake their folds like an lion: for their land shall be waste, because of the wrath of the destroyer, and because of his fearful indignation.

The Twenty sixth Chapter

In the beginning of the reign of Jehoakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, came this word from the Lord, saying: Thus saith the Lord: Stand in the court of the Lords house, and speak unto all them which ( out of the cities of Juda ) come to worship in the Lords house, all the words that I command thee to say. Look that thou keep not one word back, if ( peradventure ) they will hearken, and turn every man from his wicked way: that I may also repent of the plague, which I have determined to bring upon them, because of their wicked inventions.

And after this manner thou shalt speak unto them: Thus saith the Lord: If ye will not obey me, to walk in my laws, which I have given you, and to hear the words of my servants the prophets, whom I sent unto you, rising up timely, and still sending: If ye will not follow them ( I say ) then will I do to this house, as I did unto Siloh, and will make this city to be abhorred of all the people of the earth. And the priests, the prophets and all the people heard Jeremie preach these words, in the house of the Lord.

Now when he had spoken out all the words, that the Lord had commanded him to preach unto all the people, then the priests, the prophets and all the people took hold upon him, and said: Thou shalt die. How darest thou be so bold, as to say in the name of the Lord: it shall happen to this house as it did unto Siloh? And this city shall be so waste, that no man shall dwell therin?

And when all the people were gathered about Jeremie in the house of the Lord, the princes of Judah heard of this rumor and they came soon out of the kings Palace in to the house of the Lord, and sat them down before the new door of the Lord. Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the rulers and to all the people, these words: This man is worthy to die, for he hath preached against this city, as ye yourselves have heard with your ears.

Then said Jeremie unto the rulers and to all the people: The Lord hath sent me to preach against this house and against this city all the words that ye have heard. Therefore amend your ways, and your advisements, and be obedient unto the voice of the Lord your God: so shall the Lord repent of the plague, that he had devised against you. Now as for me: I am in your hands, do with me, as ye think expedient and good. But this shall ye know: if ye put me to death, ye shall make yourselves, this city, and all the inhabitors thereof, guilty of innocent blood. For this is of a truth: that the Lord hath sent me unto you, to speak all these words in your ears.

Then said the rules and the people unto the priests and to the prophets: This man may not be condemned to death, for he hath preached unto us in the name of the Lord our God. The Elders also of the land stood up, and said thus unto all the people: Micheah the Morasthite, which was a prophet under Ezekiah king of Judah, spake to all the people of Judah, Thus saith the Lord of Hosts: Sion shall be plowed like a field, Jerusalem shall be an heap of stones, and the hill of the Lords house shall be turned to an high wood. Did Ezekiah king of Judah and the people of Judah put him to death for this? No verily, but rather feared the Lord, and made their prayer unto him. For the which cause also the Lord repented of the plague, that he had devised against them. Should we then do such a shameful deed against our souls? There was a prophet also, that preached stiffly in the name of the Lord, called Urijah the son of Semeiah of Cariathiarim: this man preached also against this city and against this land, according to all as Jeremie sayeth. Now when Jehoakim the king with all the estate and princes had heard his words, the king went about to slay him. When Uriah perceived that, he was afraid, and fled, and departed into Egypt.

Then Jehoakim the king sent servants in to the land of Egypt, Namely, Elnathan the son of Achabor, and certain men with him into Egypt. which fetched Uriah out of Egypt, and brought him unto king Jehoakim that slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the common peoples grave But Ahikam the son of Saphan helped Jeremie, that he came not into the hands of the people to be slain.

The Twenty seventh Chapter

In the beginning of the reign of Jehoakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, came this word unto Jeremie from the Lord, which spake thus unto me: Make thee bonds and chains, and put them about thy neck, and send them to the King of Edom, the King of Moab, the King of the Ammon, the King of Tyrus, and to the King of Sidon: and that by the messengers, which come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah the King of Judah, and bid them say unto their masters: Thus saith the Lord of Hosts the God of Israel, speak thus unto your masters: I am he that made the earth, the men, and the cattle that are upon the ground, with my great power and outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it pleased me. And now will I deliver all these lands into the power of Nabuchodonosor the King of Babylon, my servant. The beasts also of the field shall I give him to do him service. And all people shall serve him, and his son, and his childs children, until the time of the same land be come also: yee many people and great kings shall serve him.

Moreover, that people and Kingdom which will not serve Nabuchodonosor, and that will not put their necks under the yoke of the King of Babylon, the same people will I visit with the sword, with hunger, with the pestilence, until I have consumed them in his hands, sayeth the Lord. And therefore follow not your Prophets, soothsayers, expounders of dreams, charmers and witches, which say unto you: Ye shall not serve the King of Babylon. For they preach you lies: to bring you far from your land, and that I might cast you out, and destroy you. But the people that put their necks under the yoke of the King of Babylon, and serve him, those I will let remain still in their own land ( saith the Lord ) and they shall occupy it, and dwell therein.

All these things told I Zedekiah the King of Judah, and said: Put your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, that ye may live. Why wilt thou and thy people perish with the sword, with hunger, with pestilence: like as the Lord hath devised for all people, that will not serve the King of Babylon? Therefore give no ear unto those Prophets ( that tell you: Ye shall not serve the King of Babylon? ) for they preach you lies, neither have I sent them, saith the Lord: how be it they are bold, falsely to prophesy in my name: that I might the sooner drive you out, and that ye might perish with your preachers. I spake to the Priests also, and to all the people: Thus saith the Lord: Hear not to the words of those Prophets, the vessels of the Lords house shall shortly be brought hither again from Babylon: For they prophesy lies unto you. Hear them not, but serve the King of Babylon, that ye may live. Wherefore will ye make this city to be destroyed? But if they be true Prophets in very deed, and if the word of the Lord be committed unto them, then let them pray the Lord of Hosts, that the remnant of the ornaments (which are in the house of the Lord, and remain yet in the house of the King of Judah and at Jerusalem ) be not carried to Babylon also. For thus hath the Lord of Hosts spoken concerning the pillars, the *laver (large basin), the seat and the residue of the ornaments that yet remain in this city, which Nabuchodonosor the King of Babylon took not, when he carried away Jechoniah the son of Jehoakim King of Judah, with all the power of Juda and Jerusalem, from Jerusalem unto Babylon, captivity.

Yee thus hath the Lord of Hosts the God of Israel spoken, as touching the residue of the ornaments of the Lords house of the king of Judahs house, and of Jerusalem: They shall be carried unto Babylon, and there they shall remain, until I visit them, saith the Lord. Then will I bring them hither again. And this was done in the same year: even in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Juda.

The Twenty eighth Chapter

But in the fourth year of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fifth Month, It happened, that Hananiah the son of Assur the prophet of Gabaon, spake to me in the house of the Lord, in the presence of the priests and of all the people, and said. Thus sayeth the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon, and after two year will I bring again into this place, all the ornaments of the Lords house, that Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon carried away from this place unto Babylon. Yee I will bring again Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah himself, with all the prisoners of Judah ( that are carried unto Babylon ) even into this place, saith the Lord, for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.

Then the prophet Jeremie gave answer unto the prophet Hananiah, before the priests and before all the people that were present in the house of the Lord. And the prophet Jeremie said: Amen, the Lord do that, and grant the thing, which thou hast prophesied: that he may bring again all the ornaments of the Lords house, and restore all the prisoners from Babylon in to the place. Nevertheless, hearken thou also, what I will say, that thou and all the people may hear: The prophets that were before us in times past, which prophesied of war, or trouble, or pestilence either of peace, upon many nations and great kingdoms, were proved by this ( if God had sent them in very deed ) when the thing came to pass, which that prophet told before.

And Hananiah the prophet took the chain from the prophet Jeremies neck, and brake it and with that said Hananiah, that all the people might hear: Thus hath the Lord spoken: Even so will I break the yoke of Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, from the neck of all nations, yee and that within this two year. And so the prophet Jeremie went his way. Now after that Hananiah the prophet had taken the chain from the prophet Jeremies neck, and broken it: The word of the Lord came unto the prophet Jeremie saying: Go, and tell Hananiah these words: Thus saith the Lord: Thou hast broken the chain of wood, but instead of wood thou shalt make chains of iron. For thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: I will put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all this people, that they may serve Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon, yee and so shall they do. And I will give him the beasts in the field. Then said the prophet Jeremie unto the prophet Hananiah: Hear me ( I pray thee ) Hananiah: The Lord hath not sent thee, but thou bringest this people into a false belief. And therefore thus saith the Lord: behold, I will send thee out of the land, within a year thou shalt die because thou hast falsely spoken against the Lord. So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh Month.

The Twenty ninth Chapter

This is the Copy of the letter, that Jeremie the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the prisoners: the Senators, priests, prophets, and all the people, whom Nabuchodonosor had led unto Babylon: after that time that king Jechoniah, and his Queen, his chamberlains the princes of Judah and Jerusalem the workmasters of Jerusalem were departed thither. Which letter Elasah the son of Saphan and Gamariah the son of Helkiah did bear, whom Zedekiah the king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon: These were the words of Jeremies letter:

Thus hath the Lord of hosts the God of Israel spoken unto all the prisoners, that were led from Jerusalem unto Babylon: build you houses to dwell therin: plant you gardens, that ye may enjoy the fruits thereof: take you wives, to bear you sons and daughters: provide wives for your sons, and husbands for your daughters, that they may get sons and daughters, and that ye may multiply there. Labor not to be few, but seek after peace and prosperity of the city, wherein ye be prisoners, and pray unto God for it. For in the peace thereof, shall your peace be. For thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: Let not those prophets and soothsayers that be among you deceive you: and believe not your own dreams. For why, they preach you lies in my name, and I have not sent them, saith the Lord.

But thus saith the Lord: When ye have fulfilled seventy years at Babylon, I will bring you home, and of mine own goodness I will carry you hither again to this place. For I know what I have devised for you saith the Lord. My thoughts are to give you peace, and not trouble ( which I gave you already ) and that ye might have hope again. Ye shall cry unto me, ye shall go and call upon me, and I shall hear you. Ye shall seek me and find me, Yee, if so be that ye seek with your whole heart, I will be found of you, ( saith the Lord ) and will deliver you out of prison, and gather you together again out of all places wherein I have scattered you, saith the Lord: and will bring you again to the same place, from whence I caused you to be carried away captive.

But where as ye say, that God hath raised you up prophets at Babylon: Thus hath the Lord spoken ( concerning the king that sitteth in the stool of David, and all the people that dwell in this city, your brethren that are not gone with you into captivity ) Thus ( I say ) speaketh the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will send a sword, hunger and pestilence upon them, and will make them like untimely figs, that may not be eaten for bitterness. And I will persecute them with the sword, with hunger and death.

I will deliver them up to be vexed of all the Kingdoms, to be cursed, abhorred, laughed to scorn, and put to confusion of all the people, among whom I have scattered them: and that because they have not been obedient unto my commandments. ( saith the Lord ) which I sent unto them by my servants the prophets. I stood up early, and sent unto them, but they would not hear, saith the Lord. Hear therefore the word of the Lord, all ye prisoners, whom I sent from Jerusalem unto Babylon: Thus hath the Lord of hosts the God of Israel spoken, of Ahab the son of Colaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Maasiah, which prophesy lies unto you in my name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon, that he may slay them before your eyes. And all the prisoners of Judah that are in Babylon, shall take upon them this term of cursing, and say: Now God do unto thee, as he did unto Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the King of Babylon roasted in fire, Because they sinned shamefully in Israel.

For they have not only defiled their neighbors wives, but also preached lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them. This I testify, and assure, saith the Lord. But as for Semaiah the Nehelamite thou shalt speak unto him: Thus sayeth the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: Because thou hast sealed letters under thy name unto all the people that is at Jerusalem, and to Sophoniah the son of Maasaih the priest yee and sent them to all the priests: wherein thou writest thus unto him: The Lord hath ordened (ordained) thee to be priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, that thou should be chief in the house of the Lord above all prophets, and preachers, and that thou mightest put them in prison, or in the stocks. Now happeneth it then, that thou hast not reproved Jeremie of Anathoth, which never leaveth of his prophecing. And beside all this, he hath sent us word unto Babylon, and told us plainly, that our captivity shall long endure: that we should build us houses to dwell therin, and to plant us gardens, that we might eat the fruit thereof. Which letter Sophoniah the priest did read, and let Jeremie the prophet hear it.

Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremie, saying: Send word to all them that be in captivity, on this manner: Thus hath the Lord spoken concerning Semeiah the Nehelamite: Because that Semeiah hath prophesied unto you without my commission, and brought you into a false hope, therefore thus the Lord doth certify you: Behold, I will visit Semeiah the Nehelamite, and his seed: so that none of his shall remain among this people, and none of them shall see the good, that I will do for this people, saith the Lord. For he hath preached falsely of the Lord.

The Thirtieth Chapter

These are the words that the Lord showed Jeremie, saying: Thus sayeth the Lord God of Israel: Write up diligently all the words, that I have spoken unto thee, in a book. For lo, the time cometh ( saith the Lord ) that I will bring again the prisoners of my people of Israel and Judah, saith the Lord: For I will restore them unto the land, that I gave to their fathers, and they shall have it in possession.

Again, these words spake the Lord, concerning Israel and Judah: Thus saith the Lord: We hear a terrible cry, fear and disquietness. For what else does this signify, that I see? Namely, that all strong men smite, every man his hand upon his loins, as a woman in the pain of her travail. Who ever saw a man travail with child? Enquire there after, and see. Yee all their faces are marvelous pale.

Alas for this day, which is so dreadful, that none may be likened unto it: and alas for the time of Jacobs trouble, from the which he shall yet be delivered. For in that day, saith the Lord, I will take his yoke from off thy neck, and break thy bonds. They shall no more serve strange Gods under him, but they shall do service unto God their Lord, and to David their King, whom I will raise up unto them. And as for thee, O my servant Jacob, fear not ( saith the Lord ) and be not afraid, O Israel. For lo, I will help thee also from far, and thy seed from the land of their captivity. And Jacob shall turn again, he shall be in rest, and have a prosperous life, and no man shall make him afraid. For I am with thee, to help thee, saith the Lord. And though I shall destroy all the people, among whom I have scattered thee, yet will I not destroy thee, but correct thee, and that with discretion. For I know, that thou art in no wise without *faute (fault, the lack of something better). Therefore thus saith the Lord: I am sorry for thy hurt and thy wounds. There is no man to meddle with thy cause: or to bind up thy wounds: there may no man help thee.

All thy lovers have forgotten thee, and care nothing for thee. Fro I have given thee a cruel stroke, and chastened thee roughly: and that for the multitude of thy misdeeds, for thy sins have had the over hand. Why makest thou moan for thy harm? I myself have pity of thy sorrow, but for the multitude of thy misdeeds and sins, I have done this unto you.

And therefore all they that devour thee, shall be devoured, and all thine enemies shall be led in to captivity. All they that make thee waste, shall be wasted themselves: and all those that rob thee, will I make also to be robbed. For I will give thee thy health again and make thy wounds whole, sayeth the Lord: because they reviled thee, as one cast away and despised, O Sion.

For thus saith the Lord: Behold, I will set up Jacobs tents again, and defend his dwelling place. The city shall be builded in her old estate, and their houses shall have their right foundation. And out of them shall go thanksgiving, and the voice of joy.

I will multiply them, and they shall not minish: I shall endue them with honor, and no man shall subdue them. Their children shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall continue in my sight. And all those that vex them shall I visit.

A captain also shall come of them, and a prince shall spring out from the middest of them: him will I challenge to myself, and he shall come unto me. For what is he, that giveth over his heart to come unto me? sayeth the Lord. Ye shall be my people also, and I will be your God. Behold, on the other side shall the wrath of the Lord break out as a stormy water, as a mighty whistle wind: and shall fall upon the heads of the ungodly.

The terrible displeasure of the Lord shall not leave off, until he have done, and performed the intent of his heart, which in the latter days ye shall understand. At the same time ( sayeth the Lord ) shall I be the God of all the generations of Israel, and they shall be my people.

The Thirty first Chapter

Thus saith the Lord: The people of Israel which escaped in the wilderness from the sword, found grace to come to their rest. Even so shall the Lord now also appear unto me from far, and say: I love thee with an everlasting love, therefore do I spread my mercy before thee. I will repair thee again ( O thou daughter Israel ) that thou mayest be fast and sure. Thou shalt take thy tabrets again, and go forth with them, that lead the dance.

Thou shalt plant vines again upon the hills of Samaria, and the grape gathers shall plant and sing.

And when it is time, the watchmen upon the mount of Ephraim shall cry: Arise, let us go up unto Sion to our Lord God, for thus saith the Lord: Rejoice with gladness because of Jacob, cry unto the head of the Gentiles: speak out, sing, and say: the Lord shall deliver his people, the remnant of Israel, and make them whole.

Behold, I will bring them again from out of the north land, and gather them from the ends of the world, with the blind and the lame that are among them, with the women that be great with child, and such as also be delivered: and the company of them that come again, shall be great.

They departed from hence in heaviness, but with joy will I bring them hither again. I will lead them by the rivers of water in a straight way, where they shall not stumble: For I will be Israels father, and Ephraim shall be my firstborn.

Hear the word of the Lord, O ye Gentiles, preach in the Isles, that lay far off, and say: He that hath scattered Israel, shall gather him together again, and shall keep him as a shepherd doth his flock. For the Lord shall redeem Jacob, and rid from the hand of the violent. And they shall come, and rejoice upon the hill of Sion, and shall have plenteous of goods, which the Lord shall give them: Namely, wheat, wine, oil, young sheep and calves. And their conscience shall be as a well watered garden, for they shall no longer be hungry.

Then shall the maid rejoice in the dance, yee both young and old folks. For I will turn their sorrow to gladness, and will comfort them and make them joyful, even from their hearts. I will pour plenteousness upon the hearts of the priests, and my people shall be satisfied with good things, saith the Lord.

Thus saith the Lord: The voice of heaviness, weeping and lamentation came up in to heaven: even of Rachel mourning for her children, and would not be comforted because they were away.

But now saith the Lord: Leave off from weeping, and crying, withhold thine eyes from tears, for thy labor shall be rewarded, saith the Lord. And they shall come again out of the land of their enemies: Yee even thy posterity shall have consolation in this ( sayeth the Lord ) that thy children shall come again into their own land.

Moreover I have heard Ephraim, that was led away captive, complain on this manner: O' Lord, thou hast corrected me, and thy chastening have I received, as a untamed calf. Convert thou me, and I shall be converted, for thou art my Lord God. Yee as soon as thou turnest me, I shall reform me myself: and when I understand, I shall smite upon my thigh. For verily I have committed shameful things: O let my youth bear this reproof and confusion.

Upon this complaint, I thought thus by my self: Is not Ephraim my dear son? Is he not the child? with whom I have had all mirth and pastime? for since the time that i first communed with him, I have him ever in remembrance: therefore my heart driveth me unto him, gladly and lovingly will I have mercy upon him, sayeth the Lord. Get the watchman, provide teachers for thee set thine heart upon the right way, that thou shouldest walk, and turn again ( O thou daughter of Israel ) turn again to these cities of thine. How long wilt thou go astray, O thou shrinking daughter? For the Lord will work a new thing upon the earth: A woman shall compass a man.

For thus sayeth the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: It will come thereto, that when I have brought Juda out of captivity, these words shall be heard in the land and in his cities: The Lord, which is the fair bridegroom of righteousness, make thee fruitful O thou holy hill: And there shall dwell Juda, and all her cities, the shepherds and husbandmen: For I shall feed the hungry soul, and refresh all faint hearts. When I hear this I came again to myself, and mused, like as I had been waked out of a sweet sleep.

Behold ( sayeth the Lord ) the days come, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Juda with men and with cattle. Yee it shall come thereto, that like as I have gone about in times past to root them out, to scatter them, to break them down, to destroy them and chasten them: Even so will I also go diligently about, to build them up again, and to plant them, saith the Lord.

Then shall it no more be said: the fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the childrens teeth are set on edge: for every one shall die for his own misdeed, so that who so eateth a sower grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.

Behold, the days come ( saith the Lord ) that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: not after the covenant that I made with their fathers, when I took them by the hand, and led them out of the land of Egypt: which covenant they brake, wherefore I punished them sore, saith the Lord: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord: I will plant my law in their inward parts of them, and write it in their hearts, and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

And from thence forth shall no man teach his neighbor or his brother, and say: Know the Lord: But they shall all know me, from the lowest unto the highest, saith the Lord. For I will forgive their misdeeds, and will never remember their sins any more. Thus saith the Lord which give the sun to be a light for the day, and the moon and stars to shine in the night: which moveth the sea, so that the floods thereof wax fierce: his name is the Lord of hosts. Like as this ordinance shall never be taken out of my sight, saith the Lord: So shall the seed of Israel never cease, but all way be a people before me.

However, thus saith the Lord: like as the heaven above can not be measured, and as the foundations of the earth beneath may not be sought out: So will I also not cast out the whole seed of Israel, for that they have committed, saith the Lord. Behold the days come saith the Lord, that the city of the Lord shall be enlarged from the town of Hananeel, unto the gate of the corner wall. From thence shall be the right measure be taken before her unto the hill top of Gareb, and shall come about Gaath, and the whole valley of the dead carcasses, and of the ashes, and all Ceremoth unto the brook of Cedron: and thence unto the corner of the horse gate toward the East, whereas the Sanctuary of the Lord also shall be set. And when it is now builded, and set up of this fashion it shall never be broken, nor cast down any more.

The Thirty second Chapter

These words spake the Lord unto Jeremy, in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nabuchodonosor, what time as the king of Babylons Host layed siege unto Jerusalem. But Jeremy the prophet lay bound in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judahs house: where Zedekiah king of Judah caused him to be layed, because he had prophesied of this manner: Thus saith the Lord: Behold: I will deliver this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, which shall take it. As for Zedekiah king of Judah, he shall not be able to escape the Caldees, but surely he shall come into the hands of the king of Babylon: which shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and one of them shall look another in the face. And Zedekiah shall be carried unto Babylon, and there shall he be, until the time that I visit him, saith the Lord. But if thou takest in hand to fight against the Caldees, thou shalt not prosper.

And Jeremy said: Thus hath the Lord spoken unto me: Behold, Hananeel the son of Selum thine Uncles son shall come unto thee, and require thee to redeem the land, that lieth in Anathoth unto thyself: for by reason of kindred it is thy part to redeem it, and to buy it out.

And so Hananeel mine uncles son came to me in the court of the prison

( according to the word of the Lord ) and said unto me: Buy my land ( I pray thee ) that lieth in Anathoth in the country of Ben Jamin: for by heritage thou hast right to loose it out for thyself, therefore redeem it. Then I perceived, that this was the commandment of the Lord, and so I loosed the land from Hananeel of Anathoth, my Uncles son, and weighed him there the money: even seven sicles (shekels), and ten silver pens.

I cause him also to make me a writing, and to seal it, and called record thereby, and weighed him there the money upon the weights. So I took the evidence with the copy ( when it was orderly sealed and read over ) and I gave the evidence unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hananeel my cousin, and in the presence of the witnesses, that be named in the evidence, and before all the Jews that were thereby in the court of the prison.

I charged Baruch also before them, saying: The Lord of Hosts the God of Israel commandeth thee, to take this sealed evidence with the copy, and lay it in an earthen vessel, that it may long continue.

For the Lord of Hosts the God of Israel hath determined, that houses, fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.

Now when I had delivered the evidence unto Baruch the son of Neriah, I besought the Lord, saying: O' Lord God, It is thou that hast made the heaven and earth with thy great power and high arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee. Thou showest mercy upon thousands, thou recompenses the wickedness of the fathers, into the bosom of the children come after them.

Thou art the great and mighty God, whose name is Lord of Hosts: great in counsel, and infinite in thought: Thine eyes look upon all the ways of mens children, to reward every one after his way, and according to the fruits of his inventions: Thou hast done great tokens and wonders in the land of Egypt, ( as we see this day ) upon the people of Israel and upon those men: to make thy name great, as it is come to pass this day: Thou hast brought thy people of Israel out of the land of Egypt, with tokens, with wonders, with a mighty hand, with a stretched out arm and with great terribleness: and hast given them this land, like as thou haddest promised unto their fathers: Namely, that thou wouldest give them a land, that floweth with milk and honey.

Now when they came therin, and possessed it, they followed not thy voice, and walked not in thy law: but all that thou commandedst them to do, that have they not done, and therefore come all these plagues upon them.

Behold, there are bulwarks made now against the city, to take it: and it shall be won of the Caldees that besiege it, with sword, with hunger and death, and look what thou hast spoken, that same shall come upon them.

For lo, all things are present unto thee: Yet sayest thou unto me ( O' Lord God) and commandest me, that I shall loose a piece of land unto myself, and take witness thereto: and yet in the mean season the city is delivered in to the power of the Caldees.

Then came the word of the Lord unto me, saying: Behold, I am the Lord God of all flesh, is there any thing then too hard for me? Therefore thus saith the Lord: behold, I shall deliver this city into the power of the Caldees, and into the power of Nabuchodonosor the King of Babylon, they shall take it in: For the Caldees shall come, and win this city, and set fire upon it, and burn it: with the gorgeous houses, in whose parlors they have made sacrifice unto Baal, and poured drink offerings unto strange Gods, to provoke me unto wrath.

For seeing the children of Israel, and the children of Judah have wrought wickedness before me ever from their youth up, what have they else done, but provoked me with the works of their own hands? saith the Lord.

Or, what hath this city been else, but a provoking of my wrath, ever since the day that I builded it, unto this hour? Wherein I cast it out of my sight, because of the great blasphemes of the children of Israel and Judah, which they have done to provoke me: yee they, their kings, their princes, their Priests, their Prophets, whole Judah, and all the citizens of Jerusalem.

When i stood up early, and taught them and instructed them, they turned their backs to me, and not their faces. They would not hear, to be reformed and correct. They have set their Gods in the house, that is hallowed unto my name, to defile it. They builded high places for Baal in the valley of the children of Hennom, to vow their sons and daughters unto Molech: which I never commanded them, neither came it ever in my thought, to make Judah sin with such abomination.

Moreover thus hath the Lord God of Israel spoken, concerning this city, which

( as ye yourselves confess ) shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, when it is won with the sword, with hunger and with pestilence. Behold, I will gather them together from all lands, wherein I have scattered them in my wrath, in my fearful and great displeasure: and will bring them again unto this place, where they shall dwell safely. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me all the days of their life, that they and their children after them may prosper. And I will set up an everlasting covenant with them, Namely: that I will never cease to do them good, and that I will put my fear in their hearts, so that they shall not run away from me.

Yee I will have a lust and pleasure to do them good, and faithfully to plant them in this land, with my whole heart and with all my soul.

For thus saith the Lord: Like as I have brought all this great plague upon this people: so will I also bring upon them all the good, that I have promised them. And men shall have their possessions in this land, whereof ye say now, that it shall neither be inhabited of people ner cattle, but be delivered into the hands of the Caldees. Yee land shall be bought for money, and evidences made there upon and sealed before witnesses in the land of Ben Jamin, and round about Jerusalem: in the cities of Judah, in the cities that are upon the mountains, and in them that lie beneath, yee and in the cities that are in the desert. For I will bring their prisoners hither again, saith the Lord.

The Thirty third Chapter

Moreover the word of the Lord came unto Jeremy on this manner, when he was yet bound in the court of the prison: Thus saith the Lord, which fullfilleth the thing that he speaketh, the Lord which performeth the thing that he taketh in hand: even he, whose name is the Lord: thou hast cried unto me, and I have hear thee: I have showed great and high things, which were unknown to you.

Thus ( I say ) spake the Lord God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city, and the houses of the kings of Judah: that they shall be broken through the ordinance and weapons, when the Caldees come to besiege them: and they shall be filled with the dead carcasses of men, whom I will slay in my wrath and displeasure: when I turn my face from this city, because of all her wickedness. Behold, ( sayeth the Lord ) I will heal their wounds and make them whole: I will open them the treasure of peace and truth.

And I will return the captivity of Judah and Israel: and will set them up again as they were afore. From all misdeeds ( wherin they have offended against me ) I will cleanse them: And all their blasphemes which they have done against me, when they regarded me not, I will forgive them.

And this shall get me a name, and praise and honor, among all the people of the earth, which shall hear all the good, that I will show unto them: Yee they shall be afraid and astonished at all the good deeds and benefits, that I will do for them. Moreover thus saith the Lord: In this place, whereof ye say that it shall be a wilderness, wherein neither people ner cattle shall dwell: in like manner the cities of Judah and without Jerusalem ( which also shall be so void, that neither people ner cattle shall dwell there ) Shall the voice of gladness be heard again, the voice of the Bridegroom and of the bride, the voice of them that shall sing: Praise the Lord of Hosts, for he is loving and his mercy endureth for ever, and the voice of them that shall offer up gifts in the house of the Lord. For I will restore the captivity of the land, as it was afore, saith the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts: It shall come yet there to, that in this land, which is void from men and cattle, and in all the cities of the land, there shall be set up shepherds cottages: in the cities upon the mountains: and in the cities that lay upon the plain, and in the desert.

In the land of Ben Jamin, in the fields of Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah shall the sheep be numbered again, under the hand of him, that telleth them, sayeth the Lord. Behold, the time cometh, saith the Lord, that I will perform the good thing, which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. In those

days, and at that same time, I will bring forth unto David the branch of righteousness, and he shall do equity and righteousness in the land. In those days shall Judah be helped, and Jerusalem shall dwell safe, **and he that shall call her is even God our righteousness maker. **(kjv = and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The Lord our righteousness.) For thus the Lord promiseth: David shall never want one, to sit upon the stool of the house of Israel: neither shall the priests the Levites want one to offer always before me burnt offerings, to kindle the meat offerings, and to prepare the sacrifices.

And the word of the Lord came unto Jeremy after this manner: Thus saith the Lord: May the covenant which I have made with day and night be broken, that there should not be day and night in due season? Then may my covenant also be broken, which I made with David my servant, and so he not to have a son to reign in his Throne. So shall also the priests and Levites never fail, but serve me. For as the stars of heaven may not be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and of the Levites my ministers.

Moreover, the word of the Lord came to Jeremy, saying, Considerest thou not what this people speaketh? Two kindreds ( say they ) had the Lord chosen, and those same two hath he cast away. For so far as my people come, that they have no hope to come together any more, and to be one people again. Therefore thus saith the Lord: If I have made no covenant with day and night, and given no statute unto heaven and earth: then will I also cast away the seed of David my servant: so that I will take no prince out of his seed, to rule the prosperity of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But I will turn again their captivity, and be merciful unto them.

The Thirty fourth Chapter

These are the words which the Lord spake unto Jeremy, what time as Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon, and all his Hosts ( out of all the kingdoms that were under his power ) and all his people, fought against Jerusalem, and all the cities thereof. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel: Go, and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him: The Lord sendeth this word: Behold, I deliver this city in to the hand of the king of Babylon, he shall burn it, and thou shalt not escape his hands, but shalt be led away prisoner, and delivered into his power. Thou shall look the king of Babylon in the face and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and then shalt thou go to Babylon. Yet hear the word of the Lord, O Zedekiah thou King of Judah: Thus saith the Lord unto thee: Thou shalt not be slain with the sword, but shalt die in peace. Like as thy forefathers the kings, thy progenitors, were brent (burnt): so shalt thou be brent (burnt) also, and in the mourning they shall say: Oh Lord. For thus have I determined, sayeth the Lord.

Then spake Jeremy the prophet all these words unto *Sedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem: what time as the king of Babylons host besieged Jerusalem, and the remnant of the cities: Namely, Lachis and against Azecah, which yet remained of the strong defended cities of Judah.* spelling here is with an S

These are the words that the Lord spake unto Jeremy the prophet, when Sedekiah was agreed with all the people at Jerusalem, that there should be proclaimed a liberty: so that every man should let his servant and handmaid go free, Hebrue and Hebruess, and no Jew to hold his brother as a bond man. Now as they had consented, even so were they obedient, and let them go free. But afterward they repented, and took again the servants and the hand maidens, whom they had let go free, and so made them bond again.

For the which cause the word of God came unto Jeremy from the Lord himself, saying: Thus saith the Lord God of Israel: I made a covenant with your fathers, when I brought them out of Egypt, ( that they should no more be bondmen ) saying: When seven years are out, every man shall let his bought servant an Hebrue go free, if he have served him six years. But your fathers obeyed me not and hearkened not unto me. As for you, ye were now turned, and did right before me, in that ye proclaimed, every man to let his neighbor go free, and in that ye made a covenant before me, in the temple that beareth my name: But yet ye have turned yourselves again, and blasphemed my name: In this, that every man hath required his servant and handmaid again, whom ye had let go quit and free, and compelled them to serve you again, and to be your bond men. And therefore thus saith the Lord: Ye have not obeyed me, every man to proclaim freedom unto his brother and neighbor: wherefore, I will call you unto a freedom, saith the Lord: even unto the sword, to the pestilence, and to hunger, and will make you to be plagued in all the Kingdoms of the earth. Yee those men that have broken my covenant, and have not kept the words of the appointment, which they had made before me: when they hewed the calf in two, and when there went through the two halves thereof: The Princes of Judah, the Princes of Jerusalem, the gelded men, the Priests and all the people of the land, which went through the two sides of the calf. Those men will i give into the power of their enemies, and in to the hands of them that follow upon their lives.

And their dead bodies shall be for meat unto the fowls of the air, and the beasts of the field. As for Zedekiah the King of Judah and his princes, I will deliver them into the power of their enemies, and of them that desire to slay them, and into the hand of the King of Babylons host, which is now departed from you. But through my commandment ( saith the Lord ) they shall come again before this city, they shall fight against it, win it, and burn it. Moreover I will lay the cities of Judah so waste, that no man shall dwell therin.

The Thirty fifth Chapter

The words which the Lord spake unto Jeremy, in the reign of Jehoakim the son of Josiah King of Judah, are these: Go unto the house of the Rechabites, and call them out, and bring them to the house of the Lord in to some commodious place, and give them wine to drink. Then I took I Jazaniah the son of Jeremy the son of Habaziniah, and his brethren and all his sons, and the whole household of the Rechabites: and brought them to the house of the Lord, in to the closet of the children of Hanan the son of Iegedaliah the man of God: which was by the closet of the Princes, that is above the closet of Maasiah the son of Selum, which is the chief of the treasury. And before the sons of the kindred of the Rechabites, I set pots full of wine, and cups, and said unto them: Drink wine. But they said: We drink no wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying: Ye and your sons shall never drink wine, build no houses, sow not seed, plant no vines, yee ye shall have no vineyards: but for all your time ye shall dwell in tents, that ye may live long in the land where ye be strangers.

Thus have we obeyed the commandment of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father, in all that he hath charged us, and so we drink no wine all our live long: we, nor our wives, our sons, and our daughters. Neither build we any house to dwell therin, we have also among us neither vineyards, ner corn land to sow: but we dwell in tents, we obey, and do according unto all, that Jonadab our father commanded us.

But now that Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon came up into the land, we said come, let us go to Jerusalem, that we may escape the host of the Caldees and the Assyrians: and so we dwell now at Jerusalem. Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremy saying: Thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: Go and tell whole Judah and all the inhabitantors of Jerusalem: Will ye not be reformed, to obey my words? saith the Lord. The words which Jonadab the son of Rechab commanded his sons, that they should drink no wine, are fast and surely kept: for unto this day they drink no wine but obey their fathers commandment. But as for me, I have stand up early, I have spoken unto you, and given you earnest warning: and yet have ye not been obedient unto me. Yee I have sent my servants, all the prophets unto you, I rose up early, and sent you word, saying: O turn you, every man from his wicked way: amend your lives, and go not after strange gods, to worship them: that ye may continue in the land, which I have given unto you and your fathers, but ye would neither hear me, ner follow me.

The children of Jonadab Rachabs son have steadfastly kept their fathers commandment, that he gave them, but this people is not obedient unto me. And therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring upon Judah and upon everyone that dwelleth in Jerusalem, all the trouble that I have devised against them. For I have spoken unto them, but they would not follow: I have called unto them, nevertheless they would give me no answer. Jeremy also spake unto the household of the Rechabites: Thus saith the Lord of Hosts the God of Israel: For so much as ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath bidden you: Therefore thus saith the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel: Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not fail, but have one of his stock, to stand alway before me.

The Thirty sixth Chapter

In the fourth year of Jehoakim the son of Josiah King of Judah, came the word of the Lord unto Jeremy, saying: Take a book, and write therein all the words, that I have spoken to thee, to Israel, to Judah, and to all the people, from the time that I began for to speak unto thee ( in the reign of Josiah ) unto this day. That when the house of Judah heareth of the plague, which I have devised for them, they may peradventure turn, every man from his wicked way, that I may forgive their offenses and sins.

Then Jeremy did Jeremy call Baruch the son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote in the book from the mouth of Jeremy, all the words of the Lord, which he had spoken unto him. And Jeremy commanded Baruch, saying: I am in prison, so that I may not come into the house of the Lord: therefore go thou thither, and read the book, that thou hast written at my mouth: Namely, the words of the Lord, and read them in the Lords house upon the fasting day: that the people, whole Judah, and all they that come out of the cities, may hear. Peradventure they will pray meekly before the face of Lord, and turn every one from his wicked way. For great is the wrath and displeasure, that the Lord hath taken against this people.

So Baruch the son of Neriah did, according unto all that Jeremy the Prophet commanded him, reading the words of the Lord out of the book in the Lords house. And this was done in the fifth year of Jehoakim the son of Josiah King of Judah, in the ninth month when it was commanded, that all the people of Jerusalem should fast before the Lord, and they also that were come from the cities of Judah unto Jerusalem.

Then read Baruch the words of Jeremy out of the book in the house of the Lord, out of the treasury of Gamariah the son of Saphan the Scribe, which is beside the higher loft of the new door of the Lords house: that all the people might hear. Now when Micheah the son of Gamariah the son of Saphan had heard all the words of the Lord out of the book, he went down to the Kings palace into the Scribes chamber, for there the Princes were set: Elisama the Scribe, Dalaiah the son of Semei, Elnathan the son of Acabor, Gamariah the son of Saphan, Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, with all the Princes. And Micheah told them all the words, that he heard Baruch read out of the book before the people.

Then all the Princes sent Jehudi the son of Nathaniah, the son of Selamiah, the son of Chusi, unto Baruch, saying: Take in thine hand the book, whereout thou hast read before all the people, and come. So Baruch the son of Neriah took the book in his hand, and came unto them. And they said unto him: Sit down, and read the book that we may hear also. So Baruch read, that they might hear. Now when they had heard all the words, they were abashed one upon another, and said unto Baruch: We will certify the king of all these words. And they examined Baruch, saying: Tell us, how didst thou write all these words out of his mouth? Then Baruch answered them: He spake all these words unto me with his mouth, and I alone was with him, and wrote them in the book.

Then said the Princes unto Baruch: Go thy way, and hide with Jeremy, so that no man know where ye be. And they went in to the King to the court. but they kept the book in the chamber of Elisama the Scribe, and told the King all the words that he might hear. So the King sent Jehudi to fetch the book him the book, which he brought out of Elisama the Scribes chamber. And Jehudi read it, that the King and all the Princes, which were about him might hear. Now the King sat in the winter house, for it was in the ninth Month, and there was a good fire before him. And when Jehudi had read three or four leaves thereof, he cut the book in pieces with a pen knife, and cast it into the fire upon the hearth, until the book was all burnt in the fire upon the hearth.

Yet no man was abashed thereof, or rent his clothes: neither the King himself, ner his servants, though they heard all these words. Nevertheless Elnathan, Dalaiah, and Gamariah besought the King, that he would not burn the book: notwithstanding the King would not hear them, but commanded Jerahmeel the son of Amalech, and Saraiah the son of Ezriel and Selamiah the son of Abdiel, to lay hands on Baruch the Scribe, and upon Jeremy the Prophet: but the Lord kept them out of sight. Now after that the king had burnt the book, and the sermons which Baruch wrote at the mouth of Jeremy: The word of the Lord came unto Jeremy, saying: Take another book, and write in it all the afore said sermons: that were written in the first book, which Jehoakim the King of Judah hath burnt.

And tell Jehoakim King of Judah: Thus saith the Lord: Thou hast burnt the book, and thou thoughtest within thyself: Why hast thou written therein, that the King of Babylon shall come, and make this land waste, so that he shall make both people and cattle to be out of it? Therefore thus the Lord sayeth of Jehoakim king of Judah: There shall none of his generation sit upon the throne of David. His dead corse (corpse) shall be cast out, that the heat of the day, and the frost of the night may come upon him. And I will visit the wickedness of him, of his seed, and of his servants. Moreover all the evil that I have promised them ( though they heard me not) will I bring upon them, upon the inhabitors of Jerusalem, and upon all Judah. Then took Jeremy another book, and gave it Baruch the Scribe, the son of Neriah, which wrote therin out of the mouth of Jeremy: all the sermons that were in the first book, which Jehoakim King of Judah did burn. And there were added unto them many more sermons, then before.

The Thirty seventh Chapter

Zedekiah the son of Josiah, which was the made king through Nabuchodonosor King of Babylon, reigned in the land of Juda, in the stead of Cononiah the son of Jehoakim. But neither he, ner his servants, ner the people in the land would obey the words of the Lord, which he spake by the Prophet Jeremy. Nevertheless Zedekiah the King sent Jehucal the son of Selamiah and Sophoniah the son of Maasiah the Priest to the Prophet Jeremy, saying: O pray thou unto the Lord our God for us. Now Jeremy walked free among the people at that time, and was not put in prison as yet. Pharaohs host also was come out of Egypt: which when the Caldees that besieged Jerusalem perceived, they departed from thence.

Then came the word of the Lord unto the Jeremy the Prophet, saying: Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, This answer shall ye give to the King of Judah, that sent you unto me for counsel: Behold, Pharaohs host which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt in to his own land: but the Caldees shall come again, and fight against this city, win it, and set fire upon it. For thus saith the Lord: Deceive not your own minds, thinking on this manner: Tush, the Caldees go now their way from us: No, they shall not go their way. For though ye had slain the whole host of the Caldees, that besiege you, and every one of the slain lay in his tent, yet should they stand up, and set fire upon this city. Now when the Host of the Caldees was broken up from Jerusalem for fear of the Egyptians army, Jeremy went out of Jerusalem toward land of Ben Jamin, to do certain business there among the people. And when he came under Ben Jamins port, there was a porter, called Jeriah, the son of Selemiah, the son of Hananiah, which fell upon him, and took him, saying: Thy mind is run to the Caldees. Then said Jeremy: It is not so, I go not to the Caldees. Nevertheless Jeriah would not believe him, but brought Jeremy bound before the Princes. Wherefore the Princes were angry with Jeremy, causing him to be beaten, and to be layed in prison in the house of Jonathas the scribe. For he was the ruler of the prison. Thus was Jeremy put into the dungeon and prison, and so lay there a long time. Then Zedekiah the king sent for him and called him, and asked him quietly in his own house, saying: thinkest thou this business ( that now is in hand ) cometh of the Lord? Jeremy answered: yee that it doth: and thou ( said he ) shalt be delivered in to the king of Babylons power.

Moreover, Jeremy said unto King Zedekiah: What have I offended against thee, against thy servants or against this people, that ye have caused me to be put in prison? Where are your prophets which have prophesied unto you, and said, that the King of Babylon should not come against you and this land? And therefore hear now, O my Lord the King: let my prayer be accepted before thee, and send me no more into the house of Jonathas the Scribe, that I die not there. Then Zedekiah the King commanded to put Jeremy in the fore entry of the prison, and daily to be given him a cake of bread, and else no dighty (dressed) meat, until all the bread in the city was eaten up. Thus Jeremy remained in the fore entry of the prison.

The Thirty eighth Chapter

Saphatiah the son of Mathan, Godoliah the son of Phashur, and Jucal the son of Selemiah, and Phashur the son of Melchiah, perceived the words, that Jeremy had spoken unto all the people, namely on this manner: Thus saith the Lord: Who so remaineth in this city, shall perish, either with the sword, with hunger or with pestilence: But who so falleth unto the Caldees, shall escape, winning his soul for a pray, and shall live. For thus saith the Lord. This city ( no doubt ) must be delivered into the power of the King of Babylon, and he also shall win it. Then said the Princes unto the King: Sir, we beseech you let this man be put to death, For thus he discourageth the hands of the soldiers that be in this city, and the hands of all the people, when he speaketh such words unto them. This man verily laboreth not for peace of the people, but mischief. Zedekiah the King answered and said: Lo, he is in your hands, for the King may deny you no thing. Then took they Jeremy, and cast him into the dungeon of Melchiah the son of Hamelech, that dwell in the fore entry of the prison. And they let down Jeremy with cords into a dungeon, where there was no water, but mire. So Jeremy stack (stuck) fast in the mire. Now when Abedmelech the Morian being a chamberlain in the Kings court, understood, that they had cast Jeremy in to the dungeon: he went out of the Kings house, and spake to the king, ( which then sat under the port of Ben Jamin ) these words: My Lord the king, where as these men meddle with Jeremy the prophet, they do him wrong: Namely, in that they have put him in prison, there to die of hunger for there is no more bread in the city. Then the King commanded Abedmelech the Morain and said: Take from hence thirty men whom thou wilt, and draw up Jeremy the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die. So Abedmelech took the men with him, and went to the house of Amalech, and there under an almery (place of tools) he gat old rags and worn clothes, and let them down by a cord, into the dungeon to Jeremy.

And Abedmelech the Morain said unto the prophet Jeremy: O put these rags and clothes under thine arm holes, between them and the cords: And Jeremy did so. So they drew up Jeremy with cords and took him out of the dungeon, and he remained in the fore entry of the prison. Then Zedekiah the King sent and caused Jeremy the prophet to be called unto him, into the third entry, that was by the house of the Lord. And the King said unto Jeremy: I will ask thee somewhat but hide nothing from me. Then Jeremy answered Zedekiah: If I be plain unto thee, thou wilt cause me suffer death: If I give thee counsel, thou wilt not follow me. So the king swore an oath secretly unto Jeremy, saying: As truly as the Lord liveth, that made us these souls, I will not slay thee, ner give thee in to the hands of them that seek after thy life.

Then said Jeremy unto Zedekiah: Thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: If cause be, that thou wilt go forth unto the king of Babylons princes, thou shalt save thy life, and this city shall not be burnt, yee both you and thy household shall escape with your lives. But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylons princes, then shall this city be delivered into the hands of the Caldees which shall set fire upon it, and thou shalt not be able to escape them. And Zedekiah said unto Jeremy: I am afraid for the Jews, that are fled unto the Caldees, lest I come in their hands, and so they to have me in derision.

But Jeremy answered: No, they shall not betray thee: O hearken unto the voice of the Lord ( I beseech thee ) which I speak unto thee, so shall thou be well, and save thy life. But if thou wilt not go forth, that the Lord hath told me this plainly: Behold, all the women that are left in the King of Judahs house, shall go to the King of Babylons Princes. For they think, that thou art deceived: and that the men in whom thou didest put thy trust, have gotten thee under, and set thy feet fast in the mire, and gone their way from thee. Therefore all thy wives with their children shall flee unto the Caldees, and thou shalt not escape their hands, but shalt be the King of Babylons prisoner, and this city shall be burnt. Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremy: Look that no body know of these words, and thou shalt not die. But if the Princes perceive, that I have talked with thee, and come unto thee, saying: O speak, what said the King to thee? hide it not from us, and we will not put thee to death. Tell us ( we pray thee ) what said the king to thee? See that thou give them this answer: I have humbly be sought the king, that he will let me lay no more in Jehonathans house, that I die not there. Then came all the Princes unto Jeremy, and asked him, And he told them, after the manner that the king had bad him. Then they held their peace, for they perceived nothing. So Jeremy abode still in the fore entry of the prison, until the day that Jerusalem was won.

The Thirty ninth Chapter

Now when the city of Jerusalem was taken ( for in the ninth year of Zedekiah King of Judah, in the tenth Month, came Nabuchodonosor King of Babylon and all his Host, and besieged Jerusalem. And in the eleventh year of Zedekiah in the fourth Month the ninth day of that Month, he brake in to the city ) Then all the Princes of the King of Babylon, came in, and sat down under the port: Nerergel, Sarezer, Samegarnabo, Sarsechim, Rabsaris, Nergel, Sarezer, Rabmag, with all the other Princes of the King of Babylon. And when Zedekiah the King of Judah with his soldiers saw them, they fled, and departed out of the city by night through the Kings garden, and through the port that is between the two walls, and so they went toward the wilderness.

But the Caldees Host followed fast after them, took Zedekiah in the field of Jericho, and brought him prisoner to Nabuchodonosor the King of Babylon unto Reblath, that lieth in the land of Hemath where he gave judgment upon him. So the King of Babylon caused the children of Zedekiah and all the nobles of Judah be slain, before his face at Reblah. And made Zedekiahs eyes to be put out, and bound him with chains, and sent him to Babylon.

Moreover, the Caldees burnt up the Kings palace, with the other houses of the people, and brake down the walls of Jerusalem. As for the remnant of the people that were in the city, and such as were come to help them ( whatsoever was left of that common fort ) Nabuzaradan the chief captain carried them to Babylon. But Nabuzaradan the chief captain let the rascall people ( and those that had nothing ) dwell still in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and corn fields at the same time. Nabuchodonosor also the King of Babylon gave Nabuzaradan the chief captain a charge, concerning Jeremy, saying: Take and cherish him, and make much of him: see thou do him no harm, but entreat him after his own desire.

So Nabuzaradan the chief captain, and Nabusasban the chief chamberlain, Nergalsarezer the treasurer and all the King of Babylons lords, sent for Jeremy, and caused him be set out of the fore entry of the prison, and committed him unto Godoliah the son of Ahikam the son of Saphan: that he should carry him home, and so he dwelt among the people. Now while Jeremy lay yet bound in the fore entry of the prison, the word of the Lord came unto him, Go and tell Abedmelech the Morain: Thus saith the Lord of Hosts the God of Israel: Behold, the cruel and sharp plague that i have devised for this city, will I bring upon them, that thou shalt see it: but I will deliver thee ( saith the Lord ) and thou shalt not come in the hands of those men, whom thou fearest. For doubtless I will save thee, so that thou shalt not perish with the sword: but thy life shall be saved, and that because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the Lord.

The Fortieth Chapter

This is the manner how the Lord entreated Jeremy, when Nabuzaradan the chief Captain had let him go free from Raniah, whither he had led him bound among the prisoners, that were carried from Jerusalem and Judah unto Babylon. The chief Captain called for Jeremy, and said unto him: The Lord thy God spake mightily before of the misery upon this place: Now the Lord hath sent it, and performed it as he had promised: For ye have sinned against the Lord, and have not been obedient to his voice, therefore cometh this plague upon you. Behold, I loose the bounds from thy hands this day: if thou wilt now go with me unto Babylon, up then: for I will see to thee, and provide for thee: But if thou wilt not go with me to Babylon, then remain here. Behold, all the land is at thy will, look where thou thinkest convenient and good for thee to abide, there dwell. If thou canst not be content to dwell alone, then remain with Godoliah the son of Ahicam, the son of Saphan: whom the King of Babylon hath made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people, or remain wheresoever pleaseth thee. So the chief Captain of the guard gave him his expenses with a reward, and let him go. Then went Jeremy unto Godoliah the son of Ahikam to Mazphah, and dwelt with him among the people that were left in the land.

Now when the captains of the Host of Juda ( which with their fellows were scattered abroad on every side in the land ) understood that the king of Babylon had made Godoliah the son of Ahicam governor in the land, and that man, wife and child, yee and the poor men in the land ( that were not led captive to Babylon ) should be under his instruction: They came to Godoliah unto Mazphah: Namely, Ishmael the son of Nathaniah, and Johanan and Jonathah the sons of Careah, and Saraiah the son of Thanhometh, and the sons of Ophai the Netophathite, and Jesaniah the son of Maachati, with their companions. And Godoliah the son of Ahicam, the son of Saphan, swore unto them and their fellows on this manner: Be not afraid to serve the Caldees, dwell in the land, and do the King of Babylon service, so shall yee prosper. Behold, I dwell at Mazphah to be an officer in the Caldees behalf, and to satisfy such as come to us. Therefore gather you wine, corn and oil, and keep them in your ware houses, and dwell in your cities that ye have in keeping.

Yee all the Jews also that dwelt in Moab, under the Ammonites, in Jdumea and in all the countries, when they heard, that the King of Babylon had made Godoliah the son of Ahicam the son of Saphan, governor upon them that were left in Juda: All the Jews ( I say ) returned out of all the places where they had fled unto: and came in to the land of Judah, to Godoliah unto Mazphah, and gathered wine and other fruits, and that very much.

Moreover Johanan the son of Careah and all the captains of the Host, that were scattered on every side in the land, came to Godoliah to Mazphah, and said unto him: knowest thou not that Baalis king of the Ammonites hath sent Ismael the son of Nathaniah, to slay thee? But Godoliah the son of Ahicam believed them not. Then said Johanan the son of Careah unto Godoliah in Mazphah these words secretly: Let me go, I pray thee, and I will slay Ismael the son of Nathaniah, so that no body shall know it. Wherefore will he kill thee, that all the Jews which resort unto thee, might be scattered, and the remnant in Judah perish? Then said Godoliah the son of Ahicam to Johanan the son of Careah: Thou shalt not do it, for they are but lies, that men say of Ismael.

The Forty first Chapter

But now in the seventh Month it happened, that Ismael the son of Nathaniah the son of Elisama ( one of the kings blood ) came with them that were greatest about the king, and ten men that were sworn with him: unto Godoliah the son of Ahicam to Mazphah, and ate there together. And Ismael the son of Nathaniah, with those ten men that were sworn to him, start up, and smote Godoliah the son of Ahicam the son of Saphan with the sword, and slew him, whom the King of Babylon had made governor over the land. Ismael also slew all the Jews that were with Godoliah at Mazphah, and all the Caldees that he found there waiting upon him.

The next day after that he had slain Godoliah ( the matter was yet unknown ) there came certain from Sichem, from Siloh and Samaria, to the number of eighty, which had shaven their beards, rent their clothes, and were all heavy, bringing meat offerings, and incense in their hands, to offer it in the house of the Lord. And Ismael the son of Nathaniah went forth of Mazphah weeping, to meet them. Now when he met them, he said: Go your way to Godoliah the son of Ahicam. And when they came into the midst of the city, Ismael the son of Nathaniah ( with them that were sworn to him ) slew them, even at the midst of the pit. Among these eighty men there were ten, that said unto Ismael: O slay us not, for we have yet great treasure in the field, of wheat, barley, oil and of honey. So he spared them, and slew them not with their brethren. Now the pit wherein Ismael did cast the dead bodies of the men ( whom he slew because of Godoliah ) had King Asa caused to be made, for fear of Baasa the king of Israel, and the same pit did Ismael fill with slain men. As for the remnant of the people, the kings daughters and all the people that were yet left at Mazphah, upon whom Nabusaradan the chief Captain had made Godoliah the son of Ahicam governor: Ismael the son of Nathaniah carried them away prisoners toward the Ammonites. But when Johanan the son of Careah, and all they which had been captains over the kings Host with him, heard of all the wickedness that Ismael the son of Nathaniah had done: they took their companions, and went out for to fight with Ismael the son of Nathaniah, and found him by the waters of Rabim in Gabaon. Now when all the people, whom Ismael led captive, saw Johanan the son of Careah and all the Captains of the Host, they were glad. So all the people that Ismael had carried away from Mazphah, were brought again.

And when they returned, they came to Johanan the son of Careah. But Ismael the son of Nathaniah fled from Johanan with eight of his sworn companions, and went to the Ammonites. Then Johanan the son of Careah, and all the captains of the Host that were with him, took the remnant of the people, whom Ismael the son of Nathaniah had led away ( when he had slain Godoliah the son of Ahicam ) whom they also had rescued from him: fighting men, women and children, and gelded men, whom they brought again from Gabaon: and went from thence, and sat them down at Camaam, which layeth beside Bethlehem, that they might go into Egypt for fear of the Caldees: of whom they were afraid, because that Ismael the son of Nathaniah had slain Godoliah Ahikams son, whom the King of Babylon had made governor in the land.

The Forty second Chapter

So all the rulers, and Johanan the son of Kareah, Jezaniah the son of Osaiah came with all the people from the least unto the most, and said unto Jeremy the prophet: O hear our petition, that thou mayest pray for us unto the Lord thy God, and for the remnant, whereof there be very few left of many, and as thou seest us: that the Lord, thy God may show us a way to go in, and tell us, what we should do. Then Jeremy the Prophet said unto them: I have heard you. Behold, I will pray unto God your Lord, as ye have required of me: and look what answer the Lord giveth you, I shall certify you thereof, and keep nothing back from you. And they said to Jeremy: The Lord of truth and faithfulness be our record, that we will do all, that the Lord thy God commandeth us, whether it be good or evil. We will hearken unto the voice of our Lord God to whom we send thee that we may prosper, when we have followed the voice of the Lord our God.

And after ten days, came the word of the Lord unto Jeremy. Then called he Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the people that were with him: yee and all the people from the least to the most, and said unto them: Thus saith the Lord God of Israel unto whom ye sent me, to lay forth your prayers before him: If ye will dwell in this land, I shall build you up, and not break you down: I shall plant you, and not root you out: for I am pacified, as concerning the trouble that I have done to you. Fear not the King of Babylon, of whom ye stand in awe: O be not afraid of him, saith the Lord: for I will be with you, to help you, and deliver you from his hand. I will pardon you, I will have mercy upon you, and bring you again into your own land.

Nevertheless, if ye purpose not to dwell in this land, ner to follow the voice of the Lord your God: but will say thus, we will not dwell here, but go into Egypt: where we shall neither see war, hear the noise of battle, ner suffer hunger, there will we dwell. Wherefore hear now the word of the Lord, O ye remnant of Judah. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts the God of Israel: If ye be wholly purposed to go into Egypt, and to there as strangers: the sword that ye fear, shall overtake you in Egypt: and the hunger whereof ye be here afraid, shall hang upon you into Egypt, there to ease themselves of their misery, shall perish with the sword, with hunger and pestilence: not one of them shall remain, there shall none escape the plague, that i will bring upon them.

For thus saith the Lord of Hosts the God of Israel: Like as my wrath and indignation is come upon the inhabitors of Jerusalem, so shall my displeasure go forth upon you also, if ye go into Egypt: For there ye shall be reviled, abhorred, brought to shame and confusion: and as for this place, ye shall never see it more. The Lord forbideth you ( O ye remnant of Juda ) that y shall not go in to Egypt.

And forget not that I have warned you earnestly this day else shall ye beguile yourselves. For ye sent me unto the Lord your God and said: O pray thou the Lord our God for us: and look what answer the Lord our God giveth thee, that bring us again, and we shall do thereafter. Now have I showed, and declared unto you the voice of the Lord your God, for the which cause he hath sent me to you. If ye will not follow it be sure that ye shall perish with the sword, with hunger and pestilence: even in the same place, where your lust was to go, and dwell.

The Forty third Chapter

Now when Jeremy had ended all the words of the Lord God unto the people

( for their sakes to whom God had sent him ) Azariah the son of Osaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah with all the proud persons, said unto Jeremy: Thou liest, the Lord our God hath not sent thee to speak unto us, that we should not go into Egypt, and dwell there: But Baruch the son of Neriah provoketh thee against us, that he might bring us into the captivity of the Caldees: that they might slay us, and carry us away prisoners unto Babylon.

So Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the host, and all the people followed not the commandment of the Lord: Namely, to dwell in the land of Judah: But Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the hosts, carried away all the remnant in Judah, that were come together again from the Heathen ( among whom they had been scattered ) to dwell in the land of Judah: Men, women, children, the Kings daughters: all those that Nabuzaradan the chief captain had left with Godoliah the son of Ahikam: They carried away also the prophet Jeremy, Baruch the son of Neriah, and so came in to Egypt: for they were not obedient, unto the commandment of God. Thus they came to Thaphnis.

And in Thaphnis the word of the Lord happened unto Jeremy, saying: Take great stones in thine hand, and hide them in the brick wall, under the door of Pharaos house in Thaphnis, that all the men of Judah may see, and say unto them: Thus saith the Lord of Hosts the God of Israel: Behold, I will send and call for Nabuchodonosor the King of Babylon my servant, and will set his seat upon these stones that I have hid, and he shall spread his tent over them.

And when he cometh, he shall smite the land of Egypt with slaughter, with prisonment, and with the sword. He will set fire upon the temples of the Egyptian gods, and burn them up, and take themselves prisoners. Moreover he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, like as a shepherd putteth on his coat, and shall depart his way from thence in peace. The pillars also of the temple of the Sunne that is in Egypt: shall he break in pieces, and burn the temples of the Egyptians gods.

The Forty fourth Chapter

This is the word that was showed to Jeremy concerning all the Jews, which dwell in Egypt: which dwell at Magdal, at Thaphnis, at Memphis, and in the land of Patures. Thus sayeth the Lord of Hosts the God of Israel: Ye have seen all the misery that I have brought upon Jerusalem, and upon all the cities of Judah: so that this day they are desolate, and no man dwelling therein: and that because of the great blasphemes, which they committed, to provoke me unto anger: In that they went back to do sacrifice, and worship unto strange gods: whom neither they, ner ye, ner your fathers have known. How be it, I sent unto them my servants all the prophets: I rose up early, I sent unto them, and gave them warning: O do no such abominable things, and things that I hate. But they would not follow ner hearken, to turn from their wickedness, and to do no more sacrifice unto strange gods.

Wherefore mine indignation and wrath was kindled, and it burnt up the cities of Judah, the fields with the streets of Jerusalem, so that they were made waste and desolate, as it is come to pass this day. Noe therefore thus saith the Lord of Hosts the God of Israel: Now happeneth it, that ye do so great evil unto your own souls, thus to destroy the men and woman, children and babes of Judah? so that none of you is left, because ye provoke me unto wrath with the works of your own hands: when ye offer unto strange gods in the land of Egypt where as ye be gone to dwell: That ye might utterly perish, and that ye might be reviled and shamefully entreated of all nations. Or have ye now forgotten the wickedness of your forefathers, the wickedness of the Kings of Judah and their wives, the wickedness that ye yourselves and your wives have done in the land of Judah, in the city and land of Jerusalem?

Yet are ye not sorry this day, ye fear not neither walk in my law and my commandments, that I have given unto you and your forefathers.

Therefore thus saith the Lord of Hosts the God of Israel: I am steadfastly advised and determined, to punish you, and to root out all Judah. As for the remnant of Judah that purposely went into Egypt, there to ease them of their misery: I will take them and they shall all be destroyed. In the land of Egypt shall they perish being consumed with the sword and with hunger. For from the least unto the most , they shall perish with the sword and with hunger. More over they will be reviled, abhorred, shamed and confounded. For I visit them that dwell in Egypt, as I have visited Jerusalem: with the sword, with hunger and with pestilence: So that none of the remnant of Judah, which are gone to dwell in Egypt shall be left to come again into the land of Judah all though they think to come thither again, and to dwell there. For none shall come again, but such as are fled away.

Then all the men which knew that their wives had offered unto strange gods, and a great sort of wives that stood there, yee and all the people that dwelt there in Egypt in the city of Patures, answered Jeremy, and said: As for the words that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, we will in no wise hear them: But whatsoever goeth forth out of our own mouth, that will we do: We will do sacrifice, and offer oblations unto the Queen of heaven: like as we and our forefathers, our Kings and our heads have done in the cities of Judah, and in the streets and fields of Jerusalem. For then had we plenteousness of victuals, then were we in prosperity, and no misfortune came upon us.

But since we left, to offer, and to do sacrifice unto the Queen of heaven, we have had scarceness of all things, and perish with the sword and hunger. Last of all, when we women did sacrifice and offered unto the Queen of heaven, did we make her cakes and pour unto her drink offerings, to do her service, without our husbands wills?

Then said Jeremy unto all the people, to the men, to the women, and to all the folk, which had given him that answer: Did not the Lord remember the sacrifices that ye, your forefathers, your kings and rulers ( with all the people ) have offered in the cities of Judah, in the streets and land of Jerusalem? and hath he not considered this in his mind? In so much, that the Lord might no longer suffer the wickedness of your intentions, and the abominable things which he did? Is not your land desolate and void, yee abhorred, so that no man dwelleth therin any more, as it is come to pass this day?

Did not all this happen to you, because ye made such sacrifice, and sinned against the Lord? Ye have not followed his voice, to walk in his law, in his ordinances and statutes.

Yee this is the cause, that all misfortune happened unto you, as it is come to pass this day. Moreover, Jeremy spake unto all the people and to all the women: Hear the word of the Lord all Judah, ye that be in the land of Egypt: Thus saith the Lord of Hosts the God of Israel: Ye and your wives have both spoken with your own mouth, the thing that ye have fulfilled in deed:

Yee thus have ye said: We will not fail, but do the thing that pleaseth us: we will do sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the Queen of heaven. Purposely have ye set up your own good meanings, and hastily have ye fulfilled your own intent. And therefore, hear the word of the Lord all Judah, ye that dwell in the land of Egypt.

Behold, I have sworn by my great name, saith the Lord, that my name shall not be rehearsed through any mans mouth of Juda, in all the land of Egypt: to say: The Lord God liveth, for I will watch, to plague them, and not for their wealth. And all the men of Judah that be in the land of Egypt, shall perish with the sword and with hunger, until they be utterly destroyed.

Nevertheless, those that fled away for the sword, shall come again into the land of Judah, but there shall be very few of them. And all the remnant of Judah, that are gone into Egypt, there to dwell, shall know whose words shall be found true: theirs or mine. Take this for a token, that I will visit you in this place, sayeth the Lord, and that ye may know, how that I ( without doubt ) will perform my purpose upon you to punish you. Behold, saith the Lord, I will deliver Pharao Hophrea King of Egypt into the hands of his enemies, that seek his life: even as I gave Zedekiah King of Judah into the hands of Nabuchodonosor King of Babylon, which sought after his life.

The Forty fifth Chapter

These are the words that Jeremy the prophet spake unto Baruch the son of Neriah, after that he had written these Sermons into a book at the mouth of Jeremy, In the fourth year of Jehoakim the son of Josiah King of Judah.

Thus saith the Lord God of Israel unto thee, O Baruch: In so much as thou thoughtest thus, when thou wast writing: Woe is me, the Lord hath given me pain for my travail: I have wearied myself with sighing, and shall I find no rest? Therefore tell him, O Jeremy that the Lord sayeth thus: Behold, The thing that I have builded, will I break down again, and root out the thing, that I have planted, yee this whole land. And seekest thou yet promotion? Look not for it, and desire it not. For I will bring a miserable plague upon all flesh sayeth the Lord. But thy life will I give the for a prey, wheresoever thou goest.

The Forty sixth Chapter

Here follow the words of the Lord to the prophet Jeremy which he spake unto the Gentiles. These words following preached he to the Egyptians concerning the Host of Pharao Necho king of Egypt, when was in Carcamis beside the water of Euphrates: what time as Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon slew him, In the fourth year of Jehoakim the son of Josiah king of Judah.

Ye make ready buckler and shield, ye go forth to fight: Ye harness your horses, and set yourselves upon them: Ye set your salettes (helmets) fast on, ye bring forth your spears, ye scour your swords, and put on your breastplates.

But alas, how happeneth it, that I see you so afraid? why shrink ye back? Wherefore are your worthies slain: Yee they run so fast away, that none of them look behind him. Fearfulness is fallen upon every one of them saith the Lord. The lightest of foot shall not flee away, and the worthies shall not escape.

Toward the north by the river Euphrates, they shall stumble and fall. But what is he this, that swelleth up, as it were a flood, roaring and raging like the streams of water? It is Egypt that riseth up like a flood, and casteth out the waters with so great noise.

For they say: We will go up, and will cover the earth: we will destroy the cities, with them that dwell therin. Get you to horse back roll forth the Chariots, come forth ye worthies: ye Morains, ye Libeans with your bucklers, ye Libeans with your bows: So shall this day be unto the Lord God of Hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his enemies. The sword shall devour, it shall be satisfied and bathed in their blood: For the Lord God of Hosts shall have a slayen offering toward the North, by the water of Euphrates. Go up, ( O Gilead ) and bring *triacle unto the daughter of Egypt: * bored speech, medicinal ointment, molasses.

But in vain shalt thou go to surgery, for thy wound shalt not be stopped. The Heathen shall hear of thy shame, and the land shall be full of thy confusion: for one strong man shall stumble upon another, how then should they not fall both together.

These are the words that the Lord spake to the prophet Jeremy, concerning the host of Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon, which was sent to destroy the land of Egypt. Preach out through the land of Egypt, and cause it to be proclaimed at Magdal, Memphis, and Thaphnis, and say: Stand still, make there die, for the sword shall consume thee round about.

How happeneth it that thy mighty worthies are fallen? why stood they not fast? Even because the Lord thrust them down. The slaughter was great, for one fell ever still upon another. One cried upon another: Up, let us go again to our own people, and to our own natural country, from the sword of our enemy.

Cry even there: O Pharao king of Egypt, the time will bring sedition. As truly as I live ( sayeth the king, whose name is the Lord of Hosts ) it shall come as the mount of Thabor, and as Libanus if it stood in the sea. O thou daughter of Egypt make ready thy gear to flit. For Memphis shall be void desolate, so that no man shall dwell therin. The land of Egypt is like a goodly fair calf, but one shall come out of the north to prick her forward. Her waged soldiers that be with her, are like fat calves.

They also shall flee away together, and not abide: for the day of their slaughter and the time of their visitation shall come upon them.

The cry of their enemies shall make a noise, as the blast of a trumpet. For they shall enter in with their host, and come with axes, as it were hewers of wood. And they shall cut down her wood, saith the Lord, without any discretion. For they shall be more in number than the grasshoppers, so that no man shall be able to tell them. The daughter of Egypt shall be confounded when she shall be delivered into the hands of the people of the north.

Moreover sayeth the Lord of Hosts the God of Israel: Behold I will visit that restless people of Alexandria, Pharao and Egypt, yee both their gods and their Kings: even Pharao, and all them that put their trust in him. Yee I will deliver them into the hands of those, that seek after their lives Namely into the power of Nabuchodonosor the King of Babylon, and in to the power of his servants. And after all these things it shall be inhabited as afore time, saith the Lord.

But be not thou afraid ( O my servant Jacob ) fear thou not, O Israel. For lo, I will help thee from far, and thy seed from the land of thy captivity. Jacob also shall come again, and be in rest: he shall be rich, and no man shall do him harm. Fear thou not, ( O Jacob my servant ) saith the Lord, for I am with thee: and I will destroy all nations, among whom I have scattered thee. Nevertheless I will not consume thee, but chasten thee and correct thee: yee and that with discretion: neither will I spare thee as one that were faultless.

The Forty seventh Chapter

These are the words, that the Lord spake unto Jeremy the prophet against the Philistines, before that Pharao smote the city of Aza. Thus saith the Lord: Behold, there shall waters arise out of the North: And shall grow to a great flood, running over and covering the land, the cities, and them that dwell therein.

And the men shall cry, and all they that dwell in the land, shall mourn at the noise and stamping of their strong barbed horses, at the shaking of their chariots and at the rumbling of the wheels. The fathers shall not look to their children, so feeble and weary shall their hands be: at the same time, when he shall be there, to destroy the whole land of the Philistines. He shall make waste both Tirus and Sidon and all other that are sworn unto them.

For the Lord will destroy all Philistina, and the other Isles, that be divided from the country. Baldness is come upon Azah, Ascalon with her other valleys shall keep her peace.

How long wilt thou slay, O thou sword of the Lord? Turn again unto thy sheath, rest, and leave off. But how can it cease, when the Lord himself hath given him a charge against Ascalon, and raised it up against the cities of the sea coast?

The Forty eighth Chapter

Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel against Moab: Woe unto Nabo, for it shall be layed waste, brought to confusion and taken. Yee the strong city of Kariathiarim shall be brought to shame, and afraid: Moab shall be no more had in honor: Wicked counsel shall be taken upon Hesebon. Come, ( shall they say ) let us root them out, that may be no more among the number of the Gentiles, yee that they may no more be thought upon: Thus the sword shall persecute thee: A voice shall cry from Horonaim, With great wasting and destruction, is Moab made desolate.

And this cry shall be heard in all her cities. At the going up unto Luith there shall arise a lamentation: and down toward Horonaim, there shall be heard a cruel and deadly cry: Get you away, save your lives and be like unto the heeth ( low shrub ) in the wilderness. For because thou hast trusted in thy strongholds and treasure, thou shalt taken Chamos with his priests and princes shall go away into captivity.

The destroyer shall come upon all cities, none shall escape. The valleys shall be destroyed, and the fields shall be layed waste: like as the Lord hath determined.

Make a token unto Moab, that she get her away speedily: for her cities shall be made so desolate, that no man shall dwell therin. Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord negligently, and cured be he that keepeth back his sword from shedding blood.

Moab hath ever been rich and careless from her youth up, she hath sitten and taken her ease with her treasure. She was never yet put out of one vessel into another, that is, she never went away in to captivity, therefore her taste remaineth, and her savoure is not yet changed.

But lo, the time cometh, sayeth the Lord, that I shall send her trussers to truss her up, to prepare a season her vessels: yee her tankards rattle and shake to and fro. And Moab shall be ashamed of Chamos, like as Israel was ashamed of Bethel, wherin she put her trust.

Wherefore do ye think thus: We are mighty, and strong men of war? Moab shall be destroyed, her cities burnt up: her chosen young men shall be slain, saith the King, whose name is the Lord of Hosts. The destruction of Moab cometh on a pace, and her fall is at hand.

All her neighbors shall mourn for her, and all they that know her name, shall say: O how happeneth it, that the strong staff and goodly rod is broken? And thou daughter Dibon, come down from thy glory, and sit in poverty. For he that destroyeth Moab, shall come up also, and break down thy strong holds.

And thou that dwellest in Aroer, get thee to the street, and look about thee: ask them that are fled and escaped, and say: What thing is happened? O Moab is confounded and overcome.

Mourn and cry, tell it out at Armon, that Moab is destroyed. And misery shall come upon the plain land: Namely, upon Holon, and Jahazah, and Mephaath and Dibon, upon Nabo, and the house of Deblathaim, upon Cariathiarim and Bethgamul, upon Bethmaon and Carioth, upon Bozrah and all the cities of the land of Moab, whether they lie far or near.

The horn of Moab shall be smitten down, and her arm broken, saith the Lord. Make her drunken, for she magnified herself above the Lord, that men may clap their hands at her vomit, and that she also may be laughed into scorn. O Israel, shalt thou not laugh him to scorn, when he is taken among thieves? Yee because of thy words that thou hast spoken against him, thou shalt be driven away. Ye Moabites shall leave the cities, and dwell in the rocks of stone, and become like doves, that make their nest in holes.

As for Moabs pride, we have heard of it, she is very high minded. I know her stoutness, her boasting, her arrogance and the pride of her stomach, sayeth the Lord. For her furriousness may neither uphold her with strength ner deed. Therefore shall their mourning be made for Moab, and every man shall cry for Moabs sake: a lamentation shall be made to the men that stand upon the wall. So will I mourn for thee also O Jazer, and for thee, O thou vineyard of Sabamah.

Thy wine branches shall come over the sea, and the branches of Jazer but unto the sea: the destroyer shall break into thy harvest and grape gathering: Mirth and cheer shall be taken away from the timber field, and from the whole land of Moab.

There shall be no sweet wine in the press, the treader shall have no stomach to cry, yee there shall be none to cry unto him: which afore time were heard from Hesebon to Eleale, and Jahaz, which lifted up their voice from Zoar unto Horonaim, that bullock of three years old. The waters also of Nemrim shall be dried up.

Moreover I will make Moab cease ( saith the Lord ) from the offerings and censing ( burning of incense ) that she hath made unto her gods in high places. Wherefore my heart mourneth for Moab, like a crowd playing an heavy song: and for the mens sake of the brick wall my heart mourneth also, even as a pipe that pipeth a doleful song: for they shall be very few, and destroyed.

All heads shall be shaven, and all beards clipped off: all hands bound, and all loins girded about with sack cloth. Upon all the housetops and streets of Moab, there shall be mourning: For I will break Moab like an unprofitable vessel saith the Lord. O how fearful is she? O how mourneth she? O how doth Moab hang down her head, and is ashamed? Thus shall Moab be a laughing stock, and had in derision (ridicule) of all them, that be round about her.

For thus saith the Lord: Behold, the enemy shall come flying as an Aegle (Eagle), and shall spread his wings upon Moab. They shall climb over the walls, and win the strongholds. Then the mighty mens hearts in Moab shall be like the heart of a woman travailing with child.

And Moab shall be made desolate, that she shall no more be a people, because she hath set up herself against the Lord. fear, pit, and snare shall come upon thee ( O Moab ) saith the Lord. Who so escapeth the fear, shall fall in the pit: and who so getteth out of the pit, shall be taken in the snare.

For I will bring a year of visitation upon Moab, saith the Lord. They that are able to flee, shall stand under the shadow of Hesebon. For there shall go a fire out of Heshbon, and a flame from Sion, and shall burn up that proud people of Moab, both before and behind.

Woe be unto thee, (O Moab ) for thou people of Chamos shall perish: Yee thy sons and daughters shall be led away captive. Yet at the last will I bring Moab out of captivity again, saith the Lord. Thus far of the plague of Moab.

The Forty ninth Chapter

As concerning the Ammonites, thus the Lord sayeth: Hath Israel no children, or is he without an heir? Why hath your king then taken Gad in? Wherefore doth his people dwell in his cities? Behold therefore, the time cometh ( saith the Lord ) that I will bring a noise of war into Rabah of the Ammonites. Lahel shall be desolate, and her cities burnt up: and the Israelites shall be lords over those that had them in possession afore, saith the Lord. The cities of Rabah shall cry out, and gird themselves with sackcloth: they shall mourn, and run about the walls: for their king shall be led away prisoner: yee his priests and princes with him.

Wherefore trusteth thou in the water streams that flow to and fro, O thou fierce daughter: and thinkest thou art so safe ( by reason of thy treasure ) that no man shall come to thee?

Behold, I will bring a fear upon thee, saith the Lord God of Hosts, from all those that be about thee: so that ye shall be scattered every man from another, and no man shall gather them together again that be fled. But after that, I will bring the Ammonites also out of captivity again.

Upon the Edomites hath the Lord of Hosts spoken on this manner: Is there no wisdom in Thema? Is there no more good counsel among his people? Is their wisdom then turned clean to nought? Get you hence, turn your backs creep down into the deep, O ye citizens of Dedan.

For I will bring destruction upon Esau, ye and the day of his visitation. If the grape gathers come upon thee, should they not leave some grapes? If the night robbers came upon thee, should they not take so much as they thought were enough?

But I will make Esau bare, and discover his secrets, so that he shall not be able to hide them. His seed shall be wasted away yee his brethren and his neighbors, and he himself shall not be left behind.

Thou shalt leave thy fatherless children behind thee, and I will keep them and thy widows shall take their comfort in me. For thus hath the Lord spoken: Behold, they that men thought were unmete (not worthy) to drink of the cup, have drunken with the first: and thinkest thou then to be free?

No, no: thou shalt neither be quiet nor free, but thou must drink also: For why, I have sworn by myself ( sayeth the Lord ) that Bozrah shall become a wilderness, an open shame, a laughing stock and cursing: and her cities shall be a continual desert.

For I am perfectly informed of the Lord, that he hath sent a message all ready unto the Heathen. Gather you together, and go forth against them: make you ready to battle, for, lo: I will make thee but small among the Heathen, and little regarded among men.

Thy high stomach and pride of thy heart have deceived thee, Because thou wilt dwell in the holes of stony rocks, and have the high mountains in possession. Nevertheless though thy nest were as high as the Aegles (eagles), yet will I cast thee down, saith the Lord. Moreover Idumea shall be a wilderness: who so goeth by it, shall be abashed, and wonder at all her miserable plagues. Like as Sodom, Gomor, and the cities that lay there about, were turned up side down ( saith the Lord ) so shall no body dwell in Idumea, and no man shall have his habitation there. Behold, like as the Lion cometh up from the pleasant meadows of Jordan unto the green pastures of Etham, so will i drive him, and make him turn against her. But who is the young man that I will ordain thereto? Who is like unto me? What is he that will strive with me? What shepherd may stand in my hands?

Therefore hear the counsel of the Lord, that he hath taken upon Idumea: and his purpose, that he hath devised upon the citizens of Theman: The least of the flock shall tear them in pieces, and look what fair thing they have, they shall make it waste, and themselves also. At the noise of their fall, the earth shall quake, the cry of their voice shall be heard to the red sea. Behold, the enemy shall come and fly up hither, like as it were an Aegle (eagle) and spread his wings upon Bozrah. Then shall the hearts of the worthies in Edom be as the heart of a woman travailing with child. Upon Damascus, Hamath and Arphad shall come confusion, for they shall hear evil tidings: they shall be tossed to and fro like the sea that can not stand still. Damascus shall be sore afraid, and shall flee, trembling shall come upon her. Sorrow and pain shall over take her as a woman travailing of child. But how should so worshipful and glorious a city be forsaken? Hear therefore: her young men shall fall in the streets, and all her men of war shall be taken away in that time, sayeth the Lord of Hosts. I will kindle a fire in the walls of Damascus, which shall consume the palace of Benhadad.

As for Cedar and kingdom of Hazor, whom Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon smote down, the Lord hath spoken thus upon them: Arise, and get you up to Cedar, and destroy the people toward the east. Their tents and their flocks shall they take away, yee their hangings and their vessel. Their Camels also shall they carry away with them. Then shall come about them on every side with a fearful cry.

Flee, get you soon away, creep into caves, that ye may dwell there: O yee inhabitantors of Hazor, saith the Lord. For Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon hath holden a counsel concerning you, and concluded his devise against you. Arise, and get you up against yonder rich and careless people ( sayeth the Lord ) which have neither gates nor door bars, and dwell not together. Their camels shall be stolen, and the droves of their cattle driven away.

Moreover, these that be shaven will I scatter toward all the winds, and bring them to destruction: yee and that through their own familiars, saith the Lord. Hazor also shall be a dwelling for Dragons, and an everlasting wilderness: so that no body shall dwell there, and no man shall have there his habitation.

These are the words, that the Lord spake to the prophet Jeremy concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah King of Judah. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, and take away their strength: and upon Elam I will bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them against the same the same four winds: And there shall be no people, but some of them shall flee unto them.

For I will cause Elam to be afraid of their enemies, and of them that seek their lives: and will bring upon them the indignation of my wrath, saith the Lord. And I will persecute them with the sword so long till I have brought them to naught. I will set my stool in Elam, I will destroy both the king and the princes from thence, saith the Lord. But in the process of time, I will bring Elam out of captivity again, saith the Lord.

The Fiftieth Chapter

The words that the Lord spake unto the prophet Jeremy, concerning Babylon, and the land of the Caldees: preach among the Gentiles, let your voice be heard, make a token: cry out, keep no silence, but say Babylon shall be won, Bel shall be confounded, and Merodach shall be over come.

Yee their gods shall be brought to shame and their images shall stand in fear. For out of the north there come a people against her, which shall make her land so waste, that no body shall dwell therin: neither man ner beast. In those days, and at that time, saith the Lord, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah, weeping and making haste, and shall seek the Lord their God. They shall ask the way to Sion, thither shall they turn their faces, and come and hang upon thee, in a covenant that never shall be broken.

My people hath been lost flock, my shepherds have deceived them, and have made them go astray upon the hills. They have gone from the mountains to the little hill, and forgotten their fold. All they that came upon them, have devoured them: and their enemies said: We have made no fault against them, for they have displeased the Lord, yee even the Lord which is the beauty of their righteousness, and that defended their fathers. Yet shall ye flee from Babylon, and depart out of the land of the Caldees, and ye shall be as the rams that go before the flock. For lo, I will make up an host of people from the northern land, and bring them upon Babylon: these shall lay siege to it, and win it: There arrows shall not miss, like as a cunning archer shuteth not wrong. And the Chaldees shall be spoiled, and all they that spoil them, shall be satisfied, saith the Lord. because ye were so cheerful and glad, to tread down mine heritage, and fulfill your pleasures, as the calves in the grass: And triumphed over them like the bulls, when ye had gotten the victory. Your mothers shall be sore confounded, and they that bare you, shall come to shame. She shall be the least set by among the nations, void, waste, and dried up. No man shall be able to dwell there, for the fear of the Lord, but she shall be whole desolate. All they that go by Babylon, shall stand still, and be abashed, and shall wonder at all her plagues.

Go forth in your array against Babylon round about, all ye that can handle bows: shoot at her, spare no arrows, for she hath sinned against the Lord. Cry out: upon her, upon her, against her round about: she shall yield herself, her foundations shall fall, and her walls shall come down, for it shall be the vengeance of the Lord. Yee vengeance shall be taken of her, and as she hath done, so shall she be dealt withal. They shall root out the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in Harvest. For fear of the sword of the enemy, every man shall get him to his own people, and every man shall flee to his own land. Israel is a scattered flock, the Lions have dispersed them. First the king of the Assyrians devoured them, last of all this Nabuchodonosor King of Babylon hath bruised all their bones.

Therefore thus saith the Lord of Hosts the God of Israel: Behold, I will visit the King of Babylon and his kingdom, as I have visited the King of Assyrians. and I will bring Israel again to his pleasant pasture, that he may feed upon Carmel and Bashan, and be satisfied upon the mount of Ephraim and Gilead. In those days and at the same time ( saith the Lord ) if the offense of Israel be sought for, there shall be none found: If men enquire for the sin of Judah, there shall be none: for I will be merciful unto them, whom I suffer to remain over.

Go down ( O thou avenger ) in to the enemies land, and visit them that dwell therin: down with them, and smite them upon the backs, sayeth the Lord: do according to all, that i have commanded thee. There is gone about the land a cry of the slaughter and great murder, namely on this manner: How happeneth it, that the hammer of the whole world is thus broken and bruised insunder? How chanced it, that Babylon is become a wilderness among the Heathen on this manner? I myself have layed wait for thee, and thou art taken: unawares art thou trapped and snared: for why, thou hast provoked the Lord unto anger: The Lord hath opened his house of ordinance, and brought forth weapons of his wrath. For the thing that is done in the land of the Caldees, it is the Lord of hosts work.

These things shall come upon her at the last, they shall break into her privy chambers, they shall leave her as bare as stones, that be layed together upon heaps. They shall so destroy her, that nothing shall be left. They shall slay all her mighty soldiers, and put them to death. Woe be unto them, for the day and the time of their visitation is at hand. Me think I hear all ready a cry, of them that be fled and escaped out of the land of Babylon, which show Sion the vengeance of the Lord our God, the vengeance of his temple: yee a voice of them, that cry against Babylon: Call up all the archers against Babylon, pitch your tents round about her, that none escape. Recompense her, as she hath deserved: and according as she hath done, so deal with her again: for she hath set up herself against the Lord, against the holy one of Israel. Therefore shall her young men fall down in the streets, and all her men of war shall be rooted out in that day, saith the Lord. Behold, I speak unto thee ( O thou proud ) saith the Lord God of Hosts: for thy day shall come, even the time of thy visitation. And the proud shall stumble and fall, and no man shall help him up. I will burn up his cities with fire, and it shall consume all that is round about him.

Thus saith the Lord of Hosts: The children of Israel and Judah suffer violence together. All they that have them in captivity, keep them fast, and will not let them go: but their avenger and redeemer is mighty, whose name is the Lord of Hosts: he shall maintain their cause, he shall make the land shake, and judge them that dwell therin, one with another. The sword shall come upon the Caldees, saith the Lord, upon them that dwell in Babylon, upon their princes, and upon their wise men: The sword upon their soothsayers, as for those ( they shall become fools ) The sword upon their worthies, so that they shall stand in fear: The sword upon their horsemen and chariots, and upon all the common people that dwell under them: so that they shall all become like women: The sword upon their treasure, so that it shall be stolen away: The sword upon their waters, so that they shall be dried up: For the land worshipeth images, and delighteth in strange wonderful things. Therefore shall wild beasts, Apes, and Ostriches dwell therin: for there shall never man dwell there, neither shall any man have his habitation there for evermore. Like as God destroyed Sodome and Gomorre, with the cities that lay there about, saith the Lord: So shall no man dwell there also, neither shall any man have there his habitation. Behold, there shall come a people from the North, with a great bound of men, and many Kings shall stand up from the ends of the earth: They bear bows and bucklers, cruel are they and unmerciful. Their voice roareth like the raging sea, they ride upon horses, and come weaponed to fight against thee: O Babylon. As soon as the king of Babylon heareth tell of them, his hands shall wax feeble: Sorrow and heaviness shall come upon come upon him, as of a woman in travailing with child. Behold, Like as the Lion cometh up from the pleasant meadows of Jordan unto the green pastures of Ethan, so will I drive them forth, and make them run against her. But whom shall I choose out, and ordain to such a thing? For who is like me, or who will strive with me? or what shepherd may stand against me? Therefore hear the counsel that the Lord hath given upon Babylon, and the devise that he hath taken upon the land of the Caldees. The least among the people shall tear them in pieces, and look what pleasant thing they have: they shall lay it waste. The noise at the winning of Babylon shall move the earth, and the cry shall be heard among the Gentiles.

The Fifty first Chapter

Thus hath the Lord said: Behold, I will raise up a perilous wind against Babylon and her citizens, that bear evil will against me. I will send also into Babylon fanners, to fan her out, and destroy her land: for in the day of her trouble they shall be about her an every side: Moreover, the Lord hath said unto the bow men, and to them that climb over the walls in breast plates: He shall not spare her young men, kill down all her host. Thus the slain shall fall down in the land of the Caldees, and the wounded in the streets. As for Israel and Juda, they shall not be forsaken of their God, of the Lord of Hosts, of the holy one of Israel: no, though they have filled all their land full of sin. Fly away from Babylon, every man save his life. Let no man hold his tongue to her wickedness, for the time of the Lords vengeance is come, yee he shall reward her again. Babylon hath been in the Lords hand a golden cup, that maketh all lands drunken. Of her wine have all people drunken, therefore are they out of their wits. But suddenly is Babylon fallen and destroyed. Mourn for her, bring plasters for her wounds, if she may peradventure be healed again. We would have made Babylon whole ( sayeth they ) but she is not recovered. Therefore will we let her alone, and go every man into his own country. For her judgment is come in to heaven, and is gone up to the clouds. And therefore come on, we will show Sion the work of the Lord our God.

Make sharp arrows, and fill the quivers: for the Lord hath raised up the spirit of the king of the Meedes, which hath already a desire to destroy Babylon. This shall be the vengeance of the Lords, and the vengeance of his temple.

Set up tokens upon the walls of Babylon, make your watch strong, set your watchmen in array, yee hold private watches: and yet for all that shall the Lord go forth with the devise, which he hath taken upon them that dwell in Babylon.

O thou that dwellest by the great waters, O thou that hast so great treasure and riches, thine end is come: and the raking of thy winnings. The Lord of Hosts hath sworn by himself, that he will over whelm thee with men like grasshoppers in number, which with courage shall cry Alarm, Alarm against the. Yee even the Lord of Hosts, that with his power made the earth, with his wisdom prepared the round world, and with his discretion spied out the heavens. As soon as he letteth his voice be heard, the waters in the air wax fierce: He draweth up the clouds from the ends of the earth. He turneth the lightnings to rain, he bringeth the winds out of their secret places. By the reason of wisdom, all men are become fools. Confounded are all the casters of images: for the thing that they make is but deceit, and hath no breath. Vain is it and worthy to be laughed at: and in the time of visitation it shall perish.

Nevertheless, the portion of Jacob is none such: but he that made all things, whose name is the Lord of Hosts, he is the rod of his inheritance. Thou breakest my weapons of war, and yet through thee I have scattered the nations and kingdoms: Through thee have I scattered horse and horse man, yee the chariots, and such as sat upon them: through thee I have scattered man and woman, old and young, bachelor and maiden. Through thee I have scattered the shepherd and his flock, the husband man and his cattle, the princes and rulers. Therefore will I reward the city of Babylon and all her citizens the Caldees, with all the evil which they have done unto Sion: yee that ye yourselves shall see it, sayeth the Lord. Behold, I come upon thee ( thou noisesome hill ) sayeth the Lord, thou that destroyest all lands. I will stretch out my hand over thee, and cast down from the stoney rocks: and will make thee a brunt hill, so that neither corner stones, ner pinnacles, ner foundation stones shall be taken any more out of thee, but waste and desolate shalt thou lie for evermore, sayeth the Lord.

Set up a token in the land, blow the trumpets among the Heathen, provoke the nations against her, call the kingdoms of Ararat, Menni, and Ascanes against her: number out Taphsar against her, bring as great a sort of horses against her, as if they were grasshoppers. Prepare against them the people of the Meedes with their kings princes and all their chief rulers, yee and the whole land that is under them.

The land also shall shake and be afraid, when the devise of the Lord shall come forth against Babylon: to make the land of Babylon so waste, that no man shall dwell any more therin. The Worthies of Babylon shall leave the battle, and keep themselves in strongholds, their strength hath failed them, they shall be like women. Their dwelling places shall be burnt up, their bars shall be broken. Orie pursuant shall meet another, yee one post shall come by another, to bring the king of Babylon tidings: that his city is taken in on every side, the *foordes occupied, the *senns brunt up, and the soldiers sore afraid. *foordes = shallow area were a crossing can be made through water, perhaps like a moat. *senns = a swampy area, perhaps defensive; as it is hard to move quickly through a swamp.

For thus saith the Lord of Hosts the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon hath been in her time like as a threshing floor but shortly shall her harvest come. Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon hath devoured and destroyed me, he hath made me an empty vessel. He swallowed me up like a dragon, and filled his belly with my delicates: he hath cast me out. he hath taken my substance away and the thing that was left me hath he carried unto Babylon, sayeth the daughter that dwelleth in Sion: yee and my blood also unto the Caldees, sayeth Jerusalem. Therefore thus sayeth the Lord: Behold, I will drink up her see, and dry up her water springs.

Babylon shall become an heap of stones a dwelling place for dragons, a fearfulness and wondering, because no man dwelleth there. They shall roar together like lions, and as young lions when they be angry, so shall they bend them selves. In their heat I shall set drink before them, and they shall be drunken for joy: Then shall they sleep an everlasting sleep, and never wake, sayeth the Lord. I shall carry them down to be slain like sheep, like whethers and goats. O how was Sesach won? O, how was the glory of the whole land taken? how happeneth it, that Babylon is so wondered at among the Heathen? The sea is risen over Babylon, and hath covered her with his great waves. Her cities are layed waste, the land lieth unbuilded and void: it is a land where no man dwelleth, and where no man traveleth through. Moreover, I will visit Bel at Babylon: and the thing that he hath swallowed up, that same shall I pluck out of his mouth. The Gentiles also shall run no more unto him, yee and the walls of Babylon shall fall.

O My people, come out of Babylon, that every man may save his life, from the fearful wrath of the Lord. Be not faint hearted, and fear not at every rumor that shall be heard in the land: for every year bringeth new tidings, yee strange wickedness and lordship. And lo, the time cometh that I will visit the images of Babylon, and the whole land shall be confounded, yee and her slain shall lie in the midst of her. Heaven and earth with all that is therin, shall rejoice over Babylon, when the destroyers shall come upon her from the North, sayeth the Lord.

Like as Babylon hath beaten down and the slain many out of Israel, so shall there fall many, and be slain in all her kingdom. Ye that have escaped the sword, haste you, stand not still, remember the Lord afar off: and think upon Jerusalem, for we were ashamed to hear the blasphemes: our faces were covered with shame, because the strange aliens came into the Sanctuary of the Lord. Wherefore, behold, ( sayeth the Lord ) the time cometh, that I will visit the images of Babylon, and through the whole land they shall mourn and fall. Though Babylon climbeth up into heaven, and keep her power an high: yet shall I send her destroyers, saith the Lord.

A piteous cry shall be heard from Babylon, and a great misery from the land of the Caldees: when the Lord destroyeth them, and when he driveth out the high stomach and proud boasting, wherewith they have been as furious as the waves of great water floods, For the destroyers shall come upon her ( even upon Babylon ) which shall take her worthies, and break their bows : for God is disposed to avenge himself upon them, and sufficiently to recompense them. Yee ( sayeth the Lord ) I will make their Princes, their wise men, their chief rulers and all their worthies, drunken: so that they shall sleep an everlasting sleep, and never wake: Thus sayeth the King, whose name is the Lord of Hosts.

Moreover, Thus saith the Lord of Hosts: The thick wall of Babylon shall be broken, and her proud gates shall be burnt up . And the thing that the Gentiles and the people have wrought with great travail and labor, shall come to naught and be consumed with fire.

This is the charge that Jeremy gave unto Saraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Maasiah, when he went toward Babylon with Zedekiah the King of Judah, in the fourth year of his reign. Now this Saraiah was a peaceable Prince. Jeremy wrote in a book all the misery that should come upon Babylon, yee and all these sermons that be written against Babylon, and gave Saraiah this charge: When thou comest unto Babylon, see that you read all these words, and say: O' Lord, thou art determined to root out this place, so that neither people ner cattle shall dwell there any more, but to lie waste for ever: and when thou hast read out the book, bind a stone to it, and cast it in the midst of Euphrates, and say: Even thus shall Babylon sink, and be thrust down with the burden of trouble, that I will bring upon her: so that she shall *uever (never) come up again. Thus far are the preachings of Jeremy.

The Fifty second Chapter

Zedekiah was twenty one years old, when he was made king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mothers name was Hamutal, Jeremys daughter of Lobnah. He lived wickedly before the Lord even as Jehoakim did. Wherefore the Lord was angry at Jerusalem and Judah, so long till he had cast them out of his presence. And Zedekiah fell from the King of Babylon. But in the ninth year of his reign, In the tenth Month, the tenth day of the Month it happened, that Nabuchodonosor King of Babylon with all his Host came before Jerusalem, and besieged it, and made them built bulwarks round about it. And this besieging of the city endured unto the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.

And in the fourth Month, the ninth day of the Month, there was so great hunger in the city: that there were no more vitals for the people of the land. So all the soldiers break away, and fled out of the city by night through the way of the port between the two walls by the Kings garden. Now the Caldees had compassed the city round about, yet went these men their way toward the wilderness.

And so the Caldees followed upon them, and took Zedekiah the king in the field of Jericho, when his host was run from him. So they carried the king away prisoner to Riblah, unto the King of Babylon in the land of Hemath, where he gave judgment upon him.

The King of Babylon also caused Zedekiahs sons to be slain before his face, yee and put all the princes of Judah to death at Reblath. Moreover he put out the eyes of Zedekiah, caused him to be bound in chains, to be carried unto Babylon: and let him live in prison, till he died.

Now the tenth day of the fifth Month, in the ninth (kjv =nineteenth) year of Nabuchodonosor King of Babylon, Nabuzaradan the chief captain and the king of Babylons servants came unto Jerusalem, and burnt up the house of the Lord. He burnt up also the kings palace, all the houses and all the gorgeous buildings in Jerusalem. And the whole Host of the Caldees that were with the chief Captain, brake down all the walls of Jerusalem round about.

As for the poor people and such folk as yet was left in the city, which also were fallen to the King of Babylon, yee and what people as yet remained: Nabuzaradan the chief Captain carried them away prisoners. But the poor people of the country, did Nabuzaradan the chief Captain leave in the land, to occupy the vineyards and fields. The Caldees also brake the brasen pillars that were in the house of the Lord, yee the seat and the brasen laver (large basin) that was in the house of the Lord: and carried all the metal of them unto Babylon. They took away also the Caldrons, shovels, flesh hooks, sprinklers, spoons, and all the brasen vessel that was occupied in the service: with the basins, coal pans, sprinklers, pots, candlesticks, spoons and cups: whereof some were of gold, and some silver.

The chief Captain took also the two pillars, the laver, and the twelve brasen bullocks that stood under the seat, which King Solomon made in the house of the Lord: and all the vessel contained so much metal, that it might not be weighed. For every pillar was eighteen cubits high, and the rope that went about it, was twelve cubits, and four fingers thick and round: Now upon the rope were brasen knoppes, (knobs or decorative bosses)and every knob was five cubits high: and upon the knobs were whopes (hoops), and pomegranates round about of clean brass.

After this manner were both the pillars fashioned with the pomegranates, whereof there were an hundred and ninety six pomegranates which hanged upon the hoops round about. The chief Captain also took Sariah the high priest, and Sophoniah that was chief next to him, and the three keepers of the treasury. He took out of the city a chamberlain which was a captain of the soldiers, and seven men that were the kings servants, which were found in the city: and Sepher a captain that used to muster the men of war: with sixty men of the country that were taken in the city. These Nabuzaradan the chief Captain took, and carried them to the king of Babylon unto Reblath: and the King of Babylon caused them to be put to death at Reblath in the land of Hemath. And thus Judah was lead away captive, out of his own land. This is the sum of the people, whom Nabuchodonosor lead away captive.

In the seventh year of his reign, he carried away captive of the Jews, three thousand and three and twenty. In the eighteenth year Nabuchodonosor carried away from Jerusalem eight hundred thirty two persons. In the twenty third year of Nabuchodonosor Nabuzaradan the chief Captain, took away seven hundred forty five Jews prisoners, The whole sum of all the prisoners, is four thousand and six hundred. In the thirty seventh year after that Jehoacin the king of Judah was carried away in the twenty fifth day of the twelfth Month, Evilmerodach King of Babylon ( the same year that he reigned ) gave Jehoacin the king of Judah his pardon, and let him out of prison, and spake lovingly to him. And set his throne above the thrones of the other Kings that were with him in Babylon. He changed also the clothes of his prison, yee and he ate with him all his life long. And he had a continual living given him of the king of Babylon, every day a certain thing allowed him all the days of his life, until he died.

The end of the book of the Prophet Jeremy

The Lamentations of Jeremy

THE 1ST CHAPTER

Aleph

Alas, how sits the city so desolate, that once was so full of people? Now she has become like a widow! she was the lady of all nations; Now is she brought under tribute, that ruled all lands.

Beth

She weepeth sore in the night, so that the tears run down her cheeks: for among all her lovers, there is none that give her any comfort: yea her next friends abhor her, and are become her enemies.

Gimel

Judah is taken prisoner, because she was defiled: and for serving so many strange gods, she dwelleth now among the heathen. She findeth no rest: all that persecute her, took her, and so she dwelleth among her enemies.

Daleth

The streets of Zion mourn, because no man comes to the solemn feasts. All her gates are desolate, her priests make lamentations, her maidens are careful , and she herself is in great heaviness.

He

Her enemies are fallen upon her head, and have put her to shame: because the Lord has chastened her for her great wickedness: her children are lead away captive before their enemy.

Uau

All the beauty of the daughter of Zion is away, her princes have become like wethers (a castrated male sheep) that find no pasture. They are driven away before their enemy, for they have no power.

Zain

Now does Jerusalem remember the time of her misery and disobedience, yes the joy and pleasure that she had in the times past: seeing her people brought down through the power of their enemy, and their is no man for to help her: her enemies staid looking at her and laughing her Sabbath days to scorn.

Heth

Jerusalem sinned ever more and more, therefore she has come into decay. All they that had her in honor, despise her: for they have seen her filthiness. Yes she sigheth, and is shamed of herself.

Teth

Her skirts are defiled, she remembereth not what would follow: therefore is her fall so great, and there is no man to comfort her. O' Lord, consider my trouble, for my enemy has the upper hand.

Fod

The enemy hath put his hand to all the precious things that she had, Yes even before her eyes came the heathen in and out of the sanctuary: whom thou never the less hast forbidden to come within your congregation.

Caph

All her people seek their bread with heavens, and look what precious things every man hath, that he gives for meat, to save his life. Consider, O' Lord, and see, how vile I am became.

Lamed

O you all that go by, behold and see, if there be any sorrow like unto mine.

where with the Lord hath troubled me, in the day of his fearful wrath.

Mem

From above hath he sent down a fire into my bones, and chastened me, he hath laid a net for my feet, and thrown me wide open: he hath made me desolate, for I must be ever mourning.

Nun

The pock of my transgressions is come at last, with his hand he hath taken it up and put it about my neck. My strength is gone: the Lord hath delivered me into those hands, where from I can not quite my self.

Samech

The Lord hath destroyed all the mighty men, that were in me. He hath declared a feast , to slaughter all my best men. The Lord hath trod down the daughter of Juda, like as it were a wine press.

Ain

Therefore do I weep, mine eyes gush out of water: for the comforter that should quicken, me is far from me. My children are driven away, for why ?the enemy has gotten the upper hand.

Phe

Zion casteth out her hands, and there is no man to comfort her. The Lord hath laid the enemies round about Jacob, and Jerusalem is as a menstruous woman in the middle of them.

Zade

The Lord is righteous; for I provoked his countenance into anger. O take heed all you people, and consider my heaviness: My maidens and my young men are lead away to captivity.

Koph

I called for my lovers (but they beguiled me) for my Priests and counselors, but they perished: even while they sought for meat, to have their lives.

Res

Consider (O' Lord) how I am troubled, my womb is disquieted, my heart turneth about in me, and I am full of heaviness. The sword hurteth me without, and within I am like unto death.

Sin

They hear my mourning, but there is none that will comfort me. All my enemies have heard of my trouble, and are glad thereof, because thou hast done it. But thou shalt bring forth the time, when they also shall be like unto me.

Thau

From thee shall come all their adversity: thou shalt pluck them away even as thou has plucked me because of all my wickedness. For my sorrow is very great, and my heart is heavy.

THE 2ND CHAPTER

Aleph

Alas, how hath the Lord darkened the daughter of Sion so sore in his wrath? As for the honor of Israel, he hath cast it down from heaven: Now happeneth it, that he remembered not his own foot stool when he was angry?

Beth

The Lord hath cast down all the glory of Jacob without any favor: all the storage places of the daughter Juda hath he broken in his wrath, and thrown them down to the ground: her kingdom and her Princes hath he suspended.

Gimel

In the wrath of his indignation he hath broken all the horn of Israel: he hath with drawn his right hand from the enemy: Yes a flame of fire is kindled in Jacob, and hath consumed up all round about.

Daleth

He hath bent his bow like an enemy, he fastened his right hand as an adversary: and everything that was pleasant to see, he hath smitten it down. He poured out his wrath like fire, into the tabernacle of the daughter of Sion.

He

The Lord is become as it were an enemy, he hath cast down Israel and all his places: Yes all his strongholds he hath destroyed, and filled the daughter of Juda with much sorrow and heaviness.

Uau

Her tabernacle (which was like a garden of pleasure) hath he destroyed: her high solemn feasts hath he put down. The Lord hath brought it so to pass, that the high solemn feasts and Sabbaths in Sion, are clean forgotten. In his heavy displeasure hath he made the king and priests to be defiled.

Zain

The Lord hath forsaken his own alter, and is wroth with his own sanctuary, and hath given the walls of their towns into the hands of the enemy. Their enemies made a noise in the house of the Lord, as it had been in a solemn feast day.

Neth

The Lord thought to break down the walls of the daughter of Sion, he spread out his line, and drew not in his hand, till he had destroyed them. Therefore mourn the turrets and the broken walls together.

Teth

Her ports are cast down to the ground, her bars are broken and smitten in sunder: her king and princes are carried away to the gentiles. They have nether law nor Prophets, nor yet any vision from the Lord.

Fod

The Senators of the daughter Sion sit upon the ground in silence: they have strewed ashes upon their heads, and girded themselves with sack cloth. The maidens of Jerusalem hang their heads down to the ground.

Caph

Mine eyes begin to fail me through weeping, my body is disquieted, my *lever is poured upon the earth, for the great hurt of my people, saying the children and the babes did swoon in the streets of the city.

Lamed

Even when they speak to their mothers: where is meat and drink; for while they were speaking, they fell down in the streets of the city, like as they had been wounded, and some died in their mothers bosom.

Mem

What shall I say of the, O thou daughter of Jerusalem, to whom shall I liken thee? To whom shall I compare the, O thou daughter of Sion, to comfort thee withal; Thy hurt is like a mean sea, who may heal thee?

Nun

Thy prophets have looked for vain and foolish things for thee, they have not showed thee of thy wickedness, to keep thee from captivity; and through falsehood scattered thee abroad.

Samech

All they that go by thee, clap their hands at thee: hissing and wagging their heads upon the daughter Jerusalem, and say: is this the city that men call so fair, where in the whole land rejoices.

Ain

All thee enemies gape upon thee, whispering and biting their teeth, saying: let us devour, for the time that we looked for, is come: we have found and seen it.

Phe

The Lord hath fulfilled the thing, that he was purposed to do: and performed that he had devised long ago: he hath destroyed, and not spared. He hath caused thine adversaries to triumph over thee, and set up the horn of thine enemy.

Zade

Let thine heart cry unto the Lord, O thou city of the daughter of Zion: let tears run down like a river day and night: rest not, and let not the apple of thine eye leave off.

Koph

Stand up and make thy prayer in the first watch of the night, pour out thine heart before the Lord: lift up thine hands for the lives of thy young children, that die of hunger in the streets.

Res

Behold, O' Lord, and consider, why hast thou gathered me up so clean: Shall the women eat their own fruit, even children of a spanne long: Shall the priests and the prophets be slain thus in the Sanctuary of the Lord?

Sin

Young and old lie behind the streets upon the ground in, my maidens and young men are fallen with the sword: whom thou in the day of thy wrathful indignation hath put to death: yes even thou hast put them to death, and not spared them.

Thau

My neighbors that are round about me, hast thou called, as it were to a feast day: so that in the day of the Lords wrath none escaped, neither was any left behind. Those that I had brought up and nourished, hath my enemy destroyed.

THE 3RD CHAPTER

Aleph

I am the man, that (through the rod of his wrath) have experience of misery.

He drove me forth, and led me: yes into the darkness, but not into the light. Against me only he turned his hand, and layeth ever upon me.

Beth

My flesh and my skin hath he made old, my bones hath he bruised.

He hath builded round about me, and closed me in with gall and travail.

He hath set me in darkness, as they that be dead for ever.

Gimel

He hath so hedged me in, that I cannot get out, and hath laid heavy linches (chains) upon me.

Though I cry and call piteously, yet heareth he not my prayer.

He hath stopped up my ways with four square stones, and made my paths crooked.

Daleth

He lieth wait for me as a bear, and as a lion in a hole.

He hath marred my ways, and broken me in pieces: he hath laid me waste altogether.

He hath bent his bow, and made me as it were a mark to shot at.

Ne

The arrows of his quiver hath he shot, even into my reins.

I am laughed to scorn of all my people, they make songs upon me all the day long.

He hath filled me with bitterness, and given me wormwood to drink.

Uau

He hath smitten my teeth in pieces, and rolled me in the dust.

He hath put my soul out of rest, I forget all good things.

I thought in myself: I am undone, there is no hope for me in the Lord.

Zain

O remember my misery and my trouble, the wormwood and the gall.

Yes thou shalt remember them, for my soul melteth away in me.

While I consider these things in my heart, I get a hope again

Neth

Namely, that the mercies of the Lord are not clean gone, and that his loving kindness ceases not.

His faithfulness is great and reneweth it self in the morning.

The Lord is my portion saith my soul, therefore will I hope in him.

Teth

O how good is the Lord unto them that put their trust in him, and the soul that seeketh after him:

O how good is it with stillness to wait and tarry, for the health of the Lord.

O how good is it for a man, to take the yoke upon him from his youth up.

Fod

He sitteth alone, he holdeth him still, and dwelleth quietly by himself.

He layeth his face upon the earth, if (percase) there happen to be any hope.

He offereth his cheek to the smiter, he will be content with reproves.

Caph

For the Lord will not forsake for ever.

But though he do cast off, yet according to the multitude of his mercies, he receiveth to grace again.

For he doth not plague, and cast out the children of men from his heart.

Lamed

To tread all the prisoners of the earth under his feet ,

To move the judgement of man before the most highest.

To condemn a man in his cause; The Lord hath no pleasure in such things.

Mem

What is he then that saith: there should something be done without the Lords commandment:

Out of the mouth of the most Highest goeth not evil and good?

Wherefore then murmureth the living man: let him murmur at his own sin.

Nun

Let us look well upon our own ways, and remember ourselves, and turn again to the Lord.

Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto the Lord that is in heaven.

We have been dissemblers, and have offended, will thou therefore not be entreated?

Samech

Thou hast covered us in thy wrath, and persecuted us, thou hast slain us, without any favor.

Thou hast hidden thyself in a cloud, that our prayer should go through.

Thou hast made us outcasts, and to be despised among the heathen.

Ain

All our enemies gape upon us.

Fear and a snare is come upon us, despite and destruction.

Whole rivers of water gush out of mine eyes, for the great hurt of my people.

Phe

Mine eyes run, and cannot cease, for there is no rest.

O' Lord, when will thou look down from heaven, and consider.

Mine eye breaketh my heart, because of all the daughters of my city.

Zade

Mine enemies hunted me out sharply, like a bird, yes and that without cause.

They have put down my life into a pit, and laid a stone upon me.

They poured water upon my head, then thought I: now I am undone.

Koph

I called upon thy name, O' Lord, out of the deep pit.

Thou hast heard my voice, and hast not turned away thine ears from my sighing and crying.

Thou hast inclined thy self unto me, when I called upon thee, and hast said: fear not.

Res

Thou (O' Lord), hast maintained the cause of my soul, and hast redeemed my life.

O' Lord, thou hast seen my blasphemers, take thou my cause upon thee.

Thou hast well considered how they go about to do me harm, and that all their councils are against me.

Sin

Thou hast heard their despiteful words (O' Lord), yes and all their imaginations against me.

The lips of mine enemies, and their devices that they take against me, all the day long.

Thou seest also their sitting down and their rising up, they make their songs of nothing but me.

Thau

Reward them, (O' Lord), according to the work of their hands.

Give them the thing, that their own heart is afraid of: even thy curse.

Persecute them (O' Lord) with thine indignation, and root them out from under heaven.

The 4TH Chapter

Aleph

O How is the gold become so dim? How is the goodly color of it so fore changed? and the stones of the sanctuary thus scattered in the corner of the streets ?

Beth

The children of Zion that were always in honor, and clothed with the most precious gold: how are they now become like the earthen vessels which be made with the potters hand.

Gimel

The Lamies give their young ones suck with bare breasts: but the daughter of my people is evil, and dwelleth in the wilderness: like the Ostriches.

Daleth

The tongue of the sucking children, cleaveth to the roof of their mouths for very thirst. The young children ask bread, but there is no man, that giveth it them.

He

They that were want to fair delicately, perish in the streets: they that were brought up in purple, make now much of dung.

Uau

The sin of the daughter of my people is become greater than the wickedness of Sodom, that suddenly was destroyed, and not taken with hands.

Zain

Her abstainers (or Nazarees) were whiter than the snow or milk: their color was fresh red as the Corall, their beauty like the sapphire.

Beth

But now their faces are very black: In so much, that thou shouldest not know them in the streets. Their skin cleaveth to their bones, It is withered, and become like dry stock.

Teth

They that be slain with the sword, are happier than such as die of hunger, and perish away famishing for the fruits of the field.

Fod

The women ( which of nature are pitiful ) have sodden their own children with their hands that they might be their meat, in the miserable destruction of the daughter if my people.

Caph

The Lord hath performed his terrible wrath: he hath poured out the furiousness of his displeasure. He hath kindled a fire in Sion, which hath consumed the foundations thereof.

Lamed

Neither kings of the earth, ner all the inhabitors of the world, would have believed that the enemy and adversary should have come at the gates of the city of *Hierusalem. *( this spelling is exact, possibly Jerusalem ATSL)

Mem

Which nevertheless is come to pass for the sins of her prophets, and for the wickedness of her Priests that have shed innocents blood within her.

Nun

So that these blind men went stumbling in the streets, and stained themselves with blood, which else would touch no bloody cloth.

Samech

But they cried unto every man: flee the staining, away, get you hence, touch it not. Yee ( say they ) ye must be burnt, ye must dwell among the Gentiles, and bide no longer her.

Ain

The countenance of the Lord hath banished them, and shall never look more upon them: For they themselves neither regarded the priests, not pitied the elders.

Phe

Wherefore yet our eyes fail us, while we look for vain help: seeing we be ever waiting upon a people, that can do us no good.

Zade

They lay so sharp wait for us, that we can not go safe upon the streets: for our end is come, our days are fulfilled, our end is here.

Koph

Our persecutors are swifter then the Aeges (eagles) of the air, they followed upon us over the mountains, and layed wait for us in the wilderness.

Res

The very breath of our mouth: even the anointed Lord himself shall be taken in our sins, of whom we say: Under his shadow we shall be preserved among the Heathen.

Sin

And thou (O daughter Edom ) that dwellest in the land of Huz, be glad and rejoice: for the cup shall come unto thee also, which when thou suppest of it thou shall be drunk.

Thau

Thy sin is well punished ( O thou daughter Sion ) he shall not suffer thee to be carried away any more. But thy wickedness ( O daughter Edom ) shall he visit, and for thy sins sake, he shall lead thee in to captivity.

The 5th Chapter

Call to remembrance, ( O' Lord ) what we have suffered, consider and see our confusion. Our inheritance is turned to the strangers, and our houses to the aliens. We are become careful and fatherless, and our mothers are as the widows. We have *faine (obliged / willing, happy) to drink our own water for money, and our own wood must we buy with money. Our necks are under persecution, we are weary, and have no rest.

Afore time we yielded to the Egyptians, and to the Assyrians, only that we might have enough bread. Our fathers ( which are now gone ) have sinned, and we must bear their wickedness. Servants have rule over us, and no man delivereth us out of their hands. We must get our living with the peril of our lives because of the drouth (drought) of the wilderness.

Our skin is as it had been burnt in an oven, for very sore hunger. The wives are ravished in Sion, and the maidens in the cities of Judah. The princes are hanged up with the hand of the enemies, they have not spared the old *sage (wise) men, they have taken young mens lives from them, and the boys are hanged up upon trees. The elders sit no more under the gates, and the young men use no more the playing of Music. The joy of our heart is gone, our merry *query (seeking) is turned into mourning. The garland of our head is fallen: alas, that ever we sinned so sore.

Therefore our heart is full of heaviness, and our eyes dim: because of the hill of Sion that is destroyed. In so much that the foxes run upon it. But thou, O' Lord, that remainest for evermore, and thy seat world without end: Wherefore wilt thou still forget us, and forsake us so long? O' Lord, turn thou us unto thee, and so shall we be turned. Renew our days as in the old times, for thou hast banished us now long enough, and hast been sore displeased at us.

The end of the Lamentations of Jeremy

The Book of the Prophet Ezechiel

( Ezekiel )

From the Hebrew "God strengthens"

The First Chapter

It chanced in the thirtieth year the fifth day of the fourth Month, that I was among the prisoners by the river of Cobar: where the heavens were opened, and I saw a vision of God. Now the fifth day of the month, made out the fifth year of King Joacins captivity. At the same time came word of the Lord unto Ezechiel the son of Buzi the priest, in the land of the Caldees by the water of Cobar, where the hand of the Lord came him.

And I looked, and behold, a stormy wind came out of the North with a great cloud full of fire, which with his glistre lightening all round about. And in the midest of the fire it was all clear, and as it were the likeness of four beasts, which were fashioned like a man: saving that every one had four faces and four wings.

Their legs were straight, But their feet were like bullocks feet, and they glistered, as it had been fair scoured metal. Under their wings upon all the four corners they had mens hands. Their faces and wings were toward the four corners: yet were the wings so, that one ever touched another. When they went, they turned them not about: but each one went straight forward.

Upon the right side of these four, their faces were like the faces of a man, and the face of a Lion: But upon the left side, they had the face of an ox, and the face of an Eagle. Their faces also and their wings were spread out above: so that two wings of one touched ever two wings of another, and with the other they covered the body. Every one when it went, it went straight forward. Where as the spirit led them, *thither they went, and turned not about in their going.

*thither= to or toward that place or in that direction there, distant/

The fashion and the countenance of the beasts was like hot coals of fire, even as though burning *cressettes had been among the beasts: and the fire gave a gilister, and out of the fire their went lighting. When the beasts went forward and backward, one would have thought it had lighteninged. Now when I had well considered the beasts, I saw a work of wheels upon the earth with four faces also like the beasts. *cressettes= A metal cup, often suspended on a pole, containing burning oil or pitch and used as a torch.

The fashion and the work of the wheels was like the sea. The four wheels were joined and made ( to look upon ) as it had been one wheel in another. When the one went forward, they went all four, and turned them not about in their going. They were large, great and horrible to look upon. Their bodies were full of eyes round about them all four. When the beasts went, the wheels went also with them: And when the beasts lift themselves up from the earth, the wheels were lift up also. Whither soever the spirit went, thither went they also, and the wheels were lift up, and followed them: for the spirit of life was in the wheels. When the beasts went forth, stood still, or lift themselves up from the earth: then the wheels also went, stood still, and were lift up, for the breath of life was in the wheels.

Above over the heads of the beasts there was a firmament, which was fashioned as it had been of the most pure Crystal, and that was spread out above their heads: under the same firmament were their wings layed abroad, one toward another, and two wings covered the body of every beast. And when they went forth I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as it had been the voice of the great God., and the rushing together as it were of a host of men. And when they stood still, they let down their wings. Now when they stood still, and had let down their wings, it thundered in the firmament that was above their heads. Above the firmament that was over their heads, there was a fashion of a seat, as it had been made of Sapphire. Upon the seat there sat one like a man. I beheld him, and he was like a clear light, as it had been all of fire within from his loins upward.

And beneath when I looked upon him under the loins, me thought he was like a shining fire, that giveth light on every side. Yee the shine and the glittereth lightening round about, was like a rainbow, which in a rainy day appeareth in the clouds. Even so was the similitude, wherin the glory of the Lord appeared. When I saw it, I fell upon my face, and harkened unto the voice of him that spake.

The Second Chapter

And then said he unto me: Stand up upon thy feet ( O thou son of man ) and I will talk with thee. And as he was communing with me, the spirit came in to me, and set me up upon my feet: so that I marked the thing, that he said unto me. And he said: Behold, thou son of man: I will send thee to the children of Israel, to those runagates and obstinate people: for they have taken part against me, and are run away from me: both they and their forefathers unto this day.

Yee I will send thee unto a people that have rough *visages an stiff stomachs: unto whom thou shalt say on this manner: This the Lord God himself hath spoken, that whether they be obedient or no ( for it is a *froward household ) they may know yet that there hath been a Prophet among them.

*visages=faces, expression, countenance *froward= stubborn, contrary ,obstinate

Therefore ( thou son of man ) fear them not, neither be afraid of their words: for they shall rebel against thee, and despise thee. Yee thou shalt dwell among scorpions: but fear not their words, be not abashed at their looks, for it is a froward household.

See that thou speak my words unto them, whether they be obedient or not, for they are obstinate. Therefore, thou son of man, obey thou all things, that I say unto thee, and be thou not stiffnecked, like as they are a stiffneck household. Open thy mouth and eat that I give thee.

So as I was looking up, behold, there was sent unto me an hand, wherin was a closed book: and the hand opened it before me, and it was written within and without, full of careful mournings: alas, and woe.

The Third Chapter

After this said he unto me: Thou son of man, eat that, what forever it be: yee eat that closed book and go thy way, and speak unto the children of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the book for to eat, said unto me: Thou son of man, thy belly shall eat, and thy bowels shall be filled with the book, that I give thee. Then did I eat the book, and it was in my mouth sweeter than honey. And he said unto me: thou son of man, get thee soon unto the house of Israel, and show them the words that I command thee: For I send thee not to the people that hath a strange, unknown, or hard speech, but unto the house of Israel, Not to many nations, which have diverse speeches and hard languages, whose words thou understand not. Nevertheless, if I sent thee to those people, they would follow thee: But the house of Israel will not follow thee, for they will follow me: yee all the house of Israel have stiff foreheads, and hard hearts. Behold, therefore, I will make thy face prevail against their faces, and harden thy forehead against their foreheads: so that thy forehead shall be harder than an Adamant or flint stone: that thou may fearest them the less, and be less afraid of them, for they are a froward household.

He said moreover unto me: thou son of man, take diligent heed with thy ears, to the words that I speak unto thee, fasten them in thine heart: and go to the prisoners of thy people, speak unto them, and say on this manner: Thus the Lord God hath spoken: whether ye hear or hear not. With that the spirit took me up. And I heard the noise of a great rushing and the removing of the most blessed glory of the Lord out of his place.

I heard also the noise of the wings of the beasts, that rushed one against the other, yee and the rattling of the wheels, that were by them, which rushing and noise was very great.

Now when the spirit took me up, and carried me away, I went with an heavy and sorrowful mind, but the hand of the Lord comforted me right soon.

And so in the beginning of the month Abib, I came to the prisoners, that dwell by the water of Cobar, and remained in that place, where they were: And so continued I among them seven days, being very sorry.

And when the seven days were expired, the Lord said unto me: Thou son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore take good heed to the words, and give them warning at my commandment.

If I say unto thee, concerning the ungodly man, that ( without doubt ) he must die, and thou givest him not the warning, nor speakest unto him, that he may turn from his evil way, and so to live: Then shall the same ungodly man die in his own unrighteousness: but his blood will I require of thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou give warning unto the wicked, and he yet forsake not his ungodliness: then shall he die in his own wickedness, but thou hast discharged thy soul.

Now if a righteous man go from his righteousness, and do the thing that is evil: I will lay a stumbling block before him, and he shall die, because thou hast not given him warning: yee die shall he in his own sin, so that the virtue, which he did before, shall not be thought upon: but his blood will I require of thine hand.

Nevertheless, if thou exhorteth the righteous, that he sin not, and so the righteous do not sin : then shall he live, because he hath received thy warning, and thou hast discharged thy soul. And there came the hand of the Lord upon me, and he said unto me: Stand up, and go into the field, that I may there talk with thee.

So when I had risen up, and gone forth into the field: Behold, the glory of the Lord stood there, like as I saw it afore, by the waters of Cobar.

Then fell I down upon my face, and the spirit came in to me, which set me up upon my feet, and said thus unto me: Go thy way, and *sparre thyself in thine own house. Behold, ( O thou son of man ) there shall changes be brought for thee, to bring thee withal, so that thou shalt not escape out of them. And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and not be as a *chidet with them: for it is an abstinent household.*sparre=the door shut tight; bolted *chidet=mildly reprimand

But when I speak unto thee, then open thy mouth, and say: Thus sayeth the Lord God: who so heareth, let him hear: who so will not, let him leave: for it is an abstinent household.

The Fourth Chapter

Thou son of man, take thee a tile stone, and lay it before thee, and describe upon it the city of Jerusalem, how it is besieged, how bulwarks and strong ditches are graven on every side of it: describe also the tents, and an host of men round about it. Moreover, take an iron pan, and set it between thee and the city, instead of an iron wall. Then set thy face toward it, besiege it, and lay ordinance against it, to win it. This shall be a token unto the house of Israel. But thou shall sleep upon thy left side, and lay the sin of the house of Israel upon thee. Certain days appointed, thou shalt sleep upon that side, and bear their sins. Nevertheless, I will appoint thee a time ( to put out their sins ) and the number of the days: Three hundred and ninety days must thou bear the wickedness of the house of Israel. When thou hast fulfilled these days lie again, and sleep upon thy right side forty days, and bear the sins of the house of Judah.

A day for a year, a day ( I say ) for a year will I ever lay upon thee. Therefore set now thy face against that besieged Jerusalem, and discover thine arm, that thou may prophesy against it.

Behold, I will lay chains upon thee, that thou shalt not turn thee from me one side to another, till thou hast ended the days of thy siege.

Wherefore, take unto thee wheat, barley, beans, growell seed, and Millium and fitches: and put these together in a vessel, and make thee loaves of bread thereof, according to the number of the days that thou must lie upon thy side: that thou mayest have bread to eat, for three hundred and ninety days.

And the meat that thou eatest, shall have a certain weight appointed: namely twenty shekels every day. This appointed meat thou shall eat daily, from the beginning to the end.

Thou shalt drink also a certain measure of water: Namely, the sixth part of an Hin shalt thou drink daily from the beginning to the end. Barley cakes shalt thou eat, yet shalt thou first strike them over with mans dung, that they may see it. And with that said the Lord: Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread in the midest of the Gentiles, among whom I will scatter them.

Then said I: Oh Lord God. Behold, my soul was yet never stained: for from my youth up to this hour. I did never eat of a dead carcass, or that which was slain of wild beasts, neither came there ever any unclean flesh in my mouth.

Where unto he answered me, and said: Well then, I will grant thee to take cows dung, for the dung of a man, and to strike the bread over with all, before them.

And he said unto me: Behold thou son of man, I will minish all the provision of bread in Jerusalem., so that they shall weigh their bread, and eat it with scarceness. But as for water, they shall have a very little measure thereof, to drink. And when they have no more bread or water, one shall be destroyed with another, and famish away for their wickedness.

The Fifth Chapter

O Thou son of man, take thee then a sharp knife, namely, a razor. Take thee, and shave the hair of thy head and beard: Then take the scales and weight, and divide the hair asunder. And burn the third part thereof in the fire in the midest of the city, and cut the other third part in pieces with a knife. As for the third part that remaineth cast it in the wind, and then show the bare knife.

Yet afterward take a little of the same, and bread it in thy coat lap. Then take a *curtesy of it, and cast it in the midest of the fire: and burn it in the fire. Out of the same fire there shall go a flame, upon the whole house of Israel. Moreover, thus said the Lord God: This same is Jerusalem. I set her in the midest of the Heathen and nations: that are round about her, but she hath despised my judgements more than the Gentiles themselves, and broken my commandments more than the nations, that lie round about her: For they have cast out mine ordinances, and not walked in my laws. Therefore, thus sayeth the Lord God: For so much as ye with your wickedness

far exceed the Heathen, that dwell round about you: ( For ye have not walked in my laws, neither have ye kept mine ordinances ) Therefore thus sayeth the Lord God.

*curtesy= a generous part

I will also come upon thee, for in the midest of thee will I sit in judgement, in the sight of the Heathen, and will handle thee of such a fashion, as I never did before, and as I never will do from that time forth, and that because of all thine abominations. For in the fathers shall be slain to eat their own sons, and that from their own fathers. Such a court will I keep in thee, and the whole remnant will scatter in to all the winds.

Wherefore as truly as I live ( sayeth the Lord God ) seeing thou hast defiled my Sanctuary, with all manner of abominations and with all thy shameful offenses: For this cause I will also destroy thee. Mine eye shall not over see thee, neither will i spare thee.

One third part within thee, shall die of the pestilence and hunger: Another third part shall be slain down round about thee, with the sword: The other third part that remaineth, will I scatter abroad toward the four winds, and draw out the sword after them. Thus I will perform my indignation and set my wrath against them, and ease myself. So that when I have fulfilled mine anger against them, they shall know that I am the Lord, which with a fervent jealously hath spoken it. Moreover I will thee waste and abhorred, before all the Heathen that dwell about thee, and in the sight of all them, that go by thee: so that when I punish thee in my wrath, in mine anger, and with the plague of my hot displeasure: thou shalt be a very abomination, shame a gasing and wondering flock, among the Heathen, that lie about thee. Even I the Lord have spoken it, and it shall come to pass, when I shoot among them the perilous darts of hunger, which shall be but death: Yee therefore shall I shoot them, because I will destroy you. I will increase hunger, and minish all the provision of bread among you.

Plagues and misery will I send you, yee and wild beasts also to destroy you. Pestilence and blood shed will come upon you, and the sword will I bring over you.

Even I, the Lord, have said it.

The Sixth Chapter

And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying: thou son of man, turn thy face to the mountains of Israel, that thou may prophesy unto them, and say: Hear the word of the Lord God, O ye mountains of Israel: Thus hath the Lord God spoken to the mountains, hills, rivers, valleys and dales.

Behold, I will bring a sword over you, and destroy your high places. I will cast down your alters, and break down your temples. Your slain men will I leave before your gods. and the dead carcasses of the children of Israel will I cast before their images, your bones will I destroy round about your altars, and dwelling places.

The cities shall be desolate, the hill chapels laid waste: your alters destroyed, and broken: your goods cast down, and taken away, your temples laid even with the ground, your own works clean rooted out.

Your slain men shall lie among you, that ye may learn to know, how that I am the Lord. Those that among you have escaped the sword, I will leave among the Gentiles, for I will scatter you among the nations. And they that escape from you, shall think upon me among the Heathen, where they shall be in captivity.

As for that whorish and unfaithful heart of theirs, wherewith they run away from me, I will break it: yee and put out those eyes of theirs, that committed fornication with their Idols.

Then shall they be ashamed, and displeased with themselves, for the wickedness and abominations, which they have done: and shall learn to know, how that it is not in vain, that I the Lord speak, to bring such misery upon them.

The Lord said moreover unto me: Smite thy hands together, and stamp with thy feet, and say: Woe worth all the abominations and wickednesses of the house of Israel, for because of them, they shall perish with the sword, with hunger and with pestilence. Who so is far off, shall die of the pestilence: he that is near at hand, shall perish with the sword: and the other that are besieged, shall die of hunger.

Thus will I satisfy my wrothful displeasure upon them. And so shall ye learn to know, that I am the Lord, when your slain men lie among your goddes, and about your alters: upon all high hills and tops of mountains, among all green trees, among all thick oaks: even in the places, where they did sacrifice to all their Idols. I will stretch my hand out upon them, and will make the land waste: So that it shall lie desolate and void, from the wilderness of Deblathah forth, through all their habitations: to learn them to know, that I am the Lord.

The Seventh Chapter

The word of the Lord came unto me on this manner: Thee I call, O thou son of man. Thus sayeth the Lord God unto the land of Israel: The end cometh, yee verily the end cometh upon all the four corners of the earth.

But now shall the end come upon thee: For I will send my wrath upon thee, and will punish thee: according to thy ways, and reward thee after all thy abominations. Mine eye shall not over see thee, neither will I spare thee: but reward thee according to thy ways, and declare thy abominations. Then shall ye know, that I am the Lord.

Thus sayeth the Lord God: Behold, one misery and plague shall come after another: the end is here. The end ( I say ) that waiteth for thee, is come already, the hour is come against thee, that dwellest in the land.

The time is at hand, the day of sedition is hard by, and no glad tidings upon the mountains. Therefore, I will shortly pour out my sore displeasure over thee, and fulfill my wrath upon thee, I will judge thee after thy ways, and recompense the all thy abominations.

Mine eye shall not over see thee, neither will I spare thee: but reward thee after thy ways, and show thy abominations, to learn you for to know, how that I am the Lord that smiteth. Behold, the day is here, the day is come, the hour is run out, the rod flurisheth, willfulness waxes green, malicious violence is grown up, and the ungodly waxen to a staff. Yet shall there no complaint be made for them, nor for the trouble that shall come of these things.

The time cometh, the day draweth nye: Who so buyeth let him not rejoice: he that selleth, let him be not sorry: for why? Trouble shall come in the midest of all rest: so that the seller shall not come again to the buyer, for neither of them both shall live. For the vision shall come so greatly over all, that it shall not be hindered: No man also with his wickedness shall be able to save his own life. The trumpets shall ye blow, and make you all ready, but no man shall go to the battle, for I am wroth with all the whole multitude.

The sword shall be without, pestilence and hunger shall be within: so that who so is in the field, shall be slain with the sword: and he that is in the city, shall perish with hunger and pestilence.

And such as escape and flee from among them, shall be upon the hills, like as the doves in the field: every one shall be afraid, because of his own wickedness.

All hands shall be let down, and all knees shall be weak as the water: they shall gird themselves with sack cloth, fear shall fall upon them. Their faces shall be confounded, and their heads bald: their silver shall lie in the streets, and their gold shall be despised. Yee their silver and gold may not deliver them, in the day of the fearful wrath of the Lord.

They shall not satisfy their hungry souls, neither fill their empty bellies therewith: For it has become their own decay through their wickedness: because they made thereof not only costly Jewels for their pomp and pride, but also abominable images and Idols. For this cause will I make them to be abhorred. Moreover, I will give it into the hands of strangers to be spoiled: and to the wicked for to be robbed, and they shall destroy it. My face will I turn from them, my treasury shall be defiled: for the thieves shall go into it, and suspend it. I will make clean riddance, for the land is whole defiled with unrighteous judgement of innocent blood, and the city is full of abominations. Wherefore, I will bring the most cruel tyrants from among the Heathen, to take their houses in possession. I will make the pomp of the proud to cease, and they shall be taken in their Sanctuary. When this trouble cometh, they shall seek peace, but they shall have none. One mischief and sorrow shall follow another, and one rumor shall come after another: Then shall they seek visions in vain at their Prophets. The law shall be gone from the priests, and wisdom from the elders. The King shall mourn, the Princes shall be clothed in heaviness, and the hands of the people in the land shall tremble with fear. I will do unto them after their own ways, and according to their own judgements will I judge them: to learn them for to know, that I am the Lord.

The Eighth Chapter

It happened that in the sixth year, the fifth day of the sixth month, I sat in my house, and the Lords of the counsel of Judah with me: and the hand of the Lord God even fell there upon me. And as I looked up, I saw as it were a likeness of fire from his loins upward it flashed marvelous clear. This similitude stretched out an hand, and took me by the hairy locks of my head, and the spirit lifted me up between heaven and earth: And God in a vision to Jerusalem, into the entry of the inner port that layeth toward the north: there stood an image, with whom he that hath all things in his power, was very wroth.

And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was in the same place: even as I had seen it afore in the field. And he said unto me: Thou son of man, O lift up thine eyes, and look toward the north. Then I lift up mine eyes toward the north., and behold: before the port northward, there was an alter made unto the image of provocation in the very entering in. And he said furthermore unto me: Thou son of man, seest thou what these do? Seest thou the great abominations that the house of Israel comites in this place? which ought not to be done in my sanctuary: But turn thee about, and thou shalt see yet greater abominations. And with that brought he me to the court gate: and when I looked, behold, there was an hole in the wall. Then said he unto me: Thou son of man, dig through the wall. And when I digged through the wall, behold there was a door. And he said unto me: Go thy way in, and look what wicked abominations they do there. So I went in, and saw: and behold, there were all manner of images of worms and beasts, all Idols and abominations of the house of Israel painted every one round about the wall. There stood also before the images. Seventy of the Lords of the counsel of the house of Israel: and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Saphan: And every one of them had a censor in his hand, and out of the incense, there went a smoke, as it had been a cloud. Then said he unto me: Thou son of man, has thou seen what the Senators of the house of Israel do secretly, everyone in his chamber: For they say, Tush, the Lord seeth us not, the Lord regardeth not the world. And he said unto me: Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see the great abominations that they do. And with that he brought me to the door of the port of the Lords house, toward the north. And behold, there fat women mourning for Thamus. Then said he unto me: hast thou seen this, thou son of man? Turn ye about, and thou shalt see yet greater abominations. And so he brought me into the inward court of the Lords house: And behold at the port of the Lords house, between the for entry and the altar, there were five and twenty men, that turned their backs on the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east, and these worshiped the son.

And he said unto me: hast thou seen this thou son of man? Thinketh the house of Israel , that it is but a trifle, to do these abominations here? Should they fill the land full of wickedness, and undertake to provoke me unto anger: Yee and purposely to cast up their noses upon me? Therefore will I also do something in my wrothfull displeasure, so that mine eye shall not over see them, neither will I spare them. Yee and though they cry in mine ears with loud voice, yet will I not hear them.

The Ninth Chapter

He cried also with a loud voice in mine ears, saying: Come her ye rulers of the city, every man with his *wrapened hand to the slaughter. Then came there six men out of the street of the upper port toward the north, and every man a weapon in his hand to the slaughter. There was one amongst them, that had on him a linen rayment, and a writers inkhorn by his side. *wrapened= "covered hand"

These went in, and stood beside the brazen alter: for the glory of the Lord was gone away from the Cherub, and was come down to the threshold of the house, and he called the man that had the linen rayment upon him, and the writers inkhorn by his side, and the Lord said unto him: Go thy way through the city of Jerusalem, and set this mark *Thau upon the foreheads of them, that mourn and are sorry for all the abominations, that be done therein. And to the other, he said that I might hear: Go ye after him through the city, slay, oversee none, spare none: kill and destroy both old man and young, maidens children and wives. But as for those, that have this mark Thau upon them: see that ye touch them not, and begin at my Sanctuary. Then they began at the elders, which were in the temple, for he had said unto them: When ye have defiled the temple, and filled the court with the slain, then go your way forth. So they went out, and slew down through the city. Now when they had done the slaughter, and I yet escaped: I fell down upon my face, and cried saying: O' Lord, wilt thou then destroy all the residue of Israel, in thy sore displeasure, that thou hast poured out upon Jerusalem? Then said he unto me: The wickedness of the house of Israel and Juda is very great: so that the land is full of blood, and the city full of unfaithfulness: For they say: Tush the Lord regardeth not the earth, he seeth us not. Therefore will I upon them, mine eye shall not oversee them, neither will I spare them, but will recompense their wickedness upon their heads. And behold, the man that had the linen rayment upon him, and the writers inkhorn by his side: told all the matter how it happened, and said: Lord, as thou hast commanded me, so have I done.

The Tenth Chapter

And as I looked, behold, in the firmament that was above the cherubins there appeared the similitude of a stole of sapphire upon them: Then said he that sat therin, to him that had the linen rayment upon him: Creep in between the wheels that are under the Cherubins, and take thine hand full of hot coals out from between the Cherubins, and cast them over the city. And he crept in, that I might see.

Now the Cherubins stood on the right side of the house, when the man went in, and the cloud filled the innermer(innermost) court. But the glory of the Lord removed from the Cherubins, and came upon the threshold of the house: so that the temple was full of clouds, and the court was full of the shine of the Lords glory. Yee and the sound of the Cherubins wings were heard into the fore court, like as it had been the voice of the almighty God, when he speaketh. Now when he had bidden the man that was clothed in linen, to go and take the hot coals from the midst of the wheels, which were under the Cherubins: he went and stood beside the wheels. Then the one Cherubin reached froth his hand from under the Cherubins, unto the fire that was between the Cherubins, and to take thereof, and to give it unto him that had on the linen raiment in his hand: which he took it, and went out. And under the wings of the Cherubins, there appeared the likeness of a mans hand: I saw also four wheels beside the Cherubins, so that by every Cherib stood a wheel. And the wheels were (to look upon) after the fashion of the precious stone of Tharsis: yet ( unto the sight ) were they fashioned and like, as if one wheel had been in another.

When they went forth, they went all four together, not turning about in their going: But where the first went, thither they went also, so they turned not about in their going. Their whole bodies, their backs, their hands and wings, yee and the wheels also, were all full of eyes round about them all four. And I heard him call the wheels, Galgal (that is ) a round *boule. Every one of them had four faces: so that the one face was the face of a Cherub, the second of a man, the third of a lion, the fourth of an Eagle, and they were lifted up above. This is the beast, that I saw at the water of Cobar Now when the Cherubins went, the wheels went with them, and when the Cherubins shook their wings to lift themselves upward, the wheels remained no behind, but were with them also. Shortly, when they stood, these stood also: And when they were lift up, the wheels were lift up also with them, for the spirit of life was in the wheels. *boule=legislature

Then the glory of the Lord was lift up from the threshold of the temple, and remained upon the Cherubins: And the Cherubins flackered with their wings, and lift themselves up from the earth: so that I saw when they went, and the wheels with them. And they stood at the east side of the port that is in the house of the Lord. So the glory of the Lord was upon them. This is the beast that I saw under the God of Israel, by the water of Cobar. And I perceived, that it was the Cherubins. Every one had four faces and every one four wings, and under their wings, as it were mens hands. Now the figure of their faces was, even as I had seen them, by the water of Cobar, and so was the countenance of them: Every one in his going went straight forward.

The Eleventh Chapter

Moreover, the spirit of the Lord lift me up, and brought me unto the east port of the Lords house. And beholds, there were twenty five men under the door among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azur, and Pheltiah the son of Bananiah, the rulers of the people. Then said the Lord unto me: Thou son of man: these men imagine mischief, and a wicked counsel take they in this city, saying: Tush, there is no destruction at hand, let us build houses: this Jerusalem is the cauldron, and we be the flesh. Therefore shalt thou prophecy unto them, yee prophecy shalt thou unto them, O son of man. And with that fell the spirit of the Lord upon me, and said unto me: Speak, thus sayeth the Lord: On this manner have ye spoken ( O ye house of Israel ) and I know the imaginations of your hearts. Many one have ye murdered in this city, and filled the streets full of the slain. Therefore, thus sayeth the Lord God: The slain men that ye have layed on the ground in this city, are the flesh, and this city is the cauldron: But I will bring you out of it: ye have drawn out the sword, even so I also bring a sword over you, sayeth the Lord God. I will drive you out of this city and deliver you into your enemies hand, and will condemn you. Ye shall be slain in all the coasts of Israel, I will be avenged of you: to learn you for to know, that I am the Lord. This city shall not be your cauldron, neither shall ye be the flesh therin: but in the coasts of Israel will I punish you, that ye may know, that I am the Lord, in whos commandments ye have not walked, nor kept his laws: but you have done after the customs of the Heathen, that lie around about you.

Now when I preached, Pheltiah the son of Bananiah died. Then fell I down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice: O' Lord God, wilt thou then utterly destroy all the remnant of Israel? And so the word of the Lord came to me on this manner: thou son of man: thy brethren, thy kinfolk, and the whole house of Juda, which dwell at Jerusalem, say: They be gone far from the Lord, but the land is given us in possession. Therefore tell them thus sayeth the Lord God: I will send you far off among the Gentiles, and scatter you among the nations, and I will hallow you but a little, in the lands where ye shall come. Tell them also, thus sayeth the Lord God: I will gather you again out of the nations, and bring you from the countries were ye be scattered, and will give you the land of Israel again: And thither shall ye come. And as for all impediments, and all your abominations: I will take them away.

And I will give you one heart, and I will plant a new spirit within your bowels. That stony heart will I take out of your body, and give you a fleshly heart: that ye may walk in my commandments, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: that ye may be my people, and I your God. But look whose hearts are disposed to follow their abominations and wicked livings: those mens deeds will I bring upon their own heads, sayeth the Lord God. After this did the Cherubins lift up their wings, and the wheels went with them, and the glory of the Lord was upon them. So the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mount of the city toward the east. But the wind took me up, and in a vision ( which came by the spirit of God ) it brought me again into the Caldea among the prisoners. Then the vision that I had seen, vanished away from me. So I spake unto the prisoners, all the words of the Lord, which he had showed me.

The Twelfth Chapter

The word of the Lord came unto me, saying: Thou son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a froward household: which have eyes to see, and see not: ears have they to hear, and yet hear they not, for they are an obstinate household. Therefore, (O thou son of man ), make thy gear ready to flit, and go forth by fair daylight, that they may see. Yee even in their sight shalt thou go from thy place to another place: if peradventure they will consider, that they be an unobedient household. Thy gear that thou hast made ready to flit withal, shalt thou bear out by fair day light, that they may see: and thou thyself shalt go forth also at even in their sight, as a man doth when he fliteth. Dig through the wall, that they may see: and bear through it the same thing, that thou tookest up in their sight. As for thyself, thou shalt go forth in the dark. Hyde thy face that thou see not the earth, for I have made thee a show token unto the house of Israel. Now as the Lord commanded me, so I did: the gear that I had made ready, I brought out by day. At even I broke down an hole through the wall with mine hand: and when it was dark, I took up the gear upon my shoulders and bare them out in their sight.

And in the morning, came the word of the Lord unto me, saying: Thou son of man, if Israel that froward household ask thee and say: What doest thou there? Then tell them: Thus saith the Lord God: This punishment toucheth the chief rulers at Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel, that dwell among them. Tell them I am your show token: like as I have done, so shall it happen unto you: flit shall ye also, and go into captivity. The cheifest that is among you, shall laden his shoulders in the dark, and get him away. He shall break down the wall, to carry stuff there through: he shall cover his face, that he see not the ground, with his eyes. My line will I spread out upon him, and catch him in my net, and carry him to Babylon, in the land of the Chaldees: which he shall not see, and yet shall he shall die there. As for all his helpers, and all his Hosts, that be about him, I will scatter them toward all the winds, and draw out the sword after them. So when I have scattered them among the Heathen, and strewn them in the lands, they shall know, that I am the Lord. But, I will leave a little number of them from the sword, hunger and pestilence: to tell all their abominations among the Heathen, where they come: that they may know, how that I am the Lord.

Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto me saying: Thou son of man: with fearful trembling thou shalt eat thy bread, with carefulness and sorrow shalt thou drink thy water. And unto the people of the land, speak thou on this manner: Thus saith the Lord God, to them that dwell in Jerusalem, and to the land of Israel: Ye shall eat your bread with sorrow, and drink your water with heaviness: Yee the land with the fullness thereof shall be laid waste, for the wickedness of them that dwell therin. And the cities that now be well occupied, shall be void, and the land desolate: that ye may know, that I am the Lord.

Yet came the word of the Lord unto me again, saying: Thou son of man, what manner of by word is that, which ye use in the land of Israel, saying: Tush, seeing that the days are so slack in coming, all the visions are of none effect: Tell them therefore, thus saith the Lord God: I will make that byword to cease, so that it shall nomore be commonly used in Israel.

But say this unto them: The days are at hand, that everything which hath been prophesied, shall be fulfilled. There shall no vision be in vain, neither any prophecy fail among the children of Israel: For it is I the Lord that speak it: and whatsoever, I the Lord speak, it shall be performed, and not be slacken in coming.

Yee even in your days ( O ye froward household ) will I devise something, and bring it to pass, sayeth the Lord God. And the word of the Lord came unto me saying: Behold, thou son of man: The house of Israel say in this manner: Tush as for the vision that he hath seen, it will be many a day or it come to pass: Is it far off yet, the thing that he propheceth. Therefor say unto them: Thus sayeth the Lord: All my words shall no more be slack: Look what I speak, that same shall come to pass, sayeth the Lord.

The Thirteenth Chapter

The word of the Lord came unto me, saying: Thou son of man, speak prophesy against those prophets, that preach in Israel: and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts: Hear ye the word of the Lord, thus saith the Lord God: Woe be unto those foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and speak where they have seen nothing. O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes upon the dry field: For they stand not in the gaps, neither made they an hedge for the house of Israel, that men might abide the peril in the day of the Lord. Vain things they see, and tell lies, to maintain their preachings withal. The Lord ( saith they ) hath spoke it, when in very deed the Lord hath not sent them. Vain visions have ye seen, and spoken false prophesies, when ye say: the Lord hath spoken it where as I never said it.

Therefore, thus saith the Lord God: Because your words are vain, and ye seek out lies: Behold, I will upon you, saith the Lord. Mine hands shall come upon the prophets that look out vain things, and preach lies: they shall not be in the counsel of my people, nor shall they be written in the book of the house of Israel, neither shall they come in the land of Israel: that ye shall know, how that I am the Lord God. And that for this cause: they have deceived my people, and told them of peace, where no peace was. One seteth up a wall, and they daub it with loose clay. Therefore tell them that daub it with untempered mortar, that it shall fall. For there shall come a great shower of rain, great stones shall fall upon it, and a sore storm of wind shall break it, so shall that wall come down. Shall it not then be said unto you: where is now the mortar, that ye daubed it withal? Therefore thus saith the Lord God: I will break out in my wrothfull displeasure with a stormy wind, so that in mine anger there shall come a mighty shower of rain, and hailstones in my wrath, to destroy withal.

As for the wall, that ye have daubed with untempered mortar, I will break it down, make it even with the ground: so the foundation thereof shall remove, and it shall fall, yee and ye yourselves shall perish in the midst thereof: to learn you for to know, that I am the Lord. Thus will I perform my wrath upon this wall, and upon them that have daubed it with untempered mortar, and then will I say unto you: The wall is gone, and the daubers are away. These are the prophets of Israel, which prophesy unto the city of Jerusalem, and look out visions of peace for them, where as no peace is, saith the Lord God. Wherefore ( O thou son of man ) set thy face against the daughters of thy people, which prophesy out of their own hearts: and speak thou prophesy against them, and say: Thus saith the Lord God: Woe be unto you, that sew pillows under all armholes, and bolsters under the heads both of young and old, to catch souls withal. For when ye have gotten the souls of my people in your captivity, ye promise them life, and dishonor me to my people, for a handful of barley, and for a piece of bread: when ye kill the souls of them, that die not, and promise life to them, that live not: Thus ye dissemble with my people, that believeth your lies.

Wherefore thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will also upon your pillows, wherewith ye catch the souls in flying: them will I take from your arms, and let the souls go, that ye catch in flying. Your bolsters also will I tear in pieces, and deliver my people out of your hand: so that they shall come no more in your hands to be spoiled, and ye shall know, that I am the Lord. Seeing that with your lies you discomfort the heart of the righteous, whom I have not discomforted: Again: For so much as ye courage the hand of the wicked, so that he may not turn from his wicked way, and live: therefore shall ye spy out no more vanity, nor prophecy your own guessings: for I will deliver my people out of your hand, that ye may know, how that I am the Lord. The Fourteenth Chapter

There resorted unto me certain of the elders of Israel, and sat by me. Then came the word of the Lord unto me, saying: Thou son of man, these men bare their idols in their heart, and go purposely upon the stumbling block of their own wickedness: how dare they then ask counsel at me? Therefore speak unto them, and say: thus saith the Lord God: Every man of the house of Israel that beareth his Idols in his heart, purposing to stumble in his own wickedness, and cometh to a prophet, to inquire anything at me by him: unto that man will I the Lord myself give answer, according to the multitude of his idols: that the house of Israel may be snared in their own hearts, because they be clean gone from me, for their idols sakes.

Wherefore, tell the house of Israel: thus saith the Lord God: Be converted, forsake your idols, and turn your faces from all your abominations. For every man,

( whether he be of the house of Israel or a stranger, that sojourneth in Israel ) which departeth from me, and carrieth idols in his heart, purposing to go still stumbling in his own wickedness, and cometh to a Prophet, for to ask counsel at me through him: unto that man will I the Lord give answer, by mine own self. I will set my face against that man, And will make him an example for other, yee and a common byword: and will root him out of my people, that he may know, how that I am the Lord. And if that Prophet be deceived, when he telleth him a word: then I the Lord myself have deceived that Prophet, and will stretch forth mine hand upon him, to root him out of my people Israel: and they both shall be punished for their wickedness. According to the sin of him that asketh, shall the sin of the Prophet be: that the house of Israel be led no more away from me through error, and be no more defiled in their wickedness: but that they may be my people, and I their God, sayeth the Lord God. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying: Thou son of man, when the land sinneth against me, and goeth forth in wickedness: I will stretch out mine hand upon it, and destroy all the provision of their bread, and send dirth (famine) upon them, to destroy man and beast in the land. And though Noe, Daniel and Job these three men were among them, yet shall they in their righteousness deliver but their own souls, saith the Lord God. If I bring noisome beasts into the land, to waste it up, and it be so desolate, that no man may go therein for beasts: if these three men were also in the land, as truly as I live, ( saith the Lord God ) they shall save neither sons nor daughters, but be only delivered themselves: as for the land it shall be waste.

Or if I bring a sword into the land, and charge it to go through the land: so that, I slay down man and beast in it, and if these three men were therein: as truly as I live, ( saith the Lord God ) they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but only be saved themselves. If I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my sore indignation upon it in blood, so that I root out of it both man and beast, and if Noe, Daniel and Job, were therin: as truly as I live, ( saith the Lord God ) they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but save their own souls in their righteousness. Moreover, thus saith the Lord God: Though I send my four troublesome plagues upon Jerusalem: the sword, hunger, perilous beasts, and pestilence, to destroy man and beast out of it: yet shall there be a remnant saved therein, which shall bring forth their sons and daughters. Behold, they shall come forth unto you, and ye shall see their way, and what they take in hand, and ye shall be comforted, as touching all the plagues that I have brought upon Jerusalem, they shall comfort you, when ye see their way and works: and ye shall know, that I have done so against Jerusalem, as I did, saith the Lord God.

The Fifteenth Chapter

The word of the Lord came unto me, saying: Thou son of man: What cometh of the vine among all other trees? And of the vine stock among all the other timber of the groove? Do men take wood of it, to make any work withal? Or may there be a nail be made of it, to hang anything upon? Behold it is cast into the fire to be burnt, the fire comsumeth both the ends of it, the midest is burnt to ashes. Is it meat then for any work? No.

Seeing then, that it was meat for no work, being whole: much less may there anything be made of it, when the fire hath consumed it and burnt it. And therefore thus sayeth the Lord God: Like as I cast the vine into the fire to be burnt, as other trees of the wood: Even so will I do with them that dwell in Jerusalem, and set my face against them: they shall go out from the fire, and yet the fire shall consume them. Then shall ye know, that I am the Lord, when I set my face against them, and make the Land waste: because they have sore offended, sayeth the Lord God.

The Sixteenth Chapter

Again, the word of the Lord spake unto me, saying: Thou son of man, show the city of Jerusalem their abominations, and say: thus saith the Lord God unto Jerusalem: Thy progeny and kindred came out of the land of Canaan, thy father was an Amorite, thy mother an Cethite. In the day of thy birth when thou wast born, the string of thy navel was not cut off: , thou wast not bathed in water to make thee clean: thou wast neither rubbed with salt, nor swaddled in clouts: No man regarded that so much, as to do any of these things for thee, or to show thee such favor, but thou was utterly cast out upon the field, yee despised wast thou in the day of thy birth.

Then came I by thee, and saw thee trodden down in thine own blood, and said unto thee: thou shalt be purged from thine own blood, from thine own blood ( I say ) shalt thou be cleansed. So I planted thee, as the blossom of the field: thou art grown up, and waxen great: thou hast gotten a marvelous pleasant beauty, thy breasts are come up, thy hair is goodly grown, where as thou was naked and bare afore.

Now when I went by thee, and looked upon thee: behold, thy time was come, yee even the time to vow thee. Then spread I my clothes over thee, to cover thy dishonesty: yee I made an oath unto thee, and married myself with thee ( sayeth the Lord God ) and so thou becamest mine own. Then washed I thee with water, and purged thy blood from thee, I anointed thee with oil, I gave thee change of rayments, I made thee shoes of Tarus leather: I girded thee about with white silk, I clothed thee with kerchues, I decked thee with costly apparel, I put rings upon thy fingers: and chain about thy neck, spangles on thy forehead, earrings upon thine ears, and set a beautiful crown upon thine head. Thus wast thou decked with silver and gold, and thy raiment was of fine white silk, of needle work and diverse colors.

Thou didst eat nothing but simnels, honey and oil: marvelous goodly wast thou and beautiful, yee even a very Queen wast thou. In so much, that thy beauty was spoken of among the Heathen, for thou was excellent in my beauty, which I put upon thee sayeth the Lord God. But thou hast put confidence in thine own beauty, and played the harlot, when thou haddest gotten thee a name. Thou hast committed whoredom, with all that went by thee, and hast fulfilled their desires: yee thou hast taken thy garments of diverse colors, and decked thine alters therewith, where upon thou mightest fulfill thine whoredom, of such a fashion , as never was done, nor shall be. The goodly ornaments and Jewels which I gave thee of mine own gold and silver, hast thou taken, and made thee mens images thereof, and committed whoredom withal.

Thy garments of diverse colors hast thou taken, and decked them therewith: mine oil and incense hast thou set before them. My meat which I gave thee, as fimnels, oil and honey: ( to feed thee withal ) that hast thou set before them, for a sweet savior. And this also came to pass, sayeth the Lord God: Thou hast taken thine own sons and daughters, whom thou hast begotten unto me: and these hast thou offered up to them, to be their meat. Is this but a small whoredom of thine ( thinkest thou ) that thou slayest my children, and givest them over, to be burnt unto them? And yet in all thy abominations and whoredom, thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, how naked and bare thou wast at that time and trodden down in thine own blood. After all these thy wickednesses ( woe, woe unto thee, sayeth the Lord ) thou hast builded up thy*stewes and *brodel houses in every place: yee at the head of every street thou hast *builded an alter. Thou hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, thou hast layed out thy legs to every one that came by, and multiplied thy whoredoms. Thou hast committed fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbors, which had much flesh: and thus hast thou used thine whoredoms, to anger me.

stewes=Middle English stewen, to bathe in a steam bath, brodel= A house of prostitution.

Behold, I will stretched out my hand over thee, and minished thy store of food, and deliver thee over into the wiles of the Philistines thine enemies, which are ashamed of thy abominable way. Thou hast played the whore also with the Assirians, which might not satisfy thee: Yee, thou hast played the harlot, and not had enough. Thus hast thou committed thy fornication from the land of Canaan unto the Caldees, and yet thy lust not satisfied. Now should I circumcise thine heart ( saith the Lord God) seeing thou doest all these things, thou precious whore: building thy stewes at the head of street, and thy brodel houses in all places? Thou hast not been as another whore, that maketh boast of her winning but as a wife that breaketh wedlock, and taketh other instead of her husband. Gifts are given to all other whores, but thou givest rewards unto all thy lovers: and offerest them gifts, to come unto thee out of all places, and to committee fornication with thee. It is come to pass with thee in thy whoredoms contrary to the use of other women: yee there hath no such fornication been committed after thee, seeing that thou *proffer(to offer for acceptance) gifts unto other, and no regard is given thee: this is a contrary thing.

Moreover, I will judge thee as a breaker of wedlock and a murderer, and recompense thee thine own blood in wrath and jealousy. I will give thee over to their power, that shall break down thy stewes, and destroy thy brodel houses: they shall strip thee out of thy clothes, all thy fair and beautiful jewels shall they take from thee, and so let the sit naked and bare: yee they shall bring the common people upon thee, which shall stone thee, and slay thee down with their swords. They shall burn up thy houses, and punish thee in the sight of many women. Thus will I make thy whoredom to cease, sop that thou shalt give out no more rewards.

Should I make my wrath to be still, take my jealousy from thee, be content, and no more to be displeased? Seeing thou remembered not the days of thy youth, but provoked me to wrath in all these things? Behold therefore, I will bring thy own ways upon thine head, saith the Lord God: how be it, I never did unto thee, according to thy wickedness and all thy abominations. Behold, all they that use common proverbs, shall use this proverb also against thee: such a mother, such a daughter.

Thou art even thy mothers own daughter, that hath cast off her husband and her children: Yee thou art the sister of thy sisters, which forsook their husbands and their children. Your mother is an Cethite, and your father an Amorite. Thine eldest sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that dwell upon thy left hand.

But thy youngest sister that dwelleth on thy right hand, is Sodoma and her daughters. Yet hast thou not walked after their ways, nor done after their abominations: but in all thy ways thou hast been more corrupt than they. As truly as I live, saith the Lord God, Sodoma thy sister with her daughters hath not done so evil, as thou and thy daughters. Behold, the sins of thy sister Sodoma, were these: Pride, fullness of meat, and abundance and Idleness: these things had she and in her daughters. Besides that they reached not their hand to the poor and needy, but were proud and did abominable things before me: therefore I took them away, when I seen it. Neither hath Samaria done half of thy sins, yee thou hast exceeded them in wickedness: In so much that in comparison of all the abominations which thou hast done, thou has made thy sisters good women.

As for their captivity, namely the captivity of Sodoma and her daughters: the captivity of Samaria and her daughters: I will bring them again, so will I also bring again thy captive among them: that thou mayest take thine own confusion upon thee, and be ashamed of all that thou hast done, and to comfort them. Thus thy sisters

( namely ) Sodoma and her daughters: Samaria and her daughters with thy self and thy daughters, shall be brought again to your old estate. When thou was in thy pride, and before thy wickedness came to light: thou wouldest not hear speak of thy sister Sodoma, until the time that the Syrians with all their towns, and the Philistines, with all that live round about them, brought thee to shame and confusion: that thou mightest bare thine own filthiness and abomination, saith the Lord.

For thus saith the Lord God: I should ( by right ) deal with thee as thou hast done. Thou hast despised the oath and broken the covenant. Nevertheless, I will remember the covenant that I made with thee in thy youth, in so much that it shall be an everlasting covenant: so that thou also remember thy ways, and be ashamed of them: then shalt thou receive of me thy elder and younger sisters, whom I will make thy daughters, and that besides thy covenant. And so I will renew my covenant with thee, that thou mayest know that I am the Lord: That thou mayest think upon it, be ashamed, and excuse thine own confusion no more: when I have forgiven thee, all that thou hast done, saith the Lord God.

The Seventeenth Chapter

The word of the Lord came unto me, saying: Thou son of man: put forth a dark speaking and a parable, unto the house of Israel, And say: Thus saith the Lord God: There came a great Eagle with great wings, yee with mighty long wings, full of feathers, of diverse colors, upon the mount of Libanus, and took a branch from a Cedar tree, and break off the top of his twig, and carried it into the land of Canaan, and set it in a city of merchants. He took also a branch of the land, and planted it in a fruitful ground, he brought it unto great waters, and set it as a willow tree thereby. Then did it grow, and was a great vine stock, but low by the ground: thus there came of it a vine, and it brought forth blossoms, and spread out branches. But their was another Eagle, a great one, which had great wings and many feathers: and behold, the roots of this vine had an hunger after him, and spread out his branches toward him, to water his fruits: Nevertheless it was planted upon good ground beside great waters: so that ( by reason ) it should have brought out branches and fruit, and have been a goodly vine. Speak thou therefore, thus saith the Lord God: Shall this vine prosper? Shall not his roots be plucked out, his fruit be broken off, his green branches wither and fade away? Yee without strong armies or many people, shall it be plucked up by the roots. Behold, it was planted: shall it prosper therefore. Shall it not be dried up and withered, yee even in the shooting out of its blossoms, as soon as the east wind bloweth?

Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me saying: Speak that froward household: Know ye not, what these things do signify? Tell them: Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took the King and his Princes, and led them to Babylon.

He took of the kings seed, and made a covenant with him, and took an oath of him: The Princes of the land toke he with him also, that the land might be held in subjection, and not rebel, but keep the covenant, and fulfill it. But he fell from him, and sent his embassy tours into Egypt that he might have horses and much people. Should that prosper? Should he be kept safe, that doeth such things? Or should he escape, that breaketh his covenant? As truly as I live saith the Lord God: He shall die in Babylon, in the place where the King dwelleth, that made him King: whos oath he has despised, Neither shall Pharaoh with his great host and multitude of people, maintain him in the war: Then they cast up ditches, and set up bulwarks to destroy much people. For seeing he despised the oath, and broken the covenant, ( where as he yet give his hand thereupon ) and done all these things, he shall not escape.

Therefore thus saith the Lord God: As truly as I live, I will bring mine oath that he hath despised, and my covenant that he hath broken, upon his own head. I will cast my net about him, and catch him in my yarn. To Babylon will I carry him, there will I punish him, because of the great offense that he made me. As for those that flee from him out of the host, they shall be slayen with the sword. The residue shall be scattered toward all the winds: and ye shall know, that I the Lord hath spoken it.

Thus saith the Lord God: I will also take a branch from an high Cedar tree, and will set it, and take the uppermost twig, that is yet but tender, and plant it upon an high hill: Namely, upon the high hill of Sion will I plant it: that it may bring forth twigs, and give fruit, and be a great cedar tree: so that all manner of fowls may bide in it, and make their nests under the shadow of his branches.

And all the trees of the field shall know that I the Lord have brought down the high tree, and set the low tree up: that I have dried up the green tree, and made the dry tree to flourish: Even I the Lord that speak it, have also brought it to pass.

The Eighteenth Chapter

The word of the Lord came unto me, on this manner: what mean ye, by this common proverb, that ye use in the land of Israel, saying: The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the childrens teeth are set on edge? As truly as I live, saith the Lord God, ye shall use this byword no more in Israel.

Behold, all souls are mine. Like as the father is mine, so is the son mine also. The soul that sinneth, shall die. If a man be godly, and do the thing that is equal and right, he eateth not upon the hills: he lifteth not his eyes up to the Idols of Israel, he defileth not his neighbors wife: he meddleth with no menstruous woman: he grieveth nobody: he giveth his debtor his pledge again , he raketh none other mans goods by violence: he parteth his meat with the hungry: he clotheth the naked: he lendeth nothing upon usury: he taketh nothing over: he with draweth his hand from doing wrong: he handleth faithfully between man and man: he walketh in my commandments, and keepeth my laws, and performeth them faithfully: This is a righteous man, he shall surly live saith the Lord God.

If he now get a son, that is a murderer, a shedder of blood: if he do one of these things ( though he do not all ) he eateth upon the hills: he defiled his neighbors wife: he grieveth the poor and needy: he robbeth and spoileth: he giveth not the debtor his pledge again, he lifteth up his eyes unto Idols, and meddle with abominable things: he lendeth upon usury, and taketh moreover. Shall this man live? He shall not live. Seeing he hath done all these abominations, he shall die his blood shall be upon him.

Now if this man get a son also, that seeth all his fathers sins, which he hath done: and feareth, neither do such like: Namely , he eateth not upon the mountains: he lifteth not up his eyes to the Idols of Israel: he defileth not his neighbors wife: he vexeth no man: he keepeth no mans pledge, he neither spoileth, nor robbeth any man: he dealeth his meat with the hungry: he clotheth the naked: he opresseth not the poor: he receiveth no usury, nor anything over: he keepeth my laws, and walketh in my comandments: this man shall not die in his fathers sin, but shall live without fail. As for his father: because he oppressed and spoiled his brother, and did wickedly among his people: Lo, he is dead in his own sin. And yet say ye: Wherefore then should not the son bear his fathers sin? Therefore shall he live in deed. The same soul that sinneth, shall die. The son shall not bear the fathers offense. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him self also. But if the ungodly will turn away from all his sins that he hath done, and keep all my comandments, and do the thing that is equal and right: doubtless he shall live, and not die. As for all the sins that he did before, they shall not be thought upon: but in his righteousness that he hath done, he shall live. For have I any pleasure in the death of a sinner, sayeth the Lord God: but rather that he convert, and live?

Again: If the righteous turn away from his righteousness, and do iniquity, according to all the abominations, that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All the righteousness that he hath done, shall not be thought upon: but in the fault that he offended withal and in the sin that he hath done, he shall die.

And yet ye say: Tush, the way of the Lord is not indifferent. Hear therefore ye house of Israel: Is not my way right? Or, are not your ways rather wicked? When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and meddleth with ungodliness: he must die therin: yee for the unrighteousness that he hath done, he must die. Again: when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness, that he hath done, and doeth the thing which is equal and right: he shall save his soul alive. For in so much that he remembereth himself, and turneth him from all ungodliness that he used, he shall live, and not die.

And yet saith the house of Israel: Tush, the way of the Lord is not equal. Are my ways unright, O ye house of Israel: Are not your ways rather unequal? As for me, I will judge every man, according to his ways, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord God. Wherefore be converted, and turn you clean from all your wickedness, so shall there no sin do you harm. Cast away from you all your ungodliness, that ye have done: make you new hearts and new spirit. Wherefore will ye die, O ye house of Israel: seeing that I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, sayeth the Lord God. Turn you then, and ye shall live.

The Nineteenth Chapter

But mourn thou for the princes of Israel, and say: Wherefore lay thy mother that lioness among lions, and nourished her young ones among the lions whelps? One of her whelps she brought up, and it became a young lion: it likened to spoil, and devoured folk. The heathen heard of him, and took him in their nets, and brought him with chains unto the land of Egypt.

Now when the dame saw, that all her hope and comfort was away, she took another of her whelps, and made lion of him: which went among the lions, and became a fierce lion: learned to spoil, and devoured folk: he devoured their palaces, and made their cities waste. In so much that the whole land and every thing therin, were utterly desolate, through the very voice of his roaring.

Then came the heathen together on every side out of all countries against him, layed their nets for him, and took him in their pit. So they bound him with chains, and brought him to the king of Babylon: which put him in prison, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel. As for thy mother, she is like a vine in thy blood, planted by the water side: her fruits and branches are grown out of many waters, her stalks were so strong, that men might have made staves thereof for officers: she grew so high in her stalks.

So when men saw that she exceeded the height and multitude of her branches, she was rooted out in displeasure, and cast down to the ground. The East wind dried up her fruit, her strong stalks were broken off, withered and burnt in the fire. But now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground. And there is a fire gone out of her stalks, which hath burnt up her branches and her fruit: so that she hath no more strong stalks, to be staves for officers. This is a piteous and miserable thing.

The Twentieth Chapter

In the seventh year, the tenth day of the fifth month, it happened, that certain of the elders of Israel came unto me, for to ask counsel at the Lord, and sat them down by me. Then came the word of the Lord unto me on this manner: Thou son of man: speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them: Thus saith the Lord God: Are ye come hither to ask anything at me? As truly as I live, ( saith the Lord God ) I will give you no answer. Wilt thou not reprove them ( thou son of man ) wilt thou not reprove them? Show them the abominations of their fathers: and tell them: Thus saith the Lord God: In the day when I chose Israel, and lift up mine hand upon the seed of the house of Jacob, and showed myself unto them in the land of Egypt, Yee when I lift up mine hand over them, and said: I am the Lord your God, even in that day that I lift up mine hand over them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt, into a land that I provided for them, which flowed with milk and honey, and is a pleasant land among all others: Then said I unto them: Cast away every man the abominations that he hath before him, and defile not yourselves with the Idols of Egypt, for I am the Lord your God.

But they rebelled against me, and would not follow me: to cast away every man the abominations of his eyes, and to forsake the Idols of Egypt. Then I made me to pour my indignation over them, and to satisfy my wrath upon them: Yee even in the midst of the land of Egypt. But I would not do it, for my names sake: that it should not be unhallowed before the Heathen, among whom they dwelt, and among whom I showed my self unto them, that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt. Now when I had carried them out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness. I gave them my comandments, and showed them my laws: which who so keepeth shall live in them. I gave them also my holy days, to be a token between me and them, and thereby to know, that I am the Lord, which halloweth them. And yet the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness, they would not walk in my comandments, they have cast away my laws ( which whose keepeth should live in them ) and my Sabbath days have they greatly unhallowed.

Then I made me to pour out my indignation upon them, and to consume them in the wilderness, Yet I would not do it, for my names sake: least it should be dishonored before the Heathen, from which I had carried them away. But I swore unto them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land, which I give them: a land that floweth with milk and honey, and is a pleasure of all lands: and because they refused my laws, and walked not in my comandments, but had unhallowed my Sabbaths, for their heart was gone after their idols. Nevertheless mine eye spared them, so that I would not utterly slay them, and consume them in the wilderness. Moreover, I said unto their sons in the wilderness: walk not in the statutes of your forefathers, keep not their ordinances, and defile yourselves with their idols, for I am the Lord your God. But walk in my statutes, keep my laws and do them, hallow my Sabbaths: for they are a token between you and me, that ye may know how that I am the Lord your God. Notwithstanding, their sons rebelled against me also: they walked not in my statutes, they kept not my laws to fulfill them ( which he that doth shall live in them ) neither hallowed they my Sabbath days. Then I made me to pour out my indignation over them, and to satisfy my wrath upon them in the wilderness. Nevertheless, I withdrew mine hand for my names sake, least it should be unhallowed among the Heathen, before whom I had brought them forth. I lift up mine hand over them also in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the Heathen, and strew them among the nations: because they had not kept my laws, but cast aside my comandments, unhallowed my Sabbaths, and lift up their eyes to their fathers Idols. Wherefore I also gave them comandments not good, and laws through the which they should not live, and I unhallowed them in their own gifts ( when I appointed for my own self all their first born ) to make them desolate: that they might know that I am the Lord.

Therefore ( O son of man ) tell the house of Israel, thus saith the Lord God: Behold all this, your fathers have yet blasphemed me more, and greatly offended against me: For after I had brought them into the land, That I promised to give to them, when they saw every high hill, and all the thick trees: they made their offerings, and provoked mr with their oblations, making sweet saviours there, and poured out their drink offerings. Then I ask them, What have ye to with all, that ye go thither? And therefore it is called the high place unto this day. Wherefore, speak unto the house of Israel: Thus saith the Lord God: ye are even as unclean as your forefathers, and commit whoredom also with their abominations. In all your idols, where unto you bring your oblations, and to whos honor ye burn your children: ye defile your selves, even unto this day: how dare ye then come , and ask any question at me? O ye household of Israel? As truly as I live ( saith the Lord God ) ye get no answer of me: and as for the thing that ye go about, it shall not come to pass, where as ye say: we will be as the Heathen, and do as other people in the land, wood and stone will we worship.

As truly as I live, saith the Lord God, I myself will rule you with a mighty hand, with a stretched out arm, and with indignation poured out over you: and will bring you out of the nations and lands, wherein ye are scattered: and gather you together with a mighty hand, with a stretched out arm and with indignation poured out upon you: and will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there I will reason with you face to face. Like as I punished your forefathers in the wilderness, so will I punish you also, saith the Lord God. I will bring you under my jurisdiction, and under the bond of the covenant. The forsakers also and the transgressors will I take from among you, and bring them out of the land of your habitations: As for the land of Israel, they shall no come in it: that they may know that I am the Lord.

Go now then ( thus saith the Lord God ) ye house of Israel, cast away, and destroy every man his Idols: then shall ye hear me, and no more blaspheme my holy name with your offerings and Idols. But upon my holy hill, even upon the high hill of Israel shall all the house of Israel and all that is in the land, worship me: and in the same place will I savoir them, and there will I require your heave offerings, and the firstlings of your oblations, with all your holy things.

I will accept your sweet savoir, when I bring you from the nations, and gather you together out of the lands, wherein ye be scattered: that I may be hallowed in you before the Heathen. and that ye may know, that I am the Lord, which have brought you into the land of Israel: Yee into the same land, that I swore to give to your forefathers. There shall ye call to remembrance your own ways and all your imaginations, wherein ye have been defiled: and ye shall be displeased with your own selves, for all your wickedness, that ye have done. And ye shall know that I am the Lord: when I entreat you after my name, not after your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt works: O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord.

Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying: Thou son of man, set thy face toward the south, and speak to the south wind, and say to the wood toward the south: Hear the word of the Lord, thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, that shall consume thee green trees with the Dry. No man shall be able to quench his flame, but all that looketh from the south to the north shall be burned therein. And all flesh shall see, that I the Lord have kindled it, so that no man shall quench it. Then said I: O' Lord, they will say of me: Tush, they are but fables that he telleth.

The Twenty First Chapter

The word of the Lord came to me, saying: Thou son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, speak against the Sanctuary, and prophesy against the land of Israel, say to the land of Israel: Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will upon thee, and will draw my sword out of the sheath, and root out of thee the righteous and the wicked, Seeing then that I will root out of thee both the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go out of his sheath against all flesh from the north to the south: that all flesh may know, how that I the Lord, have drawn my sword out of the sheath, and it shall not be put in again.

Mourn therefore ( O thou son of man ) that thy loins crack withal, yee mourn bitterly for them: And if they say, wherefore mournest thou? Then tell them: for the tidings that cometh, at the which all hearts shall melt, all hands shall be letten down, all stomachs shall faint, and all knees shall wax feeble. Behold, it cometh, and shall be fulfilled, saith the Lord God.

Again, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying: Thou son of man, prophesy, saying: Thus saith the Lord God: speak, the sword is sharpened and well scoured. Sharpened is it for slaughter, and scoured that it may be bright. * O, the destroying staff of my son, shall bring down all wood. He hath put his sword to the *dighting, that good hold may be taken of it. This sword is sharpened and *dight, that it may be given into the hand of the man slayer. *dighting=prepared, dressed, made ready

Cry ( O thou son of man ) and howl, for this sword shall smite my people, and all the rulers of Israel, which with my people shall be slain down to the ground through his sword. Smite thou upon thy thigh, For wherefor should not the plague and staff of judgement come? Prophesy thou son of man, and smite thine hands together: make the sword two edged, yee make it three edged, the manslayers sword, that sword of great slaughter, which shall smite them, even in their privy chambers: to make them abashed and faint at the hearts, and in all gates to make some of them fall. O how bright and sharp it is, how will dight and meat for the slaughter. Get thee to some place alone, either upon the right hand or the left, wither so ever thy face turneth. I will smite thy hands together also and satisfy my wrothfull indignation: Even I the Lord hath said it.

The word of the Lord came yet unto me again saying: Thou son of man, make thee two streets, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come. Both these streets shall go out of one land. He shall set him up a place, at the head of the street shall he choose him out a corner. Make that a street, that the sword may come toward Kabbath of the Ammonites, and to the strong city of Jerusalem. For the king of Babylon shall stand in the turning of the way, at the head of the two trees: to ask counsel of the soothsayers, casting the lots with his arrows, to ask counsel at the Idols, and to look in the liver. But the soothsaying shall point to the right side upon Jerusalem, that he may set men of war, to smite it with a great noise, to cry out Alarm, to set battle rams against the gates, to grave up ditches, and to make bulwarks.

Nevertheless, as for the soothsaying, they shall hold it but for vanity, even as though a jest were told them: yee and they themselves remember their wickedness, so that by right they must be taken and womne (won). Therefore saith the Lord God: for as much as ye yourselves show your offense, and have opened your wickedness, so that in all your works men may see your sins: yee in so much ( I say ) that ye yourselves have made mention thereof ye shall be taken by violence.

O thou shameful wicked guide of Israel whose day is come: even the time when wickedness shall have an end: Thus saith the Lord God: take away the miser, and put off the crown, and so is it away: the humble is exalted, and the proud brought low. Punish, punish, yee punish them will I, and destroy them: and that shall not be fulfilled till he come, to whom the judgement belongeth, and to whom I have given it. And thou ( O son of man ) prophecy, and speak: Thus saith the Lord God to the children of Ammon, and to their blaspheme, speak thou: The sword, the sword is drawn forth already to slaughter, and scoured that it glittereth ( because thou hast looked out vanities, and prophesied lies ) that it may come upon thy neck, like as upon the other ungodly, which be slain: whose day came, when their wickedness was full.

Though it were put up again into the sheath, yet will I punish thee, in the land where thou wast nourished and born, and pour my indignation upon thee and will blow upon thee in the fire of my wrath, and deliver thee unto evil people, which are learned to destroy. Thou shalt feed the fire and thy blood shall be shed in the land, that thou mayest be put out of remembrance. Even I the Lord have spoken it.

The Twenty Second Chapter

Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto me, and said: thou son of man, wilt not reprove this blood thirsty city? Show them their abominations, and tell them: Thus saith the Lord God: O thou city, that sheddest blood in the midst of thee, that thy time may come also: and makest the Idols to defile thee withal. Thou hast made thy self guilty in the blood that thou hast shed, and defiled thee in the Idols, which thou hast made. Thou hast caused thy days to draw nye, and made the time of thy years to come. Therefore will I make thee to be confounded among the heathen, and to be defiled in all the lands, whether they be nye or far from thee: they shall laugh thee to scorn, thou that hast gotten thee so foul a name, and art full of mischief. Behold, the rulers of Israel have brought every man his power, to shed blood in thee. In thee have they despised father and mother, in thee have they oppressed the stranger, in thee have they vexed the widow and the fatherless. Thou hast despised my Sanctuary, and unhallowed my sabbath. Murders are there in thee, that shed blood, and eat upon the hills, and in thee they use unhappiness.

In thee have they discovered their fathers shame, in thee have they vexed women in their sickness. Every man hath dealt shamefully with his neighbors wife, and abominably defiled his daughter in law. In that hath every man forced his own sister, even his fathers daughter. Yee gifts have been received in thee, to shed blood. Thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast oppressed thy neighbors by extortion, and forgotten me, saith the Lord God. Behold, I have smitten my hands upon thy covetousness, that thou hast used, and upon the blood which hath been in thee. Is thy heart able to endure it, or may thy hands defend themselves, in the time that I shall bring upon thee? Even I the Lord that speak it, will bring it also to pass. I will scatter thee among the heathen, and strew thee about in the lands, and will cause thy filthiness to cease out of thee. Yee and I will have thee in possession in the sight of the Heathen, that thou mayest know that I am the Lord.

And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying: Thou son of man, the house of Israel is turned to *dross. All they that should be brass, tin, iron, and lead, are in the fire become dross. Therefore, thus saith the Lord God: for as much as ye have all turned into dross, behold: I will bring you together unto Jerusalem, like as silver, and brass, iron, tin, and lead, are put together in the furnace and the fire blown there under to melt them: Even so I will gather you, put you in together, and melt you in my wrath and indignation. I will bring you together, and kindle the fire of my cruel displeasure under you, that ye may be melted therin.

*dross=waste product formed during the firing of metal to make it soft (molten)

Like as silver is melted in the fire, so shall ye also be melted therin: that ye may know, how that I the Lord have poured my wrath upon you.

And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying: Thou son of man, tell her: Thou art an unclean land, which is not rained upon in the day of the cruel wrath: thy Prophets that are in thee, are sworn together to devour souls, like as a roaring Lion, that liveth by his prey. They receive riches and good, and make many widows in thee. Thy priests break my law, and defile my Sanctuary. They put no difference between the holy and unholy, neither discern between the clean and the unclean: they turn their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am unhallowed among you. Thy rulers in thee are like raving wolves, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, for their own *covetous lucre. As for thy Prophets, they daub with untempered clay, they see vanities, and prophecy lies unto thee, saying: the Lord God sayeth so, where as the Lord hath not spoken. The people in the land useth wicked extortion and robbery. They vex the poor and needy and oppress the stranger against right. And I sought the land for a man, that would make up the hedge, and set himself in the gap before me in the lands behalf, that I should not utterly destroy it: but I could find none. Therefore will I poured out my cruel displeasure upon them, and burn them in the fire of my wrath: their own ways will I recompense upon their heads saith the Lord God. *covetous lucre= unearned profit, unjust gain, and/ or gain (profit) acquired by violence and or usury (Heb) RN

The Twenty Third Chapter

The word of the Lord came unto me, saying: Thou son of man, there were two women, that had one mother: These ( when they were young ) began to play the harlots in Egypt. there were their breasts *brosed, and the pappes of their maidenhead destroyed. The eldest of them was called Oholah and her younger sister Oholibah. These two were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Their names were, Samaria, and that was Oholah: and Jerusalem, that was Oholibah: As for Oholah she began to go a whoring, when I had taken her to me. She was set on fire upon her lovers the Assirians, which had to do with her: even the princes and lords, that were decked in costly array: fair young men lusty riders of horses.

*brosed= perhaps brused RN

Thus through her whoredom, she cleaved unto all the young men of Assyria: yee she was mad upon them, and defiled herself with all their Idols. Neither ceased she from the fornication, that she used with the Egyptians: for in her youth they lay with her, they brosed the breasts of her maidenhead and poured their whoredom upon her. Wherefore I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, even the Assyrians, whom she so loved. These discovered her shame, took her sons and daughters, and slew her with the sword: An evil name gat she of all the people, and they punished her.

Her sister Aholibah saw this, and destroyed herself with inordinate love, more than she, and exceeded her sister in whoredom she loved the Assyrians, ( which also lay with her ) namely, the princes and great lords, that were clothed with all manner of gorgeous apparel, all lusty horsemen and fair young persons. Then I saw, that they both were defiled a like. But she increased her whoredom: for when she saw men painted upon the wall, the images of the Chaldees set forth with fresh colors, with fair girdles about them, and goodly bonnets upon their heads, looking all like Princes ( after the manner of the Babylonians and Chaldees in their own land, where they be born ) immediatley, as soon as she saw them, she burnt in love upon them, and sent messengers for them into the land of the Chaldees.

Now when the Babylonians came to her, they lay with her, and defiled her with their whoredom, and so was she polluted with them. And when her lust was abated from them, her whoredom and shame was discovered and seen: then my heart forsook her, like as my heart was gone from her sister also. Nevertheless, she used her whoredome ever the longer the more, and remembered the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt: she burnt in lust upon them, whose flesh was like the flesh of Asses, and their seed like the seed of horses. Thus thou hast renewed the filthiness of thy youth, when thy lovers *bresed thy paps, and marred thy breasts in Egypt. *bresed=cooked in fat (old French)

Therefore ( O Aholibah ) thus saith the Lord God. I will raise up thy lovers (with whom thou hast satisfied thy lust ) against thee, and gather them together round about thee: namely the Babylonians, and all the Chaldees: Pecod, Schoa, and Coa, with all the Assyrians: all young and fair lovers: princes and lords, knights and gentlemen, which be all good horsemen: These shall come upon thee with horses, chariots, and a great multitude of people: which shall be harnessed about thee on every side, with breastplates, shields and helmets. I will punish thee before them, yee they themselves shall punish thee, according to their own judgement. I will put my jealousy upon thee, so that they shall deal cruelly with thee. They shall cut off thy nose and thine ears, and the remnant shall fall through the sword. They shall carry away thy sons and thy daughters, and the residue shall be burnt in the fire. They shall strip thee out of thy clothes, and carry thy costly jewels away with them.

Thus I will make an end of thy filthiness and whoredom, which thou hast brought from the land of Egypt: so that thou shalt turn thine eyes no more after them, and cast thy mind no more upon Egypt. For thus saith the Lord: behold, I will deliver thee into the hands of them, whom thou hatest: yee even into the hands of them, with whom thou hast fulfilled thy lust, which shall deal cruelly with thee, and shall take away all thy labor, and thus the shame of thy filthy whoredom shall come to light. All these things shall happen unto thee, because of thy whoredom, which thou hast used among the Gentiles, with whos Idols thou hast defiled thy self. Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister, therefore will I give thee her cup in thine hand.

Thus saith the Lord God: Thou shalt drink of thy sisters cup, how deep and *tarre so ever it be to the bottom. Thou shalt be laughed to scorn, and had as greatly

inderision, as possible. Thou shalt be full of drunkenness and sorrow, for the cup of thy sister Samaria is a cup of destruction and wasting: The same shalt thou drink, and sup it out even to the dregs, Yee thou shalt eat up the broken pieces of it, and so tear thine own breasts: for even I have spoken it, saith the Lord God. *tarre=detestable

Therefore thus saith the Lord God: For so much as thou hast forgotten me, and cast me aside, so bear now thy own filthiness and whoredom. The Lord said moreover unto me: Thou son of man, wilt thou not reprove Oholah and Oholibah? Show them their abominations: namely, That they have broken their wedlock, and stained their hands with blood: Yee even with their idols have they committed *advoutry, and offered them their own children ( to be devoured ) whom they have born unto me. Yee and this have they done unto me also: they have defiled my Sanctuary in that same day, and have unhallowed my sabbaths. For when they had slain their children for their idols, they came the same day into my Sanctuary to defile it. Lo, this have they done in my house. Beside all this, thou has sent thy messengers for men out of far countries: and when they came, thou hast bathed, trimmed and set forth thy self of the best fashion: thou satest upon a goodly bed, and a table spread before thee: whereupon thou hast set mine incense and mine oil.*advoutry: prefix "a" meaning not or without, devout: devotion to God our father, Jesu his son, love, truth, spirit. In most cases in the KJV this word was replaced with "adultery". see the children are offered up to the same advoutry. see James 2 for adultery

Then there was great cheer with her: and the men that were sent from far countries over the desert, unto these they gave bracelets upon their hands, and set glorious crowns upon their heads: Then thought I: no doubt, these will use their harlotry also with yonder old whore. And they went into her, as unto a common harlot: Even so went they also to Oholah and Oholibah those filthy women.

O ye all that love virtue and righteousness, judge them, punish them: as *advoutrers and murderers ought to be judged and punished. For they are breakers of wed lock, and the blood is in their hands. Wherefore thus saith the Lord God: bring a great multitude of people upon them, and make them be scattered and spoiled: these shall stone them and gore them with their swords. They shall slay their sons and daughters and burn up their houses with fire. * see above

Thus I will destroy all such filthiness out of the land, that all women may learn, not to do after your uncleanness. And so they shall lay your filthiness upon your own selves, and ye shall be punished for the sins, that ye have committed with your Idols: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

The Twenty Fourth Chapter

In the ninth year, in the tenth month, the tenth day of the month, came the word of the Lord came unto me, saying: O thou son of man, write up the name of this day, yee even the hour of this present day: when the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem. Show that obstinate household a parable, and speak unto them: Thus saith the Lord God: Get thee a pot, set it on, and pour water into it: put all the pieces together in it, all the good pieces: the loin and the shoulder, and fill it with the best bones. Take one of the best sheep, and an heap of bones withal: let it boil well, and let the seethe well therin.

With that said the Lord God on this manner: Woe be unto the bloody city of the pot, where upon the rustiness hangeth, and is not yet scoured away. Take out the pieces that are in it, one after another: there need not lots be cast therefore, for the blood is yet in it. Upon a plain dry stone hath she poured it, and not upon the ground, that it might be covered with dust. And therefore have I letten her pour her blood upon a plain dry stony rock, because it should not be hid, and that I might bring my wrothfull indignation and vengeance upon her.

Wherefore, thus saith the Lord God: O woe be unto that blood thirsty city, For whom I will prepare a heap of wood: beare thou the bones together, kindle thou the fire, seeth the flesh, let all be well sodden {boiled}, that the bones might be sucked out. Moreover, set the pot empty upon the coals, that it may be warm and all the metal hot: that the filth and the rustiness may be consumed. But it will not go off, there is so much of it: the rustiness must be burnt out. Thy filthiness is abominable, for I would have cleansed thee, but thou wouldest not be cleansed. Thou canest be purged from thine sickness, till I have poured my wrothfull indignation upon thee. Even I the Lord have so devised: Yee it is come there to already, that I will do it. I will not go back, I will not spare, I will not be entreated: but according to thy ways and imaginations, thou shalt be punished, saith the Lord God. And the word of the lord came unto me saying: Thou son of man, behold, I take away the pleasure of thine eyes with a plague: yet shalt thou neither mourn, nor weep, nor water thy cheeks therefore: thou mayest mourn by thy self alone, but use no deadly lamentation. Hold on thy bonnet, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, cover not thy face, and eat no mourners bread. So I spake unto the people by times in the morning, and at even my wife died: then upon the next morrow, I did as I was commanded. And the people said unto me: Wilt thou not tell us, what that signifieth, which thou doest? I answered them, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying: Tell the house of Israel, thus saith the Lord God: behold, I will suspend my sanctuary: even the glory of your power, that pleasure of your eyes, and the thing that ye love: your sons and your daughters whom ye have left, shall fall through the sword.

Like as I have done, so shall ye do also: Ye shall not hide your faces, ye shall eat no mourners bread: your bonnets shall ye have upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet. Ye shall nether mourn nor weep, but in your sins ye shall be sorrowful, and one repent with another. Thus Ezekiel is your showtoken. For look as he hath done, so ( when this cometh ) ye shall do also: that ye may learn to know that I am the Lord God. But behold, O thou son of man: In the day when I take from them their power, their joy and honor, the lust of their eyes, the burthen of their bodies: namely , their sons and daughters: Then shall there one escape, and come unto thee, for to show thee. In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him, which is escaped, that thou mayest speak, and be no more dumb: Yee and thou shalt be their showtoken, that they may know, how that I am the Lord.

The Twenty Fifth Chapter

The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying: Thou son of man, set thy face against the Ammonites, prophesy upon them, and say unto the Ammonites: hear the word of the Lord God: Thus saith the Lord God: For so much as thou speakest over my Sanctuary. A ha, I trow (think) it be now suspended: and over the land of Israel, I trow {think} it be now desolate: and over the house of Judah, I think they be led away prisoners: Behold, I will deliver thee to the people of the east, that they may have thee in possession: these shall set their castles and houses in thee. They shall eat thy fruit, and drink up thy milk. As for Rabbah, I will make of it a stall for camels, and Ammon a sheepfold: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

For thus saith the Lord God; In so much as thou hast clapped with thine hands, and stamped with thy feet, yee rejoiced in thine heart over the land of Israel with despite: behold, I will stretch out mine hand over thee also, and deliver thee, to be spoiled of the Heathen, and root thee out from among the people, and cause thee to be destroyed out of all lands: yee I will make thee be layed waste, that thou mayest know, that I am the Lord.

Thus saith the Lord God: For so much as Moab and Seir do say: As for the house of Judah, it is but like as all other Gentiles be: Therefore, behold, I will make the cities of Moab weaponless, and taken away their strength: their cities and chief coasts of their land, which are the pleasures of the country: As namely. Bethiesimoth, Baalmeon, and Cariathaim: These I will open unto them of the east, that they might fall upon the Ammonites: and will give it them in possession: so that the Ammonites shall no more be had in remembrance among the Heathen. Even thus will I punish Moab also, that they may know that I am the Lord.

Moreover, thus saith the Lord God: Because that Edom hath avenged and eased himself upon the house of Judah, therefore thus saith the Lord: I will reach out my hand upon Edom, and take away man and beast out of it. From Theman unto Dedan I will make it desolate, they shall be slain with the sword. Through my people of Israel will I avenge me again upon Edom: they shall handle him, according to my wrath and indignation, so that they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord God.

Thus saith the Lord God: For so much as the Philistines have done this: namely taken vengeance with despiteful stomachs, and of an old evil will set themselves to destroy: Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will stretch out mine hand over the Philistines, and destroy the destroyer, and cause all the remnant of the sea coast to perish. A great vengeance will I take upon them, and punish them cruelly: that they may know, how that I am the Lord, which have avenged me of them.

The Twenty Sixth Chapter

It happened, that in the eleventh year, And the first day of the Month, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying: Thou son of man, because that Tyre hath spoken upon Jerusalem: Aha, now I trow { think } the ports of the people be broken, and she turned unto me, for I have destroyed my belly full. Yee therefore saith the Lord God: Behold O Tyre, I will upon thee, I will bring a great multitude against thee, like as the sea ariseth with his waves: These shall break the walls of Tyre, and cast down her towers: I will scrape the ground from her, and make her a bare stone: Yee as the drying place, where the fishers hang up their nets by the sea side. Even I have spoken it, saith the Lord God. The Gentiles shall spoil her: her daughters upon the field shall perish with the sword, that they may know that I am the Lord.

For thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will bring hither Nabuchodonosor

( which is the king of Babylon and a king of kings ) from the north upon Tyre, with horses, chariots, horsemen, and with a great multitude of people. Thy daughters that are in the land, shall he slay with the sword: but against thee, he shall make bulwarks and grave up ditches about thee, and lift up his shield against thee. His slings and battlerams shall he prepare for thy wails, and with his weapons break down thy towers. The dust of his horses shall cover thee, they have so many: thy walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen, chariots and wheels: when he cometh to thy ports, as men do into an open city. With the hoofs of his horses feet, shall he tread down all thy streets.

He shall slay thy people with the sword, and break down the pillars of thy strength. They shall waste away thy riches, and spoil thy merchandise. Thy walls shall they break down, and destroy thy houses of pleasure. Thy stones, thy timber and foundations shall they cast in the water. Thus will I bring the melody of thy songs, and the voice of thy minstrelsy to an end, so they shall be no more heard. I will a bare stone of thee, yee a drying place for nets, an shall never be builded again: Forever I the Lord have spoken it, saith the Lord God: Thus hath the Lord God spoken concerning Tyre, The isles shall be moved at the noise of thy fall, and at the cry of the slain, that shall be murdered in thee. All Kings of the sea shall come down from their seats regal: they shall lay away their robes, and put off their costly clothing: Yee with trembling shall they be clothed, they shall sit upon the ground: they shall be afraid at thy sudden fall, and be abashed at thee.

They shall mourn for thee, and say unto thee: O thou noble city, that hast been so greatly occupied of old, Thou that hast been the strongest upon the sea with thine inhabitors of whom all men stood in fear: How art thou now so utterly destroyed? Now at the time of thy fall the inhabitors of the Isles, Yee and the men themselves, shall stand in fear at thine end. For thus saith the Lord God: when I make thee a desolate city, ( as other cities be, that no man dwell in ) and when I bring the deep upon thee, that great waters may cover thee: Then will I cast thee down unto them, that descend into the pit, unto a people that hath been long dead, and set thee in a land that is beneath, like the old wilderness, with them that go down to their graves, so that no man shall dwell more in thee. And I will make thee to be no more in honor, in the land of the living. I will make an end of thee, and thou shalt be gone. Though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou not be found for evermore, sayeth the Lord God.

The Twenty Seventh Chapter

The word of the Lord came unto me, saying: O thou son of man, make lamentable complaint upon Tyre, and say upon Tyre, which is a port of the sea, that occupieth with much people, and many Isles: Thus saith the Lord God: O Tyrus, thou hast said: what, I am a noble city: thy borders are in the midst of the seas, and thy builders have made thy marvelous goodly. All thy tables have they made of Cypress trees of the mount Sanir. From Libanus have they taken Cedar trees, to make the masts: and the Oaks of Basan to make the rowers.

Thy boards have they made of ivory, and of costly wood out of the Isle of Cethim. Thy sail was of white small needle work out of the land of Egypt, to hang upon thy mast: and thy hangings of yellow silk purple, out of the Isles of Elisah. They of Sidon and Arnad were thy mariners, and the wisest in Tyre were thy shipmasters. The eldest and wisest at Gebal were they, that mended and stopped thy ships. All ships of the sea with their shipment occupied their merchandise in thee. The Perses, Lidians and the Libians were in thine host, and helped thee to fight: these hanged up their shields and helmets with thee, these set forth thy beauty. They of Arnad were with thine host round about thy walls, and were thy watchmen upon thy towers, they hanged their shields round about thy walls, and made thee marvelous goodly. Tharsis occupied with thee in all manner of wares, in silver, iron, tin, and lead, and made thy market great. Javan, Tubal and Mesech were thy merchants, which brought the men, and ornaments of metal, for thy occupying. They of the house of Thogarma brought unto thee at the time of thy mart, horse, horsemen and mules. They of Dedan were thy merchants: and many other Isles that occupied with thee, brought thee *wethers, elephant bones and Paycockes for a present. The Syrians occupied with thee, because of thy diverse works, and increased thy merchandise, with *Smaragdes, with scarlet, with needle work, with white linen cloth, with silk and with Crystal. *wethers=a castrated ram *Smaragdes=may be "samara" winged seeds, also called "key fruit" like unto ash, elm, or maple

Judah and the land of Israel occupied with thee, and brought unto thy markets, wheat, balm, honey, oil and *triacle. Damascus also used merchandises with thee, in the best wine and white wool: because thy occupying was so great, and thy wares so many. Dan, Javan, and Mevsall have brought unto thy markets, iron ready made, with Casia, and Calamus, according to thine occupying. Dedan occupied with thee, in fair tapestry work and *quishins. Aribia and all the princes of Cedar have occupied with thee, in sheep, wethers, and goats. *quishins; unknown maybe cushions

*triacle=treacle 1. Cloying speech or sentiment. 2. Molasses. 3. A medicinal compound formerly used as an antidote for poison. Middle English triacle, antidote for poison

The merchants of Sheba and Rema (Raamah), have occupied with also with thee, in all costly spices, in all precious stones and gold, which they brought unto thy markets. Haran, Chenne, and Eden, the merchants of Saba, Assiria, and Chelmad, were all doers with thee and occupied with thee: In costly raiment, of yellow silk and needle work ( very precious, and therefore packed and bound together with ropes ) Yee and in Cedar wood, at the time of thy markets. The ships of Tharsis were the chief of thy occupying.

Thus thou art full, and in great worship, even in the midst of the sea. Thy mariners were ever bringing unto thee out of many waters. But the east wind shall over bear thee into the midest of the sea: so that thy wares, thy merchandise, thy riches, thy mariners, thy shipmasters, thy helpers, thy occupiers ( that brought the things necessary ) the men of war that, are in thee: Yee and all thy comens shall perish in the midst of the sea, in the day of thy fall. The suburbs shall shake at the loud cry of thy shipmen. All whirry men, and all mariners upon the sea, shall leap out of their boats, and set themselves upon the land. They shall lift up their voice because of thee, and make a lamentable cry. They shall cast up dust upon their heads, and lay down in the ashes. They shall shave themselves, and put sackcloth upon them for thy sake. *wreck=letters of the word were difficult to decipher, under high magnification; this is the best effort.

They shall mourn for thee with heartfull sorrow, and heavy lamentation, yee their children also will weep for thee. Alas, what city hath been so destroyed in the sea, as Tyre is? When thy wares and merchants came from the seas, thou gavest all people enough. The kings of the earth hast thou made rich, through the multitude of thy wares and occupying: But thou art now cast down in to the deep of the sea, all thy resort of people is perished with thee. All they that dwell in the Isles are abashed at thee, and all their kings are afraid, yee their faces have changed color. The merchants of the nations wonder at thee. In that thee are so clean brought to naught, and comest no more up.

The Twenty Eighth Chapter

The word of the Lord came unto me saying: Thou son of man, Tell the prince of Tyre: Thus saith the Lord God, because thou hast a proud heart and hast said: I am a God, I have my seat in the midst sea like a God: where as thou art but a man, and not God, and yet standest thou in thine own conceit, that thou art God: Behold, thou thinkest thyself wiser than Daniel, that there is no secrets hid from thee. With thy wisdom and thy understanding, thou hast gotten thee great wealthiness, and gathered treasure of silver and gold. With thy great wisdom and occupying, hast thou increased thy power, and because of thy great riches, thy heart is proud.

Therefore thus saith the Lord God: For so much as thou hast lift up thine heart, as though thou were God: behold, I will bring enemies upon thee, even the tyrants of the Heathen: These shall draw out their swords upon thy beauty and thy wisdom, and shall defile thy glory. They shall cast thee down to the pit, so that thou shalt die in the midst of the sea, as they that have been slain. Let see if thou wilt say then ( before them that slay thee ) I am God: where as thou art but a man and not God, in the hands of them that slayeth thee. Die shalt thou, even as the uncircumcised in the hands of the enemies: for I myself have spoken it, saith the Lord God.

Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying: Thou son of man, make a lamentable complaint over the king of Tyre, and tell him: Thus saith the Lord God: Thou art a seal of a likeness, full of wisdom and excellent beauty. Thou hast been in the pleasure garden of God: thou art decked with all manner of precious stones: with Ruby, Topas, Crystal, Jacinete, Onyx, Jaspis, Sapphire, *Smaragde, carbuncle, and gold. Thy beauty and the holes {hosts?} that be in thee were set forth in the day of thy creation. Thou art a fair Cherub, stretched wide out for to cover.

*Smaragde=emeralds

I have set thee upon the holy mount of God, there hast thou been, and walked among the fair glittering stones. From the time of thy creation thou hast been right excellent, till wickedness was found in thee. Because of thy great merchandise, thy heart is full of wickedness, and thou hast offended. Therefore will I cast thee from the mountain of God ( O thou covering Cherub ) and destroy thee among the glittering stones. Thy heart was proud in thy fair beauty, and through thy beauty thou hast destroyed thy wisdom. I will cast thee down to the ground, and that in the sight of kings. Thou hast defiled thy Sanctuary, with the great wickedness of thy unrighteous occupying. I will bring a fire from the midst of thee, to consume thee: and will make thee to ashes, in the sight of all them that look upon thee. All they that have been acquainted with thee among the Heathen shall be abashed at thee: seeing thou art so clean brought to naught, and comest no more up.

And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying: Thou son of man, set thy face against Sidon. Prophesy upon it, and speak. Thus saith the Lord God: Behold

O Sidon, I will upon thee, and get me honor in thee: that it may be known, how that I am the Lord, when I punish her, and get me honor in her. For I will send pestilence and blood shedding into her streets, so that those which be slain with the sword, shall lay round about in the midst of her: and they shall know, that I am the Lord. She shall no more be a pricking thorn, and an hurting brier unto the house of Israel, nor unto them that lie round about her and hate her: and they shall know, that I am the Lord.

Thus saith the Lord God: When I gather the household of Israel together again from the nations among whom they be scattered: then shall I be sanctified in them in the sight of the Gentiles, and they shall dwell in land, that I gave to my servant Jacob. They shall dwell safely therein, build houses, and plant vineyards: yee safely shall they dwell therin, when I have punished all those, that despise them round about: and then shall they know, that I am the Lord their God.

The Twenty Ninth Chapter

In the tenth year upon the twelfth day of the tenth month, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying: O thou son of man, set now face against Pharaoh the King of Egypt, Prophesy against him and against the whole land of Egypt: Speak, and tell him, thus saith the Lord God: behold, O Pharaoh thou king of Egypt, I will upon thee, thou great dragon, that liest in the waters: thou that sayest the water is mine. I have made it myself. I will put hooks in thy chawes, and hang all the fish of thy waters upon thy scales. after that I will draw thee out of thy waters, yee and all the fish of thy waters that hang upon thy scales. I will cast thee out upon the dry land with the fish of thy waters, so that thou shalt lie upon the field. Thou shalt not be gathered nor taken up: but shall be meat for the beasts of the field, and for the fowls of the air: that all they which dwell in Egypt, may know, that I am the Lord: because thou hast been a staff of rede (reed or red) to the house of Israel. When they took hold of thee with their hand thou breakest and prickest them on every side: and if they leaned upon thee, thou brakest and hurtest the reynes (reigns) of their backs. Therefore, thus saith the Lord God: behold, I will bring a sword upon thee, and root out of thee both man and beast. Yee the land of Egypt shall be desolate and waste, and they shall know, that I am the Lord: Because he said: The water is mine, I myself have made it. Behold therefore, I will upon thee, and upon thy waters: I will make the land of Egypt waste and desolate, from the tower of Syenes unto the borders of the Morains land: so that in forty years no foot of man shall walk there, neither foot of cattle go there, neither shall it be inhabited. And I will make the land of Egypt to be desolate, among other waste countries, and her cities to lie void forty years, among the other void cities: And I will scatter the Egyptians among the Heathen and nations.

Again, thus saith the Lord God: When the forty years are expired I will gather the Egyptians together again, out of the nations, among whom they were scattered, and I will bring the prisoners of Egypt again into the land of Pathures their own native country, that they may be there a lowly small kingdom: Yee they shall be the smallest among the other kingdoms, least they exalt themselves above the Heathen, for I will so minish them, that they shall no more rule the Heathen. They shall no more counsel hope unto the house of Israel, neither prey upon them any more to wickedness, to cause them to turn back, and follow them: and they shall know that I am the Lord God.

In the twenty seventh year, the first day of the first month, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying: O thou son of man, Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon hath made his host, with great travail and labor to come before Tyre: that every head may be bald, and every shoulder bare. Yet hath Tyre given him nor his host any reward, for the great travail he hath taken there. Therefore thus saith the Lord God: behold, I will give the land of Egypt unto Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon, that he may take away all her substance, rob her robberies, and spoil her spoils, to pay his host their wages withal. I will give him the land of Egypt for his labor, that he took for me before Tyre. At the same time will I cause the *horn of the house of Israel to grow forth, and open thy mouth again among them: that they may know that I am the Lord.

*horn= glory and power MN

The Thirtieth Chapter

The word of the Lord came more over unto me, saying: thou son of man, prophesy and speak: thus saith the Lord God: Mourn, woe worth this day! for the day is here, the day of the Lord is come: the dark day of the heathen, the hour is at hand, the sword cometh upon Egypt. when wounded men fall down in Egypt, when her people are taken away, and her foundations are destroyed, the Morians land shall be afraid, yee the Morians land, Libia and Lydia, all their common people, and Chub, and all that be confederate unto them, shall fall with them through the sword.

Thus saith the Lord: The maintainers of the land of Egypt shall fall, the pride of her power shall come down: even unto the tower of Syenes shall they be slain down with the sword, saith the Lord God: among other desolate countries they shall be desolate, and among other waste cities they shall be wasted. And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I kindle a fire in Egypt, and when all her helpers are destroyed. At that time, shall their messengers go forth from me in ships, to make the careless Moryans afraid, and sorrow shall come upon them in the day of Egypt for doubtless it shall come.

Thus saith the Lord God: I will make an end of the people of Egypt through the hand of Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon. He and his people with him, Yee and the cruel tyrants of the Heathen shall be brought to destroy the land. They shall draw out their swords upon Egypt and fill the land full of slain men. I will dry up their floods of water, and sell the land into the hands of wicked people. The land and all that is therein, will I destroy through the enemies. Even I the Lord have said it.

An thus saith the Lord God: I will destroy the Idols, and bring the images of Noph to an end. There shall no more be a prince of Egypt, and a fearfulness will I send into the Egyptians land. As for Pathures, I will make it desolate, and kindle a fire in Zoan. Alexandria will I punish and pour my wrothful indignation upon. Sin which is the strength which is the strength of Egypt. All the substance of Alexandria will I destroy, and kindle a set fire in Egypt.

Sin shall be in great heaviness, Alexandria shall be rooted out, and Noph shall have daily sorrow, the best men of Neliopolis and Bubasto shall be slain with the sword, and carried away captive. At Taphnis the day shall be dark, when I break there the scepter of the land of Egypt, and when the pomp of her power shall have an end. A cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall be led away into captivity. Thus will I punish Egypt, that they may know, how that I am the Lord.

It happened in the eleventh year, upon the seventh day of the first Month, that the Lords word came unto me, saying: Behold, thou son of man, I will brake the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt: and lo, it shall not be bound up to be healed, neither shall any plaster be layed upon it, for to ease it, or to make it so strong, as to hold a sword. Therefore, thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will upon Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and bruise his strong arm ( yet it is but a broken one ) and will smite the sword out of his hand.

As for the Egyptians, I will scatter them among the Heathen, and strew them in the lands about. Again I will strengthen the arm of the king of Babylon, and give him my sword in his hand: but I will break Pharaohs arm so that he shall hold it before him pitifully, like a wounded man.

Yee I will stablish the king of Babylons arm, and the armies of Pharaoh shall fall down: that it may be known that I am the Lord, which gave the king of Babylon my sword in his hand, that he mat draw it out upon the land of Egypt: and that when I scatter the Egyptians among the Gentiles, and strew them in the lands about, they may know, that I am the Lord.

The Thirty First Chapter

Moreover, it happened in the eleventh year, the first day of the third Month, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying: Thou son of man speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to all his people: Whom art thou like in thy greatness? Behold, the Assur was like a Cedar tree upon the mount of Libanus with fair branches: so thick, that he gave shadows and shot out very high. His top reached into the clouds. The waters made him great, and the deep set him up on high. Round about the roots of him ran threw floods of water, he sent out his little rivers unto all the trees of the field. Therefore was he higher than all the trees of the field, and through the multitude of waters that he sent from him, he obtained many long branches. All the fowls of the air made their nests in his branches, under his boughs gendered all these beasts of the field and under his shadow dwelt all people. Fair and beautiful was he in his greatness and in the length of his branches, for his root stood beside by great waters, no Cedar tree might hide him. In the pleasant garden of God , there was no fairer tree like his branches, the plain trees were no like the boughs of him. All the trees of the garden of God might not be compared unto him in his beauty So fair and goodly had I made him with the multitude of his branches: In so much that all the trees in the pleasant garden of God, had envy at him. Therefore, thus saith the Lord God: for so much as he hast lifted up himself so high, and stretched his top into the clouds, and seeing his heart is proud in his highness: I will deliver him into the hands of the mightest among the Heathen, which shall root him out. According to his wickednesses I will cast him away, the enemies shall destroy him, and the mighty men of the Heathen shall so scatter him, that his branches shall be upon all mountains and in all valleys: his boughs shall be broken down to the ground throughout the land. Then all the people of the land shall go from his shadow, and forsake him. When he is fallen, all the fowls of the air shall sit upon him, and all wild beasts of the field shall go about among his branches: so that from henceforth, no tree in the water shall attain to his highness, nor reach his top unto the clouds, neither shall any tree of the water stand so high, as he hath done. For unto death shall they all be delivered under the earth, and go down to the grave, like other men.

Moreover, thus saith the Lord God: In the day when he goeth down to the grave, I will cause a lamentation be made, I will cover the deep upon him, I staunch his floods, and the great waters shall be restrained. I shall cause the Libanus to be sorrowful for his sake, and all the trees of the field shall be smitten. I made the Heathen shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell, with them that descend into the pit. All the trees of Eden, with all the chosen and best of Libanus, yee and all that are planted upon the waters, shall mourn with him also in the lower habitations: for they shall go down to hell with him, unto them that be slayen with the sword, which dwelt afore under the shadow of his arm among the Heathen. To whom shalt thou be likened, that thou art so glorious and great, among the trees of Eden? Yet art thou cast down under the earth ( among the trees of Eden ) where thou must lie among the uncircumcised, with them that be slain with the sword. Even thus is it with Pharaoh and all his people, saith the Lord God.

The Thirty Second Chapter

In the twelfth year, the first day of the twelfth Month, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying: thou son of man, take up a lamentation upon Pharao the king of Egypt, and say unto him: Thou art reputed as a Lion of the Heathen, and as a whalefish in the sea. Thou compassed the waters about thee, thou troubledst the waters with thy feet, and stampest in their floods. Thus saith the Lord God: I will spread my net over thee, namely, a great multitude of people: these shall drive thee into my yarne {net}, for I will cast thee upon the land, I let thee lie upon the field, that all the fowls of the air may sit upon thee: I will give all the beasts of the field enough of thee. Thy flesh will I cast upon the hills, and fill the valleys with thy highness. I will water the land with the abundance of thy blood even to the mountains, and the valleys shall be full of thee. When thou art put out, I will cover the heaven, and make his stars to dim. I will spread a cloud over the Sun, and the moon shall not give her light. All the bright lights of heaven will I put out over thee, and bring darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord God. I will trouble the hearts of many people, when I bring thy destruction among the Heathen and countries, whom thou knowest not. Yee, I will make many people with their kings so afraid through thee, that their hearts shall stand up, when I shake my sword at their faces. Suddenly shall they be astonished, every man in himself, at the day of thy fall.

For thus saith the Lord God: The sword of the king of Babylons sword shall come upon thee, with the swords of the worthies will I smite down thy people. All they that be mighty among the Gentiles, shall waste the proud pomp of Egypt, and bring down all her people. All the cattle also of Egypt will I destroy, that they shall come no more upon the waters: so that neither mans foot nor beasts claw, shall steer them any more. Then I will make their waters clear, and cause their waters to run like oil, saith the Lord God: when I make the land of Egypt desolate, and when the country with all that is therin, shall be layed waste: and when I smite all them which dwell in it, that they may know, that I am the Lord. This is the mourning that the daughters of the Heathen shall make: Yee and sorrow and lamentation shall they take up, upon Egypt, and all her people, saith the Lord God. *sinite=may be from sinuate meaning to bend curve twist

In the twelfth year, the fifteenth day of the Month, came the word of the Lord came unto me, saying: Thou son of man. Take up a Lament upon the people of Egypt, and cast them down, yee and the mighty people of the Heathen also, even with them that dwell beneath: and with them that go down into the grave. Down (how fair so ever thou be ) and lay with the uncircumcised. Among those that be slayen with the sword, shall they lay. The sword is given already, he shall be drawn forth and all his people. The mighty worthies and his helpers, that be gone down and lie with the uncircumcised and them that be slain with the sword: shall speak to him from out of hell.

Asshur is there also with his company, and their graves round about, which were slain and fell all with the sword, whose graves lie beside him in the low pit. His commons are buried round about his grave: all together wounded and slain with the sword, which men afore time brought fear in to the land of the living.

There is Elam also with all his people, and their graves round about: which all being wounded and slain with the sword, are gone down uncircumcised under the earth, which nevertheless sometime brought fear into the land of the living: for the which they bear their shame, with the other that be gone down to the grave.

Their burial is given them and all their people, amongst them that be slain. Their graves are round about all them, which be uncircumcised, and with them that be slain through the sword: for seeing in times past they made the land of the living afraid, they must now bare their own shame, with them that go down to the pit, and lie among them, that be slain.

There is Mesech also and Tubal, and their people, and their graves round about. These all are among the uncircumcised, and them that be slain by the sword,

because afore time they made the land afraid.

Should they then not lay among the worthies, and the uncircumcised Giants? which with their weapons are gone down to hell: whos swords are laid under their heads, whos wickedness is upon their bones: because that as worthies, they have brought fear in to the land of the living: Yee among the uncircumcised shalt thou be destroyed, and sleep with them, that perish through the sword.

There is Edom with her kings and princes also, which with their strength are laid by them that were slain by the sword, Yee among the uncircumcised, and them which are gone down in to the pit. Moreover, there be all the princes of the north, with all of the Sidonians, which are gone down to the slain.

With their fear and strength they are come to confusion, and lie there uncircumcised, among those that be slain by the sword: and bear their own shame, with them that go down to the pit. Now when Pharaoh seeth this, he shall be comforted over all his people, that is slain with the sword: both Pharo and all his host, saith the Lord God. For I have given my fear in the land of the living. But Pharo and all his people shall be among the uncircumcised, and among them that be slain with the sword, saith the Lord God.

The Thirty Third Chapter

Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying: Thou son of man, Speak to the children of thy people, and tell them, When I send the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their country, and set him to be their watchman: That same man ( when he seeth the sword come upon the land ) shall blow the trumpet, and warn the people.

If a man now hear the noise of the trumpet and will not be warned, and the sword come and take him away: his blood shall be upon his own head: for he heard the sound of the trumpet, and would not take heed, therefore his blood be upon him. But if he will receive warning, he shall save his life. Again, if the watchman see the sword come and show it not with the trumpet, so that the people is not warned: if the sword come then, and take any man from among them: the same shall be taken away in his own sin, but his blood will I require of the watchmans hand.

And now ( O thou son of man ) I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: that where as thou hearest anything out of my mouth, thou mayest warn them on my behalf. If I say unto the wicked thou wicked, thou shalt surely die: and thou givest him not warning, that he may beware of his ungodly way: then shall the wicked die in his own sin, but his blood will I require at thy hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way, to turn from it, where as he yet will not be turned from it, then shall he die because of his sin, but thou hast delivered thy soul.

Therefore ( O thou son of man ) speak unto the house of Israel. Yee say thus: Our offenses and sins lie upon us, and we be corrupt in them: how should we be then restored unto life? Tell them: As truly as I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but much rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn you, turn you from your ungodly ways, O ye of the house of Israel. Oh, wherefore will ye die?

Thou son of man, tell the children of thy people: The righteousness of the righteous shall not save him, whensoever he turneth away unfaithfully: Again, the wickedness of the wicked shall not hurt him, when so ever he converteth from his ungodliness.

And the righteousness of the righteous, shall not save his life, when so ever he sinneth. If I say unto the righteous, that he shall surely live, and so he trusteth to his own righteousness, and do sin: then shall his righteousnesses be no more thought upon, but in the wickedness that he hath done he shall die. Again, If I say unto the wicked: Thou shall surely die: and so he turn from his sins, and do the thing that is lawful and right: In so much that the same wicked man giveth the pledge again, restoreth that he had taken away by robbery, walketh in the commandments of life, and doth no wrong: Then shall he surely live, and not die. Yee the sins that he hath done, shall never be thought upon: For in so much as he doeth now the thing that is lawful and right, he shall live. And yet the children of thy people say: Tush, the way of the Lord is not right, where as their own way is rather unright.

When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and doeth the thing that is wicked, he shall die therefore. But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, doing the thing that lawful and right, he shall live therefore. Yet ye say: The way of the Lord is not equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge every one of you after his ways.

In the twelfth year, the fifth day of the tenth month of our captivity, it happened, that one that was fled out of Jerusalem, came unto me, and said: the city is destroyed. Now the hand of the Lord was upon me the evening afore this man (which was escaped ) came unto me, and had opened my mouth, until the morning that he came to me: yee he opened my mouth, so that I was no more dumb. Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying: Thou son of man, these that dwell in the wasted land of Israel, say: Abraham was but one man, and he had the land in possession: now are we many, and the land is given us to possess also. And therefore tell them: Thus saith the Lord: In the blood have ye eaten, your eyes have ye lift to Idols, and have shed blood: shall ye then have the land in possession?

Ye lean upon your swords, ye work abominations, every one defileth his neighbors wife: and shall ye then possess the land? Say thou these words unto them: Thus saith the Lord God: As truly as I live, all ye that dwell in this wilderness, shall be slain with the sword: whatsoever is upon the field, will I give unto the beasts to be devoured: those that be in strongholds and dens, shall die of the pestilence. For I will make the land desolate and waste, and the pomp of her strength shall come to an end. The mountains of Israel shall be waste that no man shall travel thereby.

Then shall they learn to know, that I am the Lord, when I make the land waste and desolate, because of all their abominations, that they have wrought. And thou son of man, the children of thy people that talk of thee, by the walls and in the doors of their houses, saying to one to another: Come, let us hear, what word is gone forth from the Lord: These come unto thee, after the manner of a great people: yee my people sit down before thee, and hear thy words, but they do not thereafter: for in their mouths they show themselves, as though they were fervent, but their heart goeth after their own covetous lucre. And as a baler that hath a sweet tune, and is pleasant to sing, so shalt thou be unto them: thy words shall they hear, but they will not do thereafter. When this cometh to pass, ( for lo, it cometh indeed ) then shall they know, that there hath been a prophet among them.

The Thirty Fourth Chapter

1 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying: Thou son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and speak unto them: Thus saith the Lord God: Woe be unto the shepherds of Israel, that feed themselves. Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?

Ye have eaten up the fat, ye have clothe you with the wool: the best fed have ye slain, but the flock have ye not nourished. The weak have ye not holden up, the sick have ye not healed: the broken have ye not bound together, the outcasts have ye not brought again: the lost have ye not sought, but *churlishly and cruelly have ye ruled them. Thus they were scattered here and there without a shepherd: yee all the beasts of the field devour them, and they go astray. *churlishly Of, like, or stuffy; miserly insulting or boorish.

My sheep go wandering upon all mountains, and every high hill. Yee, they be scattered abroad in all fields, and there is no man, that careth for them, or seeketh after them. Therefore O ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. As truly as I live, for so much as my sheep are robbed, and devoured of all the wild beasts of the field, having no shepherd: and seeing that my shepherds take no regard for my sheep, but feed themselves only, and not my sheep: Therefore hear the word of the Lord O ye shepherds: Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I myself will upon the shepherds, and require my sheep from their hands, and make them cease from feeding of my sheep: Yee the shepherds shall feed themselves no more: For I will deliver my sheep from out of their mouths, so that they shall not devour them after this. For thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will look to my sheep myself, and seek them. Like as a shepherd among the flock seeketh after the sheep that are scattered abroad, even so will I seek after my sheep, and gather them together out of all places, where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. I will bring them out from all people, and gather them together out of all lands, I will bring them into their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel, by the rivers, and in all the places of the country. I will feed them in right good pastures, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their folds be. There shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed: even upon the mountains of Israell.

I will feed my sheep myself, and will bring them to their rest, saith the Lord God. Such as be lost, will I seek: such as go astray, will I bring again: such as be wounded, I will bind up: such as be weak, will I make strong, such as be fat and will liking, those I will preserve, and feed them with the thing that is lawful. And as for you ( O my sheep ) saith the Lord God: I will put a between among the sheep, among the wethers and the goats. Was it not enough for you, to eat up the good pasture, but ye must tread down the residue of your pastures with your feet also? Was it not enough for you to drink clear water, but ye must trouble the residue with your feet?

Thus my sheep must be *fain (obligated/ willing, happy) to eat the thing, that ye have trodden down with your feet, and to drink it, that ye with your feet have defiled. Therefore, thus saith the Lord God unto them: Behold, I will sever the fat sheep from the lean: for so much as ye have shot the weak sheep upon the sides and shoulders, and run upon them with your horns, so long till ye have scattered them abroad. I will help my sheep, so that they shall no more be spoiled: yee I will discern one sheep from another. I will raise up to them one only shepherd: even my servant David, he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David will be their prince: Even I the Lord have spoken it.

Moreover, I will make a covenant of peace with them, and drive all evil beasts out of the land: so they may dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. Good fortune and prosperity will I give them, and unto all that be round about my hill. A prosperous shower and rain will I send them in due season, that the trees in the wood may bring forth their fruits, and the ground her increase. They shall be safe in their land, and shall know, that I am the Lord. which have broken their yoke, and delivered them out of the hands of those, that held them in subjection.

They shall no more be spoiled of the Heathen, nor devoured with the beasts of the land: but safely shall they dwell, and no man shall *fraye them. I will set up an excellent plant for them, so they shall suffer no more hunger in the land, neither bear the reproof of the Heathen any more. Thus shall they understand, that I the Lord their God am with them, and that they ( even the house of Israel ) are my people, saith the Lord God. Ye men are my flock, ye are the sheep of my pasture: and I am your God, saith the Lord God. *fraye=dispute with, wear down, alarm, frighten, drive away

The Thirty Fifth Chapter

Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying: Thou son of man, turn thy face toward the mount Seir, prophesy upon it, and say unto it: Thus saith the Lord God: Behold ( O mount Seir ) I will upon thee, I will reach out mine hand over thee, yee waste and desolate will I make thee. Thy cities will I break down, and thou shalt lie void: that thou mayest know, how that I am the Lord. For so much as thou barest an old enemy against the children of Israel, and with a cruel hand has made them afraid, what time they were troubled and punished for their sin: Therefore, as truly as I live, saith the Lord God, I will prepare thee unto blood, yee blood shall follow upon thee: seeing thou layest wait for blood, therefore blood shall persecute thee. Thus will I make the mount of Seir desolate and waste, and bring to pass, that there shall no man go thither, nor come from thence. His mountains will I fill with his slain men: thy hills, dales and valleys shall lie full of them, that are slain with the sword. I will make thee a perpetual wilderness, so that no man shall dwell in thy cities: that ye may know, how that I am the Lord.

And because thou hast said: what , both these nations and both these lands must be mine, and I will have them in possession, whereas the Lord was there. Therefore thus sayeth the Lord God: As truly as I live, I will handle thee according to thy wrath and jealousy, like as thou hast dealt cruelly with them: that I may be known among them, how I have punished thee. Yee and that thou also mayest be sure, that I the Lord have heard all thy despiteful words, which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying: Lo, they are made waste, and given us to devour. Thus with your mouths ye have made your boast against me, yee and multiplied your proud words against me, which I have heard altogether. Where unto, thus saith the Lord God: when the whole world is in wealth, then will I make thee waste. And like as thou ( O mount Seir ) wast glad, because the heritage of the house of Israel was destroyed: even so will I do unto thee also, that thou and whole Edom shall be destroyed, and know, that I am the Lord.

The Thirty Sixth Chapter

Thou son of man, prophesy upon the mountains of Israel, and speak: Hear the word of the Lord, O ye mountains of Israel: Thus saith the Lord God: Because your enemy hath said upon you: Aha, the high everlasting places are now become ours: prophesy therefore, and speak: thus saith the Lord God: Seeing ye be wasted and trod down on every side, and become a possession unto the residue of the Gentiles, which have brought you into mens mouths and unto an evil name among the people: Therefore, hear the word of the Lord God, O ye mountains of Israel: Thus saith the Lord God unto the mountains, and hills, valleys and dales, to the void wilderness and desolate cities, which are spoiled, and had in derision on every side, among the residue of the Heathen: Yee even thus saith the Lord God: In the fire of my jealousy have I taken a device, against the residue of the Gentiles, and against all Edom: which have taken in my land unto themselves for a possession: which also rejoiced from their whole heart with despiteful stomach, to waste it, and to spoil it.

Prophesy therefore upon the land of Israel, speak unto the mountains and hills, to valleys and dales, thus saith the Lord God: Behold, this have I devised in my jealousy and terrible wrath: For so much as yee have suffered reproof of the Heathen, therefore thus saith the Lord God: I have sworn, that the Gentiles that lay about you, shall bear your confusion themselves. And as for you ( O mountains of Israel ) ye shall shoot out your branches, and bring forth your fruit to my people of Israel, for it is hard by, that it will come. Behold, I come unto you, and unto to you will I turn me, that ye may be tilled and sown. I will send you much people, which shall be all of the house of Israel: the cities shall be inhabited, and the decayed places shall be repaired again. I will provide you with much people and cattle, which shall increase and bring fruit. I will restore you also to your old estate, and show you more kindness than ever ye had before: whereby ye shall know, that I am the Lord. Yee, people will I send unto you ( O my folk of Israell ) which shall have thee in possession, and thou shalt be their inheritance, so that thou shalt no more be without them. Again, thus saith the Lord God: For so much as they say unto you: thou art an eater up of men, and a waster of thy people: therefore thou shalt eat no more men. neither destroy thy people any more, saith the Lord God. And I will not suffer thee, for to hear thine own confusion among the Gentiles from henceforth. Thou shalt not bare the reproof of the nations, nor cast out thine own people any more, saith the Lord God.

Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying: O thou son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt upon their own ground, they defiled themselves with their own *waies (may be; ways) and imaginations: so that in my sight their way was like the uncleanness of a menstruous woman. Wherefore I poured my wrothfull displeasure upon them, because of the blood that they had shed in the land, and because of their Idols, wherewith they had defiled themselves. I scattered them also among the Heathen, so that they were strewed about in the lands. According to their ways and after their own inventions, so did I punish them.

Now when they were gone unto the Heathen, and come in among them they dishonored my holy name: so that it was said of them: Are these the people of God, and must go out of their own land? Then spared I my holy name, which the house of Israel had dishonored among the Gentiles, to whom they came. Therefore tell the house of Israell: Thus saith the Lord God: I do not this for your sakes ( O house of Israel ) but for my holy names sake, which ye have dishonored among the Heathen, they came to them. Therefore I will hallow my great name again, which among the Gentiles is evil spoken of: for ye yourselves have dishonored it among them. And the Gentiles shall know that I am the Lord, when I am honored in you before their eyes, sayeth the Lord God.

As for you, I will take you from among the Heathen, and gather you together out of all countries, and bring you again into your own land. Then I will pour clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: yee from all your uncleanness and from all your Idols shall I clean you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put in you: As for that stoney heart, I will take it out of your body, and give you a fleshly heart. I will give my spirit among you, and cause you to walk in my commandments, and to keep my laws, and to fulfill them.

And so ye shall dwell in the land, that I gave to your fathers, and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. I will help you out of all your uncleannesses. I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and will let you have no hunger. I will multiply the fruits of the trees, and the increase of the field for you, so that ye shall bear no more reproof of hunger among the Heathen. Then shall ye remember your own wicked ways, and your imaginations, which were not good: so that ye shall take displeasure at your own selves, by reason of your sins and abominations.

But I will not do this for your sakes ( saith the Lord God ) be ye sure of it. Therefore, O ye house of Israel, be ashamed of your sins. Moreover, thus saith the Lord God: what time as I shall cleanse you from all your offenses, then will I make the cities to be occupied again, and will repair the places that be decayed. The desolate land shall be builded again, which afore time lay waste in the sight of all them that went by. Then shall it be said: this waste land is become like the garden of pleasure, and the void, desolate and broken down cities, are now strong, and fenced again. Then the residue of the Heathen that lay round about you, shall know that I am the Lord, which repair that was broken down, and plant again, that was made waste. Even I the Lord have spoken it, and will do it indeed.

Thus saith the Lord God: I will yet once be found again of the house of Israel, and do this for them: I shall increase them as a flock of men. Like as the holy flock and the flock of Jerusalem are in the high solemn feasts: so shall also the wild wasted cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the Lord.

The Thirty Seventh Chapter

The hand of the Lord came upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and let me down in a plain field, that lay full of bones, and he led me round about them: and behold, the bones that lay upon the field, were very many, and marvelous dry also. Then said he unto me: Thou son of man: thinkest thou these bones may live again? And I answered: O' Lord God, thou knowest. And he said unto me: Prophesy thou upon these bones, and speak unto them: Ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones: Behold, I will put breath into you, that ye may live: I will give yow (you) sinews, and make flesh grow upon you, and cover you over with skin: and so give you breath, that ye may live, and know, that I am the Lord.

So I prophesied, as he had commanded me: and as I was prophesying, there came a noise, and a great motion, so that the bones ran every one to another. Now when I looked, behold, they had sinews, and flesh grew upon them: and above they were covered with skin, but there was no breath in them. Then said he unto me: Thou son of man, prophesy thou toward the wind: prophesy, and speak to the wind: Thus saith the Lord God: Come ( O thou air ) from the four winds, and blow upon these slain, that they may be restored to life. So I prophesied as he had commanded me: then came the breath into them and they received life, and stood up upon their feet, a marvelous great *forte. *forte=the strongest part of a sword, done in a strong manner, something that one does exceedingly well.

Moreover, he said unto me: Thou son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say: Our bones are dried up, our hope is gone, we are clean cut off. Therefore prophesy thou, and speak unto them: thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves ( O my people ) and take you out of your sepulchers, and bring you into the land of Israel again. So shall ye know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you out of them. My spirit also will I put in you, and ye shall live: I will set you again in your own land, and ye shall know, that I am the Lord which have said it, and fulfilled it in deed.

The word of the Lord came unto me, saying: Thou son of man, take a stick and write upon it: Unto Judah and to the children of Israel his companions. Then take another stick, and write upon it: Unto Joseph the stock of Ephraim, and to all the household of Israel his companions. And then, take both these together in thine hand, so shall there be one stick thereof. Now if the children of thy people say unto thee: wilt thou not show us, what thou meanest by these? Then give them this answer: Thus saith the Lord God: behold, I will take the stock of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them to the stock of Judah, and make them *one stock, and they shall be one in mine hand. And the two sticks where upon thou writest, shalt thou have in thine hand, that they may see, and shalt say unto them:

Thus saith the Lord God: behold, I will take away the children of Israel from among the Heathen, unto whom they be gone, and will gather them together on every side, and bring them again into their own land: Yee I will make one people of them in the land, upon the mountains of Israel, and they all shall have but one king. They shall no more be two peoples from hence forth, they shall also defile themselves no more with their abominations, Idols, and their wicked doings. I will help them out of all their dwelling places, wherin they have sinned: and will so cleanse them, that they shall be my people, and I their God.

David my servant shall be their king, and they all shall have one shepherd only. They shall walk in my laws, and my commandments shall they both keep and fulfill. They shall dwell in the land, that I gave unto Jacob my servant, where as your fathers have also dwelt. Yee even the same land shall they, their children, and their childrens children dwell in for evermore: and my servant David shall be their everlasting prince. Moreover, I will make a bond of peace with them, which shall be an everlasting covenant. I will *satle them also, and multiply them, my Sanctuary will I set among them for evermore. My dwelling shall be with them, yee I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Thus the Heathen shall also know, that I the Lord am the holy maker of Israel: when my Sanctuary shall be among them for evermore.

*satle=to satisfy fully

The Thirty Eighth Chapter

And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying: Thou son of man, turn thy face toward Gog in the land of Magog, which is the chief prince of Mesech and Tubal: prophesy against him, and say: Thus saith the Lord God: O Gog thou chief prince Mesech and Tubal: behold, I will upon thee, and will turn you about, and put a bit in thy chawes: I will bring thee forth and all thine host, both horse and horsemen, which all be weaponed of the best fashion: a great people, that handle all together spears, shields, and swords: The Perses, Moryans, and with them the Lybians which all bear shields and helmets: Gomer and all his hosts: the house of Thogorma out of the north quarters, and all his hosts, yee and much people with thee.

Therefore prepare thee, set thyself in array with all thy people, that are come unto thee by heaps, and be thou their defense. After many days thou shalt be visited, and in the latter years thou shalt come into the land, that hath been destroyed with the sword, and now is replenished again with diverse people upon the mountains of Israel, which have long lain waste. Yee they be brought out of the nations, and dwell all safe. Thou shalt come up like a stormy wether, to cover the land, and as it were a dark cloud: thou with all thine hosts, and a great multitude of people with thee.

Moreover, thus saith the Lord God: At the same time shall many things come into thy mind, so that thou shalt imagine mischief, and say: I will up to yonder plain land, seeing they sit at ease, and dwell all without any walls, they have neither bars nor doors, to spoil them, to rob them, to lay hand to their so well inhabited wildernesses: against that people, that is gathered together from among the Heathen, which have gotten cattle and good, and dwell in the midest of the land. Then shall Saba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tharsis with all their worthies, say unto thee: Art thou come to rob? Hast thou gathered thy people together, because thou wilt spoil? to take silver and gold: to carry away cattle and goods: and to have great prey?

Therefore, O thou son of man, thou shalt prophesy, and say unto Gog: Thus saith the Lord God: In that day thou shalt know, that my people of Israel dwelleth safe: and thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts: thou and much people with thee, which ride upon horses, whereof there is a great multitude and an innumerable forte. Yee thou shalt come upon my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land. This shall come to pass in the latter days: I will bring thee up into my land, that the Heathen may know me, when I get me honor upon thee O Gog, before their eyes.

Thus saith the Lord God: Thou art he, of whom I have spoken in afore time, by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days and years, that I should bring thee upon them. At the same time, when Gog cometh up in to the land of Israel,( saith the Lord God ) shall my indignation go forth in my wrath. For in my jealousy and hot displeasure I have devised , that there shall be a great trouble in the land of Israel at that time. The very fishes in the sea, the fowls of the air, the beasts of the field, and all the men that are upon the earth, shall tremble for fear of me.

The hills also shall be turned upside down, the stairs of stone shall fall, and all walls shall sink to the ground: I will call for a sword upon them in all my mountains, saith the Lord God: so that every mans sword shall be upon another. With pestilence and blood will I punish him: stormy rain and hail stones, fire and brimstone, will I cause to rain upon him and all his heap, yee and upon all that great people that is with him. Thus will I be magnified, honored, and known among the Heathen: that they may be sure, how that I am the Lord.

The Thirty Ninth Chapter

Therefore O thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and speak: Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, O Gog: thou chief prince at Mesech and Tubal, I will upon thee, and turn thee about, and carry thee forth, and lead thee from the north parts, and bring thee up to the mountains of Israel. As for thy bow, I will smite it out of thy left hand, and cast thine arrows out of thy right hand. Thou with all thine heap, and all the people that is with thee, must fall upon the mountains of Israell. Then will I give thee unto the fouls and wild beasts of the field, to be devoured: there must thou lie upon the field: for even I the Lord have spoken it, saith the Lord God.

Into Magog, and among those that sit carelessly in the isles: will I send a fire, and they shall know, that I am the Lord. I will make also the name of my holiness to be known among my people of Israel: and I will not let my holy name be evil spoken of any more: but the very Heathen also shall know, that I am the Lord, the holy one in Israel. Behold, it cometh, and shall be fulfilled in deed, saith the Lord God. This is the day whereof I have spoken: They that dwell in the cities of Israel, shall go forth and set fire upon the weapons, and burn them: shields and spears, bows and arrows, bills and clubs: handstaves, seven years shall they be burning thereof, so that they shall else bring no sticks from the field, neither have need to hew down any out of the wood: For they shall have weapons now to burn. They shall rob those that robbed them, and spoil those that spoiled them, saith the Lord God.

At the same time I will give unto Gog, a place to be buried in, in Israel: even the valley, where through men go from the east to the seaward: Those that travel thereby, shall abhor it. There shall Gog and all his people be buried: and it shall be called The valley of the people of Gog. Seven months long shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land. Yee, all the people of the land shall bury them. O it shall be a glorious day, when I get me that honor, saith the Lord God. They shall ordain men also to be dead buryers, ever going through the land, and appoint them certain places to bury those in, which remain upon the field, that the land may be cleansed. From end to end shall they seek, and that seven months long. Now those that go through the land, where they see a mans bone, they shall set up a token by it, till the dead buryers have buried it also, in the valley of the people of Gog. And the name of the city shall be called, Hamonah. Thus shall they make the land clean.

And, thou son of man: thus saith the Lord God: Speak unto all the fouls and every bird, yee and to all the wild beasts of the field: heap you together and come, gather you round about upon my slaughter, that I have slain for you: even a great slaughter upon the mountains of Israel: eat flesh and drink blood. Ye shall eat the flesh of the worthies, and drink the blood of the princes of the land: of the wethers, of lambs, of goats, and of the oxen that all be slain at Bashan. Eat the fat your belly full, and drink blood till ye be drunken of the slaughter, which I have slain unto you. Fill you at my table, with horses and strong horsemen: with captains and all men of war, saith the Lord God.

I will bring my glory also among the Gentiles, that all the Heathen may see my judgment, that I have kept, and my hand which I have laid upon them: that the house of Israel may know, how that I am the Lord their God, from that day forth. And the Heathen shall know, that where as the house of Israel were led into captivity: was for their wickedness sake, because they offended me.

For which cause I hid my face from them, and delivered them into the hands of their enemies, that they might all be slain with the sword. According to their uncleanness and unfaithful dealings, so have I entreated them, and hid my face from them. Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Now will I bring again the captives of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy names sake. All their confusion and offense that they have done against me, shall be taken away: and so safely shall they dwell in their land, that no man shall make them afraid. And when I have brought them again from among the people, when I have gathered them together out of their enemies lands, and am praised in them before many Heathen: then shall they know, that I am the Lord their God, which suffered them to be led into captivity among the Heathen, but have brought them again into their own land, and not left one of them in yonder.

After that, will I hide my face no more from them, but will pour out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord God.

The Fortieth Chapter

In the twenty fifth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, the tenth day of the month: that is the fourteenth year, after that the city was smitten down: the same day came the hand of the Lord upon me, and carried me forth: even into the land of Israel brought he me in the visions of God: and set me down upon a marvelous high mountain, where upon there was a building ( as it had been of a city ) toward the north.

Thither he carried me, and behold, there was a man, whose similitude was like brass, which had a thread of flax in his hand, and a meterod also. He stood in the door, and said: mark well with thine eyes, harken too with thine ears, and fasten it to thine heart, whatsoever I shall show thee, for to the intent that they might be showed thee, therefore thou art thou brought hither. A whatsoever thou seest, thou shall certify the house of Israel thereof.

Behold, there was a wall on the outside round about the house: the meterod that he had in his hand, was of six cubits long and a span. So he measured the breadth of the building, which was one meterod, and the height also a meterod, Then came he unto the east door, and went up the stairs, and measured the posts of the door, whereof every one was a meterod thick. Every chamber was a meterod long and broad: between the chambers were five cubits. The post of the door within the porch, was one meterod. Then measured he the entry of the door, that contained eight cubits, and his pillars two cubits: and this entry stood inward. cu= 1-7" span= 9 1/2" a meterod = 5 cubits as we will see in Chapter 41p2 this meterod here, that he used was = 6 x 1-7"+9 1/2" or 144"+9 1/2" for approx 12 feet, 9 1/2 inches RN

The chambers of the door eastward, were three on every side: alike broad and long. The pillars also that stood of both the sides, were of one measure. After this, he measured the wideness of the door, which was ten cubits, and the height of the door thirteen cubits. The edge before the chambers was one cubit broad upon both the sides and the cambers six cubits wide of either side. He measured the door from the *rigge of one chamber to another, whose wideness was twenty five cubits, and one door stood against another. He made pillars also sixty cubits high, round about the court door. Before the inward part unto the fore entry of the inner door, were fifty cubits. The chambers and the pillars within, round about unto the door, had side windows: So had the fore entries also, whose windows went round about within. And upon the pillars stood date trees. *rigge= ridge The horizontal line formed by the juncture of two sloping planes, especially the line formed by the surfaces at the top of a roof.

Then brought he me into the fore court, where as were chambers a paved works, made in the fore court round about: Thirty chambers upon one paved work. Now the paved work was a long beside the doors, and that was the lower paved work. After this, he measured the breadth from the lower door, unto the inner court of the outside, which had an hundred cubits upon the east and north part. And the door in the utter most court toward the north, measured he after the length and breadth: his three chambers also on either side, with his pillars and fore entries: which had even the measure of the first door. His height was fifty cubits, the breadth twenty five cubits: his windows and porches with his date trees, had even like measure as the door toward the east: there were seven steps to go up upon, and their porch before them. Now the door of the inner most court stood straight over against the door, that was toward the north east. From one door to another, he measured hundred cubits.

After that, he brought me to the south side, where there stood a door toward the south: whose pillars and porches he measured, these had the first measure, and with their porches they had windows round about, like the first windows. The height was fifty cubits, the breadth was twenty five, with steps to go up upon: his porch stood before him, with his pillars and date trees on either side. And the door of the inner court stood toward the south, and he measured from one door to another an hundred cubits. So he brought me in to the inner court, through the door of the south side: which he measured, and it had the measure afore said. In like manner, his chambers, pillars, and fore entries, had even the fore said measure also. And he had with his porches round about, windows of fifty cubits high, and twenty five cubits broad. The porches round about were twenty five cubits long, and five cubits broad: and his porch reached unto the utter most court: upon his pillars there were date trees, and eight steps to go up upon.

He brought me also to the inmost court upon the east side, and measured the door, according to the measure afore said. His chambers, pillars, and porches had even the same measure, as they first had: and with his porches he had windows round about. The height was fifty cubits, the breadth twenty five cubits: His porches reached unto the uttermost court: his pillars also had date trees on either side, and eight steps to up upon. And he brought me to the north door, and measured it, which also had the afore said measure. His chambers, pillars, and porches had windows round about: whose height was fifty cubits, and the breadth twenty five. His pillars stood toward the uttermost court, and upon them both were date trees, and eight steps to go up upon. There stood a chamber also, whose entrance was at the door pillars, and there the burnt offerings were washed.

In the door porch, there stood on either side two tables for the slaughtering; to slay the burnt offerings, sin offerings, and trespass offerings thereupon. And on the out side as men go forth to the north door, there stood two tables. Four tables stood on either side of the door, that is eight tables, where upon they slaughtered. Four tables were of hewn stone for the burnt offerings, of a cubit and a half long and broad, and one cubit high: where upon were laid the vessels and ornaments, which were used to the burnt and the slain offerings, when they were slaughtered. And within there were hooks four fingers broad, fastened round about, to hang flesh upon, and upon the tables was laid the offering flesh. On the outside of the inner door were the singers chambers in the inward court beside the North door over against the South. There stood one also, beside the east door northward.

And he said unto me: This chamber on the South side belongeth to the priests, that keep the habitation: and this toward the North, is the priests that wait upon the alter: which be the sons of Sadoch, that do service before the Lord instead of the children of Levi. So he measured the fore court, which had in length an hundred cubits, and as much in breadth by the four corners. Now the altar stood before the house: And he brought me to the fore entry of the house, and measured the walls by the entry door: which were five cubits long on either side. The thickness also of the door on either side, was three cubits. The length of the porch was twenty cubits, the breadth eleven cubits, and upon steps went men up to it: by the walls also were pillars, on either side one.

The Forty First Chapter

After this he brought me to the temple, and measured the posts: which were of both the sides six cubits thick, according to the wideness of the tabernacle. The breadth of the door was ten cubits and the walls of the door on either side five cubits. He measured the length thereof, which contained forty cubits, and the breadth twenty. Then went he in, and measured the door posts, which were two cubits thick: but the door it self was six cubits, and the breadth of the door was seven cubits. He measured the length and breadth thereof, which were every one twenty cubits, before the temple:

And he said unto me: this is the holiest of all. He measured also the wall of the house, which was six cubits. The chambers that stood round about the house, were every one four cubits wide, and one stood hard upon the another, whereof there were thirty three. And there stood posts beneath by the walls round about the house, to bear them up: but in the wall of the house they were not fastened: The side chambers were the higher the wider, and had steps through them round about the house. Thus was it wider above, that from the lowest men might go to the highest and mid chambers. I saw also that the house was very high round about. The foundation of the side chambers was a meterod *( that is five cubits ) broad. The thickness of the side wall without, contained five cubits, and so did the outwall , of the chambers in the house. *( that is five cubits ) note above in chapter 40p3 RN

Between the chambers, was the wideness of twenty cubits round about the house. The chamber doors stood over against the outwall, the one door was toward the north, the other toward the South: and the thickness of the outwall was five cubits round about. Now the building that was separated toward the west, was seventy cubits wide: the wall of the building was five cubits thick round about, and the length four *score cubits and ten. So he measured the house which was an hundred cubits long, and the separated building with the wall were an hundred cubits long also. The wideness before the house and of it that was separated toward the East, was an hundred cubits. *score = 20 so this is 80 = 10 or 90 cubits RN

And he measured the length of the building before and behind with the chambers upon both the sides: and it contained an hundred cubits. The innermer temple, the porch of the fore court, the side posts, these three had side windows, and pillars round about over against the posts, from the ground up to the windows: The windows themselves were silled over with boards: and thus was it above the door, unto the inmost house, and without also: Yee the whole wall on every side both within and without was silled over with great boards. There were Cherubins and date trees made also, so that one date tree stood ever between two Cherubins: One cherub had two faces, the face of a man looking aside toward the date tree, and a lions face on the other side. Thus was it made round about in all the house; Yee the Cherubins and date trees were made from the ground up above the door, and so stood they also upon the wall of the temple.

The posts of the temple were four squared, and the fashion of the Sanctuary was even as it appeared unto me afore in the vision. The table was of wood, three cubits high and two cubits long: his corners, the length and the walls were of wood. And he said unto me: This is the table, that shall stand before the Lord. The temple and the highest of all had either of them two doors and every door had two little *wickettes which were folded in one upon another, on every side two. And upon the doors of the temple there were made Cherubins and date trees, like as upon the walls: and a great thick *balke of wood was before on the outside of the porch. Upon both the sides of the walls of the porch there were made deep windows and date trees, having beams and balkes, like as the house had.

*wickettes= A small door or gate, especially one built into or near a larger one. A small window or opening, often fitted with glass or a grating. *balke = a wooden beam or rafter RN

The Forty Second Chapter

Then carried he me out into the fore court toward the north, and brought me into the chamber that stood over against the back building northward, which had the length of an hundred cubits whose door turned toward the north. The wideness contained fifty cubits: over against the twenty cubits of the inner court, and against the paved work that was in the fore court. Beside all these three, there stood pillars, one over against the other: And before this chamber there was a walking place of ten cubits wide, and within was a way of one cubit wide, and their doors toward the north. Thus the highest chambers were always narrower then the lowest and middle most of the building: for they bare chamber upon chamber, and stood tree together one upon the another not having pillars like the for court: therefore were they smaller then those beneath and in the middle, to *reken from the ground upward.

Middle English reken, from two Old English words, never meant "to stink," but it could refer to a stench while meaning "to rise, ascend." It would seem that the various exhalations of heated persons and animals, of freshly shed blood, and of smoke The Old English word reocan, one of two ancestors of our word, meant "to emit vapor, steam, or smoke," while the other English ancestor, recan, meant "to fumigate, expose to smoke," or "to cause to emit smoke, burn incense." RN

The wall without that stood by the chambers toward the utmost court upon the fore side of the chambers, was fifty cubits long: for the length of the utmost chambers in the fore court was fifty cubits also: but the length thereof before the temple was an hundred cubits. These chambers had under them an entrance of the east side, where by a man might go into them from the fore court. through the thick wall of the fore court toward the east, right over against the separated building. Before the same building upon this side there were chambers also which had away unto them, like as the chambers on the north side of the same length and wideness.

Their entrance, fashion and doors were also of the same manner. Yee even like as the other chamber doors were, so were those also of the south side. And before the way toward the singers steps on the east side, there stood a door to go in at. Then said he unto me: The chambers toward the north and the south which stand before the back of the building: these be holy habitations, where in the priests that do service before the Lord, must eat the most holy offerings: and there must they lay the most holy offerings: meat offerings, sin offerings and the trespass offerings, for it is an holy place. When the priests come therein, they shall not go in to the fore court: but ( seeing they be holy ) they shall leave their clothes of their ministration, and put on other garments, when they have any thing to do with the people.

Now when he had measured all the inner house, he brought me forth through the east port, and measured the same round about. He measured the east side with the meterod, which round about contained five hundred meterods. And the north side measured he, which contained round about even so much. The other two sides also toward the south and the west ( which he measured ) contained either of them five hundred meterods. So he measured all the four sides where there went a wall round about five hundred meterods long, and as broad also which separated the holy from the unholy.

The Forty Third Chapter

So he brought me to the door, that turneth toward the east. Behold, then came the glory of the God of Israel from out of the east, whose voice was like a great noise of waters, and the earth was lightened with his glory. His sight to look upon was like the first, that I saw, when I went in, what time as the city should have been destroyed: and like the vision that I saw by the water of Tobar. Then fell I upon my face, but the glory of the Lord came into the house through the East door. So a wind took me up, and brought me to the inner most court: and behold, the house was filled with the glory of the Lord.

I heard one speaking unto me out of the house, and there stood one by me, that said unto me: O thou son of man, this rowme (room) is my feet, and the place of my fore steps: where as I will dwell among the children of Israel for evermore: so that the house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name: neither they, nor their kings, through their whoredom, through their high places, and through the dead bodies of their kings: which have builded their thresholds in manner hard upon my thresholds, and their posts almost at my posts: so that there is but a bare wall between me and them.

Thus have they defiled my holy name with their abominations, that they have committed. Wherefore I have destroyed them in y wrath: But now they shall put away their whoredom, and the dead bodies of their kings out of my sight, that I may dwell among them for evermore. Therefore ( O thou son of man ) show thou the household of Israel a temple, that they may be ashamed of their wickedness, and measure themselves an example thereat.

And when they be ashamed of all their works, then show them the form and fashion of the temple: the coming in, the going out, and all the manner and description thereof, yee all the uses and ordinances of it, that they may keep and fulfill all the fashions and customs thereof.

This is the description of the house: Above upon the mount round about all the corners, it shall be the holiest of all. Behold, that is the description and fashion of the house. This is the measure of the altar ( after the true cubit: which is a span longer then another cubit ) his bottom in the middlest was a cubit long and wide, and the ledge that went round it, was a span broad. This is the height of the altar: from the ground to the lower steps the length of two cubits, and the breadth one cubit: and from the lower steps to the higher are four cubits, and the breadth but one cubit.

The altar was four cubits high, and from the altar upward stood four horns, and it was twelve cubits long and twelve cubits broad, upon the four corners: the covering of the altar was fourteen cubits long and fourteen and broad upon the four corners, and the ledge that went round about, had half a cubit: and the bottom thereof round about one cubit: his steps stood toward the East. And he said unto me: Thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God: These are the ordinances and laws of the altar, in the day when it is made to offer burnt offerings, and to sprinkle blood there upon. To the priests, to the Levites that be of the seed of Sadoch, and tread before me to do me service, saith the Lord God: Unto these give thou a young bullock, for a sin offering: and take the blood of him and sprinkle his four horns withal and the four corners of the altar covering, with the ledge that goeth round about: here with thou shall cleanse it, and reconcile it. Thou shalt take the bullock also of the sin offering, and burn him in a *several place without the Sanctuary. *several= distinctly different

The next day, take a gootbuck without blemish for a sin offering, to reconcile the altar withal: like as it was reconciled with the bullock. Now when thou hast made it clean, then offer a young bullock without blemish, and a ram out of the flock without blemish also. Offer them before the Lord, and let the priest cast salt there upon, and give them so unto the Lord for a burnt offering. Seven days shalt thou bring, every day a *gootbuck. A young bullock, and a ram out of the flock ( both without blemish ) shall they offer. Seven days shall they reconcile and cleanse the altar, and offer upon it. When these days are expired, then upon the eighth day and so forth, the priests shall offer their burnt offerings and health offerings upon the altar, so will I be merciful unto you, saith the Lord God. *gootbuck=goat / male

The Forty Fourth Chapter

After this, he brought me again to the outward door of the Sanctuary on the East side, and that was shut. Then said the Lord unto me: This door shall be still shut, and not opened for any man to go through it, but only for the Lord God of Israel: Yee he shall go through it, else shall it be shut still. The prince himself shall come through it, that he may eat bread before the Lord. At the porch shall he come in, and there shall he go out again. Then brought he me to the door, upon the North side of the house. And as I looked about me, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house: and I fell down upon my face. So the Lord spoke unto me: O thou son of man, fasten this to thine heart, behold, and take diligent heed to all that I will say unto thee, concerning all the ordinances of the Lord and all his laws: ponder well with thine heart the coming in of the house and the going forth of the Sanctuary: And tell that obstinate household of Israel: Thus saith the Lord God: O house of Israel: yee have now doe enough with all your abominations, seeing that ye have brought into my Sanctuary strangers, having uncircumcised hearts, and flesh, where through my Sanctuary is defiled, when ye offer me bread, fat, and blood.

Thus with all your abominations ye have broken my covenant, and not kept the holy ordinances of my Sanctuary, even after your own mind. Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Of all the strangers that dwell among the children of Israel, no stranger,( whos heart and flesh is not circumcised ) shall come within my Sanctuary: No nor the Levites that are gone back from me, and have deceived the people of Israel with all errors, going after their idols: therefore they shall bear their own wickedness. Should they be set and ordained to minister under the doors of the house of my Sanctuary? And to do service in the house: to slay burnt offerings and sacrifices for the people: to stand before them, and to serve them: seeing the service that do them, is before their Idols, and cause the house of Israel to stumble through the wickednesses? For the which cause I have plucked out mine hand over them, ( saith the Lord God ) so that now they must bear their own iniquity, and not come near me, to serve me with their priesthood, in my Sanctuary, and most holiest of all: that they may bear their own shame and abominations, which they have done. Should I use them to be porters of the house, and to all the service that is done therein? But the Priests the Levites sons of Sadoch, that kept the holy ordinances of my Sanctuary, when the children of Israel were gone from me: shall come to me, to do me service, to stand before me, and to offer me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord God.

They shall go into my Sanctuary, and tread down before my table, to do me service, and wait upon my ordinances. Now when they go in at the doors of the innermost court: they shall put on linen clothes, so that no woolen come upon them, while they do service under the doors of the inner court, and within. They shall have fair linen bonnets upon their heads, and linen breeches upon their loins, which in their labor they shall not put about them: And when they go forth to the people in to the outward court, they shall put off their clothes, wherein they ministered, and lay them in the habitation of the Sanctuary, and put on other apparel, least they unhallow the people with their clothes.

They shall not shave their heads, nor nourish the bush of their hair, but round their heads only. All the priests that go in to the inmost court, shall drink no wine. They shall marry no widow, neither one that is put from her husband: but a maiden of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow, that hath had a priest before.

They shall show my people the difference between the holy and unholy, between the clean and unclean. If any discord arise, they shall discern it, and give sentence after my judgements. My solemn feasts, my laws and ordinances shall they keep, and hallow my Sabbaths. They shall come at no dead person, to defile themselves ( except it be father or mother, son or daughter, brother or sister that hath had yet no husband ) in such they may be defiled.

And when he is cleansed, there shall be reckoned unto him seven days: and if he go in to the Sanctuary again to do service, he shall bring a sin offering, saith the Lord God. They shall have an heritage, yee I myself will be their heritage: else shall ye give them no possession in Israel, for I am their possession. The meat offering, sin offering, and trespass offering shall they eat, and every dedicate thing in Israel, shall be theirs. The firstlings of all the firstfruits, and all the free will offerings shall be the priests.

Ye shall give unto the priest also the firstlings of your dough, that God may prosper the residue. But no dead carrion shall the priest eat, nor such as is devoured of wild beasts, fouls or cattle.

The Forty Fifth Chapter

When ye divide the land by the lot, ye shall put aside one part for the Lord, to be holy from other lands: namely twenty five thousand meterods long, and ten thousand broad. This shall be holy, as wide as it is round about. Of this part there shall belong unto the Sanctuary, five hundred meterods in all the four corners, and fifty cubits wide round about to the suburbs. And of this measure, namely of the twenty five thousand meterods long, and ten thousand broad, thou shalt measure, wherin the Sanctuary and the highest of all may stand.

The residue of that holy ground shall be the priests, which do serve in the Sanctuary of the Lord, and go in to the Lord to serve him, that they may have room to dwell in.

As for the Sanctuary, it shall stand for itself: and to the Levites that serve in the house, there shall be given twenty habitations, of the twenty five thousand length and ten thousand breadth: ye shall give also unto the city a possession of five thousand meterrods broad, and twenty five thousand long, beside the part of the Sanctuary: that shall be for the whole house of Israel. Upon both sides of the Sanctuarys part, and by the city, there shall be given unto the prince, whatsoever lieth over against the city, as far as reacheth westward and eastward: which shall be as long as one part, from the west to the east.

This shall be his own land in Israel, that my princes be no more chargeable unto my people. And such as remaineth yet over in the land, shall be given unto the house of Israel according to their tribes. Thus saith the Lord God: O ye princes, ye have now oppressed and destroyed enough: now leave off, handle now according to the thing, that is equal and lawful: and thrust out my people no more, saith the Lord God. Ye shall have a true weight, and a true *Ephah, and a true *Bath. The Ephah and the Bath shall be alike. One Bath shall contain the tenth part of an Homer, and so shall one Ephah do: their measure shall be after the Homer. *One Sicle maketh twenty *Geras. So twenty Sicles, and twenty five and fifteen Sicles make a pound. This is the heave offering, that ye shall give to be heaved: namely, the sixteenth part of an Ephah, out of an Homer of wheat: and the sixteenth part of an Ephah, out of an Homer of barley. The oil shall be measured with the Bath: even the tent part of one Bath out of a *Cor. ...example; word= common use,{ Hebrew root ] *Ephah=a dry measure of quantity { in need, poor, needy person, subject to oppression and abuse] *Bath= a unit of liquid measure {destruction]* Homer=a unit of dry measure {clay mire heap swelling, surging (of water)to give up destruction *One Sicle=the chief unit of weight or measure {to weigh out (a price) of grief] *pound=maneh, mina, pound { to count, reckon, assign, appoint] *Geras=a weight,{"God-given"] *Cor=a measure { go astray, perish vanish RN

Ten baths make one Homer: for one homer filleth ten Baths. And one lamb from two hundred sheep out of the pasture of Israel, for a meatoffering, burnt offering and health offering, to reconcile them, sayeth the Lord God. All the people of the land will give this heave offering with a free will. Again, it shall be the princes part to offer burnt offerings, meat offerings, and drink offerings unto the Lord, in the holy days, new Moons, Sabbaths, and in all the high feasts of the house of Israel. The sin offering, meat offering, burnt offering and health offering shall he give, to reconcile the house of Israel. Thus sayeth the Lord God: The first day of the first month thou shalt take a young bullock without blemish, and cleanse the Sanctuary. So the priest shall take the blood of the sin offering, and sprinkle it upon the posts of the house, and upon the four corners of the altar, with the door posts of the innermost court. And thus thou shalt do also the seventh day of the month, for such as have sinned of ignorance, or being deceived, to reconcile the house withal. Upon the fourteenth day of the first month ye shall keep Easter. Seven days shall the feast continue, wherein there shall no sour or leavened bread be eaten.

Upon the same day shall the prince give for himself and all the people of the land, a bullock for a sin offering. And in the feast of the seven days he shall offer every day a bullock and a ram, that are without blemish, for a burnt offering unto the Lord: and an he goat daily for a sin offering. For the meat offerings, he shall give ever an Ephah to a bullock, an Ephah to a ram, and an Hin of oil to an Ephah. Upon the fifteenth day of the seventh month, he shall keep the seven days holy one after another, even as the other seven days: with the sin offering, burnt offering, meat offering, and with the oil.

The Forty Sixth Chapter

Thus saith the Lord God: the door of the innermost court toward the East, shall be shut the six working days: but in the Sabbath and in the day of the new Moon, it shall be opened. Then shall the prince come under the door porch, and stand still without by the door check. So the priests shall offer up his burnt and health offerings. And he shall worship at the door post, and go his way forth again: but the door shall no more be shut till the evening.

On the same manner shall the people of the land also do their worship before the Lord, without this door upon the Sabbaths and new Moons. This is now the burnt offering, that the prince shall bring unto the Lord upon the Sabbath: fair lambs without blemish, and an Ephah for a meat offering, with the ram. As for the lambs, he may give as many meat offerings to them, as he will, and an Hin of oil to an Ephah. In the day of the new month, it shall be a young bullock without blemish, six lambs and a ram also without blemish. With the bullock he shall give an Ephah, and with the ram an Ephah also for a meat offering: but to the lambs, what he may come by: And ever an Hin of oil to an Ephah. When the prince cometh, he shall go under the door of the porch, and even there depart forth again. But when the people of the land come before the Lord in the high solemn feast, as many as come in by the North door to do worship, shall go out again at the South door. And they that come in by the South door shall go forth again by the North door. There shall none go out by the door where he came in, but shall go forth right over on the other side, and the prince shall go in and out among them.

Upon the solemn and high feast days, this shall be the meat offering: an Ephah to a bullock and an Ephah to a ram, and to the lambs: as many as he will, but ever an Hin of oil to an Ephah. Now when the prince bringeth a burnt offering or an health offering with a free will unto the Lord, the East door shall be opened unto him, that he may do with his burnt and health offerings, as he doeth on the Sabbath, and when he goeth forth, the door shall shut after him again. He shall daily bring unto the Lord a lamb of a year old without blemish for a burnt offering: this shall he do every morning. And for a meat offering he shall give the sixth part of an Ephah, and the third part of an Hin of oil ( to mingle with the cakes ) every morning. Yee this shall be a daily meat offering unto the Lord, for an everlasting ordinance: And thus shall the lamb, the meat offering and the oil be given every morning, for a daily burnt offering.

Moreover, thus saith the Lord God: If the prince give a gift unto any of his sons, then it shall it be his sons heritage perpetual, that he may possess it. But if he will give one of his servants some of his heritage, it shall be his to the free year, and then to return again unto the prince: for his inheritance shall be his sons only. The prince shall take none of the peoples inheritance, nor put them from their possession: but to his own sons shall he give his possession, that my people be not scattered abroad, but that every man may have his own.

And he brought me through the entrance at the side of the door to the habitation of the Sanctuary, that belongeth to the priests and stood toward the north, and behold, there was a place upon the west side, then said he unto me: This is the place, where the priests shall dight {boil] the trespass and sin offerings, and bake the meat offerings: that they need not bear them in to the outward court, and so to unhallow the people. So he brought me into the utmost court, round about all the four corners. Behold, in every corner of the fore court, there was yet a little court. Yee in all the four corners of the court, there was made a little court of forty cubits long, and thirty broad: these four little courts were of one like measure, and there went a rigge wall round about them all four, under the which there were hearths made round about. Then said he unto me: This is the kitchen, where the ministers of the house shall dight {boil] the slain offerings of the people.

The Forty Seventh Chapter

After this he brought me again before the door of the house: and behold, there gushed out waters from under the posts of the house eastward ( for the house stood toward the east ) that ran down upon the right side of the house, which layeth to the altar southward. Then carried he me out to the north door, and brought me forth there round about by the uttermost door that turneth east ward. Behold, there came forth the water upon the right side. Now when the man that had the meterod in his hand went unto the east door, he measured a thousand cubits, and then he brought me through the water, even to the ankles: so he measured yet a thousand, and brought me through the water again unto the knees: yet measured he a thousand, and brought me through the waters to the loins. After this he measured a thousand again, then was it such a river, that I might not wade through it: The water was so deep, that it was needful to have swimmed, for it might not be waded over. And he said unto me: hast thou seen this, O thou son of man ? And with that, he brought me to the river bank again.

Now when I came there, there stood many trees upon either side of the river bank. Then said he unto me: This water that floweth out toward the East, and runneth down into the plain field, cometh into the sea: and from the sea it runneth out, and maketh the waters whole. Yee all that live and move, where unto this river cometh shall recover. And where this river cometh, there shall be much fish, For all that cometh to this water, shall be lusty and whole. By this river shall the fishers stand from Engadi unto En Eglaim, and there spread out their nets: for there shall be great heaps of fish, like as in the main sea. As for his clay and pits, they shall not be whole, for why, it shall be occupied for salt.

By this river upon both the sides of the shore, there shall grow all manner of fruitful trees, whose leaves shall not fall off, neither shall their fruit perish: but be ripe at their months, for their water runneth out of the Sanctuary. His fruit is good to eat, and his leaf profitable for medicine. Thus saith the Lord God: Let this be the border, wherein ye shall divide the land unto the twelve tribes of Israel, with a line. Part it indifferently unto one as unto another: of the which land I swore unto your fathers, that it should fall to your inheritance.

This is the border of the land upon the north side, from the main sea, as men go to Zadada: namely Hemath, Berotha, Sabarim: from the borders of Damascus and Hemath unto Hazar Tichon, and that liveth upon the coasts of Haueran. Thus the borders from the sea forth, shall be Hazar Euan, the border of Damascus the North, and the borders of Hemath. That is the north part.

The east is, from Haueran and Damascus, from Gilead and the land of Israel by Jordan and so forth, from the sea coast, that layeth eastward. And this is the East part.

The south side is, from Thamar forth to the waters of strife unto Cades, the river, to the main sea: and this is the south part.

The west part: namely the great sea from the borders thereof, till a man come unto Hemath: this is the west part.

This land shall ye part among you, according to the tribes of Israel, and divide it to be an inheritance for you, and for the strangers that dwell among you, and begotten children. For ye shall take them among the children of Israel, like as they were of your own household and country, and they shall have heritage with you among the children of Israel.

Look in what tribe the stranger dwelleth, in the same tribe ye shall give him his heritage, saith the Lord God.

The Forty Eighth Chapter

These are the names of the tribes that lie upon the north side, by of the way of Hetlon, till thou comest unto Hemath and Hazar Enam, the borders of Damascus toward the north side Hamath: Dan shall have his portion from east quarter to the west. Upon the borders of Dan from the east side unto the west, shall Asser have his portion. Upon the borders of Asher from the east part unto the west shall Nephthali have his portion.

Upon the borders of Nephthali from the east quarter unto the west, shall Manasses have his portion. Upon the borders of Manasses from the east side unto the west, shall Ephraim have his portion. Upon the borders of Ephraim from the east part unto the west, shall Ruben have his portion. Upon the borders Reuben from the east quarter unto the west shall Judah have his portion. Upon the borders of Judah from the east part unto the west, ye shall set aside one portion of twenty five thousand meterods long and broad, ( like as another portion from the east side unto the west ) wherein the Sanctuary shall stand.

As for the portion, that ye shall separate out for the Lord, it shall be twenty five thousand meterods long, and ten thousand broad. Which separated holy portion shall belong to these: namely to the priests, toward the north twenty five thousand and toward the west ten thousand broad, toward the east ten thousand broad also, and toward south twenty five thousand long, wherein the Sanctuary of the Lord shall stand. Yee this same place shall be the priests, that are the children of Sadock, and have kept my holy ordinance: which went not astray in the error of the children of Israel, like as the Levites are gone astray: and this separated piece that they have of the land shall be the most holy, hard upon the borders of the Levites. And next unto the priests, shall the Levites have twenty five thousand long, and ten thousand broad. This shall be on every side twenty five thousand long, and ten thousand broad. Of this portion they shall sell nothing, nor make any permutation there of, least the chief of the land fall unto other, for it is hallowed unto the Lord.

And the other five thousand after the breadth and length by the twenty five thousand shall be common: it shall belong to the city and to the suburbs for habitations, and the city shall stand in the midst thereof. Let this be the measure toward the north part four thousand and five hundred, toward the south part four thousand and five hundred, the east part four thousand and five hundred, toward the west part four thousand and five hundred.

The suburbs hard upon the city, shall have toward the north two hundred and fifty, and toward the south two hundred and fifty, and toward the east two hundred and fifty, and toward the west also two hundred and fifty. As for the residue of the length, that lieth hard upon the separated holy ground: namely ten thousand toward the east, and ten thousand toward the west, next unto the holy portion: it and the increase thereof shall serve for their meat, that labor in the city. They that labor for the wealth of the city, shall maintain this also, out of what tribe soever they be in Israel.

All that is separated of the twenty five thousand long and twenty five thousand broad on the four parts, that shall ye put aside for the separated portion of the Sanctuary, and for the possession of the city. The residue upon both the sides of the Sanctuary and the possession of the city, shall belong to the prince, before the place of the twenty five thousand westward, unto the borders of the city: this shall be the princes portion. This shall be the holy place, and the house of the Sanctuary shall stand in the midst. Moreover from the Levites and from the cities possession, that lie in the midst of the princes part: look what remaineth between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin, it shall be the princes.

Now of the other tribes.

From the east part unto the west, shall Benjamin shall have his portion. Upon the borders of Benjamin from the east side unto the west, shall Simeon have his portion. Upon the borders of Simeon from the east part unto the west, shall Izakar have his portion. Upon the borders of Izakar from the east side unto the west, shall Sabulon have his portion. Upon the borders of Sabulon from the east part unto the west, shall Gad have his portion. Upon the borders of Gad southward, the coasts shall reach from Thamar forth unto the waters of strife to Cades, and to the flood, even to the main sea.

This is the land with his portions, which ye shall distribute unto the tribes of Israel, saith the Lord God. Thus wide shall the city reach: upon the north part four thousand and five hundred measures. The ports of the city, shall have the names of the tribes of Israel. Three ports of the north side: one Ruben, another Judah, the third Levi.

Upon the east side four thousand and five hundred measures, with three ports: the one Joseph, another Benjamin, the third Dan. Upon the south side four thousand and five hundred measures, with three ports: the one Simeon, another Izakar, the third Sabulon. And upon the west side four thousand and five hundred measures, with three ports also, the one Gad, another Asser, the third Nephthali. Thus shall it have eighteen thousand measures round about. And from that time forth, the name of the city shall be: the Lord is there.

The end of the Prophesy of Ezechiel

The Book of the Prophet Daniel

From the Hebrew " God is my Judge "

The First Chapter

In the third year of the reign of Jehoakim king of Judah, came Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it: and the Lord delivered Jehoakim king of Judah into his hand, with certain ornaments of the house of God, which he carried away into the land of Sennar, to the house of his god, and there he brought them into his gods treasury. And the king spake unto Asphanaz the chief chamberlain, that he should bring him certain of the children of Israel, that were come of the kings seed and of princes, young springaldes without blemish, but fair and well favored, instructed in all wisdom, cunning and understanding: which were able to stand in the kings palace, to read and to learn for to speak *Caldeith.

*Caldeith= the exalted language of oppression

Unto these the king appointed a certain portion of his own meat, and of the wine, which he drank himself, so to nourish them three years: that afterward they might stand before the king. Among these now were certain of the children of Judah: namely Daniel, Ananias, Misael, and Azarias. Unto these the chief chamberlain gave other names, and called Daniel, Balthasar: Ananias, Sidrach: Misael, Misach, and Asarias, Abednago. But Daniel was at a point with himself, and he would not be defiled through the kings meat, nor the wine which he drunk. And this he desired of the chief chamberlain, lest he should defile himself. So God gave Daniel favor and grace before the chief chamberlain, that he said unto him: I am afraid of my lord the king, which hath appointed you your meat and drink: lest he spy your faces to be worse liking then the other springaldes of your age, and so ye shall make me lose my head unto the king.

Then Daniel answered Melassar, whom the chief chamberlain had set over Daniel, Ananias, Misael, and Asarias, and said: O prove but ten days with thy servants, and let us have pottage to eat, and water to drink: Then look upon our faces, and theirs that eat of the kings meat. And as thou seest, so deal with thy servants. So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days. And after the ten days, their faces were better liking and fatter, then all the young springaldes, which ate of the kings meat.

Thus Melassar took away their meat and the wine, and gave them pottage therefore. God gave now these four children cunning and learning in all scripture and wisdom: but unto Daniel specially, he gave understanding of all visions and dreams. Now when the time expired, that the king had appointed to bring in these young springaldes unto him: the chief chamberlain brought them before Nabuchodonosor, and the king communed with them. But among them all were found none such as Daniel, Ananias, Misael, and Asarias. Therefore stood they before the king which in all wisdom and matters of understanding, that he enquired of them, found them ten times better, then all the soothsayers and charmers, that were in all his realm. And Daniel abode still, unto the first year of king Cyrus.

The Second Chapter

In the second year of the reign of Nabuchodnosor, had Nabuchodnosor a dream, where through his spirit was vexed, and his sleep brake from him. Then the king commanded to call together all the soothsayers, charmers, witches and Caldees, for to show the king his dream. So they came, and stood before the king. And the king said unto them: I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was so troubled therewith, that I have clean forgotten, what I dreamed. Upon this the Caldees answered the king in the *Syrians speech: O king, God save thy life forever. Show thy servants the dream, and we shall show thee, what it meaneth. The king gave the Caldees their answer, and said: It is gone from me: If ye will not make me understand the dream with the interpretation thereof, ye shall die, and your houses shall be prized. But if ye tell me the dream and the meaning thereof, ye shall have of me gifts, rewards and great honor: only, show me the dream, and the signification of it. They answered again, and said: the king must show his servants the dream, and so shall we declare what it meaneth. Then the king answered, saying: I perceive of a truth, that ye do but prolong the time: for so much as ye see, that the thing is gone from me. Therefore ye will not tell me the dream, ye shall all have one judgement: But ye faine and dissemble with vain words, which you speak before me, to put off the time. Therefore tell me the dream, and so shall I know, if ye can show me, what it meaneth. Upon this, the Caldees gave answer before the king, and said: There is no man upon the earth, that can tell the thing, which the king speaketh of: yee there is neither king, prince, nor Lord, that ever asked such things at a soothsayer, charmer, or Caldeer: for it is a very hard matter, that the king requireth. Neither is there any that can certify the king thereof, except the gods, whose dwelling is not among the creatures.

For the which cause the king was wroth with great indignation, and commanded to destroy all the wise men at Babylon: and the proclamation went forth, that the wise men should be slain. They sought also to slay Daniel with his companions. Then Daniel enquired Arioch the kings steward, of the judgement and sentence, that was gone forth already to kill such as were wise at Babylon. He answered and said to Arioch being then the kings deputy: Why hath the king proclaimed so cruel a sentence? So Arioch told Daniel the matter. Upon this, went Daniel up, and desired the king, that he might have favor, to show the king the interpretation: and then came he home again and showed the thing unto Ananias, Misael, and Asarias his companions: that they should beseech the God of heaven for grace in this secret, that Daniel and his fellows with others such as were wise in Babylon, perish not. Then was the mystery shown unto Daniel in a vision by night. And Daniel praised the God of heaven. Daniel also cried aloud, and said: O that the name of God might be praised for ever and ever, for wisdom and strength are his own: he changeth the times and ages: he putteth down kings, he setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and understanding to those that understand, he openeth the deep secrets: he knoweth the thing that lieth in darkness, for the light dwelleth with him. I thank thee, and pray thee, O thou God of my fathers, that thou hast sent me wisdom and strength, and hast showed me the thing, that we desired of thee, for thou hast opened the kings matter unto me.

Upon this went Daniel in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise at Babylon: he went unto him ,and said: destroy not such as are wise in Babylon, but bring me unto the king, and I shall show the king the interpretation. Then Arioch brought Daniel into the king in all the haste, and said unto him: I have found a man among the prisoners of Judah, that shall show the king the interpretation. Then answered the king, and said unto Daniel, whose name was Balthasar: Art thou he, that can show me the dream, which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof? Daniel answered the king to his face, and said: As for this secret, for which the king maketh inquisition: it is neither the wise men, the sorcerer, the charmer nor the devil conjurer, that can certify the king of it: Only God in heaven can open secrets, and he it is, that showeth the king Nabuchodnosor, what is for to come in the latter days.

Thy dream, and that which thou hast seen in thine head upon thy bed, is this: O king, thou didst cast in thy mind, what should come hereafter: So he that is the opener of mysteries, telleth the, what is for to come. As for me, this secret is not showed me, for any wisdom that I have, more than any other living: but only that I might show the king the interpretation, that he might know the thoughts of his own heart. Thou king sawest, and behold: there stood before thee a great Image, whose figure was marvelous great, and his visage grim. The image head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his body and loins were of copper, his legs of iron, his feet were part of iron, and part of earth.

This thou sawest, till the time that ( without any hands ) there was hewn of a stone which smote the image upon his feet, that were both of iron and earth, and brake them to powder: Then was the iron, the earth, the copper, the silver and gold broken altogether in pieces: and became like the chaff of corn, that the wind bloweth away from the summer floors, that they can no more be found. But the stone that smote the Image, became a great mountain, which filled the whole earth: This is the dream. And now will we show before the king, what it meaneth.

O king, thou art a King of kings: For the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, riches, strength, and majesty: And hath delivered thee all things, that are among the children of men: the beasts of the field, and the fowls under heaven, and given thee dominion over them all. Thou art that golden head. After thee there shall arise another kingdom, which shall be less than thine. The third kingdom shall be like copper, and have dominion in all lands. The fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron. For like as iron bruise and breaketh all things: Yee even as iron beateth everything down, so shall it beat down and destroy.

Whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of earth and part of iron: that is a divided kingdom, which nevertheless shall have some of the iron ground mixed with it, for so much as thou hast seen the iron mixed with the clay.

The toes of the feet that were part of iron and part of clay, signifieth: that it shall be a kingdom partly strong and partly weak. And whereas thou sawest iron mix with clay: they shall mingle themselves with the seed of simple people: and yet not continue with one another, like as iron will not be soldered with a potsherd.

In the days of these kings, shall the God of heaven set up an everlasting kingdom, which shall not perish, and his kingdom shall not be given over to another people: Yee the same shall break and destroy all these kingdoms, but it shall endure for ever.

And where as thou sawest, that without any hands there was cut out of the mountain a stone, which break the iron, the copper, the earth, the silver and gold in pieces: by that hath the great God showed the king, what will come after this. This is a true dream, and the interpretation of it is sure.

Then the king Nabuchodnosor fell down upon his face, and bowed himself unto Daniel, and commanded that they should offer meatofferings and sweet odors unto him. The king answered Daniel, and said: Yee of a truth your God is a God above all gods, and Lord above all kings, and an opener of secrets: seeing thou can discover this mystery. So the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many and great gifts.

He made him ruler of all the countries of Babylon, and Lord of all nobles, that were at Babylon. Now Daniel entreated the king for Sidrach, Misach, and Abednago, so that he made them rulers over all the offices in the land of Babylon: But Daniel himself remained still in the court by the King.

The Third Chapter

Nabuchodonosor the king caused golden Image to be made, which was sixty cubits high and six cubits thick. This he made to be set it up in the *field of Dura, in the land of Babylon and sent out to gather together the dukes, lords and nobles, the judges and officers, the deputies and *shreves with all the rulers of the land: that they might come to the dedication of the Image which Nabuchodonosor the king had set up. So the dukes, lords and nobles, the judges and officers, the deputies and *shreves with all the rulers of the land gathered them together, and came unto the dedication of the Image that Nabuchodonosor the king had set up. *shreves = a kind of Babylonian priest:

Now when they stood before the Image, which Nabuchodonosor had set up, the *bedel cried out with all his might: O ye people, kindred and tongues, to you be it said: that when ye hear the noise of the trumpets, which shall be blown, with harps, shawmes ( cornet ) Psalteries, Symphonies and all manner of Music: ye shall fall down and worship the golden Image, that Nabuchodonosor the king hath set up. Whoso then falleth not down and boweth himself, shall even that same hour be cast in to an hot burning oven. Therefore, when all the flock heard the noise of the trumpets, that are blown, with the harps, shawmes ( cornet ), Psalteries, Symphonies and all kind of Melody: then all the people, kindreds and nations fell down, and bowed themselves to the golden Image, that Nabuchodonosor the king had set up.

*bedel=beadle A minor parish official formerly employed in an English church to usher and keep order during services.[ Middle English bedel, herald ( from Old English bydel)

Now were there certain Caldees, that went even then and accused the Jews, and said unto the king Nabuchodonosor: O king, God save thy life for ever. Thou being king hast given a commandment, that all men when they hear noise of the trumpets, harps, shawmes ( cornet ) psalteries, symphonies and all the other melodies: shall fall down and bow themselves before the golden Image: whoso then fell not down and worshipped not, that he should be cast in to an hot burning oven. Now there are certain Jews, whom thou hast set over the offices of the land of Babylon: namely, Sidrach, Misach, and Abednago. These men, (O king) regard not thy commandment, yee they will not serve thy god, nor bow themselves down to the golden Image, that thou hast set up.

Then Nabuchodonosor in a cruel wrath and displeasure, commanded that Sidrach, Misach, and Abednago should be brought to him. So these men were brought before the king. Then Nabuchodonosor spake unto them, and said: what? O Sidrach, Misach, and Abednago, will ye not serve my gods? nor bow yourselves to the golden Image, that I have set up? well, be ready hereafter, when ye hear the noise of trumpets blow with the harps, shawmes ( cornet ) psalteries, symphonies and all the other melodies: that ye fall down, and worship the Image which I have made. But if ye worship it not, ye shall be cast immediately in to an hot burning oven. Let see, what God is there, that may deliver you out of my hands? Sidrach, Misach, and Abednago, answered the king, an said: O Nabuchodonosor, we ought not to consent unto that in this matter, for why? our God whom we serve, is able to keep us from the hot burning oven ( O king ) and can right well deliver us out of thy hands: And though he will not, yet shall thee know ( O king ) that we will not serve thy gods, nor do reverence to the Image, which thou hast set up. Then was Nabuchodonosor full of indignation, so that the countenance of his face changed upon Sidrach, Misach, and Abednago. Therefore he charged and commanded, that the oven should be made seven times hotter, then it was wont to be: and spake unto the strongest worthies that were in his house, for to bind Sidrach, Misach, and Abednago, and to cast them in to the hot burning oven.

So these men were bound in their coats, hosen, shoes with their other garments, and cast in to the hot burning oven. for the kings commandment was so straight, and the oven was exceeding hot. As for the men that put in Sidrach, Misach, and Abednago, the flame of the fire destroyed them. And these three men, Sidrach, Misach, and Abednago fell down in the hot burning oven, being fast bound. Then Nabuchodonosor the king marveled, and stood up in all haste: he spake unto his counsel and said: did not ye cast these three men bound into the fire? They answered, and said unto the king: Yee O king. He answered and said: Lo for all that, yet do I see four men loose in the midst of the fire, and nothing corrupt: and the fourth is like an angel to look upon. Upon this went Nabuchodonosor unto the mouth of the hot burning oven: he spake also, and said: O Sidrach, Misach, and Abednago, ye servants of the high God: go forth, and come hither. And so Sidrach, Misach, and Abednago, went out of the fire. Then the dukes, lords and nobles, and the kings counsel came together to see these men, upon whom the fire had no manner of power in their bodies: in so much that the very hair of their head was not burnt, and their bodies unchanged: Yee there was no smell of fire felt upon them.

Then spake Nabuchodonosor, and said: Blessed be the God of Sidrach, Misach, and Abednago: which hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants, that put their trust in him: that have altered the kings commandment: and *ieoperde (jeopardy) their bodies there upon: rather then they would serve or worship any other God, except their own God only. Therefore I will and command, that all people, kindreds and tongues, which speak any blasphemy against the God of Sidrach, Misach, and Abednago, shall die and their houses shall be prized: Because, there is no God that may save, as this. So the king promoted Sidrach, Misach, and Abednago, in the land of Babylon.

The Fourth Chapter

Nabuchodonosor King unto all people, kindreds and tongues that dwell upon the whole earth: peace be multiplied among you I thought it good to show the tokens and marvelous works, that the high God hath wrought upon me. O how great are his tokens, and how mighty are his wonders? His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his power lasteth for ever and ever.

I Nabuchodonosor being at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my palace, saw a dream, which made me afraid: and the thoughts that I had upon my bed, with the visions of my head, troubled me. Then sent I out a commission, that all they which were of wisdom at Babylon should be brought before me, to tell me the interpretation of the dream. So there came the soothsayers, charmers, Caldees and conjurers of devils: to whom I told the dream, but what it be token, they could not show me: till at the last, there came one Daniel ( other wise called Balthasar, according to the name of my god ) which hath the spirit of the holy gods, in him: to whom I told the dream, saying: For so much as I know, that thou hast the spirit of the holy Gods and no secret is hid from thee: tell me therefore, what the vision of my dream ( that I have seen ) may signify. I saw a vision in my head upon my bed: and behold, there stood a tree upon the ground, which was very high, great and mighty: the highth reached unto the heaven, and the breadth extended to all the ends of the earth: his leaves were fair, he had very much fruit, so that every man had enough to eat therin.

The beasts of the field had shadows under it, and the fowls of the air dwelt in the boughs thereof. Shortly, all creatures fed of it. I saw in my head a vision upon my bed: and behold, a watcher came down from heaven, and cried mightily, saying. Hew down the tree, break off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit abroad: that all the beasts may get them away from under him, and the fowls from his branches. Nevertheless leave the ground of his root still in the earth, and bind him upon the plain field, with chains of iron and steel. With the dew of heaven shall he be wet, and he shall have his part with the herbs of the ground with the other wild beasts.

That mans heart of his shall be taken from him, and a beats heart shall be given him, till seven years be come and gone from him.

This errand of the watcher is a commandment grounded and sought out in the country of him, that is most holy: to learn men for to understand, that the highest hath power over the kingdoms of men, and giveth them, to whom it liketh him, and bringeth the very out casts of men over them. This is the dream, that I king Nabuchodonosor have seen. Therefore O Balthasar, tell thou me what it signifieth: for so much as all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to show me what it meaneth. But thou canst do it, for the spirit of the holy Gods is in thee.

Then Daniel ( whose name was Balthasar ) held his peace by the space of an hour and his thoughts troubled him. So the king spake, and said: O Balthasar, let neither the dream nor the interpretation thereof fear thee. Balthasar answered saying: O my Lord, this dream happen to thine enemies, and the interpretation to thine adversary. As for the tree that thou sawest which was so great and mighty, whose height reached unto the heaven, and his breadth in to all the world: whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much: under the which the beasts of the field had their habitation, and upon whose branches the fowls of the air did sit.

Even thou ( O king ) art the tree, great and strong. Thy greatness increaseth, and reacheth unto heaven, so doth thy power to the ends of the earth. But where as the king saw a watcher even an holy one angel, that came down from heaven, and said: hew down the tree, and destroy it: yet leave the ground of the root in the earth: and bind him upon the plain field with chains of iron and steel: He shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and his part with the beasts of the field, till seven years be come and gone from him: This ( O king ) is the interpretation , yee it is the very device of him, that is highest of all, and it touched my Lord the king.

Thou shalt be cast from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: with grass shalt thou be fed like an ox. Thou must be wet with the dew of heaven: yee seven years shall come, and go upon thee, till thou know, that the highest hath power upon the kingdoms of men, and giveth them to whom he *list.(enlists) Moreover, where it was said, that the root of the tree should be left still in the ground: it betokeneth, that thy kingdom shall remain whole unto thee, after thou has learned to know, that the power cometh from heaven. Wherefore, O king, be content with my counsel, that thou may lose thy sins with righteousness, and thine offenses with mercy to poor people: for such things shall prolong peace. All these things touche the King Nabuchodonosor.

So after twelve months, the king walked up and down in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon, and said: This is the great city of Babylon, which I myself ( with my power and strength ) have made a kings court, for the honor of my majesty. While these words were yet in the kings mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying: O king Nabuchodonosor, to that be it spoken: Thy kingdom is departed from thee, thou shalt be cast out of mens company: thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, so that thou shall eat grass like as an ox, till seven years be come and gone over thee: even until thou knowest, that the highest hath power upon the kingdoms men, and that he may give them, unto whom it pleaseth him. The very same hour was this matter fulfilled upon Nabuchodonosor: so that he was cast out from mens company, and ate grass like an ox, His body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were as great as Eagles feathers, and his nails like birds claws.

When this time was past, I Nabuchodonosor lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding was restored unto me again. Then I gave thanks to the highest. I magnified and praised him that liveth for evermore, whose power endureth always, and his kingdom from one generation to another: in comparison of whom all they that dwell upon the earth, are to be reputed as nothing.

He handleth according to his will, among the powers of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth: and there is none that may resist his hand, or say: what doest thou? At the same time was mine understanding given me again, and I was restored to the honor of my kingdom, to my dignity, an to my own shape again. My great estates and Princes sought unto me, and I was set in my kingdom again, so that I had yet greater worship.

Then did I Nabuchodonosor, love, magnify and praise the King of heaven: for all his works are true, and his ways right. As for those that go on proudly, he is able to bring them down.

The Fifth Chapter

King Balthazar made a great banquet to his thousand Lords: with all these thousand he made great cheer, and when he was drunken with wine, he commanded to bring him the golden and silver vessels, which his father Nabuchodonosor had taken out of the temple at Jerusalem: that the king and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein.

Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king and his lords with his queen and concubines might drink thereout.

So they brought the golden vessel, that was taken out of the temple of the Lords house at Jerusalem. Then the king and his lords with his queen and concubines drunk out of then. They drunk wine, and praised their Idols of gold, silver, copper, iron, wood, and stone.

In the same hour there appeared fingers, as it had been of a mans hand writing, right over against the candlestick upon the plain wall in the kings palace: and the king saw the palm of the hand that wrote. Then changed the kings countenance, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his body shook, and his knees smote one against another. Wherefore the king cried mightily, that they should bring him the charmers, Caldees and the conjurers of devils. The king spake also to the wise men of Babylon, and said: Who so can read this writing, and show me the plain meaning thereof: shall be clothed with purple, have a chain of gold about his neck, and rule the third part of my kingdom.

Upon this, came in all the kings wise men: but they could neither read the writing, nor show the king what it signified. Then was king sore afraid in so much, that his color changed, and his lords were sore vexed. So by reason of this matter, that had happened to the king and his lords, the queen went up herself into the banquet house, and spake unto the king, saying: O king, God save thy life forever: Let not these thoughts trouble thee, and let not thy countenance be changed. For why ? there is a man in thy kingdom, that hath the spirit of the holy gods within him, as it was seen in thy fathers days. He hath understanding and wisdom like the gods, Yee the king Nabuchodonosor thy father made this man chief of the soothsayers, charmers, Caldees and devil conjurers: because that such an abundant spirit, knowledge and wisdom, to expound dreams, open secrets, and to declare hard doubts, was found in him: Yee even in Daniel, whom the king named *Balthazar. Let this same Daniel be sent for, and he shall tell, what it meaneth. *Balthazar = note: this is the exact same spelling as the kings name. RN

Then was Daniel brought before the king. So the king spake unto Daniel, and said: Art thou that Daniel, one of the prisoners of Juda whom my father the king brought out of Jewry? I have heard speak of thee, that thou hast the spirit of the holy gods, experience and understanding, and that there hath been great wisdom found in thee. Now have there been brought me, wise and conjuring charmers, to read this writing, and to show me the meaning thereof: but they could not tell me, what this matter signified. Then heard I say, that thou can expound dark things, and declare hard doubts. Well then, if thou can read this writing, and show me the meaning thereof: thou shalt be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and rule the third part of my kingdom.

Daniel answered, and said before the king: As for thy rewards, keep them to thyself, or give thy rich gifts to another: yet not the less, I will read the writing unto the king, and show him the interpretation thereof. O king, God the highest gave unto Nabuchodonosor thy father, the dignity of a king, with worship and honor: So that all people, kindreds and tongues stood in awe and fear of him, by reason of the high estate, that he had sent him. For why? he slew whom he would: he smote, whom it pleased him. Again: whom he would he set up: and whom he list, he put down. But because his heart was so proud, and his stomach set so fast unto wilfulness: he was disposed from his kingly throne, and his majesty was taken from him. He was shut out from among men, his heart was like a beasts heart, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: he was faine to eat grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven: till he knew, that the highest had power upon the kingdoms of men, and setteth over them, whom he list.

And thou his son ( O Balthazar ) for all this, hast not submitted thine heart, though thou knewest all these things: but hast magnified thyself above the Lord of heaven, so that the vessels of his house were brought before thee: and thou, and thy lords, with thy queen and concubines, might drink wine thereout: and hast praised the Idols of silver and gold, copper and iron, of wood and stone: As for the God in whose hand consisteth thy breath and all thy ways: thou hast not loved him.

Therefore is the palm of this hand sent hither from him, to token up this writing. And this is the scripture, that is written up: Mane, Thetel, Phares. Now the interpretation of the thing is this: Mane, God hath numbered the kingdom, and brought it to an end: Thetel, thou art weighed in the balance, and art found to be light: Phares, thy kingdom is dealt in parts, and given to the Medes and Perses.

Then commanded Balthazar, to clothe Daniel with purple, and to hang a chain of gold about his neck, and to make a proclamation concerning him: that he should be the ruler of the third part of his kingdom. The very same night was Balthazar the king of the Caldees slain, and Darius out of Medea took in the kingdom, being sixty two years of age.

The Sixth Chapter

It pleased Darius to set over his kingdom an hundred and twenty lords, which should be in all his kingdom about. Above these he set three Princes ( of whom Daniel was one ) that the lords might give *accomptes unto them, and the king to be *undiseased. *accompte= possibly accounts *undiseased=exact spelling un dis eased

But Daniel exceeded all these Princes and lords, for the spirit of God was plenteous in him: so that the king was minded to set him over the whole realm. Wherefore the Princes and lords sought, to pick out in Daniel some quarrel against the kingdom: yet could they find none occasion nor fault upon him. For why? he was so faithful, that there was no blame nor dishonesty found in him.

Then said these men: we will get no quarrel against this Daniel, except it be in law of his God. Upon this, went the princes and lords together unto the king, and said thus unto him: king Darius God save thy life forever, All the great estates of the realm: as the Princes, Dukes, Senators and Judges, are determined to put out a commandment of the king, and make a sure statute: namely, that who so desireth any petition, either of any god or man ( within this thirty days ) except it be only of thee, O king: the same person may be cast into the lions den. Wherefore, O king, confirm now this statute, and make a writing: that the thing which the Medes and Perses have ordered be not altered or broken.

So Darius made the writing, and confirmed it. Now when Daniel understood that the writing was made, he went into his house: and his windows of his hall toward Jerusalem stood open. There kneeled he down upon his knees, three times a day: there he made his petition, and praised his God, like as his manner was afore time.

Then these men made search, and found Daniel making petition and praying unto his God. So they came to the king, and spake before him concerning his commandment, saying: O king, hast thou not subscribed the statute, that within thirty days who so requireth his petition of any god or man, but only of thyself, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered, and said: it is true. It must be as a law of the Medes and Perses, that may not be broken.

Then answered they, and said unto the king: Daniel one of the prisoners of Judah, O king, regardeth neither thee nor thy statute, that thou hast made, but maketh his petition three times a day. When the king heard these words, he was sore grieved, and would have excused Daniel, to deliver him, and put off the matter, unto the Sun went down, to the intent that he might save him.

These men perceiving the kings mind, said unto him: know this ( O king ) that the law of the Medes and Perses is, that commandment and statute which the king maketh, may not be altered. Then the king had then bring Daniel, and cast him into the Lions den.

The king also spake unto Daniel, and said: thy God whom thou always servest, even he shall defend thee. And there was brought a stone, and laid upon the hole of the den: this the king sealed with his own ring, and with the signet of his princes: that the kings commandment concerning Daniel, should not be broken.

So the king went to his palace, and kept him sober all night, so that there was no table spread before him, neither could he take any sleep. But by times in the morning, at the break of day, the king arose, and went in all hast unto the den of the Lions.

Now as he came nye unto the den, he cried with a piteous voice unto Daniel: yee the king spake, and said to Daniel: O Daniel, thou servant of the living God, is not thy God, whom thou always servest, able to deliver thee from the lions? Daniel said unto the king: O king, God save thy life for ever. My God hath sent his angel, which hath shut the lions mouths, so that they might not hurt me. For why? mine unguiltiness is found out before him. And as for thee, O king, I never offended thee.

Then was the king exceeding glad, and commanded to take Daniel out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, For he put his trust in his God. And as for those men which had accused Daniel, the king commanded to bring them, and to cast them in the Lions den: them, their children, and their wives. So the Lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones asunder, or ever they came at the ground.

After this, wrote king Darius unto all people kindreds and tongues, that dwelt in all the land: peace be multiplied with you. My commandment is, in all my dominion and kingdom, that men fear and stand in awe of Daniels God.

For he is the living God, which abideth ever: his kingdom shall not fail and his power is everlasting. It is he that delivereth and saveth: he doth wonders and marvelous works, in heaven and in earth: he hath preserved Daniel from the power of the Lions. This Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius and Cirus of Persia.

The Seventh Chapter

In the first year of Balthazar king of Babylon, saw Daniel a dream, and a vision was in his head upon his bed. Which dream he wrote, and the sum of the matter is this: Daniel spake and said: I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the sea, and four great beasts came up from the sea, one unlike another.

The first was as a lion, and yet had he Aegles (eagle) wings. I saw, that his wings were plucked from him, and he taken away from the earth: that he stood upon his feet as a man, and that there was given him a mans heart.

Behold, the second beast was like a bear, and stood upon the one side. Among his teeth in his mouth he had three great long teeth, and it was said unto him: Arise, eat up, much flesh. Then I looked, and behold, there was another like unto a leopard: this had wings as a fowl, even four upon the back. This beast had four heads, and there was power given him. After this I saw in a vision by night, and behold, the fourth beast was grim and horrible, and marvelous strong. It had great iron teeth, it devoured and destroyed, and stamped the residue under his feet. It was far unlike the other beasts that were before it: for it had ten horns, whereof I took good heed.

And behold, there came up among them, another like horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked away. Behold, this horn had eyes like a man, and a mouth speaking presumptuous things. I looked till the seats were prepared, and till the old aged sat him down. His clothing was white as snow, and the hairs of his head like the pure wool. His throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as the burning fire. There drew forth a fiery stream, and went out from him. A thousand times a thousand served him. Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The judgment was set, and the books opened. Then took I heed there unto, because of the voice of the proud words, which the horn spake. I beheld, till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given over to be burnt in the fire.

As for the power of the other beasts also, it was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a time and season. I saw in vision by night, and behold, there came one in the clouds of heaven like the son of a man, which went unto the old aged, before whom they brought him: Then gave he him power and dignity regal, that all people, tribes, and tongues should serve him: His power is an everlasting power, which shall never be put down: and his kingdom endureth uncorrupt. My heart was vexed, and I Daniel had a troubled spirit within me, and the visions of my head made me afraid: till I got me to one of them that stood by, to know the truth, concerning all these things. So he told me, and made me understand the interpretation of these things.

These four great beasts, are four kings which shall arise out of the earth. These shall take in the kingdom of the saints of the most highest, and possess it still more and more for a long season. After this I required diligently to know the truth, concerning the fourth beast, which was so far unlike the other beasts, and so horrible: whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass: which wounded and destroyed, and stamped the residue with his feet. I devised also to know the truth, as touching the ten horns that he had upon his head, and this other that came up afterward, before whos face there fell down three: which horn had eyes and a mouth that spoke presumptuous things, and looked with a grimmer visage than his fellows. I beheld, and the same horn made battle against the saints, yee and got victory of them till the time that the old aged came, that the judgement was given to the cheifest saints: and till the time, that the saints had the kingdom in possession. He gave me this answer: That forth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon the earth: it shall be more than all other kingdoms, it shall devour, tread down, and destroy all other lands.

The ten horns, are ten kings that shall arise out of the kingdom, after whom there shall stand up another, which shall be greater than the first. He shall subdue three kings, and shall speak words against the highest of all: he shall destroy the saints of the most highest, and think, that he may change times and laws. They shall be given under his power, until a time, two times, and a half a time.

But the judgement shall be kept, so that his power shall be taken from him, for he shall be destroyed, and perish at the last. As for the kingdom, power and all might that is under heaven: it shall be given to the holy people of the most highest, whose kingdom is everlasting, yee all powers shall serve and obey him. Thus far extend the words. Nevertheless, I Daniel was so vexed in my thoughts, that my countenance changed, but the words I kept still in my heart.

The Eighth Chapter

In the third year of the reign of king Balthazar, there appeared unto me Daniel, after that I had seen the first. I saw in a vision, and when I saw it, I was at Susis in the chief city, which layeth in the land of Elam, and in the vision me thought I was by the river of Ulai.

Then I looked up, and saw, and behold, there stood before the river, a ram, which had horns: and these horns were high, but one was higher then another, and the highest came up last. I saw that this ram pushed with his horns, against the west, against the north and against the south: so that no beasts might stand before him, nor defend them from his power: but he did as him listed, and waxed greatly. I took heed unto this, and then came there an he goat from the west over the whole earth, and touched not the ground.

This goat had a marvelous goodly horn between his eyes, and came unto the ram, that had the two horns ( whom I had seen afore by the river ) and ran fiercely upon him with his might. I saw him draw nye unto the ram, being very fierce upon him: yee he gave him such a stroke, that he break his two horns: Neither had the ram so much strength as to stand before him: but he cast him down, trod him under his feet: and no man was able to deliver the ram out of his power.

The goat waxed exceedingly great, and when he was at the strongest, his great horn was broken also. Then grew there other such like instead, toward the four winds of heaven. Yee out of one of the least of these horns, there came up yet another horn, which waxed marvelous great: toward the south, toward the east, and toward the fair pleasant land. It grew up to the host of heaven, whereof it did cast some down to the ground, and of the stars also, and trod them under feet.

Yee it grew up unto the prince of the host, from whom the daily offering was taken, and the place of his Sanctuary casten down. And a certain season was given unto it , against the daily offering ( because of wickedness ) that it might cast down the *verity to the ground, and so to prosper in all things, that is went about.

*verity=The quality or condition of being true, factual, or real; such as a statement, principle, or belief, that is true, especially an enduring truth.

Upon this I heard one of the saints speaking, which saint said unto one that asked this question: How long shall this vision of the daily sacrifice and of the wasting abomination endure: that the Sanctuary and the power shall so be trodden under foot? And he answered him: Unto the evening and the morning, even two thousand and three hundred days: then shall the Sanctuary be cleansed again.

Now when I Daniel had seen this vision, and sought for the understanding of it: behold, there stood before me a thing like unto a man. And I heard a mans voice in the river of Ulai, which cried, and said: O Gabriel, make this man understand the vision. So he came, and stood by me. But I was afraid at his coming, and fell down upon my face.

Then said he unto me: O thou son of man, mark well, for in the last time shall this vision be fulfilled. Now as he was speaking unto me, I waxed faint, so that I sunk down into the ground. But he took hold upon me, and set me up again, saying: Behold I will show thee, what shall happen in the last wrath: for in the time appointed it shall be fulfilled.

The ram which thou sawest with the two horns, is the king of the Medes and Perses: but the goat is the king of Greek land: the great horn that stood between his eyes, that is the principle king. But where as it brake, and four other rose up in stead: it signifieth, that out of this people shall stand up four kingdoms, but not so mighty as it.

After these kingdoms ( while ungodliness is growing ) there shall arise a king of an unshamefast face, which shall be wise in dark speakings.

He shall be mighty and strong, but not in his own strength. He shall destroy above measure, and all that he goeth above shall prosper: he shall slay the strong and holy people. And through his craftiness, falsehood shall prosper in his hand, his heart shall be proud, and many one shall be put to death in his wealthiness: He shall stand up against the Prince of Princes, but he shall be destroyed without hand. And this vision that is showed unto thee, is as sure as the evening and morning. Therefore write thou upon this sight, for it will be long or it come to pass.

Upon this was I Daniel very faint, so that I lay sick certain days: but when I rose up, I went about the kings business, and marveled at the vision, nevertheless no man knew of it.

The Ninth Chapter

In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, which was of the seed of the Medes, and was made king over the realm of the Caldees: yee even in the first year of his reign, I Daniel desired to know the yearly number out of the books, whereof the Lord sake unto Jeremy the Prophet: that Jerusalem should lay waste seventy years: and I turned unto God the Lord, for to pray and make mine intercession, with fasting, sack cloth and ashes, I prayed before the Lord my God, and knowledged, saying:

O' Lord, thou great and dreadful God, thou that keepest the covenant and mercy with them, that love thee, and do thy commandments: We have sinned, we have offended, we have been disobedient and gone back: yee we have departed from all thy precepts and judgments.

We would never follow thy servants the Prophets, that spake in thy name to our kings and our princes, to forefathers, and to all the people of the land. O' Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, unto us pertaineth nothing but open shame: as it is come to pass this day unto every man of Judah, and to them that dwell at Jerusalem: Yee unto all Israel, whether they be so far or nye: throughout all lands: wherein thou hast strewn them, because of the offenses that they had done against thee.

Yee O' Lord, unto us, our kings and our princes, to forefathers: even to us all, that have offended thee, belongeth open shame. But unto thee O' Lord our God, pertaineth mercy and forgiveness. As for us, we are gone back from him, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he layed before us by his servants the Prophets: Yee all Israel have transgressed, and gone back from thy law, so that they have not harkened unto thy voice.

Wherefore the curse and oath, that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God ( against whom we have offended ) is poured upon us. And he hath performed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us: to bring upon us such a great plague, as never was under heaven, like as it is now come to pass in Jerusalem. Yee all this plague, as it is written in the law of Moses, is come upon us. Yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn again from our wickedness, and to be learned in thy *verite (truth). Therefore hath the Lord made hast, to bring this plague upon us: for the Lord our God is righteous, in all his works which he doeth: for why? we would not hearken unto his voice.

And now, O' Lord our God, thou that with a mighty hand hast brought thy people out of Egypt, to get thyself a name, which remaineth this day: we have sinned, O' Lord, and done wickedly against all thy righteousness: Yet let thy wrothful displeasure be turned away ( I beseech thee ) from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy hill. And why? for our sins sake, and for the wickedness of our fathers is Jerusalem and thy people abhorred, of all them that are about us. Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his intercession. *O let not thy face shine over thy Sanctuary, that lieth waste. note: this let NOT thy face shine over thy Sanctuary RN

O my God, incline thine ear, and hearken ( at the least for thine own sake ) open thine eyes: behold, how we be desolated, yee and the city also, which is called after thy name: for we do not cast our prayers before thee in our own righteousnesses, no, but only in thy great mercies. O' Lord, hear: O forgive Lord, O' Lord consider, tarry not over long: but for thine own sake do it. O my God: for thy city and thy people are called after thy name.

As I was yet speaking at my prayers, knowledging mine own sins, and the sins of my people, making so my intercession before the Lord my God, for the holy hills sake of my God: Yee while I was yet speaking in my prayer, behold, the man Gabriel, ( whom I had seen afore in the vision ) came fling to me, and touched me about the offering time in the evening. He informed me, and spake unto me: O Daniel said he, I am now come to make thee understand it: For as soon as thou beganest to make thy prayer, it was so devised, and therefore am I come to show thee. And why? For thou art a man greatly beloved.

Wherefore, ponder the matter well, that thou mayest learn, to understand the vision. *Seventy weeks are determined over thy people and over the holy city: that the wickedness may be consumed, that the sin may have an end, that the offense may be reconciled, and to bring in ever lasting righteousness, to fulfill the visions and the Prophets, and to anoint the most holy one. Understand this then, and mark it well: that from the time it shall be concluded, to go and repair Jerusalem again, unto the Christ ( or the anointed ) prince: there shall be seven weeks. Then shall the streets and walls be built again sixty two weeks, but with hard troublous time. After these sixty two weeks, shall Christ be slain, and they shall have no pleasure in him, Then shall there come a people with the Prince, and destroy the city and the Sanctuary: and his end shall come as the water flood. But the desolation shall continue till the end of the battle.*A week here is taken to be seven years as in Leviticus 25 pp3 Wherefore seventy weeks are four hundred and ninety years MN

He shall make a strong bond with many, for the space of a week: and when the week is half gone, he shall put down the slain and meat offering. And in the temple there shall be an abominable desolation, till it have destroyed all. And it is concluded, that this wasting shall continue unto the end.

The Tenth Chapter

In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, there was showed unto Daniel ( otherwise called Balthasar ) a matter, yee a true matter, but it is yet along time unto it. He understood the matter well, and perceived what the vision was. At the same time, I Daniel mourned for the space of three weeks, so that I had no lust to eat bread: as for flesh and wine there came none within my mouth: No, I did not once anoint myself, till the whole three weeks were out.

Upon the twenty fourth day of the first month, I was by the great flood called Tigris: I lift up mine eyes, and looked: and behold, a man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Araby: His body was like the Chrisolite stone, his face ( to look upon ) was like lightning, his eyes as the flame of fire, his arms and feet were like fair glittering metal, but the voice of his words was like the voice of a multitude.

I Daniel alone saw this vision, the men that were with me, saw it not: but a great fearfulness fell upon them, so that they fled away, and hid themselves. I was left there myself alone, and saw this great vision, so long till there remained no more strength within me: yee I lost my color clean, I wasted away, and my strength was gone. Yet heard I the voice of his words: and as soon as I heard it, faintness came upon me, and I fell down flat to the ground upon my face. And behold an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands, saying unto me: O Daniel, thou well beloved man: take good heed of the words, that I shall say unto thee, and stand right up, for unto thee am I now sent.

And when he had said these words, I stood up trembling. Then said he unto me: fear not, Daniel: for why since the first day that thou set thine heart to understand, and didest chasten thyself before thy God: thy words have been heard. And I had come unto thee, when thou beganest to speak had not the prince over the kingdom of the Perses withstand me twenty one days. But lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, him have I left by the king of Persia, and am come to show thee, what shall happen unto thy people in the latter days: For it will be long yet or the vision be fulfilled.

Now when he had spoken these words unto me, I cast down my head to the ground and held my tongue. Behold, there touched my lips one very like unto a man. Then opened I my mouth, and said unto him, that stood before me: O my Lord, my joints are loosed in the vision, and there is no more strength within me: Now may my Lords servant then talk with my Lord? seeing there is no strength in me, so that I can not take my breath? Upon this there touched me again, one much like a man, and comforted me, saying: O thou man so well beloved, fear not: be content, take a good heart unto thee, and be strong. So when he had spoken unto me, I recovered, and said: Speak on my Lord, for thou hast refreshed me. Then said he: knowest thou wherefore I am come unto thee? now will I go again to fight with the prince of Perses: As soon as I go forth, lo, the prince of Greklande (Greek land) shall come. Nevertheless, I will show thee the thing, that is fast noted in the scripture of truth. And as for all yonder matters, there is none that helpeth me in them, but Michael your prince.

The Eleventh Chapter

And in the first year of Darius of Medea, I stood by him, to comfort and to strengthen him, and now I will show thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia, but the fourth shall be far richer than they all. And when he is in the chiefest power of his riches, he provoke every man against the realm of Greekland. Then there shall arise a mighty king, that shall rule with great dominion, and do what him list. And as soon as his kingdom cometh up, it shall be destroyed, and divided toward the four winds of heaven. They that come after him, shall not have such power and dominion as he: but his kingdom shall be scattered, yee even among other than those. And the king of the south shall be mightier, then his other princes. Against him there shall one make himself strong, and shall rule his dominion with great power.

But after certain years they shall be joined together, and the kings daughter of the south shall come to the king of the North, for to make friendship, but she shall not obtain the power of that arm, neither shall she be able to endure through her, yee and he that begat her, and comforted her for his time, shall be delivered up. Out of the branches of her root, there shall stand one up in his stead: which with power of armies shall go through the kings land of the north, and handle him according to his strength. As for their Idols and princes, with their costly Jewels of gold and silver, he shall carry them away captives into Egypt, and he shall prevail against the king of the north certain years. And when he is come into the kings realm of the south, he shall be faine to turn again in to his own land. Wherefore his sons shall be displeased, and shall gather together a mighty great host of people: and one of them shall come, and go through like a water flowed: then shall he return, and go forth with defying and boasting into his own land.

Then the king of the south shall be angry, and shall come forth to fight with the king of the north: yee he shall bring a great multitude of people together, and a great heap shall be given into his hand. these he shall carry away with great pride, for so much as he hath cast down so many thousands, nevertheless he shall not prevail. For the king of the north shall gather ( of the new ) a greater heap of people than afore, and come forth ( after a certain time of years ) with a mighty host and exceeding great good.

At the same time there shall many stand up against the king of the south, so that the wicked children of thy people also shall exalt themselves ( to fulfill the vision) and then fall. So the king of the north shall come to lay siege, and to take the strong fenced cities: And the power of them of the south shall not be able to abide him, and the best men of the people shall not be so strong, as to resist him. Shortly, when he cometh, he shall handle him as he list, and no man shall be so hardy as to stand against him. He shall stand in the pleasant country, which through him shall be destroyed. He shall set his face with all his power to obtain his kingdom, and to be like it. Yee that shall he do, and give him unto the daughters among women, to destroy him. But he shall fail, neither shall he obtain his purpose. After this shall he set his face unto the Isles, and take many of them. A prince shall stop him, to do him a shame, beside the confusion that else shall come upon him. Thus shall he turn again to his own land, stumble, and fall, and be no more found: so that he that came upon him and did him violence, shall stand in his place, and have a pleasant kingdom: and after few days he shall be destroyed, and that neither in wrath, nor in battle. In his stead there shall arise a vile person, not holden worthy of a kings dignity: this shall come in craftily, and obtain the kingdom with fair words: he shall fight against the armies of the mighty ( and destroy them ) yee and against the prince of the covenant. So after that he hath take truce with him, he shall handle deceitfully: that he may get up, and overcome him with a small flock: and so with craftiness to get him to the fattest place of the land, and to deal otherwise, then either his fathers or grandfathers did. For he shall destroy the thing, that they had robbed and spoiled, yee all of their substance: imagining thoughts against the strong holds, and that for a time. His power and heat shall be stirred up with a great army against the king of the south: where through the king of the south shall be moved then unto battle, with a great mighty host also. Nevertheless, he shall not be able to stand, for they shall conspire against him. Yee they that eat of his meat, shall hurt him: so that his host shall fall, and many be slain down.

These two kings shall be minded to do mischief, and talk of deceit at one table: but they shall not prosper: for why? the end shall not come yet, unto the time appointed. Then shall he go home again into his own land with great good, and set his heart against the holy covenant, he shall be busy against it, and then return home. At the time appointed he shall come again, and go toward the south: So shall it happen otherwise then at the first, yet once again. And why? the ships of Cithum shall come upon him, that he may be smitten and turn again: that he may take indignation against the covenant of holiness, to meddle against it. Yee he shall turn him, and draw such unto him, as leave the holy covenant.

He shall set mighty men to unhallow the Sanctuary of strength, and to put down the daily offering, and to set up the abominable desolation. And such as break the covenant shall he flatter with fair words. But the people that will know their God, shall have the overhand and prosper. Those also that have understanding among the people shall inform the multitude: and for a long season, they shall be persecuted with sword, with fire, with captivity and with the taking away of their goods. Now when they fall, they shall be set up with a little help: but many shall cleave unto them *fainedly. *fainedly= obligated / ready willing pleased happy RN

Ye some of those which have understanding shall be persecuted also: that they may be tried, purified, and cleansed, till the time be out: for there is yet another time appointed. The king shall do what him list, he shall exalt and magnify himself against all, that is God. Yee he shall speak marvelous things against the God of all gods, wherein he shall prosper, so long till the wrath be fulfilled, for the conclusion is devised already. He shall not regard the God of his fathers, but his lust shall be upon women: Yee he shall not care for any God, for he shall magnify himself above all. In his place shall he worship the mighty Idols: and the God whom his fathers knew not, shall he honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant jewels.

This shall he do, seeking help and sucure (security) at the mighty Idols and strange Gods. Such as receive him, and take him for God, he shall give them great worship and power: yee and make them lords of the multitude, and give them the land with rewards. In the latter time shall the king of the south strive with him: and the king of the north in like manner shall come against him with chariots, horsemen and a great navy of ships. He shall come into the lands, destroy and go through: he shall enter also in to the fair pleasant land. Many cities and countries shall decay, except Edom, Moab and the best of the children of Ammon, which shall escape from his hand. He shall stretch forth his hands upon the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape him. For through his going in, he shall have dominion over the treasures of silver and gold, and over all the precious jewels of Egypt, Lybia and Ethiopia. Nevertheless the tidings out of the East and north shall trouble him, for the which he will go forth to destroy and curse a great multitude. The tents of his palace shall be pitched between the two seas, upon the hill of the noble Sanctuary, for he shall come to the end of it, and then shall no man help him.

The Twelfth Chapter

The time will come also, that the great prince Michael, which standeth on thy people side, shall arise up, for there shall come a time of trouble, such as never was, since there began to be any people, unto that same time. Then shall thy people be delivered, yee all those that be found written in the book. Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth, shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to perpetual shame and reproof. The wise ( such as have taught other ) shall glister, as the shining of heaven: and those that have instruct the multitude unto Godliness, shall be as the stars, world without end.

And thou O Daniel, shut up these words, and seal the book to the last time. Many shall go about here and there, and then shall knowledge increase. So I Daniel looked, and behold, there stood other two: one upon this shore of the water, the other upon yonder side. And one of them said unto him, which was clothed in linen, and stood above upon the waters of the flood, How long shall it be to the end of these wonderous works?

Then I heard the man with the linen clothes, which stood above upon the waters of the flood: when he held up his right and left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever: that it shall tarry for a time, two times and half a time: when the power of the holy people is clean scattered abroad, then shall this things be fulfilled.

I heard it well, but I understood it not. Then said I : O my Lord, what shall happen after that ? He answered: Go thy way Daniel, for the words shall be closed up and sealed, till the last time: and many shall be purified, cleansed and tried. But the ungodly shall live wickedly, and those wicked ( as many as they be ) shall have no understanding. As for such as have understanding, they shall regard it. And from that time forth that the daily offering shall be put down and the abominable desolation set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. O well is him, that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and thirty five days. Go thou thy way now, till it be ended: take thy rest, and bide in thy lot, till the days have an end.

The end of the Prophecy of Daniel

The Book of the Prophet Oseas ( Hosea )

The first Chapter

This is the word of the Lord, that came unto Oseas the son of Beeri, in the days of Oseas, Joathan, Ahaz, and Jezekiah kings of Judah: and in time of Jeroboam the son of Joas king of Israell.

First , when the Lord sake unto Oseas he said unto him: Go thy way, take an harlot to thy wife, and get children by her: for the land hath committed great whoredom against the Lord. So he went, and took Gomer the daughter of Deblaim: which conceived, and brought forth a son. And the Lord said unto him, Call his name Iesrael, for I will shortly avenge the blood of Iesrael upon the house of Jehu, and will bring the kingdom of the house of Israell to and end. Then will I break the bow of Israell in the valley of Iesrael.

She conceived again, and bare a daughter. And he said unto him: Call her name Loruhamah ( that is, not obtaining mercy ) for I will no pity the house of Israell, but forget them, and put them clean out of remembrance. Nevertheless I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them even through the Lord their God. But I will not deliver them through any bow, sword, battle, horses, or horsemen.

Now when she had weaned Loruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son. Then said he: call his name *Loamy. for why? ye are not my people, therefore I will not be yours. And though the number of the children of Israell be as the sand of the sea, which neither be measured nor told: yet in the place where it is said unto them, Ye be not my people: even there shall it be thus reported of them: they be the children of the living God. Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together again, and chose themselves one head, and then depart out of the land: for great shall be the day of Israel. *(not my people: Heb)

The Second Chapter

Tell your brethren, that they are my people: and your sister, that they have obtained mercy. As for your mother, ye shall chide with her, and reprove her: for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband, unless she put away her whoredoms out of my sight, and adulteries from her breasts. If no I strip her naked, and set her, even as she came into the world: yee I shall lately he waste, and make her like a wilderness, and slay her for thirst. I shall have no pity also upon her children, for they be the children of fornication.

Their mother hath broken her wedlock, and she that bare them, is come into confusion. For she said: I will go after my lovers, that give me my water and bread, my wool and flax, mine oil and my drink. But I will hedge her way with thorns, and stop it, that she shall not find her footsteps: and she though she run after her lovers, yet she shall not get them: she shall seek them, but not find them. Then shall she say: I will go turn again to my first husband, for at that time was I better at ease, then now. But this would she not know, where as I yet gave her corn, wine, and oil, silver and gold, which she hanged upon Baall.

Wherefore now will I go take my corn and wine in their season, and set again my wool and my flax, which I gave her to cover her shame. And now will I discover her foolishness, even in the sight of her lovers, and no man shall deliver her out of my hands. Moreover I will take away all her mirth, her holy days, her new moons, her Sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts: I will destroy her vineyards and fig trees, though she sayeth: lo, here are my rewards, that my lovers have given me. I will make it a wood, and the wild beasts shall eat it up. I will punish her the days of Baall, wherein she censed him, decking him with her earrings and chains: when she followed her lovers, and forgat me, saith the Lord.

Wherefore behold, I will call her again bring her into a wilderness, and speak friendly unto her: there will I give her, her vineyards again, yee and the valley of *Achor to show her hope and comfort. Then shall she sing there as in the time of her youth, and like as in the day when she came out of the land of Egypt. Then ( saith the Lord she shall say unto me: O my husband, and shalt call me no more Baali: for I will take away those names of Baall from her mouth, yee she shall never remember their names any more. Then will I make a covenant with them, with the wild beasts, with the fowls of the air, and with everything that creepeth upon the earth. *Achor= troublesome times Hebrew

As for the bow, sword and battle, I will destroy such out of the land, and will make them to sleep safely. Thus I will marry thee unto mine own self forevermore: yee even to myself will I marry thee, in righteousness, in equity, in lovingkindness, and mercy. In faith also will I marry thee, unto myself, and thou shalt know the Lord. At the same time will I show myself friendly and gracious unto the heavens, sayeth the Lord: and the heavens shall help the earth, and the earth shall help the corn, wine, and the oil, and they shall help Iesrael. I will sow them upon the earth, for a seed to mine own self, and will have mercy upon her, that was without mercy. And to them which were not my people, I will say: Thou art my people. And he shall say: thou art my God.

The Third Chapter

Then said the Lord to me: Go yet thy way and vow an adulteress woman, whom thy neighbor loveth, as the Lord doth the children of Israell: how be it they have respect to strange gods, and love the wine cans. So I get her for fifteen silverlings, and for an homer and an half of barley, and said unto her: Thou shalt bide with me a long season, but see that thou not play the harlot, and take thou meddle with none other man, and then will I keep myself for thee.

Thus the children of Israel shall sit a great while without king and prince, without offering and alter, without priest and revelation. But afterward shall the children of Israel convert, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king: and in the latter days they shall worship the Lord, and his loving kindness.

The Fourth Chapter

Hear the word of the Lord, O ye children of Israel: For the Lord must punish them, that dwell in the land. And why? There is no faithfulness, there is no mercy, there is no knowledge of God in the land: but swearing, lying, manslaughter, theft, and *advoutry have gotten the overhand, and one bloodgileinesse follow another. Therefore shall the land be in a miserable cause, and they that dwell therin, shall mourn. The beasts in the field, the fowls in the air, and the fishes in the sea shall die. Yet is there none, I will chasten nor reprove another. The priests which should reform other men, are become like the people.*advoutry: prefix "a" meaning not or without, devout: devotion; plain hearted to God, being devoted to something or some one else. see James 2 for adultery

Therefore stumblest thou in the daytime and the prophet with them the night. I will bring thy mother to silence, and why? my people perish, because they have no knowledge. Seeing then that thou hast refused understanding, therefore I will refuse thee also: for that thou shalt no more be my priest. And for so much as thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. The more they increased in the multitude, the more they sinned against me, therefore will I change their honor into shame. They eat up the sins of my people, and courage them in their wickedness. Thus the priest has become like the people. Wherefore I will punish them for their wicked ways, and reward them according to their own imaginations. They shall eat, and not have enough: they have *used whoredom, therefore they shall not prosper: and why ?they have forsaken the Lord, and not regarded him.

*used whoredom=/ or fornication in all the prophets, means to take another God then the true God and / to serve images or to believe in them MN

Whoredom, wine and drunkenness take the heart away. My people ask counsel at their stocks, their staff must tell them. For an whorish mind hath deceived them, so that they commit fornication against their God. They make sacrifices upon the high mountains, and burn their incense upon the hills, yee among the oaks, groves and bushes, for their are good shadows. Therefore your daughters have become harlots, and your spouses have broken their wedlock, I will not punish your daughters for being defiled, and your brides that became whores: seeing the fathers themselves have meddled with harlots, and offered with unthirftiness: but the people that will not understand must be punished.

Though thou Israel are disposed to play the harlot, yet shouldest thou not have offended, O Juda: thou shouldest not have run to Galgala, nor gone up to Bethhaven, nor have sworn, the Lord liveth. For Israel is gone back like a wanton cow. The Lord shall make her feed, as the lamb that goeth astray. And whereas Ephraim is become a partaker of Idols, well, let him go. Their drunkenness has put them back, and brought them to whoredom. Their rulers love rewards, bring ( sayeth they ) to their own shame. A wind shall take hold of their feathers, and they shall be confounded in their offerings.

The Fifth Chapter

Ye priests: hear this, take heed, O thou household of Israel: give a ear, O thou kingly house: for this punishment will come upon you, that are become a snare unto Mizphah, and a spread net unto Thabbr. They kill sacrifices by heaps, to beguile the people therewith: therefore I will punish them all. I know Ephraim well enough, and Israell is not hid from me: for Ephraim has become an harlot: and Israel is defiled. They are not minded to turn unto their God, for they have an whorish heart so that they can not know the Lord.

But the pride of Israel will be rewarded him in his face, yee both Israel and Ephraim shall fall for their wickedness, and Judah with them also. They shall come with their sheep and bullocks to seek the Lord, but they shall not find him, for he is gone from them. As for the Lord, they have refused him, and brought up bastard children: a moth therefore shall devour them with their portions. Blow with the shawmes ( cornet ) at Gabea, and with the trumpet in Ramah, cry out at Bethaven upon the farside of Benjamin. In that time of the plague shall Ephraim be laid waste, therefore did I faithfully warn the tribes of Israel. Yet are the princes of Juda become like them, that remove the landmarks, therefore will I pour out my wrath upon them like water. Ephraim is oppressed, and can have no right of law: for why? they follow the doctrines of men. Therefore will I be unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Juda as a caterpillar.

When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his disease: Ephraim went to Assur, and sent unto king Jareb: yet could he not help you, nor ease you of your pain. For I am unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a lions whelp to the house of Judah. Even I, I will spoil them, and go my way. I will take them with me, and no man shall rescue them. I will go, and return to my place, till they wax faint, and seek me.

The Sixth Chapter

In their adversity they shall seek me, and say: come, let us turn again to the Lord: for he hath smitten us, and he shall heal us: He hath wounded us, and he shall bind us up again: after two days he shall quicken us, in the third day he shall raise us up, so that we shall live in his sight. Then we shall have understanding, and endeavor ourselves to know the Lord. He shall go forth as the spring of the day, and come unto us as the evening and morning rain upon the earth.

O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, how shall I entreat thee? seeing your love is like a morning cloud, and like a dew that goeth early away. Therefore have I cut down the prophets, and let them be slain for my words sake: so that thy punishment shall come to light. For I have pleasure in loving kindness, and not in offering: yee in the knowledge of God, more then in burnt sacrifice. But even like as Adam did so have they broken my covenant, and set me at naught. Galaad is a city of wicked doers, of malicious people and bloodshedders. The multitude of priests is like a heap of thieves, murderers and bloodthirsty: for they have wrought abomination. Horrible things have I seen in the house of Israel, there playeth Ephraim the harlot, and Israell is defiled: but Judah shall have an harvest for himself, when I return the captivity of my people.

The Seventh Chapter

When I undertake to make Israel whole, then the ungraciousness of Ephraim and the wickedness of Samaria cometh to light: then they go about with lies. At home, they be thieves: and without they fall to robbing. They consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness. they go about with their own intentions, but I see them well enough. They make the king and the princes, to have pleasure in their wickedness and lies. All these burn in *advoutry, as it were an oven that the baker heateth, when he hath left kneading, till the dough be leavened. Even so goeth it this day with our kings and princes, for they begin to be wood drunken through wine: they use familiarity with such as deceive them. They with the imagination of their heart are like an oven, their sleep is all night like the sleep of a baker, in the morning is he as hot as the flame of fire: they are altogether as hot as an oven. *advoutry: prefix "a" meaning not or without, devout: devotion; plain hearted to God, being devoted to something or some one else. see James 2 for adultery

They have devoured their own judges, all their kings are fallen: yet there is none of them that calleth upon me. Therefore must Ephraim be mixed among the Heathen. Ephraim is become like a cake, that no man turneth: Strangers have devoured his strength, yet he regardeth it not: he waxeth full of gray hairs, yet will he not know it: And the pride of Israel is cast down before their face, yee will they not return to the Lord their God, nor seek him for all this.

Ephraim is like a dove, that is beguiled, and hath no heart. Now call they upon the Egyptians, now go they to the Assyrians: but while they be going here and there, I shall spread my net over them, and draw them down as the fowls of the air: and according as they have been warned, so will I punish them, for they have forsaken me. They must be destroyed, for they have set me at nought. I am he that have redeemed them, and yet they dissemble with me. They call not upon me with their hearts, but lie howling on their beds. Where as they come together, it is but for meat and drink, and me will they not obey. I have taught them, and defended their army, yet do they imagine mischief against me. They turn themselves, but not a right, and are become as a broken bow. Their princes shall be slain with the sword, for the malice of their tongues, such blasphemes have they learned in the land of Egypt.

The Eighth Chapter

Set the trumpet to thy mouth. and blow: get thee swiftly (as an eagle) into the house of the Lord: for they have broken my covenant, and transgressed my law. Israel can say unto me: thou art my God. we know thee: but he hath refused the thing that is good, therefore shall the enemy follow upon him. They have ordained kings, but not through me: they have made princes, and I must not know of it. Of their silver and their gold have they made them images, to bring themselves destruction. Thy calf, O Samaria, shall be taken away for my wrothfull indignation is gone forth against thee. How long will it be, or they can be cleansed? For the calf came from Israel, the workman made it therefore can it be no God, but even to the spiders web shall the calf of Samaria be turned. They have sown wind, therefore shall they reap a storm.

Their seed shall bare no corn, there shall no meal be made of their increase: though they reap, yet shall strangers devour it up. Israel shall perish, the Gentiles shall entreat him as a foul vessel. Since they went up to the Assyrians, they are become like a wild ass in the desert.

Ephraim giveth rewards to get lovers. Therefore are they scattered among the Heathen, There will I gather them up. They shall soon be weary of the burden of the king and princes. Ephraim hath made many altars to do wickedness, therefore shall the altars to his sin. Though I show then my law never so much, they count it as strange doctrine. Where as they do sacrifice, offering the flesh and eating it: The Lord will have no pleasure therin: but will remember their wickednesses, and punish their sins. Israel turneth again into Egypt, they have forgotten him that made them, they build churches, and Juda maketh many strong cities: therefore will I send a fire into their cities, and it shall consume their places.

The Ninth Chapter

Do not triumph, O Israel make no boasting more then the Heathen, for thou hast committed *advoutry against thy God: strange rewards hast thou loved, more than all thy corn floors. Therefore shall they no more enjoy the corn floors and winepresses, and their sweet wine shall fail in them. They will not dwell in the Lords land, but Ephraim turneth again into Egypt, and eateth unclean things among the Assyrians. They pour out no wine for a drink offering unto the Lord, neither give they him their slain offerings: but they be unto them as mourners meats, wherin all they that eat them, are defiled. For the bread that they have such lust unto, shall not come into the house of the Lord. What will ye do then in the solemn days, and in the feast of the Lord? Lo, they shall get them away for the destruction? Egypt shall receive them, and Noph shall bury them. *advoutry: prefix "a" meaning not or without, devout: devotion; plain hearted to God, being devoted to something or some one else. see James 2 for adultery

The nettles shall overgrow their pleasant goods, and burrs shall be in their tabernacles. Be ye sure ( O Israel ) the time of visitation is come, the days of recompensing are at hand. As for the prophet, ye hold him for a fool: and him that is rich in spirit, for a mad man: so great is your wickedness and malice. Ephraim hath made himself a watchman of my God, a prophet that is become a snare to do hurt in every street, an abomination in the house of his God. They be gone too far, like as they did afore time at Gabaa. Therefore their wickedness shall be remembered, and their sins punished.

I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness, and saw their fathers as the first figs in the top of the fig tree. But they are gone to Baal Peor, and ruin. away from me to that shameful Idol, and are become as abominable as their lovers. Ephraim*, flyeth like a bird, so shall their glory also: In so much, that they shall neither beget, conceive nor bare children. And though they bring up any, yet will I make them childless among men. Yee woe shall come to them, when I depart from them. Ephraim ( as me think ) is planted in wickedness, like Tyrus, but now must she bring her own children forth to the manslayer.

O' Lord thou shalt give them: what shalt thou give them? give them an unfruitful womb and dry breasts. All their wickedness is done in Gilgall, there do I abhor them. For the ungraciousness of their own inventions, I will drive them out of mine house. I will love them no more, for all their princes are unfaithful. Ephraim is hewn down, their root is dried up, for they shall bring no more fruit: yee and though they bring forth any, yet will I slay even the best beloved fruit of their body. My God shall cast them away, for they have not been obedient unto him, therefore shall they go astray among the Heathen.

The Tenth Chapter

Israell was a goodly vine, but he brought forth unprofitable fruit: yee the more fruit he had the more alters he made: the more good I did to their land, the more friendship they showed to their Images. Their heart is divided, therefore they will be destroyed. The Lord shall break down their Images, he shall destroy their altars. Then shall say: we have no king, for why? we have not feared the Lord. And what shall then the king do to us? They commune together, and swear vain oaths: they be confederate together, therefore groweth their punishment, as the weeds in the furrows of the land.

They that dwell in Samaria have worshiped the calf of Bethaven: therefore shall the people mourn over them, yee and the priests also, that in their wealthiness rejoiced with them: and why? it shall pass away from them. It shall be brought to the Assyrian for a present unto king Jareb. Ephraim shall receive full punishment: Israel shall be confounded for his own imaginations, Samaria with his king shall vanish away, as the scum in the water. The high places of Aven, where Israel do sin, shall be cast down: thistles and thorns shall grow upon their alters. then they shall say to the mountains: cover us, and to the hills: fall upon us.

O Israel, thou hast sinned as Gabaa did afore time, where they remained: should not the battle then come upon the wicked children, as well as upon the Gabaonites? I will chasten them, even after mine own desire, the people shall be gathered together over them, when I punish them for their great wickedness. Ephraim was unto me, as a cow that is used to go to the plow, therefore I loved him, and fell upon his fair neck. I drove Ephraim, Juda plowed, and Jacob played the husbandman: that they might sow unto righteousness, and reap the fruits of well doing: that they might plow up their fresh land and seek the Lord, till he came, and learned them righteousness.

But now they have plowed them wickedness, therefore shall they reap sin, and eat the fruit of lies. Seeing thou puttest thy confidence in thine own ways, and leanest to the multitude of thy worthies: there shall grow a sedition among thy people. All thy strong cities shall be laid waste, even as Salmana was destroyed with his families, through him that was avenged of Abel, in the day of battle where the mother perished with the children . Even so shall it go with you ( O Bethel ) because of your malicious wickedness. Like as the morning goeth away, so shall the king of Israel pass.

The Eleventh Chapter

When Israel was young, I loved him: and called him my son out of Egypt. But the more they were called, the more they went back, offering to Idols, and censing Images. I learned Ephraim to go, and bare them in mine arms, but they regarded not me, that would have helped them. I led them with cords of friendship, and with bands of love. I was even he, that laid the yoke upon their necks. I gave them their fodder myself, that they should not go again into Egypt. And now is Assur their king: for they would not turn unto me. Therefore shall the sword begin in their cities, the store that they have laid up, shall be destroyed and eaten: and that because of their own imaginations. My people have no lust to turn to unto me, their prophets lay the yoke upon them, but they ease them not of their burden.

What great things have I given thee, O Ephraim? how faithfully have I defended thee, O Israel? have I dealt with thee as Adam? or have I entreated thee like Seboim? No, my heart is otherwise minded. Yee my mercy is to fervent: therefore have I not turned me to destroy Ephraim in my wrothful displeasure. For I am God, and no man, I am even that holy one in the midst of thee, though I am not within the city.

The Lord roareth like a lion, that they might follow him: yee as a lion roareth he, that they may be afraid like the children of the sea: that they may be scattered away from Egypt, as men scare birds: and frayed away ( as doves use to be ) from the Assirians land: and that because I would have them tarry at home, sayeth the Lord. But Ephraim goeth about me with lies, and the house of Israel dissembleth. Only Juda holdeth him with God, and with the true holy things.

The Twelfth Chapter

Ephraim leapeth the air, and followeth after the wind: he is ever increasing lies and destruction. They be confederate with the Assyrians, their oil is carried into Egypt. The Lord hath a court to hold with Judah, and will punish Jacob: After their own ways and according to their own intentions, shall he recompense them. He took his brother by the heel, when he was yet in his mothers womb: and in his strength he wrestled with God. He strove with the angel, and got the victory: so that he prayed and desired him. He found him at Bethel, and there he talked with us;

The Lord God of hosts, even the Lord him self remembered him: Then turn to thy God, keep mercy and equity, and hope still in thy God. But the merchant hath a false weight in his hand, he hath a pleasure to occupy extortion. Ephraim thinkest thus: Tush, I am rich, I have good enough: In all my works shall not one fault be found, that I have offended. Yet I am the Lord thy God, even as when I brought thee out of the land of Egypt, and set thee in thy tents, and as in the high feast days.

I have spoken through the prophets, and showed diverse visions, and declared myself by the ministration of the prophets. But at Galaad is the abomination, they are fallen to vanity. At Galgall they have slain oxen: and as many heaps of stones as they had in their land furrows, so many alters have they made. Jacob fled into the land of Syria, and Israell served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep.

By a prophet the Lord brought them out of Egypt, and by a prophet he preserved them. But Ephraim provoked him to displeasure through his abominations; therefore shall his blood be poured upon himself, and the Lord his God shall reward him his blasphemes.

The Thirteenth Chapter

The abomination of Ephraim is come also into Israel. He is gone back to Baal, therefore must he die. And now they sin more and more: of their silver, they make them molten Images, like the idols of the Heathen, and yet all is nothing but the works of the craftsmen. Not withstanding they preach of the same: who so will kiss the calves, offereth to men. Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the dew that early passeth away, and like as the dust that the wind taketh away from the floor, and as smoke that goeth out of the chimney.

I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: that thou shouldest know no God but me only, and that thou shouldest have no Savior but only me. I took diligent heed of thee in the wilderness, that dry land. But when they were well fed and had enough, they waxed proud, and forgot me. Therefore I will be unto them as a lion, and as a leopard in the way of the Assirians. I will come upon them as a bear, that is robbed of her whelps, and I will break that stubborn heart of theirs. There will I devour them as a lion: yee the wild beast shall tear them.

O Israel, thou doest but destroyed thyself, In me only is thy help. Where are thy kings now, that shouldest help thee in all thy cities? Yee and thy judges, of whom thou sayest: give me a king and princes? well, I gave thee a king in my wrath, and in my displeasure will I take him from thee again. The wickedness of Ephraim is bound together, and his sin lieth hid. Therefore shall sorrows come upon him, as upon a woman that travaileth. An indiscrete son is he: for he considereth not, that he should not have been able to have endured the time of his birth, had I not defended him from the grave, and delivered him from death.

O death, I will be thy death: O hell, I will be thy sting. Yet can I see no come forth, for when he is now the goodliest among the brethren, the East wind ( even the wind of the Lord ) shall come down from the wilderness, and dry up his conduits, and drink up his wells: he shall spoil the treasure of all pleasant vessels.

As for Samaria, they shall be made waste, and why? they are disobedient unto their God. They shall perish with the sword, their children shall be slain, and their women great with child shall be ripped up.

The Fourteenth Chapter

O Israel, turn thee now, unto the Lord thy God, for thou hast taken a great fall through thy wickedness. Take these words with you, when yee turn to the Lord, and say unto him: O forgive us all our sins, receive us graciously, and then will we offer thee bullocks of our lips unto thee. Assur shall be no more our helper, neither will we ride upon horses any more. As for the works of our hands, we will no more call upon them: for it is thou that art our God, thou showest ever mercy unto the fatherless.

O ( if they would do this ) I should heal their sores: yee with all my heart would I love them: so that my wrath should clean be turned away from them: Yee I would be unto Israel as the dew, and he should grow as the lily, and his root should break out as Libanus. His branches should spread out abroad, and be as fair as the olive tree, and smell as Libanus. They that dwell under his shadow, should come again, and grow up as the corn, and flourish as the vine: he should have as good a name, as the wine Libanus.

O Ephraim what have I to do with Idols any more? I will graciously hear him, and lead him forth. I will be unto thee as a green fir tree, upon me shalt thou find thy fruit Who so is wise, shall understand this: and he that is right instructed , will regard it. For the ways of the Lord are righteous such as be Godly will walk in them: As for the wicked, they will stumble therin.

The end of the prophecy of Oseas

The Book of Joell the Prophet

The First Chapter

This is the word of the Lord, that came to Joel the son of Phatuel: Hear O ye elders: ponder this well, all ye that dwell in the land: if ever there happened such a thing in your days, or in the days of your fathers. Tell your childern of it , and let them show it to their children, and so they to certify their posterity thereof. Look what the caterpillar hath left, that hath the grasshopper eaten up: what the grasshopper left, that hath the locust eaten up: and what the locust hath left, that hath the blasting consumed. Wake up ye drunkards, and weep: mourn all ye wine sippers because of your sweet wine, for it shall be taken away from your mouth. Yee a mighty and an innumerable people shall come up into my land: these have teeth like the teeth of Lyons, and chaftbones like the lioness. They shall make my vineyard waste, they shall pull off the bark of my fig trees, strip them bare, cast them away, and make the branches white.

Make thy moan as a virgin doth that gird herself with sack, because of her bride groom. For the meat and drink offering shall be taken away from the house of the Lord: and the priests the Lords ministers shall mourn. The field shall be waste, the land shall be in a miserable cause: for the corn shall be destroyed, the sweet wine shall come to confusion, and he oil utterly desolate. The husband men and the wine gardeners shall look pitifully and make lamentation, for the wheat, wine and barley, and because the harvest upon the field is so clean destroyed. The grape gathers shall make great moan, when the vineyard and the fig trees be so utterly wasted. Yee all the pomegranates, palm trees, apple trees, and the other trees of the field shall waste away. Thus the merry cheer of the childern of men shall come to confusion.

Gird you , and make your moan, O ye priests: mourn ye ministers of the alter: go your way in, and sleep in sack cloth, O ye officers of my God: for the meat and drink offering shall be taken away from the house of your God. Proclaim a fasting, call the congregation, gather the elders and all the inhabitors of the land together in to the house of the Lord your God, and cry unto the Lord: alas, alas for this day. And why? the day of the Lord is at hand, and cometh as a destroyer from the Almighty. Shall not the meats be taken away before our eyes, the mirth also and joy from the house of our God? The seed shall perish in the ground, the gardens shall be laid waste, the floors shall be broken down, for the corn shall be destroyed. O what a fighting make the cattle? the bullocks are very evil liking, because they have no pasture: and the sheep are famished away.

O' Lord, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath consumed the goodly pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burnt up all the trees of the field. Yee the wild beasts cry also unto thee, for the water rivers are dried up, and the fire hath consumed the pastures of the wilderness.

The Second Chapter

Blow out the trumpet in Sion, and cry upon my holy hill, that all such as dwell in the land, may tremble at it: for the day of the Lord cometh, and is hard at hand: a dark day, a cloudy day, yee and a stormy day, like as the morning spreadeth out upon the hills: Namely, a great and mighty people: such as have not been since the beginning, neither shall be after them for evermore. Before him shall be a consuming fire, and behind him a burning flame. The land shall be as a garden of pleasure before him, but behind him shall be a very waste wilderness, and there is no man, that shall escape him. They are to look upon like *barded horses, and run like horse men. They skipped up upon the hills, as it were the sound of chariots: as the flame of fire that consumeth the straw, and as a mighty people ready to the battle.

barded *armored and ornamented

The folk shall be afraid of him, all faces shall be as black as the pot. These shall run like giants, and leap over the walls like men of war. Every man in his going will keep his array, and not go out of his Path. There shall not one drive another, but each shall keep his own way. They shall break in at the windows, and not be hurt: They shall come in to the city, and run upon the walls: They shall climb up upon the houses, and slip in at the windows like a thief. The earth shall quake before him, yee the heavens shall be moved: The Sun and Moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shine. The Lord shall show his voice before his host, for his host is great, strong and mighty to fulfill his commandment. This is that great and marvelous fearful day of the Lord: And who is able to abide it.

Now therefore sayeth the Lord: Turn you unto me with all your hearts, with fasting, weeping and mourning, rent your hearts, and not your clothes. Turn you unto the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, long suffering and of great compassion: and ready to pardon wickedness. Then ( no doubt ) he also shall turn, and forgive: and after his chastening, he shall let your increase remain, for meat and drink offerings unto the Lord your God: Blow out with the trumpet in Sion, proclaim a fasting, call the congregation, and gather the people together: warn the congregation, gather the elders, bring the children and sucklings together. Let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. Let the priests serve the Lord between the porch and the alter, weeping and saying: be favorable O' Lord, be favorable unto thy people: let not thy heritage be brought to such confusion, lest the Heathen be Lords thereof. Wherefore should they say among the Heathen: where is now their God?

Then shall the Lord be jealous over his land, and spare his people: yee the Lord shall answer, and say unto his people: Behold, I will send you corn, wine, and oil, so that ye shall have plenty of them: And I will nomore give you over to be a reproof among the Heathen. Again as for him of the North, I shall drive him far from you: and shoot him out in to a dry and waste land, his face toward the east sea, and his hinder parts toward the upmost sea. The stink of him shall go up, and his filthy corruption shall fall upon himself, because he hath dealt so proudly. Fear not

( O land ) but be glad and rejoice, for the Lord will do great things. Be not ye afraid

neither ( O ye beasts of the field ) for the pastures shall be green and the trees shall bear their fruit: the fig trees and vineyards shall give their increase.

Be glad then ( O ye children of Sion ) and rejoice in the Lord your God, for he hath given you a teacher of righteousness: and he it is that shall send you down showers of rain, early and late in the first month: so that the gardeners shall be full of corn, and the priests plenteous in wine and oil. And as for the years that the grasshopper, locust, blasting, and caterpillar ( my great host, which I sent among you) have eaten up, I shall restore them to you again: so that ye shall have enough to eat, and be satisfied: and praise the name of the Lord your God, that so marvelously hath dealt with you.

And my people shall never be confounded anymore. Ye shall well know, that I am in the midst of Israel, and that Iam your God: yee and that there is none other, and my people shall no more be brought to confusion.

After this, I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and daughters shall prophesy: your old men shall dream dreams , and your young men shall see visions in those days I will pour out my spirit upon servants and maidens. I will show wonders in the heavens above, and tokens in the earth beneath: blood and fire, and the vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon into blood: before the great and notable day of the Lord come. And the time shall come: that whosoever calleth upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved. For upon the mount Sion and at Jerusalem, there shall be a salvation, like as the Lord hath promised: yee and among the other remnant, whom the Lord shall call.

The Third Chapter

For take heed: in those days and at the same time, when I turn again the captivity of Juda and Jerusalem: I shall gather all people together, and bring them in the valley of Josaphat: and there will I reason with them: because of my people and heritage of Israel: whom they have scattered about in the nations, and parted my land: yee they have cast lots for my people, the young men have they set in the bordel house, and sold the damsels for wine, that they might have to drink. Thou Tirus and Sidon and all the borders of the Philistines: what have yee to do with me? Will ye defy me? well, if ye will needs defy me, I shall recompense you, even upon your head, and that right shortly: for ye have taken away my silver and gold, my fair and goodly jewels, and brought them on to your gods houses. The children also of Juda and Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Greeks, that ye might bring them far from the borders of their own countries.

Behold therefore, I will raise them out of the place, where ye have sold them, and will reward you even upon your head. Y our your sons and your daughters will I sell through the hands of the children of Juda, and so they shall give them forth to sell, unto them of Saba, a people of a far country: for the Lord himself has said it. Cry out these things among the Gentiles, proclaim war, wake up the giants, let them draw nye, let them come up all the lusty warriors of them. Make you swords of your plowshares, and spears of your sickles and scythes. Let the meek man say: Iam strong. Muster you, and come, all ye Heathen round about: gather you together, there shall the Lord lay all thy giants to the ground. Let the people arise, get them to the valley of Josaphat: for there will I sit, and judge all the Heathen round about. Lay to your scythes, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down: the wine press is full, yee the wine press run over, for their wickedness is waxen great.

In the valley appointed, there shall be many, many people: for the day of the Lord is nye in the valley appointed. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their light. The Lord shall roar out of Sion, a cry out of Jerusalem, that the Heavens and earth shall quake withal. But the Lord shall be a defense to his own people, and an refuge for the children of Israel. Thus ye shall know, that I the Lord your God dwell upon my holy mount Sion. Then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers go through her any more. Then shall the mountains drop sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk. All the rivers of Juda shall have water enough, and out of the Lords house, there shall flow a spring, to water the broke of Sitim: but Egypt shall be laid waste, and Edom shall be desolate: because they have dealt so cruelly with the children of Juda, and shed innocent blood in their land. Again, Juda shall be inhabited for evermore, and Jerusalem from generation to generation: for I will not leave their blood unavenged. And the Lord shall dwell in Sion.

The end of the prophesy of Joel.

The Book of the Prophet Amos

The First Chapter

These are the sermons that were showed unto Amos ( which was one of the shepherds at Thecua ) upon Israel, in the time of Osiah king of Judah, and in the time of Jeroboam the son of Joah king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. And he said: The Lord shall roar out of Sion, and show his voice from Jerusalem: so that the pastures of the shepherds shall be in a miserable cause, and the top of Charmel dried up. Thus saith the Lord: for three and four wickednesses of Damascus, I will not spare her: because they have threshed Galaad with iron stales: But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, the same shall consume the palaces of Benadab. Thus will I break the bars of Damascus, and root out the inhabitant from the field of Aven, and him that holdeth the scepter, out of the pleasant house: so that the people shall be driven out of fair Syria, saith the Lord. Thus saith the Lord: For three and four wickednesses of Gaza, I will not spare her: because they make the prisoners yet more captive, and have driven them into the land of Edom. Therefore will I send a fire in to the walls of Gaza, which shall devour their houses. I will root out them that dwell at Asdod, and him that holdeth the scepter of Ascalon, and stretch out mine hand over Accaron, that the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord.

Thus saith the Lord: For three and four wickednesses of the city of Tire, I will not spare her: because they increased the captivity of the Edomites, and have not remembered the brotherly covenant. Therefore will I send a fire into the walls of Tire, that shall consume her palaces. Thus saith the Lord; For three and four wickednesses of Edom, I will not spare him, because he persecuted his brother with the sword, destroyed his mothers womb, bare hatred very long, and so kept indignation always by him. Therefore will I send a fire upon Theman, which shall devour the palaces of Bosra.

Thus saith the Lord: For three and four wickednesses of the children of Ammon, I will not spare them: because they rip up the women great with child in Galaad, to make the borders of their lands that wider. Therefore I will kindle a fire in the walls of Rabbath, that shall consume her palaces: with a great cry, in the day of battle, in tempest and in the day of storm: So that their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes together, saith the Lord.

The Second Chapter

Thus saith the Lord: For three and four wickednesses of Moab, I will not spare him: because he burned the bones of the king of Edom to ashes. Therefore will I send a fire into Moab, which shall consume the palaces of Carioth: so that Moab shall perish with a noise and the sound of a trumpet: I will root out the judge from among them, and slay all his princes with him, saith the Lord. Thus saith the Lord: For three and four wickednesses of Judah, I will not spare him: because he hath cast aside the law of the Lord, and not kept his commandments: for why? they would be deceived with the lies, that their forefathers followed. Therefore I will send a fire into Judah, which shall consume the palaces of Jerusalem.

Thus saith the Lord: For three and four wickednesses of Israel, I will not spare him: because he hath sold the righteous for money, and the poor for shoes. They tread upon poor mens heads, in the dust of the earth, and crook the wages of the meek. The son and the father go to the harlot, to dishonor my holy name, they* lay beside every alter upon clothes taken to pledge, and in the house of their gods they drink the wine of the oppressed. Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, that was as high as the cedar trees, and strong as the oaks: notwithstanding I destroyed his fruit from above and his root from under. * To lay beside every hill alter upon clothes taken to pledge, is , to serve their gods taken by extortion from the poor.

Again: I brought you out of the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, that ye might have the Amorites land in possession. I raised up prophets among your children, and abstainers among your young men. Is it not so, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord? But ye gave the abstainers wine to drink, yee ye command the prophets, saying: Prophesy not. Behold, I will crash you in sunder, like as a wagon crasheth, that is full of sheaves: so that the swift shall not escape, neither the strong be able to do anything: no, the giant shall not save his own life. The archer will not abide, and the swift of foot shall not escape. The horseman shall not save his life, and he that is manly of stomach as the giant, shall in that day be fain to run his way naked, saith the Lord.

The Third Chapter

Hear, what the Lord speaketh unto you ( O ye children of Israel ) namely, unto all the tribes, whom I have brought out of Egypt, and said: you only have I accepted from all the generations of the earth: therefore I will visit you in all your wickednesses. May two walk together except they be agreed among themselves? Doth a lion roar in the woods, except he have prey? Or crieth a Lions whelp out of his den, except he have gotten something? Doeth a bird fall in a snare upon the earth where no fouler is? Taketh a man up his snare from the ground, afore he catcheth something? Cry they out Alarm with the trumpet in the city, and the people not afraid? Cometh there any plague in a city without it be the Lords doing? Now doth the Lord God no manner of thing, but he telleth his secret before unto his servants the prophets. When a lion roareth, who will not be afraid? Seeing then that the Lord God himself speaketh, who will not *prophecy?, * or receive prophesy MN

Preach in the palaces at Asded, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say: Gather you together upon the mountains of Samaria, so shall you see great murder and violent oppression among them, for why? they regard not the thing that is right, saith the Lord: they gather together evil gotten goods, and lay up robbery in their houses.

Therefore thus saith the Lord God: This land shall be troubled and besieged round about, thy strength shall be plucked from thee, and thy palaces robbed. Thus saith the Lord: like as a herdsman taketh two legs or a piece of an ear out of the lions mouth: Even so shall the children of Israel ( that dwell in Samaria having their couches in the corner, and the beds at Damascus ) shall be plucked away. Hear, and bear recording the house of Jacob ( saith the Lord God of hosts ), That when I begin to visit the wickedness Israel, I will visit the alters at Bethel also: so that the horns of the alter shall be broken off, and fall to the ground.

As for the winter house and summer house, I will smite them down: and the houses of Ivory, yee and many other houses shall perish, and be destroyed, sayeth the Lord.

The Fourth Chapter

Hear this word, ye fat cows, that be upon the hill of Samaria, yee that do poor men wrong, and oppress the needy, yee that say to your Lords: bring hither, and let us drink. Therefore the Lord hath sworn by his holiness: The days shall come upon you, that ye shall be lift up upon spears, and your posterity carried away in fishers baskets. Ye shall get you out at the gapes one after another, and in Armon shall ye be cast away, saith the Lord.

Ye came to Bethell for to work ungraciousness, and have increased your sins at Galgal: ye brought your sacrifices in the morning, and your tithes unto the third day. Ye made a thank offering of leaven, ye promised free will offerings, and proclaimed them. Such lust had ye, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord God. Therefore I have given you idle teeth in all your cities, and scarceness of bread in all your places: yet will ye not turn to me, saith the Lord. When there were but three months unto the harvest, I withheld the rain from you: yee I rained upon one city, and not on another, one piece of ground was moistured with rain, and the ground that I rained not upon, was dry. Wherefore two, yee three cities came unto one, to drink water: but they were not satisfied, yet will ye not turn unto me, saith the Lord.

I have smitten you with drought and a blasting: and look how many orchards, vineyards, fig trees, and your olive trees ye had: the caterpillar hath eaten them up. But yet yee will turn unto me, saith the Lord. Pestilence have I sent among you, as I did in Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and caused your horses to be taken captive: I will make the stinking savor of your tents to come up unto your nostrils: yet will ye not turn unto me, saith the Lord. Some of you I have overthrown as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah: so that ye were as a brand plucked out of the fire. yet will ye not turn unto me, saith the Lord. Therefore thus will I handle thee again, O Israel, ye even thus I will handle thee. Make thee ready to meet thy God, O Israel. For lo, he maketh the mountains, he ordereth the wind, he showeth a man what he is about to do: he maketh the morning and the darkness, he treadeth upon the high places of the earth: the Lord God of hosts is his name.

The Fifth Chapter

Hear this word, O ye house of Israel, and why? I must make this moan for you: The virgin Israel shall fall, and never rise up again: she shall be cast down upon her own ground, and no man shall help her up. For thus saith the Lord God: Where as there dwelt a thousand in one city, there shall scarcely an hundred therin: and where there dwelt an hundred, there shall scarce ten be left for the house of Israel. Nevertheless, thus saith the Lord unto the house of Israel: Seek after me, and ye shall live, but seek not after Bethel. come not at Galgal, and go not to Bersaba: for Gilgal shall be carried away captive, and Bethel shall come to nought. Seek the Lord, that ye may live: lest the house of Joseph be burnt with fire and consumed, and lest there be none to quench Bethel.

Ye turn the law into wormwood, and cast down righteousness into the ground. The Lord maketh the seven stars and the*Orions *A constellation in the celestial equator, he turneth the night into day, and of the day he maketh darkness. He calleth the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the plain ground: the Lord is his name. He raiseth destruction upon the mighty people, and bringeth down the strong hold: but they owe him evil will, that reproveth them openly: and who followeth them the plain truth, they abhor him. For so much then as ye oppress the poor, and rob him of his best sustenance: therefore, where as ye have builded houses of square stone, ye shall not dwell in them. Marvelous pleasant vineyards shall ye plant, but the wine of them shall ye not drink: and why? as for the multitude of your wickednesses and your stout sins, I know them right well. Enemies are ye of the righteous, ye take rewards, ye oppress the poor in judgement. Therefore that wise must now be happy to hold his tongue, so wicked a time is it.

Seek after the thing that is good, and not evil, so shall ye live: yee the Lord God of hosts shall be with you, according to your own desire. Hate the evil, and love the good: set up right again in the port: and ( no doubt ) the Lord God of hosts shall be merciful unto the remnant of Joseph. If no (saith the Lord God, the God of hosts) there shall be mourning in all streets, yee they shall say in every street: alas, alas. They shall call the husband man to lamentation, and such as can mourn to mourning. In all vineyards there shall be heaviness, for I will come among you, saith the Lord. Wo be unto them that desire the day of the Lord: Wherefore would ye have it? As for the day of the Lord, it shall be dark and not clear: Yee like as when a man runneth from a lion, and a bear meeteth him: or when he cometh into the house, and leaneth his hand upon the wall, a serpent biteth him. Shall not the day of the Lord be dark, and not clear? shall it not be cloudy, and no shine in it?

I hate and abhor your holy days, and where ye cense me when ye come together I will not except it. And though ye offer me burnt offerings and meat offerings, yet have I no pleasure therin. As for your fat thank offerings, I will not look upon them. Away with the noise of thy songs, I will not hear thy plays of your music: but see that equity flow as water, and righteousness as a mighty stream. O ye house of Israel, gave ye me offerings and sacrifices those forty years long in the wilderness? yet ye set up tabernacles to your Moloch, and images of your Idols, yee and the star of your God *Rempha, figures which ye made to worship them. Therefore will I cause you to be carried away beyond Damascus, saith the Lord, whose name is the God of Hosts. *Rempha : left out of KJV here, but found in Acts

The Sixth Chapter

O woe be to the proud wealthy in Sion to such as think them so sure upon the mount of Samaria: which hold themselves for the best of the world, and rule the house of Israel, even as they jest. Go unto Calne, and see: and from then see get you to Nemath the great city, and so go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they better at ease than these kingdoms, or the border of their land wider than yours? Ye are taken out for the evil day, even ye that sit in the stole of willfulness: Ye that lie upon beds of ivory, and use your wantonness upon your couches: ye that eat the best lambs of the flock, and the fattest calves of the herd: ye that sing to the lute, and in playing of instruments compare yourselves to David: ye that drink wine out of goblets, and anoint yourselves with the best oil, but no man is sorry for Josephs hurt. Therefore now shall ye be the first of them, that shall be led away captive, and the lust ye cheer of the willful shall come to an end.

The Lord God hath sworn even by himself ( saith the Lord the God of hosts ), I will hate the pride of Jacob, and abhor his palaces: and I will give over the city, with all that is therin: so that though there remain ten men in one house, they shall die. So their next kinfolks and the dead buryers shall take them, and carry away their bones, and say unto him, that is in the innermost house: is there yet any more by thee? And he shall answer: they are all gone, hold thy tongue ( shall he say ) for they would not remember the name of the Lord.

Behold, the Lord is minded to smite the great houses, so that they shall decay: and that little houses, so that they shall clean a *sunder.*break apart Who can run with horses, or plow with oxen upon the hard rocks of stone? For why? ye have turned true judgement into bitterness and the fruit of righteousness into worm wood: Yee even ye , that rejoice in vain things: ye that say: have not we obtained horns in our own strength? Well, take heed, O ye house of Israel, sayeth the Lord God of hosts: I will bring a people upon you, which shall trouble you, from the way that goeth toward Hemath, unto the brook in the meadow.

The Seventh Chapter

The Lord God showed me such a vision: behold, there stood on that made grasshoppers, even when the corn was shooting forth, after the king had clipped his sheep. Now when they undertook to eat up all the green things in the land, I said: O' Lord God, be merciful, I beseech thee: who should else help up Jacob that is brought so low? So the Lord was gracious therin, and the Lord said: Well, it shall not be. Again, the Lord showed me this vision: behold, the Lord God called the fire to punish withal, and it devoured the great deep: yee it consumed a part already. Then said I: O' Lord God hold thy hand: who should else help up Jacob that is brought so low? So the Lord was merciful therin, and the Lord God said: well, it shall not be.

Moreover, he showed me this vision: behold, the Lord stood upon a plastered wall, and a masons trowel in his hand. And the Lord said unto me: Amos, what seest thou? I answered: a masons trowel. Then said the Lord: behold, I will lay the trowel among my people of Israel, and will nomore oversee them: but the high hill chapels of Isaac must be laid waste and the churches of Israel made desolate: and as for the house of Jeroboam, I will stand up against with a sword. Upon this sent Amasiah the priest to Bethel unto Jeroboam the king of Israel saying: Amos maketh the house of Israel to rebel against thee, the land cannot away with his words. For Amos sayeth, Jeroboam shall die with the sword, and Israel shall be led away, captive out of their own land. And Amasiah said unto Amos: Get thee hence ( thou that canest see so well) and flee into the land of Juda: get thee there thy living, and prophesy there: and prophesy no more at Bethel, for it is the kings chapel, and the kings court.

Amos answered, and said to Amasiah: As for me I am neither prophet , nor prophets son: but a keeper of cattle. Now as I was breaking down my mulberries, and going after cattle, the Lord took me, and said unto me: Go thy way, and prophesy unto my people of Israel. And therefore, bear thou now the word of the Lord: Thou sayest: prophesy not against Israel, and speak nothing against the house of Isaac. Wherefore thus sayeth the Lord: Thy wife shall be defiled in the city, thy sons and daughters shall be slain with the sword, and thy land shall be measured out with the line. Thou thy self shall die in an unclean land, and Israel shall be driven out of his own country.

The Eighth Chapter

The Lord God showed me this vision: and behold, there was a maunder with summer fruit. And he said: Amos, what seest thou? I answered: a maunder with summer fruit. Then said the Lord unto me: the end cometh upon my people Israel, I will no more oversee them. In that day shall the songs of the temple be turned to sorrow, sayeth the Lord God. Many dead bodies shall lie in every place, and be cast forth secretly. Hear this, O ye that oppress the poor, and destroy the needy in the lands, saying: When will the new month be gone, that we may sell vitals, and the Sabbath, that we may have scarceness of corn: to make the bushel less, and the Sickle greater? We shall set up false weights, that we may get the poor under us with their money, and the needy also for shoes: yee let us sell the chaff for corn.

The Lord hath sworn against the pride of Jacob: these works of theirs I will never forget. Shall not the land tremble, and all they that dwell therin, mourn for this? Shall not their destruction come upon them like a water stream, and flow over them, as the flood of Egypt? At the same time ( sayeth the Lord God) I shall cause the sun to go down at noon, and the land to be dark in the clear of day. Your high feasts will I turn to sorrow, and your songs to mourning: I will bring sack cloth upon all backs, and baldness on every head: yee such a mourning will I send them, as is made upon an only begotten son, and they shall have an miserable end.

Behold the time cometh ( sayeth the Lord God ) that I shall send an hunger into the earth: not the hunger of bread, nor the thirst of water: but an hunger to hear the word of the Lord: so that they shall go from one sea to the other, yee from the north unto the east, running about to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it. In that time shall the fair virgins and the young men perish for thirst, yee even they that swear in offense of Samaria, and say: as truly as thy God liveth at Dan, and as truly as thy God liveth at Bersaba. These shall fall, and never rise up again.

The Ninth Chapter

I saw the Lord standing upon the alter, and he said: smite the door check, that the posts may ye shake withal. For their covetousness shall fall upon all their heads, and their posterity shall be slain with the sword. They shall not flee away, there shall not one of them escape, nor be delivered. Though they were buried in hell, my hand shall fetch them from thence: though they climb up to heaven, yet shall I cast them down: though they hide themselves upon the top of Carmel, yet shall I seek them out, and bring them from thence: Though they creep down from my sight in to the deep of the sea, I shall command the serpent, even there to bite them. If they go away before their enemies in to captivity, then shall I command the sword, there to slay them.

Thus will I set mine eyes upon them, for their harm and not for their wealth. For when the Lord God of the hosts toucheth a land, it consumeth away, and all they that dwell therin, must needs mourn: And why? their destruction shall arise as every stream and run over them, as the flood of Egypt. He that hath his dwelling in Heaven, and groundeth his tabernacle in the earth: He that calleth the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the plain ground: his name is the Lord. O ye children of Israel, are ye not unto me, even as the Morians, sayeth the lord: have not I brought Israel out of the land of Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir? Behold, the eyes of the Lord are upon the realm that sinneth, to root it clean out of the earth: Nevertheless I will not destroy the house of Jacob, sayeth the Lord.

For lo, this I promise: though I sift the house of Israel among all the nations (like as they use to sift in a sieve ) yet shall not the smallest gravel stone fall upon the earth: But all the wicked doers of my people, that say: Tush, the plague is not so nigh, to come so hastily upon us: those shall perish with the sword. At that time I will build again the tabernacle of David, that is fallen down, and hedge up his gaps: and look what is broken, I shall repair it: Yee I shall build it again, as it was afore time, that they may possess the remnant of Edom, yee and all such people as call upon my name with them, sayeth the Lord, which doeth these things.

Behold, the time cometh ( sayeth the Lord ) that the plowman shall over take the mower, and the treader of grapes, him that soweth seed. The mountains shall drop sweet wine, and the hills shall be fruitful, and I will turn the captivity of my people of Israel: they shall repair the waste cities, and have them in possession: they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof: they shall make gardens, and enjoy the fruits of them. And I will plant them upon their own ground, so that I will never root them out again from their land which I have given them sayeth the Lord thy God.

The end of the Prophesy of Amos.

The Book of the Prophet Abdy

(Obadiah "servant of Jehovah")

The First Chapter

This is the vision that was showed unto Abdy: Thus hath the Lord God spoken upon Edom: We have heard of the Lord that there is an assemblage sent among the Heathen: Up, let us arise, and fight against them. Behold I will make thee small among the Heathen, so that thou shall be utterly despised. The pride of thy heart hath lift thee up, thou that dwellest in the strongholds of stone, and hast made thee an high seat: Thou sayest in thine heart: who shall cast me down to the ground? But though thou wentest up as high as an Eagle, and madest thy nest above among the stars: yet would I pluck thee down from thence. If the thieves and robbers came to thee by night, thou taking thy rest: should they not steal, till they had enough? If the grape gatherers came upon thee, would they not leave thee some grapes? But how shall they rip Esau, and seek out his treasures?

Yee the men that were sworn unto thee, shall drive thee out of the borders of thine own land. They that now be at one with thee, shall deceive thee, and overcome thee: Even they that eat thy bread, shall betray thee, or ever thou perceive it. Shall not I at the same time destroy the wise men of Edom, and those that have understanding, from the mount of Esau? Thy giants ( O Theman ) shall be afraid, for through the slaughter they shall be all over thrown upon the mount of Esau. Shame shall come upon thee, for the malice that thou showed to thy brother Jacob: yee for ever more shalt thou perish, and that because of the time, when thou didest set thy self against him, even when the enemies carried away his host, and when the *aleauntes came in at his ports, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, and thou thyself was one of them. *aleauntes=aliens ; from the roots of alienus/alius..Hebrew root "man" mortal man, incurable wickedness

Thou shalt no more see the day of thy brother, thou shalt no more behold the time of his captivity: thou shalt no more rejoice over the children of Juda, in the day of their destruction, thou shall triumph no more in the time of their trouble. Thou shalt no more come in at the gates of my people, in the time of their decay: thou shalt not see their misery in the day of their fall.

Thou shalt send no man against their host, in the day of their adversary: neither shalt thou stand waiting any more at the corners of the streets, to murder such as are fled, or to take them prisoners, that remain in the day of their trouble. For the day of the Lord is hard upon all the Heathen. Like as thou hast done, so shalt thou be dealt withal, yee thou shalt be rewarded even upon thy head. For like wise as ye have drunken upon mine holy hill, so shall all the Heathen drink continually: yee drink shall they, and swallow up, so that ye shall be, as though ye had never been.

But upon the mount Sion, there shall a remnant escape: these shall be holy, and the house of Jacob shall possess even those, that had afore in possession. Moreover, the house of Jacob shall be a fire, the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau the straw: which they shall kindle and consume, so that nothing shall be left of the house of Esau, for the Lord himself has said it. They of the South shall have the mount of Esau in possession: and look what layeth upon the ground, that shall the Philistines have: the plain fields shall Ephraim and Samaria possess: and the mountains of Galaad shall Benjamin have. And this host shall be the children of Israels prisoners: Now what so layeth from Canaan unto Zareptah, and in Sepharad, that shall be under the subjection of Jerusalem: and the cities of the south shall inherit it. Thus they that escape upon the hill of Sion, shall go up to punish the mount of Esau, and the kingdom shall be the Lords.

The end of the book of Abdy.

The Book of the Prophet Jonas

( Jonas means Dove from the Hebrew)

The First Chapter

The word of the Lord came unto Jonas the son of Amittai, saying: Arise, and get thee to Ninive, that great city: and preach unto them, how that their wickedness is come up before me. And Jonas made him ready to flee unto Tharsis from the presence of the Lord, and get him down to Joppa: where he found a ship ready for to go to Tharsis. So he paid his fare, and went abroad, that he might go with them unto Tharsis, from the presence of the Lord. But the Lord hurled a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea: so that the ship was in jeopardy of going in pieces. Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god: and the goods that were in the ship, they cast into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonas gat him under the hatches, where he laid him down and slumbered.

So the master of the ship came to him and said unto him: Why slumberest thou? Up, call upon thy God: if God ( happily ) will think upon us, that we perish not. And they said one to another: come, let us cast lots: that we may know, for whose cause we are thus troubled. And so they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonas.

Then said they unto him: tell us, for whose cause are we thus troubled? what is thine occupation? whence comest thou? what country man art thou? and of what nation? He answered them: I am an Hebrew, and I fear the Lord God of heaven, which made both the sea and the dry land. Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him: why didest thou so? ( for they knew, that he was fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them) and said moreover unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may cease from troubling us? ( for the sea wrought, and was troublous ) he answered them: Take me, and cast me into the sea, so shall it let you be at rest: for I know that for my sake, that this great tempest is come upon you.

Nevertheless, the men assayed with rowing, to bring the ship to land: but it would not be, because the sea wrought so, and was so troublous against them. Wherefore they cried unto the Lord, and said: O' Lord let us not perish for this mans death, neither lay thou innocent blood unto our charge: for thou, O' Lord, hast done, even as thy pleasure was.

So they took Jonas, and cast him into the sea, and the sea left raging. And the men feared the Lord exceedingly, doing sacrifices and making vows unto the Lord.

The Second Chapter

But the Lord prepared a great fish, to swallow up Jonas. So was Jonas in the belly of the fish, three days and three nights. And Jonas prayed unto the Lord his God, out of the fishs belly, And said: In my trouble I called unto the Lord, and he heard me: out of the belly of hell I cried, and thou heardest my voice. Thou hadst cast me down deep in the midst of the sea, and the flood compassed me about: yee all thy waves and *roules of water went over me. I thought that I had been cast away out of thy sight: but I will yet again look toward thy holy temple.

*roules=roils to make cloudy/ muddy by stirring up sediment

The waters compassed me, even to the very soul: the deep lay about me, and the weeds were wrapped about my head. I went down to the bottoms of the hills, and was buried with earth for ever. But thou, O' Lord my God, hast brought up my life again out of corruption. When my soul fainted within me, I thought upon the Lord: and my prayer came in unto thee, even in to thy holy temple. They that hold to vain vanities, will forsake his mercy. But I will do the sacrifice with the voice of thanksgiving, and I will pay that I have vowed: for why? Salvation cometh of the Lord. And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it cast out Jonas again upon the dry land.

The Third Chapter

Then came the word of the Lord unto Jonas again, saying: up, and get thee to Ninive that great city, and preach unto them the preaching that I bade thee. So Jonas arose, and went to Ninive at the Lords commandment. Ninive was a great city unto God, namely of three days journey.

And Jonas went to, and entered in to the city: even a days journey, and cried, saying: There are yet forty days and then shall Ninive be overthrown. And the people of Ninive believed God, and proclaimed fasting, and arrayed themselves in sackcloth, as well the great as the small of them. And the tidings came unto the king of Ninive, which arose out of his seat, and did his apparel off, and put on sackcloth, and sat him down in ashes.

And it was cried an commanded in Ninive, by the *auctorite of the king and his lords, saying: See that neither man nor beast, ox or sheep, taste ought at all: and that they neither feed nor drink water: but put on sackcloth both man and beast, and cry mightily unto God: yee, see that every man turn from his evil way, and from their wickedness, that he hath in hand. *auctorite= authority

Who can tell? God may turn, and repent, and cease from his fierce wrath, that we perish not. And when God saw their works, how they turned from their wicked ways: he repented on the evil, which he said he would do unto them, and did it not.

The Fourth Chapter

Therefore Jonas was sore discontent and angry. And he prayed unto the Lord, and said: O' Lord, was this not my saying ( I pray thee ) when I was yet in my country? Therefore I hastened rather to flee unto Tharsis, for I know well that thou art a merciful God, full of compassion, long suffering, and of great kindness, and repentest when thou shouldest take punishment. And now, O' Lord, take my life from me ( I beseech thee ) for I had rather die then live. Then said the Lord: art thou so angry? And Jonas gat him out of the city, and sat down on the east side thereof: and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see, what should chance unto the city.

And the Lord God prepared a wild vine, which sprang up over Jonas, that he might have shadow above his head, to deliver him out of his pain. And Jonas was exceeding glad of the wild vine.

But upon the next morrow against the spring of the day. The Lord *ordened a worm, which smote the wild vine, so that it withered again. And when the Sun was up God prepared a fervent east wind: and the Sun beat over the head of Jonas, that he fainted again, and wished unto his soul, that he might die, and said: It is better for me to die than to live. And God said unto Jonas: Art thou so angry for the wild vine? And he said: yee very angry, even unto death. And the Lord said: Thou hast compassion on the wild vine, whereon thou bestowest no labor, nor madest it grow: which sprang up in one night and perish in another: And shouldest not I then have compassion on Ninive that great city, wherein there are above 120,000 persons, that know not their right hand from the left, besides much cattle?

*ordened=old English root word of the word "ordained"

The end of the Prophecy of Jonas

The Book of the Prophet Micheas

(Micah "who is like God")

The First Chapter

This is the word of the Lord, that came to Micheas the Morastite, in the days of Jothan, Ahaz, and Jehezekiah, kings of Judah: which was showed upon Samaria and Jerusalem. Hear, all ye people, hearken, mark this well O earth, and all that therein is: Yee the Lord God himself be witness among you, even the Lord from his holy temple. For, why? behold, the Lord shall go out of his place, and come down, and tread upon the high things of the earth. The mountains shall consume under him, and the valleys shall cleave asunder: like as war consumeth at the fire, and as the waters runneth down hard. And all this shall be for the wickedness of Jacob, and the sins of the house of Israel.

But what is the wickedness of Jacob? Is not Samaria? Which are the high places of Judah? Is not Jerusalem? Therefore I shall make Samaria an heap of stones in the field, to lay about the vineyard: her stones shall I cast into the valley, and discover her foundations. All her Images shall be broken down and all her winnings shall be burned in the fire: yee all her Idols will I destroy: for why? they are gathered out of the hire of an whore, and to an whores hire they shall be turned again. Wherefore I will mourn and make lamentation, bare and naked will I go: I must mourn like the dragons, and take sorrow like the ostriches: For their wound is past remedy: And why? it is come in to Judah, and hath touched the port of my people at Jerusalem already. Weep not, least they at Geth perceive it.

Thou at Betaphra, welter thyself in the dust and ashes. Thou that dwelleth at Sephir, get thee hence with shame. The proud shall boast no more for very sorrow: and why? her neighbor shall take from her what she hath. The rebellious city hopeth, that it shall not be so evil: but for all that, the plague shall come from the Lord, even in to the port of Jerusalem. The great noise of the chariots shall fear them, that dwell at Lachis, which is an occasion of the sin of the daughter of Sion, for in thee came up the wickedness of Israel. Yee she sent her *coursers into the land of Geth.*coursers: a hunter, a dog or horse used for hunting.

The houses of lies will deceive the kings of Israel. And as for thee ( O thou that dwellest at Morassa ) I shall bring a possession upon thee, and the plague of Israel shall reach unto Odolla. Make thee bald, and shave thee, because of thy tender children: Make thee clean bald as an Eagle, for they shall be carried away captive from thee.

The Second Chapter

Woe unto them, that imagine to do harm, and devise ungraciousness upon their beds, to perform it in the clear day: for their power is against God. When they covet to have land, they take it by violence, they rob men of their houses.

Thus they oppress a man for his house, and every man for his heritage. Therefore thus sayeth the Lord: Behold against this household I have devised a plague, whereout ye shall not pluck your necks: Ye shall no more go so proudly, for it will be a perilous time. In that day shall this term be used, and a mourning shall be made over you on this manner: We be utterly desolate, the portion of my peoples is translated, When will he part unto us the land, that he hath taken from us?

Nevertheless there shall be no man to divide thee thy portion in the congregation of the Lord. Tush, hold your tongue ( sayeth they ) It shall not fall on this people, we shall not come so to confusion, sayeth the house of Jacob. Is the spirit of the Lord so clean away? or is he so minded? Truth it is , my words are friendly unto them that live right: but my people doth the contrary, therefore must I take part against them: for they take away both coat and cloak from the simple.

Yee have turned yourselves to fight, the women of my people have ye shot out from their good houses, and take away my excellent gifts from their children. Up, get you hence, for here shall ye have no rest.

Because of their Idolatry they are corrupt, and shall miserably perish. If I were a fleshly fellow, and a preacher of lies, and told them that they might sit bibbing and bolling, and be drunken: O that were a Prophet for this people. But I will gather thee indeed, O Jacob, and drive the remnant of Israel all together. I shall carry them one with another, as a flock in the fold, and as the cattle in their stalls, that they may be disquieted of other men. Who so breaketh the gap, he shall go before. They shall break up the port, and go in and out at it. Their king shall be upon the head of them.

The Third Chapter

Hear, O ye heads of the house of Jacob, and yee leaders of the house of Israel: Should not ye know, what were lawful and right? But ye hate the good, and love the evil: ye pluck off mens skins, and the flesh from their bones: ye eat the flesh of my people, and flay of their skin: ye break their bones, ye chop them in pieces as it were in to a cauldron, and as flesh into the pot. Now the time shall come, that when they call unto the Lord, he shall not hear them, *but hide his face from them, because that through their own Imaginations they have dealt so wickedly. *To hide his face is, to show no token of benevolence, as in Job 13 d and Deut 31d MN.

And as concerning the prophets that deceive my people, thus the Lord sayeth against them: When they have any thing to bite upon, then they preach that all shall be well: but if a man put not some thing in to their mouths, they preach of war against him.

Therefore your vision shall be turned into night, and your prophesying to darkness. The Sun shall go down over those prophets, and the day shall be dark unto them. Then shall the vision seers be ashamed, and the soothsayers confounded: yee they shall be faine, all the pack of them, to stop their mouths, for they have not Gods word. As for me, Iam full of strength, and of the spirit of the Lord, full of judgment and boldness, and the house of Israel their sin.

O hear this ye rulers of this house of Jacob, and ye judges of the house of Israel: ye that abhor the thing that is lawful, and wrest aside the thing that is straight: Ye that build up Sion with blood, and Jerusalem with doing wrong. O ye judges, ye give sentence for gifts,: O ye priests, ye teach for *lucre: O ye prophets, ye prophecy for money. Yet will they be taken as those that hold upon God, and say: Is not the Lord among us? Tush, there can no misfortune happen us. Therefore shall Sion ( for your sakes ) be plowed like a field: Jerusalem shall become a heap of stones, and the hill of the temple shall be turned to an high wood.*lucre: shameful gain

The Fourth Chapter

But in the latter days it will come to pass, that the hill of the Lords house shall be set up higher then any mountains or hills: Yee the people shall praise unto it, and the multitude of the Gentiles shall hast them thither, saying: Come, let us go up to the hill of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob: that he may teach us his way, and that we may walk in his paths. For the law shall come out of Sion, and the word of God from Jerusalem, And shall give sentence among the multitude of the Heathen and reform the people of far countries: so that of their swords they shall make plowshares, and scythes of their spears.

One people shall not lift up a sword against another, yee they shall no more learn to fight: but every man shall sit under his vineyard and under his fig tree, and no man to fraie (scare) him away: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it. Therefore, whereas all the people have walked every man in the name of his own God, we will walk in the name of our God for ever and ever. At the same time, sayeth the Lord, will I gather up the lame and the outcasts, and such as I have chastened: and will give issue unto the lame, and make of the outcasts a great people: and the Lord himself shall be their king upon the mount of Sion, from this time forth for evermore. And unto thee ( O thou tower of Eder, thou stronghold of the daughter of Sion) unto thee shall it come: even the Lordship and kingdom of the daughter Jerusalem. Why then art thou now so heavy? is there no king in thee? are thy counselors away that thou art so pained, as a woman in her travail? And now ( O thou daughter Sion ) be sorry, let it grieve thee as a wife laboring with child: for now must thou get thee out of the city, and dwell upon the plain field: Yee unto Babylon shalt thou go, there shalt thou be delivered, and there the Lord shall loose thee from the hand of thy enemies.

Now also are there many people gathered together against thee, saying what, Sion is cursed, we shall see our lust upon her. But they know not the thoughts of the Lord, they understand not his counsel, that shall gather them together as the sheaves in the barn. Therefore get thee up, O thou daughter Sion, and thresh out the corn: For I will make thy horn iron. and thy claws brass, that thou mayest grind many people: their goods shalt thou appropriate unto the Lord, and their substance unto the ruler of the whole world.

The Fifth Chapter

After that shalt thou be robbed thyself, O thy robbers daughter: they shall lay siege against us, and smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the check. And thou Bethleem Ephrata, art little among the thousands of Juda, Out of thee shall come to me, which shall be the government in Israel: whose out going hath been from the beginning, and from everlasting. In the mean while he plagueth them for a season, until the time that she ( which shall bear ) have born: then shall the remnant of his brethren be converted unto the children of Israell. He shall stand fast, and give food in the strength of the Lord, and in the victory of the name of the Lord his God: and when they be converted, he shall be magnified unto the farthest parts of the world.

Then shall there be peace, so that the Assirian may come in to our land, and tread in our houses. We shall bring seven shepherds and eight princes upon them: these shall subdue the land of Assur with the sword, and the land Nimrod with their naked weapons. Thus shall he deliver us from the Assirian, when he cometh in our land, and seteth his foot within our borders.

And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the multitude of people, as the dew of the Lord, and as the drops upon the grass, that tarry for no man, and waiteth of no body. Yee the residue of Jacob shall be among the gentiles and the multitude of the people, as the lion among the beasts of the wood, and as the Lions whelps among a flock of sheep: which ( when he goeth through ) treadeth down, teareth in pieces, and there is no man that can help. Thine hand shall be lift up upon thine enemies, and all thine adversaries shall perish.

The time shall come also, sayeth the Lord, that i will take thine horses from thee, and destroy thy chariots. I will break down the cities of thy land, and over throw all thy strongholds. All witchcrafts will I root out of thine hand, there shall no more soothsayings be within thee. Thine Idols and thine Images will I destroy out of thee so that thou shalt no more bow thyself unto the works of thine own hands. Thy groves will I pluck up by the roots, and break down the cities. Thus I will be avenged also, upon all the Heathen that will not hear.

The Sixth Chapter

Harken now what the Lord sayeth: Up, reprove the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice. O hear the punishment of the Lord, ye mountains, and yee mighty foundations of the earth: for the Lord will reprove his people, and reason with Israel: O my people, what have I done unto thee? or wherin have I hurt thee? give me answer. Because I brought thee from the land of Egypt, and delivered thee out of the house of bondage? Because I made Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to lead thee? Remember ( O my people ) what Balach the king of Moab had imagined against thee, and what answer that Balaam the son of Beor gave him, from Sethim unto Galgal, that ye may know the loving kindness of the Lord.

What acceptable thing shall I offer unto the Lord? shall I bow on my knee to the high God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, and calves of a year old? Hath the Lord a pleasure in many thousand rams, or innumerable streams of oil? Or shall I give my first born for my offenses, and the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? I will show thee, O man, what is good, and what the Lord requireth of thee: Namely, to do right, to have pleasure in loving kindness, to be lowly, and to walk with thy God: that thou mayest be called a city of the Lord, and that thy name may be righteousness. Hear ( O ye tribes ) who would else give you such warning? Should I not be displeased, for the unrighteous good in the houses of the wicked and because the measure he is minished? Or should I justify the false balances and the bag of deceitful weights, among those that be full of riches ungraciously gotten: where the city signs deal with falsehood, speak lies, and have deceitful tongues in their mouths?

Therefore I will take in hand to punish thee, and to make thee desolate because of thy sins. Thou salt eat, and not have enough: yee thou shall bring thyself down. Thou shalt flee but not escape: and those that thou wouldest save, will I deliver to the sword. Thou shalt sow but not reap: thou shalt press out olives , but oil thou shall not have, to anoint thyself withal: thou shalt tread out sweet must, but shall drink no wine. Ye keep the ordinances of Amri, and all the customs of the house of Ahab: Ye follow their pleasures, therefore will I make thee waste, and cause thy inhabitors to be abhorred, O my people: and thus shalt thou bare thine own shame.

The Seventh Chapter

Woe is me: I am become as one, that goeth a gleaning in the harvest. There are no more grapes to eat, yet I would faine ( with al my heart ) to have of the best fruit. There is not a Godly man upon the earth, there is not one righteous among men. They* labor all to shed blood, and every man hunteth his brother to death: yet they say they do well when they do evil. As the prince will, so sayeth the judge: that he may do him a pleasure again. The great man speaketh what his heart desires: and the hearers allow him. The best of them is but a thistle, and the most righteous is but a bear in the hedge. But when the day of thy preachers cometh, that thou shall be visited: then shall they be wasted away. Let no man believe his friend, nor put his confidence in a prince. Keep the port of thy mouth, from her that lieth in thy bosom: for the son shall put his father to dishonor, the daughter shall rise against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law: and a mans foes shall be even those of his own household. * To labor to shed blood, or to lye in wait for blood is to make mens lives laborious and miserable, by these warnings, murders, and violence. Proverbs 1b

Nevertheless I will look up unto the Lord, I will patiently abide God my favor: my God shall hear me. O thou enemy of mine, rejoice not at my fall, for I shall get up again: and though I sit in * darkness, yet the Lord is my light. I will bare the punishment of the Lord ( for why? I have offended him ) till he sit in judgement upon my cause, and see that I have right. He will bring me forth to the light, and I shall see his righteousness. *By darkness understand the sadness and misery of this world, and by light thee cometh forth rejoicing of the conscience. Job 15c MN

She that is mine enemy shall look upon it, and be confounded, which now sayeth. Where is thy Lord God? Mine eyes shall behold her, when she is trodden down, as the clay in the streets. The time will come, that my gaps shall be made up, and the law shall go abroad: and at that time shall they come unto thee, from Assur unto the strong cities, and from the strong cities unto the river: from the one sea to the other, from the one mountain to the other.

Not withstanding the land must be wasted, because of them that dwell therin, and for the fruits of their own Imaginations. Therefore feed thy people with thy *rod, the flock of thine heritage which dwell desolate in the wood: that they may be fed upon mount Charmell, Basan and Galaad as afore time. Marvelous things shall I show them, like as when they came out of Egypt. This shall the Heathen see, and be ashamed for all their power, so that they shall *lay their hand upon their mouth, and stop their ears. They shall lick the dust like a serpent, as the worms of the earth, that tremble in their holes. They shall be afraid of the Lord our God, and they shall fear thee. * rod here signifieth dominion and governance. * laying of hand to mouth; of this you find in Job 39d

Where is there such a God as thou? that pardonest wickedness, and forgiveth the offenses of the remnant of thine heritage? He keepeth not his wrath for ever. And why? his delight is to have compassion: he shall turn again, and be merciful to us: he shall put down our wickednesses, and cast all our sins into the bottom of the sea. Thou shalt keep thy trust with Jacob, and thy mercy for Abraham, like as thou hast sworn unto our fathers long ago.

The end of the prophecy of Micheas

The Book of the Prophet Nahum

(Naum "comfort" from the Hebrew)

The First Chapter

This is the heavy burden of Ninive, which Nahum of Elchos did write as he saw it. The Lord is a jealous God, and a taker of vengeance: yee a taker of vengeance is the Lord, and wrothful. The Lord taketh vengeance of his enemies, and reserveth displeasure for his adversaries. The Lord suffereth long, he is of great power, and so innocent that he leaveth no man faultless before him. The Lord goeth forth in tempest and stormy weather, the clouds are the dust of his feet. When he reproveth the sea , he drieth it up, and turneth all the floods into dry land. Basan is desolate, Charmel and the pleasure of Libnus wasteth away. The mountains tremble before him, the hills consume. At the sight of him the earth quaketh: yee the whole world, and all that dwell therin. Who may endure before his wrath? Or who is able to abide his grim displeasure? His anger taketh on like fire, and the hard rocks burst asunder before him.

Full graciousness is the Lord, and a strong hold in the time of trouble, he knoweth them that put their trust in him: when the flood runneth over, and destroyeth the place, and when the darkness followeth still upon his enemies. What do ye imagine against the Lord on this manner? ( Tush, when he hath once made an end, there shall come no more trouble ) For like as the thorns that stick together, and as the dry straw, so shall the drunkards be consumed together, even when they be full. There come out of the such as Imagine mischief, and give ungracious counsel against the Lord.

Therefore thus saith the Lord: Let them be as well prepared, yee and as many as they can, yet shall they be hewn down, and pass away. And as for thee I will vex thee but not utterly destroy thee, And now will I break his rod from thy back, and burst thy bonds asunder. But the Lord hath given a commandment concerning thee, that there shall come no more seed of thy name. The carved and chastened Images I will root out of the house of thy God. Thy grave shall I prepare for thee, and thou shalt be confounded.

The Second Chapter

Behold, upon the mountains come the feet of him, that bringeth good tidings, and preacheth peace. O Judah, keep thy holy days, perform thy promises: for Belial shall come no more in thee, he is utterly rooted out.

The scatterer shall come up against thee, and lay siege to the castle. Look thou well to the streets, make thy loins strong, arm thyself with all thy might: for the Lord will restor again the glory of Jacob, like as the glory of Israel. The destroyers have broken them down, and marred the wine branches. The shield of his giants glittereth, his men of war are clothed in purple. His chariots are as fire, when he maketh him forward, his archers are well decked and trimmed. The chariots roll upon the streets, and *welter in the highways. They are to look upon like *cressettes of fire, and go swiftly, as the lighting. When he doth but warn his giants, they all in their array, and hastily climb up the walls: yee the engines of the war are prepared already. The water ports shall be opened, and the kings palace shall fall. The queen herself shall be led away captive, and her gentlemen shall mourn as doves, and grown within their hearts. Ninive is like a pool full of water, but then shall they be ready&willing to flee. Stand, stand, ( they shall cry ) and there shall not one turn back. Away with the silver, away with the gold: for here there is no end of treasure. There shall be a multitude of all manner costly ornaments. Thus must she be spoiled, emptied and clean stripped out: that their hearts may be melted away, their knees tremble, all their lions be weak, and their faces black as a pot.*welter= confused mass; a jumble: To wallow, roll, or toss about, as in mud or high seas. lie soaked in a liquid. To roll and surge, as the sea. *cressettes= A metal cup, often suspended on a pole, containing burning oil or pitch and used as a torch.

Where there is now the dwelling of the lions, and the pasture of the lions whelps? where the lion and lioness went with the whelps, and no man scared them away? But the lion spoiled enough for his young ones, and devoured for his lioness: he filled his dens with his prey, and his dwelling place with that he had ravished. Behold, I will upon thee, sayeth the Lord of hosts, and will set fire upon thy chariots that they shall smoke with all, and the sword shall devour the young lions. I will make an end of thy spoiling from out of the earth, and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard.

The Third Chapter

Woe to the blood thirsty city, which is all full of lies and robbery, and will not leave off of ravishing. There a man may hear scourging, rushing, the noise of the wheels, the crying of the horses, and the rolling of the chariots. There the horsemen get up with naked swords, and glittering spears: There layeth a multitude of slain, and a great heap of dead *coarses, yee men fall upon their bodies: And that for the great and many fold whoredom, of the fair and beautiful harlot: which is a mistress of witchcraft, yee and selleth the people through her whoredom, and the nations through her witchcraft. *coarses= corpses ..courses; manner of proceeding or developing;

Behold, I will upon thee ( sayeth the Lord of hosts ) and will pull thy clothes over thy head: that I may shoe thy nakedness among the Heathen, and thy shame among the kingdoms. I will cast dirt upon thee, to make thee be abhorred, and a gasing stock: Yee all they that look upon thee, shall start back, and say: Ninive is destroyed.

Who will have pity upon thee: where shall I seek one to comfort thee? Art thou better than the great city of Alexandria: that lay in the waters, and had the waters round about it: which was strongly fenced and walled with the sea? Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and that exceedingly great above measure. Africa and Libya were her helpers, yet was she driven away, and brought into captivity: her young children were smitten down at the head of every street, the lots were cast for the most ancient men in her, and all her mighty men were bound in chains. Even so shalt thou also be drunken, and hide thyself, and seek some help against thy enemy. All thy strong cities shall be like fig trees with ripe figs: which when a man shaketh, they shall fall into the mouth of the eater.

Behold, thy people within thee are but women: the ports of thy land shall be open to thine enemies, and the fire shall devour thy barrs. Draw water now against thou be besieged, make up thy strongholds, go into the clay, temper the mortar, make strong brick: yet the fire shall consume thee, the sword shall destroy thee, yee as the locust doth, so shall it eat thee up. It shall fall heavily upon thee as the locusts, yee right heavily shall it fall upon thee, even as the grasshoppers. Thy merchants have been numbered with the stars of heaven: but now shall they spread abroad as the locusts, and flee their way: Thy lords are as the grasshoppers, and thy captains as the multitude of grasshoppers: which when they be cold, remain in the hedges: but when the Sun is up, they flee away, and no man can tell where they are become. Thy shepherds are a sleep ( O king of Assur ) thy worthies are laid down: thy people is scattered abroad upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them together again. Thy wound cannot be healed, thy plague is so sore. All they that hear this of thee, shall clap their hands over thee. For what is he, to whom thou hast not always been doing hurt.

The end of the prophesy of Nahum

The Book of the Prophet Abacuk

(Habakkuk means to "embrace" from the Hebrew)

The First Chapter

This is the heavy burden, which the Prophet Abacuk did see. O' Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear? How long shall I complain unto thee, suffering wrong, and thou wilt not help? Why lettest thou me see weariness and labor? Tyranny and violence are before me, power over goeth right: for the land is torn in pieces, and there can no right judgement go forth. And why? the ungodly is more set by then the righteous: this is the cause, that the wrong judgement proceedeth. Behold among the Heathen, and look well: wonder at it, and be abashed: For I do a thing in your time, which though it be told you , ye shall not believe.

For lo, I will rise up the *Cauldees, that bitter and swift people: which shall go as wide as the land is, to take possession of dwelling places, that be not their own. A grim and boisterous people is it, these shall sit in judgement and punish. Their horses are swifter than the cats of the mountain, and bite sorer than the wolves in the evening. Their horsemen come by great heaps from far, they flee hastily to devour as the Eagle. They come all to spoil: out of then cometh an east wind, which bloweth and gathereth their captives, like as the sand. They shall mock the kings, and laugh the princes to scorn. They shall not set by any strong hold, for they shall lay ordinance against it, and take it. Then shall they take a fresh courage unto them, to go forth and do more evil, and so ascribe that power unto their God.**Cauldees=from the Hebrew: those willing to do evil,

But thou O' Lord my God, my holy one thou art from the beginning, therefore shall we not die. O' Lord, thou hast ordered them for punishment, and set them to reprove the mighty. Thine eyes are clean, thou mayest not see evil, thou can not behold that thing that is wicked. Wherefore when thou dost look upon the ungodly, and holdest thy tongue, when the wicked devour the man that is better then himself? Thou makest men as the fish in the sea, and like as the creeping beasts, that have no guide. They take up all with their angle (hook) they catch it in their net, and gather it in their yarn: whereof they rejoice and are glad. Therefore offer unto their net, and do sacrifice unto their yarn: because through it their portions is become so fat, and their meat so plenteous. Wherefore they cast out their net again, and never cause to slay the people.

The Second Chapter

I stood upon my watch, and set me upon my bulwark, to look and see what he would say unto me, and what answer I should give him that reproveth me. But the Lord answered me, and said: Write the vision plainly upon thy tables, that who so cometh by, may read it: for the vision is yet far off for a time, but at the last it shall come to pass, and not fail. And though he tarry, yet wait thou for him, for in very deed he will come, and not be slack. Behold, who so will not believe, his soul shall not prosper: but the just shall live by his faith. Like as the wine decieveth the drunkard, even so the proud shall fail and not endure. He openeth his desire wide up as hell, and is as unsatiable as death. All Heathen gathereth he to him, and heapeth unto him all people.

But shall not all these take up a proverb against him, and mock him with and by word, and say: Woe unto him that heapeth up other mens goods? How long will he laden him self with thick clay? O how suddenly will they stand up, that bite, and awake, that shall tear into pieces? yee thou shalt be their prey. Seeing thou hast spoiled many Heathen, therefore shall the remnant of the people spoil thee: because of mens blood, and for the wrong done in the land, in the city and unto all them that dwell therin.

Woe unto him, that covetously gathereth evil gotten goods into his house: that he may set his nest on high, to escape the power of misfortune. Thou hast devised the shame of thy own house, for thou hast slain so much people, and hast willfully offended: so that the very stones of that wall will cry out of it., and the timber that layeth betwixt the joints of the building shall answer. Woe unto him, that buildeth the town with blood, and maintaineth the city with unrighteousness. Shall not the Lord of hosts bring this to pass, that the laborers of the people be burnt with a great fire, and that the thing where upon the people have wearied themselves, shall be lost? For the earth shall be full of knowledge of the Lords honor, like as the waters that cover the sea.

Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, to get him wrothfull displeasure for his drunkenness: that he may see his *prevites. Therefore with shame thou shalt be filled, in stead of honor. Drink thou also, till thou slumber with all: for the cup of the Lords right hand shall compass thee about, and shameful spewing instead of worship. For the wrong thou hast done in Libanus, shall overwhelm thee, and the wild beasts shall make thee afraid: because of mens blood, and for the wrong done in the land, in the city, and to all such as dwell therin.

*prevites=expose things held private, betrayal of confidentiality

What then will the Image do, whom the workman hath fashioned? Or the vain cast Image, wherin because the craftsmen putteth his trust, therefore maketh he dumb Idols? Woe unto him, that sayeth unto a piece of wood: arise, and to a dumb stone: stand up. For what instruction may such one give? Behold it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath in it. But the Lord in his holy temple is he, whom all the world should fear.

The Third Chapter

O' Lord, when I heard speak of them, I was afraid. The work thou hast taken in hand, shalt thou perform in his time, O' Lord: and when thy time cometh, thou shalt declare it. In thy very wrath thou thinkest upon mercy. God cometh from Theman, and the holy one from the mount of Pharan. *Selah.

Selah= to lift up, exalt

His glory covereth the heavens, and the earth is full of his praise. His shine is as the sun, and beams of light go out of his hands, there is his power hid. destruction goeth before him, and burning *cressettes go from his feet. He standeth , and measureth the earth. He looketh, and the people consume away, the mountains of the world fall down to *porolder, and the hills are faine to bow themselves, for his goings are everlasting and sure. *cresset =A metal cup, often suspended on a pole, containing burning oil or pitch and used as a torch. *porolder=parol=Expressed or evidenced by word of mouth

I saw, that the pavilions of the Morians and the tents of the land of Madian were vexed for weariness. Wast thou not angry, O' Lord, in the waters? was not thy wrath in the floods, and thy displeasure in the sea? Yes, when thou satest upon thine horse, and when thy chariots had the victory. Thou showedest thy bow openly, like as thou hadest promised with an oath unto the tribes. Selah.

Thou didest divide the waters of the earth. When the mountains saw thee, they were afraid, the water stream went away: the deep made a noise at the lifting up of thy hand. The Sun and the Moon remained still in their habitation. Thine arrows went out glittering, and thy spears as that shine of lighting. Thou trodest down the land in thy anger, and didest *throshe the Heathen in thy displeasure. Thou camest forth to help thy people, to help thine anointed. Thou smotest down the head of the house of the ungodly, and discoveredest his foundations, even unto the neck of him. Selah *throshe=a condition of agonizing struggle pain / trouble

Thou cursest his scepters, the Captain of his own men of war: which come as a stormy wind to scare me abroad, and are glad when they can eat up the poor secretly. Thou makest away for thy horses in the sea, even in the mud of the great waters. When I hear this, my body is vexed, my lips tremble at the voice thereof, my bones corrupt, I am afraid where I stand. O that I might rest in the day of trouble, that I may go up unto our people, which are already prepared.

For the fig trees shall not be green, and the vines shall bare no fruit. The labor of the olive shall be but lost, and the land shall bring no corn: the sheep shall be taken out of the fold, and there shall be no cattle in the stalls. But as for me, I will be glad in the Lord, and will rejoice in God my savior. The Lord God is my strength, he shall make my feet as the feet of hearts: and he which giveth the victory, shall bring me to my high places singing upon my psalms.

The end of the prophesy of Abacuc

The Book of the Prophet Sophony

(Zephanaih means "Jehovah has treasured" from the Hebrew)

The First Chapter

This is the word of the Lord, which came unto Sophony the son of Chusi, the son of Gedoliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezkiah, in the time of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah. I will gather up all things in the land ( saith the Lord ) I will gather up man and beast: I will gather up the fowls in the air and the fish in the sea ( to the great decay of the wicked ) and will utterly destroy the men out of the land, saith the Lord. I will stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all such as dwell in Jerusalem. Thus I will root out the remnant of Baal from this place, and the names of the *Remurins (Chemarims kjv) and priests: yee and such as upon their house tops worship and bow themselves unto the host of heaven: which swear by the lord, and by their Malcolom also: which start back from the Lord, and neither seek after the Lord, nor regard him. Be still at the presence of the Lord God, for the day of the Lord is at hand: yee the Lord hath prepared a slain offering, and called his guests thereto. And thus shall it happen in the day of the Lords a slain offering: I will visit the princes, the kings children, and all such as wear strange clothing. In the same day also will I visit all those, that tread over the threshold so proudly, which fill their Lords house with robbery and falsehood. At the same time ( sayeth the Lord ) there shall be a great cry from the fish port and an howling from the other port, and a great murder from the hills. Howl the that dwell in the mill, for all the merchant people are gone, and all they that are laden with silver are rooted out.

At the same time I will seek through Jerusalem with lanterns, and visit them that continue in their dregs, and say in their hearts: Tush, the Lord will do neither good nor evil. Their goods shall be spoiled, and their houses laid waste: they shall build houses, and not dwell in them: they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine, thereof. For the great day of the Lord is at hand, it is heard by, and cometh on a pace. Horrible is the tidings of the Lords day then shall the giant cry out: for that day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and heaviness, a day of utter destruction and misery, a dark and gloomy day, a cloudy and stormy day, a day of the noise of trumpets and *shawmes, against the strong cities and high towers. I will bring the people to such *veracion, that they shall go about like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord. Their blood shall be shed as dust, and their bodies as the mire. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the wrothful day of the Lord, but the whole land shall be consumed through the fire of his jealousy: for he shall soon make clean riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

*shawmes=*double reed wind instrument *veracion=veracious; honesty truthfulness

The Second Chapter

Come together and gather you, O *froward people: or the thing go forth that is concluded, and or the time be passed away as dust: or the fearful wrath of the Lord come upon you, yee or the day of the Lords sore displeasure come upon you. Seek the Lord all yee meek hearted upon the earth, ye that work after his judgement: seek righteousness, seek lowliness: that yee may be defended in the wrothfull day of the Lord. For Gaza shall be destroyed, and Ascalon shall be laid waste. They shall cast out Asood at the noon day, and Accaron shall be plucked up by the roots. *froward=stubbornly contrary to truth, love and /or the spirit.

Woe unto you that dwell upon the sea coast, ye murderous people: the word of the Lord shall come upon you. O Canaan thou land of the Phillistines, I will destroy thee, so that there shall no man dwell in thee any more: and as for the sea coast, it shall be herdmans cottages and sheep folds: yee it shall be a portion for such as remain of the house of Juda, to feed there upon. In the houses of Ascalon shall they rest toward the night: for the Lord their God shall visit them, and turn away their captivity. I have heard the despite of Moab, and the blasphemies of the children of Ammon how they have shamefully entreated my people, and magnified themselves within the borders of their land. Therefore as truly as I live ( sayeth the Lord of hosts the God of Israel ) Moab shall be as Sodom, and Ammon as Gomora: even dry thorn hedges, *salt pits and perpetual wilderness. The residue of my folk shall spoil them, the remnant of my people shall have them in possession. This shall happen unto them for their pride, because they have dealt so shamefully with the Lord of hosts people, and magnified themselves above them . The Lord shall be grime upon them, and destroy all the goods in the land. And all the Isles of Heathen shall worship him, every man in his place. *as barren as the places where salt is cast

Ye Morians also shall perish with my sword: yee he shall stretch out his hand over the north, and destroy Assur. As for Nivive, he shall make it desolate, dry and waste. The flocks and the beasts of all the people shall lye in the midest of it, pelicans and storks shall abide in the upper posts of it, fowls shall sing in the windows, and ravens shall sit upon the *balcks, for the boards of cedar shall be run down. This the proud and careless city, that said in her heart: I am, and there is else none. O how is she made so waste, that the beasts lye therin? Who so goeth by, mock her, and pointeth at her with his finger. *balcks= wooden beam or rafter

The Third Chapter

Woe unto the abominable, filthy and cruel city: which will not hear, nor be reformed. Her, her trust is not in the Lord, neither will she hold her to her God. Her, her rulers within her are as roaring lions: her judges are as wolves * in the evening, which leave nothing behind them till the morrow. Her, her prophets are light persons and unfaithful men: her priests unhallow the Sanctuary, and do wrong under the pretence of the law. But the just Lord that doth no unright, was among them, every morning showing them his law clearly, and ceased not. But the ungodly will not learn to be ashamed. Therefore I will root out this people, and destroy their towers: yee and make their streets so void, that no man shall go therin. Their cities shall be broken down, so that no body shall be left, nor dwell there any more. wolves *That is , very hungry, because they have all the day long waited for their prey. MN

I said unto them: O fear me, and be content to be reformed. That their dwelling should not be destroyed, and that there should happen unto them none of these things, where with I shall visit them. But nevertheless they stand up early, to follow the filthiness of their own imaginations. Therefore ye shall wait upon me ( sayeth the Lord ) until the time that I stand up: for I am determined, to gather the people and to bring the kingdoms together, that I may pour out mine anger, ye all my wrothfull displeasure upon them. For all the world shall be consumed with the fire of my jealousy. And then will I cleanse the lips of my people, that they may every each one call upon the name of the Lord, and serve him with one shoulder. Such as I have subdued, and my children also whom I have scattered abroad, shall bring me presents beyond the waters of Ethiopia.

In that time shalt thou be no more confounded, because of all thy imaginations, where through thou hadest offended me: for I will take away the proud boosters of thine honor from thee, so that thou shalt no more triumph because of my holy hill. In that also will I leave a small poor simple people, which shall trust in the name of the Lord. The remnant of Israel shall do no more wickedness, nor speak lies: neither shall there any deceitful tongue be found in their mouths: For they shall be fed, and take their rest, and no man shall make them afraid. Give thanks O daughter Sion, be joyful O Israel: rejoice and be glad from thy whole heart, O daughter Jerusalem, for the Lord hath taken away thy punishment, and turned back thine enemies. The King of Israel, even the Lord himself is with thee: so that thou needest no more to fear any misfortune.

In that time it shall be said unto Jerusalem: fear not, and to Sion: let not thine hands be slack, for the Lord thy God is with thee, it is he that hath power to save: he hath a special pleasure in thee, and a marvelous love toward thee: yee he rejoiceth over thee with gladness. Such as have been in heaviness, will I gather together, and take out of thy congregation: as for the shame and reproof that hath been layed upon thee, it shall be far from thee. And lo, in that time will I destroy all those that vex thee: I will help the lame, and gather up the cast away: yee I will get them praise and honor in all lands, where they have been put to shame. At the same time will I bring you in, and at the same time I will gather you. I will get you a name and good report among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, sayeth the Lord.

The end of the prophesy of Sophony

The Book of the Prophet Aggeus (Haggai)("festive"... The first Prophet to prophecy after the captivity)

The First Chapter

In the second year of king Darius, in the sixth month, the first day of the month, came the word of the Lord ( by the Prophet Aggeus ) unto Zorobabel the son of Salathiel the prince of Judah, and to Jesua the son of Josedech the high priest, saying: Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, and sayeth: This people doth say: The time is not yet come to build up the Lords house. Then spake the Lord by the Prophet Aggeus, and said: Ye yourselves can find time to dwell in *siled houses, and shall this house lay waste? Consider now your own ways in your hearts ( sayeth the Lord of hosts )ye sow much, but yee bring little in: ye eat, but ye have not enough: ye drink, but ye are not filled: ye deck yourselves, but ye are not warm: and he that earneth any wage, putteth it in a broken purse. * The horizontal member that bears the upright portion of a frame, especially the horizontal member that forms the base of a window.

Thus sayeth the Lord of hosts: Consider your own ways in your hearts, get you up to the mountain, fetch wood, and build up the house: that it may be acceptable unto me, and that I my show my honor, sayeth the Lord. Ye looked for much, and lo it is come to little: and though ye bring it home, yet do I blow it away. And why so, sayeth the Lord of hosts? Even because that my house layeth so waste, and ye run every man unto his own house. Wherefore the heaven is forbidden to give you any dew, and the earth is forbidden to give you increase. I have called for a drouth, both upon the land and upon the mountains, upon corn, upon wine, upon oil, upon everything that the ground bringeth forth, upon men and upon cattle, yee and upon all handy labor.

Now when Zorobabel the son of Salathiel, and Jesua the son of Josedech the high priest with the remnant of the people, heard the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of the Prophet Aggeus ( like as the Lord their God had sent him ) the people did fear the Lord. Then Aggeus the Lords angel said in the Lords message to the people: I am with you, sayeth the Lord. So the Lord * waked up the spirit of Zorobabel the Prince of Juda, and the spirit of Jesua the son of Josedech the high priest, and the spirit of the remnant of the people: that they came and labored, in the house of the Lord of hosts their God. *To wake up the spirit in a man is, when God by his spirit comforts and makes bold the heart, to take upon him without fear any act or deed of great importance. MN

The Second Chapter

Upon the twenty fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of king

Darius, the twenty first day of the seventh month, came the word of the Lord by the Prophet Aggeus, saying: speak to Zorobabel the son of Salathiel prince of Juda, and to Jesua the son of Josedech the high priest, and to the residue of the people, and say: Who is left among you, that saw this house in her first beauty? But what think ye now by it? Is it not in your eyes, even as though it were nothing? Nevertheless be of good cheer O Zorobabel ( sayeth the Lord ) be of good comfort, O Jesua thou son of Josedech high priest: take good hearts unto you also, all ye people of the land, sayeth the Lord of hosts and do according to the word ( for I am with you, sayeth the Lord of hosts ) like as I agreed with you, when ye came out of the land of Egypt: and my spirit shall be among you, fear ye not.

For thus sayeth the Lord of hosts: yet once more will I shake heaven and earth, the sea, and the dry land yee I will move all Heathen, and the comfort of all Heathen shall come, and so I will fill this house with honor, sayeth the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine, the gold is mine, sayeth the Lord of hosts. Thus the glory of the last house shall be greater than the first, sayeth the Lord of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, sayeth the Lord of hosts.

The twenty fourth day of the ninth month in the second year of king

Darius, came the word of the Lord unto the Prophet Aggeus, saying: Ask the priests concerning the law, and say: if one bear holy flesh in his coat lape, and with his lappe do touch the bread, potage, wine, oil or any other meat: shall he be holy also? The priests answered and said: No. Then said Aggeus: Now if one being defiled with a dead carcass, touch any of these: shall it also be unclean? The Priests gave answer and said: yee, it shall be unclean. Then Aggeus answered and said: even so is this people and this nation before me, sayeth the Lord: and so are all the works of their hands, yee and all that they offer is unclean.

And now ( I pray you ) consider from this day forth, and how it hath gone with you afore: or ever there was layed one stone upon another in the temple of the Lord: that when ye came to a corn heap of twenty bushels, there were scarce ten: and that when ye came to the wine press for to pour out fifty pots of wine, there were scarce twenty. For I smote you with heat, blasting and hailstones in all the labors of your hands: yet was there none of you, that would turn unto me, sayeth the Lord. Consider then from this day forth and afore, namely, from the twenty fourth day of the ninth month, unto the day that the foundation of the Lords temple was layed: mark it well, is not the seed yet in the barn? have not the vines, the fig trees, the pomegranates and the olive trees been unfruitful? but from this day forth, I shall make them to prosper.

Moreover the twenty fourth day of the month came the word of the Lord unto Aggeus again saying: Speak to Zorobabel the prince of Juda, and say: I will shake both heaven and earth, and over through the seat of the kingdoms, yee and destroy the mighty kingdom of the Heathen. I will overthrow the chariots, and those that sit upon then, so that both horse and man shall fall down, every man through his neighbors sword. And as for thee, O Zorobabel ( sayeth the Lord of hosts ) tho son of Salathiel my servant: I will take thee ( sayeth the Lord ) at the same time, and make thee as a seal, for I have chosen the, sayeth the Lord of hosts.

The end of the Prophecy of Aggeus

The Book of the Prophet Zachary (Zechariah)

"Jehovah remembers"

The First Chapter

In the eighth month of the second year of king Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zachary the son of Barachias, the son of Addo, the Prophet, saying: the Lord hath been sore displeased at your forefathers. And say thou unto them: thus saith the Lord of hosts. Turn you unto me ( saith the Lord of hosts ) and I will turn me unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. Be not ye like your forefathers, unto whom the Prophets cried afore time, saying: Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Turn you from your evil ways, and from your wicked imaginations. But they would not hear, nor regard me, saith the Lord. What is now become of your forefathers and the prophets? are they yet still alive? But did not my words and my statutes ( which I commanded by my servants the Prophets ) touch your forefathers? Upon this, they gave answer and said: like as the Lord of hosts devised to do unto us, according to our ways and imaginations, even so hath he dealt with us.

Upon the twenty forth day of the eleventh month which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zachary the son of Barachias, the son of Addo the Prophet, saying: I saw by night, and lo, there sat one upon a red horse, and stood still among the Myrtle trees, that were beneath upon the ground: and behind him were there red, speckled and white horses. Then said I: O my Lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me, said unto me : I will show thee what these be. And the man that stood among the Myrtle trees, answered and said: These are they, whom the Lord hath sent to go through the world. And they answered the angel of the Lord, that stood among the myrtle trees, and said: We have gone through the world: and behold all the world dwell at the east, and are careless.

Then the Lords angel gave answer, and said: O' Lord of hosts, how long wilt thou be unmerciful to Jerusalem and to the cities of Juda, with whom thou hast been displeased now these seventy years. So the Lord gave a loving and comfortable answer unto the angel that talked with me. And the angel that communed with me, said unto me: Cry thou, and speak: Thus sayeth the Lord of hosts: I am exceedingly jealous over Jerusalem and Sion, and sore displeased at the careless Heathen: for where I was but a little angry, they did their best that I might destroy them. Therefore thus sayeth the Lord: I will turn me again in mercy toward Jerusalem, so that my house shall be build in it, sayeth the Lord of hosts: yee and the plummet shall be laid abroad in Jerusalem, sayeth the Lord of hosts.

Cry also, and speak: thus sayeth the Lord of hosts: My cities shall be in good prosperity again, the Lord shall yet comfort Sion, and choose Jerusalem. Then lift I mine eyes and saw, and behold, four horns. And I said unto the angel, that talketh with me: What be these: he answered me : These are the horses, which have scattered Juda, Israel, and Jerusalem abroad. And the Lord showed me four carpenters. Then said I: what will these do? He answered, and said: Those are the horns, which have so strewed Juda abroad, that no man durst lift up his head: But these are come to *fraye them away, and to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lift up their horn over the land of Juda, to scatter it abroad. *fraye= alarm, wear down, frighten

The Second Chapter

I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand. Then said I: Whither goest thou? And he said unto me: To measure Jerusalem, that I may see how long and how broad it is. And, behold, the angel that talked with me, went his way forth. Then went out another angel to meet him, and said unto him: Run, speak to this young man, and say: Jerusalem shall be inhabited without any wall, for the very multitude of people and cattle, that shall be therein: Yee I, myself ( saith the Lord ) will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be honored in her.

O get ye forth, O flee from the land of the north, saith the Lord, ye whom I have scattered in to the *four winds under heaven, saith the Lord. Save thy self, O Sion, thou that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon. for thus saith the Lord of hosts: With a glorious power hath he sent me out to the Heathen, which spoiled you: for who so toucheth you, shall touche the apple of his own eye. Behold, I will lift up mine hand over them: so that they shall be spoiled of those, which afore served them: and ye shall know, that the Lord of hosts hath sent me. *By the four winds, understand the whole world, as in Math 24c MN

Be glad, and rejoice, O *daughter of Sion: for, lo, I am come to dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord. At the same time there shall many Heathen cleave to the Lord, and shall be my people. Thus will I dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know, that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto thee. The Lord shall have Judah in his possession for his part in the holy ground, and shall choose Jerusalem yet again. Let all flesh be still before the Lord, for he is risen out of his holy place. *daughter of Sion= for all the people, as in the Psalms 90a MN

The Third Chapter

And he showed me Jesua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan stood at his right hand to resist him. And the Lord said unto Satan: The Lord reprove thee ( thou Satan ) yee the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem, reprove thee. Is not this a brand taken out of the fire? Now Jesua was clothed in unclean raiment, and stood before the angel: Which answered and said unto those, that stood before him: take away the foul clothes from him. And unto him he said: Behold, I have taken away thy sin from thee, and will deck thee with change of raiment. He said more over: set a fair mitre upon his head, So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and put clothes upon him, and the angel of the Lord stood there. Then angel of the Lord testified unto Jesua, and spoke, thus saith the Lord of hosts: If thou wilt walk in my ways, and keep my watch: thou shalt rule my house, and keep my courts, and I will give thee place among these that stand here. Hear O Jesua thou high priest, thou and thy friends that dwell before thee, for they are wondrous people. Behold, I will bring forth the branch of my servant: for lo, the stone that I have laid before Jesua: upon one stone shall be seven eyes. Behold, I will hew him out ( saith the Lord of hosts ) and take away the sin of that land in one day. Then shall every man call for his neighbor, under the vine and under the fig tree, saith the Lord of hosts.

The Fourth Chapter

And the angel that talked with me, came again, and waked me up, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep, and said unto me: What seest thou? And I said: I have looked, and behold: a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon it, and his seven lamps therein, and upon every lamp seven stalks. And two olive trees thereby, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side. So I answered, and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying: O my Lord what are these? The angel that talked with me answered and said unto me: knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my Lord. He answered, and said unto me: This is the word of the Lord unto *Zorobabel, saying: Neither through an host of men, nor through strength, but through my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. What art thou, thou great mountain, before Zorobabel? thou must be made even. And he shall bring up the first stone so that men shall cry unto him: good luck, good luck. *Zorobabel = Heb; "sown in Babylon"

Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying: The hands of Zorobabel have laid the foundation of this house, his hands shall also finish it: that ye may know how that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you. For he that hath been despised a *little season, shall rejoice, when he seeth the tin weight in Zorobabels hand. The seven eyes are the Lords, which go through the whole world. Then answered I, and said unto him: What are these two olive trees upon the right and left side of the candlestick? I spake moreover, and said unto him: what be these two olive branches ( which through the two golden pipes ) empty themselves into the gold? He answered me, and said: knowest thou not, what these be? And I said no, my Lord. Then said he: These are the two olive branches, that stand before the ruler of the whole earth. *See Revelation "a little season"RN

The Fifth Chapter

So I turned me, lifting up mine eyes, and looked, and behold, a flying book. And he said unto me: what seest thou? I answered: I see a flying book of twenty cubits long, and ten cubits broad. Then said he unto me: This is the curse, that goeth forth over the whole earth: for all thieves shall be judged after this book, and all swearers shall be judged according to the same, I will bring it forth ( saith the Lord of hosts ) so that it shall come to the house of the thief, and to the house of him, that falsely sweareth by my name: and shall remain in his house, and shall consume it, with the timber and stones thereof. Then the angel that talked with me, went forth, and said unto me: lift up thine eyes and see what this is that goeth forth. And I said: what is it? He answered: this is a measure going out. He said moreover: Even thus are they ( that dwell upon the whole earth ) to look upon. And behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and lo, a woman sat in the midst of the measure. And he said: This is ungodliness. So he cast her into the midst of the measure, and threw the lump of lead up in to an whole.

Then lift up I mine eyes, and looked: and behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings ( for they had wings like the wings of a stork ) and they lifted up the measure between the earth and the heaven. Then spake I to the angel that talked with me: whither will these bare the measure? And he said unto me: in to the land of Sinear, to build them an house: which when it is prepared, the measure shall be set there in his place.

The Sixth Chapter

Moreover I turned me, lifting up mine eyes, and looked: and behold, there came four chariots out from between two hills, which hills were of brass: In the first chariot were red horse, in the second chariot were black horse, in the third chariot were white horse, in the fourth chariot were horses of diverse color and strong. Then spake I and said unto the angel that talked with me: O' Lord, what are these: The angel answered, and said unto me: These are the four winds of heaven, which be come forth to stand before the ruler of all the earth. That with the black horse *wite in to the land of the north, and the white horse followed them, and the speckled horses went forth toward the south. These horses were very strong, and went out: and sought to go and take their journey over the whole earth. And he said: get you hence, and go through the world. So they went throughout the world. Then cried he upon me, and spake unto me, saying , behold, these that go toward the north, shall still my wrath in the north country. *wite=Blame fault

And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying: Take of the prisoners that are come from Babylon: namely, Heldai, Tobiah and Jdaia: and come thou the same day, and go into the house of Josiah the son of Sophony. Then take gold and silver and make crowns thereof, and set them upon the head of Jesua the son of Josedeh, the high priest, And speak unto him: Thus sayeth the Lord of hosts: Behold the man whose name is the branch: and he that will spring up after him, shall build up the temple of the Lord. Yee even he shall build up the temple of the Lord. He shall bear the praise, he shall sit upon the Lords throne, and have the dominion.

A priest shall he be also upon his throne, and a peaceable counsel shall be between them both. And the crowns shall be in the temple of the Lord, for a remembrance unto to Heldai, Tobiah and Jdaia and Hen the son of Sophony. And such as be far off, shall come and build the temple of the Lord, that ye may know, how that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you. And this shall come to pass, if ye will harken diligently unto the voice of the Lord your God.

The Seventh Chapter

It happened also in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the Lord came unto Zachary in the fourth day of the ninth month, which is called Chisleu: what time as Sarasar and Rogomelech and the men that were with them, sent unto Bethel for to pray before the Lord: and to speak unto the priests, which were in the house of the Lord of hosts, and to the prophets: Should I weep in the fifth month, and abstain, as I have done now in certain years? Then came the word of the Lord of hosts unto me, saying: Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests , and say: when ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month ( now this seventy years ) did ye fast unto me? When ye ate and also drunk, did ye not eat and drink for your own selves? Are not these the words, which the Lord spake by his prophets afore time, when Jerusalem was yet inhabited and wealthy, she and the cities around her: when there dwelt men, both toward the south and in the plain countries?

And the word of the Lord came unto Zachary, saying: Thus sayeth the Lord of hosts: Execute true judgment, and show mercy and loving kindness, every man to his brother. Do the widow, the fatherless, the stranger, and poor no wrong: and let no man imagine evil against his brother in his heart. Nevertheless they would not take heed, but turned their backs, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear: yee they made their hearts as an Adamant stone lest they should hear the law and words, which the Lord of hosts sent in his holy spirit by the prophets afore time.

Wherefore the Lord of hosts was very wroth at them. And thus is it come to pass, that like as he spake and they would not hear: even so they cried, and I would not hear ( sayeth the Lord of hosts ) but scattered them among all Gentiles, whom they knew not. Thus the land was made so desolate, that there traveled no man in it neither to, nor for, for that pleasant land was utterly layed waste.

The Eighth Chapter

So the word of the Lord came unto me, saying: Thus saith the Lord of hosts: I was in a great jealousy for Sion, yee I have been very jealous over her in great displeasure thus saith the Lord of hosts: I will turn me again unto Sion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: so that Jerusalem shall be called a faithful and true city, the hill of the Lord of hosts, yee an holy hill.

Thus saith the Lord of hosts: There shall yet old men and women dwell again in the streets of Jerusalem: yee and such as go with staffs in their hands for very age. The streets of the city also shall be full of young boys and damsels, playing upon the streets.

Thus saith the Lord of hosts: If the residue of this people think it to be impossible in these days, should it therefore be impossible in my sight, saith the Lord of hosts? Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will deliver my people from the land of the east and the west, and will bring them again: that they may dwell at Jerusalem. They shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and righteousness. Thus saith the Lord of hosts: let your hands be strong, ye that now hear these words by the mouth of the prophets which be in these days that the foundation is layed upon the Lord of hosts house, that the temple may be built. For why? before these days, neither men nor cattle could win anything, neither might any man come in or out in rest, for trouble: but I let every man go against his neighbor.

Nevertheless I will now entreat the residue of this people no more as a fore time, saith the Lord of hosts, but they shall be a seed of peace. The vineyard shall give her fruit, the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew: and I shall cause the remnant of this people , to have all these in possession. And it shall come to pass, that like as ye were a curse among the Heathen ( O house of Juda and ye house of Israel ) Even so will I deliver you, that ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong.

For thus saith the Lord of hosts: Like as I devised to punish you, what time as your fathers provoked me unto wrath, saith the Lord of hosts, and spared not. Even so am I determined now in these days, for to do well unto the house of Juda and Jerusalem therefore fear not. Now the things that I shall do, are these: Speak every man the truth unto his neighbor, execute judgment truly, and peaceably within your ports, none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbor, and love no false oaths: for all these are things that I hate, saith the Lord. And the word of the Lord of hosts came unto me, saying: thus saith the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth month, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be joy and gladness, and prosperous high feasts unto the house of Juda: Only love the truth and peace.

Thus sayeth the Lord of hosts: There shall yet come people, and the inhabitors of many cities: and they that dwell in one city, shall go to another, saying:

Up, let us go, and pray before the Lord, let us seek the Lord of hosts, I will go with you: yee much people and mighty Heathen shall come and seek the Lord of hosts at Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts: In that time shall ten men ( out of all manner of languages of the Gentiles ) take one Jew by the hem of his garment, and say: we will go with you, for we have heard that God is among you.

The Ninth Chapter

The word of the Lord shall be received in Adrach, and Damascus shall be his offering: for the eyes of all men and of the tribes of Israel shall look up unto the Lord. The borders of Hemath shall be hard thereby, Tyrus also and Sidon, for they are very wise. Tyrus shall make herself strong, and heap up silver as the sand, and gold as the clay of the streets. Behold, the Lord shall take her in, and have her in possession: he shall smite down her power in to the sea, and she shall be consumed with fire. This shall Ascalor see, and be afraid. Gaza shall be very sorry, so shall Accaron also, because her hope is come of confusion. For the king of Gaza shall perish, and at Ascalon shall no man dwell.

Strangers shall dwell at Asdod, and as for the pride of the Philistines, I shall root it out. Their blood will I take away from their mouth, and their abominations from among their teeth, Thus they shall be left for our God, yee they shall be as a prince of Juda, and Accaron like as Jebusy. And so will I compass my house round about with my men of war going to and fro: that no oppressor come upon them any more. For that have I seen now with mine eyes.

Rejoice thou greatly, O daughter Sion be glad, O daughter Jerusalem. For low, thy king cometh unto thee, even the righteous and Savior: Lowly and simple is he, he rideth upon an ass, and upon the foal of an ass I will root out the chariots from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem, the battle bows shall be destroyed. He shall give the doctrine of peace unto the Heathen, and his dominion shall be from the one sea to the other, and from the floods to the ends of the world.

Thou also through the blood of thy covenant: shalt let thy prisoners out of the pit wherin is no water. Turn you now to the strong hold, ye that be in prison, and long for to be delivered: And this day I bring the word, That I will reward thee double again. For Juda have I bent out as a bow for me and Ephraim have I filled. Thy sons (O Sion ) will I raise up against the Greeks, and make thee as a giants sword: the Lord God shall be seen above them, and his darts shall go forth as lighting. The Lord God shall blow the trumpet, and shall come forth as a storm out of the south.

The Lord of hosts shall defend them, they shall consume and devour, and subdue them with flying stones. They shall drink and rage, as it were through wine. They shall be filled like the basins, and as the horns of the alter. The Lord their God shall deliver them in that day, as the flock of his people: for the stones of his Sanctuary shall be set up in his land. O how prosperous and goodly a thing shall that be: The corn shall make the young men cheerful, and the new wine the maidens.

The Tenth Chapter

Pray the Lord then by times to give you the *latter rain so shall the Lord make clouds, and give you rain enough for all the increase of the field: For vain is the answer of Idols. The soothsayers selves, and tell but vain dreams: that comfort that they give, is nothing worth. Therefore go they astray like a flock of sheep, and are troubled, because they have no shepherd. My wrothful displeasure is moved at the shepherds, and I will visit the goats. For the Lord of hosts will graciously visit his flock, the house of Juda, and hold them as a goodly fair horse in the battle. Out of Juda shall come the helmet, the nail, the battle bow, and all the princes together. They shall be as the giants, which in the battle tread down the mire upon the streets. They shall fight, for the Lord shall be with them, so that the horse men shall be confounded.

I will comfort the house of Juda, and preserve the house of Joseph. I will turn them also, for I pity them,: and they shall be like as they were, when I had not cast them off. For I the Lord am their God, and will hear them. Ephraim shall be as a giant, and their heart shall be cheerful as through wine: yee their children shall see it, and be glad, and their heart shall rejoice in the Lord. I will blow for them and gather them together, for I will redeem them. They shall increase, as they increased a fore. I will sow them among the people, that they may think upon me in far countries: they shall live with their children, and turn again. I will bring them again also from the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assiria. I will carry them into the land of Galaad and to Libanus and they shall want for nothing. He shall go upon the sea of trouble, and smite the sea waves: so that all the deep floods shall be dried up. The proud boosting of Assur shall be cast down, and the scepter of Egypt shall be taken away. I will comfort them in the Lord, that they may walk in his name, sayeth the Lord.

The Eleventh Chapter

Open thy doors, O Libanus, that the fire may consume thy cedar trees. Howl ye Fir trees, for the cedar is fallen, yee all the proud are wasted away. Howl

( O ye oak trees of Baasan ) for the mighty strong wood is cut down. Men may hear the shepherds mourn, for their glory is destroyed. Men may hear the lions whelps roar for the pride of Jordane is wasted away.

Thus sayeth the Lord my God: feed the sheep of the slaughter, which shall be slain of those that possess them: yet they take it for no sin, but they that fell them, say: The Lord be thanked, I am rich: yee their own shepherds spare them not. Therefore will I no more spare those that dwell in the land ( sayeth the Lord ) but, lo I will deliver the people, every man into his neighbors hand, and in to the hand of his king: that they may smite the land, and out of their hands will not I deliver them.

I my self feed the slaughter sheep ( and poor flock verily ) and took unto me two staffs: the one I called loving meekness, the other I called woe, and so I kept the sheep. Three shepherds destroyed I in one month, for I might not away with them, neither had they any delight in me. Then said I: I will feed you no more, the thing that dieth, let it die: and that will perish, let it perish, and let the remnant eat, every one the flesh of his neighbor. I took also my loving meek staff, and break it, that I might disannul the covenant, which I made with all people. And so it was broken in that day.

Then the poor simple sheep that had a respect unto me, knew thereby , that it was the word of the Lord. And I said unto them: if ye think it good, bring hither my price, : if no, then leave. So they weighed down thirty silver pens, the value that I was prized at. And the Lord said unto me: cast it unto the potter ( a good price for me to be valued at of them ) and I took the thirty silver pens, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord. Then break I my other staff also ( namely woe ) that I might loose the brotherhead between Juda and Israel. And the Lord said unto me: Take to thee also the staff of a foolish shepherd: for lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which will not seek after the things that be lost, nor care for such as go astray: he shall not heal the wounded, he shall not nourish the thing that is whole: but he shall eat the flesh of such as be fat, and tear their claws in pieces.

O Idols shepherd, that leaveth the flock. The sword shall come upon his arm and upon his right eye. His arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye will be sore blinded.

The Twelfth Chapter

The heavy burden which the Lord hath devised for Israel. Thus sayeth the Lord, which spread the heavens abroad, layed the foundation of the earth, and giveth man the breath of life: Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of *surfet, unto all the people round about her: Yee Juda himself also shall be in the siege against Jerusalem. At the same time I will make Jerusalem an heavy stone for all people, so that all such as lift it up, shall be torn and rent, and all the people of the earth shall be gathered together against it. * to feed or supply to excess, disgust satiety

In that day, saith the Lord, I will make all horses abashed, and those that ride upon them, to be out of their wits. I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and smite all the horses of the people with blindness. And the princes of Judah shall say in their hearts: The inhabitors of Jerusalem shall give me consolation in the Lord of hosts their God. In that time will I make the princes of Judah like an hot burning oven with wood, and like a cresset of fire among the straw: so that they shall consume all the people round about them, both upon the right hand and the left. Jerusalem shall also be inhabited again: namely, in the same place where Jerusalem standeth.

The Lord shall also preserve the tents of Judah, like as afore time: so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the citizens of Jerusalem, shall be but little regarded, in comparison of the glory of Juda. In that day shall the Lord defend the citizens of Jerusalem: so that the weakest among them shall be as David: and the house of David shall be as Gods house, and as the Angel of the Lord before them.

At the same time will I go about to destroy all such people as come against Jerusalem. Moreover, upon the house of David and upon the citizens of Jerusalem, will I pour out the spirit of grace and prayer, so that they shall look upon me, whom they have pierced: and they shall beweep him, as men mourn for their only begotten son: yee and be sorry for him, as men are sorry for their first child.

Then shall there be a great mourning at Jerusalem, like as the lamentation at Adremnon in the field of Maggadon. And the land shall bewail every kindred by themselves: the kindred of the house of David themselves alone, and their wives by themselves: The kindred of the house of Levi themselves alone, and their wives by themselves: The kindred of the house of Semei themselves alone, and their wives by themselves: In like manner, all the other generations, everyone by themselves alone, and there wives by themselves.

The Thirteenth Chapter

In that time shall the house of David and the citizens of Jerusalem have an open well, to wash of sin and uncleanness. And then ( sayeth the Lord of hosts ) I will destroy the names of Idols out of the land: so that they shall no more be put to remembrance.

As for the false prophets also and the unclean spirit, I shall take them out of the land: So that if any of them prophecy any more, his own father and mother that begat him, shall wound him, when he prophesieth. And then shall those prophecies be confounded, everyone of his vision when he prophesieth: neither shall they wear sack cloths any more, to deceive men withal. But he shall be faine to say: I am no Prophet: I am but an husband man, for so I am taught by Adam from my youth up. And if it be said unto him: how came these wounds then in thine hands? He shall answer: Thus am I wounded in the house of mine own friends.

Arise, O thou sword, upon my shepherd, and upon the Prince of my people, saith the Lord of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered abroad, and so will I turn mine hand to the little ones. And it shall come to pass (saith the Lord) that in all the land two parts shall be rooted out, but the third part shall remain therein. And the same third part will I bring through the fire, and will cleanse them, as the silver is cleansed: yee and try them like as gold is tried. Then shall they call upon my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people. And they shall say, Lord, my God.

The Fourteenth Chapter

Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, that thou shalt be spoiled and robbed: For I will gather together all the Heathen, to fight against Jerusalem: so that the city shall be won, the houses spoiled, and the women defiled. The half of the city shall go away into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be carried out of the city. After that shall the Lord go forth, to fight against those Heathen, as men used to fight in the day of battle. Then shall his feet shall stand upon the mount olivete, that layeth upon the east side of Jerusalem. And the mount olivete shall cleave in two, eastward and westward, so that there shall be a great valley: and the half mount shall remove toward the north, and the other toward the south. And ye shall flee into the valley of my hills, for the valley of the hills shall reach unto Asia. Yee flee shall ye, like as ye fled for the earthquake in the days of Osiah king of Juda. And the Lord my God shall come, and all saints with him. In that day it shall not be light, but cold and frost. This shall be that special day which is known unto the Lord: neither day nor night, but about the evening time it shall be light. In that time shall there *waters of life run out from Jerusalem: the half part of them* toward the east sea, and the other half toward the uttermost sea, and shall continue both summer and winter. And the Lord himself shall be king over all the earth. *waters= that is the understanding of the word of God. MN

At the time shall there be one Lord only, and his name shall be but one. Men shall go about the whole earth, as upon a field: from Gibea to Remmon, and from the south to Jerusalem. She shall be set up, and inhabited in her place: from Ben Jamins port, unto the place of the first port, and unto the corner port: and from the tower of Dananeel, unto the kings wine presses. There shall men dwell, and there shall be no more cursing, but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited. This shall be the plague, wherewith the Lord will smite all the people, that have fought against Jerusalem: Namely, their flesh shall consume away, though they shad upon their feet: their eyes shall be corrupt in their holes, and their tongue shall consume in their mouth.

In that day shall the Lord make a great sedition among them, so that one man shall take another by the hand, and lay his hands upon the hands of his neighbor. Juda shall fight also against Jerusalem, and the goods of all the Heathen shall be gathered together round about: gold and silver and a very great multitude of clothes. And so shall this plague go over horses, mules, camels, asses, and all the beasts that shall be in the host, like as yonder plague was. Every one that remaineth then of all the people, which came against Jerusalem, shall go up yearly, to worship the king ( even the Lord of hosts ) and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And look what generation upon the earth goeth not up to Jerusalem, for to worship the king

( even the Lord of hosts ) upon the same shall come no rain. If the kindred of Egypt go not up, and come not, it shall not rain upon them neither.

This shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all Heathen, that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles: yee this shall be the sin plague of Egypt and the sin plague of all people, that go not up to keep the feast of the tabernacles.

At that time shall the riding gear of the horses be holy unto the Lord, and the kettles in the Lords house shall be like the basins before the altar: yee all the kettles in Jerusalem and Juda, shall be holy unto the Lord of hosts: and all they that slay offerings, shall come take of them, and *dight them therin. And at that time there shall be no more Cananities in the house of the Lord.

*dight= boil

The end of the Prophecy of Zachary

The Book of the Prophet Malachi

"My messenger"

The First Chapter

The heavy burden, which the Lord showed against Israel by Malachi. I have loved you, saith the Lord: And yet ye say: wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacobs brother, saith the Lord? yet have I loved Jacob, and hated Esau: yee I have made his hills waste, and his heritage a wilderness for dragons. And though Edom said: well, we are destroyed, we will go build up again the places that be layed waste: yet ( sayeth the Lord of hosts ) what they builded, that brake I down: so that it is called a cursed land, and people, whom the Lord hath ever been angry withal.

Your eyes have seen it, and ye your selves must confess, that the Lord hath brought the land of Israel to great honor. Should not a son honor his father, and a servant his master? If I be now a father, where is mine honor? If I be the Lord, where am I feared? sayeth the Lord of hosts.

Now to you priests, that despise my name. And if ye say: wherein have we despised thy name? In this, that ye * offer unclean bread upon my altar. And if ye will say: wherin have we offered any unclean thing unto the? In this that ye say: the altar of the Lord is not to be regarded. If ye offer the blind, is that not evil? And if yee offer the lame and sick, is that not evil? Yee offer it unto thy prince, shall he be content with thee, or except thy person, sayeth the Lord of hosts? * to offer defiled bread is to do anything by hypocrisy and not to the glory of God, as hath been commanded in his word, but according to the inventions and dreams of men. Oseas 9a MN

And now make your prayer before God, that he may have mercy upon us: for such things have yee done. Shall he regard your persons, think ye, sayeth the Lord of hosts? Yee what is he among you, that will do so much as shut the doors, or to kindle fire upon mine alter for nought? I have no pleasure in you, sayeth the Lord of hosts: and as for the meatoffering, I will not accept it at your hand. For the rising up of the son unto the going down of the same, my name is great among the Gentiles: yee in every place shall there be sacrifice be done, and a clean meatoffering offered up to my name: for my name is great among the Heathen, sayeth the Lord of hosts. But yee have unhallowed it, in that ye say, the alter of the Lord is not regarded, and * the thing that is set thereupon , not worthy to be eaten. * Or his word and his meat are despised.

Now say ye: It is but labor and travail, and thus have ye thought scorn at it (sayeth the Lord of hosts ) offering robbery, yee the lame and sick. Ye have brought me in a meatoffering, should I accept it of your hand sayeth the Lord? Cursed be the dissembler, which has in his flock one that is male, and when he maketh a vow, offereth a spotted one unto the Lord. For I am a great king ( sayeth the lord of hosts ) and my name is fearful among the Heathen.

The Second Chapter

And now ( O ye priests ) this commandment toucheth you: If ye will not hear it, to give glory unto my name, saith the Lord of hosts, I will send a curse upon you, and will curse your blessings: yea, curse them will I if you do not take heed. Behold, I shall corrupt your seed, and cast dung in your faces: even the dung of your solemn feasts and it shall cleave fast upon you. And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you: that my covenant which I made with Levi, might stand, saith the Lord of hosts.

I made a covenant of life and peace with him: this I gave him, that he might stand in awe of me: and so he did fear me, and had my name in reverence. The law of truth was in his mouth, and there was no wickedness found in his lips. He walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many one away from their sins. For the priests lips should be sure knowledge, that the men may seek the law at his mouth, for he is a messenger of the Lord of hosts. But as for you, ye are gone clean out of the way, and have caused the multitude to be offended at the law: ye have broken the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. Therefore will I also make you despised, and to be of no reputation among all the people: because ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law.

Have we not all one father? Hath not one God made us? why doth every one of us then despise his own brother, and so break the covenant of our fathers? Now hath Judah offended: yee the abomination is done in Israel and in Jerusalem, for Judah hath defiled the Sanctuary of the Lord, which he loved, and hath kept the daughter of a strange God. But the Lord shall destroy the man that doeth this, yee both the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacle of Jacob, with him that offereth up meatoffering unto the Lord of hosts. Now have ye brought it to this point again, that the altar of the Lord is covered with tears weeping, and mourning: so that I will nomore regard the meatoffering, neither will I receive or accept anything at your hands. And yet ye say: wherefore? Even because that where as the Lord made a covenant between the and thy wife of thy youth, thou hast despised her: Yet is she thy own companion and married wife.

So did not the one, and yet had he an excellent spirit. What did then the one? He sought the seed promised of God. Therefore look well to your spirit, and let no man despise the wife of his youth. If thou hatest her put her away, saith the Lord God of Israel and give her clothing for her scorn, sayeth the Lord of hosts. Look well then to your spirit, and despise her not. Ye grieve the Lord with your words, and yet ye say: wherewith all have we grieved him? In this, that ye say: All that do evil are good in the sight of God, and such please him. Or else where is the God that punisheth?

The Third Chapter

Behold, I will send my messenger, which shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord whom ye would have, shall soon come to his temple, yee even the messenger of the covenant whom ye long for.

Behold, he cometh, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? Who shall be able to endure, when he appeareth? For he is like a goldsmiths fire, and like washers soap. He shall sit him down to try and to cleanse the silver, he shall purge the children of Levi, and purify them as gold and silver: that they may bring meatofferings unto the Lord in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be acceptable unto the Lord, like as from the beginning and the years, afore time. I will come and punish you, and I myself will be a swift witness against the witches, against the *advouterers, against false swearers: yee and against those, that wrongfully keep back the hirelings duty: which vex the widows and the fatherless, and oppress the stranger, and fear me not, saith the Lord of hosts. For I am the Lord that change not, and ye ( O children of Jacob ) will not leave off : ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and since the time of your forefathers have not kept them. *advoutry: prefix "a" meaning not or without, devout: devotion; plain hearted to God, being devoted to something or some one else. see James 2 for adultery

Turn you now unto me, and I will turn me unto you, saith the Lord of hosts: ye say: wherein shall we turn? Should a man use falsehood and deceit with God as ye use falsehood and deceit with me. Yet ye say wherin use we deceit with thee? In Tithes and heave offerings. Therefore are ye cursed with *penury, because ye dissemble with me, all the *forte of you.

*penury= extreme want *forte = loud and forceful excelling of ones self

Bring every Tithe in to my barn, that there may be meat in my house: and prove me with all ( sayeth the Lord of hosts ) if I will not open the windows of heaven unto you, and pour you out a blessing with plenteousness. Yee, I shall reprove the consumer for your sakes, so that he shall not eat up the fruit of your ground, neither shall the vineyard be barren in the field, sayeth the Lord of hosts: In so much that all people shall say, that yee be blessed, for ye shall be a plenteous land, sayeth the Lord of hosts.

Ye speak hard words against me, sayeth the Lord. And yet ye say: What have we spoken against thee? Ye have said.

It is lost labor, to serve God? What profit have we for keeping his commandments, and for walking humbly before the Lord of hosts? Therefore may we say, that the proud are happy, and that they which deal with ungodliness, are set up: for they temp God and yet escape.

But they that fear God, say thus one to another: the Lord considereth and heareth it. Yee it is before him a memorial book, written for such as fear the Lord, and remember his name. And in the day that I will make ( sayeth the Lord of hosts ) they shall be mine own possession: and I will favor them, like as a man favoreth his own son, that doth him service. Turn you therefore, and consider what difference is between the righteous and the ungodly: between him that serveth God, and him that serveth him not.

For mark, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven: and all the proud, yee and all such as do wickedness, shall be straw: and the day that is for to come, shall burn them up ( sayeth the Lord of hosts ) so that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

But unto you that fear my name, shall the Son of righteousness arise, and health shall be under his wings: ye shall go forth, and multiply as the fat calves. Ye shall tread down the ungodly: for they shall be like the ashes under the soles of your feet, in the day that I shall make, sayeth the Lord of hosts.

Remember the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Oreb for all Israel, with the statutes and ordinances. Behold, I will send you Elias the prophet: before the coming of the day of the great and fearful Lord. He shall turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, that I come not and smite the earth with cursing.

The end of the prophecy of Malachy