{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_1610/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_1610","id":"gutenberg_1610","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1610","summary":null,"tags":["Bible. Old Testament","Category: History - Religious","Category: Poetry","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Religion"],"text":"Produced by Dennis McCarthy and Tad Book\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE HOLY BIBLE\n\n\n\n\nTranslated from the Latin Vulgate\n\n\nDiligently Compared with the Hebrew, Greek,\nand Other Editions in Divers Languages\n\n\nTHE OLD TESTAMENT\nFirst Published by the English College at Douay\nA.D. 1609 & 1610\n\nand\n\nTHE NEW TESTAMENT\nFirst Published by the English College at Rheims\nA.D. 1582\n\n\nWith Annotations\n\n\nThe Whole Revised and Diligently Compared with\nthe Latin Vulgate by Bishop Richard Challoner\nA.D. 1749-1752\n\n\n\nVOLUME II:  THE SECOND PART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT\n\n\n\n\nCREDITS\n\n\nWithout the assistance of many individuals and groups, this text of the\nDouay-Rheims Version of the Holy Bible would not be available for the\nProject Gutenberg collection.  Our most grateful and sincere thanks goes\nto those at 'Catholic Software' who have provided the electronic plain\ntexts of the 73 books of the Bible.  'Catholic Software' also produces a\nDouay Bible program on CD-ROM that features a fully searchable Douay-\nRheims Bible, footnotes, Latin text and dictionary, topical index, maps,\nBiblical art gallery, and other features.  For more information of this\nand many other products contact:\n\nCatholic Software\nBox 1914\nMurray, KY 42071\n(502) 753-8198\nhttp://www.catholicity.com/market/CSoftware/\nwaubrey@aol.com\n\nAdditional production assistance has been provided by volunteers from\nthe Atlanta Council of the Knights of Columbus.  Tad Book compiled and\nreformatted the texts to Project Gutenberg standards.  Dennis McCarthy\nassisted Mr. Book and transcribed selections from the first editions\nincluded as appendices.\n\n\n\n\nHISTORY\n\n\nThis three volume e-text set comes from multiple editions of Challoner's\nrevised Douay-Rheims Version of the Holy Bible.  The division of the Old\nTestaments into two parts follows the two tome format of the 1609/1610\nprinting of the Old Testament.  In 1568 English exiles, many from\nOxford, established the English College of Douay (Douai/Doway), Flanders,\nunder William (later Cardinal) Allen.  In October, 1578, Gregory Martin\nbegan the work of preparing an English translation of the Bible for\nCatholic readers, the first such translation into Modern English.\nAssisting were William Allen, Richard Bristow, Thomas Worthington, and\nWilliam Reynolds who revised, criticized, and corrected Dr. Martin's\nwork.  The college published the New Testament at Rheims (Reims/Rhemes),\nFrance, in 1582 through John Fogny with a preface and explanatory notes,\nauthored chiefly by Bristol, Allen, and Worthington.  Later the Old\nTestament was published at Douay in two parts (1609 and 1610) by Laurence\nKellam through the efforts of Dr. Worthington, then superior of the\nseminary.  The translation had been prepared before the appearance of the\nNew Testament, but the publication was delayed due to financial\ndifficulties.  The religious and scholarly adherence to the Latin Vulgate\ntext led to the less elegant and idiomatic words and phrases often found\nin the translation.  In some instances where no English word conveyed the\nfull meaning of the Latin, a Latin word was Anglicized and its meaning\ndefined in a glossary.  Although ridiculed by critics, many of these\nwords later found common usage in the English language.  Spellings of\nproper names and the numbering of the Psalms are adopted from the Latin\nVulgate.\n\nIn 1749 Dr. Richard Challoner began a major revision of the Douay and\nRheims texts, the spellings and phrasing of which had become increasingly\narchaic in the almost two centuries since the translations were first\nproduced.  He modernized the diction and introduced a more fluid style,\nwhile faithfully maintaining the accuracy of Dr. Martin's texts.  This\nrevision became the 'de facto' standard text for English speaking\nCatholics until the twentieth century.  It is still highly regarded by\nmany for its style, although it is now rarely used for liturgical\npurposes.  The notes included in this electronic edition are generally\nattributed to Bishop Challoner.\n\nThe 1610 printing of the second tome of the Old Testament includes an\nappendix containing the non-canonical books 'Prayer of Manasses,' 'Third\nBooke of Esdras,' and 'Fourth Booke of Esdras.'  While not part of\nChalloner's revision, the 1610 texts are placed in the appendices of\nVol. II of this e-text set.  Also included are the original texts of two\nshort books, 'The Prophecie of Abdias' (Vol. II) and 'The Catholike\nEpistle of Iude the Apostle' (Vol. III), to give the reader a sense of\nthe language of the first editions in comparison to the Challoner\nrevision.  Further background on the Douay-Rheims version may be found in\na selection from the preface to the 1582 edition and the original\nglossary included in the appendices of Vol. III.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\nThe Second Part of the Old Testament\n\n  Book of Psalms\n  Book of Proverbs\n  Ecclesiastes\n  Solomon's Canticle of Canticles\n  Book of Wisdom\n  Ecclesiasticus\n  Prophecy of Isaias\n  Prophecy of Jeremias\n  Lamentations of Jeremias\n  Prophecy of Baruch\n  Prophecy of Ezechiel\n  Prophecy of Daniel\n  Prophecy of Osee\n  Prophecy of Joel\n  Prophecy of Amos\n  Prophecy of Abdias\n  Prophecy of Jonas\n  Prophecy of Micheas\n  Prophecy of Nahum\n  Prophecy of Habacuc\n  Prophecy of Sophonias\n  Prophecy of Aggeus\n  Prophecy of Zacharias\n  Prophecy of Malachias\n  First Book of Machabees\n  Second Book of Machabees\n\n\nAppendices\n\n  The Prayer of Manasses\n  The Third Booke of Esdras\n  The Fourth Booke of Esdras\n\n  The Prophecie of Abdias\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE BOOK OF PSALMS\n\n\n\nThe psalms are called by the Hebrews TEHILLIM, that is, Hymns of\nPraise.  The author, of a great part of them at least, was king David:\nbut many are of opinion that some of them were made by Asaph, and\nothers whose names are prefixed in the titles.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 1\n\n\nBeatus vir.\n\nThe happiness of the just and the evil state of the wicked.\n\n1:1. Blessed is the man who hath not walked in the counsel of the\nungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the chair of\npestilence:\n\n1:2. But his will is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he shall\nmeditate day and night.\n\n1:3. And he shall be like a tree which is planted near the running\nwaters, which shall bring forth its fruit, in due season.  And his leaf\nshall not fall off:  and all whatsoever he shall do shall prosper.\n\n1:4. Not so the wicked, not so:  but like the dust, which the wind\ndriveth from the face of the earth.\n\n1:5. Therefore the wicked shall not rise again in judgment:  nor sinners\nin the council of the just.\n\n1:6. For the Lord knoweth the way of the just:  and the way of the\nwicked shall perish.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 2\n\n\nQuare fremuerunt.\n\nThe vain efforts of persecutors against Christ and his church.\n\n2:1. Why have the Gentiles raged, and the people devised vain things?\n\n2:2. The kings of the earth stood up, and the princes met together,\nagainst the Lord, and against his Christ.\n\n2:3. Let us break their bonds asunder:  and let us cast away their yoke\nfrom us.\n\n2:4. He that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh at them:  and the Lord shall\nderide them.\n\n2:5. Then shall he speak to them in his anger, and trouble them in his\nrage.\n\n2:6. But I am appointed king by him over Sion, his holy mountain,\npreaching his commandment.\n\n2:7. The Lord hath said to me:  Thou art my son, this day have I\nbegotten thee.\n\n2:8. Ask of me, and I will give thee the Gentiles for thy inheritance,\nand the utmost parts of the earth for thy possession.\n\n2:9. Thou shalt rule them with a rod of iron, and shalt break them in\npieces like a potter's vessel.\n\n2:10. And now, O ye kings, understand:  receive instruction, you that\njudge the earth.\n\n2:11. Serve ye the Lord with fear:  and rejoice unto him with trembling.\n\n2:12. Embrace discipline, lest at any time the Lord be angry, and you\nperish from the just way.\n\n2:13. When his wrath shall be kindled in a short time, blessed are all\nthey that trust in him.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 3\n\n\nDomine, quid multiplicati.\n\nThe prophet's danger and delivery from his son Absalom:  mystically, the\npassion and resurrection of Christ.\n\n3:1. The psalm of David when he fled from the face of his son Absalom.\n\n3:2. Many say to my soul:  There is no salvation for him in his God.\n\n3:4. But thou, O Lord, art my protector, my glory, and the lifter up of\nmy head.\n\n3:5. I have cried to the Lord with my voice:  and he hath heard me from\nhis holy hill.\n\n3:6. I have slept and have taken my rest:  and I have risen up, because\nthe Lord hath protected me.\n\n3:7. I will not fear thousands of the people surrounding me:  arise, O\nLord; save me, O my God.\n\n3:8. For thou hast struck all them who are my adversaries without\ncause:  thou hast broken the teeth of sinners.\n\n3:9. Salvation is of the Lord:  and thy blessing is upon thy people.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 4\n\n\nCum invocarem.\n\nThe prophet teacheth us to flee to God in tribulation, with confidence\nin him.\n\n4:1. Unto the end, in verses.  A psalm for David.\n\nUnto the end. . .Or, as St. Jerome renders it, victori, to him that\novercometh:  which some understand of the chief musician; to whom they\nsuppose the psalms, which bear that title, were given to be sung:  we\nrather understand the psalms thus inscribed to refer to Christ, who is\nthe end of the law, and the great conqueror of death and hell, and to\nthe New Testament.--Ibid.  In verses, in carminibus. . .In the Hebrew, it\nis neghinoth, supposed by some to be a musical instrument, with which\nthis psalm was to be sung.--Ibid.  For David, or to David. . .That is,\ninspired to David himself, or to be sung.\n\n4:2. When I called upon him, the God of my justice heard me:  when I was\nin distress, thou hast enlarged me.  Have mercy on me:  and hear my\nprayer.\n\n4:3. O ye sons of men, how long will you be dull of heart?  why do you\nlove vanity, and seek after lying?\n\n4:4. Know ye also that the Lord hath made his holy one wonderful:  the\nLord will hear me when I shall cry unto him.\n\n4:5. Be ye angry, and sin not:  the things you say in your hearts, be\nsorry for them upon your beds.\n\n4:6. Offer up the sacrifice of justice, and trust in the Lord:  many\nsay, Who sheweth us good things?\n\n4:7. The light of thy countenance, O Lord, is signed upon us:  thou hast\ngiven gladness in my heart.\n\n4:8. By the fruit of their corn, their wine, and oil, they rest:\n\n4:9. In peace in the self same I will sleep, and I will rest:\n\n4:10. For thou, O Lord, singularly hast settled me in hope.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 5\n\n\nVerba mea auribul.\n\nA prayer to God against the iniquities of men.\n\n5:1. Unto the end, for her that obtaineth the inheritance.  A psalm for\nDavid.\n\nFor her that obtaineth the inheritance. . .That is, for the church of\nChrist.\n\n5:2. Give ear, O Lord, to my words, understand my cry.\n\n5:3. Hearken to the voice of my prayer, O my King and my God.\n\n5:4. For to thee will I pray:  O Lord, in the morning thou shalt hear my\nvoice.\n\n5:5. In the morning I will stand before thee, and I will see:  because\nthou art not a God that willest iniquity.\n\n5:6. Neither shall the wicked dwell near thee:  nor shall the unjust\nabide before thy eyes.\n\n5:7. Thou hatest all the workers of iniquity:  thou wilt destroy all\nthat speak a lie.  The bloody and the deceitful man the Lord will abhor.\n\n5:8. But as for me in the multitude of thy mercy, I will come into thy\nhouse; I will worship towards thy holy temple, in thy fear.\n\n5:9. Conduct me, O Lord, in thy justice:  because of my enemies, direct\nmy way in thy sight.\n\n5:10. For there is no truth in their mouth:  their heart is vain.\n\n5:11. Their throat is an open sepulchre:  they dealt deceitfully with\ntheir tongues:  judge them, O God.  Let them fall from their devices:\naccording to the multitude of their wickednesses cast them out:  for\nthey have provoked thee, O Lord.\n\n5:12. But let all them be glad that hope in thee:  they shall rejoice\nfor ever, and thou shalt dwell in them.  And all they that love thy name\nshall glory in thee.\n\n5:13. For thou wilt bless the just.  O Lord, thou hast crowned us, as\nwith a shield of thy good will.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 6\n\n\nDomine, ne in furore.\n\nA prayer of a penitent sinner, under the scourge of God.  The first\npenitential psalm.\n\n6:1. Unto the end, in verses, a psalm for David, for the octave.\n\nFor the octave. . .That is, to be sung on an instrument of eight\nstrings.  St. Augustine understands it mystically, of the last\nresurrection, and the world to come; which is, as it were, the octave,\nor eighth day, after the seven days of this mortal life:  and for this\noctave, sinners must dispose themselves, like David, by bewailing their\nsins, whilst they are here upon earth.\n\n6:2. O Lord, rebuke me not in thy indignation, nor chastise me in thy\nwrath.\n\n6:3. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak:  heal me, O Lord, for my\nbones are troubled.\n\n6:4. And my soul is troubled exceedingly:  but thou, O Lord, how long?\n\n6:5. Turn to me, O Lord, and deliver my soul:  O save me for thy mercy's\nsake.\n\n6:6. For there is no one in death, that is mindful of thee:  and who\nshall confess to thee in hell?\n\n6:7. I have laboured in my groanings, every night I will wash my bed:  I\nwill water my couch with my tears.\n\n6:8. My eye is troubled through indignation:  I have grown old amongst\nall my enemies.\n\n6:9. Depart from em, all ye workers of iniquity:  for the Lord hath\nheard the voice of my weeping.\n\n6:10. The Lord hath heard my supplication:  the Lord hath received my\nprayer.\n\n6:11. Let all my enemies be ashamed, and be very much troubled:  let\nthem be turned back, and be ashamed very speedily.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 7\n\n\nDomine, Deus meus.\n\nDavid, trusting in the justice of his cause, prayeth for God's help\nagainst his enemies.\n\n7:1. The psalm of David, which he sung to the Lord, for the words of\nChusi, the son of Jemini.\n\n7:2. O Lord, my God, in thee have I put my trust; same me from all them\nthat persecute me, and deliver me.\n\n7:3. Lest at any time he seize upon my soul like a lion, while there is\nno one to redeem me, nor to save.\n\n7:4. O Lord, my God, if I have done this thing, if there be iniquity in\nmy hands:\n\n7:5. If I have rendered to them that repaid me evils, let me deservedly\nfall empty before my enemies.\n\n7:6. Let the enemy pursue my soul, and take it, and tread down my life,\non the earth, and bring down my glory to the dust.\n\n7:7. Rise up, O Lord, in thy anger:  and be thou exalted in the borders\nof my enemies.  And arise, O Lord, my God, in the precept which thou\nhast commanded:\n\n7:8. And a congregation of people shall surround thee.  And for their\nsakes return thou on high.\n\n7:9. The Lord judgeth the people.  Judge me, O Lord, according to my\njustice, and according to my innocence in me.\n\n7:10. The wickedness of sinners shall be brought to nought; and thou\nshalt direct the just:  the searcher of hearts and reins is God.  Just\n\n7:11. Is my help from the Lord; who saveth the upright of heart.\n\n7:12. God is a just judge, strong and patient:  is he angry every day?\n\n7:13. Except you will be converted, he will brandish his sword; he hath\nbent his bow, and made it ready.\n\n7:14. And in it he hath prepared to instruments of death, he hath made\nready his arrows for them that burn.\n\nFor them that burn. . .That is, against the persecutors of his saints.\n\n7:15. Behold he hath been in labour with injustice:  he hath conceived\nsorrow, and brought forth iniquity.\n\n7:16. He hath opened a pit and dug it:  and he is fallen into the hole\nhe made.\n\n7:17. His sorrow shall be turned on his own head:  and his iniquity\nshall come down upon his crown.\n\n7:18. I will give glory to the Lord according to his justice:  and will\nsing to the name of the Lord the most high.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 8\n\n\nDomine, Dominus noster.\n\nGod is wonderful in his works; especially in mankind, singularly\nexalted by the incarnation of Christ.\n\n8:1. Unto the end, for the presses:  a psalm for David.\n\nThe presses. . .In Hebrew, Gittith, supposed to be a musical instrument.\n\n8:2. O Lord, our Lord, how admirable is thy name in the whole earth!\nFor thy magnificence is elevated above the heavens.\n\n8:3. Out of the mouth of infants and of sucklings thou hast perfected\npraise, because of thy enemies, that thou mayst destroy the enemy and\nthe avenger.\n\n8:4. For I will behold thy heavens, the works of thy fingers:  the moon\nand the stars which thou hast founded.\n\n8:5. What is man, that thou art mindful of him?  or the son of man, that\nthou visitest him?\n\n8:6. Thou hast made him a little less than the angels, thou hast\ncrowned him with glory and honour:\n\n8:7. And hast set him over the works of thy hands.\n\n8:8. Thou hast subjected all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen:\nmoreover, the beasts also of the fields.\n\n8:9. The birds of the air, and the fishes of the sea, that pass through\nthe paths of the sea.\n\n8:10. O Lord, our Lord, how admirable is thy name in the whole earth!\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 9\n\n\nConfitebor tibi, Domine.  The church praiseth God for his protection\nagainst her enemies.\n\n9:1. Unto the end, for the hidden things of the Son.  A psalm for David.\n\nThe hidden things of the Son. . .The humility and sufferings of Christ,\nthe Son of God; and of good Christians, who are his sons by adoption;\nare called hidden things, with regard to the children of this world,\nwho know not the value and merit of them.\n\n9:2. I will give praise to thee, O Lord, with my whole heart:  I will\nrelate all thy wonders.\n\n9:3. I will be glad, and rejoice in thee:  I will sing to thy name, O\nthou most high.\n\n9:4. When my enemy shall be turned back:  they shall be weakened, and\nperish before thy face.\n\n9:5. For thou hast maintained my judgment and my cause:  thou hast sat\non the throne, who judgest justice.\n\n9:6. Thou hast rebuked the Gentiles, and the wicked one hath perished;\nthou hast blotted out their name for ever and ever.\n\n9:7. The swords of the enemy have failed unto the end:  and their cities\nthou hast destroyed.  Their memory hath perished with a noise:\n\n9:8. But the Lord remaineth for ever.  He hath prepared his throne in\njudgment:\n\n9:9. And he shall judge the world in equity, he shall judge the people\nin justice.\n\n9:10. And the Lord is become a refuge for the poor:  a helper in due\ntime in tribulation.\n\n9:11. And let them trust in thee who know thy name:  for thou hast not\nforsaken them that seek thee, O Lord.\n\n9:12. Sing ye to the Lord, who dwelleth in Sion:  declare his ways among\nthe Gentiles:\n\n9:13. For requiring their blood, he hath remembered them:  he hath not\nforgotten the cry of the poor.\n\n9:14. Have mercy on me, O Lord:  see my humiliation which I suffer from\nmy enemies.\n\n9:15. Thou that liftest me up from the gates of death, that I may\ndeclare all thy praises in the gates of the daughter of Sion.\n\n9:16. I will rejoice in thy salvation:  the Gentiles have stuck fast in\nthe destruction which they prepared.  Their foot hath been taken in the\nvery snare which they hid.\n\n9:17. The Lord shall be known when he executeth judgments:  the sinner\nhath been caught in the works of his own hands.\n\n9:18. The wicked shall be turned into hell, all the nations that forget\nGod.\n\n9:19. For the poor man shall not be forgotten to the end:  the patience\nof the poor shall not perish for ever.\n\n9:20. Arise, O Lord, let not man be strengthened:  let the Gentiles be\njudged in thy sight.\n\n9:21. Appoint, O Lord, a lawgiver over them:  that the Gentiles may know\nthemselves to be but men.\n\nHere the late Hebrew doctors divide this psalm into two, making ver. 22\nthe beginning of Psalm 10.  And again they join Psalms 146 and 147 into\none, in order that the whole number of psalms should not exceed 150.\nAnd in this manner the psalms are numbered in the Protestant Bible.\n\nPsalm 10 according to the Hebrews.\n\n9a:1. Why, O Lord, hast thou retired afar off?  why dost thou slight us\nin our wants, in the time of trouble?\n\n9a:2. Whilst the wicked man is proud, the poor is set on fire:  they are\ncaught in the counsels which they devise.\n\n9a:3. For the sinner is praised in the desires of his soul:  and the\nunjust man is blessed.\n\n9a:4. The sinner hath provoked the Lord, according to the multitude of\nhis wrath, he will not seek him:\n\n9a:5. God is not before his eyes:  his ways are filthy at all times.  Thy\njudgments are removed form his sight:  he shall rule over all his\nenemies.\n\n9a:6. For he hath said in his heart:  I shall not be moved from\ngeneration to generation, and shall be without evil.\n\n9a:7. His mouth is full of cursing, and of bitterness, and of deceit:\nunder his tongue are labour and sorrow.\n\n9a:8. He sitteth in ambush with the rich, in private places, that he may\nkill the innocent.\n\n9a:9. His eyes are upon the poor man:  he lieth in wait, in secret, like\na lion in his den.  He lieth in ambush, that he may catch the poor man:\nso catch the poor, whilst he draweth him to him.\n\n9a:10. In his net he will bring him down, he will crouch and fall, when\nhe shall have power over the poor.\n\n9a:11. For he hath said in his heart:  God hath forgotten, he hath turned\naway his face, not to see to the end.\n\n9a:12. Arise, O Lord God, let thy hand be exalted:  forget not the poor.\n\n9a:13. Wherefore hath the wicked provoked God?  for he hath said in his\nheart:  He will not require it.\n\n9a:14. Thou seest it, for thou considerest labour and sorrow:  that thou\nmayst deliver them into thy hands.  To thee is the poor man left:  thou\nwilt be a helper to the orphan.\n\n9a:15. Break thou the arm of the sinner and of the malignant:  his sin\nshall be sought, and shall not be found.\n\n9a:16. The Lord shall reign to eternity, yea, for ever and ever:  ye\nGentiles shall perish from his land.\n\n9a:17. The Lord hath heard the desire of the poor:  thy ear hath heard\nthe preparation of their heart.\n\n9a:18. To judge for the fatherless and for the humble, that man may no\nmore presume to magnify himself upon earth.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 10\n\n\nIn Domino confido.\n\nThe just man's confidence in God in the midst of persecutions.\n\n10:1. Unto the end.  A psalm to David.\n\n10:2. In the Lord I put my trust:  how then do you say to my soul:  Get\nthee away from hence to the mountain, like a sparrow.\n\n10:3. For, lo, the wicked have bent their bow:  they have prepared their\narrows in the quiver, to shoot in the dark the upright of heart.\n\n10:4. For they have destroyed the things which thou hast made:  but what\nhas the just man done?\n\n10:5. The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven.\nHis eyes look on the poor man:  his eyelids examine the sons of men.\n\n10:6. The Lord trieth the just and the wicked:  but he that loveth\niniquity, hateth his own soul.\n\n10:7. He shall rain snares upon sinners:  fire and brimstone, and storms\nof winds, shall be the portion of their cup.\n\n10:8. For the Lord is just, and hath loved justice:  his countenance\nhath beheld righteousness.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 11\n\n\nSalvum me fac.\n\nThe prophet calls for God's help against the wicked.\n\n11:1. Unto the end:  for the octave, a psalm for David.\n\n11:2. Save me, O Lord, for there is now no saint:  truths are decayed\nfrom among the children of men.\n\n11:3. They have spoken vain things, every one to his neighbour:  with\ndeceitful lips, and with a double heart have they spoken.\n\n11:4. May the Lord destroy all deceitful lips, and the tongue that\nspeaketh proud things.\n\n11:5. Who have said:  We will magnify our tongue:  our lips are our own:\nwho is Lord over us?\n\n11:6. By reason of the misery of the needy, and the groans of the poor,\nnow will I arise, saith the Lord.  I will set him in safety:  I will deal\nconfidently in his regard.\n\n11:7. The words of the Lord are pure words:  as silver tried by the\nfire, purged from the earth, refined seven times.\n\n11:8. Thou, O Lord, wilt preserve us:  and keep us from this generation\nfor ever.\n\n11:9. The wicked walk round about:  according to thy highness, thou hast\nmultiplied the children of men.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 12\n\n\nUsquequo, Domine.\n\nA prayer in tribulation.\n\n12:1. Unto the end, a psalm for David.  How long, O Lord, wilt thou\nforget me unto the end?  how long dost thou turn away thy face from me?\n\n12:2. How long shall I take counsels in my soul, sorrow in my heart all\nthe day?\n\n12:3. How long shall my enemy be exalted over Me?\n\n12:4. Consider, and hear me, O Lord, my God.  Enlighten my eyes, that I\nnever sleep in death:\n\n12:5. Lest at any time my enemy say:  I have prevailed against him.  They\nthat trouble me, will rejoice when I am moved:\n\n12:6. But I have trusted in thy mercy.  My heart shall rejoice in thy\nsalvation:  I will sing to the Lord, who giveth me good things:  yea, I\nwill sing to the name of the Lord, the most high.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 13\n\n\nDixit insipiens.\n\nThe general corruption of man before our redemption by Christ.\n\n13:1. Unto the end, a psalm for David.  The fool hath said in his heart:\nThere is no God.  They are corrupt, and are become abominable in their\nways:  there is none that doth good, no not one.\n\n13:2. The Lord hath looked down from heaven upon the children of men,\nto see if there be any that understand and seek God.\n\n13:3. They are all gone aside, they are become unprofitable together:\nthere is none that doth good:  no not one.  Their throat is an open\nsepulchre; with their tongues they acted deceitfully:  the poison of\nasps is under their lips.  Their mouth is full of cursing and\nbitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood.  Destruction and\nunhappiness in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known:\nthere is no fear of God before their eyes.\n\n13:4. Shall not all they know that work iniquity, who devour my people\nas they eat bread?\n\n13:5. They have not called upon the Lord:  there have they trembled for\nfear, where there was no fear.\n\n13:6. For the Lord is in the just generation:  you have confounded the\ncounsel of the poor man; but the Lord is his hope.\n\n13:7. Who shall give out of Sion the salvation of Israel?  when the Lord\nshall have turned away the captivity of his people, Jacob shall\nrejoice, and Israel shall be glad.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 14\n\n\nDomine, quis habitabit.\n\nWhat kind of men shall dwell in the heavenly Sion.\n\n14:1. A psalm for David.  Lord, who shall dwell in thy tabernacle?  or\nwho shall rest in thy holy hill?\n\n14:2. He that walketh without blemish, and worketh justice:\n\n14:3. He that speaketh truth in his heart, who hath not used deceit in\nhis tongue:  Nor hath done evil to his neighbour:  nor taken up a\nreproach against his neighbours.\n\n14:4. In his sight the malignant is brought to nothing:  but he\nglorifieth them that fear the Lord.  He that sweareth to his neighbour,\nand deceiveth not;\n\n14:5. He that hath not put out his money to usury, nortaken bribes\nagainst the innocent:  He that doth these things, shall not be moved for\never.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 15\n\n\nConserva me, Domine.\n\nChrist's future victory and triumph over the world and death.\n\n15:1. The inscription of a title to David himself.  Preserve me, O Lord,\nfor I have put my trust in thee.\n\nThe inscription of a title. . .That is, of a pillar or monument,\nstaylographia:  which is as much as to say, that this psalm is most\nworthy to be engraved on an everlasting monument.\n\n15:2. I have said to the Lord, thou art my God, for thou hast no need\nof my goods.\n\n15:3. To the saints, who are in his land, he hath made wonderful all my\ndesires in them.\n\n15:4. Their infirmities were multiplied:  afterwards they made haste.  I\nwill not gather together their meetings for bloodofferings:  nor will I\nbe mindful of their names by my lips.\n\n15:5. The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup:  it is\nthou that wilt restore my inheritance to me.\n\n15:6. The lines are fallen unto me in goodly places:  for my inheritance\nis goodly to me.\n\n15:7. I will bless the Lord, who hath given me understanding:  moreover,\nmy reins also have corrected me even till night.\n\n15:8. I set the Lord always in my sight:  for he is at my right hand,\nthat I be not moved.\n\n15:9. Therefore my heart hath been glad, and my tongue hath rejoiced:\nmoreover, my flesh also shall rest in hope.\n\n15:10. Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; nor wilt thou give\nthy holy one to see corruption.\n\n15:11. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life, thou shalt fill me\nwith joy with thy countenance:  at thy right hand are delights even to\nthe end.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 16\n\n\nExaudi, Domine, justitiam.\n\nA just man's prayer in tribulation against the malice of his enemy.\n\n16:1. The prayer of David.  Hear, O Lord, my justice:  attend to my\nsupplication.  Give ear unto my prayer, which proceedeth not from\ndeceitful lips.\n\n16:2. Let my judgment come forth from thy countenance:  let thy eyes\nbehold the things that are equitable.\n\n16:3. Thou hast proved my heart, and visited it by night, thou hast\ntried me by fire:  and iniquity hath not been found in me.\n\n16:4. That my mouth may not speak the works of men:  for the sake of the\nwords of thy lips, I have kept hard ways.\n\n16:5. Perfect thou my goings in thy paths:  that my footsteps be not\nmoved.\n\n16:6. I have cried to thee, for thou, O God, hast heard me:  O incline\nthy ear unto me, and hear my words.\n\n16:7. Shew forth thy wonderful mercies; thou who savest them that trust\nin thee.\n\n16:8. From them that resist thy right hand keep me, as the apple of thy\neye.  Protect me under the shadow of thy wings.\n\n16:9. From the face of the wicked who have afflicted me.  My enemies\nhave surrounded my soul:\n\n16:10. They have shut up their fat:  their mouth hath spoken proudly.\n\nTheir fat. . .That is, their bowels of compassion:  for they have none\nfor me.\n\n16:11. They have cast me forth, and now they have surrounded me:  they\nhave set their eyes bowing down to the earth.\n\n16:12. They have taken me, as a lion prepared for the prey; and as a\nyoung lion dwelling in secret places.\n\n16:13. Arise, O Lord, disappoint him and supplant him; deliver my soul\nfrom the wicked one; thy sword\n\n16:14. From the enemies of thy hand.  O Lord, divide them from the few\nof the earth in their life:  their belly is filled from thy hidden\nstores.  They are full of children:  and they have left to their little\nones the rest of their substance.\n\nDivide them from the few, etc. . .That is, cut them off from the earth,\nand the few trifling things thereof; which they are so proud of, or\ndivide them from the few; that is, from thy elect, who are but few;\nthat they may no longer have it in their power to oppress them.  It is\nnot meant by way of a curse or imprecation; but, as many other the like\npassages in the psalms, by way of a prediction, or prophecy of what\nshould come upon them, in punishment of their wickedness.  Ibid.  Thy\nhidden stores. . .Thy secret treasures, out of which thou furnishest\nthose earthly goods, which, with a bountiful hand thou hast distributed\nboth to the good and the bad.\n\n16:15. But as for me, I will appear before thy sight in justice:  I\nshall be satisfied when thy glory shall appear.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 17\n\n\nDiligam te, Domine.\n\nDavid's thanks to God for his delivery from all his enemies.\n\n17:1. Unto the end, for David, the servant of the Lord, who spoke to\nthe Lord the words of this canticle, in the day that the Lord delivered\nhim from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul:  and he\nsaid:\n\n17:2. I will love thee, O Lord, my strength:\n\n17:3. The Lord is my firmament, my refuge, and my deliverer.  My God is\nmy helper, and in him will I put my trust.  My protector, and the horn\nof my salvation, and my support.\n\n17:4. Praising, I will call upon the Lord:  and I shall be saved from my\nenemies.\n\n17:5. The sorrows of death surrounded me:  and the torrents of iniquity\ntroubled me.\n\n17:6. The sorrows of hell encompassed me:  and the snares of death\nprevented me.\n\n17:7. In my affliction I called upon the Lord, and I cried to my God:\nAnd he heard my voice from his holy temple:  and my cry before him came\ninto his ears.\n\n17:8. The earth shook and trembled:  the foundations of the mountains\nwere troubled and were moved, because he was angry with them.\n\n17:9. There went up a smoke in his wrath:  and a fire flamed from his\nface:  coals were kindled by it.\n\n17:10. He bowed the heavens, and came down, and darkness was under his\nfeet.\n\n17:11. And he ascended upon the cherubim, and he flew; he flew upon the\nwings of the winds.\n\n17:12. And he made darkness his covert, his pavilion round about him:\ndark waters in the clouds of the air.\n\n17:13. At the brightness that was before him the clouds passed, hail\nand coals of fire.\n\n17:14. And the Lord thundered from heaven, and the Highest gave his\nvoice:  hail and coals of fire.\n\n17:15. And he sent forth his arrows, and he scattered them:  he\nmultiplied lightnings, and troubled them.\n\n17:16. Then the fountains of waters appeared, and the foundations of\nthe world were discovered:  At thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the\nspirit of thy wrath.\n\n17:17. He sent from on high, and took me:  and received me out of many\nwaters.\n\n17:18. He delivered me from my strongest enemies, and from them that\nhated me:  for they were too strong for me.\n\n17:19. They prevented me in the day of my affliction:  and the Lord\nbecame my protector.\n\n17:20. And he brought me forth into a large place:  he saved me, because\nhe was well pleased with me.\n\n17:21. And the Lord will reward me according to my justice; and will\nrepay me according to the cleanness of my hands:\n\n17:22. Because I have kept the ways of the Lord; and have not done\nwickedly against my God.\n\n17:23. For all his judgments are in my sight:  and his justices I have\nnot put away from me.\n\n17:24. And I shall be spotless with him:  and shall keep myself from my\niniquity.\n\n17:25. And the Lord will reward me according to my justice:  and\naccording to the cleanness of my hands before his eyes.\n\n17:26. With the holy thou wilt be holy; and with the innocent man thou\nwilt be innocent:\n\n17:27. And withe the elect thou wilt be elect:  and with the perverse\nthou wilt be perverted.\n\n17:28. For thou wilt save the humble people; but wilt bring down the\neyes of the proud.\n\n17:29. For thou lightest my lamp, O Lord:  O my God, enlighten my\ndarkness.\n\n17:30. For by thee I shall be delivered from temptation; and through my\nGod I shall go over a wall.\n\n17:31. As for my God, his way is undefiled:  the words of the Lord are\nfire-tried:  he is the protector of all that trust in him.\n\n17:32. For who is God but the Lord?  or who is God but our God?\n\n17:33. God, who hath girt me with strength; and made my way blameless.\n\n17:34. Who hath made my feet like the feet of harts:  and who setteth me\nupon high places.\n\n17:35. Who teacheth my hands to war:  and thou hast made my arms like a\nbrazen bow.\n\n17:36. And thou hast given me the protection of thy salvation:  and thy\nright hand hath held me up:  And thy discipline hath corrected me unto\nthe end:  and thy discipline, the same shall teach me.\n\n17:37. Thou hast enlarged my steps under me; and my feet are not\nweakened.\n\n17:38. I will pursue after my enemies, and overtake them:  and I will\nnot turn again till they are consumed.\n\n17:39. I will break them, and they shall not be able to stand:  they\nshall fall under my feet.\n\n17:40. And thou hast girded me with strength unto battle; and hast\nsubdued under me them that rose up against me.\n\n17:41. And thou hast made my enemies furn their back upon me, and hast\ndestroyed them that hated me.\n\n17:42. They cried, but there was none to save them, to the Lord:  but he\nheard them not.\n\n17:43. And I shall beat them as small as the dust before the wind; I\nshall bring them to nought, like the dirt in the streets.\n\n17:44. Thou wilt deliver me from the contradictions of the people; thou\nwilt make me head of the Gentiles.\n\n17:45. A people which I knew not, hath served me:  at the hearing of the\near they have obeyed me.\n\n17:46. The children that are strangers have lied to me, strange\nchildren have faded away, and have halted from their paths.\n\n17:47. The Lord liveth, and blessed by my God, and let the God of my\nsalvation be exalted.\n\n17:48. O God, who avengest me, and subduest the people under me, my\ndeliverer from my enraged enemies.\n\n17:49. And thou wilt lift me up above them that rise up against me:\nfrom the unjust man thou wilt deliver me.\n\n17:50. Therefore will I give glory to thee, O Lord, among the nations,\nand I will sing a psalm to thy name.\n\n17:51. Giving great deliverance to his king, and shewing mercy to\nDavid, his anointed:  and to his seed for ever.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 18\n\n\nCoeli enarrant.\n\nThe works of God shew forth his glory:  his law is greatly to be\nesteemed and loved.\n\n18:1. Unto the end.  A Psalm for David.\n\n18:2. The heavens shew forth the glory of God, and the firmament\ndeclareth the work of his hands.\n\n18:3. Day to day uttereth speech, and night to night sheweth knowledge.\n\n18:4. There are no speeches nor languages, where their voices are not\nheard.\n\n18:5. Their sound hath gone forth into all the earth:  and their words\nunto the ends of the world.\n\n18:6. He hath set his tabernacle in the sun:  and he as a bridegroom\ncoming out of his bridechamber, Hath rejoiced as a giant to run the\nway:\n\n18:7. His going out is from the end of heaven, And his circuit even to\nthe end thereof:  and there is no one that can hide himself from his\nheat.\n\n18:8. The law of the Lord is unspotted, converting souls:  the testimony\nof the Lord is faithful, giving wisdom to little ones.\n\n18:9. The justices of the Lord are right, rejoicing hearts:  the\ncommandment of the Lord is lightsome, enlightening the eyes.\n\n18:10. The fear of the Lord is holy, enduring for ever and ever:  the\njudgments of the Lord are true, justified in themselves.\n\n18:11. More to be desired than gold and many precious stones:  and\nsweeter than honey and the honeycomb.\n\n18:12. For thy servant keepeth them, and in keeping them there is a\ngreat reward.\n\n18:13. Who can understand sins?  from my secret ones cleanse me, O Lord:\n\n18:14. And from those of others spare thy servant.  If they shall have\nno dominion over me, then shall I be without spot:  and I shall be\ncleansed form the greatest sin.\n\n18:15. And the words of my mouth shall be such as may please:  and the\nmeditation of my heart always in thy sight.  O Lord, my helper and my\nRedeemer.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 19\n\n\nExaudiat te Dominus.\n\nA prayer for the king.\n\n19:1. Unto the end.  A psalm for David.\n\n19:2. May the Lord hear thee in the day of tribulation:  may the name of\nthe God of Jacob protect thee.\n\n19:3. May he send thee help from the sanctuary:  and defend thee out of\nSion.\n\n19:4. May he be mindful of all thy sacrifices:  and may thy whole\nburntoffering be made fat.\n\n19:5. May he give thee according to thy own heart; and confirm all thy\ncounsels.\n\n19:6. We will rejoice in thy salvation; and in the name of our God we\nshall be exalted.\n\n19:7. The Lord fulfil all thy petitions:  now have I known that the Lord\nhath saved his anointed.  He will hear him from his holy heaven:  the\nsalvation of his right hand is in powers.\n\nThe salvation of his right hand is in powers. . .That is, in strength.\nHis right hand is strong and mighty to save them that trust in him.\n\n19:8. Some trust in chariots, and some in horses:  but we will call upon\nthe name of the Lord, our God.\n\n19:9. They are bound, and have fallen:  but we are risen, and are set\nupright.  O Lord, save the king:  and hear us in the day that we shall\ncall upon thee.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 20\n\n\nDomine, in virtute.\n\nPraise to God for Christ's exaltation after his passion.\n\n20:1. Unto the end.  A psalm for David.\n\n20:2. In thy strength, O Lord, the king shall joy; and in thy salvation\nhe shall rejoice exceedingly.\n\n20:3. Thou hast given him his heart's desire:  and hast not withholden\nfrom him the will of his lips.\n\n20:4. For thou hast prevented him with blessings of sweetness:  thou\nhast set on his head a crown of precious stones.\n\n20:5. He asked life of thee:  and thou hast given him length of days for\never and ever.\n\n20:6. His glory is great in thy salvation:  glory and great beauty shalt\nthou lay upon him.\n\n20:7. For thou shalt give him to be a blessing for ever and ever:  thou\nshalt make him joyful in gladness with thy countenance.\n\n20:8. For the king hopeth in the Lord:  and through the mercy of the\nmost High he shall not be moved.\n\n20:9. Let thy hand be found by all thy enemies:  let thy right hand find\nout all them that hate thee.\n\n20:10. Thou shalt make them as an oven of fire, in the time of thy\nanger:  the Lord shall trouble them in his wrath, and fire shall devour\nthem.\n\n20:11. Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth:  and their seed\nfrom among the children of men.\n\n20:12. For they have intended evils against thee:  they have devised\ncounsels which they have not been able to establish.\n\n20:13. For thou shalt make them turn their back:  in thy remnants thou\nshalt prepare their face.\n\nIn thy remnants thou shalt prepare their face. . .Or thou shalt set thy\nremnants against their faces.  That is, thou shalt make them see what\npunishments remain for them hereafter from thy justice.  Instead of\nremnants, St. Jerome renders it funes, that is, cords or strings, viz.,\nof the bow of divine justice, from which God directs his arrows against\nthe faces of his enemies.\n\n20:14. Be thou exalted, O Lord, in thy own strength:  we will sing and\npraise thy power.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 21\n\n\nDeus Deus meus.\n\nChrist's passion:  and the conversion of the Gentiles.\n\n21:1. Unto the end, for the morning protection, a psalm for David.\n\n21:2. O God my God, look upon me:  why hast thou forsaken me?  Far from\nmy salvation are the words of my sins.\n\nThe words of my sins. . .That is, the sins of the world, which I have\ntaken upon myself, cry out against me, and are the cause of all my\nsufferings.\n\n21:3. O my God, I shall cry by day, and thou wilt not hear:  and by\nnight, and it shall not be reputed as folly in me.\n\n21:4. But thou dwellest in the holy place, the praise of Israel.\n\n21:5. In thee have our fathers hoped:  they have hoped, and thou hast\ndelivered them.\n\n21:6. They cried to thee, and they were saved:  they trusted in thee,\nand were not confounded.\n\n21:7. But I am a worm, and no man:  the reproach of men, and the outcast\nof the people.\n\n21:8. All they that saw me have laughed me to scorn:  they have spoken\nwith the lips, and wagged the head.\n\n21:9. He hoped in the Lord, let him deliver him:  let him save him,\nseeing he delighteth in him.\n\n21:10. For thou art he that hast drawn me out of the womb:  my hope from\nthe breasts of my mother.\n\n21:11. I was cast upon thee from the womb.  From my mother's womb thou\nart my God,\n\n21:12. Depart not from me.  For tribulation is very near:  for there is\nnone to help me.\n\n21:13. Many calves have surrounded me:  fat bulls have besieged me.\n\n21:14.They have opened their mouths against me, as a lion ravening and\nroaring.\n\n21:15. I am poured out like water; and all my bones are scattered.  My\nheart is become like wax melting in the midst of my bowels.\n\n21:16. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue hath\ncleaved to my jaws:  and thou hast brought me down into the dust of\ndeath.\n\n21:17. For many dogs have encompassed me:  the council of the malignant\nhath besieged me.  They have dug my hands and feet.\n\n21:18. They have numbered all my bones.  And they have looked and stared\nupon me.\n\n21:19. They parted my garments amongst them; and upon my vesture they\ncast lots.\n\n21:20. But thou, O Lord, remove not thy help to a distance from me;\nlook towards my defence.\n\n21:21. Deliver, O God, my soul from the sword:  my only one from the\nhand of the dog.\n\n21:22. Save me from the lion's mouth; and my lowness from the horns of\nthe unicorns.\n\n21:23. I will declare thy name to my brethren:  in the midst of the\nchurch will I praise thee.\n\n21:24. Ye that fear the Lord, praise him:  all ye the seed of Jacob,\nglorify him.\n\n21:25. Let all the seed of Israel fear him:  because he hath not\nslighted nor despised the supplication of the poor man.  Neither hath he\nturned away his face form me:  and when I cried to him he heard me.\n\n21:26. With thee is my praise in a great church:  I will pay my vows in\nthe sight of them that fear him.\n\n21:27. The poor shall eat and shall be filled:  and they shall praise\nthe Lord that seek him:  their hearts shall live for ever and ever.\n\n21:28. All the ends of the earth shall remember, and shall be converted\nto the Lord:  And all the kindreds of the Gentiles shall adore in his\nsight.\n\n21:29. For the kingdom is the Lord's; and he shall have dominion over\nthe nations.\n\n21:30. All the fat ones of the earth have eaten and have adored:  all\nthey that go down to the earth shall fall before him.\n\n21:31. And to him my soul shall live:  and my seed shall serve him.\n\n21:32. There shall be declared to the Lord a generation to come:  and\nthe heavens shall shew forth his justice to a people that shall be\nborn, which the Lord hath made.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 22\n\n\nDominus regit me.\n\nGod's spiritual benefits to faithful souls.\n\n22:1. A psalm for David.  The Lord ruleth me:  and I shall want nothing.\n\nRuleth me. . .In Hebrew, Is my shepherd, viz., to feed, guide, and\ngovern me.\n\n22:2. He hath set me in a place of pasture.  He hath brought me up, on\nthe water of refreshment:\n\n22:3. He hath converted my soul.  He hath led me on the paths of\njustice, for his own name's sake.\n\n22:4. For though I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I\nwill fear no evils, for thou art with me.  Thy rod and thy staff, they\nhave comforted me.\n\n22:5. Thou hast prepared a table before me against them that afflict\nme.  Thou hast anointed my head with oil; and my chalice which\ninebreateth me, how goodly is it!\n\n22:6. And thy mercy will follow me all the days of my life.  And that I\nmay dwell in the house of the Lord unto length of days.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 23\n\n\nDomini est terra.\n\nWho are they that shall ascend to heaven:  Christ's triumphant ascension\nthither.\n\n23:1. On the first day of the week, a psalm for David.  The earth is the\nLord's and the fulness thereof:  the world, and all they that dwell\ntherein.\n\n23:2. For he hath founded it upon the seas; and hath prepared it upon\nthe rivers.\n\n23:3. Who shall ascend into the mountain of the Lord:  or who shall\nstand in his holy place?\n\n23:4. The innocent in hands, and clean of heart, who hath not taken his\nsoul in vain, nor sworn deceitfully to his neighbour.\n\n23:5. He shall receive a blessing from the Lord, and mercy from God his\nSaviour.\n\n23:6. This is the generation of them that seek him, of them that seek\nthe face of the God of Jacob.\n\n23:7. Lift up your gates, O ye princes, and be ye lifted up, O eternal\ngates:  and the King of Glory shall enter in.\n\n23:8. Who is this King of Glory?  the Lord who is strong and mighty:  the\nLord mighty in battle.\n\n23:9. Lift up your gates, O ye princes, and be ye lifted up, O eternal\ngates:  and the King of Glory shall enter in.\n\n23:10. Who is this King of Glory?  the Lord of hosts, he is the King of\nGlory.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 24\n\n\nAd te, Domine, levavi.\n\nA prayer for grace, mercy, and protection against our enemies.\n\n24:1. Unto the end, a psalm for David.  To thee, O Lord, have I lifted\nup my soul.\n\n24:2. In thee, O my God, I put my trust; let me not be ashamed.\n\n24:3. Neither let my enemies laugh at me:  for none of them that wait on\nthee shall be confounded.\n\n24:4. Let all them be confounded that act unjust things without cause.\nShew, O Lord, thy ways to me, and teach me thy paths.\n\n24:5. Direct me in thy truth, and teach me; for thou art God my\nSaviour; and on thee have I waited all the day long.\n\n24:6. Remember, O Lord, thy bowels of compassion; and thy mercies that\nare from the beginning of the world.\n\n24:7. The sins of my youth and my ignorances do not remember.  According\nto thy mercy remember thou me:  for thy goodness' sake, O Lord.\n\n24:8. The Lord is sweet and righteous:  therefore he will give a law to\nsinners in the way.\n\n24:9. He will guide the mild in judgment:  he will teach the meek his\nways.\n\n24:10. All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth, to them that seek\nafter his covenant and his testimonies.\n\n24:11. For thy name's sake, O Lord, thou wilt pardon my sin:  for it is\ngreat.\n\n24:12. Who is the man that feareth the Lord?  He hath appointed him a\nlaw in the way he hath chosen.\n\n24:13. His soul shall dwell in good things:  and his seed shall inherit\nthe land.\n\n24:14. The Lord is a firmament to them that fear him:  and his covenant\nshall be made manifest to them.\n\n24:15. My eyes are ever towards the Lord:  for he shall pluck my feet\nout of the snare.\n\n24:16. Look thou upon me, and have mercy on me; for I am alone and\npoor.\n\n24:17. The troubles of my heart are multiplied:  deliver me from my\nnecessities.\n\n24:18. See my abjection and my labour; and forgive me all my sins.\n\n24:19. Consider my enemies for they are multiplied, and have hated me\nwith an unjust hatred.\n\n24:20. Deep thou my soul, and deliver me:  I shall not be ashamed, for I\nhave hoped in thee.\n\n24:21. The innocent and the upright have adhered to me:  because I have\nwaited on thee.\n\n24:22. Deliver Israel, O God, from all his tribulations.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 25\n\n\nJudica me, Domine.\n\nDavid's prayer to God in his distress, to be delivered, that he may\ncome to worship him in his tabernacle.\n\n25:1. Unto the end, a psalm for David.  Judge me, O Lord, for I have\nwalked in my innocence:  and I have put my trust in the Lord, and shall\nnot be weakened.\n\n25:2. Prove me, O Lord, and try me; burn my reins and my heart.\n\n25:3. For thy mercy is before my eyes; and I am well pleased with thy\ntruth.\n\n25:4. I have not sat with the council of vanity:  neither will I go in\nwith the doers of unjust things.\n\n25:5. I have hated the assembly of the malignant; and with the wicked I\nwill not sit.\n\n25:6. I will wash my hands among the innocent; and will compass thy\naltar, O Lord:\n\n25:7. That I may hear the voice of thy praise:  and tell of all thy\nwondrous works.\n\n25:8. I have loved, O Lord, the beauty of thy house; and the place\nwhere thy glory dwelleth.\n\n25:9. Take not away my soul, O God, with the wicked:  nor my life with\nbloody men:\n\n25:10. In whose hands are iniquities:  their right hand is filled with\ngifts.\n\n25:11. But as for me, I have walked in my innocence:  redeem me, and\nhave mercy on me.\n\n25:12. My foot hath stood in the direct way:  in the churches I will\nbless thee, O Lord.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 26\n\n\nDominus illuminatio.\n\nDavid's faith and hope in God.\n\n26:1. The psalm of David before he was anointed.  The Lord is my light\nand my salvation, whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the protector of my\nlife:  of whom shall I be afraid?\n\n26:2. Whilst the wicked draw near against me, to eat my flesh.  My\nenemies that trouble me, have themselves been weakened, and have\nfallen.\n\n26:3. If armies in camp should stand together against me, my heart\nshall not fear.  If a battle should rise up against me, in this will I\nbe confident.\n\n26:4. One thing I have asked of the Lord, this will I seek after; that\nI may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.  That I\nmay see the delight of the Lord, and may visit his temple.\n\n26:5. For he hath hidden me in his tabernacle; in the day of evils, he\nhath protected me in the secret place of his tabernacle.\n\n26:6. He hath exalted me upon a rock:  and now he hath lifted up my head\nabove my enemies.  I have gone round, and have offered up in his\ntabernacle a sacrifice of jubilation:  I will sing, and recite a psalm\nto the Lord.\n\n26:7. Hear, O Lord, my voice, with which I have cried to thee:  have\nmercy on me and hear me.\n\n26:8. My heart hath said to thee:  My face hath sought thee:  thy face, O\nLord, will I still seek.\n\n26:9. Turn not away thy face from me; decline not in thy wrath from thy\nservant.  Be thou my helper, forsake me not; do not thou despise me, O\nGod my Saviour.\n\n26:10. For my father and my mother have left me:  but the Lord hath\ntaken me up.\n\n26:11. Set me, O Lord, a law in thy way, and guide me in the right\npath, because of my enemies.\n\n26:12. Deliver me not over to the will of them that trouble me; for\nunjust witnesses have risen up against me; and iniquity hath lied to\nitself.\n\n26:13. I believe to see the good things of the Lord in the land of the\nliving.\n\n26:14. Expect the Lord, do manfully, and let thy heart take courage,\nand wait thou for the Lord.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 27\n\n\nAd te, Domine, clamabo.\n\nDavid's prayer that his enemies may not prevail over him.\n\n27:1. A psalm for David himself.  Unto thee will I cry, O Lord:  O my\nGod, be not thou silent to me:  lest if thou be silent to me, I become\nlike them that go down into the pit.\n\n27:2. Hear, O Lord, the voice of my supplication, when I pray to thee;\nwhen I lift up my hands to thy holy temple.\n\n27:3. Draw me not away together with the wicked; and with the workers\nof iniquity destroy me not:  Who speak peace with their neighbour, but\nevils are in their hearts.\n\n27:4. Give them according to their works, and according to the\nwickedness of their inventions.  According to the works of their hands\ngive thou to them:  render to them their reward.\n\n27:5. Because they have not understood the works of the Lord, and the\noperations of his hands:  thou shalt destroy them, and shalt not build\nthem up.\n\n27:6. Blessed be the Lord, for he hath heard the voice of my\nsupplication.\n\n27:7. The Lord is my helper and my protector:  in him hath my heart\nconfided, and I have been helped.  And my flesh hath flourished again,\nand with my will I will give praise to him.\n\n27:8. The Lord is the strength of his people, and the protector of the\nsalvation of his anointed.\n\n27:9. Save, O Lord, thy people, and bless thy inheritance:  and rule\nthem and exalt them for ever.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 28\n\n\nAfferte Domino.\n\nAn invitation to glorify God, with a commemoration of his mighty works.\n\n28:1. A psalm for David, at the finishing of the tabernacle.  Bring to\nthe Lord, O ye children of God:  bring to the Lord the offspring of\nrams.\n\n28:2. Bring to the Lord glory and honour:  bring to the Lord glory to\nhis name:  adore ye the Lord in his holy court.\n\n28:3. The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of majesty hath\nthundered, The Lord is upon many waters.\n\n28:4. The voice of the Lord is in power; the voice of the Lord in\nmagnificence.\n\n28:5. The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars:  yea, the Lord shall\nbreak the cedars of Libanus.\n\n28:6. And shall reduce them to pieces, as a calf of Libanus, and as the\nbeloved son of unicorns.\n\nShall reduce them to pieces, etc. . .In Hebrew, shall make them to skip\nlike a calf.  The psalmist here describes the effects of thunder (which\nhe calls the voice of the Lord) which sometimes breaks down the tallest\nand strongest trees; and makes their broken branches skip, etc.  All\nthis is to be understood mystically of the powerful voice of God's word\nin his church; which has broken the pride of the great ones of this\nworld, and brought many of them meekly and joyfully to submit their\nnecks to the sweet yoke of Christ.\n\n28:7. The voice of the Lord divideth the flame of fire:\n\n28:8. The voice of the Lord shaketh the desert:  and the Lord shall\nshake the desert of Cades.\n\n28:9. The voice of the Lord prepareth the stags:  and he will discover\nthe thick woods:  and in his temple all shall speak his glory.\n\n28:10. The Lord maketh the flood to dwell:  and the Lord shall sit king\nfor ever.  The Lord will give strength to his people:  the Lord will\nbless his people with peace.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 29\n\n\nExaltabo te, Domine.\n\nDavid praiseth God for his deliverance, and his merciful dealings with\nhim.\n\n29:1. A psalm of a canticle, at the dedication of David's house.\n\n29:2. I will extol thee, O Lord, for thou hast upheld me:  and hast not\nmade my enemies to rejoice over me.\n\n29:3. O Lord my God, I have cried to thee, and thou hast healed me.\n\n29:4. Thou hast brought forth, O Lord, my soul from hell:  thou hast\nsaved me from them that go down into the pit.\n\n29:5. Sing to the Lord, O ye his saints:  and give praise to the memory\nof his holiness.\n\n29:6. For wrath is in his indignation; and life in his good will.  In\nthe evening weeping shall have place, and in the morning gladness.\n\n29:7. And in my abundance I said:  I shall never be moved.\n\n29:8. O Lord, in thy favour, thou gavest strength to my beauty.  Thou\nturnedst away thy face from me, and I became troubled.\n\n29:9. To thee, O Lord, will I cry:  and I will make supplication to my\nGod.\n\n29:10. What profit is there in my blood, whilst I go down to\ncorruption?  Shall dust confess to thee, or declare thy truth?\n\n29:11. The Lord hath heard, and hath had mercy on me:  the Lord became\nmy helper.\n\n29:12. Thou hast turned for me my mourning into joy:  thou hast cut my\nsackcloth, and hast compassed me with gladness:\n\n29:13. To the end that my glory may sing to thee, and I may not regret:\nO Lord my God, I will give praise to thee for ever.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 30\n\n\nIn te, Domine, speravi.\n\nA prayer of a just man under affliction.\n\n30:1. Unto the end, a psalm for David, in an ecstasy.\n\n30:2. In thee, O Lord, have I hoped, let me never be confounded:\ndeliver me in thy justice.\n\n30:3. Bow down thy ear to me:  make haste to deliver me.  Be thou unto me\na God, a protector, and a house of refuge, to save me.\n\n30:4. For thou art my strength and my refuge; and for thy name's sake\nthou wilt lead me, and nourish me.\n\n30:5. Thou wilt bring me out of this snare, which they have hidden for\nme:  for thou art my protector.\n\n30:6. Into thy hands I commend my spirit:  thou hast redeemed me, O\nLord, the God of truth.\n\n30:7. Thou hast hated them that regard vanities, to no purpose.  But I\nhave hoped in the Lord:\n\n30:8. I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy.  For thou hast regarded\nmy humility, thou hast saved my soul out of distresses.\n\n30:9. And thou hast not shut me up in the hands of the enemy:  thou hast\nset my feet in a spacious place.\n\n30:10. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am afflicted:  my eye is troubled\nwith wrath, my soul, and my belly:\n\n30:11. For my life is wasted with grief:  and my years in sighs.  My\nstrength is weakened through poverty and my bones are disturbed.\n\n30:12. I am become a reproach among all my enemies, and very much to my\nneighbours; and a fear to my acquaintance.  They that saw me without\nfled from me.\n\n30:13. I am forgotten as one dead from the heart.  I am become as a\nvessel that is destroyed.\n\n30:14. For I have heard the blame of many that dwell round about.  While\nthey assembled together against me, they consulted to take away my\nlife.\n\n30:15. But I have put my trust in thee, O Lord:  I said:  Thou art my\nGod.\n\n30:16. My lots are in thy hands.  Deliver me out of the hands of my\nenemies; and from them that persecute me.\n\n30:17. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; save me in thy mercy.\n\n30:18. Let me not be confounded, O Lord, for I have called upon thee.\nLet the wicked be ashamed, and be brought down to hell.\n\n30:19. Let deceitful lips be made dumb.  Which speak iniquity against\nthe just, with pride and abuse.\n\n30:20. O how great is the multitude of thy sweetness, O Lord, which\nthou hast hidden for them that fear thee!  Which thou hast wrought for\nthem that hope in thee, in the sight of the sons of men.\n\n30:21. Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy face, from the\ndisturbance of men.  Thou shalt protect them in thy tabernacle from the\ncontradiction of tongues.\n\n30:22. Blessed be the Lord, for he hath shewn his wonderful mercy to me\nin a fortified city.\n\n30:23. But I said in the excess of my mind:  I am cast away from before\nthy eyes.  Therefore thou hast heard the voice of my prayer, when I\ncried to thee.\n\n30:24. O love the Lord, all ye his saints:  for the Lord will require\ntruth, and will repay them abundantly that act proudly.\n\n30:25. Do ye manfully, and let your heart be strengthened, all ye that\nhope in the Lord.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 31\n\n\nBeati quorum.\n\nThe second penitential psalm.\n\n31:1. To David himself, understanding.  Blessed are they whose\niniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.\n\n31:2. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord hath not imputed sin, and in\nwhose spirit there is no guile.\n\n31:3. Because I was silent my bones grew old; whilst I cried out all\nthe day long.\n\nBecause I was silent, etc. . .That is, whilst I kept silence, by\nconcealing, or refusing to confess my sins, thy hand was heavy upon me,\netc.\n\n31:4. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me:  I am turned in my\nanguish, whilst the thorn is fastened.\n\nI am turned, etc. . .That is, I turn and roll about in my bed to seek\nfor ease in my pain whilst the thorn of thy justice pierces my flesh,\nand sticks fast in me.  Or, I am turned:  that is, I am converted to\nthee, my God, by being brought to a better understanding by thy\nchastisements.  In the Hebrew it is, my moisture is turned into the\ndroughts of the summer.\n\n31:5. I have acknowledged my sin to thee, and my injustice I have not\nconcealed.  I said I will confess against my self my injustice to the\nLord:  and thou hast forgiven the wickedness of my sin.\n\n31:6. For this shall every one that is holy pray to thee in a\nseasonable time.  And yet in a flood of many waters, they shall not come\nnigh unto him.\n\n31:7. Thou art my refuge from the trouble which hath encompassed me:  my\njoy, deliver me from them that surround me.\n\n31:8. I will give thee understanding, and I will instruct thee in this\nway, in which thou shalt go:  I will fix my eyes upon thee.\n\n31:9. Do not become like the horse and the mule, who have no\nunderstanding.  With bit and bridle bind fast their jaws, who come not\nnear unto thee.\n\n31:10. Many are the scourges of the sinner, but mercy shall encompass\nhim that hopeth in the Lord.\n\n31:11. Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye just, and glory, all ye\nright of heart.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 32\n\n\nExultate, justi.\n\nAn exhortation to praise God, and to trust in him.\n\n32:1. A psalm for David.  Rejoice in the Lord, O ye just:  praise\nbecometh the upright.\n\n32:2. Give praise to the Lord on the harp; sing to him with the\npsaltery, the instrument of ten strings.\n\n32:3. Sing to him a new canticle, sing well unto him with a loud noise.\n\n32:4. For the word of the Lord is right, and all his works are done\nwith faithfulness.\n\n32:5. He loveth mercy and judgment; the earth is full of the mercy of\nthe Lord.\n\n32:6. By the word of the Lord the heavens were established; and all the\npower of them by the spirit of his mouth:\n\n32:7. Gathering together the waters of the sea, as in a vessel; laying\nup the depths in storehouses.\n\n32:8. Let all the earth fear the Lord, and let all the inhabitants of\nthe world be in awe of him.\n\n32:9. For he spoke and they were made:  he commanded and they were\ncreated.\n\n32:10. The Lord bringeth to nought the counsels of nations; and he\nrejecteth the devices of people, and casteth away the counsels of\nprinces.\n\n32:11. But the counsel of the Lord standeth for ever:  the thoughts of\nhis heart to all generations.\n\n32:12. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord:  the people whom he\nhath chosen for his inheritance.\n\n32:13. The Lord hath looked from heaven:  he hath beheld all the sons of\nmen.\n\n32:14. From his habitation which he hath prepared, he hath looked upon\nall that dwell on the earth.\n\n32:15. He who hath made the hearts of every one of them:  who\nunderstandeth all their works.\n\n32:16. The king is not saved by a great army:  nor shall the giant be\nsaved by his own great strength.\n\n32:17. Vain is the horse for safety:  neither shall he be saved by the\nabundance of his strength.\n\n32:18. Behold the eyes of the Lord are on them that fear him:  and on\nthem that hope in his mercy.\n\n32:19. To deliver their souls from death; and feed them in famine.\n\n32:20. Our soul waiteth for the Lord:  for he is our helper and\nprotector.\n\n32:21. For in him our heart shall rejoice:  and in his holy name we have\ntrusted.\n\n32:22. Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, as we have hooped in thee.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 33\n\n\nBenedicam Dominum.\n\nAn exhortation to the praise, and service of God.\n\n33:1. For David, when he changed his countenance before Achimelech, who\ndismissed him, and he went his way.  [1 Kings 21.]\n\n33:2. I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise shall be always in\nmy mouth.\n\n33:3. In the Lord shall my soul be praised:  let the meek hear and\nrejoice.\n\n33:4. O magnify the Lord with me; and let us extol his name together.\n\n33:5. I sought the Lord, and he heard me; and he delivered me from all\nmy troubles.\n\n33:6. Come ye to him and be enlightened:  and your faces shall not be\nconfounded.\n\n33:7. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him:  and saved him out of\nall his troubles.\n\n33:8. The angel of the Lord shall encamp round about them that fear\nhim:  and shall deliver them.\n\n33:9. O taste, and see that the Lord is sweet:  blessed is the man that\nhopeth in him.\n\n33:10. Fear the Lord, all ye his saints:  for there is no want to them\nthat fear him.\n\n33:11. The rich have wanted, and have suffered hunger:  but they that\nseek the Lord shall not be deprived of any good.\n\n33:12. Come, children, hearken to me:  I will teach you the fear of the\nLord.\n\n33:13. Who is the man that desireth life:  who liveth to see good days?\n\n33:14. Keep thy tongue form evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.\n\n33:15. Turn away from evil and do good:  seek after peace and pursue it.\n\n33:16. The eyes of the Lord are upon the just:  and his ears unto their\nprayers.\n\n33:17. But the countenance of the Lord is against them that do evil\nthings:  to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.\n\n33:18. The just cried, and the Lord heard them:  and delivered them out\nof all their troubles.\n\n33:19. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a contrite heart:  and he\nwill save the humble of spirit.\n\n33:20. Many are the afflictions of the just; but out of them all will\nthe Lord deliver them.\n\n33:21. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a contrite heart:  and he\nwill save the humble of spirit.\n\n33:22. The death of the wicked is very evil:  and they that hate the\njust shall be guilty.\n\n33:23. The Lord will redeem the souls of his servants:  and none of them\nthat trust in him shall offend.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 34\n\n\nJudica, Domine, nocentes me.\n\nDavid, in the person of Christ, prayeth against his persecutors:\nprophetically foreshewing the punishments that shall fall upon them.\n\n34:1. For David himself.  Judge thou, O Lord, them that wrong me:\noverthrow them that fight against me.\n\n34:2. Take hold of arms and shield:  and rise up to help me.\n\n34:3. Bring out the sword, and shut up the way against them that\npersecute me:  say to my soul:  I am thy salvation.\n\n34:4. Let them be confounded and ashamed that seek after my soul.  Let\nthem be turned back and be confounded that devise evil against me.\n\n34:5. Let them become as dust before the wind:  and let the angel of the\nLord straiten them.\n\n34:6. Let their way become dark and slippery; and let the angel of the\nLord pursue them.\n\n34:7. For without cause they have hidden their net for me unto\ndestruction:  without cause they have upbraided my soul.\n\n34:8. Let the snare which he knoweth not come upon him:  and let the net\nwhich he hath hidden catch him:  and into that very snare let them fall.\n\n34:9. But my soul shall rejoice in the Lord; and shall be delighted in\nhis salvation.\n\n34:10. All my bones shall say:  Lord, who is like to thee?  Who\ndeliverest the poor from the hand of them that are stronger than he;\nthe needy and the poor from them that strip him.\n\n34:11. Unjust witnesses rising up have asked me things I knew not.\n\n34:12. They repaid me evil for good:  to the depriving me of my soul.\n\n34:13. But as for me, when they were troublesome to me, I was clothed\nwith haircloth.  I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer shall be\nturned into my bosom.\n\n34:14. As a neighbour and as an own brother, so did I please:  as one\nmourning and sorrowful so was I humbled.\n\n34:15. But they rejoiced against me, and came together:  scourges were\ngathered together upon me, and I knew not.\n\n34:16. They were separated, and repented not:  they tempted me, they\nscoffed at me with scorn:  they gnashed upon me with their teeth.\n\n34:17. Lord, when wilt thou look upon me?  rescue thou my soul from\ntheir malice:  my only one from the lions.\n\n34:18. I will give thanks to thee in a great church; I will praise thee\nin a strong people.\n\n34:19. Let not them that are my enemies wrongfully rejoice over me:  who\nhave hated me without cause, and wink with the eyes.\n\n34:20. For they spoke indeed peaceably to me; and speaking in the anger\nof the earth they devised guile.\n\n34:21. And they opened their mouth wide against me; they said:  Well\ndone, well done, our eyes have seen it.\n\n34:22. Thou hast seen, O Lord, be not thou silent:  O Lord, depart not\nfrom me.\n\n34:23. Arise, and be attentive to my judgment:  to my cause, my God, and\nmy Lord.\n\n34:24. Judge me, O Lord my God according to thy justice, and let them\nnot rejoice over me.\n\n34:25. Let them not say in their hearts:  It is well, it is well, to our\nmind:  neither let them say:  We have swallowed him up.\n\n34:26. Let them blush:  and be ashamed together, who rejoice at my\nevils.  Let them be clothed with confusion and shame, who speak great\nthings against me.\n\n34:27. Let them rejoice and be glad, who are well pleased with my\njustice, and let them say always:  The Lord be magnified, who delights\nin the peace of his servant.\n\n34:28. And my tongue shall meditate thy justice, thy praise all the day\nlong.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 35\n\n\nDixit injustus.\n\nThe malice of sinners, and the goodness of God.\n\n35:1. Unto the end, for the servant of God, David himself.\n\n35:2. The unjust hath said within himself, that he would sin:  there is\nno fear of God before his eyes.\n\n35:3. For in his sight he hath done deceitfully, that his iniquity may\nbe found unto hatred.\n\nUnto hatred. . .That is, hateful to God.\n\n35:4. The words of his mouth are iniquity and guile:  he would not\nunderstand that he might do well.\n\n35:5. He hath devised iniquity on his bed, he hath set himself on every\nway that is not good:  but evil he hath not hated.\n\n35:6. O Lord, thy mercy is in heaven, and thy truth reacheth even to\nthe clouds.\n\n35:7. Thy justice is as the mountains of God, thy judgments are a great\ndeep.  Men and beasts thou wilt preserve, O Lord:\n\n35:8. O how hast thou multiplied thy mercy, O God!  But the children of\nmen shall put their trust under the covert of thy wings.\n\n35:9. They shall be inebriated with the plenty of thy house; and thou\nshalt make them drink of the torrent of thy pleasure.\n\n35:10. For with thee is the fountain of life; and in thy light we shall\nsee light.\n\n35:11. Extend thy mercy to them that know thee, and thy justice to them\nthat are right in heart.\n\n35:12. Let not the foot of pride come to me, and let not the hand of\nthe sinner move me.\n\n35:13. There the workers of iniquity are fallen, they are cast out, and\ncould not stand.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 36\n\n\nNoli aemulari.\n\nAn exhortation to despise this world; and the short prosperity of the\nwicked; and to trust in Providence.\n\n36:1. Be not emulous of evildoers; nor envy them that work iniquity.\n\n36:2. For they shall shortly wither away as grass, and as the green\nherbs shall quickly fall.\n\n36:3. Trust in the Lord, and do good, and dwell in the land, and thou\nshalt be fed with its riches.\n\n36:4. Delight in the Lord, and he will give thee the requests of thy\nheart.\n\n36:5. Commit thy way to the Lord, and trust in him, and he will do it.\n\n36:6. And he will bring forth thy justice as the light, and thy\njudgment as the noonday.\n\n36:7. Be subject to the Lord and pray to him.  Envy not the man who\nprospereth in his way; the man who doth unjust things.\n\n36:8. Cease from anger, and leave rage; have no emulation to do evil.\n\n36:9. For evildoers shall be cut off:  but they that wait upon the Lord,\nthey shall inherit the land.\n\n36:10. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be:  and thou\nshalt seek his place, and shalt not find it.\n\n36:11. But the meek shall inherit the land, and shall delight in\nabundance of peace.\n\n36:12. The sinner shall watch the just man:  and shall gnash upon him\nwith his teeth.\n\n36:13. But the Lord shall laugh at him:  for he foreseeth that his day\nshall come.\n\n36:14. The wicked have drawn out the sword:  they have bent their bow.\nTo cast down the poor and needy, to kill the upright of heart.\n\n36:15. Let their sword enter into their own hearts, and let their bow\nbe broken.\n\n36:16. Better is a little to the just, than the great riches of the\nwicked.\n\n36:17. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken in pieces; but the\nLord strengtheneth the just.\n\n36:18. The Lord knoweth the days of the undefiled; and their\ninheritance shall be for ever.\n\n36:19. They shall not be confounded in the evil time; and in the days\nof famine they shall be filled:\n\n36:20. Because the wicked shall perish.  And the enemies of the Lord,\npresently after they shall be honoured and exalted, shall come to\nnothing and vanish like smoke.\n\n36:21. The sinner shall borrow, and not pay again; but the just sheweth\nmercy and shall give.\n\n36:22. For such as bless him shall inherit the land:  but such as curse\nhim shall perish.\n\n36:23. With the Lord shall the steps of a man be directed, and he shall\nlike well his way.\n\n36:24. When he shall fall he shall not be bruised, for the Lord putteth\nhis hand under him.\n\n36:25. I have been young and now am old; and I have not seen the just\nforsaken, nor his seed seeking bread.\n\n36:26. He sheweth mercy, and lendeth all the day long; and his seed\nshall be in blessing.\n\n36:27. Decline from evil and do good, and dwell for ever and ever.\n\n36:28. For the Lord loveth judgment, and will not forsake his saints:\nthey shall be preserved for ever.  The unjust shall be punished, and the\nseed of the wicked shall perish.\n\n36:29. But the just shall inherit the land, and shall dwell therein for\nevermore.\n\n36:30. The mouth of the just shall meditate wisdom:  and his tongue\nshall speak judgment.\n\n36:31. The law of his God is in his heart, and his steps shall not be\nsupplanted.\n\n36:32. The wicked watcheth the just man, and seeketh to put him to\ndeath,\n\n36:33. But the Lord will not leave him in his hands; nor condemn him\nwhen he shall be judged.\n\n36:34. Expect the Lord and keep his way:  and he will exalt thee to\ninherit the land:  when the sinners shall perish thou shalt see.\n\n36:35. I have seen the wicked highly exalted, and lifted up like the\ncedars of Libanus.\n\n36:36. And I passed by, and lo, he was not:  and I sought him and his\nplace was not found.\n\n36:37. Keep innocence, and behold justice:  for there are remnants for\nthe peaceable man.\n\n36:38. But the unjust shall be destroyed together:  the remnants of the\nwicked shall perish.\n\n36:39. But the salvation of the just is from the Lord, and he is their\nprotector in the time of trouble.\n\n36:40. And the Lord will help them and deliver them:  and he will rescue\nthem from the wicked, and save them because they have hoped in him.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 37\n\n\nDomine, ne in furore.\n\nA prayer of a penitent for the remission of his sins.  The third\npenitential psalm.\n\n37:1. A psalm for David, for a remembrance of the sabbath.\n\nFor a remembrance. . .Viz., of our miseries and sins:  and to be sung on\nthe sabbath day.\n\n37:2. Rebuke me not, O Lord, in thy indignation; nor chastise me in thy\nwrath.\n\n37:3. For thy arrows are fastened in me:  and thy hand hath been strong\nupon me.\n\n37:4. There is no health in my flesh, because of thy wrath:  there is no\npeace for my bones, because of my sins.\n\n37:5. For my iniquities are gone over my head:  and as a heavy burden\nare become heavy upon me.\n\n37:6. My sores are putrified and corrupted, because of my foolishness.\n\n37:7. I am become miserable, and am bowed down even to the end:  I\nwalked sorrowful all the day long.\n\n37:8. For my loins are filled with illusions; and there is no health in\nmy flesh.\n\n37:9. I am afflicted and humbled exceedingly:  I roared with the\ngroaning of my heart.\n\n37:10. Lord, all my desire is before thee, and my groaning is not\nhidden from thee.\n\n37:11. My heart is troubled, my strength hath left me, and the light of\nmy eyes itself is not with me.\n\n37:12. My friends and my neighbours have drawn near, and stood against\nme.  And they that were near me stood afar off:\n\n37:13. And they that sought my soul used violence.  And they that sought\nevils to me spoke vain things, and studied deceits all the day long.\n\n37:14. But I, as a deaf man, heard not:  and as a dumb man not opening\nhis mouth.\n\n37:15. And I became as a man that heareth not:  and that hath no\nreproofs in his mouth.\n\n37:16. For in thee, O Lord, have I hoped:  thou wilt hear me, O Lord my\nGod.\n\n37:17. For I said:  Lest at any time my enemies rejoice over me:  and\nwhilst my feet are moved, they speak great things against me.\n\n37:18. For I am ready for scourges:  and my sorrow is continually before\nme.\n\n37:19. For I will declare my iniquity:  and I will think for my sin.\n\n37:20. But my enemies live, and are stronger than I:  and they that hate\nme wrongfully are multiplied.\n\n37:21. They that render evil for good, have detracted me, because I\nfollowed goodness.\n\n37:22. For sake me not, O Lord my God:  do not thou depart from me.\n\n37:23. Attend unto my help, O Lord, the God of my salvation.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 38\n\n\nDixi custodiam.\n\nA just man's peace and patience in his sufferings; considering the\nvanity of the world, and the providence of God.\n\n38:1. Unto the end, for Idithun himself, a canticle of David.\n\n38:2. I said:  I will take heed to my ways:  that I sin not with my\ntongue.  I have set a guard to my mouth, when the sinner stood against\nme.\n\n38:3. I was dumb, and was humbled, and kept silence from good things:\nand my sorrow was renewed.\n\n38:4. My heart grew hot within me:  and in my meditation a fire shall\nflame out.\n\n38:5. I spoke with my tongue:  O Lord, make me know my end.  And what is\nthe number of my days:  that I may know what is wanting to me.\n\n38:6. Behold thou hast made my days measurable.  and my substance is as\nnothing before thee.  And indeed all things are vanity:  every man\nliving.\n\n38:7. Surely man passeth as an image:  yea, and he is disquieted in\nvain.  He storeth up:  and he knoweth not for whom he shall gather these\nthings.\n\n38:8. And now what is my hope?  is it not the Lord?  and my substance is\nwith thee.\n\n38:9. Deliver thou me from all my iniquities:  thou hast made me a\nreproach to the fool.\n\n38:10. I was dumb, and I opened not my mouth, because thou hast done\nit.\n\n38:11. Remove thy scourges from me.  The strength of thy hand hath made\nme faint in rebukes:\n\n38:12. Thou hast corrected man for iniquity.  And thou hast made his\nsoul to waste away like a spider:  surely in vain is any man disquieted.\n\n38:13. Hear my prayer, O Lord, and my supplication:  give ear to my\ntears.  Be no silent:  for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner as\nall my fathers were.\n\n38:14. O forgive me, that I may be refreshed, before I go hence, and be\nno more.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 39\n\n\nExpectans expectavi.\n\nChrist's coming, and redeeming mankind.\n\n39:1. Unto the end, a psalm for David himself.\n\n39:2. With expectation I have waited for the Lord, and he was attentive\nto me.\n\n39:3. And he heard my prayers, and brought me out of the pit of misery\nand the mire of dregs.  And he set my feet upon a rock, and directed my\nsteps.\n\n39:4. And he put a new canticle into my mouth, a song to our God.  Many\nshall see, and shall fear:  and they shall hope in the Lord.\n\n39:5. Blessed is the man whose trust is in the name of the Lord; and\nwho hath not had regard to vanities, and lying follies.\n\n39:6. Thou hast multiplied thy wonderful works, O Lord my God:  and in\nthy thoughts there is no one like to thee.  I have declared and I have\nspoken they are multiplied above number.\n\n39:7. Sacrifice and oblation thou didst not desire; but thou hast\npierced ears for me.  Burnt offering and sin offering thou didst not\nrequire:\n\n39:8. Then said I, Behold I come.  In the head of the book it is written\nof me\n\n39:9. That I should do thy will:  O my God, I have desired it, and thy\nlaw in the midst of my heart.\n\n39:10. I have declared thy justice in a great church, lo, I will not\nrestrain my lips:  O Lord, thou knowest it.\n\n39:11. I have not hid thy justice within my heart:  I have declared thy\ntruth and thy salvation.  I have not concealed thy mercy and thy truth\nfrom a great council.\n\n39:12. Withhold not thou, O Lord, thy tender mercies from me:  thy mercy\nand thy truth have always upheld me.\n\n39:13. For evils without number have surrounded me; my iniquities have\novertaken me, and I was not able to see.  They are multiplied above the\nhairs of my head:  and my heart hath forsaken me.\n\nMy iniquities. . .That is, the sins of all mankind, which I have taken\nupon me.\n\n39:14. Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me.  look down, O Lord, to help\nme.\n\n39:15. Let them be confounded and ashamed together, that seek after my\nsoul to take it away.  Let them be turned backward and be ashamed that\ndesire evils to me.\n\n39:16. Let them immediately bear their confusion, that say to me:  'T is\nwell, t' is well.\n\n'T is well. . .The Hebrew here is an interjection of insult and\nderision, like the Vah.  Matt. 27.49.\n\n39:17. Let all that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee:  and let such\nas love thy salvation say always:  The Lord be magnified.\n\n39:18. But I am a beggar and poor:  the Lord is careful for me.  Thou art\nmy helper and my protector:  O my God, be not slack.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 40\n\n\nBeatus qui intelligit.\n\nThe happiness of him that shall believe in Christ; notwithstanding the\nhumility and poverty in which he shall come:  the malice of his enemies,\nespecially of the traitor Judas.\n\n40:1. Unto the end, a psalm for David himself.\n\n40:2. Blessed is he that understandeth concerning the needy and the\npoor:  the Lord will deliver him in the evil day.\n\n40:3. The Lord preserve him and give him life, and make him blessed\nupon the earth:  and deliver him not up to the will of his enemies.\n\n40:4. The Lord help him on his bed of sorrow:  thou hast turned all his\ncouch in his sickness.\n\n40:5. I said:  O Lord, be thou merciful to me:  heal my soul, for I have\nsinned against thee.\n\n40:6. My enemies have spoken evils against me:  when shall he die and\nhis name perish?\n\n40:7. And if he came in to see me, he spoke vain things:  his heart\ngathered together iniquity to itself.  He went out and spoke to the same\npurpose.\n\n40:8. All my enemies whispered together against me:  they devised evils\nto me.\n\n40:9. They determined against me an unjust word:  shall he that sleepeth\nrise again no more?\n\n40:10. For even the man of my peace, in whom I trusted, who ate my\nbread, hath greatly supplanted me.\n\n40:11. But thou, O Lord, have mercy on me, and raise my up again:  and I\nwill requite them.\n\n40:12. By this I know, that thou hast had a good will for me:  because\nmy enemy shall not rejoice over me.\n\n40:13. But thou hast upheld me by reason of my innocence:  and hast\nestablished me in thy sight for ever.\n\n40:14. Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel from eternity to eternity.\nSo be it.  So be it.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 41\n\n\nQuemadmodum desiderat.\n\nThe fervent desire of the just after God:  hope in afflictions.\n\n41:1. Unto the end, understanding for the sons of Core.\n\n41:2. As the hart panteth after the fountains of water; so my soul\npanteth after thee, O God.\n\n41:3. My soul hath thirsted after the strong living God; when shall I\ncome and appear before the face of God?\n\n41:4. My tears have been my bread day and night, whilst it is said to\nme daily:  Where is thy God?\n\n41:5. These things I remembered, and poured out my soul in me:  for I\nshall go over into the place of the wonderful tabernacle, even to the\nhouse of God:  With the voice of joy and praise; the noise of one\nfeasting.\n\n41:6. Why art thou sad, O my soul?  and why dost thou trouble me?  Hope\nin God, for I will still give praise to him:  the salvation of my\ncountenance,\n\n41:7. And my God.  My soul is troubled within my self:  therefore will I\nremember thee from the land of Jordan and Hermoniim, from the little\nhill.\n\n41:8. Deep calleth on deep, at the noise of thy flood-gates.  All thy\nheights and thy billows have passed over me.\n\n41:9. In the daytime the Lord hath commanded his mercy; and a canticle\nto him in the night.  With me is prayer to the God of my life.\n\n41:10. I will say to God:  Thou art my support.  Why hast thou forgotten\nme?  and why go I mourning, whilst my enemy afflicteth me?\n\n41:11. Whilst my bones are broken, my enemies who trouble me have\nreproached me; Whilst they say to me day by day:  Where is thy God?\n\n41:12. Why art thou cast down, O my soul?  and why dost thou disquiet\nme?  Hope thou in God, for I will still give praise to him:  the\nsalvation of my countenance, and my God.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 42\n\n\nJudica me, Deus.\n\nThe prophet aspireth after the temple and altar of God.\n\n42:1. A psalm for David.  Judge me, O God, and distinguish my cause from\nthe nation that is not holy:  deliver me from the unjust and deceitful\nman.\n\n42:2. For thou art God my strength:  why hast thou cast me off?  and why\ndo I go sorrowful whilst the enemy afflicteth me?\n\n42:3. Sent forth thy light and thy truth:  they have conducted me, and\nbrought me unto thy holy hill, and into thy tabernacles.\n\n42:4. And I will go in to the altar of God:  to God who giveth joy to my\nyouth.\n\n42:5. To thee, O God my God, I will give praise upon the harp:  why art\nthou sad, O my soul?  and why dost thou disquiet me?\n\n42:6. Hope in God, for I will still give praise to him:  the salvation\nof my countenance, and my God.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 43\n\n\nDeus auribus nostris.\n\nThe church commemorates former favours, and present afflictions; under\nwhich she prays for succour.\n\n43:1. Unto the end, for the sons of Core, to give understanding.\n\n43:2. We have heard, O God, with our ears:  our fathers have declared to\nus, The work thou hast wrought in their days, and in the days of old.\n\n43:3. Thy hand destroyed the Gentiles, and thou plantedst them:  thou\ndidst afflict the people and cast them out.\n\n43:4. For they got not the possession of the land by their own sword:\nneither did their own arm save them.  But thy right hand and thy arm,\nand the light of thy countenance:  because thou wast pleased with them.\n\n43:5. Thou art thyself my king and my God, who commandest the saving of\nJacob.\n\n43:6. Through thee we will push down our enemies with the horn:  and\nthrough thy name we will despise them that rise up against us.\n\n43:7. For I will not trust in my bow:  neither shall my sword save me.\n\n43:8. But thou hast saved us from them that afflict us:  and hast put\nthem to shame that hate us.\n\n43:9. In God shall we glory all the day long:  and in thy name we will\ngive praise for ever.\n\n43:10. But now thou hast cast us off, and put us to shame:  and thou , O\nGod, wilt not go out with our armies.\n\n43:11. Thou hast made us turn our back to our enemies:  and they that\nhated us plundered for themselves.\n\n43:12. Thou hast given us up like sheep to be eaten:  thou hast\nscattered us among the nations.\n\n43:13. Thou hast sold thy people for no price:  and there was no\nreckoning in the exchange of them.\n\n43:14. Thou hast made us a reproach to our neighbours, a scoff and\nderision to them that are round about us.\n\n43:15. Thou hast made us a byword among the Gentiles:  a shaking of the\nhead among the people.\n\n43:16. All the day long my shame is before me:  and the confusion of my\nface hath covered me,\n\n43:17. At the voice of him that reproacheth and detracteth me:  at the\nface of the enemy and persecutor.\n\n43:18. All these things have come upon us, yet we have not forgotten\nthee:  and we have not done wickedly in thy covenant.\n\n43:19. And our heart hath not turned back:  neither hast thou turned\naside our steps from thy way.\n\n43:20. For thou hast humbled us in the place of affliction:  and the\nshadow of death hath covered us.\n\n43:21. If we have forgotten the name of our God, and if we have spread\nforth our hands to a strange god:\n\n43:22. Shall not God search out these things:  for he knoweth the\nsecrets of the heart.  Because for thy sake we are killed all the day\nlong:  we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.\n\n43:23. Arise, why sleepest thou, O Lord?  arise, and cast us not off to\nthe end.\n\n43:24. Why turnest thou thy face away?  and forgettest our want and our\ntrouble?\n\n43:25. For our soul is humbled down to the dust:  our belly cleaveth to\nthe earth.\n\n43:26. Arise, O Lord, help us and redeem us for thy name's sake.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 44\n\n\nEructavit cor meum.\n\nThe excellence of Christ's kingdom, and the endowments of his church.\n\n44:1. Unto the end, for them that shall be changed, for the sons of\nCore, for understanding.  A canticle for the Beloved.\n\nFor them that shall be changed. . .i.e., for souls happily changed, by\nbeing converted to God.--Ibid.  The Beloved. . .Viz., Our Lord Jesus\nChrist.\n\n44:2. My heart hath uttered a good word:  I speak my works to the king:\nMy tongue is the pen of a scrivener that writeth swiftly.\n\n44:3. Thou art beautiful above the sons of men:  grace is poured abroad\nin thy lips; therefore hath God blessed thee for ever.\n\n44:4. Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O thou most mighty.\n\n44:5. With thy comeliness and thy beauty set out, proceed prosperously,\nand reign.  Because of truth and meekness and justice:  and thy right\nhand shall conduct thee wonderfully.\n\n44:6. Thy arrows are sharp:  under thee shall people fall, into the\nhearts of the king's enemies.\n\n44:7. Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever:  the sceptre of thy\nkingdom is a sceptre of uprightness.\n\n44:8. Thou hast loved justice, and hated iniquity:  therefore God, thy\nGod, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.\n\n44:9. Myrrh and stacte and cassia perfume thy garments, from the ivory\nhouses:  out of which\n\n44:10. The daughters of kings have delighted thee in thy glory.  The\nqueen stood on thy right hand, in gilded clothing; surrounded with\nvariety.\n\n44:11. Hearken, O daughter, and see, and incline thy ear:  and forget\nthy people and thy father's house.\n\n44:12. And the king shall greatly desire thy beauty; for he is the Lord\nthy God, and him they shall adore.\n\n44:13. And the daughters of Tyre with gifts, yea, all the rich among\nthe people, shall entreat thy countenance.\n\n44:14. All the glory of the king's daughter is within in golden\nborders,\n\n44:15. Clothed round about with varieties.  After her shall virgins be\nbrought to the king:  her neighbours shall be brought to thee.\n\n44:16. They shall be brought with gladness and rejoicing:  they shall be\nbrought into the temple of the king.\n\n44:17. Instead of thy fathers, sons are born to thee:  thou shalt make\nthem princes over all the earth.\n\n44:18. They shall remember thy name throughout all generations.\nTherefore shall people praise thee for ever; yea, for ever and ever.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 45\n\n\nDeus noster refugium.\n\nThe church in persecution trusteth in the protection of God.\n\n45:1. Unto the end, for the sons of Core, for the hidden.\n\n45:2. Our God is our refuge and strength:  a helper in troubles, which\nhave found us exceedingly.\n\n45:3. Therefore we will not fear, when the earth shall be troubled; and\nthe mountains shall be removed into the heart of the sea.\n\n45:4. Their waters roared and were troubled:  the mountains were\ntroubled with his strength.\n\n45:5. The stream of the river maketh the city of God joyful:  the most\nHigh hath sanctified his own tabernacle.\n\n45:6. God is in the midst thereof, it shall not be moved:  God will help\nit in the morning early.\n\n45:7. Nations were troubled, and kingdoms were bowed down:  he uttered\nhis voice, the earth trembled.\n\n45:8. The Lord of armies is with us:  the God of Jacob is our protector.\n\n45:9. Come and behold ye the works of the Lord:  what wonders he hath\ndone upon earth,\n\n45:10. Making wars to cease even to the end of the earth.  He shall\ndestroy the bow, and break the weapons:  and the shield he shall burn in\nthe fire.\n\n45:11. Be still and see that I am God; I will be exalted among the\nnations, and I will be exalted in the earth.\n\n45:12. The Lord of armies is with us:  the God of Jacob is our\nprotector.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 46\n\n\nOmnes gentes, plaudite.\n\nThe Gentiles are invited to praise God for the establishment of the\nkingdom of Christ.\n\n46:1. Unto the end, for the sons of Core.\n\n46:2. O clap your hands, all ye nations:  shout unto God with the voice\nof joy,\n\n46:3. For the Lord is high, terrible:  a great king over all the earth.\n\n46:4. He hath subdued the people under us; and the nations under our\nfeet.\n\n46:5. He hath chosen for us his inheritance, the beauty of Jacob which\nhe hath love.\n\n46:6. God is ascended with jubilee, and the Lord with the sound of\ntrumpet.\n\n46:7. Sing praises to our God, sing ye:  sing praises to our king, sing\nye.\n\n46:8. For God is the king of all the earth:  sing ye wisely.\n\n46:9. God shall reign over the nations:  God sitteth on his holy throne.\n\n46:10. The princes of the people are gathered together, with the God of\nAbraham:  for the strong gods of the earth are exceedingly exalted.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 47\n\n\nMagnus Dominus.\n\nGod is greatly to be praised for the establishment of his church.\n\n47:1. A psalm of a canticle, for the sons of Core, on the second day of\nthe week.\n\n47:2. Great is the Lord, and exceedingly to be praised in the city of\nour God, in his holy mountain.\n\n47:3. With the joy of the whole earth is mount Sion founded, on the\nsides of the north, the city of the great king.\n\n47:4. In her houses shall God be known, when he shall protect her.\n\n47:5. For behold the kings of the earth assembled themselves:  they\ngathered together.\n\n47:6. So they saw, and they wondered, they were troubled, they were\nmoved:\n\n47:7. Trembling took hold of them.  There were pains as of a woman in\nlabour.\n\n47:8. With a vehement wind thou shalt break in pieces the ships of\nTharsis.\n\n47:9. As we have heard, so have we seen, in the city of the Lord of\nhosts, in the city of our God:  God hath founded it for ever.\n\n47:10. We have received thy mercy, O God, in the midst of thy temple.\n\n47:11. According to thy name, O God, so also is thy praise unto the\nends of the earth:  thy right hand is full of justice.\n\n47:12. Let mount Sion rejoice, and the daughters of Juda be glad;\nbecause of thy judgments, O Lord.\n\n47:13. Surround Sion, and encompass her:  tell lye in her towers.\n\n47:14. Set your hearts on her strength; and distribute her houses, that\nye may relate it in another generation.\n\n47:15. For this is God, our God unto eternity, and for ever and ever:\nhe shall rule us for evermore.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 48\n\n\nAudite haec, omnes gentes.\n\nThe folly of worldlings, who live on in sin, without thinking of death\nor hell.\n\n48:1. Unto the end, a psalm for the sons of Core.\n\n48:2. Hear these things, all ye nations:  give ear, all ye inhabitants\nof the world.\n\n48:3. All you that are earthborn, and you sons of men:  both rich and\npoor together.\n\n48:4. My mouth shall speak wisdom:  and the meditation of my heart\nunderstanding.\n\n48:5. I will incline my ear to a parable; I will open my proposition on\nthe psaltery.\n\n48:6. Why shall I fear in the evil day?  the iniquity of my heel shall\nencompass me.\n\nThe iniquity of my heel. . .That is, the iniquity of my steps or ways:\nor the iniquity of my pride, with which as with the heel, I have\nspurned and kicked at my neighbours:  or the iniquity of my heel, that\nis, the iniquity in which I shall be found in death.  The meaning of\nthis verse is, Why should I now indulge those passions and sinful\naffections, or commit now those sins, which will cause me so much fear\nand anguish in the evil day; when the sorrows of death shall compass\nme, and the perils of hell shall find me?\n\n48:7. They that trust in their own strength, and glory in the multitude\nof their riches,\n\nThey that trust, etc. . .As much as to say, let them fear that trust in\ntheir strength or riches:  for they have great reason to fear:  seeing no\nbrother or other man, how much a friend soever, can by any price or\nlabour rescue them from death.\n\n48:8. No brother can redeem, nor shall man redeem:  he shall not give to\nGod his ransom,\n\n48:9. Nor the price of the redemption of his soul:  and shall labour for\never,\n\nAnd shall labour for ever, etc. . .This seems to be a continuation of\nthe foregoing sentence:  as much as to say no man can by any price or\nransom prolong his life, that so he may still continue to labour here,\nand live to the end of the world.  Others understand it of the eternal\nsorrows, and dying life of hell, which is the dreadful consequence of\ndying in sin.\n\n48:10. And shall still live unto the end.\n\n48:11. He shall not see destruction, when he shall see the wise dying:\nthe senseless and the fool shall perish together:  And they shall leave\ntheir riches to strangers:\n\nHe shall not see destruction, etc. . .Or, shall he not see destruction?\nAs much as to say, however thoughtless he may be of his death, he must\nnot expect to escape; when even the wise and the good are not exempt\nfrom dying.\n\n48:12. And their sepulchres shall be their houses for ever.  Their\ndwelling places to all generations:  they have called their lands by\ntheir names.\n\nThey have called, etc. . .That is, they have left their names on their\ngraves, which alone remain of their lands.\n\n48:13. And man when he was in honour did not understand; he is compared\nto senseless beasts, and is become like to them.\n\n48:14. This way of theirs is a stumblingblock to them:  and afterwards\nthey shall delight in their mouth.\n\nThey shall delight in their mouth. . .Notwithstanding the wretched way\nin which they walk, they shall applaud themselves with their mouths,\nand glory in their doings.\n\n48:15. They are laid in hell like sheep:  death shall feed upon them.\nAnd the just shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their\nhelp shall decay in hell from their glory.\n\nIn the morning. . .That is, in the resurrection to a new life; when the\njust shall judge and condemn the wicked.  Ibid.  From their\nglory. . .That is, when their short-lived glory in this world shall be\npast, and be no more.\n\n48:16. But God will redeem my soul from the hand of hell, when he shall\nreceive me.\n\n48:17. Be not thou afraid, when a man shall be made rick, and when the\nglory of his house shall be increased.\n\n48:18. For when he shall die he shall take nothing away; nor shall his\nglory descend with him.\n\n48:19. For in his lifetime his soul will be blessed:  and he will praise\nthee when thou shalt do well to him.\n\n48:20. He shall go in to the generations of his fathers:  and he shall\nnever see light.\n\n48:21. Man when he was in honour did not understand:  he hath been\ncompared to senseless beasts, and made like to them.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 49\n\n\nDeus deorum.\n\nThe coming of Christ:  who prefers virtue and inward purity before the\nblood of victims.\n\n49:1. A psalm for Asaph.  The God of gods, the Lord hath spoken:  and he\nhath called the earth.  From the rising of the sun, to the going down\nthereof:\n\n49:2. Out of Sion the loveliness of his beauty.\n\n49:3. God shall come manifestly:  our God shall come, and shall not keep\nsilence.  A fire shall burn before him:  and a mighty tempest shall be\nround about him.\n\n49:4. He shall call heaven from above, and the earth, to judge his\npeople.\n\n49:5. Gather ye together his saints to him:  who set his covenant before\nsacrifices.\n\n49:6. And the heavens shall declare his justice:  for God is judge.\n\n49:7. Hear, O my people, and I will speak:  O Israel, and I will testify\nto thee:  I am God, thy God.\n\n49:8. I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices:  and thy burnt\nofferings are always in my sight.\n\n49:9. I will not take calves out of thy house:  nor he goats out of thy\nflocks.\n\n49:10. For all the beasts of the woods are mine:  the cattle on the\nhills, and the oxen.\n\n49:11. I know all the fowls of the air:  and with me is the beauty of\nthe field.\n\n49:12. If I should be hungry, I would not tell thee:  for the world is\nmine, and the fulness thereof.\n\n49:13. Shall I eat the flesh of bullocks?  or shall I drink the blood of\ngoats?\n\n49:14. Offer to God the sacrifice of praise:  and pay thy vows to the\nmost High.\n\n49:15. And call upon me in the day of trouble:  I will deliver thee, and\nthou shalt glorify me.\n\n49:16. But to the sinner God hath said:  Why dost thou declare my\njustices, and take my covenant in thy mouth?\n\n49:17. Seeing thou hast hated discipline:  and hast cast my words behind\nthee.\n\n49:18. If thou didst see a thief thou didst run with him:  and with\nadulterers thou hast been a partaker.\n\n49:19. Thy mouth hath abounded with evil, and thy tongue framed\ndeceits.\n\n49:20. Sitting thou didst speak against thy brother, and didst lay a\nscandal against thy mother's son:\n\n49:21. These things hast thou done, and I was silent.  Thou thoughtest\nunjustly that I should be like to thee:  but I will reprove thee, and\nset before thy face.\n\n49:22. Understand these things, you that forget God; lest he snatch you\naway, and there be none to deliver you.\n\n49:23. The sacrifice of praise shall glorify me:  and there is the way\nby which I will shew him the salvation of God.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 50\n\n\nMiserere.\n\nThe repentance and confession of David after his sin.  The fourth\npenitential psalm.\n\n50:1. Unto the end, a psalm of David,\n\n50:2. When Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had sinned with\nBethsabee.  [2 Kings 12.]\n\n50:3. Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy.  And\naccording to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my iniquity.\n\n50:4. Wash me yet more from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.\n\n50:5. For I know my iniquity, and my sin is always before me.\n\n50:6. To thee only have I sinned, and have done evil before thee:  that\nthou mayst be justified in thy words, and mayst overcome when thou art\njudged.\n\n50:7. For behold I was conceived in iniquities; and in sins did my\nmother conceive me.\n\n50:8. For behold thou hast loved truth:  the uncertain and hidden things\nof thy wisdom thou hast made manifest to me.\n\n50:9. Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed:  thou\nshalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow.\n\n50:10. To my hearing thou shalt give joy and gladness:  and the bones\nthat have been humbled shall rejoice.\n\n50:11. Turn away thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.\n\n50:12. Create a clean heart in me, O God:  and renew a right spirit\nwithin my bowels.\n\n50:13. Cast me not away from thy face; and take not thy holy spirit\nfrom me.\n\n50:14. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and strengthen me with\na perfect spirit.\n\n50:15. I will teach the unjust thy ways:  and the wicked shall be\nconverted to thee.\n\n50:16. Deliver me from blood, O God, thou God of my salvation:  and my\ntongue shall extol thy justice.\n\n50:17. O Lord, thou wilt open my lips:  and my mouth shall declare thy\npraise.\n\n50:18. For if thou hadst desired sacrifice, I would indeed have given\nit:  with burnt offerings thou wilt not be delighted.\n\n50:19. A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit:  a contrite and\nhumbled heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.\n\n50:20. Deal favourably, O Lord, in thy good will with Sion; that the\nwalls of Jerusalem may be built up.\n\n50:21. Then shalt thou accept the sacrifice of justice, oblations and\nwhole burnt offerings:  then shall they lay calves upon thy altar.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 51\n\n\nQuid gloriaris.\n\nDavid condemneth the wickedness of Doeg, and foretelleth his\ndestruction.\n\n51:1. Unto the end, understanding for David,\n\n51:2. When Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul:  David went to the house\nof Achimelech.\n\n51:3. Why dost thou glory in malice, thou that art mighty in iniquity?\n\n51:4. All the day long thy tongue hath devised injustice:  as a sharp\nrazor, thou hast wrought deceit.\n\n51:5. Thou hast loved malice more than goodness:  and iniquity rather\nthan to speak righteousness.\n\n51:6. Thou hast loved all the words of ruin, O deceitful tongue.\n\n51:7. Therefore will God destroy thee for ever:  he will pluck thee out,\nand remove thee from thy dwelling place:  and thy root out of the land\nof the living.\n\n51:8. The just shall see and fear, and shall laugh at him, and say:\n\n51:9. Behold the man that made not God his helper:  But trusted in the\nabundance of his riches:  and prevailed in his vanity.\n\n51:10. But I, as a fruitful olive tree in the house of God, have hoped\nin the mercy of God for ever, yea for ever and ever.\n\n51:11. I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it:  and I\nwill wait on thy name, for it is good in the sight of thy saints.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 52\n\n\nDixit insipiens.\n\nThe general corruption of man before the coming of Christ.\n\n52:1. Unto the end, for Maeleth, understandings to David.  The fool said\nin his heart:  There is no God.\n\nMaeleth. . .Or Machalath.  A musical instrument, or a chorus of\nmusicians, for St. Jerome renders it, per chorum.\n\n52:2. They are corrupted, and become abominable in iniquities:  there is\nnone that doth good.\n\n52:3. God looked down from heaven on the children of men:  to see if\nthere were any that did understand, or did seek God.\n\n52:4. All have gone aside, they are become unprofitable together, there\nis none that doth good, no not one.\n\n52:5. Shall not all the workers of iniquity know, who eat up my people\nas they eat bread?\n\n52:6. They have not called upon God:  there have they trembled for fear,\nwhere there was no fear.  For God hath scattered the bones of them that\nplease men:  they have been confounded, because God hath despised them.\n\nGod hath scattered the bones, etc. . .That is, God has brought to\nnothing the strength of all those that seek to please men, to the\nprejudice of their duty to their Maker.\n\n52:7. Who will give out of Sion the salvation of Israel?  when God shall\nbring back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel\nshall be glad.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 53\n\n\nDeus, in nomine tuo.\n\nA prayer for help in distress.\n\n53:1. Unto the end, in verses, understanding for David.\n\n53:2. When the en of Ziph had come and said to Saul:  Is not David\nhidden with us?  [1 Kings 23.19]\n\n53:3. Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me in thy strength.\n\n53:4. O God, hear my prayer:  give ear to the words of my mouth.\n\n53:5. For strangers have risen up against me; and the mighty have\nsought after my soul:  and they have not set God before their eyes.\n\n53:6. For behold God is my helper:  and the Lord is the protector of my\nsoul.\n\n53:7. Turn back the evils upon my enemies; and cut them off in thy\ntruth.\n\n53:8. I will freely sacrifice to thee, and will give praise, O God, to\nthy name:  because it is good:\n\n53:9. For thou hast delivered me out of all trouble:  and my eye hath\nlooked down upon my enemies.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 54\n\n\nExaudi, Deus.\n\nA prayer of a just man under persecution from the wicked.  It agrees to\nChrist persecuted by the Jews, and betrayed by Judas.\n\n54:1. Unto the end, in verses, understanding for David.\n\n54:2. Hear, O God, my prayer, and despise not my supplication:\n\n54:3. Be attentive to me and hear me.  I am grieved in my exercise; and\nam troubled,\n\n54:4. At the voice of the enemy, and at the tribulation of the sinner.\nFor they have cast iniquities upon me:  and in wrath they were\ntroublesome to me.\n\n54:5. My heart is troubled within me:  and the fear of death is fallen\nupon me.\n\n54:6. Fear and trembling are come upon me:  and darkness hath covered\nme.\n\n54:7. And I said:  Who will give me wings like a dove, and I will fly\nand be at rest?\n\n54:8. Lo, I have gone far off flying away; and I abode in the\nwilderness.\n\n54:9. I waited for him that hath saved me from pusillanimity of spirit,\nand a storm.\n\n54:10. Cast down, O Lord, and divide their tongues; for I have seen\niniquity and contradiction in the city.\n\n54:11. Day and night shall iniquity surround it upon its walls:  and in\nthe midst thereof are labour,\n\n54:12. And injustice.  And usury and deceit have not departed from its\nstreets.\n\n54:13. For if my enemy had reviled me, I would verily have borne with\nit.  And if he that hated me had spoken great things against me, I would\nperhaps have hidden my self from him.\n\n54:14. But thou a man of one mind, my guide, and my familiar,\n\n54:15. Who didst take sweetmeats together with me:  in the house of God\nwe walked with consent.\n\n54:16. Let death come upon them, and let them go down alive into hell.\nFor there is wickedness in their dwellings:  in the midst of them.\n\nLet death, etc. . .This, and such like imprecations which occur in the\npsalms, are delivered prophetically; that is, by way of foretelling the\npunishments which shall fall upon the wicked from divine justice, and\napproving the righteous ways of God:  but not by way of ill will, or\nuncharitable curses, which the law of God disallows.\n\n54:17. But I have cried to God:  and the Lord will save me.\n\n54:18. Evening and morning, and at noon I will speak and declare:  and\nhe shall hear my voice.\n\n54:19. He shall redeem my soul in peace from them that draw near to me:\nfor among many they were with me.\n\nAmong many, etc. . .That is, they that drew near to attack me were many\nin company all combined to fight against me.\n\n54:20. God shall hear, and the Eternal shall humble them.  For there is\nno change with them, and they have not feared God:\n\n54:21. He hath stretched forth his hand to repay.  They have defiled his\ncovenant,\n\n54:22. They are divided by the wrath of his countenance, and his heart\nhath drawn near.  His words are smoother than oil, and the same are\ndarts.\n\nThey are divided, etc. . .Dispersed, scattered, and brought to nothing,\nby the wrath of God; who looks with indignation on their wicked and\ndeceitful ways.\n\n54:23. Cast thy care upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee:  he shall\nnot suffer the just to waver for ever.\n\n54:24. But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of\ndestruction.  Bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their\ndays; but I will trust in thee, O Lord.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 55\n\n\nMiserere mei, Deus.\n\nA prayer of David in danger and distress.\n\n55:1. Unto the end, for a people that is removed at a distance form the\nsanctuary:  for David, for an inscription of a title (or pillar) when\nthe Philistines held him in Geth.\n\n55:2. Have mercy on me, O God, for man hath trodden me under foot; all\nthe day long he hath afflicted me fighting against me.\n\n55:3. My enemies have trodden on me all the day long; for they are many\nthat make war against me.\n\n55:4. From the height of the day I shall fear:  but I will trust in\nthee.\n\nThe height of the day. . .That is, even at noonday, when the sun is the\nhighest, I am still in danger.\n\n55:5. In God I will praise my words, in God I have put my trust:  I will\nnot fear what flesh can do against me.\n\nMy words. . .The words or promises God has made in my favour.\n\n55:6. All the day long they detested my words:  all their thoughts were\nagainst me unto evil.\n\n55:7. They will dwell and hide themselves:  they will watch my heel.  As\nthey have waited for my soul,\n\n55:8. For nothing shalt thou save them:  in thy anger thou shalt break\nthe people in pieces.  O God,\n\nFor nothing shalt thou save them. . .That is, since they lie in wait to\nruin my soul, thou shalt for no consideration favour or assist them,\nbut execute thy justice upon them.\n\n55:9. I have declared to thee my life:  thou hast set me tears in thy\nsight, As also in thy promise.\n\n55:10. Then shall my enemies be turned back.  In what day soever I shall\ncall upon thee, behold I know thou art my God.\n\n55:11. In God will I praise the word, in the Lord will I praise his\nspeech.  In God have I hoped, I will not fear what man can do to me.\n\n55:12. In me, O God, are vows to thee, which I will pay, praises to\nthee:\n\n55:13. Because thou hast delivered my soul from death, my feet from\nfalling:  that I may please in the sight of God, in the light of the\nliving.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 56\n\n\nMiserere mei, Deus.  The prophet prays in his affliction, and praises\nGod for his delivery.\n\n56:1. Unto the end, destroy not, for David, for an inscription of a\ntitle, when he fled from Saul into the cave.  [1 Kings 24.]\n\nDestroy not. . .Suffer me not to be destroyed.\n\n56:2. Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me:  for my soul trusteth\nin thee.  And in the shadow of thy wings will I hope, until iniquity\npass away.\n\n56:3. I will cry to God the most high; to God who hath done good to me.\n\n56:4. He hath sent from heaven and delivered me:  he hath made them a\nreproach that trod upon me.  God hath sent his mercy and his truth,\n\n56:5. And he hath delivered my soul from the midst of the young lions.\nI slept troubled.  The sons of men, whose teeth are weapons and arrows,\nand their tongue a sharp sword.\n\n56:6. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens, and thy glory above\nall the earth.\n\n56:7. They prepared a snare for my feet; and they bowed down my soul.\nThey dug a pit before my face, and they are fallen into it.\n\n56:8. My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready:  I will sing, and\nrehearse a psalm.\n\n56:9. Arise, O my glory, arise psaltery and harp:  I will arise early.\n\n56:10. I will give praise to thee, O Lord, among the people:  I will\nsing a psalm to thee among the nations.\n\n56:11. For thy mercy is magnified even to the heavens:  and thy truth\nunto the clouds.\n\n56:12. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens:  and thy glory above\nall the earth.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 57\n\n\nSi vere utique.\n\nDavid reproveth the wicked, and foretelleth their punishment.\n\n57:1. Unto the end, destroy not, for David, for an inscription of a\ntitle.\n\n57:2. If in very deed ye speak justice:  judge right things, ye sons of\nmen.\n\n57:3. For in your heart you work iniquity:  your hands forge injustice\nin the earth.\n\n57:4. The wicked are alienated from the womb; they have gone astray\nfrom the womb:  they have spoken false things.\n\n57:5. Their madness is according to the likeness of a serpent:  like the\ndeaf asp that stoppeth her ears:\n\n57:6. Which will not hear the voice of the charmers; nor of the wizard\nthat charmeth wisely.\n\n57:7. God shall break in pieces their teeth in their mouth:  the Lord\nshall break the grinders of the lions.\n\n57:8. They shall come to nothing, like water running down; he hath bent\nhis bow till they be weakened.\n\n57:9. Like wax that melteth they shall be taken away:  fire hath fallen\non them, and they shall not see the sun.\n\n57:10. Before your thorns could know the brier; he swalloweth them up,\nas alive, in his wrath.\n\nBefore your thorns, etc. . .That is, before your thorns grow up, so as\nto become strong briers, they shall be overtaken and consumed by divine\njustice, swallowing them up, as it were, alive in his wrath.\n\n57:11. The just shall rejoice when he shall see the revenge:  he shall\nwash his hands in the blood of the sinner.\n\nShall wash his hands, etc. . .Shall applaud the justice of God, and take\noccasion from the consideration of the punishment of the wicked to wash\nand cleanse his hands from sin.\n\n57:12. And man shall say:  If indeed there be fruit to the just:  there\nis indeed a God that judgeth them on the earth.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 58\n\n\nEripe me.\n\nA prayer to be delivered from the wicked, with confidence in God's help\nand protection.  It agrees to Christ and his enemies the Jews.\n\n58:1. Unto the end, destroy not, for David for an inscription of a\ntitle, when Saul sent and watched his house to kill him.  [1 Kings 19.]\n\n58:2. Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; and defend me from them\nthat rise up against me.\n\n58:3. Deliver me from them that work iniquity, and save me from bloody\nmen.\n\n58:4. For behold they have caught my soul:  the mighty have rushed in\nupon me:\n\n58:5. Neither is it my iniquity, nor my sin, O Lord:  without iniquity\nhave I run, and directed my steps.\n\n58:6. Rise up thou to meet me, and behold:  even thou, O Lord, the God\nof hosts, the God of Israel.  Attend to visit all the nations:  have no\nmercy on all them that work iniquity.\n\n58:7. They shall return at evening, and shall suffer hunger like dogs:\nand shall go round about the city.\n\n58:8. Behold they shall speak with their mouth, and a sword is in their\nlips:  for who, say they, hath heard us?\n\n58:9. But thou, O Lord, shalt laugh at them:  thou shalt bring all the\nnations to nothing.\n\n58:10. I will keep my strength to thee:  for thou art my protector:\n\n58:11. My God, his mercy shall prevent me.\n\n58:12. God shall let me see over my enemies:  slay them not, lest at any\ntime my people forget.  Scatter them by thy power; and bring them down,\nO Lord, my protector:\n\n58:13. For the sin of their mouth, and the word of their lips:  and let\nthem be taken in their pride.  And for their cursing and lying they\nshall be talked of,\n\n58:14. When they are consumed:  when they are consumed by thy wrath, and\nthey shall be no more.  And they shall know that God will rule Jacob,\nand all the ends of the earth.\n\n58:15. They shall return at evening and shall suffer hunger like dogs:\nand shall go round about the city.\n\n58:16. They shall be scattered abroad to eat, and shall murmur if they\nbe not filled.\n\n58:17. But I will sing thy strength:  and will extol thy mercy in the\nmorning.  For thou art become my support, and my refuge, in the day of\nmy trouble.\n\n58:18. Unto thee, O my helper, will I sing, for thou art God my\ndefence:  my God my mercy.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 59\n\n\nDeus, repulisti nos.\n\nAfter many afflictions, the church of Christ shall prevail.\n\n59:1. Unto the end, for them that shall be changed, for the inscription\nof a title, to David himself, for doctrine,\n\n59:2. When he set fire to Mesopotamia of Syria and Sobal:  and Joab\nreturned and slew of Edom, in the vale of the saltpits, twelve thousand\nmen.\n\n59:3. O God, thou hast cast us off, and hast destroyed us; thou hast\nbeen angry, and hast had mercy on us.\n\n59:4. Thou hast moved the earth, and hast troubled it:  heal thou the\nbreaches thereof, for it has been moved.\n\n59:5. Thou hast shewn thy people hard things; thou hast made us drink\nthe wine of sorrow.\n\n59:6. Thou hast given a warning to them that fear thee:  that they may\nflee from before the bow:  That thy beloved may be delivered.\n\n59:7. Save me with thy right hand, and hear me.\n\n59:8. God hath spoken in his holy place:  I will rejoice, and I will\ndivide Sichem; and will mete out the vale of tabernacles.\n\n59:9. Galaad is mine, and Manasses is mine:  and Ephraim is the strength\nof my head.  Juda is my king:\n\n59:10. Moab is the pot of my hope.  Into Edom will I stretch out my\nshoe:  to me the foreigners are made subject.\n\nThe pot of my hope. . .Or my watering pot.  That is, a vessel for meaner\nuses, by being reduced to serve me, even in the meanest\nemployments.--Ibid.  Foreigners. . .So the Philistines are called, who\nhad no kindred with the Israelites; whereas the Edomites, Moabites, etc.,\nwere originally of the same family.\n\n59:11. Who will bring me into the strong city?  who will lead me into\nEdom?\n\n59:12. Wilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us off?  and wilt not thou, O\nGod, go out with our armies?\n\n59:13. Give us help from trouble:  for vain is the salvation of man.\n\n59:14. Through God we shall do mightily:  and he shall bring to nothing\nthem that afflict us.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 60\n\n\nExaudi, Deus.\n\nA prayer for the coming of the kingdom of Christ, which shall have no\nend.\n\n60:1. Unto the end, in hymns, for David.\n\n60:2. Hear, O God, my supplication:  be attentive to my prayer.\n\n60:3. To thee have I cried from the ends of the earth:  when my heart\nwas in anguish, thou hast exalted me on a rock.  Thou hast conducted me;\n\n60:4. For thou hast been my hope; a tower of strength against the face\nof the enemy.\n\n60:5. In thy tabernacle I shall dwell for ever:  I shall be protected\nunder the covert of thy wings.\n\n60:6. For thou, my God, hast heard my prayer:  thou hast given an\ninheritance to them that fear thy name.\n\n60:7. Thou wilt add days to the days of the king:  his years even to\ngeneration and generation.\n\n60:8. He abideth for ever in the sight of God:  his mercy and truth who\nshall search?\n\n60:9. So will I sing a psalm to thy name for ever and ever:  that I may\npay my vows from day to day.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 61\n\n\nNonne Deo.\n\nThe prophet encourageth himself and all others to trust in God, and\nserve him.\n\n61:1. Unto the end, for Idithun, a psalm of David.\n\n61:2. Shall not my soul be subject to God?  for from him is my\nsalvation.\n\n61:3. For he is my God and my saviour:  he is my protector, I shall be\nmoved no more.\n\n61:4. How long do you rush in upon a man?  you all kill, as if you were\nthrusting down a leaning wall, and a tottering fence.\n\n61:5. But they have thought to cast away my price; I ran in thirst:\nthey blessed with their mouth, but cursed with their heart.\n\n61:6. But be thou, O my soul, subject to God:  for from him is my\npatience.\n\n61:7. For he is my God and my saviour:  he is my helper, I shall not be\nmoved.\n\n61:8. In God is my salvation and my glory:  he is the God of my help,\nand my hope is in God.\n\n61:9. Trust in him, all ye congregation of people:  pour out your hearts\nbefore him.  God is our helper for ever.\n\n61:10. But vain are the sons of men, the sons of men are liars in the\nbalances:  that by vanity they may together deceive.\n\nAre liars in the balances, etc. . .They are so vain and light, that if\nthey are put into the scales, they will be found to be of no weight;\nand to be mere lies, deceit, and vanity.  Or, They are liars in their\nbalances, by weighing things by false weights, and preferring the\ntemporal before the eternal.\n\n61:11. Trust not in iniquity, and cover not robberies:  if riches\nabound, set not your heart upon them.\n\n61:12. God hath spoken once, these two things have I heard, that power\nbelongeth to God,\n\n61:13. And mercy to thee, O Lord; for thou wilt render to every man\naccording to his works.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 62\n\n\nDeus Deus meus, ad te.\n\nThe prophet aspireth after God.\n\n62:1. A psalm of David while he was in the desert of Edom.\n\n62:2. O God, my God, to thee do I watch at break of day.  For thee my\nsoul hath thirsted; for thee my flesh, O how many ways!\n\n62:3. In a desert land, and where there is no way, and no water:  so in\nthe sanctuary have I come before thee, to see thy power and thy glory.\n\n62:4. For thy mercy is better than lives:  thee my lips will praise.\n\n62:5. Thus will I bless thee all my life long:  and in thy name I will\nlift up my hands.\n\n62:6. Let my soul be filled as with marrow and fatness:  and my mouth\nshall praise thee with joyful lips.\n\n62:7. If I have remembered thee upon my bed, I will meditate on thee in\nthe morning:\n\n62:8. Because thou hast been my helper.  And I will rejoice under the\ncovert of thy wings:\n\n62:9. My soul hath stuck close to thee:  thy right hand hath received\nme.\n\n62:10. But they have fought my soul in vain, they shall go into the\nlower parts of the earth:\n\n62:11. They shall be delivered into the hands of the sword, they shall\nbe the portions of foxes.\n\n62:12. But the king shall rejoice in God, all they shall be praised\nthat swear by him:  because the mouth is stopped of them that speak\nwicked things.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 63\n\n\nExaudi Deus orationem.\n\nA prayer in affliction, with confidence in God that he will bring to\nnought the machinations of persecutors.\n\n63:1. Unto the end, a psalm for David.\n\n63:2. Hear O God, my prayer, when I make supplication to thee:  deliver\nmy soul from the fear of the enemy.\n\n63:3. Thou hast protected me from the assembly of the malignant; from\nthe multitude of the workers of iniquity.\n\n63:4. For they have whetted their tongues like a sword; they have bent\ntheir bow a bitter thing,\n\n63:5. To shoot in secret the undefiled.\n\n63:6. They will shoot at him on a sudden, and will not fear:  they are\nresolute in wickedness.  They have talked of hiding snares; they have\nsaid:  Who shall see them?\n\n63:7. They have searched after iniquities:  they have failed in their\nsearch.  Man shall come to a deep heart:\n\nA deep heart. . .That is, crafty, subtle, deep projects and designs;\nwhich nevertheless shall not succeed; for God shall be exalted in\nbringing them to nought by his wisdom and power.\n\n63:8. And God shall be exalted.  The arrows of children are their\nwounds:\n\nThe arrows of children are their wounds. . .That is, the wounds,\nstripes, or blows, they seek to inflict upon the just, are but like the\nweak efforts of children's arrows, which can do no execution:  and their\ntongues, that is, their speeches against them come to nothing.\n\n63:9. And their tongues against them are made weak.  All that saw them\nwere troubled;\n\n63:10. And every man was afraid.  And they declared the works of God,\nand understood his doings.\n\n63:11. The just shall rejoice in the Lord, and shall hope in him:  and\nall the upright in heart shall be praised.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 64\n\n\nTe decet.\n\nGod is to be praised in his church, to which all nations shall be\ncalled.\n\n64:1. To the end, a psalm of David.  The canticle of Jeremias and\nEzechiel to the people of the captivity, when they began to go out.\n\nOf the captivity. . .That is, the people of the captivity of Babylon.\nThis is not in the Hebrew, but is found in the ancient translation of\nthe Septuagint.\n\n64:2. A hymn, O God, becometh thee in Sion:  and a vow shall be paid to\nthee in Jerusalem.\n\n64:3. O hear my prayer:  all flesh shall come to thee.\n\n64:4. The words of the wicked have prevailed over us:  and thou wilt\npardon our transgressions.\n\n64:5. Blessed is he whom thou hast chosen and taken to thee:  he shall\ndwell in thy courts.  We shall be filled with the good things of thy\nhouse; holy is thy temple,\n\n64:6. Wonderful in justice.  Hear us, O God our saviour, who art the\nhope of all the ends of the earth, and in the sea afar off.\n\n64:7. Thou who preparest the mountains by thy strength, being girded\nwith power:\n\n64:8. Who troublest the depth of the sea, the noise of its waves.  The\nGentiles shall be troubled,\n\n64:9. And they that dwell in the uttermost borders shall be afraid at\nthy signs:  thou shalt make the outgoings of the morning and of the\nevening to be joyful.\n\n64:10. Thou hast visited the earth, and hast plentifully watered it;\nthou hast many ways enriched it.  The river of God is filled with water,\nthou hast prepared their food:  for so is its preparation.\n\n64:11. Fill up plentifully the streams thereof, multiply its fruits; it\nshall spring up and rejoice in its showers.\n\n64:12. Thou shalt bless the crown of the year of thy goodness:  and thy\nfields shall be filled with plenty.\n\n64:13. The beautiful places of the wilderness shall grow fat:  and the\nhills shall be girded about with joy,\n\n64:14. The rams of the flock are clothed, and the vales shall abound\nwith corn:  they shall shout, yea they shall sing a hymn.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 65\n\n\nJubilate Deo.\n\nAn invitation to praise God.\n\n65:1. Unto the end, a canticle of a psalm of the resurrection.  Shout\nwith joy to God, all the earth,\n\n65:2. Sing ye a psalm to his name; give glory to his praise.\n\n65:3. Say unto God, How terrible are thy works, O Lord! in the\nmultitude of thy strength thy enemies shall lie to thee.\n\n65:4. Let all the earth adore thee, and sing to thee:  let it sing a\npsalm to thy name.\n\n65:5. Come and see the works of God; who is terrible in his counsels\nover the sons of men.\n\n65:6. Who turneth the sea into dry land, in the river they shall pass\non foot:  there shall we rejoice in him.\n\n65:7. Who by his power ruleth for ever:  his eyes behold the nations;\nlet not them that provoke him be exalted in themselves.\n\n65:8. O bless our God, ye Gentiles:  and make the voice of his praise to\nbe heard.\n\n65:9. Who hath set my soul to live:  and hath not suffered my feet to be\nmoved:\n\n65:10. For thou, O God, hast proved us:  thou hast tried us by fire, as\nsilver is tried.\n\n65:11. Thou hast brought us into a net, thou hast laid afflictions on\nour back:\n\n65:12. Thou hast set men over our heads.  We have passed through fire\nand water, and thou hast brought us out into a refreshment.\n\n65:13. I will go into thy house with burnt offerings:  I will pay thee\nmy vows,\n\n65:14. Which my lips have uttered, And my mouth hath spoken, when I was\nin trouble.\n\n65:15. I will offer up to thee holocausts full of marrow, with burnt\nofferings of rams:  I will offer to thee bullocks with goats.\n\n65:16. Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will tell you what\ngreat things he hath done for my soul.\n\n65:17. I cried to him with my mouth:  and I extolled him with my tongue.\n\n65:18. If I have looked at iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear\nme.\n\n65:19. Therefore hath God heard me, and hath attended to the voice of\nmy supplication.\n\n65:20. Blessed be God, who hath not turned away my prayer, nor his\nmercy from me.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 66\n\n\nDeus misereatur.\n\nA prayer for the propagation of the church.\n\n66:1. Unto the end, in hymns, a psalm of a canticle for David.\n\n66:2. May God have mercy on us, and bless us:  may he cause the light of\nhis countenance to shine upon us, and may he have mercy on us.\n\n66:3. That we may know thy way upon earth:  thy salvation in all\nnations.\n\n66:4. Let people confess to thee, O God:  let all people give praise to\nthee.\n\n66:5. Let the nations be glad and rejoice:  for thou judgest the people\nwith justice, and directest the nations upon earth.\n\n66:6. Let the people, O God, confess to thee:  let all the people give\npraise to thee:\n\n66:7. The earth hath yielded her fruit.  May God, our God bless us,\n\n66:8. May God bless us:  and all the ends of the earth fear him.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 67\n\n\nExurgat Deus.\n\nThe glorious establishment of the church of the New Testament,\nprefigured by the benefits bestowed on the people of Israel.\n\n67:1. Unto the end, a psalm of a canticle for David himself.\n\n67:2. Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered:  and let them\nthat hate him flee from before his face.\n\n67:3. As smoke vanisheth, so let them vanish away:  as wax melteth\nbefore the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.\n\n67:4. And let the just feast, and rejoice before God:  and be delighted\nwith gladness.\n\n67:5. Sing ye to God, sing a psalm to his name, make a way for him who\nascendeth upon the west:  the Lord is his name.  Rejoice ye before him:\nbut the wicked shall be troubled at his presence,\n\nWho ascendeth upon the west. . .Super occasum.  St. Gregory understands\nit of Christ, who after his going down, like the sun, in the west, by\nhis passion and death, ascended more glorious, and carried all before\nhim.  St. Jerome renders it, who ascendeth, or cometh up, through the\ndeserts.\n\n67:6. Who is the father of orphans, and the judge of widows.  God in his\nholy place:\n\n67:7. God who maketh men of one manner to dwell in a house:  Who\nbringeth out them that were bound in strength; in like manner them that\nprovoke, that dwell in sepulchres.\n\nOf one manner. . .That is, agreeing in faith, unanimous in love, and\nfollowing the same manner of discipline.  It is verified in the servants\nof God, living together in his house, which is the church.  1 Tim.\n3.15.--Ibid.  Them that were bound, etc. . .The power and mercy of God\nappears in his bringing out of their captivity those that were strongly\nbound in their sins:  and in restoring to his grace those whose\nbehaviour had been most provoking; and who by their evil habits were\nnot only dead, but buried in their sepulchres.\n\n67:8. O God, when thou didst go forth in the sight of thy people, when\nthou didst pass through the desert:\n\n67:9. The earth was moved, and the heavens dropped at the presence of\nthe God of Sina, at the presence of the God of Israel.\n\n67:10. Thou shalt set aside for thy inheritance a free rain, O God:  and\nit was weakened, but thou hast made it perfect.\n\nA free rain. . .the manna, which rained plentifully from heaven, in\nfavour of God's inheritance, that is, of his people Israel:  which was\nweakened indeed under a variety of afflictions, but was made perfect by\nGod; that is, was still supported by divine providence, and brought on\nto the promised land.  It agrees particularly to the church of Christ\nhis true inheritance, which is plentifully watered with the free rain\nof heavenly grace; and through many infirmities, that is, crosses and\ntribulations, is made perfect, and fitted for eternal glory.\n\n67:11. In it shall thy animals dwell; in thy sweetness, O God, thou\nhast provided for the poor.\n\nIn it, etc. . .That is, in this church, which is thy fold and thy\ninheritance, shall thy animals, thy sheep, dwell:  where thou hast\nplentifully provided for them.\n\n67:12. The Lord shall give the word to them that preach good tidings\nwith great power.\n\nTo them that preach good tidings. . .Evangelizantibus.  That is, to the\npreachers of the gospel; who receiving the word from the Lord, shall\nwith great power and efficacy preach throughout the world the glad\ntidings of a Saviour, and of eternal salvation through him.\n\n67:13. The king of powers is of the beloved, of the beloved; and the\nbeauty of the house shall divide spoils.\n\nThe king of powers. . .That is, the mighty King, the Lord of hosts, is\nof the beloved, of the beloved; that is, is on the side of Christ, his\nmost beloved son:  and his beautiful house, viz., the church, in which\nGod dwells forever, shall by her spiritual conquests divide the spoils\nof many nations.  The Hebrew (as it now stands pointed) is thus\nrendered, The kings of armies have fled, they have fled, and she that\ndwells at home (or the beauty of the house) shall divide the spoils.\n\n67:14. If you sleep among the midst of lots, you shall be as the wings\nof a dove covered with silver, and the hinder parts of her back with\nthe paleness of gold.\n\nIf you sleep among the midst of lots (intermedios cleros, etc.). . .Viz.,\nin such dangers and persecutions, as if your enemies were casting\nlots for your goods and persons:  or in the midst of the lots,\n(intermedios terminos, as St. Jerome renders it,) that is, upon the\nvery bounds or borders of the dominions of your enemies:  you shall be\nsecure nevertheless under the divine protection; and shall be enabled\nto fly away, like a dove, with glittering wings and feathers shining\nlike the palest and most precious gold; that is, with great increase of\nvirtue, and glowing with the fervour of charity.\n\n67:15. When he that is in heaven appointeth kings over her, they shall\nbe whited with snow in Selmon.\n\nKings over her. . .That is, pastors and rulers over his church, viz.,\nthe apostles and their successors.  Then by their ministry shall men be\nmade whiter than the snow which lies on the top of the high mountain\nSelmon.\n\n67:16. The mountain of God is a fat mountain.  A curdled mountain, a fat\nmountain.\n\nThe mountain of God. . .The church, which, Isa. 2.2, is called The\nmountain of the house of the Lord upon the top of mountains.  It is here\ncalled a fat and a curdled mountain; that is to say, most fruitful, and\nenriched by the spiritual gifts and graces of the Holy Ghost.\n\n67:17. Why suspect, ye curdled mountains?  A mountain in which God is\nwell pleased to dwell:  for there the Lord shall dwell unto the end.\n\nWhy suspect, ye curdled mountains?. . .Why do you suppose or imagine\nthere may be any other such curdled mountains?  You are mistaken:  the\nmountain thus favoured by God is but one; and this same he has chosen\nfor his dwelling for ever.\n\n67:18. The chariot of God is attended by ten thousands; thousands of\nthem that rejoice:  the Lord is among them in Sina, in the holy place.\n\nThe chariot of God. . .Descending to give his law on mount Sina:  as also\nof Jesus Christ his Son, ascending into heaven, to send from thence the\nHoly Ghost, to publish his new law, is attended with ten thousands,\nthat is, with an innumerable multitude of joyful angels.\n\n67:19. Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive;\nthou hast received gifts in men.  Yea for those also that do not\nbelieve, the dwelling of the Lord God.\n\nLed captivity captive. . .Carrying away with thee to heaven those who\nbefore had been the captives of Satan; and receiving from God the\nFather gifts to be distributed to men; even to those who were before\nunbelievers.\n\n67:20. Blessed be the Lord day by day:  the God of our salvation will\nmake our journey prosperous to us.\n\n67:21. Our God is the God of salvation:  and of the Lord, of the Lord\nare the issues from death.\n\nThe issues from death. . .The Lord alone is master of the issues, by\nwhich we may escape from death.\n\n67:22. But God shall break the heads of his enemies:  the hairy crown of\nthem that walk on in their sins.\n\n67:23. The Lord said:  I will turn them from Basan, I will turn them\ninto the depth of the sea:\n\nI will turn them from Basan, etc. . .I will cast out my enemies from\ntheir rich possessions, signified by Basan, a fruitful country; and I\nwill drive them into the depth of the sea:  and make such a slaughter of\nthem, that the feet of my servants may be dyed in their blood, etc.\n\n67:24. That thy foot may be dipped in the blood of thy enemies; the\ntongue of thy dogs be red with the same.\n\n67:25. They have seen thy goings, O God, the goings of my God:  of my\nking who is in his sanctuary.\n\nThy goings. . .Thy ways, thy proceedings, by which thou didst formerly\ntake possession of the promised land in favour of thy people; and shalt\nafterwards of the whole world, which thou shalt subdue to thy Son.\n\n67:26. Princes went before joined with singers, in the midst of young\ndamsels playing on timbrels.\n\nPrinces. . .The apostles, the first converters of nations; attended by\nnumbers of perfect souls, singing the divine praises, and virgins\nconsecrated to God.\n\n67:27. In the churches bless ye God the Lord, from the fountains of\nIsrael.\n\nFrom the fountains of Israel. . .From whom both Christ and his apostles\nsprung.  By Benjamin, the holy fathers on this place understand St.\nPaul, who was of that tribe, named here a youth, because he was the\nlast called to the apostleship.  By the princes of Juda, Zabulon, and\nNephthali, we may understand the other apostles, who were of the tribe\nof Juda; or of the tribes of Zabulon, and Nephthali, where our Lord\nbegan to preach, Matt. 4.13, etc.\n\n67:28. There is Benjamin a youth, in ecstasy of mind.  The princes of\nJuda are their leaders:  the princes of Zabulon, the princes of\nNephthali.\n\n67:29. Command thy strength, O God confirm, O God, what thou hast\nwrought in us.\n\nCommand thy strength. . .Give orders that thy strength may be always with\nus.\n\n67:30. From thy temple in Jerusalem, kings shall offer presents to\nthee.\n\n67:31. Rebuke the wild beasts of the reeds, the congregation of bulls\nwith the kine of the people; who seek to exclude them who are tried\nwith silver.  Scatter thou the nations that delight in wars:\n\nRebuke the wild beasts of the reeds. . .or the wild beasts, which lie\nhid in the reeds.  That is, the devils, who hide themselves in order to\nsurprise their prey.  Or by wild beasts, are here understood\npersecutors, who, for all their attempts against the Church, are but as\nweak reeds, which cannot prevail against them who are supported by the\nstrength of the Almighty.  The same are also called the congregation of\nbulls (from their rage against the Church) who assemble together all\ntheir kine, that is, the people their subjects, to exclude if they can,\nfrom Christ and his inheritance, his constant confessors, who are like\nsilver tried by fire.\n\n67:32. Ambassadors shall come out of Egypt:  Ethiopia shall soon stretch\nout her hands to God.\n\nAmbassadors shall come, etc. . .It is a prophecy of the conversion of\nthe Gentiles, and by name of the Egyptians and Ethiopians.\n\n67:33. Sing to God, ye kingdoms of the earth:  sing ye to the Lord:  Sing\nye to God,\n\n67:34. Who mounteth above the heaven of heavens, to the east.  Behold he\nwill give to his voice the voice of power:\n\nTo the east. . .From mount Olivet, which is on the east side of\nJerusalem.--Ibid.  The voice of power. . .That is, he will make his voice\nto be a powerful voice:  by calling from death to life, such as were\ndead in mortal sin:  as at the last day he will by the power of his\nvoice call all the dead from their graves.\n\n67:35. Give ye glory to God for Israel, his magnificence, and his power\nis in the clouds.\n\n67:36. God is wonderful in his saints:  the God of Israel is he who will\ngive power and strength to his people.  Blessed be God.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 68\n\n\nSalvum me fac, Deus.\n\nChrist in his passion declareth the greatness of his sufferings, and\nthe malice of his persecutors the Jews; and foretelleth their\nreprobation.\n\n68:1. Unto the end, for them that shall be changed; for David.\n\nFor them that shall be changed. . .A psalm for Christian converts, to\nremember the passion of Christ.\n\n68:2. Save me, O God:  for the waters are come in even unto my soul.\n\nThe waters. . .Of afflictions and sorrows.  My soul is sorrowful even\nunto death.  Matt. 26.38.\n\n68:3. I stick fast in the mire of the deep and there is no sure\nstanding.  I am come into the depth of the sea, and a tempest hath\noverwhelmed me.\n\n68:4. I have laboured with crying; my jaws are become hoarse, my eyes\nhave failed, whilst I hope in my God.\n\n68:5. They are multiplied above the hairs of my head, who hate me\nwithout cause.  My enemies are grown strong who have wrongfully\npersecuted me:  then did I pay that which I took not away.\n\nI pay that which I took not away. . .Christ in his passion made\nrestitution of what he had not taken away, by suffering the punishment\ndue to our sins, and so repairing the injury we had done to God.\n\n68:6. O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my offences are not\nhidden from thee:\n\nMy foolishness and my offences. . .which my enemies impute to me:  or the\nfollies and sins of men, which I have taken upon myself.\n\n68:7. Let not them be ashamed for me, who look for thee, O Lord, the\nLord of hosts.  Let them not be confounded on my account, who seek thee,\nO God of Israel.\n\n68:8. Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my\nface.\n\n68:9. I am become a stranger to my brethren, and an alien to the sons\nof my mother.\n\n68:10. For the zeal of thy house hath eaten me up:  and the reproaches\nof them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.\n\n68:11. And I covered my soul in fasting:  and it was made a reproach to\nme.\n\n68:12. And I made haircloth my garment:  and I became a byword to them.\n\n68:13. They that sat in the gate spoke against me:  and they that drank\nwine made me their song.\n\n68:14. But as for me, my prayer is to thee, O Lord; for the time of thy\ngood pleasure, O God.  In the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the\ntruth of thy salvation.\n\n68:15. Draw me out of the mire, that I may not stick fast:  deliver me\nfrom them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.\n\n68:16. Let not the tempest of water drown me, nor the deep water\nswallow me up:  and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me.\n\n68:17. Hear me, O Lord, for thy mercy is kind; look upon me according\nto the multitude of thy tender mercies.\n\n68:18. And turn not away thy face from thy servant:  for I am in\ntrouble, hear me speedily.\n\n68:19. Attend to my soul, and deliver it:  save me because of my\nenemies.\n\n68:20. Thou knowest my reproach, and my confusion, and my shame.\n\n68:21. In thy sight are all they that afflict me; my heart hath\nexpected reproach and misery.  And I looked for one that would grieve\ntogether with me, but there was none:  and for one that would comfort\nme, and I found none.\n\n68:22. And they gave me gall for my food, and in my thirst they gave me\nvinegar to drink.\n\n68:23. Let their table become as a snare before them, and a recompense,\nand a stumblingblock.\n\nLet their table, etc. . .What here follows in the style of an\nimprecation, is a prophecy of the wretched state to which the Jews\nshould be reduced in punishment of their wilful obstinacy.\n\n68:24. Let their eyes be darkened that they see not; and their back\nbend thou down always.\n\n68:25. Pour out thy indignation upon them:  and let thy wrathful anger\ntake hold of them.\n\n68:26. Let their habitation be made desolate:  and let there be none to\ndwell in their tabernacles.\n\n68:27. Because they have persecuted him whom thou hast smitten; and\nthey have added to the grief of my wounds.\n\n68:28. Add thou iniquity upon their iniquity:  and let them not come\ninto thy justice.\n\n68:29. Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; and with the\njust let them not be written.\n\n68:30. But I am poor and sorrowful:  thy salvation, O God, hath set me\nup.\n\n68:31. I will praise the name of God with a canticle:  and I will\nmagnify him with praise.\n\n68:32. And it shall please God better than a young calf, that bringeth\nforth horns and hoofs.\n\n68:33. Let the poor see and rejoice:  seek ye God, and your soul shall\nlive.\n\n68:34. For the Lord hath heard the poor:  and hath not despised his\nprisoners.\n\n68:35. Let the heavens and the earth praise him; the sea, and every\nthing that creepeth therein.\n\n68:36. For God will save Sion, and the cities of Juda shall be built\nup.  And they shall dwell there, and acquire it by inheritance.\n\nSion. . .The catholic church.  The cities of Juda, etc., her places of\nworship, which shall be established throughout the world.  And there,\nviz., in this church of Christ, shall his servants dwell, etc.\n\n68:37. And the seed of his servants shall possess it; and they that\nlove his name shall dwell therein.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 69\n\n\nDeus in adjutorium.\n\nA prayer in persecution.\n\n69:1. Unto the end, a psalm for David, to bring to remembrance that the\nLord saved him.\n\n69:2. O God, come to my assistance; O Lord, make haste to help me.\n\n69:3. Let them be confounded and ashamed that seek my soul:\n\n69:4. Let them be turned backward, and blush for shame that desire\nevils to me:  Let them be presently turned away blushing for shame that\nsay to me:  'Tis well, 'tis well.\n\n'T is well, 't is well. . .Euge, euge.  St. Jerome renders it, vah, vah!\nwhich is the voice of one insulting and deriding.  Some understand it as\na detestation of deceitful flatterers.\n\n69:5. Let all that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee; and let such\nas love thy salvation say always:  The Lord be magnified.\n\n69:6. But I am needy and poor; O God, help me.  Thou art my helper and\nmy deliverer:  O lord, make no delay.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 70\n\n\nIn te, Domine.\n\nA prayer for perseverance.\n\n70:1. A psalm for David.  Of the sons of Jonadab, and the former\ncaptives.  In thee, O Lord, I have hoped, let me never be put to\nconfusion:\n\nOf the sons of Jonadab. . .The Rechabites, of whom see Jer. 35.  By this\naddition of the seventy-two interpreters, we gather that this psalm was\nusually sung in the synagogue, in the person of the Rechabites, and of\nthose who were first carried away into captivity.\n\n70:2. Deliver me in thy justice, and rescue me.  Incline thy ear unto\nme, and save me.\n\n70:3. Be thou unto me a God, a protector, and a place of strength:  that\nthou mayst make me safe.  For thou art my firmament and my refuge.\n\n70:4. Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the sinner, and out of\nthe hand of the transgressor of the law and of the unjust.\n\n70:5. For thou art my patience, O Lord:  my hope, O Lord, from my youth.\n\n70:6. By thee have I been confirmed from the womb:  from my mother's\nwomb thou art my protector.  Of thee I shall continually sing:\n\n70:7. I am become unto many as a wonder, but thou art a strong helper.\n\n70:8. Let my mouth be filled with praise, that I may sing thy glory;\nthy greatness all the day long.\n\n70:9. Cast me not off in the time of old age:  when my strength shall\nfail, do not thou forsake me.\n\n70:10. For my enemies have spoken against me; and they that watched my\nsoul have consulted together,\n\n70:11. Saying:  God hath forsaken him:  pursue and take him, for there is\nnone to deliver him.\n\n70:12. O God, be not thou far from me:  O my God, make haste to my help.\n\n70:13. Let them be confounded and come to nothing that detract my soul;\nlet them be covered with confusion and blame that seek my hurt.\n\n70:14. But I will always hope; and will add to all thy praise.\n\n70:15. My mouth shall shew forth thy justice; thy salvation all the day\nlong.  Because I have not known learning,\n\nLearning. . .As much as to say, I build not upon human learning, but\nonly on the power and justice of God.\n\n70:16. I will enter into the powers of the Lord:  O Lord, I will be\nmindful of thy justice alone.\n\n70:17. Thou hast taught me, O God, from my youth:  and till now I will\ndeclare thy wonderful works.\n\n70:18. And unto old age and grey hairs:  O God, forsake me not, Until I\nshew forth thy arm to all the generation that is to come:  Thy power,\n\n70:19. And thy justice, O God, even to the highest great things thou\nhast done:  O God, who is like to thee?\n\n70:20. How great troubles hast thou shewn me, many and grievous:  and\nturning thou hast brought me to life, and hast brought me back again\nfrom the depths of the earth:\n\n70:21. Thou hast multiplied thy magnificence; and turning to me thou\nhast comforted me.\n\n70:22. For I will also confess to thee thy truth with the instruments\nof psaltery:  O God, I will sing to thee with the harp, thou holy one of\nIsrael.\n\n70:23. My lips shall greatly rejoice, when I shall sing to thee; and my\nsoul which thou hast redeemed.\n\n70:24. Yea and my tongue shall meditate on thy justice all the day;\nwhen they shall be confounded and put to shame that seek evils to me.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 71\n\n\nDeus, judicium tuum.\n\nA prophecy of the coming of Christ, and of his kingdom:  prefigured by\nSolomon and his happy reign.\n\n71:1. A psalm on Solomon.\n\n71:2. Give to the king thy judgment, O God, and to the king's son thy\njustice:  To judge thy people with justice, and thy poor with judgment.\n\n71:3. Let the mountains receive peace for the people:  and the hills\njustice.\n\n71:4. He shall judge the poor of the people, and he shall save the\nchildren of the poor:  and he shall humble the oppressor.\n\n71:5. And he shall continue with the sun and before the moon,\nthroughout all generations.\n\n71:6. He shall come down like rain upon the fleece; and as showers\nfalling gently upon the earth.\n\n71:7. In his days shall justice spring up, and abundance of peace, till\nthe moon be taken away.\n\n71:8. And he shall rule from sea to sea, and from the river unto the\nends of the earth.\n\n71:9. Before him the Ethiopians shall fall down:  and his enemies shall\nlick the ground.\n\n71:10. The kings of Tharsis and the islands shall offer presents:  the\nkings of the Arabians and of Saba shall bring gifts:\n\n71:11. And all kings of the earth shall adore him:  all nations shall\nserve him.\n\n71:12. For he shall deliver the poor from the mighty:  and the needy\nthat had no helper.\n\n71:13. He shall spare the poor and needy:  and he shall save the souls\nof the poor.\n\n71:14. He shall redeem their souls from usuries and iniquity:  and their\nnames shall be honourable in his sight.\n\n71:15. And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of\nArabia, for him they shall always adore:  they shall bless him all the\nday.\n\n71:16. And there shall be a firmament on the earth on the tops of\nmountains, above Libanus shall the fruit thereof be exalted:  and they\nof the city shall flourish like the grass of the earth.\n\nA firmament on the earth, etc. . .This may be understood of the church\nof Christ, ever firm and visible:  and of the flourishing condition of\nits congregation.\n\n71:17. Let his name be blessed for evermore:  his name continueth before\nthe sun.  And in him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed:  all\nnations shall magnify him.\n\n71:18. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone doth wonderful\nthings.\n\n71:19. And blessed be the name of his majesty for ever:  and the whole\nearth shall be filled with his majesty.  So be it.  So be it.\n\n71:20. The praises of David, the son of Jesse, are ended.\n\nAre ended. . .By this it appears that this psalm, though placed here,\nwas in order of time the last of those which David composed.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 72\n\n\nQuam bonus Israel Deus.\n\nThe temptation of the weak, upon seeing the prosperity of the wicked,\nis overcome by the consideration of the justice of God, who will\nquickly render to every one according to his works.\n\n72:1. A psalm for Asaph.  How good is God to Israel, to them that are of\na right heart!\n\n72:2. But my feet were almost moved; my steps had well nigh slipped.\n\n72:3. Because I had a zeal on occasion of the wicked, seeing the\nprosperity of sinners.\n\n72:4. For there is no regard to their death, nor is there strength in\ntheir stripes.\n\n72:5. They are not in the labour of men:  neither shall they be scourged\nlike other men.\n\n72:6. Therefore pride hath held them fast:  they are covered with their\niniquity and their wickedness.\n\n72:7. Their iniquity hath come forth, as it were from fatness:  they\nhave passed into the affection of the heart.\n\nFatness. . .Abundance and temporal prosperity, which hath encouraged\nthem in their iniquity:  and made them give themselves up to their\nirregular affections.\n\n72:8. They have thought and spoken wickedness:  they have spoken\niniquity on high.\n\n72:9. They have set their mouth against heaven:  and their tongue hath\npassed through the earth.\n\n72:10. Therefore will my people return here and full days shall be\nfound in them.\n\nReturn here. . .or hither.  The weak among the servants of God, will be\napt often to return to this thought, and will be shocked when they\nconsider the full days, that is, the long and prosperous life of the\nwicked; and will be tempted to make the reflections against providence\nwhich are set down in the following verses.\n\n72:11. And they said:  How doth God know?  and is there knowledge in the\nmost High?\n\n72:12. Behold these are sinners; and yet, abounding in the world they\nhave obtained riches.\n\n72:13. And I said:  Then have I in vain justified my heart, and washed\nmy hands among the innocent.\n\n72:14. And I have been scourged all the day; and my chastisement hath\nbeen in the mornings.\n\n72:15. If I said:  I will speak thus; behold I should condemn the\ngeneration of thy children.\n\nIf I said, etc. . .That is, if I should indulge such thoughts as these.\n\n72:16. I studied that I might know this thing, it is a labour in my\nsight:\n\n72:17. Until I go into the sanctuary of God, and understand concerning\ntheir last ends.\n\n72:18. But indeed for deceits thou hast put it to them:  when they were\nlifted up thou hast cast them down.\n\nThou hast put it to them. . .In punishment of their deceits, or for\ndeceiving them, thou hast brought evils upon them in their last end,\nwhich, in their prosperity they never apprehended.\n\n72:19. How are they brought to desolation?  they have suddenly ceased to\nbe:  they have perished by reason of their iniquity.\n\n72:20. As the dream of them that awake, O Lord; so in thy city thou\nshalt bring their image to nothing.\n\n72:21. For my heart hath been inflamed, and my reins have been changed:\n\n72:22. And I am brought to nothing, and I knew not.\n\n72:23. I am become as a beast before thee:  and I am always with thee.\n\n72:24. Thou hast held me by my right hand; and by thy will thou hast\nconducted me, and with thy glory thou hast received me.\n\n72:25. For what have I in heaven?  and besides thee what do I desire\nupon earth?\n\n72:26. For thee my flesh and my heart hath fainted away:  thou art the\nGod of my heart, and the God that is my portion for ever.\n\n72:27. For behold they that go far from thee shall perish:  thou hast\ndestroyed all them that are disloyal to thee.\n\n72:28. But it is good for me to adhere to my God, to put my hope in the\nLord God:  That I may declare all thy praises, in the gates of the\ndaughter of Sion.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 73\n\n\nUt quid, Deus.\n\nA prayer of the church under grievous persecutions.\n\n73:1. Understanding for Asaph.  O God, why hast thou cast us off unto\nthe end:  why is thy wrath enkindled against the sheep of thy pasture?\n\n73:2. Remember thy congregation, which thou hast possessed from the\nbeginning.  The sceptre of thy inheritance which thou hast redeemed:\nmount Sion in which thou hast dwelt.\n\n73:3. Lift up thy hands against their pride unto the end; see what\nthings the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary.\n\n73:4. And they that hate thee have made their boasts, in the midst of\nthy solemnity.  They have set up their ensigns for signs,\n\nTheir ensigns, etc. . .They have fixed their colours for signs and\ntrophies, both on the gates, and on the highest top of the temple:  and\nthey knew not, that is, they regarded not the sanctity of the place.\nThis psalm manifestly foretells the time of the Machabees, and the\nprofanation of the temple by Antiochus.\n\n73:5. And they knew not both in the going out and on the highest top.\nAs with axes in a wood of trees,\n\n73:6. They have cut down at once the gates thereof, with axe and\nhatchet they have brought it down.\n\n73:7. They have set fire to thy sanctuary:  they have defiled the\ndwelling place of thy name on the earth.\n\n73:8. They said in their heart, the whole kindred of them together:  Let\nus abolish all the festival days of God from the land.\n\n73:9. Our signs we have not seen, there is now no prophet:  and he will\nknow us no more.\n\n73:10. How long, O God, shall the enemy reproach:  is the adversary to\nprovoke thy name for ever?\n\n73:11. Why dost thou turn away thy hand:  and thy right hand out of the\nmidst of thy bosom for ever?\n\n73:12. But God is our king before ages:  he hath wrought salvation in\nthe midst of the earth.\n\n73:13. Thou by thy strength didst make the sea firm:  thou didst crush\nthe heads of the dragons in the waters.\n\nThe sea firm. . .By making the waters of the Red Sea stand like firm\nwalls, whilst Israel passed through:  and destroying the Egyptians\ncalled here dragons from their cruelty, in the same waters, with their\nking:  casting up their bodies on the shore to be stripped by the\nEthiopians inhabiting in those days the coast of Arabia.\n\n73:14. Thou hast broken the heads of the dragon:  thou hast given him to\nbe meat for the people of the Ethiopians.\n\n73:15. Thou hast broken up the fountains and the torrents:  thou hast\ndried up the Ethan rivers.\n\nEthan rivers. . .That is, rivers which run with strong streams.  This was\nverified in Jordan, Jos. 3, and in Arnon, Num. 21.14.\n\n73:16. Thine is the day, and thine is the night:  thou hast made the\nmorning light and the sun.\n\n73:17. Thou hast made all the borders of the earth:  the summer and the\nspring were formed by thee.\n\n73:18. Remember this, the enemy hath reproached the Lord:  and a foolish\npeople hath provoked thy name.\n\n73:19. Deliver not up to beasts the souls that confess to thee:  and\nforget not to the end the souls of thy poor.\n\n73:20. Have regard to thy covenant:  for they that are the obscure of\nthe earth have been filled with dwellings of iniquity.\n\nThe obscure of the earth. . .Mean and ignoble wretches have been filled,\nthat is, enriched, with houses of iniquity, that is, with our estates\nand possessions, which they have unjustly acquired.\n\n73:21. Let not the humble be turned away with confusion:  the poor and\nneedy shall praise thy name.\n\n73:22. Arise, O God, judge thy own cause:  remember thy reproaches with\nwhich the foolish man hath reproached thee all the day.\n\n73:23. Forget not the voices of thy enemies:  the pride of them that\nhate thee ascendeth continually.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 74\n\n\nConfitebimur tibi.\n\nThere is a just judgment to come:  therefore let the wicked take care.\n\n74:1. Unto the end, corrupt not, a psalm of a canticle for Asaph.\n\nCorrupt not. . .It is believed to have been the beginning of some ode or\nhymn, to the tune of which this psalm was to be sung.  St. Augustine and\nother fathers take it to be an admonition of the spirit of God, not to\nfaint or fail in our hope:  but to persevere with constancy in good:\nbecause God will not fail in his due time to render to every man\naccording to his works.\n\n74:2. We will praise thee, O God:  we will praise, and we will call upon\nthy name.  We will relate thy wondrous works:\n\n74:3. When I shall take a time, I will judge justices.\n\nWhen I shall take a time. . .In proper times:  particularly at the last\nday, when the earth shall melt away at the presence of the great Judge:\nthe same who originally laid the foundations of it, and as it were\nestablished its pillars.\n\n74:4. The earth is melted, and all that dwell therein:  I have\nestablished the pillars thereof.\n\n74:5. I said to the wicked:  Do not act wickedly:  and to the sinners:\nLift not up the horn.\n\n74:6. Lift not up your horn on high:  speak not iniquity against God.\n\n74:7. For neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the desert\nhills:\n\n74:8. For God is the judge.  One he putteth down, and another he lifteth\nup:\n\n74:9. For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup of strong wine full of\nmixture.  And he hath poured it out from this to that:  but the dregs\nthereof are not emptied:  all the sinners of the earth shall drink.\n\n74:10. But I will declare for ever:  I will sing to the God of Jacob.\n\n74:11. And I will break all the horns of sinners:  but the horns of the\njust shall be exalted.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 75\n\n\nNotus in Judaea.\n\nGod is known in his church:  and exerts his power in protecting it.  It\nalludes to the slaughter of the Assyrians, in the days of king\nEzechias.\n\n75:1. Unto the end, in praises, a psalm for Asaph:  a canticle to the\nAssyrians.\n\n75:2. In Judea God is known:  his name is great in Israel.\n\n75:3. And his place is in peace:  and his abode in Sion:\n\n75:4. There hath he broken the powers of bows, the shield, the sword,\nand the battle.\n\n75:5. Thou enlightenest wonderfully from the everlasting hills.\n\n75:6. All the foolish of heart were troubled.  They have slept their\nsleep; and all the men of riches have found nothing in their hands.\n\n75:7. At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, they have all slumbered that\nmounted on horseback.\n\n75:8. Thou art terrible, and who shall resist thee?  from that time thy\nwrath.\n\nFrom that time, etc. . .From the time that thy wrath shall break out.\n\n75:9. Thou hast caused judgment to be heard from heaven:  the earth\ntrembled and was still,\n\n75:10. When God arose in judgment, to save all the meek of the earth.\n\n75:11. For the thought of man shall give praise to thee:  and the\nremainders of the thought shall keep holiday to thee.\n\n75:12. Vow ye, and pay to the Lord your God:  all you that are round\nabout him bring presents.  To him that is terrible,\n\n75:13. Even to him who taketh away the spirit of princes:  to the\nterrible with the kings of the earth.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 76\n\n\nVoce mea.\n\nThe faithful have recourse to God in trouble of mind, with confidence\nin his mercy and power.\n\n76:1. Unto the end, for Idithun, a psalm of Asaph.\n\n76:2. I cried to the Lord with my voice; to God with my voice, and he\ngave ear to me.\n\n76:3. In the days of my trouble I sought God, with my hands lifted up\nto him in the night, and I was not deceived.  My soul refused to be\ncomforted:\n\n76:4. I remembered God, and was delighted, and was exercised, and my\nspirit swooned away.\n\n76:5. My eyes prevented the watches:  I was troubled, and I spoke not.\n\n76:6. I thought upon the days of old:  and I had in my mind the eternal\nyears.\n\n76:7. And I meditated in the night with my own heart:  and I was\nexercised and I swept my spirit.\n\n76:8. Will God then cast off for ever?  or will he never be more\nfavourable again?\n\n76:9. Or will he cut off his mercy for ever, from generation to\ngeneration?\n\n76:10. Or will God forget to shew mercy?  or will he in his anger shut\nup his mercies?\n\n76:11. And I said, Now have I begun:  this is the change of the right\nhand of the most High.\n\n76:12. I remembered the works of the Lord:  for I will be mindful of thy\nwonders from the beginning.\n\n76:13. And I will meditate on all thy works:  and will be employed in\nthy inventions.\n\n76:14. Thy way, O God, is in the holy place:  who is the great God like\nour God?\n\n76:15. Thou art the God that dost wonders.  Thou hast made thy power\nknown among the nations:\n\n76:16. With thy arm thou hast redeemed thy people the children of Jacob\nand of Joseph.\n\n76:17. The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee:  and they were\nafraid, and the depths were troubled.\n\n76:18. Great was the noise of the waters:  the clouds sent out a sound.\nFor thy arrows pass:\n\n76:19. The voice of thy thunder in a wheel.  Thy lightnings enlightened\nthe world:  the earth shook and trembled.\n\n76:20. Thy way is in the sea, and thy paths in many waters:  and thy\nfootsteps shall not be known.\n\n76:21. Thou hast conducted thy people like sheep, by the hand of Moses\nand Aaron.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 77\n\n\nAttendite.\n\nGod's great benefits to the people of Israel, notwithstanding their\ningratitude.\n\n77:1. Understanding for Asaph.  Attend, O my people, to my law:  incline\nyour ears to the words of my mouth.\n\n77:2. I will open my mouth in parables:  I will utter propositions from\nthe beginning.\n\nPropositions. . .Deep and mysterious sayings.  By this it appears that\nthe historical facts of ancient times, commemorated in this psalm, were\ndeep and mysterious:  as being figures of great truths appertaining to\nthe time of the New Testament.\n\n77:3. How great things have we heard and known, and our fathers have\ntold us.\n\n77:4. They have not been hidden from their children, in another\ngeneration.  Declaring the praises of the Lord, and his powers, and his\nwonders which he hath done.\n\n77:5. And he set up a testimony in Jacob:  and made a law in Israel.  How\ngreat things he commanded our fathers, that they should make the same\nknown to their children:\n\n77:6. That another generation might know them.  The children that should\nbe born and should rise up, and declare them to their children.\n\n77:7. That they may put their hope in God and may not forget the works\nof God:  and may seek his commandments.\n\n77:8. That they may not become like their fathers, a perverse and\nexasperating generation.  A generation that set not their heart aright:\nand whose spirit was not faithful to God.\n\n77:9. The sons of Ephraim who bend and shoot with the bow:  they have\nturned back in the day of battle.\n\n77:10. They kept not the covenant of God:  and in his law they would not\nwalk.\n\n77:11. And they forgot his benefits, and his wonders that he had shewn\nthem.\n\n77:12. Wonderful things did he do in the sight of their fathers, in the\nland of Egypt, in the field of Tanis.\n\n77:13. He divided the sea and brought them through:  and he made the\nwaters to stand as in a vessel.\n\n77:14. And he conducted them with a cloud by day:  and all the night\nwith a light of fire.\n\n77:15. He struck the rock in the wilderness:  and gave them to drink, as\nout of the great deep.\n\n77:16. He brought forth water out of the rock:  and made streams run\ndown as rivers.\n\n77:17. And they added yet more sin against him:  they provoked the most\nHigh to wrath in the place without water.\n\n77:18. And they tempted God in their hearts, by asking meat for their\ndesires.\n\n77:19. And they spoke ill of God:  they said:  Can God furnish a table in\nthe wilderness?\n\n77:20. Because he struck the rock, and the waters gushed out, and the\nstreams overflowed.  Can he also give bread, or provide a table for his\npeople?\n\n77:21. Therefore the Lord heard, and was angry:  and a fire was kindled\nagainst Jacob, and wrath came up against Israel.\n\n77:22. Because they believed not in God:  and trusted not in his\nsalvation.\n\n77:23. And he had commanded the clouds from above, and had opened the\ndoors of heaven.\n\n77:24. And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them\nthe bread of heaven.\n\n77:25. Man ate the bread of angels:  he sent them provisions in\nabundance.\n\n77:26. He removed the south wind from heaven:  and by his power brought\nin the southwest wind.\n\n77:27. And he rained upon them flesh as dust:  and feathered fowls like\nas the sand of the sea.\n\n77:28. And they fell in the midst of their camp, round about their\npavilions.\n\n77:29. So they did eat, and were filled exceedingly, and he gave them\ntheir desire:\n\n77:30. they were not defrauded of that which they craved.  As yet their\nmeat was in their mouth:\n\n77:31. And the wrath of God came upon them.  And he slew the fat ones\namongst them, and brought down the chosen men of Israel.\n\n77:32. In all these things they sinned still:  and they behaved not for\nhis wondrous works.\n\n77:33. And their days were consumed in vanity, and their years in\nhaste.\n\n77:34. When he slew them, then they sought him:  and they returned, and\ncame to him early in the morning.\n\n77:35. And they remembered that God was their helper:  and the most high\nGod their redeemer.\n\n77:36. And they loved him with their mouth:  and with their tongue they\nlied unto him:\n\n77:37. But their heart was not right with him:  nor were they counted\nfaithful in his covenant.\n\n77:38. But he is merciful, and will forgive their sins:  and will not\ndestroy them.  And many a time did he turn away his anger:  and did not\nkindle all his wrath.\n\n77:39. And he remembered that they are flesh:  a wind that goeth and\nreturneth not.\n\n77:40. How often did they provoke him in the desert:  and move him to\nwrath in the place without water?\n\n77:41. And they turned back and tempted God:  and grieved the holy one\nof Israel.\n\n77:42. They remembered not his hand, in the day that he redeemed them\nfrom the hand of him that afflicted them:\n\n77:43. How he wrought his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field\nof Tanis.\n\n77:44. And he turned their rivers into blood, and their showers that\nthey might not drink.\n\n77:45. He sent amongst them divers sorts of flies, which devoured them:\nand frogs which destroyed them.\n\n77:46. And he gave up their fruits to the blast, and their labours to\nthe locust.\n\n77:47. And he destroyed their vineyards with hail, and their mulberry\ntrees with hoarfrost.\n\n77:48. And he gave up their cattle to the hail, and their stock to the\nfire.\n\n77:49. And he sent upon them the wrath of his indignation:  indignation\nand wrath and trouble, which he sent by evil angels.\n\n77:50. He made a way for a path to his anger:  he spared not their souls\nfrom death, and their cattle he shut up in death.\n\n77:51. And he killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt:  the\nfirstfruits of all their labour in the tabernacles of Cham.\n\n77:52. And he took away his own people as sheep:  and guided them in the\nwilderness like a flock.\n\n77:53. And he brought them out in hope and they feared not:  and the sea\noverwhelmed their enemies.\n\n77:54. And he brought them into the mountain of his sanctuary:  the\nmountain which his right hand had purchased.  And he cast out the\nGentiles before them:  and by lot divided to them their land by a line\nof distribution.\n\n77:55. And he made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tabernacles.\n\n77:56. Yet they tempted, and provoked the most high God:  and they kept\nnot his testimonies.\n\n77:57. And they turned away, and kept not the covenant:  even like their\nfathers they were turned aside as a crooked bow.\n\n77:58. They provoked him to anger on their hills:  and moved him to\njealousy with their graven things.\n\n77:59. God heard, and despised them, and he reduced Israel exceedingly\nas it were to nothing.\n\n77:60. And he put away the tabernacle of Silo, his tabernacle where he\ndwelt among men.\n\n77:61. And he delivered their strength into captivity:  and their beauty\ninto the hands of the enemy.\n\n77:62. And he shut up his people under the sword:  and he despised his\ninheritance.\n\n77:63. Fire consumed their young men:  and their maidens were not\nlamented.\n\n77:64. Their priests fell by the sword:  and their widows did not mourn.\n\n77:65. And the Lord was awaked as one out of sleep, and like a mighty\nman that hath been surfeited with wine.\n\n77:66. And he smote his enemies on the hinder parts:  he put them to an\neverlasting reproach.\n\n77:67. And he rejected the tabernacle of Joseph:  and chose not the\ntribe of Ephraim:\n\n77:68. But he chose the tribe of Juda, mount Sion which he loved.\n\n77:69. And he built his sanctuary as of unicorns, in the land which he\nfounded for ever.\n\nAs of unicorns. . .That is, firm and strong like the horn of the\nunicorn.  This is one of the chiefest of the propositions of this psalm,\nforeshewing the firm establishment of the one, true, and everlasting\nsanctuary of God, in his church.\n\n77:70. And he chose his servant David, and took him from the flocks of\nsheep:  he brought him from following the ewes great with young,\n\n77:71. To feed Jacob his servant and Israel his inheritance.\n\n77:72. And he fed them in the innocence of his heart:  and conducted\nthem by the skilfulness of his hands.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 78\n\n\nDeus, venerunt gentes.\n\nThe church in time of persecution prayeth for relief.  It seems to\nbelong to the time of the Machabees.\n\n78:1. A psalm for Asaph.  O God, the heathens are come into thy\ninheritance, they have defiled thy holy temple:  they have made\nJerusalem as a place to keep fruit.\n\n78:2. They have given the dead bodies of thy servants to be meat for\nthe fowls of the air:  the flesh of thy saints for the beasts of the\nearth.\n\n78:3. They have poured out their blood as water, round about Jerusalem\nand there was none to bury them.\n\n78:4. We are become a reproach to our neighbours:  a scorn and derision\nto them that are round about us.\n\n78:5. How long, O Lord, wilt thou be angry for ever:  shall thy zeal be\nkindled like a fire?\n\n78:6. Pour out thy wrath upon the nations that have not known thee:  and\nupon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name.\n\n78:7. Because they have devoured Jacob; and have laid waste his place.\n\n78:8. Remember not our former iniquities:  let thy mercies speedily\nprevent us, for we are become exceeding poor.\n\n78:9. Help us, O God, our saviour:  and for the glory of thy name, O\nLord, deliver us:  and forgive us our sins for thy name's sake:\n\n78:10. Lest they should say among the Gentiles:  Where is their God?  And\nlet him be made known among the nations before our eyes, By the\nrevenging the blood of thy servants, which hath been shed:\n\n78:11. Let the sighing of the prisoners come in before thee.  According\nto the greatness of thy arm, take possession of the children of them\nthat have been put to death.\n\n78:12. And render to our neighbours sevenfold in their bosom:  the\nreproach wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord.\n\n78:13. But we thy people, and the sheep of thy pasture, will give\nthanks to thee for ever.  We will shew forth thy praise, unto generation\nand generation.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 79\n\n\nQui regis Israel.\n\nA prayer for the church in tribulation, commemorating God's former\nfavours.\n\n79:1. Unto the end, for them that shall be changed, a testimony for\nAsaph, a psalm.\n\n79:2. Give ear, O thou that rulest Israel:  thou that leadest Joseph\nlike a sheep.  Thou that sittest upon the cherubims, shine forth\n\n79:3. Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasses.  Stir up thy might, and\ncome to save us.\n\n79:4. Convert us, O God:  and shew us thy face, and we shall be saved.\n\n79:5. O Lord God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the\nprayer of thy servant?\n\n79:6. How long wilt thou feed us with the bread of tears:  and give us\nfor our drink tears in measure?\n\n79:7. Thou hast made us to be a contradiction to our neighbours:  and\nour enemies have scoffed at us.\n\n79:8. O God of hosts, convert us:  and shew thy face, and we shall be\nsaved.\n\n79:9. Thou hast brought a vineyard out of Egypt:  thou hast cast out the\nGentiles and planted it.\n\n79:10. Thou wast the guide of its journey in its sight:  thou plantedst\nthe roots thereof, and it filled the land.\n\n79:11. The shadow of it covered the hills:  and the branches thereof the\ncedars of God.\n\n79:12. It stretched forth its branches unto the sea, and its boughs\nunto the river.\n\n79:13. Why hast thou broken down the hedge thereof, so that all they\nwho pass by the way do pluck it?\n\n79:14. The boar out of the wood hath laid it waste:  and a singular wild\nbeast hath devoured it.\n\n79:15. Turn again, O God of hosts, look down from heaven, and see, and\nvisit this vineyard:\n\n79:16. And perfect the same which thy right hand hath planted:  and upon\nthe son of man whom thou hast confirmed for thyself.\n\n79:17. Things set on fire and dug down shall perish at the rebuke of\nthy countenance.\n\nThings set on fire, etc. . .So this vineyard of thine, almost consumed\nalready, must perish, if thou continue thy rebukes.\n\n79:18. Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand:  and upon the son\nof man whom thou hast confirmed for thyself.\n\nThe man of thy right hand. . .Christ.\n\n79:19. And we depart not from thee, thou shalt quicken us:  and we will\ncall upon thy name.\n\n79:20. O Lord God of hosts, convert us and shew thy face, and we shall\nbe saved.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 80\n\n\nExultate Deo.\n\nAn invitation to a solemn praising of God.\n\n80:1. Unto the end, for the winepresses, a psalm for Asaph himself.\n\nFor the winepresses, etc. . .Torcularibus.  It either signifies a musical\ninstrument, or that this psalm was to be sung at the feast of the\ntabernacles after the gathering in of the vintage.\n\n80:2. Rejoice to God our helper:  sing aloud to the God of Jacob.\n\n80:3. Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel:  the pleasant psaltery\nwith the harp.\n\n80:4. Blow up the trumpet on the new moon, on the noted day of your\nsolemnity.\n\n80:5. For it is a commandment in Israel, and a judgment to the God of\nJacob.\n\n80:6. He ordained it for a testimony in Joseph, when he came out of the\nland of Egypt:  he heard a tongue which he knew not.\n\n80:7. He removed his back from the burdens:  his hands had served in\nbaskets.\n\n80:8. Thou calledst upon me in affliction, and I delivered thee:  I\nheard thee in the secret place of tempest:  I proved thee at the waters\nof contradiction.\n\nIn the secret place of tempest. . .Heb., Of thunder.  When thou soughtest\nto hide thyself from the tempest:  or, when I came down to mount Sina,\nhidden from thy eyes in a storm of thunder.\n\n80:9. Hear, O my people, and I will testify to thee:  O Israel, if thou\nwilt hearken to me,\n\n80:10. there shall be no new god in thee:  neither shalt\nthou adore a strange god.\n\n80:11. For I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of\nEgypt:  open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.\n\n80:12. But my people heard not my voice:  and Israel hearkened not to\nme.\n\n80:13. So I let them go according to the desires of their heart:  they\nshall walk in their own inventions.\n\n80:14. If my people had heard me:  if Israel had walked in my ways:\n\n80:15. I should soon have humbled their enemies, and laid my hand on\nthem that troubled them.\n\n80:16. The enemies of the Lord have lied to him:  and their time shall\nbe for ever.\n\nTheir time shall be forever. . .Impenitent sinners shall suffer for\never.\n\n80:17. And he fed them with the fat of wheat, and filled them with\nhoney out of the rock.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 81\n\n\nDeus stetit.\n\nAn exhortation to judges and men in power.\n\n81:1. A psalm for Asaph.  God hath stood in the congregation of gods:\nand being in the midst of them he judgeth gods.\n\n81:2. How long will you judge unjustly:  and accept the persons of the\nwicked?\n\n81:3. Judge for the needy and fatherless:  do justice to the humble and\nthe poor.\n\n81:4. Rescue the poor; and deliver the needy out of the hand of the\nsinner.\n\n81:5. They have not known nor understood:  they walk on in darkness:  all\nthe foundations of the earth shall be moved.\n\n81:6. I have said:  You are gods and all of you the sons of the most\nHigh.\n\n81:7. But you like men shall die:  and shall fall like one of the\nprinces.\n\n81:8. Arise, O God, judge thou the earth:  for thou shalt inherit among\nall the nations.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 82\n\n\nDeus, quis similis.\n\nA prayer against the enemies of God's church.\n\n82:1. A canticle of a psalm for Asaph.\n\n82:2. O God, who shall be like to thee?  hold not thy peace, neither be\nthou still, O God.\n\n82:3. For lo, thy enemies have made a noise:  and they that hate thee\nhave lifted up the head.\n\n82:4. They have taken a malicious counsel against thy people, and have\nconsulted against thy saints.\n\n82:5. They have said:  Come and let us destroy them, so that they be not\na nation:  and let the name of Israel be remembered no more.\n\n82:6. For they have contrived with one consent:  they have made a\ncovenant together against thee,\n\n82:7. The tabernacle of the Edomites, and the Ishmahelites:  Moab, and\nthe Agarens,\n\n82:8. Gebal, and Ammon and Amalec:  the Philistines, with the\ninhabitants of Tyre.\n\n82:9. Yea, and the Assyrian also is joined with them:  they are come to\nthe aid of the sons of Lot.\n\n82:10. Do to them as thou didst to Madian and to Sisara:  as to Jabin at\nthe brook of Cisson.\n\n82:11. Who perished at Endor:  and became as dung for the earth.\n\n82:12. Make their princes like Oreb, and Zeb, and Zebee, and Salmana.\nAll their princes,\n\n82:13. Who have said:  Let us possess the sanctuary of God for an\ninheritance.\n\n82:14. O my God, make them like a wheel; and as stubble before the\nwind.\n\n82:15. As fire which burneth the wood:  and as a flame burning\nmountains:\n\n82:16. So shalt thou pursue them with thy tempest:  and shalt trouble\nthem in thy wrath.\n\n82:17. Fill their faces with shame; and they shall seek thy name, O\nLord.\n\n82:18. Let them be ashamed and troubled for ever and ever:  and let them\nbe confounded and perish.\n\n82:19. And let them know that the Lord is thy name:  thou alone art the\nmost High over all the earth.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 83\n\n\nQuam dilecta.\n\nThe soul aspireth after heaven; rejoicing in the mean time, in being in\nthe communion of God's church upon earth.\n\n83:1. Unto the end, for the winepresses, a psalm for the sons of Core.\n\n83:2. How lovely are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts!\n\n83:3. my soul longeth and fainteth for the courts of the Lord.  My heart\nand my flesh have rejoiced in the living God.\n\n83:4. For the sparrow hath found herself a house, and the turtle a nest\nfor herself where she may lay her young ones:  Thy altars, O Lord of\nhosts, my king and my God.\n\n83:5. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house, O Lord:  they shall\npraise thee for ever and ever.\n\n83:6. Blessed is the man whose help is from thee:  in his heart he hath\ndisposed to ascend by steps,\n\nIn his heart he hath disposed to ascend by steps, etc. . .Ascensiones in\ncorde suo disposuit.  As by steps men ascended to the temple of God\nsituated on a hill; so the good Christian ascends towards the eternal\ntemple by certain steps of virtue disposed or ordered within the heart:\nand this whilst he lives as yet in the body, in this vale of tears, the\nplace which man hath set:  that is, which he hath brought himself to:\nbeing cast out of paradise for his sin.\n\n83:7. In the vale of tears, in the place which he hath set.\n\n83:8. For the lawgiver shall give a blessing, they shall go from virtue\nto virtue:  the God of gods shall be seen in Sion.\n\n83:9. O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer:  give ear, O God of Jacob.\n\n83:10. Behold, O God our protector:  and look on the face of thy Christ.\n\n83:11. For better is one day in thy courts above thousands.  I have\nchosen to be an abject in the house of my God, rather than to dwell in\nthe tabernacles of sinners.\n\n83:12. For God loveth mercy and truth:  the Lord will give grace and\nglory.\n\n83:13. He will not deprive of good things them that walk in innocence:\nO Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 84\n\n\nBenedixisti, Domine.\n\nThe coming of Christ, to bring peace and salvation to man.\n\n84:1. Unto the end, for the sons of Core, a psalm.\n\n84:2. Lord, thou hast blessed thy land:  thou hast turned away the\ncaptivity of Jacob.\n\n84:3. Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people:  thou hast covered\nall their sins.\n\n84:4. Thou hast mitigated all thy anger:  thou hast turned away from the\nwrath of thy indignation.\n\n84:5. Convert us, O God our saviour:  and turn off thy anger from us.\n\n84:6. Wilt thou be angry with us for ever:  or wilt thou extend thy\nwrath from generation to generation?\n\n84:7. Thou wilt turn, O God, and bring us to life:  and thy people shall\nrejoice in thee.\n\n84:8. Shew us, O Lord, thy mercy; and grant us thy salvation.\n\n84:9. I will hear what the Lord God will speak in me:  for he will speak\npeace unto his people:  And unto his saints:  and unto them that are\nconverted to the heart.\n\n84:10. Surely his salvation is near to them that fear him :  that glory\nmay dwell in our land.\n\n84:11. Mercy and truth have met each other:  justice and peace have\nkissed.\n\n84:12. Truth is sprung out of the earth:  and justice hath looked down\nfrom heaven.\n\n84:13. For the Lord will give goodness:  and our earth shall yield her\nfruit.\n\n84:14. Justice shall walk before him:  and ,shall set his steps in the\nway.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 85\n\n\nInclina, Domine.\n\nA prayer for God's grace to assist us to the end.\n\n85:1. A prayer for David himself.  Incline thy ear, O Lord, and hear me:\nfor I am needy and poor.\n\n85:2. Preserve my soul, for I am holy:  save thy servant, O my God, that\ntrusteth in thee.\n\nI am holy. . .I am by my office and profession dedicated to thy service.\n\n85:3. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I have cried to thee all the day.\n\n85:4. Give joy to the soul of thy servant, for to thee, O Lord, I have\nlifted up my soul.\n\n85:5. For thou, O Lord, art sweet and mild:  and plenteous in mercy to\nall that call upon thee.\n\n85:6. Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer:  and attend to the voice of my\npetition.\n\n85:7. I have called upon thee in the day of my trouble:  because thou\nhast heard me.\n\n85:8. There is none among the gods like unto thee, O Lord:  and there is\nnone according to thy works.\n\n85:9. All the nations thou hast made shall come and adore before thee,\nO Lord:  and they shall glorify thy name.\n\n85:10. For thou art great and dost wonderful things:  thou art God\nalone.\n\n85:11. Conduct me, O Lord, in thy way, and I will walk in thy truth:\nlet my heart rejoice that it may fear thy name.\n\n85:12. I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I\nwill glorify thy name for ever:\n\n85:13. For thy mercy is great towards me:  and thou hast delivered my\nsoul out of the lower hell.\n\n85:14. O God, the wicked are risen up against me, and the assembly of\nthe mighty have sought my soul:  and they have not set thee before their\neyes.\n\n85:15. And thou, O Lord, art a God of compassion, and merciful,\npatient, and of much mercy, and true.\n\n85:16. O look upon me, and have mercy on me:  give thy command to thy\nservant, and save the son of thy handmaid.\n\n85:17. Shew me a token for good:  that they who hate me may see, and be\nconfounded, because thou, O Lord, hast helped me and hast comforted me.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 86\n\n\nFundamenta ejus.\n\nThe glory of the church of Christ.\n\n86:1. For the sons of Core, a psalm of a canticle.  The foundations\nthereof are the holy mountains:\n\nThe holy mountains. . .The apostles and prophets.  Eph. 2.20.\n\n86:2. The Lord loveth the gates of Sion above all the tabernacles of\nJacob.\n\n86:3. Glorious things are said of thee, O city of God.\n\n86:4. I will be mindful of Rahab and of Babylon knowing me.  Behold the\nforeigners, and Tyre, and the people of the Ethiopians, these were\nthere.\n\nRahab. . .Egypt, etc.  To this Sion, which is the church of God, many\nshall resort from all nations.\n\n86:5. Shall not Sion say:  This man and that man is born in her?  and the\nHighest himself hath founded her.\n\nShall not Sion say, etc. . .The meaning is, that Sion, viz., the church,\nshall not only be able to commemorate this or that particular person of\nrenown born in her, but also to glory in great multitudes of people and\nprinces of her communion; who have been foretold in the writings of the\nprophets, and registered in the writings of the apostles.\n\n86:6. The Lord shall tell in his writings of peoples and of princes, of\nthem that have been in her.\n\n86:7. The dwelling in thee is as it were of all rejoicing.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 87\n\n\nDomine, Deus salutis.\n\nA prayer of one under grievous affliction:  it agrees to Christ in his\npassion, and alludes to his death and burial.\n\n87:1. A canticle of a psalm for the sons of Core:  unto the end, for\nMaheleth, to answer understanding of Eman the Ezrahite.\n\nMaheleth. . .A musical instrument, or chorus of musicians, to answer one\nanother.--Ibid.  Understanding. . .Or a psalm of instruction, composed by\nEman the Ezrahite, or by David, in his name.\n\n87:2. O Lord, the God of my salvation:  I have cried in the day, and in\nthe night before thee.\n\n87:3. Let my prayer come in before thee:  incline thy ear to my\npetition.\n\n87:4. For my soul is filled with evils:  and my life hath drawn nigh to\nhell.\n\n87:5. I am counted among them that go down to the pit:  I am become as a\nman without help,\n\n87:6. Free among the dead.  Like the slain sleeping in the sepulchres,\nwhom thou rememberest no more:  and they are cut off from thy hand.\n\n87:7. They have laid me in the lower pit:  in the dark places, and in\nthe shadow of death.\n\n87:8. Thy wrath is strong over me:  and all thy waves thou hast brought\nin upon me.\n\n87:9. Thou hast put away my acquaintance far from me:  they have set me\nan abomination to themselves.  I was delivered up, and came not forth:\n\n87:10. My eyes languished through poverty.  All the day I cried to thee,\nO Lord:  I stretched out my hands to thee.\n\n87:11. Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead?  or shall physicians raise to\nlife, and give praise to thee?\n\n87:12. Shall any one in the sepulchre declare thy mercy:  and thy truth\nin destruction?\n\n87:13. Shall thy wonders be known in the dark; and thy justice in the\nland of forgetfulness?\n\n87:14. But I, O Lord, have cried to thee:  and in the morning my prayer\nshall prevent thee.\n\n87:15. Lord, why castest thou off my prayer:  why turnest thou away thy\nface from me?\n\n87:16. I am poor, and in labours from my youth:  and being exalted have\nbeen humbled and troubled.\n\n87:17. Thy wrath hath come upon me:  and thy terrors have troubled me.\n\n87:18. They have come round about me like water all the day:  they have\ncompassed me about together.\n\n87:19. Friend and neighbour thou hast put far from me:  and my\nacquaintance, because of misery.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 88\n\n\nMisericordias Domini.\n\nThe perpetuity of the church of Christ, in consequence of the promise\nof God:  which, notwithstanding, God permits her to suffer sometimes\nmost grievous afflictions.\n\n88:1. Of understanding, for Ethan the Ezrahite.\n\n88:2. The mercies of the Lord I will sing for ever.  I will shew forth\nthy truth with my mouth to generation and generation.\n\n88:3. For thou hast said:  Mercy shall be built up for ever in the\nheavens:  thy truth shall be prepared in them.\n\n88:4. I have made a covenant with my elect:  I have sworn to David my\nservant:\n\n88:5. Thy seed will I settle for ever.  And I will build up thy throne\nunto generation and generation.\n\n88:6. The heavens shall confess thy wonders, O Lord:  and thy truth in\nthe church of the saints.\n\n88:7. For who in the clouds can be compared to the Lord:  or who among\nthe sons of God shall be like to God?\n\n88:8. God, who is glorified in the assembly of the saints:  great and\nterrible above all them that are about him.\n\n88:9. O Lord God of hosts, who is like to thee?  thou art mighty, O\nLord, and thy truth is round about thee.\n\n88:10. Thou rulest the power of the sea:  and appeasest the motion of\nthe waves thereof.\n\n88:11. Thou hast humbled the proud one, as one that is slain:  with the\narm of thy strength thou hast scattered thy enemies.\n\n88:12. Thine are the heavens, and thine is the earth:  the world and the\nfulness thereof thou hast founded:\n\n88:13. The north and the sea thou hast created.  Thabor and Hermon shall\nrejoice in thy name:\n\n88:14. Thy arm is with might.  Let thy hand be strengthened, and thy\nright hand exalted:\n\n88:15. Justice and judgment are the preparation of thy throne.  Mercy\nand truth shall go before thy face:\n\n88:16. Blessed is the people that knoweth jubilation.  They shall walk,\nO Lord, in the light of thy countenance:\n\n88:17. And in thy name they shall rejoice all the day, and in thy\njustice they shall be exalted.\n\n88:18. For thou art the glory of their strength:  and in thy good\npleasure shall our horn be exalted.\n\n88:19. For our protection is of the Lord, and of our king the holy one\nof Israel.\n\n88:20. Then thou spokest in a vision to thy saints, and saidst:  I have\nlaid help upon one that is mighty, and have exalted one chosen out of\nmy people.\n\n88:21. I have found David my servant:  with my holy oil I have anointed\nhim.\n\n88:22. For my hand shall help him:  and my arm shall strengthen him.\n\n88:23. The enemy shall have no advantage over him:  nor the son of\niniquity have power to hurt him.\n\n88:24. And I will cut down his enemies before his face; and them that\nhate him I will put to flight.\n\n88:25. And my truth and my mercy shall be with him:  and in my name\nshall his horn be exalted.\n\n88:26. And I will set his hand in the sea; and his right hand in the\nrivers.\n\n88:27. He shall cry out to me:  Thou art my father:  my God, and the\nsupport of my salvation.\n\n88:28. And I will make him my firstborn, high above the kings of the\nearth.\n\n88:29. I will keep my mercy for him for ever:  and my covenant faithful\nto him.\n\n88:30. And I will make his seed to endure for evermore:  and his throne\nas the days of heaven.\n\n88:31. And if his children forsake my law, and walk not in my\njudgments:\n\n88:32. If they profane my justices:  and keep not my commandments:\n\n88:33. I will visit their iniquities with a rod and their sins with\nstripes.\n\n88:34. But my mercy I will not take away from him:  nor will I suffer my\ntruth to fail.\n\n88:35. Neither will I profane my covenant:  and the words that proceed\nfrom my mouth I will not make void.\n\n88:36. Once have I sworn by my holiness:  I will not lie unto David:\n\n88:37. His seed shall endure for ever.\n\n88:38. And his throne as the sun before me:  and as the moon perfect for\never, and a faithful witness in heaven.\n\n88:39. But thou hast rejected and despised:  thou hast been angry with\nmy anointed.\n\n88:40. Thou hast overthrown the covenant of thy servant:  thou hast\nprofaned his sanctuary on the earth.\n\nOverthrown the covenant, etc. . .All this seems to relate to the time of\nthe captivity of Babylon, in which, for the sins of the people and\ntheir princes, God seemed to have set aside for a while the covenant he\nmade with David.\n\n88:41. Thou hast broken down all his hedges:  thou hast made his\nstrength fear.\n\n88:42. All that pass by the way have robbed him:  he is become a\nreproach to his neighbours.\n\n88:43. Thou hast set up the right hand of them that oppress him:  thou\nhast made all his enemies to rejoice.\n\n88:44. Thou hast turned away the help of his sword; and hast not\nassisted him in battle.\n\n88:45. Thou hast made his purification to cease:  and thou hast cast his\nthrone down to the ground.\n\n88:46. Thou hast shortened the days of his time:  thou hast covered him\nwith confusion.\n\n88:47. How long, O Lord, turnest thou away unto the end?  shall thy\nanger burn like fire?\n\n88:48. Remember what my substance is:  for hast thou made all the\nchildren of men in vain?\n\n88:49. Who is the man that shall live, and not see death:  that shall\ndeliver his soul from the hand of hell?\n\n88:50. Lord, where are thy ancient mercies, according to what thou\ndidst swear to David in thy truth?\n\n88:51. Be mindful, O Lord, of the reproach of thy servants (which I\nhave held in my bosom) of many nations:\n\n88:52. Wherewith thy enemies have reproached, O Lord; wherewith they\nhave reproached the change of thy anointed.\n\n88:53. Blessed be the Lord for evermore.  So be it.  So be it.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 89\n\n\nDomine, refugium.\n\nA prayer for the mercy of God:  recounting the shortness and miseries of\nthe days of man.\n\n89:1. A prayer of Moses the man of God.  Lord, thou hast been our refuge\nfrom generation to generation.\n\n89:2. Before the mountains were made, or the earth and the world was\nformed; from eternity and to eternity thou art God.\n\n89:3. Turn not man away to be brought low:  and thou hast said:  Be\nconverted, O ye sons of men.\n\nTurn not man away, etc. . .Suffer him not quite to perish from thee,\nsince thou art pleased to call upon him to be converted to thee.\n\n89:4. For a thousand years in thy sight are as yesterday, which is\npast.  And as a watch in the night,\n\n89:5. Things that are counted nothing, shall their years be.\n\n89:6. In the morning man shall grow up like grass; in the morning he\nshall flourish and pass away:  in the evening he shall fall, grow dry,\nand wither.\n\n89:7. For in thy wrath we have fainted away:  and are troubled in thy\nindignation.\n\n89:8. Thou hast set our iniquities before thy eyes:  our life in the\nlight of thy countenance.\n\n89:9. For all our days are spent; and in thy wrath we have fainted\naway.  Our years shall be considered as a spider:\n\nAs a spider. . .As frail and weak as a spider's web; and miserable\nwithal, whilst like a spider we spend our bowels in weaving webs to\ncatch flies.\n\n89:10. The days of our years in them are threescore and ten years.  But\nif in the strong they be fourscore years:  and what is more of them is\nlabour and sorrow.  For mildness is come upon us:  and we shall be\ncorrected.\n\nMildness is come upon us, etc. . .God's mildness corrects us; inasmuch\nas he deals kindly with us, in shortening the days of this miserable\nlife; and so weaning our affections from all its transitory enjoyments,\nand teaching us true wisdom.\n\n89:11. Who knoweth the power of thy anger, and for thy fear\n\n89:12. Can number thy wrath?  So make thy right hand known:  and men\nlearned in heart, in wisdom.\n\n89:13. Return, O Lord, how long?  and be entreated in favour of thy\nservants.\n\n89:14. We are filled in the morning with thy mercy:  and we have\nrejoiced, and are delighted all our days.\n\n89:15. We have rejoiced for the days in which thou hast humbled us:  for\nthe years in which we have seen evils.\n\n89:16. Look upon thy servants and upon their works:  and direct their\nchildren.\n\n89:17. And let the brightness of the Lord our God be upon us:  and\ndirect thou the works of our hands over us; yea, the work of our hands\ndo thou direct.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 90\n\n\nQui habitat.\n\nThe just is secure under the protection of God.\n\n90:1. The praise of a canticle for David.  He that dwelleth in the aid\nof the most High, shall abide under the protection of the God of Jacob.\n\n90:2. He shall say to the Lord:  Thou art my protector, and my refuge:\nmy God, in him will I trust.\n\n90:3. For he hath delivered me from the snare of the hunters:  and from\nthe sharp word.\n\n90:4. He will overshadow thee with his shoulders:  and under his wings\nthou shalt trust.\n\n90:5. His truth shall compass thee with a shield:  thou shalt not be\nafraid of the terror of the night.\n\n90:6. Of the arrow that flieth in the day, of the business that walketh\nabout in the dark:  of invasion, or of the noonday devil.\n\n90:7. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right\nhand:  but it shall not come nigh thee.\n\n90:8. But thou shalt consider with thy eyes:  and shalt see the reward\nof the wicked.\n\n90:9. Because thou, O Lord, art my hope:  thou hast made the most High\nthy refuge.\n\n90:10. There shall no evil come to thee:  nor shall the scourge come\nnear thy dwelling.\n\n90:11. For he hath given his angels charge over thee; to keep thee in\nall thy ways.\n\n90:12. In their hands they shall bear thee up:  lest thou dash thy foot\nagainst a stone.\n\n90:13. Thou shalt walk upon the asp and the basilisk:  and thou shalt\ntrample under foot the lion and the dragon.\n\n90:14. Because he hoped in me I will deliver him:  I will protect him\nbecause he hath known my name.\n\n90:15. He shall cry to me, and I will hear him:  I am with him in\ntribulation, I will deliver him, and I will glorify him.\n\n90:16. I will fill him with length of days; and I will shew him my\nsalvation.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 91\n\n\nBonum est confiteri.\n\nGod is to be praised for his wondrous works.\n\n91:1. A psalm of a canticle on the sabbath day.\n\n91:2. It is good to give praise to the Lord:  and to sing to thy name, O\nmost High.\n\n91:3. To shew forth thy mercy in the morning, and thy truth in the\nnight:\n\n91:4. Upon an instrument of ten strings, upon the psaltery:  with a\ncanticle upon the harp.\n\n91:5. For thou hast given me, O Lord, a delight in thy doings:  and in\nthe works of thy hands I shall rejoice.\n\n91:6. O Lord, how great are thy works! thy thoughts are exceeding deep.\n\n91:7. The senseless man shall not know:  nor will the fool understand\nthese things.\n\n91:8. When the wicked shall spring up as grass:  and all the workers of\niniquity shall appear:  That they may perish for ever and ever:\n\n91:9. But thou, O Lord, art most high for evermore.\n\n91:10. For behold thy enemies, O lord, for behold thy enemies shall\nperish:  and all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.\n\n91:11. But my horn shall be exalted like that of the unicorn:  and my\nold age in plentiful mercy.\n\n91:12. My eye also hath looked down upon my enemies:  and my ear shall\nhear of the downfall of the malignant that rise up against me.\n\n91:13. The just shall flourish like the palm tree:  he shall grow up\nlike the cedar of Libanus.\n\n91:14. They that are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in\nthe courts of the house of our God.\n\n91:15. They shall still increase in a fruitful old age:  and shall be\nwell treated,\n\n91:16. That they may shew, That the Lord our God is righteous, and\nthere is no iniquity in him.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 92\n\n\nDominus regnavit.\n\nThe glory and stability of the kingdom; that is, of the church of\nChrist.\n\nPraise in the way of a canticle, for David himself, on the day before\nthe sabbath, when the earth was founded.\n\n92:1. The Lord hath reigned, he is clothed with beauty:  the Lord is\nclothed with strength, and hath girded himself.  For he hath established\nthe world which shall not be moved.\n\n92:2. My throne is prepared from of old:  thou art from everlasting.\n\n92:3. The floods have lifted up, O Lord:  the floods have lifted up\ntheir voice.  The floods have lifted up their waves,\n\n92:4. With the noise of many waters.  Wonderful are the surges of the\nsea:  wonderful is the Lord on high.\n\n92:5. Thy testimonies are become exceedingly credible:  holiness\nbecometh thy house, O Lord, unto length of days.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 93\n\n\nDeus ultionum.\n\nGod shall judge and punish the oppressors of his people.\n\nA psalm for David himself on the fourth day of the week.\n\n93:1. The Lord is the God to whom revenge belongeth:  the God of revenge\nhath acted freely.\n\n93:2. Lift up thyself, thou that judgest the earth:  render a reward to\nthe proud.\n\n93:3. How long shall sinners, O Lord:  how long shall sinners glory?\n\n93:4. Shall they utter, and speak iniquity:  shall all speak who work\ninjustice?\n\n93:5. Thy people, O Lord, they have brought low:  and they have\nafflicted thy inheritance.\n\n93:6. They have slain the widow and the stranger:  and they have\nmurdered the fatherless.\n\n93:7. And they have said:  The Lord shall not see:  neither shall the God\nof Jacob understand.\n\n93:8. Understand, ye senseless among the people:  and, you fools, be\nwise at last.\n\n93:9. He that planted the ear, shall he not hear?  or he that formed the\neye, doth he not consider?\n\n93:10. He that chastiseth nations, shall he not rebuke:  he that\nteacheth man knowledge?\n\n93:11. The Lord knoweth the thoughts of men, that they are vain.\n\n93:12. Blessed is the man whom thou shalt instruct, O Lord:  and shalt\nteach him out of thy law.\n\n93:13. That thou mayst give him rest from the evil days:  till a pit be\ndug for the wicked.\n\nRest from the evil days. . .That thou mayst mitigate the sorrows, to\nwhich he is exposed, during the short and evil days of his mortality.\n\n93:14. For the Lord will not cast off his people:  neither will he\nforsake his own inheritance.\n\n93:15. Until justice be turned into judgment:  and they that are near it\nare all the upright in heart.\n\nUntil justice be turned into judgment, etc. . .By being put in\nexecution; which will be agreeable to all the upright in heart.\n\n93:16. Who shall rise up for me against the evildoers?  or who shall\nstand with me against the workers of iniquity?\n\n93:17. Unless the Lord had been my helper, my soul had almost dwelt in\nhell.\n\n93:18. If I said:  My foot is moved:  thy mercy, O Lord, assisted me.\n\n93:19. According to the multitude of my sorrows in my heart, thy\ncomforts have given joy to my soul.\n\n93:20. Doth the seat of iniquity stick to thee, who framest labour in\ncommandment?\n\nDoth the seat of iniquity stick to thee, etc. . .That is, wilt thou, O\nGod, who art always just, admit of the seat of iniquity:  that is, of\ninjustice, or unjust judges, to have any partnership with thee?  Thou\nwho framest, or makest, labour in commandment, that is, thou who\nobligest us to labour with all diligence to keep thy commandments.\n\n93:21. They will hunt after the soul of the just, and will condemn\ninnocent blood.\n\n93:22. But the Lord is my refuge:  and my God the help of my hope.\n\n93:23. And he will render them their iniquity :  and in their malice he\nwill destroy them:  the Lord our God will destroy them.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 94\n\n\nVenite exultemus.\n\nAn invitation to adore and serve God, and to hear his voice.\n\nPraise of a canticle for David himself.\n\n94:1. Come let us praise the Lord with joy:  let us joyfully sing to God\nour saviour.\n\n94:2. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving; and make a\njoyful noise to him with psalms.\n\n94:3. For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.\n\n94:4. For in his hand are all the ends of the earth:  and the heights of\nthe mountains are his.\n\n94:5. For the sea is his, and he made it:  and his hands formed the dry\nland.\n\n94:6. Come let us adore and fall down:  and weep before the Lord that\nmade us.\n\n94:7. For he is the Lord our God:  and we are the people of his pasture\nand the sheep of his hand.\n\n94:8. To day if you shall hear his voice, harden not your hearts:\n\n94:9. As in the provocation, according to the day of temptation in the\nwilderness:  where your fathers tempted me, they proved me, and saw my\nworks.\n\n94:10. Forty years long was I offended with that generation, and I\nsaid:  These always err in heart.\n\n94:11. And these men have not known my ways:  so I swore in my wrath\nthat they shall not enter into my rest.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 95\n\n\nCantate Domino.\n\nAn exhortation to praise God for the coming of Christ and his kingdom.\n\n95:1. A canticle for David himself, when the house was built after the\ncaptivity.  Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle:  sing to the Lord, all\nthe earth.\n\nWhen the house was built, etc. . .Alluding to that time, and then\nordered to be sung:  but principally relating to the building of the\nchurch of Christ, after our redemption from the captivity of Satan.\n\n95:2. Sing ye to the Lord and bless his name:  shew forth his salvation\nfrom day to day.\n\n95:3. Declare his glory among the Gentiles:  his wonders among all\npeople.\n\n95:4. For the Lord is great, and exceedingly to be praised:  he is to be\nfeared above all gods.\n\n95:5. For all the gods of the Gentiles are devils:  but the Lord made\nthe heavens.\n\n95:6. Praise and beauty are before him:  holiness and majesty in his\nsanctuary.\n\n95:7. Bring ye to the Lord, O ye kindreds of the Gentiles, bring ye to\nthe Lord glory and honour:\n\n95:8. Bring to the Lord glory unto his name.  Bring up sacrifices, and\ncome into his courts:\n\n95:9. Adore ye the Lord in his holy court.  Let all the earth be moved\nat his presence.\n\n95:10. Say ye among the Gentiles, the Lord hath reigned.  For he hath\ncorrected the world, which shall not be moved:  he will judge the people\nwith justice.\n\n95:11. Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad, let the sea\nbe moved, and the fulness thereof:\n\n95:12. The fields and all things that are in them shall be joyful.  Then\nshall all the trees of the woods rejoice\n\n95:13. before the face of the Lord, because he cometh:  because he\ncometh to judge the earth.  He shall judge the world with justice, and\nthe people with his truth.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 96\n\n\nDominus regnavit.\n\nAll are invited to rejoice at the glorious coming and reign of Christ.\n\n96:1. For the same David, when his land was restored again to him.  The\nLord hath reigned, let the earth rejoice:  let many islands be glad.\n\n96:2. Clouds and darkness are round about him:  justice and judgment are\nthe establishment of his throne.\n\nClouds and darkness. . .The coming of Christ in the clouds with great\nterror and majesty to judge the world, is here prophesied.\n\n96:3. A fire shall go before him, and shall burn his enemies round\nabout.\n\n96:4. His lightnings have shone forth to the world:  the earth saw and\ntrembled.\n\n96:5. The mountains melted like wax, at the presence of the Lord:  at\nthe presence of the Lord of all the earth.\n\n96:6. The heavens declared his justice:  and all people saw his glory.\n\n96:7. Let them be all confounded that adore graven things, and that\nglory in their idols.  Adore him, all you his angels:\n\n96:8. Sion heard, and was glad.  And the daughters of Juda rejoiced,\nbecause of thy judgments, O Lord.\n\n96:9. For thou art the most high Lord over all the earth:  thou art\nexalted exceedingly above all gods.\n\n96:10. You that love the Lord, hate evil:  the Lord preserveth the souls\nof his saints, he will deliver them out of the hand of the sinner.\n\n96:11. Light is risen to the just, and joy to the right of heart.\n\n96:12. Rejoice, ye just, in the Lord:  and give praise to the\nremembrance of his holiness.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 97\n\n\nCantate Domino.\n\nAll are again invited to praise the Lord, for the victories of Christ.\n\n97:1. A psalm for David himself.  Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle:\nbecause he hath done wonderful things.  His right hand hath wrought for\nhim salvation, and his arm is holy.\n\n97:2. The Lord hath made known his salvation:  he hath revealed his\njustice in the sight of the Gentiles.\n\n97:3. He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of\nIsrael.  All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.\n\n97:4. Sing joyfully to God, all the earth; make melody, rejoice and\nsing.\n\n97:5. Sing praise to the Lord on the harp, on the harp, and with the\nvoice of a psalm:\n\n97:6. With long trumpets, and sound of cornet.  Make a joyful noise\nbefore the Lord our king:\n\n97:7. Let the sea be moved and the fullness thereof:  the world and they\nthat dwell therein.\n\n97:8. The rivers shall clap their hands, the mountains shall rejoice\ntogether\n\n97:9. At the presence of the Lord:  because he cometh to judge the\nearth.  He shall judge the world with justice, and the people with\nequity.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 98\n\n\nDominus regnavit.\n\nThe reign of the Lord in Sion:  that is, of Christ in his church.\n\n98:1. A psalm for David himself.  The Lord hath reigned, let the people\nbe angry:  he that sitteth on the cherubims:  let the earth be moved.\n\nLet the people be angry. . .Though many enemies rage, and the whole\nearth be stirred up to oppose the reign of Christ, he shall still\nprevail.\n\n98:2. The lord is great in Sion, and high above all people.\n\n98:3. Let them give praise to thy great name:  for it is terrible and\nholy:\n\n98:4. And the king's honour loveth judgment.  Thou hast prepared\ndirections:  thou hast done judgment and justice in Jacob.\n\nLoveth judgment. . .Requireth discretion.--Ibid.  Directions. . .Most\nright and just laws to direct men.\n\n98:5. Exalt ye the Lord our God, and adore his footstool, for it is\nholy.\n\nAdore his footstool. . .The ark of the covenant was called, in the Old\nTestament, God's footstool:  over which he was understood to sit, on his\npropitiatory, or mercy seat, as on a throne, between the wings of the\ncherubims, in the sanctuary:  to which the children of Israel paid a\ngreat veneration.  But as this psalm evidently relates to Christ, and\nthe New Testament, where the ark has no place, the holy fathers\nunderstand this text, of the worship paid by the church to the body and\nblood of Christ in the sacred mysteries:  inasmuch as the humanity of\nChrist is, as it were, the footstool of the divinity.  So St. Ambrose,\nL. 3.  De Spiritu Sancto, c. 12.  And St. Augustine upon this psalm.\n\n98:6. Moses and Aaron among his priests:  and Samuel among them that\ncall upon his name.  They called upon the Lord, and he heard them:\n\nMoses and Aaron among his priests. . .By this it is evident, that Moses\nalso was a priest, and indeed the chief priest, inasmuch as he\nconsecrated Aaron, and offered sacrifice for him.  Lev. 8.  So that his\npre-eminence over Aaron makes nothing for lay church headship.\n\n98:7. He spoke to them in the pillar of the cloud.  They kept his\ntestimonies, and the commandment which he gave them.\n\n98:8. Thou didst hear them, O Lord our God:  thou wast a merciful God to\nthem, and taking vengeance on all their inventions.\n\nAll their inventions. . .that is, all the enterprises of their enemies\nagainst them, as in the case of Core, Dathan, and Abiron.\n\n98:9. Exalt ye the Lord our God, and adore at his holy mountain:  for\nthe Lord our God is holy.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 99\n\n\nJubilate Deo.\n\nAll are invited to rejoice in God the creator of all.\n\n99:1. A psalm of praise.\n\n99:2. Sing joyfully to God, all the earth:  serve ye the Lord with\ngladness.  Come in before his presence with exceeding great joy.\n\n99:3. Know ye that the Lord he is God:  he made us, and not we\nourselves.  We are his people and the sheep of his pasture.\n\n99:4. Go ye into his gates with praise, into his courts with hymns:  and\ngive glory to him.  Praise ye his name:\n\n99:5. For the Lord is sweet, his mercy endureth for ever, and his truth\nto generation and generation.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 100\n\n\nMisericordiam et judicium.\n\nThe prophet exhorteth all by his example, to follow mercy and justice.\n\n100:1. A psalm for David himself.  Mercy and judgment I will sing to\nthee, O Lord:  I will sing,\n\n100:2. And I will understand in the unspotted way, when thou shalt come\nto me.  I walked in the innocence of my heart, in the midst of my house.\n\nI will understand, etc. . .That is, I will apply my mind, I will do my\nendeavour, to know and to follow the perfect way of thy commandments:\nnot trusting to my own strength, but relying on thy coming to me by thy\ngrace.\n\n100:3. I will not set before my eyes any unjust thing:  I hated the\nworkers of iniquities.\n\n100:4. The perverse heart did not cleave to me:  and the malignant, that\nturned aside from me, I would not know.\n\n100:5. The man that in private detracted his neighbour, him did I\npersecute.  With him that had a proud eye, and an unsatiable heart, I\nwould not eat.\n\n100:6. My eyes were upon the faithful of the earth, to sit with me:  the\nman that walked in the perfect way, he served me.\n\n100:7. He that worketh pride shall not dwell in the midst of my house:\nhe that speaketh unjust things did not prosper before my eyes.\n\n100:8. In the morning I put to death all the wicked of the land:  that I\nmight cut off all the workers of iniquity from the city of the Lord.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 101\n\n\nDomine, exaudi.\n\nA prayer for one in affliction:  the fifth penitential psalm.\n\n101:1. The prayer of the poor man, when he was anxious, and poured out\nhis supplication before the Lord.\n\n101:2. Hear, O Lord, my prayer:  and let my cry come to thee.\n\n101:3. Turn not away thy face from me:  in the day when I am in trouble,\nincline thy ear to me.  In what day soever I shall call upon thee, hear\nme speedily.\n\n101:4. For my days are vanished like smoke, and my bones are grown dry\nlike fuel for the fire.\n\n101:5. I am smitten as grass, and my heart is withered:  because I\nforgot to eat my bread.\n\n101:6. Through the voice of my groaning, my bone hath cleaved to my\nflesh.\n\n101:7. I am become like to a pelican of the wilderness:  I am like a\nnight raven in the house.\n\nA pelican, etc. . .I am become through grief, like birds that affect\nsolitude and darkness.\n\n101:8. I have watched, and am become as a sparrow all alone on the\nhousetop.\n\n101:9. All the day long my enemies reproached me:  and they that praised\nme did swear against me.\n\n101:10. For I did eat ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with\nweeping.\n\n101:11. Because of thy anger and indignation:  for having lifted me up\nthou hast thrown me down.\n\n101:12. My days have declined like a shadow, and I am withered like\ngrass.\n\n101:13. But thou, O Lord, endurest for ever:  and thy memorial to all\ngenerations.\n\n101:14. Thou shalt arise and have mercy on Sion:  for it is time to have\nmercy on it, for the time is come.\n\n101:15. For the stones thereof have pleased thy servants:  and they\nshall have pity on the earth thereof.\n\n101:16. All the Gentiles shall fear thy name, O Lord, and all the kings\nof the earth thy glory.\n\n101:17. For the Lord hath built up Sion:  and he shall be seen in his\nglory.\n\n101:18. He hath had regard to the prayer of the humble:  and he hath not\ndespised their petition.\n\n101:19. Let these things be written unto another generation:  and the\npeople that shall be created shall praise the Lord:\n\n101:20. Because he hath looked forth from his high sanctuary:  from\nheaven the Lord hath looked upon the earth.\n\n101:21. That he might hear the groans of them that are in fetters:  that\nhe might release the children of the slain:\n\n101:22. That they may declare the name of the Lord in Sion:  and his\npraise in Jerusalem;\n\n101:23. When the people assemble together, and kings, to serve the\nLord.\n\n101:24. He answered him in the way of his strength:  Declare unto me the\nfewness of my days.\n\nHe answered him in the way of his strength. . .That is, the people,\nmentioned in the foregoing verse, or the penitent, in whose person this\npsalm is delivered, answered the Lord in the way of his strength:  that\nis, according to the best of his power and strength:  or when he was in\nthe flower of his age and strength:  inquiring after the fewness of his\ndays:  to know if he should live long enough to see the happy\nrestoration of Sion, etc.\n\n101:25. Call me not away in the midst of my days:  thy years are unto\ngeneration and generation.\n\n101:26. In the beginning, O Lord, thou foundedst the earth:  and the\nheavens are the works of thy hands.\n\n101:27. They shall perish but thou remainest:  and all of them shall\ngrow old like a garment:  And as a vesture thou shalt change them, and\nthey shall be changed.\n\n101:28. But thou art always the selfsame, and thy years shall not fail.\n\n101:29. The children of thy servants shall continue and their seed\nshall be directed for ever.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 102\n\n\nBenedic, anima.\n\nThanksgiving to God for his mercies.\n\n102:1. For David himself.  Bless the Lord, O my soul:  and let all that\nis within me bless his holy name.\n\n102:2. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and never forget all he hath done for\nthee.\n\n102:3. Who forgiveth all thy iniquities:  who healeth all thy diseases.\n\n102:4. Who redeemeth thy life from destruction:  who crowneth thee with\nmercy and compassion.\n\n102:5. Who satisfieth thy desire with good things:  thy youth shall be\nrenewed like the eagle's.\n\n102:6. The Lord doth mercies, and judgment for all that suffer wrong.\n\n102:7. He hath made his ways known to Moses:  his wills to the children\nof Israel.\n\n102:8. The Lord is compassionate and merciful:  longsuffering and\nplenteous in mercy.\n\n102:9. He will not always be angry:  nor will he threaten for ever.\n\n102:10. He hath not dealt with us according to our sins:  nor rewarded\nus according to our iniquities.\n\n102:11. For according to the height of the heaven above the earth:  he\nhath strengthened his mercy towards them that fear him.\n\n102:12. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our\niniquities from us.\n\n102:13. As a father hath compassion on his children, so hath the Lord\ncompassion on them that fear him:\n\n102:14. For he knoweth our frame.  He remembereth that we are dust:\n\n102:15. Man's days are as grass, as the flower of the field so shall he\nflourish.\n\n102:16. For the spirit shall pass in him, and he shall not be:  and he\nshall know his place no more.\n\n102:17. But the mercy of the Lord is from eternity and unto eternity\nupon them that fear him:  And his justice unto children's children,\n\n102:18. To such as keep his covenant, And are mindful of his\ncommandments to do them.\n\n102:19. The lord hath prepared his throne in heaven:  and his kingdom\nshall rule over all.\n\n102:20. Bless the Lord, all ye his angels:  you that are mighty in\nstrength, and execute his word, hearkening to the voice of his orders.\n\n102:21. Bless the Lord, all ye his hosts:  you ministers of his that do\nhis will.\n\n102:22. Bless the Lord, all his works:  in every place of his dominion,\nO my soul, bless thou the Lord.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 103\n\n\nBenedic, anima.\n\nGod is to be praised for his mighty works, and wonderful providence.\n\n103:1. For David himself.  Bless the Lord, O my soul:  O Lord my God,\nthou art exceedingly great.  Thou hast put on praise and beauty:\n\n103:2. And art clothed with light as with a garment.  Who stretchest out\nthe heaven like a pavilion:\n\n103:3. Who coverest the higher rooms thereof with water.  Who makest the\nclouds thy chariot:  who walkest upon the wings of the winds.\n\n103:4. Who makest thy angels spirits:  and thy ministers a burning fire.\n\n103:5. Who hast founded the earth upon its own bases:  it shall not be\nmoved for ever and ever.\n\n103:6. The deep like a garment is its clothing:  above the mountains\nshall the waters stand.\n\n103:7. At thy rebuke they shall flee:  at the voice of thy thunder they\nshall fear.\n\n103:8. The mountains ascend, and the plains descend into the place\nwhich thou hast founded for them.\n\n103:9. Thou hast set a bound which they shall not pass over; neither\nshall they return to cover the earth.\n\n103:10. Thou sendest forth springs in the vales:  between the midst of\nthe hills the waters shall pass.\n\n103:11. All the beasts of the field shall drink:  the wild asses shall\nexpect in their thirst.\n\n103:12. Over them the birds of the air shall dwell:  from the midst of\nthe rocks they shall give forth their voices.\n\n103:13. Thou waterest the hills from thy upper rooms:  the earth shall\nbe filled with the fruit of thy works:\n\n103:14. Bringing forth grass for cattle, and herb for the service of\nmen.  That thou mayst bring bread out of the earth:\n\n103:15. And that wine may cheer the heart of man.  That he may make the\nface cheerful with oil:  and that bread may strengthen man's heart.\n\n103:16. The trees of the field shall be filled, and the cedars of\nLibanus which he hath planted:\n\n103:17. There the sparrows shall make their nests.  The highest of them\nis the house of the heron.\n\n103:18. The high hills are a refuge for the harts, the rock for the\nirchins.\n\n103:19. He hath made the moon for seasons:  the sun knoweth his going\ndown.\n\n103:20. Thou hast appointed darkness, and it is night:  in it shall all\nthe beasts of the woods go about:\n\n103:21. The young lions roaring after their prey, and seeking their\nmeat from God.\n\n103:22. The sun ariseth, and they are gathered together:  and they shall\nlie down in their dens.\n\n103:23. Man shall go forth to his work, and to his labour until the\nevening.\n\n103:24. How great are thy works, O Lord ?  thou hast made all things in\nwisdom:  the earth is filled with thy riches.\n\n103:25. So is this great sea, which stretcheth wide its arms:  there are\ncreeping things without number:  Creatures little and great.\n\n103:26. There the ships shall go.  This sea dragon which thou hast\nformed to play therein.\n\n103:27. All expect of thee that thou give them food in season.\n\n103:28. What thou givest to them they shall gather up:  when thou\nopenest thy hand, they shall all be filled with good.\n\n103:29. But if thou turnest away thy face, they shall be troubled:  thou\nshalt take away their breath, and they shall fail, and shall return to\ntheir dust.\n\n103:30. Thou shalt send forth thy spirit, and they shall be created:\nand thou shalt renew the face of the earth.\n\n103:31. May the glory of the Lord endure for ever:  the Lord shall\nrejoice in his works.\n\n103:32. He looketh upon the earth, and maketh it tremble:  he troubleth\nthe mountains, and they smoke.\n\n103:33. I will sing to the Lord as long as I live:  I will sing praise\nto my God while I have my being.\n\n103:34. Let my speech be acceptable to him:  but I will take delight in\nthe Lord.\n\n103:35. Let sinners be consumed out of the earth, and the unjust, so\nthat they be no more:  O my soul, bless thou the Lord.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 104\n\n\nConfitemini Domino.\n\nA thanksgiving to God for his benefits to his people Israel.\n\nAlleluia.\n\n104:1. Give glory to the Lord, and call upon his name:  declare his\ndeeds among the Gentiles.\n\n104:2. Sing to him, yea sing praises to him:  relate all his wondrous\nworks.\n\n104:3. Glory ye in his holy name:  let the heart of them rejoice that\nseek the Lord.\n\n104:4. Seek ye the lord, and be strengthened:  seek his face evermore.\n\n104:5. Remember his marvellous works which he hath done; his wonders,\nand the judgments of his mouth.\n\n104:6. O ye seed of Abraham his servant; ye sons of Jacob his chosen.\n\n104:7. He is the Lord our God:  his judgments are in all the earth.\n\n104:8. He hath remembered his covenant for ever:  the word which he\ncommanded to a thousand generations.\n\n104:9. Which he made to Abraham; and his oath to Isaac:\n\n104:10. And he appointed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for\nan everlasting testament:\n\n104:11. Saying:  To thee will I give the land of Chanaan, the lot of\nyour inheritance.\n\n104:12. When they were but a small number:  yea very few, and sojourners\ntherein:\n\n104:13. And they passed from nation to nation, and from one kingdom to\nanother people.\n\n104:14. He suffered no man to hurt them:  and he reproved kings for\ntheir sakes.\n\n104:15. Touch ye not my anointed:  and do no evil to my prophets.\n\n104:16. And he called a famine upon the land:  and he broke in pieces\nall the support of bread.\n\n104:17. He sent a man before them:  Joseph, who was sold for a slave.\n\n104:18. They humbled his feet in fetters:  the iron pierced his soul,\n\n104:19. Until his word came.  The word of the Lord inflamed him.\n\n104:20. The king sent, and he released him:  the ruler of the people,\nand he set him at liberty.\n\n104:21. He made him master of his house, and ruler of all his\npossession.\n\n104:22. That he might instruct his princes as himself, and teach his\nancients wisdom.\n\n104:23. And Israel went into Egypt:  and Jacob was a sojourner in the\nland of Cham.\n\n104:24. And he increased his people exceedingly:  and strengthened them\nover their enemies.\n\n104:25. He turned their heart to hate his people:  and to deal\ndeceitfully with his servants.\n\nHe turned their heart, etc. . .Not that God (who is never the author of\nsin) moved the Egyptians to hate and persecute his people; but that the\nEgyptians took occasion of hating and envying them, from the sight of\nthe benefits which God bestowed upon them.\n\n104:26. He sent Moses his servant:  Aaron the man whom he had chosen.\n\n104:27. He gave them power to shew them signs, and his wonders in the\nland of Cham.\n\n104:28. He sent darkness, and made it obscure:  and grieved not his\nwords.\n\nGrieved not his words. . .That is, he was not wanting to fulfil his\nwords:  or he did not grieve Moses and Aaron, the carriers of his words:\nor he did not grieve his words, that is, his sons, the children of\nIsrael, who enjoyed light whilst the Egyptians were oppressed with\ndarkness.\n\n104:29. He turned their waters into blood, and destroyed their fish.\n\n104:30. Their land brought forth frogs, in the inner chambers of their\nkings.\n\n104:31. He spoke, and there came divers sorts of flies and sciniphs in\nall their coasts.\n\nSciniphs. . .See the annotation, Ex.8.16.\n\n104:32. He gave them hail for rain, a burning fire in the land.\n\n104:33. And he destroyed their vineyards and their fig trees:  and he\nbroke in pieces the trees of their coasts.\n\n104:34. He spoke, and the locust came, and the bruchus, of which there\nwas no number.\n\nBruchus. . .An insect of the locust kind.\n\n104:35. And they devoured all the grass in their land, and consumed all\nthe fruit of their ground.\n\n104:36. And he slew all the firstborn in their land:  the firstfruits of\nall their labour.\n\n104:37. And he brought them out with silver and gold:  and there was not\namong their tribes one that was feeble.\n\n104:38. Egypt was glad when they departed:  for the fear of them lay\nupon them.\n\n104:39. He spread a cloud for their protection, and fire to give them\nlight in the night.\n\n104:40. They asked, and the quail came:  and he filled them with the\nbread of heaven.\n\n104:41. He opened the rock, and waters flowed:  rivers ran down in the\ndry land.\n\n104:42. Because he remembered his holy word, which he had spoken to his\nservant Abraham.\n\n104:43. And he brought forth his people with joy, and his chosen with\ngladness.\n\n104:44. And he gave them the lands of the Gentiles:  and they possessed\nthe labours of the people:\n\n104:45. That they might observe his justifications, and seek after his\nlaw.\n\nHis justifications. . .That is, his commandments; which here, and in\nmany other places of the scripture, are called justifications, because\nthe keeping of them makes man just.  The Protestants render it by the\nword statutes, in favour of their doctrine, which does not allow good\nworks to justify.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 105\n\n\nConfitemini Domino.\n\nA confession of the manifold sins and ingratitudes of the Israelites.\n\nAlleluia.\n\n105:1. Give glory to the Lord, for he is good:  for his mercy endureth\nfor ever.\n\n105:2. Who shall declare the powers of the Lord?  who shall set forth\nall his praises?\n\n105:3. Blessed are they that keep judgment, and do justice at all\ntimes.\n\n105:4. Remember us, O Lord, in the favour of thy people:  visit us with\nthy salvation.\n\n105:5. That we may see the good of thy chosen, that we may rejoice in\nthe joy of thy nation:  that thou mayst be praised with thy inheritance.\n\n105:6. We have sinned with our fathers:  we have acted unjustly, we have\nwrought iniquity.\n\n105:7. Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt:  they remembered\nnot the multitude of thy mercies:  And they provoked to wrath going up\nto the sea, even the Red Sea.\n\n105:8. And he saved them for his own name's sake:  that he might make\nhis power known.\n\n105:9. And he rebuked the Red Sea and it was dried up:  and he led them\nthrough the depths, as in a wilderness.\n\n105:10. And he saved them from the hand of them that hated them:  and he\nredeemed them from the hand of the enemy.\n\n105:11. And the water covered them that afflicted them:  there was not\none of them left.\n\n105:12. And they believed his words:  and they sang his praises.\n\n105:13. They had quickly done, they forgot his works:  and they waited\nnot for his counsel.\n\n105:14. And they coveted their desire in the desert:  and they tempted\nGod in the place without water.\n\n105:15. And he gave them their request:  and sent fulness into their\nsouls.\n\n105:16. And they provoked Moses in the camp, Aaron the holy one of the\nLord.\n\n105:17. The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan:  and covered the\ncongregation of Abiron.\n\n105:18. And a fire was kindled in their congregation:  the flame burned\nthe wicked.\n\n105:19. They made also a calf in Horeb:  and they adored the graven\nthing.\n\n105:20. And they changed their glory into the likeness of a calf that\neateth grass.\n\n105:21. They forgot God, who saved them, who had done great things in\nEgypt,\n\n105:22. Wondrous works in the land of Cham:  terrible things in the Red\nSea.\n\n105:23. And he said that he would destroy them:  had not Moses his\nchosen stood before him in the breach:  To turn away his wrath, lest he\nshould destroy them.\n\n105:24. And they set at nought the desirable land.  They believed not\nhis word,\n\n105:25. And they murmured in their tents:  they hearkened not to the\nvoice of the Lord.\n\n105:26. And he lifted up his hand over them:  to overthrow them in the\ndesert;\n\n105:27. And to cast down their seed among the nations, and to scatter\nthem in the countries.\n\n105:28. They also were initiated to Beelphegor:  and ate the sacrifices\nof the dead.\n\nInitiated. . .That is, they dedicated, or consecrated themselves to the\nidol of the Moabites and Madianites, called Beelphegor, or Baal-Peor.\nNum. 25.3.--Ibid.  The dead. . .Viz., idols without life.\n\n105:29. And they provoked him with their inventions:  and destruction\nwas multiplied among them.\n\n105:30. Then Phinees stood up, and pacified him:  and the slaughter\nceased.\n\n105:31. And it was reputed to him unto justice, to generation and\ngeneration for evermore.\n\n105:32. They provoked him also at the waters of contradiction:  and\nMoses was afflicted for their sakes:\n\n105:33. Because they exasperated his spirit.  And he distinguished with\nhis lips.\n\nHe distinguished with his lips. . .Moses, by occasion of the people's\nrebellion and incredulity, was guilty of distinguishing with his lips;\nwhen, instead of speaking to the rock, as God had commanded, he said to\nthe people, with a certain hesitation in his faith, Hear ye, rebellious\nand incredulous:  Can we from this rock bring out water for you?  Num.\n20.10.\n\n105:34. They did not destroy the nations of which the Lord spoke unto\nthem.\n\n105:35. And they were mingled among the heathens, and learned their\nworks:\n\n105:36. And served their idols, and it became a stumblingblock to them.\n\n105:37. And they sacrificed their sons, and their daughters to devils.\n\n105:38. And they shed innocent blood:  the blood of their sons and of\ntheir daughters which they sacrificed to the idols of Chanaan.  And the\nland was polluted with blood,\n\n105:39. And was defiled with their works:  and they went aside after\ntheir own inventions.\n\n105:40. And the Lord was exceedingly angry with his people:  and he\nabhorred his inheritance.\n\n105:41. And he delivered them into the hands of the nations:  and they\nthat hated them had dominion over them.\n\n105:42. And their enemies afflicted them:  and they were humbled under\ntheir hands:\n\n105:43. Many times did he deliver them.  But they provoked him with\ntheir counsel:  and they were brought low by their iniquities.\n\n105:44. And he saw when they were in tribulation:  and he heard their\nprayer.\n\n105:45. And he was mindful of his covenant:  and repented according to\nthe multitude of his mercies.\n\n105:46. And he gave them unto mercies, in the sight of all those that\nhad made them captives.\n\n105:47. Save us, O Lord, our God:  and gather us from among the nations:\nThat we may give thanks to thy holy name, and may glory in thy praise.\n\n105:48. Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, from everlasting to\neverlasting:  and let all the people say:  So be it, so be it.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 106\n\n\nConfitemini Domino.\n\nAll are invited to give thanks to God for his perpetual providence over\nmen.\n\nAlleluia.\n\n106:1. Give glory to the Lord, for he is good:  for his mercy endureth\nfor ever.\n\n106:2. Let them say so that have been redeemed by the Lord, whom he\nhath redeemed from the hand of the enemy:  and gathered out of the\ncountries.\n\n106:3. From the rising and from the setting of the sun, from the north\nand from the sea.\n\n106:4. They wandered in a wilderness, in a place without water:  they\nfound not the way of a city for their habitation.\n\n106:5. They were hungry and thirsty:  their soul fainted in them.\n\n106:6. And they cried to the Lord in their tribulation:  and he\ndelivered them out of their distresses.\n\n106:7. And he led them into the right way, that they might go to a city\nof habitation.\n\n106:8. Let the mercies of the Lord give glory to him:  and his wonderful\nworks to the children of men.\n\n106:9. For he hath satisfied the empty soul, and hath filled the hungry\nsoul with good things.\n\n106:10. Such as sat in darkness and in the shadow of death:  bound in\nwant and in iron.\n\n106:11. Because they had exasperated the words of God:  and provoked the\ncounsel of the most High:\n\n106:12. And their heart was humbled with labours:  they were weakened,\nand there was none to help them.\n\n106:13. Then they cried to the Lord in their affliction:  and he\ndelivered them out of their distresses.\n\n106:14. And he brought them out of darkness, and the shadow of death;\nand broke their bonds in sunder.\n\n106:15. Let the mercies of the Lord give glory to him, and his\nwonderful works to the children of men.\n\n106:16. Because he hath broken gates of brass, and burst iron bars.\n\n106:17. He took them out of the way of their iniquity:  for they were\nbrought low for their injustices.\n\n106:18. Their soul abhorred all manner of meat:  and they drew nigh even\nto the gates of death.\n\n106:19. And they cried to the Lord in their affliction:  and he\ndelivered them out of their distresses.\n\n106:20. He sent his word, and healed them:  and delivered them from\ntheir destructions.\n\n106:21. Let the mercies of the Lord give glory to him:  and his\nwonderful works to the children of men.\n\n106:22. And let them sacrifice the sacrifice of praise:  and declare his\nworks with joy.\n\n106:23. They that go down to the sea in ships, doing business in the\ngreat waters:\n\n106:24. These have seen the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the\ndeep.\n\n106:25. He said the word, and there arose a storm of wind:  and the\nwaves thereof were lifted up.\n\n106:26. They mount up to the heavens, and they go down to the depths:\ntheir soul pined away with evils.\n\n106:27. They were troubled, and reeled like a drunken man; and all\ntheir wisdom was swallowed up.\n\n106:28. And they cried to the Lord in their affliction:  and he brought\nthem out of their distresses.\n\n106:29. And he turned the storm into a breeze:  and its waves were\nstill.\n\n106:30. And they rejoiced because they were still:  and he brought them\nto the haven which they wished for.\n\n106:31. Let the mercies of the Lord give glory to him, and his\nwonderful works to the children of men.\n\n106:32. And let them exalt him in the church of the people:  and praise\nhim in the chair of the ancients.\n\n106:33. He hath turned rivers into a wilderness:  and the sources of\nwaters into dry ground:\n\n106:34. A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them\nthat dwell therein.\n\n106:35. He hath turned a wilderness into pools of waters, and a dry\nland into water springs.\n\n106:36. And hath placed there the hungry; and they made a city for\ntheir habitation.\n\n106:37. Anti they sowed fields, and planted vineyards:  and they yielded\nfruit of birth.\n\n106:38. And he blessed them, and they were multiplied exceedingly:  and\ntheir cattle he suffered not to decrease.\n\n106:39. Then they were brought to be few:  and they were afflicted\nthrough the trouble of evils and sorrow.\n\n106:40. Contempt was poured forth upon their princes:  and he caused\nthem to wander where there was no passing, and out of the way.\n\n106:41. And he helped the poor out of poverty:  and made him families\nlike a flock of sheep.\n\n106:42. The just shall see, and shall rejoice, and all iniquity shall\nstop her mouth.\n\n106:43. Who is wise, and will keep these things; and will understand\nthe mercies of the Lord?\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 107\n\n\nParatum cor meum.\n\nThe prophet praiseth God for benefits received.\n\n107:1. A canticle of a psalm for David himself.\n\n107:2. My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready:  I will sing, and\nwill give praise, with my glory.\n\n107:3. Arise, my glory; arise, psaltery and harp:  I will arise in the\nmorning early.\n\n107:4. I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people:  and I will sing\nunto thee among the nations.\n\n107:5. For thy mercy is great above the heavens:  and thy truth even\nunto the clouds.\n\n107:6. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens, and thy glory over\nall the earth:\n\n107:7. That thy beloved may be delivered.  Save with thy right hand and\nhear me.\n\n107:8. God hath spoken in his holiness.  I will rejoice, and I will\ndivide Sichem and I will mete out the vale of tabernacles.\n\n107:9. Galaad is mine:  and Manasses is mine and Ephraim the protection\nof my head.  Juda is my king:\n\n107:10. Moab the pot of my hope.  Over Edom I will stretch out my shoe:\nthe aliens are become my friends.\n\n107:11. Who will bring me into the strong city?  who will lead me into\nEdom?\n\n107:12. Wilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us off ?  and wilt not thou,\nO God, go forth with our armies?\n\n107:13. O grant us help from trouble:  for vain is the help of man.\n\n107:14. Through God we shall do mightily:  and he will bring our enemies\nto nothing.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 108\n\n\nDeus, laudem meam.\n\nDavid in the person of Christ, prayeth against his persecutors; more\nespecially the traitor Judas:  foretelling and approving his just\npunishment for his obstinacy in sin and final impenitence.\n\n108:1. Unto the end, a psalm for David.\n\n108:2. O God, be not thou silent in my praise:  for the mouth of the\nwicked and the mouth of the deceitful man is opened against me.\n\n108:3. They have spoken against me with deceitful tongues; and they\nhave compassed me about with words of hatred; and have fought against\nme without cause.\n\n108:4. Instead of making me a return of love, they detracted me:  but I\ngave myself to prayer.\n\n108:5. And they repaid me evil for good:  and hatred for my love.\n\n108:6. Set thou the sinner over him:  and may the devil stand at his\nright hand.\n\nSet thou the sinner over him, etc. . .Give to the devil, that\narch-sinner, power over him:  let him enter into him, and possess him.\nThe imprecations, contained in the thirty verses of this psalm, are\nopposed to the thirty pieces of silver for which Judas betrayed our\nLord; and are to be taken as prophetic denunciations of the evils that\nshould befall the traitor and his accomplices the Jews; and not\nproperly as curses.\n\n108:7. When he is judged, may he go out condemned; and may his prayer\nbe turned to sin.\n\n108:8. May his days be few:  and his bishopric let another take.\n\n108:9. May his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.\n\n108:10. Let his children be carried about vagabonds, and beg; and let\nthem be cast out of their dwellings.\n\n108:11. May the usurer search all his substance:  and let strangers\nplunder his labours.\n\n108:12. May there be none to help him:  nor none to pity his fatherless\noffspring.\n\n108:13. May his posterity be cut off; in one generation may his name be\nblotted out.\n\n108:14. May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered in the sight of\nthe Lord:  and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.\n\n108:15. May they be before the Lord continually, and let the memory of\nthem perish from the earth:\n\n108:16. because he remembered not to shew mercy,\n\n108:17. But persecuted the poor man and the beggar; and the broken in\nheart, to put him to death.\n\n108:18. And he loved cursing, and it shall come unto him:  and he would\nnot have blessing, and it shall be far from him.  And he put on cursing,\nlike a garment:  and it went in like water into his entrails, and like\noil in his bones.\n\n108:19. May it be unto him like a garment which covereth him; and like\na girdle with which he is girded continually.\n\n108:20. This is the work of them who detract me before the Lord; and\nwho speak evils against my soul.\n\n108:21. But thou, O Lord, do with me for thy name's sake:  because thy\nmercy is sweet.  Do thou deliver me,\n\n108:22. For I am poor and needy, and my heart is troubled within me.\n\n108:23. I am taken away like the shadow when it declineth:  and I am\nshaken off as locusts.\n\n108:24. My knees are weakened through fasting:  and my flesh is changed\nfor oil.\n\nFor oil. . .Propter oleum.  The meaning is, my flesh is changed, being\nperfectly emaciated and dried up, as having lost all its oil or\nfatness.\n\n108:25. And I am become a reproach to them:  they saw me and they shaked\ntheir heads.\n\n108:26. Help me, O Lord my God; save me; according to thy mercy.\n\n108:27. And let them know that this is thy hand:  and that thou, O Lord,\nhast done it.\n\n108:28. They will curse and thou wilt bless:  let them that rise up\nagainst me be confounded:  but thy servant shall rejoice.\n\n108:29. Let them that detract me be clothed with shame:  and let them be\ncovered with their confusion as with a double cloak.\n\n108:30. I will give great thanks to the Lord with my mouth:  and in the\nmidst of many I will praise him.\n\n108:31. Because he hath stood at the right hand of the poor, to save my\nsoul from persecutors.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 109\n\n\nDixit Dominus.\n\nChrist's exaltation and everlasting priesthood.\n\n109:1. A psalm for David.  The Lord said to my Lord:  Sit thou at my\nright hand:  Until I make thy enemies thy footstool.\n\n109:2. The Lord will send forth the sceptre of thy power out of Sion:\nrule thou in the midst of thy enemies.\n\n109:3. With thee is the principality in the day of thy strength:  in the\nbrightness of the saints:  from the womb before the day star I begot\nthee.\n\n109:4. The Lord hath sworn, and he will not repent:  Thou art a priest\nfor ever according to the order of Melchisedech.\n\n109:5. The Lord at thy right hand hath broken kings in the day of his\nwrath.\n\n109:6. He shall judge among nations, he shall fill ruins:  he shall\ncrush the heads in the land of many.\n\n109:7. He shall drink of the torrent in the way:  therefore shall he\nlift up the head.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 110\n\n\nConfitebor tibi, Domine.\n\nGod is to be praised for his graces, and benefits to his church.\n\nAlleluia.\n\n110:1. I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; in the council\nof the just, and in the congregation.\n\n110:2. Great are the works of the Lord:  sought out according to all his\nwills.\n\n110:3. His work is praise and magnificence:  and his justice continueth\nfor ever and ever.\n\n110:4. He hath made a remembrance of his wonderful works, being a\nmerciful and gracious Lord:\n\n110:5. He hath given food to them that fear him.  He will be mindful for\never of his covenant:\n\n110:6. He will shew forth to his people the power of his works.\n\n110:7. That he may give them the inheritance of the Gentiles:  the works\nof his hands are truth and judgment.\n\n110:8. All his commandments are faithful:  confirmed for ever and ever,\nmade in truth and equity.\n\n110:9. He hath sent redemption to his people:  he hath commanded his\ncovenant for ever.  Holy and terrible is his name:\n\n110:10. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.  A good\nunderstanding to all that do it:  his praise continueth for ever and\never.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 111\n\n\nBeatus vir.\n\nThe good man is happy.\n\nAlleluia, of the returning of Aggeus and Zacharias.\n\nOf the returning, etc. . .This is in the Greek and Latin, but not in the\nHebrew.  It signifies that this psalm was proper to be sung at the time\nof the return of the people from their captivity; to inculcate to them,\nhow happy they might be, if they would be constant in the service of\nGod.\n\n111:1. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord:  he shall delight\nexceedingly in his commandments.\n\n111:2. His seed shall be mighty upon earth:  the generation of the\nrighteous shall be blessed.\n\n111:3. Glory and wealth shall be in his house:  and his justice\nremaineth for ever and ever.\n\n111:4. To the righteous a light is risen up in darkness:  he is\nmerciful, and compassionate and just.\n\n111:5. Acceptable is the man that sheweth mercy and lendeth:  he shall\norder his words with judgment:\n\n111:6. Because he shall not be moved for ever.\n\n111:7. The just shall be in everlasting remembrance:  he shall not fear\nthe evil hearing.  His heart is ready to hope in the Lord:\n\n111:8. His heart is strengthened, he shall not be moved until he look\nover his enemies.\n\n111:9. He hath distributed, he hath given to the poor:  his justice\nremaineth for ever and ever:  his horn shall be exalted in glory.\n\n111:10. The wicked shall see, and shall be angry, he shall gnash with\nhis teeth and pine away:  the desire of the wicked shall perish.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 112\n\n\nLaudate, pueri.\n\nGod is to be praised for his regard to the poor and humble.\n\nAlleluia.\n\n112:1. Praise the Lord, ye children:  praise ye the name of the Lord.\n\n112:2. Blessed be the name of the Lord, from henceforth now and for\never.\n\n112:3. From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, the\nname of the Lord is worthy of praise.\n\n112:4. The Lord is high above all nations; and his glory above the\nheavens.\n\n112:5. Who is as the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high:\n\n112:6. and looketh\ndown on the low things in heaven and in earth?\n\n112:7. Raising up the needy from the earth, and lifting up the poor out\nof the dunghill:\n\n112:8. That he may place him with princes, with the princes of his\npeople.\n\n112:9. Who maketh a barren woman to dwell in a house, the joyful mother\nof children.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 113\n\n\nIn exitu Israel.\n\nGod hath shewn his power in delivering his people:  idols are vain.  The\nHebrews divide this into two psalms.\n\nAlleluia.\n\n113:1. When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a\nbarbarous people:\n\n113:2. Judea was made his sanctuary, Israel his dominion.\n\n113:3. The sea saw and fled:  Jordan was turned back.\n\n113:4. The mountains skipped like rams, and the hills like the lambs of\nthe flock.\n\n113:5. What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou didst flee: and thou,\nO Jordan, that thou wast turned back?\n\n113:6. Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams, and ye hills, like\nlambs of the flock?\n\n113:7. At the presence of the Lord the earth was moved, at the presence\nof the God of Jacob:\n\n113:8. Who turned the rock into pools of water, and the stony hill into\nfountains of waters.\n\n113:1. Not to us, O Lord, not to us; but to thy name give glory.\n\n113:2. For thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake:  lest the Gentiles\nshould say:  Where is their God?\n\n113:3. But our God is in heaven:  he hath done all things whatsoever he\nwould.\n\n113:4. The idols of the Gentiles are silver and gold, the works of the\nhands of men.\n\n113:5. They have mouths and speak not:  they have eyes and see not.\n\n113:6. They have ears and hear not:  they have noses and smell not.\n\n113:7. They have hands and feel not:  they have feet and walk not:\nneither shall they cry out through their throat.\n\n113:8. Let them that make them become like unto them:  and all such as\ntrust in them.\n\n113:9. The house of Israel hath hoped in the Lord:  he is their helper\nand their protector.\n\n113:10. The house of Aaron hath hoped in the Lord:  he is their helper\nand their protector.\n\n113:11. They that fear the Lord have hoped in the Lord:  he is their\nhelper and their protector.\n\n113:12. The Lord hath been mindful of us, and hath blessed us.  He hath\nblessed the house of Israel:  he hath blessed the house of Aaron.\n\n113:13. He hath blessed all that fear the Lord, both little and great.\n\n113:14. May the Lord add blessings upon you:  upon you, and upon your\nchildren.\n\n113:15. Blessed be you of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.\n\n113:16. The heaven of heaven is the Lord's:  but the earth he has given\nto the children of men.\n\n113:17. The dead shall not praise thee, O Lord:  nor any of them that go\ndown to hell.\n\n113:18. But we that live bless the Lord:  from this time now and for\never.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 114\n\n\nDilexi.\n\nThe prayer of a just man in affliction, with a lively confidence in\nGod.\n\nAlleluia.\n\n114:1. I have loved, because the Lord will hear the voice of my prayer.\n\n114:2. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me:  and in my days I will\ncall upon him.\n\n114:3. The sorrows of death have compassed me:  and the perils of hell\nhave found me.  I met with trouble and sorrow:\n\n114:4. And I called upon the name of the Lord.  O Lord, deliver my soul.\n\n114:5. The Lord is merciful and just, and our God sheweth mercy.\n\n114:6. The Lord is the keeper of little ones:  I was humbled, and he\ndelivered me.\n\n114:7. Turn, O my soul, into thy rest:  for the Lord hath been bountiful\nto thee.\n\n114:8. For he hath delivered my soul from death:  my eyes from tears, my\nfeet from falling.\n\n114:9. I will please the Lord in the land of the living.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 115\n\n\nCredidi.\n\nThis in the Hebrew is joined with the foregoing psalm, and continues to\nexpress the faith and gratitude of the psalmist.\n\nAlleluia.\n\n115:10. I have believed, therefore have I spoken; but I have\nbeen humbled exceedingly.\n\n115:11. I said in my excess:  Every man is a liar.\n\n115:12. What shall I render to the Lord, for all the things that he\nhath rendered to me?\n\n115:13. I will take the chalice of salvation; and I will call upon the\nname of the Lord.\n\n115:14. I will pay my vows to the Lord before all his people:\n\n115:15. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.\n\n115:16. O Lord, for I am thy servant:  I am thy servant, and the son of\nthy handmaid.  Thou hast broken my bonds:\n\n115:17. I will sacrifice to thee the sacrifice of praise, and I will\ncall upon the name of the Lord.\n\n115:18. I will pay my vows to the Lord in the sight of all his people:\n\n115:19. In the courts of the house of the Lord, in the midst of thee, O\nJerusalem.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 116\n\n\nLaudate Dominum.\n\nAll nations are called upon to praise God for his mercy and truth.\n\nAlleluia.\n\n116:1. O Praise the Lord, all ye nations:  praise him, all ye people.\n\n116:2. For his mercy is confirmed upon us:  and the truth of the Lord\nremaineth for ever.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 117\n\n\nConfitemini Domino.\n\nThe psalmist praiseth God for his delivery from evils:  putteth his\nwhole trust in him; and foretelleth the coming of Christ.\n\nAlleluia.\n\n117:1. Give praise to the Lord, for he is good:  for his mercy endureth\nfor ever.\n\n117:2. Let Israel now say, that he is good:  that his mercy endureth for\never.\n\n117:3. Let the house of Aaron now say, that his mercy endureth for\never.\n\n117:4. Let them that fear the Lord now say, that his mercy endureth for\never.\n\n117:5. In my trouble I called upon the Lord:  and the Lord heard me, and\nenlarged me.\n\n117:6. The Lord is my helper:  I will not fear what man can do unto me.\n\n117:7. The Lord is my helper:  and I will look over my enemies.\n\n117:8. It is good to confide in the Lord, rather than to have\nconfidence in man.\n\n117:9. It is good to trust in the Lord, rather than to trust in\nprinces.\n\n117:10. All nations compassed me about; and, in the name of the Lord I\nhave been revenged on them.\n\n117:11. Surrounding me they compassed me about:  and in the name of the\nLord I have been revenged on them.\n\n117:12. They surrounded me like bees, and they burned like fire among\nthorns:  and in the name of the Lord I was revenged on them.\n\n117:13. Being pushed I was overturned that I might fall:  but the Lord\nsupported me.\n\n117:14. The Lord is my strength and my praise:  and he is become my\nsalvation.\n\n117:15. The voice of rejoicing and of salvation is in the tabernacles\nof the just.\n\n117:16. The right hand of the Lord hath wrought strength:  the right\nhand of the Lord hath exalted me:  the right hand of the Lord hath\nwrought strength.\n\n117:17. I shall not die, but live:  and shall declare the works of the\nLord.\n\n117:18. The Lord chastising hath chastised me:  but he hath not\ndelivered me over to death.\n\n117:19. Open ye to me the gates of justice:  I will go in to them, and\ngive praise to the Lord.\n\n117:20. This is the gate of the Lord, the just shall enter into it.\n\n117:21. I will give glory to thee because thou hast heard me:  and art\nbecome my salvation.\n\n117:22. The stone which the builders rejected; the same is become the\nhead of the corner.\n\n117:23. This is the Lord's doing , and it is wonderful in our eyes.\n\n117:24. This is the day which the Lord hath made:  let us be glad and\nrejoice therein.\n\n117:25. O Lord, save me:  O Lord, give good success.\n\n117:26. Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord.  We have\nblessed you out of the house of the Lord.\n\n117:27. The Lord is God, and he hath shone upon us.  Appoint a solemn\nday, with shady boughs, even to the horn of the altar.\n\n117:28. Thou art my God, and I will praise thee:  thou art my God, and I\nwill exalt thee.  I will praise thee, because thou hast heard me, and\nart become my salvation.\n\n117:29. O praise ye the Lord, for he is good:  for his mercy endureth\nfor ever.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 118\n\n\nBeati immaculati.\n\nOf the excellence of virtue consisting in the love and observance of\nthe commandments of God.\n\nAlleluia.\n\nALEPH.\n\nAleph. . .The first eight verses of this psalm in the original begin\nwith Aleph, which is the name of the first letter of the Hebrew\nalphabet.  The second eight verses begin with Beth, the name of the\nsecond letter of the Hebrew alphabet; and so to the end of the whole\nalphabet, in all twenty-two letters, each letter having eight verses.\nThis order is variously expounded by the holy fathers; which shews the\ndifficulty of understanding the holy scriptures, and consequently with\nwhat humility, and submission to the Church they are to be read.\n\n118:1. Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the\nLord.\n\n118:2. Blessed are they that search his testimonies:  that seek him with\ntheir whole heart.\n\nHis testimonies. . .The commandments of God are called his testimonies,\nbecause they testify his holy will unto us.  Note here, that in almost\nevery verse of this psalm (which in number are 176) the word and law of\nGod, and the love and observance of it, is perpetually inculcated,\nunder a variety of denominations, all signifying the same thing.\n\n118:3. For they that work iniquity, have not walked in his ways.\n\n118:4. Thou hast commanded thy commandments to be kept most diligently.\n\n118:5. O! that my ways may be directed to keep thy justifications.\n\n118:6. Then shall I not be confounded, when I shall look into all thy\ncommandments.\n\n118:7. I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have\nlearned the judgments of thy justice.\n\n118:8. I will keep thy justifications:  O! do not thou utterly forsake\nme.\n\nBETH.\n\n118:9. By what doth a young man correct his way?  by observing thy\nwords.\n\n118:10. With my whole heart have I sought after thee:  let me not stray\nfrom thy commandments.\n\n118:11. Thy words have I hidden in my heart, that I may not sin against\nthee.\n\n118:12. Blessed art thou, O Lord:  teach me thy justifications.\n\n118:13. With my lips I have pronounced all the judgments of thy mouth.\n\n118:14. I have been delighted in the way of thy testimonies, as in all\nriches.\n\n118:15. I will meditate on thy commandments:  and I will consider thy\nways.\n\n118:16. I will think of thy justifications:  I will not forget thy\nwords.\n\nGIMEL.\n\n118:17. Give bountifully to thy servant, enliven me:  and I shall keep\nthy words.\n\n118:18. Open thou my eyes:  and I will consider the wondrous things of\nthy law.\n\n118:19. I am a sojourner on the earth:  hide not thy commandments from\nme.\n\n118:20. My soul hath coveted to long for thy justifications, at all\ntimes.\n\n118:21. Thou hast rebuked the proud:  they are cursed who decline from\nthy commandments.\n\n118:22. Remove from me reproach and contempt:  because I have sought\nafter thy testimonies.\n\n118:23. For princes sat, and spoke against me:  but thy servant was\nemployed in thy justifications.\n\n118:24. For thy testimonies are my meditation:  and thy justifications\nmy counsel.\n\nDALETH.\n\n118:25. My soul hath cleaved to the pavement:  quicken thou me according\nto thy word.\n\n118:26. I have declared my ways, and thou hast heard me:  teach me thy\njustifications.\n\n118:27. Make me to understand the way of thy justifications:  and I\nshall be exercised in thy wondrous works.\n\n118:28. My soul hath slumbered through heaviness:  strengthen thou me in\nthy words.\n\n118:29. Remove from me the way of iniquity:  and out of thy law have\nmercy on me.\n\n118:30. I have chosen the way of truth:  thy judgments I have not\nforgotten.\n\n118:31. I have stuck to thy testimonies, O Lord:  put me not to shame.\n\n118:32. I have run the way of thy commandments, when thou didst enlarge\nmy heart.\n\nHE.\n\n118:33. Set before me for a law the way of thy justifications, O Lord:\nand I will always seek after it.\n\n118:34. Give me understanding, and I will search thy law; and I will\nkeep it with my whole heart.\n\n118:35. Lead me into the path of thy commandments; for this same I have\ndesired.\n\n118:36. Incline my heart into thy testimonies and not to covetousness.\n\n118:37. Turn away my eyes that they may not behold vanity:  quicken me\nin thy way.\n\n118:38. Establish thy word to thy servant, in thy fear.\n\n118:39. Turn away my reproach, which I have apprehended:  for thy\njudgments are delightful.\n\n118:40. Behold I have longed after thy precepts:  quicken me in thy\njustice.\n\nVAU.\n\n118:41. Let thy mercy also come upon me, O Lord:  thy salvation\naccording to thy word.\n\n118:42. So shall I answer them that reproach me in any thing; that I\nhave trusted in thy words.\n\n118:43. And take not thou the word of truth utterly out of my mouth:\nfor in thy words, I have hoped exceedingly.\n\n118:44. So shall I always keep thy law, for ever and ever.\n\n118:45. And I walked at large:  because I have sought after thy\ncommandments.\n\n118:46. And I spoke of thy testimonies before kings:  and I was not\nashamed.\n\n118:47. I meditated also on thy commandments, which I loved.\n\n118:48. And I lifted up my hands to thy commandments, which I loved:\nand I was exercised in thy justifications.\n\nZAIN.\n\n118:49. Be thou mindful of thy word to thy servant, in which thou hast\ngiven me hope.\n\n118:50. This hath comforted me in my humiliation:  because thy word hath\nenlivened me.\n\n118:51. The proud did iniquitously altogether:  but I declined not from\nthy law.\n\n118:52. I remembered, O Lord, thy judgments of old:  and I was\ncomforted.\n\n118:53. A fainting hath taken hold of me, because of the wicked that\nforsake thy law.\n\n118:54. Thy justifications were the subject of my song, in the place of\nmy pilgrimage.\n\n118:55. In the night I have remembered thy name, O Lord:  and have kept\nthy law.\n\n118:56. This happened to me:  because I sought after thy justifications.\n\nHETH.\n\n118:57. O Lord, my portion, I have said, I would keep thy law.\n\n118:58. I entreated thy face with all my heart:  have mercy on me\naccording to thy word.\n\n118:59. I have thought on my ways:  and turned my feet unto thy\ntestimonies.\n\n118:60. I am ready, and am not troubled:  that I may keep thy\ncommandments.\n\n118:61. The cords of the wicked have encompassed me:  but I have not\nforgotten thy law.\n\n118:62. I rose at midnight to give praise to thee; for the judgments of\nthy justification.\n\n118:63. I am a partaker with all them that fear thee, and that keep thy\ncommandments.\n\n118:64. The earth, O Lord, is full of thy mercy:  teach me thy\njustifications.\n\nTETH.\n\n118:65. Thou hast done well with thy servant, O Lord, according to thy\nword.\n\n118:66. Teach me goodness and discipline and knowledge; for I have\nbelieved thy commandments.\n\n118:67. Before I was humbled I offended; therefore have I kept thy\nword.\n\n118:68. Thou art good; and in thy goodness teach me thy justifications.\n\n118:69. The iniquity of the proud hath been multiplied over me:  but I\nwill seek thy commandments with my whole heart.\n\n118:70. Their heart is curdled like milk:  but I have meditated on thy\nlaw.\n\n118:71. It is good for me that thou hast humbled me, that I may learn\nthy justifications.\n\n118:72. The law of thy mouth is good to me, above thousands of gold and\nsilver.\n\nJOD.\n\n118:73. Thy hands have made me and formed me:  give me understanding,\nand I will learn thy commandments.\n\n118:74. They that fear thee shall see me, and shall be glad :  because I\nhave greatly hoped in thy words.\n\n118:75. I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are equity:  and in thy truth\nthou hast humbled me.\n\n118:76. O! let thy mercy be for my comfort, according to thy word unto\nthy servant.\n\n118:77. Let thy tender mercies come unto me, and I shall live:  for thy\nlaw is my meditation.\n\n118:78. Let the proud be ashamed, because they have done unjustly\ntowards me:  but I will be employed in thy commandments.\n\n118:79. Let them that fear thee turn to me:  and they that know thy\ntestimonies.\n\n118:80. Let my heart be undefiled in thy justifications, that I may not\nbe confounded.\n\nCAPH.\n\n118:81. My soul hath fainted after thy salvation:  and in thy word I\nhave very much hoped.\n\n118:82. My eyes have failed for thy word, saying:  When wilt thou\ncomfort me?\n\n118:83. For I am become like a bottle in the frost:  I have not\nforgotten thy justifications.\n\n118:84. How many are the days of thy servant:  when wilt thou execute\njudgment on them that persecute me?\n\n118:85. The wicked have told me fables:  but not as thy law.\n\n118:86. All thy statutes are truth:  they have persecuted me unjustly,\ndo thou help me.\n\n118:87. They had almost made an end of me upon earth:  but I have not\nforsaken thy commandments.\n\n118:88. Quicken thou me according to thy mercy:  and I shall keep the\ntestimonies of thy mouth.\n\nLAMED.\n\n118:89. For ever, O Lord, thy word standeth firm in heaven.\n\n118:90. Thy truth unto all generations:  thou hast founded the earth,\nand it continueth.\n\n118:91. By thy ordinance the day goeth on:  for all things serve thee.\n\n118:92. Unless thy law had been my meditation, I had then perhaps\nperished in my abjection.\n\n118:93. Thy justifications I will never forget:  for by them thou hast\ngiven me life.\n\n118:94. I am thine, save thou me:  for I have sought thy justifications.\n\n118:95. The wicked have waited for me to destroy me:  but I have\nunderstood thy testimonies.\n\n118:96. I have seen an end of all perfection:  thy commandment is\nexceeding broad.\n\nMEM.\n\n118:97. O how have I loved thy law, O Lord! it is my meditation all the\nday.\n\n118:98. Through thy commandment, thou hast made me wiser than my\nenemies:  for it is ever with me.\n\n118:99. I have understood more than all my teachers:  because thy\ntestimonies are my meditation.\n\n118:100. I have had understanding above ancients:  because I have sought\nthy commandments.\n\n118:101. I have restrained my feet from every evil way:  that I may keep\nthy words.\n\n118:102. I have not declined from thy judgments, because thou hast set\nme a law.\n\n118:103. How sweet are thy words to my palate! more than honey to my\nmouth.\n\n118:104. By thy commandments I have had understanding:  therefore have I\nhated every way of iniquity.\n\nNUN.\n\n118:105. Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my paths.\n\n118:106. I have sworn and am determined to keep the judgments of thy\njustice.\n\n118:107. I have been humbled, O Lord, exceedingly:  quicken thou me\naccording to thy word.\n\n118:108. The free offerings of my mouth make acceptable, O Lord:  and\nteach me thy judgments.\n\n118:109. My soul is continually in my hands:  and I have not forgotten\nthy law.\n\n118:110. Sinners have laid a snare for me:  but I have not erred from\nthy precepts.\n\n118:111. I have purchased thy testimonies for an inheritance for ever:\nbecause they are the joy of my heart.\n\n118:112. I have inclined my heart to do thy justifications for ever,\nfor the reward.\n\nSAMECH.\n\n118:113. I have hated the unjust:  and have loved thy law.\n\n118:114. Thou art my helper and my protector:  and in thy word I have\ngreatly hoped.\n\n118:115. Depart from me, ye malignant:  and I will search the\ncommandments of my God.\n\n118:116. Uphold me according to thy word, and I shall live:  and let me\nnot be confounded in my expectation.\n\n118:117. Help me, and I shall be saved:  and I will meditate always on\nthy justifications.\n\n118:118. Thou hast despised all them that fall off from thy judgments;\nfor their thought is unjust.\n\n118:119. I have accounted all the sinners of the earth prevaricators:\ntherefore have I loved thy testimonies.\n\n118:120. Pierce thou my flesh with thy fear:  for I am afraid of thy\njudgments.\n\nAIN.\n\n118:121. I have done judgment and justice:  give me not up to them that\nslander me.\n\n118:122. Uphold thy servant unto good:  let not the proud calumniate me.\n\n118:123. My eyes have fainted after thy salvation:  and for the word of\nthy justice.\n\n118:124. Deal with thy servant according to thy mercy:  and teach me thy\njustifications.\n\n118:125. I am thy servant:  give me understanding that I may know thy\ntestimonies.\n\n118:126. It is time, O Lord, to do:  they have dissipated thy law.\n\n118:127. Therefore have I loved thy commandments above gold and the\ntopaz.\n\n118:128. Therefore was I directed to all thy commandments:  I have hated\nall wicked ways.\n\nPHE.\n\n118:129. Thy testimonies are wonderful:  therefore my soul hath sought\nthem.\n\n118:130. The declaration of thy words giveth light:  and giveth\nunderstanding to little ones.\n\n118:131. I opened my mouth, and panted:  because I longed for thy\ncommandments.\n\n118:132. Look thou upon me, and have mercy on me according to the\njudgment of them that love thy name.\n\n118:133. Direct my steps according to thy word:  and let no iniquity\nhave dominion over me.\n\n118:134. Redeem me from the calumnies of men:  that I may keep thy\ncommandments.\n\n118:135. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant:  and teach me thy\njustifications.\n\n118:136. My eyes have sent forth springs of water:  because they have\nnot kept thy law.\n\nSADE.\n\n118:137. Thou art just, O Lord:  and thy judgment is right.\n\n118:138. Thou hast commanded justice thy testimonies:  and thy truth\nexceedingly.\n\n118:139. My zeal hath made me pine away:  because my enemies forgot thy\nwords.\n\n118:140. Thy word is exceedingly refined:  and thy servant hath loved\nit.\n\n118:141. I am very young and despised; but I forget not thy\njustifications.\n\n118:142. Thy justice is justice for ever:  and thy law is the truth.\n\n118:143. Trouble and anguish have found me:  thy commandments are my\nmeditation.\n\n118:144. Thy testimonies are justice for ever:  give me understanding,\nand I shall live.\n\nCOPH.\n\n118:145. I cried with my whole heart, hear me, O Lord:  I will seek thy\njustifications.\n\n118:146. I cried unto thee, save me:  that I may keep thy commandments.\n\n118:147. I prevented the dawning of the day, and cried:  because in thy\nwords I very much hoped.\n\n118:148. My eyes to thee have prevented the morning:  that I might\nmeditate on thy words.\n\n118:149. Hear thou my voice, O Lord, according to thy mercy:  and\nquicken me according to thy judgment.\n\n118:150. They that persecute me have drawn nigh to iniquity; but they\nare gone far off from thy law.\n\n118:151. Thou art near, O Lord:  and all thy ways are truth.\n\n118:152. I have known from the beginning concerning thy testimonies:\nthat thou hast founded them for ever.\n\nRES.\n\n118:153. See my humiliation and deliver me for I have not forgotten thy\nlaw.\n\n118:154. Judge my judgment and redeem me:  quicken thou me for thy\nword's sake.\n\n118:155. Salvation is far from sinners; because they have not sought\nthy justifications.\n\n118:156. Many, O Lord, are thy mercies:  quicken me according to thy\njudgment.\n\n118:157. Many are they that persecute me and afflict me; but I have not\ndeclined from thy testimonies.\n\n118:158. I beheld the transgressors, and pined away; because they kept\nnot thy word.\n\n118:159. Behold I have loved thy commandments, O Lord; quicken me thou\nin thy mercy.\n\n118:160. The beginning of thy words is truth:  all the judgments of thy\njustice are for ever.\n\nSIN.\n\n118:161. Princes have persecuted me without cause:  and my heart hath\nbeen in awe of thy words.\n\n118:162. I will rejoice at thy words, as one that hath found great\nspoil.\n\n118:163. I have hated and abhorred iniquity; but I have loved thy law.\n\n118:164. Seven times a day I have given praise to thee, for the\njudgments of thy justice.\n\n118:165. Much peace have they that love thy law, and to them there is\nno stumbling.  block.\n\n118:166. I looked for thy salvation, O Lord:  and I loved thy\ncommandments.\n\n118:167. My soul hath kept thy testimonies and hath loved them\nexceedingly.\n\n118:168. I have kept thy commandments and thy testimonies:  because all\nmy ways are in thy sight.\n\nTAU.\n\n118:169. Let my supplication, O Lord, come near in thy sight:  give me\nunderstanding according to thy word.\n\n118:170. Let my request come in before thee; deliver thou me according\nto thy word.\n\n118:171. My lips shall utter a hymn, when thou shalt teach me thy\njustifications.\n\n118:172. My tongue shall pronounce thy word:  because all thy\ncommandments are justice.\n\n118:173. Let thy hand be with me to save me; for I have chosen thy\nprecepts.\n\n118:174. I have longed for thy salvation, O Lord; and thy law is my\nmeditation.\n\n118:175. My soul shall live and shall praise thee:  and thy judgments\nshall help me.\n\n118:176. I have gone astray like a sheep that is lost:  seek thy\nservant, because I have not forgotten thy commandments.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 119\n\n\nAd Dominum.\n\nA prayer in tribulation.\n\nA gradual canticle.\n\nA gradual canticle. . .The following psalms, in number fifteen, are\ncalled gradual psalms, or canticles, from the word gradus, signifying\nsteps, ascensions, or degrees:  either because they were appointed to be\nsung on the fifteen steps, by which the people ascended to the temple:\nor, that in the singing of them the voice was to be raised by certain\nsteps or ascensions:  or, that they were to be sung by the people\nreturning from their captivity and ascending to Jerusalem, which was\nseated amongst mountains.  The holy fathers, in a mystical sense,\nunderstand these steps, or ascensions, of the degrees by which\nChristians spiritually ascend to virtue and perfection; and to the true\ntemple of God in the heavenly Jerusalem.\n\n119:1. In my trouble I cried to the Lord:  and he heard me.\n\n119:2. O Lord, deliver my soul from wicked lips, and a deceitful\ntongue.\n\n119:3. What shall be given to thee, or what shall be added to thee, to\na deceitful tongue?\n\n119:4. The sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals that lay waste.\n\n119:5. Woe is me, that my sojourning is prolonged!  I have dwelt with\nthe inhabitants of Cedar:\n\n119:6. My soul hath been long a sojourner.\n\n119:7. With them that hated peace I was peaceable:  when I spoke to them\nthey fought against me without cause.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 120\n\n\nLevavi oculos.\n\nGod is the keeper of his servants.\n\nA gradual canticle.\n\n120:1. I have lifted up my eyes to the mountains, from whence help\nshall come to me.\n\n120:2. My help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.\n\n120:3. May he not suffer thy foot to be moved:  neither let him slumber\nthat keepeth thee.\n\n120:4. Behold he shall neither slumber nor sleep, that keepeth Israel.\n\n120:5. The Lord is thy keeper, the Lord is thy protection upon thy\nright hand.\n\n120:6. The sun shall not burn thee by day:  nor the moon by night.\n\n120:7. The Lord keepeth thee from all evil:  may the Lord keep thy soul.\n\n120:8. May the Lord keep thy coming in and thy going out; from\nhenceforth now and for ever.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 121\n\n\nLaetatus sum in his.\n\nThe desire and hope of the just for the coming of the kingdom of God,\nand the peace of his church.\n\n121:1. A gradual canticle.\n\nI rejoiced at the things that were said to me:  We shall go into the\nhouse of the Lord.\n\n121:2. Our feet were standing in thy courts, O Jerusalem.\n\n121:3. Jerusalem, which is built as a city, which is compact together.\n\n121:4. For thither did the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord:  the\ntestimony of Israel, to praise the name of the Lord.\n\n121:5. Because their seats have sat in judgment, seats upon the house\nof David.\n\n121:6. Pray ye for the things that are for the peace of Jerusalem:  and\nabundance for them that love thee.\n\n121:7. Let peace be in thy strength:  and abundance in thy towers.\n\n121:8. For the sake of my brethren, and of my neighbours, I spoke peace\nof thee.\n\n121:9. Because of the house of the Lord our God, I have sought good\nthings for thee.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 122\n\n\nAd te levavi.\n\nA prayer in affliction, with confidence in God.\n\nA gradual canticle.\n\n122:1. To thee have I lifted up my eyes, who dwellest in heaven.\n\n122:2. Behold as the eyes of servants are on the hands of their\nmasters, As the eyes of the handmaid are on the hands of her mistress:\nso are our eyes unto the Lord our God, until he have mercy on us.\n\n122:3. Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us:  for we are greatly\nfilled with contempt.\n\n122:4. For our soul is greatly filled:  we are a reproach to the rich,\nand contempt to the proud.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 123\n\n\nNisi quia Domini.\n\nThe church giveth glory to God for her deliverance, from the hands of\nher enemies.\n\n123:1. A gradual canticle.  If it had not been that the Lord was with\nus, let Israel now say:\n\n123:2. If it had not been that the Lord was with us, When men rose up\nagainst us,\n\n123:3. Perhaps they had swallowed us up alive.  When their fury was\nenkindled against us,\n\n123:4. Perhaps the waters had swallowed us up.\n\n123:5. Our soul hath passed through a torrent:  perhaps our soul had\npassed through a water insupportable.\n\n123:6. Blessed be the Lord, who hath not given us to be a prey to their\nteeth.\n\n123:7. Our soul hath been delivered as a sparrow out of the snare of\nthe fowlers.  The snare is broken, and we are delivered.\n\n123:8. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 124\n\n\nQui confidunt.\n\nThe just are always under God's protection.\n\n124:1. A gradual canticle.  They that trust in the Lord shall be as\nmount Sion:  he shall not be moved for ever that dwelleth\n\n124:2. In Jerusalem.  Mountains are round about it:  so the Lord is round\nabout his people from henceforth now and for ever.\n\n124:3. For the Lord will not leave the rod of sinners upon the lot of\nthe just:  that the just may not stretch forth their hands to iniquity.\n\n124:4. Do good, O Lord, to those that are good, and to the upright of\nheart.\n\n124:5. But such as turn aside into bonds, the Lord shall lead out with\nthe workers of iniquity:  peace upon Israel.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 125\n\n\nIn convertendo.\n\nThe people of God rejoice at their delivery from captivity.\n\n125:1. A gradual canticle.  When the Lord brought back the captivity of\nSion, we became like men comforted.\n\n125:2. Then was our mouth filled with gladness; and our tongue with\njoy.  Then shall they say among the Gentiles:  The Lord hath done great\nthings for them.\n\n125:3. The Lord hath done great things for us:  we are become joyful.\n\n125:4. Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as a stream in the south.\n\n125:5. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.\n\n125:6. Going they went and wept, casting their seeds.\n\n125:7. But coming they shall come with joyfulness, carrying their\nsheaves.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 126\n\n\nNisi Dominus.\n\nNothing can be done without God's grace and blessing.\n\n126:1. A gradual canticle of Solomon.  Unless the Lord build the house,\nthey labour in vain that build it.  Unless the Lord keep the city, he\nwatcheth in vain that keepeth it.\n\n126:2. It is vain for you to rise before light, rise ye after you have\nsitten, you that eat the bread of sorrow.  When he shall give sleep to\nhis beloved,\n\nIt is vain for you to rise before light. . .That is, your early rising,\nyour labour and worldly solicitude, will be vain, that is, will avail\nyou nothing, without the light, grace, and blessing of God.\n\n126:3. Behold the inheritance of the Lord are children:  the reward, the\nfruit of the womb.\n\n126:4. As arrows in the hand of the mighty, so the children of them\nthat have been shaken.\n\n126:5. Blessed is the man that hath filled the desire with them; he\nshall not be confounded when he shall speak to his enemies in the gate.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 127\n\n\nBeati omnes.\n\nThe fear of God is the way to happiness.\n\n127:1. A gradual canticle.  Blessed are all they that fear the Lord:\nthat walk in his ways.\n\n127:2. For thou shalt eat the labours of thy hands:  blessed art thou,\nand it shall be well with thee.\n\n127:3. Thy wife as a fruitful vine, on the sides of thy house.  Thy\nchildren as olive plants, round about thy table.\n\n127:4. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord.\n\n127:5. May the Lord bless thee out of Sion:  and mayst thou see the good\nthings of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.\n\n127:6. And mayst thou see thy children's children, peace upon Israel.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 128\n\n\nSaepe expugnaverunt.\n\nThe church of God is invincible :  her persecutors come to nothing.\n\n128:1. A gradual canticle.  Often have they fought against me from my\nyouth, let Israel now say.\n\n128:2. Often have they fought against me from my youth:  but they could\nnot prevail over me.\n\n128:3. The wicked have wrought upon my back:  they have lengthened their\niniquity.\n\n128:4. The Lord who is just will cut the necks of sinners:\n\n128:5. Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Sion.\n\n128:6. Let them be as grass upon the tops of houses:  which withereth\nbefore it be plucked up:\n\n128:7. Who with the mower filleth not his hand:  nor he that gathereth\nsheaves his bosom.\n\n128:8. And they that passed by have not said:  The blessing of the Lord\nbe upon you:  we have blessed you in the name of the Lord.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 129\n\n\nDe profundis.\n\nA prayer of a sinner, trusting in the mercies of God.  The sixth\npenitential psalm.\n\n129:1. A gradual canticle.  Out of the depths I have cried to thee, O\nLord:\n\n129:2. Lord, hear my voice.  Let thy ears be attentive to the voice of\nmy supplication.\n\n129:3. If thou, O Lord, wilt mark iniquities:  Lord, who shall stand it.\n\n129:4. For with thee there is merciful forgiveness:  and by reason of\nthy law, I have waited for thee, O Lord.  My soul hath relied on his\nword:\n\n129:5. my soul hath hoped in the Lord.\n\n129:6. From the morning watch even until night, let Israel hope in the\nLord.\n\n129:7. Because with the Lord there is mercy:  and with him plentiful\nredemption.\n\n129:8. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 130\n\n\nDomine, none est.\n\nThe prophet's humility.\n\n130:1. A gradual canticle of David.  Lord, my heart is not exalted:  nor\nare my eyes lofty.  Neither have I walked in great matters, nor in\nwonderful things above me.\n\n130:2. If I was not humbly minded, but exalted my soul:  As a child that\nis weaned is towards his mother, so reward in my soul.\n\n130:3. Let Israel hope in the Lord, from henceforth now and for ever.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 131\n\n\nMemento, Domine.\n\nA prayer for the fulfilling of the promise made to David.\n\n131:1. A gradual canticle.  O Lord, remember David, and all his\nmeekness.\n\n131:2. How he swore to the Lord, he vowed a vow to the God of Jacob:\n\n131:3. If I shall enter into the tabernacle of my house:  if I shall go\nup into the bed wherein I lie:\n\n131:4. If I shall give sleep to my eyes, or slumber to my eyelids,\n\n131:5. Or rest to my temples:  until I find out a place for the Lord, a\ntabernacle for the God of Jacob.\n\n131:6. Behold we have heard of it in Ephrata:  we have found it in the\nfields of the wood.\n\nWe have heard of it in Ephrata. . .When I was young, and lived in\nBethlehem, otherwise called Ephrata, I heard of God's tabernacle and\nark, and had a devout desire of seeking it; and accordingly I found it\nat Cariathiarim, the city of the woods:  where it was till it was\nremoved to Jerusalem.  See 1 Par. 13.\n\n131:7. We will go into his tabernacle:  we will adore in the place where\nhis feet stood.\n\n131:8. Arise, O Lord, into thy resting place:  thou and the ark, which\nthou hast sanctified.\n\n131:9. Let thy priests be clothed with justice:  and let thy saints\nrejoice.\n\n131:10. For thy servant David's sake, turn not away the face of thy\nanointed.\n\n131:11. The Lord hath sworn truth to David, and he will not make it\nvoid:  of the fruit of thy womb I will set upon thy throne.\n\n131:12. If thy children will keep my covenant, and these my testimonies\nwhich I shall teach them:  Their children also for evermore shall sit\nupon thy throne.\n\n131:13. For the Lord hath chosen Sion:  he hath chosen it for his\ndwelling.\n\n131:14. This is my rest for ever and ever:  here will I dwell, for I\nhave chosen it.\n\n131:15. Blessing I will bless her widow:  I will satisfy her poor with\nbread.\n\n131:16. I will clothe her priests with salvation, and her saints shall\nrejoice with exceeding great joy.\n\n131:17. There will I bring forth a horn to David:  I have prepared a\nlamp for my anointed.\n\n131:18. His enemies I will clothe with confusion:  but upon him shall my\nsanctification flourish.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 132\n\n\nEcce quam bonum.\n\nThe happiness of brotherly love and concord.\n\n132:1. A gradual canticle of David.  Behold how good and how pleasant it\nis for brethren to dwell together in unity:\n\n132:2. Like the precious ointment on the head, that ran down upon the\nbeard, the beard of Aaron, Which ran down to the skirt of his garment:\n\n132:3. As the dew of Hermon, which descendeth upon mount Sion.  For\nthere the Lord hath commanded blessing, and life for evermore.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 133\n\n\nEcce nunc benedicite.\n\nAn exhortation to praise God continually.\n\n133:1. A gradual canticle.  Behold now bless ye the Lord, all ye\nservants of the Lord:  Who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts\nof the house of our God.\n\n133:2. In the nights lift up your hands to the holy places, and bless\nye the Lord.\n\n133:3. May the Lord out of Sion bless thee, he that made heaven and\nearth.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 134\n\n\nLaudate nomen.\n\nAn exhortation to praise God:  the vanity of idols.\n\n134:1. Alleluia.  Praise ye the name of the Lord:  O you his servants,\npraise the Lord:\n\n134:2. You that stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the\nhouse of our God.\n\n134:3. Praise ye the Lord, for the Lord is good:  sing ye to his name,\nfor it is sweet.\n\n134:4. For the Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself:  Israel for his own\npossession.\n\n134:5. For I have known that the Lord is great, and our God is above\nall gods.\n\n134:6. Whatsoever the Lord pleased he hath done, in heaven, in earth,\nin the sea, and in all the deeps.\n\n134:7. He bringeth up clouds from the end of the earth:  he hath made\nlightnings for the rain.  He bringeth forth winds out of his stores:\n\n134:8. He slew the firstborn of Egypt from man even unto beast.\n\n134:9. He sent forth signs and wonders in the midst of thee, O Egypt:\nupon Pharao, and upon all his servants.\n\n134:10. He smote many nations, and slew mighty kings:\n\n134:11. Sehon king of the Amorrhites, and Og king of Basan, and all the\nkingdoms of Chanaan.\n\n134:12. And gave their land for an inheritance, for an inheritance to\nhis people Israel.\n\n134:13. Thy name, O Lord, is for ever:  thy memorial, O Lord, unto all\ngenerations.\n\n134:14. For the Lord will judge his people, and will be entreated in\nfavour of his servants.\n\n134:15. The idols of the Gentiles are silver and gold, the works of\nmen's hands.\n\n134:16. They have a mouth, but they speak not:  they have eyes, but they\nsee not.\n\n134:17. They have ears, but they hear not:  neither is there any breath\nin their mouths.\n\n134:18. Let them that make them be like to them:  and every one that\ntrusteth in them.\n\n134:19. Bless the Lord, O house of Israel:  bless the Lord, O house of\nAaron.\n\n134:20. Bless the Lord, O house of Levi:  you that fear the Lord, bless\nthe Lord.\n\n134:21. Blessed be the Lord out of Sion, who dwelleth in Jerusalem.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 135\n\n\nConfitemini Domino.\n\nGod is to be praised for his wonderful works.\n\n135:1. Alleluia.  Praise the Lord, for he is good:  for his mercy\nendureth for ever.\n\nPraise the Lord. . .By this invitation to praise the Lord, thrice\nrepeated, we profess the Blessed Trinity, One God in three distinct\nPersons, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost.\n\n135:2. Praise ye the God of gods:  for his mercy endureth for ever.\n\n135:3. Praise ye the Lord of lords:  for his mercy endureth for ever.\n\n135:4. Who alone doth great wonders:  for his mercy endureth for ever.\n\n135:5. Who made the heavens in understanding:  for his mercy endureth\nfor ever.\n\n135:6. Who established the earth above the waters:  for his mercy\nendureth for ever.\n\n135:7. Who made the great lights:  for his mercy endureth for ever.\n\n135:8. The sun to rule the day:  for his mercy endureth for ever.\n\n135:9. The moon and the stars to rule the night:  for his mercy endureth\nfor ever.\n\n135:10. Who smote Egypt with their firstborn:  for his mercy endureth\nfor ever.\n\n135:11. Who brought out Israel from among them:  for his mercy endureth\nfor ever.\n\n135:12. With a mighty hand and with a stretched out arm:  for his mercy\nendureth for ever.\n\n135:13. Who divided the Red Sea into parts:  for his mercy endureth for\never.\n\n135:14. And brought out Israel through the midst thereof:  for his mercy\nendureth for ever.\n\n135:15. And overthrew Pharao and his host in the Red Sea:  for his mercy\nendureth for ever.\n\n135:16. Who led his people through the desert:  for his mercy endureth\nfor ever.\n\n135:17. Who smote great kings:  for his mercy endureth for ever.\n\n135:18. And slew strong kings:  for his mercy endureth for ever.\n\n135:19. Sehon king of the Amorrhites:  for his mercy endureth for ever.\n\n135:20. And Og king of Basan:  for his mercy endureth for ever.\n\n135:21. And he gave their land for an inheritance:  for his mercy\nendureth for ever.\n\n135:22. For an inheritance to his servant Israel:  for his mercy\nendureth for ever.\n\n135:23. For he was mindful of us in our affliction:  for his mercy\nendureth for ever.\n\n135:24. And he redeemed us from our enemies:  for his mercy endureth for\never.\n\n135:25. Who giveth food to all flesh:  for his mercy endureth for ever.\n\n135:26. Give glory to the God of heaven:  for his mercy endureth for\never.\n\n135:27. Give glory to the Lord of lords:  for his mercy endureth for\never.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 136\n\n\nSuper flumina.\n\nThe lamentation of the people of God in their captivity in Babylon.\n\nA psalm of David, for Jeremias.\n\nFor Jeremias. . .For the time of Jeremias, and the captivity of Babylon.\n\n136:1. Upon the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept:  when we\nremembered Sion:\n\n136:2. On the willows in the midst thereof we hung up our instruments.\n\n136:3. For there they that led us into captivity required of us the\nwords of songs.  And they that carried us away, said:  Sing ye to us a\nhymn of the songs of Sion.\n\n136:4. How shall we sing the song of the Lord in a strange land?\n\n136:5. If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand be forgotten.\n\n136:6. Let my tongue cleave to my jaws, if I do not remember thee:  If I\nmake not Jerusalem the beginning of my joy.\n\n136:7. Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom, in the day of Jerusalem:\nWho say:  Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.\n\n136:8. O daughter of Babylon, miserable:  blessed shall he be who shall\nrepay thee thy payment which thou hast paid us.\n\n136:9. Blessed be he that shall take and dash thy little ones against\nthe rock.\n\nDash thy little ones, etc. . .In the spiritual sense, we dash the little\nones of Babylon against the rock, when we mortify our passions, and\nstifle the first motions of them, by a speedy recourse to the rock\nwhich is Christ.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 137\n\n\nConfitebor tibi.\n\nThanksgiving to God for his benefits.\n\n137:1. For David himself.  I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole\nheart:  for thou hast heard the words of my mouth.  I will sing praise to\nthee in the sight of the angels:\n\n137:2. I will worship towards thy holy temple, and I will give glory to\nthy name.  For thy mercy, and for thy truth:  for thou hast magnified thy\nholy name above all.\n\n137:3. In what day soever I shall call upon thee, hear me:  thou shalt\nmultiply strength in my soul.\n\n137:4. May all the kings of the earth give glory to thee:  for they have\nheard all the words of thy mouth.\n\n137:5. And let them sing in the ways of the Lord:  for great is the\nglory of the Lord.\n\n137:6. For the Lord is high, and looketh on the low:  and the high he\nknoweth afar off.\n\n137:7. If I shall walk in the midst of tribulation, thou wilt quicken\nme:  and thou hast stretched forth thy hand against the wrath of my\nenemies:  and thy right hand hath saved me.\n\n137:8. The Lord will repay for me:  thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for\never:  O despise not the works of thy hands.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 138\n\n\nDomine, probasti.\n\nGod's special providence over his servants.\n\n138:1. Unto the end, a psalm of David.  Lord, thou hast proved me, and\nknown me:\n\n138:2. Thou hast known my sitting down, and my rising up.\n\n138:3. Thou hast understood my thoughts afar off:  my path and my line\nthou hast searched out.\n\n138:4. And thou hast foreseen all my ways:  for there is no speech in my\ntongue.\n\nThere is no speech, etc. . .Viz., unknown to thee:  or when there is no\nspeech in my tongue; yet my whole interior and my most secret thoughts\nare known to thee.\n\n138:5. Behold, O Lord, thou hast known all things, the last and those\nof old:  thou hast formed me, and hast laid thy hand upon me.\n\n138:6. Thy knowledge is become wonderful to me:  it is high, and I\ncannot reach to it.\n\n138:7. Whither shall I go from thy spirit?  or whither shall I flee from\nthy face?\n\n138:8. If I ascend into heaven, thou art there:  if I descend into hell,\nthou art present.\n\n138:9. If I take my wings early in the morning, and dwell in the\nuttermost parts of the sea:\n\n138:10. Even there also shall thy hand lead me:  and thy right hand\nshall hold me.\n\n138:11. And I said:  Perhaps darkness shall cover me:  and night shall be\nmy light in my pleasures.\n\n138:12. But darkness shall not be dark to thee, and night shall be\nlight all the day:  the darkness thereof, and the light thereof are\nalike to thee.\n\n138:13. For thou hast possessed my reins:  thou hast protected me from\nmy mother's womb.\n\n138:14. I will praise thee, for thou art fearfully magnified:  wonderful\nare thy works, and my soul knoweth right well.\n\n138:15. My bone is not hidden from thee, which thou hast made in\nsecret:  and my substance in the lower parts of the earth.\n\n138:16. Thy eyes did see my imperfect being, and in thy book all shall\nbe written:  days shall be formed, and no one in them.\n\n138:17. But to me thy friends, O God, are made exceedingly honourable:\ntheir principality is exceedingly strengthened.\n\n138:18. I will number them, and they shall be multiplied above the\nsand, I rose up and am still with thee.\n\n138:19. If thou wilt kill the wicked, O God:  ye men of blood, depart\nfrom me:\n\n138:20. Because you say in thought:  They shall receive thy cities in\nvain.\n\nBecause you say in thought, etc. . .Depart from me, you wicked, who plot\nagainst the servants of God, and think to cast them out of the cities\nof their habitation; as if they have received them in vain, and to no\npurpose.\n\n138:21. Have I not hated them, O Lord, that hated thee:  and pined away\nbecause of thy enemies?\n\n138:22. I have hated them with a perfect hatred:  and they are become\nenemies to me.\n\nI have hated them. . .Not with an hatred of malice, but a zeal for the\nobservance of God's commandments; which he saw were despised by the\nwicked, who are to be considered enemies to God.\n\n138:23. Prove me, O God, and know my heart:  examine me, and know my\npaths.\n\n138:24. And see if there be in me the way of iniquity:  and lead me in\nthe eternal way.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 139\n\n\nEripe me, Domine.\n\nA prayer to be delivered from the wicked.\n\n139:1. Unto the end, a psalm of David.\n\n139:2. Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man:  rescue me from the unjust\nman.\n\n139:3. Who have devised iniquities in their hearts:  all the day long\nthey designed battles.\n\n139:4. They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent:  the venom of\nasps is under their lips.\n\n139:5. Keep me, O Lord, from the hand of the wicked:  and from unjust\nmen deliver me.  Who have proposed to supplant my steps:\n\n139:6. The proud have hidden a net for me.  And they have stretched out\ncords for a snare:  they have laid for me a stumblingblock by the\nwayside.\n\n139:7. I said to the Lord:  Thou art my God:  hear, O Lord, the voice of\nmy supplication.\n\n139:8. O Lord, Lord, the strength of my salvation:  thou hast\novershadowed my head in the day of battle.\n\n139:9. Give me not up, O Lord, from my desire to the wicked:  they have\nplotted against me; do not thou forsake me, lest they should triumph.\n\n139:10. The head of them compassing me about:  the labour of their lips\nshall overwhelm them.\n\n139:11. Burning coals shall fall upon them; thou wilt cast them down\ninto the fire:  in miseries they shall not be able to stand.\n\n139:12. A man full of tongue shall not be established in the earth:\nevil shall catch the unjust man unto destruction.\n\n139:13. I know that the Lord will do justice to the needy, and will\nrevenge the poor.\n\n139:14. But as for the just, they shall give glory to thy name:  and the\nupright shall dwell with thy countenance.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 140\n\n\nDomine, clamavi.\n\nA prayer against sinful words, and deceitful flatterers.\n\nA psalm of David.\n\n140:1. I have cried to thee, O Lord, hear me:  hearken to my voice, when\nI cry to thee.\n\n140:2. Let my prayer be directed as incense in thy sight; the lifting\nup of my hands, as evening sacrifice.\n\n140:3. Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth:  and a door round about my\nlips.\n\n140:4. Incline not my heart to evil words; to make excuses in sins.\nWith men that work iniquity:  and I will not communicate with the\nchoicest of them.\n\n140:5. The just man shall correct me in mercy, and shall reprove me:\nbut let not the oil of the sinner fatten my head.  For my prayer shall\nstill be against the things with which they are well pleased:\n\nLet not the oil of the sinner, etc. . .That is, the flattery, or\ndeceitful praise.--Ibid.  For my prayer, etc. . .So far from coveting\ntheir praises, who are never well pleased but with things that are\nevil; I shall continually pray to be preserved from such things as they\nare delighted with.\n\n140:6. Their judges falling upon the rock have been swallowed up.  They\nshall hear my words, for they have prevailed:\n\nTheir judges, etc. . .Their rulers, or chiefs, quickly vanish and\nperish, like ships dashed against the rocks, and swallowed up by the\nwaves.  Let them then hear my words, for they are powerful and will\nprevail; or, as it is in the Hebrew, for they are sweet.\n\n140:7. As when the thickness of the earth is broken up upon the ground:\nOur bones are scattered by the side of hell.\n\n140:8. But to thee, O Lord, Lord, are my eyes:  in thee have I put my\ntrust, take not away my soul.\n\n140:9. Keep me from the snare, which they have laid for me, and from\nthe stumblingblocks of them that work iniquity.\n\n140:10. The wicked shall fall in his net:  I am alone until I pass.\n\nI am alone, etc. . .Singularly protected by the Almighty, until I pass\nall their nets and snares.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 141\n\n\nVoce mea.\n\nA prayer of David in extremity of danger.\n\n141:1. Of understanding for David, A prayer when he was in the cave.  [1\nKings 24.]\n\n141:2. I cried to the Lord with my voice:  with my voice I made\nsupplication to the Lord.\n\n141:3. In his sight I pour out my prayer, and before him I declare my\ntrouble:\n\n141:4. When my spirit failed me, then thou knewest my paths.  In this\nway wherein I walked, they have hidden a snare for me.\n\n141:5. I looked on my right hand, and beheld, and there was no one that\nwould know me.  Flight hath failed me:  and there is no one that hath\nregard to my soul.\n\n141:6. I cried to thee, O Lord:  I said:  Thou art my hope, my portion in\nthe land of the living.\n\n141:7. Attend to my supplication:  for I am brought very low.  Deliver me\nfrom my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.\n\n141:8. Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name:  the\njust wait for me, until thou reward me.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 142\n\n\nDomine, exaudi.\n\nThe psalmist in tribulation calleth upon God for his delivery.  The\nseventh penitential psalm.\n\n142:1. A psalm of David, when his son Absalom pursued him.  [2 Kings 17.]\nHear, O Lord, my prayer:  give ear to my supplication in thy truth:\nhear me in thy justice.\n\n142:2. And enter not into judgment with thy servant:  for in thy sight\nno man living shall be justified.\n\n142:3. For the enemy hath persecuted my soul:  he hath brought down my\nlife to the earth.  He hath made me to dwell in darkness as those that\nhave been dead of old:\n\n142:4. And my spirit is in anguish within me:  my heart within me is\ntroubled.\n\n142:5. I remembered the days of old, I meditated on all thy works:  I\nmeditated upon the works of thy hands.\n\n142:6. I stretched forth my hands to thee:  my soul is as earth without\nwater unto thee.\n\n142:7. Hear me speedily, O Lord:  my spirit hath fainted away.  Turn not\naway thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the\npit.\n\n142:8. Cause me to hear thy mercy in the morning; for in thee have I\nhoped.  Make the way known to me, wherein I should walk:  for I have\nlifted up my soul to thee.\n\n142:9. Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord, to thee have I fled:\n\n142:10. Teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God.  Thy good spirit\nshall lead me into the right land:\n\n142:11. for thy name's sake, O Lord, thou wilt quicken me in thy justice.\nThou wilt bring my soul out of trouble:\n\n142:12. And in thy mercy thou wilt destroy my enemies.  And thou wilt\ncut off all them that afflict my soul:  for I am thy servant.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 143\n\n\nBenedictus Dominus.\n\nThe prophet praiseth God, and prayeth to be delivered from his enemies.\nNo worldly happiness is to be compared with that of serving God.\n\nA psalm of David against Goliath.\n\n143:1. Blessed be the Lord my God, who teacheth my hands to fight, and\nmy fingers to war.\n\n143:2. My mercy, and my refuge:  my support, and my deliverer:  My\nprotector, and I have hoped in him:  who subdueth my people under me.\n\n143:3. Lord, what is man, that thou art made known to him?  or the son\nof man, that thou makest account of him?\n\n143:4. Man is like to vanity:  his days pass away like a shadow.\n\n143:5. Lord, bow down thy heavens and descend:  touch the mountains, and\nthey shall smoke.\n\n143:6. Send forth lightning, and thou shalt scatter them:  shoot out thy\narrows, and thou shalt trouble them.\n\n143:7. Put forth thy hand from on high, take me out, and deliver me\nfrom many waters:  from the hand of strange children:\n\n143:8. Whose mouth hath spoken vanity:  and their right hand is the\nright hand of iniquity.\n\n143:9. To thee, O God, I will sing a new canticle:  on the psaltery and\nan instrument of ten strings I will sing praises to thee.\n\n143:10. Who givest salvation to kings:  who hast redeemed thy servant\nDavid from the malicious sword:\n\n143:11. Deliver me, And rescue me out of the hand of strange children;\nwhose mouth hath spoken vanity:  and their right hand is the right hand\nof iniquity:\n\n143:12. Whose sons are as new plants in their youth:  Their daughters\ndecked out, adorned round about after the similitude of a temple:\n\n143:13. Their storehouses full, flowing out of this into that.  Their\nsheep fruitful in young, abounding in their goings forth:\n\n143:14. Their oxen fat.  There is no breach of wall, nor passage, nor\ncrying out in their streets.\n\n143:15. They have called the people happy, that hath these things:  but\nhappy is that people whose God is the Lord.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 144\n\n\nExaltabo te, Deus.\n\nA psalm of praise, to the infinite majesty of God.\n\n144:1. Praise, for David himself.  I will extol thee, O God my king:  and\nI will bless thy name for ever; yea, for ever and ever.\n\n144:2. Every day will I bless thee:  and I will praise thy name for\never; yea, for ever and ever.\n\n144:3. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised:  and of his\ngreatness there is no end.\n\n144:4. Generation and generation shall praise thy works:  and they shall\ndeclare thy power.\n\n144:5. They shall speak of the magnificence of the glory of thy\nholiness:  and shall tell thy wondrous works.\n\n144:6. And they shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts:  and\nshall declare thy greatness.\n\n144:7. They shall publish the memory of the abundance of thy sweetness:\nand shall rejoice in thy justice.\n\n144:8. The Lord is gracious and merciful:  patient and plenteous in\nmercy.\n\n144:9. The Lord is sweet to all:  and his tender mercies are over all\nhis works.\n\n144:10. Let all thy works, O lord, praise thee:  and let thy saints\nbless thee.\n\n144:11. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom:  and shall tell of\nthy power:\n\n144:12. To make thy might known to the sons of men:  and the glory of\nthe magnificence of thy kingdom.\n\n144:13. Thy kingdom is a kingdom of all ages:  and thy dominion endureth\nthroughout all generations.  The Lord is faithful in all his words:  and\nholy in all his works.\n\n144:14. The Lord lifteth up all that fall:  and setteth up all that are\ncast down.\n\n144:15. The eyes of all hope in thee, O Lord:  and thou givest them meat\nin due season.\n\n144:16. Thou openest thy hand, and fillest with blessing every living\ncreature.\n\n144:17. The Lord is just in all his ways:  and holy in all his works.\n\n144:18. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him:  to all that\ncall upon him in truth.\n\n144:19. He will do the will of them that fear him:  and he will hear\ntheir prayer, and save them.\n\n144:20. The Lord keepeth all them that love him; but all the wicked he\nwill destroy.\n\n144:21. My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord:  and let all flesh\nbless his holy name forever; yea, for ever and ever.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 145\n\n\nLauda, anima.\n\nWe are not to trust in men, but in God alone.\n\n145:1. Alleluia, of Aggeus and Zacharias.\n\n145:2. Praise the Lord, O my soul, in my life I will praise the Lord:  I\nwill sing to my God as long as I shall be.  Put not your trust in\nprinces:\n\n145:3. In the children of men, in whom there is no salvation.\n\n145:4. His spirit shall go forth, and he shall return into his earth:\nin that day all their thoughts shall perish.\n\n145:5. Blessed is he who hath the God of Jacob for his helper, whose\nhope is in the Lord his God:\n\n145:6. Who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all things that are in\nthem.\n\n145:7. Who keepeth truth for ever:  who executeth judgment for them that\nsuffer wrong:  who giveth food to the hungry.  The Lord looseth them that\nare fettered:\n\n145:8. The Lord enlighteneth the blind.  The Lord lifteth up them that\nare cast down:  the Lord loveth the just.\n\n145:9. The Lord keepeth the strangers, he will support the fatherless\nand the widow:  and the ways of sinners he will destroy.\n\n145:10. The Lord shall reign for ever:  thy God, O Sion, unto generation\nand generation.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 146\n\n\nLaudate Dominum.\n\nAn exhortation to praise God for his benefits.\n\n146:1. Alleluia.  Praise ye the Lord, because psalm is good:  to our God\nbe joyful and comely praise.\n\n146:2. The Lord buildeth up Jerusalem:  he will gather together the\ndispersed of Israel.\n\n146:3. Who healeth the broken of heart, and bindeth up their bruises.\n\n146:4. Who telleth the number of the stars:  and calleth them all by\ntheir names.\n\n146:5. Great is our Lord, and great is his power:  and of his wisdom\nthere is no number.\n\n146:6. The Lord lifteth up the meek, and bringeth the wicked down even\nto the ground.\n\n146:7. Sing ye to the Lord with praise:  sing to our God upon the harp.\n\n146:8. Who covereth the heaven with clouds, and prepareth rain for the\nearth.  Who maketh grass to grow on the mountains, and herbs for the\nservice of men.\n\n146:9. Who giveth to beasts their food:  and to the young ravens that\ncall upon him.\n\n146:10. He shall not delight in the strength of the horse:  nor take\npleasure in the legs of a man.\n\n146:11. The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him:  and in them\nthat hope in his mercy.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 147\n\n\nLauda, Jerusalem.\n\nThe church is called upon to praise God for his peculiar graces and\nfavours to his people.  In the Hebrew, this psalm is joined to the\nforegoing.\n\nAlleluia.\n\n147:12. Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem:  praise thy God, O Sion.\n\n147:13. Because he hath strengthened the bolts of thy gates, he hath\nblessed thy children within thee.\n\n147:14. Who hath placed peace in thy borders:  and filleth thee with the\nfat of corn.\n\n147:15. Who sendeth forth his speech to the earth:  his word runneth\nswiftly.\n\n147:16. Who giveth snow like wool:  scattereth mists like ashes.\n\n147:17. He sendeth his crystal like morsels:  who shall stand before the\nface of his cold?\n\nHe sendeth his crystal. . .That is, his ice.  Some understand it of hail,\nwhich is, as it were, ice, divided into particles or morsels.\n\n147:18. He shall send out his word, and shall melt them:  his wind shall\nblow, and the waters shall run.\n\n147:19. Who declareth his word to Jacob:  his justices and his judgments\nto Israel.\n\n147:20. He hath not done in like manner to every nation:  and his\njudgments he hath not made manifest to them.  Alleluia.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 148\n\n\nLaudate Dominum de caelis.\n\nAll creatures are invited to praise their Creator.\n\nAlleluia.\n\n148:1. Praise ye the Lord from the heavens:  praise ye him in the high\nplaces.\n\n148:2. Praise ye him, all his angels, praise ye him, all his hosts.\n\n148:3. Praise ye him, O sun and moon:  praise him, all ye stars and\nlight.\n\n148:4. Praise him, ye heavens of heavens:  and let all the waters that\nare above the heavens\n\n148:5. Praise the name of the Lord.  For he spoke, and they were made:\nhe commanded, and they were created.\n\n148:6. He hath established them for ever, and for ages of ages:  he hath\nmade a decree, and it shall not pass away.\n\n148:7. Praise the Lord from the earth, ye dragons, and all ye deeps:\n\n148:8. Fire, hail, snow, ice, stormy winds, which fulfil his word:\n\n148:9. Mountains and all hills, fruitful trees and all cedars:\n\n148:10. Beasts and all cattle:  serpents and feathered fowls:\n\n148:11. Kings of the earth and all people:  princes and all judges of\nthe earth:\n\n148:12. Young men and maidens:  let the old with the younger, praise the\nname of the Lord:\n\n148:13. For his name alone is exalted.\n\n148:14. The praise of him is above heaven and earth:  and he hath\nexalted the horn of his people.  A hymn to all his saints to the\nchildren of Israel, a people approaching to him.  Alleluia.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 149\n\n\nCantate Domino.\n\nThe church is particularly bound to praise God.\n\nAlleluia.\n\n149:1. Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle:  let his praise be in the\nchurch of the saints.\n\n149:2. Let Israel rejoice in him that made him:  and let the children of\nSion be joyful in their king.\n\n149:3. Let them praise his name in choir:  let them sing to him with the\ntimbrel and the psaltery.\n\n149:4. For the Lord is well pleased with his people:  and he will exalt\nthe meek unto salvation.\n\n149:5. The saints shall rejoice in glory:  they shall be joyful in their\nbeds.\n\n149:6. The high praises of God shall be in their mouth:  and two-edged\nswords in their hands:\n\n149:7. To execute vengeance upon the nations, chastisements among the\npeople:\n\n149:8. To bind their kings with fetters, and their nobles with manacles\nof iron.\n\n149:9. To execute upon them the judgment that is written:  this glory is\nto all his saints.  Alleluia.\n\n\n\nPsalms Chapter 150\n\n\nLaudate Dominum in sanctis.\n\nAn exhortation to praise God with all sorts of instruments.\n\nAlleluia.\n\n150:1. Praise ye the Lord in his holy places:  praise ye him in the\nfirmament of his power.\n\n150:2. Praise ye him for his mighty acts:  praise ye him according to\nthe multitude of his greatness.\n\n150:3. Praise him with the sound of trumpet:  praise him with psaltery\nand harp.\n\n150:4. Praise him with timbrel and choir:  praise him with strings and\norgans.\n\n150:5. Praise him on high sounding cymbals:  praise him on cymbals of\njoy:  let every spirit praise the Lord.  Alleluia.\n\n\n\n\nTHE BOOK OF PROVERBS\n\n\n\nThis Book is so called, because it consists of wise and weighty\nsentences:  regulating the morals of men:  and directing them to wisdom\nand virtue.  And these sentences are also called PARABLES, because great\ntruths are often couched in them under certain figures and similitudes.\n\n\n\nProverbs Chapter 1\n\n\nThe use and end of the proverbs.  An exhortation to flee the company of\nthe wicked:  and to hearken to the voice of wisdom.\n\n1:1. The parables of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel,\n\n1:2. To know wisdom, and instruction:\n\n1:3. To understand the words of prudence:  and to receive the\ninstruction of doctrine, justice, and judgment, and equity:\n\n1:4. To give subtilty to little ones, to the young man knowledge and\nunderstanding.\n\n1:5. A wise man shall hear, and shall be wiser:  and he that\nunderstandeth shall possess governments.\n\n1:6. He shall understand a parable and the interpretation, the words of\nthe wise, and their mysterious sayings.\n\n1:7. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.  Fools despise\nwisdom and instruction.\n\n1:8. My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the\nlaw of thy mother:\n\n1:9. That grace may be added to thy head, and a chain of gold to thy\nneck.\n\n1:10. My son, if sinners shall entice thee, consent not to them.\n\n1:11. If they shall say:  Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood,\nlet us hide snares for the innocent without cause:\n\n1:12. Let us swallow him up alive like hell, and whole as one that\ngoeth down into the pit.\n\n1:13. We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses\nwith spoils.\n\n1:14. Cast in thy lot with us, let us all have one purse.\n\n1:15. My son, walk not thou with them, restrain thy foot from their\npaths.\n\n1:16. For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.\n\n1:17. But a net is spread in vain before the eyes of them that have\nwings.\n\n1:18. And they themselves lie in wait for their own blood, and practise\ndeceits against their own souls.\n\n1:19. So the ways of every covetous man destroy the souls of the\npossessors.\n\n1:20. Wisdom preacheth abroad, she uttereth her voice in the streets:\n\n1:21. At the head of multitudes she crieth out, in the entrance of the\ngates of the city she uttereth her words, saying:\n\n1:22. O children, how long will you love childishness, and fools covet\nthose things which are hurtful to themselves, and the unwise hate\nknowledge?\n\n1:23. Turn ye at my reproof:  behold I will utter my spirit to you, and\nwill shew you my words.\n\n1:24. Because I called, and you refused:  I stretched out my hand, and\nthere was none that regarded.\n\n1:25. You have despised all my counsel, and have neglected my\nreprehensions.\n\n1:26. I also will laugh in your destruction, and will mock when that\nshall come to you which you feared.\n\n1:27. When sudden calamity shall fall on you, and destruction, as a\ntempest, shall be at hand:  when tribulation and distress shall come\nupon you:\n\n1:28. Then shall they call upon me, and I will not hear:  they shall\nrise in the morning, and shall not find me:\n\n1:29. Because they have hated instruction, and received not the fear of\nthe Lord,\n\n1:30. Nor consented to my counsel, but despised all my reproof.\n\n1:31. Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, and shall be\nfilled with their own devices.\n\n1:32. The turning away of little ones shall kill them, and the\nprosperity of fools shall destroy them.\n\n1:33. But he that shall hear me, shall rest without terror, and shall\nenjoy abundance, without fear of evils.\n\n\n\nProverbs Chapter 2\n\n\nThe advantages of wisdom:  and the evils from which it delivers.\n\n2:1. My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and wilt hide my\ncommandments with thee,\n\n2:2. That thy ear may hearken to wisdom:  incline thy heart to know\nprudence.\n\n2:3. For if thou shalt call for wisdom, and incline thy heart to\nprudence:\n\n2:4. If thou shalt seek her as money, and shalt dig for her as for a\ntreasure:\n\n2:5. Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and shalt find\nthe knowledge of God:\n\n2:6. Because the Lord giveth wisdom:  and out of his mouth cometh\nprudence and knowledge.\n\n2:7. He wilt keep the salvation of the righteous, and protect them that\nwalk in simplicity,\n\n2:8. Keeping the paths of justice, and guarding the ways of saints.\n\n2:9. Then shalt thou understand justice, and judgment, and equity, and\nevery good path.\n\n2:10. If wisdom shall enter into thy heart, and knowledge please thy\nsoul:\n\n2:11. Counsel shall keep thee, and prudence shall preserve thee,\n\n2:12. That thou mayst be delivered from the evil way, and from the man\nthat speaketh perverse things:\n\n2:13. Who leave the right way, and walk by dark ways:\n\n2:14. Who are glad when they have done evil, and rejoice in the most\nwicked things:\n\n2:15. Whose ways are perverse, and their steps infamous.\n\n2:16. That thou mayst be delivered from the strange woman, and from the\nstranger, who softeneth her words;\n\n2:17. And forsaketh the guide of her youth,\n\n2:18. And hath forgotten the covenant of her God:  for her house\ninclineth unto death, and her paths to hell.\n\n2:19. None that go in unto her, shall return again, neither shall they\ntake hold of the paths of life.\n\n2:20. That thou mayst walk in a good way:  and mayst keep the paths of\nthe just.\n\n2:21. For they that are upright, shall dwell in the earth; and the\nsimple shall continue in it.\n\n2:22. But the wicked shall be destroyed from the earth:  and they that\ndo unjustly, shall be taken away from it.\n\n\n\nProverbs Chapter 3\n\n\nAn exhortation to the practice of virtue.\n\n3:1. My son, forget not my law, and let thy heart keep my commandments.\n\n3:2. For they shall add to thee length of days, and years of life, and\npeace.\n\n3:3. Let not mercy aud truth leave thee, put them about thy neck, and\nwrite them in the tables of thy heart.\n\n3:4. And thou shalt find grace, and good understanding before God and\nmen.\n\n3:5. Have confidence in the Lord with all thy heart, and lean not upon\nthy own prudence.\n\n3:6. In all thy ways think on him, and he will direct thy steps.\n\n3:7. Be not wise in thy own conceit:  fear God, and depart from evil:\n\n3:8. For it shall be health to thy navel, and moistening to thy bones.\n\n3:9. Honour the Lord with thy substance, and give him of the first of\nall thy fruits;\n\n3:10. And thy barns shall be filled with abundance, and thy presses\nshall run over with wine.\n\n3:11. My son, reject not the correction of the Lord:  and do not faint\nwhen thou art chastised by him:\n\n3:12. For whom the Lord loveth, he chastiseth:  and as a father in the\nson he pleaseth himself.\n\n3:13. Blessed is the man that findeth wisdom, and is rich in prudence:\n\n3:14. The purchasing thereof is better than the merchandise of silver,\nand her fruit than the chief and purest gold:\n\n3:15. She is more precious than all riches:  and all the things that are\ndesired, are not to be compared to her.\n\n3:16. Length of days is in her right hand, and in her left hand riches\nand glory.\n\n3:17. Her ways are beautiful ways, and all her paths are peaceable.\n\n3:18. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold on her:  and he that\nshall retain her is blessed.\n\n3:19. The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth, hath established the\nheavens by prudence.\n\n3:20. By his wisdom the depths have broken out, and the clouds grow\nthick with dew.\n\n3:21. My son, let not these things depart from thy eyes:  keep the law\nand counsel:\n\n3:22. And there shall be life to thy soul, and grace to thy mouth.\n\n3:23. Then shalt thou walk confidently in thy way, and thy foot shall\nnot stumble:\n\n3:24. If thou sleep, thou shalt not fear:  thou shalt rest, and thy\nsleep shall be sweet.\n\n3:25. Be not afraid of sudden fear, nor of the power of the wicked\nfalling upon thee.\n\n3:26. For the Lord will be at thy side, and will keep thy foot that\nthou be not taken.\n\n3:27. Do not withhold him from doing good, who is able:  if thou art\nable, do good thyself also.\n\n3:28. Say not to thy friend:  Go, and come again:  and to morrow I will\ngive to thee:  when thou canst give at present.\n\n3:29. Practise not evil against thy friend, when he hath confidence in\nthee.\n\n3:30. Strive not against a man without cause, when he hath done thee no\nevil.\n\n3:31. Envy not the unjust man, and do not follow his ways.\n\n3:32. For every mocker is an abomination to the Lord, and his\ncommunication is with the simple.\n\n3:33. Want is from the Lord in the house of the wicked:  but the\nhabitations of the just shall be blessed.\n\n3:34. He shall scorn the scorners, and to the meek he will give grace.\n\n3:35. The wise shall possess glory:  the promotion of fools is disgrace.\n\n\n\nProverbs Chapter 4\n\n\nA further exhortation to seek after wisdom.\n\n4:1. Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend, that\nyou may know prudence.\n\n4:2. I will give you a good gift, forsake not my law.\n\n4:3. For I also was my father's son, tender, and as an only son in the\nsight of my mother:\n\n4:4. And he taught me, and said:  Let thy heart receive my words, keep\nmy commandments, and thou shalt live.\n\n4:5. Get wisdom, get prudence:  forget not, neither decline from the\nwords of my mouth.\n\n4:6. Forsake her not, and she shall keep thee:  love her, and she shall\npreserve thee.\n\n4:7. The beginning of wisdom, get wisdom, and with all thy possession\npurchase prudence.\n\n4:8. Take hold on her, and she shall exalt thee:  thou shalt be\nglorified by her, when thou shalt embrace her.\n\n4:9. She shall give to thy head increase of graces, and protect thee\nwith a noble crown.\n\n4:10. Hear, O my son, and receive my words, that years of life may be\nmultiplied to thee.\n\n4:11. I will shew thee the way of wisdom, I will lead thee by the paths\nof equity:\n\n4:12. Which when thou shalt have entered, thy steps shall not be\nstraitened, and when thou runnest, thou shalt not meet a\nstumblingblock.\n\n4:13. Take hold on instruction, leave it not:  keep it, because it is\nthy life.\n\n4:14. Be not delighted in the paths of the wicked, neither let the way\nof evil men please thee.\n\n4:15. Flee from it, pass not by it:  go aside, and forsake it.\n\n4:16. For they sleep not, except they have done evil:  and their sleep\nis taken away unless they have made some to fall.\n\n4:17. They eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of iniquity.\n\n4:18. But the path of the just, as a shining light, goeth forwards, and\nincreaseth even to perfect day.\n\n4:19. The way of the wicked is darksome:  they know not where they fall.\n\n4:20. My son, hearken to my words, and incline thy ear to my sayings.\n\n4:21. Let them not depart from thy eyes, keep them in the midst of thy\nheart:\n\n4:22. For they are life to those that find them, and health to all\nflesh.\n\n4:23. With all watchfulness keep thy heart, because life issueth out\nfrom it.\n\n4:24. Remove from thee a froward mouth, and let detracting lips be far\nfrom thee.\n\n4:25. Let thy eyes look straight on, and let thy eyelids go before thy\nsteps.\n\n4:26. Make straight the path for thy feet, and all thy ways shall be\nestablished.\n\n4:27. Decline not to the right hand, nor to the left:  turn away thy\nfoot from evil.  For the Lord knoweth the ways that are on the right\nhand:  but those are perverse which are on the left hand.  But he will\nmake thy courses straight, he will bring forward thy ways in peace.\n\n\n\nProverbs Chapter 5\n\n\nAn exhortation to fly unlawful lust, and the occasions of it.\n\n5:1. My son, attend to my wisdom, and incline thy ear to my prudence,\n\n5:2. That thou mayst keep thoughts, and thy lips may preserve\ninstruction.  Mind not the deceit of a woman.\n\n5:3. For the lips of a harlot are like a honeycomb dropping, and her\nthroat is smoother than oil.\n\n5:4. But her end is bitter as wormwood, and sharp as a two-edged sword.\n\n5:5. Her feet go down into death, and her steps go in as far as hell.\n\n5:6. They walk not by the path of life, her steps are wandering, and\nunaccountable.\n\n5:7. Now, therefore, my son, hear me, and depart not from the words of\nmy mouth.\n\n5:8. Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the doors of her\nhouse.\n\n5:9. Give not thy honour to strangers, and thy years to the cruel.\n\n5:10. Lest strangers be filled with thy strength, and thy labours be in\nanother man's house,\n\n5:11. And thou mourn at the last, when thou shalt have spent thy flesh\nand thy body, and say;\n\n5:12. Why have I hated instruction, and my heart consented not to\nreproof,\n\n5:13. And have not heard the voice of them that taught me, and have not\ninclined my ear to masters?\n\n5:14. I have almost been in all evil, in the midst of the church and of\nthe congregation.\n\n5:15. Drink water out of thy own cistern, and the streams of thy own\nwell:\n\n5:16. Let thy fountains be conveyed abroad, and in the streets divide\nthy waters.\n\n5:17. Keep them to thyself alone, neither let strangers be partakers\nwith thee.\n\n5:18. Let thy vein be blessed, and rejoice with the wife of thy youth:\n\n5:19. Let her be thy dearest hind, and most agreeable fawn:  let her\nbreasts inebriate thee at all times:  be thou delighted continually with\nher love.\n\n5:20. Why art thou seduced, my son, by a strange woman, and art\ncherished in the bosom of another?\n\n5:21. The Lord beholdeth the ways of man, and considereth all his\nsteps.\n\n5:22. His own iniquities catch the wicked, and he is fast bound with\nthe ropes of his own sins.\n\n5:23. He shall die, because he hath not received instruction, and in\nthe multitude of his folly he shall be deceived.\n\n\n\nProverbs Chapter 6\n\n\nDocuments on several heads.\n\n6:1. My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, thou hast engaged fast\nthy hand to a stranger,\n\n6:2. Thou art ensnared with the words of thy mouth, and caught with thy\nown words.\n\n6:3. Do, therefore, my son, what I say, and deliver thyself:  because\nthou art fallen into the hand of thy neighbour.  Run about, make haste,\nstir up thy friend:\n\n6:4. Give not sleep to thy eyes, neither let thy eyelids slumber.\n\n6:5. Deliver thyself as a doe from the hand, and as a bird from the\nhand of the fowler.\n\n6:6. Go to the ant, O sluggard, and consider her ways, and learn\nwisdom:\n\n6:7. Which, although she hath no guide, nor master, nor captain,\n\n6:8. Provideth her meat for herself in the summer, and gathereth her\nfood in the harvest.\n\n6:9. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard?  when wilt thou arise out of\nthy sleep?\n\n6:10. Thou wilt sleep a little, thou wilt slumber a little, thou wilt\nfold thy hands a little to sleep:\n\n6:11. And want shall come upon thee, as a traveller, and poverty as a\nman armed.  But if thou be diligent, thy harvest shall come as a\nfountain, and want shall flee far from thee.\n\n6:12. A man that is an apostate, an unprofitable man, walketh with a\nperverse mouth,\n\n6:13. He winketh with the eyes, presseth with the foot, speaketh with\nthe finger.\n\n6:14. With a wicked heart he deviseth evil, and at all times he soweth\ndiscord.\n\n6:15. To such a one his destruction shall presently come, and he shall\nsuddenly be destroyed, and shall no longer have any remedy.\n\n6:16. Six things there are, which the Lord hateth, and the seventh his\nsoul detesteth:\n\n6:17. Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,\n\n6:18. A heart that deviseth wicked plots, feet that are swift to run\ninto mischief,\n\n6:19. A deceitful witness that uttereth lies, and him that soweth\ndiscord among brethren.\n\n6:20. My son, keep the commandments of thy father, and forsake not the\nlaw of thy mother.\n\n6:21. Bind them in thy heart continually, and put them about thy neck.\n\n6:22. When thou walkest, let them go with thee:  when thou sleepest, let\nthem keep thee, and when thou awakest, talk with them.\n\n6:23. Because the commandment is a lamp, and the law a light, and\nreproofs of instruction are the way of life:\n\n6:24. That they may keep thee from the evil woman, and from the\nflattering tongue of the stranger.\n\n6:25. Let not thy heart covet her beauty, be not caught with her winks:\n\n6:26. For the price of a harlot is scarce one loaf:  but the woman\ncatcheth the precious soul of a man.\n\n6:27. Can a man hide fire in his bosom, and his garments not burn?\n\n6:28. Or can he walk upon hot coals, and his feet not be burnt?\n\n6:29. So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife, shall not be clean\nwhen he shall touch her.\n\n6:30. The fault is not so great when a man hath stolen:  for he stealeth\nto fill his hungry soul:\n\nThe fault is not so great, etc. . .The sin of theft is not so great, as\nto be compared with adultery:  especially when a person pressed with\nhunger (which is the case here spoken of) steals to satisfy nature.\nMoreover the damage done by theft may much more easily be repaired,\nthan the wrong done by adultery.  But this does not hinder, but that\ntheft also is a mortal sin, forbidden by one of the ten commandments.\n\n6:31. And if he be taken, he shall restore sevenfold, and shall give up\nall the substance of his house.\n\n6:32. But he that is an adulterer, for the folly of his heart shall\ndestroy his own soul:\n\n6:33. He gathereth to himself shame and dishonour, and his reproach\nshall not be blotted out:\n\n6:34. Because the jealousy and rage of the husband will not spare in\nthe day of revenge,\n\n6:35. Nor will he yield to any man's prayers, nor will he accept for\nsatisfaction ever so many gifts.\n\n\n\nProverbs Chapter 7\n\n\nThe love of wisdom is the best preservative from being led astray by\ntemptation.\n\n7:1. My son, keep my words, and lay up my precepts with thee.  Son,\n\n7:2. Keep my commandments, and thou shalt live:  and my law as the apple\nof thy eye:\n\n7:3. Bind it upon thy fingers, write it upon the tables of thy heart.\n\n7:4. Say to wisdom:  Thou art my sister:  and call prudence thy friend,\n\n7:5. That she may keep thee from the woman that is not thine, and from\nthe stranger who sweeteneth her words.\n\n7:6. For I looked out of the window of my house through the lattice,\n\n7:7. And I see little ones, I behold a foolish young man,\n\n7:8. Who passeth through the street by the corner, and goeth nigh the\nway of her house,\n\n7:9. In the dark when it grows late, in the darkness and obscurity of\nthe night.\n\n7:10. And behold a woman meeteth him in harlot's attire, prepared to\ndeceive souls:  talkative and wandering,\n\n7:11. Not bearing to be quiet, not able to abide still at home,\n\n7:12. Now abroad, now in the streets, now lying in wait near the\ncorners.\n\n7:13. And catching the young man, she kisseth him, and with an impudent\nface, flattereth, saying:\n\n7:14. I vowed victims for prosperity, this day I have paid my vows.\n\n7:15. Therefore I am come out to meet thee, desirous to see thee, and I\nhave found thee.\n\n7:16. I have woven my bed with cords, I have covered it with painted\ntapestry, brought from Egypt.\n\n7:17. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.\n\n7:18. Come, let us be inebriated with the breasts, and let us enjoy the\ndesired embraces, till the day appear.\n\n7:19. For my husband is not at home, he is gone a very long journey.\n\n7:20. He took with him a bag of money:  he will return home the day of\nthe full moon.\n\n7:21. She entangled him with many words, and drew him away with the\nflattery of her lips.\n\n7:22. Immediately he followeth her as an ox led to be a victim, and as\na lamb playing the wanton, and not knowing that he is drawn like a fool\nto bonds,\n\n7:23. Till the arrow pierce his liver:  as if a bird should make haste\nto the snare, and knoweth not that his life is in danger.\n\n7:24. Now, therefore, my son, hear me, and attend to the words of my\nmouth.\n\n7:25. Let not thy mind be drawn away in her ways:  neither be thou\ndeceived with her paths.\n\n7:26. For she hath cast down many wounded, and the strongest have been\nslain by her.\n\n7:27. Her house is the way to hell, reaching even to the inner chambers\nof death.\n\n\n\nProverbs Chapter 8\n\n\nThe preaching of wisdom.  Her excellence.\n\n8:1. Doth not wisdom cry aloud, and prudence put forth her voice?\n\n8:2. Standing in the top of the highest places by the way, in the midst\nof the paths,\n\n8:3. Beside the gates of the city, in the very doors she speaketh,\nsaying:\n\n8:4. O ye men, to you I call, and my voice is to the sons of men.\n\n8:5. O little ones understand subtlety, and ye unwise, take notice.\n\n8:6. Hear, for I will speak of great things:  and my lips shall be\nopened to preach right things.\n\n8:7. My mouth shall meditate truth, and my lips shall hate wickedness.\n\n8:8. All my words are just, there is nothing wicked, nor perverse in\nthem.\n\n8:9. They are right to them that understand, and just to them that find\nknowledge.\n\n8:10. Receive my instruction, and not money:  choose knowledge rather\nthan gold.\n\n8:11. For wisdom is better than all the most precious things:  and\nwhatsoever may be desired cannot be compared to it.\n\n8:12. I, wisdom, dwell in counsel, and am present in learned thoughts.\n\n8:13. The fear of the Lord hateth evil; I hate arrogance, and pride,\nand every wicked way, and a mouth with a double tongue.\n\n8:14. Counsel and equity is mine, prudence is mine, strength is mine.\n\n8:15. By me kings reign, and lawgivers decree just things.\n\n8:16. By me princes rule, and the mighty decree justice.\n\n8:17. I love them that love me:  and they that in the morning early\nwatch for me, shall find me.\n\n8:18. With me are riches and glory, glorious riches and justice.\n\n8:19. For my fruit is better than gold and the precious stone, and my\nblossoms than choice silver.\n\n8:20. I walk in the way of justice, in the midst of the paths of\njudgment,\n\n8:21. That I may enrich them that love me, and may fill their\ntreasures.\n\n8:22. The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his ways, before he\nmade any thing from the beginning.\n\n8:23. I was set up from eternity, and of old, before the earth was\nmade.\n\n8:24. The depths were not as yet, and I was already conceived, neither\nhad the fountains of waters as yet sprung out.\n\n8:25. The mountains, with their huge bulk, had not as yet been\nestablished:  before the hills, I was brought forth:\n\n8:26. He had not yet made the earth, nor the rivers, nor the poles of\nthe world.\n\n8:27. When he prepared the heavens, I was present:  when with a certain\nlaw, and compass, he enclosed the depths:\n\n8:28. When he established the sky above, and poised the fountains of\nwaters:\n\n8:29. When he compassed the sea with its bounds, and set a law to the\nwaters that they should not pass their limits:  when he balanced the\nfoundations of the earth;\n\n8:30. I was with him forming all things:  and was delighted every day,\nplaying before him at all times;\n\n8:31. Playing in the world:  and my delights were to be with the\nchildren of men.\n\n8:32. Now, therefore, ye children, hear me:  blessed are they that keep\nmy ways.\n\n8:33. Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.\n\n8:34. Blessed is the man that heareth me, and that watcheth daily at my\ngates, and waiteth at the posts of my doors.\n\n8:35. He that shall find me, shall find life, and shall have salvation\nfrom the Lord.\n\n8:36. But he that shall sin against me shall hurt his own soul.  All\nthat hate me love death.\n\n\n\nProverbs Chapter 9\n\n\nWisdom invites all to her feast.  Folly calls another way.\n\n9:1. Wisdom hath built herself a house, she hath hewn her out seven\npillars.\n\n9:2. She hath slain her victims, mingled her wine, and set forth her\ntable.\n\n9:3. She hath sent her maids to invite to the tower, and to the walls\nof the city:\n\n9:4. Whosoever is a little one, let him come to me.  And to the unwise\nshe said:\n\n9:5. Come, eat my bread, and drink the wine which I have mingled for\nyou.\n\n9:6. Forsake childishness, and live, and walk by the ways of prudence.\n\n9:7. He that teacheth a scorner, doth an injury to himself; and he that\nrebuketh a wicked man, getteth himself a blot.\n\n9:8. Rebuke not a scorner, lest he hate thee.  Rebuke a wise man, and he\nwill love thee.\n\n9:9. Give an occasion to a wise man, and wisdom shall be added to him.\nTeach a just man, and he shall make haste to receive it.\n\n9:10. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom:  and the\nknowledge of the holy is prudence.\n\n9:11. For by me shall thy days be multiplied, and years of life shall\nbe added to thee.\n\n9:12. If thou be wise, thou shalt be so to thyself:  and if a scorner,\nthou alone shalt bear the evil.\n\n9:13. A foolish woman and clamorous, and full of allurements, and\nknowing nothing at all,\n\n9:14. Sat at the door of her house, upon a seat, in a high place of the\ncity,\n\n9:15. To call them that pass by the way, and go on their journey:\n\n9:16. He that is a little one, let him turn to me.  And to the fool she\nsaid:\n\n9:17. Stolen waters are sweeter, and hidden bread is more pleasant.\n\n9:18. And he did not know that giants are there, and that her guests\nare in the depths of hell.\n\n\n\nProverbs Chapter 10\n\n\nIn the twenty following chapters are contained many wise sayings and\naxioms, relating to wisdom and folly, virtue and vice.\n\n10:1. A wise son maketh the father glad:  but a foolish son is the\nsorrow of his mother.\n\n10:2. Treasures of wickedness shall profit nothing:  but justice shall\ndeliver from death.\n\n10:3. The Lord will not afflict the soul of the just with famine, and\nhe will disappoint the deceitful practices of the wicked.\n\n10:4. The slothful hand hath wrought poverty:  but the hand of the\nindustrious getteth riches.  He that trusteth to lies feedeth the winds:\nand the same runneth after birds, that fly away.\n\n10:5. He that gathereth in the harvest, is a wise son:  but he that\nsnorteth in the summer, is the son of confusion.\n\n10:6. The blessing of the Lord is upon the head of the just:  but\niniquity covereth the mouth of the wicked.\n\n10:7. The memory of the just is with praises:  and the name of the\nwicked shall rot.\n\n10:8. The wise of heart receiveth precepts:  a fool is beaten with lips.\n\n10:9. He that walketh sincerely, walketh confidently:  but he that\nperverteth his ways, shall be manifest.\n\n10:10. He that winketh with the eye, shall cause sorrow:  and the\nfoolish in lips shall be beaten.\n\n10:11. The mouth of the just is a vein of life:  and the mouth of the\nwicked covereth iniquity.\n\n10:12. Hatred stirreth up strifes:  and charity covereth all sins.\n\n10:13. In the lips of the wise is wisdom found:  and a rod on the back\nof him that wanteth sense.\n\n10:14. Wise men lay up knowledge:  but the mouth of the fool is next to\nconfusion.\n\n10:15. The substance of a rich man is the city of his strength:  the\nfear of the poor is their poverty.\n\n10:16. The work of the just is unto life:  but the fruit of the wicked\nunto sin.\n\n10:17. The way of life, to him that observeth correction:  but he that\nforsaketh reproofs, goeth astray.\n\n10:18. Lying lips hide hatred:  he that uttereth reproach, is foolish.\n\n10:19. In the multitude of words there shall not want sin:  but he that\nrefraineth his lips, is most wise.\n\n10:20. The tongue of the just is as choice silver:  but the heart of the\nwicked is nothing worth.\n\n10:21. The lips of the just teach many:  but they that are ignorant,\nshall die in the want of understanding.\n\n10:22. The blessing of the Lord maketh men rich:  neither shall\naffliction be joined to them.\n\n10:23. A fool worketh mischief as it were for sport:  but wisdom is\nprudence to a man.\n\n10:24. That which the wicked feareth, shall come upon him:  to the just\ntheir desire shall be given.\n\n10:25. As a tempest that passeth, so the wicked shall be no more:  but\nthe just is as an everlasting foundation.\n\n10:26. As vinegar to the teeth, and smoke to the eyes, so is the\nsluggard to them that sent him.\n\n10:27. The fear of the Lord shall prolong days:  and the years of the\nwicked shall be shortened.\n\n10:28. The expectation of the just is joy:  but the hope of the wicked\nshall perish.\n\n10:29. The strength of the upright is the way of the Lord:  and fear to\nthem that work evil.\n\n10:30. The just shall never be moved:  but the wicked shall not dwell on\nthe earth.\n\n10:31. The mouth of the just shall bring forth wisdom:  the tongue of\nthe perverse shall perish.\n\n10:32. The lips of the just consider what is acceptable:  and the mouth\nof the wicked uttereth perverse things.\n\n\n\nProverbs Chapter 11\n\n\n11:1. A deceitful balance is an abomination before the Lord:  and a just\nweight is his will.\n\n11:2. Where pride is, there also shall be reproach:  but where humility\nis, there also is wisdom.\n\n11:3. The simplicity of the just shall guide them:  and the\ndeceitfulness of the wicked shall destroy them.\n\n11:4. Riches shall not profit in the day of revenge:  but justice shall\ndeliver from death.\n\n11:5. The justice of the upright shall make his way prosperous:  and the\nwicked man shall fall by his own wickedness.\n\n11:6. The justice of the righteous shall deliver them:  and the unjust\nshall be caught in their own snares.\n\n11:7. When the wicked man is dead, there shall be no hope any more:  and\nthe expectation of the solicitous shall perish.\n\n11:8. The just is delivered out of distress:  and the wicked shall be\ngiven up for him.\n\n11:9. The dissembler with his mouth deceiveth his friend:  but the just\nshall be delivered by knowledge.\n\n11:10. When it goeth well with the just, the city shall rejoice:  and\nwhen the wicked perish, there shall be praise.\n\n11:11. By the blessing of the just the city shall be exalted:  and by\nthe mouth of the wicked it shall be overthrown.\n\n11:12. He that despiseth his friend, is mean of heart:  but the wise man\nwill hold his peace.\n\n11:13. He that walketh deceitfully, revealeth secrets:  but he that is\nfaithful, concealeth the thing committed to him by his friend.\n\n11:14. Where there is no governor, the people shall fall:  but there is\nsafety where there is much counsel.\n\n11:15. He shall be afflicted with evil, that is surety for a stranger:\nbut he that is aware of snares, shall be secure.\n\n11:16. A gracious woman shall find glory:  and the strong shall have\nriches.\n\n11:17. A merciful man doth good to his own soul:  but he that is cruel\ncasteth off even his own kindred.\n\n11:18. The wicked maketh an unsteady work:  but to him that soweth\njustice, there is a faithful reward.\n\n11:19. Clemency prepareth life:  and the pursuing of evil things, death.\n\n11:20. A perverse heart is abominable to the Lord:  and his will is in\nthem that walk sincerely.\n\n11:21. Hand in hand the evil man shall not be innocent:  but the seed of\nthe just shall be saved.\n\n11:22. A golden ring in a swine's snout, a woman fair and foolish.\n\n11:23. The desire of the just is all good, the expectation of the\nwicked is indignation.\n\n11:24. Some distribute their own goods, and grow richer:  others take\naway what is not their own, and are always in want.\n\n11:25. The soul that blesseth, shall be made fat:  and he that\ninebriateth, shall be inebriated also himself.\n\n11:26. He that hideth up corn, shall be cursed among the people:  but a\nblessing upon the head of them that sell.\n\n11:27. Well doth he rise early who seeketh good things; but he that\nseeketh after evil things, shall be oppressed by them.\n\n11:28. He that trusteth in his riches shall fall:  but the just shall\nspring up as a green leaf.\n\n11:29. He that troubleth his own house, shall inherit the winds:  and\nthe fool shall serve the wise.\n\n11:30. The fruit of the just man is a tree of life:  and he that gaineth\nsouls is wise.\n\n11:31. If the just man receive in the earth, how much more the wicked\nand the sinner.\n\n\n\nProverbs Chapter 12\n\n\n12:1. He that loveth correction, loveth knowledge:  but he that hateth\nreproof, is foolish.\n\n12:2. He that is good, shall draw grace from the Lord:  but he that\ntrusteth in his own devices, doth wickedly.\n\n12:3. Man shall not be strengthened by wickedness:  and the root of the\njust shall not be moved.\n\n12:4. A diligent woman is a crown to her husband:  and she that doth\nthings worthy of confusion, is as rottenness in his bones.\n\n12:5. The thoughts of the just are judgments:  and the counsels of the\nwicked are deceitful.\n\n12:6. The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood:  the mouth of the\njust shall deliver them.\n\n12:7. Turn the wicked, and they shall not be:  but the house of the just\nshall stand firm.\n\n12:8. A man shall be known by his learning:  but he that is vain and\nfoolish, shall be exposed to contempt.\n\n12:9. Better is the poor man that provideth for himself, than he that\nis glorious and wanteth bread.\n\n12:10. The just regardeth the lives of his beasts:  but the bowels of\nthe wicked are cruel.\n\n12:11. He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread:  but he\nthat pursueth idleness is very foolish.\n\n12:12. He that is delighted in passing his time over wine, leaveth a\nreproach in his strong holds.\n\n12:12. The desire of the wicked is the fortification of evil men:  but\nthe root of the just shall prosper.\n\n12:13. For the sins of the lips ruin draweth nigh to the evil man:  but\nthe just shall escape out of distress.\n\n12:14. By the fruit of his own mouth shall a man be filled with good\nthings, and according to the works of his hands it shall be repaid him.\n\n12:15. The way of a fool is right in his own eyes:  but he that is wise\nhearkeneth unto counsels.\n\n12:16. A fool immediately sheweth his anger:  but he that dissembleth\ninjuries is wise.\n\n12:17. He that speaketh that which he knoweth, sheweth forth justice:\nbut he that lieth, is a deceitful witness.\n\n12:18. There is that promiseth, and is pricked as it were with a sword\nof conscience:  but the tongue of the wise is health.\n\n12:19. The lip of truth shall be steadfast for ever:  but he that is a\nhasty witness, frameth a lying tongue.\n\n12:20. Deceit is in the heart of them that think evil things:  but joy\nfolloweth them that take counsels of peace.\n\n12:21. Whatsoever shall befall the just man, shall not make him sad:\nbut the wicked shall be filled with mischief.\n\n12:22. Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord:  but they that deal\nfaithfully, please him.\n\n12:23. A cautious man concealeth knowledge:  and the heart of fools\npublisheth folly.\n\n12:24. The hand of the valiant shall bear rule:  but that which is\nslothful shall be under tribute.\n\n12:25. Grief in the heart of a man shall bring him low, but with a good\nword he shall be made glad.\n\n12:26. He that neglecteth a loss for the sake of a friend, is just:  but\nthe way of the wicked shall deceive them.\n\n12:27. The deceitful man shall not find gain:  but the substance of a\njust man shall be precious gold.\n\n12:28. In the path of justice is life:  but the bye-way leadeth to\ndeath.\n\n\n\nProverbs Chapter 13\n\n\n13:1. A wise son heareth the doctrine of his father:  but he that is a\nscorner, heareth not when he is reproved.\n\n13:2. Of the fruit of his own month shall a man be filled with good\nthings:  but the soul of transgressors is wicked.\n\n13:3. He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his soul:  but he that hath no\nguard on his speech shall meet with evils.\n\n13:4. The sluggard willeth, and willeth not:  but the soul of them that\nwork, shall be made fat.\n\n13:5. The just shall hate a lying word:  but the wicked confoundeth, and\nshall be confounded.\n\n13:6. Justice keepeth the way of the innocent:  but wickedness\noverthroweth the sinner.\n\n13:7. One is as it were rich, when he hath nothing and another is as it\nwere poor, when he hath great riches.\n\n13:8. The ransom of a man's life are his riches:  but he that is poor,\nbeareth not reprehension.\n\n13:9. The light of the just giveth joy:  but the lamp of the wicked\nshall be put out.\n\n13:10. Among the proud there are always contentions:  but they that do\nall things with counsel, are ruled by wisdom.\n\n13:11. Substance got in haste shall be diminished:  but that which by\nlittle and little is gathered with the hand, shall increase.\n\n13:12. Hope that is deferred afflicteth the soul:  desire when it\ncometh, is a tree of life.\n\n13:13. Whosoever speaketh ill of any thing, bindeth himself for the\ntime to come:  but he that feareth the commandment, shall dwell in\npeace.  Deceitful souls go astray in sins:  the just are merciful, and\nshew mercy.\n\n13:14. The law of the wise is a fountain of life, that he may decline\nfrom the ruin of death.\n\n13:15. Good instruction shall give grace:  in the way of scorners is a\ndeep pit.\n\n13:16. The prudent man doth all things with counsel:  but he that is a\nfool, layeth open his folly.\n\n13:17. The messenger of the wicked shall fall into mischief:  but a\nfaithful ambassador is health.\n\n13:18. Poverty and shame to him that refuseth instruction:  but he that\nyieldeth to reproof shall be glorified.\n\n13:19. The desire that is accomplished, delighteth the soul:  fools hate\nthem that flee from evil things.\n\n13:20. He that walketh with the wise, shall be wise:  a friend of fools\nshall become like to them.\n\n13:21. Evil pursueth sinners:  and to the just good shall be repaid.\n\n13:22. The good man leaveth heirs, sons, and grandsons:  and the\nsubstance of the sinner is kept for the just.\n\n13:23. Much food is in the tillage of fathers:  but for others it is\ngathered without judgment.\n\n13:24. He that spareth the rod, hateth his son:  but he that loveth him,\ncorrecteth him betimes.\n\n13:25. The just eateth and filleth his soul:  but the belly of the\nwicked is never to be filled.\n\n\n\nProverbs Chapter 14\n\n\n14:1. A wise woman buildeth her house:  but the foolish will pull down\nwith her hands that also which is built.\n\n14:2. He that walketh in the right way, and feareth God, is despised by\nhim that goeth by an infamous way.\n\n14:3. In the mouth of a fool is the rod of pride:  but the lips of the\nwise preserve them.\n\n14:4. Where there are no oxen, the crib is empty:  but where there is\nmuch corn, there the strength of the ox is manifest.\n\n14:5. A faithful witness will not lie:  but a deceitful witness uttereth\na lie.\n\n14:6. A scorner seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not:  the learning of the\nwise is easy.\n\n14:7. Go against a foolish man, and he knoweth not the lips of\nprudence.\n\n14:8. The wisdom of a discreet man is to understand his way:  and the\nimprudence of fools erreth.\n\n14:9. A fool will laugh at sin, but among the just grace shall abide.\n\n14:10. The heart that knoweth the bitterness of his own soul, in his\njoy the stranger shall not intermeddle.\n\n14:11. The house of the wicked shall be destroyed:  but the tabernacles\nof the just shall flourish.\n\n14:12. There is a way which seemeth just to a man:  but the ends thereof\nlead to death.\n\n14:13. Laughter shall be mingled with sorrow, and mourning taketh hold\nof the ends of joy.\n\n14:14. A fool shall be filled with his own ways, and the good man shall\nbe above him.\n\n14:15. The innocent believeth every word:  the discreet man considereth\nhis steps.  No good shall come to the deceitful son:  but the wise\nservant shall prosper in his dealings, and his way shall be made\nstraight.\n\n14:16. A wise man feareth, and declineth from evil:  the fool leapeth\nover, and is confident.\n\n14:17. The impatient man shall work folly:  and the crafty man is\nhateful.\n\n14:18. The childish shall possess folly, and the prudent shall look for\nknowledge.\n\n14:19. The evil shall fall down before the good:  and the wicked before\nthe gates of the just.\n\n14:20. The poor man shall be hateful even to his own neighbour:  but the\nfriends of the rich are many.\n\n14:21. He that despiseth his neighbour, sinneth:  but he that sheweth\nmercy to the poor, shall be blessed.  He that believeth in the Lord,\nloveth mercy.\n\n14:22. They err that work evil:  but mercy and truth prepare good\nthings.\n\n14:23. In much work there shall be abundance:  but where there are many\nwords, there is oftentimes want.\n\n14:24. The crown of the wise, is their riches:  the folly of fools,\nimprudence.\n\n14:25. A faithful witness delivereth souls:  and the double dealer\nuttereth lies.\n\n14:26. In the fear of the Lord is confidence of strength, and there\nshall be hope for his children.\n\n14:27. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to decline from the\nruin of death.\n\n14:28. In the multitude of people is the dignity of the king:  and in\nthe small number of the people the dishonour of the prince.\n\n14:29. He that is patient, is governed with much wisdom:  but he that is\nimpatient, exalteth his folly.\n\n14:30. Soundness of heart is the life of the flesh:  but envy is the\nrottenness of the bones.\n\n14:31. He that oppresseth the poor, upbraideth his maker:  but he that\nhath pity on the poor, honoureth him.\n\n14:32. The wicked man shall be driven out in his wickedness:  but the\njust hath hope in his death.\n\n14:33. In the heart of the prudent resteth wisdom, and it shall\ninstruct all the ignorant.\n\n14:34. Justice exalteth a nation:  but sin maketh nations miserable.\n\n14:35. A wise servant is acceptable to the king:  he that is good for\nnothing shall feel his anger.\n\n\n\nProverbs Chapter 15\n\n\n15:1. A mild answer breaketh wrath:  but a harsh word stirreth up fury.\n\n15:2. The tongue of the wise adorneth knowledge:  but the mouth of fools\nbubbleth out folly.\n\n15:3. The eyes of the Lord in every place behold the good and the evil.\n\n15:4. A peaceable tongue is a tree of life:  but that which is\nimmoderate, shall crush the spirit.\n\n15:5. A fool laugheth at the instruction of his father:  but he that\nregardeth reproofs shall become prudent.  In abundant justice there is\nthe greatest strength:  but the devices of the wicked shall be rooted\nout.\n\n15:6. The house of the just is very much strength:  and in the fruits of\nthe wicked is trouble.\n\n15:7. The lips of the wise shall disperse knowledge:  the heart of fools\nshall be unlike.\n\n15:8. The victims of the wicked are abominable to the Lord:  the vows of\nthe just are acceptable.\n\n15:9. The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord:  he that\nfolloweth justice is beloved by him.\n\n15:10. Instruction is grievous to him that forsaketh the way of life:\nhe that hateth reproof shall die.\n\n15:11. Hell and destruction are before the Lord:  how much more the\nhearts of the children of men?\n\n15:12. A corrupt man loveth not one that reproveth him:  nor will he go\nto the wise.\n\n15:13. A glad heart maketh a cheerful countenance:  but by grief of mind\nthe spirit is cast down.\n\n15:14. The heart of the wise seeketh instruction:  and the mouth of\nfools feedeth on foolishness.\n\n15:15. All the days of the poor are evil:  a secure mind is like a\ncontinual feast.\n\n15:16. Better is a little with the fear of the Lord, than great\ntreasures without content.\n\n15:17. It is better to be invited to herbs with love, than to a fatted\ncalf with hatred.\n\n15:18. A passionate man stirreth up strifes:  he that is patient\nappeaseth those that are stirred up.\n\n15:19. The way of the slothful is as a hedge of thorns:  the way of the\njust is without offence.\n\n15:20. A wise son maketh a father joyful:  but the foolish man despiseth\nhis mother.\n\n15:21. Folly is joy to the fool:  and the wise man maketh straight his\nsteps.\n\n15:22. Designs are brought to nothing where there is no counsel:  but\nwhere there are many counsellors, they are established.\n\n15:23. A man rejoiceth in the sentence of his mouth:  and a word in due\ntime is best.\n\n15:24. The path of life is above for the wise, that he may decline from\nthe lowest hell.\n\n15:25. The Lord will destroy the house of the proud:  and will\nstrengthen the borders of the widow.\n\n15:26. Evil thoughts are an abomination to the Lord:  and pure words\nmost beautiful shall be confirmed by him.\n\n15:27. He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house:  but he that\nhateth bribes shall live.  By mercy and faith sins are purged away:  and\nby the fear of the Lord every one declineth from evil.\n\n15:28. The mind of the just studieth obedience:  the mouth of the wicked\noverfloweth with evils.\n\n15:29. The Lord is far from the wicked:  and he will hear the prayers of\nthe just.\n\n15:30. The light of the eyes rejoiceth the soul:  a good name maketh the\nbones fat.\n\n15:31. The ear that heareth the reproofs of life, shall abide in the\nmidst of the wise.\n\n15:32. He that rejecteth instruction, despiseth his own soul:  but he\nthat yieldeth to reproof, possesseth understanding.\n\n15:33. The fear of the Lord is the lesson of wisdom:  and humility goeth\nbefore glory.\n\n\n\nProverbs Chapter 16\n\n\n16:1. It is the part of man to prepare the soul:  and of the Lord to\ngovern the tongue.\n\nIt is the part of man, etc. . .That is, a man should prepare in his\nheart and soul what he is to say:  but after all, it must be the Lord\nthat must govern his tongue, to speak to the purpose.  Not that we can\nthink any thing of good without God's grace; but that after we have\n(with God's grace) thought and prepared within our souls what we would\nspeak, if God does not govern our tongue, we shall not succeed in what\nwe speak.\n\n16:2. All the ways of a man are open to his eyes:  the Lord is the\nweigher of spirits.\n\n16:3. Lay open thy works to the Lord:  and thy thoughts shall be\ndirected.\n\n16:4. The Lord hath made all things for himself:  the wicked also for\nthe evil day.\n\n16:5. Every proud man is an abomination to the Lord:  though hand should\nbe joined to hand, he is not innocent.  The beginning of a good way is\nto do justice:  and this is more acceptable with God, than to offer\nsacrifices.\n\n16:6. By mercy and truth iniquity is redeemed; and by the fear of the\nLord men depart from evil.\n\n16:7. When the ways of man shall please the Lord, he will convert even\nhis enemies to peace.\n\n16:8. Better is a little with justice, than great revenues with\niniquity.\n\n16:9. The heart of man disposeth his way:  but the Lord must direct his\nsteps.\n\n16:10. Divination is in the lips of the king, his mouth shall not err\nin judgment.\n\n16:11. Weight and balance are judgments of the Lord:  and his work all\nthe weights of the bag.\n\n16:12. They that act wickedly are abominable to the king:  for the\nthrone is established by justice.\n\n16:13. Just lips are the delight of kings:  he that speaketh right\nthings shall be loved.\n\n16:14. The wrath of a king is as messengers of death:  and the wise man\nwill pacify it.\n\n16:15. In the cheerfulness of the king's countenance is life:  and his\nclemency is like the latter rain.\n\n16:16. Get wisdom, because it is better than gold:  and purchase\nprudence, for it is more precious than silver.\n\n16:17. The path of the just departeth from evils:  he that keepeth his\nsoul keepeth his way.\n\n16:18. Pride goeth before destruction:  and the spirit is lifted up\nbefore a fall.\n\n16:19. It is better to be humbled with the meek, than to divide spoils\nwith the proud.\n\n16:20. The learned in word shall find good things:  and he that trusteth\nin the Lord is blessed.\n\n16:21. The wise in heart shall be called prudent:  and he that is sweet\nin words, shall attain to greater things.\n\n16:22. Knowledge is a fountain of life to him that possesseth it:  the\ninstruction of fools is foolishness.\n\n16:23. The heart of the wise shall instruct his mouth:  and shall add\ngrace to his lips.\n\n16:24. Well ordered words are as a honeycomb:  sweet to the soul, and\nhealth to the bones.\n\n16:25. There is a way that seemeth to a man right:  and the ends thereof\nlead to death.\n\n16:26. The soul of him that laboureth, laboureth for himself, because\nhis mouth hath obliged him to it.\n\n16:27. The wicked man diggeth evil, and in his lips is a burning fire.\n\n16:28. A perverse man stirreth up quarrels:  and one full of words\nseparateth princes.\n\n16:29. An unjust man allureth his friend:  and leadeth him into a way\nthat is not good.\n\n16:30. He that with fixed eyes deviseth wicked things, biting his lips,\nbringeth evil to pass.\n\n16:31. Old age is a crown of dignity, when it is found in the ways of\njustice.\n\n16:32. The patient man is better than the valiant:  and he that ruleth\nhis spirit, than he that taketh cities.\n\n16:33. Lots are cast into the lap, but they are disposed of by the\nLord.\n\n\n\nProverbs Chapter 17\n\n\n17:1. Better is a dry morsel with joy, than a house full of victims\nwith strife.\n\n17:2. A wise servant shall rule over foolish sons, and shall divide the\ninheritance among the brethren.\n\n17:3. As silver is tried by fire, and gold in the furnace:  so the Lord\ntrieth the hearts.\n\n17:4. The evil man obeyeth an unjust tongue:  and the deceitful\nhearkeneth to lying lips.\n\n17:5. He that despiseth the poor, reproacheth his maker:  and he that\nrejoiceth at another man's ruin, shall not be unpunished.\n\n17:6. Children's children are the crown of old men:  and the glory of\nchildren are their fathers.\n\n17:7. Eloquent words do not become a fool, nor lying lips a prince.\n\n17:8. The expectation of him that expecteth is a most acceptable jewel:\nwhithersoever he turneth himself, he understandeth wisely.\n\n17:9. He that concealeth a transgression, seeketh friendships:  he that\nrepeateth it again, separateth friends.\n\n17:10. A reproof availeth more with a wise man, than a hundred stripes\nwith a fool.\n\n17:11. An evil man always seeketh quarrels:  but a cruel angel shall be\nsent against him.\n\n17:12. It is better to meet a bear robbed of her whelps, than a fool\ntrusting in his own folly.\n\n17:13. He that rendereth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his\nhouse.\n\n17:14. The beginning of quarrels is as when one letteth out water:  and\nbefore he suffereth reproach, he forsaketh judgment.\n\n17:15. He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just,\nboth are abominable before God.\n\n17:16. What doth it avail a fool to have riches, seeing he cannot buy\nwisdom?  He that maketh his house high, seeketh a downfall:  and he that\nrefuseth to learn, shall fall into evils.\n\n17:17. He that is a friend loveth at all times:  and a brother is proved\nin distress.\n\n17:18. A foolish man will clap hands, when he is surety for his friend.\n\n17:19. He that studieth discords, loveth quarrels:  and he that exalteth\nhis door, seeketh ruin.\n\n17:20. He that is of a perverse heart, shall not find good:  and he that\nperverteth his tongue, shall fall into evil.\n\n17:21. A fool is born to his own disgrace:  and even his father shall\nnot rejoice in a fool.\n\n17:22. A joyful mind maketh age flourishing:  a sorrowful spirit drieth\nup the bones.\n\n17:23. The wicked man taketh gifts out of the bosom, that he may\npervert the paths of judgment.\n\n17:24. Wisdom shineth in the face of the wise:  the eyes of fools are in\nthe ends of the earth.\n\n17:25. A foolish son is the anger of the father:  and the sorrow of the\nmother that bore him.\n\n17:26. It is no good thing to do hurt to the just:  nor to strike the\nprince, who judgeth right.\n\n17:27. He that setteth bounds to his words, is knowing and wise:  and\nthe man of understanding is of a precious spirit.\n\n17:28. Even a fool, if he will hold his peace, shall be counted wise:\nand if he close his lips, a man of understanding.\n\n\n\nProverbs Chapter 18\n\n\n18:1. He that hath a mind to depart from a friend, seeketh occasions:\nhe shall ever be subject to reproach.\n\n18:2. A fool receiveth not the words of prudence:  unless thou say those\nthings which are in his heart.\n\n18:3. The wicked man, when he is come into the depths of sins,\ncontemneth:  but ignominy and reproach follow him.\n\n18:4. Words from the mouth of a man are as deep water:  and the fountain\nof wisdom is an overflowing stream.\n\n18:5. It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to decline\nfrom the truth of judgment.\n\n18:6. The lips of a fool intermeddle with strife:  and his mouth\nprovoketh quarrels.\n\n18:7. The mouth of a fool is his destruction:  and his lips are the ruin\nof his soul.\n\n18:8. The words of the double tongued are as if they were harmless:  and\nthey reach even to the inner parts of the bowels.  Fear casteth down the\nslothful:  and the souls of the effeminate shall be hungry.\n\n18:9. He that is loose and slack in his work, is the brother of him\nthat wasteth his own works.\n\n18:10. The name of the Lord is a strong tower:  the just runneth to it,\nand shall be exalted.\n\n18:11. The substance of the rich man is the city of his strength, and\nas a strong wall compassing him about.\n\n18:12. Before destruction, the heart of a man is exalted:  and before he\nbe glorified, it is humbled.\n\n18:13. He that answereth before he heareth, sheweth himself to be a\nfool, and worthy of confusion.\n\n18:14. The spirit of a man upholdeth his infirmity:  but a spirit that\nis easily angered, who can bear?\n\n18:15. A wise heart shall acquire knowledge:  and the ear of the wise\nseeketh instruction.\n\n18:16. A man's gift enlargeth his way, and maketh him room before\nprinces.\n\n18:17. The just is first accuser of himself:  his friend cometh, and\nshall search him.\n\n18:18. The lot suppresseth contentions, and determineth even between\nthe mighty.\n\n18:19. A brother that is helped by his brother, is like a strong city:\nand judgments are like the bars of cities.\n\n18:20. Of the fruit of a man's mouth shall his belly be satisfied:  and\nthe offspring of his lips shall fill him.\n\n18:21. Death and life are in the power of the tongue:  they that love\nit, shall eat the fruits thereof.\n\n18:22. He that hath found a good wife, hath found a good thing, and\nshall receive a pleasure from the Lord.  He that driveth away a good\nwife, driveth away a good thing:  but he that keepeth an adulteress, is\nfoolish and wicked.\n\n18:23. The poor will speak with supplications, and the rich will speak\nroughly.\n\n18:24. A man amiable in society, shall be more friendly than a brother.\n\n\n\nProverbs Chapter 19\n\n\n19:1. Better is the poor man, that walketh in his simplicity, than a\nrich man that is perverse in his lips and unwise.\n\n19:2. Where there is no knowledge of the soul, there is no good:  and he\nthat is hasty with his feet shall stumble.\n\n19:3. The folly of a man supplanteth his steps:  and he fretteth in his\nmind against God.\n\n19:4. Riches make many friends:  but from the poor man, even they whom\nhe had, depart.\n\n19:5. A false witness shall not be unpunished:  and he that speaketh\nlies, shall not escape.\n\n19:6. Many honour the person of him that is mighty, and are friends of\nhim that giveth gifts.\n\n19:7. The brethren of the poor man hate him:  moreover also his friends\nhave departed far from him.  He that followeth after words only, shall\nhave nothing.\n\n19:8. But he that possesseth a mind, loveth his own soul, and he that\nkeepeth prudence, shall find good things.\n\n19:9. A false witness shall not be unpunished:  and he that speaketh\nlies, shall perish.\n\n19:10. Delicacies are not seemly for a fool:  nor for a servant to have\nrule over princes.\n\n19:11. The learning of a man is known by patience:  and his glory is to\npass over wrongs.\n\n19:12. As the roaring of a lion, so also is the anger of a king:  and\nhis cheerfulness as the dew upon the grass.\n\n19:13. A foolish son is the grief of his father:  and a wrangling wife\nis like a roof continually dropping through.\n\n19:14. House and riches are given by parents:  but a prudent wife is\nproperly from the Lord.\n\n19:15. Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep, and an idle soul shall\nsuffer hunger.\n\n19:16. He that keepeth the commandment, keepeth his own soul:  but he\nthat neglecteth his own way, shall die.\n\n19:17. He that hath mercy on the poor, lendeth to the Lord:  and he will\nrepay him.\n\n19:18. Chastise thy son, despair not:  but to the killing of him set not\nthy soul.\n\n19:19. He that is impatient, shall suffer damage:  and when he shall\ntake away, he shall add another thing.\n\n19:20. Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayst be wise\nin thy latter end.\n\n19:21. There are many thoughts in the heart of a man:  but the will of\nthe Lord shall stand firm.\n\n19:22. A needy man is merciful:  and better is the poor than the lying\nman.\n\n19:23. The fear of the Lord is unto life:  and he shall abide in the\nfulness without being visited with evil.\n\n19:24. The slothful hideth his hand under his armpit, and will not so\nmuch as bring it to his mouth.\n\n19:25. The wicked man being scourged, the fool shall be wiser:  but if\nthou rebuke a wise man, he will understand discipline.\n\n19:26. He that afflicteth his father, and chaseth away his mother, is\ninfamous and unhappy.\n\n19:27. Cease not, O my son, to hear instruction, and be not ignorant of\nthe words of knowledge.\n\n19:28. An unjust witness scorneth judgment:  and the mouth of the wicked\ndevoureth iniquity.\n\n19:29. Judgments are prepared for scorners:  and striking hammers for\nthe bodies of fools.\n\n\n\nProverbs Chapter 20\n\n\n20:1. Wine is a luxurious thing, and drunkenness riotous:  whosoever is\ndelighted therewith, shall not be wise.\n\n20:2. As the roaring of a lion, so also is the dread of a king:  he that\nprovoketh him, sinneth against his own soul.\n\n20:3. It is an honour for a man to separate himself from quarrels:  but\nall fools are meddling with reproaches.\n\n20:4. Because of the cold the sluggard would not plough:  he shall beg\ntherefore in the summer, and it shall not be given him.\n\n20:5. Counsel in the heart of a man is like deep water:  but a wise man\nwill draw it out.\n\n20:6. Many men are called merciful:  but who shall find a faithful man?\n\n20:7. The just that walketh in his simplicity, shall leave behind him\nblessed children.\n\n20:8. The king, that sitteth on the throne of judgment, scattereth away\nall evil with his look.\n\n20:9. Who can say:  My heart is clean, I am pure from sin?\n\n20:10. Diverse weights and diverse measures, both are abominable before\nGod.\n\n20:11. By his inclinations a child is known, if his works be clean and\nright.\n\n20:12. The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made them\nboth.\n\n20:13. Love not sleep, lest poverty oppress thee:  open thy eyes, and be\nfilled with bread.\n\n20:14. It is naught, it is naught, saith every buyer:  and when he is\ngone away, then he will boast.\n\n20:15. There is gold and a multitude of jewels:  but the lips of\nknowledge are a precious vessel.\n\n20:16. Take away the garment of him that is surety for a stranger, and\ntake a pledge from him for strangers.\n\n20:17. The bread of lying is sweet to a man:  but afterwards his mouth\nshall be filled with gravel.\n\n20:18. Designs are strengthened by counsels:  and wars are to be managed\nby governments.\n\n20:19. Meddle not with him that revealeth secrets, and walketh\ndeceitfully, and openeth wide his lips.\n\n20:20. He that curseth his father, and mother, his lamp shall be put\nout in the midst of darkness.\n\n20:21. The inheritance gotten hastily in the beginning, in the end\nshall be without a blessing.\n\n20:22. Say not:  I will return evil:  wait for the Lord, and he will\ndeliver thee.\n\n20:23. Diverse weights are an abomination before the Lord:  a deceitful\nbalance is not good.\n\n20:24. The steps of men are guided by the Lord:  but who is the man that\ncan understand his own way?\n\n20:25. It is ruin to a man to devour holy ones, and after vows to\nretract.\n\n20:26. A wise king scattereth the wicked, and bringeth over them the\nwheel.\n\n20:27. The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, which searcheth all\nthe hidden things of the bowels.\n\n20:28. Mercy and truth preserve the king, and his throne is\nstrengthened by clemency.\n\n20:29. The joy of young men is their strength:  and the dignity of old\nmen, their grey hairs.\n\n20:30. The blueness of a wound shall wipe away evils:  and stripes in\nthe more inward parts of the belly.\n\n\n\nProverbs Chapter 21\n\n\n21:1. As the divisions of waters, so the heart of the king is in the\nhand of the Lord:  whithersoever he will, he shall turn it.\n\n21:2. Every way of a man seemeth right to himself:  but the Lord\nweigheth the hearts.\n\n21:3. To do mercy and judgment, pleaseth the Lord more than victims.\n\n21:4. Haughtiness of the eyes is the enlarging of the heart:  the lamp\nof the wicked is sin.\n\n21:5. The thoughts of the industrious always bring forth abundance:  but\nevery sluggard is always in want.\n\n21:6. He that gathereth treasures by a lying tongue, is vain and\nfoolish, and shall stumble upon the snares of death.\n\n21:7. The robberies of the wicked shall be their downfall, because they\nwould not do judgment.\n\n21:8. The perverse way of a man is strange:  but as for him that is\npure, his work is right.\n\n21:9. It is better to sit in a corner of the housetop, than with a\nbrawling woman, and in a common house.\n\n21:10. The soul of the wicked desireth evil, he will not have pity on\nhis neighbour.\n\n21:11. When a pestilent man is punished, the little one will be wiser:\nand if he follow the wise, he will receive knowledge.\n\n21:12. The just considereth seriously the house of the wicked, that he\nmay withdraw the wicked from evil.\n\n21:13. He that stoppeth his ear against the cry of the poor, shall also\ncry himself, and shall not be heard.\n\n21:14. A secret present quencheth anger:  and a gift in the bosom, the\ngreatest wrath.\n\n21:15. It is joy to the just to do judgment:  and dread to them that\nwork iniquity.\n\n21:16. A man that shall wander out of the way of doctrine, shall abide\nin the company of the giants.\n\n21:17. He that loveth good cheer, shall be in want:  he that loveth\nwine, and fat things, shall not be rich.\n\n21:18. The wicked is delivered up for the just:  and the unjust for the\nrighteous.\n\n21:19. It is better to dwell in a wilderness, than with a quarrelsome\nand passionate woman.\n\n21:20. There is a treasure to be desired, and oil in the dwelling of\nthe just:  and the foolish man shall spend it.\n\n21:21. He that followeth justice and mercy, shall find life, justice,\nand glory.\n\n21:22. The wise man hath scaled the city of the strong, and hath cast\ndown the strength of the confidence thereof.\n\n21:23. He that keepeth his mouth and his tongue, keepeth his soul from\ndistress.\n\n21:24. The proud and the arrogant is called ignorant, who in anger\nworketh pride.\n\n21:25. Desires kill the slothful:  for his hands have refused to work at\nall.\n\n21:26. He longeth and desireth all the day:  but he that is just, will\ngive, and will not cease.\n\n21:27. The sacrifices of the wicked are abominable, because they are\noffered of wickedness.\n\n21:28. A lying witness shall perish:  an obedient man shall speak of\nvictory.\n\n21:29. The wicked man impudently hardeneth his face:  but he that is\nrighteous, correcteth his way.\n\n21:30. There is no wisdom, there is no prudence, there is no counsel\nagainst the Lord.\n\n21:31. The horse is prepared for the day of battle:  but the Lord giveth\nsafety.\n\n\n\nProverbs Chapter 22\n\n\n22:1. A good name is better than great riches:  and good favour is above\nsilver and gold.\n\n22:2. The rich and poor have met one another:  the Lord is the maker of\nthem both.\n\n22:3. The prudent man saw the evil, and hid himself:  the simple passed\non, and suffered loss.\n\n22:4. The fruit of humility is the fear of the Lord, riches and glory\nand life.\n\n22:5. Arms and swords are in the way of the perverse:  but he that\nkeepeth his own soul, departeth far from them.\n\n22:6. It is a proverb:  A young man according to his way, even when he\nis old, he will not depart from it.\n\n22:7. The rich ruleth over the poor:  and the borrower is servant to him\nthat lendeth.\n\n22:8. He that soweth iniquity, shall reap evils, and with the rod of\nhis anger he shall be consumed.\n\n22:9. He that is inclined to mercy, shall be blessed:  for of his bread\nhe hath given to the poor.  He that maketh presents, shall purchase\nvictory and honour:  but he carrieth away the souls of the receivers.\n\n22:10. Cast out the scoffer, and contention shall go out with him, and\nquarrels and reproaches shall cease.\n\n22:11. He that loveth cleanness of heart, for the grace of his lips\nshall have the king for his friend.\n\n22:12. The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge:  and the words of the\nunjust are overthrown.\n\n22:13. The slothful man saith:  There is a lion without, I shall be\nslain in the midst of the streets.\n\n22:14. The mouth of a strange woman is a deep pit:  he whom the Lord is\nangry with, shall fall into it.\n\n22:15. Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, and the rod of\ncorrection shall drive it away.\n\n22:16. He that oppresseth the poor, to increase his own riches, shall\nhimself give to one that is richer, and shall be in need.\n\n22:17. Incline thy ear, and hear the words of the wise:  and apply thy\nheart to my doctrine:\n\n22:18. Which shall be beautiful for thee, if thou keep it in thy\nbowels, and it shall flow in thy lips:\n\n22:19. That thy trust may be in the Lord, wherefore I have also shewn\nit to thee this day.\n\n22:20. Behold I have described it to thee three manner of ways, in\nthoughts and knowledge:\n\n22:21. That I might shew thee the certainty, and the words of truth, to\nanswer out of these to them that sent thee.\n\n22:22. Do no violence to the poor, because he is poor:  and do not\noppress the needy in the gate:\n\n22:23. Because the Lord will judge his cause:  and will afflict them\nthat have afflicted his soul.\n\n22:24. Be not a friend to an angry man, and do not walk with a furious\nman:\n\n22:25. Lest perhaps thou learn his ways, and take scandal to thy soul.\n\n22:26. Be not with them that fasten down their hands, and that offer\nthemselves sureties for debts:\n\n22:27. For if thou have not wherewith to restore, what cause is there\nthat he should take the covering from thy bed?\n\n22:28. Pass not beyond the ancient bounds which thy fathers have set.\n\n22:29. Hast thou seen a man swift in his work?  he shall stand before\nkings, and shall not be before those that are obscure.\n\n\n\nProverbs Chapter 23\n\n\n23:1. When thou shalt sit to eat with a prince, consider diligently\nwhat is set before thy face:\n\n23:2. And put a knife to thy throat, if it be so that thou have thy\nsoul in thy own power.\n\n23:3. Be not desirous of his meats, in which is the bread of deceit.\n\n23:4. Labour not to be rich:  but set bounds to thy prudence.\n\n23:5. Lift not up thy eyes to riches which thou canst not have:  because\nthey shall make themselves wings like those of an eagle, and shall fly\ntowards heaven.\n\n23:6. Eat not with an envious man, and desire not his meats:\n\n23:7. Because, like a soothsayer, and diviner, he thinketh that which\nhe knoweth not.  Eat and drink, will he say to thee:  and his mind is not\nwith thee.\n\n23:8. The meats which thou hadst eaten, thou shalt vomit up:  and shalt\nloose thy beautiful words.\n\n23:9. Speak not in the ears of fools:  because they will despise the\ninstruction of thy speech.\n\n23:10. Touch not the bounds of little ones:  and enter not into the\nfield of the fatherless:\n\n23:11. For their near kinsman is strong:  and he will judge their cause\nagainst thee.\n\n23:12. Let thy heart apply itself to instruction and thy ears to words\nof knowledge.\n\n23:13. Withhold not correction from a child:  for if thou strike him\nwith the rod, he shall not die.\n\n23:14. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and deliver his soul from\nhell.\n\n23:15. My son, if thy mind be wise, my heart shall rejoice with thee:\n\n23:16. And my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips shall speak what is\nright.\n\n23:17. Let not thy heart envy sinners:  but be thou in the fear of the\nLord all the day long:\n\n23:18. Because thou shalt have hope in the latter end, and thy\nexpectation shall not be taken away.\n\n23:19. Hear thou, my son, and be wise:  and guide thy mind in the way.\n\n23:20. Be not in the feasts of great drinkers, nor in their revellings,\nwho contribute flesh to eat:\n\n23:21. Because they that give themselves to drinking, and that club\ntogether, shall be consumed:  and drowsiness shall be clothed with rags.\n\n23:22. Hearken to thy father, that begot thee:  and despise not thy\nmother when she is old.\n\n23:23. Buy truth, and do not sell wisdom, and instruction, and\nunderstanding.\n\n23:24. The father of the just rejoiceth greatly:  he that hath begotten\na wise son, shall have joy in him.\n\n23:25. Let thy father and thy mother be joyful, and let her rejoice\nthat bore thee.\n\n23:26. My son, give me thy heart:  and let thy eyes keep my ways.\n\n23:27. For a harlot is a deep ditch:  and a strange woman is a narrow\npit.\n\n23:28. She lieth in wait in the way as a robber, and him whom she shall\nsee unwary, she will kill.\n\n23:29. Who hath woe?  whose father hath woe?  who hath contentions?  who\nfalls into pits?  who hath wounds without cause?  who hath redness of\neyes?\n\n23:30. Surely they that pass their time in wine, and study to drink off\ntheir cups.\n\n23:31. Look not upon the wine when it is yellow, when the colour\nthereof shineth in the glass:  it goeth in pleasantly,\n\n23:32. But in the end, it will bite like a snake, and will spread\nabroad poison like a basilisk.\n\n23:33. Thy eyes shall behold strange women, and thy heart shall utter\nperverse things.\n\n23:34. And thou shalt be as one sleeping in the midst of the sea, and\nas a pilot fast asleep when the stern is lost.\n\n23:35. And thou shalt say:  They have beaten me, but I was not sensible\nof pain:  they drew me, and I felt not:  when shall I awake and find wine\nagain?\n\n\n\nProverbs Chapter 24\n\n\n24:1. Seek not to be like evil men, neither desire to be with them:\n\n24:2. Because their mind studieth robberies, and their lips speak\ndeceits.\n\n24:3. By wisdom the house shall be built, and by prudence it shall be\nstrengthened.\n\n24:4. By instruction the storerooms shall be filled with all precious\nand most beautiful wealth.\n\n24:5. A wise man is strong:  and a knowing man, stout and valiant.\n\n24:6. Because war is managed by due ordering:  and there shall be safety\nwhere there are many counsels.\n\n24:7. Wisdom is too high for a fool; in the gate he shall not open his\nmouth.\n\n24:8. He that deviseth to do evils, shall be called a fool.\n\n24:9. The thought of a fool is sin:  and the detractor is the\nabomination of men.\n\n24:10. If thou lose hope, being weary in the day of distress, thy\nstrength shall be diminished.\n\n24:11. Deliver them that are led to death:  and those that are drawn to\ndeath, forbear not to deliver.\n\n24:12. If thou say:  I have not strength enough:  he that seeth into the\nheart, he understandeth, and nothing deceiveth the keeper of thy soul,\nand he shall render to a man according to his works.\n\n24:13. Eat honey, my son, because it is good, and the honeycomb most\nsweet to thy throat.\n\n24:14. So also is the doctrine of wisdom to thy soul:  which when thou\nhast found, thou shalt have hope in the end, and thy hope shall not\nperish.\n\n24:15. Lie not in wait, nor seek after wickedness in the house of the\njust, nor spoil his rest.\n\n24:16. For a just man shall fall seven times, and shall rise again:  but\nthe wicked shall fall down into evil.\n\n24:17. When thy enemy shall fall, be not glad, and in his ruin let not\nthy heart rejoice:\n\n24:18. Lest the Lord see, and it displease him, and he turn away his\nwrath from him.\n\n24:19. Contend not with the wicked, nor seek to be like the ungodly.\n\n24:20. For evil men have no hope of things to come, and the lamp of the\nwicked shall be put out.\n\n24:21. My son, fear the Lord, and the king:  and have nothing to do with\ndetractors.\n\n24:22. For their destruction shall rise suddenly:  and who knoweth the\nruin of both?\n\n24:23. These things also to the wise:  It is not good to have respect to\npersons in judgment.\n\n24:24. They that say to the wicked man:  Thou art just:  shall be cursed\nby the people, and the tribes shall abhor them.\n\n24:25. They that rebuke him shall be praised:  and a blessing shall come\nupon them.\n\n24:26. He shall kiss the lips, who answereth right words.\n\n24:27. Prepare thy work without, and diligently till thy ground:  that\nafterward thou mayst build thy house.\n\n24:28. Be not witness without cause against thy neighbour:  and deceive\nnot any man with thy lips.\n\n24:29. Say not:  I will do to him as he hath done to me:  I will render\nto every one according to his work.\n\n24:30. I passed by the field of the slothful man, and by the vineyard\nof the foolish man:\n\n24:31. And behold it was all filled with nettles, and thorns had\ncovered the face thereof, and the stone wall was broken down.\n\n24:32. Which when I had seen, I laid it up in my heart, and by the\nexample I received instruction.\n\n24:33. Thou wilt sleep a little, said I, thou wilt slumber a little,\nthou wilt fold thy hands a little to rest.\n\n24:34. And poverty shall come to thee as a runner, and beggary as an\narmed man.\n\n\n\nProverbs Chapter 25\n\n\n25:1. These are also parables of Solomon, which the men of Ezechias,\nking of Juda, copied out.\n\n25:2. It is the glory of God to conceal the word, and the glory of\nkings to search out the speech.\n\n25:3. The heaven above and the earth beneath, and the heart of kings is\nunsearchable.\n\n25:4. Take away the rust from silver, and there shall come forth a most\npure vessel:\n\n25:5. Take away wickedness from the face of the king, and his throne\nshall be established with justice.\n\n25:6. Appear not glorious before the king, and stand not in the place\nof great men.\n\n25:7. For it is better that it should be said to thee:  Come up hither;\nthan that thou shouldst be humbled before the prince.\n\n25:8. The things which thy eyes have seen, utter not hastily in a\nquarrel:  lest afterward thou mayst not be able to make amends, when\nthou hast dishonoured thy friend.\n\n25:9. Treat thy cause with thy friend, and discover not the secret to a\nstranger:\n\n25:10. Lest he insult over thee, when he hath heard it, and cease not\nto upbraid thee.  Grace and friendship deliver a man:  keep these for\nthyself, lest thou fall under reproach.\n\n25:11. To speak a word in due time, is like apples of gold on beds of\nsilver.\n\n25:12. As an earring of gold and a bright pearl, so is he that\nreproveth the wise, and the obedient ear.\n\n25:13. As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful\nmessenger to him that sent him, for he refresheth his soul.\n\n25:14. As clouds, and wind, when no rain followeth, so is the man that\nboasteth, and doth not fulfil his promises.\n\n25:15. By patience a prince shall be appeased, and a soft tongue shall\nbreak hardness.\n\n25:16. Thou hast found honey, eat what is sufficient for thee, lest\nbeing glutted therewith thou vomit it up.\n\n25:17. Withdraw thy foot from the house of thy neighbour, lest having\nhis fill he hate thee.\n\n25:18. A man that beareth false witness against his neighbour, is like\na dart and a sword and a sharp arrow.\n\n25:19. To trust in an unfaithful man in the time of trouble, is like a\nrotten tooth, and weary foot,\n\n25:20. And one that looseth his garment in cold weather.  As vinegar\nupon nitre, so is he that singeth songs to a very evil heart.  As a moth\ndoth by a garment, and a worm by the wood:  so the sadness of a man\nconsumeth the heart.\n\n25:21. If thy enemy be hungry, give him to eat:  if he thirst, give him\nwater to drink:\n\n25:22. For thou shalt heap hot coals upon his head, and the Lord will\nreward thee.\n\n25:23. The north wind driveth away rain, as doth a sad countenance a\nbackbiting tongue.\n\n25:24. It is better to sit in a corner of the housetop:  than with a\nbrawling woman, and in a common house.\n\n25:25. As cold water to a thirsty soul, so are good tidings from a far\ncountry.\n\n25:26. A just man falling down before the wicked, is as a fountain\ntroubled with the foot and a corrupted spring.\n\n25:27. As it is not good for a man to eat much honey, so he that is a\nsearcher of majesty shall be overwhelmed by glory.\n\nMajesty. . .Viz., of God.  For to search into that incomprehensible\nMajesty, and to pretend to sound the depths of the wisdom of God, is\nexposing our weak understanding to be blinded with an excess of light\nand glory, which it cannot comprehend.\n\n25:28. As a city that lieth open and is not compassed with walls, so is\na man that cannot refrain his own spirit in speaking.\n\n\n\nProverbs Chapter 26\n\n\n26:1. As snow in summer, and rain in harvest, so glory is not seemly\nfor a fool.\n\n26:2. As a bird flying to other places, and a sparrow going here or\nthere:  so a curse uttered without cause shall come upon a man.\n\nAs a bird, etc. . .The meaning is, that a curse uttered without cause\nshall do no harm to the person that is cursed, but will return upon him\nthat curseth, as whithersoever a bird flies, it returns to its own\nnest.\n\n26:3. A whip for a horse, and a snaffle for an ass, and a rod for the\nback of fools.\n\n26:4. Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou be made like\nhim.\n\nAnswer not a fool, etc. . .Viz., so as to imitate him but only so as to\nreprove his folly.\n\n26:5. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he imagine himself to\nbe wise.\n\n26:6. He that sendeth words by a foolish messenger, is lame of feet and\ndrinketh iniquity.\n\n26:7. As a lame man hath fair legs in vain:  so a parable is unseemly in\nthe mouth of fools.\n\n26:8. As he that casteth a stone into the heap of Mercury:  so is he\nthat giveth honour to a fool.\n\n26:9. As if a thorn should grow in the hand of a drunkard:  so is a\nparable in the mouth of fools.\n\n26:10. Judgment determineth causes:  and he that putteth a fool to\nsilence, appeaseth anger.\n\n26:11. As a dog that returneth to his vomit, so is the fool that\nrepeateth his folly.\n\n26:12. Hast thou seen a man wise in his own conceit?  there shall be\nmore hope of a fool than of him.\n\n26:13. The slothful man saith:  There is a lion in the way, and a\nlioness in the roads.\n\n26:14. As the door turneth upon its hinges, so doth the slothful upon\nhis bed.\n\n26:15. The slothful hideth his hand under his armpit, and it grieveth\nhim to turn it to his mouth.\n\n26:16. The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit, than seven men that\nspeak sentences.\n\n26:17. As he that taketh a dog by the ears, so is he that passeth by in\nanger, and meddleth with another man's quarrel.\n\n26:18. As he is guilty that shooteth arrows, and lances unto death.\n\n26:19. So is the man that hurteth his friend deceitfully:  and when he\nis taken, saith:  I did it in jest.\n\n26:20. When the wood faileth, the fire shall go out:  and when the\ntalebearer is taken away, contentions shall cease.\n\n26:21. As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire, so an angry man\nstirreth up strife.\n\n26:22. The words of a talebearer are as it were simple, but they reach\nto the innermost parts of the belly.\n\n26:23. Swelling lips joined with a corrupt heart, are like an earthern\nvessel adorned with silver dross.\n\n26:24. An enemy is known by his lips, when in his heart he entertaineth\ndeceit.\n\n26:25. When he shall speak low, trust him not:  because there are seven\nmischiefs in his heart.\n\n26:26. He that covereth hatred deceitfully, his malice shall be laid\nopen in the public assembly.\n\n26:27. He that diggeth a pit, shall fall into it:  and he that rolleth a\nstone, it shall return to him.\n\n26:28. A deceitful tongue loveth not truth:  and a slippery mouth\nworketh ruin.\n\n\n\nProverbs Chapter 27\n\n\n27:1. Boast not for to morrow, for thou knowest not what the day to\ncome may bring forth.\n\n27:2. Let another praise thee, and not thy own mouth:  a stranger, and\nnot thy own lips.\n\n27:3. A stone is heavy, and sand weighty:  but the anger of a fool is\nheavier than them both.\n\n27:4. Anger hath no mercy:  nor fury, when it breaketh forth:  and who\ncan bear the violence of one provoked?\n\n27:5. Open rebuke is better than hidden love.\n\n27:6. Better are the wounds of a friend, than the deceitful kisses of\nan enemy.\n\n27:7. A soul that is full shall tread upon the honeycomb:  and a soul\nthat is hungry shall take even bitter for sweet.\n\n27:8. As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that leaveth\nhis place.\n\n27:9. Ointment and perfumes rejoice the heart:  and the good counsels of\na friend are sweet to the soul.\n\n27:10. Thy own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not:  and go not\ninto thy brother's house in the day of thy affliction.  Better is a\nneighbour that is near than a brother afar off.\n\n27:11. Study wisdom, my son, and make my heart joyful, that thou mayst\ngive an answer to him that reproacheth.\n\n27:12. The prudent man seeing evil hideth himself:  little ones passing\non have suffered losses.\n\n27:13. Take away his garment that hath been surety for a stranger:  and\ntake from him a pledge for strangers.\n\n27:14. He that blesseth his neighbour with a loud voice, rising in the\nnight, shall be like to him that curseth.\n\n27:15. Roofs dropping through in a cold day, and a contentious woman\nare alike.\n\n27:16. He that retaineth her, is as he that would hold the wind, and\nshall call the oil of his right hand.\n\n27:17. Iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his\nfriend.\n\n27:18. He that keepeth the fig tree, shall eat the fruit thereof:  and\nhe that is the keeper of his master, shall be glorified.\n\n27:19. As the faces of them that look therein, shine in the water, so\nthe hearts of men are laid open to the wise.\n\n27:20. Hell and destruction are never filled:  so the eyes of men are\nnever satisfied.\n\n27:21. As silver is tried in the fining-pot, and gold in the furnace:\nso a man is tried by the mouth of him that praiseth.  The heart of the\nwicked seeketh after evils, but the righteous heart seeketh after\nknowledge.\n\n27:22. Though thou shouldst bray a fool in the mortar, as when a pestle\nstriketh upon sodden barley, his folly would not be taken from him.\n\n27:23. Be diligent to know the countenance of thy cattle, and consider\nthy own flocks:\n\n27:24. For thou shalt not always have power:  but a crown shall be given\nto generation and generation.\n\n27:25. The meadows are open, and the green herbs have appeared, and the\nhay is gathered out of the mountains.\n\n27:26. Lambs are for thy clothing:  and kids for the price of the field.\n\n27:27. Let the milk of the goats be enough for thy food, and for the\nnecessities of thy house, and for maintenance for thy handmaids.\n\n\n\nProverbs Chapter 28\n\n\n28:1. The wicked man fleeth, when no man pursueth:  but the just, bold\nas a lion, shall be without dread.\n\n28:2. For the sins of the land many are the princes thereof:  and for\nthe wisdom of a man, and the knowledge of those things that are said,\nthe life of the prince shall be prolonged.\n\n28:3. A poor man that oppresseth the poor, is like a violent shower,\nwhich bringeth a famine.\n\n28:4. They that forsake the law, praise the wicked man:  they that keep\nit, are incensed against him.\n\n28:5. Evil men think not on judgment:  but they that seek after the\nLord, take notice of all things.\n\n28:6. Better is the poor man walking in his simplicity, than the rich\nin crooked ways.\n\n28:7. He that keepeth the law, is a wise son:  but he that feedeth\ngluttons, shameth his father.\n\n28:8. He that heapeth together riches by usury and loan, gathereth them\nfor him that will be bountiful to the poor.\n\n28:9. He that turneth away his ears from hearing the law, his prayer\nshall be an abomination.\n\n28:10. He that deceiveth the just in a wicked way, shall fall in his\nown destruction:  and the upright shall possess his goods.\n\n28:11. The rich man seemeth to himself wise:  but the poor man that is\nprudent shall search him out.\n\n28:12. In the joy of the just there is great glory:  when the wicked\nreign, men are ruined.\n\n28:13. He that hideth his sins, shall not prosper:  but he that shall\nconfess, and forsake them, shall obtain mercy.\n\n28:14. Blessed is the man that is always fearful:  but he that is\nhardened in mind shall fall into evil.\n\n28:15. As a roaring lion, and a hungry bear, so is a wicked prince over\nthe poor people.\n\n28:16. A prince void of prudence shall oppress many by calumny:  but he\nthat hateth covetousness, shall prolong his days.\n\n28:17. A man that doth violence to the blood of a person, if he flee\neven to the pit, no man will stay him.\n\n28:18. He that walketh uprightly, shall be saved:  he that is perverse\nin his ways, shall fall at once.\n\n28:19. He that tilleth his ground, shall be filled with bread:  but he\nthat followeth idleness, shall be filled with poverty.\n\n28:20. A faithful man shall be much praised:  but he that maketh haste\nto be rich, shall not be innocent.\n\n28:21. He that hath respect to a person in judgment, doth not well:\nsuch a man even for a morsel of bread forsaketh the truth.\n\n28:22. A man that maketh haste to be rich, and envieth others, is\nignorant that poverty shall come upon him.\n\n28:23. He that rebuketh a man, shall afterward find favour with him,\nmore than he that by a flattering tongue deceiveth him.\n\n28:24. He that stealeth any thing from his father, or from his mother:\nand saith, This is no sin, is the partner of a murderer.\n\n28:26. He that boasteth and puffeth up himself, stirreth up quarrels:\nbut he that trusteth in the Lord, shall be healed.\n\n28:26. He that trusteth in his own heart, is a fool:  but he that\nwalketh wisely, he shall be saved.\n\n28:27. He that giveth to the poor shall not want:  he that despiseth his\nentreaty, shall suffer indigence.\n\n28:28. When the wicked rise up, men shall hide themselves:  when they\nperish, the just shall be multiplied.\n\n\n\nProverbs Chapter 29\n\n\n29:1. The man that with a stiff neck despiseth him that reproveth him,\nshall suddenly be destroyed:  and health shall not follow him.\n\n29:2. When just men increase, the people shall rejoice:  when the wicked\nshall bear rule, the people shall mourn.\n\n29:3. A man that loveth wisdom, rejoiceth his father:  but he that\nmaintaineth harlots, shall squander away his substance.\n\n29:4. A just king setteth up the land:  a covetous man shall destroy it.\n\n29:5. A man that speaketh to his friend with flattering and dissembling\nwords, spreadeth a net for his feet.\n\n29:6. A snare shall entangle the wicked man when he sinneth:  and the\njust shall praise and rejoice.\n\n29:7. The just taketh notice of the cause of the poor:  the wicked is\nvoid of knowledge.\n\n29:8. Corrupt men bring a city to ruin:  but wise men turn away wrath.\n\n29:9. If a wise man contend with a fool, whether he be angry, or laugh,\nhe shall find no rest.\n\n29:10. Bloodthirsty men hate the upright:  but just men seek his soul.\n\n29:11. A fool uttereth all his mind:  a wise man deferreth, and keepeth\nit till afterwards.\n\n29:12. A prince that gladly heareth lying words, hath all his servants\nwicked.\n\n29:13. The poor man and the creditor have met one another:  the Lord is\nthe enlightener of them both.\n\n29:14. The king that judgeth the poor in truth, his throne shall be\nestablished for ever.\n\n29:15. The rod and reproof give wisdom:  but the child that is left to\nhis own will, bringeth his mother to shame.\n\n29:16. When the wicked are multiplied, crimes shall be multiplied:  but\nthe just shall see their downfall.\n\n29:17. Instruct thy son and he shall refresh thee, and shall give\ndelight to thy soul.\n\n29:18. When prophecy shall fail, the people shall be scattered abroad:\nbut he that keepeth the law, is blessed.\n\n29:19. A slave will not be corrected by words:  because he understandeth\nwhat thou sayest, and will not answer.\n\n29:20. Hast thou seen a man hasty to speak?  folly is rather to be\nlooked for, than his amendment.\n\n29:21. He that nourisheth his servant delicately from his childhood,\nafterwards shall find him stubborn.\n\n29:22. A passionate man provoketh quarrels:  and he that is easily\nstirred up to wrath, shall be more prone to sin.\n\n29:23. Humiliation followeth the proud:  and glory shall uphold the\nhumble of spirit.\n\n29:24. He that is partaker with a thief, hateth his own soul:  he\nheareth one putting him to his oath, and discovereth not.\n\n29:25. He that feareth man shall quickly fall:  he that trusteth in the\nLord, shall be set on high.\n\n29:26. Many seek the face of the prince:  but the judgment of every one\ncometh forth from the Lord.\n\n29:27. The just abhor a wicked man:  and the wicked loathe them that are\nin the right way.  The son that keepeth the word, shall be free from\ndestruction.\n\n\n\nProverbs Chapter 30\n\n\nThe wise man thinketh humbly of himself.  His prayer and sentiments upon\ncertain virtues and vices.\n\n30:1. The words of Gatherer the son of Vomiter.  The vision which the\nman spoke, with whom God is, and who being strengthened by God, abiding\nwith him, said:\n\nGatherer, etc. . .Or, as it is in the Latin, Congregans the son of\nVomens.  The Latin interpreter has given us in this place the\nsignification of the Hebrew names, instead of the names themselves,\nwhich are in the Hebrew, Agur the son of Jakeh.  But whether this Agur\nbe the same person as Solomon, as many think, or a different person,\nwhose doctrine was adopted by Solomon, and inserted among his parables\nor proverbs, is uncertain.\n\n30:2. I am the most foolish of men, and the wisdom of men is not with\nme.\n\n30:3. I have not learned wisdom, and have not known the science of\nsaints.\n\n30:4. Who hath ascended up into heaven, and descended?  who hath held\nthe wind in his hands?  who hath bound up the waters together as in a\ngarment?  who hath raised up all the borders of the earth?  what is his\nname, and what is the name of his son, if thou knowest?\n\n30:5. Every word of God is fire tried:  he is a buckler to them that\nhope in him.\n\nIs fire tried. . .That is, most pure, like gold purified by fire.\n\n30:6. Add not any thing to his words, lest thou be reproved and found a\nliar:\n\n30:7. Two things I have asked of thee, deny them not to me before I\ndie.\n\n30:8. Remove far from me vanity, and lying words.  Give me neither\nbeggary, nor riches:  give me only the necessaries of life:\n\n30:9. Lest perhaps being filled, I should be tempted to deny, and say:\nWho is the Lord?  or being compelled by poverty, I should steal, and\nforswear the name of my God.\n\n30:10. Accuse not a servant to his master, lest he curse thee, and thou\nfall.\n\n30:11. There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not\nbless their mother.\n\n30:12. A generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet are not\nwashed from their filthiness.\n\n30:13. A generation, whose eyes are lofty, and their eyelids lifted up\non high.\n\n30:14. A generation that for teeth hath swords, and grindeth with their\njaw teeth, to devour the needy from off the earth, and the poor from\namong men.\n\n30:15. The horseleech hath two daughters that say:  Bring, bring.  There\nare three things that never are satisfied, and the fourth never saith:\nIt is enough.\n\nThe horseleech. . .Concupiscence, which hath two daughters that are\nnever satisfied, viz., lust and avarice.\n\n30:16. Hell and the mouth of the womb, and the earth which is not\nsatisfied with water:  and the fire never saith:  It is enough.\n\n30:17. The eye that mocketh at his father, and that despiseth the\nlabour of his mother in bearing him, let the ravens of the brooks pick\nit out, and the young eagles eat it.\n\n30:18. Three things are hard to me, and the fourth I am utterly\nignorant of.\n\n30:19. The way of an eagle in the air, the way of a serpent upon a\nrock, the way of a ship in the midst of the sea, and the way of a man\nin youth.\n\n30:20. Such also is the way of an adulterous woman, who eateth and\nwipeth her mouth, and saith:  I have done no evil.\n\n30:21. By three things the earth is disturbed, and the fourth it cannot\nbear.\n\n30:22. By a slave when he reigneth:  by a fool when be is filled with\nmeat:\n\n30:23. By an odious woman when she is married:  and by a bondwoman when\nshe is heir to her mistress.\n\n30:24. There are four very little things of the earth, and they are\nwiser than the wise.\n\n30:25. The ants, a feeble people, which provide themselves food in the\nharvest:\n\n30:26. The rabbit, a weak people, which maketh its bed in the rock:\n\n30:27. The locust hath no king, yet they all go out by their bands:\n\n30:28. The stellio supporteth itself on hands, and dwelleth in kings'\nhouses.\n\nThe stellio. . .A kind of house lizard marked with spots like stars,\nfrom whence it has its name.\n\n30:19. There are three things, which go well, and the fourth that\nwalketh happily:\n\n30:30. A lion, the strongest of beasts, who hath no fear of any thing\nhe meeteth:\n\n30:31. A cock girded about the loins:  and a ram:  and a king, whom none\ncan resist.\n\n30:32. There is that hath appeared a fool after he was lifted up on\nhigh:  for if he had understood, he would have laid his hand upon his\nmouth.\n\n30:33. And he that strongly squeezeth the paps to bring out milk,\nstraineth out butter:  and he that violently bloweth his nose, bringeth\nout blood:  and he that provoketh wrath, bringeth forth strife.\n\n\n\nProverbs Chapter 31\n\n\nAn exhortation to chastity, temperance, and works of mercy; with the\npraise of a wise woman.\n\n31:1. The words of king Lamuel.  The vision wherewith his mother\ninstructed him.\n\nLamuel. . .This name signifies God with him, and is supposed to have\nbeen one of the names of Solomon.\n\n31:2. What, O my beloved, what, O the beloved of my womb, what, O the\nbeloved of my vows?\n\n31:3. Give not thy substance to women, and thy riches to destroy kings.\n\n31:4. Give not to kings, O Lamuel, give not wine to kings:  because\nthere is no secret where drunkenness reigneth:\n\n31:5. And lest they drink and forget judgments, and pervert the cause\nof the children of the poor.\n\n31:6. Give strong drink to them that are sad; and wine to them that are\ngrieved in mind:\n\n31:7. Let them drink, and forget their want, and remember their sorrow\nno more.\n\n31:8. Open thy mouth for the dumb, and for the causes of all the\nchildren that pass.\n\n31:9. Open thy mouth, decree that which is just, and do justice to the\nneedy and poor.\n\n31:10. Who shall find a valiant woman?  far, and from the uttermost\ncoasts is the price of her.\n\n31:11. The heart of her husband trusteth in her, and he shall have no\nneed of spoils.\n\n31:12. She will render him good, and not evil all the days of her life.\n\n31:13. She hath sought wool and flax, and hath wrought by the counsel\nof her hands.\n\n31:14. She is like the merchant's ship, she bringeth her bread from\nafar.\n\n31:15. And she hath risen in the night, and given a prey to her\nhousehold, and victuals to her maidens.\n\n31:16. She hath considered a field, and bought it:  with the fruit of\nher hands she hath planted a vineyard.\n\n31:17. She hath girded her loins with strength, and hath strengthened\nher arm.\n\n31:18. She hath tasted, and seen that her traffic is good:  her lamp\nshall not be put out in the night.\n\n31:19. She hath put out her hand to strong things, and her fingers have\ntaken hold of the spindle.\n\n31:20. She hath opened her hand to the needy, and stretched out her\nhands to the poor.\n\n31:21. She shall not fear for her house in the cold of snow:  for all\nher domestics are clothed with double garments.\n\n31:22. She hath made for herself clothing of tapestry:  fine linen, and\npurple, is her covering.\n\n31:23. Her husband is honourable in the gates, when he sitteth among\nthe senators of the land.\n\n31:24. She made fine linen, and sold it, and delivered a girdle to the\nChanaanite.\n\nThe Chanaanite. . .The merchant, for Chanaanite, in Hebrew, signifies a\nmerchant.\n\n31:25. Strength and beauty are her clothing, and she shall laugh in the\nlatter day.\n\n31:26. She hath opened her mouth to wisdom, and the law of clemency is\non her tongue.\n\n31:27. She hath looked well on the paths of her house, and hath not\neaten her bread idle.\n\n31:28. Her children rose up, and called her blessed:  her husband, and\nhe praised her.\n\n31:29. Many daughters have gathered together riches:  thou hast\nsurpassed them all.\n\n31:30. Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain:  the woman that feareth\nthe Lord, she shall be praised.\n\n31:31. Give her of the fruit of her hands:  and let her works praise her\nin the gates.\n\n\n\n\nECCLESIASTES\n\n\n\nThis Book is called Ecclesiastes, or The Preacher, (in Hebrew,\nCoheleth,) because in it, Solomon, as an excellent preacher, setteth\nforth the vanity of the things of this world:  to withdraw the hearts\nand affections of men from such empty toys.\n\n\n\nEcclesiastes Chapter 1\n\n\nThe vanity of all temporal things.\n\n1:1. The words of Ecclesiastes, the son of David, king of Jerusalem.\n\n1:2. Vanity of vanities, said Ecclesiastes:  vanity of vanities, and all\nis vanity.\n\n1:3. What hath a man more of all his labour, that he taketh under the\nsun?\n\n1:4. One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh:  but\nthe earth standeth for ever.\n\n1:5. The sun riseth, and goeth down, and returneth to his place:  and\nthere rising again,\n\n1:6. Maketh his round by the south, and turneth again to the north:  the\nspirit goeth forward surveying all places round about, and returneth to\nhis circuits.\n\n1:7. All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea doth not overflow:\nunto the place from whence the rivers come, they return, to flow again.\n\n1:8. All things are hard:  man cannot explain them by word.  The eye is\nnot filled with seeing, neither is the ear filled with hearing.\n\n1:9. What is it that hath been?  the same thing that shall be.  What is\nit that hath been done?  the same that shall be done.\n\n1:10. Nothing under the sun is new, neither is any man able to say:\nBehold this is new:  for it hath already gone before in the ages that\nwere before us.\n\n1:11. There is no remembrance of former things:  nor indeed of those\nthings which hereafter are to come, shall there be any remembrance with\nthem that shall be in the latter end.\n\n1:12. I Ecclesiastes was king over Israel in Jerusalem,\n\n1:13. And I proposed in my mind to seek and search out wisely\nconcerning all things that are done under the sun.  This painful\noccupation hath God given to the children of men, to be exercised\ntherein.\n\n1:14. I have seen all things that are done under the sun, and behold\nall is vanity, and vexation of spirit.\n\n1:15. The perverse are hard to be corrected, and the number of fools is\ninfinite.\n\n1:16. I have spoken in my heart, saying:  Behold I am become great, and\nhave gone beyond all in wisdom, that were before me in Jerusalem:  and\nmy mind hath contemplated many things wisely, and I have learned.\n\n1:17. And I have given my heart to know prudence, and learning, and\nerrors, and folly:  and I have perceived that in these also there was\nlabour, and vexation of spirit,\n\n1:18. Because in much wisdom there is much indignation:  and he that\naddeth knowledge, addeth also labour.\n\n\n\nEcclesiastes Chapter 2\n\n\nThe vanity of pleasures, riches, and worldly labours.\n\n2:1. I said in my heart:  I will go, and abound with delights, and enjoy\ngood things.  And I saw that this also was vanity.\n\n2:2. Laughter I counted error:  and to mirth I said:  Why art thou vainly\ndeceived?\n\n2:3. I thought in my heart, to withdraw my flesh from wine, that I\nmight turn my mind to wisdom, and might avoid folly, till I might see\nwhat was profitable for the children of men:  and what they ought to do\nunder the sun, all the days of their life.\n\n2:4. I made me great works, I built me houses, and planted vineyards,\n\n2:5. I made gardens, and orchards, and set them with trees of all\nkinds,\n\n2:6. And I made me ponds of water, to water therewith the wood of the\nyoung trees,\n\n2:7. I got me menservants, and maidservants, and had a great family:\nand herds of oxen, and great flocks of sheep, above all that were\nbefore me in Jerusalem:\n\n2:8. I heaped together for myself silver and gold, and the wealth of\nkings, and provinces:  I made me singing men, and singing women, and the\ndelights of the sons of men, cups and vessels to serve to pour out\nwine:\n\n2:9. And I surpassed in riches all that were before me in Jerusalem:  my\nwisdom also remained with me.\n\n2:10. And whatsoever my eyes desired, I refused them not:  and I\nwithheld not my heart from enjoying every pleasure, and delighting\nitself in the things which I had prepared:  and esteemed this my\nportion, to make use of my own labour.\n\n2:11. And when I turned myself to all the works which my hands had\nwrought, and to the labours wherein I had laboured in vain, I saw in\nall things vanity, and vexation of mind, and that nothing was lasting\nunder the sun.\n\n2:12. I passed further to behold wisdom, and errors and folly, (What is\nman, said I that he can follow the King his maker?)\n\n2:13. And I saw that wisdom excelled folly, as much as light differeth\nfrom darkness.\n\n2:14. The eyes of a wise man are in his head:  the fool walketh in\ndarkness:  and I learned that they were to die both alike.\n\n2:15. And I said in my heart:  If the death of the fool and mine shall\nbe one, what doth it avail me, that I have applied myself more to the\nstudy of wisdom?  And speaking with my own mind, I perceived that this\nalso was vanity.\n\n2:16. For there shall be no remembrance of the wise no more than of the\nfool forever, and the times to come shall cover all things together\nwith oblivion:  the learned dieth in like manner as the unlearned.\n\n2:17. And therefore I was weary of my life, when I saw that all things\nunder the sun are evil, and all vanity and vexation of spirit.\n\n2:18. Again I hated all my application wherewith I had earnestly\nlaboured under the sun, being like to have an heir after me,\n\n2:19. Whom I know not whether he will be a wise man or a fool, and he\nshall have rule over all my labours with which I have laboured and been\nsolicitous:  and is there anything so vain?\n\n2:20. Wherefore I left off and my heart renounced labouring anymore\nunder the sun.\n\n2:21. For when a man laboureth in wisdom, and knowledge, and\ncarefulness, he leaveth what he hath gotten to an idle man:  so this\nalso is vanity, and a great evil.\n\n2:22. For what profit shall a man have of all his labour, and vexation\nof spirit, with which he hath been tormented under the sun?\n\n2:23. All his days are full of sorrows and miseries, even in the night\nhe doth not rest in mind:  and is not this vanity?\n\n2:24. Is it not better to eat and drink, and to shew his soul good\nthings of his labours?  and this is from the hand of God.\n\n2:25. Who shall so feast and abound with delights as I?\n\n2:26. God hath given to a man that is good in his sight, wisdom, and\nknowledge, and joy:  but to the sinner he hath given vexation, and\nsuperfluous care, to heap up and to gather together, and to give it to\nhim that hath pleased God:  but this also is vanity, and a fruitless\nsolicitude of the mind.\n\n\n\nEcclesiastes Chapter 3\n\n\nAll human things are liable to perpetual changes.  We are to rest on\nGod's providence, and cast away fruitless cares.\n\n3:1. All things have their season, and in their times all things pass\nunder heaven.\n\n3:2. A time to be born and a time to die.  A time to plant, and a time\nto pluck up that which is planted.\n\n3:3. A time to kill, and a time to heal.  A time to destroy, and a time\nto build.\n\n3:4. A time to weep, and a time to laugh.  A time to mourn, and a time\nto dance.\n\n3:5. A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather.  A time to embrace,\nand a time to be far from embraces.\n\n3:6. A time to get, and a time to lose.  A time to keep, and a time to\ncast away.\n\n3:7. A time to rend, and a time to sew.  A time to keep silence, and a\ntime to speak.\n\n3:8. A time of love, and a time of hatred.  A time of war, and a time of\npeace.\n\n3:9. What hath man more of his labour?\n\n3:10. I have seen the trouble, which God hath given the sons of men to\nbe exercised in it.\n\n3:11. He hath made all things good in their time, and hath delivered\nthe world to their consideration, so that man cannot find out the work\nwhich God hath made from the beginning to the end.\n\n3:12. And I have known that there was no better thing than to rejoice,\nand to do well in this life.\n\n3:13. For every man that eateth and drinketh, and seeth good of his\nlabour, this is the gift of God.\n\n3:14. I have learned that all the works which God hath made, continue\nfor ever:  we cannot add any thing, nor take away from those things\nwhich God hath made that he may be feared.\n\n3:15. That which hath been made, the same continueth:  the things that\nshall be, have already been:  and God restoreth that which is past.\n\n3:16. I saw under the sun in the place of judgment wickedness, and in\nthe place of justice iniquity.\n\n3:17. And I said in my heart:  God shall judge both the just and the\nwicked, and then shall be the time of every thing.\n\n3:18. I said in my heart concerning the sons of men, that God would\nprove them, and shew them to be like beasts.\n\n3:19. Therefore the death of man, and of beasts is one, and the\ncondition of them both is equal:  as man dieth, so they also die:  all\nthings breathe alike, and man hath nothing more than beast:  all things\nare subject to vanity.\n\nMan hath nothing more, etc. . .Viz., as to the life of the body.\n\n3:20. And all things go to one place:  of earth they were made, and into\nearth they return together.\n\n3:21. Who knoweth if the spirit of the children of Adam ascend upward,\nand if the spirit of the beasts descend downward?\n\nWho knoweth, etc. . .Viz., experimentally:  since no one in this life can\nsee a spirit.  But as to the spirit of the beasts, which is merely\nanimal, and become extinct by the death of the beast, who can tell the\nmanner it acts so as to give life and motion, and by death to descend\ndownward, that is, to be no more?\n\n3:22. And I have found that nothing is better than for a man to rejoice\nin his work, and that this is his portion.  For who shall bring him to\nknow the things that shall be after him?\n\n\n\nEcclesiastes Chapter 4\n\n\nOther instances of human miseries.\n\n4:1. I turned myself to other things, and I saw the oppressions that\nare done under the sun, and the tears of the innocent, and they had no\ncomforter; and they were not able to resist their violence, being\ndestitute of help from any.\n\n4:2. And I praised the dead rather than the living:\n\n4:3. And I judged him happier than them both, that is not yet born, nor\nhath seen the evils that are done under the sun.\n\n4:4. Again I considered all the labours of men, and I remarked that\ntheir industries are exposed to the envy of their neighbour:  so in this\nalso there is vanity, and fruitless care.\n\n4:5. The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh,\nsaying:\n\n4:6. Better is a handful with rest, than both hands full with labour,\nand vexation of mind.\n\n4:7. Considering I found also another vanity under the sun:\n\n4:8. There is but one, and he hath not a second, no child, no brother,\nand yet he ceaseth not to labour, neither are his eyes satisfied with\nriches, neither doth he reflect, saying:  For whom do I labour, and\ndefraud my soul of good things?  in this also is vanity, and a grievous\nvexation.\n\n4:9. It is better therefore that two should be together, than one:  for\nthey have the advantage of their society:\n\n4:10. If one fall he shall be supported by the other:  woe to him that\nis alone, for when he falleth, he hath none to lift him up.\n\n4:11. And if two lie together, they shall warm one another:  how shall\none alone be warmed?\n\n4:12. And if a man prevail against one, two shall withstand him:  a\nthreefold cord is not easily broken.\n\n4:13. Better is a child that is poor and wise, than a king that is old\nand foolish, who knoweth not to foresee for hereafter.\n\n4:14. Because out of prison and chains sometimes a man cometh forth to\na kingdom:  and another born king is consumed with poverty.\n\n4:15. I saw all men living, that walk under the sun with the second\nyoung man, who shall rise up in his place.\n\n4:16. The number of the people, of all that were before him is\ninfinite:  and they that shall come afterwards, shall not rejoice in\nhim:  but this also is vanity, and vexation of spirit.\n\n4:17. Keep thy foot, when thou goest into the house of God, and draw\nnigh to hear.  For much better is obedience, than the victims of fools,\nwho know not what evil they do.\n\n\n\nEcclesiastes Chapter 5\n\n\nCaution in words.  Vows are to be paid.  Riches are often pernicious:\nthe moderate use of them is the gift of God.\n\n5:1. Speak not any thing rashly, and let not thy heart be hasty to\nutter a word before God.  For God is in heaven, and thou upon earth:\ntherefore let thy words be few.\n\n5:2. Dreams follow many cares:  and in many words shall be found folly.\n\n5:3. If thou hast vowed any thing to God, defer not to pay it:  for an\nunfaithful and foolish promise displeaseth him:  but whatsoever thou\nhast vowed, pay it.\n\n5:4. And it is much better not to vow, than after a vow not to perform\nthe things promised.\n\n5:5. Give not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin:  and say not before\nthe angel:  There is no providence:  lest God be angry at thy words, and\ndestroy all the works of thy hands.\n\n5:6. Where there are many dreams, there are many vanities, and words\nwithout number:  but do thou fear God.\n\n5:7. If thou shalt see the oppressions of the poor, and violent\njudgments, and justice perverted in the province, wonder not at this\nmatter:  for he that is high hath another higher, and there are others\nstill higher than these:\n\n5:8. Moreover there is the king that reigneth over all the land subject\nto him.\n\n5:9. A covetous man shall not be satisfied with money:  and he that\nloveth riches shall reap no fruit from them:  so this also is vanity.\n\n5:10. Where there are great riches, there are also many to eat them.\nAnd what doth it profit the owner, but that he seeth the riches with\nhis eyes?\n\n5:11. Sleep is sweet to a labouring man, whether he eat little or much:\nbut the fulness of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.\n\n5:12. There is also another grievous evil, which I have seen under the\nsun:  riches kept to the hurt of the owner.\n\n5:13. For they are lost with very great affliction:  he hath begotten a\nson, who shall be in extremity of want.\n\n5:14. As he came forth naked from his mother's womb, so shall he\nreturn, and shall take nothing away with him of his labour.\n\n5:15. A most deplorable evil:  as he came, so shall he return.  What then\ndoth it profit him that he hath laboured for the wind?\n\n5:16. All the days of his life he eateth in darkness, and in many\ncares, and in misery, and sorrow.\n\n5:17. This therefore hath seemed good to me, that a man should eat and\ndrink, and enjoy the fruit of his labour, wherewith he hath laboured\nunder the sun, all the days of his life, which God hath given him:  and\nthis is his portion.\n\n5:18. And every man to whom God hath given riches, and substance, and\nhath given him power to eat thereof, and to enjoy his portion, and to\nrejoice of his labour:  this is the gift of God.\n\n5:19. For he shall not much remember the days of his life, because God\nentertaineth his heart with delight.\n\n\n\nEcclesiastes Chapter 6\n\n\nThe misery of the covetous man.\n\n6:1. There is also another evil, which I have seen under the sun, and\nthat frequent among men:\n\n6:2. A man to whom God hath given riches, and substance, and honour,\nand his soul wanteth nothing of all that he desireth:  yet God doth not\ngive him power to eat thereof, but a stranger shall eat it up.  This is\nvanity and a great misery.\n\n6:3. If a man beget a hundred children, and live many years, and attain\nto a great age, and his soul make no use of the goods of his substance,\nand he be without burial:  of this man I pronounce, that the untimely\nborn is better than he.\n\n6:4. For he came in vain, and goeth to darkness, and his name shall be\nwholly forgotten.\n\n6:5. He hath not seen the sun, nor known the distance of good and evil:\n\n6:6. Although he lived two thousand years, and hath not enjoyed good\nthings:  do not all make haste to one place?\n\n6:7. All the labour of man is for his mouth, but his soul shall not be\nfilled.\n\n6:8. What hath the wise man more than the fool?  and what the poor man,\nbut to go thither, where there is life?\n\n6:9. Better it is to see what thou mayst desire, than to desire that\nwhich thou canst not know.  But this also is vanity, and presumption of\nspirit.\n\n6:10. He that shall be, his name is already called:  and it is known,\nthat he is a man, and cannot contend in judgment with him that is\nstronger than himself.\n\n6:11. There are many words that have much vanity in disputing.\n\n\n\nEcclesiastes Chapter 7\n\n\nPrescriptions against worldly vanities:  mortification, patience, and\nseeking wisdom.\n\n7:1. What needeth a man to seek things that are above him, whereas he\nknoweth not what is profitable for him in his life, in all the days of\nhis pilgrimage, and the time that passeth like a shadow?  Or who can\ntell him what shall be after him under the sun?\n\n7:2. A good name is better than precious ointments:  and the day of\ndeath than the day of one's birth.\n\n7:3. It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to the house of\nfeasting:  for in that we are put in mind of the end of all, and the\nliving thinketh what is to come.\n\n7:4. Anger is better than laughter:  because by the sadness of the\ncountenance the mind of the offender is corrected.\n\nAnger. . .That is, correction, or just wrath and zeal against evil.\n\n7:5. The heart of the wise is where there is mourning, and the heart of\nfools where there is mirth.\n\n7:6. It is better to be rebuked by a wise man, than to be deceived by\nthe flattery of fools.\n\n7:7. For as the crackling of thorns burning under a pot, so is the\nlaughter of a fool:  now this also is vanity.\n\n7:8. Oppression troubleth the wise, and shall destroy the strength of\nhis heart.\n\n7:9. Better is the end of a speech than the beginning.  Better is the\npatient man than the presumptuous.\n\n7:10. Be not quickly angry:  for anger resteth in the bosom of a fool.\n\n7:11. Say not:  What thinkest thou is the cause that former times were\nbetter than they are now?  for this manner of question is foolish.\n\n7:12. Wisdom with riches is more profitable, and bringeth more\nadvantage to them that see the sun.\n\n7:13. For as wisdom is a defence, so money is a defence:  but learning\nand wisdom excel in this, that they give life to him that possesseth\nthem.\n\n7:14. Consider the works of God, that no man can correct whom he hath\ndespised.\n\n7:15. In the good day enjoy good things, and beware beforehand of the\nevil day:  for God hath made both the one and the other, that man may\nnot find against him any just complaint.\n\n7:16. These things also I saw in the days of my vanity:  A just man\nperisheth in his justice, and a wicked man liveth a long time in his\nwickedness.\n\n7:17. Be not over just:  and be not more wise than is necessary, lest\nthou become stupid.\n\nOver just. . .Viz., By an excessive rigour in censuring the ways of God\nin bearing with the wicked.\n\n7:18. Be not overmuch wicked:  and be not foolish, lest thou die before\nthy time.\n\nBe not overmuch wicked. . .That is, lest by the greatness of your sin\nyou leave no room for mercy.\n\n7:19. It is good that thou shouldst hold up the just, yea and from him\nwithdraw not thy hand:  for he that feareth God, neglecteth nothing.\n\n7:20. Wisdom hath strengthened the wise more than ten princes of the\ncity.\n\n7:21. For there is no just man upon earth, that doth good, and sinneth\nnot.\n\n7:22. But do not apply thy heart to all words that are spoken:  lest\nperhaps thou hear thy servant reviling thee.\n\n7:23. For thy conscience knoweth that thou also hast often spoken evil\nof others.\n\n7:24. I have tried all things in wisdom.  I have said:  I will be wise:\nand it departed farther from me,\n\n7:25. Much more than it was:  it is a great depth, who shall find it\nout?\n\n7:26. I have surveyed all things with my mind, to know, and consider,\nand seek out wisdom and reason:  and to know the wickedness of the fool,\nand the error of the imprudent:\n\n7:27. And I have found a woman more bitter than death, who is the\nhunter's snare, and her heart is a net, and her hands are bands.  He\nthat pleaseth God shall escape from her:  but he that is a sinner, shall\nbe caught by her.\n\n7:28. Lo this have I found, said Ecclesiastes, weighing one thing after\nanother, that I might find out the account,\n\n7:29. Which yet my soul seeketh, and I have not found it.  One man among\na thousand I have found, a woman among them all I have not found.\n\n7:30. Only this I have found, that God made man right, and he hath\nentangled himself with an infinity of questions.  Who is as the wise\nman?  and who hath known the resolution of the word?\n\nOf the word. . .That is, of this obscure and difficult matter.\n\n\n\nEcclesiastes Chapter 8\n\n\nTrue wisdom is to observe God's commandments.  The ways of God are\nunsearchable.\n\n8:1. The wisdom of a man shineth in his countenance, and the most\nmighty will change his face.\n\n8:2. I observe the mouth of the king, and the commandments of the oath\nof God.\n\n8:3. Be not hasty to depart from his face, and do not continue in an\nevil work:  for he will do all that pleaseth him:\n\n8:4. And his word is full of power:  neither can any man say to him:  Why\ndost thou so?\n\n8:5. He that keepeth the commandment, shall find no evil.  The heart of\na wiser man understandeth time and answer.\n\n8:6. There is a time and opportunity for every business, and great\naffliction for man:\n\n8:7. Because he is ignorant of things past, and things to come he\ncannot know by any messenger.\n\n8:8. It is not in man's power to stop the spirit, neither hath he power\nin the day of death, neither is he suffered to rest when war is at\nhand, neither shall wickedness save the wicked.\n\n8:9. All these things I have considered, and applied my heart to all\nthe works that are done under the sun.  Sometimes one man ruleth over\nanother to his own hurt.\n\n8:10. I saw the wicked buried:  who also when they were yet living were\nin the holy place, and were praised in the city as men of just works:\nbut this also is vanity.\n\n8:11. For because sentence is not speedily pronounced against the evil,\nthe children of men commit evils without any fear.\n\n8:12. But though a sinner do evil a hundred times, and by patience be\nborne withal, I know from thence that it shall be well with them that\nfear God, who dread his face.\n\n8:13. But let it not be well with the wicked, neither let his days be\nprolonged, but as a shadow let them pass away that fear not the face of\nthe Lord.\n\n8:14. There is also another vanity, which is done upon the earth.  There\nare just men to whom evils happen, as though they had done the works of\nthe wicked:  and there are wicked men, who are as secure as though they\nhad the deeds of the just:  but this also I judge most vain.\n\n8:15. Therefore I commended mirth, because there was no good for a man\nunder the sun, but to eat, and drink, and be merry, and that he should\ntake nothing else with him of his labour in the days of his life, which\nGod hath given him under the sun.\n\nNo good for a man, etc. . .Some commentators think the wise man here\nspeaks in the person of the libertine:  representing the objections of\nthese men against divine providence, and the inferences they draw from\nthence, which he takes care afterwards to refute.  But it may also be\nsaid, that his meaning is to commend the moderate use of the goods of\nthis world, preferably to the cares and solicitudes of worldlings,\ntheir attachment to vanity and curiosity, and presumptuously diving\ninto the unsearchable ways of divine providence.\n\n8:16. And I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to understand the\ndistraction that is upon earth:  for there are some that day and night\ntake no sleep with their eyes.\n\n8:17. And I understood that man can find no reason of all those works\nof God that are done under the sun:  and the more he shall labour to\nseek, so much the less shall he find:  yea, though the wise man shall\nsay, that he knoweth it, he shall not be able to find it.\n\n\n\nEcclesiastes Chapter 9\n\n\nMan knows not certainty that he is in God's grace.  After death no more\nwork or merit.\n\n9:1. All these things have I considered in my heart, that I might\ncarefully understand them:  there are just men and wise men, and their\nworks are in the hand of God:  and yet man knoweth not whether he be\nworthy of love, or hatred:\n\n9:2. But all things are kept uncertain for the time to come, because\nall things equally happen to the just and to the wicked, to the good\nand to the evil, to the clean and to the unclean, to him that offereth\nvictims, and to him that despiseth sacrifices.  As the good is, so also\nis the sinner:  as the perjured, so he also that sweareth truth.\n\n9:3. This is a very great evil among all things that are done under the\nsun, that the same things happen to all men:  whereby also the hearts of\nthe children of men are filled with evil, and with contempt while they\nlive, and afterwards they shall be brought down to hell.\n\n9:4. There is no man that liveth always, or that hopeth for this:  a\nliving dog is better than a dead lion.\n\n9:5. For the living know that they shall die, but the dead know nothing\nmore, neither have they a reward any more:  for the memory of them is\nforgotten.\n\nKnow nothing more. . .Viz., as to the transactions of this world, in\nwhich they have now no part, unless it be revealed to them; neither\nhave they any knowledge or power now of doing any thing to secure their\neternal state, (if they have not taken care of it in their lifetime:)\nnor can they now procure themselves any good, as the living always may\ndo, by the grace of God.\n\n9:6. Their love also, and their hatred, and their envy are all\nperished, neither have they any part in this world, and in the work\nthat is done under the sun.\n\n9:7. Go then, and eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with\ngladness:  because thy works please God.\n\n9:8. At all times let thy garments be white, and let not oil depart\nfrom thy head.\n\n9:9. Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest, all the days of thy\nunsteady life, which are given to thee under the sun, all the time of\nthy vanity:  for this is thy portion in life, and in thy labour\nwherewith thou labourest under the sun.\n\n9:10. Whatsoever thy hand is able to do, do it earnestly:  for neither\nwork, nor reason, nor wisdom, nor knowledge shall be in hell, whither\nthou art hastening.\n\n9:11. I turned me to another thing, and I saw that under the sun, the\nrace is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to\nthe wise, nor riches to the learned, nor favour to the skilful:  but\ntime and chance in all.\n\n9:12. Man knoweth not his own end:  but as fishes are taken with the\nhook, and as birds are caught with the snare, so men are taken in the\nevil time, when it shall suddenly come upon them.\n\n9:13. This wisdom also I have seen under the sun, and it seemed to me\nto be very great:\n\n9:14. A little city, and few men in it:  there came against it a great\nking, and invested it, and built bulwarks round about it, and the siege\nwas perfect.\n\n9:15. Now there was found in it a man poor and wise, and he delivered\nthe city by his wisdom, and no man afterward remembered that poor man.\n\n9:16. And I said that wisdom is better than strength:  how then is the\nwisdom of the poor man slighted, and his words not heard?\n\n9:17. The words of the wise are heard in silence, more than the cry of\na prince among fools.\n\n9:18. Better is wisdom, than weapons of war:  and he that shall offend\nin one, shall lose many good things.\n\n\n\nEcclesiastes Chapter 10\n\n\nObservations on wisdom and folly, ambition and detraction.\n\n10:1. Dying flies spoil the sweetness of the ointment.  Wisdom and glory\nis more precious than a small and shortlived folly.\n\n10:2. The heart of a wise man is in his right hand, and the heart of a\nfool is in his left hand.\n\n10:3. Yea, and the fool when he walketh in the way, whereas he himself\nis a fool, esteemeth all men fools.\n\n10:4. If the spirit of him that hath power, ascend upon thee, leave not\nthy place:  because care will make the greatest sins to cease.\n\n10:5. There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as it were by an\nerror proceeding from the face of the prince:\n\n10:6. A fool set in high dignity, and the rich sitting beneath.\n\n10:7. I have seen servants upon horses:  and princes walking on the\nground as servants.\n\n10:8. He that diggeth a pit, shall fall into it:  and he that breaketh a\nhedge, a serpent shall bite him.\n\n10:9. He that removeth stones, shall be hurt by them:  and he that\ncutteth trees, shall be wounded by them.\n\n10:10. If the iron be blunt, and be not as before, but be made blunt,\nwith much labour it shall be sharpened:  and after industry shall follow\nwisdom.\n\n10:11. If a serpent bite in silence, he is nothing better that\nbackbiteth secretly.\n\n10:12. The words of the mouth of a wise man are grace:  but the lips of\na fool shall throw him down headlong.\n\n10:13. The beginning of his words is folly, and the end of his talk is\na mischievous error.\n\n10:14. A fool multiplieth words.  A man cannot tell what hath been\nbefore him:  and what shall be after him, who can tell him?\n\n10:15. The labour of fools shall afflict them that know not how to go\nto the city.\n\n10:16. Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and when the\nprinces eat in the morning.\n\n10:17. Blessed is the land, whose king is noble, and whose princes eat\nin due season for refreshment, and not for riotousness.\n\n10:18. By slothfulness a building shall be brought down, and through\nthe weakness of hands, the house shall drop through.\n\n10:19. For laughter they make bread, and wine that the living may\nfeast:  and all things obey money.\n\n10:20. Detract not the king, no not in thy thought; and speak not evil\nof the rich man in thy private chamber:  because even the birds of the\nair will carry thy voice, and he that hath wings will tell what thou\nhast said.\n\n\n\nEcclesiastes Chapter 11\n\n\nExhortation to works of mercy, while we have time, to diligence in\ngood, and to the remembrance of death and judgment.\n\n11:1. Cast thy bread upon the running waters:  for after a long time\nthou shalt find it again.\n\n11:2. Give a portion to seven, and also to eight:  for thou knowest not\nwhat evil shall be upon the earth.\n\n11:3. If the clouds be full, they will pour out rain upon the earth.  If\nthe tree fall to the south, or to the north, in what place soever it\nshall fall, there shall it be.\n\nIf the tree fall, etc. . .The state of the soul is unchangeable when\nonce she comes to heaven or hell:  and a soul that departs this life in\nthe state of grace, shall never fall from grace:  as on the other side,\na soul that dies out of the state of grace, shall never come to it.  But\nthis does not exclude a place of temporal punishments for such souls as\ndie in the state of grace:  yet not so as to be entirely pure:  and\ntherefore they shall be saved, indeed, yet so as by fire.  1 Cor. 3.13,\n14, 15.\n\n11:4. He that observeth the wind, shall not sow:  and he that\nconsidereth the clouds, shall never reap.\n\n11:5. As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the\nbones are joined together in the womb of her that is with child:  so\nthou knowest not the works of God, who is the maker of all.\n\n11:6. In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening let not thy hand\ncease:  for thou knowest not which may rather spring up, this or that:\nand if both together, it shall be the better.\n\n11:7. The light is sweet, and it is delightful for the eyes to see the\nsun.\n\n11:8. If a man live many years, and have rejoiced in them all, he must\nremember the darksome time, and the many days:  which when they shall\ncome, the things past shall be accused of vanity.\n\n11:9. Rejoice therefore, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart\nbe in that which is good in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways\nof thy heart, and in the sight of thy eyes:  and know that for all these\nGod will bring thee into judgment.\n\n11:10. Remove anger from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh.\nFor youth and pleasure are vain.\n\n\n\nEcclesiastes Chapter 12\n\n\nThe Creator is to be remembered in the days of our youth:  all worldly\nthings are vain:  we should fear God and keep his commandments.\n\n12:1. Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before the time of\naffliction come, and the years draw nigh of which thou shalt say:  They\nplease me not:\n\n12:2. Before the sun, and the light, and the moon, and the stars be\ndarkened, and the clouds return after the rain:\n\nBefore the sun, etc. . .That is, before old age:  the effects of which\nupon all the senses and faculties are described in the following\nverses, under a variety of figures.\n\n12:3. When the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men\nshall stagger, and the grinders shall be idle in a small number, and\nthey that look through the holes shall be darkened:\n\n12:4. And they shall shut the doors in the street, when the grinder's\nvoice shall be low, and they shall rise up at the voice of the bird,\nand all the daughters of music shall grow deaf.\n\n12:5. And they shall fear high things, and they shall be afraid in the\nway, the almond tree shall flourish, the locust shall be made fat, and\nthe caper tree shall be destroyed:  because man shall go into the house\nof his eternity, and the mourners shall go round about in the street.\n\n12:6. Before the silver cord be broken, and the golden fillet shrink\nback, and the pitcher be crushed at the fountain, and the wheel be\nbroken upon the cistern,\n\n12:7. And the dust return into its earth, from whence it was, and the\nspirit return to God, who gave it.\n\n12:8. Vanity of vanities, said Ecclesiastes, and all things are vanity.\n\n12:9. And whereas Ecclesiastes was very wise, he taught the people, and\ndeclared the things that he had done:  and seeking out, he set forth\nmany parables.\n\n12:10. He sought profitable words, and wrote words most right, and full\nof truth.\n\n12:11. The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails deeply fastened\nin, which by the counsel of masters are given from one shepherd.\n\n12:12. More than these, my son, require not.  Of making many books there\nis no end:  and much study is an affliction of the flesh.\n\n12:13. Let us all hear together the conclusion of the discourse.  Fear\nGod, and keep his commandments:  for this is all man:\n\nAll man. . .The whole business and duty of man.\n\n12:14. And all things that are done, God will bring into judgment for\nevery error, whether it be good or evil.\n\nError. . .Or, hidden and secret thing.\n\n\n\n\nSOLOMON'S CANTICLE OF CANTICLES\n\n\n\nThis Book is called the Canticle of Canticles, that is to say, the most\nexcellent of all canticles:  because it is full of high mysteries,\nrelating to the happy union of Christ and his spouse:  which is here\nbegun by love; and is to be eternal in heaven.  The spouse of Christ is\nthe church:  more especially as to the happiest part of it, viz.,\nperfect souls, every one of which is his beloved, but, above all\nothers, the immaculate and ever blessed virgin mother.\n\n\n\nCanticle of Canticles Chapter 1\n\n\nThe spouse aspires to an union with Christ, their mutual love for one\nanother.\n\n1:1. Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth:  for thy breasts are\nbetter than wine,\n\nLet him kiss me. . .The church, the spouse of Christ, prays that he may\nlove and have peace with her, which the spouse prefers to every thing\ndelicious:  and therefore expresses (ver. 2) that young maidens, that is\nthe souls of the faithful, have loved thee.\n\n1:2. Smelling sweet of the best ointments.  Thy name is as oil poured\nout:  therefore young maidens have loved thee.\n\n1:3. Draw me:  we will run after thee to the odour of thy ointments.  The\nking hath brought me into his storerooms:  we will be glad and rejoice\nin thee, remembering thy breasts more than wine:  the rightous love\nthee.\n\nDraw me. . .That is, with thy grace:  otherwise I should not be able to\ncome to thee.  This metaphor shews that we cannot of ourselves come to\nChrist our Lord, unless he draws us by his grace, which is laid up in\nhis storerooms:  that is, in the mysteries of Faith, which God in his\ngoodness and love for mankind hath revealed, first by his servant Moses\nin the Old Law in figure only, and afterwards in reality by his only\nbegotten Son Jesus Christ.\n\n1:4. I am black but beautiful, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the\ntents of Cedar, as the curtains of Solomon.\n\nI am black but beautiful. . .That is, the church of Christ founded in\nhumility appearing outwardly afflicted, and as it were black and\ncontemptible; but inwardly, that is, in its doctrine and morality, fair\nand beautiful.\n\n1:5. Do not consider me that I am brown, because the sun hath altered\nmy colour:  the sons of my mother have fought against me, they have made\nme the keeper in the vineyards:  my vineyard I have not kept.\n\n1:6. Shew me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where\nthou liest in the midday, lest I begin to wander after the flocks of\nthy companions.\n\n1:7. If thou know not thyself, O fairest among women, go forth, and\nfollow after the steps of the flocks, and feed thy kids beside the\ntents of the shepherds.\n\nIf thou know not thyself, etc. . .Christ encourages his spouse to follow\nand watch her flock:  and though she know not entirely the power at hand\nto assist her, he tells her, ver. 8, my company of horsemen, that is,\nhis angels, are always watching and protecting her.  And in the\nfollowing verses he reminds her of the virtues and gifts with which he\nhas endowed her.\n\n1:8. To my company of horsemen, in Pharao's chariots, have I likened\nthee, O my love.\n\n1:9. Thy cheeks are beautiful as the turtledove's, thy neck as jewels.\n\n1:10. We will make thee chains of gold, inlaid with silver.\n\n1:11. While the king was at his repose, my spikenard sent forth the\nodour thereof.\n\n1:12. A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me, he shall abide between my\nbreasts.\n\n1:13. A cluster of cypress my love is to me, in the vineyards of\nEngaddi.\n\n1:14. Behold thou are fair, O my love, behold thou are fair, thy eyes\nare as those of doves.\n\n1:15. Behold thou art fair, my beloved, and comely.  Our bed is\nflourishing.\n\n1:16. The beams of our houses are of cedar, our rafters of cypress\ntrees.\n\n\n\nCanticle of Canticles Chapter 2\n\n\nChrist caresses his spouse:  he invites her to him.\n\n2:1. I am the flower of the field, and the lily of the valleys.\n\nI am the flower of the field. . .Christ professes himself the flower of\nmankind, yea, the Lord of all creatures:  and, ver. 2, declares the\nexcellence of his spouse, the true church above all other societies,\nwhich are to be considered as thorns.\n\n2:2. As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.\n\n2:3. As the apple tree among the trees of the woods, so is my beloved\namong the sons.  I sat down under his shadow, whom I desired:  and his\nfruit was sweet to my palate.\n\n2:4. He brought me into the cellar of wine, he set in order charity in\nme.\n\n2:5. Stay me up with flowers, compass me about with apples:  because I\nlanguish with love.\n\n2:6. His left hand is under my head, and his right hand shall embrace\nme.\n\n2:7. I adjure you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and the\nharts of the field, that you stir not up, nor make the beloved to\nawake, till she please.\n\n2:8. The voice of my beloved, behold he cometh leaping upon the\nmountains, skipping over the hills.\n\nThe voice of my beloved:  that is, the preaching of the gospel\nsurmounting difficulties figuratively here expressed by mountains and\nlittle hills.\n\n2:9. My beloved is like a roe, or a young hart.  Behold he standeth\nbehind our wall, looking through the windows, looking through the\nlattices.\n\n2:10. Behold my beloved speaketh to me:  Arise, make haste, my love, my\ndove, my beautiful one, and come.\n\n2:11. For winter is now past, the rain is over and gone.\n\n2:12. The flowers have appeared in our land, the time of pruning is\ncome:  the voice of the turtle is heard in our land:\n\n2:13. The fig tree hath put forth her green figs:  the vines in flower\nyield their sweet smell.  Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come:\n\n2:14. My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hollow places of the\nwall, shew me thy face, let thy voice sound in my ears:  for thy voice\nis sweet, and thy face comely.\n\n2:15. Catch us the little foxes that destroy the vines:  for our\nvineyard hath flourished.\n\nCatch us the little foxes. . .Christ commands his pastors to catch false\nteachers, by holding forth their fallacy and erroneous doctrine, which\nlike foxes would bite and destroy the vines.\n\n2:16. My beloved to me, and I to him who feedeth among the lilies,\n\n2:17. Till the day break, and the shadows retire.  Return:  be like, my\nbeloved, to a roe, or to a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.\n\n\n\nCanticle of Canticles Chapter 3\n\n\nThe spouse seeks Christ.  The glory of his humanity.\n\n3:1. In my bed by night I sought him whom my soul loveth:  I sought him,\nand found him not.\n\nIn my bed by night, etc. . .The Gentiles as in the dark, and seeking in\nheathen delusion what they could not find, the true God, until Christ\nrevealed his doctrine to them by his watchmen, (ver. 3,) that is, by\nthe apostles, and teachers by whom they were converted to the true\nfaith; and holding that faith firmly, the spouse (the Catholic Church)\ndeclares, ver. 4, That she will not let him go, till she bring him into\nher mother's house, etc., that is, till at last, the Jews also shall\nfind him.\n\n3:2. I will rise, and will go about the city:  in the streets and the\nbroad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth:  I sought him, and I\nfound him not.\n\n3:3. The watchmen who keep the city, found me:  Have you seen him, whom\nmy soul loveth?\n\n3:4. When I had a little passed by them, I found him whom my soul\nloveth:  I held him:  and I will not let him go, till I bring him into my\nmother's house, and into the chamber of her that bore me.\n\n3:5. I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes and the harts\nof the fields, that you stir not up, nor awake my beloved, till she\nplease.\n\n3:6. Who is she that goeth up by the desert, as a pillar of smoke of\naromatical spices, of myrrh, and frankincense, and of all the powders\nof the perfumer?\n\n3:7. Behold threescore valiant ones of the most valiant of Israel,\nsurrounded the bed of Solomon?\n\n3:8. All holding swords, and most expert in war:  every man's sword upon\nhis thigh, because of fears in the night.\n\n3:9. King Solomon hath made him a litter of the wood of Libanus:\n\n3:10. The pillars thereof he made of silver, the seat of gold, the\ngoing up of purple:  the midst he covered with charity for the daughters\nof Jerusalem.\n\n3:11. Go forth, ye daughters of Sion, and see king Solomon in the\ndiadem, wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of the joy of his\nheart.\n\n\n\nCanticle of Canticles Chapter 4\n\n\nChrist sets forth the graces of his spouse:  and declares his love for\nher.\n\n4:1. How beautiful art thou, my love, how beautiful art thou! thy eyes\nare doves' eyes, besides what is hid within.  Thy hair is as flocks of\ngoats, which come up from mount Galaad.\n\nHow beautiful art thou. . .Christ again praises the beauties of his\nchurch, which through the whole of this chapter are exemplified by a\nvariety of metaphors, setting forth her purity, her simplicity, and her\nstability.\n\n4:2. Thy teeth as flocks of sheep, that are shorn, which come up from\nthe washing, all with twins, and there is none barren among them.\n\n4:3. Thy lips are as a scarlet lace:  and thy speech sweet.  Thy cheeks\nare as a piece of a pomegranate, besides that which lieth hid within.\n\n4:4. Thy neck, is as the tower of David, which is built with bulwarks:\na thousand bucklers hang upon it, all the armour of valiant men.\n\n4:5. Thy two breasts like two young roes that are twins, which feed\namong the lilies.\n\nThy two breasts, etc. . .Mystically to be understood:  the love of God\nand the love of our neighbour, which are so united as twins which feed\namong the lilies:  that is, the love of God and our neighbour, feeds on\nthe divine mysteries and the holy sacraments, left by Christ to his\nspouse to feed and nourish her children.\n\n4:6. Till the day break, and the shadows retire, I will go to the\nmountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.\n\n4:7. Thou art all fair, O my love, and there is not a spot in thee.\n\n4:8. Come from Libanus, my spouse, come from Libanus, come:  thou shalt\nbe crowned from the top of Amana, from the top of Sanir and Hermon,\nfrom the dens of the lions, from the mountains of the leopards.\n\n4:9. Thou hast wounded my heart, my sister, my spouse, thou hast\nwounded my heart with one of thy eyes, and with one hair of thy neck.\n\n4:10. How beautiful are thy breasts, my sister, my spouse! thy breasts\nare more beautiful than wine, and the sweet smell of thy ointments\nabove all aromatical spices.\n\n4:11. Thy lips, my spouse, are as a dropping honeycomb, honey and milk\nare under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments, as the smell of\nfrankincense.\n\n4:12. My sister, my spouse, is a garden enclosed, a garden enclosed, a\nfountain sealed up.\n\nMy sister, etc., a garden enclosed. . .Figuratively the church is\nenclosed, containing only the faithful.  A fountain sealed up. . .That\nnone can drink of its waters, that is, the graces and spiritual\nbenefits of the holy sacraments, but those who are within its walls.\n\n4:13. Thy plants are a paradise of pomegranates with the fruits of the\norchard.  Cypress with spikenard.\n\n4:14. Spikenard and saffron, sweet cane and cinnamon, with all the\ntrees of Libanus, myrrh and aloes with all the chief perfumes.\n\n4:15. The fountain of gardens:  the well of living waters, which run\nwith a strong stream from Libanus.\n\n4:16. Arise, O north wind, and come, O south wind, blow through my\ngarden, and let the aromatical spices thereof flow.\n\n\n\nCanticle of Canticles Chapter 5\n\n\nChrist calls his spouse:  she languishes with love:  and describes him by\nhis graces.\n\n5:1. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat the fruit of his\napple trees.  I am come into my garden, O my sister, my spouse, I have\ngathered my myrrh, with my aromatical spices:  I have eaten the\nhoneycomb with my honey, I have drunk my wine with my milk:  eat, O\nfriends, and drink, and be inebriated, my dearly beloved.\n\nLet my beloved come into his garden, etc. . .Garden, mystically the\nchurch of Christ, abounding with fruit, that is, the good works of the\nelect.\n\n5:2. I sleep, and my heart watcheth:  the voice of my beloved knocking:\nOpen to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled:  for my head is\nfull of dew, and my locks of the drops of the nights.\n\n5:3. I have put off my garment, how shall I put it on?  I have washed my\nfeet, how shall I defile them?\n\n5:4. My beloved put his hand through the key hole, and my bowels were\nmoved at his touch.\n\nMy beloved put his hand through the key hole, etc. . .The spouse of\nChrist, his church, at times as it were penned up by its persecutors,\nand in fears, expecting the divine assistance, here signified by his\nhand:  and ver. 6, but he had turned aside and was gone, that is, Christ\npermitting a further trial of suffering:  and again, ver. 7, the\nkeepers, etc., signifying the violent and cruel persecutors of the\nchurch taking her veil, despoiling the church of its places of worship\nand ornaments for the divine service.\n\n5:5. I arose up to open to my beloved:  my hands dropped with myrrh, and\nmy fingers were full of the choicest myrrh.\n\n5:6. I opened the bolt of my door to my beloved:  but he had turned\naside, and was gone.  My soul melted when he spoke:  I sought him, and\nfound him not:  I called, and he did not answer me.\n\n5:7. The keepers that go about the city found me:  they struck me:  and\nwounded me:  the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me.\n\n5:8. I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved,\nthat you tell him that I languish with love.\n\n5:9. What manner of one is thy beloved of the beloved, O thou most\nbeautiful among women?  what manner of one is thy beloved of the\nbeloved, that thou hast so adjured us?\n\n5:10. My beloved is white and ruddy, chosen out of thousands.\n\nMy beloved, etc. . .In this and the following verses, the church\nmystically describes Christ to those who know him not, that is, to\ninfidels in order to convert them to the true faith.\n\n5:11. His head is as the finest gold:  his locks as branches of palm\ntrees, black as a raven.\n\n5:12. His eyes as doves upon brooks of waters, which are washed with\nmilk, and sit beside the plentiful streams.\n\n5:13. His cheeks are as beds of aromatical spices set by the perfumers.\nHis lips are as lilies dropping choice myrrh.\n\n5:14. His hands are turned and as of gold, full of hyacinths.  His belly\nas of ivory, set with sapphires.\n\n5:15. His legs as pillars of marble, that are set upon bases of gold.\nHis form as of Libanus, excellent as the cedars.\n\n5:16. His throat most sweet, and he is all lovely:  such is my beloved,\nand he is my friend, O ye daughters of Jerusalem.\n\n5:17. Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou most beautiful among women?\nwhither is thy beloved turned aside, and we will seek him with thee?\n\n\n\nCanticle of Canticles Chapter 6\n\n\nThe spouse of Christ is but one:  she is fair and terrible.\n\n6:1. My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the bed of aromatical\nspices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.\n\nMy beloved is gone down into his garden. . .Christ, pleased with the\ngood works of his holy and devout servants labouring in his garden, is\nalways present with them:  but the words is gone down, are to be\nunderstood, that after trying his Church by permitting persecution, he\ncomes to her assistance and she rejoices at his coming.\n\n6:2. I to my beloved, and my beloved to me, who feedeth among the\nlilies.\n\n6:3. Thou art beautiful, O my love, sweet and comely as Jerusalem\nterrible as an army set in array.\n\n6:4. Turn away thy eyes from me, for they have made me flee away.  Thy\nhair is as a flock of goats, that appear from Galaad.\n\n6:5. Thy teeth as a flock of sheep, which come up from the washing, all\nwith twins, and there is none barren among them.\n\n6:6. Thy cheeks are as the bark of a pomegranate, beside what is hidden\nwithin thee.\n\n6:7. There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and young\nmaidens without number.\n\n6:8. One is my dove, my perfect one is but one, she is the only one of\nher mother, the chosen of her that bore her.  The daughters saw her, and\ndeclared her most blessed:  the queens and concubines, and they praised\nher.\n\nOne is my dove, etc. . .That is, my church is one, and she only is\nperfect and blessed.\n\n6:9. Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the\nmoon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in array?\n\nWho is she, etc. . .Here is a beautiful metaphor describing the church\nfrom the beginning.  As, the morning rising, signifying the church\nbefore the written law; fair as the moon, shewing her under the light\nof the gospel:  and terrible as an army, the power of Christ's church\nagainst its enemies.\n\n6:10. I went down into the garden of nuts, to see the fruits of the\nvalleys, and to look if the vineyard had flourished, and the\npomegranates budded.\n\n6:11. I knew not:  my soul troubled me for the chariots of Aminadab.\n\n6:12. Return, return, O Sulamitess:  return, return that we may behold\nthee.\n\n\n\nCanticle of Canticles Chapter 7\n\n\nA further description of the graces of the church the spouse of Christ.\n\n7:1. What shalt thou see in the Sulamitess but the companies of camps?\nHow beautiful are thy steps in shoes, O prince's daughter!  The joints\nof thy thighs are like jewels, that are made by the hand of a skilful\nworkman.\n\nHow beautiful are thy steps, etc. . .By these metaphors are signified\nthe power and mission of the church in propagating the true faith.\n\n7:2. Thy navel is like a round bowl never wanting cups.  Thy belly is\nlike a heap of wheat, set about with lilies.\n\n7:3. Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins.\n\n7:4. Thy neck as a tower of ivory.  Thy eyes like the fishpools in\nHesebon, which are in the gate of the daughter of the multitude.  Thy\nnose is as the tower of Libanus, that looketh toward Damascus.\n\n7:5. Thy head is like Carmel:  and the hairs of thy head as the purple\nof the king bound in the channels.\n\nThy head is like Carmel. . .Christ, the invisible head of his church, is\nhere signified.\n\n7:6. How beautiful art thou, and how comely, my dearest, in delights!\n\n7:7. Thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters of\ngrapes.\n\n7:8. I said:  I will go up into the palm tree, and will take hold of the\nfruit thereof:  and thy breasts shall be as the clusters of the vine:\nand the odour of thy mouth like apples.\n\n7:9. Thy throat like the best wine, worthy for my beloved to drink, and\nfor his lips and his teeth to ruminate.\n\n7:10. I to my beloved, and his turning is towards me.\n\n7:11. Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field, let us abide in\nthe villages.\n\n7:12. Let us get up early to the vineyards, let us see if the vineyard\nflourish, if the flowers be ready to bring forth fruits, if the\npomegranates flourish:  there will I give thee my breasts.\n\n7:13. The mandrakes give a smell.  In our gates are all fruits:  the new\nand the old, my beloved, I have kept for thee.\n\n\n\nCanticle of Canticles Chapter 8\n\n\nThe love of the church to Christ:  his love to her.\n\n8:1. Who shall give thee to me for my brother, sucking the breasts of\nmy mother, that I may find thee without, and kiss thee, and now no man\nmay despise me?\n\n8:2. I will take hold of thee, and bring thee into my mother's house:\nthere thou shalt teach me, and I will give thee a cup of spiced wine\nand new wine of my pomegranates.\n\n8:3. His left hand under my head, and his right hand shall embrace me.\n\nHis left hand, etc. . .Words of the church to Christ.  His left hand,\nsignifying the Old Testament, and his right hand, the New.\n\n8:4. I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that you stir not up, nor\nawake my love till she please.\n\n8:5. Who is this that cometh up from the desert, flowing with delights,\nleaning upon her beloved?  Under the apple tree I raised thee up:  there\nthy mother was corrupted, there she was defloured that bore thee.\n\nWho is this, etc. . .The angels with admiration behold the Gentiles\nconverted to the faith:  coming up from the desert, that is, coming from\nheathenism and false worship:  flowing with delights, that is, abounding\nwith good works which are pleasing to God:  leaning on her beloved, on\nthe promise of Christ to his Church, that the gates of hell should not\nprevail against it; and supported by his grace conferred by the\nsacraments.  Under the apple tree I raised thee up; that is, that Christ\nredeemed the Gentiles at the foot of the cross, where the synagogue of\nthe Jews (the mother church) was corrupted by their denying him, and\ncrucifying him.\n\n8:6. Put me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thy arm, for love\nis strong as death, jealousy as hard as hell, the lamps thereof are\nfire and flames.\n\n8:7. Many waters cannot quench charity, neither can the floods drown\nit:  if a man should give all the substance of his house for love, he\nshall despise it as nothing.\n\n8:8. Our sister is little, and hath no breasts.  What shall we do to our\nsister in the day when she is to be spoken to?\n\nOur sister is little, etc. . .Mystically signifies the Jews, who are to\nbe spoken to:  that is, converted towards the end of the world:  and then\nshall become a wall, that is, a part of the building, the church of\nChrist.\n\n8:9. If she be a wall:  let us build upon it bulwarks of silver:  if she\nbe a door, let us join it together with boards of cedar.\n\n8:10. I am a wall:  and my breasts are as a tower since I am become in\nhis presence as one finding peace.\n\n8:11. The peaceable had a vineyard, in that which hath people:  he let\nout the same to keepers, every man bringeth for the fruit thereof a\nthousand pieces of silver.\n\n8:12. My vineyard is before me.  A thousand are for thee, the peaceable,\nand two hundred for them that keep the fruit thereof.\n\n8:13. Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the friends hearken:  make me\nhear thy voice.\n\n8:14. Flee away, O my beloved, and be like to the roe, and to the young\nhart upon the mountains of aromatical spices.\n\n\n\n\nTHE BOOK OF WISDOM\n\n\n\nThis Book is so called, because it treats of the excellence of WISDOM,\nthe means to obtain it, and the happy fruits it produces.  It is written\nin the person of Solomon, and contains his sentiments.  But it is\nuncertain who was the writer.  It abounds with instructions and\nexhortations to kings and all magistrates to minister justice in the\ncommonwealth, teaching all kinds of virtues under the general names of\njustice and wisdom.  It contains also many prophecies of Christ's\ncoming, passion, resurrection, and other Christian mysteries.  The whole\nmay be divided into three parts.  In the first six chapters, the author\nadmonishes all superiors to love and exercise justice and wisdom.  In\nthe next three, he teacheth that wisdom proceedeth only from God, and\nis procured by prayer and a good life.  In the other ten chapters, he\nsheweth the excellent effects and utility of wisdom and justice.\n\n\n\nWisdom Chapter 1\n\n\nAn exhortation to seek God sincerely, who cannot be deceived, and\ndesireth not our death.\n\n1:1. Love justice, you that are the judges of the earth.  Think of the\nLord in goodness, and seek him in simplicity of heart:\n\n1:2. For he is found by them that tempt him not:  and he sheweth himself\nto them that have faith in him.\n\n1:3. For perverse thoughts separate from God:  and his power, when it is\ntried, reproveth the unwise:\n\n1:4. For wisdom will not enter into a malicious soul, nor dwell in a\nbody subject to sins.\n\n1:5. For the Holy Spirit of discipline will flee from the deceitful,\nand will withdraw himself from thoughts that are without understanding,\nand he shall not abide when iniquity cometh in.\n\n1:6. For the spirit of wisdom is benevolent, and will not acquit the\nevil speaker from his lips:  for God is witness of his reins, and he is\na true searcher of his heart, and a hearer of his tongue.\n\n1:7. For the Spirit of the Lord hath filled the whole world:  and that\nwhich containeth all things, hath knowledge of the voice.\n\n1:8. Therefore he that speaketh unjust things, cannot be hid, neither\nshall the chastising judgment pass him by.\n\n1:9. For inquisition shall be made into the thoughts of the ungodly,\nand the hearing of his words shall come to God, to the chastising of\nhis iniquities.\n\n1:10. For the ear of jealousy heareth all things, and the tumult of\nmurmuring shall not be hid.\n\n1:11. Keep yourselves, therefore, from murmuring, which profiteth\nnothing, and refrain your tongue from detraction, for an obscure speech\nshall not go for nought:  and the mouth that belieth, killeth the soul.\n\n1:12. Seek not death in the error of your life, neither procure ye\ndestruction by the works of your hands.\n\n1:13. For God made not death, neither hath he pleasure in the\ndestruction of the living.\n\n1:14. For he created all things that they might be:  and he made the\nnations of the earth for health:  and there is no poison of destruction\nin them, nor kingdom of hell upon the earth.\n\n1:15. For justice is perpetual and immortal.\n\n1:16. But the wicked with works and words have called it to them:  and\nesteeming it a friend, have fallen away and have made a covenant with\nit:  because they are worthy to be of the part thereof.\n\n\n\nWisdom Chapter 2\n\n\nThe vain reasonings of the wicked:  their persecuting the just,\nespecially the Son of God.\n\n2:1. For they have said, reasoning with themselves, but not right:  The\ntime of our life is short and tedious, and in the end of a man there is\nno remedy, and no man hath been known to have returned from hell:\n\n2:2. For we are born of nothing, and after this we shall be as if we\nhad not been:  for the breath in our nostrils is smoke:  and speech a\nspark to move our heart,\n\n2:3. Which being put out, our body shall be ashes, and our spirit shall\nbe poured abroad as soft air, and our life shall pass away as the trace\nof a cloud, and shall be dispersed as a mist, which is driven away by\nthe beams of the sun, and overpowered with the heat thereof:\n\n2:4. And our name in time shall be forgotten, and no man shall have any\nremembrance of our works.\n\n2:5. For our time is as the passing of a shadow, and there is no going\nback of our end:  for it is fast sealed, and no man returneth:\n\n2:6. Come, therefore, and let us enjoy the good things that are\npresent, and let us speedily use the creatures as in youth.\n\n2:7. Let us fill ourselves with costly wine, and ointments:  and let not\nthe flower of the time pass by us.\n\n2:8. Let us crown ourselves with roses, before they be withered:  let no\nmeadow escape our riot.\n\n2:9. Let none of us go without his part in luxury:  let us every where\nleave tokens of joy:  for this is our portion, and this our lot.\n\n2:10. Let us oppress the poor just man, and not spare the widow, nor\nhonour the ancient grey hairs of the aged.\n\n2:11. But let our strength be the law of justice:  for that which is\nfeeble is found to be nothing worth.\n\n2:12. Let us, therefore, lie in wait for the just, because he is not\nfor our turn, and he is contrary to our doings, and upbraideth us with\ntransgressions of the law, and divulgeth against us the sins of our way\nof life.\n\n2:13. He boasteth that he hath the knowledge of God, and calleth\nhimself the son of God.\n\n2:14. He is become a censurer of our thoughts.\n\n2:15. He is grievous unto us, even to behold:  for his life is not like\nother men's, and his ways are very different.\n\n2:16. We are esteemed by him as triflers, and he abstaineth from our\nways as from filthiness, and he preferreth the latter end of the just,\nand glorieth that he hath God for his father.\n\n2:17. Let us see then if his words be true, and let us prove what shall\nhappen to him, and we shall know what his end shall be.\n\n2:18. For if he be the true son of God, he will defend him, and will\ndeliver him from the hands of his enemies.\n\n2:19. Let us examine him by outrages and tortures, that we may know his\nmeekness, and try his patience.\n\n2:20. Let us condemn him to a most shameful death:  for there shall be\nrespect had unto him by his words.\n\n2:21. These things they thought, and were deceived:  for their own\nmalice blinded them.\n\n2:22. And they knew not the secrets of God, nor hoped for the wages of\njustice, nor esteemed the honour of holy souls.\n\n2:23. For God created man incorruptible, and to the image of his own\nlikeness he made him.\n\n2:24. But by the envy of the devil, death came into the world:\n\n2:25. And they follow him that are of his side.\n\n\n\nWisdom Chapter 3\n\n\nThe happiness of the just:  and the unhappiness of the wicked.\n\n3:1. But the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and the torment\nof death shall not touch them.\n\n3:2. In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die:  and their departure\nwas taken for misery:\n\n3:3. And their going away from us, for utter destruction:  but they are\nin peace.\n\n3:4. And though in the sight of men they suffered torments, their hope\nis full of immortality.\n\n3:5. Afflicted in few things, in many they shall be well rewarded:\nbecause God hath tried them, and found them worthy of himself.\n\n3:6. As gold in the furnace, he hath proved them, and as a victim of a\nholocaust, he hath received them, and in time there shall be respect\nhad to them.\n\n3:7. The just shall shine, and shall run to and fro like sparks among\nthe reeds.\n\n3:8. They shall judge nations, and rule over people, and their Lord\nshall reign for ever.\n\n3:9. They that trust in him shall understand the truth:  and they that\nare faithful in love, shall rest in him:  for grace and peace are to his\nelect.\n\n3:10. But the wicked shall be punished according to their own devices:\nwho have neglected the just, and have revolted from the Lord.\n\n3:11. For he that rejecteth wisdom, and discipline, is unhappy:  and\ntheir hope is vain, and their labours without fruit, and their works\nunprofitable.\n\n3:12. Their wives are foolish, and their children wicked.\n\n3:13. Their offspring is cursed, for happy is the barren:  and the\nundefiled, that hath not known bed in sin, she shall have fruit in the\nvisitation of holy souls.\n\n3:14. And the eunuch, that hath not wrought iniquity with his hands,\nnor thought wicked things against God for the precious gift of faith\nshall be given to him, and a most acceptable lot in the temple of God.\n\n3:15. For the fruit of good labours is glorious, and the root of wisdom\nnever faileth.\n\n3:16. But the children of adulterers shall not come to perfection, and\nthe seed of the unlawful bed shall be rooted out.\n\n3:17. And if they live long, they shall be nothing regarded, and their\nlast old age shall be without honour.\n\n3:18. And if they die quickly, they shall have no hope, nor speech of\ncomfort in the day of trial.\n\n3:19. For dreadful are the ends of a wicked race.\n\n\n\nWisdom Chapter 4\n\n\nThe difference between the chaste and the adulterous generations:  and\nbetween the death of the just and the wicked.\n\n4:1. How beautiful is the chaste generation with glory:  for the memory\nthereof is immortal:  because it is known both with God and with men.\n\n4:2. When it is present, they imitate it:  and they desire it, when it\nhath withdrawn itself, and it triumpheth crowned for ever, winning the\nreward of undefiled conflicts.\n\n4:3. But the multiplied brood of the wicked shall not thrive, and\nbastard slips shall not take deep root, nor any fast foundation.\n\n4:4. And if they flourish in branches for a time, yet standing not\nfast, they shall be shaken with the wind, and through the force of\nwinds they shall be rooted out.\n\n4:5. For the branches not being perfect, shall be broken, and their\nfruits shall be unprofitable, and sour to eat, and fit for nothing.\n\n4:6. For the children that are born of unlawful beds, are witnesses of\nwickedness against their parents in their trial.\n\n4:7. But the just man, if he be prevented with death, shall be in rest.\n\n4:8. For venerable old age is not that of long time, nor counted by the\nnumber of years:  but the understanding of a man is grey hairs.\n\n4:9. And a spotless life is old age.\n\n4:10. He pleased God, and was beloved, and living among sinners, he was\ntranslated.\n\n4:11. He was taken away, lest wickedness should alter his\nunderstanding, or deceit beguile his soul.\n\n4:12. For the bewitching of vanity obscureth good things, and the\nwandering of concupiscence overturneth the innocent mind.\n\n4:13. Being made perfect in a short space, he fulfilled a long time.\n\n4:14. For his soul pleased God:  therefore he hastened to bring him out\nof the midst of iniquities:  but the people see this, and understand\nnot, nor lay up such things in their hearts:\n\n4:15. That the grace of God, and his mercy is with his saints, and that\nhe hath respect to his chosen.\n\n4:16. But the just that is dead, condemneth the wicked that are living,\nand youth soon ended, the long life of the unjust.\n\n4:17. For they shall see the end of the wise man, and it shall not\nunderstand what God hath designed for him, and why the Lord hath set\nhim in safety.\n\n4:18. They shall see him, and shall despise him:  but the Lord shall\nlaugh them to scorn.\n\n4:19. And they shall fall after this without honour, and be a reproach\namong the dead for ever:  for he shall burst them puffed up and\nspeechless, and shall shake them from the foundations, and they shall\nbe utterly laid waste:  they shall be in sorrow, and their memory shall\nperish.\n\n4:20. They shall come with fear at the thought of their sins, and their\niniquities shall stand against them to convict them.\n\n\n\nWisdom Chapter 5\n\n\nThe fruitless repentance of the wicked in another world:  the reward of\nthe just.\n\n5:1. Then shall the just stand with great constancy against those that\nhave afflicted them, and taken away their labours.\n\n5:2. These seeing it, shall be troubled with terrible fear, and shall\nbe amazed at the suddenness of their unexpected salvation,\n\n5:3. Saying within themselves, repenting, and groaning for anguish of\nspirit:  These are they, whom we had sometime in derision, and for a\nparable of reproach.\n\n5:4. We fools esteemed their life madness, and their end without\nhonour.\n\n5:5. Behold, how they are numbered among the children of God, and their\nlot is among the saints.\n\n5:6. Therefore we have erred from the way of truth, and the light of\njustice hath not shined unto us, and the sun of understanding hath not\nrisen upon us.\n\n5:7. We wearied ourselves in the way of iniquity and destruction, and\nhave walked through hard ways, but the way of the Lord we have not\nknown.\n\n5:8. What hath pride profited us?  or what advantage hath the boasting\nof riches brought us?\n\n5:9. All those things are passed away like a shadow, and like a post\nthat runneth on,\n\n5:10. And as a ship, that passeth through the waves:  whereof when it is\ngone by, the trace cannot be found.  nor the path of its keel in the\nwaters:\n\n5:11. Or as when a bird flieth through the air, of the passage of which\nno mark can be found, but only the sound of the wings beating the light\nair, and parting it by the force of her flight:  she moved her wings,\nand hath flown through, and there is no mark found afterwards of her\nway:\n\n5:12. Or as when an arrow is shot at a mark, the divided air quickly\ncometh together again, so that the passage thereof is not known:\n\n5:13. So we also being born, forthwith ceased to be:  and have been able\nto shew no mark of virtue:  but are consumed in our wickedness.\n\n5:14. Such things as these the sinners said in hell:\n\n5:15. For the hope of the wicked is as dust, which is blown away with\nthe wind, and as a thin froth which is dispersed by the storm:  and a\nsmoke that is scattered abroad by the wind:  and as the remembrance of a\nguest of one day that passeth by.\n\n5:16. But the just shall live for evermore:  and their reward is with\nthe Lord, and the care of them with the most High.\n\n5:17. Therefore shall they receive a kingdom of glory, and a crown of\nbeauty at the hand of the Lord:  for with his right hand he will cover\nthem, and with his holy arm he will defend them.\n\n5:18. And his zeal will take armour, and he will arm the creature for\nthe revenge of his enemies.\n\n5:19. He will put on justice as a breastplate, and will take true\njudgment instead of a helmet:\n\n5:20. He will take equity for an invincible shield:\n\n5:21. And he will sharpen his severe wrath for a spear, and the whole\nworld shall fight with him against the unwise.\n\n5:22. Then shafts of lightning shall go directly from the clouds, as\nfrom a bow well bent, they shall be shot out, and shall fly to the\nmark.\n\n5:23. And thick hail shall be cast upon them from the stone casting\nwrath:  the water of the sea shall rage against them, and the rivers\nshall run together in a terrible manner.\n\n5:24. A mighty wind shall stand up against them, and as a whirlwind\nshall divide them:  and their iniquity shall bring all the earth to a\ndesert, and wickedness shall overthrow the thrones of the mighty.\n\n\n\nWisdom Chapter 6\n\n\nAn address to princes to seek after wisdom:  she is easily found by\nthose that seek her.\n\n6:1. Wisdom is better than strength:  and a wise man is better than a\nstrong man.\n\n6:2. Hear, therefore, ye kings, and understand, learn ye that are\njudges of the ends of the earth.\n\n6:3. Give ear, you that rule the people, and that please yourselves in\nmultitudes of nations:\n\n6:4. For power is given you by the Lord, and strength by the most High,\nwho will examine your works:  and search out your thoughts:\n\n6:6. Because being ministers of his kingdom, you have not judged\nrightly, nor kept the law of justice, nor walked according to the will\nof God.\n\n6:6. Horribly and speedily will he appear to you:  for a most severe\njudgment shall be for them that bear rule.\n\n6:7. For to him that is little, mercy is granted:  but the mighty shall\nbe mightily tormented.\n\n6:8. For God will not except any man's person, neither will he stand in\nawe of any man's greatness:  for he made the little and the great, and\nhe hath equally care of all.\n\n6:9. But a greater punishment is ready for the more mighty.\n\n6:10. To you, therefore, O kings, are these my words, that you may\nlearn wisdom, and not fall from it.\n\n6:11. For they that have kept just things justly, shall be justified:\nand they that have learned these things, shall find what to answer.\n\n6:12. Covet ye, therefore, my words, and love them, and you shall have\ninstruction.\n\n6:13. Wisdom is glorious, and never fadeth away, and is easily seen by\nthem that love her, and is found by them that seek her.\n\n6:14. She preventeth them that covet her, so that she first sheweth\nherself unto them.\n\n6:15. He that awaketh early to seek her, shall not labour:  for he shall\nfind her sitting at his door.\n\n6:16. To think, therefore, upon her, is perfect understanding:  and he\nthat watcheth for her, shall quickly be secure.\n\n6:17. For she goeth about seeking such as are worthy of her, and she\nsheweth herself to them cheerfully in the ways, and meeteth them with\nall providence.\n\n6:18. For the beginning of her is the most true desire of discipline.\n\n6:19. And the care of discipline is love:  and love is the keeping of\nher laws:  and the keeping of her laws is the firm foundation of\nincorruption:\n\n6:20. And incorruption bringeth near to God.\n\n6:21. Therefore the desire of wisdom bringeth to the everlasting\nkingdom.\n\n6:22. If then your delight be in thrones, and sceptres, O ye kings of\nthe people, love wisdom, that you may reign for ever.\n\n6:23. Love the light of wisdom, all ye that bear rule over peoples.\n\n6:24. Now what wisdom is, and what was her origin, I will declare:  and\nI will not hide from you the mysteries of God, but will seek her out\nfrom the beginning of her birth, and bring the knowledge of her to\nlight, and will not pass over the truth:\n\n6:25. Neither will I go with consuming envy:  for such a man shall not\nbe partaker of wisdom.\n\n6:26. Now the multitude of the wise is the welfare of the whole world:\nand a wise king is the upholding of the people.\n\n6:27. Receive, therefore, instruction by my words, and it shall be\nprofitable to you.\n\n\n\nWisdom Chapter 7\n\n\nThe excellence of wisdom:  how she is to be found.\n\n7:1. I myself am a mortal man, like all others, and of the race of him,\nthat was first made of the earth, and in the womb of my mother I was\nfashioned to be flesh.\n\n7:2. In the time of ten months I was compacted in blood, of the seed of\nman, and the pleasure of sleep concurring.\n\n7:3. And being born, I drew in the common air, and fell upon the earth,\nthat is made alike, and the first voice which I uttered was crying, as\nall others do.\n\n7:4. I was nursed in swaddling clothes, and with great cares.\n\n7:5. For none of the kings had any other beginning of birth.\n\n7:6. For all men have one entrance into life, and the like going out.\n\n7:7. Wherefore I wished, and understanding was given me:  and I called\nupon God, and the spirit of wisdom came upon me:\n\n7:8. And I preferred her before kingdoms and thrones, and esteemed\nriches nothing in comparison of her.\n\n7:9. Neither did I compare unto her any precious stone:  for all gold,\nin comparison of her, is as a little sand; and silver, in respect to\nher, shall be counted as clay.\n\n7:10. I loved her above health and beauty, and chose to have her\ninstead of light:  for her light cannot be put out.\n\n7:11. Now all good things came to me together with her, and innumerable\nriches through her hands,\n\n7:12. And I rejoiced in all these:  for this wisdom went before me, and\nI knew not that she was the mother of them all.\n\n7:13. Which I have learned without guile, and communicate without envy,\nand her riches I hide not.\n\n7:14. For she is an infinite treasure to men:  which they that use,\nbecome the friends of God, being commended for the gifts of discipline.\n\n7:15. And God hath given to me to speak as I would, and to conceive\nthoughts worthy of those things that are given me:  because he is the\nguide of wisdom, and the director of the wise:\n\n7:16. For in his hand are both we, and our words, and all wisdom, and\nthe knowledge and skill of works.\n\n7:17. For he hath given me the true knowledge of the things that are:\nto know the disposition of the whole world, and the virtues of the\nelements,\n\n7:18. The beginning, and ending, and midst of the times, the\nalterations of their courses, and the changes of seasons,\n\n7:19. The revolutions of the year, and the dispositions of the stars,\n\n7:20. The natures of living creatures, and rage of wild beasts, the\nforce of winds, and reasonings of men, the diversities of plants, and\nthe virtues of roots,\n\n7:21. And all such things as are hid, and not foreseen, I have learned:\nfor wisdom, which is the worker of all things, taught me.\n\n7:22. For in her is the spirit of understanding; holy, one, manifold,\nsubtile, eloquent, active, undefiled, sure, sweet, loving that which is\ngood, quick, which nothing hindereth, beneficent,\n\n7:23. Gentle, kind, steadfast, assured, secure, having all power,\noverseeing all things, and containing all spirits:  intelligible, pure,\nsubtile:\n\n7:24. For wisdom is more active than all active things; and reacheth\neverywhere, by reason of her purity.\n\n7:25. For she is a vapour of the power of God, and a certain pure\nemmanation of the glory of the Almighty God:  and therefore no defiled\nthing cometh into her.\n\n7:26. For she is the brightness of eternal light, and the unspotted\nmirror of God's majesty, and the image of his goodness.\n\n7:27. And being but one, she can do all things:  and remaining in\nherself the same, she reneweth all things, and through nations\nconveyeth herself into holy souls, she maketh the friends of God and\nprophets.\n\n7:28. For God loveth none but him that dwelleth with wisdom.\n\n7:29. For she is more beautiful than the sun, and above all the order\nof the stars:  being compared with the light, she is found before it.\n\n7:30. For after this cometh night, but no evil can overcome wisdom.\n\n\n\nWisdom Chapter 8\n\n\nFurther praises of wisdom:  and her fruits.\n\n8:1. She reacheth, therefore, from end to end mightily, and ordereth\nall things sweetly.\n\n8:2. Her have I loved, and have sought her out from my youth, and have\ndesired to take for my spouse, and I became a lover of her beauty.\n\n8:3. She glorifieth her nobility by being conversant with God:  yea, and\nthe Lord of all things hath loved her.\n\n8:4. For it is she that teacheth the knowledge of God and is the\nchooser of his works.\n\n8:5. And if riches be desired in life, what is richer than wisdom,\nwhich maketh all things?\n\n8:6. And if sense do work:  who is a more artful worker than she of\nthose things that are?\n\n8:7. And if a man love justice:  her labours have great virtues:  for she\nteacheth temperance, and prudence, and justice, and fortitude, which\nare such things as men can have nothing more profitable in life.\n\n8:8. And if a man desire much knowledge:  she knoweth things past, and\njudgeth of things to come:  she knoweth the subtilties of speeches, and\nthe solutions of arguments:  she knoweth signs and wonders before they\nbe done, and the events of times and ages.\n\n8:9. I purposed, therefore, to take her to me to live with me:  knowing\nthat she will communicate to me of her good things, and will be a\ncomfort in my cares and grief.\n\n8:10. For her sake I shall have glory among the multitude, and honour\nwith the ancients, though I be young:\n\n8:11. And I shall be found of a quick conceit in judgment, and shall be\nadmired in the sight of the mighty, and the faces of princes shall\nwonder at me.\n\n8:12. They shall wait for me when I hold my peace, and they shall look\nupon me when I speak; and if I talk much, they shall lay their hands on\ntheir mouth.\n\n8:13. Moreover, by the means of her I shall have immortality:  and shall\nleave behind me an everlasting memory to them that come after me.\n\n8:14. I shall set the people in order:  and nations shall be subject to\nme.\n\n8:15. Terrible kings hearing, shall be afraid of me:  among the\nmultitude I shall be found good, and valiant in war.\n\n8:16. When I go into my house, I shall repose myself with her:  for her\nconversation hath no bitterness, nor her company any tediousness, but\njoy and gladness.\n\n8:17. Thinking these things with myself, and pondering them in my\nheart, that to be allied to wisdom is immortality,\n\n8:18. And that there is great delight in her friendship, and\ninexhaustible riches in the works of her hands, and in the exercise of\nconference with her, wisdom, and glory in the communication of her\nwords:  I went about seeking, that I might take her to myself.\n\n8:19. And I was a witty child, and had received a good soul.\n\n8:20. And whereas I was more good, I came to a body undefiled.\n\n8:21. And as I knew that I could not otherwise be continent, except God\ngave it, and this also was a point of wisdom, to know whose gift it\nwas, I went to the Lord, and besought him, and said with my whole\nheart:\n\n\n\nWisdom Chapter 9\n\n\nSolomon's prayer for wisdom.\n\n9:1. God of my fathers, and Lord of mercy, who hast made all things\nwith thy word,\n\n9:2. And by thy wisdom hast appointed man, that he should have dominion\nover the creature that was made by thee,\n\n9:3. That he should order the world according to equity and justice,\nand execute justice with an upright heart:\n\n9:4. Give me wisdom, that sitteth by thy throne, and cast me not off\nfrom among thy children:\n\n9:5. For I am thy servant, and the son of thy handmaid, a weak man, and\nof short time, and falling short of the understanding of judgment and\nlaws.\n\n9:6. For if one be perfect among the children of men, yet if thy wisdom\nbe not with him, he shall be nothing regarded.\n\n9:7. Thou hast chosen me to be king of thy people, and a judge of thy\nsons and daughters:\n\n9:8. And hast commanded me to build a temple on thy holy mount, and an\naltar in the city of thy dwelling place, a resemblance of thy holy\ntabernacle, which thou hast prepared from the beginning:\n\n9:9. And thy wisdom with thee, which knoweth thy works, which then also\nwas present when thou madest the world, and knew what was agreeable to\nthy eyes, and what was right in thy commandments.\n\n9:10. Send her out of thy holy heaven, and from the throne of thy\nmajesty, that she may be with me, and may labour with me, that I may\nknow what is acceptable with thee:\n\n9:11. For she knoweth and understandeth all things, and shall lead me\nsoberly in my works, and shall preserve me by her power.\n\n9:12. So shall my works be acceptable, and I shall govern thy people\njustly, and shall be worthy of the throne of my father.\n\n9:13. For who among men is he that can know the counsel of God?  or who\ncan think what the will of God is?\n\n9:14. For the thoughts of mortal men are fearful, and our counsels\nuncertain.\n\n9:15. For the corruptible body is a load upon the soul, and the earthly\nhabitation presseth down the mind that museth upon many things.\n\n9:16. And hardly do we guess aright at things that are upon earth:  and\nwith labour do we find the things that are before us.  But the things\nthat are in heaven, who shall search out?\n\n9:17. And who shall know thy thought, except thou give wisdom, and send\nthy holy Spirit from above:\n\n9:18. And so the ways of them that are upon earth may be corrected, and\nmen may learn the things that please thee?\n\n9:19. For by wisdom they were healed, whosoever have pleased thee, O\nLord, from the beginning.\n\n\n\nWisdom Chapter 10\n\n\nWhat wisdom did for Adam, Noe, Abraham, Lot, Jacob, Joseph, and the\npeople of Israel.\n\n10:1. She preserved him, that was first formed by God, the father of\nthe world, when he was created alone,\n\n10:2. And she brought him out of his sin, and gave him power to govern\nall things.\n\n10:3. But when the unjust went away from her in his anger, he perished\nby the fury wherewith he murdered his brother.\n\nThe unjust. . .Cain.\n\n10:4. For whose cause, when water destroyed the earth, wisdom healed it\nagain, directing the course of the just by contemptible wood.\n\nFor whose cause. . .Viz., for the wickedness of the race of Cain.--Ibid.\nThe just. . .Noe.\n\n10:5. Moreover, when the nations had conspired together to consent to\nwickedness, she knew the just, and preserved him without blame to God,\nand kept him strong against the compassion for his son.\n\nShe knew the just. . .She found out and approved Abraham.  Ibid.\nAnd kept him strong, etc. . .Gave him strength to stand firm against\nthe efforts of his natural tenderness, when he was ordered to sacrifice\nhis son.\n\n10:6. She delivered the just man, who fled from the wicked that were\nperishing, when the fire came down upon Pentapolis:\n\nThe just man. . .Lot.--Ibid.  Pentapolis. . .The land of the five cities,\nSodom, Gomorrha, etc.\n\n10:7. Whose land, for a testimony of their wickedness, is desolate, and\nsmoketh to this day, and the trees bear fruits that ripen not, and a\nstanding pillar of salt is a monument of an incredulous soul.\n\n10:8. For regarding not wisdom, they did not only slip in this, that\nthey were ignorant of good things; but they left also unto men a\nmemorial of their folly, so that in the things in which they sinned,\nthey could not so much as lie hid.\n\n10:9. But wisdom hath delivered from sorrow them that attend upon her.\n\n10:10. She conducted the just, when he fled from his brother's wrath,\nthrough the right ways, and shewed him the kingdom of God, and gave him\nthe knowledge of the holy things, made him honourable in his labours,\nand accomplished his labours.\n\nThe just. . .Jacob.\n\n10:11. In the deceit of them that overreached him, she stood by him,\nand made him honourable.\n\n10:12. She kept him safe from his enemies, and she defended him from\nseducers, and gave him a strong conflict, that he might overcome, and\nknow that wisdom is mightier than all.\n\nConflict. . .Viz., with the angel.\n\n10:13. She forsook not the just when he was sold, but delivered him\nfrom sinners:  she went down with him into the pit.\n\nThe just when he was sold. . .Viz., Joseph.\n\n10:14. And in bands she left him not, till she brought him the sceptre\nof the kingdom, and power against those that oppressed him:  and shewed\nthem to be liars that had accused him, and gave him everlasting glory.\n\n10:15. She delivered the just people, and blameless seed, from the\nnations that oppressed them.\n\n10:16. She entered into the soul of the servant of God and stood\nagainst dreadful kings in wonders and signs.\n\nThe servant of God. . .Viz., Moses.\n\n10:17. And she rendered to the just the wages of their labours, and\nconducted them in a wonderful way:  and she was to them for a covert by\nday, and for the light of stars by night:\n\n10:18. And she brought them through the Red Sea, and carried them over\nthrough a great water.\n\n10:19. But their enemies she drowned in the sea, and from the depth of\nhell she brought them out.  Therefore the just took the spoils of the\nwicked.\n\n10:20. And they sung to thy holy name, O Lord, and they praised with\none accord thy victorious hand.\n\n10:21. For wisdom opened the mouth of the dumb, and made the tongues of\ninfants eloquent.\n\n\n\nWisdom Chapter 11\n\n\nOther benefits of wisdom to the people of God.\n\n11:1. She prospered their works in the hands of the holy prophet.\n\nThe holy prophet. . .Moses.\n\n11:2. They went through wildernesses that were not inhabited, and in\ndesert places they pitched their tents.\n\n11:3. They stood against their enemies, and revenged themselves of\ntheir adversaries.\n\nTheir enemies. . .The Amalecites.\n\n11:4. They were thirsty, and they called upon thee, and water was given\nthem out of the high rock, and a refreshment of their thirst out of the\nhard stone.\n\n11:5. For by what things their enemies were punished, when their drink\nfailed them, while the children of Israel abounded therewith, and\nrejoiced:\n\nBy what things, etc. . .The meaning is, that God, who wrought a miracle\nto punish the Egyptians by thirst, when he turned all their waters into\nblood, (at which time the Israelites, who were exempt from those\nplagues, had plenty of water,) wrought another miracle in favour of his\nown people in their thirst, by giving them water out of the rock.\n\n11:6. By the same things they in their need were benefited.\n\n11:7. For instead of a fountain of an ever running river, thou gavest\nhuman blood to the unjust.\n\n11:8. And whilst they were diminished for a manifest reproof of their\nmurdering the infants, thou gavest to thine abundant water unlooked\nfor:\n\n11:9. Shewing by the thirst that was then, how thou didst exalt thine,\nand didst kill their adversaries.\n\n11:10. For when they were tried, and chastised with mercy, they knew\nhow the wicked were judged with wrath, and tormented.\n\n11:11. For thou didst admonish and try them as a father:  but the\nothers, as a severe king, thou didst examine and condemn.\n\n11:12. For whether absent or present, they were tormented alike.\n\n11:13. For a double affliction came upon them, and a groaning for the\nremembrance of things past.\n\n11:14. For when they heard that by their punishments the others were\nbenefited, they remembered the Lord, wondering at the end of what was\ncome to pass.\n\nBy their punishments, etc. . .That is, that the Israelites had been\nbenefited and miraculously favoured in the same kind, in which they had\nbeen punished.\n\n11:15. For whom they scorned before, when he was thrown out at the time\nof his being wickedly exposed to perish, him they admired in the end,\nwhen they saw the event:  their thirsting being unlike to that of the\njust.\n\n11:16. But for the foolish devices of their iniquity, because some\nbeing deceived worshipped dumb serpents and worthless beasts, thou\ndidst send upon them a multitude of dumb beasts for vengeance:\n\nDumb beasts. . .Viz., frogs, sciniphs, flies, and locusts.\n\n11:17. That they might know that by what things a man sinneth, by the\nsame also he is tormented.\n\n11:18. For thy almighty hand, which made the world of matter without\nform, was not unable to send upon them a multitude of bears, or fierce\nlions,\n\n11:19. Or unknown beasts of a new kind, full of rage; either breathing\nout a fiery vapour, or sending forth a stinking smoke, or shooting\nhorrible sparks out of their eyes:\n\n11:20. Whereof not only the hurt might be able to destroy them, but\nalso the very sight might kill them through fear.\n\n11:21. Yea, and without these, they might have been slain with one\nblast, persecuted by their own deeds, and scattered by the breath of\nthy power:  but thou hast ordered all things in measure, and number, and\nweight.\n\n11:22. For great power always belonged to thee alone:  and who shall\nresist the strength of thy arm?\n\n11:23. For the whole world before thee is as the least grain of the\nbalance, and as a drop of the morning dew, that falleth down upon tho\nearth.\n\n11:24. But thou hast mercy upon all, because thou canst do all things,\nand overlookest the sins of men for the sake of repentance.\n\n11:25. For thou lovest all things that are, and hatest none of the\nthings which thou hast made:  for thou didst not appoint, or make any\nthing hating it.\n\n11:26. And how could any thing endure, if thou wouldst not?  or be\npreserved, if not called by thee?\n\n11:27. But thou sparest all:  because they are thine, O Lord, who lovest\nsouls.\n\n\n\nWisdom Chapter 12\n\n\nGod's wisdom and mercy in his proceedings with the Chanaanites.\n\n12:1. O how good and sweet is thy Spirit, O Lord, in all things!\n\n12:2. And therefore thou chastisest them that err, by little and\nlittle:  and admonishest them, and speakest to them, concerning the\nthings wherein they offend:  that leaving their wickedness, they may\nbelieve in thee, O Lord.\n\n12:3. For those ancient inhabitants of thy holy land, whom thou didst\nabhor,\n\n12:4. Because they did works hateful to thee by their sorceries, and\nwicked sacrifices,\n\n12:5. And those merciless murderers of their own children, and eaters\nof men's bowels, and devourers of blood from the midst of thy\nconsecration,\n\nFrom the midst of thy consecration. . .Literally, sacrament.  That is,\nthe land sacred to thee, in which thy temple was to be established, and\nman's redemption to be wrought.\n\n12:6. And those parents sacrificing with their own hands helpless\nsouls, it was thy will to destroy by the hands of our parents,\n\n12:7. That the land which of all is most dear to thee, might receive a\nworthy colony of the children of God.\n\n12:8. Yet even those thou sparedst as men, and didst send wasps\nforerunners of thy host, to destroy them by little and little.\n\n12:9. Not that thou wast unable to bring the wicked under the just by\nwar, or by cruel beasts, or with one rough word to destroy them at\nonce:\n\n12:10. But executing thy judgments by degrees, thou gavest them place\nof repentance, not being ignorant that they were a wicked generation,\nand their malice natural, and that their thought could never be\nchanged.\n\n12:11. For it was a cursed seed from the beginning:  neither didst thou\nfor fear of any one give pardon to their sins.\n\n12:12. For who shall say to thee:  What hast thou done?  or who shall\nwithstand thy judgment?  or who shall come before thee to be a revenger\nof wicked men?  or who shall accuse thee, if the nations perish, which\nthou hast made ?\n\n12:13. For there is no other God but thou, who hast care of all, that\nthou shouldst shew that thou dost not give judgment unjustly.\n\n12:14. Neither shall king, nor tyrant, in thy sight inquire about them\nwhom thou hast destroyed.\n\n12:15. For so much then, as thou art just, thou orderest all things\njustly:  thinking it not agreeable to the power, to condemn him who\ndeserveth not to be punished.\n\n12:16. For thy power is the beginning of justice:  and because thou art\nLord of all, thou makest thyself gracious to all.\n\n12:17. For thou shewest thy power, when men will not believe thee to be\nabsolute in power, and thou convincest the boldness of them that know\nthee not.\n\n12:18. But thou being master of power, judgest with tranquillity, and\nwith great favour disposest of us:  for thy power is at hand when thou\nwilt.\n\n12:19. But thou hast taught thy people by such works, that they must be\njust and humane, and hast made thy children to be of a good hope:\nbecause in judging, thou givest place for repentance for sins.\n\n12:20. For if thou didst punish the enemies of thy servants, and that\ndeserved to die, with so great deliberation, giving them time and place\nwhereby they might be changed from their wickedness:\n\n12:21. With what circumspection hast thou judged thy own children, to\nwhose parents thou hast sworn, and made covenants of good promises?\n\n12:22. Therefore whereas thou chastisest us, thou scourgest our enemies\nvery many ways, to the end that when we judge we may think on thy\ngoodness:  and when we are judged, we may hope for thy mercy.\n\n12:23. Wherefore thou hast also greatly tormented them, who, in their\nlife, have lived foolishly and unjustly, by the same things which they\nworshipped.\n\n12:24. For they went astray for a long time in the ways of error,\nholding those things for gods which are the most worthless among\nbeasts, living after the manner of children without understanding.\n\n12:25. Therefore thou hast sent a judgment upon them, as senseless\nchildren, to mock them.\n\n12:26. But they that were not amended by mockeries and reprehensions,\nexperienced the worthy judgment of God.\n\n12:27. For seeing, with indignation, that they suffered by those very\nthings which they took for gods, when they were destroyed by the same,\nthey acknowledged him the true God, whom in time past they denied that\nthey knew:  for which cause the end also of their condemnation came upon\nthem.\n\n\n\nWisdom Chapter 13\n\n\nIdolaters are inexcusable:  and those most of all that worship for gods\nthe works of the hands of men.\n\n13:1. But all men are vain, in whom there is not the knowledge of God:\nand who by these good things that are seen, could not understand him\nthat is, neither by attending to the works have acknowledged who was\nthe workman:\n\n13:2. But have imagined either the fire, or the wind, or the swift air,\nor the circle of the stars, or the great water, or the sun and moon, to\nbe the gods that rule the world.\n\n13:3. With whose beauty, if they, being delighted, took them to be\ngods:  let them know how much the Lord of them is more beautiful than\nthey:  for the first author of beauty made all those things.\n\n13:4. Or if they admired their power, and their effects, let them\nunderstand by them, that he that made them, is mightier than they:\n\n13:5. For by the greatness of the beauty, and of the creature, the\ncreator of them may be seen, so as to be known thereby.\n\n13:6. But yet as to these they are less to be blamed.  For they perhaps\nerr, seeking God, and desirous to find him.\n\n13:7. For being conversant among his works, they search:  and they are\npersuaded that the things are good which are seen.\n\n13:8. But then again they are not to be pardoned.\n\n13:9. For if they were able to know so much as to make a judgment of\nthe world:  how did they not more easily find out the Lord thereof?\n\n13:10. But unhappy are they, and their hope is among the dead, who have\ncalled gods the works of the hand of men, gold and silver, the\ninventions of art, and the resemblances of beasts, or an unprofitable\nstone the work of an ancient hand.\n\n13:11. Or if an artist, a carpenter, hath cut down a tree proper for\nhis use in the wood, and skilfully taken off all the bark thereof, and\nwith his art, diligently formeth a vessel profitable for the common\nuses of life,\n\n13:12. And useth the chips of his work to dress his meat:\n\n13:13. And taking what was left thereof, which is good for nothing,\nbeing a crooked piece of wood, and full of knots, carveth it diligently\nwhen he hath nothing else to do, and by the skill of his art fashioneth\nit, and maketh it like the image of a man:\n\n13:14. Or the resemblance of some beast, laying it over with vermilion,\nand painting it red, and covering every spot that is in it:\n\n13:15. And maketh a convenient dwelling place for it, and setting it in\na wall, and fastening it with iron,\n\n13:16. Providing for it, lest it should fall, knowing that it is unable\nto help itself:  for it is an image, and hath need of help.\n\n13:17. And then maketh prayer to it, enquiring concerning his\nsubstance, and his children, or his marriage.  And he is not ashamed to\nspeak to that which hath no life:\n\n13:18. And for health he maketh supplication to the weak, and for life\nprayeth to that which is dead, and for help calleth upon that which is\nunprofitable:\n\n13:19. And for a good journey he petitioneth him that cannot walk:  and\nfor getting, and for working, and for the event of all things he asketh\nhim that is unable to do any thing.\n\n\n\nWisdom Chapter 14\n\n\nThe beginning of worshipping idols:  and the effects thereof.\n\n14:1. Again, another designing to sail, and beginning to make his\nvoyage through the raging waves, calleth upon a piece of wood more\nfrail than the wood that carrieth him.\n\n14:2. For this the desire of gain devised, and the workman built it by\nhis skill.\n\n14:3. But thy providence, O Father, governeth it:  for thou hast made a\nway even in the sea, and a most sure path among the waves,\n\n14:4. Shewing that thou art able to save out of all things, yea, though\na man went to sea without art.\n\n14:5. But that the works of thy wisdom might not be idle:  therefore men\nalso trust their lives even to a little wood, and passing over the sea\nby ship, are saved.\n\n14:6. And from the beginning also, when the proud giants perished, the\nhope of the world fleeing to a vessel, which was governed by thy hand,\nleft to the world seed of generation.\n\n14:7. For blessed is the wood, by which justice cometh\n\n14:8. But the idol that is made by hands, is cursed, as well it, as he\nthat made it:  he because he made it; and it because being frail it is\ncalled a god.\n\n14:9. But to God the wicked and his wickedness are hateful alike.\n\n14:10. For that which is made, together with him that made it, shall\nsuffer torments.\n\n14:11. Therefore there shall be no respect had even to the idols of the\nGentiles:  because the creatures of God are turned to an abomination,\nand a temptation to the souls of men, and a snare to the feet of the\nunwise.\n\n14:12. For the beginning of fornication is the devising of idols:  and\nthe invention of them is the corruption of life.\n\n14:13. For neither were they from the beginning, neither shall they be\nfor ever.\n\n14:14. For by the vanity of men they came into the world:  and therefore\nthey shall be found to come shortly to an end.\n\n14:15. For a father being afflicted with bitter grief, made to himself\nthe image of his son, who was quickly taken away:  and him who then had\ndied as a man, he began now to worship as a god, and appointed him\nrites and sacrifices among his servants.\n\n14:16. Then, in process of time, wicked custom prevailing, this error\nwas kept as a law, and statues were worshipped by the commandment of\ntyrants.\n\n14:17. And those whom men could not honour in presence, because they\ndwelt far off, they brought their resemblance from afar, and made an\nexpress image of the king, whom they had a mind to honour:  that by this\ntheir diligence, they might honour as present, him that was absent.\n\n14:18. And to the worshipping of these, the singular diligence also of\nthe artificer helped to set forward the ignorant.\n\n14:19. For he being willing to please him that employed him, laboured\nwith all his art to make the resemblance in the best manner.\n\n14:20. And the multitude of men, carried away by the beauty of the\nwork, took him now for a god, that little before was but honoured as a\nman.\n\n14:21. And this was the occasion of deceiving human life:  for men\nserving either their affection, or their kings, gave the incommunicable\nname to stones and wood.\n\n14:22. And it was not enough for them to err about the knowledge of\nGod, but whereas they lived in a great war of ignorance, they call so\nmany and so great evils peace.\n\n14:23. For either they sacrifice their own children, or use hidden\nsacrifices, or keep watches full of madness,\n\n14:24. So that now they neither keep life, nor marriage undefiled, but\none killeth another through envy, or grieveth him by adultery:\n\n14:25. And all things are mingled together, blood, murder, theft, and\ndissimulation, corruption and unfaithfulness, tumults and perjury,\ndisquieting of the good,\n\n14:26. Forgetfulness of God, defiling of souls, changing of nature,\ndisorder in marriage, and the irregularity of adultery and uncleanness.\n\n14:27. For the worship of abominable idols is the cause, and the\nbeginning and end of all evil.\n\n14:28. For either they are mad when they are merry:  or they prophesy\nlies, or they live unjustly, or easily forswear themselves.\n\n14:29. For whilst they trust in idols, which are without life, though\nthey swear amiss, they look not to be hurt.\n\n14:30. But for both these things they shall be justly punished, because\nthey have thought not well of God, giving heed to idols, and have sworn\nunjustly, in guile despising justice.\n\n14:31. For it is not the power of them, by whom they swear, but the\njust vengeance of sinners always punisheth the transgression of the\nunjust.\n\n\n\nWisdom Chapter 15\n\n\nThe servants of God praise him who hath delivered them from idolatry;\ncondemning both the makers and the worshippers of idols.\n\n15:1. But thou, our God, art gracious and true, patient, and ordering\nall things in mercy.\n\n15:2. For if we sin, we are thine, knowing thy greatness:  and if we sin\nnot, we know that we are counted with thee.\n\n15:3. For to know thee is perfect justice:  and to know thy justice, and\nthy power, is the root of immortality.\n\n15:4. For the invention of mischievous men hath not deceived us, nor\nthe shadow of a picture, a fruitless labour, a graven figure with\ndivers colours,\n\n15:5. The sight whereof enticeth the fool to lust after it, and he\nloveth the lifeless figure of a dead image.\n\n15:6. The lovers of evil things deserve to have no better things to\ntrust in, both they that make them, and they that love them, and they\nthat worship them.\n\n15:7. The potter also tempering soft earth, with labour fashioneth\nevery vessel for our service, and of the same clay he maketh both\nvessels that are for clean uses, and likewise such as serve to the\ncontrary:  but what is the use of these vessels, the potter is the\njudge.\n\n15:8. And of the same clay by a vain labour he maketh a god:  he who a\nlittle before was made of earth himself, and a little after returneth\nto the same out of which he was taken, when his life, which was lent\nhim, shall be called for again.\n\n15:9. But his care is, not that he shall labour, nor that his life is\nshort, but he striveth with the goldsmiths and silversmiths:  and he\nendeavoureth to do like the workers in brass, and counteth it a glory\nto make vain things.\n\n15:10. For his heart is ashes, and his hope vain earth and his life\nmore base than clay:\n\n15:11. Forasmuch as he knew not his maker, and him that inspired into\nhim the soul that worketh, and that breathed into him a living spirit.\n\n15:12. Yea, and they have counted our life a pastime and the business\nof life to be gain, and that we must be getting every way, even out of\nevil.\n\n15:13. For that man knoweth that he offendeth above all others, who of\nearthly matter maketh brittle vessels, and graven gods.\n\n15:14. But all the enemies of thy people that hold them in subjection,\nare foolish, and unhappy, and proud beyond measure:\n\n15:15. For they have esteemed all the idols of the heathens for gods,\nwhich neither have the use of eyes to see, nor noses to draw breath,\nnor ears to hear, nor fingers of hands to handle, and as for their\nfeet, they are slow to walk.\n\n15:16. For man made them:  and he that borroweth his own breath,\nfashioned them.  For no man can make a god like to himself.\n\n15:17. For being mortal himself, he formeth a dead thing with his\nwicked hands.  For he is better than they whom he worshippeth, because\nhe indeed hath lived, though he were mortal, but they never.\n\n15:18. Moreover, they worship also the vilest creatures:  but things\nwithout sense, compared to these, are worse than they.\n\n15:19. Yea, neither by sight can any man see good of these beasts.  But\nthey have fled from the praise of God, and from his blessing.\n\n\n\nWisdom Chapter 16\n\n\nGod's different dealings with the Egyptians and with his own people.\n\n16:1. For these things, and by the like things to these, they were\nworthily punished, and were destroyed by a multitude of beasts.\n\n16:2. Instead of which punishment, dealing well with thy people, thou\ngavest them their desire of delicious food, of a new taste, preparing\nfor them quails for their meat:\n\n16:3. To the end, that they indeed desiring food, by means of those\nthings that were shewn and sent among them, might loath even that which\nwas necessary to satisfy their desire.  But these, after suffering want\nfor a short time, tasted a new meat.\n\nThey indeed desiring food, etc. . .He means the Egyptians; who were\nrestrained even from that food which was necessary, by the frogs and\nthe flies that were sent amongst them, and spoiled all their\nmeats.--Ibid.  But these. . .Viz., the Israelites.\n\n16:4. For it was requisite that inevitable destruction should come upon\nthem that exercised tyranny:  but to these it should only be shewn how\ntheir enemies were destroyed.\n\n16:5. For when the fierce rage of beasts came upon these, they were\ndestroyed by the bitings of crooked serpents.\n\n16:6. But thy wrath endured not for ever, but they were troubled for a\nshort time for their correction, having a sign of salvation, to put\nthem in remembrance of the commandment of thy law.\n\nSign of salvation. . .The brazen serpent, an emblem of Christ our\nSaviour.\n\n16:7. For he that turned to it, was not healed by that which he saw,\nbut by thee, the Saviour of all.\n\n16:8. And in this thou didst shew to our enemies, that thou art he who\ndeliverest from all evil.\n\n16:9. For the bitings of locusts, and of flies, killed them, and there\nwas found no remedy for their life:  because they were worthy to be\ndestroyed by such things.\n\n16:10. But not even the teeth of venomous serpents overcame thy\nchildren:  for thy mercy came and healed them.\n\n16:11. For they were examined for the remembrance of thy words, and\nwere quickly healed, lest falling into deep forgetfulness, they might\nnot be able to use thy help.\n\n16:12. For it was neither herb, nor mollifying plaster, that healed\nthem, but thy word, O Lord, which healeth all things.\n\n16:13. For it is thou, O Lord, that hast power of life and death, and\nleadest down to the gates of death, and bringest back again:\n\n16:14. A man indeed killeth through malice, and when the spirit is gone\nforth, it shall not return, neither shall he call back the soul that is\nreceived:\n\n16:15. But it is impossible to escape thy hand:\n\n16:16. For the wicked that denied to know thee, were scourged by the\nstrength of thy arm, being persecuted by strange waters, and hail, and\nrain, and consumed by fire.\n\n16:17. And which was wonderful, in water, which extinguisheth all\nthings, the fire had more force:  for the world fighteth for the just.\n\nThe fire had more force. . .Viz., when the fire and hail mingled\ntogether laid waste the land of Egypt.  Ex. 9.\n\n16:18. For at one time the fire was mitigated, that the beasts which\nwere sent against the wicked might not be burnt, but that they might\nsee, and perceive that they were persecuted by the judgment of God.\n\n16:19. And at another time the fire, above its own power, burnt in the\nmidst of water, to destroy the fruits of a wicked land.\n\n16:20. Instead of which things, thou didst feed thy people with the\nfood of angels, and gavest them bread from heaven, prepared without\nlabour; having in it all that is delicious, and the sweetness of every\ntaste.\n\n16:21. For thy sustenance shewed thy sweetness to thy children, and\nserving every man's will, it was turned to what every man liked.\n\n16:22. But snow and ice endured the force of fire, and melted not:  that\nthey might know that the fire, burning in the hail, and flashing in the\nrain, destroyed the fruits of the enemies.\n\n16:23. But this same again, that the just might be nourished, did even\nforget its own strength.\n\n16:24. For the creature serving thee, the Creator, is made fierce\nagainst the unjust for their punishment:  and abateth its strength for\nthe benefit of them that trust in thee.\n\n16:25. Therefore even then it was transformed into all things, and was\nobedient to thy grace, that nourisheth all, according to the will of\nthem that desired it of thee:\n\n16:26. That thy children, O Lord, whom thou lovedst, might know that it\nis not the growing of fruits that nourisheth men, but thy word\npreserveth them that believe in thee.\n\n16:27. For that which could not be destroyed by fire, being warmed with\na little sunbeam, presently melted away:\n\n16:28. That it might be known to all, that we ought to prevent the sun\nto bless thee, and adore thee at the dawning of the light.\n\n16:29. For the hope of the unthankful shall melt away as the winter's\nice, and shall run off as unprofitable water.\n\n\n\nWisdom Chapter 17\n\n\nThe Egyptian darkness.\n\n17:1. For thy judgments, O Lord, are great, and thy words cannot be\nexpressed:  therefore undisciplined souls have erred.\n\n17:2. For while the wicked thought to be able to have dominion over the\nholy nation, they themselves being fettered with the bonds of darkness,\nand a long night, shut up in their houses, lay there exiled from the\neternal providence.\n\n17:3. And while they thought to lie hid in their obscure sins, they\nwere scattered under a dark veil of forgetfullness, being horribly\nafraid, and troubled with exceeding great astonishment.\n\n17:4. For neither did the den that held them, keep them from fear:  for\nnoises coming down troubled them, and sad visions appearing to them,\naffrighted them.\n\n17:5. And no power of fire could give them light, neither could the\nbright flames of the stars enlighten that horrible night.\n\n17:6. But there appeared to them a sudden fire, very dreadful:  and\nbeing struck with the fear of that face, which was not seen, they\nthought the things which they saw to be worse:\n\n17:7. And the delusions of their magic art were put down, and their\nboasting of wisdom was reproachfully rebuked.\n\n17:8. For they who promised to drive away fears and troubles from a\nsick soul, were sick themselves of a fear worthy to be laughed at.\n\n17:9. For though no terrible thing disturbed them:  yet being scared\nwith the passing by of beasts, and hissing of serpents, they died for\nfear and denying that they saw the air, which could by no means be\navoided.\n\n17:10. For whereas wickedness is fearful, it beareth witness of its\ncondemnation:  for a troubled conscience always forecasteth grievous\nthings.\n\n17:11. For fear is nothing else but a yielding up of the succours from\nthought.\n\n17:12. And while there is less expectation from within, the greater\ndoth it count the ignorance of that cause which bringeth the torment.\n\n17:13. But they that during that night, in which nothing could be done,\nand which came upon them from the lowest and deepest hell, slept the\nsame sleep,\n\n17:14. Were sometimes molested with the fear of monsters, sometimes\nfainted away, their soul failing them:  for a sudden and unlooked for\nfear was come upon them.\n\n17:15. Moreover, if any of them had fallen down, he was kept shut up in\nprison without irons.\n\n17:16. For if any one were a husbandman, or a shepherd, or a labourer\nin the field, and was suddenly overtaken, he endured a necessity from\nwhich he could not fly.\n\n17:17. For they were all bound together with one chain of darkness.\nWhether it were a whistling wind, or the melodious voice of birds,\namong the spreading branches of trees, or a fall of water running down\nwith violence,\n\n17:18. Or the mighty noise of stones tumbling down, or the running that\ncould not be seen of beasts playing together, or the roaring voice of\nwild beasts, or a rebounding echo from the highest mountains:  these\nthings made them to swoon for fear.\n\n17:19. For the whole world was enlightened, with a clear light, and\nnone were hindered in their labours.\n\n17:20. But over them only was spread a heavy night, an image of that\ndarkness which was to come upon them.  But they were to themselves more\ngrievous than the darkness.\n\n\n\nWisdom Chapter 18\n\n\nThe slaughter of the firstborn in Egypt:  the efficacy of Aaron's\nintercession, in the sedition on occasion of Core.\n\n18:1. But thy saints had a very great light, and they heard their voice\nindeed, but did not see their shape.  And because they also did not\nsuffer the same things, they glorified thee:\n\n18:2. And they that before had been wronged, gave thanks, because they\nwere not hurt now:  and asked this gift, that there might be a\ndifference.\n\n18:3. Therefore they received a burning pillar of fire for a guide of\nthe way which they knew not, and thou gavest them a harmless sun of a\ngood entertainment.\n\nA harmless sun. . .A light that should not hurt or molest them; but that\nshould be an agreeable guest to them.\n\n18:4. The others indeed were worthy to be deprived of light, and\nimprisoned in darkness, who kept thy children shut up, by whom the pure\nlight of the law was to be given to the world.\n\n18:5. And whereas they thought to kill the babes of the just:  one child\nbeing cast forth, and saved to reprove them, thou tookest away a\nmultitude of their children, and destroyedst them altogether in a\nmighty water.\n\nOne child. . .Viz., Moses.\n\n18:6. For that night was known before by our fathers, that assuredly\nknowing what oaths they had trusted to, they might be of better\ncourage.\n\n18:7. So thy people received the salvation of the just, and destruction\nof the unjust.\n\n18:8. For as thou didst punish the adversaries so thou didst also\nencourage and glorify us.\n\n18:9. For the just children of good men were offering sacrifice\nsecretly, and they unanimously ordered a law of justice:  that the just\nshould receive both good and evil alike, singing now the praises of the\nfathers.\n\nOf good men. . .Viz., of the patriarchs.  Their children, the Israelites,\noffered in private the sacrifice of the paschal lamb; and were\nregulating what they were to do in their journey, when that last and\nmost dreadful plague was coming upon their enemies.\n\n18:10. But on the other side there sounded an ill according cry of the\nenemies, and a lamentable mourning was heard for the children that were\nbewailed.\n\n18:11. And the servant suffered the same punishment as the master, and\na common man suffered in like manner as the king.\n\n18:12. So all alike had innumerable dead, with one kind of death.\nNeither were the living sufficient to bury them:  for in one moment the\nnoblest offspring of them was destroyed.\n\nThe noblest offspring. . .That is, the firstborn.\n\n18:13. For whereas they would not believe any thing before by reason of\nthe enchantments, then first upon the destruction of the firstborn,\nthey acknowledged the people to be of God.\n\n18:14. For while all things were in quiet silence, and the night was in\nthe midst of her course,\n\n18:15. Thy Almighty word leaped down from heaven from thy royal throne,\nas a fierce conqueror into the midst of the land of destruction,\n\n18:16. With a sharp sword carrying thy unfeigned commandment, and he\nstood and filled all things with death, and standing on the earth,\nreached even to heaven.\n\n18:17. Then suddenly visions of evil dreams troubled them, and fears\nunlooked for came upon them.\n\n18:18. And one thrown here, another there, half dead, shewed the cause\nof his death.\n\n18:19. For the visions that troubled them foreshewed these things, lest\nthey should perish, and not know why they suffered these evils.\n\n18:20. But the just also were afterwards touched by an assault of\ndeath, and there was a disturbance of the multitude in the wilderness:\nbut thy wrath did not long continue;\n\n18:21. For a blameless man made haste to pry for the people, bringing\nforth the shield of his ministry, prayer, and by incense making\nsupplication, withstood the wrath, and put an end to the calamity,\nshewing that he was thy servant.\n\n18:22. And he overcame the disturbance, not by strength of body nor\nwith force of arms, but with a word he subdued him that punished them,\nalleging the oath and covenant made with the fathers.\n\n18:23. For when they were now fallen down dead by heaps one upon\nanother, he stood between and stayed the assault, and cut off the way\nto the living.\n\n18:24. For in the priestly robe which he wore, was the whole world:  and\nin the four rows of the stones, the glory of the fathers was graven,\nand thy majesty was written upon the diadem of his head.\n\n18:26. And to these the destroyer gave place, and was afraid of them:\nfor the proof only of wrath was enough.\n\n\n\nWisdom Chapter 19\n\n\nWhy God shewed no mercy to the Egyptians.  His favour to the Israelites.\nAll creatures obey God's orders for the service of the good, and the\npunishment of the wicked.\n\n19:1. But as to the wicked, even to the end there came upon them wrath\nwithout mercy.  For he knew before also what they would do:\n\n19:2. For when they had given them leave to depart and had sent them\naway with great care, they repented and pursued after them.\n\n19:3. For whilst they were yet mourning, and lamenting at the graves of\nthe dead, they took up another foolish device:  and pursued them as\nfugitives whom they had pressed to be gone:\n\n19:4. For a necessity, of which they were worthy, brought them to this\nend:  and they lost the remembrance of those things which had happened,\nthat their punishment might fill up what was wanting to their torments:\n\n19:5. And that thy people might wonderfully pass through, but they\nmight find a new death.\n\n19:6. For every creature, according to its kind was fashioned again as\nfrom the beginning, obeying thy commandments, that thy children might\nbe kept without hurt.\n\n19:7. For a cloud overshadowed their camps and where water was before,\ndry land appeared, and in the Red Sea a way without hindrance, and out\nof the great deep a springing field:\n\n19:8. Through which all the nation passed which was protected with thy\nhand, seeing thy miracles and wonders.\n\n19:9. For they fed on their food like horses, and they skipped like\nlambs, praising thee, O Lord, who hadst delivered them.\n\n19:10. For they were yet mindful of those things which had been done in\nthe time of their sojourning, how the ground brought forth flies\ninstead of cattle, and how the river cast up a multitude of frogs\ninstead of fishes.\n\n19:11. And at length they saw a new generation of birds, when being led\nby their appetite, they asked for delicate meats.\n\n19:12. For to satisfy their desire, the quail came up to them from the\nsea:  and punishments came upon the sinners, not without foregoing signs\nby the force of thunders:  for they suffered justly according to their\nown wickedness.\n\n19:13. For they exercised a more detestable inhospitality than any:\nothers indeed received not strangers unknown to them, but these brought\ntheir guests into bondage that had deserved well of them.\n\n19:14. And not only so, but in another respect also they were worse:\nfor the others against their will received the strangers.\n\n19:15. But these grievously afflicted them whom they had received with\njoy, and who lived under the same laws.\n\n19:16. But they were struck with blindness:  as those others were at the\ndoors of the just man, when they were covered with sudden darkness, and\nevery one sought the passage of his own door.\n\n19:17. For while the elements are changed in themselves, as in an\ninstrument the sound of the quality is changed, yet all keep their\nsound:  which may clearly be perceived by the very sight.\n\nElements are changed, etc. . .The meaning is, that whatever changes God\nwrought in the elements by miracles in favour of his people, they still\nkept their harmony by obeying his will.\n\n19:18. For the things of the land were turned into things of the water:\nand the things that before swam in the water passed upon the land.\n\n19:19. The fire had power in water above its own virtue, and the water\nforgot its quenching nature.\n\n19:20. On the other side, the flames wasted not the flesh of\ncorruptible animals walking therein, neither did they melt that good\nfood, which was apt to melt as ice.  For in all things thou didst\nmagnify thy people, O Lord, and didst honour them, and didst not\ndespise them, but didst assist them at all times, and in every place.\n\nThat good food. . .The manna.\n\n\n\n\nECCLESIASTICUS\n\n\n\nThis Book is so called from a Greek word that signifies a preacher:\nbecause, like an excellent preacher, it gives admirable lessons of all\nvirtues.  The author was Jesus the son of Sirach of Jerusalem, who\nflourished about two hundred years before Christ.  As it was written\nafter the time of Esdras, it is not in the Jewish canon; but is\nreceived as canonical and divine by the Catholic Church, instructed by\napostolical tradition, and directed by the spirit of God.  It was first\nwritten in the Hebrew, but afterwards translated into Greek, by another\nJesus, the grandson of the author, whose prologue to this book is the\nfollowing:\n\n\n\nTHE PROLOGUE.\n\n\nThe knowledge of many and great things hath been shewn us by the law,\nand the prophets, and others that have followed them:  for which things\nIsrael is to be commended for doctrine and wisdom, because not only\nthey that speak must needs be skilful, but strangers also, both\nspeaking and writing, may by their means become most learned.  My\ngrandfather Jesus, after he had much given himself to a diligent\nreading of the law, and the prophets, and other books, that were\ndelivered to us from our fathers, had a mind also to write something\nhimself, pertaining to doctrine and wisdom; that such as are desirous\nto learn, and are made knowing in these things, may be more and more\nattentive in mind, and be strengthened to live according to the law.  I\nentreat you therefore to come with benevolence, and to read with\nattention, and to pardon us for those things wherein we may seem, while\nwe follow the image of wisdom, to come short in the composition of\nwords; for the Hebrew words have not the same force in them when\ntranslated into another tongue.  And not only these, but the law also\nitself, and the prophets, and the rest of the books, have no small\ndifference, when they are spoken in their own language.  For in the\neight and thirtieth year coming into Egypt, when Ptolemy Evergetes was\nking, and continuing there a long time, I found there books left, of no\nsmall nor contemptible learning.  Therefore I thought it good, and\nnecessary for me to bestow some diligence and labour to interpret this\nbook; and with much watching and study in some space of time, I brought\nthe book to an end, and set it forth for the service of them that are\nwilling to apply their mind, and to learn how they ought to conduct\nthemselves, who purpose to lead their life according to the law of the\nLord.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 1\n\n\nAll wisdom is from God, and is given to them that fear and love God.\n\n1:1. All wisdom is from the Lord God, and hath been always with him,\nand is before all time.\n\n1:2. Who hath numbered the sand of the sea, and the drops of rain, and\nthe days of the world?  Who hath measured the height of heaven, and the\nbreadth of the earth, and the depth of the abyss?\n\n1:3. Who hath searched out the wisdom of God that goeth before all\nthings?\n\n1:4. Wisdom hath been created before all things, and the understanding\nof prudence from everlasting.\n\n1:5. The word of God on high is the fountain of wisdom, and her ways\nare everlasting commandments.\n\n1:6. To whom hath the root of wisdom been revealed, and who hath known\nher wise counsels?\n\n1:7. To whom hath the discipline of wisdom been revealed and made\nmanifest?  and who hath understood the multiplicity of her steps?\n\n1:8. There is one most high Creator Almighty, and a powerful king, and\ngreatly to be feared, who sitteth upon his throne, and is the God of\ndominion.\n\n1:9. He created her in the Holy Ghost, and saw her, and numbered her,\nand measured her.\n\n1:10. And he poured her out upon all his works, and upon all flesh\naccording to his gift, and hath given her to them that love him.\n\n1:11. The fear of the Lord is honour, and glory, and gladness, and a\ncrown of joy.\n\n1:12. The fear of the Lord shall delight the heart, and shall give joy,\nand gladness, and length of days.\n\n1:13. With him that feareth the Lord, it shall go well in the latter\nend, and in the day of his death he shall be blessed.\n\n1:14. The love of God is honourable wisdom.\n\n1:15. And they to whom she shall shew herself love her by the sight,\nand by the knowledge of her great works.\n\n1:16. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and was created\nwith the faithful in the womb, it walketh with chosen women, and is\nknown with the just and faithful.\n\n1:17. The fear of the Lord is the religiousness of knowledge.\n\n1:18. Religiousness shall keep and justify the heart, it shall give joy\nand gladness.\n\n1:19. It shall go well with him that feareth the Lord, and in the days\nof his end he shall be blessed.\n\n1:20. To fear God is the fulness of wisdom, and fulness is from the\nfruits thereof.\n\n1:21. She shall fill all her house with her increase, and the\nstorehouses with her treasures.\n\n1:22. The fear of the Lord is a crown of wisdom, filling up peace and\nthe fruit of salvation:\n\n1:23. And it hath seen, and numbered her:  but both are the gifts of\nGod.\n\n1:24. Wisdom shall distribute knowledge, and understanding of prudence:\nand exalteth the glory of them that hold her.\n\n1:25. The root of wisdom is to fear the Lord:  and the branches thereof\nare long-lived.\n\n1:26. In the treasures of wisdom is understanding, and religiousness of\nknowledge:  but to sinners wisdom is an abomination.\n\n1:27. The fear of the Lord driveth out sin:\n\n1:28. For he that is without fear, cannot be justified:  for the wrath\nof his high spirits is his ruin.\n\n1:29. A patient man shall bear for a time, and afterwards joy shall be\nrestored to him.\n\n1:30. A good understanding will hide his words for a time, and the lips\nof many shall declare his wisdom.\n\n1:31. In the treasures of wisdom is the signification of discipline:\n\n1:32. But the worship of God is an abomination to a sinner.\n\n1:33. Son, if thou desire wisdom, keep justice, and God will give her\nto thee.\n\n1:34. For the fear of the Lord is wisdom and discipline:  and that which\nis agreeable to him,\n\n1:35. Is faith, and meekness:  and he will fill up his treasures.\n\n1:36. Be not incredulous to the fear of the Lord:  and come not to him\nwith a double heart.\n\n1:37. Be not a hypocrite in the sight of men, and let not thy lips be a\nstumblingblock to thee.\n\n1:38. Watch over them, lest thou fall, and bring dishonour upon thy\nsoul,\n\n1:39. And God discover thy secrets, and cast thee down in the midst of\nthe congregation.\n\n1:40. Because thou camest to the Lord wickedly, and thy heart is full\nof guile and deceit.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 2\n\n\nGod's servants must look for temptations:  and must arm themselves with\npatience and confidence in God.\n\n2:1. Son, when thou comest to the service of God, stand in justice and\nin fear, and prepare thy soul for temptation.\n\n2:2. Humble thy heart, and endure:  incline thy ear, and receive the\nwords of understanding:  and make not haste in the time of clouds.\n\n2:3. Wait on God with patience:  join thyself to God, and endure, that\nthy life may be increased in the latter end.\n\n2:4. Take all that shall be brought upon thee:  and in thy sorrow\nendure, and in thy humiliation keep patience.\n\n2:5. For gold and silver are tried in the fire, but acceptable men in\nthe furnace of humiliation.\n\n2:6. Believe God, and he will recover thee:  and direct thy way, and\ntrust in him.  Keep his fear, and grow old therein.\n\n2:7. Ye that fear the Lord, wait for his mercy:  and go not aside from\nhim lest ye fall.\n\n2:8. Ye that fear the Lord, believe him:  and your reward shall not be\nmade void.\n\n2:9. Ye that fear the Lord hope in him, and mercy shall come to you for\nyour delight.\n\n2:10. Ye that fear the Lord, love him, and your hearts shall be\nenlightened.\n\n2:11. My children behold the generations of men:  and know ye that no\none hath hoped in the Lord, and hath been confounded.\n\n2:12. For who hath continued in his commandment, and hath been\nforsaken?  or who hath called upon him, and he despised him?\n\n2:13. For God is compassionate and merciful, and will forgive sins in\nthe day of tribulation:  and he is a protector to all that seek him in\ntruth.\n\n2:14. Woe to them that are of a double heart and to wicked lips, and to\nthe hands that do evil, and to the sinner that goeth on the earth two\nways.\n\n2:15. Woe to them that are fainthearted, who believe not God:  and\ntherefore they shall not be protected by him.\n\n2:16. Woe to them that have lost patience, and that have forsaken the\nright ways, and have gone aside into crooked ways.\n\n2:17. And what will they do, when the Lord shall begin to examine?\n\n2:18. They that fear the Lord, will not be incredulous to his word:  and\nthey that love him, will keep his way.\n\n2:19. They that fear the Lord, will seek after the things that are well\npleasing to him:  and they that love him, shall be filled with his law.\n\n2:20. They that fear the Lord, will prepare their hearts, and in his\nsight will sanctify their souls,\n\n2:21. They that fear the Lord, keep his commandments, and will have\npatience even until his visitation,\n\n2:22. Saying:  If we do not penance, we shall fall into the hands of the\nLord, and not into the hands of men.\n\n2:23. For according to his greatness, so also is his mercy with him.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 3\n\n\nLessons concerning the honour of parents, and humility, and avoiding\ncuriosity.\n\n3:1. The sons of wisdom are the church of the just:  and their\ngeneration, obedience and love.\n\n3:2. Children, hear the judgment of your father, and so do that you may\nbe saved.\n\n3:3. For God hath made the father honourable to the children:  and\nseeking the judgment of the mothers, hath confirmed it upon the\nchildren.\n\n3:4. He that loveth God, shall obtain pardon for his sins by prayer,\nand shall refrain himself from them, and shall be heard in the prayer\nof days.\n\n3:5. And he that honoureth his mother is as one that layeth up a\ntreasure.\n\n3:6. He that honoureth his father shall have joy in his own children,\nand in the day of his prayer he shall be heard.\n\n3:7. He that honoureth his father shall enjoy a long life:  and he that\nobeyeth the father, shall be a comfort to his mother.\n\n3:8. He that feareth the Lord, honoureth his parents, and will serve\nthem as his masters that brought him into the world.\n\n3:9. Honour thy father, in work and word, and all patience,\n\n3:10. That a blessing may come upon thee from him, and his blessing may\nremain in the latter end.\n\n3:11. The father's blessing establisheth the houses of the children:\nbut the mother's curse rooteth up the foundation.\n\n3:12. Glory not in the dishonour of thy father:  for his shame is no\nglory to thee.\n\n3:13. For the glory of a man is from the honour of his father, and a\nfather without honour is the disgrace of the son.\n\n3:14. Son, support the old age of thy father, and grieve him not in his\nlife;\n\n3:15. And if his understanding fail, have patience with him, and\ndespise him not when thou art in thy strength:  for the relieving of the\nfather shall not be forgotten.\n\n3:16. For good shall be repaid to thee for the sin of thy mother.\n\n3:17. And in justice thou shalt be built up, and in the day of\naffliction thou shalt be remembered:  and thy sins shall melt away as\nthe ice in the fair warm weather.\n\n3:18. Of what an evil fame is he that forsaketh his father:  and he is\ncursed of God that angereth his mother.\n\n3:19. My son, do thy works in meekness, and thou shalt be beloved above\nthe glory of men.\n\n3:20. The greater thou art, the more humble thyself in all things, and\nthou shalt find grace before God:\n\n3:21. For great is the power of God alone, and he is honoured by the\nhumble.\n\n3:22. Seek not the things that are too high for thee, and search not\ninto things above thy ability:  but the things that God hath commanded\nthee, think on them always, and in many of his works be not curious.\n\n3:23. For it is not necessary for thee to see with thy eyes those\nthings that are hid.\n\n3:24. In unnecessary matters be not over curious, and in many of his\nworks thou shalt not be inquisitive.\n\n3:25. For many things are shewn to thee above the understanding of men.\n\n3:26. And the suspicion of them hath deceived many, and hath detained\ntheir minds in vanity.\n\n3:27. A hard heart shall fear evil at the last:  and he that loveth\ndanger shall perish in it.\n\n3:28. A heart that goeth two ways shall not have success, and the\nperverse of heart shall be scandalized therein.\n\n3:29. A wicked heart shall be laden with sorrows, and the sinner will\nadd sin to sin.\n\n3:30. The congregation of the proud shall not be healed:  for the plant\nof wickedness shall take root in them, and it shall not be perceived.\n\n3:31. The heart of the wise is understood in wisdom, and a good ear\nwill hear wisdom with all desire.\n\n3:32. A wise heart, and which hath understanding, will abstain from\nsins, and in the works of justice shall have success.\n\n3:33. Water quencheth a flaming fire, and alms resisteth sins:\n\n3:34. And God provideth for him that sheweth favour:  he remembereth him\nafterwards, and in the time of his fall he shall find a sure stay.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 4\n\n\nAn exhortation to works of mercy, and to the love of wisdom.\n\n4:1. Son, defraud not the poor of alms, and turn not away thy eyes from\nthe poor.\n\n4:2. Despise not the hungry soul:  and provoke not the poor in his want.\n\n4:3. Afflict not the heart of the needy, and defer not to gibe to him\nthat is in distress.\n\n4:4. Reject not the petition of the afflicted:  and turn not away thy\nface from the needy.\n\n4:5. Turn not away thy eyes from the poor for fear of anger:  and leave\nnot to them that ask of thee to curse thee behind thy back.\n\n4:6. For the prayer of him that curseth thee in the bitterness of his\nsoul, shall be heard, for he that made him will hear him.\n\n4:7. Make thyself affable to the congregation of the poor, and humble\nthy soul to the ancient, and bow thy head to a great man.\n\n4:8. Bow down thy ear cheerfully to the poor, and pay what thou owest,\nand answer him peaceable words with mildness.\n\n4:9. Deliver him that suffereth wrong out of the hand of the proud:  and\nbe not fainthearted in thy soul.\n\n4:10. In judging be merciful to the fatherless as a father, and as a\nhusband to their mother.\n\n4:11. And thou shalt be as the obedient son of the most High, and he\nwill have mercy on thee more than a mother.\n\n4:12. Wisdom inspireth life into her children, and protecteth them that\nseek after her, and will go before them in the way of justice.\n\n4:13. And he that loveth her, loveth life:  and they that watch for her,\nshall embrace her sweetness.\n\n4:14. They that hold her fast, shall inherit life:  and whithersoever\nshe entereth, God will give a blessing.\n\n4:15. They that serve her, shall be servants to the holy one:  and God\nloveth them that love her.\n\n4:16. He that hearkeneth to her, shall judge nations:  and he that\nlooketh upon her, shall remain secure.\n\n4:17. If he trust to her, he shall inherit her, and his generation\nshall be in assurance.\n\n4:18. For she walketh with him in temptation, and at the first she\nchooseth him.\n\nIn temptation, etc. . .The meaning is, that before wisdom will choose\nany for her favourite, she will try them by leading them through\ncontradictions, afflictions, and temptations, the usual noviceship of\nthe children of God.\n\n4:19. She will bring upon him fear and dread and trial:  and she will\nscourge him with the affliction of her discipline, till she try him by\nher laws, and trust his soul.\n\n4:20. Then she will strengthen him, and make a straight way to him, and\ngive him joy,\n\n4:21. And will disclose her secrets to him, and will heap upon him\ntreasures of knowledge and understanding of justice.\n\n4:22. But if he go astray, she will forsake him, and deliver him into\nthe hands of his enemy.\n\n4:23. Son, observe the time, and fly from evil.\n\n4:24. For thy soul be not ashamed to say the truth.\n\n4:25. For there is a shame that bringeth sin, and there is a shame that\nbringeth glory and grace.\n\n4:26. Accept no person against thy own person, nor against thy soul a\nlie.\n\n4:27. Reverence not thy neighbour in his fall:\n\n4:28. And refrain not to speak in the time of salvation.  Hide not thy\nwisdom in her beauty.\n\n4:29. For by the tongue wisdom is discerned:  and understanding, and\nknowledge, and learning by the word of the wise, and steadfastness in\nthe works of justice.\n\n4:30. In nowise speak against the truth, but be ashamed of the lie of\nthy ignorance.\n\n4:31. Be not ashamed to confess thy sins, but submit not thyself to\nevery man for sin.\n\n4:32. Resist not against the face of the mighty, and do not strive\nagainst the stream of the river.\n\n4:33. Strive for justice for thy soul, and even unto death fight for\njustice, and God will overthrow thy enemies for thee.\n\n4:34. Be not hasty in thy tongue:  and slack and remiss in thy works.\n\n4:35. Be not as a lion in thy house, terrifying them of thy household,\nand oppressing them that are under thee.\n\n4:36. Let not thy hand be stretched out to receive, and shut when thou\nshouldst give.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 5\n\n\nWe must not presume of our wealth or strength:  nor of the mercy of God,\nto go on in sin:  we must be steadfast in virtue and truth.\n\n5:1. Set not thy heart upon unjust possessions, and say not:  I have\nenough to live on:  for it shall be of no service in the time of\nvengeance and darkness.\n\n5:2. Follow not in thy strength the desires of thy heart:\n\n5:3. And say not:  How mighty am I?  and who shall bring me under for my\ndeeds?  for God will surely take revenge.\n\n5:4. Say not:  I have sinned, and what harm hath befallen me?  for the\nmost High is a patient rewarder.\n\n5:5. Be not without fear about sin forgiven, and add not sin upon sin:\n\n5:6. And say not:  The mercy of the Lord is great, he will have mercy on\nthe multitude of my sins.\n\n5:7. For mercy and wrath quickly come from him, and his wrath looketh\nupon sinners.\n\n5:8. Delay not to be converted to the Lord, and defer it not from day\nto day.\n\n5:9. For his wrath shall come on a sudden, and in the time of vengeance\nhe will destroy thee.\n\n5:10. Be not anxious for goods unjustly gotten:  for they shall not\nprofit thee in the day of calamity and revenge.\n\n5:11. Winnow not with every wind, and go not into every way:  for so is\nevery sinner proved by a double tongue.\n\n5:12. Be steadfast in the way of the Lord, and in the truth of thy\njudgment, and in knowledge, and let the word of peace and justice keep\nwith thee.\n\n5:13. Be meek to hear the word, that thou mayst understand:  and return\na true answer with wisdom.\n\n5:14. If thou have understanding, answer thy neighbour:  but if not, let\nthy hand be upon thy mouth, lest thou be surprised in an unskilful\nword, and be confounded.\n\n5:15. Honour and glory is in the word of the wise, but the tongue of\nthe fool is his ruin.\n\n5:16. Be not called a whisperer, and be not taken in thy tongue, and\nconfounded.\n\n5:17. For confusion and repentance is upon a thief, and an evil mark of\ndisgrace upon the double tongued, but to the whisperer hatred, and\nenmity, and reproach.\n\n5:18. Justify alike the small and the great.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 6\n\n\nOf true and false friends:  and of the of the fruits of wisdom.\n\n6:1. Instead of a friend become not an enemy to thy neighbour:  for an\nevil man shall inherit reproach and shame, so shall every sinner that\nis envious and double tongued.\n\n6:2. Extol not thyself in the thoughts of thy soul like a bull:  lest\nthy strength be quashed by folly,\n\n6:3. And it eat up thy leaves, and destroy thy fruit, and thou be left\nas a dry tree in the wilderness.\n\n6:4. For a wicked soul shall destroy him that hath it, and maketh him\nto be a joy to his enemies, and shall lead him into the lot of the\nwicked.\n\n6:5. A sweet word multiplieth friends, and appeaseth enemies, and a\ngracious tongue in a good man aboundeth.\n\n6:6. Be in peace with many, but let one of a thousand be thy\ncounsellor.\n\n6:7. If thou wouldst get a friend, try him before thou takest him, and\ndo not credit him easily.\n\n6:8. For there is a friend for his own occasion, and he will not abide\nin the day of thy trouble.\n\n6:9. And there is a friend that turneth to enmity; and there is a\nfriend that will disclose hatred and strife and reproaches.\n\n6:10. And there is a friend a companion at the table, and he will not\nabide in the day of distress.\n\n6:11. A friend if he continue steadfast, shall be to thee as thyself,\nand shall act with confidence among them of thy household.\n\n6:12. If he humble himself before thee, and hide himself from thy face,\nthou shalt have unanimous friendship for good.\n\n6:13. Separate thyself from thy enemies, and take heed of thy friends.\n\n6:14. A faithful friend is a strong defence:  and he that hath found\nhim, hath found a treasure.\n\n6:15. Nothing can be compared to a faithful friend, and no weight of\ngold and silver is able to countervail the goodness of his fidelity.\n\n6:16. A faithful friend is the medicine of life and immortality:  and\nthey that fear the Lord, shall find him.\n\n6:17. He that feareth God, shall likewise have good friendship:  because\naccording to him shall his friend be.\n\n6:18. My son, from thy youth up receive instruction, and even to thy\ngrey hairs thou shalt find wisdom.\n\n6:19. Come to her as one that plougheth, and soweth, and wait for her\ngood fruits:\n\n6:20. For in working about her thou shalt labour a little, and shalt\nquickly eat of her fruits.\n\n6:21. How very unpleasant is wisdom to the unlearned, and the unwise\nwill not continue with her.\n\n6:22. She shall be to them as a mighty stone of trial, and they will\ncast her from them before it be long.\n\n6:23. For the wisdom of doctrine is according to her name, and she is\nnot manifest unto many, but with them to whom she is known, she\ncontinueth even to the sight of God.\n\n6:24. Give ear, my son, and take wise counsel, and cast not away my\nadvice.\n\n6:25. Put thy feet into her fetters, and thy neck into her chains:\n\n6:26. Bow down thy shoulder, and bear her, and be not grieved with her\nbands.\n\n6:27. Come to her with all thy mind, and keep her ways with all thy\npower.\n\n6:28. Search for her, and she shall be made known to thee, and when\nthou hast gotten her, let her not go:\n\n6:29. For in the latter end thou shalt find rest in her, and she shall\nbe turned to thy joy.\n\n6:30. Then shall her fetters be a strong defence for thee, and a firm\nfoundation, and her chain a robe of glory:\n\n6:31. For in her is the beauty of life, and her bands are a healthful\nbinding.\n\n6:32. Thou shalt put her on as a robe of glory, and thou shalt set her\nupon thee as a crown of joy.\n\n6:33. My son, if thou wilt attend to me, thou shalt learn:  and if thou\nwilt apply thy mind, thou shalt be wise.\n\n6:34. If thou wilt incline thy ear, thou shalt receive instruction:  and\nif thou love to hear, thou shalt be wise.\n\n6:35. Stand in the multitude of ancients that are wise, and join\nthyself from thy heart to their wisdom, that thou mayst hear every\ndiscourse of God, and the sayings of praise may not escape thee.\n\n6:36. And if thou see a man of understanding, go to him early in the\nmorning, and let thy foot wear the steps of his doors.\n\n6:37. Let thy thoughts be upon the precepts of God, and meditate\ncontinually on his commandments:  and he will give thee a heart, and the\ndesire of wisdom shall be given to thee.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 7\n\n\nReligious and moral duties.\n\n7:1. Do no evils, and no evils shall lay hold of thee.\n\n7:2. Depart from the unjust, and evils shall depart from thee.\n\n7:3. My son, sow not evils in the furrows of injustice, and thou shalt\nnot reap them sevenfold.\n\n7:4. Seek not of the Lord a preeminence, nor of the king the seat of\nhonour.\n\n7:5. Justify not thyself before God, for he knoweth the heart:  and\ndesire not to appear wise before the king.\n\n7:6. Seek not to be made a judge, unless thou have strength enough to\nextirpate iniquities:  lest thou fear the person of the powerful, and\nlay a stumblingblock for thy integrity.\n\n7:7. Offend not against the multitude of a city, neither cast thyself\nin upon the people,\n\n7:8. Nor bind sin to sin:  for even in one thou shalt not be unpunished.\n\n7:9. Be not fainthearted in thy mind:\n\n7:10. Neglect not to pray, and to give alms.\n\n7:11. Say not:  God will have respect to the multitude of my gifts, and\nwhen I offer to the most high God, he will accept my offerings.\n\n7:12. Laugh no man to scorn in the bitterness of his soul:  for there is\none that humbleth and exalteth, God who seeth all.\n\n7:13. Devise not a lie against thy brother:  neither do the like against\nthy friend.\n\n7:14. Be not willing to make any manner of lie:  for the custom thereof\nis not good.\n\n7:15. Be not full of words in a multitude of ancients, and repeat not\nthe word in thy prayer.\n\nRepeat not, etc. . .Make not much babbling by repetition of words:  but\naim more at fervour of heart.\n\n7:16. Hate not laborious works, nor husbandry ordained by the most\nHigh.\n\n7:17. Number not thyself among the multitude of the disorderly.\n\n7:18. Remember wrath, for it will not tarry long.\n\n7:19. Humble thy spirit very much:  for the vengeance on the flesh of\nthe ungodly is fire and worms.\n\n7:20. Do not transgress against thy friend deferring money, nor despise\nthy dear brother for the sake of gold.\n\n7:21. Depart not from a wise and good wife, whom thou hast gotten in\nthe fear of the Lord:  for the grace of her modesty is above gold.\n\n7:22. Hurt not the servant that worketh faithfully, nor the hired man\nthat giveth thee his life.\n\n7:23. Let a wise servant be dear to thee as thy own soul, defraud him\nnot of liberty, nor leave him needy.\n\n7:24. Hast thou cattle?  have an eye to them:  and if they be for thy\nprofit, keep them with thee.\n\n7:25. Hast thou children?  instruct them, and bow down their neck from\ntheir childhood.\n\n7:26. Hast thou daughters?  have a care of their body, and shew not thy\ncountenance gay towards them.\n\n7:27. Marry thy daughter well, and thou shalt do a great work, and give\nher to a wise man.\n\n7:28. If thou hast a wife according to thy soul, cast her not off:  and\nto her that is hateful, trust not thyself.  With thy whole heart,\n\n7:29. Honour thy father, and forget not the groanings of thy mother:\n\n7:30. Remember that thou hadst not been born but through them:  and make\na return to them as they have done for thee.\n\n7:31. With all thy soul fear the Lord, and reverence his priests.\n\n7:32. With all thy strength love him that made thee:  and forsake not\nhis ministers.\n\n7:33. Honour God with all thy soul and give honour to the priests, and\npurify thyself with thy arms.\n\nThy arms. . .That is, with all thy power:  or else by arms (brachiis) are\nhere signified the right shoulders of the victims, which by the law\nfell to the priests.  See ver. 35.\n\n7:34. Give them their portion, as it is commanded thee, of the\nfirstfruits and of purifications:  and for thy negligences purify\nthyself with a few.\n\n7:35. Offer to the Lord the gift of thy shoulders, and the sacrifice of\nsanctification, and the firstfruits of the holy things:\n\n7:36. And stretch out thy hand to the poor, that thy expiation and thy\nblessing may be perfected.\n\n7:37. A gift hath grace in the sight of all the living, and restrain\nnot grace from the dead.\n\nAnd restrain not grace from the dead. . .That is, withhold not from them\nthe benefit of alms, prayers, and sacrifices.  Such was the doctrine and\npractice of the church of God even in the time of the Old Testament.\nAnd the same has always been continued from the days of the apostles in\nthe church of the New Testament.\n\n7:38. Be not wanting in comforting them that weep, and walk with them\nthat mourn.\n\n7:39. Be not slow to visit the sick:  for by these things thou shalt be\nconfirmed in love.\n\n7:40. In all thy works remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 8\n\n\nOther lessons of wisdom and virtue.\n\n8:1. Strive not with a powerful man, lest thou fall into his hands.\n\n8:2. Contend not with a rich man, lest he bring an action against thee.\n\n8:3. For gold and silver hath destroyed many, and hath reached even to\nthe heart of kings, and perverted them.\n\n8:4. Strive not with a man that is full of tongue, and heap not wood\nupon his fire.\n\n8:5. Communicate not with an ignorant man, lest he speak ill of thy\nfamily.\n\n8:6. Despise not a man that turneth away from sin, nor reproach him\ntherewith:  remember that we are all worthy of reproof.\n\n8:7. Despise not a man in his old age; for we also shall become old.\n\n8:8. Rejoice not at the death of thy enemy; knowing that we all die,\nand are not willing that others should rejoice at our death.\n\n8:9. Despise not the discourse of them that are ancient and wise, but\nacquaint thyself with their proverbs.\n\n8:10. For of them thou shalt learn wisdom, and instruction of\nunderstanding, and to serve great men without blame.\n\n8:11. Let not the discourse of the ancients escape thee, for they have\nlearned of their fathers:\n\n8:12. For of them thou shalt learn understanding, and to give an answer\nin time of need.\n\n8:13. Kindle not the coals of sinners by rebuking them, lest thou be\nburnt with the flame of the fire of their sins.\n\n8:14. Stand not against the face of an injurious person, lest he sit as\na spy to entrap thee in thy words.\n\n8:15. Lend not to a man that is mightier than thyself:  and if thou\nlendest, count it as lost.\n\n8:16. Be not surety above thy power:  and if thou be surety, think as if\nthou wert to pay it.\n\n8:17. Judge not against a judge:  for he judgeth according to that which\nis just.\n\n8:18. Go not on the way with a bold man, lest he burden thee with his\nevils:  for he goeth according to his own will, and thou shalt perish\ntogether with his folly.\n\n8:19. Quarrel not with a passionate man, and go not into the desert\nwith a bold man:  for blood is as nothing in his sight, and where there\nis no help he will overthrow thee.\n\n8:20. Advise not with fools, for they cannot love but such things as\nplease them.\n\n8:21. Before a stranger do no matter of counsel:  for thou knowest not\nwhat he will bring forth.\n\n8:22. Open not thy heart to every man:  lest he repay thee with an evil\nturn, and speak reproachfully to thee.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 9\n\n\nCautions with regard to women, and dangerous conversations.\n\n9:1. Be not jealous over the wife of thy bosom, lest she shew in thy\nregard the malice of a wicked lesson.\n\n9:2. Give not the power of thy soul to a woman, lest she enter upon thy\nstrength, and thou be confounded.\n\n9:3. Look not upon a woman that hath a mind for many:  lest thou fall\ninto her snares.\n\n9:4. Use not much the company of her that is a dancer, and hearken not\nto her, lest thou perish by the force of her charms.\n\n9:5. Gaze not upon a maiden, lest her beauty be a stumblingblock to\nthee.\n\n9:6. Give not thy soul to harlots in any point:  lest thou destroy\nthyself and thy inheritance.\n\n9:7. Look not round about thee in the ways of the city, nor wander up\nand down in the streets thereof.\n\n9:8. Turn away thy face from a woman dressed up, and gaze not about\nupon another's beauty.\n\n9:9. For many have perished by the beauty of a woman, and hereby lust\nis enkindled as a fire.\n\n9:10. Every woman that is a harlot, shall be trodden upon as dung in\nthe way.\n\n9:11. Many by admiring the beauty of another man's wife, have become\nreprobate, for her conversation burneth as fire.\n\n9:12. Sit not at all with another man's wife, nor repose upon the bed\nwith her:\n\n9:13. And strive not with her over wine, lest thy heart decline towards\nher and by thy blood thou fall into destruction.\n\n9:14. Forsake not an old friend, for the new will not be like to him.\n\n9:15. A new friend is as new wine:  it shall grow old, and thou shalt\ndrink it with pleasure.\n\n9:16. Envy not the glory and riches of a sinner:  for thou knowest not\nwhat his ruin shall be.\n\n9:17. Be not pleased with the wrong done by the unjust, knowing that\neven to hell the wicked shall not please.\n\n9:18. Keep thee far from the man that hath power to kill, so thou shalt\nnot suspect the fear of death.\n\n9:19. And if thou come to him, commit no fault, lest he take away thy\nlife.\n\n9:20. Know it to be a communication with death:  for thou art going in\nthe midst of snares, and walking upon the arms of them that are\ngrieved.\n\n9:21. According to thy power beware of thy neighbour, and treat with\nthe wise and prudent.\n\n9:22. Let just men be thy guests, and let thy glory be in the fear of\nGod.\n\n9:23. And let the thought of God be in thy mind, and all thy discourse\non the commandments of the Highest.\n\n9:24. Works shall be praised for the hand of the artificers, and the\nprince of the people for the wisdom of his speech, but the word of the\nancients for the sense.\n\n9:25. A man full of tongue is terrible in his city, and he that is rash\nin his word shall be hateful.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 10\n\n\nThe virtues and vices of men in power:  the great evil of pride.\n\n10:1. A wise judge shall judge his people, and the government of a\nprudent man shall be steady.\n\nJudge his people. . .In the Greek it is, instruct his people.\n\n10:2. As the judge of the people is himself, so also are his ministers:\nand what manner of man the ruler of a city is, such also are they that\ndwell therein.\n\n10:3. An unwise king shall be the ruin of his people:  and cities shall\nbe inhabited through the prudence of the rulers.\n\n10:4. The power of the earth is in the hand of God, and in his time he\nwill raise up a profitable ruler over it.\n\n10:5. The prosperity of man is in the hand of God, and upon the person\nof the scribe he shall lay his honour.\n\nThe scribe. . .That is, the man that is wise and learned in the law.\n\n10:6. Remember not any injury done thee by thy neighbour, and do thou\nnothing by deeds of injury.\n\n10:7. Pride is hateful before God and men:  and all iniquity of nations\nis execrable.\n\n10:8. A kingdom is translated from one people to another, because of\ninjustices, and wrongs, and injuries, and divers deceits.\n\n10:9. But nothing is more wicked than the covetous man.  Why is earth,\nand ashes proud?\n\n10:10. There is not a more wicked thing than to love money:  for such a\none setteth even his own soul to sale:  because while he liveth he hath\ncast away his bowels.\n\n10:11. All power is of short life.  A long sickness is troublesome to\nthe physician.\n\n10:12. The physician cutteth off a short sickness:  so also a king is to\nday, and to morrow he shall die.\n\n10:13. For when a man shall die, he shall inherit serpents, and beasts,\nand worms.\n\n10:14. The beginning of the pride of man, is to fall off from God:\n\n10:15. Because his heart is departed from him that made him:  for pride\nis the beginning of all sin:  he that holdeth it, shall be filled with\nmaledictions, and it shall ruin him in the end.\n\n10:16. Therefore hath the Lord disgraced the assemblies of the wicked,\nand hath utterly destroyed them.\n\n10:17. God hath overturned the thrones of proud princes, and hath set\nup the meek in their stead.\n\n10:18. God hath made the roots of proud nations to wither, and hath\nplanted the humble of these nations.\n\n10:19. The Lord hath overthrown the lands of the Gentiles, and hath\ndestroyed them even to the foundation.\n\n10:20. He hath made some of them to wither away, and hath destroyed\nthem, and hath made the memory of them to cease from the earth.\n\n10:21. God hath abolished the memory of the proud, and hath preserved\nthe memory of them that are humble in mind.\n\n10:22. Pride was not made for men:  nor wrath for the race of women.\n\n10:23. That seed of men shall be honoured, which feareth God:  but that\nseed shall be dishonoured, which transgresseth the commandments of the\nLord.\n\n10:24. In the midst of brethren their chief is honourable:  so shall\nthey that fear the Lord, be in his eyes.\n\n10:25. The fear of God is the glory of the rich, and of the honourable,\nand of the poor.\n\n10:26. Despise not a just man that is poor, and do not magnify a sinful\nman that is rich.\n\n10:27. The great man, and the judge, and the mighty is in honour:  and\nthere is none greater than he that feareth God.\n\n10:28. They that are free shall serve a servant that is wise:  and a man\nthat is prudent and well instructed will not murmur when he is\nreproved; and he that is ignorant, shall not be honoured.\n\n10:29. Extol not thyself in doing thy work, and linger not in the time\nof distress;\n\n10:30. Better is he that laboureth, and aboundeth in all things, than\nhe that boasteth himself and wanteth bread.\n\n10:31. My son, keep thy soul in meekness, and give it honour according\nto its desert.\n\n10:32. Who will justify him that sinneth against his own soul?  and who\nwill honour him that dishonoureth his own soul?\n\n10:33. The poor man is glorified by his discipline and fear, and there\nis a man that is honoured for his wealth.\n\n10:34. But he that is glorified in poverty, how much more in wealth?\nand he that is glorified in wealth, let him fear poverty.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 11\n\n\nLessons of humility and moderation in all things.\n\n11:1. The wisdom of the humble shall exalt his head, and shall make him\nsit in the midst of great men.\n\n11:2. Praise not a man for his beauty, neither despise a man for his\nlook.\n\n11:3. The bee is small among flying things but her fruit hath the\nchiefest sweetness.\n\n11:4. Glory not in apparel at any time, and be not exalted in the day\nof thy honour:  for the works of the Highest only are wonderful, and his\nworks are glorious, and secret, and hidden.\n\n11:5. Many tyrants have sat on the throne, and he whom no man would\nthink on, hath worn the crown.\n\n11:6. Many mighty men have been greatly brought down, and the glorious\nhave been delivered into the hand of others.\n\n11:7. Before thou inquire, blame no man:  and when thou hast inquired,\nreprove justly.\n\n11:8. Before thou hear, answer not a word:  and interrupt not others in\nthe midst of their discourse.\n\n11:9. Strive not in a matter which doth not concern thee, and sit not\nin judgment with sinners.\n\n11:10. My son, meddle not with many matters:  and if thou be rich, thou\nshalt not be free from sin:  for if thou pursue after thou shalt not\novertake; and if thou run before thou shalt not escape.\n\n11:11. There is an ungodly man that laboureth, and maketh haste, and is\nin sorrow, and is so much the more in want.\n\n11:12. Again, there is an inactive man that wanteth help, is very weak\nin ability, and full of poverty:\n\n11:13. Yet the eye of God hath looked upon him for good, and hath\nlifted him up from his low estate, and hath exalted his head:  and many\nhave wondered at him, and have glorified God.\n\n11:14. Good things and evil, life and death, poverty and riches, are\nfrom God.\n\n11:15. Wisdom and discipline, and the knowledge of the law are with\nGod.  Love and the ways of good things are with him.\n\n11:16. Error and darkness are created with sinners:  and they that glory\nin evil things, grow old in evil.\n\n11:17. The gift of God abideth with the just, and his advancement shall\nhave success for ever.\n\n11:18. There is one that is enriched by living sparingly, and this is\nthe portion of his reward.\n\n11:19. In that he saith:  I have found me rest, and now I will eat of my\ngoods alone:\n\n11:20. And he knoweth not what time shall pass, and that death\napproacheth, and that he must leave all to others, and shall die.\n\n11:21. Be steadfast in thy covenant, and be conversant therein, and\ngrow old in the work of thy commandments.\n\n11:22. Abide not in the works of sinners.  But trust in God, and stay in\nthy place,\n\n11:23. For it is easy in the eyes of God on a sudden to make the poor\nman rich.\n\n11:24. The blessing of God maketh haste to reward the just, and in a\nswift hour his blessing beareth fruit.\n\n11:25. Say not:  What need I, and what good shall I have by this?\n\n11:26. Say not:  I am sufficient for myself:  and what shall I be made\nworse by this?\n\n11:27. In the day of good things be not unmindful of evils:  and in the\nday of evils be not unmindful of good things:\n\n11:28. For it is easy before God in the day of death to reward every\none according to his ways.\n\n11:29. The affliction of an hour maketh one forget great delights, and\nin the end of a man is the disclosing of his works.\n\n11:30. Praise not any man before death, for a man is known by his\nchildren.\n\n11:31. Bring not every man into thy house:  for many are the snares of\nthe deceitful.\n\n11:32. For as corrupted bowels send forth stinking breath, and as the\npartridge is brought into the cage, and as the roe into the snare:  so\nalso is the heart of the proud, and as a spy that looketh on the fall\nof his neighbour.\n\n11:33. For he lieth in wait and turneth good into evil, and on the\nelect he will lay a blot.\n\n11:34. Of one spark cometh a great fire, and of one deceitful man much\nblood:  and a sinful man lieth in wait for blood.\n\n11:35. Take heed to thyself of a mischievous man, for he worketh evils:\nlest he bring upon thee reproach for ever.\n\n11:36. Receive a stranger in, and he shall overthrow thee with a\nwhirlwind, and shall turn thee out of thy own.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 12\n\n\nWe are to be liberal to the just:  and not to trust the wicked.\n\n12:1. If thou do good, know to whom thou dost it, and there shall be\nmuch thanks for thy good deeds.\n\n12:2. Do good to the just, and thou shalt find great recompense:  and if\nnot of him, assuredly of the Lord.\n\n12:3. For there is no good for him that is always occupied in evil, and\nthat giveth no alms:  for the Highest hateth sinners, and hath mercy on\nthe penitent.\n\n12:4. Give to the merciful and uphold not the sinner:  God will repay\nvengeance to the ungodly and to sinners, and keep them against the day\nof vengeance.\n\n12:5. Give to the good, and receive not a sinner.\n\n12:6. Do good to the humble, and give not to the ungodly:  hold back thy\nbread, and give it not to him, lest thereby he overmaster thee.\n\n12:7. For thou shalt receive twice as much evil for all the good thou\nshalt have done to him:  for the Highest also hateth sinners, and will\nrepay vengeance to the ungodly.\n\n12:8. A friend shall not be known in prosperity, and an enemy shall not\nbe hidden in adversity.\n\n12:9. In the prosperity of a man, his enemies are grieved:  and a friend\nis known in his adversity.\n\n12:10. Never trust thy enemy for as a brass pot his wickedness rusteth:\n\n12:11. Though he humble himself and go crouching, yet take good heed\nand beware of him.\n\n12:12. Set him not by thee, neither let him sit on thy right hand, lest\nhe turn into thy place, and seek to take thy seat and at the last thou\nacknowledge my words, and be pricked with my sayings.\n\n12:13. Who will pity an enchanter struck by a serpent, or any that come\nnear wild beasts?  so is it with him that keepeth company with a wicked\nman, and is involved in his sins.\n\n12:14. For an hour he will abide with thee:  but if thou begin to\ndecline, he will not endure it.\n\n12:15. An enemy speaketh sweetly with his lips, but in his heart he\nlieth in wait, to throw thee into a pit.\n\n12:16. An enemy weepeth with his eyes:  but if he find an opportunity he\nwill not be satisfied with blood:\n\n12:17. And if evils come upon thee, thou shalt find him there first.\n\n12:18. An enemy hath tears in his eyes, and while he pretendeth to help\nthee, will undermine thy feet.\n\n12:19. He will shake his head, and clap his hands, and whisper much,\nand change his countenance.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 13\n\n\nCautions in the choice of company.\n\n13:1. He that toucheth pitch, shall be defiled with it:  and he that\nhath fellowship with the proud, shall put on pride.\n\n13:2. He shall take a burden upon him that hath fellowship with one\nmore honourable than himself.  And have no fellowship with one that is\nricher than thyself.\n\n13:3. What agreement shall the earthen pot have with the kettle?  for if\nthey knock one against the other, it shall be broken.\n\n13:4. The rich man hath done wrong, and yet he will fume:  but the poor\nis wronged and must hold his peace.\n\n13:5. If thou give, he will make use of thee:  and if thou have nothing,\nhe will forsake thee.\n\n13:6. If thou have any thing, he will live with thee, and will make\nthee bare, and he will not be sorry for thee.\n\n13:7. If he have need of thee he will deceive thee, and smiling upon\nthee will put thee in hope; he will speak thee fair, and will say:  What\nwantest thou?\n\n13:8. And he will shame thee by his meats, till he have drawn thee dry\ntwice or thrice, and at last he will laugh at thee:  and afterward when\nhe seeth thee, he will forsake thee, and shake his head at thee.\n\n13:9. Humble thyself to God, and wait for his hands.\n\n13:10. Beware that thou be not deceived into folly, and be humbled.\n\n13:11. Be not lowly in thy wisdom, lest being humbled thou be deceived\ninto folly.\n\n13:12. If thou be invited by one that is mightier, withdraw thyself:\nfor so he will invite thee the more.\n\n13:13. Be not troublesome to him, lest thou be put back:  and keep not\nfar from him, lest thou be forgotten.\n\n13:14. Affect not to speak with him as an equal, and believe not his\nmany words:  for by much talk he will sift thee, and smiling will\nexamine thee concerning thy secrets.\n\n13:15. His cruel mind will lay up thy words:  and he will not spare to\ndo thee hurt, and to cast thee into prison.\n\n13:16. Take heed to thyself, and attend diligently to what thou\nhearest:  for thou walkest in danger of thy ruin.\n\n13:17. When thou hearest those things, see as it were in sleep, and\nthou shalt awake.\n\n13:18. Love God all thy life, and call upon him for thy salvation.\n\n13:19. Every beast loveth its like:  so also every man him that is\nnearest to himself.\n\n13:20. All flesh shall consort with the like to itself, and every man\nshall associate himself to his like.\n\n13:21. If the wolf shall at any time have fellowship with the lamb, so\nthe sinner with the just.\n\n13:22. What fellowship hath a holy man with a dog, or what part hath\nthe rich with the poor?\n\n13:23. The wild ass is the lion's prey in the desert:  so also the poor\nare devoured by the rich.\n\n13:24. And as humility is an abomination to the proud:  so also the rich\nman abhorreth the poor.\n\n13:25. When a rich man is shaken, he is kept up by his friends:  but\nwhen a poor man is fallen down, he is thrust away even by his\nacquaintance.\n\n13:26. When a rich man hath been deceived, he hath many helpers:  he\nhath spoken proud things, and they have justified him.\n\n13:27. The poor man was deceived, and he is rebuked also:  he hath\nspoken wisely, and could have no place.\n\n13:28. The rich man spoke, and all held their peace, and what he said\nthey extol even to the clouds.\n\n13:29. The poor man spoke, and they say:  Who is this?  and if he\nstumble, they will overthrow him.\n\n13:30. Riches are good to him that hath no sin in his conscience:  and\npoverty is very wicked in the mouth of the ungodly.\n\n13:31. The heart of a man changeth his countenance, either for good, or\nfor evil.\n\n13:32. The token of a good heart, and a good countenance thou shalt\nhardly find, and with labour.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 14\n\n\nThe evil of avarice:  works of mercy are recommended, and the love of\nwisdom.\n\n14:1. Blessed is the man that hath not slipped by a word out of his\nmouth, and is not pricked with the remorse of sin.\n\n14:2. Happy is he that hath had no sadness of his mind, and who is not\nfallen from his hope.\n\n14:3. Riches are not comely for a covetous man and a niggard, and what\nshould an envious man do with gold?\n\n14:4. He that gathereth together by wronging his own soul, gathereth\nfor others, and another will squander away his goods in rioting.\n\n14:5. He that is evil to himself, to whom will he be good?  and he shall\nnot take pleasure in his goods.\n\n14:6. There is none worse than he that envieth himself, and this is the\nreward of his wickedness:\n\n14:7. And if he do good, he doth it ignorantly, and unwillingly:  and at\nthe last he discovereth his wickedness.\n\n14:8. The eye of the envious is wicked:  and he turneth away his face,\nand despiseth his own soul.\n\n14:9. The eye of the covetous man is insatiable in his portion of\niniquity:  he will not be satisfied till he consume his own soul, drying\nit up.\n\n14:10. An evil eye is towards evil things:  and he shall not have his\nfill of bread, but shall be needy and pensive at his own table.\n\n14:11. My son, if thou have any thing, do good to thyself, and offer to\nGod worthy offerings.\n\n14:12. Remember that death is not slow, and that the covenant of hell\nhath been shewn to thee:  for the covenant of this world shall surely\ndie.\n\nCovenant of hell. . .The decree by which all are to go down to the\nregions of death.\n\n14:13. Do good to thy friend before thou die, and according to thy\nability, stretching out thy hand give to the poor.\n\n14:14. Defraud not thyself of the good day, and let not the part of a\ngood gift overpass thee.\n\n14:15. Shalt thou not leave to others to divide by lot thy sorrows and\nlabours?\n\n14:16. Give and take, and justify thy soul.\n\n14:17. Before thy death work justice:  for in hell there is no finding\nfood.\n\n14:18. All flesh shall fade as grass, and as the leaf that springeth\nout on a green tree.\n\n14:19. Some grow, and some fall off:  so is the generation of flesh and\nblood, one cometh to an end, and another is born.\n\n14:20. Every work that is corruptible shall fail in the end:  and the\nworker thereof shall go with it.\n\n14:21. And every excellent work shall be justified:  and the worker\nthereof shall be honoured therein.\n\n14:22. Blessed is the man that shall continue in wisdom, and that shall\nmeditate in his justice, and in his mind shall think of the all seeing\neye of God.\n\n14:23. He that considereth her ways in his heart, and hath\nunderstanding in her secrets, who goeth after her as one that traceth,\nand stayeth in her ways.\n\n14:24. He who looketh in at her windows, and hearkeneth at her door.\n\n14:25. He that lodgeth near her house, and fastening a pin in her walls\nshall set up his tent high unto her, where good things shall rest in\nhis lodging for ever.\n\n14:26. He shall set his children under her shelter, and shall lodge\nunder her branches:\n\n14:27. He shall be protected under her covering from the heat, and\nshall rest in her glory.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 15\n\n\nWisdom embraceth them that fear God.  God is not the author of sin.\n\n15:1. He that feareth God, will do good:  and he that possesseth\njustice, shall lay hold on her,\n\n15:2. And she will meet him as an honourable mother, and will receive\nhim as a wife married of a virgin.\n\n15:3. With the bread of life and understanding, she shall feed him, and\ngive him the water of wholesome wisdom to drink:  and she shall be made\nstrong in him, and he shall not be moved.\n\n15:4. And she shall hold him fast, and he shall not be confounded:  and\nshe shall exalt him among his neighbours.\n\n15:5. And in the midst of the church she shall open his mouth, and\nshall fill him with the spirit of wisdom and understanding, and shall\nclothe him with a robe of glory.\n\n15:6. She shall heap upon him a treasure of joy and gladness, and shall\ncause him to inherit an everlasting name.\n\n15:7. But foolish men shall not obtain her, and wise men shall meet\nher, foolish men shall not see her:  for she is far from pride and\ndeceit.\n\n15:8. Lying men shall be mindful of her:  but men that speak truth shall\nbe found with her, and shall advance, even till they come to the sight\nof God.\n\n15:9. Praise is not seemly in the mouth of a sinner:\n\n15:10. For wisdom came forth from God:  for praise shall be with the\nwisdom of God, and shall abound in a faithful mouth, and the sovereign\nLord will give praise unto it.\n\n15:11. Say not:  It is through God, that she is not with me:  for do not\nthou the things that he hateth.\n\n15:12. Say not:  He hath caused me to err:  for he hath no need of wicked\nmen.\n\n15:13. The Lord hateth all abomination of error, and they that fear him\nshall not love it.\n\n15:14. God made man from the beginning, and left him in the hand of his\nown counsel.\n\n15:15. He added his commandments and precepts.\n\n15:16. If thou wilt keep the commandments and perform acceptable\nfidelity for ever, they shall preserve thee.\n\n15:17. He hath set water and fire before thee:  stretch forth thy hand\nto which thou wilt.\n\n15:18. Before man is life and death, good and evil, that which he shall\nchoose shall be given him:\n\n15:19. For the wisdom of God is great, and he is strong in power,\nseeing all men without ceasing.\n\n15:20. The eyes of the Lord are towards them that fear him, and he\nknoweth al the work of man.\n\n15:21. He hath commanded no man to do wickedly, and he hath given no\nman license to sin;\n\n15:22. For he desireth not a multitude of faithless and unprofitable\nchildren.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 16\n\n\nIt is better to have none than many wicked children.  Of the justice and\nmercy of God.  His ways are unsearchable.\n\n16:1. Rejoice not in ungodly children, if they be multiplied:  neither\nbe delighted in them, if the fear of God be not with them.\n\n16:2. Trust not to their life, and respect not their labours.\n\n16:3. For better is one that feareth God, than a thousand ungodly\nchildren.\n\n16:4. And it is better to die without children, than to leave ungodly\nchildren.\n\n16:5. By one that is wise a country shall be inhabited, the tribe of\nthe ungodly shall become desolate.\n\n16:6. Many such things hath my eyes seen, and greater things than these\nmy ear hath heard.\n\n16:7. In the congregation of sinners a fire shall be kindled, and in an\nunbelieving nation wrath shall flame out.\n\n16:8. The ancient giants did not obtain pardon for their sins, who were\ndestroyed trusting to their own strength:\n\n16:9. And he spared not the place where Lot sojourned, but abhorred\nthem for the pride of their word.\n\n16:10. He had not pity on them, destroying the whole nation that\nextolled themselves in their sins.\n\n16:11. So did he with the six hundred thousand footmen, who were\ngathered together in the hardness of their heart:  and if one had been\nstiffnecked, it is a wonder if he had escaped unpunished:\n\nSix hundred thousand footmen, etc. . .Viz., the children of Israel, whom\nhe sentenced to die in the wilderness.  Num. 14.\n\n16:12. For mercy and wrath are with him.  He is mighty to forgive, and\nto pour out indignation:\n\n16:13. According as his mercy is, so his correction judgeth a man\naccording to his works.\n\n16:14. The sinner shall not escape in his rapines, and the patience of\nhim that sheweth mercy shall not be put off.\n\n16:15. All mercy shall make a place for every man according to the\nmerit of his works, and according to the wisdom of his sojournment.\n\n16:16. Say not:  I shall be hidden from God, and who shall remember me\nfrom on high?\n\n16:17. In such a multitude I shall not be known:  for what is my soul in\nsuch an immense creation?\n\n16:18. Behold the heaven, and the heavens of heavens, the deep, and all\nthe earth, and the things that are in them, shall be moved in his\nsight,\n\n16:19. The mountains also, and the hills, and the foundations of the\nearth:  when God shall look upon them, they shall be shaken with\ntrembling.\n\n16:20. And in all these things the heart is senseless:  and every heart\nis understood by him.\n\n16:21. And his ways who shall understand, and the storm, which no eye\nof man shall see?\n\n16:22. For many of his works are hidden, but the works of his justice\nwho shall declare?  or who shall endure?  for the testament is far from\nsome, and the examination of all is in the end.\n\n16:23. He that wanteth understanding thinketh vain things, and the\nfoolish, and erring man, thinketh foolish things.\n\n16:24. Hearken to me, my son, and learn the discipline of\nunderstanding, and attend to my words in thy heart.\n\n16:25. And I will shew forth good doctrine in equity, and will seek to\ndeclare wisdom:  and attend to my words in thy heart, whilst with equity\nof spirit I tell thee the virtues that God hath put upon his works from\nthe beginning, and I shew forth in truth his knowledge.\n\n16:26. The works of God are done in judgment from the beginning, and\nfrom the making of them he distinguished their parts, and their\nbeginnings in their generations.\n\n16:27. He beautified their works for ever, they have neither hungered,\nnor laboured, and they have not ceased from their works.\n\n16:28. Nor shall any of them straiten his neighbour at any time.\n\n16:29. Be not thou incredulous to his word.\n\n16:30. After this God looked upon the earth, and filled it with his\ngoods.\n\n16:31. The soul of every living thing hath shewn forth before the face\nthereof, and into it they return again.\n\nShewn forth. . .Viz., the glory and power of God upon the earth.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 17\n\n\nThe creation and favour of God to man.  An exhortation to turn to God.\n\n17:1. God created man of the earth, and made him after his own image.\n\n17:2. And he turned him into it again, and clothed him with strength\naccording to himself.\n\n17:3. He gave him the number of his days and time, and gave him power\nover all things that are upon the earth.\n\n17:4. He put the fear of him upon all flesh, and he had dominion over\nbeasts and fowls.\n\n17:5. He created of him a helpmate like to himself, he gave them\ncounsel, and a tongue, and eyes, and ears, and a heart to devise:  and\nhe filled them with the knowledge of understanding.\n\n17:6. He created in them the science of the spirit, he fired their\nheart with wisdom, and shewed them both good and evil.\n\n17:7. He set his eye upon their hearts to shew them the greatness of\nhis works:\n\n17:8. That they might praise the name which he hath sanctified:  and\nglory in his wondrous act that they might declare the glorious things\nof his works.\n\n17:9. Moreover he gave them instructions, and the law of life for an\ninheritance.\n\n17:10. He made an everlasting covenant with them, and he shewed them\nhis justice and judgments.\n\n17:11. And their eye saw the majesty of his glory, and their ears heard\nhis glorious voice, and he said to them:  Beware of all iniquity.\n\nTheir eye saw, etc. . .Viz., when he gave the law on mount Sinai.\n\n17:12. And he gave to every one of them commandment concerning his\nneighbour.\n\n17:13. Their ways are always before him, they are not hidden from his\neyes.\n\n17:14. Over every nation he set a ruler.\n\n17:15. And Israel was made the manifest portion of God.\n\n17:16. And all their works are as the sun in the sight of God:  and his\neyes are continually upon their ways.\n\n17:17. Their covenants were not hid by their iniquity, and all their\niniquities are in the sight of God.\n\n17:18. The alms of a man is as a signet with him, and shall preserve\nthe grace of a man as the apple of the eye:\n\n17:19. And afterward he shall rise up, and shall render them their\nreward, to every one upon their own head, and shall turn them down into\nthe bowels of the earth.\n\n17:20. But to the penitent he hath given the way of justice, and he\nhath strengthened them that were fainting in patience, and hath\nappointed to them the lot of truth.\n\n17:21. Turn to the Lord, and forsake thy sins:\n\n17:22. Make thy prayer before the face of the Lord, and offend less.\n\nOffend less. . .Minue offendicula.  That is, remove sins and the\noccasions of sins.\n\n17:23. Return to the Lord, and turn away from thy injustice, and\ngreatly hate abomination.\n\n17:24. And know the justices and judgments of God, and stand firm in\nthe lot set before thee, and in prayer to the most high God.\n\n17:25. Go to the side of the holy age, with them that live and give\npraise to God.\n\nGo to the side, etc. . .Fly from the side of Satan and sin, and join\nwith the holy ones, that follow God and godliness.\n\n17:26. Tarry not in the error of the ungodly, give glory before death.\nPraise perisheth from the dead as nothing.\n\n17:27. Give thanks whilst thou art living, whilst thou art alive and in\nhealth thou shalt give thanks, and shalt praise God, and shalt glory in\nhis mercies.\n\n17:28. How great is the mercy of the Lord, and his forgiveness to them\nthat turn to him !\n\n17:29. For all things cannot be in men, because the son of man is not\nimmortal, and they are delighted with the vanity of evil.\n\n17:30. What is brighter than the sun; yet it shall be eclipsed.  Or what\nis more wicked than that which flesh and blood hath invented?  and this\nshall be reproved.\n\n17:31. He beholdeth the power of the height of heaven:  and all men are\nearth and ashes.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 18\n\n\nGod's works are wonderful:  we must serve him, and not our lusts.\n\n18:1. He that liveth for ever created all things together.  God only\nshall be justified, and he remaineth an invincible king for ever.\n\n18:2. Who is able to declare his works?\n\n18:3. For who shall search out his glorious acts?\n\n18:4. And who shall show forth the power of his majesty?  or who shall\nbe able to declare his mercy?\n\n18:5. Nothing may be taken away, nor added, neither is it possible to\nfind out the glorious works of God.\n\n18:6. When a man hath done, then shall he begin:  and when he leaveth\noff, he shall be at a loss.\n\nThen shall he begin. . .God is so great and incomprehensible, that when\nman has done all that he can to find out his greatness and boundless\nperfections, he is still to begin:  for what he has found out, is but a\nmere nothing in comparison with his infinity.\n\n18:7. What is man, and what is his grace?  and what is his good, or what\nis his evil?\n\n18:8. The number of the days of men at the most are a hundred years, as\na drop of water of the sea are they esteemed:  and as a pebble of the\nsand, so are a few years compared to eternity.\n\n18:9. Therefore God is patient in them, and poureth forth his mercy\nupon them.\n\n18:10. He hath seen the presumption of their heart that it is wicked,\nand hath known their end that it is evil.\n\n18:11. Therefore hath he filled up his mercy in their favour, and hath\nshewn them the way of justice.\n\n18:12. The compassion of man is toward his neighbour:  but the mercy of\nGod is upon all flesh.\n\n18:13. He hath mercy, and teacheth, and correcteth, as a shepherd doth\nhis flock.\n\n18:14. He hath mercy on him that receiveth the discipline of mercy, and\nthat maketh haste in his judgments.\n\n18:15. My son, in thy good deeds, make no complaint, and when thou\ngivest any thing, add not grief by an evil word.\n\n18:16. Shall not the dew assuage the heat?  so also the good word is\nbetter than the gift.\n\n18:17. Lo, is not a word better than a gift?  but both are with a\njustified man.\n\n18:18. A fool will upbraid bitterly:  and a gift of one ill taught\nconsumeth the eyes.\n\n18:19. Before judgment prepare thee justice, and learn before thou\nspeak.\n\n18:20. Before sickness take a medicine, and before judgment examine\nthyself, and thou shalt find mercy in the sight of God.\n\n18:21. Humble thyself before thou art sick, and in the time of sickness\nshew thy conversation.\n\n18:22. Let nothing hinder thee from praying always, and be not afraid\nto be justified even to death:  for the reward of God continueth for\never.\n\n18:23. Before prayer prepare thy soul:  and be not as a man that\ntempteth God.\n\n18:24. Remember the wrath that shall be at the last day, and the time\nof repaying when he shall turn away his face.\n\n18:25. Remember poverty in the time of abundance, and the necessities\nof poverty in the day of riches.\n\n18:26. From the morning until the evening the time shall be changed,\nand all these are swift in the eyes of God.\n\n18:27. A wise man will fear in every thing, and in the days of sins\nwill beware of sloth.\n\n18:28. Every man of understanding knoweth wisdom, and will give praise\nto him that findeth her.\n\n18:29. They that were of good understanding in words, have also done\nwisely themselves:  and have understood truth and justice, and have\npoured forth proverbs and judgments.\n\n18:30. Go not after thy lusts, but turn away from thy own will.\n\n18:31. If thou give to thy soul her desires, she will make thee a joy\nto thy enemies.\n\n18:32. Take no pleasure in riotous assemblies, be they ever so small:\nfor their concertation is continual.\n\n18:33. Make not thyself poor by borrowing to contribute to feasts when\nthou hast nothing in thy purse:  for thou shalt be an enemy to thy own\nlife.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 19\n\n\nAdmonition against sundry vices.\n\n19:1. A workman that is a drunkard shall not be rich:  and he that\ncontemneth small things, shall fall by little and little.\n\n19:2. Wine and women make wise men fall off, and shall rebuke the\nprudent:\n\n19:3. And he that joineth himself to harlots, will be wicked.\nRottenness and worms shall inherit him, and he shall be lifted up for a\ngreater example, and his soul shall be taken away out of the number.\n\n19:4. He that is hasty to give credit, is light of heart, and shall be\nlessened:  and he that sinneth against his own soul, shall be despised.\n\n19:5. He that rejoiceth in iniquity, shall be censured, and he that\nhateth chastisement, shall have less life:  and he that hateth babbling,\nextinguisheth evil.\n\n19:6. He that sinneth against his own soul, shall repent:  and he that\nis delighted with wickedness, shall be condemned.\n\n19:7. Rehearse not again a wicked and harsh word, and thou shalt not\nfare the worse.\n\n19:8. Tell not thy mind to friend or foe:  and if there be a sin with\nthee, disclose it not.\n\n19:9. For he will hearken to thee, and will watch thee, and as it were\ndefending thy sin he will hate thee, and so will he be with thee\nalways.\n\n19:10. Hast thou heard a word against thy neighbour?  let it die within\nthee, trusting that it will not burst thee.\n\n19:11. At the hearing of a word the fool is in travail, as a woman\ngroaning in the bringing forth a child.\n\n19:12. As an arrow that sticketh in a man's thigh:  so is a word in the\nheart of a fool.\n\n19:13. Reprove a friend, lest he may not have understood, and say:  I\ndid it not:  or if he did it, that he may do it no more.\n\n19:14. Reprove thy neighbour, for it may be he hath not said it:  and if\nhe hath said it, that he may not say it again.\n\n19:15. Admonish thy friend:  for there is often a fault committed.\n\n19:16. And believe not every word.  There is one, that slippeth with the\ntongue, but not from his heart.\n\n19:17. For who is there that hath not offended with his tongue?\nAdmonish thy neighbour before thou threaten him.\n\n19:18. And give place to the fear of the most High:  for the fear of God\nis all wisdom, and therein is to fear God, and the disposition of the\nlaw is in all wisdom.\n\n19:19. But the learning of wickedness is not wisdom:  and the device of\nsinners is not prudence.\n\n19:20. There is a subtle wickedness, and the same is detestable:  and\nthere is a man that is foolish, wanting in wisdom.\n\n19:21. Better is a man that hath less wisdom, and wanteth\nunderstanding, with the fear of God, than he that aboundeth in\nunderstanding, and transgresseth the law of the most High.\n\n19:22. There is an exquisite subtilty, and the same is unjust.\n\n19:23. And there is one that uttereth an exact word telling the truth.\nThere is one that humbleth himself wickedly, and his interior is full\nof deceit:\n\n19:24. And there is one that submitteth himself exceedingly with a\ngreat lowliness:  and there is one that casteth down his countenance,\nand maketh as if he did not see that which is unknown:\n\n19:25. And if he be hindered from sinning for want of power, if he\nshall find opportunity to do evil, he will do it.\n\n19:26. A man is known by his look, and a wise man, when thou meetest\nhim, is known by his countenance.\n\n19:27. The attire of the body, and the laughter of the teeth, and the\ngait of the man, shew what he is.\n\n19:28. There is a lying rebuke in the anger of an injurious man:  and\nthere is a judgment that is not allowed to be good:  and there is one\nthat holdeth his peace, he is wise.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 20\n\n\nRules with regard to correction, discretion, and avoiding lies.\n\n20:1. How much better is it to reprove, than to be angry, and not to\nhinder him that confesseth in prayer.\n\n20:2. The lust of an eunuch shall deflour a young maiden:\n\n20:3. So is he that by violence executeth of the unwise.\n\n20:4. How good is it, when thou art reproved, to shew repentance! for\nso thou shalt escape wilful sin.\n\n20:5. There is one that holdeth his peace, that is found wise:  and\nthere is another that is hateful, that is bold in speech.\n\n20:6. There is one that holdeth his peace, because he knoweth not what\nto say:  and there is another that holdeth his peace, knowing the proper\ntime.\n\n20:7. A wise man will hold his peace till he see opportunity:  but a\nbabbler, and a fool, will regard no time.\n\n20:8. He that useth many words shall hurt his own soul:  and he that\ntaketh authority to himself unjustly shall be hated.\n\n20:9. There is success in evil things to a man without discipline, and\nthere is a finding that turneth to loss.\n\n20:10. There is a gift that is not profitable:  and there is a gift, the\nrecompense of which is double.\n\n20:11. There is an abasement because of glory:  and there is one that\nshall lift up his head from a low estate.\n\n20:12. There is that buyeth much for a small price, and restoreth the\nsame sevenfold.\n\n20:13. A man wise in words shall make himself beloved:  but the graces\nof fools shall be poured out.\n\n20:14. The gift of the fool shall do thee no good:  for his eyes are\nsevenfold.\n\n20:15. He will give a few things, and upbraid much:  and the opening of\nhis mouth is the kindling of a fire.\n\n20:16. To day a man lendeth, and to morrow he asketh it again:  such a\nman as this is hateful.\n\n20:17. A fool shall have no friend, and there shall be no thanks for\nhis good deeds.\n\n20:18. For they that eat his bread, are of a false tongue.  How often,\nand how many will laugh him to scorn!\n\n20:19. For he doth not distribute with right understanding that which\nwas to be had:  in like manner also that which was not to be had.\n\n20:20. The slipping of a false tongue is as one that falleth on the\npavement:  so the fall of the wicked shall come speedily.\n\n20:21. A man without grace is as a vain fable, it shall be continually\nin the mouth of the unwise.\n\n20:22. A parable coming out of a fool's mouth shall be rejected:  for he\ndoth not speak it in due season.\n\n20:23. There is that is hindered from sinning through want, and in his\nrest he shall be pricked.\n\n20:24. There is that will destroy his own soul through shamefacedness,\nand by occasion of an unwise person he will destroy it:  and by respect\nof person he will destroy himself.\n\n20:25. There is that for bashfulness promiseth to his friend, and\nmaketh him his enemy for nothing.\n\n20:26. A lie is a foul blot in a man, and yet it will be continually in\nthe mouth of men without discipline.\n\n20:27. A thief is better than a man that is always lying:  but both of\nthem shall inherit destruction.\n\n20:28. The manners of lying men are without honour:  and their confusion\nis with them without ceasing.\n\n20:29. A wise man shall advance himself with his words, and a prudent\nman shall please the great ones.\n\n20:30. He that tilleth his land shall make a high heap of corn:  and he\nthat worketh justice shall be exalted:  and he that pleaseth great men\nshall escape iniquity.\n\n20:31. Presents and gifts blind the eyes of judges, and make them dumb\nin the mouth, so that they cannot correct.\n\n20:32. O Wisdom that is hid, and treasure that is not seen:  what profit\nis there in them both?\n\n20:33. Better is he that hideth his folly, than the man that hideth his\nwisdom.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 21\n\n\nCautions against sin in general, and some sins in particular.\n\n21:1. My son, hast thou sinned?  do so no more:  but for thy former sins\nalso pray that they may be forgiven thee.\n\n21:2. Flee from sins as from the face of a serpent:  for if thou comest\nnear them, they will take hold of thee.\n\n21:3. The teeth thereof are the teeth of a lion, killing the souls of\nmen.\n\n21:4. All iniquity is like a two-edged sword, there is no remedy for\nthe wound thereof.\n\n21:5. Injuries and wrongs will waste riches:  and the house that is very\nrich shall be brought to nothing by pride:  so the substance of the\nproud shall be rooted out.\n\n21:6. The prayer out of the mouth of the poor shall reach the ears of\nGod, and judgment shall come for him speedily.\n\n21:7. He that hateth to be reproved walketh in the trace of a sinner:\nand he that feareth God will turn to his own heart.\n\n21:8. He that is mighty by a bold tongue is known afar off, but a wise\nman knoweth to slip by him.\n\n21:9. He that buildeth his house at other men's charges, is as he that\ngathereth himself stones to build in the winter.\n\n21:10. The congregation of sinners is like tow heaped together, and the\nend of them is a flame of fire.\n\n21:11. The way of sinners is made plain with stones, and in their end\nis hell, and darkness, and pains.\n\n21:12. He that keepeth justice shall get the understanding thereof.\n\n21:13. The perfection of the fear of God is wisdom and understanding.\n\n21:14. He that is not wise in good, will not be taught.\n\n21:15. But there is a wisdom that aboundeth in evil:  and there is no\nunderstanding where there is bitterness.\n\n21:16. The knowledge of a wise man shall abound like a flood, and his\ncounsel continueth like a fountain of life.\n\n21:17. The heart of a fool is like a broken vessel, and no wisdom at\nall shall it hold.\n\n21:18. A man of sense will praise every wise word he shall hear, and\nwill apply it to himself:  the luxurious man hath heard it, and it shall\ndisplease him, and he will cast it behind his back.\n\n21:19. The talking of a fool is like a burden in the way:  but in the\nlips of the wise, grace shall be found.\n\n21:20. The mouth of the prudent is sought after in the church, and they\nwill think upon his words in their hearts.\n\n21:21. As a house that is destroyed, so is wisdom to a fool:  and the\nknowledge of the unwise is as words without sense.\n\n21:22. Doctrine to a fool is as fetters on the feet, and like manacles\non the right hand.\n\n21:23. A fool lifteth up his voice in laughter:  but a wise man will\nscarce laugh low to himself.\n\n21:24. Learning to the prudent is as an ornament of gold, and like a\nbracelet upon his right arm.\n\n21:25. The foot of a fool is soon in his neighbour's house:  but a man\nof experience will be abashed at the person of the mighty.\n\n21:26. A fool will peep through the window into the house:  but he that\nis well taught will stand without.\n\n21:27. It is the folly of a man to hearken at the door:  and a wise man\nwill be grieved with the disgrace.\n\n21:28. The lips of the unwise will be telling foolish things:  but the\nwords of the wise shall be weighed in a balance.\n\n21:29. The heart of fools is in their mouth:  and the mouth of wise men\nis in their heart.\n\n21:30. While the ungodly curseth the devil, he curseth his own soul.\n\nWhile the ungodly, etc. . .He condemneth and curseth himself:  inasmuch\nas by sin he takes part with the devil, and is, as it were, his member\nand subject.\n\n21:31. The talebearer shall defile his own soul, and shall be hated by\nall:  and he that shall abide with him shall be hateful:  the silent and\nwise man shall be honoured.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 22\n\n\nWise sayings on divers subjects.\n\n22:1. The sluggard is pelted with a dirty stone, and all men will speak\nof his disgrace.\n\n22:2. The sluggard is pelted with the dung of oxen:  and every one that\ntoucheth him will shake his hands.\n\n22:3. A son ill taught is the confusion of the father:  and a foolish\ndaughter shall be to his loss.\n\n22:4. A wise daughter shall bring an inheritance to her husband:  but\nshe that confoundeth, becometh a disgrace to her father.\n\n22:5. She that is bold shameth both her father and husband, and will\nnot be inferior to the ungodly:  and shall be disgraced by them both.\n\n22:6. A tale out of time is like music in mourning:  but the stripes and\ninstruction of wisdom are never out of time.\n\n22:7. He that teacheth a fool, is like one that glueth a potsherd\ntogether.\n\n22:8. He that telleth a word to him that heareth not, is like one that\nwaketh a man out of a deep sleep.\n\n22:9. He speaketh with one that is asleep, who uttereth wisdom to a\nfool:  and in the end of the discourse he saith:  Who is this?\n\n22:10. Weep for the dead, for his light hath failed:  and weep for the\nfool, for his understanding faileth.\n\nFor the fool. . .In the language of the Holy Ghost, he is styled a fool,\nthat turns away from God to follow vanity and sin.  And what is said by\nthe wise man against fools is meant of such fools as these.\n\n22:11. Weep but a little for the dead, for he is at rest.\n\n22:12. For the wicked life of a wicked fool is worse than death.\n\n22:13. The mourning for the dead is seven days:  but for a fool and an\nungodly man all the days of their life.\n\n22:14. Talk not much with a fool and go not with him that hath no\nsense.\n\n22:15. Keep thyself from him, that thou mayst not have trouble, and\nthou shalt not be defiled with his sin.\n\n22:16. Turn away from him, and thou shalt find rest, and shalt not be\nwearied out with his folly.\n\n22:17. What is heavier than lead?  and what other name hath he but fool?\n\n22:18. Sand and salt, and a mass of iron is easier to bear, than a man\nwithout sense, that is both foolish and wicked.\n\n22:19. A frame of wood bound together in the foundation of a building,\nshall not be loosed:  so neither shall the heart that is established by\nadvised counsel.\n\n22:20. The thought of him that is wise at all times, shall not be\ndepraved by fear.\n\n22:21. As pales set in high places, and plasterings made without cost,\nwill not stand against the face of the wind:\n\n22:22. So also a fearful heart in the imagination of a fool shall not\nresist against the violence of fear.\n\n22:23. As a fearful heart in the thought of a fool at all times will\nnot fear, so neither shall he that continueth always in the\ncommandments of God.\n\n22:24. He that pricketh the eye, bringeth out tears:  and he that\npricketh the heart, bringeth forth resentment.\n\n22:25. He that flingeth a stone at birds, shall drive them away:  so he\nthat upbraideth his friend, breaketh friendship.\n\n22:26. Although thou hast drawn a sword at a friend, despair not:  for\nthere may be a returning.  To a friend,\n\n22:27. If thou hast opened a sad mouth, fear not, for there may be a\nreconciliation:  except upbraiding, and reproach, and pride, and\ndisclosing of secrets, or a treacherous wound:  for in all these cases a\nfriend will flee away.\n\n22:28. Keep fidelity with a friend in his poverty, that in his\nprosperity also thou mayst rejoice.\n\n22:29. In the time of his trouble continue faithful to him, that thou\nmayst also be heir with him in his inheritance.\n\n22:30. As the vapour of a chimney, and the smoke of the fire goeth up\nbefore the fire:  so also injurious words, and reproaches, and threats,\nbefore blood.\n\n22:31. I will not be ashamed to salute a friend, neither will I hide\nmyself from his face:  and if any evil happen to me by him, I will bear\nit.\n\n22:32. But every one that shall hear it, will beware of him.\n\n22:33. Who will set a guard before my mouth, and a sure seal upon my\nlips, that I fall not by them, and that my tongue destroy me not?\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 23\n\n\nA prayer for grace to flee sin:  cautions against profane swearing and\nother vices.\n\n23:1. O Lord, father, and sovereign ruler of my life, leave me not to\ntheir counsel:  nor suffer me to fall by them.\n\nBy them. . .Viz., the tongue and the lips, mentioned in the last verse\nof the foregoing chapter.\n\n23:2. Who will set scourges over my thoughts, and the discipline of\nwisdom over my heart, that they spare me not in their ignorances, and\nthat their sins may not appear:\n\nThat they spare me not in their ignorances, etc. . .That is, that the\nscourges and discipline of wisdom may restrain the ignorances, that is,\nthe slips and offences which are usually committed by the tongue and\nthe lips.\n\n23:3. Lest my ignorances increase, and my offences be multiplied, and\nmy sins abound, and I fall before my adversaries, and my enemy rejoice\nover me?\n\n23:4. O Lord, father, and God of my life, leave me not to their\ndevices.\n\n23:5. Give me not haughtiness of my eyes, and turn away from me all\ncoveting.\n\n23:6. Take from me the greediness of the belly, and let not the lusts\nof the flesh take hold of me, and give me not over to a shameless and\nfoolish mind.\n\n23:7. Hear, O ye children, the discipline of the mouth, and he that\nwill keep it shall not perish by his lips, nor be brought to fall into\nmost wicked works.\n\n23:8. A sinner is caught in his own vanity, and the proud and the evil\nspeakers shall fall thereby.\n\n23:9. Let not thy mouth be accustomed to swearing:  for in it there are\nmany falls.\n\n23:10. And let not the naming of God be usual in thy mouth, and meddle\nnot with the names of saints, for thou shalt not escape free from them.\n\n23:11. For as a slave daily put to the question, is never without a\nblue mark:  so every one that sweareth, and nameth, shall not be wholly\npure from sin.\n\n23:12. A man that sweareth much, shall be filled with iniquity, and a\nscourge shall not depart from his house.\n\n23:13. And if he make it void, his sin shall be upon him, and if he\ndissemble it, he offendeth double:\n\n23:14. And if he swear in vain, he shall not be justified:  for his\nhouse shall be filled with his punishment.\n\n23:15. There is also another speech opposite to death, let it not be\nfound in the inheritance of Jacob.\n\n23:16. For from the merciful all these things shall be taken away, and\nthey shall not wallow in sins.\n\n23:17. Let not thy mouth be accustomed to indiscreet speech:  for\ntherein is the word of sin.\n\n23:18. Remember thy father and thy mother, for thou sittest in the\nmidst of great men:\n\n23:19. Lest God forget thee in their sight, and thou, by thy daily\ncustom be infatuated and suffer reproach:  and wish that thou hadst not\nbeen born, and curse the day of thy nativity.\n\n23:20. The man that is accustomed to opprobrious words, will never be\ncorrected all the days of his life.\n\n23:21. Two sorts of men multiply sins, and the third bringeth wrath and\ndestruction.\n\n23:22. A hot soul is a burning fire, it will never be quenched, till it\ndevour some thing.\n\n23:23. And a man that is wicked in the mouth of his flesh, will not\nleave off till he hath kindled a fire.\n\n23:24. To a man that is a fornicator all bread is sweet, he will not be\nweary of sinning unto the end.\n\n23:25. Every man that passeth beyond his own bed, despising his own\nsoul, and saying:  Who seeth me?\n\n23:26. Darkness compasseth me about, and the walls cover me, and no man\nseeth me:  whom do I fear?  the most High will not remember my sins.\n\n23:27. And he understandeth not that his eye seeth all things, for such\na man's fear driveth him from the fear of God, and the eyes of men\nfearing him:\n\n23:28. And he knoweth not that the eyes of the Lord are far brighter\nthan the sun, beholding round about all the ways of men, and the bottom\nof the deep, and looking into the hearts of men, into the most hidden\nparts.\n\n23:29. For all things were known to the Lord God, before they were\ncreated:  so also after they were perfected he beholdeth all things.\n\n23:30. This man shall be punished in the streets of the city, and he\nshall be chased as a colt:  and where he suspected not, he shall be\ntaken.\n\n23:31. And he shall be in disgrace with all men, because he understood\nnot the fear of the Lord.\n\n23:32. So every woman also that leaveth her husband, and bringeth in an\nheir by another:\n\n23:33. For first she hath been unfaithful to the law of the most High:\nand secondly, she hath offended against her husband:  thirdly, she hath\nfornicated in adultery, and hath gotten her children of another man.\n\n23:34. This woman shall be brought into the assembly, and inquisition\nshall be made of her children.\n\n23:35. Her children shall not take root, and her branches shall bring\nforth no fruit.\n\n23:36. She shall leave her memory to be cursed, and her infamy shall\nnot be blotted out.\n\n23:37. And they that remain shall know, that there is nothing better\nthan the fear of God:  and that there is nothing sweeter than to have\nregard to the commandments of the Lord.\n\n23:38. It is great glory to follow the Lord:  for length of days shall\nbe received from him.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 24\n\n\nWisdom praiseth herself:  her origin, her dwelling, her dignity, and her\nfruits.\n\n24:1. Wisdom shall praise her own self, and shall be honoured in God,\nand shall glory in the midst of her people,\n\n24:2. And shall open her mouth in the churches of the most High, and\nshall glorify herself in the sight of his power,\n\n24:3. And in the midst of her own people she shall be exalted, and\nshall be admired in the holy assembly.\n\n24:4. And in the multitude of the elect she shall have praise, and\namong the blessed she shall be blessed, saying:\n\n24:5. I came out of the mouth of the most High, the firstborn before\nall creatures:\n\n24:6. I made that in the heavens there should rise light that never\nfaileth, and as a cloud I covered all the earth:\n\n24:7. I dwelt in the highest places, and my throne is in a pillar of a\ncloud.\n\n24:8. I alone have compassed the circuit of heaven, and have penetrated\ninto the bottom of the deep, and have walked in the waves of the sea,\n\n24:9. And have stood in all the earth:  and in every people,\n\n24:10. And in every nation I have had the chief rule:\n\n24:11. And by my power I have trodden under my feet the hearts of all\nthe high and low:  and in all these I sought rest, and I shall abide in\nthe inheritance of the Lord.\n\n24:12. Then the creator of all things commanded, and said to me:  and he\nthat made me, rested in my tabernacle,\n\n24:13. And he said to me:  Let thy dwelling be in Jacob, and thy\ninheritance in Israel, and take root in my elect.\n\n24:14. From the beginning, and before the world, was I created, and\nunto the world to come I shall not cease to be, and in the holy\ndwelling place I have ministered before him.\n\n24:15. And so was I established in Sion, and in the holy city likewise\nI rested, and my power was in Jerusalem.\n\n24:16. And I took root in an honourable people, and in the portion of\nmy God his inheritance, and my abode is in the full assembly of saints.\n\n24:17. I was exalted like a cedar in Libanus, and as a cypress tree on\nmount Sion.\n\n24:18. I was exalted like a palm tree in Cades, and as a rose plant in\nJericho:\n\n24:19. As a fair olive tree in the plains, and as a plane tree by the\nwater in the streets, was I exalted.\n\n24:20. I gave a sweet smell like cinnamon, and aromatical balm:  I\nyielded a sweet odour like the best myrrh:\n\n24:21. And I perfumed my dwelling as storax, and galbanum, and onyx,\nand aloes, and as the frankincense not cut, and my odour is as the\npurest balm.\n\n24:22. I have stretched out my branches as the turpentine tree, and my\nbranches are of honour and grace.\n\n24:23. As the vine I have brought forth a pleasant odour:  and my\nflowers are the fruit of honour and riches.\n\n24:24. I am the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and\nof holy hope.\n\n24:25. In me is all grace of the way and of the truth, in me is all\nhope of life and of virtue.\n\n24:26. Come over to me, all ye that desire me, and be filled with my\nfruits.\n\n24:27. For my spirit is sweet above honey, and my inheritance above\nhoney and the honeycomb.\n\n24:28. My memory is unto everlasting generations.\n\n24:29. They that eat me, shall yet hunger:  and they that drink me,\nshall yet thirst.\n\n24:30. He that hearkeneth to me, shall not be confounded:  and they that\nwork by me, shall not sin.\n\n24:31. They that explain me shall have life everlasting.\n\n24:32. All these things are the book of life, and the covenant of the\nmost High, and the knowledge of truth.\n\n24:33. Moses commanded a law in the precepts of justices, and an\ninheritance to the house of Jacob, and the promises to Israel.\n\n24:34. He appointed to David his servant to raise up of him a most\nmighty king, and sitting on the throne of glory for ever.\n\nA most mighty king. . .Viz., Christ, who by his gospel, like an\noverflowing river, has enriched the earth with heavenly wisdom.\n\n24:35. Who filleth up wisdom as the Phison, and as the Tigris in the\ndays of the new fruits.\n\n24:36. Who maketh understanding to abound as the Euphrates, who\nmultiplieth it as the Jordan in the time of harvest.\n\n24:37. Who sendeth knowledge as the light, and riseth up as Gehon in\nthe time of the vintage.\n\n24:38. Who first hath perfect knowledge of her, and a weaker shall not\nsearch her out.\n\nWho first hath perfect knowledge of her. . .Christ was the first that\nhad perfect knowledge of heavenly wisdom.\n\n24:39. For her thoughts are more vast than the sea, and her counsels\nmore deep than the great ocean.\n\n24:40. I, wisdom, have poured out rivers.\n\n24:41. I, like a brook out of a river of a mighty water; I, like a\nchannel of a river, and like an aqueduct, came out of paradise.\n\n24:42. I said:  I will water my garden of plants, and I will water\nabundantly the fruits of my meadow.\n\n24:43. And behold my brook became a great river, and my river came near\nto a sea:\n\n24:44. For I make doctrine to shine forth to all as the morning light,\nand I will declare it afar off.\n\n24:45. I will penetrate to all the lower parts of the earth, and will\nbehold all that sleep, and will enlighten all that hope in the Lord.\n\n24:46. I will yet pour out doctrine as prophecy, and will leave it to\nthem that seek wisdom, and will not cease to instruct their offspring\neven to the holy age.\n\n24:47. See ye that I have not laboured myself only, but for all that\nseek out the truth.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 25\n\n\nDocuments of wisdom on several subjects.\n\n25:1. With three things my spirit is pleased, which are approved before\nGod and men:\n\n25:2. The concord of brethren, and the love of neighbours, and man and\nwife that agree well together.\n\n25:3. Three sorts my soul hateth, and I am greatly grieved at their\nlife:\n\n25:4. A poor man that is proud:  a rich man that is a liar:  an old man\nthat is a fool, and doting.\n\n25:5. The things that thou hast not gathered in thy youth, how shalt\nthou find them in thy old age?\n\n25:6. O how comely is judgment for a grey head, and for ancients to\nknow counsel!\n\n25:7. O how comely is wisdom for the aged, and understanding and\ncounsel to men of honour!\n\n25:8. Much experience is the crown of old men, and the fear of God is\ntheir glory.\n\n25:9. Nine things that are not to be imagined by the heart have I\nmagnified, and the tenth I will utter to men with my tongue.\n\n25:10. A man that hath joy of his children:  and he that liveth and\nseeth the fall of his enemies.\n\n25:11. Blessed is he that dwelleth with a wise woman, and that hath not\nslipped with his tongue, and that hath not served such as are unworthy\nof him.\n\n25:12. Blessed is he that findeth a true friend, and that declareth\njustice to an ear that heareth.\n\n25:13. How great is he that findeth wisdom and knowledge! but there is\nnone above him that feareth the Lord.\n\n25:14. The fear of God hath set itself above all things:\n\n25:15. Blessed is the man, to whom it is given to have the fear of God:\nhe that holdeth it, to whom shall he be likened?\n\n25:16. The fear of God is the beginning of his love:  and the beginning\nof faith is to be fast joined unto it.\n\n25:17. The sadness of the heart is every plague:  and the wickedness of\na woman is all evil.\n\n25:18. And a man will choose any plague, but the plague of the heart:\n\n25:19. And any wickedness, but the wickedness of a woman:\n\n25:20. And any affliction, but the affliction from them that hate him:\n\n25:21. And any revenge, but the revenge of enemies.\n\n25:22. There is no head worse than the head of a serpent:\n\n25:23. And there is no anger above the anger of a woman.  It will be\nmore agreeable to abide with a lion and a dragon, than to dwell with a\nwicked woman.\n\n25:24. The wickedness of a woman changeth her face:  and she darkeneth\nher countenance as a bear:  and sheweth it like sackcloth.  In the midst\nof her neighbours,\n\n25:25. Her husband groaned, and hearing he sighed a little.\n\n25:26. All malice is short to the malice of a woman, let the lot of\nsinners fall upon her.\n\n25:27. As the climbing of a sandy way is to the feet of the aged, so is\na wife full of tongue to a quiet man.\n\n25:28. Look not upon a woman's beauty, and desire not a woman for\nbeauty.\n\n25:29. A woman's anger, and impudence, and confusion is great.\n\n25:30. A woman, if she have superiority, is contrary to her husband.\n\n25:31. A wicked woman abateth the courage, and maketh a heavy\ncountenance, and a wounded heart.\n\n25:32. Feeble hands, and disjointed knees, a woman that doth not make\nher husband happy.\n\n25:33. From the woman came the beginning of sin, and by her we all die.\n\n25:34. Give no issue to thy water, no, not a little:  nor to a wicked\nwoman liberty to gad abroad.\n\n25:35. If she walk not at thy hand, she will confound thee in the sight\nof thy enemies.\n\n25:36. Cut her off from thy flesh, lest she always abuse thee.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 26\n\n\nOf good and bad women.\n\n26:1. Happy is the husband of a good wife:  for the number of his years\nis double.\n\n26:2. A virtuous woman rejoiceth her husband, and shall fulfil the\nyears of his life in peace.\n\n26:3. A good wife is a good portion, she shall be given in the portion\nof them that fear God, to a man for his good deeds.\n\n26:4. Rich or poor, if his heart is good, his countenance shall be\ncheerful at all times.\n\n26:5. Of three things my heart hath been afraid, and at the fourth my\nface hath trembled:\n\n26:6. The accusation of a city, and the gathering together of the\npeople:\n\n26:7. And a false calumny, all are more grievous than death.\n\n26:8. A jealous woman is the grief and mourning of the heart.\n\n26:9. With a jealous woman is a scourge of the tongue which\ncommunicateth with all.\n\n26:10. As a yoke of oxen that is moved to and fro, so also is a wicked\nwoman:  he that hath hold of her, is as he that taketh hold of a\nscorpion.\n\n26:11. A drunken woman is a great wrath:  and her reproach and shame\nshall not be hid.\n\n26:12. The fornication of a woman shall be known by the haughtiness of\nher eyes and by her eyelids.\n\n26:13. On a daughter that turneth not away herself, set a strict watch:\nlest finding an opportunity she abuse herself.\n\n26:14. Take heed of the impudence of her eyes, and wonder not if she\nslight thee.\n\n26:15. She will open her mouth as a thirsty traveller to the fountain,\nand will drink of every water near her, and will sit down by every\nhedge, and open her quiver against every arrow, until she fail.\n\n26:16. The grace of a diligent woman shall delight her husband, and\nshall fat his bones.\n\n26:17. Her discipline is the gift of God.\n\n26:18. Such is a wise and silent woman, and there is nothing so much\nworth as a well instructed soul.\n\n26:19. A holy and shamefaced woman is grace upon grace.\n\n26:20. And no price is worthy of a continent soul.\n\n26:21. As the sun when it riseth to the world in the high places of\nGod, so is the beauty of a good wife for the ornament of her house.\n\n26:22. As the lamp shining upon the holy candlestick, so is the beauty\nof the face in a ripe age,\n\n26:23. As golden pillars upon bases of silver, so are the firm feet\nupon the soles of a steady woman.\n\n26:24. As everlasting foundations upon a solid rock, so the\ncommandments of God in the heart of a holy woman.\n\n26:25. At two things my heart is grieved, and the third bringeth anger\nupon me.\n\n26:26. A man of war fainting through poverty, and a man of sense\ndespised:\n\n26:27. And he that passeth over from justice to sin, God hath prepared\nsuch an one for the sword.\n\n26:28. Two sorts of callings have appeared to me hard and dangerous:  a\nmerchant is hardly free from negligence:  and a huckster shall not be\njustified from the sins of the lips.\n\nFrom negligence. . .That is, from the neglect of the service of God:\nbecause the eager pursuit of the mammon of this world, is apt to make\nmen of that calling forget the great duties of loving God above all\nthings, and their neighbours as themselves.--Ibid.  A huckster. . .Or, a\nretailer of wine.  Men of that profession are both greatly exposed to\ndanger of sin themselves, and are too often accessary to the sins of\nothers.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 27\n\n\nDangers of sin from several heads:  the fear of God is the best\npreservative.  He that diggeth a pit, shall fall into it.\n\n27:1. Through poverty many have sinned:  and he that seeketh to be\nenriched, turneth away his eye.\n\n27:2. As a stake sticketh fast in the midst of the joining of stones,\nso also in the midst of selling and buying, sin shall stick fast.\n\n27:3. Sin shall be destroyed with the sinner.\n\n27:4. Unless thou hold thyself diligently in the fear of the Lord, thy\nhouse shall quickly be overthrown.\n\n27:5. As when one sifteth with a sieve, the dust will remain:  so will\nthe perplexity of a man in his thoughts.\n\n27:6. The furnace trieth the potter's vessels, and the trial of\naffliction just men.\n\n27:7. As the dressing of a tree sheweth the fruit thereof, so a word\nout of the thought of the heart of man.\n\n27:8. Praise not a man before he speaketh, for this is the trial of\nmen.\n\n27:9. If thou followest justice, thou shalt obtain her:  and shalt put\nher on as a long robe of honour, and thou shalt dwell with her:  and she\nshall protect thee for ever, and in the day of acknowledgment thou\nshalt find a strong foundation.\n\n27:10. Birds resort unto their like:  so truth will return to them that\npractise her.\n\n27:11. The lion always lieth in wait for prey:  so do sins for them that\nwork iniquities.\n\n27:12. A holy man continueth in wisdom as the sun:  but a fool is\nchanged as the moon.\n\n27:13. In the midst of the unwise keep in the word till its time:  but\nbe continually among men that think.\n\n27:14. The discourse of sinners is hateful, and their laughter is at\nthe pleasures of sin.\n\n27:15. The speech that sweareth much shall make the hair of the head\nstand upright:  and its irreverence shall make one stop his ears.\n\n27:16. In the quarrels of the road is the shedding of blood:  and their\ncursing is a grievous hearing.\n\n27:17. He that discloseth the secret of a friend loseth his credit, and\nshall never find a friend to his mind.\n\n27:18. Love thy neighbour, and be joined to him with fidelity.\n\n27:19. But if thou discover his secrets, follow no more after him.\n\n27:20. For as a man that destroyeth his friend, so is he that\ndestroyeth the friendship of his neighbour.\n\n27:21. And as one that letteth a bird go out of his hand, so hast thou\nlet thy neighbour go, and thou shalt not get him again.\n\n27:22. Follow after him no more, for he is gone afar off, he is fled,\nas a roe escaped out of the snare because his soul is wounded.\n\n27:23. Thou canst no more bind him up.  And of a curse there is\nreconciliation:\n\nAnd of a curse there is reconciliation. . .That is, it is easier to\nobtain a reconciliation after a curse, than after disclosing a secret.\n\n27:24. But to disclose the secrets of a friend, leaveth no hope to an\nunhappy soul.\n\n27:25. He that winketh with the eye forgeth wicked things, and no man\nwill cast him off:\n\n27:26. In the sight of thy eyes he will sweeten his mouth, and will\nadmire thy words:  but at the last he will writhe his mouth, and on thy\nwords he will lay a stumblingblock.\n\n27:27. I have hated many things but not like him, and the Lord will\nhate him.\n\n27:28. If one cast a stone on high, it will fall upon his own head:  and\nthe deceitful stroke will wound the deceitful.\n\n27:29. He that diggeth a pit, shall fall into it:  and he that setteth a\nstone for his neighbour, shall stumble upon it:  and he that layeth a\nsnare for another, shall perish in it.\n\n27:30. A mischievous counsel shall be rolled back upon the author, and\nhe shall not know from whence it cometh to him.\n\n27:31. Mockery and reproach are of the proud, and vengeance as a lion\nshall lie in wait for him.\n\n27:32. They shall perish in a snare that are delighted with the fall of\nthe just:  and sorrow shall consume them before they die.\n\n27:33. Anger and fury are both of them abominable, and the sinful man\nshall be subject to them.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 28\n\n\nLessons against revenge and quarrels.  The evils of the tongue.\n\n28:1. He that seeketh to revenge himself, shall find vengeance from the\nLord, and he will surely keep his sins in remembrance.\n\n28:2. Forgive thy neighbour if he hath hurt thee:  and then shall thy\nsins be forgiven to thee when thou prayest.\n\n28:3. Man to man reserveth anger, and doth he seek remedy of God?\n\n28:4. He hath no mercy on a man like himself, and doth he entreat for\nhis own sins?\n\n28:5. He that is but flesh, nourisheth anger, and doth he ask\nforgiveness of God?  who shall obtain pardon for his sins?\n\n28:6. Remember thy last things, and let enmity cease:\n\n28:7. For corruption and death hang over in his commandments.\n\nIn his commandments. . .Supply the sentence out of the Greek thus:\nRemember corruption and death, and abide in the commandments.\n\n28:8. Remember the fear of God, and be not angry with thy neighbour.\n\n28:9. Remember the covenant of the most High, and overlook the\nignorance of thy neighbour.\n\n28:10. Refrain from strife, and thou shalt diminish thy sins.\n\n28:11. For a passionate man kindleth strife, and a sinful man will\ntrouble his friends, and bring in debate in the midst of them that are\nat peace.\n\n28:12. For as the wood of the forest is, so the fire burneth, and as a\nman's strength is, so shall his anger be, and according to his riches\nhe shall increase his anger.\n\n28:13. A hasty contention kindleth a fire and a hasty quarrel sheddeth\nblood and a tongue that beareth witness bringeth death.\n\n28:14. If thou blow the spark, it shall burn as a fire:  and if thou\nspit upon it, it shall be quenched:  both come out of the mouth.\n\n28:15. The whisperer and the double tongue is accursed:  for he hath\ntroubled many that were at peace.\n\n28:16. The tongue of a third person hath disquieted many, and scattered\nthem from nation to nation.\n\n28:17. It hath destroyed the strong cities of the rich, and hath\noverthrown the houses of great men.\n\n28:18. It hath cut in pieces the forces of people, and undone strong\nnations.\n\n28:19. The tongue of a third person hath cast out valiant women, and\ndeprived them of their labours.\n\n28:20. He that hearkeneth to it, shall never have rest, neither shall\nhe have a friend in whom he may repose.\n\n28:21. The stroke of a whip maketh a blue mark:  but the stroke of the\ntongue will break the bones.\n\n28:22. Many have fallen by the edge of the sword, but not so many as\nhave perished by their own tongue.\n\n28:23. Blessed is he that is defended from a wicked tongue, that hath\nnot passed into the wrath thereof, and that hath not drawn the yoke\nthereof, and hath not been bound in its bands.\n\n28:24. For its yoke is a yoke of iron:  and its bands are bands of\nbrass.\n\n28:25. The death thereof is a most evil death:  and hell is preferable\nto it.\n\n28:26. Its continuance shall not be for a long time, but it shall\npossess the ways of the unjust:  and the just shall not be burnt with\nits flame.\n\n28:27. They that forsake God shall fall into it, and it shall burn in\nthem, and shall not be quenched, and it shall be sent upon them as a\nlion, and as a leopard it shall tear them.\n\n28:28. Hedge in thy ears with thorns, hear not a wicked tongue, and\nmake doors and bars to thy mouth.\n\n28:29. Melt down thy gold and silver, and make a balance for thy words,\nand a just bridle for thy mouth:\n\n28:30. And take heed lest thou slip with thy tongue, and fall in the\nsight of thy enemies who lie in wait for thee, and thy fall be\nincurable unto death.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 29\n\n\nOf charity in lending money, and justice in repaying.  Of alms, and of\nbeing surety.\n\n29:1. He that sheweth mercy, lendeth to his neighbour:  and he that is\nstronger in hand, keepeth the commandments.\n\nAnd he that is stronger in hand. . .That is, he that is hearty and\nbountiful in lending to his neighbour in his necessity.\n\n29:2. Lend to thy neighbour in the time of his need, and pay thou thy\nneighbour again in due time.\n\n29:3. Keep thy word, and deal faithfully with him:  and thou shalt\nalways find that which is necessary for thee.\n\n29:4. Many have looked upon a thing lent as a thing found, and have\ngiven trouble to them that helped them.\n\n29:5. Till they receive, they kiss the hands of the lender, and in\npromises they humble their voice:\n\n29:6. But when they should repay, they will ask time, and will return\ntedious and murmuring words, and will complain of the time:\n\n29:7. And if he be able to pay, he will stand off, he will scarce pay\none half, and will count it as if he had found it:\n\n29:8. But if not, he will defraud him of his money, and he shall get\nhim for an enemy without cause.\n\n29:9. And he will pay him with reproaches and curses, and instead of\nhonour and good turn will repay him injuries.\n\n29:10. Many have refused to lend, not out of wickedness, but they were\nafraid to be defrauded without cause.\n\n29:11. But yet towards the poor be thou more hearty, and delay not to\nshew him mercy.\n\n29:12. Help the poor because of the commandment:  and send him not away\nempty handed because of his poverty.\n\n29:13. Lose thy money for thy brother and thy friend:  and hide it not\nunder a stone to be lost.\n\n29:14. Place thy treasure in the commandments of the most High, and it\nshall bring thee more profit than gold.\n\n29:15. Shut up alms in the heart of the poor, and it shall obtain help\nfor thee against all evil.\n\n29:16. Better than the shield of the mighty, and better than the spear:\n\n29:17. It shall fight for thee against thy enemy.\n\n29:18. A good man is surety for his neighbour:  and he that hath lost\nshame, will leave him to himself.\n\n29:19. Forget not the kindness of thy surety:  for he hath given his\nlife for thee.\n\n29:20. The sinner and the unclean fleeth from his surety.\n\n29:21. A sinner attributeth to himself the goods of his surety:  and he\nthat is of an unthankful mind will leave him that delivered him.\n\n29:22. A man is surety for his neighbour:  and when he hath lost all\nshame, he shall forsake him.\n\n29:23. Evil suretyship hath undone many of good estate, and hath tossed\nthem as a wave of the sea.\n\n29:24. It hath made powerful men to go from place to place round about,\nand they have wandered in strange countries.\n\n29:25. A sinner that transgresseth the commandment of the Lord, shall\nfall into an evil suretyship:  and he that undertaketh many things,\nshall fall into judgment.\n\n29:26. Recover thy neighbour according to thy power, and take heed to\nthyself that thou fall not.\n\n29:27. The chief thing for man's life is water and bread, and clothing,\nand a house to cover shame.\n\n29:28. Better is the poor man's fare under a roof of boards, than\nsumptuous cheer abroad in another man's house.\n\n29:29. Be contented with little instead of much, and thou shalt not\nhear the reproach of going abroad.\n\n29:30. It is a miserable life to go as a guest from house to house:  for\nwhere a man is a stranger, he shall not deal confidently, nor open his\nmouth.\n\n29:31. He shall entertain and feed, and give drink to the unthankful,\nand moreover he shall hear bitter words.\n\n29:32. Go, stranger, and furnish the table, and give others to eat what\nthou hast in thy hand.\n\n29:33. Give place to the honourable presence of my friends:  for I want\nmy house, my brother being to be lodged with me.\n\n29:34. These things are grievous to a man of understanding:  the\nupbraiding of houseroom, and the reproaching of the lender.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 30\n\n\nOf correction of children.  Health is better than wealth.  Excessive\ngrief is hurtful.\n\n30:1. He that loveth his son, frequently chastiseth him, that he may\nrejoice in his latter end, and not grope after the doors of his\nneighbours.\n\n30:2. He that instructeth his son shall be praised in him, and shall\nglory in him in the midst of them of his household.\n\n30:3. He that teacheth his son, maketh his enemy jealous, and in the\nmidst of his friends he shall glory in him.\n\n30:4. His father is dead, and he is as if he were not dead:  for he hath\nleft one behind him that is like himself.\n\n30:5. While he lived he saw and rejoiced in him:  and when he died he\nwas not sorrowful, neither was he confounded before his enemies.\n\n30:6. For he left behind him a defender of his house against his\nenemies, and one that will requite kindness to his friends.\n\n30:7. For the souls of his sons he shall bind up his wounds, and at\nevery cry his bowels shall be troubled.\n\n30:8. A horse not broken becometh stubborn, and a child left to himself\nwill become headstrong.\n\n30:9. Give thy son his way, and he shall make thee afraid:  play with\nhim, and he shall make thee sorrowful.\n\n30:10. Laugh not with him, lest thou have sorrow, and at the last thy\nteeth be set on edge.\n\n30:11. Give him not liberty in his youth, and wink not at his devices.\n\n30:12. Bow down his neck while he is young, and beat his sides while he\nis a child, lest he grow stubborn, and regard thee not, and so be a\nsorrow of heart to thee.\n\n30:13. Instruct thy son, and labour about him, lest his lewd behaviour\nbe an offence to thee.\n\n30:14. Better is a poor man who is sound, and strong of constitution,\nthan a rich man who is weak and afflicted with evils.\n\n30:15. Health of the soul in holiness of justice, is better than all\ngold and silver:  and a sound body, than immense revenues.\n\n30:16. There is no riches above the riches of the health of the body:\nand there is no pleasure above the joy of the heart.\n\n30:17. Better is death than a bitter life, and everlasting rest, than\ncontinual sickness.\n\n30:18. Good things that are hidden in a mouth that is shut, are as\nmesses of meat set about a grave.\n\n30:19. What good shall an offering do to an idol?  for it can neither\neat, nor smell:\n\n30:20. So is he that is persecuted by the Lord, bearing the reward of\nhis iniquity:\n\n30:21. He seeth with his eyes, and groaneth, as an eunuch embracing a\nvirgin, and sighing.\n\n30:22. Give not up thy soul to sadness, and afflict not thyself in thy\nown counsel.\n\n30:23. The joyfulness of the heart, is the life of a man, and a never\nfailing treasure of holiness:  and the joy of a man is length of life.\n\n30:24. Have pity on thy own soul, pleasing God, and contain thyself:\ngather up thy heart in his holiness:  and drive away sadness far from\nthee.\n\n30:25. For sadness hath killed many, and there is no profit in it.\n\n30:26. Envy and anger shorten a man's days, and pensiveness will bring\nold age before the time.\n\n30:27. A cheerful and good heart is always feasting:  for his banquets\nare prepared with diligence.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 31\n\n\nOf the desire of riches, and of moderation in eating and drinking.\n\n31:1. Watching for riches consumeth the flesh, and the thought thereof\ndriveth away sleep.\n\n31:2. The thinking beforehand turneth away the understanding, and a\ngrievous sickness maketh the soul sober.\n\n31:3. The rich man hath laboured in gathering riches together, and when\nhe resteth he shall be filled with his goods.\n\n31:4. The poor man hath laboured in his low way of life, and in the end\nhe is still poor.\n\n31:5. He that loveth gold, shall not be justified:  and he that\nfolloweth after corruption, shall be filled with it.\n\n31:6. Many have been brought to fall for gold, and the beauty thereof\nhath been their ruin.\n\n31:7. Gold is a stumblingblock to them that sacrifice to it:  woe to\nthem that eagerly follow after it, and every fool shall perish by it.\n\n31:8. Blessed is the rich man that is found without blemish:  and that\nhath not gone after gold, nor put his trust in money nor in treasures.\n\n31:9. Who is he, and we will praise him?  for he hath done wonderful\nthings in his life.\n\n31:10. Who hath been tried thereby, and made perfect, he shall have\nglory everlasting.  He that could have transgressed, and hath not\ntransgressed:  and could do evil things, and hath not done them:\n\n31:11. Therefore are his goods established in the Lord, and all the\nchurch of the saints shall declare his alms.\n\n31:12. Art thou set at a great table?  be not the first to open thy\nmouth upon it.\n\n31:13. Say not:  There are many things which are upon it.\n\n31:14. Remember that a wicked eye is evil.\n\n31:15. What is created more wicked than an eye?  therefore shall it weep\nover all the face when it shall see.\n\n31:16. Stretch not out thy hand first, lest being disgraced with envy\nthou be put to confusion.\n\n31:17. Be not hasty in a feast.\n\n31:18. Judge of the disposition of thy neighbour by thyself.\n\n31:19. Use as a frugal man the things that are set before thee:  lest if\nthou eatest much, thou be hated.\n\n31:20. Leave off first, for manners' sake:  and exceed not, lest thou\noffend.\n\n31:21. And if thou sittest among many, reach not thy hand out first of\nall, and be not the first to ask for drink.\n\n31:22. How sufficient is a little wine for a man well taught, and in\nsleeping thou shalt not be uneasy with it, and thou shalt feel no pain.\n\n31:23. Watching, and choler, and gripes, are with an intemperate man:\n\n31:24. Sound and wholesome sleep with a moderate man:  he shall sleep\ntill morning, and his soul shall be delighted with him.\n\n31:25. And if thou hast been forced to eat much, arise, go out, and\nvomit:  and it shall refresh thee, and thou shalt not bring sickness\nupon thy body.\n\n31:26. Hear me, my son, and despise me not:  and in the end thou shalt\nfind my words.\n\n31:27. In all thy works be quick, and no infirmity shall come to thee.\n\n31:28. The lips of many shall bless him that is liberal of his bread,\nand the testimony of his truth is faithful.\n\n31:29. Against him that is niggardly of his bread, the city will\nmurmur, and the testimony of his niggardliness is true.\n\n31:30. Challenge not them that love wine:  for wine hath destroyed very\nmany.\n\n31:31. Fire trieth hard iron:  so wine drunk to excess shall rebuke the\nhearts of the proud.\n\n31:32. Wine taken with sobriety is equal life to men:  if thou drink it\nmoderately, thou shalt be sober.\n\n31:33. What is his life, who is diminished with wine?\n\n31:34. What taketh away life?  death.\n\n31:35. Wine was created from the beginning to make men joyful, and not\nto make them drunk.\n\n31:36. Wine drunken with moderation is the joy of the soul and the\nheart.\n\n31:37. Sober drinking is health to soul and body.\n\n31:38. Wine drunken with excess raiseth quarrels, and wrath, and many\nruins.\n\n31:39. Wine drunken with excess is bitterness of the soul.\n\n31:40. The heat of drunkenness is the stumblingblock of the fool,\nlessening strength and causing wounds.\n\n31:41. Rebuke not thy neighbour in a banquet of wine:  and despise him\nnot in his mirth.\n\n31:42. Speak not to him words of reproach:  and press him not in\ndemanding again.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 32\n\n\nLessons for superiors and inferiors.  Advantages of fearing God, and\ndoing nothing without counsel.\n\n32:1. Have they made thee ruler?  be not lifted up:  be among them as one\nof them.\n\n32:2. Have care of them, and so sit down, and when thou hast acquitted\nthyself of all thy charge, take thy place:\n\n32:3. That thou mayst rejoice for them, and receive a crown as an\nornament of grace, and get the honour of the contribution.\n\n32:4. Speak, thou that art elder:  for it becometh thee,\n\n32:5. To speak the first word with careful knowledge, and hinder not\nmusic.\n\n32:6. Where there is no hearing, pour not out words, and be not lifted\nup out of season with thy wisdom.\n\n32:7. A concert of music in a banquet of wine is as a carbuncle set in\ngold.\n\n32:8. As a signet of an emerald in a work of gold:  so is the melody of\nmusic with pleasant and moderate wine.\n\n32:9. Hear in silence, and for thy reverence good grace shall come to\nthee.\n\n32:10. Young man, scarcely speak in thy own cause.\n\n32:11. If thou be asked twice, let thy answer be short.\n\n32:12. In many things be as if thou wert ignorant, and hear in silence\nand withal seeking.\n\n32:13. In the company of great men take not upon thee:  and when the\nancients are present, speak not much.\n\n32:14. Before a storm goeth lightning:  and before shamefacedness goeth\nfavour:  and for thy reverence good grace shall come to thee.\n\n32:15. And at the time of rising be not slack:  but be first to run home\nto thy house, and there withdraw thyself, and there take thy pastime.\n\n32:16. And do what thou hast a mind, but not in sin or proud speech.\n\n32:17. And for all these things bless the Lord, that made thee, and\nthat replenisheth thee with all his good things.\n\n32:18. He that feareth the Lord, will receive his discipline:  and they\nthat will seek him early, shall find a blessing.\n\n32:19. He that seeketh the law, shall be filled with it:  and he that\ndealeth deceitfully, shall meet with a stumblingblock therein.\n\n32:20. They that fear the Lord, shall find just judgment, and shall\nkindle justice as a light.\n\n32:21. A sinful man will flee reproof, and will find an excuse\naccording to his will.\n\n32:22. A man of counsel will not neglect understanding, a strange and\nproud man will not dread fear:\n\n32:23. Even after he hath done with fear without counsel, he shall be\ncontrolled by the things of his own seeking.\n\n32:24. My son, do thou nothing without counsel, and thou shalt not\nrepent when thou hast done.\n\n32:25. Go not in the way of ruin, and thou shalt not stumble against\nthe stones:  trust not thyself to a rugged way, lest thou set a\nstumblingblock to thy soul.\n\n32:26. And beware of thy own children, and take heed of them of thy\nhousehold.\n\n32:27. In every work of thine regard thy soul in faith:  for this is the\nkeeping of the commandments.\n\nIn faith. . .That is, follow sincerely thy soul in her faith and\nconscience.\n\n32:28. He that believeth God, taketh heed to the commandments:  and he\nthat trusteth in him, shall fare never the worse.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 33\n\n\nThe fear of God is the best security.  Times and men are in the hands of\nGod.  Take care of thyself as long as thou livest, and look to thy\nservants.\n\n33:1. No evils shall happen to him that feareth the Lord, but in\ntemptation God will keep him and deliver him from evils.\n\n33:2. A wise man hateth not the commandments and justices, and he shall\nnot be dashed in pieces as a ship in a storm.\n\n33:3. A man of understanding is faithful to the law of God, and the law\nis faithful to him.\n\n33:4. He that cleareth up a question, shall prepare what to say, and so\nhaving prayed he shall be heard, and shall keep discipline, and then he\nshall answer.\n\n33:5. The heart of a fool is as a wheel of a cart:  and his thoughts are\nlike a rolling axletree.\n\n33:6. A friend that is a mocker, is like a stallion horse:  he neigheth\nunder every one that sitteth upon him.\n\n33:7. Why doth one day excel another, and one light another, and one\nyear another year, when all come of the sun?\n\n33:8. By the knowledge of the Lord they were distinguished, the sun\nbeing made, and keeping his commandment.\n\n33:9. And he ordered the seasons, and holidays of them, and in them\nthey celebrated festivals at an hour.\n\n33:10. Some of them God made high and great days, and some of them he\nput in the number of ordinary days.  And all men are from the ground,\nand out of the earth, from whence Adam was created.\n\n33:11. With much knowledge the Lord hath divided them and diversified\ntheir ways.\n\n33:12. Some of them hath he blessed, and exalted:  and some of them hath\nhe sanctified, and set near himself:  and some of them hath he cursed\nand brought low, and turned them from their station.\n\n33:13. As the potter's clay is in his hand, to fashion and order it:\n\n33:14. All his ways are according to his ordering:  so man is in the\nhand of him that made him, and he will render to him according to his\njudgment.\n\n33:15. Good is set against evil, and life against death:  so also is the\nsinner against a just man.  And so look upon all the works of the most\nHigh.  Two and two, and one against another.\n\n33:16. And I awaked last of all, and as one that gathereth after the\ngrapegatherers.\n\n33:17. In the blessing of God I also have hoped:  and as one that\ngathereth grapes, have I filled the winepress.\n\n33:18. See that I have not laboured for myself only, but for all that\nseek discipline.\n\n33:19. Hear me, ye great men, and all ye people, and hearken with your\nears, ye rulers of the church.\n\n33:20. Give not to son or wife, brother or friend, power over thee\nwhile thou livest; and give not thy estate to another, lest thou\nrepent, and thou entreat for the same.\n\n33:21. As long as thou livest, and hast breath in thee, let no man\nchange thee.\n\nChange thee. . .That is, so as to have this power over thee.\n\n33:22. For it is better that thy children should ask of thee, than that\nthou look toward the hands of thy children.\n\n33:23. In all thy works keep the pre-eminence.\n\nThe pre-eminence. . .That is, be master in thy own house, and part not\nwith thy authority.\n\n33:24. Let no stain sully thy glory.  In the time when thou shalt end\nthe days of thy life, and in the time of thy decease, distribute thy\ninheritance.\n\n33:25. Fodder, and a wand, and a burden are for an ass:  bread, and\ncorrection, and work for a slave.\n\n33:26. He worketh under correction, and seeketh to rest:  let his hands\nbe idle, and he seeketh liberty.\n\n33:27. The yoke and the thong bend a stiff neck, and continual labours\nbow a slave.\n\n33:28. Torture and fetters are for a malicious slave:  send him to work,\nthat he be not idle:\n\n33:29. For idleness hath taught much evil.\n\n33:30. Set him to work:  for so it is fit for him.  And if he be not\nobedient, bring him down with fetters, but be not excessive towards any\none, and do no grievous thing without judgment.\n\n33:31. If thou have a faithful servant, let him be to thee as thy own\nsoul:  treat him as a brother:  because in the blood of thy soul thou\nhast gotten him.\n\n33:32. If thou hurt him unjustly, he will run away:\n\n33:33. And if he rise up and depart, thou knowest not whom to ask, and\nin what way to seek him.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 34\n\n\nThe vanity of dreams.  The advantage of experience, and of the fear of\nGod.\n\n34:1. The hopes of a man that is void of understanding are vain and\ndeceitful:  and dreams lift up fools.\n\n34:2. The man that giveth heed to lying visions, is like to him that\ncatcheth at a shadow, and followeth after the wind.\n\n34:3. The vision of dreams is the resemblance of one thing to another:\nas when a man's likeness is before the face of a man.\n\n34:4. What can be made clean by the unclean?  and what truth can come\nfrom that which is false?\n\n34:5. Deceitful divinations and lying omens and the dreams of\nevildoers, are vanity:\n\n34:6. And the heart fancieth as that of a woman in travail:  except it\nbe a vision sent forth from the most High, set not thy heart upon them.\n\n34:7. For dreams have deceived many, and they have failed that put\ntheir trust in them.\n\n34:8. The word of the law shall be fulfilled without a lie, and wisdom\nshall be made plain in the mouth of the faithful.\n\n34:9. What doth he know, that hath not been tried?  A man that hath much\nexperience, shall think of many things:  and he that hath learned many\nthings, shall shew forth understanding.\n\n34:10. He that hath no experience, knoweth little:  and he that hath\nbeen experienced in many things, multiplieth prudence.\n\n34:11. He that hath not been tried, what manner of things doth he know?\nhe that hath been surprised, shall abound with subtlety.\n\n34:12. I have seen many things by travelling, and many customs of\nthings.\n\n34:13. Sometimes I have been in danger of death for these things, and I\nhave been delivered by the grace of God.\n\n34:14. The spirit of those that fear God, is sought after, and by his\nregard shall be blessed.\n\n34:15. For their hope is on him that saveth them, and the eyes of God\nare upon them that love him.\n\n34:16. He that feareth the Lord shall tremble at nothing, and shall not\nbe afraid:  for he is his hope.\n\n34:17. The soul of him that feareth the Lord is blessed.\n\n34:18. To whom doth he look, and who is his strength?\n\n34:19. The eyes of the Lord are upon them that fear him, he is their\npowerful protector, and strong stay, a defence from the heat, and a\ncover from the sun at noon,\n\n34:20. A preservation from stumbling, and a help from falling:  he\nraiseth up the soul, and enlighteneth the eyes, and giveth health, and\nlife, and blessing.\n\n34:21. The offering of him that sacrificeth of a thing wrongfully\ngotten, is stained, and the mockeries of the unjust are not acceptable.\n\n34:22. The Lord is only for them that wait upon him in the way of truth\nand justice.\n\n34:23. The most High approveth not the gifts of the wicked:  neither\nhath he respect to the oblations of the unjust, nor will he be pacified\nfor sins by the multitude of their sacrifices.\n\n34:24. He that offereth sacrifice of the goods of the poor, is as one\nthat sacrificeth the son in the presence of his father.\n\n34:25. The bread of the needy, is the life of the poor:  he that\ndefraudeth them thereof, is a man of blood.\n\n34:26. He that taketh away the bread gotten by sweat, is like him that\nkilleth his neighbour.\n\n34:27. He that sheddeth blood, and he that defraudeth the laborer of\nhis hire, are brothers.\n\n34:28. When one buildeth up, and another pulleth down:  what profit have\nthey but the labour?\n\n34:29. When one prayeth, and another curseth:  whose voice will God\nhear?\n\n34:30. He that washeth himself after touching the dead, if he toucheth\nhim again, what doth his washing avail?\n\n34:31. So a man that fasteth for his sins, and doth the same again,\nwhat doth his humbling himself profit him?  who will hear his prayer?\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 35\n\n\nWhat sacrifices are pleasing to God.\n\n35:1. He that keepeth the law, multiplieth offerings.\n\n35:2. It is a wholesome sacrifice to take heed to the commandments, and\nto depart from all iniquity.\n\n35:3. And to depart from injustice, is to offer a propitiatory\nsacrifice for injustices, and a begging of pardon for sins.\n\n35:4. He shall return thanks, that offereth fine flour:  and he that\ndoth mercy, offereth sacrifice.\n\n35:5. To depart from iniquity is that which pleaseth the Lord, and to\ndepart from injustice, is an entreaty for sins.\n\n35:6. Thou shalt not appear empty in the sight of the Lord.\n\n35:7. For all these things are to be done because of the commandment of\nGod.\n\n35:8. The oblation of the just maketh the altar fat, and is an odour of\nsweetness in the sight of the most High.\n\n35:9. The sacrifice of the just is acceptable, and the Lord will not\nforget the memorial thereof.\n\n35:10. Give glory to God with a good heart:  and diminish not the\nfirstfruits of thy hands.\n\n35:11. In every gift shew a cheerful countenance, and sanctify thy\ntithes with joy.\n\n35:12. Give to the most High according to what he hath given to thee,\nand with a good eye do according to the ability of thy hands:\n\n35:13. For the Lord maketh recompense, and will give thee seven times\nas much.\n\n35:14. Do not offer wicked gifts, for such he will not receive.\n\n35:15. And look not upon an unjust sacrifice, for the Lord is judge,\nand there is not with him respect of person.\n\n35:16. The Lord will not accept any person against a poor man, and he\nwill hear the prayer of him that is wronged.\n\n35:17. He will not despise the prayers of the fatherless:  nor the\nwidow, when she poureth out her complaint.\n\n35:18. Do not the widow's tears run down the cheek, and her cry against\nhim that causeth them to fall?\n\n35:19. For from the cheek they go up even to heaven, and the Lord that\nheareth will not be delighted with them.\n\n35:20. He that adoreth God with joy, shall be accepted, and his prayer\nshall approach even to the clouds.\n\n35:21. The prayer of him that humbleth himself, shall pierce the\nclouds:  and till it come nigh he will not be comforted:  and he will not\ndepart till the most High behold.\n\n35:22. And the Lord will not be slack, but will judge for the just, and\nwill do judgment:  and the Almighty will not have patience with them,\nthat he may crush their back:\n\n35:23. And he will repay vengeance to the Gentiles, till he have taken\naway the multitude of the proud, and broken the sceptres of the unjust,\n\n35:24. Till he have rendered to men according to their deeds:  and\naccording to the works of Adam, and according to his presumption,\n\n35:25. Till he have judged the cause of his people, and he shall\ndelight the just with his mercy.\n\n35:26. The mercy of God is beautiful in the time of affliction, as a\ncloud of rain in the time of drought.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 36\n\n\nA prayer for the church of God.  Of a good heart, and a good wife.\n\n36:1. Have mercy upon us, O God of all, and behold us, and shew us the\nlight of thy mercies:\n\n36:2. And send thy fear upon the nations, that have not sought after\nthee:  that they may know that there is no God beside thee, and that\nthey may shew forth thy wonders.\n\n36:3. Lift up thy hand over the strange nations, that they may see thy\npower.\n\n36:4. For as thou hast been sanctified in us in their sight, so thou\nshalt be magnified among them in our presence,\n\n36:5. That they may know thee, as we also have known thee, that there\nis no God beside thee, O Lord.\n\n36:6. Renew thy signs, and work new miracles.\n\n36:7. Glorify thy hand, and thy right arm.\n\n36:8. Raise up indignation, and pour out wrath.\n\n36:9. Take away the adversary, and crush the enemy.\n\n36:10. Hasten the time, and remember the end, that they may declare thy\nwonderful works.\n\n36:11. Let him that escapeth be consumed by the rage of the fire:  and\nlet them perish that oppress thy people.\n\n36:12. Crush the head of the princes of the enemies that say:  There is\nno other beside us.\n\n36:13. Gather together all the tribes of Jacob:  that they may know that\nthere no God besides thee, and may declare thy great works:  and thou\nshalt inherit them as from the beginning.\n\n36:14. Have mercy on thy people, upon whom thy name is invoked:  and\nupon Israel, whom thou hast raised up to be thy firstborn.\n\n36:15. Have mercy on Jerusalem, the city which thou hast sanctified,\nthe city of thy rest.\n\n36:16. Fill Sion with thy unspeakable words, and thy people with thy\nglory.\n\n36:17. Give testimony to them that are thy creatures from the\nbeginning, and raise up the prophecies which the former prophets spoke\nin thy name.\n\n36:18. Reward them that patiently wait for thee, that thy prophets may\nbe found faithful:  and hear the prayers of thy servants,\n\n36:19. According to the blessing of Aaron over thy people, and direct\nus into the way of justice, and let all know that dwell upon the earth,\nthat thou art God the beholder of all ages.\n\n36:20. The belly will devour all meat, yet one is better than another.\n\n36:21. The palate tasteth venison and the wise heart false speeches.\n\n36:22. A perverse heart will cause grief, and a man of experience will\nresist it.\n\n36:23. A woman will receive every man:  yet one daughter is better than\nanother.\n\nA woman will receive every man. . .That is, any man that her parents\npropose to her to marry, though she does not like him, but marries in\nobedience to her parents, who make the choice for her.\n\n36:24. The beauty of a woman cheereth the countenance of her husband,\nand a man desireth nothing more.\n\n36:25. If she have a tongue that can cure, and likewise mitigate and\nshew mercy:  her husband is not like other men.\n\n36:26. He that possesseth a good wife, beginneth a possession:  she is a\nhelp like to himself, and a pillar of rest.\n\n36:27. Where there is no hedge, the possession shall be spoiled:  and\nwhere there is no wife, he mourneth that is in want.\n\n36:28. Who will trust him that hath no rest, and that lodgeth\nwheresoever the night taketh him, as a robber well appointed, that\nskippeth from city to city.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 37\n\n\nOf the choice of friends and counsellors.\n\n37:1. Every friend will say:  I also am his friend:  but there is a\nfriend, that is only a friend in name.  Is not this a grief even to\ndeath?\n\n37:2. But a companion and a friend shall be turned to an enemy.\n\n37:3. O wicked presumption, whence camest thou to cover the earth with\nthy malice, and deceitfulness?\n\n37:4. There is a companion who rejoiceth with his friend in his joys,\nbut in the time of trouble, he will be against him.\n\n37:5. There is a companion who condoleth with his friend for his\nbelly's sake, and he will take up a shield against the enemy.\n\n37:6. Forget not thy friend in thy mind, and be not unmindful of him in\nthy riches.\n\n37:7. Consult not with him that layeth a snare for thee, and hide thy\ncounsel from them that envy thee.\n\n37:8. Every counsellor giveth out counsel, but there is one that is a\ncounsellor for himself.\n\n37:9. Beware of a counsellor.  And know before what need he hath:  for he\nwill devise to his own mind:\n\n37:10. Lest he thrust a stake into the ground, and say to thee:\n\n37:11. Thy way is good; and then stand on the other side to see what\nshall befall thee.\n\n37:12. Treat not with a man without religion concerning holiness, nor\nwith an unjust man concerning justice, nor with a woman touching her of\nwhom she is jealous, nor with a coward concerning war, nor with a\nmerchant about traffic, nor with a buyer of selling, nor with an\nenvious man of giving thanks,\n\n37:13. Nor with the ungodly of piety, nor with the dishonest of\nhonesty, nor with the field laborer of every work,\n\n37:14. Nor with him that worketh by the year of the finishing of the\nyear, nor with an idle servant of much business:  give no heed to these\nin any matter of counsel.\n\n37:15. But be continually with a holy man, whomsoever thou shalt know\nto observe the fear of God,\n\n37:16. Whose soul is according to thy own soul:  and who, when thou\nshalt stumble in the dark, will be sorry for thee.\n\n37:17. And establish within thyself a heart of good counsel:  for there\nis no other thing of more worth to thee than it.\n\n37:18. The soul of a holy man discovereth sometimes true things, more\nthan seven watchmen that sit in a high place to watch.\n\n37:19. But above all these things pray to the most High, that he may\ndirect thy way in truth.\n\n37:20. In all thy works let the true word go before thee, and steady\ncounsel before every action.\n\n37:21. A wicked word shall change the heart:  out of which four manner\nof things arise, good and evil, life and death:  and the tongue is\ncontinually the ruler of them.  There is a man that is subtle and a\nteacher of many, and yet is unprofitable to his own soul.\n\n37:22. A skilful man hath taught many, and is sweet to his own soul.\n\n37:23. He that speaketh sophistically, is hateful:  he shall be\ndestitute of every thing.\n\n37:24. Grace is not given him from the Lord:  for he is deprived of all\nwisdom.\n\n37:25. There is a wise man that is wise to his own soul:  and the fruit\nof his understanding is commendable.\n\n37:26. A wise man instructeth his own people, and the fruits of his\nunderstanding are faithful.\n\n37:27. A wise man shall be filled with blessings, and they that see\nshall praise him.\n\n37:28. The life of a man is in the number of his days:  but the days of\nIsrael are innumerable.\n\n37:29. A wise man shall inherit honour among his people, and his name\nshall live for ever.\n\n37:30. My son, prove thy soul in thy life:  and if it be wicked, give it\nno power:\n\n37:31. For all things are not expedient for all, and every kind\npleaseth not every soul.\n\n37:32. Be not greedy in any feasting, and pour not out thyself upon any\nmeat:\n\n37:33. For in many meats there will be sickness, and greediness will\nturn to choler.\n\n37:34. By surfeiting many have perished, but he that is temperate,\nshall prolong life.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 38\n\n\nOf physicians and medicines:  what is to be done in sickness, and how we\nare to mourn for the dead.  Of the employments of labourers and\nartificers.\n\n38:1. Honour the physician for the need thou hast of him:  for the most\nHigh hath created him.\n\n38:2. For all healing is from God, and he shall receive gifts of the\nking.\n\n38:3. The skill of the physician shall lift up his head, and in the\nsight of great men he shall be praised.\n\n38:4. The most High hath created medicines out of the earth, and a wise\nman will not abhor them.\n\n38:5. Was not bitter water made sweet with wood?\n\n38:6. The virtue of these things is come to the knowledge of men, and\nthe most High hath given knowledge to men, that he may be honoured in\nhis wonders.\n\n38:7. By these he shall cure and shall allay their pains, and of these\nthe apothecary shall make sweet confections, and shall make up\nointments of health, and of his works there shall be no end.\n\n38:8. For the peace of God is over all the face of the earth.\n\n38:9. My son, in thy sickness neglect not thyself, but pray to the\nLord, and he shall heal thee.\n\n38:10. Turn away from sin and order thy hands aright, and cleanse thy\nheart from all offence.\n\n38:11. Give a sweet savour, and a memorial of fine flour, and make a\nfat offering, and then give place to the physician.\n\n38:12. For the Lord created him:  and let him not depart from thee, for\nhis works are necessary.\n\n38:13. For there is a time when thou must fall into their hands:\n\n38:14. And they shall beseech the Lord, that he would prosper what they\ngive for ease and remedy, for their conversation.\n\n38:15. He that sinneth in the sight of his Maker, shall fall into the\nhands of the physician.\n\n38:16. My son, shed tears over the dead, and begin to lament as if thou\nhadst suffered some great harm, and according to judgment cover his\nbody, and neglect not his burial.\n\n38:17. And for fear of being ill spoken of weep bitterly for a day, and\nthen comfort thyself in thy sadness.\n\n38:18. And make mourning for him according to his merit for a day, or\ntwo, for fear of detraction.\n\n38:19. For of sadness cometh death, and it overwhelmeth the strength,\nand the sorrow of the heart boweth down the neck.\n\n38:20. In withdrawing aside sorrow remaineth:  and the substance of the\npoor is according to his heart.\n\n38:21. Give not up thy heart to sadness, but drive it from thee:  and\nremember the latter end.\n\n38:22. Forget it not:  for there is no returning, and thou shalt do him\nno good, and shalt hurt thyself.\n\n38:23. Remember my judgment:  for thine also shall be so:  yesterday for\nme, and to day for thee.\n\n38:24. When the dead is at rest, let his remembrance rest, and comfort\nhim in the departing of his spirit.\n\n38:25. The wisdom of a scribe cometh by his time of leisure:  and he\nthat is less in action, shall receive wisdom.\n\nA scribe. . .That is, a doctor of the law, or, a learned man.\n\n38:26. With what wisdom shall he be furnished that holdeth the plough,\nand that glorieth in the goad, that driveth the oxen therewith, and is\noccupied in their labours, and his whole talk is about the offspring of\nbulls?\n\n38:27. He shall give his mind to turn up furrows, and his care is to\ngive the kine fodder.\n\n38:28. So every craftsman and workmaster that laboureth night and day,\nhe who maketh graven seals, and by his continual diligence varieth the\nfigure:  he shall give his mind to the resemblance of the picture, and\nby his watching shall finish the work.\n\n38:29. So doth the smith sitting by the anvil and considering the iron\nwork.  The vapour of the fire wasteth his flesh, and he fighteth with\nthe heat of the furnace.\n\n38:30. The noise of the hammer is always in his ears, and his eye is\nupon the pattern of the vessel he maketh.\n\n38:31. He setteth his mind to finish his work, and his watching to\npolish them to perfection.\n\n38:32. So doth the potter sitting at his work, turning the wheel about\nwith his feet, who is always carefully set to his work, and maketh all\nhis work by number:\n\n38:33. He fashioneth the clay with his arm, and boweth down his\nstrength before his feet:\n\n38:34. He shall give his mind to finish the glazing, and his watching\nto make clean the furnace.\n\n38:35. All these trust to their hands, and every one is wise in his own\nart.\n\n38:36. Without these a city is not built.\n\n38:37. And they shall not dwell, nor walk about therein, and they shall\nnot go up into the assembly.\n\n38:38. Upon the judges' seat they shall not sit, and the ordinance of\njudgment they shall not understand, neither shall they declare\ndiscipline and judgment, and they shall not be found where parables are\nspoken:\n\n38:39. But they shall strengthen the state of the world, and their\nprayer shall be in the work of their craft, applying their soul, and\nsearching in the law of the most High.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 39\n\n\nThe exercises of the wise man.  The Lord is to be glorified for his\nworks.\n\n39:1. The wise man will seek out the wisdom of all the ancients, and\nwill be occupied in the prophets.\n\n39:2. He will keep the sayings of renowned men, and will enter withal\ninto the subtilties of parables.\n\n39:3. He will search out the hidden meanings of proverbs, and will be\nconversant in the secrets of parables.\n\n39:4. He shall serve among great men, and appear before the governor.\n\n39:5. He shall pass into strange countries:  for he shall try good and\nevil among men.\n\n39:6. He will give his heart to resort early to the Lord that made him,\nand he will pray in the sight of the most High.\n\n39:7. He will open his mouth in prayer, and will make supplication for\nhis sins.\n\n39:8. For if it shall please the great Lord, he will fill him with the\nspirit of understanding:\n\n39:9. And he will pour forth the words of his wisdom as showers, and in\nhis prayer he will confess to the Lord.\n\n39:10. And he shall direct his counsel, and his knowledge, and in his\nsecrets shall he meditate.\n\n39:11. He shall shew forth the discipline he hath learned, and shall\nglory in the law of the covenant of the Lord.\n\n39:12. Many shall praise his wisdom, and it shall never be forgotten.\n\n39:13. The memory of him shall not depart away, and his name shall be\nin request from generation to generation.\n\n39:14. Nations shall declare his wisdom, and the church shall shew\nforth his praise.\n\n39:15. If he continue, he shall leave a name above a thousand:  and if\nhe rest, it shall be to his advantage.\n\n39:16. I will yet meditate that I may declare:  for I am filled as with\na holy transport.\n\n39:17. By a voice he saith:  Hear me, ye divine offspring, and bud forth\nas the rose planted by the brooks of waters.\n\nYe divine offspring. . .He speaks to the children of Israel, the people\nof God:  whom he exhorts to bud forth and flourish with virtue.\n\n39:18. Give ye a sweet odour as frankincense.\n\n39:19. Send forth flowers, as the lily, and yield a smell, and bring\nforth leaves in grace, and praise with canticles, and bless the Lord in\nhis works.\n\n39:20. Magnify his name, and give glory to him with the voice of your\nlips, and with the canticles of your mouths, and with harps, and in\npraising him, you shall say in this manner:\n\n39:21. All the works of the Lord are exceeding good.\n\n39:22. At his word the waters stood as a heap:  and at the words of his\nmouth the receptacles of waters:\n\n39:23. For at his commandment favour is shewn, and there is no\ndiminishing of his salvation.\n\n39:24. The works of all flesh are before him, and there is nothing hid\nfrom his eyes.\n\n39:25. He seeth from eternity to eternity, and there is nothing\nwonderful before him.\n\n39:26. There is no saying:  What is this, or what is that?  for all\nthings shall be sought in their time.\n\n39:27. His blessing hath overflowed like a river.\n\n39:28. And as a flood hath watered the earth; so shall his wrath\ninherit the nations, that have not sought after him.\n\n39:29. Even as he turned the waters into a dry land, and the earth was\nmade dry:  and his ways were made plain for their journey:  so to sinners\nthey are stumblingblocks in his wrath.\n\n39:30. Good things were created for the good from the beginning, so for\nthe wicked, good and evil things.\n\n39:31. The principal things necessary for the life of men, are water,\nfire, and iron, salt, milk, and bread of flour, and honey, and the\ncluster of the grape, and oil, and clothing.\n\n39:32. All these things shall be for good to the holy, so to the\nsinners and the ungodly they shall be turned into evil.\n\n39:33. There are spirits that are created for vengeance, and in their\nfury they lay on grievous torments.\n\n39:34. In the time of destruction they shall pour out their force:  and\nthey shall appease the wrath of him that made them.\n\n39:35. Fire, hail, famine, and death, all these were created for\nvengeance.\n\n39:36. The teeth of beasts, and scorpions, and serpents, and the sword\ntaking vengeance upon the ungodly unto destruction.\n\n39:37. In his commandments they shall feast, and they shall be ready\nupon earth when need is, and when their time is come they shall not\ntransgress his word.\n\n39:38. Therefore from the beginning I was resolved, and I have\nmeditated, and thought on these things and left them in writing,\n\n39:39. All the works of the Lord are good, and he will furnish every\nwork in due time.\n\n39:40. It is not to be said:  This is worse than that:  for all shall be\nwell approved in their time.\n\n39:41. Now therefore with the whole heart and mouth praise ye him, and\nbless the name of the Lord.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 40\n\n\nThe miseries of the life of man are relieved by the grace of God and\nhis fear.\n\n40:1. Great labour is created for all men, and a heavy yoke is upon the\nchildren of Adam from the day of their coming out of their mother's\nwomb, until the day of their burial into the mother of all.\n\n40:2. Their thoughts, and fears of the heart, their imagination of\nthings to come, and the day of their end:\n\n40:3. From him that sitteth on a glorious throne, unto him that is\nhumbled in earth and ashes:\n\n40:4. From him that weareth purple, and beareth the crown, even to him\nthat is covered with rough linen:  wrath, envy, trouble, unquietness,\nand the fear of death, continual anger, and strife,\n\n40:5. And in the time of rest upon his bed, the sleep of the night\nchangeth his knowledge.\n\n40:6. A little and as nothing is his rest, and afterward in sleep, as\nin the day of keeping watch.\n\n40:7. He is troubled in the vision of his heart, as if he had escaped\nin the day of battle.  In the time of his safety he rose up, and\nwondereth that there is no fear.\n\n40:8. Such things happen to all flesh, from man even to beast, and upon\nsinners are sevenfold more.\n\n40:9. Moreover, death, and bloodshed, strife, and sword, oppressions,\nfamine, and affliction, and scourges:\n\n40:10. All these things are created for the wicked, and for their sakes\ncame the flood.\n\n40:11. All things that are of the earth, shall return to the earth\nagain, and all waters shall return to the sea.\n\n40:12. All bribery, and injustice shall be blotted out, and fidelity\nshall stand for ever.\n\n40:13. The riches of the unjust shall be dried up like a river, and\nshall pass away with a noise like a great thunder in rain.\n\n40:14. While he openeth his hands he shall rejoice:  but transgressors\nshall pine away in the end.\n\n40:15. The offspring of the ungodly shall not bring forth many\nbranches, and make a noise as unclean roots upon the top of a rock.\n\n40:16. The weed growing over every water, and at the bank of the river,\nshall be pulled up before all grass.\n\n40:17. Grace is like a paradise in blessings, and mercy remaineth for\never.\n\n40:18. The life of a laborer that is content with what he hath, shall\nbe sweet, and in it thou shalt find a treasure.\n\n40:19. Children, and the building of a city shall establish a name, but\na blameless wife shall be counted above them both.\n\n40:20. Wine and music rejoice the heart, but the love of wisdom is\nabove them both.\n\n40:21. The flute and the psaltery make a sweet melody, but a pleasant\ntongue is above them both.\n\n40:22. Thy eye desireth favour and beauty, but more than these green\nsown fields.\n\n40:23. A friend and companion meeting together in season, but above\nthem both is a wife with her husband.\n\n40:24. Brethren are a help in the time of trouble, but mercy shall\ndeliver more than they.\n\n40:25. Gold and silver make the feet stand sure:  but wise counsel is\nabove them both.\n\n40:26. Riches and strength lift up the heart:  but above these is the\nfear of the Lord.\n\n40:27. There is no want in the fear of the Lord, and it needeth not to\nseek for help.\n\n40:28. The fear of the Lord is like a paradise of blessing, and they\nhave covered it above all glory.\n\n40:29. My son, in thy lifetime be not indigent:  for it is better to die\nthan to want.\n\n40:30. The life of him that looketh toward another man's table is not\nto be counted a life:  for he feedeth his soul with another man's meat.\n\n40:31. But a man, well instructed and taught, will look to himself.\n\n40:32. Begging will be sweet in the mouth of the unwise, but in his\nbelly there shall burn a fire.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 41\n\n\nOf the remembrance of death:  of an evil and of a good name:  of what\nthings we ought to be ashamed.\n\n41:1. O death, how bitter is the remembrance of thee to a man that hath\npeace in his possessions!\n\n41:2. To a man that is at rest, and whose ways are prosperous in all\nthings, and that is yet able to take meat!\n\n41:3. O death thy sentence is welcome to the man that is in need, and\nto him whose strength faileth:\n\n41:4. Who is in a decrepit age, and that is in care about all things,\nand to the distrustful that loseth patience!\n\n41:5. Fear not the sentence of death.  Remember what things have been\nbefore thee, and what shall come after thee:  this sentence is from the\nLord upon all flesh.\n\n41:6. And what shall come upon thee by the good pleasure of the most\nHigh?  whether ten, or a hundred, or a thousand years.\n\n41:7. For among the dead there is no accusing of life.\n\n41:8. The children of sinners become children of abominations, and they\nthat converse near the houses of the ungodly.\n\n41:9. The inheritance of the children of sinners shall perish, and with\ntheir posterity shall be a perpetual reproach.\n\n41:10. The children will complain of an ungodly father, because for his\nsake they are in reproach.\n\n41:11. Woe to you, ungodly men, who have forsaken the law of the most\nhigh Lord.\n\n41:12. And if you be born, you shall be born in malediction:  and if you\ndie, in malediction shall be your portion.\n\n41:13. All things that are of the earth, shall return into the earth:\nso the ungodly shall from malediction to destruction.\n\n41:14. The mourning of men is about their body, but the name of the\nungodly shall be blotted out.\n\n41:15. Take care of a good name:  for this shall continue with thee,\nmore than a thousand treasures precious and great.\n\n41:16. A good life hath its number of days:  but a good name shall\ncontinue for ever.\n\n41:17. My children, keep discipline in peace:  for wisdom that is hid,\nand a treasure that is not seen, what profit is there in them both?\n\n41:18. Better is the man that hideth his folly, than the man that\nhideth his wisdom.\n\n41:19. Wherefore have a shame of these things I am now going to speak\nof.\n\nHave a shame, etc. . .That is to say, be ashamed of doing any of these\nthings, which I am now going to mention; for though sometimes\nshamefacedness is not to be indulged:  yet it is often good and\nnecessary:  as in the following cases.\n\n41:20. For it is not good to keep all shamefacedness:  and all things do\nnot please all men in opinion.\n\n41:21. Be ashamed of fornication before father and mother:  and of a lie\nbefore a governor and a man in power:\n\n41:22. Of an offence before a prince, and a judge:  of iniquity before a\ncongregation and a people:\n\n41:23. Of injustice before a companion and friend:  and in regard to the\nplace where thou dwellest,\n\n41:24. Of theft, and of the truth of God, and the covenant:  of leaning\nwith thy elbow over meat, and of deceit in giving and taking:\n\n41:25. Of silence before them that salute thee:  of looking upon a\nharlot:  and of turning away thy face from thy kinsman.\n\n41:26. Turn not away thy face from thy neighbour, and of taking away a\nportion and not restoring.\n\n41:27. Gaze not upon another man's wife, and be not inquisitive after\nhis handmaid, and approach not her bed.\n\n41:28. Be ashamed of upbraiding speeches before friends:  and after thou\nhast given, upbraid not.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 42\n\n\nOf what things we ought not to be ashamed.  Cautions with regard to\nwomen.  The works and greatness of God.\n\n42:1. Repeat not the word which thou hast heard, and disclose not the\nthing that is secret; so shalt thou be truly without confusion, and\nshalt find favour before all men:  be not ashamed of any of these\nthings, and accept no person to sin thereby:\n\n42:2. Of the law of the most High, and of his covenant, and of judgment\nto justify the ungodly:\n\n42:3. Of the affair of companions and travellers, and of the gift of\nthe inheritance of friends:\n\n42:4. Of exactness of balance and weights, of getting much or little:\n\n42:5. Of the corruption of buying, and of merchants, and of much\ncorrection of children, and to make the side of a wicked slave to\nbleed.\n\n42:6. Sure keeping is good over a wicked wife.\n\n42:7. Where there are many hands, shut up, and deliver all things in\nnumber, and weight:  and put all in writing that thou givest out or\nreceivest in.\n\n42:8. Be not ashamed to inform the unwise and foolish, and the aged,\nthat are judged by young men:  and thou shalt be well instructed in all\nthings, and well approved in the sight of all men living.\n\n42:9. The father waketh for the daughter when no man knoweth, and the\ncare for her taketh away his sleep, when she is young, lest she pass\naway the flower of her age, and when she is married, lest she should be\nhateful:\n\n42:10. In her virginity, lest she should be corrupted, and be found\nwith child in her father's house:  and having a husband, lest she should\nmisbehave herself, or at the least become barren.\n\n42:11. Keep a sure watch over a shameless daughter:  lest at anytime she\nmake thee become a laughingstock to thy enemies, and a byword in the\ncity, and a reproach among the people, and she make thee ashamed before\nall the multitude.\n\n42:12. Behold not everybody's beauty:  and tarry not among women.\n\n42:13. For from garments cometh a moth, and from a woman the iniquity\nof a man.\n\n42:14. For better is the iniquity of a man, than a woman doing a good\nturn, and a woman bringing shame and reproach.\n\nBetter is the iniquity, etc. . .That is, there is, commonly speaking,\nless danger to be apprehended to the soul from the churlishness, or\ninjuries we receive from men, than from the flattering favours and\nfamiliarity of women.\n\n42:15. I will now remember the works of the Lord, and I will declare\nthe things I have seen.  By the words of the Lord are his works.\n\n42:16. The sun giving light hath looked upon all things, and full of\nthe glory of the Lord is his work.\n\n42:17. Hath not the Lord made the saints to declare all his wonderful\nworks, which the Lord Almighty hath firmly settled to be established\nfor his glory?\n\n42:18. He hath searched out the deep, and the heart of men:  and\nconsidered their crafty devices.\n\n42:19. For the Lord knoweth all knowledge, and hath beheld the signs of\nthe world, he declareth the things that are past, and the things that\nare to come, and revealeth the traces of hidden things.\n\n42:20. No thought escapeth him, and no word can hide itself from him.\n\n42:21. He hath beautified the glorious works of his wisdom:  and he is\nfrom eternity to eternity, and to him nothing may be added,\n\n42:22. Nor can he be diminished, and he hath no need of any counsellor.\n\n42:23. O how desirable are all his works, and what we can know is but\nas a spark!\n\n42:24. All these things live, and remain for ever, and for every use\nall things obey him.\n\n42:25. All things are double, one against another, and he hath made\nnothing defective.\n\n42:26. He hath established the good things of every one.  And who shall\nbe filled with beholding his glory?\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 43\n\n\nThe works of God are exceedingly glorious and wonderful:  no man is able\nsufficiently to praise him.\n\n43:1. The firmament on high is his beauty, the beauty of heaven with\nits glorious shew.\n\n43:2. The sun when he appeareth shewing forth at his rising, an\nadmirable instrument, the work of the most High.\n\n43:3. At noon he burneth the earth, and who can abide his burning heat?\nAs one keeping a furnace in the works of heat:\n\n43:4. The sun three times as much, burneth the mountains, breathing out\nfiery vapours, and shining with his beams, he blindeth the eyes.\n\n43:5. Great is the Lord that made him, and at his words he hath\nhastened his course.\n\n43:6. And the moon in all in her season, is for a declaration of times\nand a sign of the world.\n\n43:7. From the moon is the sign of the festival day, a light that\ndecreaseth in her perfection.\n\n43:8. The month is called after her name, increasing wonderfully in her\nperfection.\n\n43:9. Being an instrument of the armies on high, shining gloriously in\nthe firmament of heaven.\n\n43:10. The glory of the stars is the beauty of heaven; the Lord\nenlighteneth the world on high.\n\n43:11. By the words of the holy one they stand in judgment, and shall\nnever fall in their watches.\n\n43:12. Look upon the rainbow, and bless him that made it:  it is very\nbeautiful in its brightness.\n\n43:13. It encompasseth the heaven about with the circle of its glory,\nthe hands of the most High have displayed it.\n\n43:14. By his commandment he maketh the snow to fall apace, and sendeth\nforth swiftly the lightnings of his judgment.\n\n43:15. Through this are the treasures opened, and the clouds fly out\nlike birds.\n\n43:16. By his greatness he hath fixed the clouds, and the hailstones\nare broken.\n\n43:17. At his sight shall the mountains be shaken, and at his will the\nsouth wind shall blow.\n\n43:18. The noise of his thunder shall strike the earth, so doth the\nnorthern storm, and the whirlwind:\n\n43:19. And as the birds lighting upon the earth, he scattereth snow,\nand the falling thereof, is as the coming down of locusts.\n\n43:20. The eye admireth at the beauty of the whiteness thereof, and the\nheart is astonished at the shower thereof.\n\n43:21. He shall pour frost as salt upon the earth:  and when it\nfreezeth, it shall become like the tops of thistles.\n\n43:22. The cold north wind bloweth, and the water is congealed into\ncrystal; upon every gathering together of waters it shall rest, and\nshall clothe the waters as a breastplate.\n\n43:23. And it shall devour the mountains, and burn the wilderness, and\nconsume all that is green as with fire.\n\n43:24. A present remedy of all is the speedy coming of a cloud, and a\ndew that meeteth it, by the heat that cometh, shall overpower it.\n\n43:25. At his word the wind is still, and with his thought he appeaseth\nthe deep, and the Lord hath planted islands therein.\n\n43:26. Let them that sail on the sea, tell the dangers thereof:  and\nwhen we hear with our ears, we shall admire.\n\n43:27. There are great and wonderful works:  a variety of beasts, and of\nall living things, and the monstrous creatures of whales.\n\n43:28. Through him is established the end of their journey, and by his\nword all things are regulated.\n\n43:29. We shall say much, and yet shall want words:  but the sum of our\nwords is, He is all.\n\n43:30. What shall we be able to do to glorify him?  for the Almighty\nhimself is above all his works.\n\n43:31. The Lord is terrible, and exceeding great, and his power is\nadmirable.\n\n43:32. Glorify the Lord as much as ever you can, for he will yet far\nexceed, and his magnificence is wonderful.\n\n43:33. Blessing the Lord, exalt him as much as you can; for he is above\nall praise.\n\n43:34. When you exalt him put forth all your strength, and be not\nweary:  for you can never go far enough.\n\n43:35. Who shall see him, and declare him?  and who shall magnify him as\nhe is from the beginning?\n\n43:36. There are many things hidden from us that are greater than\nthese:  for we have seen but a few of his works.\n\n43:37. But the Lord hath made all things, and to the godly he hath\ngiven wisdom.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 44\n\n\nThe praises of the holy fathers, in particular of Enoch, Noe, Abraham,\nIsaac, and Jacob.\n\n44:1. Let us now praise men of renown and our fathers in their\ngeneration.\n\n44:2. The Lord hath wrought great glory through his magnificence from\nthe beginning.\n\n44:3. Such as have borne rule in their dominions, men of great power,\nand endued with their wisdom, shewing forth in the prophets the dignity\nof prophets,\n\n44:4. And ruling over the present people, and by the strength of wisdom\ninstructing the people in most holy words.\n\n44:5. Such as by their skill sought out musical tunes, and published\ncanticles of the scriptures.\n\n44:6. Rich men in virtue, studying beautifulness:  living at peace in\ntheir houses.\n\n44:7. All these have gained glory in their generations, and were\npraised in their days.\n\n44:8. They that were born of them have left a name behind them, that\ntheir praises might be related:\n\n44:9. And there are some, of whom there is no memorial:  who are\nperished, as if they had never been:  and are become as if they had\nnever been born, and their children with them.\n\n44:10. But these were men of mercy, whose godly deeds have not failed:\n\n44:11. Good things continue with their seed,\n\n44:12. Their posterity are a holy inheritance, and their seed hath\nstood in the covenants.\n\n44:13. And their children for their sakes remain for ever:  their seed\nand their glory shall not be forsaken.\n\n44:14. Their bodies are buried in peace, and their name liveth unto\ngeneration and generation.\n\n44:15. Let the people shew forth their wisdom, and the church declare\ntheir praise.\n\n44:16. Henoch pleased God, and was translated into paradise, that he\nmay give repentance to the nations.\n\n44:17. Noe was found perfect, just, and in the time of wrath he was\nmade a reconciliation.\n\n44:18. Therefore was there a remnant left to the earth, when the flood\ncame.\n\n44:19. The covenants of the world were made with him, that all flesh\nshould no more be destroyed with the flood.\n\n44:20. Abraham was the great father of a multitude of nations, and\nthere was not found the like to him in glory, who kept the law of the\nmost High, and was in covenant with him.\n\n44:21. In his flesh he established the covenant, and in temptation he\nwas found faithful.\n\n44:22. Therefore by an oath he gave him glory in his posterity, that he\nshould increase as the dust of the earth,\n\n44:23. And that he would exalt his seed as the stars, and they should\ninherit from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth.\n\n44:24. And he did in like manner with Isaac for the sake of Abraham his\nfather.\n\n44:25. The Lord gave him the blessing of all nations, and confirmed his\ncovenant upon the head of Jacob.\n\n44:26. He acknowledged him in his blessings, and gave him an\ninheritance, and divided him his portion in twelve tribes.\n\n44:27. And he preserved for him men of mercy, that found grace in the\neyes of all flesh.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 45\n\n\nThe praises of Moses, of Aaron, and of Phinees.\n\n45:1. Moses was beloved of God, and men:  whose memory is in\nbenediction.\n\n45:2. He made him like the saints in glory, and magnified him in the\nfear of his enemies, and with his words he made prodigies to cease.\n\n45:3. He glorified him in the sight of kings, and gave him commandments\nin the sight of his people, and shewed him his glory.\n\n45:4. He sanctified him in his faith, and meekness, and chose him out\nof all flesh.\n\n45:5. For he heard him, and his voice, and brought him into a cloud.\n\n45:6. And he gave him commandments before his face, and a law of life\nand instruction, that he might teach Jacob his covenant, and Israel his\njudgments.\n\n45:7. He exalted Aaron his brother, and like to himself of the tribe of\nLevi:\n\n45:8. He made an everlasting covenant with him, and gave him the\npriesthood of the nation, and made him blessed in glory,\n\n45:9. And he girded him about with a glorious girdle, and clothed him\nwith a robe of glory, and crowned him with majestic attire.\n\n45:10. He put upon him a garment to the feet, and breeches, and an\nephod, and he compassed him with many little bells of gold all round\nabout,\n\n45:11. That as he went there might be a sound, and a noise made that\nmight be heard in the temple, for a memorial to the children of his\npeople.\n\n45:12. He gave him a holy robe of gold, and blue, and purple, a woven\nwork of a wise man, endued with judgment and truth:\n\n45:13. Of twisted scarlet the work of an artist, with precious stones\ncut and set in gold, and graven by the work of a lapidary for a\nmemorial, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.\n\n45:14. And a crown of gold upon his mitre wherein was engraved\nHoliness, an ornament of honour:  a work of power, and delightful to the\neyes for its beauty.\n\n45:15. Before him there were none so beautiful, even from the\nbeginning.\n\n45:16. No stranger was ever clothed with them, but only his children\nalone, and his grandchildren for ever.\n\n45:17. His sacrifices were consumed with fire every day.\n\n45:18. Moses filled his hands and anointed him with holy oil.\n\n45:19. This was made to him for an everlasting testament, and to his\nseed as the days of heaven, to execute the office of the priesthood,\nand to have praise, and to glorify his people in his name.\n\n45:20. He chose him out of all men living, to offer sacrifice to God,\nincense, and a good savour, for a memorial to make reconciliation for\nhis people:\n\n45:21. And he gave him power in his commandments, in the covenants of\nhis judgments, that he should teach Jacob his testimonies, and give\nlight to Israel in his law.\n\n45:22. And strangers stood up against him, and through envy the men\nthat were with Dathan and Abiron, compassed him about in the\nwilderness, and the congregation of Core in their wrath.\n\n45:23. The Lord God saw and it pleased him not, and they were consumed\nin his wrathful indignation.\n\n45:24. He wrought wonders upon them, and consumed them with a flame of\nfire.\n\n45:25. And he added glory to Aaron, and gave him an inheritance, and\ndivided unto him the firstfruits of the increase of the earth.\n\n45:26. He prepared them bread in the first place unto fulness:  for the\nsacrifices also of the Lord they shall eat, which he gave to him, and\nto his seed.\n\n45:27. But he shall not inherit among the people in the land, and he\nhath no portion among the people:  for he himself is his portion and\ninheritance.\n\n45:28. Phinees the son of Eleazar is the third in glory, by imitating\nhim in the fear of the Lord:\n\n45:29. And he stood up in the shameful fall of the people:  in the\ngoodness and readiness of his soul he appeased God for Israel.\n\n45:30. Therefore he made to him a covenant of peace, to be the prince\nof the sanctuary, and of his people, that the dignity of priesthood\nshould be to him and to his seed for ever.\n\n45:31. And a covenant to David the king, the son of Jesse of the tribe\nof Juda, an inheritance to him and to his seed, that he might give\nwisdom into our heart to judge his people in justice, that their good\nthings might not be abolished, and he made their glory in their nation\neverlasting.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 46\n\n\nThe praise of Josue, of Caleb, and of Samuel.\n\n46:1. Valiant in war was Jesus the son of Nave, who was successor of\nMoses among the prophets, who was great according to his name,\n\nJesus the son of Nave. . .So Josue is named in the Greek Bibles.  For\nJosue and Jesus signify the same thing, viz., a saviour.\n\n46:2. Very great for the saving the elect of God, to overthrow the\nenemies that rose up against them, that he might get the inheritance\nfor Israel.\n\n46:3. How great glory did he gain when he lifted up his hands, and\nstretched out swords against the cities?\n\n46:4. Who before him hath so resisted?  for the Lord himself brought the\nenemies.\n\n46:5. Was not the sun stopped in his anger, and one day made as two?\n\n46:6. He called upon the most high Sovereign when the enemies assaulted\nhim on every side, and the great and holy God heard him by hailstones\nof exceeding great force.\n\n46:7. He made a violent assault against the nation of his enemies, and\nin the descent he destroyed the adversaries.\n\nAnd in the descent. . .Of Beth-horon (Jos. 10.).\n\n46:8. That the nations might know his power, that it is not easy to\nfight against God.  And he followed the mighty one:\n\n46:9. And in the days of Moses he did a work of mercy, he and Caleb the\nson of Jephone, in standing against the enemy, and withholding the\npeople from sins, and appeasing the wicked murmuring.\n\n46:10. And they two being appointed, were delivered out of the danger\nfrom among the number of six hundred thousand men on foot, to bring\nthem into their inheritance, into the land that floweth with milk and\nhoney.\n\n46:11. And the Lord gave strength also to Caleb, and his strength\ncontinued even to his old age, so that he went up to the high places of\nthe land, and his seed obtained it for an inheritance:\n\n46:12. That all the children of Israel might see, that it is good to\nobey the holy God.\n\n46:13. Then all the judges, every one by name, whose heart was not\ncorrupted:  who turned not away from the Lord,\n\n46:14. That their memory might be blessed, and their bones spring up\nout of their place,\n\n46:15. And their name continue for ever, the glory of the holy men\nremaining unto their children.\n\n46:16. Samuel the prophet of the Lord, the beloved of the Lord his God,\nestablished a new government, and anointed princes over his people.\n\n46:17. By the law of the Lord he judged the congregation, and the God\nof Jacob beheld, and by his fidelity he was proved a prophet.\n\n46:18. And he was known to be faithful in his words, because he saw the\nGod of light:\n\n46:19. And called upon the name of the Lord Almighty, in fighting\nagainst the enemies who beset him on every side, when he offered a lamb\nwithout blemish.\n\n46:20. And the Lord thundered from heaven, and with a great noise made\nhis voice to be heard.\n\n46:21. And he crushed the princes of the Tyrians, and all the lords of\nthe Philistines:\n\n46:22. And before the time of the end of his life in the world, he\nprotested before the Lord, and his anointed:  money, or any thing else,\neven to a shoe, he had not taken of any man, and no man did accuse him.\n\n46:23. And after this he slept, and he made known to the king, and\nshewed him the end of his life, and he lifted up his voice from the\nearth in prophecy to blot out the wickedness of the nation.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 47\n\n\nThe praise of Nathan, of David, and of Solomon:  Of his fall and\npunishment.\n\n47:1. Then Nathan the prophet arose in the days of David.\n\n47:2. And as the fat taken away from the flesh, so was David chosen\nfrom among the children of Israel.\n\n47:3. He played with lions as with lambs:  and with bears he did in like\nmanner as with the lambs of the flock, in his youth.\n\n47:4. Did not he kill the giant, and take away reproach from his\npeople?\n\n47:5. In lifting up his hand, with the stone in the sling he beat down\nthe boasting of Goliath:\n\n47:6. For he called upon the Lord the Almighty, and he gave strength in\nhis right hand, to take away the mighty warrior, and to set up the horn\nof his nation.\n\n47:7. So in ten thousand did he glorify him, and praised him in the\nblessings of the Lord, in offering to him a crown of glory:\n\n47:8. For he destroyed the enemies on every side, and extirpated the\nPhilistines the adversaries unto this day:  he broke their horn for\never.\n\n47:9. In all his works he gave thanks to the holy one, and to the most\nHigh, with words of glory.\n\n47:10. With his whole heart he praised the Lord, and loved God that\nmade him:  and he gave him power against his enemies:\n\n47:11. And he set singers before the altar, and by their voices he made\nsweet melody.\n\n47:12. And to the festivals he added beauty, and set in order the\nsolemn times even to the end of his life, that they should praise the\nholy name of the Lord, and magnify the holiness of God in the morning.\n\n47:13. The Lord took away his sins, and exalted his horn for ever:  and\nhe gave him a covenant of the kingdom, and a throne of glory in Israel.\n\n47:14. After him arose up a wise son, and for his sake he cast down all\nthe power of the enemies.\n\n47:15. Solomon reigned in days of peace, and God brought all his\nenemies under him, that he might build a house in his name, and prepare\na sanctuary for ever:  O how wise wast thou in thy youth!\n\n47:16. And thou wast filled as a river with wisdom, and thy soul\ncovered the earth.\n\n47:17. And thou didst multiply riddles in parables:  thy name went\nabroad to the islands far off, and thou wast beloved in thy peace.\n\n47:18. The countries wondered at thee for thy canticles, and proverbs,\nand parables, and interpretations,\n\n47:19. And at the name of the Lord God, whose surname is, God of\nIsrael.\n\n47:20. Thou didst gather gold as copper, and didst multiply silver as\nlead,\n\n47:21. And thou didst bow thyself to women:  and by thy body thou wast\nbrought under subjection.\n\n47:22. Thou hast stained thy glory, and defiled thy seed so as to bring\nwrath upon thy children, and to have thy folly kindled,\n\n47:23. That thou shouldst make the kingdom to be divided, and out of\nEphraim a rebellious kingdom to rule.\n\n47:24. But God will not leave off his mercy, and he will not destroy,\nnor abolish his own works, neither will he cut up by the roots the\noffspring of his elect:  and he will not utterly take away the seed of\nhim that loveth the Lord.\n\n47:25. Wherefore he gave a remnant to Jacob, and to David of the same\nstock.\n\n47:26. And Solomon had an end with his fathers.\n\n47:27. And he left behind him of his seed, the folly of the nation,\n\n47:28. Even Roboam that had little wisdom, who turned away the people\nthrough his counsel:\n\n47:29. And Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who caused Israel to sin, and\nshewed Ephraim the way of sin, and their sins were multiplied\nexceedingly.\n\n47:30. They removed them far away from their land.\n\n47:31. And they sought out all iniquities, till vengeance came upon\nthem, and put an end to all their sins.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 48\n\n\nThe praise of Elias, of Eliseus, of Ezechias, and of Isaias.\n\n48:1. And Elias the prophet stood up, as a fire, and his word burnt\nlike a torch.\n\n48:2. He brought a famine upon them, and they that provoked him in\ntheir envy, were reduced to a small number, for they could not endure\nthe commandments of the Lord.\n\n48:3. By the word of the Lord he shut up the heaven, and he brought\ndown fire from heaven thrice.\n\n48:4. Thus was Elias magnified in his wondrous works.  And who can glory\nlike to thee?\n\n48:5. Who raisedst up a dead man from below, from the lot of death, by\nthe word of the Lord God.\n\n48:6. Who broughtest down kings to destruction, and brokest easily\ntheir power in pieces, and the glorious from their bed.\n\n48:7. Who heardest judgment in Sina, and in Horeb the judgments of\nvengeance.\n\n48:8. Who anointedst kings to penance, and madest prophets successors\nafter thee.\n\n48:9. Who wast taken up in a whirlwind of fire, in a chariot of fiery\nhorses.\n\n48:10. Who art registered in the judgments of times to appease the\nwrath of the Lord, to reconcile the heart of the father to the son, and\nto restore the tribes of Jacob.\n\n48:11. Blessed are they that saw thee, and were honoured with thy\nfriendship.\n\n48:12. For we live only in our life, but after death our name shall not\nbe such.\n\n48:13. Elias was indeed covered with the whirlwind, and his spirit was\nfilled up in Eliseus:  in his days he feared not the prince, and no man\nwas more powerful than he.\n\n48:14. No word could overcome him, and after death his body prophesied.\n\n48:15. In his life he did great wonders, and in death he wrought\nmiracles.\n\n48:16. For all this the people repented not, neither did they depart\nfrom their sins till they were cast out of their land, and were\nscattered through all the earth.\n\n48:17. And there was left but a small people, and a prince in the house\nof David.\n\n48:18. Some of these did that which pleased God:  but others committed\nmany sins.\n\n48:19. Ezechias fortified his city, and brought in water into the midst\nthereof, and he digged a rock with iron, and made a well for water.\n\n48:20. In his days Sennacherib came up, and sent Rabsaces, and lifted\nup his hand against them, and he stretched out his hand against Sion,\nand became proud through his power.\n\n48:21. Then their hearts and hands trembled, and they were in pain as\nwomen in travail.\n\n48:22. And they called upon the Lord who is merciful, and spreading\ntheir hands, they lifted them up to heaven:  and the holy Lord God\nquickly heard their voice.\n\n48:23. He was not mindful of their sins, neither did he deliver them up\nto their enemies, but he purified them by the hand of Isaias, the holy\nprophet.\n\n48:24. He overthrew the army of the Assyrians, and the angel of the\nLord destroyed them.\n\n48:25. For Ezechias did that which pleased God, and walked valiantly in\nthe way of David his father, which Isaias, the great prophet, and\nfaithful in the sight of God, had commanded him.\n\n48:26. In his days the sun wen backward, and he lengthened the king's\nlife.\n\n48:27. With a great spirit he saw the things that are to come to pass\nat last, and comforted the mourners in Sion.\n\n48:28. He showed what should come to pass for ever, and secret things\nbefore they came.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 49\n\n\nThe praise of Josias, of Jeremias, Ezechiel, and the twelve prophets.\nAlso of Zorobabel, Jesus the son of Josedech, Nehemias, Enoch, Joseph,\nSeth, Sem, and Adam.\n\n49:1. The memory of Josias is like the composition of a sweet smell\nmade by the art of a perfumer:\n\n49:2. His remembrance shall be sweet as honey in every mouth, and as\nmusic at a banquet of wine.\n\n49:3. He was directed by God unto the repentance of the nation, and he\ntook away the abominations of wickedness.\n\n49:4. And he directed his heart towards the Lord, and in the days of\nsinners he strengthened godliness.\n\n49:5. Except David, and Ezechias and Josias, all committed sin.\n\n49:6. For the kings of Juda forsook the law of the most High, and\ndespised the fear of God.\n\n49:7. So they gave their kingdom to others, and their glory to a\nstrange nation,\n\n49:8. They burnt the chosen city of holiness, and made the streets\nthereof desolate according to the prediction of Jeremias.\n\n49:9. For they treated him evil, who was consecrated a prophet from his\nmother's womb, to overthrow, and pluck up, and destroy, and to build\nagain, and renew.\n\n49:10. It was Ezechiel that saw the glorious vision, which was shewn\nhim upon the chariot of cherubims.\n\n49:11. For he made mention of the enemies under the figure of rain, and\nof doing good to them that shewed right ways.\n\n49:12. And may the bones of the twelve prophets spring up out of their\nplace:  for they strengthened Jacob, and redeemed themselves by strong\nfaith.\n\n49:13. How shall we magnify Zorobabel?  for he was as a signet on the\nright hand;\n\n49:14. In like manner Jesus the son of Josedec who in their days built\nthe house, and set up a holy temple to the Lord, prepared for\neverlasting glory.\n\n49:15. And let Nehemias be a long time remembered, who raised up for us\nour walls that were cast down, and set up the gates and the bars, who\nrebuilt our houses.\n\n49:16. No man was born upon earth like Henoch:  for he also was taken up\nfrom the earth.\n\n49:17. Nor as Joseph, who was a man born prince of his brethren, the\nsupport of his family, the ruler of his brethren, the stay of the\npeople:\n\n49:18. And his bones were visited, and after death they prophesied.\n\nThey prophesied. . .That is, by their being carried out of Egypt they\nverified the prophetic prediction of Joseph.  Gen. 50.\n\n49:19. Seth and Sem obtained glory among men:  and above every soul Adam\nin the beginning,\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 50\n\n\nThe praises of Simon the high priest.  The conclusion.\n\n50:1. Simon the high priest, the son of Onias, who in his life propped\nup the house, and in his days fortified the temple.\n\n50:2. By him also the height of the temple was founded, the double\nbuilding and the high walls of the temple.\n\n50:3. In his days the wells of water flowed out, and they were filled\nas the sea above measure.\n\n50:4. He took care of his nation, and delivered it from destruction.\n\n50:5. He prevailed to enlarge the city, and obtained glory in his\nconversation with the people:  and enlarged the entrance of the house\nand the court.\n\n50:6. He shone in his days as the morning star in the midst of a cloud,\nand as the moon at the full.\n\n50:7. And as the sun when it shineth, so did he shine in the temple of\nGod.\n\n50:8. And as the rainbow giving light in bright clouds, and as the\nflower of roses in the days of the spring, and as the lilies that are\non the brink of the water, and as the sweet smelling frankincense in\nthe time of summer.\n\n50:9. As a bright fire, and frankincense burning in the fire.\n\n50:10. As a massy vessel of gold, adorned with every precious stone.\n\n50:11. As an olive tree budding forth, and a cypress tree rearing\nitself on high, when he put on the robe of glory, and was clothed with\nthe perfection of power.\n\nClothed with the perfection of power. . .That is, with all the vestments\ndenoting his dignity and authority.\n\n50:12. When he went up to the holy altar, he honoured the vesture of\nholiness.\n\n50:13. And when he took the portions out of the hands of the priests,\nhe himself stood by the altar.  And about him was the ring of his\nbrethren:  and as the cedar planted in mount Libanus,\n\n50:14. And as branches of palm trees, they stood round about him, and\nall the sons of Aaron in their glory.\n\n50:15. And the oblation of the Lord was in their hands, before all the\ncongregation of Israel:  and finishing his service, on the altar, to\nhonour the offering of the most high King,\n\n50:16. He stretched forth his hand to make a libation, and offered of\nthe blood of the grape.\n\n50:17. He poured out at the foot of the altar a divine odour to the\nmost high Prince.\n\n50:18. Then the sons of Aaron shouted, they sounded with beaten\ntrumpets, and made a great noise to be heard for a remembrance before\nGod.\n\n50:19. Then all the people together made haste, and fell down to the\nearth upon their faces, to adore the Lord their God, and to pray to the\nAlmighty God the most High.\n\n50:20. And the singers lifted up their voices, and in the great house\nthe sound of sweet melody was increased.\n\n50:21. And the people in prayer besought the Lord the most High, until\nthe worship of the Lord was perfected, and they had finished their\noffice.\n\n50:22. Then coming down, he lifted up his hands over all the\ncongregation of the children of Israel, to give glory to God with his\nlips, and to glory in his name:\n\n50:23. And he repeated his prayer, willing to shew the power of God.\n\n50:24. And now pray ye to the God of all, who hath done great things in\nall the earth, who hath increased our days from our mother's womb, and\nhath done with us according to his mercy.\n\n50:25. May he grant us joyfulness of heart, and that there be peace in\nour days in Israel for ever:\n\n50:26. That Israel may believe that the mercy of God is with us, to\ndeliver us in his days.\n\n50:27. There are two nations which my soul abhorreth:  and the third is\nno nation:  which I hate:\n\nAbhorreth. . .Viz., with a holy indignation, as enemies of God and\npersecutors of his people.  Such were then the Edomites who abode in\nmount Seir, the Philistines, and the Samaritans who dwelt in Sichem,\nand had their schismatical temple in that neighbourhood.\n\n50:28. They that sit on mount Seir, and the Philistines, and the\nfoolish people that dwell in Sichem.\n\n50:29. Jesus the son of Sirach, of Jerusalem, hath written in this book\nthe doctrine of wisdom and instruction, who renewed wisdom from his\nheart.\n\n50:30. Blessed is he that is conversant in these good things and he\nthat layeth them up in his heart, shall be wise always.\n\n50:31. For if he do them, he shall be strong to do all things:  because\nthe light of God guideth his steps.\n\n\n\nEcclesiasticus Chapter 51\n\n\nA prayer of praise and thanksgiving.\n\n51:1. A prayer of Jesus the son of Sirach.  I will give glory to thee, O\nLord, O King, and I will praise thee, O God my Saviour.\n\n51:2. I will give glory to thy name:  for thou hast been a helper and\nprotector to me.\n\n51:3. And hast preserved my body from destruction, from the snare of an\nunjust tongue, and from the lips of them that forge lies, and in the\nsight of them that stood by, thou hast been my helper.\n\n51:4. And thou hast delivered me, according to the multitude of the\nmercy of thy name, from them that did roar, prepared to devour.\n\n51:5. Out of the hands of them that sought my life, and from the gates\nof afflictions, which compassed me about:\n\n51:6. From the oppression of the flame which surrounded me, and in the\nmidst of the fire I was not burnt.\n\n51:7. From the depth of the belly of hell, and from an unclean tongue,\nand from lying words, from an unjust king, and from a slanderous\ntongue:\n\n51:8. My soul shall praise the Lord even to death.\n\n51:9. And my life was drawing near to hell beneath.\n\n51:10. They compassed me on every side, and there was no one that would\nhelp me.  I looked for the succour of men, and there was none.\n\n51:11. I remembered thy mercy, O Lord, and thy works, which are from\nthe beginning of the world.\n\n51:12. How thou deliverest them that wait for thee, O Lord, and savest\nthem out of the hands of the nations.\n\n51:13. Thou hast exalted my dwelling place upon the earth and I have\nprayed for death to pass away.\n\n51:14. I called upon the Lord, the father of my Lord, that he would not\nleave me in the day of my trouble, and in the time of the proud without\nhelp.\n\n51:15. I will praise thy name continually, and will praise it with\nthanksgiving, and my prayer was heard.\n\n51:16. And thou hast saved me from destruction, and hast delivered me\nfrom the evil time.\n\n51:17. Therefore I will give thanks, and praise thee, and bless the\nname of the Lord.\n\n51:18. When I was yet young, before I wandered about, I sought for\nwisdom openly in my prayer.\n\n51:19. I prayed for her before the temple, and unto the very end I will\nseek after her, and she flourished as a grape soon ripe.\n\n51:20. My heart delighted in her, my foot walked in the right way, from\nmy youth up I sought after her.\n\n51:21. I bowed down my ear a little, and received her.\n\n51:22. I found much wisdom in myself, and profited much therein.\n\n51:23. To him that giveth me wisdom, will I give glory.\n\n51:24. For I have determined to follow her:  I have had a zeal for good,\nand shall not be confounded.\n\n51:25. My soul hath wrestled for her, and in doing it I have been\nconfirmed.\n\n51:26. I stretched forth my hands on high, and I bewailed my ignorance\nof her.\n\n51:27. I directed my soul to her, and in knowledge I found her.\n\n51:28. I possessed my heart with her from the beginning:  therefore I\nshall not be forsaken.\n\n51:29. My entrails were troubled in seeking her:  therefore shall I\npossess a good possession.\n\n51:30. The Lord hath given me a tongue for my reward:  and with it I\nwill praise him.\n\n51:31. Draw near to me, ye unlearned, and gather yourselves together\ninto the hours of discipline.\n\n51:32. Why are ye slow and what do you say of these things?  your souls\nare exceeding thirsty.\n\n51:33. I have opened my mouth, and have spoken:  buy her for yourselves\nwithout silver,\n\n51:34. And submit your neck to the yoke, and let your soul receive\ndiscipline:  for she is near at hand to be found.\n\n51:35. Behold with your eyes how I have laboured a little, and have\nfound much rest to myself.\n\n51:36. Receive ye discipline as a great sum of money, and possess\nabundance of gold by her.\n\n51:37. Let your soul rejoice in his mercy and you shall not be\nconfounded in his praise.\n\n51:38. Work your work before the time, and he will give you your reward\nin his time.\n\n\n\n\nTHE PROPHECY OF ISAIAS\n\n\n\nThis inspired writer is called by the Holy Ghost, the great prophet,\n(Ecclesiasticus 48.25,) from the greatness of his prophetic spirit, by\nwhich he hath foretold so long before, and in so clear a manner, the\ncoming of Christ, the mysteries of our redemption, the calling of the\nGentiles, and the glorious establishment, and perpetual flourishing of\nthe church of Christ:  insomuch that he may seem to have been rather an\nevangelist than a prophet.  His very name is not without mystery; for\nIsaias in Hebrew signifies the salvation of the Lord, or Jesus is the\nLord.  He was, according to the tradition of the Hebrews, of the blood\nroyal of the kings of Juda:  and after a most holy life, ended his days\nby a glorious martyrdom; being sawed in two, at the command of his\nwicked son in law, King Manasses, for reproving his evil ways.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 1\n\n\nThe prophet complains of the sins of Juda and Jerusalem, and exhorts\nthem to a sincere conversion.\n\n1:1. The vision of Isaias the Son of Amos, which he saw concerning Juda\nand Jerusalem in the days of Ozias, Joathan, Achaz, and Ezechias, kings\nof Juda.\n\n1:2. Hear, O ye heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord hath\nspoken.  I have brought up children, and exalted them:  but they have\ndespised me.\n\n1:3. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib:  but\nIsrael hath not known me, and my people hath not understood.\n\n1:4. Woe to the sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a wicked\nseed, ungracious children:  they have forsaken the Lord, they have\nblasphemed the Holy One of Israel, they are gone away backwards.\n\n1:5. For what shall I strike you any more, you that increase\ntransgression?  the whole head is sick, and the whole heart is sad.\n\n1:6. From the sole of the foot unto the top of the head, there is no\nsoundness therein:  wounds and bruises and swelling sores:  they are not\nbound up, nor dressed, nor fomented with oil.\n\n1:7. Your land is desolate, your cities are burnt with fire:  your\ncountry strangers devour before your face, and it shall be desolate as\nwhen wasted by enemies.\n\n1:8. And the daughter of Sion shall be left as a covert in a vineyard,\nand as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, and as a city that is laid\nwaste.\n\n1:9. Except the Lord of hosts had left us seed, we had been as Sodom,\nand we should have been like to Gomorrha.\n\n1:10. Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom, give ear to the\nlaw of our God, ye people of Gomorrha.\n\n1:11. To what purpose do you offer me the multitude of your victims,\nsaith the Lord?  I am full, I desire not holocausts of rams, and fat of\nfatlings, and blood of calves, and lambs, and buck goats.\n\n1:12. When you came to appear before me, who required these things at\nyour hands, that you should walk in my courts?\n\n1:13. Offer sacrifice no more in vain:  incense is an abomination to me.\nThe new moons, and the sabbaths and other festivals I will not abide,\nyour assemblies are wicked.\n\n1:14. My soul hateth your new moons, and your solemnities:  they are\nbecome troublesome to me, I am weary of bearing them.\n\n1:15. And when you stretch forth your hands, I will turn away my eyes\nfrom you:  and when you multiply prayer, I will not hear:  for your hands\nare full of blood.\n\n1:16. Wash yourselves, be clean, take away the evil of your devices\nfrom my eyes, cease to do perversely,\n\n1:17. Learn to do well:  seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge for\nthe fatherless, defend the widow.\n\n1:18. And then come, and accuse me, saith the Lord:  if your sins be as\nscarlet, they shall be made as white as snow:  and if they be red as\ncrimson, they shall be white as wool.\n\n1:19. If you be willing, and will hearken to me, you shall eat the good\nthings of the land.\n\n1:20. But if you will not, and will provoke me to wrath:  the sword\nshall devour you because the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.\n\n1:21. How is the faithful city, that was full of judgment, become a\nharlot?  justice dwelt in it, but now murderers.\n\n1:22. Thy silver is turned into dross:  thy wine is mingled with water.\n\n1:23. Thy princes are faithless, companions of thieves:  they all love\nbribes, they run after rewards.  They judge not for the fatherless:  and\nthe widow's cause cometh not in to them.\n\n1:24. Therefore saith the Lord the God of hosts, the mighty one of\nIsrael:  Ah! I will comfort myself over my adversaries:  and I will be\nrevenged of my enemies.\n\n1:25. And I will turn my hand to thee, and I will clean purge away thy\ndross, and I will take away all thy tin.\n\n1:26. And I will restore thy judges as they were before, and thy\ncounsellors as of old.  After this thou shalt be called the city of the\njust, a faithful city.\n\n1:27. Sion shall be redeemed in judgment, and they shall bring her back\nin justice.\n\n1:28. And he shall destroy the wicked, and the sinners together:  and\nthey that have forsaken the Lord, shall be consumed.\n\n1:29. For they shall be confounded for the idols, to which they have\nsacrificed:  and you shall be ashamed of the gardens which you have\nchosen.\n\n1:30. When you shall be as an oak with the leaves falling off, and as a\ngarden without water.\n\n1:31. And your strength shall be as the ashes of tow, and your work as\na spark:  and both shall burn together, and there shall be none to\nquench it.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 2\n\n\nAll nations shall flow to the church of Christ.  The Jews shall be\nrejected for their sins.  Idolatry shall be destroyed.\n\n2:1. The word that Isaias the son of Amos saw, concerning Juda and\nJerusalem.\n\n2:2. And in the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord shall\nbe prepared on the top of mountains, and it shall be exalted above the\nhills, and all nations shall flow unto it.\n\nThe last days. . .The whole time of the new law, from the coming of\nChrist till the end of the world, is called in the scripture the last\ndays; because no other age or time shall come after it, but only\neternity.--Ibid.  On the top of mountains, etc. . .This shews the\nperpetual visibility of the church of Christ:  for a mountain upon the\ntop of mountains cannot be hid.\n\n2:3. And many people shall go, and say:  Come and let us go up to the\nmountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will\nteach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths:  for the law shall\ncome forth from Sion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.\n\n2:4. And he shall judge the Gentiles, and rebuke many people:  and they\nshall turn their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into\nsickles:  nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall\nthey be exercised any more to war.\n\n2:5. O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the\nLord.\n\n2:6. For thou hast cast off thy people, the house of Jacob:  because\nthey are filled as in times past, and have had soothsayers as the\nPhilistines, and have adhered to strange children.\n\n2:7. Their land is filled with silver and gold:  and there is no end of\ntheir treasures.\n\n2:8. And their land is filled with horses:  and their chariots are\ninnumerable.  Their land also is full of idols:  they have adored the\nwork of their own hands, which their own fingers have made.\n\n2:9. And man hath bowed himself down, and man hath been debased:\ntherefore forgive them not.\n\n2:10. Enter thou into the rock, and hide thee in the pit from the face\nof the fear of the Lord, and from the glory of his majesty.\n\n2:11. The lofty eyes of man are humbled, and the haughtiness of men\nshall be made to stoop:  and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that\nday.\n\n2:12. Because the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that\nis proud and highminded, and upon every one that is arrogant, and he\nshall be humbled.\n\n2:13. And upon all the tall and lofty cedars of Libanus, and upon all\nthe oaks of Basan.\n\n2:14. And upon all the high mountains and upon all the elevated hills.\n\n2:15. And upon every high tower, and every fenced wall.\n\n2:16. And upon all the ships of Tharsis, and upon all that is fair to\nbehold.\n\n2:17. And the loftiness of men shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness\nof men shall be humbled, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that\nday.\n\n2:18. And idols shall be utterly destroyed.\n\nIdols shall be utterly destroyed. . .or utterly pass away.  This was\nverified by the establishment of Christianity.  And by this and other\ntexts of the like nature, the wild system of some modern sectaries is\nabundantly confuted, who charge the whole Christian church with\nworshipping idols, for many ages.\n\n2:19. And they shall go into the holes of rocks, and into the caves of\nthe earth from the face of the fear of the Lord, and from the glory of\nhis majesty, when he shall rise up to strike the earth.\n\n2:20. In that day a man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his\nidols of gold, which he had made for himself to adore, moles and bats.\n\n2:21. And he shall go into the clefts of rocks, and into the holes of\nstones from the face of the fear of the Lord, and from the glory of his\nmajesty, when he shall rise up to strike the earth.\n\n2:22. Cease ye therefore from the man, whose breath is in his nostrils,\nfor he is reputed high.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 3\n\n\nThe confusion and other evils that shall come upon the Jews for their\nsins.  The pride of their women shall be punished.\n\n3:1. For behold the sovereign Lord of hosts shall take away from\nJerusalem, and from Juda the valiant and the strong, the whole strength\nof bread, and the whole strength of water.\n\n3:2. The strong man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet and\nthe cunning man, and the ancient.\n\n3:3. The captain over fifty, and the honourable in countenance, and the\ncounsellor, and the architect, and the skilful in eloquent speech.\n\n3:4. And I will give children to be their princes, and the effeminate\nshall rule over them.\n\n3:5. And the people shall rush one upon another, and every man against\nhis neighbour:  the child shall make a tumult against the ancient, and\nthe base against the honourable.\n\n3:6. For a man shall take hold of his brother, one of the house of his\nfather, saying:  Thou hast a garment, be thou our ruler, and let this\nruin be under thy hand.\n\n3:7. In that day he shall answer, saying:  I am no healer, and in my\nhouse there is no bread, nor clothing:  make me not ruler of the people.\n\n3:8. For Jerusalem is ruined, and Juda is fallen:  because their tongue,\nand their devices are against the Lord, to provoke the eyes of his\nmajesty.\n\n3:9. The shew of their countenance hath answered them:  and they have\nproclaimed abroad their sin as Sodom, and they have not hid it:  woe to\ntheir souls, for evils are rendered to them.\n\n3:10. Say to the just man that it is well, for he shall eat the fruit\nof his doings.\n\n3:11. Woe to the wicked unto evil:  for the reward of his hands shall be\ngiven him.\n\n3:12. As for my people, their oppressors have stripped them, and women\nhave ruled over them.  O my people, they that call thee blessed, the\nsame deceive thee, and destroy the way of thy steps.\n\n3:13. The Lord standeth up to judge, and he standeth to judge the\npeople.\n\n3:14. The Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of his\npeople, and its princes:  for you have devoured the vineyard, and the\nspoil of the poor is in your house.\n\n3:15. Why do you consume my people, and grind the faces of the poor?\nsaith the Lord the God of hosts.\n\n3:16. And the Lord said:  Because the daughters of Sion are haughty, and\nhave walked with stretched out necks, and wanton glances of their eyes,\nand made a noise as they walked with their feet and moved in a set\npace:\n\n3:17. The Lord will make bald the crown of the head of the daughters of\nSion, and the Lord will discover their hair.\n\n3:18. In that day the Lord will take away the ornaments of shoes, and\nlittle moons,\n\n3:19. And chains and necklaces, and bracelets, and bonnets,\n\n3:20. And bodkins, and ornaments of the legs, and tablets, and sweet\nballs, and earrings,\n\n3:21. And rings, and jewels hanging on the forehead,\n\n3:22. And changes of apparel, and short cloaks, and fine linen, and\ncrisping pins,\n\n3:23. And lookingglasses, and lawns, and headbands, and fine veils.\n\n3:24. And instead of a sweet smell there shall be stench, and instead\nof a girdle, a cord, and instead of curled hair, baldness, and instead\nof a stomacher, haircloth.\n\n3:25. Thy fairest men also shall fall by the sword, and thy valiant\nones in battle.\n\n3:26. And her gates shall lament and mourn, and she shall sit desolate\non the ground.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 4\n\n\nAfter an extremity of evils that shall fall upon the Jews, a remnant\nshall be comforted by Christ.\n\n4:1. And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying:  We\nwill eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel:  only let us be called\nby thy name, take away our reproach.\n\n4:2. In that day the bud of the Lord shall be in magnificence and\nglory, and the fruit of the earth shall be high, and a great joy to\nthem that shall have escaped of Israel.\n\nThe bud of the Lord. . .That is, Christ.\n\n4:3. And it shall come to pass, that every one that shall be left in\nSion, and that shall remain in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, every\none that is written in life in Jerusalem.\n\n4:4. If the Lord shall wash away the filth of the daughters of Sion,\nand shall wash away the blood of Jerusalem out of the midst thereof, by\nthe spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.\n\n4:5. And the Lord will create upon every place of mount Sion, and where\nhe is called upon, a cloud by day, and a smoke and the brightness of a\nflaming fire in the night:  for over all the glory shall be a\nprotection.\n\n4:6. And there shall be a tabernacle for a shade in the daytime from\nthe heat, and for a security and covert from the whirlwind, and from\nrain.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 5\n\n\nThe reprobation of the Jews is foreshewn under the parable of a\nvineyard.  A woe is pronounced against sinners:  the army of God shall\nsend against them.\n\n5:1. I will sing to my beloved the canticle of my cousin concerning his\nvineyard.  My beloved had a vineyard on a hill in a fruitful place.\n\nMy cousin. . .So the prophet calls Christ, as being of his family and\nkindred, by descending from the house of David.  Ibid.  On a hill,\netc. . .Literally, in the horn, the son of oil.\n\n5:2. And he fenced it in, and picked the stones out of it, and planted\nit with the choicest vines, and built a tower in the midst thereof, and\nset up a winepress therein:  and he looked that it should bring forth\ngrapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.\n\n5:3. And now, O ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and ye men of Juda, judge\nbetween me and my vineyard.\n\n5:4. What is there that I ought to do more to my vineyard, that I have\nnot done to it?  was it that I looked that it should bring forth grapes,\nand it hath brought forth wild grapes?\n\n5:5. And now I will shew you what I will do to my vineyard.  I will take\naway the hedge thereof, and it shall be wasted:  I will break down the\nwall thereof, and it shall be trodden down.\n\n5:6. And I will make it desolate:  it shall not be pruned, and it shall\nnot be digged:  but briers and thorns shall come up:  and I will command\nthe clouds to rain no rain upon it.\n\n5:7. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel:  and\nthe man of Juda, his pleasant plant:  and I looked that he should do\njudgment, and behold iniquity:  and do justice, and behold a cry.\n\n5:8. Woe to you that join house to house and lay field to field, even\nto the end of the place:  shall you alone dwell in the midst of the\nearth?\n\n5:9. These things are in my ears, saith the Lord of hosts:  Unless many\ngreat and fair houses shall become desolate, without an inhabitant.\n\n5:10. For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one little measure, and\nthirty bushels of seed shall yield three bushels.\n\n5:11. Woe to you that rise up early in the morning to follow\ndrunkenness, and to drink in the evening, to be inflamed with wine.\n\n5:12. The harp, and the lyre, and, the timbrel and the pipe, and wine\nare in your feasts:  and the work of the Lord you regard not, nor do you\nconsider the works of his hands.\n\n5:13. Therefore is my people led away captive, because they had not\nknowledge, and their nobles have perished with famine, and their\nmultitude were dried up with thirst.\n\n5:14. Therefore hath hell enlarged her soul, and opened her mouth\nwithout any bounds, and their strong ones, and their people, and their\nhigh and glorious ones shall go down into it.\n\n5:15. And man shall be brought down, and man shall be humbled, and the\neyes of the lofty shall be brought low.\n\n5:16. And the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and the holy\nGod shall be sanctified in justice.\n\n5:17. And the lambs shall feed according to their order, and strangers\nshall eat the deserts turned into fruitfulness.\n\n5:18. Woe to you that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as\nthe rope of a cart.\n\n5:19. That say:  Let him make haste, and let his work come quickly, that\nwe may see it:  and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel come, that\nwe may know it.\n\n5:20. Woe to you that call evil good, and good evil:  that put darkness\nfor light, and light for darkness:  that put bitter for sweet, and sweet\nfor bitter.\n\n5:21. Woe to you that are wise in your own eyes, and prudent in your\nown conceits.\n\n5:22. Woe to you that are mighty to drink wine, and stout men at\ndrunkenness.\n\n5:23. That justify the wicked for gifts, and take away the justice of\nthe just from him.\n\n5:24. Therefore as the tongue of the fire devoureth the stubble, and\nthe heat of the flame consumeth it:  so shall their root be as ashes,\nand their bud shall go up as dust:  for they have cast away the law of\nthe Lord of hosts, and have blasphemed the word of the Holy One of\nIsrael.\n\n5:25. Therefore is the wrath of the Lord kindled against his people,\nand he hath stretched out his hand upon them, and struck them:  and the\nmountains were troubles, and their carcasses became as dung in the\nmidst of the streets.  For after this his anger is not turned away, but\nhis hand is stretched out still.\n\n5:26. And he will lift up a sign to the nations afar off, and will\nwhistle to them from the ends of the earth:  and behold they shall come\nwith speed swiftly.\n\n5:27. There is none that shall faint, nor labour among them:  they shall\nnot slumber nor sleep, neither shall the girdle of their loins be\nloosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken.\n\n5:28. Their arrows are sharp, and all their bows are bent.  The hoofs of\ntheir horses shall be like the flint, and their wheels like the\nviolence of a tempest.\n\n5:29. Their roaring like that of a lion, they shall roar like young\nlions:  yea they shall roar, and take hold of the prey, and they shall\nkeep fast hold of it, and there shall be none to deliver it.\n\n5:30. And they shall make a noise against them that day, like the\nroaring of the sea; we shall look towards the land, and behold darkness\nof tribulation, and the light is darkened with the mist thereof.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 6\n\n\nA glorious vision, in which the prophet's lips are cleansed:  he\nforetelleth the obstinacy of the Jews.\n\n6:1. In the year that king Ozias died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a\nthrone high and elevated:  and his train filled the temple.\n\n6:2. Upon it stood the seraphims:  the one had six wings, and the other\nhad six wings:  with two they covered his face, and with two they\ncovered his feet, and with two they flew.\n\n6:3. And they cried one to another, and said:  Holy, holy, holy, the\nLord God of hosts, all the earth is full of his glory,\n\n6:4. And the lintels of the doors were moved at the voice of him that\ncried, and the house was filled with smoke.\n\n6:5. And I said:  Woe is me, because I have held my peace; because I am\na man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people that hath\nunclean lips, and I have seen with my eyes the King the Lord of hosts.\n\n6:6. And one of the seraphims flew to me, and in his hand was a live\ncoal, which he had taken with the tongs off the altar.\n\n6:7. And he touched my mouth, and said:  Behold this hath touched thy\nlips, and thy iniquities shall be taken away, and thy sin shall be\ncleansed.\n\n6:8. And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:  Whom shall I send?  and\nwho shall go for us?  And I said:  Lo, here am I, send me.\n\n6:9. And he said:  Go, and thou shalt say to this people:  Hearing, hear,\nand understand not:  and see the vision, and know it not.\n\n6:10. Blind the heart of this people, and make their ears heavy, and\nshut their eyes:  lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their\nears, and understand with their heart, and be converted and I heal\nthem.\n\n6:11. And I said:  How long, O Lord?  And he said:  Until the cities be\nwasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land\nshall be left desolate.\n\n6:12. And the Lord shall remove men far away, and she shall be\nmultiplied that was left in the midst of the earth.\n\n6:13. And there shall be still a tithing therein, and she shall turn,\nand shall be made a show as a turpentine tree, and as an oak that\nspreadeth its branches:  that which shall stand therein, shall be a holy\nseed.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 7\n\n\nThe prophet assures king Achaz that the two kings his enemies shall not\ntake Jerusalem.  A virgin shall conceive and bear a son.\n\n7:1. And it came to pass in the days of Achaz the son of Joathan, the\nson of Ozias, king of Juda, that Rasin king of Syria and Phacee the son\nof Romelia king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem, to fight against it:\nbut they could not prevail over it.\n\n7:2. And they told the house of David, saying:  Syria hath rested upon\nEphraim, and his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the\ntrees of the woods are moved with the wind.\n\n7:3. And the Lord said to Isaias:  Go forth to meet Achaz, thou and\nJasub thy son that is left, to the conduit of the upper pool in the way\nof the fuller's field.\n\n7:4. And thou shalt say to him:  See thou be quiet:  fear not, and let\nnot thy heart be afraid of the two tails of these firebrands, smoking\nwith the wrath of the fury of Rasin king of Syria, and of the son of\nRomelia.\n\n7:5. Because Syria hath taken counsel against thee, unto the evil of\nEphraim and the son of Romelia, saying:\n\n7:6. Let us go up to Juda, and rouse it up, and draw it away to us, and\nmake the son of Tabeel king in the midst thereof.\n\n7:7. Thus saith the Lord God:  It shall not stand, and this shall not\nbe.\n\n7:8. But the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is\nRasin:  and within threescore and five years, Ephraim shall cease to be\na people:\n\n7:9. And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the\nson of Romelia.  If you will not believe, you shall not continue.\n\n7:10. And the Lord spoke again to Achaz, saying:\n\n7:11. Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God, either unto the depth of\nhell, or unto the height above.\n\n7:12. And Achaz said:  I will not ask, and I will not tempt the Lord.\n\n7:13. And he said:  Hear ye therefore, O house of David:  Is it a small\nthing for you to be grievous to men, that you are grievous to my God\nalso?\n\n7:14. Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign.  Behold a virgin\nshall conceive, and bear a son and his name shall be called Emmanuel.\n\n7:15. He shall eat butter and honey, that he may know to refuse the\nevil, and to choose the good.\n\n7:16. For before the child know to refuse the evil and to choose the\ngood, the land which thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of the face of\nher two kings.\n\n7:17. The Lord shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon the\nhouse of thy father, days that have not come since the time of the\nseparation of Ephraim from Juda with the king of the Assyrians.\n\n7:18. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall hiss\nfor the fly, that is in the uttermost parts of the rivers of Egypt, and\nfor the bee that is in the land of Assyria.\n\n7:19. And they shall come, and shall all of them rest in the torrents\nof the valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all places set\nwith shrubs, and in all hollow places.\n\n7:20. In that day the Lord shall shave with a razor that is hired by\nthem that are beyond the river, by the king of the Assyrians, the head\nand the hairs of the feet, and the whole beard.\n\n7:21. And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a\nyoung cow, and two sheep.\n\n7:22. And for the abundance of milk he shall eat butter:  for butter and\nhoney shall every one eat that shall be left in the midst of the land.\n\n7:23. And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place where\nthere were a thousand vines, at a thousand pieces of silver, shall\nbecome thorns and briers.\n\n7:24. With arrows and with bows they shall go in thither:  for briers\nand thorns shall be in all the land.\n\n7:25. And as for the hills that shall be raked with a rake, the fear of\nthorns and briers shall not come thither, but they shall be for the ox\nto feed on, and the lesser cattle to tread upon.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 8\n\n\nThe name of a child that is to be born:  many evils shall come upon the\nJews for their sins.\n\n8:1. And the Lord said to me:  Take thee a great book, and write in it\nwith a man's pen.  Take away the spoils with speed, quickly take the\nprey.\n\n8:2. And I took unto me faithful witnesses, Urias the priest, and\nZacharias the son of Barachias.\n\n8:3. And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived, and bore a son.\nAnd the Lord said to me:  Call his name, Hasten to take away the spoils:\nMake hast to take away the prey.\n\n8:4. For before the child know to call his father and his mother, the\nstrength of Damascus, and the spoils of Samaria shall be taken away\nbefore the king of the Assyrians.\n\n8:5. And the Lord spoke to me again, saying:\n\n8:6. Forasmuch as this people hath cast away the waters of Siloe, that\ngo with silence, and hath rather taken Rasin, and the son of Romelia:\n\n8:7. Therefore behold the Lord will bring upon them the waters of the\nriver strong and many, the king of the Assyrians, and all his glory:\nand he shall come up over all his channels, and shall overflow all his\nbanks.\n\n8:8. And shall pass through Juda, overflowing, and going over shall\nreach even to the neck.  And the stretching out of his wings shall fill\nthe breadth of thy, land, O Emmanuel.\n\n8:9. Gather yourselves together, O ye people, and be overcome, and give\near, all ye lands afar off:  strengthen yourselves, and be overcome,\ngird yourselves, and be overcome.\n\n8:10. Take counsel together, and it shall be defeated:  speak a word,\nand it shall not be done:  because God is with us.\n\n8:11. For thus saith the Lord to me:  As he hath taught me, with a\nstrong arm, that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying:\n\n8:12. Say ye not:  A conspiracy:  for all that this people speaketh, is a\nconspiracy:  neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.\n\n8:13. Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself:  and let him be your fear, and\nlet him be your dread.\n\n8:14. And he shall be a sanctification to you.  But for a stone of\nstumbling, and for a rock of offence to the two houses of Israel, for a\nsnare and a ruin to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.\n\n8:15. And very many of them shall stumble and fall, and shall be broken\nin pieces, and shall be snared, and taken.\n\n8:16. Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.\n\n8:17. And I will wait for the Lord, who hath hid his face from the\nhouse of Jacob, and I will look for him.\n\n8:18. Behold I and my children, whom the Lord hath given me for a sign,\nand for a wonder in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwelleth in\nmount Sion.\n\n8:19. And when they shall say to you:  Seek of pythons, and of diviners,\nwho mutter in their enchantments:  should not the people seek of their\nGod, for the living of the dead?\n\nSeek of pythons. . .That is, people pretending to tell future things by\na prophesying spirit.--Ibid.  Should not the people seek of their God,\nfor the living of the dead?. . .Here is signified, that it is to God we\nshould pray to be directed, and not to seek of the dead, (that is, of\nfortune-tellers dead in sin,) for the health of the living.\n\n8:20. To the law rather, and to the testimony.  And if they speak not\naccording to this word, they shall not have the morning light.\n\n8:21. And they shall pass by it, they shall fall, and be hungry:  and\nwhen they shall be hungry, they will be angry, and curse their king,\nand their God, and look upwards.\n\n8:22. And they shall look to the earth, and behold trouble and\ndarkness, weakness and distress, and a mist following them, and they\ncannot fly away from their distress.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 9\n\n\nWhat joy shall come after afflictions by the birth and kingdom of\nChrist; which shall flourish for ever.  Judgments upon Israel for their\nsins.\n\n9:1. At the first time the land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephtali\nwas lightly touched:  and at the last the way of the sea beyond the\nJordan of the Galilee of the Gentiles was heavily loaded.\n\n9:2. The people that walked in darkness, have seen a great light:  to\nthem that dwelt in the region of the shadow of death, light is risen.\n\n9:3. Thou hast multiplied the nation, and hast not increased the joy.\nThey shall rejoice before thee, as they that rejoice in the harvest, as\nconquerors rejoice after taking a prey, when they divide the spoils.\n\n9:4. For the yoke of their burden, and the rod of their shoulder, and\nthe sceptre of their oppressor thou hast overcome, as in the day of\nMadian.\n\n9:5. For every violent taking of spoils, with tumult, and garment\nmingled with blood, shall be burnt, and be fuel for the fire.\n\n9:6. For a CHILD IS BORN to us, and a son is given to us, and the\ngovernment is upon his shoulder:  and his name shall be called\nWonderful, Counsellor, God the Mighty, the Father of the world to come,\nthe Prince of Peace.\n\n9:7. His empire shall be multiplied, and there shall be no end of\npeace:  he shall sit upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom; to\nestablish it and strengthen it with judgment and with justice, from\nhenceforth and for ever:  the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform\nthis.\n\n9:8. The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel.\n\n9:9. And all the people of Ephraim shall know, and the inhabitants of\nSamaria that say in the pride and haughtiness of their heart:\n\n9:10. The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with square stones:\nthey have cut down the sycamores, but we will change them for cedars.\n\n9:11. And the Lord shall set up the enemies of Rasin over him, and\nshall bring on his enemies in a crowd:\n\n9:12. The Syrians from the east, and, the Philistines from the west:\nand they shall devour Israel with open mouth.  For all this his\nindignation is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.\n\n9:13. And the people are not returned to him who hath struck them, and\nhave not sought after the Lord of hosts.\n\n9:14. And the Lord shall destroy out of Israel the head and the tail,\nhim that bendeth down, and him that holdeth back, in one day.\n\n9:15. The aged and honourable, he is the head:  and the prophet that\nteacheth lies, he is the tail.\n\n9:16. And they that call this people blessed, shall cause them to err:\nand they that are called blessed, shall be thrown down, headlong.\n\n9:17. Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men:  neither\nshall he have mercy on their fatherless, and widows:  for every one is a\nhypocrite and wicked, and every mouth hath spoken folly.  For all this\nhis indignation is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out\nstill.\n\n9:18. For wickedness is kindled as a fire, it shall devour the brier\nand the thorn:  and shall kindle in the thicket of the forest, and it\nshall be wrapped up in smoke ascending on high.\n\n9:19. By the wrath of the Lord of hosts the land is troubled, and the\npeople shall be as fuel for the fire:  no man shall spare his brother.\n\n9:20. And he shall turn to the right hand, and shall be hungry:  and\nshall eat on the left hand, and shall not be filled:  every one shall\neat the flesh of his own arm:  Manasses Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasses,\nand they together shall be against Juda.\n\n9:21. After all these things his indignation is not turned away, but\nhis hand is stretched out still.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 10\n\n\nWoe to the makers of wicked laws.  The Assyrian shall be a rod for\npunishing Israel:  but for their pride they shall be destroyed:  and a\nremnant of Israel saved.\n\n10:1. Woe to them that make wicked laws:  and when they write, write\ninjustice:\n\n10:2. To oppress the poor in judgment, and do violence to the cause of\nthe humble of my people:  that widows might be their prey, and that they\nmight rob the fatherless.\n\n10:3. What will you do in the day of visitation, and of the calamity\nwhich cometh from afar?  to whom will ye flee for help?  and where will\nye leave your glory?\n\n10:4. That you be not bowed down under the bond, and fall with the\nslain?  In all these things his anger is not turned away, but his hand\nis stretched out still.\n\n10:5. Woe to the Assyrian, he is the rod and the staff of my anger, and\nmy indignation is in their hands.\n\n10:6. I will send him to a deceitful nation, and I will give him a\ncharge against the people of my wrath, to take away the spoils, and to\nlay hold on the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the\nstreets.\n\n10:7. But he shall not take it so, and his heart shall not think so:\nbut his heart shall be set to destroy, and to cut off nations not a\nfew.\n\n10:8. For he shall say:\n\n10:9. Are not my princes as so many kings?  is not Calano as Charcamis:\nand Emath as Arphad?  is not Samaria as Damascus?\n\n10:10. As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idol, so also their\nidols of Jerusalem, and of Samaria.\n\n10:11. Shall I not, as I have done to Samaria and her idols, so do to\nJerusalem and her idols?\n\n10:12. And it shall come to pass, that when the Lord shall have\nperformed all his works in mount Sion, and in Jerusalem, I will visit\nthe fruit of the proud heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of\nthe haughtiness of his eyes.\n\n10:13. For he hath said:  By the strength of my own hand I have done it,\nand by my own wisdom I have understood:  and I have removed the bounds\nof the people, and have taken the spoils of the princes, and as a\nmighty man hath pulled down them that sat on high.\n\n10:14. And my hand hath found the strength of the people as a nest; and\nas eggs are gathered, that are left, so have I gathered all the earth:\nand there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or made\nthe least noise.\n\n10:15. Shall the axe boast itself against him that cutteth with it?  or\nshall the saw exalt itself against him by whom it is drawn?  as if a rod\nshould lift itself up against him that lifteth it up, and a staff exalt\nitself, which is but wood.\n\n10:16. Therefore the sovereign Lord, the Lord of hosts, shall send\nleanness among his fat ones:  and under his glory shall be kindled a\nburning, as it were the burning of a fire.\n\n10:17. And the light of Israel shall be as a fire, and the Holy One\nthereof as a flame:  and his thorns and his briers shall be set on fire,\nand shall be devoured in one day.\n\n10:18. And the glory of his forest, and of his beautiful hill, shall be\nconsumed from the soul even to the flesh, and he shall run away through\nfear.\n\n10:19. And they that remain of the trees of his forest shall be so few,\nthat they shall easily be numbered, and a child shall write them down.\n\n10:20. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of\nIsrael, and they that shall escape of the house of Jacob, shall lean no\nmore upon him that striketh them:  but they shall lean upon the Lord the\nHoly One of Israel, in truth.\n\n10:21. The remnant shall be converted, the remnant, I say, of Jacob, to\nthe mighty God.\n\n10:22. For if thy people, O Israel, shall be as the sand of the sea, a\nremnant of them shall be converted, the consumption abridged shall\noverflow with justice.\n\nA remnant of them shall be converted. . .This was partly verified in the\nchildren of Israel who remained after the devastations of the\nAssyrians, in the time of king Ezechias:  and partly in the conversion\nof a remnant of the Jews to the faithful of Christ.--Ibid.  The\nconsumption abridged, etc. . .That is, the number of them cut short, and\nreduced to few, shall flourish in abundance of justice.\n\n10:23. For the Lord God of hosts shall make a consumption, and an\nabridgment in the midst of all the land.\n\n10:24. Therefore, thus saith the Lord the God of hosts:  O my people\nthat dwellest in Sion, be not afraid of the Assyrian:  he shall strike\nthee with his rod, and he shall lift up his staff over thee in the way\nof Egypt.\n\n10:25. For yet a little and a very little while, and my indignation\nshall cease, and my wrath shall be upon their wickedness.\n\n10:26. And the Lord of hosts shall raise up a scourge against him,\naccording to the slaughter of Madian in the rock of Oreb, and his rod\nover the sea, and he shall lift it up in the way of Egypt.\n\n10:27. And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be\ntaken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and\nthe yoke shall putrefy at the presence of the oil.\n\nAt the presence of the oil. . .That is, by the sweet unction of divine\nmercy.\n\n10:28. He shall come into Aiath, he shall pass into Magron:  at Machmas\nhe shall lay up his carriages.\n\nInto Aiath, etc. . .Here the prophet describes the march of the\nAssyrians under Sennacherib; and the terror they should carry with\nthem; and how they should suddenly be destroyed.\n\n10:29. They have passed in haste, Gaba is our lodging:  Rama was\nastonished, Gabaath of Saul fled away.\n\n10:30. Lift up thy voice, O daughter of Gallim, attend, O Laisa, poor\nAnathoth.\n\n10:31. Medemena is removed:  ye inhabitants of Gabim, take courage.\n\n10:32. It is yet day enough, to remain in Nobe:  he shall shake his hand\nagainst the mountain of the daughter of Sion, the hill of Jerusalem.\n\n10:33. Behold the sovereign Lord of hosts shall break the earthen\nvessel with terror, and the tall of stature shall be cut down, and the\nlofty shall be humbled.\n\n10:34. And the thickets of the forest shall be cut down with iron, and\nLibanus with its high ones shall fall.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 11\n\n\nOf the spiritual kingdom of Christ, to which all nations shall repair.\n\n11:1. And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a\nflower shall rise up out of his root.\n\n11:2. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him:  the spirit of\nwisdom, and of understanding, the spirit of counsel, and of fortitude,\nthe spirit of knowledge, and of godliness.\n\n11:3. And he shall be filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord,\nHe shall not judge according to the sight of the eyes, nor reprove\naccording to the hearing of the ears.\n\n11:4. But he shall judge the poor with justice, and shall reprove with\nequity the meek of the earth:  and he shall strike the earth with the\nrod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the\nwicked.\n\n11:5. And justice shall be the girdle of his loins:  and faith the\ngirdle of his reins.\n\n11:6. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb:  and the leopard shall lie\ndown with the kid:  the calf and the lion, and the sheep shall abide\ntogether, and a little child shall lead them.\n\n11:7. The calf and the bear shall feed:  their young ones shall rest\ntogether:  and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.\n\n11:8. And the sucking child shall play on other hole of the asp:  and\nthe weaned child shall thrust his hand into the den of the basilisk.\n\n11:9. They shall not hurt, nor shall they kill in all my holy mountain,\nfor the earth is filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the covering\nwaters of the sea.\n\n11:10. In that day the root of Jesse, who standeth for an ensign of the\npeople, him the Gentiles shall beseech, and his sepulchre shall be\nglorious.\n\n11:11. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set\nhis hand the second time to possess the remnant of his people, which\nshall be left from the Assyrians, and from Egypt, and from Phetros, and\nfrom Ethiopia, and from Elam, and from Sennaar, and from Emath, and\nfrom the islands of the sea.\n\n11:12. And he shall set up a standard unto the nations, and shall\nassemble the fugitives of Israel, and shall gather together the\ndispersed of Juda from the four quarters of the earth.\n\n11:13. And the envy of Ephraim shall be taken away, and the enemies of\nJuda shall perish:  Ephraim shall not envy Juda, and Juda shall not\nfight against Ephraim.\n\n11:14. But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines by the\nsea, they together shall spoil the children of the east:  Edom, till\nMoab shall be under the rule of their hand, and the children of Ammon\nshall be obedient.\n\n11:15. And the Lord shall lay waste the tongue of the sea of Egypt, and\nshall lift up his hand over the river in the strength of his spirit:\nand he shall strike it in the seven streams, so that men may pass\nthrough it in their shoes.\n\n11:16. And there shall be a highway for the remnant of my people, which\nshall be left from the Assyrians:  as there was for Israel in the day\nthat he came up out of the land of Egypt.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 12\n\n\nA canticle of thanksgiving for the benefits of Christ.\n\n12:1. And thou shalt say in that day:  I will give thanks to thee, O\nLord, for thou wast angry with me:  thy wrath is turned away, and thou\nhast comforted me.\n\n12:2. Behold, God is my saviour, I will deal confidently, and will not\nfear:  because the Lord is my strength, and my praise, and he is become\nmy salvation.\n\n12:3. Thou shall draw waters with joy out of the saviour's fountains:\n\n12:4. And you shall say in that day:  Praise ye the Lord, and call upon\nhis name:  make his works known among the people:  remember that his name\nis high.\n\n12:5. Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath done great things:  shew this\nforth in all the earth.\n\n12:6. Rejoice, and praise, O thou habitation of Sion:  for great is he\nthat is in the midst of thee, the Holy One of Israel.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 13\n\n\nThe desolation of Babylon.\n\n13:1. The burden of Babylon which Isaias the son of Amos saw.\n\nThe burden of Babylon. . .That is, a prophecy against Babylon.\n\n13:2. Upon the dark mountain lift ye up a banner, exalt the voice, lift\nup the hand, and let the rulers go into the gates.\n\n13:3. I have commanded my sanctified ones, and have called my strong\nones in my wrath, them that rejoice in my glory.\n\n13:4. The noise of a multitude in the mountains, as it were of many\npeople, the noise of the sound of kings, of nations gathered together:\nthe Lord of hosts hath given charge to the troops of war.\n\n13:5. To them that come from a country afar off, from the end of\nheaven:  the Lord and the instruments of his wrath, to destroy the whole\nland.\n\n13:6. Howl ye, for the day of the Lord is near:  it shall come as a\ndestruction from the Lord.\n\n13:7. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every heart of man shall\nmelt,\n\n13:8. And shall be broken.  Gripings and pains, shall take hold of them,\nthey shall be in pain as a woman in labour.  Every one shall be amazed\nat his neighbour, their countenances shall be as faces burnt.\n\n13:9. Behold, the day of the Lord shall come, a cruel day, and full of\nindignation, and of wrath, and fury, to lay the land desolate, and to\ndestroy the sinners thereof out of it.\n\n13:10. For the stars of heaven, and their brightness shall not display\ntheir light:  the sun shall be darkened in his rising, and the moon\nshall not shine with her light.\n\n13:11. And I will visit the evils of the world, and against the wicked\nfor their iniquity:  and I will make the pride of infidels to cease, and\nwill bring down the arrogancy of the mighty.\n\n13:12. A man shall be more precious than gold, yea a man than the\nfinest of gold.\n\n13:13. For this I will trouble the heaven:  and the earth shall be moved\nout of her place, for the indignation of the Lord of hosts, and for the\nday of his fierce wrath.\n\n13:14. And they shall be as a doe fleeing away, and as a sheep:  and\nthere shall be none to gather them together:  every man shall turn to\nhis own people, and every one shall flee to his own land.\n\n13:15. Every one that shall be found, shall be slain:  and every one\nthat shall come to their aid, shall fall by the sword.\n\n13:16. Their inhabitants shall be dashed in pieces before their eyes:\ntheir houses shall be pillaged, and their wives shall be ravished.\n\n13:17. Behold I will stir up the Medes against them, who shall not seek\nsilver, nor desire gold:\n\n13:18. But with their arrows they shall kill the children, and shall\nhave no pity upon the sucklings of the womb, and their eye shall not\nspare their sons.\n\n13:19. And that Babylon, glorious among kingdoms, the famous pride of\nthe Chaldeans, shall be even as the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrha.\n\n13:20. It shall no more be inhabited for ever, and it shall not be\nfounded unto generation and generation:  neither shall the Arabian pitch\nhis tents there, nor shall shepherds rest there.\n\n13:21. But wild beasts shall rest there, and their houses shall be\nfilled with serpents, and ostriches shall dwell there, and the hairy\nones shall dance there:\n\n13:22. And owls shall answer one another there, in the houses thereof,\nand sirens in the temples of pleasure.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 14\n\n\nThe restoration of Israel after their captivity.  The parable or song\ninsulting over the king of Babylon.  A prophecy against the Philistines.\n\n14:1. Her time is near at hand, and her days shall not be prolonged.\nFor the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose out of\nIsrael, and will make them rest upon their own ground:  and the stranger\nshall be joined with them, and shall adhere to the house of Jacob.\n\n14:2. And the people shall take them, and bring them into their place:\nand the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the Lord for\nservants and handmaids:  and they shall make them captives that had\ntaken them, and shall subdue their oppressors.\n\n14:3. And it shall come to pass in that day, that when God shall give\nthee rest from thy labour, and from thy vexation, and from the hard\nbondage, wherewith thou didst serve before,\n\n14:4. Thou shalt take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and\nshalt say:  How is the oppressor come to nothing, the tribute hath\nceased?\n\n14:5. The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, the rod of the\nrulers,\n\n14:6. That struck the people in wrath with an incurable wound, that\nbrought nations under in fury, that persecuted in a cruel manner.\n\n14:7. The whole earth is quiet and still, it is glad and hath rejoiced.\n\n14:8. The fir trees also have rejoiced over thee, and the cedars of\nLibanus, saying:  Since thou hast slept, there hath none come up to cut\nus down.\n\n14:9. Hell below was in an uproar to meet thee at thy coming, it\nstirred up the giants for thee.  All the princes of the earth are risen\nup from their thrones, all the princes of nations.\n\n14:10. All shall answer, and say to thee:  Thou also art wounded as well\nas we, thou art become like unto us.\n\n14:11. Thy pride is brought down to hell, thy carcass is fallen down:\nunder thee shall the moth be strewed, and worms shall be thy covering.\n\n14:12. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, who didst rise in\nthe morning?  how art thou fallen to the earth, that didst wound the\nnations?\n\nO Lucifer. . .O day star.  All this, according to the letter, is spoken\nof the king of Babylon.  It may also be applied, in a spiritual sense,\nto Lucifer the prince of devils, who was created a bright angel, but\nfell by pride and rebellion against God.\n\n14:13. And thou saidst in thy heart:  I will ascend into heaven, I will\nexalt my throne above the stars of God, I will sit in the mountain of\nthe covenant, in the sides of the north.\n\n14:14. I will ascend above the height of the clouds, I will be like the\nmost High.\n\n14:15. But yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, into the depth of\nthe pit.\n\n14:16. They that shall see thee, shall turn toward thee, and behold\nthee.  Is this the man that troubled the earth, that shook kingdoms,\n\n14:17. That made the world a wilderness, and destroyed the cities\nthereof, that opened not the prison to his prisoners?\n\n14:18. All the kings of the nations have all of them slept in glory,\nevery one in his own house.\n\n14:19. But thou art cast out of thy grave, as an unprofitable branch\ndefiled, and wrapped up among them that were slain by the sword, and\nart gone down to the bottom of the pit, as a rotten carcass.\n\n14:20. Thou shalt not keep company with them, even in burial:  for thou\nhast destroyed thy land, thou hast slain thy people:  the seed of the\nwicked shall not be named for ever.\n\n14:21. Prepare his children for slaughter for the iniquity of their\nfathers:  they shall not rise up, nor inherit the land, nor fill the\nface of the world with cities.\n\n14:22. And I will rise up against them, saith the Lord of hosts:  and I\nwill destroy the name of Babylon, and the remains, and the bud, and the\noffspring, saith the Lord.\n\n14:23. And I will make it a possession for the ericius and pools of\nwaters, and I will sweep it and wear it out with a besom, saith the\nLord of hosts.\n\n14:24. The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying:  Surely as I have thought,\nso shall it be:  and as I have purposed,\n\n14:25. So shall it fall out:  That I will destroy the Assyrian in my\nland, and upon my mountains tread him under foot:  and his yoke shall be\ntaken away from them, and his burden shall be taken off their shoulder.\n\n14:26. This is the counsel, that I have purposed upon all the earth,\nand this is the hand that is stretched out upon all nations.\n\n14:27. For the Lord of hosts hath decreed, and who can disannul it?  and\nhis hand is stretched out:  and who shall turn it away?\n\n14:28. In the year that king Achaz died, was this burden:\n\n14:29. Rejoice not thou, whole Philistia, that the rod of him that\nstruck thee is broken in pieces:  for out of the root of the serpent\nshall come forth a basilisk, and his seed shall swallow the bird.\n\n14:30. And the firstborn of the poor shall be fed, and the poor shall\nrest with confidence:  and I will make thy root perish with famine, and\nI will kill thy remnant.\n\n14:31. Howl, O gate; cry, O city:  all Philistia is thrown down:  for a\nsmoke shall come from the north, and there is none that shall escape\nhis troop.\n\n14:32. And what shall be answered to the messengers of the nations?\nThat the Lord hath founded Sion, and the poor of his people shall hope\nin him.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 15\n\n\nA prophecy of the desolation of the Moabites.\n\n15:1. The burden of Moab.  Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid\nwaste, it is silent:  because the wall of Moab is destroyed in the\nnight, it is silent.\n\n15:2. The house is gone up, and Dibon to the high places to mourn over\nNabo, and over Medaba, Moab hath howled:  on all their heads shall be\nbaldness, and every beard shall be shaven.\n\n15:3. In their streets they are girded with sackcloth:  on the tops of\ntheir houses, and in their streets all shall howl and come down\nweeping.\n\n15:4. Hesebon shall cry, and Eleale, their voice is heard even to Jasa.\nFor this shall the well appointed men of Moab howl, his soul shall howl\nto itself.\n\n15:5. My heart shall cry to Moab, the bars thereof shall flee unto\nSegor a heifer of three years old:  for by the ascent of Luith they\nshall go up weeping:  and in the way of Oronaim they shall lift up a cry\nof destruction.\n\n15:6. For the waters of Nemrim shall be desolate, for the grass is\nwithered away, the spring is faded, all the greenness is perished.\n\n15:7. According to the greatness of their work, is their visitation\nalso:  they shall lead them to the torrent of the willows.\n\nTorrent of the willows. . .That is, as some say, the waters of Babylon:\nothers render it, a valley of the Arabians.\n\n15:8. For the cry is gone round about the border of Moab:  the howling\nthereof unto Gallim, and unto the well of Elim the cry thereof.\n\n15:9. For the waters of Dibon are filled with blood:  for I will bring\nmore upon Dibon:  the lion upon them that shall flee of Moab, and upon\nthe remnant of the land.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 16\n\n\nThe prophet prayeth for Christ's coming.  The affliction of the Moabites\nfor their pride.\n\n16:1. Send forth, O Lord, the lamb, the ruler of the earth, from Petra\nof the desert, to the mount of the daughter of Sion.\n\n16:2. And it shall come to pass, that as a bird fleeing away, and as\nyoung ones flying out of the nest, so shall the daughters of Moab be in\nthe passage of Arnon.\n\n16:3. Take counsel, gather a council:  make thy shadow as the night in\nthe midday:  hide them that flee, and betray not them that wander about.\n\n16:4. My fugitives shall dwell with thee:  O Moab, be thou a covert to\nthem from the face of the destroyer:  for the dust is at an end, the\nwretch is consumed:  he hath failed, that trod the earth under foot.\n\n16:5. And a throne shall be prepared in mercy, and one shall sit upon\nit in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging and seeking judgment\nand quickly rendering that which is just.\n\n16:6. We have heard of the pride of Moab, he is exceeding proud:  his\npride and his arrogancy, and his indignation is more than his strength.\n\n16:7. Therefore shall Moab howl to Moab, every one shall howl:  to them\nthat rejoice upon the brick walls, tell ye their stripes.\n\n16:8. For the suburbs of Hesebon are desolate, and the lords of the\nnations have destroyed the vineyard of Sabama:  the branches thereof\nhave reached even to Jazer:  they have wandered in the wilderness, the\nbranches thereof are left, they are gone over the sea.\n\n16:9. Therefore I will lament with the weeping of Jazer the vineyard of\nSabama:  I will water thee with my tears, O Hesebon, and Eleale:  for the\nvoice of the treaders hath rushed in upon thy vintage, and upon thy\nharvest.\n\n16:10. And gladness and joy shall be taken away from Carmel, and there\nshall be no rejoicing nor shouting in the vineyards.  He shall not tread\nout wine in the press that was wont to tread it out:  the voice of the\ntreaders I have taken away.\n\nCarmel. . .This name is often taken to signify a fair and fruitful hill\nor field, such as mount Carmel is.\n\n16:11. Wherefore my bowels shall sound like a harp for Moab, and my\ninward parts for the brick wall.\n\n16:12. And it shall come to pass, when it is seen that Moab is wearied\non his high places, that he shall go in to his sanctuaries to pray, and\nshall not prevail.\n\n16:13. This is the word, that the Lord spoke to Moab from that time:\n\n16:14. And now the Lord hath spoken, saying:  In three years, as the\nyears of a hireling, the glory of Moab shall be taken away for all the\nmultitude of the people, and it shall be left small and feeble, not\nmany.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 17\n\n\nJudgments upon Damascus and Samaria.  The overthrow of the Assyrians.\n\n17:1. The burden of Damascus.  Behold Damascus shall cease to be a city,\nand shall be as a ruinous heap of stones.\n\n17:2. The cities of Aroer shall be left for flocks, and they shall rest\nthere, and there shall be none to make them afraid.\n\n17:3. And aid shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus:\nand the remnant of Syria shall be as the glory of the children of\nIsrael:  saith the Lord of hosts.\n\n17:4. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the glory of Jacob\nshall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall grow lean.\n\n17:5. And it shall be as when one gathereth in the harvest that which\nremaineth, and his arm shall gather the ears of corn:  and it shall be\nas he that seeketh ears in the vale of Raphaim.\n\n17:6. And the fruit thereof that shall be left upon it, shall be as one\ncluster of grapes, and as the shaking of the olive tree, two or three\nberries in the top of a bough, or four or five upon the top of the\ntree, saith the Lord the God of Israel.\n\n17:7. In that day man shall bow down himself to his Maker, and his eyes\nshall look to the Holy One of Israel.\n\n17:8. And he shall not look to the altars which his hands made; and he\nshall not have respect to the things that his fingers wrought, such as\ngroves and temples.\n\n17:9. In that day his strong cities shall be forsaken, as the ploughs,\nand the corn that were left before the face of the children of Israel,\nand thou shalt be desolate.\n\nThat were left. . .Viz., by the Chanaanites, when the children of Israel\ncame into their land.\n\n17:10. Because thou hast forgotten God thy saviour, and hast not\nremembered thy strong helper:  therefore shalt thou plant good plants,\nand shalt sow strange seed.\n\n17:11. In the day of thy planting shall be the wild grape, and in the\nmorning thy seed shall flourish:  the harvest is taken away in the day\nof inheritance, and shall grieve thee much.\n\n17:12. Woe to the multitude of many people, like the multitude of the\nroaring sea:  and the tumult of crowds, like the noise of many waters.\n\nThe multitude, etc. . .This and all that follows to the end of the\nchapter, relates to the Assyrian army under Sennacherib.\n\n17:13. Nations shall make a noise like the noise of waters overflowing,\nbut he shall rebuke him, and he shall flee far off:  and he shall be\ncarried away as the dust of the mountains before the wind, and as a\nwhirlwind before a tempest.\n\n17:14. In the time of the evening, behold there shall be trouble:  the\nmorning shall come, and he shall not be:  this is the portion of them\nthat have wasted us, and the lot of them that spoiled us.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 18\n\n\nA woe to the Ethiopians, who fed Israel with vain hopes, their future\nconversion.\n\n18:1. Woe to the land, the winged cymbal, which is beyond the rivers of\nEthiopia,\n\n18:2. That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, and in vessels of bulrushes\nupon the waters.  Go, ye swift angels, to a nation rent and torn in\npieces:  to a terrible people, after which there is no other:  to a\nnation expecting and trodden underfoot, whose land the rivers have\nspoiled.\n\nAngels. . .Or messengers.\n\n18:3. All ye inhabitants of the world, who dwell on the earth, when the\nsign shall be lifted up on the mountains, you shall see, and you shall\nhear the sound of the trumpet.\n\n18:4. For thus saith the Lord to me:  I will take my rest, and consider\nin my place, as the noon light is clear, and as a cloud of dew in the\nday of harvest.\n\n18:5. For before the harvest it was all flourishing, and it shall bud\nwithout perfect ripeness, and the sprigs thereof shall be cut off with\npruning hooks:  and what is left shall be cut away and shaken out.\n\n18:6. And they shall be left together to the birds of the mountains,\nand the beasts of the earth:  and the fowls shall be upon them all the\nsummer, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them.\n\n18:7. At that time shall a present be brought to the Lord of hosts,\nfrom a people rent and torn in pieces:  from a terrible people, after\nwhich there hath been no other:  from a nation expecting, expecting and\ntrodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of\nthe name of the Lord of hosts, to mount Sion.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 19\n\n\nThe punishment of Egypt:  their call to the church.\n\n19:1. The burden of Egypt.  Behold the Lord will ascend upon a swift\ncloud, and will enter into Egypt, and the idols of Egypt shall be moved\nat his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst\nthereof.\n\n19:2. And I will set the Egyptians to fight against the Egyptians:  and\nthey shall fight brother against brother, and friend against friend,\ncity against city, kingdom against kingdom.\n\n19:3. And the spirit of Egypt shall be broken in the bowels thereof,\nand I will cast down their counsel:  and they shall consult their idols,\nand their diviners, and their wizards, and soothsayers.\n\n19:4. And I will deliver Egypt into the hand of cruel masters, and a\nstrong king shall rule over them, saith the Lord the God of hosts.\n\n19:5. And the water of the sea shall be dried up, and the river shall\nbe wasted and dry.\n\n19:6. And the rivers shall fail:  the streams of the banks shall be\ndiminished, and be dried up.  The reed and the bulrush shall wither\naway.\n\n19:7. The channel of the river shall be laid bare from its fountain,\nand every thing sown by the water shall be dried up, it shall wither\naway, and shall be no more.\n\n19:8. The fishers also shall mourn, and all that cast a hook into the\nriver shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall\nlanguish away.\n\n19:9. They shall be confounded that wrought in flax, combing and\nweaving fine linen.\n\n19:10. And its watery places shall be dry, all they shall mourn that\nmade pools to take fishes.\n\n19:11. The princes of Tanis are become fools, the wise counsellors of\nPharao have given foolish counsel:  how will you say to Pharao:  I am the\nson of the wise, the son of ancient kings?\n\n19:12. Where are now thy wise men?  let them tell thee, and shew what\nthe Lord of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt.\n\n19:13. The princes of Tanis are become fools, the princes of Memphis\nare gone astray, they have deceived Egypt, the stay of the people\nthereof.\n\n19:14. The Lord hath mingled in the midst thereof the spirit of\ngiddiness:  and they have caused Egypt to err in all its works, as a\ndrunken man staggereth and vomiteth.\n\n19:15. And there shall be no work for Egypt, to make head or tail, him\nthat bendeth down, or that holdeth back.\n\n19:16. In that day Egypt shall be like unto women, and they shall be\namazed, and afraid, because of the moving of the hand of the Lord of\nhosts, which he shall move over it.\n\n19:17. And the land of Juda shall be a terror to Egypt:  everyone that\nshall remember it shall tremble because of the counsel of the Lord of\nhosts, which he hath determined concerning it.\n\n19:18. In that day there shall be five cities in the land of Egypt,\nspeaking the language of Chanaan, and swearing by the Lord of hosts:\none shall be called the city of the sun.\n\n19:19. In that day there shall be an altar of the Lord in the midst of\nthe land of Egypt, and a monument of the Lord at the borders thereof:\n\n19:20. It shall be for a sign, and for a testimony to the Lord of hosts\nin the land of Egypt.  For they shall cry to the Lord because of the\noppressor, and he shall send them a Saviour and a defender to deliver\nthem.\n\n19:21. And the Lord shall be known by Egypt, and the Egyptians shall\nknow the Lord in that day, and shall worship him with sacrifices and\nofferings:  and they shall make vows to the Lord, and perform them.\n\n19:22. And the Lord shall strike Egypt with a scourge, and shall heal\nit, and they shall return to the Lord, and he shall be pacified towards\nthem, and heal them.\n\n19:23. In that day there shall be a way from Egypt to the Assyrians,\nand the Assyrian shall enter into Egypt, and the Egyptian to the\nAssyrians, and the Egyptians shall serve the Assyrian.\n\n19:24. In that day shall Israel be the third to the Egyptian and the\nAssyrian:  a blessing in the midst of the land,\n\n19:25. Which the Lord of hosts hath blessed, saying:  Blessed be my\npeople of Egypt, and the work of my hands to the Assyrian:  but Israel\nis my inheritance.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 20\n\n\nThe ignominious captivity of the Egyptians, and the Ethiopians.\n\n20:1. In the year that Tharthan entered into Azotus, when Sargon the\nking of the Assyrians had sent him, and he had fought against Azotus,\nand had taken it:\n\n20:2. At that same time the Lord spoke by the hand of Isaias the son of\nAmos, saying Go, and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and take\noff thy shoes from thy feet.  And he did so, and went naked, and\nbarefoot.\n\n20:3. And the Lord said:  As my servant Isaias hath walked, naked and\nbarefoot, it shall be a sign and a wonder of three years upon Egypt,\nand upon Ethiopia,\n\n20:4. So shall the king of the Assyrians lead away the prisoners of\nEgypt, and the captivity of Ethiopia, young and old, naked and\nbarefoot, with their buttocks uncovered to the shame of Egypt.\n\n20:5. And they shall be afraid, and ashamed of Ethiopia their hope, and\nof Egypt their glory.\n\n20:6. And the inhabitants of this isle shall say in that day:  Lo this\nwas our hope, to whom we fled for help, to deliver us from the face of\nthe king of the Assyrians:  and how shall we be able to escape?\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 21\n\n\nThe destruction of Babylon by the Medes and Persians:  a prophecy\nagainst the Edomites and the Arabians.\n\n21:1. The burden of the desert of the sea.  As whirlwinds come from the\nsouth, it cometh from the desert from a terrible land.\n\nThe desert of the sea. . .So Babylon is here called, because from a city\nas full of people as the sea is with water, it was become a desert.\n\n21:2. A grievous vision is told me:  he that is unfaithful dealeth\nunfaithfully:  and he that is a spoiler, spoileth.  Go up, O Elam,\nbesiege, O Mede:  I have made all the mourning thereof to cease.\n\nO Elam. . .That is, O Persia.\n\n21:3. Therefore are my loins filled with pain, anguish hath taken hold\nof me, as the anguish of a woman in labour:  I fell down at the hearing\nof it, I was troubled at the seeing of it.\n\n21:4. My heart failed, darkness amazed me:  Babylon my beloved is become\na wonder to me.\n\n21:5. Prepare the table, behold in the watchtower them that eat and\ndrink:  arise, ye princes, take up the shield.\n\n21:6. For thus hath the Lord said to me:  Go, and set a watchman:  and\nwhatsoever he shall see, let him tell.\n\n21:7. And he saw a chariot with two horsemen, a rider upon an ass, and\na rider upon a camel:  and he beheld them diligently with much heed.\n\nA rider upon an ass, etc. . .These two riders are the kings of the\nPersians and Medes.\n\n21:8. And a lion cried out:  I am upon the watchtower of the Lord,\nstanding continually by day:  and I am upon my ward, standing whole\nnights.\n\nAnd a lion cried out. . .That is, I Isaias seeing the approaching ruin\nof Babylon, have cried out as a lion roaring.\n\n21:9. Behold this man cometh, the rider upon the chariot with two\nhorsemen, and he answered, and said:  Babylon is fallen, she is fallen,\nand all the graven gods thereof are broken unto the ground.\n\n21:10. O my thrashing, and the children of my floor, that which I have\nheard of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, I have declared unto\nyou.\n\n21:11. The burden of Duma calleth to me out of Seir:  Watchman, what of\nthe night?  watchman, what of the night?\n\nDuma. . .That is, Idumea, or Edom.\n\n21:12. The watchman said:  The morning cometh, also the night:  if you\nseek, seek:  return, come.\n\n21:13. The burden in Arabia.  In the forest at evening you shall sleep,\nin the paths of Dedanim.\n\n21:14. Meeting the thirsty bring him water, you that inhabit the land\nof the south, meet with bread him that fleeth.\n\n21:15. For they are fled from before the swords, from the sword that\nhung over them, from the bent bow, from the face of a grievous battle.\n\n21:16. For thus saith the Lord to me:  Within a year, according to the\nyears of a hireling, all the glory of Cedar shall be taken away.\n\nCedar. . .Arabia.\n\n21:17. And the residue of the number of strong archers of the children\nof Cedar shall be diminished:  for the Lord the God of Israel hath\nspoken it.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 22\n\n\nThe prophet laments the devastation of Juda.  He foretells the\ndeprivation of Sobna, and the substitution of Eliacim, a figure of\nChrist.\n\n22:1. The burden of the valley of vision.  What aileth thee also, that\nthou too art wholly gone up to the housetops?\n\nThe valley of vision. . .Jerusalem.  The temple of Jerusalem was built\nupon mount Moria, or the mountain of vision.  But the city is here\ncalled the valley of vision; either because it was lower than the\ntemple, or because of the low condition to which it was to be reduced.\n\n22:2. Full of clamour, a populous city, a joyous city:  thy slain are\nnot slain by the sword, nor dead in battle.\n\n22:3. All the princes are fled together, and are bound hard:  all that\nwere found, are bound together, they are fled far off.\n\n22:4. Therefore have I said:  Depart from me, I will weep bitterly:\nlabour not to comfort me, for the devastation of the daughter of my\npeople.\n\n22:5. For it is a day of slaughter and of treading down, and of weeping\nto the Lord the God of hosts in the valley of vision, searching the\nwall, and magnificent upon the mountain.\n\n22:6. And Elam took the quiver, the chariot of the horseman, and the\nshield was taken down from the wall.\n\n22:7. And thy choice valleys shall be full of chariots, and the\nhorsemen shall place themselves in the gate.\n\n22:8. And the covering of Juda shall be discovered, and thou shalt see\nin that day the armoury of the house of the forest.\n\n22:9. And you shall see the breaches of the city of David, that they\nare many:  and you have gathered together the waters of the lower pool,\n\n22:10. And have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and broken down\nhouses to fortify the wall.\n\n22:11. And you made a ditch between the two walls for the water of the\nold pool:  and you have not looked up to the maker thereof, nor regarded\nhim even at a distance, that wrought it long ago.\n\n22:12. And the Lord, the God of hosts, in that day shall call to\nweeping, and to mourning, to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:\n\n22:13. And behold joy and gladness, killing calves, and slaying rams,\neating flesh, and drinking wine:  Let us eat and drink; for to morrow we\nshall die.\n\n22:14. And the voice of the Lord of hosts was revealed in my ears:\nSurely this iniquity shall not be forgiven you till you die, saith the\nLord God of hosts.\n\n22:15. Thus saith the Lord God of hosts:  Go, get thee in to him that\ndwelleth in the tabernacle, to Sobna who is over the temple:  and thou\nshalt say to him:\n\n22:16. What dost thou here, or as if thou wert somebody here?  for thou\nhast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, thou hast hewed out a monument\ncarefully in a high place, a dwelling for thyself in a rock.\n\n22:17. Behold the Lord will cause thee to be carried away, as a cock is\ncarried away, and he will lift thee up as a garment.\n\n22:18. He will crown thee with a crown of tribulation, he will toss\nthee like a ball into a large and spacious country:  there shalt thou\ndie, and there shall the chariot of thy glory be, the shame of the\nhouse of thy Lord.\n\n22:19. And I will drive thee out from thy station, and depose thee from\nthy ministry.\n\n22:20. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my\nservant Eliacim the son of Helcias,\n\n22:21. And I will clothe him with thy robe, and will strengthen him\nwith thy girdle, and will give thy power into his hand:  and he shall be\nas a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Juda.\n\n22:22. And I will lay the key of the house of David upon his shoulder:\nand he shall open, and none shall shut:  and he shall shut, and none\nshall open.\n\n22:23. And I will fasten him as a peg in a sure place, and he shall be\nfor a throne of glory to the house of his father.\n\n22:24. And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's\nhouse, divers kinds of vessels, every little vessel, from the vessels\nof cups even to every instrument of music.\n\n22:25. In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall the peg be removed,\nthat was fastened in the sure place:  and it shall be broken and shall\nfall:  and that which hung thereon, shall perish, because the Lord hath\nspoken it.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 23\n\n\nThe destruction of Tyre.  It shall be repaired again after seventy\nyears.\n\n23:1. The burden of Tyre.  Howl, ye ships of the sea, for the house is\ndestroyed, from whence they were wont to come:  from the land of Cethim\nit is revealed to them.\n\n23:2. Be silent, you that dwell in the island:  the merchants of Sidon\npassing over the sea, have filled thee.\n\n23:3. The seed of the Nile in many waters, the harvest of the river is\nher revenue:  and she is become the mart of the nations.\n\n23:4. Be thou ashamed, O Sidon:  for the sea speaketh, even the strength\nof the sea, saying:  I have not been in labour, nor have I brought\nforth, nor have I nourished up young men, nor brought up virgins.\n\n23:5. When it shall be heard in Egypt, they will be sorry when they\nshall hear of Tyre:\n\n23:6. Pass over the seas, howl, ye inhabitants of the island.\n\n23:7. Is not this your city, which gloried from of old in her\nantiquity?  her feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn.\n\n23:8. Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, that was formerly\ncrowned, whose merchants were princes, and her traders the nobles of\nthe earth?\n\n23:9. The Lord of hosts hath designed it, to pull down the pride of all\nglory, and bring to disgrace all the glorious ones of the earth.\n\n23:10. Pass thy land as a river, O daughter of the sea, thou hast a\ngirdle no more.\n\n23:11. He stretched out his hand over the sea, he troubled kingdoms:\nthe Lord hath given a charge against Chanaan, to destroy the strong\nones thereof.\n\n23:12. And he said:  Thou shalt glory no more, O virgin daughter of\nSidon, who art oppressed:  arise and sail over to Cethim, there also\nthou shalt have no rest.\n\n23:13. Behold the land of the Chaldeans, there was not such a people,\nthe Assyrians founded it:  they have led away the strong ones thereof\ninto captivity, they have destroyed the houses thereof, they have,\nbrought it to ruin.\n\n23:14. Howl, O ye ships of the sea, for your strength is laid waste.\n\n23:15. And it shall come to pass in that day that thou, O Tyre, shalt\nbe forgotten, seventy years, according to the days of one king:  but\nafter seventy years, there shall be unto Tyre as the song of a harlot.\n\n23:16. Take a harp, go about the city, harlot that hast been forgotten:\nsing well, sing many a song, that thou mayst be remembered.\n\n23:17. And it shall come to pass after seventy years, that the Lord\nwill visit Tyre, and will bring her back again to her traffic:  and she\nshall commit fornication again with all the kingdoms of the world upon\nthe face of the earth.\n\n23:18. And her merchandise and her hire shall be sanctified to the\nLord:  they shall not be kept in store, nor laid up:  for her merchandise\nshall be for them that shall dwell before the Lord, that they may eat\nunto fulness, and be clothed for a continuance.\n\nSanctified to the Lord. . .This alludes to the conversion of the\nGentiles.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 24\n\n\nThe judgments of God upon all the sinners of the world.  A remnant shall\njoyfully praise him.\n\n24:1. Behold the Lord shall lay waste the earth, and shall strip it,\nand shall afflict the face thereof, and scatter abroad the inhabitants\nthereof.\n\n24:2. And it shall be as with the people, so with the priest:  and as\nwith the servant so with his master:  as with the handmaid, so with her\nmistress:  as with the buyer, so with the seller:  as with the lender, so\nwith the borrower:  as with him that calleth for his money, so with him\nthat oweth.\n\n24:3. With desolation shall the earth be laid waste, and it shall be\nutterly spoiled:  for the Lord hath spoken this word.\n\n24:4. The earth mourned, and faded away, and is weakened:  the world\nfaded away, the height of the people of the earth is weakened.\n\n24:5. And the earth is infected by the inhabitants thereof:  because\nthey have transgressed the laws, they have changed the ordinance, they\nhave broken the everlasting covenant.\n\n24:6. Therefore shall a curse devour the earth, and the inhabitants\nthereof shall sin:  and therefore they that dwell therein shall be mad,\nand few men shall be left.\n\n24:7. The vintage hath mourned, the vine hath languished away, all the\nmerry have sighed.\n\n24:8. The mirth of timbrels hath ceased, the noise of them that rejoice\nis ended, the melody of the harp is silent.\n\n24:9. They shall not drink wine with a song:  the drink shall be bitter\nto them that drink it.\n\n24:10. The city of vanity is broken down, every house is shut up, no\nman cometh in.\n\n24:11. There shall be a crying for wine in the streets:  all mirth is\nforsaken:  the joy of the earth is gone away.\n\n24:12. Desolation is left in the city, and calamity shall oppress the\ngates.\n\n24:13. For it shall be thus in the midst of the earth, in the midst of\nthe people, as if a few olives, that remain, should be shaken out of\nthe olive tree:  or grapes, when the vintage is ended.\n\n24:14. These shall lift up their voice, and shall give praise:  when the\nLord shall be glorified, they shall make a joyful noise from the sea.\n\n24:15. Therefore glorify ye the Lord in instruction:  the name of the\nLord God of Israel in the islands of the sea.\n\n24:16. From the ends of the earth we have heard praises, the glory of\nthe just one.  And I said:  My secret to myself, my secret to myself, woe\nis me:  the prevaricators have prevaricated, and with the prevarication\nof transgressors they have prevaricated.\n\n24:17. Fear, and the pit, and the snare are upon thee, O thou\ninhabitant of the earth.\n\n24:18. And it shall come to pass, that he that shall flee from the\nnoise of the fear, shall fall into the pit:  and he that shall rid\nhimself out of the pit, shall be taken in the snare:  for the\nflood-gates from on high are opened, and the foundations of the earth\nshall be shaken.\n\n24:19. With breaking shall the earth be broken, with crushing shall the\nearth be crushed, with trembling shall the earth be moved.\n\n24:20. With shaking shall the earth be shaken as a drunken man, and\nshall be removed as the tent of one night:  and the iniquity thereof\nshall be heavy upon it, and it shall fall, and not rise again.\n\n24:21. And it shall come to pass, that in that day the Lord shall visit\nupon the host of heaven on high, and upon the kings of the earth, on\nthe earth.\n\nThe host of heaven on high. . .The stars, which in many places of the\nScripture are so called.  Some commentators explain that these words\nhere signify the demons of the air.\n\n24:22. And they shall be gathered together as in the gathering of one\nbundle into the pit, and they shall be shut up there in prison:  and\nafter many days they shall be visited.\n\n24:23. And the moon shall blush, and the sun shall be ashamed, when the\nLord of hosts shall reign in mount Sion, and in Jerusalem, and shall be\nglorified in the sight of his ancients.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 25\n\n\nA canticle of thanksgiving for God's judgments and benefits.\n\n25:1. O Lord, thou art my God, I will exalt O thee, and give glory to\nthy name:  for thou hast done wonderful things, thy designs of old\nfaithful, amen.\n\n25:2. For thou hast reduced the city to a heap, the strong city to\nruin, the house of strangers, to be no city, and to be no more built up\nfor ever.\n\n25:3. Therefore shall a strong people praise thee, the city of mighty\nnations shall fear thee.\n\n25:4. Because thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the\nneedy in his distress:  a refuge from the whirlwind, a shadow from the\nheat.  For the blast of the mighty is like a whirlwind beating against a\nwall.\n\n25:5. Thou shalt bring down the tumult of strangers, as heat in thirst:\nand as with heat under a burning cloud, thou shalt make the branch of\nthe mighty to wither away.\n\n25:6. And the Lord of hosts shall make unto all people in this\nmountain, a feast of fat things, a feast of wine, of fat things full of\nmarrow, of wine purified from the lees.\n\n25:7. And he shall destroy in this mountain the face of the bond with\nwhich all people were tied, and the web that he began over all nations.\n\n25:8. He shall cast death down headlong for ever:  and the Lord God\nshall wipe away tears from every face, and the reproach of his people\nhe shall take away from off the whole earth:  for the Lord hath spoken\nit.\n\n25:9. And they shall say in that day:  Lo, this is our God, we have\nwaited for him, and he will save us:  this is the Lord, we have\npatiently waited for him, we shall rejoice and be joyful in his\nsalvation.\n\n25:10. For the hand of the Lord shall rest in this mountain:  and Moab\nshall be trodden down under him, as straw is broken in pieces with the\nwain.\n\nMoab. . .That is, the reprobate, whose eternal punishment, from which\nthey can no way escape, is described under these figures.\n\n25:11. And he shall stretch forth his hands under him, as he that\nswimmeth stretcheth forth his hands to swim:  and he shall bring down\nhis glory with the dashing of his hands.\n\n25:12. And the bulwarks of thy high walls shall fall, and be brought\nlow, and shall be pulled down to the ground, even to the dust.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 26\n\n\nA canticle of thanks for the deliverance of God's people.\n\n26:1. In that day shall this canticle be sung in the land of Juda.  Sion\nthe city of our strength a saviour, a wall and a bulwark shall be set\ntherein.\n\n26:2. Open ye the gates, and let the just nation, that keepeth the\ntruth, enter in.\n\n26:3. The old error is passed away:  thou wilt keep peace:  peace,\nbecause we have hoped in thee.\n\n26:4. You have hoped in the Lord for evermore, in the Lord God mighty\nfor ever.\n\n26:5. For he shall bring down them that dwell on high, the high city he\nshall lay low.  He shall bring it down even to the ground, he shall pull\nit down even to the dust.\n\n26:6. The foot shall tread it down, the feet of the poor, the steps of\nthe needy.\n\n26:7. The way of the just is right, the path of the just is right to\nwalk in.\n\n26:8. And in the way of thy judgments, O Lord, we have patiently waited\nfor thee:  thy name, and thy remembrance are the desire of the soul.\n\n26:9. My soul hath desired thee in the night:  yea, and with my spirit\nwithin me in the morning early I will watch to thee.  When thou shalt do\nthy judgments on the earth, the inhabitants of the world shall learn\njustice.\n\n26:10. Let us have pity on the wicked, but he will not learn justice:\nin the land of the saints he hath done wicked things, and he shall not\nsee the glory of the Lord.\n\n26:11. Lord, let thy hand be exalted, and let them not see:  let the\nenvious people see, and be confounded:  and let fire devour thy enemies.\n\n26:12. Lord, thou wilt give us peace:  for thou hast wrought all our\nworks for us.\n\n26:13. O Lord our God, other lords besides thee have had dominion over\nus, only in thee let us remember thy name.\n\n26:14. Let not the dead live, let not the giants rise again:  therefore\nhast visited and destroyed them, and hast destroyed all their memory.\n\n26:15. Thou hast been favourable to the nation, O Lord, thou hast been\nfavourable to the nation:  art thou glorified?  thou hast removed all the\nends of the earth far off.\n\n26:16. Lord, they have sought after thee in distress, in the\ntribulation of murmuring thy instruction was with them.\n\n26:17. As a woman with child, when she draweth near the time of her\ndelivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs:  so are we become in\nthy presence, O Lord.\n\n26:18. We have conceived, and been as it were in labour, and have\nbrought forth wind:  we have not wrought salvation on the earth,\ntherefore the inhabitants of the earth have not fallen.\n\n26:19. Thy dead men shall live, my slain shall rise again:  awake, and\ngive praise, ye that dwell in the dust:  for thy dew is the dew of the\nlight:  and the land of the giants thou shalt pull down into ruin.\n\n26:20. Go, my people, enter into thy chambers, shut thy doors upon\nthee, hide thyself a little for a moment, until the indignation pass\naway.\n\n26:21. For behold the Lord will come out of his place, to visit the\niniquity of the inhabitant of the earth against him:  and the earth\nshall disclose her blood, and shall cover her slain no more.\n\nShall cover her slain no more. . .This is said with relation to the\nmartyrs, and their happy resurrection.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 27\n\n\nThe punishment of the oppressors of God's people.  The Lord's favour to\nhis church.\n\n27:1. In that day the Lord with his hard, and great, and strong sword\nshall visit leviathan the bar serpent, and leviathan the crooked\nserpent, and shall slay the whale that is in the sea.\n\nLeviathan. . .That is, the devil, the great enemy of the people of God.\nHe is called the bar serpent from his strength, and the crooked serpent\nfrom his wiles; and the whale of the sea, from the tyranny he exercises\nin the sea of this world.  He was spiritually slain by the death of\nChrist, when his power was destroyed.\n\n27:2. In that day there shall be singing to the vineyard of pure wine.\n\nThe vineyard, etc. . .The church of Christ.\n\n27:3. I am the Lord that keep it, I will suddenly give it drink:  lest\nany hurt come to it, I keep it night and day.\n\nI will suddenly give it drink. . .Or, as the Hebrew may also be\nrendered, I will continually water it.\n\n27:4. There is no indignation in me:  who shall make me a thorn and a\nbrier in battle:  shall I march against it, shall, I set it on fire\ntogether?\n\nNo indignation in me, etc. . .Viz., against the church:  nor shall I\nbecome as a thorn or brier in its regard; or march against it, or set\nit on fire:  but it shall always take fast hold of me, and keep an\neverlasting peace with me.\n\n27:5. Or rather shall it take hold of my strength, shall it make peace\nwith me, shall it make peace with me?\n\n27:6. When they shall rush in unto Jacob, Israel shall blossom and bud,\nand they shall fill the face of the world with seed.\n\nWhen they shall rush in, etc. . .Some understand this of the enemies of\nthe true Israel, that shall invade it in vain.  Others of the spiritual\ninvasion made by the apostles of Christ.\n\n27:7. Hath he struck him according to the stroke of him that struck\nhim?  or is he slain, as he killed them that were slain by him?\n\nHath he struck him, etc. . .Hath God punished the carnal persecuting\nJews, in proportion to their doings against Christ and his saints?\n\n27:8. In measure against measure, when it shall be cast off, thou shalt\njudge it.  He hath meditated with his severe spirit in the day of heat.\n\nWhen it shall be cast off, etc. . .When the synagogue shall be cast off,\nthou shalt judge it in measure, and in proportion to its crimes.--Ibid.\nHe hath meditated, etc. . .God hath designed severe punishments in the\nday of his wrath.\n\n27:9. Therefore upon this shall the iniquity of the house of Jacob be\nforgiven:  and this is all the fruit, that the sin thereof should be\ntaken away, when he shall have made all the stones of the altar, as\nburnt stones broken in pieces, the groves and temples shall not stand.\n\nOf the house of Jacob. . .Viz., of such of them as shall be converted.\n\n27:10. For the strong city shall be desolate, the beautiful city shall\nbe forsaken, and shall be left as a wilderness:  there the calf shall\nfeed, and there shall he lie down, and shall consume its branches.\n\nThe strong city. . .Jerusalem.\n\n27:11. Its harvest shall be destroyed with drought, women shall come\nand teach it:  for it is not a wise people, therefore he that made it,\nshall not have mercy on it:  and he that formed it, shall not spare it.\n\n27:12. And it shall come to pass, that in that day the Lord will strike\nfrom the channel of the river even to the torrent of Egypt, and you\nshall be gathered together one by one, O ye children of Israel.\n\n27:13. And it shall come to pass, that in that day a noise shall be\nmade with a great trumpet, and they that were lost, shall come from the\nland of the Assyrians, and they that were outcasts in the land of\nEgypt, and they shall adore the Lord in the holy mount in Jerusalem.\n\nA great trumpet. . .The preaching of the gospel for the conversion of\nthe Jews.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 28\n\n\nThe punishment of the Israelites, for their pride, intemperance, and\ncontempt of religion.  Christ the cornerstone.\n\n28:1. Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, and to\nthe fading flower the glory his joy, who were on the head of the fat\nvalley, staggering with wine.\n\nEphraim. . .That is, the kingdom of the ten tribes.--Ibid.  The head of\nthe fat valley. . .Samaria, situate on a hill, having under it a most\nfertile valley.\n\n28:2. Behold the Lord is mighty and strong, as a storm of hail:  a\ndestroying whirlwind, as the violence of many waters overflowing, and\nsent forth upon a spacious land.\n\n28:3. The crown of pride of the drunkards of Ephraim shall be trodden\nunder feet.\n\n28:4. And the fading tower the glory of his joy, who is on the head of\nthe fat valley, shall be as a hasty fruit before the ripeness of\nautumn:  which when he that seeth it shall behold, as soon he taketh it\nin his hand, he will eat it up.\n\n28:5. In that day the Lord of hosts shall be a crown of glory, and a\ngarland of joy to the residue of his people:\n\n28:6. And a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and\nstrength to them that return out of the battle to the gate.\n\n28:7. But these also have been ignorant through wine, and through\ndrunkenness have erred:  the priest and the prophet have been ignorant\nthrough drunkenness, they are swallowed up with wine, they have gone\nastray in drunkenness, they have not known him that seeth, they have\nbeen ignorant of judgment.\n\nThese also. . .The kingdom of Juda.\n\n28:8. For all the tables were full of vomit and filth, so that there\nwas no more place.\n\n28:9. Whom shall he teach knowledge?  and whom shall he make to\nunderstand the hearing?  them that are weaned from the milk, that are\ndrawn away from the breasts.\n\n28:10. For command, command again; command, command again; expect,\nexpect again; a little there, a little there.\n\nCommand, command again, etc. . .This is said in the person of the Jews,\nresisting the repeated commands of God, and still putting him off.\n\n28:11. For with the speech of lips, and with another tongue he will\nspeak to this people.\n\n28:12. To whom he said:  This is my rest, refresh the weary, and this is\nmy refreshing:  and they would not hear.\n\n28:13. And the word of the Lord shall be to them:  Command, command\nagain; command, command again; expect, expect again; a little there, a\nlittle there:  that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and\nsnared, and taken.\n\n28:14. Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, who rule\nover my people that is in Jerusalem.\n\n28:15. For you have said:  We have entered into a league with death, and\nwe have made a covenant with hell.  When the overflowing scourge shall\npass through, it shall not come upon us:  for we have placed our hope in\nlies, and by falsehood we are protected.\n\n28:16. Therefore thus saith the Lord God:  Behold I will lay a stone in\nthe foundations of Sion, a tried stone, a corner stone, a precious\nstone, founded in the foundation.  He that believeth, let him not\nhasten.\n\nA stone in the foundations. . .Viz., Christ.--Ibid.  Let him not hasten,\netc. . .Let him expect his coming with patience.\n\n28:17. And I will set judgment in weight, and justice in measure:  and\nhail shall overturn the hope of falsehood:  and waters shall overflow\nits protection.\n\n28:18. And your league with death shall be abolished, and your covenant\nwith hell shall not stand:  when the overflowing scourge shall pass, you\nshall be trodden down by it.\n\n28:19. Whensoever it shall pass through, it shall take you away:\nbecause in the morning early it shall pass through, in the day and in\nthe night, and vexation alone shall make you understand what you hear.\n\n28:20. For the bed is straitened, so that one must fall out, and a\nshort covering cannot cover both.\n\nThe bed is straitened, etc. . .It is too narrow to hold two:  God will\nhave the bed of our heart all to himself.\n\n28:21. For the Lord shall stand up as in the mountain of divisions:  he\nshall be angry as in the valley which is in Gabaon:  that he may do his\nwork, his strange work:  that he may perform his work, his work is\nstrange to him.\n\nAs in the mountain, etc. . .As the Lord fought against the Philistines\nin Baal Pharasim, 2 Kings 5., and against the Chanaanites, in the\nvalley of Gabaon, Jos. 10.\n\n28:22. And now do not mock, lest your bonds be tied strait.  For I have\nheard of the Lord the God of hosts a consumption and a cutting short\nupon all the earth.\n\n28:23. Give ear, and hear my voice, hearken, and hear my speech.\n\n28:24. Shall the ploughman plough all the day to sow, shall he open and\nharrow his ground?\n\n28:25. Will he not, when he hath made plain the surface thereof, sow\ngith, and scatter cummin, and put wheat in order, and barley, and\nmillet, and vetches in their bounds?\n\n28:26. For he will instruct him in judgment:  his God will teach him.\n\n28:27. For gith shall not be thrashed with saws, neither shall the cart\nwheel turn about upon cummin:  but gith shall be beaten out with a rod,\nand cumin with a staff.\n\n28:28. But breadcorn shall be broken small:  but the thrasher shall not\nthrash it for ever, neither shall the cart wheel hurt it, nor break it\nwith its teeth.\n\n28:29. This also is come forth from the Lord God of hosts, to make his\ncounsel wonderful, and magnify justice.\n\nThis also, etc. . .Such also is the proceeding of the Lord with his\nland, and the divers seeds he throws therein.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 29\n\n\nGod's heavy judgments upon Jerusalem, for their obstinacy:  with a\nprophecy of the conversion of the Gentiles.\n\n29:1. Woe to Ariel, to Ariel the city which David took:  year is added\nto year.  the solemnities are at an end.\n\nAriel. . .This word signifies, the lion of God, and here is taken for\nthe strong city of Jerusalem.\n\n29:2. And I will make a trench about Ariel, and it shall be in sorrow\nand mourning, and it shall be to me as Ariel.\n\n29:3. And I will make a circle round about thee, and I will cast up a\nrampart against thee, and raise up bulwarks to besiege thee.\n\n29:4. Thou shalt be brought down, thou shall speak out of the earth,\nand thy speech shall be heard out of the ground:  and thy voice shall be\nfrom the earth like that of the python, and out of the earth thy speech\nshall mutter.\n\n29:5. And the multitude of them that fan thee, shall be like small\ndust:  and as ashes passing away, the multitude of them that have\nprevailed against thee.\n\n29:6. And it shall be at an instant suddenly.  A visitation shall come\nfrom the Lord of hosts in thunder, and with earthquake, and with a\ngreat noise of whirlwind and tempest; and with the flame of devouring\nfire.\n\n29:7. And the multitude of all nations that have fought against Ariel,\nshall be as the dream of a vision by night, and all that have fought,\nand besieged and prevailed against it.\n\n29:8. And as he that is hungry dreameth, and eateth, but when he is\nawake, his soul is empty:  and as he that is thirsty dreameth, and\ndrinketh and after he is awake, is yet faint with thirst, and his soul\nis empty:  so shall be the multitude of all the Gentiles, that have\nfought against mount Sion.\n\n29:9. Be astonished, and wonder, waver, and stagger:  be drunk, and not\nwith wine:  stagger, and not with drunkenness.\n\n29:10. For the Lord hath mingled for you the spirit of a deep sleep, he\nwill shut up your eyes, he will cover your prophets and princes, that\nsee visions.\n\n29:11. And the vision of all shall be unto you as the words of a book\nthat is sealed which when they shall deliver to one that is learned,\nthey shall say:  Read this:  and he shall answer:  I cannot, for it is\nsealed.\n\n29:12. And the book shall be given to one that knoweth no letters, and\nit shall be said to him:  Read:  and he shall answer:  I know no letters.\n\n29:13. And the Lord said:  Forasmuch as this people draw near me with\ntheir mouth, and with their lips glorify me, but their heart is far\nfrom me, and they have feared me with the commandment and doctrines of\nmen:\n\n29:14. Therefore behold I will proceed to cause an admiration in this\npeople, by a great and wonderful miracle:  for wisdom shall perish from\ntheir wise men, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be\nhid.\n\n29:15. Woe to you that are deep of heart, to hide your counsel from the\nLord:  and their works are in the dark, and they say:  Who seeth us, and\nwho knoweth us?\n\n29:16. This thought of yours is perverse:  as if the clay should think\nagainst the potter, and the work should say to the maker thereof:  Thou\nmadest me not:  or the thing framed should say to him that fashioned it:\nThou understandest not.\n\n29:17. Is it not yet a very little while, and Libanus shall be turned\ninto charmel, and charmel shall be esteemed as a forest?\n\nCharmel. . .This word signifies a fruitful field.\n\n29:18. And in that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, and\nout of darkness and obscurity the eyes of the blind shall see.\n\n29:19. And the meek shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor\nmen shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.\n\n29:20. For he that did prevail hath failed, the scorner is consumed,\nand they are all cut off that watched for iniquity:\n\n29:21. That made men sin by word, and supplanted him that reproved them\nin the gate, and declined in vain from the just.\n\n29:22. Therefore thus saith the Lord to the house of Jacob, he that\nredeemed Abraham:  Jacob shall not now be confounded, neither shall his\ncountenance now be ashamed:\n\n29:23. But when he shall see his children, the work of my hands in the\nmidst of him sanctifying my name, and they shall sanctify the Holy One\nof Jacob, and shall glorify the God of Israel:\n\n29:24. And they that erred in spirit, shall know understanding, and\nthey that murmured, shall learn the law.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 30\n\n\nThe people are blamed for their confidence in Egypt.  God's mercies\ntowards his church.  The punishment of sinners.\n\n30:1. Woe to you, apostate children, saith the Lord, that you would\ntake counsel, and not of me:  and would begin a web, and not by my\nspirit, that you might add sin upon sin:\n\n30:2. Who walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth,\nhoping for help in the strength of Pharao, and trusting in the shadow\nof Egypt.\n\n30:3. And the strength of Pharao shall be to your confusion, and the\nconfidence of the shadow of Egypt to your shame.\n\n30:4. For thy princes were in Tanis, and thy messengers came even to\nHanes.\n\n30:5. They were all confounded at a people that could not profit them:\nthey were no help, nor to any profit, but to confusion and to reproach.\n\n30:6. The burden of the beasts of the south.  In a land of trouble and\ndistress, from whence come the lioness, and the lion, the viper and the\nflying basilisk, they carry their riches upon the shoulders of beasts,\nand their treasures upon the bunches of camels to a people that shall\nnot be able to profit them.\n\n30:7. For Egypt shall help in vain, and to no purpose:  therefore have I\ncried concerning this:  It is pride only, sit still.\n\n30:8. Now therefore go in and write for them upon box, and note it\ndiligently in a book, and it shall be in the latter days for a\ntestimony for ever.\n\n30:9. For it is a people that provoketh to wrath, and lying children\nthat will not hear the law of God.\n\n30:10. Who say to the seers:  See not:  and to them that behold:  Behold\nnot for us those things that are right:  speak unto us pleasant things,\nsee errors for us.\n\n30:11. Take away from me the way, turn away the path from me, let the\nHoly One of Israel cease from before us.\n\n30:12. Therefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel:  Because you have\nrejected this word, and have trusted in oppression and tumult, and have\nleaned upon it:\n\n30:13. Therefore shall this iniquity be to you as a breach that\nfalleth, and is found wanting in a high wall, for the destruction\nthereof shall come on a sudden, when it is not looked for.\n\n30:14. And it shall be broken small, as the potter's vessel is broken\nall to pieces with mighty breaking, and there shall not a sherd be\nfound of the pieces thereof, wherein a little fire may be carried from\nthe hearth, or a little water be drawn out of the pit.\n\n30:15. For thus saith the Lord God the Holy One of Israel:  If you\nreturn and be quiet, you shall be saved:  in silence and in hope shall\nyour strength be.  And you would not:\n\n30:16. But have said:  No, but we will flee to horses:  therefore shall\nyou flee.  And we will mount upon swift ones:  therefore shall they be\nswifter that shall pursue after you.\n\n30:17. A thousand men shall flee for fear of one:  and for fear of five\nshall you flee, till you be left as the mast of ship on the top of a\nmountain, and as an ensign upon a hill.\n\n30:18. Therefore the Lord waiteth that he may have mercy on you:  and\ntherefore shall he be exalted sparing you:  because the Lord is the God\nof judgment:  blessed are all they that wait for him.\n\n30:19. For the people of Sion shall dwell in Jerusalem:  weeping thou\nshalt not weep, he will surely have pity on thee:  at the voice of thy\ncry, as soon as he shall hear, he will answer thee.\n\n30:20. And the Lord will give you spare bread, and short water:  and\nwill not cause thy teacher to flee away from thee any more, and thy\neyes shall see thy teacher.\n\n30:21. And thy ears shall hear the word of one admonishing thee behind\nthy back:  This is the way, walk ye in it:  and go not aside neither to\nthe right hand, nor to the left.\n\n30:22. And thou shalt defile the plates of thy graven things of silver,\nand the garment of thy molten things of gold, and shalt cast them away\nas the uncleanness of a menstruous woman.  Thou shalt say to it:  Get\nthee hence.\n\n30:23. And rain shall be given to thy seed, wheresoever thou shalt sow\nin the land:  and the bread of the corn of the land shall be most\nplentiful, and fat.  The lamb in that day shall feed at large in thy\npossession:\n\n30:24. And thy oxen, and the ass colts that till the ground, shall eat\nmingled provender as it was winnowed in the floor.\n\n30:25. And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every\nelevated hill rivers of running waters in the day of the slaughter of\nmany, when the tower shall fall.\n\n30:26. And the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and\nthe light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days:  in\nthe day when the Lord shall bind up the wound of his people, and shall\nheal the stroke of their wound.\n\n30:27. Behold the name of the Lord cometh from afar, his wrath burneth,\nand is heavy to bear:  his lips are filled with indignation, and his\ntongue as a devouring fire.\n\n30:28. His breath as a torrent overflowing even to the midst of the\nneck, to destroy the nations unto nothing, and the bridle of error that\nwas in the jaws of the people.\n\n30:29. You shall have a song as in the night of the sanctified\nsolemnity, and joy of heart, as where one goeth with a pipe, to come\ninto the mountain of the Lord, to the Mighty One of Israel.\n\n30:30. And the Lord shall make the glory of his voice to be heard, and\nshall shew the terror of his arm, in the threatening of wrath, and the\nflame of devouring fire:  he shall crush to pieces with whirlwind, and\nhailstones.\n\n30:31. For at the voice of the Lord the Assyrian shall fear being\nstruck with the rod.\n\n30:32. And the passage of the rod shall be strongly grounded, which the\nLord shall make to rest upon him with timbrels and harps, and in great\nbattles he shall overthrow them.\n\n30:33. For Topheth is prepared from yesterday, prepared by the king,\ndeep, and wide.  The nourishment thereof is fire and much wood:  the\nbreath of the Lord as a torrent of brimstone kindling it.\n\nTopheth. . .It is the same as Gehenna, and is taken for hell.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 31\n\n\nThe folly of trusting to Egypt, and forgetting God.  He will fight for\nhis people against the Assyrians.\n\n31:1. Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help, trusting in horses,\nand putting their confidence in chariots, because they are many:  and in\nhorsemen, because they are very strong:  and have not trusted in the\nHoly One of Israel, and have not sought after the Lord.\n\n31:2. But he that is the wise one hath brought evil, and hath not\nremoved his words:  and he will rise up against the house of the wicked,\nand against the aid of them that work iniquity.\n\n31:3. Egypt is man, and not God:  and their horses, flesh, and not\nspirit:  and the Lord shall put down his hand, and the helper shall\nfall, and he that is helped shall fall, and they shall all be\nconfounded together.\n\n31:4. For thus saith the Lord to me:  Like as the lion roareth, and the\nlions whelp upon his prey, and when a multitude of shepherds shall come\nagainst him, he will not fear at their voice, nor be afraid of their\nmultitude:  so shall the Lord of hosts come down to fight upon mount\nSion, and upon the hill thereof.\n\n31:5. As birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts protect Jerusalem,\nprotecting and delivering, passing over and saving.\n\n31:6. Return as you had deeply revolted, O children of Israel.\n\n31:7. For in that day a man shall cast away his idols of silver, and\nhis idols of gold, which your hands have made for you to sin.\n\n31:8. And the Assyrian shall fall by the sword not of a man, and the\nsword not of a man shall devour him, and he shall flee not at the face\nof the sword, and his young men shall be tributaries.\n\n31:9. And his strength shall pass away with dread, and his princes\nfleeing shall be afraid:  the Lord hath said it, whose fire is in Sion,\nand his furnace in Jerusalem.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 32\n\n\nThe blessings of the reign of Christ.  The desolation of the Jews, and\nprosperity of the church of Christ.\n\n32:1. Behold a king shall reign in justice, and princes shall rule in\njudgment.\n\n32:2. And a man shall be as when one is hid from the wind, and hideth\nhimself from a storm, as rivers of waters in drought, and the shadow of\na rock that standeth out in a desert land.\n\n32:3. The eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them\nthat hear shall hearken diligently.\n\n32:4. And the heart of fools shall understand knowledge, and the tongue\nof stammerers shall speak readily and plain.\n\n32:5. The fool shall no more be called prince:  neither shall the\ndeceitful be called great:\n\n32:6. For the fool will speak foolish things, and his heart will work\niniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and speak to the Lord deceitfully, and\nto make empty the soul of the hungry, and take away drink from the\nthirsty.\n\n32:7. The vessels of the deceitful are most wicked:  for he hath framed\ndevices to destroy the meek, with lying words, when the poor man\nspeaketh judgment.\n\n32:8. But the prince will devise such things as are worthy of a prince,\nand he shall stand above the rulers.\n\n32:9. Rise up, ye rich women, and hear my voice:  ye confident\ndaughters, give ear to my speech.\n\n32:10. For after days and a year, you that are confident shall be\ntroubled:  for the vintage is at an end, the gathering shall come no\nmore.\n\n32:11. Be astonished, ye rich women, be troubled, ye confident ones:\nstrip you, and be confounded, gird your loins.\n\n32:12. Mourn for your breasts, for the delightful country, for the\nfruitful vineyard.\n\n32:13. Upon the land of my people shall thorns and briers come up:  how\nmuch more upon all the houses of joy, of the city that rejoiced?\n\n32:14. For the house is forsaken, the multitude of the city is left,\ndarkness and obscurity are come upon its dens for ever.  A joy of wild\nasses, the pastures of flocks.\n\n32:15. Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high:  and the desert\nshall be as a charmel, and charmel shall be counted for a forest.\n\n32:16. An judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and justice shall sit\nin charmel.\n\n32:17. And the work of justice shall be peace, and the service of\njustice quietness, and security for ever.\n\n32:18. And my people shall sit in the beauty of peace, and in the\ntabernacles of confidence, and in wealthy rest.\n\n32:19. But hail shall be in the descent of the forest, and the city\nshall be made very low.\n\n32:20. Blessed are ye that sow upon all waters, sending thither the\nfoot of the ox and the ass.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 33\n\n\nGod's revenge against the enemies of his church.  The happiness of the\nheavenly Jerusalem.\n\n33:1. Woe to thee that spoilest, shalt not thou thyself also be\nspoiled?  and thou that despisest, shalt not thyself also be despised?\nwhen thou shalt have made an end of spoiling, thou shalt be spoiled:\nwhen being wearied thou shalt cease to despise, thou shalt be despised.\n\nThat spoilest, etc. . .This is particularly directed to Sennacherib.\n\n33:2. O Lord, have mercy on us:  for we have waited for thee:  be thou\nour arm in the morning, and our salvation in the time of trouble.\n\n33:3. At the voice of the angel the people fled, and at the lifting up\nthyself the nations are scattered.\n\n33:4. And your spoils shall be gathered together as the locusts are\ngathered, as when the ditches are full of them.\n\n33:5. The Lord is magnified, for he hath dwelt on high:  he hath filled\nSion with judgment and justice.\n\n33:6. And there shall be faith in thy times:  riches of salvation,\nwisdom and knowledge:  the fear of the Lord is his treasure.\n\n33:7. Behold they that see shall cry without, the angels of peace shall\nweep bitterly.\n\nThe angels of peace. . .The messengers or deputies sent to negotiate a\npeace.\n\n33:8. The ways are made desolate, no one passeth by the road, the\ncovenant is made void, he hath rejected the cities, he hath not\nregarded the men.\n\n33:9. The land hath mourned, and languished:  Libanus is confounded, and\nbecome foul, and Saron is become as a desert:  and Basan and Carmel are\nshaken.\n\n33:10. Now will I rise up, saith the Lord:  now will I be exalted, now\nwill I lift up myself.\n\n33:11. You shall conceive heat, you shall bring forth stubble:  your\nbreath as fire shall devour you.\n\n33:12. And the people shall be as ashes after a fire, as a bundle of\nthorns they shall be burnt with fire.\n\n33:13. Hear, you that are far off, what I have done, and you that are\nnear know my strength.\n\n33:14. The sinners in Sion are afraid, trembling hath seized upon the\nhypocrites.  Which of you can dwell with devouring fire?  which of you\nshall dwell with everlasting burnings?\n\n33:15. He that walketh in justices, and speaketh truth, that casteth\naway avarice by oppression, and shaketh his hands from all bribes, that\nstoppeth his ears lest he hear blood, and shutteth his eyes that he may\nsee no evil.\n\n33:16. He shall dwell on high, the fortifications of rocks shall be his\nhighness:  bread is given him, his waters are sure.\n\n33:17. His eyes shall see the king in his beauty, they shall see the\nland far off.\n\n33:18. Thy heart shall meditate fear:  where is the learned?  where is he\nthat pondered the words of the law?  where is the teacher of little\nones?\n\n33:19. The shameless people thou shalt not see, the people of profound\nspeech:  so that thou canst not understand the eloquence of his tongue,\nin whom there is no wisdom.\n\n33:20. Look upon Sion the city of our solemnity:  thy eyes shall see\nJerusalem, a rich habitation, a tabernacle that cannot be removed:\nneither shall the nails thereof be taken away for ever, neither shall\nany of the cords thereof be broken.\n\n33:21. Because only there our Lord is magnificent:  a place of rivers,\nvery broad and spacious streams:  no ship with oars shall pass by it,\nneither shall the great galley pass through it.\n\nOf rivers. . .He speaks of the rivers of endless joys that flow from the\nthrone of God to water the heavenly Jerusalem, where no enemy's ship\ncan come, etc.\n\n33:22. For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is\nour king:  he will save us.\n\n33:23. Thy tacklings are loosed, and they shall be of no strength:  thy\nmast shall be in such condition, that thou shalt not be able to spread\nthe flag.  Then shall the spoils of much prey be divided:  the lame shall\ntake the spoil.\n\nThy tacklings. . .He speaks of the enemies of the church, under the\nallegory of a ship that is disabled.\n\n33:24. Neither shall he that is near, say:  I am feeble.  The people that\ndwell therein, shall have their iniquity taken away from them.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 34\n\n\nThe general judgment of the wicked.\n\n34:1. Come near, ye Gentiles, and hear, and hearken, ye people:  let the\nearth hear, and all that is therein, the world, and every thing that\ncometh forth of it.\n\n34:2. For the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and his fury\nupon all their armies:  he hath killed them, and delivered them to\nslaughter.\n\n34:3. Their slain shall be cast forth, and out of their carcasses shall\nrise a stink:  the mountains shall be melted with their blood.\n\n34:4. And all the host of the heavens shall pine away, and the heavens\nshall be folded together as a book:  and all their host shall fall down\nas the leaf falleth from the vine, and from the fig tree.\n\nAnd all the host of the heavens. . .That is, the sun, moon, and stars.\n\n34:5. For my sword is inebriated in heaven:  behold it shall come down\nupon Idumea, and upon the people of my slaughter unto judgment.\n\nIdumea. . .Under the name of Idumea, or Edom a people that were enemies\nof the Jews, are here understood the wicked in general, the enemies of\nGod and his church.\n\n34:6. The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, it is made thick with\nthe blood of lambs and buck goats, with the blood of rams full of\nmarrow:  for there is a victim of the Lord in Bosra and a great\nslaughter in the land of Edom.\n\n34:7. And the unicorns shall go down with them, and the bulls with the\nmighty:  their land shall be soaked with blood, and their ground with\nthe fat of fat ones.\n\nThe unicorns. . .That is, the great and mighty.\n\n34:8. For it is the day of the vengeance of the Lord, the year of\nrecompenses of the judgment of Sion.\n\nThe year of recompenses, etc. . .When the persecutors of Sion, that is,\nof the church, shall receive their reward.\n\n34:9. And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the\nground thereof into brimstone:  and the land thereof shall become\nburning pitch.\n\n34:10. Night and day it shall not be quenched, the smoke thereof shall\ngo up for ever:  from generation to generation it shall lie waste, none\nshall pass through it for ever and ever.\n\n34:11. The bittern and ericius shall possess it:  and the ibis and the\nraven shall dwell in it:  and a line shall be stretched out upon it, to\nbring it to nothing, and a plummet, unto desolation.\n\n34:12. The nobles thereof shall not be there:  they shall call rather\nupon the king, and all the princes thereof shall be nothing.\n\n34:13. And thorns and nettles shall grow up in its houses, and the\nthistle in the fortresses thereof:  and it shall be the habitation of\ndragons, and the pasture of ostriches.\n\n34:14. And demons and monsters shall meet, and the hairy ones shall cry\nout one to another, there hath the lamia lain down, and found rest for\nherself.\n\n34:15. There hath the ericius had its hole, and brought up its young\nones, and hath dug round about, and cherished them in the shadow\nthereof:  thither are the kites gathered together one to another.\n\n34:16. Search ye diligently in the book of the Lord, and read:  not one\nof them was wanting, one hath not sought for the other:  for that which\nproceedeth out of my mouth, he hath commanded, and his spirit it hath\ngathered them.\n\n34:17. And he hath cast the lot for them, and his hand hath divided it\nto them by line:  they shall possess it for ever, from generation to\ngeneration they shall dwell therein.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 35\n\n\nThe joyful flourishing of Christ's kingdom:  in his church shall be a\nholy and secure way.\n\n35:1. The land that was desolate and impassable shall be glad, and the\nwilderness shall rejoice, and shall flourish like the lily.\n\n35:2. It shall bud forth and blossom, and shall rejoice with joy and\npraise:  the glory of Libanus is given to it:  the beauty of Carmel, and\nSaron, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the beauty of our God.\n\n35:3. Strengthen ye the feeble hands, and confirm the weak knees.\n\n35:4. Say to the fainthearted:  Take courage, and fear not:  behold your\nGod will bring the revenge of recompense:  God himself will come and\nwill save you.\n\n35:5. Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the\ndeaf shall be unstopped.\n\n35:6. Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the\ndumb shall be free:  for waters are broken out in the desert, and\nstreams in the wilderness.\n\n35:7. And that which was dry land, shall become a pool, and the thirsty\nland springs of water.  In the dens where dragons dwelt before, shall\nrise up the verdure of the reed and the bulrush.\n\n35:8. And a path and a way shall be there, and it shall be called the\nholy way:  the unclean shall not pass over it, and this shall be unto\nyou a straight way, so that fools shall not err therein.\n\n35:9. No lion shall be there, nor shall any mischievous beast go up by\nit, nor be found there:  but they shall walk there that shall be\ndelivered.\n\n35:10. And the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and shall come into\nSion with praise, and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads:  they\nshall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 36\n\n\nSennacherib invades Juda:  his blasphemies.\n\n36:1. And it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Ezechias, that\nSennacherib king of the Assyrians came up against all the fenced cities\nof Juda, and took them.\n\n36:2. And the king of the Assyrians sent Rabsaces from Lachis to\nJerusalem, to king Ezechias with a great army, and he stood by the\nconduit of the upper pool in the way of the fuller's field.\n\n36:3. And there went out to him Eliacim the son of Helcias, who was\nover the house, and Sobna the scribe, and Joahe the son of Asaph the\nrecorder.\n\n36:4. And Rabsaces said to them:  Tell Ezechias:  Thus saith the great\nking, the king of the Assyrians:  What is this confidence wherein thou\ntrustest?\n\n36:5. Or with what counsel or strength dost thou prepare for war?  on\nwhom dost thou trust, that thou art revolted from me?\n\n36:6. Lo thou trustest upon this broken staff of a reed, upon Egypt:\nupon which if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it:  so\nis Pharao king of Egypt to all that trust in him.\n\n36:7. But if thou wilt answer me:  We trust in the Lord our God:  is it\nnot he whose high places and altars Ezechias hath taken away, and hath\nsaid to Juda and Jerusalem:  You shall worship before this altar?\n\n36:8. And now deliver thyself up to my lord the king of the Assyrians,\nand I will give thee two thousand horses, and thou wilt not be able on\nthy part to find riders for them.\n\n36:9. And how wilt thou stand against the face of the judge of one\nplace, of the least of my master's servants?  But if thou trust in\nEgypt, in chariots and in horsemen:\n\n36:10. And am I now come up without the Lord against this land to\ndestroy it?  The Lord said to me:  Go up against this land, and destroy\nit.\n\n36:11. And Eliacim, and Sobna, and Joahe said to Rabsaces:  Speak to thy\nservants in the Syrian tongue:  for we understand it:  speak not to us in\nthe Jews' language in the hearing of the people, that are upon the\nwall.\n\n36:12. And Rabsaces said to them:  Hath my master sent me to thy master\nand to thee, to speak all these words; and not rather to the men that\nsit on the wall; that they may eat their own dung, and drink their\nurine with you?\n\n36:13. Then Rabsaces stood, and cried out with a loud voice in the\nJews' language, and said:  Hear the words of the great king, the king of\nthe Assyrians.\n\n36:14. Thus saith the king:  Let not Ezechias deceive you, for he shall\nnot be able to deliver you.\n\n36:15. And let not Ezechias make you trust in the Lord, saying:  The\nLord will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be given into the\nhands of the king of the Assyrians.\n\n36:16. Do not hearken to Ezechias:  for thus said the king of the\nAssyrians:  Do with me that which is for your advantage, and come out to\nme, and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig tree,\nand drink ye every one the water of his cistern,\n\n36:17. Till I come and take you away to a land, like to your own, a\nland of corn and of wine, a land of bread and vineyards.\n\n36:18. Neither let Ezechias trouble you, saying:  The Lord will deliver\nus.  Have any of the gods of the nations delivered their land out of the\nhand of the king of the Assyrians?\n\n36:19. Where is the god of Emath and of Arphad?  where is the god of\nSepharvaim?  have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?\n\n36:20. Who is there among all the gods of these lands, that hath\ndelivered his country out of my hand, that the Lord may deliver\nJerusalem out of my hand?\n\n36:21. And they held their peace, and answered him not a word.  For the\nking had commanded, saying:  Answer him not.\n\n36:22. And Eliacim the son of Helcias, that was over the house, and\nSobna the scribe, and Joahe the son of Asaph the recorder, went in to\nEzechias with their garments rent, and told him the words of Rabsaces.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 37\n\n\nEzechias, his mourning and prayer.  God's promise of protection.  The\nAssyrian army is destroyed.  Sennacherib is slain.\n\n37:1. And it came to pass, when king Ezechias had heard it, that he\nrent his garments and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the\nhouse of the Lord.\n\n37:2. And he sent Eliacim who was over the house, and Sobna the scribe,\nand the ancients of the priests covered with sackcloth, to Isaias the\nson of Amos the prophet.\n\n37:3. And they said to him:  Thus saith Ezechias:  This day is a day of\ntribulation, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy:  for the children are come\nto the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.\n\n37:4. It may be the Lord thy God will hear the words of Rabsaces, whom\nthe king of the Assyrians his master hath sent to blaspheme the living\nGod, and to reproach with words which the Lord thy God hath heard:\nwherefore lift up by prayer for the remnant that is left.\n\n37:5. And the servants of Ezechias came to Isaias.\n\n37:6. And Isaias said to them:  Thus shall you say to your master:  Thus\nsaith the Lord:  Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, with\nwhich the servants of the king of the Assyrians have blasphemed me.\n\n37:7. Behold, I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a\nmessage, and shall return to his own country, and I will cause him to\nfall by the sword in his own country.\n\n37:8. And Rabsaces returned, and found the king of the Assyrians\nbesieging Lobna.  For he had heard that he was departed from Lachis.\n\n37:9. And he heard say about Tharaca the king of Ethiopia:  He is come\nforth to fight against thee.  And when he heard it, he sent messengers\nto Ezechias, saying:\n\n37:10. Thus shall you speak to Ezechias the king of Juda, saying:  Let\nnot thy God deceive thee, in whom thou trustest, saying:  Jerusalem\nshall not be given into the hands of the king of the Assyrians.\n\n37:11. Behold thou hast heard all that the kings of the Assyrians have\ndone to all countries which they have destroyed, and canst thou be\ndelivered?\n\n37:12. Have the gods of the nations delivered them whom my fathers have\ndestroyed, Gozam, and Haram, and Reseph, and the children of Eden, that\nwere in Thalassar?\n\n37:13. Where is the king of Emath, and the king of Arphad, and the king\nof the city of Sepharvaim, of Ana, and of Ava?\n\n37:14. And Ezechias took the letter from the hand of the messengers,\nand read it, and went up to the house of the Lord, and Ezechias spread\nit before the Lord.\n\n37:15. And Ezechias prayed to the Lord, saying:\n\n37:16. Lord of hosts, God of Israel who sitteth upon the cherubims,\nthou alone art the God of all the kingdoms of the earth, thou hast made\nheaven and earth.\n\n37:17. Incline, O Lord, thy ear, and hear:  open, O Lord, thy eyes, and\nsee, and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he hath sent to\nblaspheme the living God.\n\n37:18. For of a truth, O Lord, the kings of the Assyrians have laid\nwaste lands, and their countries.\n\n37:19. And they have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not\ngods, but the works of men's hands, of wood and stone:  and they broke\nthem in pieces.\n\n37:20. And now, O Lord our God, save us out of his hand:  and let all\nthe kingdoms of the earth know, that thou only art the Lord.\n\n37:21. And Isaias the son of Amos sent to Ezechias, saying:  Thus saith\nthe Lord the God of Israel:  For the prayer thou hast made to me\nconcerning Sennacherib the king of the Assyrians:\n\n37:22. This is the word which the Lord hath spoken of him:  The virgin\nthe daughter of Sion hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn:  the\ndaughter of Jerusalem hath wagged the head after thee.\n\n37:23. Whom hast thou reproached, and whom hast thou blasphemed, and\nagainst whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thy eyes on\nhigh?  Against the Holy One of Israel.\n\n37:24. By the hand of thy servants thou hast reproached the Lord:  and\nhast said:  With the multitude of my chariots I have gone up to the\nheight of the mountains, to the top of Libanus:  and I will cut down its\ntall cedars, and its choice fir trees, and will enter to the top of its\nheight, to the forest of its Carmel.\n\nCarmel. . .See these figurative expressions explained in the annotations\non the nineteenth chapter of the fourth book of Kings.\n\n37:25. I have digged, and drunk water, and have dried up with the sole\nof my foot, all the rivers shut up in banks.\n\n37:26. Hast thou not heard what I have done to him of old?  from the\ndays of old I have formed it:  and now I have brought it to effect:  and\nit hath come to pass that hills fighting together, and fenced cities\nshould be destroyed.\n\n37:27. The inhabitants of them were weak of hand, they trembled, and\nwere confounded:  they became like the grass of the field, and the herb\nof the pasture, and like the grass of the housetops, which withered\nbefore it was ripe.\n\n37:28. I know thy dwelling, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and\nthy rage against me.\n\n37:29. When thou wast mad against me, thy pride came up to my ears:\ntherefore I will put a ring in thy nose, and a bit between thy lips,\nand I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.\n\n37:30. But to thee this shall be a sign:  Eat this year the things that\nspring of themselves, and in the second year eat fruits:  but in the\nthird year sow and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of\nthem.\n\n37:31. And that which shall be saved of the house of Juda, and which is\nleft, shall take root downward, and shall bear fruit upward:\n\n37:32. For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and salvation\nfrom mount Sion:  the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this.\n\n37:33. Wherefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of the\nAssyrians:  He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow into\nit, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a trench about it.\n\n37:34. By the way that he came, he shall return, and into this city he\nshall not come, saith the Lord.\n\n37:35. And I will protect this city, and will save it for my own sake,\nand for the sake of David my servant.\n\n37:36. And the angel of the Lord went out and slew in the camp of the\nAssyrians a hundred and eighty-five thousand.  And they arose in the\nmorning, and behold they were all dead corpses.\n\n37:37. And Sennacherib the king of the Assyrians went out and departed,\nand returned, and dwelt in Ninive.\n\n37:38. And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the temple of\nNesroch his god, that Adramelech and Sarasar his sons slew him with the\nsword:  and they fled into the land of Ararat, and Asarhaddon his son\nreigned in his stead.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 38\n\n\nEzechias being advertised that he shall die, obtains by prayer a\nprolongation of his life:  in confirmation of which the sun goes back.\nThe canticle of Ezechias.\n\n38:1. In those days Ezechias was sick even to death, and Isaias the son\nof Amos the prophet cane unto him, and said to him:  Thus saith the\nLord:  Take order with thy house, for thou shalt die, and not live.\n\n38:2. And Ezechias turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the\nLord,\n\n38:3. And said:  I beseech thee, O Lord, remember how I have walked\nbefore thee in truth, and with a perfect heart, and have done that\nwhich is good in thy sight.  And Ezechias wept with great weeping.\n\n38:4. And the word of the Lord came to Isaias, saying:\n\n38:5. Go and say to Ezechias:  Thus saith the Lord the God of David thy\nfather:  I have heard thy prayer, and I have seen thy tears:  behold I\nwill add to thy days fifteen years:\n\n38:6. And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king\nof the Assyrians, and I will protect it.\n\n38:7. And this shall be a sign to thee from the Lord, that the Lord\nwill do this word which he hath spoken:\n\n38:8. Behold I will bring again the shadow of the lines, by which it is\nnow gone down in the sun dial of Achaz with the sun, ten lines\nbackward.  And the sun returned ten lines by the degrees by which it was\ngone down.\n\n38:9. The writing of Ezechias king of Juda, when he had been sick, and\nwas recovered of his sickness.\n\n38:10. I said:  In the midst of my days I shall go to the gates of hell:\nI sought for the residue of my years.\n\nHell. . .Sheol, or Hades, the region of the dead.\n\n38:11. I said:  I shall not see the Lord God in the land of the living.\nI shall behold man no more, nor the inhabitant of rest.\n\n38:12. My generation is at an end, and it is rolled away from me, as a\nshepherd's tent.  My life is cut off, as by a weaver:  whilst I was yet\nbut beginning, he cut me off:  from morning even to night thou wilt make\nan end of me.\n\n38:13. I hoped till morning, as a lion so hath he broken all my bones:\nfrom morning even to night thou wilt make an end of me.\n\n38:14. I will cry like a young swallow, I will meditate like a dove:  my\neyes are weakened looking upward:  Lord, I suffer violence, answer thou\nfor me.\n\n38:15. What shall I say, or what shall he answer for me, whereas he\nhimself hath done it?  I will recount to thee all my years in the\nbitterness of my soul.\n\n38:16. O Lord, if man's life be such, and the life of my spirit be in\nsuch things as these, thou shalt correct me, and make me to live.\n\n38:17. Behold in peace is my bitterness most bitter:  but thou hast\ndelivered my soul that it should not perish, thou hast cast all my sins\nbehind thy back.\n\n38:18. For hell shall not confess to thee, neither shall death praise\nthee:  nor shall they that go down into the pit, look for thy truth.\n\n38:19. The living, the living, he shall give praise to thee, as I do\nthis day:  the father shall make the truth known to the children.\n\n38:20. O Lord, save me, and we will sing our psalms all the days of our\nlife in the house of the Lord.\n\n38:21. Now Isaias had ordered that they should take a lump of figs, and\nlay it as a plaster upon the wound, and that he should be healed.\n\n38:22. And Ezechias had said:  What shall be the sign that I shall go up\nto the house of the Lord?\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 39\n\n\nEzechias shews all his treasures to the ambassadors of Babylon:  upon\nwhich Isaias foretells the Babylonish captivity.\n\n39:1. At that time Merodach Baladan, the son of Baladan king of\nBabylon, sent letters and presents to Ezechias:  for he had heard that\nhe had been sick and was recovered.\n\n39:2. And Ezechias rejoiced at their coming, and he shewed them the\nstorehouses of his aromatical spices, and of the silver, and of the\ngold, and of the sweet odours, and of the precious ointment, and all\nthe storehouses of his furniture, and all things that were found in his\ntreasures.  There was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion that\nEzechias shewed them not.\n\n39:3. Then Isaias the prophet came to king Ezechias, and said to him:\nWhat said these men, and from whence came they to thee?  And Ezechias\nsaid:  From a far country they came to me, from Babylon.\n\n39:4. And he said:  What saw they in thy house?  And Ezechias said:  All\nthings that are in my house have they seen, there was not any thing\nwhich I have not shewn them in my treasures.\n\n39:5. And Isaias said to Ezechias:  Hear the word of the Lord of hosts.\n\n39:6. Behold the days shall come that all that is in thy house, and\nthat thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried\naway into Babylon:  there shall not any thing be left, saith the Lord.\n\n39:7. And of thy children, that shall issue from thee, whom thou shalt\nbeget, they shall take away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of\nthe king of Babylon.\n\n39:8. And Ezechias said to Isaias:  The word of the Lord, which he hath\nspoken, is good.  And he said:  Only let peace and truth be in my days.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 40\n\n\nThe prophet comforts the people with the promise of the coming of\nChrist to forgive their sins.  God's almighty power and majesty.\n\n40:1. Be comforted, be comforted, my people, saith your God.\n\n40:2. Speak ye to the heart of Jerusalem, and call to her:  for her evil\nis come to an end, her iniquity is forgiven:  she hath received of the\nhand of the Lord double for all her sins.\n\n40:3. The voice of one crying in the desert:  Prepare ye the way of the\nLord, make straight in the wilderness the paths of our God.\n\n40:4. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall\nbe made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough ways\nplain.\n\n40:5. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh\ntogether shall see, that the mouth of the Lord hath spoken.\n\n40:6. The voice of one, saying:  Cry.  And I said:  What shall I cry?\nAll flesh is grass, and all the glory thereof as the flower of the field.\n\n40:7. The grass is withered, and the flower is fallen, because the\nspirit of the Lord hath blown upon it.  Indeed the people is grass:\n\n40:8. The grass is withered, and the flower is fallen:  but the word of\nour Lord endureth for ever.\n\n40:9. Get thee up upon a high mountain, thou that bringest good tidings\nto Sion:  lift up thy voice with strength, thou that bringest good\ntidings to Jerusalem:  lift it up, fear not.  Say to the cities of Juda:\nBehold your God:\n\n40:10. Behold the Lord God shall come with strength, and his arm shall\nrule:  Behold his reward is with him and his work is before him.\n\n40:11. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd:  he shall gather\ntogether the lambs with his arm, and shall take them up in his bosom,\nand he himself shall carry them that are with young.\n\n40:12. Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and\nweighed the heavens with his palm?  who hath poised with three fingers\nthe bulk of the earth, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the\nhills in a balance?\n\n40:13. Who hath forwarded the spirit of the Lord?  or who hath been his\ncounsellor, and hath taught him?\n\n40:14. With whom hath he consulted, and who hath instructed him, and\ntaught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and shewed\nhim the way of understanding?\n\n40:15. Behold the Gentiles are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted\nas the smallest grain of a balance:  behold the islands are as a little\ndust.\n\n40:16. And Libanus shall not be enough to burn, nor the beasts thereof\nsufficient for a burnt offering.\n\n40:17. All nations are before him as if they had no being at all, and\nare counted to him as nothing, and vanity.\n\n40:18. To whom then have you likened God?  or what image will you make\nfor him?\n\n40:19. Hath the workman cast a graven statue?  or hath the goldsmith\nformed it with gold, or the silversmith with plates of silver?\n\n40:20. He hath chosen strong wood, and that will not rot:  the skilful\nworkman seeketh how he may set up an idol that may not be moved.\n\n40:21. Do you not know?  hath it not been heard?  hath it not been told\nyou from the beginning?  have you not understood the foundations of the\nearth?\n\n40:22. It is he that sitteth upon the globe of the earth, and the\ninhabitants thereof are as locusts:  he that stretcheth out the heavens\nas nothing, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in.\n\n40:23. He that bringeth the searchers of secrets to nothing, that hath\nmade the judges of the earth as vanity.\n\n40:24. And surely their stock was neither planted, nor sown, nor rooted\nin the earth:  suddenly he hath blown upon them, and they are withered,\nand a whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.\n\n40:25. And to whom have ye likened me, or made me equal, saith the Holy\nOne?\n\n40:26. Lift up your eyes on high, and see who hath created these\nthings:  who bringeth out their host by number, and calleth them all by\ntheir names:  by the greatness of his might, and strength, and power,\nnot one of them was missing.\n\n40:27. Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel:  My way is hid\nfrom the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God?\n\n40:28. Knowest thou not, or hast thou not heard?  the Lord is the\neverlasting God, who hath created the ends of the earth:  he shall not\nfaint, nor labour, neither is there any searching out of his wisdom.\n\n40:29. It is he that giveth strength to the weary, and increaseth force\nand might to them that are not.\n\n40:30. You shall faint, and labour, and young men shall fall by\ninfirmity.\n\n40:31. But they that hope in the Lord shall renew their strength, they\nshall take wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall\nwalk and not faint.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 41\n\n\nThe reign of the just one:  the vanity of idols.\n\n41:1. Let the islands keep silence before me, and the nations take new\nstrength:  let them come near, and then speak, let us come near to\njudgment together.\n\n41:2. Who hath raised up the just one from the east, hath called him to\nfollow him?  he shall give the nations in his sight, and he shall rule\nover kings:  he shall give them as the dust to his sword, as stubble\ndriven by the wind, to his bow.\n\n41:3. He shall pursue them, he shall pass in peace, no path shall\nappear after his feet.\n\n41:4. Who hath wrought and done these things, calling the generations\nfrom the beginning?  I the Lord, I am the first and the last.\n\n41:5. The islands saw it, and feared, the ends of the earth were\nastonished, they drew near, and came.\n\n41:6. Every one shall help his neighbour, and shall say to his brother:\nBe of good courage.\n\n41:7. The coppersmith striking with the hammer encouraged him that\nforged at that time, saying:  It is ready for soldering:  and he\nstrengthened it with nails, that it should not be moved.\n\n41:8. But thou Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the\nseed of Abraham my friend:\n\n41:9. In whom I have taken thee from the ends of the earth, and from\nthe remote parts thereof have called thee, and said to thee:  Thou art\nmy servant, I have chosen thee, and have not cast thee away.\n\n41:10. Fear not, for I am with thee:  turn not aside, for I am thy God:\nI have strengthened thee, and have helped thee, and the right hand of\nmy just one hath upheld thee.\n\n41:11. Behold all that fight against thee shall be confounded and\nashamed, they shall be as nothing, and the men shall perish that strive\nagainst thee.\n\n41:12. Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find the men that resist\nthee:  they shall be as nothing:  and as a thing consumed the men that\nwar against thee.\n\n41:13. For I am the Lord thy God, who take thee by the hand, and say to\nthee:  Fear not, I have helped thee.\n\n41:14. Fear not, thou worm of Jacob, you that are dead of Israel:  I\nhave helped thee, saith the Lord:  and thy Redeemer the Holy One of\nIsrael.\n\n41:15. I have made thee as a new thrashing wain, with teeth like a saw:\nthou shalt thrash the mountains, and break them in pieces:  and shalt\nmake the hills as chaff.\n\n41:16. Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the\nwhirlwind shall scatter them:  and thou shalt rejoice in the Lord, in\nthe Holy One of Israel thou shalt be joyful.\n\n41:17. The needy and the poor seek for waters, and there are none:\ntheir tongue hath been dry with thirst.  I the Lord will hear them, I\nthe God of Israel will not forsake them.\n\n41:18. I will open rivers in the high hills, and fountains in the midst\nof the plains:  I will turn the desert into pools of waters, and the\nimpassable land into streams of waters.\n\n41:19. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, and the thorn, and the\nmyrtle, and the olive tree:  I will set in the desert the fir tree, the\nelm, and the box tree together:\n\nThe thorn. . .In Hebrew, the shitta, or setim, a tree resembling the\nwhite thorn.\n\n41:20. That they may see and know, and consider, and understand\ntogether that the hand of the Lord hath done this, and the Holy One of\nIsrael hath created it.\n\n41:21. Bring your cause near, saith the Lord:  bring hither, if you have\nany thing to allege, saith the King of Jacob.\n\n41:22. Let them come, and tell us all things that are to come:  tell us\nthe former things what they were:  and we will set our heart upon them\nand shall know the latter end of them, and tell us the things that are\nto come.\n\n41:23. Shew the things that are to come hereafter, and we shall know\nthat ye are gods.  Do ye also good or evil, if you can:  and let us\nspeak, and see together.\n\n41:24. Behold, you are of nothing, and your work of that which hath no\nbeing:  he that hath chosen you is an abomination.\n\n41:25. I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come from the\nrising of the sun:  he shall call upon my name, and he shall make\nprinces to be as dirt, and as the potter treading clay.\n\n41:26. Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know:  and from\ntime of old, that we may say:  Thou art just.  There is none that\nsheweth, nor that foretelleth, nor that heareth your words.\n\n41:27. The first shall say to Sion:  Behold they are here, and to\nJerusalem I will give an evangelist.\n\n41:28. And I saw, and there was no one even among them to consult, or\nwho, when I asked, could answer a word.\n\n41:29. Behold they are all in the wrong, and their works are vain:\ntheir idols are wind and vanity.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 42\n\n\nThe office of Christ.  The preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles.  The\nblindness and reprobation of the Jews.\n\n42:1. Behold my servant, I will uphold him:  my elect, my soul\ndelighteth in him:  I have given my spirit upon him, he shall bring\nforth judgment to the Gentiles.\n\nMy servant. . .Christ, who according to his humanity, is the servant of\nGod.\n\n42:2. He shall not cry, nor have respect to person, neither shall his\nvoice be heard abroad.\n\n42:3. The bruised reed he shall not break, and smoking flax he shall\nnot quench, he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.\n\n42:4. He shall not be sad, nor troublesome, till he set judgment in the\nearth, and the islands shall wait for his law.\n\n42:5. Thus saith the Lord God that created the heavens, and stretched\nthem out:  that established the earth, and the things that spring out of\nit:  that giveth breath to the people upon it, and spirit to them that\ntread thereon.\n\n42:6. I the Lord have called thee in justice, and taken thee by the\nhand, and preserved thee.  And I have given thee for a covenant of the\npeople, for a light of the Gentiles:\n\n42:7. That thou mightest open the eyes of the blind, and bring forth\nthe prisoner out of prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the\nprison house.\n\n42:8. I the Lord, this is my name:  I will not give my glory to another,\nnor my praise to graven things.\n\n42:9. The things that were first, behold they are come:  and new things\ndo I declare:  before they spring forth, I will make you hear them.\n\n42:10. Sing ye to the Lord a new song, his praise is from the ends of\nthe earth:  you that go down to the sea, and all that are therein:  ye\nislands, and ye inhabitants of them.\n\n42:11. Let the desert and the cities thereof be exalted:  Cedar shall\ndwell in houses:  ye inhabitants of Petra, give praise, they shall cry\nfrom the top of the mountains.\n\nPetra. . .A city that gives name to Arabia Petraea.\n\n42:12. They shall give glory to the Lord, and shall declare his praise\nin the islands.\n\n42:13. The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, as a man of war shall\nhe stir up zeal:  he shall shout and cry:  he shall prevail against his\nenemies.\n\n42:14. I have always held my peace, I have kept silence, I have been\npatient, I will speak now as a woman in labour:  I will destroy, and\nswallow up at once.\n\n42:15. I will lay waste the mountains and hills, and will make all\ntheir grass to wither:  and I will turn rivers into islands, and will\ndry up the standing pools.\n\n42:16. And I will lead the blind into the way which they know not:  and\nin the paths which they were ignorant of I will make them walk:  I will\nmake darkness light before them, and crooked things straight:  these\nthings have I done to them, and have not forsaken them.\n\n42:17. They are turned back:  let them be greatly confounded, that trust\nin a graven thing, that say to a molten thing:  You are our god.\n\n42:18. Hear, ye deaf, and, ye blind, behold that you may see.\n\n42:19. Who is blind, but my servant?  or deaf, but he to whom I have\nsent my messengers?  Who is blind, but he that is sold?  or who is blind,\nbut the servant of the Lord?\n\n42:20. Thou that seest many things, wilt thou not observe them?  thou\nthat hast ears open, wilt thou not hear?\n\n42:21. And the Lord was willing to sanctify him, and to magnify the\nlaw, and exalt it.\n\n42:22. But this is a people that is robbed and wasted:  they are all the\nsnare of young men, and they are hid in the houses of prisons:  they are\nmade a prey, and there is none to deliver them:  a spoil, and there is\nnone that saith:  Restore.\n\n42:23. Who is there among you that will give ear to this, that will\nattend and hearken for times to come?\n\n42:24. Who hath given Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to robbers?  hath\nnot the Lord himself, against whom we have sinned?  And they would not\nwalk in his ways, and they have not hearkened to his law.\n\n42:25. And he hath poured out upon him the indignation of his fury, and\na strong battle, and hath burnt him round about, and he knew not:  and\nset him on fire, and he understood not.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 43\n\n\nGod comforts his church, promising to protect her for ever:  he\nexpostulates with the Jews for their ingratitude.\n\n43:1. And now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and\nformed thee, O Israel:  Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, and called\nthee by thy name:  thou art mine.\n\n43:2. When thou shalt pass through the waters, I will be with thee, and\nthe rivers shall not cover thee:  when thou shalt walk in the fire, thou\nshalt not be burnt, and the flames shall not burn in thee:\n\n43:3. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour:  I\nhave given Egypt for thy atonement, Ethiopia and Saba for thee.\n\n43:4. Since thou becamest honourable in my eyes, thou art glorious:  I\nhave loved thee, and I will give men for thee, and people for thy life.\n\n43:5. Fear not, for I am with thee:  I will bring thy seed from the\neast, and gather thee from the west.\n\n43:6. I will say to the north:  Give up:  and to the south:  Keep not\nback:  bring my sons from afar, and my daughters from the ends of the\nearth.\n\n43:7. And every one that calleth upon my name, I have created him for\nmy glory.  I have formed him, and made him.\n\n43:8. Bring forth the people that are blind, and have eyes:  that are\ndeaf, and have ears.\n\n43:9. All the nations are assembled together, and the tribes are\ngathered:  who among you can declare this, and shall make us hear the\nformer things?  let them bring forth their witnesses, let them be\njustified, and hear, and say:  It is truth.\n\n43:10. You are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have\nchosen:  that you may know, and believe me, and understand that I myself\nam.  Before me there was no God formed, and after me there shall be\nnone.\n\n43:11. I am, I am the Lord:  and there is no saviour besides me.\n\n43:12. I have declared, and have saved.  I have made it heard, and there\nwas no strange one among you.  You are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and\nI am God.\n\n43:13. And from the beginning I am the same, and there is none that can\ndeliver out of my hind:  I will work, and who shall turn it away?\n\n43:14. Thus saith the Lord your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:  For\nyour sake I sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their bars, and\nthe Chaldeans glorying in their ships.\n\n43:15. I am the Lord your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.\n\n43:16. Thus saith the Lord, who made a way in the sea, and a path in\nthe mighty waters.\n\n43:17. Who brought forth the chariot and the horse, the army and the\nstrong:  they lay down to sleep together, and they shall not rise again:\nthey are broken as flax, and are extinct.\n\n43:18. Remember not former things, and look not on things of old.\n\n43:19. Behold I do new things, and now they shall spring forth, verily\nyou shall know them:  I will make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in\nthe desert.\n\n43:20. The beast of the field shall glorify me, the dragons and the\nostriches:  because I have given waters in the wilderness, rivers in the\ndesert, to give drink to my people, to my chosen.\n\n43:21. This people have I formed for myself, they shall shew forth my\npraise.\n\n43:22. But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob, neither hast thou\nlaboured about me, O Israel.\n\n43:23. Thou hast not offered me the ram of thy holocaust, nor hast thou\nglorified me with thy victims:  I have not caused thee to serve with\noblations, nor wearied thee with incense.\n\n43:24. Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou\nfilled me with the fat of thy victims.  But thou hast made me to serve\nwith thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thy iniquities.\n\n43:25. I am, I am he that blot out thy iniquities for my own sake, and\nI will not remember thy sins.\n\n43:26. Put me in remembrance, and let us plead together:  tell if thou\nhast any thing to justify thyself.\n\n43:27. Thy first father sinned, and thy teachers have transgressed\nagainst me.\n\n43:28. And I have profaned the holy princes, I have given Jacob to\nslaughter, and Israel to reproach.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 44\n\n\nGod's favour to his church.  The folly of idolatry.  The people shall be\ndelivered from captivity.\n\n44:1. And now hear, O Jacob, my servant, and Israel whom I have chosen.\n\n44:2. Thus saith the Lord that made and formed thee, thy helper from\nthe womb:  Fear not, O my servant Jacob, and thou most righteous whom I\nhave chosen.\n\n44:3. For I will pour out waters upon the thirsty ground, and streams\nupon the dry land:  I will pour out my spirit upon thy seed, and my\nblessing upon thy stock.\n\n44:4. And they shall spring up among the herbs, as willows beside the\nrunning waters.\n\n44:5. One shall say:  I am the Lord's, and another shall call himself by\nthe name of Jacob, and another shall subscribe with his hand, To the\nLord, and surname himself by the name of Israel.\n\n44:6. Thus saith the Lord the king of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord\nof hosts:  I am the first, and I am the last, and besides me there is no\nGod.\n\n44:7. Who is like to me?  let him call and declare:  and let him set\nbefore me the order, since I appointed the ancient people:  and the\nthings to come, and that shall be hereafter, let them shew unto them.\n\n44:8. Fear ye not, neither be ye troubled from that time I have made\nthee to hear, and have declared:  you are my witnesses.  Is there a God\nbesides me, a maker, whom I have not known?\n\n44:9. The makers of idols are all of them nothing, and their best\nbeloved things shall not profit them.  They are their witnesses, that\nthey do not see, nor understand, that they may be ashamed.\n\n44:10. Who hath formed a god, and made a graven thing that is\nprofitable for nothing?\n\n44:11. Behold, all the partakers thereof shall be confounded:  for the\nmakers are men:  they shall all assemble together, they shall stand and\nfear, and shall be confounded together.\n\n44:12. The smith hath wrought with his file, with coals, and with\nhammers he hath formed it, and hath wrought with the strength of his\narm:  he shall hunger and faint, he shall drink no water, and shall be\nweary.\n\n44:13. The carpenter hath stretched out his rule, he hath formed it\nwith a plane:  he hath made it with corners, and hath fashioned it round\nwith the compass:  and he hath made the image of a man as it were a\nbeautiful man dwelling in a house.\n\n44:14. He hath cut down cedars, taken the holm, and the oak that stood\namong the trees of the forest:  he hath planted the pine tree, which the\nrain hath nourished.\n\n44:15. And it hath served men for fuel:  he took thereof, and warmed\nhimself:  and he kindled it, and baked bread:  but of the rest he made a\ngod, and adored it:  he made a graven thing, and bowed down before it.\n\n44:16. Part of it he burnt with fire, and with part of it he dressed\nhis meat:  he boiled pottage, and was filled, and was warmed, and said:\nAha, I am warm, I have seen the fire.\n\n44:17. But the residue thereof he made a god, and a graven thing for\nhimself:  he boweth down before it, and adoreth it, and prayeth unto it,\nsaying:  Deliver me, for thou art my God.\n\n44:18. They have not known, nor understood:  for their eyes are covered\nthat they may not see, and that they may not understand with their\nheart.\n\n44:19. They do not consider in their mind, nor know, nor have the\nthought to say:  I have burnt part of it in the fire, and I have baked\nbread upon the coals thereof:  I have broiled flesh and have eaten, and\nof the residue thereof shall I make an idol?  shall I fall down before\nthe stock of a tree?\n\n44:20. Part thereof is ashes:  his foolish heart adoreth it, and he will\nnot save his soul, nor say:  Perhaps there is a lie in my right hand.\n\n44:21. Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for thou art my\nservant.  I have formed thee, thou art my servant, O Israel, forget me\nnot.\n\n44:22. I have blotted out thy iniquities as a cloud, and thy sins as a\nmist:  return to me, for I have redeemed thee.\n\n44:23. Give praise, O ye heavens, for the Lord hath shewn mercy:  shout\nwith joy, ye ends of the earth:  ye mountains, resound with praise,\nthou, O forest, and every tree therein:  for the Lord hath redeemed\nJacob, and Israel shall be glorified.\n\n44:24. Thus saith the Lord thy redeemer, and thy maker, from the womb:\nI am the Lord, that make all things, that alone stretch out the\nheavens, that established the earth, and there is none with me.\n\n44:25. That make void the tokens of diviners, and make the soothsayers\nmad.  That turn the wise backward, and that make their knowledge\nfoolish.\n\n44:26. That raise up the word of my servant and perform the counsel of\nmy messengers, who say to Jerusalem:  Thou shalt be inhabited:  and to\nthe cities of Juda:  You shall be built, and I will raise up the wastes\nthereof.\n\n44:27. Who say to the deep:  Be thou desolate, and I will dry up thy\nrivers.\n\n44:28. Who say to Cyrus:  Thou art my shepherd, and thou shalt perform\nall my pleasure.  Who say to Jerusalem:  Thou shalt be built:  and to the\ntemple:  Thy foundations shall be laid.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 45\n\n\nA prophecy of Cyrus, as a figure of Christ, the great deliverer of\nGod's people.\n\n45:1. Thus saith the Lord to my anointed Cyrus, whose right hand I have\ntaken hold of, to subdue nations before his face, and to turn the backs\nof kings, and to open the doors before him, and the gates shall not be\nshut.\n\n45:2. I will go before thee, and will humble the great ones of the\nearth:  I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and will burst the\nbars of iron.\n\n45:3. And I will give thee hidden treasures, and the concealed riches\nof secret places:  that thou mayest know that I am the Lord who call\nthee by thy name, the God of Israel.\n\n45:4. For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my elect, I have\neven called thee by thy name:  I have made a likeness of thee, and thou\nhast not known me.\n\n45:5. I am the Lord, and there is none else:  there is no God besides\nme:  I girded thee, and thou hast not known me:\n\n45:6. That they may know who are from the rising of the sun, and they\nwho are from the west, that there is none besides me.  I am the Lord,\nand there is none else:\n\n45:7. I form the light, and create darkness, I make peace, and create\nevil:  I the Lord that do all these things.\n\nCreate evil, etc. . .The evils of afflictions and punishments, but not\nthe evil of sin.\n\n45:8. Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain\nthe just:  let the earth be opened, and bud forth a saviour:  and let\njustice spring up together:  I the Lord have created him.\n\n45:9. Woe to him that gainsayeth his maker, a sherd of the earthen\npots:  shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it:  What art thou\nmaking, and thy work is without hands?\n\n45:10. Woe to him that saith to his father:  Why begettest thou?  and to\nthe woman:  Why dost thou bring forth?\n\n45:11. Thus saith the Lord the Holy One of Israel, his maker:  Ask me of\nthings to come, concerning my children, and concerning the work of my\nhands give ye charge to me.\n\n45:12. I made the earth:  and I created man upon it:  my hand stretched\nforth the heavens, and I have commanded all their host.\n\n45:13. I have raised him up to justice, and I will direct all his ways:\nhe shall build my city, and let go my captives, not for ransom, nor for\npresents, saith the Lord the God of hosts.\n\n45:14. Thus saith the Lord:  The labour of Egypt, and the merchandise of\nEthiopia, and of Sabaim, men of stature shall come over to thee, and\nshall be thine:  they shall walk after thee, they shall go bound with\nmanacles:  and they shall worship thee, and shall make supplication to\nthee:  only in thee is God, and there is no God besides thee.\n\n45:15. Verily thou art a hidden God, the God of Israel the saviour.\n\n45:16. They are all confounded and ashamed:  the forgers of errors are\ngone together into confusion.\n\n45:17. Israel is saved in the Lord with an eternal salvation:  you shall\nnot be confounded, and you shall not be ashamed for ever and ever.\n\n45:18. For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens, God himself\nthat formed the earth, and made it, the very maker thereof:  he did not\ncreate it in vain:  he formed it to be inhabited.  I am the Lord, and\nthere is no other.\n\n45:19. I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth:  I\nhave not said to the seed of Jacob:  Seek me in vain.  I am the Lord that\nspeak justice, that declare right things.\n\n45:20. Assemble yourselves, and come, and draw near together, ye that\nare saved of the Gentiles:  they have no knowledge that set up the wood\nof their graven work, and pray to a god that cannot save.\n\n45:21. Tell ye, and come, and consult together:  who hath declared this\nfrom the beginning, who hath foretold this from that time?  Have not I\nthe Lord, and there is no God else besides me?  A just God and a\nsaviour, there is none besides me.\n\n45:22. Be converted to me, and you shall be saved, all ye ends of the\nearth:  for I am God, and there is no other.\n\n45:23. I have sworn by myself, the word of justice shall go out of my\nmouth, and shall not return:\n\n45:24. For every knee shall be bowed to me, and every tongue shall\nswear.\n\n45:25. Therefore shall he say:  In the Lord are my justices and empire:\nthey shall come to him, and all that resist him shall be confounded.\n\n45:26. In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified and\npraised.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 46\n\n\nThe idols of Babylon shall be destroyed.  Salvation is promised through\nChrist.\n\n46:1. Bel is broken, Nebo is destroyed:  their idols are put upon beasts\nand cattle, your burdens of heavy weight even unto weariness.\n\n46:2. They are consumed, and are broken together:  they could not save\nhim that carried them, and they themselves shall go into captivity.\n\n46:3. Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house\nof Israel who are carried by my bowels, are borne up by my womb.\n\n46:4. Even to your old age I am the same, and to your grey hairs I will\ncarry you:  I have made you, and I will bear:  I will carry and will\nsave.\n\n46:5. To whom have you likened me, and made me equal, and compared me,\nand made me like?\n\n46:6. You that contribute gold out of the bag, and weigh out silver in\nthe scales:  and hire a goldsmith to make a god:  and they fall down and\nworship.\n\n46:7. They bear him on their shoulders and carry him, and set him in\nhis place, and he shall stand, and shall not stir out of his place.\nYea, when they shall cry also unto him, he shall not hear:  he shall not\nsave them from tribulation.\n\n46:8. Remember this, and be ashamed:  return, ye transgressors, to the\nheart.\n\n46:9. Remember the former age, for I am God, and there is no God\nbeside, neither is there the like to me:\n\n46:10. Who shew from the beginning the things that shall be at last,\nand from ancient times the things that as yet are not done, saying:  My\ncounsel shall stand, and all my will shall be done:\n\n46:11. Who call a bird from the east, and from a far country the man of\nmy own will, and I have spoken, and will bring it to pass:  I have\ncreated, and I will do it.  Hear me, O ye hardhearted, who are far from\njustice.\n\n46:12. I have brought my justice near, it shall not be afar off:  and my\nsalvation shall not tarry.  I will give salvation in Sion, and my glory\nin Israel.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 47\n\n\nGod's judgment upon Babylon.\n\n47:1. Come down, sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on\nthe ground:  there is no throne for the daughter of the Chaldeans, for\nthou shalt no more be called delicate and tender.\n\n47:2. Take a millstone and grind meal:  uncover thy shame, strip thy\nshoulder, make bare thy legs, pass over the rivers.\n\n47:3. Thy nakedness shall be discovered, and thy shame shall be seen:  I\nwill take vengeance, and no man shall resist me.\n\n47:4. Our redeemer, the Lord of hosts is his name, the Holy One of\nIsrael.\n\n47:5. Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the\nChaldeans:  for thou shalt no more be called the lady of kingdoms.\n\n47:6. I was angry with my people, I have polluted my inheritance, and\nhave given them into thy hand:  thou hast shewn no mercy to them:  upon\nthe ancient thou hast laid thy yoke exceeding heavy.\n\n47:7. And thou hast said:  I shall be a lady for ever:  thou hast not\nlaid these things to thy heart, neither hast thou remembered thy latter\nend.\n\n47:8. And now hear these things, thou that art delicate, and dwellest\nconfidently, that sayest in thy heart:  I am, and there is none else\nbesides me:  I shall not sit as a widow, and I shall not know\nbarrenness.\n\n47:9. These two things shall come upon thee suddenly in one day,\nbarrenness and widowhood.  All things are come upon thee, because of the\nmultitude of thy sorceries, and for the great hardness of thy\nenchanters.\n\n47:10. And thou hast trusted in thy wickedness, and hast said:  There is\nnone that seeth me.  Thy wisdom, and, thy knowledge, this hath deceived\nthee.  And thou hast said in thy heart:  I am, and besides me there is no\nother.\n\n47:11. Evil shall come upon thee, and thou shalt not know the rising\nthereof:  and calamity shall fall violently upon thee, which thou canst\nnot keep off:  misery shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt\nnot know.\n\n47:12. Stand now with thy enchanters, and with the multitude of thy\nsorceries, in which thou hast laboured from thy youth, if so be it may\nprofit thee any thing, or if thou mayst become stronger.\n\n47:13. Thou hast failed in the multitude of thy counsels:  let now the\nastrologers stand and save thee, they that gazed at the stars, and\ncounted the months, that from them they might tell the things that\nshall come to thee.\n\n47:14. Behold they are as stubble, fire hath burnt them, they shall not\ndeliver themselves from the power of the flames:  there are no coals\nwherewith they may be warmed, nor fire, that they may sit thereat.\n\n47:15. Such are all the things become to thee, in which thou hast\nlaboured:  thy merchants from thy youth, every one hath erred in his own\nway, there is none that can save thee.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 48\n\n\nHe reproaches the Jews for their obstinacy:  he will deliver them out of\ntheir captivity, for his own name's sake.\n\n48:1. Hear ye these things, O house of Jacob, you that are called by\nthe name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Juda, you\nwho swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of\nIsrael, but not in truth, nor in justice.\n\n48:2. For they are called of the holy city, and are established upon\nthe God of Israel:  the Lord of hosts is his name.\n\n48:3. The former things of old, I have declared, and they went forth\nout of my mouth, and I have made them to be heard:  I did them suddenly\nand they came to pass.\n\n48:4. For I knew that thou art stubborn, and thy neck is as an iron\nsinew, and thy forehead as brass.\n\n48:5. I foretold thee of old, before they came to pass I told thee,\nlest thou shouldst say:  My idols have done these things, and my graven\nand molten things have commanded them.\n\n48:6. See now all the things which thou hast heard:  but have you\ndeclared them?  I have shewn thee new things from that time, and things\nare kept which thou knowest not:\n\n48:7. They are created now, and not of old:  and before the day, when\nthou heardest them not, lest thou shouldst say:  Behold I knew them.\n\n48:8. Thou hast neither heard, nor known, neither was thy ear opened of\nold.  For I know that transgressing thou wilt transgress, and I have\ncalled thee a transgressor from the womb.\n\n48:9. For my name's sake I will remove my wrath far off:  and for my\npraise I will bridle thee, lest thou shouldst perish.\n\n48:10. Behold I have refined thee, but not as silver, I have chosen\nthee in the furnace of poverty.\n\n48:11. For my own sake, for my own sake will I do it, that I may not be\nblasphemed:  and I will not give my glory to another.\n\n48:12. Hearken to me, O Jacob, and thou Israel whom I call:  I am he, I\nam the first, and I am the last.\n\n48:13. My hand also hath founded the earth, and my right hand hath\nmeasured the heavens:  I shall call them, and they shall stand together.\n\n48:14. Assemble yourselves together, all you, and hear:  who among them\nhath declared these things?  the Lord hath loved him, he will do his\npleasure in Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans.\n\n48:15. I, even I have spoken and called him:  I have brought him, and\nhis way is made prosperous.\n\n48:16. Come ye near unto me, and hear this:  I have not spoken in secret\nfrom the beginning:  from the time before it was done, I was there, and\nnow the Lord God hath sent me, and his spirit.\n\n48:17. Thus saith the Lord thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:  I am\nthe Lord thy God that teach thee profitable things, that govern thee in\nthe way that thou walkest.\n\n48:18. O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments:  thy peace had\nbeen as a river, and thy justice as the waves of the sea,\n\n48:19. And thy seed had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy\nbowels like the gravel thereof:  his name should not have perished, nor\nhave been destroyed from before my face.\n\n48:20. Come forth out of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, declare\nit with the voice of joy:  make this to be heard, and speak it out even\nto the ends of the earth.  Say:  The Lord hath redeemed his servant\nJacob.\n\n48:21. They thirsted not in the desert, when he led them out:  he\nbrought forth water out of the rock for them, and he clove the rock,\nand the waters gushed out.\n\n48:22. There is no peace to the wicked, saith the Lord.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 49\n\n\nChrist shall bring the Gentiles to salvation.  God's love to his church\nis perpetual.\n\n49:1. Give ear, ye islands, and hearken, ye people from afar.  The Lord\nhath called me from the womb, from the bowels of my mother he hath been\nmindful of my name.\n\n49:2. And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword:  in the shadow of\nhis hand he hath protected me, and hath made me as a chosen arrow:  in\nhis quiver he hath hidden me.\n\n49:3. And he said to me:  Thou art my servant Israel, for in thee will I\nglory.\n\n49:4. And I said:  I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength\nwithout cause and in vain:  therefore my judgment is with the Lord, and\nmy work with my God.\n\n49:5. And now saith the Lord, that formed me from the womb to be his\nservant, that I may bring back Jacob unto him, and Israel will not be\ngathered together:  and I am glorified in the eyes of the Lord, and my\nGod is made my strength.\n\n49:6. And he said:  It is a small thing that thou shouldst be my servant\nto raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to convert the dregs of Israel.\nBehold, I have given thee to be the light of the Gentiles, that thou\nmayst be my salvation even to the farthest part of the earth.\n\n49:7. Thus saith the Lord the redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, to the\nsoul that is despised, to the nation that is abhorred, to the servant\nof rulers:  Kings shall see, and princes shall rise up, and adore for\nthe Lord's sake, because he is faithful, and for the Holy One of\nIsrael, who hath chosen thee.\n\n49:8. Thus saith the Lord:  In an acceptable time I have heard thee, and\nin the day of salvation I have helped thee:  and I have preserved thee,\nand given thee to be a covenant of the people, that thou mightest raise\nup the earth, and possess the inheritances that were destroyed:\n\n49:9. That thou mightest say to them that are bound:  Come forth:  and to\nthem that are in darkness:  Shew yourselves.  They shall feed in the\nways, and their pastures shall be in every plain.\n\n49:10. They shall not hunger, nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor\nthe sun strike them:  for he that is merciful to them, shall be their\nshepherd, and at the fountains of waters he shall give them drink.\n\n49:11. And I will make all my mountains a way, and my paths shall be\nexalted.\n\n49:12. Behold these shall come from afar, and behold these from the\nnorth and from the sea, and these from the south country.\n\n49:13. Give praise, O ye heavens, and rejoice, O earth, ye mountains,\ngive praise with jubilation:  because the Lord hath comforted his\npeople, and will have mercy on his poor ones.\n\n49:14. And Sion said:  The Lord hath forsaken me, and the Lord hath\nforgotten me.\n\n49:15. Can a woman forget her infant, so as not to have pity on the son\nof her womb?  and if she should forget, yet will not I forget thee.\n\n49:16. Behold, I have graven thee in my hands:  thy walls are always\nbefore my eyes.\n\n49:17. Thy builders are come:  they that destroy thee and make thee\nwaste shall go out of thee.\n\n49:18. Lift up thy eyes round about, and see all these are gathered\ntogether, they are come to thee:  I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt be\nclothed with all these as with an ornament, and as a bride thou shalt\nput them about thee.\n\n49:19. For thy deserts, and thy desolate places, and the land of thy\ndestruction shall now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and\nthey that swallowed thee up shall be chased far away.\n\n49:20. The children of thy barrenness shall still say in thy ears:  The\nplace is too strait for me, make me room to dwell in.\n\n49:21. And thou shalt say in thy heart:  Who hath begotten these?  I was\nbarren and brought not forth, led away, and captive:  and who hath\nbrought up these?  I was destitute and alone:  and these, where were\nthey?\n\n49:22. Thus saith the Lord God:  Behold I will lift up my hand to the\nGentiles, and will set up my standard to the people.  And they shall\nbring thy sons in their arms, and carry thy daughters upon their\nshoulders.\n\n49:23. And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and queens thy nurses:\nthey shall worship thee with their face toward the earth, and they\nshall lick up the dust of thy feet.  And thou shalt know that I am the\nLord, for they shall not be confounded that wait for him.\n\n49:24. Shall the prey be taken from the strong?  or can that which was\ntaken by the mighty, be delivered?\n\n49:25. For thus saith the Lord:  Yea verily, even the captivity shall be\ntaken away from the strong:  and that which was taken by the mighty,\nshall be delivered.  But I will judge those that have judged thee, and\nthy children I will save.\n\n49:26. And I will feed thy enemies with their own flesh:  and they shall\nbe made drunk with their own blood, as with new wine:  and all flesh\nshall know, that I am the Lord that save thee, and thy Redeemer the\nMighty One of Jacob.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 50\n\n\nThe synagogue shall be divorced for her iniquities.  Christ for her sake\nwill endure ignominious afflictions.\n\n50:1. Thus saith the Lord:  What is this bill of the divorce of your\nmother, with which I have put her away?  or who is my creditor, to whom\nI sold you:  behold you are sold for your iniquities, and for your\nwicked deeds have I put your mother away.\n\n50:2. Because I came, and there was not a man:  I called, and there was\nnone that would hear.  Is my hand shortened and become little, that I\ncannot redeem?  or is there no strength in me to deliver?  Behold at my\nrebuke I will make the sea a desert, I will turn the rivers into dry\nland:  the fishes shall rot for want of water, and shall die for thirst.\n\n50:3. I will clothe the heavens with darkness, and will make sackcloth\ntheir covering.\n\n50:4. The Lord hath given me a learned tongue, that I should know how\nto uphold by word him that is weary:  he wakeneth in the morning, in the\nmorning he wakeneth my ear, that I may hear him as a master.\n\n50:5. The Lord God hath opened my ear, and I do not resist:  I have not\ngone back.\n\n50:6. I have given my body to the strikers, and my cheeks to them that\nplucked them:  I have not turned away my face from them that rebuked me,\nand spit upon me.\n\n50:7. The Lord God is my helper, therefore am I not confounded:\ntherefore have I set my face as a most hard rock, and I know that I\nshall not be confounded.\n\n50:8. He is near that justifieth me, who will contend with me?  let us\nstand together, who is my adversary?  let him come near to me.\n\n50:9. Behold the Lord God is my helper:  who is he that shall condemn\nme?  Lo, they shall all be destroyed as a garment, the moth shall eat\nthem up.\n\n50:10. Who is there among you that feareth the Lord, that heareth the\nvoice of his servant, that hath walked in darkness, and hath no light?\nlet him hope in the name of the Lord, and lean upon his God.\n\n50:11. Behold all you that kindle a fire, encompassed with flames, walk\nin the light of your fire, and in the flames which you have kindled:\nthis is done to you by my hand, you shall sleep in sorrows.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 51\n\n\nAn exhortation to trust in Christ.  He shall protect the children of his\nchurch.\n\n51:1. Give ear to me, you that follow that which is just, and you that\nseek the Lord:  look unto the rock whence you are hewn, and to the hole\nof the pit from which you are dug out.\n\n51:2. Look unto Abraham your father, and to Sara that bore you:  for I\ncalled him alone, and blessed him, and multiplied him.\n\n51:3. The Lord therefore will comfort Sion, and will comfort all the\nruins thereof:  and he will make her desert as a place of pleasure, and\nher wilderness as the garden of the Lord.  Joy and gladness shall be\nfound therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of praise.\n\n51:4. Hearken unto me, O my people, and give ear to me, O my tribes:\nfor a law shall go forth from me, and my judgment shall rest to be a\nlight of the nations.\n\n51:5. My just one is near at hand, my saviour is gone forth, and my\narms shall judge the people:  the islands shall look for me, and shall\npatiently wait for my arm.\n\n51:6. Lift up your eyes to heaven, and look down to the earth beneath:\nfor the heavens shall vanish like smoke, and the earth shall be worn\naway like a garment, and the inhabitants thereof shall perish in like\nmanner:  but my salvation shall be for ever, and my justice shall not\nfail.\n\n51:7. Hearken to me, you that know what is just, my people who have my\nlaw in your heart:  fear ye not the reproach of men, and be not afraid\nof their blasphemies.\n\n51:8. For the worm shall eat them up as a garment:  and the moth shall\nconsume them as wool:  but my salvation shall be for ever, and my\njustice from generation to generation.\n\n51:9. Arise, arise, put on strength, O thou arm of the Lord, arise as\nin the days of old, in the ancient generations.  Hast not thou struck\nthe proud one, and wounded the dragon?\n\n51:10. Hast not thou dried up the sea, the water of the mighty deep,\nwho madest the depth of the sea a way, that the delivered might pass\nover?\n\n51:11. And now they that are redeemed by the Lord, shall return, and\nshall come into Sion singing praises, and joy everlasting shall be upon\ntheir heads, they shall obtain joy and gladness, sorrow and mourning\nshall flee away.\n\n51:12. I myself will comfort you:  who art thou, that thou shouldst be\nafraid of a mortal man, and of the son of man, who shall wither away\nlike grass?\n\n51:13. And thou hast forgotten the Lord thy maker, who stretched out\nthe heavens, and founded the earth:  and thou hast been afraid\ncontinually all the day at the presence of his fury who afflicted thee,\nand had prepared himself to destroy thee:  where is now the fury of the\noppressor?\n\n51:14. He shall quickly come that is going to open unto you, and he\nshall not kill unto utter destruction, neither shall his bread fail.\n\n51:15. But I am the Lord thy God, who trouble the sea, and the waves\nthereof swell:  the Lord of hosts is my name.\n\n51:16. I have put my words in thy mouth, and have protected thee in the\nshadow of my hand, that thou mightest plant the heavens, and found the\nearth:  and mightest say to Sion:  Thou art my people.\n\n51:17. Arise, arise, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the\nhand of the Lord the cup of his wrath; thou hast drunk even to the\nbottom of the cup of dead sleep, and thou hast drunk even to the dregs.\n\n51:18. There is none that can uphold her among all the children that\nshe hath brought forth:  and there is none that taketh her by the hand\namong all the children that she hath brought up.\n\n51:19. There are two things that have happened to thee:  who shall be\nsorry for thee?  desolation, and destruction, and the famine, and the\nsword, who shall comfort thee?\n\n51:20. Thy children are cast forth, they have slept at the head of all\nthe ways, and the wild ox that is snared:  full of the indignation of\nthe Lord, of the rebuke of thy God.\n\n51:21. Therefore hear this, thou poor little one, and thou that art\ndrunk but not with wine.\n\n51:22. Thus saith thy Sovereign the Lord, and thy God, who will fight\nfor his people:  Behold I have taken out of thy hand the cup of dead\nsleep, the dregs of the cup of my indignation, thou shalt not drink it\nagain any more.\n\n51:23. And I will put it in the hand of them that have oppressed thee,\nand have said to thy soul:  Bow down, that we may go over:  and thou hast\nlaid thy body as the ground, and as a way to them that went over.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 52\n\n\nUnder the figure of the deliverance from the Babylonish captivity, the\nchurch is invited to rejoice for her redemption from sin.  Christ's\nkingdom shall be exalted.\n\n52:1. Arise, arise, put on thy strength, O Sion, put on the garments of\nthy glory, O Jerusalem, the city of the Holy One:  for henceforth the\nuncircumcised, and unclean shall no more pass through thee.\n\n52:2. Shake thyself from the dust, arise, sit up, O Jerusalem:  loose\nthe bonds from off thy neck, O captive daughter of Sion.\n\n52:3. For thus saith the Lord:  You were sold gratis, and you shall be\nredeemed, without money.\n\n52:4. For thus saith the Lord God:  My people went down into Egypt at\nthe beginning to sojourn there:  and the Assyrian hath oppressed them\nwithout any cause at all.\n\n52:5. And now what have I here, saith the Lord:  for my people is taken\naway gratis.  They that rule over them treat them unjustly, saith the\nLord, and my name is continually blasphemed all the day long.\n\n52:6. Therefore my people shall know my name in that day:  for I myself\nthat spoke, behold I am here.\n\n52:7. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that\nbringeth good tidings, and that preacheth peace:  of him that sheweth\nforth good, that preacheth salvation, that saith to Sion:  Thy God shall\nreign!\n\n52:8. The voice of thy watchmen:  they have lifted up their voice, they\nshall praise together:  for they shall see eye to eye when the Lord\nshall convert Sion.\n\n52:9. Rejoice, and give praise together, O ye deserts of Jerusalem:  for\nthe Lord hath comforted his people:  he hath redeemed Jerusalem.\n\n52:10. The Lord hath prepared his holy arm in the sight of all the\nGentiles:  and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our\nGod.\n\n52:11. Depart, depart, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing:\ngo out of the midst of her, be ye clean, you that carry the vessels of\nthe Lord.\n\n52:12. For you shall not go out in a tumult, neither shall you make\nhaste by flight:  for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel\nwill gather you together.\n\n52:13. Behold my servant shall understand, he shall be exalted, and\nextolled, and shall be exceeding high.\n\n52:14. As many have been astonished at thee, so shall his visage be\ninglorious among men, and his form among the sons of men.\n\n52:15. He shall sprinkle many nations, kings shall shut their mouth at\nhim:  for they to whom it was not told of him, have seen:  and they that\nheard not, have beheld.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 53\n\n\nA prophecy of the passion of Christ.\n\n53:1. Who a hath believed our report?  and to whom is the arm of the\nLord revealed?\n\n53:2. And he shall grow up as a tender plant before him, and as a root\nout of a thirsty ground:  there is no beauty in him, nor comeliness:  and\nwe have seen him, and there was no sightliness, that we should be\ndesirous of him:\n\n53:3. Despised, and the most abject of men, a man of sorrows, and\nacquainted with infirmity:  and his look was as it were hidden and\ndespised, whereupon we esteemed him not.\n\n53:4. Surely he hath borne our infirmities and carried our sorrows:  and\nwe have thought him as it were a leper, and as one struck by God and\nafflicted.\n\n53:5. But he was wounded for our iniquities, he was bruised for our\nsins:  the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his bruises we\nare healed.\n\n53:6. All we like sheep have gone astray, every one hath turned aside\ninto his own way:  and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.\n\n53:7. He was offered because it was his own will, and he opened not his\nmouth:  he shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter, and shall be dumb\nas a lamb before his shearer, and he shall not open his mouth.\n\n53:8. He was taken away from distress, and from judgment:  who shall\ndeclare his generation?  because he is cut off out of the land of the\nliving:  for the wickedness of my people have I struck him.\n\n53:9. And he shall give the ungodly for his burial, and the rich for\nhis death:  because he hath done no iniquity, neither was there deceit\nin his mouth.\n\n53:10. And the Lord was pleased to bruise him in infirmity:  if he shall\nlay down his life for sin, he shall see a longlived seed, and the will\nof the Lord shall be prosperous in his hand.\n\n53:11. Because his soul hath laboured, he shall see and be filled:  by\nhis knowledge shall this my just servant justify many, and he shall\nbear their iniquities.\n\n53:12. Therefore will I distribute to him very many, and he shall\ndivide the spoils of the strong, because he hath delivered his soul\nunto death, and was reputed with the wicked:  and he hath borne the sins\nof many, and hath prayed for the transgressors.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 54\n\n\nThe Gentiles, who were barren before, shall multiply in the church of\nChrist:  from which God's mercy shall never depart.\n\n54:1. Give praise, O thou barren, that bearest not:  sing forth praise,\nand make a joyful noise, thou that didst not travail with child:  for\nmany are the children of the desolate, more than of her that hath a\nhusband, saith the Lord.\n\n54:2. Enlarge the place of thy tent, and stretch out the skins of thy\ntabernacles, spare not:  lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes.\n\n54:3. For thou shalt pass on to the right hand, and to the left:  and\nthy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and shall inhabit the desolate\ncities.\n\n54:4. Fear not, for thou shalt not be confounded, nor blush:  for thou\nshalt not be put to shame, because thou shalt forget the shame of thy\nyouth, and shalt remember no more the reproach of thy widowhood.\n\n54:5. For he that made thee shall rule over thee, the Lord of hosts is\nhis name:  and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, shall be called the\nGod of all the earth.\n\n54:6. For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and mourning in\nspirit, and as a wife cast off from her youth, said thy God.\n\n54:7. For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies\nwill I gather thee.\n\n54:8. In a moment of indignation have I hid my face a little while from\nthee, but with everlasting kindness have I had mercy on thee, said the\nLord thy Redeemer.\n\n54:9. This thing is to me as in the days of Noe, to whom I swore, that\nI would no more bring in the waters of Noe upon the earth:  so have I\nsworn not to be angry with thee, and not to rebuke thee.\n\n54:10. For the mountains shall be moved, and the hills shall tremble;\nbut my mercy shall not depart from thee, and the covenant of my peace\nshall not be moved:  said the Lord that hath mercy on thee.\n\n54:11. O poor little one, tossed with tempest, without all comfort,\nbehold I will lay thy stones in order, and will lay thy foundations\nwith sapphires,\n\n54:12. And I will make thy bulwarks of jasper:  and thy gates of graven\nstones, and all thy borders of desirable stones.\n\n54:13. All thy children shall be taught of the Lord:  and great shall be\nthe peace of thy children.\n\n54:14. And thou shalt be founded in justice:  depart far from\noppression, for thou shalt not fear; and from terror, for it shall not\ncome near thee.\n\n54:15. Behold, an inhabitant shall come, who was not with me, he that\nwas a stranger to thee before, shall be joined to thee.\n\n54:16. Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the\nfire, and bringeth forth an instrument for his work, and I have created\nthe killer to destroy.\n\n54:17. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper:  and every\ntongue that resisteth thee in judgment, thou shalt condemn.  This is the\ninheritance of the servants of the Lord, and their justice with me,\nsaith the Lord.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 55\n\n\nGod promises abundance of spiritual graces to the faithful, that shall\nbelieve in Christ out of all nations, and sincerely serve him.\n\n55:1. All you that thirst, come to the waters:  and you that have no\nmoney make haste, buy, and eat:  come ye, buy wine and milk without\nmoney, and without any price.\n\n55:2. Why do you spend money for that which is not bread, and your\nlabour for that which doth not satisfy you?  Hearken diligently to me,\nand eat that which is good, and your soul shall be delighted in\nfatness.\n\n55:3. Incline your ear and come to me:  hear and your soul shall live,\nand I will make an everlasting covenant with you, the faithful mercies\nof David.\n\n55:4. Behold I have given him for a witness to the people, for a leader\nand a master to the Gentiles.\n\n55:5. Behold thou shalt call a nation, which thou knewest not:  and the\nnations that knew not thee shall run to thee, because of the Lord thy\nGod, and for the Holy One of Israel, for he hath glorified thee.\n\n55:6. Seek ye the Lord, while he may be found:  call upon him, while he\nis near.\n\n55:7. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unjust man his thoughts,\nand let him return to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to\nour God:  for he is bountiful to forgive.\n\n55:8. For my thoughts are not your thoughts:  nor your ways my ways,\nsaith the Lord.\n\n55:9. For as the heavens are exalted above the earth, so are my ways\nexalted above your ways, and my thoughts above your thoughts.\n\n55:10. And as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and return\nno more thither, but soak the earth, and water it, and make it to\nspring, and give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:\n\n55:11. So shall my word be, which shall go forth from my mouth:  it\nshall not return to me void, but it shall do whatsoever I please, and\nshall prosper in the things for which I sent it.\n\n55:12. For you shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace:  the\nmountains and the hills shall sing praise before you, and all the trees\nof the country shall clap their hands.\n\n55:13. Instead of the shrub, shall come up the fir tree, and instead of\nthe nettle, shall come up the myrtle tree:  and the Lord shall be named\nfor an everlasting sign, that shall not be taken away.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 56\n\n\nGod invites all to keep his commandments:  the Gentiles that keep them\nshall be the people of God:  the Jewish pastors are reproved.\n\n56:1. Thus saith the Lord:  Keep ye judgment, and do justice:  for my\nsalvation is near to come, and my justice to be revealed.\n\n56:2. Blessed is the man that doth this, and the son of man that shall\nlay hold on this:  that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, that\nkeepeth his hands from doing any evil.\n\n56:3. And let not the son of the stranger, that adhereth to the Lord,\nspeak, saying:  The Lord will divide and separate me from his people.\nAnd let not the eunuch say:  Behold I am a dry tree.\n\n56:4. For thus saith the Lord to the eunuchs, They that shall keep my\nsabbaths, and shall choose the things that please me, and shall hold\nfast my covenant:\n\n56:5. I will give to them in my house, and within my walls, a place,\nand a name better than sons and daughters:  I will give them an\neverlasting name which shall never perish.\n\n56:6. And the children of the stranger that adhere to the Lord, to\nworship him, and to love his name, to be his servants:  every one that\nkeepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and that holdeth fast my\ncovenant:\n\n56:7. I will bring them into my holy mount, and will make them joyful\nin my house of prayer:  their holocausts, and their victims shall please\nme upon my altar:  for my house shall be called the house of prayer, for\nall nations.\n\n56:8. The Lord God, who gathereth the scattered of Israel, saith:  I\nwill still gather unto him his congregation.\n\n56:9. All ye beasts of the field come to devour, all ye beasts of the\nforest.\n\n56:10. His watchmen are all blind, they are all ignorant:  dumb dogs not\nable to bark, seeing vain things, sleeping and loving dreams.\n\n56:11. And most impudent dogs, they never had enough:  the shepherds\nthemselves knew no understanding:  all have turned aside into their own\nway, every one after his own gain, from the first even to the last.\n\n56:12. Come, let us take wine, and be filled with drunkenness:  and it\nshall be as to day, so also to morrow, and much more.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 57\n\n\nThe infidelity of the Jews:  their idolatry.  Promises to humble\npenitents.\n\n57:1. The just perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart, and men of\nmercy are taken away, because there is none that understandeth; for the\njust man is taken away from before the face of evil.\n\n57:2. Let peace come, let him rest in his bed that hath walked in his\nuprightness.\n\n57:3. But draw near hither, you sons of the sorceress, the seed of the\nadulterer, and of the harlot.\n\n57:4. Upon whom have you jested?  upon whom have you opened your mouth\nwide, and put out your tongue?  are not you wicked children, a false\nseed,\n\n57:5. Who seek your comfort in idols under every green tree,\nsacrificing children in the torrents, under the high rocks?\n\n57:6. In the parts of the torrent is thy portion, this is thy lot:  and\nthou hast poured out libations to them, thou hast offered sacrifice.\nShall I not be angry at these things?\n\n57:7. Upon a high and lofty mountain thou hast laid thy bed, and hast\ngone up thither to offer victims.\n\n57:8. And behind the door, and behind the post thou hast set up thy\nremembrance:  for thou hast discovered thyself near me, and hast\nreceived an adulterer:  thou hast enlarged thy bed, and made a covenant\nwith them:  thou hast loved their bed with open hand.\n\n57:9. And thou hast adorned thyself for the king with ointment, and\nhast multiplied thy perfumes.  Thou hast sent thy messengers far off,\nand wast debased even to hell.\n\n57:10. Thou hast been wearied in the multitude of thy ways:  yet thou\nsaidst not:  I will rest:  thou has found life of thy hand, therefore\nthou hast not asked.\n\n57:11. For whom hast thou been solicitous and afraid, that thou hast\nlied, and hast not been mindful of me, nor thought on me in thy heart?\nfor I am silent, and as one that seeth not, and thou hast forgotten me.\n\n57:12. I will declare thy justice, and thy works shall not profit thee.\n\n57:13. When thou shalt cry, let thy companies deliver thee, but the\nwind shall carry them all off, a breeze shall take them away, but he\nthat putteth his trust in me, shall inherit the land, and shall possess\nmy holy mount.\n\n57:14. And I will say:  Make a way:  give free passage, turn out of the\npath, take away the stumblingblocks out of the way of my people.\n\n57:15. For thus saith the High and the Eminent that inhabiteth\neternity:  and his name is Holy, who dwelleth in the high and holy\nplace, and with a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of\nthe humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.\n\n57:16. For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be angry unto\nthe end:  because the spirit shall go forth from my face, and breathings\nI will make.\n\n57:17. For the iniquity of his covetousness I was angry, and I struck\nhim:  I hid my face from thee, and was angry:  and he went away wandering\nin his own heart.\n\n57:18. I saw his ways, and I healed him, and brought him back, and\nrestored comforts to him, and to them that mourn for him.\n\n57:19. I created the fruit of the lips, peace, peace to him that is far\noff, and to him that is near, said the Lord, and I healed him.\n\n57:20. But the wicked are like the raging sea, which cannot rest, and\nthe waves thereof cast up dirt and mire.\n\n57:21. There is no peace to the wicked, saith the Lord God.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 58\n\n\nGod rejects the hypocritical fasts of the Jews:  recommends works of\nmercy, and sincere godliness.\n\n58:1. Cry, cease not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my\npeople their wicked doings, and the house of Jacob their sins.\n\n58:2. For they seek me from day to day, and desire to know my ways, as\na nation that hath done justice, and hath not forsaken the judgment of\ntheir God:  they ask of me the judgments of justice:  they are willing to\napproach to God.\n\n58:3. Why have we fasted, and thou hast not regarded:  have we humbled\nour souls, and thou hast not taken notice?  Behold in the day of your\nfast your own will is found, and you exact of all your debtors.\n\n58:4. Behold you fast for debates and strife, and strike with the fist\nwickedly.  Do not fast as you have done until this day, to make your cry\nto be heard on high.\n\n58:5. Is this such a fast as I have chosen:  for a man to afflict his\nsoul for a day?  is this it, to wind his head about like a circle, and\nto spread sackcloth and ashes?  wilt thou call this a fast, and a day\nacceptable to the Lord?\n\n58:6. Is not this rather the fast that I have chosen?  loose the bands\nof wickedness, undo the bundles that oppress, let them that are broken\ngo free, and break asunder every burden.\n\n58:7. Deal thy bread to the hungry, and bring the needy and the\nharbourless into thy house:  when thou shalt see one naked, cover him,\nand despise not thy own flesh.\n\n58:8. Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy health\nshall speedily arise, and thy justice shall go before thy face, and the\nglory of the Lord shall gather thee up.\n\n58:9. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall hear:  thou shalt cry,\nand he shall say, Here I am.  If thou wilt take away the chain out of\nthe midst of thee, and cease to stretch out the finger, and to speak\nthat which profiteth not.\n\n58:10. When thou shalt pour out thy soul to the hungry, and shalt\nsatisfy the afflicted soul, then shall thy light rise up in darkness,\nand thy darkness shall be as the noonday.\n\n58:11. And the Lord will give thee rest continually, and will fill thy\nsoul with brightness, and deliver thy bones, and thou shalt be like a\nwatered garden, and like a fountain of water whose waters shall not\nfail.\n\n58:12. And the places that have been desolate for ages shall be built\nin thee:  thou shalt raise up the foundation of generation and\ngeneration:  and thou shalt be called the repairer of the fences,\nturning the paths into rest.\n\n58:13. If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy own\nwill in my holy day, and call the sabbath delightful, and the holy of\nthe Lord glorious, and glorify him, while thou dost not thy own ways,\nand thy own will is not found, to speak a word:\n\n58:14. Then shalt thou be delighted in the Lord, and I will lift thee\nup above the high places of the earth, and will feed thee with the\ninheritance of Jacob thy father.  For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken\nit.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 59\n\n\nThe dreadful evil of sin is displayed, as the great obstacle to all\ngood from God:  yet he will send a Redeemer, and make an everlasting\ncovenant with his church.\n\n59:1. Behold the hand of the Lord is not shortened that it cannot save,\nneither is his ear heavy that it cannot hear.\n\n59:2. But your iniquities have divided between you and your God, and\nyour sins have hid his face from you that he should not hear.\n\n59:3. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with\niniquity:  your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue uttereth\niniquity.\n\n59:4. There is none that calleth upon justice, neither is there any one\nthat judgeth truly:  but they trust in a mere nothing, and speak\nvanities:  they have conceived labour, and brought forth iniquity.\n\n59:5. They have broken the eggs of asps, and have woven the webs of\nspiders:  he that shall eat of their eggs, shall die:  and that which is\nbrought out, shall be hatched into a basilisk.\n\n59:6. Their webs shall not be for clothing, neither shall they cover\nthemselves with their works:  their works are unprofitable works, and\nthe work of iniquity is in their hands.\n\n59:7. Their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed innocent blood:\ntheir thoughts are unprofitable thoughts:  wasting and destruction are\nin their ways.\n\n59:8. They have not known the way of peace, and there is no judgment in\ntheir steps:  their paths are become crooked to them, every one that\ntreadeth in them knoweth no peace.\n\n59:9. Therefore is judgment far from us, and justice shall not overtake\nus.  We looked for light, and behold darkness:  brightness, and we have\nwalked in the dark.\n\n59:10. We have groped for the wall, and like the blind we have groped\nas if we had no eyes:  we have stumbled at noonday as in darkness, we\nare in dark places, as dead men.\n\n59:11. We shall roar all of us like bears, and shall lament as mournful\ndoves.  We have looked for judgment, and there is none:  for salvation,\nand it is far from us.\n\n59:12. For our iniquities are multiplied before thee, and our sins have\ntestified against us:  for our wicked doings are with us, and have known\nour iniquities:\n\n59:13. In sinning and lying against the Lord:  and we have turned away\nso that we went not after our God, but spoke calumny and transgression:\nwe have conceived, and uttered from the heart, words of falsehood.\n\n59:14. And judgment is turned away backward, and justice hath stood far\noff:  because truth hath fallen down in the street, and equity could not\ncome in.\n\n59:15. And truth hath been forgotten:  and he that departed from evil,\nlay open to be a prey:  and the Lord saw, and it appeared evil in his\neyes, because there is no judgment.\n\n59:16. And he saw that there is not a man:  and he stood astonished,\nbecause there is none to oppose himself:  and his own arm brought\nsalvation to him, and his own justice supported him.\n\n59:17. He put on justice as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation\nupon his head:  he put on the garments of vengeance, and was clad with\nzeal as with a cloak.\n\n59:18. As unto revenge, as it were to repay wrath to his adversaries,\nand a reward to his enemies:  he will repay the like to the islands.\n\n59:19. And they from the west, shall fear the name of the Lord:  and\nthey from the rising of the sun, his glory when he shall come as a\nviolent stream, which the spirit of the Lord driveth on:\n\n59:20. And there shall come a redeemer to Sion, and to them that return\nfrom iniquity in Jacob, saith the Lord.\n\n59:21. This is my covenant with them, saith the Lord:  My spirit that is\nin thee, and my words that I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart\nout of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the\nmouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever.\n\nThis is my covenant, etc. . .Note here a clear promise of perpetual\northodoxy to the church of Christ.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 60\n\n\nThe light of true faith shall shine forth in the church of Christ, and\nshall be spread through all nations, and continue for all ages.\n\n60:1. Arise, be enlightened, O Jerusalem:  for thy light is come, and\nthe glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.\n\n60:2. For behold darkness shall cover the earth, and a mist the people:\nbut the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon\nthee.\n\n60:3. And the Gentiles shall walk in thy light, and kings in the\nbrightness of thy rising.\n\n60:4. Lift up thy eyes round about, and see:  all these are gathered\ntogether, they are come to thee:  thy sons shall come from afar, and thy\ndaughters shall rise up at thy side.\n\n60:5. Then shalt thou see, and abound, and thy heart shall wonder and\nbe enlarged, when the multitude of the sea shall be converted to thee,\nthe strength of the Gentiles shall come to thee.\n\n60:6. The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of\nMadian and Epha:  all they from Saba shall come, bringing gold and\nfrankincense:  and shewing forth praise to the Lord.\n\n60:7. All the flocks of Cedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the\nrams of Nabaioth shall minister to thee:  they shall be offered upon my\nacceptable altar, and I will glorify the house of my majesty.\n\n60:8. Who are these, that fly as clouds, and as doves to their windows?\n\n60:9. For, the islands wait for me, and the ships of the sea in the\nbeginning:  that I may bring thy sons from afar:  their silver, and their\ngold with them, to the name of the Lord thy God, and to the Holy One of\nIsrael, because he hath glorified thee.\n\n60:10. And the children of strangers shall build up thy walls, and\ntheir kings shall minister to thee:  for in my wrath have I struck thee,\nand in my reconciliation have I had mercy upon thee.\n\n60:11. And thy gates shall be open continually:  they shall not be shut\nday nor night, that the strength of the Gentiles may be brought to\nthee, and their kings may be brought.\n\n60:12. For the nation and the kingdom that will not serve thee, shall\nperish:  and the Gentiles shall be wasted with desolation.\n\n60:13. The glory of Libanus shall come to thee, the fir tree, and the\nbox tree, and the pine tree together, to beautify the place of my\nsanctuary:  and I will glorify the place of my feet.\n\n60:14. And the children of them that afflict thee, shall come bowing\ndown to thee, and all that slandered thee shall worship the steps of\nthy feet, and shall call thee the city of the Lord, the Sion of the\nHoly One of Israel.\n\n60:15. Because thou wast forsaken, and hated, and there was none that\npassed through thee, I will make thee to be an everlasting glory, a joy\nunto generation and generation:\n\n60:16. And thou shalt suck the milk of the Gentiles, and thou shalt be\nnursed with the breasts of kings:  and thou shalt know that I am the\nLord thy Saviour, and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.\n\n60:17. For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver:\nand for wood brass, and for stones iron:  and I will make thy visitation\npeace, and thy overseers justice.\n\n60:18. Iniquity shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor\ndestruction in thy borders, and salvation shall possess thy walls, and\npraise thy gates.\n\n60:19. Thou shalt no more have the sun for thy light by day, neither\nshall the brightness of the moon enlighten thee:  but the Lord shall be\nunto thee for an everlasting light, and thy God for thy glory.\n\nThou shalt no more, etc. . .In this latter part of the chapter, the\nprophet passes from the illustrious promises made to the church\nmilitant on earth, to the glory of the church triumphant in heaven.\n\n60:20. Thy sun shall go down no more, and thy moon shall not decrease:\nfor the Lord shall be unto thee for an everlasting light, and the days\nof thy mourning shall be ended.\n\n60:21. And thy people shall be all just, they shall inherit the land\nfor ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hand to glorify me.\n\n60:22. The least shall become a thousand, and a little one a most\nstrong nation:  I the Lord will suddenly do this thing in its time.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 61\n\n\nThe office of Christ:  the mission of the Apostles; the happiness of\ntheir converts.\n\n61:1. The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed\nme:  he hath sent me to preach to the meek, to heal the contrite of\nheart, and to preach a release to the captives, and deliverance to them\nthat are shut up.\n\n61:2. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of\nvengeance of our God:  to comfort all that mourn:\n\n61:3. To appoint to the mourners of Sion, and to give them a crown for\nashes, the oil of joy for mourning, a garment of praise for the spirit\nof grief:  and they shall be called in it the mighty ones of justice,\nthe planting of the Lord to glorify him.\n\n61:4. And they shall build the places that have been waste from of old,\nand shall raise up ancient ruins, and shall repair the desolate cities,\nthat were destroyed for generation and generation.\n\n61:5. And strangers shall stand and shall feed your flocks:  and the\nsons of strangers shall be your husbandman, and the dressers of your\nvines.\n\n61:6. But you shall be called the priests of the Lord:  to you it shall\nbe said:  Ye ministers of our God:  you shall eat the riches of the\nGentiles, and you shall pride yourselves in their glory.\n\n61:7. For your double confusion and shame, they shall praise their\npart:  therefore shall they receive double in their land, everlasting\njoy shall be unto them.\n\n61:8. For I am the Lord that love judgment, and hate robbery in a\nholocaust:  and I will make their work in truth, and I will make a\nperpetual covenant with them.\n\n61:9. And they shall know their seed among the Gentiles, and their\noffspring in the midst of peoples:  all that shall see them, shall know\nthem, that these are the seed which the Lord hath blessed.\n\n61:10. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, and my soul shall be joyful\nin my God:  for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation:  and\nwith the robe of justice he hath covered me, as a bridegroom decked\nwith a crown, and as a bride adorned with her jewels.\n\n61:11. For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden\ncauseth her seed to shoot forth:  so shall the Lord God make justice to\nspring forth, and praise before all the nations.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 62\n\n\nThe prophet will not cease from preaching Christ:  to whom all nations\nshall be converted:  and whose church shall continue for ever.\n\n62:1. For Sion's sake I will not hold my peace, and for the sake of\nJerusalem, I will not rest till her just one come forth as brightness,\nand her saviour be lighted as a lamp.\n\n62:2. And the Gentiles shall see thy just one, and all kings thy\nglorious one:  and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth\nof the Lord shall name.\n\n62:3. And thou shalt be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a\nroyal diadem in the hand of thy God.\n\n62:4. Thou shalt no more be called Forsaken:  and thy land shall no more\nbe called Desolate:  but thou shalt be called My pleasure in her, and\nthy land inhabited.  Because the Lord hath been well pleased with thee:\nand thy land shall be inhabited.\n\n62:5. For the young man shall dwell with the virgin, and thy children\nshall dwell in thee.  And the bridegroom shall rejoice over the bride,\nand thy God shall rejoice over thee.\n\n62:6. Upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen all the\nday, and all the night, they shall never hold their peace.  You that are\nmindful of the Lord, hold not your peace,\n\n62:7. And give him no silence till he establish, and till he make\nJerusalem a praise in the earth.\n\n62:8. The Lord hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his\nstrength:  Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thy\nenemies:  and the sons of the strangers shall not drink thy wine, for\nwhich thou hast laboured.\n\n62:9. For they that gather it, shall eat it, and shall praise the Lord:\nand they that bring it together, shall drink it in my holy courts.\n\n62:10. Go through, go through the gates, prepare the way for the\npeople, make the road plain, pick out the stones, and lift up the\nstandard to the people.\n\n62:11. Behold the Lord hath made it to be heard in the ends of the\nearth, tell the daughter of Sion:  Behold thy Saviour cometh:  behold his\nreward is with him, and his work before him.\n\n62:12. And they shall call them, The holy people, the redeemed of the\nLord.  But thou shalt be called:  A city sought after, and not forsaken.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 63\n\n\nChrist's victory over his enemies:  his mercies to his people:  their\ncomplaint.\n\n63:1. Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bosra,\nthis beautiful one in his robe, walking in the greatness of his\nstrength.  I, that speak justice, and am a defender to save.\n\nEdom. . .Edom and Bosra (a strong city of Edom) are here taken in a\nmystical sense for the enemies of Christ and his church.\n\n63:2. Why then is thy apparel red, and thy garments like theirs that\ntread in the winepress?\n\n63:3. I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the Gentiles there is\nnot a man with me:  I have trampled on them in my indignation, and have\ntrodden them down in my wrath, and their blood is sprinkled upon my\ngarments, and I have stained all my apparel.\n\n63:4. For the day of vengeance is in my heart, the year of my\nredemption is come.\n\n63:5. I looked about, and there was none to help:  I sought, and there\nwas none to give aid:  and my own arm hath saved for me, and my\nindignation itself hath helped me.\n\n63:6. And I have trodden down the people in my wrath, and have made\nthem drunk in my indignation, and have brought down their strength to\nthe earth.\n\n63:7. I will remember the tender mercies of the Lord, the praise of the\nLord for all the things that the Lord hath bestowed upon us, and for\nthe multitude of his good things to the house of Israel, which he hath\ngiven them according to his kindness, and according to the multitude of\nhis mercies.\n\n63:8. And he said:  Surely they are my people, children that will not\ndeny:  so he became their saviour.\n\n63:9. In all their affliction he was not troubled, and the angel of his\npresence saved them:  in his love, and in his mercy he redeemed them,\nand he carried them and lifted them up all the days of old.\n\n63:10. But they provoked to wrath, and afflicted the spirit of his Holy\nOne:  and he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.\n\n63:11. And he remembered the days of old of Moses, and of his people:\nWhere is he that brought them up out of the sea, with the shepherds of\nhis flock?  where is he that put in the midst of them the spirit of his\nHoly One?\n\n63:12. He that brought out Moses by the right hand, by the arm of his\nmajesty:  that divided the waters before them, to make himself an\neverlasting name.\n\n63:13. He that led them out through the deep, as a horse in the\nwilderness that stumbleth not.\n\n63:14. As a beast that goeth down in the field, the spirit of the Lord\nwas their leader:  so didst thou lead thy people to make thyself a\nglorious name.\n\n63:15. Look down from heaven, and behold from thy holy habitation and\nthe place of thy glory:  where is thy zeal, and thy strength, the\nmultitude of thy bowels, and of thy mercies?  they have held back\nthemselves from me.\n\nThey have held back, etc. . .This is spoken by the prophet in the person\nof the Jews at the time when, for their sins, they were given up to\ntheir enemies.\n\n63:16. For thou art our father, and Abraham hath not known us, and\nIsrael hath been ignorant of us:  thou, O Lord, art our father, our\nredeemer, from everlasting is thy name.\n\nAbraham hath not know us, etc. . .That is, Abraham will not now\nacknowledge us for his children, by reason of our degeneracy; but thou,\nO Lord, art our true father and our redeemer, and no other can be\ncalled our parent in comparison with thee.\n\n63:17. Why hast thou made us to err, O Lord, from thy ways:  why hast\nthou hardened our heart, that we should not fear thee?  return for the\nsake of thy servants, the tribes of thy inheritance.\n\nMade us to err, etc.  Hardened our heart, etc. . .The meaning is, that\nGod in punishment of their great and manifold crimes, and their long\nabuse of his mercy and grace, had withdrawn his graces from them, and\nso given them up to error and hardness of heart.\n\n63:18. They have possessed thy holy people as nothing:  our enemies have\ntrodden down thy sanctuary.\n\n63:19. We are become as in the beginning, when thou didst not rule over\nus, and when we were not called by thy name.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 64\n\n\nThe prophet prays for the release of his people; and for the remission\nof their sins.\n\n64:1. O that thou wouldst rend the heavens, and wouldst come down:  the\nmountains would melt away at thy presence.\n\n64:2. They would melt as at the burning of fire, the waters would burn\nwith fire, that thy name might be made known to thy enemies:  that the\nnations might tremble at thy presence.\n\n64:3. When thou shalt do wonderful things, we shall not bear them:  thou\ndidst come down, and at thy presence the mountains melted away.\n\n64:4. From the beginning of the world they have not heard, nor\nperceived with the ears:  the eye hath not seen, O God, besides thee,\nwhat things thou hast prepared for them that wait for thee.\n\n64:5. Thou hast met him that rejoiceth, and doth justice:  in thy ways\nthey shall remember thee:  behold thou art angry, and we have sinned:  in\nthem we have been always, and we shall be saved.\n\n64:6. And we are all become as one unclean, and all our justices as the\nrag of a menstruous woman:  and we have all fallen as a leaf, and our\niniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.\n\nOur justices, etc. . .That is, the works by which we pretended to make\nourselves just.  This is spoken particularly of the sacrifices,\nsacraments, and ceremonies of the Jews, after the death of Christ, and\nthe promulgation of the new law.\n\n64:7. There is none that calleth upon thy name:  that riseth up, and\ntaketh hold of thee:  thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast crushed\nus in the hand of our iniquity.\n\n64:8. And now, O Lord, thou art our father, and we are clay:  and thou\nart our maker, and we all are the works of thy hands.\n\n64:9. Be not very angry, O Lord, and remember no longer our iniquity:\nbehold, see we are all thy people.\n\n64:10. The city of thy sanctuary is become a desert, Sion is made a\ndesert, Jerusalem is desolate.\n\n64:11. The house of our holiness, and of our glory, where our fathers\npraised thee, is burnt with fire, and all our lovely things are turned\ninto ruins.\n\n64:12. Wilt thou refrain thyself, O Lord, upon these things, wilt thou\nhold thy peace, and afflict us vehemently?\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 65\n\n\nThe Gentiles shall seek and find Christ, but the Jews will persecute\nhim, and be rejected, only a remnant shall be reserved.  The church\nshall multiply, and abound with graces.\n\n65:1. They have sought me that before asked not for me, they have found\nme that sought me not.  I said:  Behold me, behold me, to a nation that\ndid not call upon my name.\n\n65:2. I have spread forth my hands all the day to an unbelieving\npeople, who walk in a way that is not good after their own thoughts.\n\n65:3. A people that continually provoke me to anger before my face,\nthat immolate in gardens, and sacrifice upon bricks.\n\n65:4. That dwell in sepulchres, and sleep in the temple of idols:  that\neat swine's flesh, and profane broth is in their vessels.\n\n65:5. That say:  Depart from me, come not near me, because thou art\nunclean:  these shall be smoke in my anger, a fire burning all the day.\n\n65:6. Behold it is written before me:  I will not be silent, but I will\nrender and repay into their bosom.\n\n65:7. Your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together,\nsaith the Lord, who have sacrificed upon the mountains, and have\nreproached me upon the hills; and I will measure back their first work\nin their bosom.\n\n65:8. Thus saith the Lord:  As if a grain be found in a cluster, and it\nbe said:  Destroy it not, because it is a blessing:  so will I do for the\nsake of my servants, that I may not destroy the whole.\n\n65:9. And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Juda a\npossessor of my mountains:  and my elect shall inherit it, and my\nservants shall dwell there.\n\n65:10. And the plains shall be turned to folds of flocks, and the\nvalley of Achor into a place for the herds to lie down in, for my\npeople that have sought me.\n\n65:11. And you, that have forsaken the Lord, that have forgotten my\nholy mount, that set a table for fortune, and offer libations upon it,\n\n65:12. I will number you in the sword, and you shall all fall by\nslaughter:  because I called and you did not answer:  I spoke, and you\ndid not hear:  and you did evil in my eyes, and you have chosen the\nthings that displease me.\n\n65:13. Therefore thus saith the Lord God:  Behold my servants shall eat,\nand you shall be hungry:  behold my servants shall drink, and you shall\nbe thirsty.\n\n65:14. Behold my servants shall rejoice, and you shall be confounded:\nbehold my servants shall praise for joyfulness of heart, and you shall\ncry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for grief of spirit.\n\n65:15. And you shall leave your name for an execration to my elect:  and\nthe Lord God shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name.\n\n65:16. In which he that is blessed upon the earth, shall be blessed in\nGod, amen:  and he that sweareth in the earth, shall swear by God, amen:\nbecause the former distresses are forgotten, and because they are hid\nfrom my eyes.\n\n65:17. For behold I create new heavens, and a new earth:  and the former\nthings shall not be in remembrance, and they shall not come upon the\nheart.\n\n65:18. But you shall be glad and rejoice for ever in these things,\nwhich I create:  for behold I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and the\npeople thereof joy.\n\n65:19. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people, and the\nvoice of weeping shall no more be heard in her, nor the voice of\ncrying.\n\n65:20. There shall no more be an infant of days there, nor an old man\nthat shall not fill up his days:  for the child shall die a hundred\nyears old, and the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed.\n\n65:21. And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall\nplant vineyards, and eat the fruits of them.\n\n65:22. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant,\nand another eat:  for as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of my\npeople, and the works of their hands shall be of long continuance.\n\n65:23. My elect shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth in trouble;\nfor they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their posterity\nwith them.\n\n65:24. And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will hear;\nas they are yet speaking, I will hear.\n\n65:25. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together; the lion and the ox\nshall eat straw; and dust shall be the serpent's food:  they shall not\nhurt nor kill in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord.\n\n\n\nIsaias Chapter 66\n\n\nMore of the reprobation of the Jews, and of the call of the Gentiles.\n\n66:1. Thus saith the Lord:  Heaven is my throne, and the earth my\nfootstool:  what is this house that you will build to me?  and what is\nthis place of my rest?\n\nWhat is this house, etc. . .This is a prophecy that the temple should be\ncast off.\n\n66:2. My hand made all these things, and all these things were made,\nsaith the Lord.  But to whom shall I have respect, but to him that is\npoor and little, and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at my\nwords?\n\n66:3. He that sacrificeth an ox, is as if he slew a man:  he that\nkilleth a sheep in sacrifice, as if he should brain a dog:  he that\noffereth an oblation, as if he should offer swine's blood; he that\nremembereth incense, as if he should bless an idol.  All these things\nhave they chosen in their ways, and their soul is delighted in their\nabominations.\n\nHe that sacrificeth an ox, etc. . .This is a prophecy that the\nsacrifices which were offered in the old law should be abolished in the\nnew; and that the offering of them should be a crime.--Ibid.\nRemembereth incense. . .Viz., to offer it in the way of a sacrifice.\n\n66:4. Wherefore I also will choose their mockeries, and will bring upon\nthem the things they feared:  because I called, and there was none that\nwould answer; I have spoken, and they heard not; and they have done\nevil in my eyes, and have chosen the things that displease me.\n\nI will choose their mockeries. . .I will turn their mockeries upon\nthemselves; and will cause them to be mocked by their enemies.\n\n66:5. Hear the word of the Lord, you that tremble at his word:  Your\nbrethren that hate you, and cast you out for my name's sake, have said:\nLet the Lord be glorified, and we shall see in your joy:  but they shall\nbe confounded.\n\n66:6. A voice of the people from the city, a voice from the temple, the\nvoice of the Lord that rendereth recompense to his enemies.\n\n66:7. Before she was in labour, she brought forth; before her time came\nto be delivered, she brought forth a man child.\n\nBefore she was in labour, etc. . .This relates to the conversion of the\nGentiles, who were born, as it were, all on a sudden to the church of\nGod.\n\n66:8. Who hath ever heard such a thing?  and who hath seen the like to\nthis?  shall the earth bring forth in one day?  or shall a nation be\nbrought forth at once, because Sion hath been in labour, and hath\nbrought forth her children?\n\n66:9. Shall not I that make others to bring forth children, myself\nbring forth, saith the Lord?  shall I, that give generation to others,\nbe barren, saith the Lord thy God?\n\n66:10. Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all you that love\nher:  rejoice for joy with her, all you that mourn for her.\n\n66:11. That you may suck, and be filled with the breasts of her\nconsolations:  that you may milk out, and flow with delights, from the\nabundance of her glory.\n\n66:12. For thus saith the Lord:  Behold I will bring upon her as it were\na river of peace, and as an overflowing torrent the glory of the\nGentiles, which you shall suck; you shall be carried at the breasts,\nand upon the knees they shall caress you.\n\n66:13. As one whom the mother caresseth, so will I comfort you, and you\nshall be comforted in Jerusalem.\n\n66:14. You shall see and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall\nflourish like an herb, and the hand of the Lord shall be known to his\nservants, and he shall be angry with his enemies.\n\n66:15. For behold the Lord will come with fire, and his chariots are\nlike a whirlwind, to render his wrath in indignation, and his rebuke\nwith flames of fire.\n\n66:16. For the Lord shall judge by fire, and by his sword unto all\nflesh, and the slain of the Lord shall be many.\n\n66:17. They that were sanctified, thought themselves clean in the\ngardens behind the gate within, they that did eat swine's flesh, and\nthe abomination, and the mouse:  they shall be consumed together, saith\nthe Lord.\n\n66:18. But I know their works, and their thoughts:  I come that I may\ngather them together with all nations and tongues:  and they shall come\nand shall see my glory.\n\n66:19. And I will set a sign among them, and I will send of them that\nshall be saved, to the Gentiles into the sea, into Africa, and Lydia\nthem that draw the bow:  into Italy, and Greece, to the islands afar\noff, to them that have not heard of me, and have not seen my glory.  And\nthey shall declare my glory to the Gentiles:\n\n66:20. And they shall bring all your brethren out of all nations for a\ngift to the Lord, upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and on\nmules, and in coaches, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord,\nas if the children of Israel should bring an offering in a clean vessel\ninto the house of the Lord.\n\n66:21. And I will take of them to be priests, and Levites, saith the\nLord.\n\n66:22. For as the new heavens, and the new earth, which I will make to\nstand before me, saith the Lord:  so shall your seed stand, and your\nname.\n\n66:23. And there shall be month after month, and sabbath after sabbath:\nand all flesh shall come to adore before my face, saith the Lord.\n\n66:24. And they shall go out, and see the carcasses of the men that\nhave transgressed against me:  their worm shall not die, and their fire\nshall not be quenched:  and they shall be a loathsome sight to all\nflesh.\n\n\n\n\nTHE PROPHECY OF JEREMIAS\n\n\n\nJeremias was a priest, a native of Anathoth, a priestly city in the\ntribe of Benjamin:  and was sanctified from his mother's womb, to be a\nprophet of God; which office he began to execute when he was yet a\nchild in age.  He was in his whole life, according to the signification\nof his name, Great before the Lord; and a special figure of Jesus\nChrist, in the persecutions he underwent for discharging his duty; in\nhis charity for his persecutors; and in the violent death he suffered\nat their hands:  it being an ancient tradition of the Hebrews, that he\nwas stoned to death by the remnant of the Jews who had retired into\nEgypt.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 1\n\n\nThe time, and the calling, of Jeremias:  his prophetical visions.  God\nencourages him.\n\n1:1. The words of Jeremias the son of Helcias, of the priests that were\nin Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin.\n\n1:2. The word of the Lord which came to him in the days of Josias the\nson of Amon king of Juda, in the thirteenth year of his reign.\n\n1:3. And which came to him in the days of Joakim the son of Josias king\nof Juda, unto the end of the eleventh year of Sedecias the son of\nJosias king of Juda, even unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive,\nin the fifth month.\n\n1:4. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n1:5. Before I formed thee in the bowels of thy mother, I knew thee:  and\nbefore thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and made\nthee a prophet unto the nations.\n\n1:6. And I said:  Ah, ah, ah, Lord God:  behold, I cannot speak, for I am\na child.\n\n1:7. And the Lord said to me:  Say not:  I am a child:  for thou shalt go\nto all that I shall send thee:  and whatsoever I shall command thee,\nthou shalt speak.\n\n1:8. Be not afraid at their presence:  for I am with thee to deliver\nthee, saith the Lord.\n\n1:9. And the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth:  and the\nLord said to me:  Behold I have given my words in thy mouth:\n\n1:10. Lo, I have set thee this day over the nations, and over kingdoms,\nto root up, and to pull down, and to waste, and to destroy, and to\nbuild, and to plant.\n\n1:11. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:  What seest thou,\nJeremias?  And I said:  I see a rod watching.\n\n1:12. And the Lord said to me:  Thou hast seen well:  for I will watch\nover my word to perform it.\n\n1:13. And the word of the Lord came to me a second time saying:  What\nseest thou?  And I said:  I see a boiling caldron, and the face thereof\nfrom the face of the north.\n\n1:14. And the Lord said to me:  From the north shall an evil break forth\nupon all the inhabitants of the land.\n\n1:15. For behold I will call together all the families of the kingdoms\nof the north, saith the Lord:  and they shall come, and shall set every\none his throne in the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and upon all\nthe walls thereof round about, and upon all the cities of Juda.\n\n1:16. And I will pronounce my judgments against them, touching all\ntheir wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have sacrificed to strange\ngods, and have adored the work of their own hands.\n\n1:17. Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak to them\nall that I command thee.  Be not afraid at their presence:  for I will\nmake thee not to fear their countenance.\n\n1:18. For behold I have made thee this day a fortified city, and a\npillar of iron, and a wall of brass, over all the land, to the kings of\nJuda, to the princes thereof, and to the priests, and to the people of\nthe land.\n\n1:19. And they shall fight against them, and shall not prevail:  for I\nam with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 2\n\n\nGod expostulates with the Jews for their ingratitude and infidelity.\n\n2:1. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n2:2. Go, and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying:  Thus saith the Lord:\nI have remembered thee, pitying thy youth, and the love of thy\nespousals, when thou followedst me in the desert, in a land that is not\nsown.\n\n2:3. Israel is holy to the Lord, the firstfruits of his increase:  all\nthey that devour him offend:  evils shall come upon them, saith the\nLord.\n\n2:4. Hear ye the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all ye\nfamilies of the house of Israel:\n\n2:5. Thus saith the Lord:  What iniquity have your fathers found in me,\nthat they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are\nbecome vain?\n\n2:6. And they have not said:  Where is the Lord, that made us come up\nout of the land of Egypt?  that led us through the desert, through a\nland uninhabited and unpassable, through a land of drought, and the\nimage of death, through a land wherein no man walked, nor any man\ndwelt?\n\n2:7. And I brought you into the land of Carmel, to eat the fruit\nthereof, and the best things thereof:  and when ye entered in, you\ndefiled my land and made my inheritance an abomination.\n\nCarmel. . .That is, a fruitful, plentiful land.\n\n2:8. The priests did not say:  Where is the Lord?  and they that held the\nlaw knew me not, and the pastors transgressed against me:  and the\nprophets prophesied in Baal, and followed idols.\n\n2:9. Therefore will I yet contend in judgment with you, saith the Lord,\nand I will plead with your children.\n\n2:10. Pass over to the isles of Cethim, and see:  and send into Cedar,\nand consider diligently:  and see if there hath been done any thing like\nthis.\n\n2:11. If a nation hath changed their gods, and indeed they are not\ngods:  but my people have changed their glory into an idol.\n\n2:12. Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and ye gates thereof, be\nvery desolate, saith the Lord.\n\n2:13. For my people have done two evils.  They have forsaken me, the\nfountain of living water, and have digged to themselves cisterns,\nbroken cisterns, that can hold no water.\n\n2:14. Is Israel a bondman, or a homeborn slave?  why then is he become a\nprey?\n\n2:15. The lions have roared upon him, and have made a noise, they have\nmade his land a wilderness:  his cities are burnt down, and there is\nnone to dwell in them.\n\n2:16. The children also of Memphis, and of Taphnes have defloured thee,\neven to the crown of the head.\n\n2:17. Hath not this been done to thee, because thou hast forsaken the\nLord thy God at that time, when he led thee by the way?\n\n2:18. And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the\ntroubled water?  And what hast thou to do with the way of the Assyrians,\nto drink the water of the river?\n\n2:19. Thy own wickedness shall reprove thee, and thy apostasy shall\nrebuke thee.  Know thou, and see that it is an evil and a bitter thing\nfor thee, to have left the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not with\nthee, saith the Lord the God of hosts.\n\n2:20. Of old time thou hast broken my yoke, thou hast burst my bands,\nand thou saidst:  I will not serve.  For on every high hill, and under\nevery green tree thou didst prostitute thyself.\n\n2:21. Yet, I planted thee a chosen vineyard, all true seed:  how then\nart thou turned unto me into that which is good for nothing, O strange\nvineyard?\n\n2:22. Though thou wash thyself with nitre, and multiply to thyself the\nherb borith, thou art stained in thy iniquity before me, saith the Lord\nGod.\n\nBorith. . .An herb used to clean clothes, and take out spots and dirt.\n\n2:23. How canst thou say:  I am not polluted, I have not walked after\nBaalim?  see thy ways in the valley, know what thou hast done:  as a\nswift runner pursuing his course.\n\n2:24. A wild ass accustomed to the wilderness in the desire of his\nheart, snuffed up the wind of his love:  none shall turn her away:  all\nthat seek her shall not fail:  in her monthly filth they shall find her.\n\n2:25. Keep thy foot from being bare, and thy throat from thirst.  But\nthou saidst:  I have lost all hope, I will not do it:  for I have loved\nstrangers, and I will walk after them.\n\n2:26. As the thief is confounded when he is taken, so is the house of\nIsrael confounded, they and their kings, their princes and their\npriests, and their prophets.\n\n2:27. Saying to a stock:  Thou art my father:  and to a stone:  Thou hast\nbegotten me:  they have turned their back to me, and not their face:  and\nin the time of their affliction they will say:  Arise, and deliver us.\n\n2:28. Where are the gods, whom thou hast made thee?  let them arise and\ndeliver thee in the time of thy affliction:  for according to the number\nof thy cities were thy gods, O Juda.\n\n2:29. Why will you contend with me in judgment?  you have all forsaken\nme, saith the Lord.\n\n2:30. In vain have I struck your children, they have not received\ncorrection:  your sword hath devoured your prophets, your generation is\nlike a ravaging lion.\n\n2:31. See ye the word of the Lord:  Am I become a wilderness to Israel,\nor a lateward springing land?  why then have my people said:  We are\nrevolted, we will come to thee no more?\n\n2:32. Will a virgin forget her ornament, or a bride her stomacher?  but\nmy people hath forgotten me days without number.\n\n2:33. Why dost thou endeavour to shew thy way good to seek my love,\nthou who hast also taught thy malices to be thy ways,\n\n2:34. And in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor and\ninnocent?  not in ditches have I found them, but in all places, which I\nmentioned before.\n\n2:35. And thou hast said:  I am without sin and am innocent:  and\ntherefore let thy anger be turned away from me.  Behold, I will contend\nwith thee in judgment, because thou hast said:  I have not sinned.\n\n2:36. How exceeding base art thou become, going the same ways over\nagain! and thou shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of\nAssyria.\n\n2:37. For from thence thou shalt go, and thy hand shall be upon thy\nhead:  for the Lord hath destroyed thy trust, and thou shalt have\nnothing prosperous therein.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 3\n\n\nGod invites the rebel Jews to return to him, with a promise to receive\nthem:  he foretells the conversion of the Gentiles.\n\n3:1. It is commonly said:  If a man put away his wife, and she go from\nhim, and marry another man, shall he return to her any more?  shall not\nthat woman be polluted, and defiled?  but thou hast prostituted thyself\nto many lovers:  nevertheless return to me, saith the Lord, and I will\nreceive thee.\n\n3:2. Lift up thy eyes on high:  and see where thou hast not prostituted\nthyself:  thou didst sit in the ways, waiting for them as a robber in\nthe wilderness:  and thou hast polluted the land with thy fornications,\nand with thy wickedness.\n\n3:3. Therefore the showers were withholden, and there was no lateward\nrain:  thou hadst a harlot's forehead, thou wouldst not blush.\n\n3:4. Therefore at the least from this time call to me:  Thou art my\nfather, the guide of my virginity:\n\n3:5. Wilt thou be angry for ever, or wilt thou continue unto the end?\nBehold, thou hast spoken, and hast done evil things, and hast been\nable.\n\n3:6. And the Lord said to me in the days of king Josias:  Hast thou seen\nwhat rebellious Israel hath done?  she hath gone of herself upon every\nhigh mountain, and under every green tree, and hath played the harlot\nthere.\n\n3:7. And when she had done all these things, I said:  Return to me, and\nshe did not return.  And her treacherous sister Juda saw,\n\n3:8. That because the rebellious Israel had played the harlot, I had\nput her away, and given her a bill of divorce:  yet her treacherous\nsister Juda was not afraid, but went and played the harlot also\nherself.\n\n3:9. And by the facility of her fornication she defiled the land, and\nplayed the harlot with stones and with stocks.\n\n3:10. And after all this, her treacherous sister Juda hath not returned\nto me with her whole heart, but with falsehood, saith the Lord.\n\n3:11. And the Lord said to me:  The rebellious Israel hath justified her\nsoul, in comparison of the treacherous Juda.\n\n3:12. Go, and proclaim these words towards the north, and thou shalt\nsay:  Return, O rebellious Israel, saith the Lord, and I will not turn\naway my face from you:  for I am holy, saith the Lord, and I will not be\nangry for ever.\n\n3:13. But yet acknowledge thy iniquity, that thou hast transgressed\nagainst the Lord thy God:  and thou hast scattered thy ways to strangers\nunder every green tree, and hast not heard my voice, saith the Lord.\n\n3:14. Return, O ye revolting children, saith the Lord:  for I am your I\nhusband:  and I will take you, one of a city, and two of a kindred, and\nwill bring you into Sion.\n\n3:15. And I will give you pastors according to my own heart, and they\nshall feed you with knowledge and doctrine.\n\n3:16. And when you shall be multiplied, and increase in the land in\nthose days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more:  The ark of the\ncovenant of the Lord:  neither shall it come upon the heart, neither\nshall they remember it, neither shall it be visited, neither shall that\nbe done any more.\n\n3:17. At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord:\nand all the nations shall be gathered together to it, in the name of\nthe Lord to Jerusalem, and they shall not walk after the perversity of\ntheir most wicked heart.\n\n3:18. In those days the house of Juda shall go to the house of Israel,\nand they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land\nwhich I gave to your fathers.\n\n3:19. But I said:  How shall I put thee among the children, and give\nthee a lovely land, the goodly inheritance of the armies of the\nGentiles?  And I said:  Thou shalt call me father and shalt not cease to\nwalk after me.\n\n3:20. But as a woman that despiseth her lover, so hath the house of\nIsrael despised me, saith the Lord.\n\n3:21. A voice was heard in the highways, weeping and howling of the\nchildren of Israel:  because they have made their way wicked, they have\nforgotten the Lord their God.\n\n3:22. Return, you rebellious children, and I will heal your rebellions.\nBehold we come to thee:  for thou art the Lord our God.\n\n3:23. In very deed the hills were liars, and the multitude of the\nmountains:  truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel.\n\n3:24. Confusion hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth,\ntheir flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.\n\n3:25. We shall sleep in our confusion, and our shame shall cover us,\nbecause we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers\nfrom our youth even to this day, and we have not hearkened to the voice\nof the Lord our God.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 4\n\n\nAnd admonition to sincere repentance, and circumcision of the heart,\nwith threats of grievous punishment to those that persist in sin.\n\n4:1. If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the Lord, return to me:  if\nthou wilt take away thy stumblingblocks out of my sight, thou shalt not\nbe moved.\n\n4:2. And thou shalt swear:  As the Lord liveth, in truth, and in\njudgment, and in justice:  and the Gentiles shall bless him, and shall\npraise him.\n\n4:3. For thus saith the Lord to the men of Juda and Jerusalem:  Break up\nanew your fallow ground, and sow not upon thorns:\n\n4:4. Be circumcised to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your\nhearts, ye men of Juda, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem:  lest my\nindignation come forth like fire, and burn, and there be none that can\nquench it because of the wickedness of your thoughts.\n\n4:5. Declare ye in Juda, and make it heard in Jerusalem:  speak, and\nsound with the trumpet in the land:  cry aloud, and say:  Assemble\nyourselves, and let us go into strong cities.\n\n4:6. Set up the standard in Sion.  Strengthen yourselves, stay not:  for\nI bring evil from the north, and great destruction.\n\n4:7. The lion is come up out of his den, and the robber of nations hath\nroused himself:  he is come forth out of his place, to make thy land\ndesolate:  thy cities shall be laid waste, remaining without an\ninhabitant.\n\n4:8. For this gird yourselves with haircloth, lament and howl:  for the\nfierce anger of the Lord is not turned away from us.\n\n4:9. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord:  That the\nheart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes:  and the\npriests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall be amazed.\n\n4:10. And I said:  Alas, alas, alas, O Lord God, hast thou then deceived\nthis people and Jerusalem, saying:  You shall have peace:  and behold the\nsword reacheth even to the soul?\n\n4:11. At that time it shall be said to this people, and to Jerusalem:  A\nburning wind is in the ways that are in the desert of the way of the\ndaughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse.\n\n4:12. A full wind from these places shall come to me:  and now I will\nspeak my judgments with them.\n\n4:13. Behold he shall come up as a cloud, and his chariots as a\ntempest:  his horses are swifter than eagles:  woe unto us, for we are\nlaid waste.\n\n4:14. Wash thy heart from wickedness, O Jerusalem, that thou mayst be\nsaved:  how long shall hurtful thoughts abide in thee?\n\n4:15. For a voice of one declaring from Dan, and giving notice of the\nidol from mount Ephraim.\n\n4:16. Say ye to the nations:  Behold it is heard in Jerusalem, that\nguards are coming from a far country, and give out their voice against\nthe cities of Juda.\n\n4:17. They are set round about her, as keepers of fields:  because she\nhath provoked me to wrath, saith the Lord.\n\n4:18. Thy ways, and thy devices have brought these things upon thee:\nthis is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it hath touched\nthy heart.\n\n4:19. My bowels, my bowels are in part, the senses of my heart are\ntroubled within me, I will not hold my peace, for my soul hath heard\nthe sound of the trumpet, the cry of battle.\n\n4:20. Destruction upon destruction is called for, and all the earth is\nlaid waste:  my tents are destroyed on a sudden, and my pavilions in a\nmoment.\n\n4:21. How long shall I see men fleeing away, how long shall I hear the\nsound of the trumpet?\n\n4:22. For my foolish people have not known me:  they are foolish and\nsenseless children:  they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have\nno knowledge.\n\n4:23. I beheld the earth, and lo it was void, and nothing:  and the\nheavens, and there was no light in them.\n\n4:24. I looked upon the mountains, and behold they trembled:  and all\nthe hills were troubled.\n\n4:25. I beheld, and lo there was no man:  and all the birds of the air\nwere gone.\n\n4:26. I looked, and behold Carmel was a wilderness:  and all its cities\nwere destroyed at the presence of the Lord, and at the presence of the\nwrath of his indignation.\n\n4:27. For thus saith the Lord:  All the land shall be desolate, but yet\nI will not utterly destroy.\n\n4:28. The Earth shall mourn, and the heavens shall lament from above:\nbecause I have spoken, I have purposed, and I have not repented,\nneither am I turned away from it.\n\n4:29. At the voice of the horsemen, and the archers, all the city is\nfled away:  they have entered into thickets and climbed up the rocks:\nall the cities are forsaken, and there dwelleth not a man in them.\n\n4:30. But when thou art spoiled what wilt thou do?  though thou clothest\nthyself with scarlet, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold,\nand paintest thy eyes with stibic stone, thou shalt dress thyself out\nin vain:  thy lovers have despised thee, they will seek thy life.\n\n4:31. For I have heard the voice as of a woman in travail, anguishes as\nof a woman in labour of a child.  The voice of the daughter of Sion,\ndying away, spreading her hands:  Woe is me, for my soul hath fainted\nbecause of them that are slain.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 5\n\n\nThe judgments of God shall fall upon the Jews for their manifold sins.\n\n5:1. Go about through the streets of Jerusalem, and see, and consider,\nand seek in the broad places thereof, if you can find a man that\nexecuteth judgment, and seeketh faith:  and I will be merciful unto it.\n\n5:2. And though they say:  The Lord liveth; this also they will swear\nfalsely.\n\n5:3. O Lord, thy eyes are upon truth:  thou hast struck them, and they\nhave not grieved:  thou hast bruised them, and they have refused to\nreceive correction:  they have made their faces harder than the rock,\nand they have refused to return.\n\n5:4. But I said:  Perhaps these are poor and foolish, that know not the\nway of the Lord, the judgment of their God.\n\n5:5. I will go therefore to the great men, and will speak to them:  for\nthey have known the way of the Lord, the judgment of their God:  and\nbehold these have altogether broken the yoke more, and have burst the\nbonds.\n\n5:6. Wherefore a lion out of the wood hath slain them, a wolf in the\nevening hath spoiled them, a leopard watcheth for their cities:  every\none that shall go out thence shall be taken, because their\ntransgressions are multiplied, their rebellions are strengthened.\n\n5:7. How can I be merciful to thee?  thy children have forsaken me, and\nswear by them that are not gods:  I fed them to the full, and they\ncommitted adultery, and rioted in the harlot's house.\n\n5:8. They are become as amorous horses and stallions:  every one neighed\nafter his neighbour's wife.\n\n5:9. Shall I not visit for these things, saith the Lord?  and shall not\nmy soul take revenge on such a nation?\n\n5:10. Scale the walls thereof, and throw them down, but do not utterly\ndestroy:  take away the branches thereof, because they are not the\nLord's.\n\n5:11. For the house of Israel, and the house of Juda have greatly\ntransgressed against me, saith the Lord.\n\n5:12. They have denied the Lord, and said, It is not he:  and the evil\nshall not come upon us:  we shall not see the sword and famine.\n\n5:13. The prophets have spoken in the wind, and there was no word of\nGod in them:  these things therefore shall befall them.\n\n5:14. Thus saith the Lord the God of hosts:  because you have spoken\nthis word, behold I will make my words in thy mouth as fire, and this\npeople as wood, and it shall devour them.\n\n5:15. Behold I will bring upon you a nation from afar, O house of\nIsrael, saith the Lord:  a strong nation, an ancient nation, a nation\nwhose language thou shalt not know, nor understand what they say.\n\n5:16. Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all valiant.\n\n5:17. And they shall eat up thy corn, and thy bread:  they shall devour\nthy sons, and thy daughters:  they shall eat up thy flocks, and thy\nherds:  they shall eat thy vineyards, and thy figs:  and with the sword\nthey shall destroy thy strong cities, wherein thou trustest.\n\n5:18. Nevertheless in those days, saith the Lord, I will not bring you\nto utter destruction.\n\n5:19. And if you shall say:  Why hath the Lord our God done all these\nthings to us?  thou shalt say to them:  As you have forsaken me, and\nserved a strange god in your own land, so shall you serve strangers in\na land that is not your own.\n\n5:20. Declare ye this to the house of Jacob, and publish it in Juda,\nsaying:\n\n5:21. Hear, O foolish people, and without understanding:  who have eyes,\nand see not:  and ears, and hear not.\n\n5:22. Will not you then fear me, saith the Lord:  and will you not\nrepent at my presence?  I have set the sand a bound for the sea, an\neverlasting ordinance, which it shall not pass over:  and the waves\nthereof shall toss themselves, and shall not prevail:  they shall swell,\nand shall not pass over it.\n\n5:23. But the heart of this people is become hard of belief and\nprovoking, they are revolted and gone away.\n\n5:24. And they have not said in their heart:  Let us fear the Lord our\nGod, who giveth us the early and the latter rain in due season:  who\npreserveth for us the fulness of the yearly harvest.\n\n5:25. Your iniquities have turned these things away, and your sins have\nwithholden good things from you.\n\n5:26. For among my people are found wicked men, that lie in wait as\nfowlers, setting snares and traps to catch men.\n\n5:27. As a net is full of birds, so their houses are full of deceit:\ntherefore are they become great and enriched.\n\n5:28. They are grown gross and fat:  and have most wickedly transgressed\nmy words.  They have not judged the cause of the widow, they have not\nmanaged the cause of the fatherless, and they have not judged the\njudgment of the poor.\n\n5:29. Shall I not visit for these things, saith the Lord?  or shall not\nmy soul take revenge on such a nation?\n\n5:30. Astonishing and wonderful things have been done in the land.\n\n5:31. The prophets prophesied falsehood, and the priests clapped their\nhands:  and my people loved such things:  what then shall be done in the\nend thereof?\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 6\n\n\nThe evils that threaten Jerusalem.  She is invited to return, and walk\nin the good way, and not to rely on sacrifices without obedience.\n\n6:1. Strengthen yourselves, ye sons of Benjamin, in the midst of\nJerusalem, and sound the trumpet in Thecua, and set up the standard\nover Bethacarem:  for evil is seen out of the north, and a great\ndestruction.\n\n6:2. I have likened the daughter of Sion to a beautiful and delicate\nwoman.\n\n6:3. The shepherds shall come to her with their flocks:  they have\npitched their tents against her round about:  every one shall feed them\nthat are under his hand.\n\n6:4. Prepare ye war against her:  arise, and let us go up at midday:  woe\nunto us, for the day is declined, for the shadows of the evening are\ngrown longer.\n\n6:5. Arise, and let us go up in the night, and destroy her houses.\n\n6:6. For thus saith the Lord of hosts:  Hew down her trees, cast up a\ntrench about Jerusalem:  this is the city to be visited, all oppression\nis in the midst of her.\n\n6:7. As a cistern maketh its water cold, so hath she made her\nwickedness cold:  violence and spoil shall be heard in her, infirmity\nand stripes are continually before me.\n\n6:8. Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee,\nlest I make thee desolate, a land uninhabited.\n\n6:9. Thus saith the Lord of hosts:  They shall gather the remains of\nIsrael, as in a vine, even to one cluster:  turn back thy hand, as a\ngrapegatherer into the basket.\n\n6:10. To whom shall I speak?  and to whom shall I testify, that he may\nhear?  behold, their ears are uncircumcised, and they cannot hear:\nbehold the word of the Lord is become unto them a reproach:  and they\nwill not receive it.\n\n6:11. Therefore am I full of the fury of the Lord, I am weary with\nholding in:  pour it out upon the child abroad, and upon the council of\nthe young men together:  for man and woman shall be taken, the ancient\nand he that is full of days.\n\n6:12. And their houses shall be turned over to others, with their lands\nand their wives together:  for I will stretch forth my hand upon the\ninhabitants of the land, saith the Lord.\n\n6:13. For from the least of them even to the greatest, all are given to\ncovetousness:  and from the prophet even to the priest, all are guilty\nof deceit.\n\n6:14. And they healed the breach of the daughter of my people\ndisgracefully, saying:  Peace, peace:  and there was no peace.\n\n6:15. They were confounded, because they committed abomination:  yea,\nrather they were not confounded with confusion, and they knew not how\nto blush:  wherefore they shall fall among them that fall:  in the time\nof their visitation they shall fall down, saith the Lord.\n\n6:16. Thus saith the Lord:  Stand ye on the ways, and see, and ask for\nthe old paths, which is the good way, and walk ye in it:  and you shall\nfind refreshment for your souls.  And they said:  We will not walk.\n\n6:17. And I appointed watchmen over you, saying:  Hearken ye to the\nsound of the trumpet.  And they said:  We will not hearken.\n\n6:18. Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what great\nthings I will do to them.\n\n6:19. Hear, O earth:  Behold I will bring evils upon this people, the\nfruits of their own thoughts:  because they have not heard my words, and\nthey have cast away my law.\n\n6:20. To what purpose do you bring me frankincense from Saba, and the\nsweet smelling cane from a far country?  your holocausts are not\nacceptable, nor are your sacrifices pleasing to me.\n\n6:21. Therefore thus saith the Lord:  Behold I will bring destruction\nupon this people, by which fathers and sons together shall fall,\nneighbour and kinsman shall perish.\n\n6:22. Thus saith the Lord:  Behold a people cometh from the land of the\nnorth, and a great nation shall rise up from the ends of the earth.\n\n6:23. They shall lay hold on arrow and shield:  they are cruel, and will\nhave no mercy.  Their voice shall roar like the sea:  and they shall\nmount upon horses, prepared as men for war, against thee, O daughter of\nSion.\n\n6:24. We have heard the fame thereof, our hands grow feeble:  anguish\nhath taken hold of us, as a woman in labour.\n\n6:25. Go not out into the fields, nor walk in the highway:  for the\nsword of the enemy, and fear is on every side.\n\n6:26. Gird thee with sackcloth, O daughter of my people, and sprinkle\nthee with ashes:  make thee mourning as for an only son, a bitter\nlamentation, because the destroyer shall suddenly come upon us.\n\n6:27. I have set thee for a strong trier among my people:  and thou\nshalt know, and prove their way.\n\n6:28. All these princes go out of the way, they walk deceitfully, they\nare brass and iron:  they are all corrupted.\n\n6:29. The bellows have failed, the lead is consumed in the fire, the\nfounder hath melted in vain:  for their wicked deeds are not consumed.\n\n6:30. Call them reprobate silver, for the Lord hath rejected them.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 7\n\n\nThe temple of God shall not protect a sinful people, without a sincere\nconversion.  The Lord will not receive the prayers of the prophet for\nthem:  because they are obstinate in their sins.\n\n7:1. The word that came to Jeremias from the Lord, saying:\n\n7:2. Stand in the gate of the house of the Lord, and proclaim there\nthis word, and say:  Hear ye the word of the Lord, all ye men of Juda,\nthat enter in at these gates, to adore the Lord.\n\n7:3. Thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel:  Make your ways and\nyour doings good:  and I will dwell with you in this place.\n\n7:4. Trust not in lying words, saying:  The temple of the Lord, the\ntemple of the Lord, it is the temple of the Lord.\n\n7:5. For if you will order well your ways, and your doings:  if you will\nexecute judgment between a man and his neighbour,\n\n7:6. If you oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow,\nand shed not innocent blood in this place, and walk not after strange\ngods to your own hurt,\n\n7:7. I will dwell with you in this place:  in the land, which I gave to\nyour fathers from the beginning and for evermore.\n\n7:8. Behold you put your trust in lying words, which shall not profit\nyou:\n\n7:9. To steal, to murder, to commit adultery, to swear falsely, to\noffer to Baalim, and to go after strange gods, which you know not.\n\n7:10. And you have come, and stood before me in this house, in which my\nname is called upon, and have said:  We are delivered, because we have\ndone all these abominations.\n\n7:11. Is this house then, in which my name hath been called upon, in\nyour eyes become a den of robbers?  I, I am he:  I have seen it, saith\nthe Lord.\n\n7:12. Go ye to my place in Silo, where my name dwelt from the\nbeginning:  and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people\nIsrael:\n\n7:13. And now, because you have done all these works, saith the Lord:\nand I have spoken to you rising up early, and speaking, and you have\nnot heard:  and I have called you, and you have not answered:\n\n7:14. I will do to this house, in which my name is called upon, and in\nwhich you trust, and to the place which I have given you and your\nfathers, as I did to Silo.\n\n7:15. And I will cast you away from before my face, as I have cast away\nall your brethren, the whole seed of Ephraim.\n\n7:16. Therefore do not thou pray for this people, nor take to thee\npraise and supplication for them:  and do not withstand me:  for I will\nnot hear thee.\n\n7:17. Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Juda, and in the\nstreets of Jerusalem?\n\n7:18. The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and\nthe women knead the dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to\noffer libations to strange gods, and to provoke me to anger.\n\nQueen of heaven. . .That is, the moon, which they worshipped under that\nname.\n\n7:19. Do they provoke me to anger, saith the Lord?  is it not\nthemselves, to the confusion of their own countenance?\n\n7:20. Therefore thus saith the Lord God:  Behold my wrath and my\nindignation is enkindled against this place, upon men and upon beasts,\nand upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruits of the land, and\nit shall burn, and shall not be quenched.\n\n7:21. Thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel:  Add your burnt\nofferings to your sacrifices, and eat ye the flesh.\n\n7:22. For I spoke not to your fathers, and I commanded them not, in the\nday that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning the matter\nof burnt offerings and sacrifices.\n\nI commanded them not. . .Viz., such sacrifices as the Jews at this time\noffered, without obedience; which was the thing principally commanded:\nso that in comparison with it, the offering of the holocausts and\nsacrifices was of small account.\n\n7:23. But this thing I commanded them, saying:  Hearken to my voice, and\nI will be your God, and you shall be my people:  and walk ye in all the\nway that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.\n\n7:24. But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear:  but walked in\ntheir own will, and in the perversity of their wicked heart:  and went\nbackward and not forward,\n\n7:25. From the day that their fathers came out of the land of Egypt,\neven to this day.  And I have sent to you all my servants the prophets,\nfrom day to day, rising up early and sending.\n\n7:26. And they have not hearkened to me:  nor inclined their ear:  but\nhave hardened their neck, and have done worse than their fathers.\n\n7:27. And thou shalt speak to them all these words, but they will not\nhearken to thee:  and thou shalt call them, but they will not answer\nthee.\n\n7:28. And thou shalt say to them:  This is a nation which hath not\nhearkened to the voice of the Lord their God, nor received instruction:\nfaith is lost, and is taken away out of their mouth.\n\n7:29. Cut off thy hair, and cast it away:  and take up a lamentation on\nhigh:  for the Lord hath rejected, and forsaken the generation of his\nwrath,\n\n7:30. Because the children of Juda have done evil in my eyes, saith the\nLord.  They have set their abominations in the house in which my name is\ncalled upon, to pollute it;\n\n7:31. And they have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the\nvalley of the son of Ennom, to burn their sons, and their daughters in\nthe fire:  which I commanded not, nor thought on in my heart.\n\n7:32. Therefore behold the days shall come, saith the Lord, and it\nshall no more be called Topheth, nor the valley of the son of Ennom:\nbut the valley of slaughter:  and they shall bury in Topheth, because\nthere is no place.\n\n7:33. And the carcasses of this people shall be meat for the fowls of\nthe air, and for the beasts of the earth, and there shall be none to\ndrive them away.\n\n7:34. And I will cause to cease out of the cities of Juda, and out of\nthe streets of Jerusalem, the voice of joy, and the voice of gladness,\nthe voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride:  for the land\nshall be desolate.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 8\n\n\nOther evils that shall fall upon the Jews for their impenitence.\n\n8:1. At that time, saith the Lord, they shall cast out the bones of the\nkings of Juda, and the bones of the princes thereof, and the bones of\nthe priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the\ninhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves.\n\n8:2. And they shall spread them abroad to the sun, and the moon, and\nall the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have\nserved, and after whom have walked, and whom they have sought, and\nadored:  they shall not be gathered, and they shall not be buried:  they\nshall be as dung upon the face of the earth.\n\n8:3. And death shall be chosen rather than life by all that shall\nremain of this wicked kindred in all places, which are left, to which I\nhave cast them out, saith the Lord of hosts.\n\n8:4. And thou shalt say to them:  Thus saith the Lord:  Shall not he that\nfalleth, rise again?  and he that is turned away, shall he not turn\nagain?\n\n8:5. Why then is this people in Jerusalem turned away with a stubborn\nrevolting?  they have laid hold on lying, and have refused to return.\n\n8:6. I attended, and hearkened; no man speaketh what is good, there is\nnone that doth penance for his sin, saying:  What have I done?  They are\nall turned to their own course, as a horse rushing to the battle.\n\n8:7. The kite in the air hath known her time:  the turtle, and the\nswallow, and the stork have observed the time of their coming:  but my\npeople have not known the judgment of the Lord.\n\n8:8. How do you say:  We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us?\nIndeed the lying pens of the scribes hath wrought falsehood.\n\n8:9. The wise men are confounded, they are dismayed, and taken:  for\nthey have cast away the word of the Lord, and there is no wisdom in\nthem.\n\n8:10. Therefore will I give their women to strangers, their fields to\nothers for an inheritance:  because from the least even to the greatest\nall follow covetousness:  from the prophet even to the priest all deal\ndeceitfully.\n\n8:11. And they healed the breach of the daughter of my people\ndisgracefully, saying:  Peace, peace:  when there was no peace.\n\n8:12. They are confounded, because they have committed abomination:  yea\nrather they are not confounded with confusion, and they have not known\nhow to blush:  therefore shall they fall among them that fall; in the\ntime of their visitation they shall fall, saith the Lord.\n\n8:13. Gathering I will gather them together, saith the Lord, there is\nno grape on the vines, and there are no figs on the fig tree, the leaf\nis fallen:  and I have given them the things that are passed away.\n\n8:14. Why do we sit still?  assemble yourselves, and let us enter into\nthe fenced city, and let us be silent there:  for the Lord our God hath\nput us to silence, and hath given us water of gall to drink:  for we\nhave sinned against the Lord.\n\n8:15. We looked for peace and no good came:  for a time of healing, and\nbehold fear.\n\n8:16. The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan, all the land was\nmoved at the sound of the neighing of his warriors:  and they came and\ndevoured the land, and all that was in it:  the city and its\ninhabitants.\n\n8:17. For behold I will send among you serpents, basilisks, against\nwhich there is no charm:  and they shall bite you, saith the Lord.\n\n8:18. My sorrow is above sorrow, my heart mourneth within me.\n\n8:19. Behold the voice of the daughter of my people from a far country:\nIs not the Lord in Sion, or is not her king in her?  why then have they\nprovoked me to wrath with their idols, and strange vanities?\n\n8:20. The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.\n\n8:21. For the affliction of the daughter of my people I am afflicted,\nand made sorrowful, astonishment hath taken hold on me.\n\n8:22. Is there no balm in Galaad?  or is there no physician there?  Why\nthen is not the wound of the daughter of my people closed?\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 9\n\n\nThe prophet laments the miseries of his people:  and their sins, which\nare the cause of them.  He exhorts them to repentance.\n\n9:1. Who will give water to my head, and a fountain of tears to my\neyes?  and I will weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my\npeople.\n\n9:2. Who will give me in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring\nmen, and I will leave my people, and depart from them?  because they are\nall adulterers, an assembly of transgressors.\n\n9:3. And they have bent their tongue, as a bow, for lies, and not for\ntruth:  they have strengthened themselves upon the earth, for they have\nproceeded from evil to evil, and me they have not known, saith the\nLord.\n\n9:4. Let every man take heed of his neighbour, and let him not trust in\nany brother of his:  for every brother will utterly supplant, and every\nfriend will walk deceitfully.\n\n9:5. And a man shall mock his brother, and they will not speak the\ntruth:  for they have taught their tongue to speak lies:  they have\nlaboured to commit iniquity.\n\n9:6. Thy habitation is in the midst of deceit:  through deceit they have\nrefused to know me, saith the Lord.\n\n9:7. Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts:  Behold I will melt, and\ntry them:  for what else shall I do before the daughter of my people?\n\n9:8. Their tongue is a piercing arrow, it hath spoken deceit:  with his\nmouth one speaketh peace with his friend, and secretly he lieth in wait\nfor him.\n\n9:9. Shall I not visit them for these things, saith the Lord?  or shall\nnot my soul be revenged on such a nation?\n\n9:10. For the mountains I will take up weeping and lamentation, and for\nthe beautiful places of the desert, mourning:  because they are burnt\nup, for that there is not a man that passeth through them:  and they\nhave not heard the voice of the owner:  from the fowl of the air to the\nbeasts they are gone away and departed.\n\n9:11. And I will make Jerusalem to be heaps of sand, and dens of\ndragons:  and I will make the cities of Juda desolate, for want of an\ninhabitant.\n\n9:12. Who is the wise man, that may understand this, and to whom the\nword of the mouth of the Lord may come that he may declare this, why\nthe land hath perished, and is burnt up like a wilderness, which none\npasseth through?\n\n9:13. And the Lord said:  Because they have forsaken my law, which I\ngave them, and have not heard my voice, and have not walked in it.\n\n9:14. But they have gone after the perverseness of their own heart, and\nafter Baalim, which their fathers taught them.\n\n9:15. Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel:  Behold\nI will feed this people with wormwood, and give them water of gall to\ndrink.\n\n9:16. And I will scatter them among the nations, which they and their\nfathers have not known:  and I will send the sword after them till they\nbe consumed.\n\n9:17. Thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel:  Consider ye, and\ncall for the mourning women, and let them come:  and send to them that\nare wise women, and let them make haste:\n\n9:18. Let them hasten and take up a lamentation for us:  let our eyes\nshed tears, and our eyelids run down with waters.\n\n9:19. For a voice of wailing is heard out of Sion:  How are we wasted\nand greatly confounded?  because we have left the land, because our\ndwellings are cast down.\n\n9:20. Hear therefore, ye women, the word of the Lord:  and let your ears\nreceive the word of his mouth:  and teach your daughters wailing:  and\nevery one her neighbour mourning.\n\n9:21. For death is come up through our windows, it is entered into our\nhouses to destroy the children from without, the young men from the\nstreets.\n\n9:22. Speak:  Thus saith the Lord:  Even the carcass of man shall fall as\ndung upon the face of the country, and as grass behind the back of the\nmower, and there is none to gather it.\n\n9:23. Thus saith the Lord:  Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,\nand let not the strong man glory in his strength, and let not the rich\nman glory in his riches:\n\n9:24. But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth\nand knoweth me, for I am the Lord that exercise mercy, and judgment,\nand justice in the earth:  for these things please me, saith the Lord.\n\n9:25. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, and I will visit upon\nevery one that hath the foreskin circumcised.\n\n9:26. Upon Egypt, and upon Juda, and upon Edom, and upon the children\nof Ammon, and upon Moab, and upon all that have their hair polled\nround, that dwell in the desert:  for all the nations are uncircumcised\nin the flesh, but all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the\nheart.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 10\n\n\nNeither stars nor idols are to be feared, but the great Creator of all\nthings.  The chastisement of Jerusalem for her sins.\n\n10:1. Hear ye the word which the Lord hath spoken concerning you, O\nhouse of Israel.\n\n10:2. Thus saith the Lord:  Learn not according to the ways of the\nGentiles:  and be not afraid of the signs of heaven, which the heathens\nfear:\n\n10:3. For the laws of the people are vain:  for the works of the hand of\nthe workman hath cut a tree out of the forest with an axe.\n\n10:4. He hath decked it with silver and gold:  he hath put it together\nwith nails and hammers, that it may not fall asunder.\n\n10:5. They are framed after the likeness of a palm tree, and shall not\nspeak:  they must be carried to be removed, because they cannot go.\nTherefore fear them not, for they can neither do evil nor good.\n\n10:6. There is none like to thee, O Lord:  thou art great, and great is\nthy name in might.\n\n10:7. Who shall not fear thee, O king of nations?  for thine is the\nglory:  among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms\nthere is none like unto thee.\n\n10:8. They shall be all proved together to be senseless and foolish:\nthe doctrine of their vanity is wood.\n\n10:9. Silver spread into plates is brought from Tharsis, and gold from\nOphaz:  the work of the artificer, and of the hand of the coppersmith:\nviolet and purple is their clothing:  all these things are the work of\nartificers.\n\n10:10. But the Lord is the true God:  he is the living God, and the\neverlasting king:  at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations\nshall not be able to abide his threatening.\n\n10:11. Thus then shall you say to them:  The gods that have not made\nheaven and earth, let them perish from the earth, and from among those\nplaces that are under heaven.\n\n10:12. He that maketh the earth by his power, that prepareth the world\nby his wisdom, and stretcheth out the heavens by his knowledge.\n\n10:13. At his voice he giveth a multitude of waters in the heaven, and\nlifteth up the clouds from the ends of the earth:  he maketh lightnings\nfor rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.\n\n10:14. Every man is become a fool for knowledge, every artist is\nconfounded in his graven idol:  for what he hath cast is false, and\nthere is no spirit in them.\n\n10:15. They are vain things, and a ridiculous work:  in the time of\ntheir visitation they shall perish.\n\n10:16. The portion of Jacob is not like these:  for it is he who formed\nall things:  and Israel is the rod of his inheritance:  the Lord of hosts\nis his name.\n\n10:17. Gather up thy shame out of the land, thou that dwellest in a\nsiege.\n\n10:18. For thus saith he Lord:  Behold I will cast away far off the\ninhabitants of the land at this time:  and I will afflict them, so that\nthey may be found.\n\n10:19. Woe is me for my destruction, my wound is very grievous.  But I\nsaid:  Truly this is my own evil, and I will bear it.\n\n10:20. My tabernacle is laid waste, all my cords are broken:  my\nchildren are gone out from me, and they are not:  there is none to\nstretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains.\n\n10:21. Because the pastors have done foolishly, and have not sought the\nLord:  therefore have they not understood, and all their flock is\nscattered.\n\n10:22. Behold the sound of a noise cometh, a great commotion out of the\nland of the north:  to make the cities of Juda a desert, and a dwelling\nfor dragons.\n\n10:23. I know, O Lord, that the way of a man is not his:  neither is it\nin a man to walk, and to direct his steps.\n\nThe way of a man is not his. . .The meaning is, that notwithstanding\nman's free will, yet he can do no good without God's help, nor evil\nwithout his permission.  So that, in the present case, all the evils\nwhich Nabuchodonosor was about to bring upon Jerusalem, could not have\ncome but by the will of God.\n\n10:24. Correct me, O Lord, but yet with judgment:  and not in thy fury,\nlest thou bring me to nothing.\n\n10:25. Pour out thy indignation upon the nations that have not known\nthee, and upon the provinces that have not called upon thy name:\nbecause they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him,\nand have destroyed his glory.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 11\n\n\nThe prophet proclaims the covenant of God:  and denounces evils to the\nobstinate transgressors of it.  The conspiracy of the Jews against him,\na figure of their conspiracy against Christ.\n\n11:1. The word that came from the Lord to Jeremias, saying:\n\n11:2. Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Juda,\nand to the inhabitants of Jerusalem,\n\n11:3. And thou shalt say to them:  Thus saith the Lord the God of\nIsrael:  Cursed is the man that shall not hearken to the words of this\ncovenant,\n\n11:4. Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them out\nof the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying:  Hear ye my voice,\nand do all things that I command you:  and you shall be my people, and I\nwill be your God:\n\n11:5. That I may accomplish the oath which I swore to your fathers, to\ngive them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day.  And I\nanswered and said:  Amen, O Lord.\n\n11:6. And the Lord said to me:  Proclaim aloud all these words in the\ncities of Juda, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying:  Hear ye the\nwords of the covenant, and do them:\n\n11:7. For protesting I conjured your fathers in the day that I brought\nthem out of the land of Egypt even to this day:  rising early I conjured\nthem, and said:  Hearken ye to my voice:\n\n11:8. And they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear:  but walked every one\nin the perverseness of his own wicked heart:  and I brought upon them\nall the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they\ndid them not.\n\n11:9. And the Lord said to me:  A conspiracy is found among the men of\nJuda, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.\n\n11:10. They are returned to the former iniquities of their fathers, who\nrefused to hear my words:  so these likewise have gone after strange\ngods, to serve them:  the house of Israel, and the house of Juda have\nmade void my covenant, which I made with their fathers.\n\n11:11. Wherefore thus saith the Lord:  Behold I will bring in evils upon\nthem, which they shall not be able to escape:  and they shall cry to me,\nand I will not hearken to them.\n\n11:12. And the cities of Juda, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall\ngo, and cry to the gods to whom they offer sacrifice, and they shall\nnot save them in the time of their affliction.\n\n11:13. For according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Juda:\nand according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem thou hast set\nup altars of confusion, altars to offer sacrifice to Baalim.\n\n11:14. Therefore do not thou pray for this people, and do not take up\npraise and prayer for them:  for I will not hear them in the time of\ntheir cry to me, in the time of their affliction.\n\n11:15. What is the meaning that my beloved hath wrought much wickedness\nin my house?  shall the holy flesh take away from thee thy crimes, in\nwhich thou hast boasted?\n\n11:16. The Lord called thy name, a plentiful olive tree, fair,\nfruitful, and beautiful:  at the noise of a word, a great fire was\nkindled in it, and the branches thereof are burnt.\n\n11:17. And the Lord of hosts that planted thee, hath pronounced evil\nagainst thee:  for the evils of the house of Israel, and of the house of\nJuda, which they have done to themselves, to provoke me, offering\nsacrifice to Baalim.\n\n11:18. But thou, O Lord, hast shewn me, and I have known:  then thou\nshewedst me their doings.\n\n11:19. And I was as a meek lamb, that is carried to be a victim:  and I\nknew not that they had devised counsels against me, saying:  Let us put\nwood on his bread, and cut him off from the land of the living, and let\nhis name be remembered no more.\n\n11:20. But thou, O Lord of Sabaoth, who judgest justly, and triest the\nreins and the hearts, let me see thy revenge on them:  for to thee have\nI revealed my cause.\n\nSabaoth. . .That is, of hosts or armies, a name frequently given to God\nin the scriptures.--Ibid.  Thy revenge. . .This was rather a prediction\nof what was to happen, with an approbation of the divine justice, than an\nimprecation.\n\n11:21. Therefore thus saith the Lord to the men of Anathoth, who seek\nthy life, and say:  Thou shalt not prophesy in the name of the Lord, and\nthou shalt not die in our hands.\n\n11:22. Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts:  Behold I will visit upon\nthem:  their young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their\ndaughters shall die by famine.\n\n11:23. And there shall be no remains of them:  for I will bring in evil\nupon the men of Anathoth, the year of their visitation.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 12\n\n\nThe prosperity of the wicked shall be but for a short time.  The\ndesolation of the Jews for their sins.  Their return from their\ncaptivity.\n\n12:1. Thou indeed, O Lord, art just, if I plead with thee, but yet I\nwill speak what is just to thee:  Why doth the way of the wicked\nprosper:  why is it well with all them that transgress, and do wickedly?\n\n12:2. Thou hast planted them, and they have taken root:  they prosper\nand bring forth fruit:  thou art near in their mouth, and far from their\nreins.\n\n12:3. And thou, O Lord, hast known me, thou hast seen me, and proved my\nheart with thee:  gather them together as for the day of slaughter.\n\n12:4. How long shall the land mourn, and the herb of every field wither\nfor the wickedness of them that dwell therein?  The beasts and the birds\nare consumed:  because they have said:  He shall not see our last end.\n\n12:5. If thou hast been wearied with running with footmen, how canst\nthou contend with horses?  and if thou hast been secure in a land of\npeace, what wilt thou do in the swelling of the Jordan?\n\n12:6. For even thy brethren, and the house of thy father, even they\nhave fought against thee, and have cried after thee with full voice:\nbelieve them not when they speak good things to thee.\n\n12:7. I have forsaken my house, I have left my inheritance:  I have\ngiven my dear soul into the hand of her enemies.\n\n12:8. My inheritance is become to me as a lion in the wood:  it hath\ncried out against me, therefore have I hated it.\n\n12:9. Is my inheritance to me as a speckled bird?  is it as a bird dyed\nthroughout?  come ye, assemble yourselves, all ye beasts of the earth,\nmake haste to devour.\n\n12:10. Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my\nportion under foot:  they have changed my delightful portion into a\ndesolate wilderness.\n\n12:11. They have laid it waste, and it hath mourned for me.  With\ndesolation is all the land made desolate; because there is none that\nconsidereth in the heart.\n\n12:12. The spoilers are come upon all the ways of the wilderness, for\nthe sword of the Lord shall devour from one end of the land to the\nother end thereof:  there is no peace for all flesh.\n\n12:13. They have sown wheat, and reaped thorns:  they have received an\ninheritance, and it shall not profit them:  you shall be ashamed of your\nfruits, because of the fierce wrath of the Lord.\n\n12:14. Thus saith the Lord against all wicked neighbours, that touch\nthe inheritance that I have shared out to my people Israel:  Behold I\nwill pluck them out of their land, and I will pluck the house of Juda\nout of the midst of them.\n\n12:15. And when I shall have plucked them out, I will return, and have\nmercy on them:  and will bring them back, every man to his inheritance,\nand every man into his land.\n\n12:16. And it shall come to pass, if they will be taught, and will\nlearn the ways of my people, to swear by my name:  The Lord liveth, as\nthey have taught my people to swear by Baal:  that they shall be built\nup in the midst of my people.\n\n12:17. But if they will not hear, I will utterly pluck out and destroy\nthat nation, saith the Lord.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 13\n\n\nUnder the figure of a linen girdle is foretold the destruction of the\nJews.  Their obstinacy in sin brings all miseries upon them.\n\n13:1. Thus saith the Lord to me:  Go, and get thee a linen girdle, and\nthou shalt put it about thy loins, and shalt not put it into water.\n\n13:2. And I got a girdle according to the word of the Lord, and put it\nabout my loins.\n\n13:3. And the word of the Lord came to me the second time, saying:\n\n13:4. Take the girdle which thou hast got, which is about thy loins,\nand arise, go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the\nrock.\n\n13:5. And I went, and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord had\ncommanded me.\n\n13:6. And it came to pass after many days, that the Lord said to me:\nArise, go to the Euphrates, and take from thence the girdle, which I\ncommanded thee to hide there.\n\n13:7. And I went to the Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle out\nof the place where I had hid it and behold the girdle was rotten, so\nthat it was fit for no use.\n\n13:8. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n13:9. Thus saith the Lord:  After this manner will I make the pride of\nJuda, and the great pride of Jerusalem to rot.\n\n13:10. This wicked people, that will not hear my words, and that walk\nin the perverseness of their heart, and have gone after strange gods to\nserve them, and to adore them:  and they shall be as this girdle ,which\nis fit for no use.\n\n13:11. For as the girdle sticketh close to the loins of a man, so have\nI brought close to me all the house of Israel, and all the house of\nJuda, saith the Lord:  that they might be my people, and for a name, and\nfor a praise, and for a glory:  but they would not hear.\n\n13:12. Thou shalt speak therefore to them this word:  Thus saith the\nLord the God of Israel:  Every bottle shall be filled with wine.  And\nthey shall say to thee:  Do we not know that every bottle shall be\nfilled with wine?\n\n13:13. And thou shalt say to them:  Thus saith the Lord:  Behold I will\nfill all the inhabitants of this land, and the kings of the race of\nDavid that sit upon his throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and\nall the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness.\n\n13:14. And I will scatter them every man from his brother, and fathers\nand sons in like manner, saith the Lord:  I will not spare, and I will\nnot pardon:  nor will I have mercy, but to destroy them.\n\n13:15. Hear ye, and give ear:  Be not proud, for the Lord hath spoken.\n\n13:16. Give ye glory to the Lord your God, before it be dark, and\nbefore your feet stumble upon the dark mountains:  you shall look for\nlight, and he will turn it into the shadow of death, and into darkness.\n\n13:17. But if you will not hear this, my soul shall weep in secret for\nyour pride:  weeping it shall weep, and my eyes shall run down with\ntears, because the flock of the Lord is carried away captive.\n\n13:18. Say to the king, and to the queen:  Humble yourselves, sit down:\nfor the crown of your glory is come down from your head.\n\n13:19. The cities of the south are shut up, and there is none to open\nthem:  all Juda is carried away captive with an entire captivity.\n\n13:20. Lift up your eyes, and see, you that come from the north:  where\nis the flock that is given thee, thy beautiful cattle?\n\n13:21. What wilt thou say when he shall visit thee?  for thou hast\ntaught them against thee, and instructed them against thy own head:\nshall not sorrows lay hold on thee, as a woman in labour?\n\n13:22. And if thou shalt say in thy heart:  Why are these things come\nupon me?  For the greatness of thy iniquity, thy nakedness is\ndiscovered, the soles of thy feet are defiled.\n\n13:23. If the Ethiopian can change his skin, or the leopard his spots:\nyou also may do well, when you have learned evil.\n\n13:24. And I will scatter them as stubble, which is carried away by the\nwind in the desert.\n\n13:25. This is thy lot, and the portion of thy measure from me, saith\nthe Lord, because thou hast forgotten me, and hast trusted in\nfalsehood.\n\n13:26. Wherefore I have also bared thy thighs against thy face, and thy\nshame hath appeared.\n\n13:27. I have seen thy adulteries, and thy neighing, the wickedness of\nthy fornication:  and thy abominations, upon the hills in the field.  Woe\nto thee, Jerusalem, wilt thou not be made clean after me:  how long yet?\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 14\n\n\nA grievous famine:  and the prophet's prayer on that occasion.  Evils\ndenounced to false prophets.  The prophet mourns for his people.\n\n14:1. The word of the Lord that came to Jeremias concerning the words\nof the drought.\n\n14:2. Judea hath mourned, and the gates thereof are fallen, and are\nbecome obscure on the ground, and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.\n\n14:3. The great ones sent their inferiors to the water:  they came to\ndraw, they found no water, they carried back their vessels empty:  they\nwere confounded and afflicted, and covered their heads.\n\n14:4. For the destruction of the land, because there came no rain upon\nthe earth, the husbandman were confounded, they covered their heads.\n\n14:5. Yea, the hind also brought forth in the field, and left it,\nbecause there was no grass.\n\n14:6. And the wild asses stood upon the rocks, they snuffed up the wind\nlike dragons, their eyes failed, because there was no grass.\n\n14:7. If our iniquities have testified against us, O Lord, do thou it\nfor thy name's sake, for our rebellions are many, we have sinned\nagainst thee.\n\n14:8. O expectation of Israel, the Saviour thereof in time of trouble:\nwhy wilt thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man\nturning in to lodge?\n\n14:9. Why wilt thou be as a wandering man, as a mighty man that cannot\nsave?  but thou, O Lord, art among us, and thy name is called upon by\nus, forsake us not.\n\n14:10. Thus saith the Lord to this people, that have loved to move\ntheir feet, and have not rested, and have not pleased the Lord:  He will\nnow remember their iniquities, and visit their sins.\n\n14:11. And the Lord said to me:  Pray not for this people for their\ngood.\n\n14:12. When they fast I will not hear their prayers:  and if they offer\nholocausts and victims, I will not receive them:  for I will consume\nthem by the sword, and by famine, and by the pestilence.\n\n14:13. And I said:  Ah, ah, ah, O Lord God, the prophets say to them:\nYou shall not see the sword, and there shall be no famine among you,\nbut he will give you true peace in this place.\n\n14:14. And the Lord said to me:  The prophets prophesy falsely in my\nname:  I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, nor have I spoken\nto them:  they prophesy unto you a lying vision, and divination and\ndeceit, and the seduction of their own heart.\n\n14:15. Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that\nprophesy in my name, whom I did not send, that say:  Sword and famine\nshall not be in this land:  By sword and famine shall those prophets be\nconsumed.\n\n14:16. And the people to whom they prophesy, shall be cast out in the\nstreets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword, and there\nshall be none to bury them:  they and their wives, their sons and their\ndaughters, and I will pour out their own wickedness upon them.\n\n14:17. And thou shalt speak this word to them:  Let my eyes shed down\ntears night and day, and let them not cease, because the virgin\ndaughter of my people is afflicted with a great affliction, with an\nexceeding grievous evil.\n\n14:18. If I go forth into the fields, behold the slain with the sword:\nand if I enter into the city, behold them that are consumed with\nfamine.  The prophet also and the priest are gone into a land which they\nknew not.\n\n14:19. Hast thou utterly cast away Juda, or hath thy soul abhorred\nSion?  why then hast thou struck us, so that there is no healing for us?\nwe have looked for peace, and there is no good:  and for the time of\nhealing, and behold trouble.\n\n14:20. We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, the iniquities of our\nfathers, because we have sinned against thee.\n\n14:21. Give us not to be a reproach, for thy name's sake, and do not\ndisgrace in us the throne of thy glory:  remember, break not thy\ncovenant with us.\n\n14:22. Are there any among the graven things of the Gentiles that can\nsend rain?  or can the heavens give showers?  art not thou the Lord our\nGod, whom we have looked for?  for thou hast made all these things.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 15\n\n\nGod is determined to punish the Jews for their sins.  The prophet's\ncomplaint, and God's promise to him.\n\n15:1. And the Lord said to me:  If Moses and Samuel shall stand before\nme, my soul is not towards this people:  cast them out from my sight,\nand let them go forth.\n\n15:2. And if they shall say unto thee:  Whither shall we go forth?  thou\nshalt say to them:  Thus saith the Lord:  Such as are for death, to\ndeath:  and such as are for the sword, to the sword:  and such as are for\nfamine, to famine:  and such as are for captivity, to captivity.\n\n15:3. And I will visit them with four kinds, saith the Lord:  The sword\nto kill, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the air, and the beasts\nof the earth, to devour and to destroy.\n\n15:4. And I will give them up to the rage of all the kingdoms of the\nearth:  because of Manasses the son of Ezechias the king of Juda, for\nall that he did in Jerusalem.\n\n15:5. For who shall have pity on thee, O Jerusalem?  or who shall bemoan\nthee?  or who shall go to pray for thy peace?\n\n15:6. Thou hast forsaken me, saith the Lord, thou art gone backward:\nand I will stretch out my hand against thee, and I will destroy thee:  I\nam weary of entreating thee.\n\n15:7. And I will scatter them with a fan in the gates of the land:  I\nhave killed and destroyed my people, and yet they are not returned from\ntheir ways.\n\n15:8. Their widows are multiplied unto me above the sand of the sea:  I\nhave brought upon them against the mother of the young man a spoiler at\nnoonday:  I have cast a terror on a sudden upon the cities.\n\n15:9. She that hath borne seven is become weak, her soul hath fainted\naway:  her sun is gone down, while it was yet day:  she is confounded,\nand ashamed:  and the residue of them I will give up to the sword in the\nsight of their enemies, saith the Lord.\n\n15:10. Woe is me, my mother:  why hast thou borne me a man of strife, a\nman of contention to all the earth?  I have not lent on usury, neither\nhath any man lent to me on usury:  yet all curse me.\n\n15:11. The Lord saith to me:  Assuredly it shall be well with thy\nremnant, assuredly I shall help thee in the time of affliction, and in\nthe time of tribulation against the enemy.\n\n15:12. Shall iron be allied with the iron from the north, and the\nbrass?\n\nShall iron be allied, etc. . .Shall the iron, that is, the strength of\nJuda, stand against the stronger iron of the north, that is, of\nBabylon:  or enter into an alliance upon equal footing with it?  No\ncertainly:  but it must be broken by it.\n\n15:13. Thy riches and thy treasures I will give unto spoil for nothing,\nbecause of all thy sins, even in all thy borders.\n\n15:14. And I will bring thy enemies out of a land, which thou knowest\nnot:  for a fire is kindled in my rage, it shall burn upon you.\n\n15:15. O Lord, thou knowest, remember me, and visit me, and defend me\nfrom them that persecute me, do not defend me in thy patience:  know\nthat for thy sake I have suffered reproach.\n\nDo not defend me in thy patience. . .That is, let not thy patience and\nlongsuffering, which thou usest towards sinners, keep thee from making\nhaste to my assistance.\n\n15:16. Thy words were found, and I did eat them, and thy word was to me\na joy and gladness of my heart:  for thy name is called upon me, O Lord\nGod of hosts.\n\n15:17. I sat not in the assembly of jesters, nor did I make a boast of\nthe presence of thy hand:  I sat alone, because thou hast filled me with\nthreats.\n\n15:18. Why is my sorrow become perpetual, and my wound desperate so as\nto refuse to be healed?  it is become to me as the falsehood of\ndeceitful waters that cannot be trusted.\n\n15:19. Therefore thus saith the Lord:  If thou wilt be converted, I will\nconvert thee, and thou shalt stand before my face; and thou wilt\nseparate the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth:  they\nshall be turned to thee, and thou shalt not be turned to them.\n\n15:20. And I will make thee to this people as a strong wall of brass:\nand they shall fight against thee, and shall not prevail:  for I am with\nthee to save thee, and to deliver thee, saith the Lord.\n\n15:21. And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I\nwill redeem thee out of the hand of the mighty.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 16\n\n\nThe prophet is forbid to marry.  The Jews shall be utterly ruined for\ntheir idolatry:  but shall at length be released from their captivity,\nand the Gentiles shall be converted.\n\n16:1. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n16:2. Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons and\ndaughters in this place.\n\n16:3. For thus saith the Lord concerning the sons and daughters, that\nare born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bore them:\nand concerning their fathers, of whom they were born in this land:\n\n16:4. They shall die by the death of grievous illnesses:  they shall not\nbe lamented, and they shall not be buried, they shall be as dung upon\nthe face of the earth:  and they shall be consumed with the sword, and\nwith famine:  and their carcasses shall be meat for the fowls of the\nair, and for the beasts of the earth.\n\n16:5. For thus saith the Lord:  Enter not into the house of feasting,\nneither go thou to mourn, nor to comfort them:  because I have taken\naway my peace from this people, saith the Lord, my mercy and\ncommiserations.\n\n16:6. Both the great and the little shall die in this land:  they shall\nnot be buried nor lamented, and men shall not cut themselves, nor make\nthemselves bald for them.\n\n16:7. And they shall not break bread among them to him that mourneth,\nto comfort him for the dead:  neither shall they give them for their\nfather and mother.\n\n16:8. And do not thou go into the house of feasting, to sit with them,\nand to eat and drink:\n\n16:9. For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:  Behold I\nwill take away out of this place in your sight, and in your days the\nvoice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom,\nand the voice of the bride.\n\n16:10. And when thou shalt tell this people all these words, and they\nshall say to thee:  Wherefore hath the Lord pronounced against us all\nthis great evil?  what is our iniquity?  and what is our sin, that we\nhave sinned against the Lord our God?\n\n16:11. Thou shalt say to them:  Because your fathers forsook me, saith\nthe Lord:  and went after strange gods, and served them, and adored\nthem:  and they forsook me, and kept not my law.\n\n16:12. And you also have done worse than your fathers:  for behold every\none of you walketh after the perverseness of his evil heart, so as not\nto hearken to me.\n\n16:13. So I will cast you forth out of this land, into a land which you\nknow not, nor your fathers:  and there you shall serve strange gods day\nand night, which shall not give you any rest.\n\n16:14. Therefore behold the days come, saith the Lord, when it shall be\nsaid no more:  The Lord liveth, that brought forth the children of\nIsrael out of the land of Egypt.\n\n16:15. But, The Lord liveth, that brought the children of Israel out of\nthe land of the north, and out of all the lands to which I cast them\nout:  and I will bring them again into their land, which I gave to their\nfathers.\n\n16:16. Behold I will send many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall\nfish them:  and after this I will send them many hunters, and they shall\nhunt them from every mountain, and from every hill and out of the holes\nof the rocks.\n\n16:17. For my eyes are upon all their ways:  they are not hid from my\nface, and their iniquity hath not been hid from my eyes.\n\n16:18. And I will repay first their double iniquities, and their sins:\nbecause they have defiled my land with the carcasses of their idols,\nand they have filled my inheritance with their abominations.\n\n16:19. O Lord, my might, and my strength, and my refuge in the day of\ntribulation:  to thee the Gentiles shall come from the ends of the\nearth, and shall say:  Surely our fathers have possessed lies, a vanity\nwhich hath not profited them.\n\n16:20. Shall a man make gods unto himself and they are no gods?\n\n16:21. Therefore behold I will this once cause them to know, I will\nshew them my hand and my power:  and they shall know that my name is the\nLord.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 17\n\n\nFor their obstinacy in sin the Jews shall be led captive.  He is cursed\nthat trusteth in flesh.  God alone searcheth the heart, giving to every\none as he deserves.  The prophet prayeth to be delivered from his\nenemies, and preacheth up the observance of the sabbath.\n\n17:1. The sin of Juda is written with a pen of iron, with the point of\na diamond, it is graven upon the table of their heart, upon the horns\nof their altars.\n\n17:2. When their children shall remember their altars, and their\ngroves, and their green trees upon the high mountains,\n\n17:3. Sacrificing in the field:  I will give thy strength, and all thy\ntreasures to the spoil, and thy high places for sin in all thy borders.\n\n17:4. And thou shalt be left stripped of thy inheritance, which I gave\nthee:  and I will make thee serve thy enemies in a land which thou\nknowest not:  because thou hast kindled a fire in my wrath, it shall\nburn for ever.\n\n17:5. Thus saith the Lord:  Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and\nmaketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.\n\n17:6. For he shall be like tamaric in the desert, and he shall not see\nwhen good shall come:  but he shall dwell in dryness in the desert in a\nsalt land, and not inhabited.\n\nTamaric. . .A barren shrub that grows in the driest parts of the\nwilderness.\n\n17:7. Blessed be the man that trusteth in the Lord, and the Lord shall\nbe his confidence.\n\n17:8. And he shall be as a tree that is planted by the waters, that\nspreadeth out its roots towards moisture:  and it shall not fear when\nthe heat cometh.  And the leaf thereof shall be green, and in the time\nof drought it shall not be solicitous, neither shall it cease at any\ntime to bring forth fruit.\n\n17:9. The heart is perverse above all things, and unsearchable, who can\nknow it?\n\n17:10. I am the Lord who search the heart, and prove the reins:  who\ngive to every one according to his way, and according to the fruit of\nhis devices.\n\n17:11. As the partridge hath hatched eggs which she did not lay:  so is\nhe that hath gathered riches, and not by right:  in the midst of his\ndays he shall leave them, and in his latter end he shall be a fool.\n\n17:12. A high and glorious throne from the beginning is the place of\nour sanctification.\n\n17:13. O Lord, the hope of Israel:  all that forsake thee shall be\nconfounded:  they that depart from thee, shall be written in the earth:\nbecause they have forsaken the Lord, the vein of living waters.\n\n17:14. Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed:  save me, and I shall be\nsaved:  for thou art my praise.\n\n17:15. Behold they say to me:  Where is the word of the Lord?  let it\ncome.\n\n17:16. And I am not troubled, following thee for my pastor, and I have\nnot desired the day of man, thou knowest.  That which went out of my\nlips, hath been right in thy sight.\n\n17:17. Be not thou a terror unto me, thou art my hope in the day of\naffliction.\n\n17:18. Let them be confounded that persecute me, and let not me be\nconfounded:  let them be afraid, and let not me be afraid:  bring upon\nthem the day of affliction, and with a double destruction, destroy\nthem.\n\nLet them be confounded, etc. . .Such expressions as these in the\nwritings of the prophets, are not to be understood as imprecations\nproceeding from malice or desire of revenge:  but as prophetic\npredictions of evils that were about to fall upon impenitent sinners,\nand approbations of the ways of divine justice.\n\n17:19. Thus saith the Lord to me:  Go, and stand in the gate of the\nchildren of the people, by which the kings of Juda come in, and go out,\nand in all the gates of Jerusalem:\n\n17:20. And thou shalt say to them:  Hear the word of the Lord, ye kings\nof Juda, and al Juda, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter\nin by these gates.\n\n17:21. Thus saith the Lord:  Take heed to your souls, and carry no\nburdens on the sabbath day:  and bring them not in by the gates of\nJerusalem.\n\n17:22. And do not bring burdens out of your houses on the sabbath day,\nneither do ye any work:  sanctify the sabbath day, as I commanded your\nfathers.\n\n17:23. But they did not hear, nor incline their ear:  but hardened their\nneck, that they might not hear me, and might not receive instruction.\n\n17:24. And it shall come to pass:  if you will hearken to me, saith the\nLord, to bring in no burdens by the gates of this city on the sabbath\nday:  and if you will sanctify the sabbath day, to do no work therein:\n\n17:25. Then shall there enter in by the gates of this city kings and\nprinces, sitting upon the throne of David, and riding in chariots and\non horses, they and their princes, the men of Juda, and the inhabitants\nof Jerusalem:  and this city shall be inhabited for ever.\n\n17:26. And they shall come from the cities of Juda, and from the places\nround about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the\nplains, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing\nholocausts, and victims, and sacrifices, and frankincense, and they\nshall bring in an offering into the house of the Lord.\n\n17:27. But if you will not hearken to me, to sanctify the sabbath day,\nand not to carry burdens, and not to bring them in by the gates of\nJerusalem on the sabbath day:  I will kindle a fire in the gates\nthereof, and it shall devour the houses of Jerusalem, and it shall not\nbe quenched.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 18\n\n\nAs the clay in the hand of the potter, so is Israel in God's hand.  He\npardoneth penitents, and punisheth the obstinate.  They conspire against\nJeremias, for which he denounceth to them the miseries that hang over\nthem.\n\n18:1. The word that came to Jeremias from the Lord, saying:\n\n18:2. Arise, and go down into the potter's house, and there thou shalt\nhear my words.\n\n18:3. And I went down into the potter's house, and behold he was doing\na work on the wheel.\n\n18:4. And the vessel was broken which he was making of clay with his\nhands:  and turning he made another vessel, as it seemed good in his\neyes to make it.\n\n18:5. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n18:6. Cannot I do with you, as this potter, O house of Israel, saith\nthe Lord?  behold as clay is in the hand of the potter, so are you in my\nhand, O house of Israel.\n\n18:7. I will suddenly speak against a nation, and against a kingdom, to\nroot out, and to pull down, and to destroy it.\n\n18:8. If that nation against which I have spoken, shall repent of their\nevil, I also will repent of the evil that I have thought to do to them.\n\n18:9. And I will suddenly speak of a nation and of a kingdom, to build\nup and plant it.\n\n18:10. If it shall do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice:  I\nwill repent of the good that I have spoken to do unto it.\n\n18:11. Now therefore tell the men of Juda, and the inhabitants of\nJerusalem, saying:  Thus saith the Lord:  Behold I frame evil against\nyou, and devise a device against you:  let every man of you return from\nhis evil way, and make ye your ways and your doings good.\n\n18:12. And they said; We have no hopes:  for we will go after our own\nthoughts, and we will do every one according to the perverseness of his\nevil heart.\n\n18:13. Therefore thus saith the Lord:  Ask among the nations:  Who hath\nheard such horrible things, as the virgin of Israel hath done to\nexcess?\n\n18:14. Shall the snow of Libanus fail from the rock of the field?  or\ncan the cold waters that gush out and run down, be taken away?\n\n18:15. Because my people have forgotten me, sacrificing in vain, and\nstumbling in their ways, in ancient paths, to walk by them in a way not\ntrodden:\n\n18:16. That their land might be given up to desolation, and to a\nperpetual hissing:  every one that shall pass by it, shall be\nastonished, and wag his head.\n\n18:17. As a burning wind will I scatter them before the enemy:  I will\nshew them the back, and not the face, in the day of their destruction.\n\n18:18. And they said:  Come, and let us invent devices against Jeremias:\nfor the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the\nwise, nor the word from the prophet:  come, and let us strike him with\nthe tongue, and let us give no heed to all his words.\n\n18:19. Give heed to me, O Lord, and hear the voice of my adversaries.\n\n18:20. Shall evil be rendered for good, because they have digged a pit\nfor my soul?  Remember that I have stood in thy sight, to speak good for\nthem, and to turn away thy indignation from them.\n\nRemember, etc. . .This is spoken in the person of Christ, persecuted by\nthe Jews, and prophetically denouncing the evils that should fall upon\nthem in punishment of their crimes.\n\n18:21. Therefore deliver up their children to famine, and bring them\ninto the hands of the sword:  let their wives be bereaved of children\nand widows:  and let their husbands be slain by death:  let their young\nmen be stabbed with the sword in battle.\n\n18:22. Let a cry be heard out of their houses:  for thou shalt bring the\nrobber upon them suddenly:  because they have digged a pit to take me,\nand have hid snares for my feet.\n\n18:23. But thou, O Lord, knowest all their counsel against me unto\ndeath:  not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from\nthy sight:  let them be overthrown before thy eyes, in the time of thy\nwrath do thou destroy them.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 19\n\n\nUnder the type of breaking a potter's vessel, the prophet foresheweth\nthe desolation of the Jews for their sins.\n\n19:1. Thus saith the Lord:  Go, and take a potter's earthen bottle, and\ntake of the ancients of the people, and of the ancients of the priests:\n\n19:2. And go forth into the valley of the son of Ennom, which is by the\nentry of the earthen gate:  and there thou shalt proclaim the words that\nI shall tell thee.\n\n19:3. And thou shalt say:  Hear the word of the Lord, O ye kings of\nJuda, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem:  Thus saith the Lord of hosts,\nthe God of Israel:  Behold I will bring an affliction upon this place:\nso that whosoever shall hear it, his ears shall tingle:\n\n19:4. Because they have forsaken me, and have profaned this place :  and\nhave sacrificed therein to strange gods, whom neither they nor their\nfathers knew, nor the kings of Juda:  and they have filled this place\nwith the blood of innocents.\n\n19:5. And they have built the high places of Baalim, to burn their\nchildren with fire for a holocaust to Baalim:  which I did not command,\nnor speak of, neither did it once come into my mind.\n\n19:6. Therefore behold the days come, saith the Lord, that this place\nshall no more be called Topheth, nor the valley of the son of Ennom,\nbut the valley of slaughter.\n\n19:7. And I will defeat the counsel of Juda and of Jerusalem in this\nplace:  and I will destroy them with the sword in the sight of their\nenemies, and by the hands of them that seek their lives:  and I will\ngive their carcasses to be meat for the fowls of the air, and for the\nbeasts of the earth.\n\n19:8. And I will make this city an astonishment, and a hissing:  every\none that shall pass by it, shall be astonished, and shall hiss because\nof all the plagues thereof.\n\n19:9. And I will feed them with the flesh of their sons, and with the\nflesh of their daughters:  and they shall eat every one the flesh of his\nfriend in the siege, and in the distress wherewith their enemies, and\nthey that seek their lives, shall straiten them.\n\n19:10. And thou shalt break the bottle in the sight of the men that\nshall go with thee.\n\n19:11. And thou shalt say to them:  Thus saith the Lord of hosts:  Even\nso will I break this people, and this city, as the potter's vessel is\nbroken, which cannot be made whole again:  and they shall be buried in\nTopheth, because there is no other place to bury in.\n\n19:12. Thus will I do to this place, saith the Lord, and to the\ninhabitants thereof:  and I will make this city as Topheth.\n\n19:13. And the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Juda\nshall be unclean as the place of Topheth:  all the houses upon whose\nroofs they have sacrificed to all the host of heaven, and have poured\nout drink offerings to strange gods.\n\n19:14. Then Jeremias came from Topheth, whither the Lord had sent him\nto prophesy, and he stood in the court of the house of the Lord, and\nsaid to all the people:\n\n19:15. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:  Behold I will\nbring in upon this city, and upon all the cities thereof all the evils\nthat I have spoken against it:  because they have hardened their necks,\nthat they might not hear my words.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 20\n\n\nThe prophet is persecuted:  he denounces captivity to his persecutors,\nand bemoans himself.\n\n20:1. Now Phassur the son of Emmer, the priest, who was appointed chief\nin the house of the Lord, heard Jeremias prophesying these words.\n\n20:2. And Phassur struck Jeremias the prophet, and put him in the\nstocks, that were in the upper gate of Benjamin, in the house of the\nLord.\n\n20:3. And when it was light the next day, Phassur brought Jeremias out\nof the stocks.  And Jeremias said to him:  The Lord hath not called thy\nname Phassur, but fear on every side.\n\nPhassur. . .This name signifies increase and principality:  and therefore\nis here changed to Magor-Missabib, or fear on every side:  to denote the\nevils that should come upon him in punishment of his opposing the word\nof God.\n\n20:4. For thus saith the Lord:  Behold I will deliver thee up to fear,\nthee and all thy friends:  and they shall fall by the sword of their\nenemies, and thy eyes shall see it, and I will give all Juda into the\nhand of the king of Babylon:  and he shall carry them away to Babylon,\nand shall strike them with the sword.\n\n20:5. And I will give all the substance of this city, and all its\nlabour, and every precious thing thereof, and all the treasures of the\nkings of Juda will I give into the hands of their enemies:  and they\nshall pillage them, and take them away, and carry them to Babylon.\n\n20:6. But thou Phassur, and all that dwell in thy house, shall go into\ncaptivity, and thou shalt go to Babylon, and there thou shalt die, and\nthere thou shalt be buried, thou and all thy friends, to whom thou hast\nprophesied a lie.\n\n20:7. Thou hast deceived me, O Lord, and I am deceived:  thou hast been\nstronger than I, and thou hast prevailed.  I am become a laughingstock\nall the day, all scoff at me.\n\nThou hast deceived, etc. . .The meaning of the prophet, is not to charge\nGod with any untruth; but what he calls deceiving, was only the\nconcealing from him, when he accepted of the prophetical commission,\nthe greatness of the evils which the execution of that commission was\nto bring upon him.\n\n20:8. For I am speaking now this long time, crying out against\niniquity, and I often proclaim devastation:  and the word of the Lord is\nmade a reproach to me, and a derision all the day.\n\n20:9. Then I said:  I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more\nin his name:  and there came in my heart as a burning fire, shut up in\nmy bones, and I was wearied, not being able to bear it.\n\n20:10. For I heard the reproaches of many, and terror on every side:\nPersecute him, and let us persecute him:  from all the men that were my\nfamiliars, and continued at my side:  if by any means he may be\ndeceived, and we may prevail against him, and be revenged on him.\n\n20:11. But the Lord is with me as a strong warrior:  therefore they that\npersecute me shall fall, and shall be weak:  they shall be greatly\nconfounded, because they have not understood the everlasting reproach,\nwhich never shall be effaced.\n\n20:12. And thou, O Lord of hosts, prover of the just, who seest the\nreins and the heart:  let me see, I beseech thee, thy vengeance on them:\nfor to thee I have laid open my cause.\n\nLet me see, etc. . .This prayer proceeded not from hatred or ill will,\nbut zeal of justice.\n\n20:13. Sing ye to the Lord, praise the Lord:  because he hath delivered\nthe soul of the poor out of the hand of the wicked.\n\n20:14. Cursed be the day wherein I was born:  let not the day in which\nmy mother bore me, be blessed.\n\nCursed be the day, etc. . .In these, and the following words of the\nprophet, there is a certain figure of speech to express with more\nenergy the greatness of the evils to which his birth had exposed him.\n\n20:15. Cursed be the man that brought the tidings to my father, saying:\nA man child is born to thee:  and made him greatly rejoice.\n\n20:16. Let that man be as the cities which the Lord hath overthrown,\nand hath not repented:  let him hear a cry in the morning, and howling\nat noontide:\n\n20:17. Who slew me not from the womb, that my mother might have been my\ngrave, and her womb an everlasting conception.\n\n20:18. Why came I out of the womb, to see labour and sorrow, and that\nmy days should be spent in confusion?\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 21\n\n\nThe prophet's answer to the messengers of Sedecias, when Jerusalem was\nbesieged.\n\n21:1. The word that came to Jeremias from the Lord, when king Sedecias\nsent unto him Phassur, the son of Melchias, and Sophonias, the son of\nMaasias the priest, saying:\n\n21:2. Inquire of the Lord for us, for Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon\nmaketh war against us:  if so be the Lord will deal with us according to\nall his wonderful works, that he may depart from us.\n\n21:3. And Jeremias said to them:  Thus shall you say to Sedecias:\n\n21:4. Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel:  Behold I will turn back\nthe weapons of war that are in your hands, and with which you fight\nagainst the king of Babylon, and the Chaldeans, that besiege you round\nabout the walls:  and I will gather them together in the midst of this\ncity.\n\n21:5. And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand,\nand with a strong arm, and in fury, and in indignation, and in great\nwrath.\n\n21:6. And I will strike the inhabitants of this city, men and beasts\nshall die of a great pestilence.\n\n21:7. And after this, saith the Lord, I will give Sedecias the king of\nJuda, and his servants, and his people, and such as are left in this\ncity from the pestilence, and the sword, and the famine, into the hand\nof Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon, and into the hand of their\nenemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life, and he shall\nstrike them with the edge of the sword, and he shall not be moved to\npity, nor spare them, nor shew mercy to them.\n\n21:8. And to this people thou shalt say:  Thus saith the Lord:  Behold I\nset before you the way of life, and the way of death.\n\n21:9. He that shall abide in this city, shall die by the sword, and by\nthe famine, and by the pestilence:  but he that shall go out and flee\nover to the Chaldeans, that besiege you, shall live, and his life shall\nbe to him as a spoil.\n\n21:10. For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for\ngood, saith the Lord:  it shall be given into the hand of the king of\nBabylon, and he shall burn it with fire.\n\n21:11. And to the house of the king of Juda:  Hear ye the word of the\nLord,\n\n21:12. O house of David, thus saith the Lord:  Judge ye judgment in the\nmorning, and deliver him that is oppressed by violence out of the hand\nof the oppressor:  lest my indignation go forth like a fire, and be\nkindled, and there be none to quench it, because of the evil of your\nways.\n\n21:13. Behold I come to thee that dwellest in a valley upon a rock\nabove a plain, saith the Lord:  and you say:  Who shall strike us and who\nshall enter into our houses?\n\nTo thee that dwellest, etc. . .He speaks to Jerusalem, confiding in the\nstrength of her situation upon rocks, surrounded with a deep valley.\n\n21:14. But I will visit upon you according to the fruit of your doings,\nsaith the Lord:  and I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof:  and it\nshall devour all things round about it.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 22\n\n\nAn exhortation both to king and people to return of God.  The sentence\nof God upon Joachaz, Joakim, and Jechonias.\n\n22:1. Thus saith the Lord:  Go down to the house of the king of Juda,\nand there thou shalt speak this word,\n\nGo down, etc. . .The contents of this chapter are of a more ancient date\nthan those of the foregoing chapter:  for the order of time is not\nalways observed in the writings of the prophets.\n\n22:2. And thou shalt say:  Hear the word of the Lord, king of Juda, that\nsittest upon the throne of David:  thou and thy servants, and thy\npeople, who enter in by these gates.\n\n22:3. Thus saith the Lord:  Execute judgment and justice, and deliver\nhim that is oppressed out of the hand of the oppressor:  and afflict not\nthe stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, nor oppress them unjustly:\nand shed not innocent blood in this place.\n\n22:4. For if you will do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in\nby the gates of this house, kings of the race of David sitting upon his\nthrone, and riding in chariots and on horses, they and their servants,\nand their people.\n\n22:5. But if you will not hearken to these words:  I swear by myself,\nsaith the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation.\n\n22:6. For thus saith the Lord to the house of the king of Juda:  Thou\nart to me Galaad the head of Libanus:  yet surely I will make thee a\nwilderness, and cities not habitable.\n\nGalaad the head of Libanus. . .By Galaad, a rich and fruitful country,\nis here signified the royal palace of the kings of the house of David:\nby Libanus, a high mountain abounding in cedar trees, the populous city\nof Jerusalem.\n\n22:7. And I will prepare against thee the destroyer and his weapons:\nand they shall cut down thy chosen cedars, and shall cast them headlong\ninto the fire.\n\nPrepare. . .Literally, sanctify.\n\n22:8. And many nations shall pass by this city:  and they shall say\nevery man to his neighbour:  Why hath the Lord done so to this great\ncity?\n\n22:9. And they shall answer:  Because they have forsaken the covenant of\nthe Lord their God, and have adored strange gods, and served them.\n\n22:10. Weep not for him that is dead, nor bemoan him with your tears:\nlament him that goeth away, for he shall return no more, nor see his\nnative country.\n\nWeep not for him that is dead, etc. . .He means the good king Josias,\nwho by death was taken away, so as not to see the miseries of his\ncountry.--Ibid.  Him that goeth away. . .Viz., sellum, alias Joachaz, who\nwas carried captive into Egypt.\n\n22:11. For thus saith the Lord to Sellum the son of Josias the king of\nJuda, who reigned instead of his father, who went forth out of this\nplace:  He shall return hither no more:\n\n22:12. But in the place, to which I have removed him, there shall he\ndie, and he shall not see this land any more.\n\n22:13. Woe to him that buildeth up his house by injustice, and his\nchambers not in judgment:  that will oppress his friend without cause,\nand will not pay him his wages.\n\n22:14. Who saith:  I will build me a wide house, and large chambers:  who\nopeneth to himself windows, and maketh roofs of cedar, and painteth\nthem with vermilion.\n\n22:15. Shalt thou reign, because thou comparest thyself to the cedar?\ndid not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and it\nwas then well with him?\n\n22:16. He judged the cause of the poor and needy for his own good:  was\nit not therefore because he knew me, saith the Lord?\n\n22:17. But thy eyes and thy heart are set upon covetousness, and upon\nshedding innocent blood, and upon oppression, and running after evil\nworks.\n\n22:18. Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning Joakim the son of\nJosias king of Juda:  They shall not mourn for him, Alas, my brother,\nand, Alas, sister:  they shall not lament for him, Alas, my lord, or,\nAlas, the noble one.\n\n22:19. He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, rotten and cast\nforth without the gates of Jerusalem.\n\n22:20. Go up to Libanus, and cry:  and lift up thy voice in Basan, and\ncry to them that pass by, for all thy lovers are destroyed.\n\n22:21. I spoke to thee in thy prosperity:  and thou saidst:  I will not\nhear:  this hath been thy way from thy youth, because thou hast not\nheard my voice.\n\n22:22. The wind shall feed all thy pastors, and thy lovers shall go\ninto captivity and then shalt thou be confounded, and ashamed of all\nthy wickedness.\n\n22:23. Thou that sittest in Libanus, and makest thy nest in the cedars,\nhow hast thou mourned when sorrows came upon thee, as the pains of a\nwoman in labour?\n\n22:24. As I live, saith the Lord, if Jechonias the son of Joakim the\nking of Juda were a ring on my right hand, I would pluck him thence.\n\n22:25. And I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life,\nand into the hand of them whose face thou fearest, and into the hand of\nNabuchodonosor king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans.\n\n22:26. And I will send thee, and thy mother that bore thee, into a\nstrange country, in which you were not born, and there you shall die:\n\n22:27. And they shall not return into the land, whereunto they lift up\ntheir mind to return thither.\n\n22:28. Is this man Jechonias an earthen and a broken vessel?  is he a\nvessel wherein is no pleasure?  why are they cast out, he and his seed,\nand are cast into a land which they know not?\n\n22:29. O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord.\n\n22:30. Thus saith the Lord:  Write this man barren, a man that shall not\nprosper in his days:  for there shall not be a man of his seed that\nshall sit upon the throne of David, and have power any more in Juda.\n\nWrite this man barren. . .That is, childless:  not that he had no\nchildren, but that his children should never sit on the throne of Juda.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 23\n\n\nGod reproves evil governors; and promises to send good pastors; and\nChrist himself the prince of the pastors.  He inveighs against false\nprophets preaching without being sent.\n\n23:1. Woe to the pastors, that destroy and tear the sheep of my\npasture, saith the Lord.\n\n23:2. Therefore thus saith the Lord the God of Israel to the pastors\nthat feed my people:  You have scattered my flock, and driven them away,\nand have not visited them:  behold I will visit upon you for the evil of\nyour doings, saith the Lord.\n\n23:3. And I will gather together the remnant of my flock, out of all\nthe lands into which I have cast them out:  and I will make them return\nto their own fields, and they shall increase and be multiplied.\n\n23:4. And I will set up pastors over them, and they shall feed them:\nthey shall fear no more, and they shall not be dismayed:  and none shall\nbe wanting of their number, saith the Lord.\n\n23:5. Behold the days come, saith the Lord, and I will raise up to\nDavid a just branch:  and a king shall reign, and shall be wise:  and\nshall execute judgment and justice in the earth.\n\n23:6. In those days shall Juda be saved, and Israel shall dwell\nconfidently:  and this is the name that they shall call him:  The Lord\nour just one.\n\n23:7. Therefore behold the days come, saith the Lord, and they shall\nsay no more:  The Lord liveth, who brought up the children of Israel out\nof the land of Egypt:\n\n23:8. But, The Lord liveth, who hath brought out, and brought hither\nthe seed of the house of Israel from the land of the north, and out of\nall the lands, to which I had cast them forth:  and they shall dwell in\ntheir own land.\n\n23:9. To the prophets:  My heart is broken within me, all my bones\ntremble:  I am become as a drunken man, and as a man full of wine, at\nthe presence of the Lord, and at the presence of his holy words.\n\n23:10. Because the land is full of adulterers, because the land hath\nmourned by reason of cursing, the fields of the desert are dried up:\nand their course is become evil, and their strength unlike.\n\n23:11. For the prophet and the priest are defiled:  and in my house I\nhave found their wickedness, saith the Lord.\n\n23:12. Therefore their way shall be as a slippery way in the dark:  for\nthey shall be driven on, and fall therein:  for I will bring evils upon\nthem, the year of their visitation, saith the Lord.\n\n23:13. And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria:  they\nprophesied in Baal and deceived my people Israel.\n\n23:14. And I have seen the likeness of adulterers, and the way of lying\nin the prophets of Jerusalem:  and they strengthened the hands of the\nwicked, that no man should return from his evil doings, they are all\nbecome unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrha.\n\n23:15. Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts to the prophets:  Behold I\nwill feed them with wormwood, and will give them gall to drink:  for\nfrom the prophets of Jerusalem corruption is gone forth into all the\nland.\n\n23:16. Thus saith the Lord of hosts:  Hearken not to the words of the\nprophets that prophesy to you, and deceive you:  they speak a vision of\ntheir own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord.\n\n23:17. They say to them that blaspheme me:  The Lord hath said:  You\nshall have peace:  and to every one that walketh in the perverseness of\nhis own heart, they have said:  No evil shall come upon you.\n\n23:18. For who hath stood in the counsel of the Lord, and hath seen and\nheard his word?  Who hath considered his word and heard it?\n\n23:19. Behold the whirlwind of the Lord's indignation shall come forth,\nand a tempest shall break out and come upon the head of the wicked.\n\n23:20. The wrath of the Lord shall not return till he execute it, and\ntill he accomplish the thought of his heart:  in the latter days you\nshall understand his counsel.\n\n23:21. I did not send prophets, yet they ran:  I have not spoken to\nthem, yet they prophesied.\n\n23:22. If they had stood in my counsel, and had made my words known to\nmy people, I should have turned them from their evil way, and from\ntheir wicked doings.\n\n23:23. Am I, think ye, a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God\nafar off?\n\n23:24. Shall a man be hid in secret places, and I not see him, saith\nthe Lord?  do not I fill heaven and earth, saith the Lord?\n\n23:25. I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my\nname, and say:  I have dreamed, I have dreamed.\n\n23:26. How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that\nprophesy lies, and that prophesy the delusions of their own heart?\n\n23:27. Who seek to make my people forget my name through their dreams,\nwhich they tell every man to his neighbour:  as their fathers forgot my\nname for Baal.\n\n23:28. The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream:  and he that\nhath my word, let him speak my word with truth:  what hath the chaff to\ndo with the wheat, saith the Lord?\n\n23:29. Are not my words as a fire, saith the Lord:  and as a hammer that\nbreaketh the rock in pieces?\n\n23:30. Therefore behold I am against the prophets, saith the Lord:  who\nsteal my words every one from his neighbour.\n\n23:31. Behold I am against the prophets, saith the Lord:  who use their\ntongues, and say:  The Lord saith it.\n\n23:32. Behold I am against the prophets that have lying dreams, saith\nthe Lord:  and tell them, and cause my people to err by their lying, and\nby their wonders:  when I sent them not, nor commanded them, who have\nnot profited this people at all, saith the Lord.\n\n23:33. If therefore this people, or the prophet, or the priest shall\nask thee, saying:  What is the burden of the Lord?  thou shalt say to\nthem:  You are the burden:  for I will cast you away, saith the Lord.\n\n23:34. And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people that\nshall say:  The burden of the Lord:  I will visit upon that man, and upon\nhis house.\n\nBurden of the Lord. . .This expression is here rejected and disallowed,\nat least for those times:  because it was then used in mockery and\ncontempt by the false prophets, and unbelieving people, who ridiculed\nthe repeated threats of Jeremias under the name of his burdens.\n\n23:35. Thus shall you say every one to his neighbour, and to his\nbrother, What hath the Lord answered?  and what hath the Lord spoken?\n\n23:36. And the burden of the Lord shall be mentioned no more, for every\nman's word shall be his burden:  for you have perverted the words of the\nliving God, of the Lord of hosts our God.\n\n23:37. Thus shalt thou say to the prophet:  What hath the Lord answered\nthee?  and what hath the Lord spoken?\n\n23:38. But if you shall say:  The burden of the Lord:  therefore thus\nsaith the Lord:  Because you have said this word:  The burden of the\nLord:  and I have sent to you, saying:  Say not, The burden of the Lord:\n\n23:39. Therefore behold I will take you away carrying you, and will\nforsake you, and the city which I gave to you, and to your fathers, out\nof my presence.\n\nOut of my presence. . .That is, the Lord declares that out of his\npresence he will cast them, and bring them to captivity for their\ntransgressions.\n\n23:40. And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a\nperpetual shame which shall never be forgotten.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 24\n\n\nUnder the type of good and bad figs, he foretells the restoration of\nthe Jews that had been carried away captive with Jechonias, and the\ndesolation of those that were left behind.\n\n24:1. The Lord shewed me:  and behold two baskets full of figs, set\nbefore the temple of the Lord:  after that Nabuchodonosor king of\nBabylon had carried away Jechonias the son of Joakim the king of Juda,\nand his chief men, and the craftsmen, and engravers of Jerusalem, and\nhad brought them to Babylon.\n\n24:2. One basket had very good figs, like the figs of the first season:\nand the other basket had very bad figs, which could not be eaten,\nbecause they were bad.\n\n24:3. And the Lord said to me:  What seest thou, Jeremias?  And I said:\nFigs, the good figs, very good:  and the bad figs, very bad, which\ncannot be eaten because they are bad.\n\n24:4. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n24:5. Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel:  Like these good figs, so\nwill I regard the captives of Juda, whom I have sent forth out of this\nplace into the land of the Chaldeans, for their good.\n\n24:6. And I will set my eyes upon them to be pacified, and I will bring\nthem again into this land:  and I will build them up, and not pull them\ndown:  and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.\n\n24:7. And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord:  and\nthey shall be my people, and I will be their God:  because they shall\nreturn to me with their whole heart.\n\n24:8. And as the very bad figs, that cannot be eaten, because they are\nbad:  thus saith the Lord:  So will I give Sedecias the king of Juda, and\nhis princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that have remained in this\ncity, and that dwell in the land of Egypt.\n\n24:9. And I will deliver them up to vexation, and affliction, to all\nthe kingdoms of the earth:  to be a reproach, and a byword, and a\nproverb, and to be a curse in all places, to which I have cast them\nout.\n\n24:10. And I will send among them the sword, and the famine, and the\npestilence:  till they be consumed out of the land which I gave to them,\nand their fathers.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 25\n\n\nThe prophet foretells the seventy years captivity; after that the\ndestruction of Babylon, and other nations.\n\n25:1. The word that came to Jeremias concerning all the people of Juda,\nin the fourth year of Joakim the son of Josias king of Juda, (the same\nis the first year of Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon,)\n\n25:2. Which Jeremias the prophet spoke to all the people of Juda, and\nto all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying:\n\n25:3. From the thirteenth year of Josias the son of Ammon king of Juda\nuntil this day:  this is the three and twentieth year, the word of the\nLord hath come to me, and I have spoken to you, rising before day, and\nspeaking, and you have not hearkened.\n\n25:4. And the Lord hath sent to you all his servants the prophets,\nrising early, and sending, and you have not hearkened, nor inclined\nyour ears to hear.\n\n25:5. When he said:  Return ye, every one from his evil way, and from\nyour wicked devices, and you shall dwell in the land which the Lord\nhath given to you, and your fathers for ever and ever.\n\n25:6. And go not after strange gods to serve them, and adore them:  nor\nprovoke me to wrath by the works of your hands, and I will not afflict\nyou.\n\n25:7. And you have not heard me, saith the Lord, that you might provoke\nme to anger with the works of your hands, to your own hurt.\n\n25:8. Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts:  Because you have not\nheard my words:\n\n25:9. Behold I will send, and take all the kindreds of the north, saith\nthe Lord, and Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon my servant:  and I will\nbring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and\nagainst all the nations that are round about it:  and I will destroy\nthem, and make them an astonishment and a hissing, and perpetual\ndesolations.\n\nMy servant. . .So this wicked king is here called; because God made him\nhis instrument in punishing the sins of his people.\n\n25:10. And I will take away from them the voice of mirth, and the voice\nof gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride,\nthe sound of the mill and the light of the lamp.\n\n25:11. And all this land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment:\nand all these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.\n\n25:12. And when the seventy years shall be expired, I will punish the\nking of Babylon, and that nation, saith the Lord, for their iniquity,\nand the land of the Chaldeans:  and I will make it perpetual\ndesolations.\n\nPunish. . .Literally, visit upon.\n\n25:13. And I will bring upon that land all my words, that I have spoken\nagainst it, all that is written in this book, all that Jeremias hath\nprophesied against all nations:\n\n25:14. For they have served them, whereas they were many nations, and\ngreat kings:  and I will repay them according to their deeds, and\naccording to the works of their hands.\n\n25:15. For thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel:  Take the cup\nof wine of this fury at my hand:  and thou shalt make all the nations to\ndrink thereof, into which I shall send thee.\n\n25:16. And they shall drink, and be troubled, and be mad because of the\nsword, which I shall send among them.\n\n25:17. And I took the cup at the hand of the Lord, and I presented it\nto all the nations to drink of it, to which the Lord sent me:\n\n25:18. To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Juda, and the kings\nthereof, and the princes thereof:  to make them a desolation, and an\nastonishment, and a hissing, and a curse, as it is at this day.\n\n25:19. Pharao the king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and\nall his people,\n\n25:20. And all in general:  all the kings of the land of Ausitis, and\nall the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ascalon, and Gaza,\nand Accaron, and the remnant of Azotus.\n\n25:21. And Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon.\n\n25:22. And all the kings of Tyre, and all the kings of Sidon:  and the\nkings of the land of the islands that are beyond the sea.\n\n25:23. And Dedan, and Thema, and Buz, and all that have their hair cut\nround.\n\n25:24. And all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the west, that\ndwell in the desert.\n\n25:25. And all the kings of Zambri, and all the kings of Elam, and all\nthe kings of the Medes:\n\n25:26. And all the kings of the north far and near, every one against\nhis brother:  and all the kingdoms of the earth, which are upon the face\nthereof:  and the king of Sesac shall drink after them.\n\nSesac. . .That is, Babel, or Babylon; which after bringing all these\npeople under her yoke, should quickly fall and be destroyed herself.\n\n25:27. And thou shalt say to them:  Thus saith the Lord of hosts the God\nof Israel:  Drink ye, and be drunken, and vomit:  and fall, and rise no\nmore, because of the sword, which I shall send among you.\n\n25:28. And if they refuse to take the cup at thy hand to drink, thou\nshalt say to them:  Thus saith the Lord of hosts:  Drinking you shall\ndrink:\n\n25:29. For behold I begin to bring evil on the city wherein my name is\ncalled upon:  and shall you be as innocent and escape free?  you shall\nnot escape free:  for I will call for the sword upon all the inhabitants\nof the earth, saith the Lord of hosts.\n\n25:30. And thou shalt prophesy unto them all these words, and thou\nshalt say to them:  I The Lord shall roar from on high, and shall utter\nhis voice from his holy habitation:  roaring he shall roar upon the\nplace of his beauty:  the shout as it were of them that tread grapes\nshall be given out against all the inhabitants of the earth.\n\n25:31. The noise is come even to the ends of the earth:  for the Lord\nentereth into judgment with the nations:  he entereth into judgment with\nall flesh; the wicked I have delivered up to the sword, saith the Lord.\n\n25:32. Thus saith the Lord of hosts:  Behold evil shall go forth from\nnation to nation:  and a great whirlwind shall go forth from the ends of\nthe earth.\n\n25:33. And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of\nthe earth even to the other end thereof:  they shall not be lamented,\nand they shall not be gathered up, nor buried:  they shall lie as dung\nupon the face of the earth.\n\n25:34. Howl, ye shepherds, and cry:  and sprinkle yourselves with ashes,\nye leaders of the flock:  for the days of your slaughter and your\ndispersion are accomplished, and you shall fall like precious vessels.\n\n25:35. And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the leaders of\nthe flock to save themselves.\n\n25:36. A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and a howling of the\nprincipal of the flock:  because the Lord hath wasted their pastures.\n\n25:37. And the fields of peace have been silent because of the fierce\nanger of the Lord.\n\n25:38. He hath forsaken his covert as the lion, for the land is laid\nwaste because of the wrath of the dove, and because of the fierce anger\nof the Lord.\n\nThe dove. . .This is commonly understood of Nabuchodonosor, whose\nmilitary standard, it is said, was a dove.  But the Hebrew word Jonah,\nwhich is here rendered a dove, may also signify a waster or oppressor,\nwhich name better agrees to that unmerciful prince; or by comparison,\nas a dove's flight is the swiftest, so would their destruction come\nupon them.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 26\n\n\nThe prophet is apprehended and accused by the priests:  but discharged\nby the princes.\n\n26:1. In the beginning of the reign of Joakim the son of Josias king of\nJuda, came this word from the Lord, saying:\n\n26:2. Thus saith the Lord:  stand in the court of the house of the Lord,\nand speak to all the cities of Juda, out of which they come, to adore\nin the house of the Lord, all the words which I have commanded thee to\nspeak unto them:  leave not out one word.\n\n26:3. If so be they will hearken and be converted every one from his\nevil way; that I may repent me of the evil that I think to do unto them\nfor the wickedness of their doings.\n\n26:4. And thou shalt say to them:  Thus saith the Lord:  If you will not\nhearken to me to walk in my law, which I have given you:\n\n26:5. To give ear to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I sent\nto you rising up early:  and sending, and you have not hearkened:\n\n26:6. I will make this house like Silo:  and I will make this city a\ncurse to all the nations of the earth.\n\n26:7. And the priests, and the prophets, and all the people heard\nJeremias speaking these words in the house of the Lord.\n\n26:8. And when Jeremias had made an end of speaking all that the Lord\nhad commanded him to speak to all the people, the priests, and the\nprophets, and all the people laid hold on him, saying:  Let him be put\nto death.\n\n26:9. Why hath he prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying:  This\nhouse shall be like Silo; and this city shall be made desolate, without\nan inhabitant?  And all the people were gathered together against\nJeremias in the house of the Lord.\n\n26:10. And the princes of Juda heard these words:  and they went up from\nthe king's house into the house of the Lord, and sat in the entry of\nthe new gate of the house of the Lord.\n\n26:11. And the priests and the prophets spoke to the princes, and to\nall the people, saying:  The judgment of death is for this man:  because\nhe hath prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your ears.\n\n26:12. Then Jeremias spoke to all the princes, and to all the people,\nsaying:  The Lord sent me to prophesy concerning this house, and\nconcerning this city all the words that you have heard.\n\n26:13. Now therefore amend your ways, and your doings, and hearken to\nthe voice of the Lord your God:  and the Lord will repent him of the\nevil that he hath spoken against you.\n\n26:14. But as for me, behold I am in your hands:  do with me what is\ngood and right in your eyes:\n\n26:15. But know ye, and understand, that if you put me to death, you\nwill shed innocent blood against your own selves, and against this\ncity, and the inhabitants thereof.  For in truth the Lord sent me to\nyou, to speak all these words in your hearing.\n\n26:16. Then the princes, and all the people said to the priests, and to\nthe prophets:  There is no judgment of death for this man:  for he hath\nspoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.\n\n26:17. And some of the ancients of the land rose up:  and they spoke to\nall the assembly of the people, saying:\n\n26:18. Micheas of Morasthi was a prophet in the days of Ezechias king\nof Juda, and he spoke to all the people of Juda, saying:  Thus saith the\nLord of hosts:  Sion shall be ploughed like a field, and Jerusalem shall\nbe a heap of stones:  and the mountain of the house the high places of\nwoods.\n\n26:19. Did Ezechias king of Juda, and all Juda, condemn him to death?\ndid they not fear the Lord, and beseech the face of the Lord:  and the\nLord repented of the evil that he had spoken against them?  therefore we\nare doing a great evil against our souls.\n\n26:20. There was also a man that prophesied in the name of the Lord,\nUrias the son of Semei of Cariathiarim:  and he prophesied against this\ncity, and against this land, according to all the words of Jeremias.\n\n26:21. And Joakim, and all his men in power, and his princes heard\nthese words:  and the king sought to put him to death.  And Urias heard\nit, and was afraid, and fled and went into Egypt.\n\n26:22. And king Joakim sent men into Egypt, Elnathan the son of\nAchobor, and men with him into Egypt.\n\n26:23. And they brought Urias out of Egypt:  and brought him to king\nJoakim, and he slew him with the sword:  and he cast his dead body into\nthe graves of the common people.\n\n26:24. So the hand of Ahicam the son of Saphan was with Jeremias, that\nhe should not be delivered into the hands of the people, to put him to\ndeath.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 27\n\n\nThe prophet sends chains to divers kings, signifying that they must\nbend their necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon.  The vessels of\nthe temple shall not be brought back till all the rest are carried\naway.\n\n27:1. In the beginning of the reign of Joakim the son of Josias king of\nJuda, this word came to Jeremias from the Lord, saying:\n\nJoakim. . .This revelation was made to the prophet in the beginning of\nthe reign of Joakim:  but the bands were not sent to the princes here\nnamed before the reign of Sedecias, ver. 3.\n\n27:2. Thus saith the Lord to me:  Make thee bands, and chains:  and thou\nshalt put them on thy neck.\n\n27:3. And thou shalt send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of\nMoab, and to the king of the children of Ammon, and to the king of\nTyre, and to the king of Sidon:  by the hand of the messengers that are\ncome to Jerusalem to Sedecias the king of Juda.\n\n27:4. And thou shalt command them to speak to their masters:  Thus saith\nthe Lord of hosts the God of Israel:  Thus shall you say to your\nmasters:\n\n27:5. I made the earth, and the men and the beasts that are upon the\nface of the earth, by my great power, and by my stretched out arm:  and\nI have given it to whom it seemed good in my eyes.\n\n27:6. And now I have given all these lands into the hand of\nNabuchodonosor king of Babylon my servant:  moreover also the beasts of\nthe field I have given him to serve him.\n\n27:7. And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son:\ntill the time come for his land and himself:  and many nations and great\nkings shall serve him.\n\nHis son. . .Viz., Evilmerodach; and his son's son, Nabonydus, or\nNabonadius, the Baltassar of Daniel, chap. 5., and the last of the\nChaldean kings.\n\n27:8. But the nation and kingdom that will not serve Nabuchodonosor\nking of Babylon, and whosoever will not bend his neck under the yoke of\nthe king of Babylon:  I will visit upon that nation with the sword, and\nwith famine, and with pestilence, saith the Lord:  till I consume them\nby his hand.\n\n27:9. Therefore hearken not to your prophets, and diviners, and\ndreamers, and soothsayers, and sorcerers, that say to you:  You shall\nnot serve the king of Babylon.\n\n27:10. For they prophesy lies to you:  to remove you far from your\ncountry, and cast you out, and to make you perish.\n\n27:11. But the nation that shall bend down their neck under the yoke of\nthe king of Babylon, and shall serve him:  I will let them remain in\ntheir own land, saith the Lord:  and they shall till it, and dwell in\nit.\n\n27:12. And I spoke to Sedecias the king of Juda according to all these\nwords, saying:  Bend down your necks under the yoke of the king of\nBabylon, and serve him, and his people, and you shall live.\n\n27:13. Why will you die, thou and thy people by the sword, and by\nfamine, and by the pestilence, as the Lord hath spoken against the\nnation that will not serve the king of Babylon?\n\n27:14. Hearken not to the words of the prophets that say to you:  You\nshall not serve the king of Babylon:  for they tell you a lie.\n\n27:15. For I have not sent them, saith the Lord:  and they prophesy in\nmy name falsely:  to drive you out, and that you may perish, both you,\nand the prophets that prophesy to you.\n\n27:16. I spoke also to the priests, and to this people, saying:  Thus\nsaith the Lord:  Hearken not to the words of your prophets, that\nprophesy to you, saying:  Behold the vessels of the Lord shall now in a\nshort time be brought again from Babylon:  for they prophesy a lie unto\nyou.\n\n27:17. Therefore hearken not to them, but serve the king of Babylon,\nthat you may live.  Why should this city be given up to desolation?\n\n27:18. But if they be prophets, and the word of the Lord be in them:\nlet them interpose themselves before the Lord of hosts, that the\nvessels which were left in the house of the Lord, and in the house of\nthe king of Juda, and in Jerusalem, may not go to Babylon.\n\n27:19. For thus saith the Lord of hosts to the pillars, and to the sea,\nand to the bases, and to the rest of the vessels that remain in this\ncity:\n\n27:20. Which Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon did not take, when he\ncarried away Jechonias the son of Joakim the king of Juda, from\nJerusalem to Babylon, and all the great men of Juda and Jerusalem.\n\n27:21. For thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel, to the\nvessels that are left in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the\nking of Juda and Jerusalem:\n\n27:22. They shall be carried to Babylon, and there they shall be until\nthe day of their visitation, saith the Lord:  and I will cause them to\nbe brought, and to be restored in this place.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 28\n\n\nThe false prophecy of Hananias:  he dies that same year, as Jeremias\nforetold.\n\n28:1. And it came to pass in that year, in the beginning of the reign\nof Sedecias king of Juda, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, that\nHananias the son of Azur, a prophet of Gabaon spoke to me, in the house\nof the Lord before the priests, and all the people, saying:\n\n28:2. Thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel:  I have broken the\nyoke of the king of Babylon.\n\n28:3. As yet two years of days, and I will cause all the vessels of the\nhouse of the Lord to be brought back into this place, which\nNabuchodonosor king of Babylon took away from this place, and carried\nthem to Babylon.\n\n28:4. And I will bring back to this place Jechonias the son of Joakim\nking of Juda, and all the captives of Juda, that are gone to Babylon,\nsaith the Lord:  for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.\n\n28:5. And Jeremias the prophet said to Hananias the prophet in the\npresence of the priests, and in the presence of all the people that\nstood in the house of the Lord:\n\n28:6. And Jeremias the prophet said:  Amen, the Lord do so:  the Lord\nperform thy words, which thou hast prophesied:  that the vessels may be\nbrought again into the house of the Lord, and all the captives may\nreturn out of Babylon to this place.\n\n28:7. Nevertheless hear this word that I speak in thy ears, and in the\nears of all the people:\n\n28:8. The prophets that have been before me, and before thee from the\nbeginning, and have prophesied concerning many countries, and\nconcerning great kingdoms, of war, and of affliction, and of famine.\n\n28:9. The prophet that prophesied peace:  when his word shall come to\npass, the prophet shall be known, whom the hath sent in truth.\n\n28:10. And Hananias the prophet took the chain from the neck of\nJeremias the prophet, and broke it.\n\n28:11. And Hananias spoke in the presence of all the people, saying:\nThus saith the Lord:  Even so will I break the yoke of Nabuchodonosor\nthe king of Babylon after two full years from off the neck of all the\nnations.\n\n28:12. And Jeremias the prophet went his way.  And the word of the Lord\ncame to Jeremias, after that Hananias the prophet had broken the chain\nfrom off the neck of Jeremias the prophet, saying:\n\n28:13. Go, and tell Hananias:  Thus saith the Lord:  Thou hast broken\nchains of wood, and thou shalt make for them chains of iron.\n\n28:14. For thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel:  I have put a\nyoke of iron upon the neck of all these nations, to serve\nNabuchodonosor king of Babylon, and they shall serve him:  moreover also\nI have given him the beasts of the earth.\n\n28:15. And Jeremias the prophet said to Hananias the prophet:  Hear now,\nHananias:  the Lord hath not sent thee, and thou hast made this people\nto trust in a lie.\n\n28:16. Therefore thus saith the Lord:  Behold I will send thee away from\noff the face of the earth:  this year shalt thou die:  for thou hast\nspoken against the Lord.\n\n28:17. And Hananias the prophet died in that year, in the seventh\nmonth.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 29\n\n\nJeremias writeth to the captives in Babylon, exhorting them to be easy\nthere, and not to hearken to false prophets.  That they shall be\ndelivered after seventy years.  But those that remain in Jerusalem shall\nperish by the sword, famine, and pestilence.  And that Achab, Sedecias,\nand Semeias, false prophets, shall die miserably.\n\n29:1. Now these are the words of the letter which Jeremias the prophet\nsent from Jerusalem to the residue of the ancients that were carried\ninto captivity, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the\npeople, whom Nabuchodonosor had carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon:\n\n29:2. After that Jechonias the king, and the queen, and the eunuchs,\nand the princes of Juda, and of Jerusalem, and the craftsmen, and the\nengravers were departed out of Jerusalem:\n\n29:3. By the hand of Elasa the son of Saphan, and Gamarias the son of\nHelcias, whom Sedecias king of Juda sent to Babylon to Nabuchodonosor\nking of Babylon, saying:\n\n29:4. Thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel, to all that are\ncarried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from\nJerusalem to Babylon:\n\n29:5. Build ye houses, and dwell in them:  and plant orchards, and eat\nthe fruit of them.\n\n29:6. Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters:  and take wives for\nyour sons, and give your daughters to husbands, and let them bear sons\nand daughters:  and be ye multiplied there, and be not few in number.\n\n29:7. And seek the peace of the city, to which I have caused you to be\ncarried away captives; and pray to the Lord for it:  for in the peace\nthereof shall be your peace.\n\n29:8. For thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel:  Let not your\nprophets that are in the midst of you, and your diviners deceive you:\nand give no heed to your dreams which you dream:\n\n29:9. For they prophesy falsely to you in my name:  and I have not sent\nthem, saith the Lord.\n\n29:10. For thus saith the Lord:  When the seventy years shall begin to\nbe accomplished in Babylon, I will visit you:  and I will perform my\ngood word in your favour, to bring you again to this place.\n\n29:11. For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the\nLord, thoughts of peace, and not of affliction, to give you an end and\npatience.\n\n29:12. And you shall call upon me, and you shall go.  and you shall pray\nto me, and I will hear you.\n\n29:13. You shall seek me, and shall find me:  when you shall seek me\nwith all your heart.\n\n29:14. And I will be found by you, saith the Lord:  and I will bring\nback your captivity, and I will gather you out of all nations, and from\nall the places to which I have driven you out, saith the Lord:  and I\nwill bring you back from the place to which I caused you to be carried\naway captive.\n\n29:15. Because you have said:  The Lord hath raised us up prophets in\nBabylon:\n\n29:16. For thus saith the Lord to the king that sitteth upon the throne\nof David, and to all the people that dwell in this city, to your\nbrethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity.\n\n29:17. Thus saith the Lord of hosts:  Behold I will send upon them the\nsword, and the famine, and the pestilence:  and I will make them like\nbad figs that cannot be eaten, because they are very bad.\n\n29:18. And I will persecute them with the sword, and with famine, and\nwith the pestilence:  and I will give them up unto affliction to all the\nkingdoms of the earth:  to be a curse, and an astonishment, and a\nhissing, and a reproach to all the nations to which I have driven them\nout:\n\n29:19. Because they have not hearkened to my words, saith the Lord:\nwhich I sent to them by my servants the prophets, rising by night, and\nsending:  and you have not heard, saith the Lord.\n\n29:20. Hear ye therefore the word of the Lord, all ye of the captivity,\nwhom I have sent out from Jerusalem to Babylon.\n\n29:21. Thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel, to Achab the son\nof Colias, and to Sedecias the son of Maasias, who prophesy unto you in\nmy name falsely:  Behold I will deliver them up into the hands of\nNabuchodonosor the king of Babylon:  and he shall kill them before your\neyes.\n\n29:22. And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of\nJuda, that are in Babylon, saying:  The Lord make thee like Sedecias,\nand like Achab, whom the king of Babylon fried in the fire:\n\n29:23. Because they have acted folly in Israel, and have committed\nadultery with the wives of their friends, and have spoken lying words\nin my name, which I commanded them not:  I am the judge and the witness,\nsaith the Lord.\n\n29:24. And to Semeias the Nehelamite thou shalt say:\n\n29:25. Thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel:  Because thou\nhast sent letters in thy name to all the people that are in Jerusalem,\nand to Sophonias the son of Maasias the priest, and to all the priests,\nsaying:\n\n29:26. The Lord hath made thee priest instead of Joiada the priest,\nthat thou shouldst be ruler in the house of the Lord, over every man\nthat raveth and prophesieth, to put him in the stocks, and into prison.\n\n29:27. And now why hast thou not rebuked Jeremias the Anathothite, who\nprophesieth to you?\n\n29:28. For he hath also sent to us in Babylon, saying:  It is a long\ntime:  build ye houses, and dwell in them:  and plant gardens, and eat\nthe fruits of them.\n\n29:29. So Sophonias the priest read this letter, in the hearing of\nJeremias the prophet.\n\n29:30. And the word of the Lord came to Jeremias, saying:\n\n29:31. Send to all them of the captivity, saying:  Thus saith the Lord\nto Semeias the Nehelamite:  Because Semeias hath prophesied to you, and\nI sent him not:  and hath caused you to trust in a lie:\n\n29:32. Therefore thus saith the Lord:  behold I will visit upon Semeias\nthe Nehelamite, and upon his seed:  he shall not have a man to sit in\nthe midst of this people, and he shall not see the good that I will do\nto my people, saith the Lord:  because he hath spoken treason against\nthe Lord.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 30\n\n\nGod will deliver his people from their captivity:  Christ shall be their\nking:  and his church shall be glorious for ever.\n\n30:1. This is the word that came to Jeremias from the Lord, saying:\n\n30:2. Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, saying:  Write thee all\nthe words that I have spoken to thee, in a book.\n\n30:3. For behold the days come, saith the Lord, and I will bring again\nthe captivity of my people Israel and Juda, saith the Lord:  and I will\ncause them to return to the land which I gave to their fathers, and\nthey shall possess it.\n\n30:4. And these are the words that the Lord hath spoken to Israel and\nto Juda:\n\n30:5. For thus saith the Lord:  We have heard a voice of terror:  there\nis fear and no peace.\n\n30:6. Ask ye, and see if a man bear children?  why then have I seen\nevery man with his hands on his loins, like a woman in labour, and all\nfaces are turned yellow?\n\n30:7. Alas, for that day is great, neither is there the like to it; and\nit is the time of tribulation to Jacob, but he shall be saved out of\nit.\n\n30:8. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts,\nthat I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst his bands:\nand strangers shall no more rule over him:\n\n30:9. But they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king,\nwhom I will raise up to them.\n\nDavid. . .That is, Christ of the house of David.\n\n30:10. Therefore fear thou not, my servant Jacob, saith the Lord,\nneither be dismayed, O Israel:  for behold, I will save thee from a\ncountry afar off, and thy seed from the land of their captivity:  and\nJacob shall return, and be at rest, and abound with all good things,\nand there shall be none whom he may fear:\n\n30:11. For I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee:  for I will\nutterly consume all the nations, among which I have scattered thee:  but\nI will not utterly consume thee:  but I will chastise thee in judgment,\nthat thou mayst not seem to thyself innocent.\n\n30:12. For thus saith the Lord:  Thy bruise is incurable, thy wound is\nvery grievous.\n\n30:13. There is none to judge thy judgment to bind it up:  thou hast no\nhealing medicines.\n\n30:14. All thy lovers have forgotten thee, and will not seek after\nthee:  for I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with cruel\nchastisement:  by reason of the multitude of thy iniquities, thy sins\nare hardened.\n\n30:15. Why criest thou for thy affliction?  thy sorrow is incurable:  for\nthe multitude of thy iniquity, and for thy hardened sins I have done\nthese things to thee.\n\n30:16. Therefore all they that devour thee, shall be devoured:  and all\nthy enemies shall be carried into captivity:  and they that waste thee\nshall be wasted, and all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey.\n\n30:17. For I will close up thy scar, and will heal thee of thy wounds,\nsaith the Lord.  Because they have called thee, O Sion, an outcast:  This\nis she that hath none to seek after her.\n\n30:18. Thus saith the Lord:  Behold I will bring back the captivity of\nthe pavilions of Jacob, and will have pity on his houses, and the city\nshall be built in her high place, and the temple shall be founded\naccording to the order thereof.\n\n30:19. And out of them shall come forth praise, and the voice of them\nthat play:  and I will multiply them, and they shall not be made few:\nand I will glorify them, and they shall not be lessened.\n\n30:20. And their children shall be as from the beginning, and their\nassembly shall be permanent before me:  and I will visit against all\nthat afflict them.\n\n30:21. And their leader shall be of themselves:  and their prince shall\ncome forth from the midst of them:  and I will bring him near, and he\nshall come to me:  for who is this that setteth his heart to approach to\nme, saith the Lord?\n\n30:22. And you shall be my people:  and I will be your God.\n\n30:23. Behold the whirlwind of the Lord, his fury going forth, a\nviolent storm, it shall rest upon the head of the wicked.\n\n30:24. The Lord will not turn away the wrath of his indignation, till\nhe have executed and performed the thought of his heart:  in the latter\ndays you shall understand these things.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 31\n\n\nThe restoration of Israel.  Rachel shall cease from morning.  The new\ncovenant.  The church shall never fail.\n\n31:1. At that time, saith the Lord, I will be the God of all the\nfamilies of Israel, and they shall be my people.\n\n31:2. Thus saith the Lord:  The people that were left and escaped from\nthe sword, found grace in the desert:  Israel shall go to his rest.\n\n31:3. The Lord hath appeared from afar to me.  Yea I have loved thee\nwith an everlasting love, therefore have I drawn thee, taking pity on\nthee.\n\n31:4. And I will build thee again, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of\nIsrael:  thou shalt again be adorned with thy timbrels, and shalt go\nforth in the dances of them that make merry.\n\n31:5. Thou shalt yet plant vineyards in the mountains of Samaria:  the\nplanters shall plant, and they shall not gather the vintage before the\ntime.\n\n31:6. For there shall be a day, in which the watchmen on mount Ephraim,\nshall cry:  Arise, and let us go up to Sion to the Lord our God.\n\n31:7. For thus saith the Lord:  Rejoice ye in the joy of Jacob, and\nneigh before the head of the Gentiles:  shout ye, and sing, and say:\nSave, O Lord, thy people, the remnant of Israel.\n\n31:8. Behold I will bring them from the north country, and will gather\nthem from the ends of the earth and among them shall be the blind, and\nthe lame, the woman with child, and she that is bringing forth,\ntogether, a great company of them returning hither.\n\n31:9. They shall come with weeping:  and I will bring them back in\nmercy:  and I will bring them through the torrents of waters in a right\nway, and they shall not stumble in it:  for I am a father to Israel, and\nEphraim is my firstborn.\n\n31:10. Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the\nislands that are afar off, and say:  He that scattered Israel will\ngather him:  and he will keep him as the shepherd doth his flock.\n\n31:11. For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and delivered him out of the\nhand of one that was mightier than he.\n\n31:12. And they shall come, and shall give praise in mount Sion:  and\nthey shall flow together to the good things of the Lord, for the corn,\nand wine, and oil, and the increase of cattle and herds, and their soul\nshall be as a watered garden, and they shall be hungry no more.\n\n31:13. Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, the young men and\nold men together:  and I will turn their mourning into joy, and will\ncomfort them, and make them joyful after their sorrow.\n\n31:14. And I will fill the soul of the priests with fatness:  and my\npeople shall be filled with my good things, saith the Lord.\n\n31:15. Thus saith the Lord:  A voice was heard on high of lamentation,\nof mourning, and weeping, of Rachel weeping for her children and\nrefusing to be comforted for them, because they are not.\n\n31:16. Thus saith the Lord:  Let thy voice cease from weeping, and thy\neyes tears:  for there is a reward for thy work, saith the Lord:  and\nthey shall return out of the land of the enemy.\n\n31:17. And there is hope for thy last end, saith the Lord:  and the\nchildren shall return to their own borders.\n\n31:18. Hearing I heard Ephraim when he went into captivity:  thou hast\nchastised me, and I was instructed, as a young bullock unaccustomed to\nthe yoke.  Convert me, and I shall be converted, for thou art the Lord\nmy God.\n\n31:19. For after thou didst convert me, I did penance:  and after thou\ndidst shew unto me, I struck my thigh:  I am confounded and ashamed,\nbecause I have borne the reproach of my youth.\n\n31:20. Surely Ephraim is an honourable son to me, surely he is a tender\nchild:  for since I spoke of him, I will still remember him.  Therefore\nare my bowels troubled for him:  pitying I will pity him, saith the\nLord.\n\n31:21. Set thee up a watchtower, make to thee bitterness:  direct thy\nheart into the right way, wherein thou hast walked:  return, O virgin of\nIsrael, return to these thy cities.\n\n31:22. How long wilt thou be dissolute in deliciousness, O wandering\ndaughter?  for the Lord hath created a new thing upon the earth:  A WOMAN\nSHALL COMPASS A MAN.\n\n31:23. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:  As yet shall\nthey say this word in the land of Juda, and in the cities thereof, when\nI shall bring back their captivity:  The Lord bless thee, the beauty of\njustice, the holy mountain.\n\n31:24. And Juda and all his cities shall dwell therein together:  the\nhusbandman and they that drive the flocks.\n\n31:25. For I have inebriated the weary soul:  and I have filled every\nhungry soul.\n\n31:26. Upon this I was as it were awaked out of a sleep, and I saw, and\nmy sleep was sweet to me.\n\n31:27. Behold the days come, saith the Lord:  and I will sow the house\nof Israel and the house of Juda with the seed of men, and with the seed\nof beasts.\n\n31:28. And as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to throw down,\nand to scatter, and destroy, and afflict:  so will I watch over them, to\nbuild up, and to plant them, saith the Lord.\n\n31:29. In those days they shall say no more:  The fathers have eaten a\nsour grape, and the teeth of the children are set on edge.\n\n31:30. But every one shall die for his own iniquity:  every man that\nshall eat the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.\n\n31:31. Behold the days shall come, saith the Lord, and I will make a\nnew covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Juda:\n\n31:32. Not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers,\nin the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land\nof Egypt, the covenant which they made void, and I had dominion over\nthem, saith the Lord.\n\n31:33. But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house\nof Israel, after those days, saith the Lord:  I will give my law in\ntheir bowels, and I will write it in their heart:  and I will be their\nGod, and they shall be my people.\n\n31:34. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every\nman his brother, saying:  Know the Lord:  for all shall know me from the\nleast of them even to the greatest, saith the Lord:  for I will forgive\ntheir iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.\n\n31:35. Thus saith the Lord, who giveth the sun for the light of the\nday, the order of the moon and of the stars, for the light of the\nnight:  who stirreth up the sea, and the waves thereof roar, the Lord of\nhosts is his name.\n\n31:36. If these ordinances shall fail before me, saith the Lord:  then\nalso the seed of Israel shall fail, so as not to be a nation before me\nfor ever.\n\n31:37. Thus saith the Lord:  If the heavens above can be measured, and\nthe foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I also will cast\naway all the seed of Israel, for all that they have done, saith the\nLord.\n\n31:38. Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that the city shall be\nbuilt to the Lord from the tower of Hanameel even to the gate of the\ncorner.\n\n31:39. And the measuring line shall go out farther in his sight upon\nthe hill Gareb:  and it shall compass Goatha,\n\n31:40. And the whole valley of dead bodies, and of ashes, and all the\ncountry of death, even to the torrent Cedron, and to the corner of the\nhorse gate towards the east, the Holy of the Lord:  it shall not be\nplucked up, and it shall not be destroyed any more for ever.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 32\n\n\nJeremias by God's commandment purchases a field of his kinsman:  and\nprophesies the return of the people out of captivity:  and the\neverlasting covenant God will make with his church.\n\n32:1. The word that came to Jeremias from the Lord in the tenth year of\nSedecias king of Juda:  the same is the eighteenth year of\nNabuchodonosor.\n\n32:2. At that time the army of the king of Babylon besieged Jerusalem:\nand Jeremias the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which\nwas in the house of the king of Juda.\n\n32:3. For Sedecias king of Juda had shut him up, saying:  Why dost thou\nprophesy, saying:  Thus saith the Lord:  Behold I will give this city\ninto the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it?\n\n32:4. And Sedecias king of Juda shall not escape out of the hand of the\nChaldeans:  but he shall be delivered into the hands of the king of\nBabylon:  and he shall speak to him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall\nsee his eyes.\n\n32:5. And he shall lead Sedecias to Babylon:  and he shall be there till\nI visit him, saith the Lord.  But if you will fight against the\nChaldeans, you shall have no success.\n\n32:6. And Jeremias said:  The word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n32:7. Behold, Hanameel the son of Sellum thy cousin shall come to thee,\nsaying:  Buy thee my field, which is in Anathoth, for it is thy right to\nbuy it, being next akin.\n\n32:8. And Hanameel my uncle's son came to me, according to the word of\nthe Lord, to the entry of the prison, and said to me:  Buy my field,\nwhich is in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:  for the right of\ninheritance is thine, and thou art next of kin to possess it.  And I\nunderstood that this was the word of the Lord.\n\n32:9. And I bought the field of Hanameel my uncle's son, that is in\nAnathoth:  and I weighed him the money, seven staters, and ten pieces of\nsilver.\n\n32:10. And I wrote it in a book and sealed it, and took witnesses:  and\nI weighed him the money in the balances.\n\n32:11. And I took the deed of the purchase that was sealed, and the\nstipulations, and the ratifications with the seals that were on the\noutside.\n\n32:12. And I gave the deed of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neri\nthe son of Maasias in the sight of Hanameel my uncle's son, in the\npresence of the witnesses that subscribed the book of the purchase, and\nbefore all the Jews that sat in the court of the prison.\n\n32:13. And I charged Baruch before them, saying:\n\n32:14. Thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel:  Take these\nwritings, this deed of the purchase that is sealed up, and this deed\nthat is open:  and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may continue\nmany days.\n\n32:15. For thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel:  Houses, and\nfields, and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.\n\n32:16. And after I had delivered the deed of purchase to Baruch the son\nof Neri, I prayed to the Lord, saying:\n\n32:17. Alas, alas, alas, O Lord God, behold thou hast made heaven and\nearth by thy great power, and thy stretched out arm:  no word shall be\nhard to thee:\n\n32:18. Thou shewest mercy unto thousands, and returnest the iniquity of\nthe fathers into the bosom of their children after them:  O most mighty,\ngreat, and powerful, the Lord of hosts is thy name.\n\n32:19. Great in counsel, and incomprehensible in thought:  whose eyes\nare open upon all the ways of the children of Adam, to render unto\nevery one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his\ndevices.\n\n32:20. Who hast set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt even until\nthis day, and in Israel, and amongst men, and hast made thee a name as\nat this day.\n\n32:21. And hast brought forth thy people Israel, out of the land of\nEgypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and a\nstretched out arm, and with great terror.\n\n32:22. And hast given them this land which thou didst swear to their\nfathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey.\n\n32:23. And they came in, and possessed it:  but they obeyed not thy\nvoice, and they walked not in thy law:  and they did not any of those\nthings that thou didst command them to do, and all these evils are come\nupon them.\n\n32:24. Behold works are built up against the city to take it:  and the\ncity is given into the hands of the Chaldeans, who fight against it, by\nthe sword, and the famine, and the pestilence:  and what thou hast\nspoken, is all come to pass, as thou thyself seest.\n\n32:25. And sayest thou to me, O Lord God:  Buy a field for money, and\ntake witnesses, whereas the city is given into the hands of the\nChaldeans?\n\n32:26. And the word of the Lord came to Jeremias, saying:\n\n32:27. Behold I am the Lord the God of all flesh:  shall any thing be\nhard for me?\n\n32:28. Therefore thus saith the Lord:  Behold I will deliver this city\ninto the hands of the Chaldeans, and into the hands of the king of\nBabylon, and they shall take it.\n\n32:29. And the Chaldeans that fight against this city, shall come and\nset it on fire, and burn it, with the houses upon whose roofs they\noffered sacrifice to Baal, and poured out drink offerings to strange\ngods, to provoke me to wrath.\n\n32:30. For the children of Israel, and the children of Juda, have\ncontinually done evil in my eyes from their youth:  the children of\nIsrael who even till now provoke me with the work of their hands, saith\nthe Lord.\n\n32:31. For this city hath been to me a provocation and indignation from\nthe day that they built it, until this day, in which it shall be taken\nout of my sight.\n\n32:32. Because of all the evil of the children of Israel, and of the\nchildren of Juda, which they have done, provoking me to wrath, they and\ntheir kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets, the\nmen of Juda, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.\n\n32:33. And they have turned their backs to me, and not their faces:\nwhen I taught them early in the morning, and instructed them, and they\nwould not hearken to receive instruction.\n\n32:34. And they have set their idols in the house, in which my name is\ncalled upon, to defile it.\n\n32:35. And they have built the high places of Baal, which are in the\nvalley of the son of Ennom, to consecrate their sons and their\ndaughters to Moloch:  which I commanded them not, neither entered it\ninto my heart, that they should do this abomination, and cause Juda to\nsin.\n\n32:36. And now, therefore, thus saith the Lord the God of Israel to\nthis city, whereof you say that it shall be delivered into the hands of\nthe king of Babylon by the sword, and by famine, and by pestilence:\n\n32:37. Behold I will gather them together out of all the lands to which\nI have cast them out in my anger, and in my wrath, and in my great\nindignation:  and I will bring them again into this place, and will\ncause them to dwell securely.\n\n32:38. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.\n\n32:39. And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear\nme all days:  and that it may be well with them, and with their children\nafter them.\n\n32:40. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, and will not\ncease to do them good:  and I will give my fear in their heart, that\nthey may not revolt from me.\n\n32:41. And I will rejoice over them, when I shall do them good:  and I\nwill plant them in this land in truth, with my whole heart, and with\nall my soul.\n\n32:42. For thus saith the Lord:  As I have brought upon this people all\nthis great evil:  so will I bring upon them all the good that I now\nspeak to them.\n\n32:43. And fields shall be purchased in this land:  whereof you say that\nit is desolate, because there remaineth neither man nor beast, and it\nis given into the hands of the Chaldeans.\n\n32:44. Fields shall be bought for money, and deeds shall be written,\nand sealed, and witnesses shall be taken, in the land of Benjamin, and\nround about Jerusalem, in the cities of Juda, and in the cities on the\nmountains, and in the cities of the plains, and in the cities that are\ntowards the south:  for I will bring back their captivity, saith the\nLord.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 33\n\n\nGod promises reduction from captivity, and other blessings:  especially\nthe coming of Christ, whose reign in his church shall be glorious and\nperpetual.\n\n33:1. And the word of the Lord came to Jeremias the second time, while\nhe was yet shut up in the court of the prison, saying:\n\n33:2. Thus saith the Lord, who will do, and will form it, and prepare\nit, the Lord is his name.\n\n33:3. Cry to me and I will hear thee:  and I will shew thee great\nthings, and sure things which thou knowest not.\n\n33:4. For thus saith the Lord the God of Israel to the houses of this\ncity, and to the houses of the king of Juda, which are destroyed, and\nto the bulwarks, and to the sword.\n\n33:5. Of them that come to fight with the Chaldeans, and to fill them\nwith the dead bodies of the men whom I have slain in my wrath, and in\nmy indignation, hiding my face from this city because of all their\nwickedness.\n\n33:6. Behold I will close their wounds and give them health, and I will\ncure them:  and I will reveal to them the prayer of peace and truth.\n\nThe prayer of peace. . .That is, the peace and welfare which they pray\nfor.\n\n33:7. And I will bring back the captivity of Juda, and the captivity of\nJerusalem:  and I will build them as from the beginning.\n\n33:8. And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they\nhave sinned against me:  and I will forgive all their iniquities,\nwhereby they have sinned against me, and despised me.\n\n33:9. And it shall be to me a name, and a joy, and a praise, and a\ngladness before all the nations of the earth, that shall hear of all\nthe good things which I will do to them:  and they shall fear and be\ntroubled for all the good things, and for all the peace that I will\nmake for them.\n\n33:10. Thus saith the Lord:  There shall be heard again in this place\n(which you say is desolate, because there is neither man nor beast:  in\nthe cities of Juda, and without Jerusalem, which are desolate without\nman, and without inhabitant, and without beast)\n\n33:11. The voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the\nbridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall\nsay:  Give ye glory to the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good, for his\nmercy endureth for ever:  and of them that shall bring their vows into\nthe house of the Lord:  for I will bring back the captivity of the land\nas at the first, saith the Lord.\n\n33:12. Thus saith the Lord of hosts:  There shall be again in this place\nthat is desolate without man, and without beast, and in all the cities\nthereof, an habitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down.\n\n33:13. And in the cities on the mountains, and in the cities of the\nplains, and in the cities that are towards the south:  and in the land\nof Benjamin, and round about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Juda shall\nthe flocks pass again under the hand of him that numbereth them, saith\nthe Lord.\n\n33:14. Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will perform the\ngood word that I have spoken to the house of Israel, and to the house\nof Juda.\n\n33:15. In those days, and at that time, I will make the bud of justice\nto spring forth unto David, and he shall do judgment and justice in the\nearth.\n\n33:16. In those days shall Juda be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell\nsecurely:  and this is the name that they shall call him, The Lord our\njust one.\n\n33:17. For thus saith the Lord:  There shall not be cut off from David a\nman to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel.\n\nThere shall not be cut off from David, etc. . .This was verified in\nChrist, who is of the house of David; and whose kingdom in his church\nshall have no end.\n\n33:18. Neither shall there be cut off from the priests and Levites a\nman before my face to offer holocausts, and to burn sacrifices, and to\nkill victims continually.\n\nNeither shall there be cut off from the priests, etc. . .This promise\nrelates to the Christian priesthood; which shall also continue for\never:  the functions of which (more especially the great sacrifice of\nthe altar) are here expressed by the name of holocausts, and other\nofferings of the law, which were so many figures of the Christian\nsacrifice.\n\n33:19. And the word of the Lord came to Jeremias, saying:\n\n33:20. Thus saith the Lord:  if my covenant, with the day can be made\nvoid, and my covenant with the night, that there should not be day and\nnight in their season:\n\n33:21. Also my covenant with David my servant may be made void, that he\nshould not have a son to reign upon his throne, and with the Levites\nand priests my ministers.\n\n33:22. As the stars of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the\nsea be measured:  so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and\nthe Levites my ministers.\n\n33:23. And the word of the Lord came to Jeremias, saying:\n\n33:24. Hast thou not seen what this people hath spoken, saying:  The two\nfamilies which the Lord had chosen, are cast off:  and they have\ndespised my people, so that it is no more a nation before them?\n\nTwo families, etc. . .Viz., the families of the kings and priests.\n\n33:25. Thus saith the Lord.  If I have not set my covenant between day\nand night, and laws to heaven and earth:\n\n33:26. Surely I will also cast off the seed of Jacob, and of David my\nservant, so as not to take any of his seed to be rulers of the seed of\nAbraham, Isaac, and Jacob:  for I will bring back their captivity, and\nwill have mercy on them.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 34\n\n\nThe prophet foretells that Sedecias shall fall into the hands of\nNabuchodonosor:  God's sentence upon the princes and people that had\nbroken his covenant.\n\n34:1. The word that came to Jeremias from the Lord, when Nabuchodonosor\nking of Babylon, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth,\nthat were under the power of his hand, and all the people fought\nagainst Jerusalem and against all the cities thereof, saying:\n\n34:2. Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel:  Go, and speak to Sedecias\nking of Juda, and say to him:  Thus saith the Lord:  Behold I will\ndeliver this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he shall\nburn it with fire.\n\n34:3. And thou shalt not escape out of his hand:  but thou shalt surely\nbe taken, and thou shalt be delivered into his hand:  and thy eyes shall\nsee the eyes of the king of Babylon, and his mouth shall speak with thy\nmouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon.\n\n34:4. Yet hear the word of the Lord, O Sedecias king of Juda:  Thus\nsaith the Lord to thee:  Thou shalt not die by the sword.\n\n34:5. But thou shalt die in peace, and according to the burnings of thy\nfathers, the former kings that were before thee, so shall they burn\nthee:  and they shall mourn for thee, saying:  Alas, Lord:  for I have\nspoken the word, saith the Lord.\n\nDie in peace. . .That is, by a natural death.\n\n34:6. And Jeremias the prophet spoke all these words to Sedecias the\nking of Juda in Jerusalem.\n\n34:7. And the army of the king of Babylon fought against Jerusalem, and\nagainst all the cities of Juda that were left, against Lachis, and\nagainst Azecha:  for these remained of the cities of Juda, fenced\ncities.\n\n34:8. The word that came to Jeremias from the Lord, after that king\nSedecias had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem making a\nproclamation:\n\n34:9. That every man should let his manservant, and every man his\nmaidservant, being Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, go free:  and that they\nshould not lord it over them, to wit, over the Jews their brethren.\n\n34:10. And all the princes, and all the people who entered into the\ncovenant, heard that every man should let his manservant, and every man\nhis maidservant go free, and should no more have dominion over them:\nand they obeyed, and let them go free.\n\n34:11. But afterwards they turned:  and brought back again their\nservants and their handmaids, whom they had let go free, and brought\nthem into subjection as menservants and maidservants.\n\n34:12. And the word of the Lord came to Jeremias from the Lord, saying:\n\n34:13. Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel:  I made a covenant with\nyour fathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt,\nout of the house of bondage, saying:\n\n34:14. At the end of seven years, let ye go every man his brother being\na Hebrew, who hath been sold to thee, so he shall serve thee six years:\nand thou shalt let him go free from thee:  and your fathers did not\nhearken to me, nor did they incline their ear.\n\n34:15. And you turned to day, and did that which was right in my eyes,\nin proclaiming liberty every one to his brother:  and you made a\ncovenant in my sight, in the house upon which my name is invocated.\n\n34:16. And you are fallen back, and have defiled my name:  and you have\nbrought back again every man his manservant, and every man his\nmaidservant, whom you had let go free, and set at liberty:  and you have\nbrought them into subjection to be your servants and handmaids.\n\n34:17. Therefore thus saith the Lord:  You have not hearkened to me, in\nproclaiming liberty every man to his brother and every man to his\nfriend:  behold I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the Lord, to the\nsword, to the pestilence, and to the famine:  and I will cause you to be\nremoved to all the kingdoms of the earth.\n\n34:18. And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, and\nhave not performed the words of the covenant which they agreed to in my\npresence, when they cut the calf in two and passed between the parts\nthereof:\n\n34:19. The princes of Juda, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs,\nand the priests, and all the people of the land that passed between the\nparts of the calf:\n\n34:20. And I will give them into the hands of their enemies, and into\nthe hands of them that seek their life:  and their dead bodies shall be\nfor meat to the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the earth.\n\n34:21. And Sedecias the king of Juda, and his princes, I will give into\nthe hands of their enemies, and into the hands of them that seek their\nlives, and into the hands of the armies of the king of Babylon, which\nare gone from you.\n\n34:22. Behold I will command, saith the Lord, and I will bring them\nagain to this city, and they shall fight against it, and take it, and\nburn it with fire:  and I will make the cities of Juda a desolation,\nwithout an inhabitant.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 35\n\n\nThe obedience of the Rechabites condemns the disobedience of the Jews.\nThe reward of the Rechabites.\n\n35:1. The word that came to Jeremias from the Lord in the days of\nJoakim the son of Josias king of Juda, saying:\n\n35:2. Go to the house of the Rechabites:  and speak to them, and bring\nthem into the house of the Lord, into one of the chambers of the\ntreasures, and thou shalt give them wine to drink.\n\nRechabites. . .These were of the race of Jethro, father in law to Moses.\n\n35:3. And I took Jezonias the son of Jeremias the son of Habsanias, and\nhis brethren, and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites.\n\n35:4. And I brought them into the house of the Lord, to the treasure\nhouse of the sons of Hanan, the son of Jegedelias the man of God, which\nwas by the treasure house of the princes, above the treasure of Maasias\nthe son of Sellum, who was keeper of the entry.\n\n35:5. And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites pots\nfull of wine, and cups:  and I said to them:  Drink ye wine.\n\n35:6. And they answered :  We will not drink wine:  because Jonadab the\nson of Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying:  You shall drink no\nwine, neither you, nor your children, for ever:\n\n35:7. Neither shall ye build houses, nor sow reed, nor plant vineyards,\nnor have any:  but you shall dwell in tents all your days, that you may\nlive many days upon the face of the earth, in which you are strangers.\n\n35:8. Therefore we have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab,\nour father, in all things that he commanded us:  so as to drink no wine\nall our days:  neither we, nor our wives, nor our sons, nor our\ndaughters:\n\n35:9. Nor to build houses to dwell in, nor to have vineyard, or field,\nor seed:\n\n35:10. But we have dwelt in tents, and have been obedient according to\nall that Jonadab our father commanded us.\n\n35:11. But when Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon came up to our land, we\nsaid:  Come, let us go into Jerusalem from the face of the army of the\nChaldeans, and from the face of the army of Syria:  and we have remained\nin Jerusalem.\n\n35:12. And the word of the Lord came to Jeremias, saying:\n\n35:13. Thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel:  Go, and say to\nthe men of Juda, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem:  Will you not\nreceive instruction, to obey my words, saith the Lord?\n\n35:14. The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, by which he commanded\nhis sons not to drink wine, have prevailed:  and they have drunk none to\nthis day, because they have obeyed the commandment of their father:  but\nI have spoken to you, rising early and speaking, and you have not\nobeyed me.\n\n35:15. And I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, rising\nearly, and sending and saying:  Return ye every man from his wicked way,\nand make your ways good:  and follow not strange gods, nor worship them,\nand you shall dwell in the land, which I gave you and your fathers:  and\nyou have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened to me.\n\n35:16. So the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have constantly kept\nthe commandment of their father, which he commanded them:  but this\npeople hath not obeyed me.\n\n35:17. Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel:  Behold\nI will bring upon Juda, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all\nthe evil that I have pronounced against them, because I have spoken to\nthem, and they have not heard:  I have called to them, and they have not\nanswered me.\n\n35:18. And Jeremias said to the house of the Rechabites:  Thus saith the\nLord of hosts the God of Israel:  Because you have obeyed the\ncommandment of Jonadab your father, and have kept all his precepts, and\nhave done all that he commanded you:\n\n35:19. Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel:  There\nshall not be wanting a man of the race of Jonadab the son of Rechab,\nstanding before me for ever.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 36\n\n\nJeremias sends Baruch to read his prophecies in the temple; the book is\nbrought to king Joakim, who burns it.  The prophet denounces his\njudgment, and causes Baruch to write a new copy.\n\n36:1. And it came to pass in the fourth year of Joakim the son of\nJosias king of Juda, that this word came to Jeremias by the Lord,\nsaying:\n\n36:2. Take thee a roll of a book, and thou shalt write in it all the\nwords that I have spoken to thee against Israel and Juda, and against\nall the nations from the day that I spoke to thee, from the days of\nJosias even to this day.\n\n36:3. If so be, when the house of Juda shall hear all the evils that I\npurpose to do unto them, that they may return every man from his wicked\nway:  and I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin.\n\n36:4. So Jeremias called Baruch the son of Nerias:  and Baruch wrote\nfrom the mouth of Jeremias all the words of the Lord, which he spoke to\nhim, upon the roll of a book.\n\n36:5. And Jeremias commanded Baruch, saying:  I am shut up, and cannot\ngo into the house of the Lord.\n\nShut up. . .Not that the prophet was now in prison; for the contrary\nappears from ver. 19, but that he kept himself shut up, by reason of\nthe persecutions he had lately met with.  See chap. 26.\n\n36:6. Go thou in therefore, and read out of the volume, which thou hast\nwritten from my mouth, the words of the Lord, in the hearing of all the\npeople in the house of the Lord on the fasting day:  and also thou shalt\nread them in the hearing of all Juda that come out of their cities:\n\n36:7. If so be they may present their supplication before the Lord, and\nmay return every one from his wicked way:  for great is the wrath and\nindignation which the Lord hath pronounced against this people.\n\n36:8. And Baruch the son of Nerias did according to all that Jeremias\nthe prophet ,had commanded him, reading out of the volume the words of\nthe Lord in the house of the Lord.\n\n36:9. And it came to pass in the fifth year of Joakim the son of Josias\nking of Juda, in the ninth month, that they proclaimed a fast before\nthe Lord to all the people in Jerusalem, and to all the people that\nwere come together out of the cities of Juda to Jerusalem.\n\n36:10. And Baruch read out of the volume the words of Jeremias in the\nhouse of the Lord, in the treasury of Gamarias the son of Saphan the\nscribe, in the upper court, in the entry of the new gate of the house\nof the Lord, in the hearing of all the people.\n\n36:11. And when Micheas the son of Gamarias the son of Saphan had heard\nout of the book all the words of the Lord,\n\n36:12. He went down into the king's house to the secretary's chamber:\nand behold all the princes sat there, Elisama the scribe, and Dalaias\nthe son of Semeias, and Elnathan the son of Achobor, and Gamarias the\nson of Saphan, and Sedecias the son of Hananias, and all the princes.\n\n36:13. And Micheas told them all the words that he had heard when\nBaruch read out of the volume in the hearing of the people.\n\n36:14. Therefore all the princes sent Judi the son of Nathanias, the\nson of Selemias, the son of Chusi, to Baruch, saying:  Take in thy hand\nthe volume in which thou hast read in the hearing of the people, and\ncome.  So Baruch the son of Nerias took the volume in his hand, and came\nto them.\n\n36:15. And they said to him:  Sit down and read these things in our\nhearing.  And Baruch read in their hearing.\n\n36:16. And when they had heard all the words, they looked upon one\nanother with astonishment, and they said to Baruch:  We must tell the\nking all these words.\n\n36:17. And they asked him, saying:  Tell us how didst thou write all\nthese words from his mouth.\n\n36:18. And Baruch said to them:  With his mouth he pronounced all these\nwords as if he were reading to me:  and I wrote in a volume with ink.\n\n36:19. And the princes said to Baruch:  Go, and hide thee, both thou and\nJeremias, and let no man know where you are.\n\n36:20. And they went in to the king into the court:  but they laid up\nthe volume in the chamber of Elisama the scribe:  and they told all the\nwords in the hearing of the king.\n\n36:21. And the king sent Judi that he should take the volume:  who\nbringing it out of the chamber of Elisama the scribe, read it in the\nhearing of the king, and of all the princes that stood about the king.\n\n36:22. Now the king sat in the winter house, in the ninth month:  and\nthere was a hearth before him full of burning coals.\n\n36:23. And when Judi had read three or four pages, he cut it with the\npenknife, and he cast it into the fire, that was upon the hearth, till\nall the volume was consumed with the fire that was on the hearth.\n\n36:24. And the king and all his servants that heard all these words\nwere not afraid, nor did they rend their garments.\n\n36:25. But yet Elnathan, and Dalaias, and Gamarias spoke to the king,\nnot to burn the book:  and he heard them not.\n\n36:26. And the king commanded Jeremiel the son of Amelech, and Saraias\nthe son of Ezriel, and Selemias the son of Abdeel, to take up Baruch\nthe scribe, and Jeremias the prophet:  but the Lord hid them.\n\n36:27. And the word of the Lord came to Jeremias the prophet, after\nthat the king had burnt the volume, and the words that Baruch had\nwritten from the mouth of Jeremias, saying:\n\n36:28. Take thee again another volume:  and write in it all the former\nwords that were in the first volume which Joakim the king of Juda both\nburnt.\n\n36:29. And thou shalt say to Joakim the king of Juda:  Thus saith the\nLord:  Thou hast burnt that volume, saying:  Why hast thou written\ntherein, and said:  The king of Babylon shall come speedily, and shall\nlay waste this land:  and shall cause to cease from thence man and\nbeast?\n\n36:30. Therefore thus saith the Lord against Joakim the king of Juda:\nHe shall have none to sit upon the throne of David:  and his dead body\nshall be cast out to the heat by day, and to the frost by night.\n\nHe shall have none, etc. . .Because his son Joachin or Jechonias, within\nthree months after the death of his father, was carried away to\nBabylon, so that his reign is not worthy of notice.\n\n36:31. And I will punish him, and his seed and his servants, for their\niniquities, and I will bring upon them, and upon the inhabitants of\nJerusalem, and upon the men of Juda all the evil that I have pronounced\nagainst them, but they have not heard.\n\n36:32. And Jeremias took another volume, and gave it to Baruch the son\nof Nerias the scribe:  who wrote in it from the mouth of Jeremias all\nthe words of the book which Joakim the king of Juda had burnt with\nfire:  and there were added besides many more words than had been\nbefore.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 37\n\n\nJeremias prophesies that the Chaldeans, who had departed from\nJerusalem, would return and burn the city.  He is cast into prison.  His\nconference with Sedecias.\n\n37:1. Now king Sedecias the son of Josias reigned instead of Jechonias\nthe son of Joakim:  whom Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon made king in the\nland of Juda.\n\n37:2. But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land did\nobey the words of the Lord, that he spoke in the hand of Jeremias the\nprophet.\n\n37:3. And king Sedecias sent Juchal the son of Selemias, and Sophonias\nthe son of Maasias the priest to Jeremias the prophet, saying:  Pray to\nthe Lord our God for us.\n\n37:4. Now Jeremias walked freely in the midst of the people:  for they\nhad not as yet cast him into prison.  And the army of Pharao was come\nout of Egypt:  and the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem, hearing these\ntidings, departed from Jerusalem.\n\n37:5. And the word of the Lord came to Jeremias the prophet, saying:\n\n37:6. Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel:  Thus shall you say to the\nking of Juda, who sent you to inquire of me:  Behold the army of Pharao,\nwhich is come forth to help you, shall return into their own land, into\nEgypt.\n\n37:7. And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city,\nand take it, and burn it with fire.\n\n37:8. Thus saith the Lord:  Deceive not your souls, saying:  The\nChaldeans shall surely depart and go away from us:  for they shall not\ngo away.\n\n37:9. But if you should even beat all the army of the Chaldeans that\nfight against you, and there should be left of them some wounded men:\nthey shall rise up, every man from his heart, and burn this city with\nfire.\n\n37:10. Now when the army of the Chaldeans was gone away from Jerusalem,\nbecause of Pharao's army,\n\n37:11. Jeremias went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of\nBenjamin:  and to divide a possession there in the presence of the\ncitizens,\n\n37:12. And when he was come to the gate of Benjamin, the captain of the\ngate, who was there in his turn, was one named Jerias, the son of\nSelemias, the son of Hananias:  and he took hold of Jeremias the\nprophet, saying:  Thou art fleeing to the Chaldeans.\n\n37:13. And Jeremias answered:  It is not so, I am not fleeing to the\nChaldeans.  But he hearkened not to him:  so Jerias took Jeremias and\nbrought him to the princes.\n\n37:14. Wherefore the princes were angry with Jeremias, and they beat\nhim, and cast him into the prison that was in the house of Jonathan the\nscribe:  for he was chief over the prison.\n\n37:15. So Jeremias went into the house of the prison, and into the\ndungeon:  and Jeremias remained there many days.\n\n37:16. Then Sedecias the king, sending, took him:  and asked him\nsecretly in his house, and said:  Is there, thinkest thou, any word from\nthe Lord?  And Jeremias said.  There is.  And he said:  Thou shalt be\ndelivered into the hands of the king of Babylon.\n\n37:17. And Jeremias said to king Sedecias:  In what have I offended\nagainst thee, or thy servants, or thy people, that thou hast cast me\ninto prison?\n\n37:18. Where are your prophets that prophesied to you, and said:  The\nking of Babylon shall not come against you, and against this land?\n\n37:19. Now therefore hear, I beseech thee, my lord the king:  let my\npetition be accepted in thy sight:  and send me not back into the house\nof Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.\n\n37:20. Then king Sedecias commanded that Jeremias should be committed\ninto the entry of the prison:  and that they should give him daily a\npiece of bread, beside broth, till all the bread in the city were\nspent:  and Jeremias remained in the entry of the prison.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 38\n\n\nThe prophet at the instance of the great men is cast into a filthy\ndungeon:  he is drawn out by Abdemelech, and has another conference with\nthe king.\n\n38:1. Now Saphatias the son of Mathan, and Gedelias the son of Phassur,\nand Juchal the son of Selemias, and Phassur the son of Melchias heard\nthe words that Jeremias spoke to all the people, saying:\n\n38:2. Thus saith the Lord:  Whosoever shall remain in this city, shall\ndie by the sword, and by famine, and by pestilence:  but he that shall\ngo forth to the Chaldeans, shall live, and his life shall be safe, and\nhe shall live.\n\n38:3. Thus saith the Lord:  This city shall surely be delivered into the\nhand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it.\n\n38:4. And the princes said to the king.  We beseech thee that this man\nmay be put to death:  for on purpose he weakeneth the hands of the men\nof war, that remain in this city, and the hands of the people, speaking\nto them according to these words:  for this man seeketh not peace to\nthis people, but evil.\n\n38:5. And king Sedecias said:  Behold he is in your hands:  for it is not\nlawful for the king to deny you any thing.\n\n38:6. Then they took Jeremias and cast him into the dungeon of Melchias\nthe son of Amelech, which was in the entry of the prison:  and they let\ndown Jeremias by ropes into the dungeon, wherein there was no water,\nbut mire.  And Jeremias sunk into the mire.\n\n38:7. Now Abdemelech the Ethiopian, an eunuch that was in the king's\nhouse, heard that they had put Jeremias in the dungeon:  but the king\nwas sitting in the gate of Benjamin.\n\n38:8. And Abdemelech went out of the king's house, and spoke to the\nking, saying:\n\n38:9. My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have\ndone against Jeremias the prophet, casting him into the dungeon to die\nthere with hunger, for there is no more bread in the city.\n\n38:10. Then the king commanded Abdemelech the Ethiopian, saying:  Take\nfrom hence thirty men with thee, and draw up Jeremias the prophet out\nof the dungeon, before he die.\n\n38:11. So Abdemelech taking the men with him, went into the king's\nhouse that was under the storehouse:  and he took from thence old rags,\nand old rotten things, and he let them down by cords to Jeremias into\nthe dungeon.\n\n38:12. And Abdemelech the Ethiopian said to Jeremias:  Put these old\nrags and these rent and rotten things under thy arms, and upon the\ncords:  and Jeremias did so.\n\n38:13. And they drew up Jeremias with the cords, and brought him forth\nout of the dungeon.  And Jeremias remained in the entry of the prison.\n\n38:14. And king Sedecias sent, and took Jeremias the prophet to him to\nthe third gate, that was in the house of the Lord:  and the king said to\nJeremias:  I will ask thee a thing, hide nothing from me.\n\n38:15. Then Jeremias said to Sedecias:  If I shall declare it to thee,\nwilt thou not put me to death?  and if I give thee counsel, thou wilt\nnot hearken to me.\n\n38:16. Then king Sedecias swore to Jeremias, in private, saying:  As the\nLord liveth, that, made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, nor\nwill I deliver thee into the hands of these men that seek thy life.\n\n38:17. And Jeremias said to Sedecias:  Thus saith the Lord of hosts the\nGod of Israel:  If thou wilt take a resolution and go out to the princes\nof the king of Babylon, thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be\nburnt with fire:  and thou shalt be safe, and thy house.\n\n38:18. But if thou wilt not go out to the princes of the king of\nBabylon, this city shall be delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans,\nand they shall burn it with fire:  and thou shalt not escape out of\ntheir hand.\n\n38:19. And king Sedecias said to Jeremias:  I am afraid because of the\nJews that are fled over to the Chaldeans:  lest I should be delivered\ninto their hands, and they should abuse me.\n\n38:20. But Jeremias answered:  They shall not deliver thee:  hearken, I\nbeseech thee, to the word of the Lord, which I speak to the, and it\nshall be well with thee, and thy soul shall live.\n\n38:21. But if thou wilt not go forth, this is the word which the Lord\nhath shewn me:\n\n38:22. Behold all the women that are left in the house of the king of\nJuda, shall be brought out to the princes of the king of Babylon:  and\nthey shall say:  Thy men of peace have deceived thee, and have prevailed\nagainst thee, they have plunged thy feet in the mire, and in a slippery\nplace and they have departed from thee.\n\nThy men of peace. . .Viri pacifici tui.  That is thy false friends\npromising thee peace and happiness, and by their evil counsels\ninvolving thee in misery.\n\n38:23. And all thy wives, and thy children shall be brought out to the\nChaldeans, and thou shalt not escape their hands, but thou shalt be\ntaken by the hand of the king of Babylon:  and he shall burn this city\nwith fire.\n\n38:24. Then Sedecias said to Jeremias:  Let no man know these words, and\nthou shalt not die.\n\n38:25. But if the princes shall hear that I have spoken with thee, and\nshall come to thee, and say to thee:  Tell us what thou hast said to the\nking, hide it not from us, and we will not kill thee:  and also what the\nking said to thee:\n\n38:26. Thou shalt say to them:  I presented my supplication before the\nking, that he would not command me to be carried back into the house of\nJonathan, to die there.\n\n38:27. So all the princes came to Jeremias, and asked him:  and he spoke\nto them according to all the words that the king had commanded him:  and\nthey left him:  for nothing had been heard.\n\n38:28. But Jeremias remained in the entry of the prison, until the day\nthat Jerusalem was taken:  and it came to pass that Jerusalem was taken.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 39\n\n\nAfter two years' siege Jerusalem is taken.  Sedecias is carried before\nNabuchodonosor, who kills his sons in his sight, and then puts out his\neyes.  Jeremias is set at liberty.\n\n39:1. In the ninth year of Sedecias king of Juda, in the tenth month,\ncame Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, and all his army to Jerusalem, and\nthey besieged it.\n\n39:2. And in the eleventh year of Sedecias, in the fourth month, the\nfifth day of the month, the city was opened.\n\n39:3. And all the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in\nthe middle gate:  Neregel, Sereser, Semegarnabu, Sarsachim, Rabsares,\nNeregel, Serezer, Rebmag, and all the rest of the princes of the king\nof Babylon.\n\n39:4. And when Sedecias the king of Juda and all the men of war saw\nthem, they fled:  and they went forth in the night out of the city by\nthe way of the king's garden, and by the gate that was between the two\nwalls, and they went out to the way of the desert.\n\n39:5. But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after them:  and they took\nSedecias in the plain of the desert of Jericho, and when they had taken\nhim, they brought him to Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon to Reblatha,\nwhich is in the land of Emath:  and he gave judgment upon him.\n\n39:6. And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Sedecias, in Reblatha,\nbefore his eyes:  and the king of Babylon slew all the nobles of Juda.\n\n39:7. He also put out the eyes of Sedecias:  and bound him with fetters,\nto be carried to Babylon.\n\n39:8. And the Chaldeans burnt the king's house, and the houses of the\npeople with fire, and they threw down the wall of Jerusalem.\n\n39:9. And Nabuzardan the general of the army carried away captive to\nBabylon the remnant of the people that remained in the city, and the\nfugitives that had gone over to him, and the rest of the people that\nremained.\n\n39:10. But Nabuzardan the general left some of the poor people that had\nnothing at all, in the land of Juda, and he gave them vineyards, and\ncisterns at that time.\n\n39:11. Now Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon had given charge to\nNabuzardan the general concerning Jeremias, saying:\n\n39:12. Take him, and set thy eyes upon him, and do him no harm:  but as\nhe hath a mind, so do with him.\n\n39:13. Therefore Nabuzardan the general sent, and Nabuzardan, and\nRabsares, and Neregel, and Sereser, and Rebmag, and all the nobles of\nthe king of Babylon,\n\n39:14. Sent and took Jeremias out of the court of the prison, and\ncommitted him to Godolias the son of Ahicam the son of Saphan, that he\nmight go home, and dwell among the people.\n\n39:15. But the word of the Lord came to Jeremias, when he was yet shut\nup in the court of the prison, saying:  Go, and tell Abdemelech the\nEthiopian, saying:\n\n39:16. Thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel:  Behold I will\nbring my words upon this city unto evil, and not unto good:  and they\nshall be accomplished in thy sight in that day.\n\n39:17. And I will deliver thee in that day, saith the Lord:  and thou\nshalt not be given into the hands of the men whom thou fearest:\n\n39:18. But delivering, I will deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by\nthe sword:  but thy life shall be saved for thee, because thou hast put\nthy trust in me, saith the Lord.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 40\n\n\nJeremias remains with Godolias the governor; who receives all the Jews\nthat resort to him.\n\n40:1. The word that came to Jeremias from the Lord, after that\nNabuzardan the general had let him go from Rama, when he had taken him,\nbeing bound with chains, among all them that were carried away from\nJerusalem and Juda, and were carried to Babylon.\n\n40:2. And the general of the army taking Jeremias, said to him:  The\nLord thy God hath pronounced this evil upon this place,\n\n40:3. And he hath brought it:  and the Lord hath done as he hath said:\nbecause you have sinned against the Lord, and have not hearkened to his\nvoice, and this word is come upon you.\n\n40:4. Now then behold I have loosed thee this day from the chains which\nwere upon thy hands:  if it please thee to come with me to Babylon,\ncome:  and I will set my eyes upon thee:  but if it do not please thee to\ncome with me to Babylon, stay here:  behold all the land is before thee,\nas thou shalt choose, and whither it shall please thee to go, thither\ngo.\n\n40:5. And come not with me:  but dwell with Godolias the son of Ahicam\nthe son of Saphan, whom the king of Babylon hath made governor over the\ncities of Juda:  dwell therefore with him in the midst of the people:  or\nwhithersoever it shall please thee to go, go.  And the general of the\narmy gave him victuals and presents, and let him go.\n\n40:6. And Jeremias went to Godolias the son of Ahicam to Masphath:  and\ndwelt with him in the midst of the people that were left in the land.\n\n40:7. And when all the captains of the army that were scattered through\nthe countries, they and their companions, had heard that the king of\nBabylon had made Godolias the son of Ahicam governor of the country,\nand that he had committed unto him men and women, and children, and of\nthe poor of the land, them that had not been carried away captive to\nBabylon:\n\n40:8. They came to Godolias to Masphath:  and Ismahel the son of\nNathanias, and Johanan, and Jonathan, the sons of Caree, and Sareas the\nson of Thanehumeth, and the children of Ophi, that were of Netophathi,\nand Jezonias the son of Maachati, they and their men.\n\n40:9. And Godolias the son of Ahicam the son of Saphan swore to them\nand to their companions, saying:  Fear not to serve the Chaldeans:  dwell\nin the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with\nyou.\n\n40:10. Behold I dwell in Masphath, that I may answer the commandment of\nthe Chaldeans that are sent to us:  but as for you, gather ye the\nvintage, and the harvest, and the oil, and lay it up in your vessels,\nand abide in your cities which you hold.\n\n40:11. Moreover all the Jews that were in Moab, and among the children\nof Ammon, and in Edom, and in all the countries, when they heard that\nthe king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judea, and that he had made\nGodolias the son of Ahicam the son of Saphan ruler over them:\n\n40:12. All the Jews, I say, returned out of all the places to which\nthey had fled, and they came into the land of Juda to Godolias to\nMasphath:  and they gathered wine, and a very great harvest.\n\n40:13. Then Johanan the son of Caree, and all the captains of the army,\nthat had been scattered about in the countries, came to Godolias to\nMasphath.\n\n40:14. And they said to him:  Know that Baalis the king of the children\nof Ammon hath sent Ismahel the son of Nathanias to kill thee.  And\nGodolias the son of Ahicam believed them not.\n\n40:15. But Johanan the son of Caree, spoke to Godolias privately in\nMasphath, saying:  I will go, and I will kill Ismahel the son of\nNathanias, and no man shall know it, lest he kill thee, and all the\nJews be scattered, that are gathered unto thee, and the remnant of Juda\nperish.\n\n40:16. And Godolias the son of Ahicam said to Johanan the son of Caree:\nDo not this thing:  for what thou sayst of Ismahel is false.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 41\n\n\nGodolias is slain:  the Jews that were with him are apprehensive of the\nChaldeans.\n\n41:1. And it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ismahel the son of\nNathanias, the son of Elisama of the royal blood, and the nobles of the\nking, and ten men with him, came to Godolias the son of Ahicam into\nMasphath:  and they ate bread there together in Masphath.\n\n41:2. And Ismahel the son of Nathanias arose, and the ten men that were\nwith him, and they struck Godolias the son of Ahicam, the son of Saphan\nwith the sword, and slew him whom the king of Babylon had made governor\nover the land.\n\n41:3. Ismahel slew also all the Jews that were with Godolias in\nMasphath, and the Chaldeans that were found there, and the soldiers.\n\n41:4. And on the second day after he had killed Godolias, no man yet\nknowing it,\n\n41:5. There came some from Sichem, and from Silo, and from Samaria,\nfourscore men, with their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and\nmourning:  and they had offerings and incense in their hand, to offer in\nthe house of the Lord.\n\n41:6. And Ismahel the son of Nathanias went forth from Masphath to meet\nthem, weeping all along as he went:  and when he had met them, he said\nto them:  Come to Godolias, the son of Ahicam.\n\n41:7. And when they were come to the midst of the city, Ismahel the son\nof Nathanias, slew them, and cast them into the midst of the pit, he\nand the men that were with him.\n\n41:8. But ten men were found among them, that said to Ismahel:  Kill us\nnot:  for we have stores in the field, of wheat, and barley, and oil,\nand honey.  And he forbore, and slew them not with their brethren.\n\n41:9. And the pit into which Ismahel cast all the dead bodies of the\nmen whom he slew because of Godolias, is the same that king Asa made,\nfor fear of Baasa the king of Israel:  the same did Ismahel the son of\nNathanias fill with them that were slain.\n\n41:10. Then Ismahel carried away captive all the remnant of the people\nthat were in Masphath:  the king's daughters, and all the people that\nremained in Masphath:  whom Nabuzardan the general of the army had\ncommitted to Godolias the son of Ahicam.  And Ismahel the son of\nNathanias took them, and he departed, to go over to the children of\nAmmon.\n\n41:11. But Johanan the son of Caree, and all the captains of the\nfighting men that were with him, heard of the evil that Ismahel the son\nof Nathanias had done.\n\n41:12. And taking all the men, they went out to fight against Ismahel\nthe son of Nathanias, and they found him by the great waters that are\nin Gabaon.\n\n41:13. And when all the people that were with Ismahel, had seen Johanan\nthe son of Caree, and all the captains of the fighting men that were\nwith him, they rejoiced.\n\n41:14. And all the people whom Ismahel had taken, went back to\nMasphath:  and they returned and went to Johanan the son of Caree.\n\n41:15. But Ismahel the son of Nathanias fled with eight men, from the\nface of Johanan, and went to the children of Ammon.\n\n41:16. Then Johanan the son of Caree, and all the captains of the\nsoldiers that were with him, took all the remnant of the people whom\nthey had recovered from Ismahel the son of Nathanias, from Masphath,\nafter that he had slain Godolias the son of Ahicam:  valiant men for\nwar, and the women, and the children, and the eunuchs whom he had\nbrought back from Gabaon.\n\n41:17. And they departed, and sat as sojourners in Chamaam, which is\nnear Bethlehem:  in order to go forward, and enter into Egypt,\n\n41:18. From the face of the Chaldeans:  for they were afraid of them,\nbecause Ismahel the son of Nathanias had slain Godolias the son of\nAhicam, whom the king of Babylon had made governor in the land of Juda.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 42\n\n\nJeremias assures the remnant of the people, that if they will stay in\nJuda, they shall be safe; but if they go down into Egypt, they shall\nperish.\n\n42:1. Then all the captains of the warriors, and Johanan the son of\nCaree, and Jezonias, the son of Osaias, and the rest of the people from\nthe least to the greatest came near:\n\n42:2. And they said to Jeremias the prophet:  Let our supplication fall\nbefore thee:  and pray thou for us to the Lord thy God for all this\nremnant, for we are left but a few of many, as thy eyes do behold us.\n\n42:3. And let the Lord thy God shew us the way by which we may walk,\nand the thing that we must do.\n\n42:4. And Jeremias the prophet said to them:  I have heard you:  behold I\nwill pray to the Lord your God according to your words:  and whatsoever\nthing he shall answer me, I will declare it to you:  and I will hide\nnothing from you.\n\n42:5. And they said to Jeremias:  The Lord be witness between us of\ntruth and faithfulness, if we do not according to every thing for which\nthe Lord thy God shall send thee to us.\n\n42:6. Whether it be good or evil, we will obey the voice of the Lord\nour God, to whom we send thee:  that it may be well with us when we\nshall hearken to the voice of the Lord our God.\n\nGood or evil. . .That is, agreeable or disagreeable.\n\n42:7. Now after ten days, the word of the Lord came to Jeremias.\n\n42:8. And he called Johanan the son of Caree, and all the captains of\nthe fighting men that were with him, and all the people from the least\nto the greatest.\n\n42:9. And he said to them:  Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel, to\nwhom you sent me, to present your supplications before him:\n\n42:10. If you will be quiet and remain in this land, I will build you\nup, and not pull you down:  I will plant you, and not pluck you up:  for\nnow I am appeased for the evil that I have done to you.\n\nI am appeased for the evil that I have done to you. . .That is, I am\nappeased, as I have sufficiently punished you, and now I am reconciled\nwith you.\n\n42:11. Fear not because of the king of Babylon, of whom you are greatly\nafraid:  fear him not, saith the Lord:  for I am with you, to save you,\nand to deliver you from his hand.\n\n42:12. And I will shew mercies to you, and will take pity on you, and\nwill cause you to dwell in your own land.\n\n42:13. But if you say:  We will not dwell in this land, neither will we\nhearken to the voice of the Lord our God,\n\n42:14. Saying:  No, but we will go into the land of Egypt:  where we\nshall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor suffer hunger:\nand there we will dwell.\n\n42:15. For this now hear the word of the Lord, ye remnant of Juda:  Thus\nsaith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:  If you set your faces to go\ninto Egypt, and enter in to dwell there:\n\n42:16. The sword which you fear, shall overtake you there in the land\nof Egypt:  and the famine, whereof you are afraid, shall cleave to you\nin Egypt, and there you shall die.\n\n42:17. And all the men that set their faces to go into Egypt, to dwell\nthere, shall die by the sword, and by famine, and by pestilence:  none\nof them shall remain, nor escape from the face of the evil that I will\nbring upon them.\n\n42:18. For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:  As my anger\nand my indignation hath been kindled against the inhabitants of\nJerusalem:  so shall my indignation be kindled against you, when you\nshall enter into Egypt, and you shall be an execration, and an\nastonishment, and a curse, and a reproach:  and you shall see this place\nno more.\n\n42:19. This is the word of the Lord concerning you, O ye remnant of\nJuda:  Go ye not into Egypt:  know certainly that I have adjured you this\nday.\n\n42:20. For you have deceived your own souls:  for you sent me to the\nLord our God, saying:  Pray for us to the Lord our God, and according to\nall that the Lord our God shall say to thee, so declare unto us, and we\nwill do it.\n\n42:21. And now I have declared it to you this day, and you have not\nobeyed the voice of the Lord your God, with regard to all the things\nfor which he hath sent me to you.\n\n42:22. Now therefore know certainly that you shall die by the sword,\nand by famine, and by pestilence in the place to which you desire to go\nto dwell there.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 43\n\n\nThe Jews, contrary to the orders of God by the prophet, go into Egypt,\ncarrying Jeremias with them.  He foretells the devastation of that land\nby the king of Babylon.\n\n43:1. And it came to pass, that when Jeremias had made an end of\nspeaking to the people all the words of the Lord their God, for which\nthe Lord their God had sent him to them, all these words:\n\n43:2. Azarias the son of Osaias, and Johanan the son of Caree, and all\nthe proud men, made answer, saying to Jeremias:  Thou tellest a lie:  the\nLord our God hath not sent thee, saying:  Go not into Egypt, to dwell\nthere.\n\n43:3. But Baruch the son of Nerias setteth thee on against us, to\ndeliver us into the hands of the Chaldeans, to kill us, and to cause us\nto be carried away captives to Babylon.\n\n43:4. So Johanan the son of Caree, and all the captains of the\nsoldiers, and all the people, obeyed not the voice of the Lord, to\nremain in the land of Juda.\n\n43:5. But Johanan the son of Caree, and all the captains of the\nsoldiers took all the remnant of Juda, that were returned out of all\nnations, to which they had before been scattered, to dwell in the land\nof Juda:\n\n43:6. Men, and women, and children, and the king's daughters, and every\nsoul, which Nabuzardan the general had left with Godolias the son of\nAhicam the son of Saphan, and Jeremias the prophet, and Baruch the son\nof Nerias.\n\n43:7. And they went into the land of Egypt, for they obeyed not the\nvoice of the Lord:  and they came as far as Taphnis.\n\n43:8. And the word of the Lord came to Jeremias in Taphnis, saying:\n\n43:9. Take great stones in thy hand, and thou shalt hide them in the\nvault that is under the brick wall at the gate of Pharao's house in\nTaphnis:  in the sight of the men of Juda.\n\n43:10. And thou shalt say to them:  Thus saith the Lord of hosts the God\nof Israel:  Behold I will send, and take Nabuchodonosor the king of\nBabylon my servant:  and I will set his throne over these stones which I\nhave hid, and he shall set his throne over them.\n\n43:11. And he shall come and strike the land of Egypt:  such as are for\ndeath, to death:  and such as are for captivity, to captivity:  and such\nas are for the sword, to the sword.\n\n43:12. And he shall kindle a fire in the temples of the gods of Egypt,\nand he shall burn them, and he shall carry them away captives:  and he\nshall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd putteth on\nhis garment:  and he shall go forth from thence in peace.\n\n43:13. And he shall break the statues of the house of the sun, that are\nin the land of Egypt; and the temples of the gods of Egypt he shall\nburn with fire.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 44\n\n\nThe prophet's admonition to the Jews in Egypt against idolatry is not\nregarded:  he denounces to them their destruction.\n\n44:1. The word that came to Jeremias, concerning all the Jews that\ndwelt in the land of Egypt, dwelling in Magdal, and in Taphnis, and in\nMemphis, and in the land of Phatures, saying:\n\n44:2. Thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel:  You have seen all\nthis evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, and upon all the cities\nof Juda:  and behold they are desolate this day, and there is not an\ninhabitant in them:\n\n44:3. Because of the wickedness which they have committed, to provoke\nme to wrath, and to go and offer sacrifice, and worship other gods,\nwhich neither they, nor you, nor your fathers knew.\n\n44:4. And I sent to you all my servants the prophets, rising early, and\nsending, and saying:  Do not commit this abominable thing, which I hate.\n\n44:5. But they heard not, nor inclined their ear to turn from their\nevil ways, and not to sacrifice to strange gods.\n\n44:6. Wherefore my indignation and my fury was poured forth, and was\nkindled in the cities of Juda, and in the streets of Jerusalem:  and\nthey are turned to desolation and waste, as at this day.\n\n44:7. And now thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel:  Why do\nyou commit this great evil against your own souls, that there should\ndie of you man and woman, child and suckling out of the midst of Juda,\nand no remnant should be left you:\n\n44:8. In that you provoke me to wrath with the works of your hands, by\nsacrificing to other gods in the land of Egypt, into which you are come\nto dwell there:  and that you should perish, and be a curse, and a\nreproach to all the nations of the earth?\n\n44:9. Have you forgotten the evils of your fathers, and the evils of\nthe kings of Juda, and the evils of their wives, and your evils, and\nthe evils of your wives, that they have done in the land of Juda, and\nin the streets of Jerusalem?\n\n44:10. They are not cleansed even to this day:  neither have they\nfeared, nor walked in the law of the Lord, nor in my commandments,\nwhich I set before you and your fathers.\n\n44:11. Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel:  Behold\nI will set my face upon you for evil:  and I will destroy all Juda.\n\n44:12. And I will take the remnant of Juda that have set their faces to\ngo into the land of Egypt, and to dwell there; and they shall be all\nconsumed in the land of Egypt:  they shall fall by the sword, and by the\nfamine:  and they shall be consumed from the least even to the greatest,\nby the sword, and by the famine shall they die:  and they shall be for\nan execration, and for a wonder, and for a curse, and for a reproach.\n\n44:13. And I will visit them that dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have\nvisited Jerusalem by the sword, and by famine and by pestilence.\n\n44:14. And there shall be none that shall escape, and remain of the\nremnant of the Jews that are gone to sojourn in the land of Egypt:  and\nthat shall return into the land of Juda, to which they have a desire to\nreturn to dwell there:  there shall none return but they that shall\nflee.\n\n44:15. Then all the men that knew that their wives sacrificed to other\ngods:  and all the women of whom there stood by a great multitude, and\nall the people of them that dwelt in the land of Egypt in Phatures,\nanswered Jeremias, saying:\n\n44:16. As for the word which thou hast spoken to us in the name of the\nLord, we will not hearken to thee:\n\n44:17. But we will certainly do every word that shall proceed out of\nour own mouth, to sacrifice to the queen of heaven, and to pour out\ndrink offerings to her, as we and our fathers have done, our kings, and\nour princes in the cities of Juda, and in the streets of Jerusalem:  and\nwe were filled with bread, and it was well with us, and we saw no evil.\n\nThe queen of heaven. . .The moon, which they worshipped under this name.\n\n44:18. But since we left off to offer sacrifice to the queen of heaven,\nand to pour out frank offerings to her, we have wanted all things, and\nhave been consumed by the sword, and by famine.\n\n44:19. And if we offer sacrifice to the queen of heaven, and pour out\ndrink offerings to her:  did we make cakes to worship her, to pour out\ndrink offerings to her, without our husbands?\n\n44:20. And Jeremias spoke to all the people, to the men, and to the\nwomen, and to all the people which had given him that answer, saying:\n\n44:21. Was it not the sacrifice that you offered in the cities of Juda,\nand in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings, and\nyour princes, and the people of the land, which the Lord hath\nremembered, and hath it not entered into his heart?\n\n44:22. So that the Lord could no longer bear, because of the evil of\nyour doings, and because of the abominations which you have committed:\ntherefore your land is become a desolation, and an astonishment, and a\ncurse, without an inhabitant, as at this day.\n\n44:23. Because you have sacrificed to idols, and have sinned against\nthe Lord:  and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have not\nwalked in his law, and in his commandments, and in his testimonies:\ntherefore are these evils come upon you, as at this day.\n\n44:24. And Jeremias said to all the people and to all the women:  Hear\nye the word of the Lord, all Juda, you that dwell in the land of Egypt:\n\n44:25. Thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel, saying:  You and\nyour wives have spoken with your mouth, and fulfilled with your hands,\nsaying:  Let us perform our vows which we have made, to offer sacrifice\nto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings to her:  you\nhave fulfilled your vows, and have performed them indeed.\n\n44:26. Therefore hear ye the word of the Lord, all Juda, you that dwell\nin the land of Egypt:  Behold I have sworn by my great name, saith the\nLord:  that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of\nJuda, in the land of Egypt, saying:  The Lord God liveth.\n\n44:27. Behold I will watch over them for evil, and not for good:  and\nall the men of Juda that are in the land of Egypt, shall be consumed,\nby the sword, and by famine, till there be an end of them.\n\n44:28. And a few men that shall flee from the sword, shall return out\nof the land of Egypt into the land of Juda:  and all the remnant of Juda\nthat are gone into the land of Egypt to dwell there, shall know whose\nword shall stand, mine, or theirs.\n\n44:29. And this shall be a sign to you, saith the Lord, that I will\npunish you in this place:  that you may know that my words shall be\naccomplished indeed against you for evil.\n\n44:30. Thus saith the Lord:  Behold I will deliver Pharao Nechao king of\nEgypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek\nhis life:  as I delivered Sedecias king of Juda into the land of\nNabuchodonosor the king of Babylon his enemy, and that sought his life.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 45\n\n\nThe prophet comforts Baruch in his affliction.\n\n45:1. The word that Jeremias the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of\nNerias, when he had written these words in a book, out of the mouth of\nJeremias, in the fourth year of Joakim the son of Josias king of Juda,\nsaying:\n\n45:2. Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel to thee, Baruch:\n\n45:3. Thou hast said:  Woe is me, wretch that I am, for the Lord hath\nadded sorrow to my sorrow:  I am wearied with my groans, and I find no\nrest.\n\n45:4. Thus saith the Lord:  Thus shalt thou say to him:  Behold, them\nwhom I have built, I do destroy:  and them whom I have planted, I do\npluck up, and all this land.\n\n45:5. And dost thou seek great things for thyself?  Seek not:  for behold\nI will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the Lord! but I will give thee\nthy life, and save thee in all places whithersoever thou shalt go.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 46\n\n\nA prophecy against Egypt.  The Jews shall return from captivity.\n\n46:1. The word of the Lord that came to Jeremias the prophet against\nthe Gentiles,\n\n46:2. Against Egypt, against the army of Pharao Nechao king of Egypt,\nwhich was by the river Euphrates in Charcamis, whom Nabuchodonosor the\nking of Babylon defeated, in the fourth year of Joakim the son of\nJosias king of Juda.\n\n46:3. Prepare ye the shield and buckler, and go forth to battle.\n\n46:4. Harness the horses, and get up, ye horsemen:  stand forth with\nhelmets, furbish the spears, put on coats of mail.\n\n46:5. What then?  I have seen them dismayed, and turning their backs,\ntheir valiant ones slain:  they fled apace, and they looked not back:\nterror was round about, saith the Lord.\n\n46:6. Let not the swift flee away, nor the strong think to escape:  they\nare overthrown, and fallen down, towards the north by the river\nEuphrates.\n\n46:7. Who is this that cometh up as a flood:  and his streams swell like\nthose of rivers?\n\n46:8. Egypt riseth up like a flood, and the waves thereof shall be\nmoved as rivers, and he shall say:  I will go up and will cover the\nearth:  I will destroy the city, and its inhabitants.\n\n46:9. Get ye up on horses, and glory in chariots, and let the valiant\nmen come forth, the Ethiopians, and the Libyans that hold the shield,\nand the Lydians that take, and shoot arrows.\n\n46:10. For this is the day of the Lord the God of hosts, a day of\nvengeance, that he may revenge himself of his enemies:  the sword shall\ndevour, and shall be filled, and shall be drunk with their blood:  for\nthere is a sacrifice of the Lord God of hosts in the north country, by\nthe river Euphrates.\n\n46:11. Go up into Galaad, and take balm, O virgin daughter of Egypt:  in\nvain dost thou multiply medicines, there shall be no cure for thee.\n\n46:12. The nations have heard of thy disgrace, and thy howling hath\nfilled the land:  for the strong hath stumbled against the strong, and\nboth are fallen together.\n\n46:13. The word that the Lord spoke to Jeremias the prophet, how\nNabuchodonosor king of Babylon should come and strike the land of\nEgypt:\n\n46:14. Declare ye to Egypt, and publish it in Magdal, and let it be\nknown in Memphis, and in Taphnis:  say ye:  Stand up, and prepare\nthyself:  for the sword shall devour all round about thee.\n\n46:15. Why are thy valiant men come to nothing?  they stood not:  because\nthe Lord hath overthrown them.\n\n46:16. He hath multiplied them that fall, and one hath fallen upon\nanother, and they shall say:  Arise, and let us return to our own\npeople, and to the land of our nativity, from the sword of the dove.\n\nThe dove. . .See the annotation on chap. 25., ver. 38.\n\n46:17. Call ye the name of Pharao king of Egypt, a tumult time hath\nbrought.\n\n46:18. As I live, saith the King, (whose name is the Lord of hosts,) as\nThabor is among the mountains, and as Carmel by the sea, so shall he\ncome.\n\n46:19. Furnish thyself to go into captivity, thou daughter inhabitant\nof Egypt:  for Memphis shall be made desolate, and shall be forsaken and\nuninhabited.\n\n46:20. Egypt is like a fair and beautiful heifer:  there shall come from\nthe north one that shall goad her.\n\n46:21. Her hirelings also that lived in the midst of her, like fatted\ncalves are turned back, and are fled away together, and they could not\nstand, for the day of their slaughter is come upon them, the time of\ntheir visitation.\n\n46:22. Her voice shall sound like brass, for they shall hasten with an\narmy, and with axes they shall come against her, as hewers of wood.\n\n46:23. They have cut down her forest, saith the Lord, which cannot be\ncounted:  they are multiplied above locusts, and are without number.\n\n46:24. The daughter of Egypt is confounded, and delivered into the hand\nof the people of the north.\n\n46:25. The Lord of hosts the God of Israel hath said:  Behold I will\nvisit upon the tumult of Alexandria, and upon Pharao, and upon Egypt,\nand upon her gods, and upon her kings, and upon Pharao, and upon them\nthat trust in him.\n\nVisit upon. . .That is, punish.--Ibid.  Alexandria. . .In the Hebrew, No,\nwhich was the ancient name of the city, to which Alexander gave\nafterwards the name of Alexandria.\n\n46:26. And I will deliver them into the hand of them that seek their\nlives, and into the hand of Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, and into\nthe hand of his servants:  and afterwards it shall be inhabited, as in\nthe days of old, saith the Lord.\n\n46:27. And thou my servant Jacob, fear not and be not thou dismayed, O\nIsrael:  for behold I will save thee from afar off, and thy seed out of\nthe land of thy captivity:  and Jacob shall return and be at rest, and\nprosper:  and there shall be none to terrify him.\n\n46:28. And thou, my servant Jacob, fear not, saith the Lord:  because I\nam with thee, for I will consume all the nations to which I have cast\nthee out:  but thee I will not consume, but I will correct thee in\njudgment, neither will I spare thee as if thou wert innocent.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 47\n\n\nA prophecy of the desolation of the Philistines, of Tyre, Sidon, Gaza,\nand Ascalon.\n\n47:1. The word of the Lord that came to Jeremias the prophet against\nthe people of Palestine, before Pharao took Gaza.\n\n47:2. Thus saith the Lord:  Behold there come up waters out of the\nnorth, and they shall be as an overflowing torrent, and they shall\ncover the land, and all that is therein, the city and the inhabitants\nthereof:  then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land\nshall howl,\n\n47:3. At the noise of the marching of arms, and of his soldiers, at the\nrushing of his chariots, and the multitude of his wheels.  The fathers\nhave not looked back to the children, for feebleness of hands,\n\n47:4. Because of the coming of the day, in which all the Philistines\nshall be laid waste, and Tyre and Sidon shall be destroyed, with all\nthe rest of their helpers.  For the Lord hath wasted the Philistines,\nthe remnant of the isle of Cappadocia.\n\n47:5. Baldness is come upon Gaza:  Ascalon hath held her peace with the\nremnant of their valley:  how long shalt thou cut thyself?\n\n47:6. O thou sword of the Lord, how long wilt thou not be quiet?  Go\ninto thy scabbard, rest, and be still.\n\n47:7. How shall it be quiet, when the Lord hath given it a charge\nagainst Ascalon, and against the countries thereof by the sea side, and\nthere hath made an appointment for it?\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 48\n\n\nA prophecy of the desolation of Moab for their pride:  but their\ncaptivity shall at last be released.\n\n48:1. Against Moab thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel:  Woe\nto Nabo, for it is laid waste, and confounded:  Cariathaim is taken:  the\nstrong city is confounded and hath trembled.\n\n48:2. There is no more rejoicing in Moab over Hesebon:  they have\ndevised evil.  Come, and let us cut it off from being a nation.\nTherefore shalt thou in silence hold thy peace, and the sword shall\nfollow thee.\n\n48:3. A voice of crying from Oronaim:  waste, and great destruction.\n\n48:4. Moab is destroyed:  proclaim a cry for her little ones.\n\n48:5. For by the ascent of Luith shall the mourner go up with weeping:\nfor in the descent of Oronaim the enemies have heard a howling of\ndestruction.\n\n48:6. Flee, save your lives:  and be as heath in the wilderness.\n\n48:7. For because thou hast trusted in thy bulwarks, and in thy\ntreasures, thou also shalt be taken:  and Chamos shall go into\ncaptivity, his priests, and his princes together.\n\nChamos. . .The idol of the Moabites.\n\n48:8. And the spoiler shall come upon every city, and no city shall\nescape:  and the valleys shall perish, and the plains shall be\ndestroyed, for the Lord hath spoken:\n\n48:9. Give a flower to Moab, for in its flower it shall go out:  and the\ncities thereof shall be desolate, and uninhabited.\n\n48:10. Cursed be he that doth the work of the Lord deceitfully:  and\ncursed be he that withholdeth his sword from blood.\n\nDeceitfully. . .In the Greek, negligently.  The work of God here spoken\nof, is the punishment of the Moabites.\n\n48:11. Moab hath been fruitful from his youth, and hath rested upon his\nlees:  and hath not been poured out from vessel to vessel, nor hath gone\ninto captivity:  therefore his taste hath remained in him, and his scent\nis not changed.\n\nMoab hath been fruitful. . .That is, rich and flourishing.  And hath\nrested upon his lees. . .That is, remained in its bad morals; as wine\nnot decanted has its lees mixed and remains muddy.\n\n48:12. Therefore behold the days come, saith the Lord, and I will send\nhim men that shall order and overturn his bottles, and they shall cast\nhim down, and shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles one\nagainst another.\n\n48:13. And Moab shall be ashamed of Chamos, as the house of Israel was\nashamed of Bethel, in which they trusted.\n\nOf Bethel. . .That is, of their golden calf which they worshipped in\nBethel.\n\n48:14. How do you say:  We are valiant and stout men in battle?\n\n48:15. Moab is laid waste, and they have cast down her cities:  and her\nchoice young men are gone down to the slaughter:  saith the king, whose\nname is the Lord of hosts.\n\n48:16. The destruction of Moab is near to come:  the calamity thereof\nshall come on exceeding swiftly.\n\n48:17. Comfort him, all you that are round about him, and all you that\nknow his name, say:  How is the strong staff broken, the beautiful rod?\n\n48:18. Come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst, O dwelling of the\ndaughter of Dibon:  because the spoiler of Moab is come up to thee, he\nhath destroyed thy bulwarks.\n\n48:19. Stand in the way, and look out, O habitation of Aroer:  inquire\nof him that fleeth:  and say to him that hath escaped:  What is done?\n\n48:20. Moab is confounded, because he is overthrown:  howl ye, and cry,\ntell ye it in Arnon, that Moab is wasted.\n\n48:21. And judgment is come upon the plain country:  upon Helon, and\nupon Jasa, and upon Mephaath.\n\n48:22. And upon Dibon, and upon Nabo, and upon the house of Deblathaim,\n\n48:23. And upon Cariathaim, and upon Bethgamul, and upon Bethmaon,\n\n48:24. And upon Carioth, and upon Bosra:  and upon all the cities of the\nland of Moab, far or near.\n\n48:25. The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, saith the\nLord.\n\nThe horn of Moab is cut off. . .That is, the strength of Moab is cut\noff.  A metaphor drawn from animals whose strength is in their horns.\n\n48:26. Make him drunk, because he lifted up himself against the Lord:\nand Moab shall dash his hand in his own vomit, and he also shall be in\nderision.\n\n48:27. For Israel hath been a derision unto them:  as though thou hadst\nfound him amongst thieves:  for thy words therefore, which thou hast\nspoken against him, thou shalt be led away captive.\n\n48:28. Leave the cities, and dwell in the rock, you that dwell in Moab:\nand be ye like the dove that maketh her nest in the mouth of the hole\nin the highest place.\n\n48:29. We have heard the pride of Moab, he is exceeding proud:  his\nhaughtiness, and his arrogancy, and his pride, and the loftiness of his\nheart.\n\n48:30. I know, saith the Lord, his boasting, and that the strength\nthereof is not according to it, neither hath it endeavoured to do\naccording as it was able.\n\n48:31. Therefore will I lament for Moab, and I will cry out to all\nMoab, for the men of the brick wall that mourn.\n\n48:32. O vineyard of Sabama, I will weep for thee, with the mourning of\nJazer:  thy branches are gone over the sea, they are come even to the\nsea of Jazer:  the robber hath rushed in upon thy harvest and thy\nvintage.\n\n48:33. Joy and gladness is taken away from Carmel, and from the land of\nMoab, and I have taken away the wine out of the presses:  the treader of\nthe grapes shall not sing the accustomed cheerful tune.\n\n48:34. From the cry of Hesebon even to Eleale, and to Jasa, they have\nuttered their voice:  from Segor to Oronaim, as a heifer of three years\nold:  the waters also of Nemrim shall be very bad.\n\n48:35. And I will take away from Moab, saith the Lord, him that\noffereth in the high places, and that sacrificeth to his gods.\n\n48:36. Therefore my heart shall sound for Moab like pipes and my heart\nshall sound like pipes for the men of the brick wall:  because he hath\ndone more than he could, therefore they have perished.\n\n48:37. For every head shall be bald, and every beard shall be shaven:\nall hands shall be tied together, and upon every back there shall be\nhaircloth.\n\n48:38. Upon all the housetops of Moab, and in the streets thereof\ngeneral mourning:  because I have broken Moab as an useless vessel,\nsaith the Lord.\n\n48:39. How is it overthrown, and they have howled!  How hath Moab bowed\ndown the neck, and is confounded!  And Moab shall be a derision, and an\nexample to all round about him.\n\n48:40. Thus saith the Lord:  Behold he shall fly as an eagle, and shall\nstretch forth his wings to Moab.\n\n48:41. Carioth is taken, and the strongholds are won:  and the heart of\nthe valiant men of Moab in that day shall be as the heart of a woman in\nlabour.\n\n48:42. And Moab shall cease to be a people:  because he hath gloried\nagainst the Lord.\n\n48:43. Fear, and the pit, and the snare come upon thee, O inhabitant of\nMoab, saith the Lord.\n\nFear. . .That is, the sword of the enemy.  The pit. . .That is,\nunforeseen calamities.  The snare. . .That is, the ambushes laid by the\nenemy.\n\n48:44. He that shall flee from the fear, shall fall into the pit:  and\nhe that shall get up out of the pit, shall be taken in the snare:  for I\nwill bring upon Moab the year of their visitation, saith the Lord.\n\n48:45. They that fled from the snare stood in the shadow of Hesebon:\nbut there came a fire out of Hesebon, and a flame out of the midst of\nSeon, and it shall devour part of Moab, and the crown of the head of\nthe children of tumult.\n\n48:46. Woe to thee, Moab, thou hast persisted, O people of Chamos:  for\nthy sons, and thy daughters are taken captives.\n\n48:47. And I will bring back the captivity of Moab in the last days,\nsaith the Lord.  Hitherto the judgments of Moab.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 49\n\n\nThe like desolation of Ammon, of Idumea, of the Syrians, of the\nAgarenes, and of the Elamites.\n\n49:1. Against the children of Ammon.  Thus saith the Lord:  Hath Israel\nno sons?  or hath he no heir?  Why then hath Melchom inherited Gad:  and\nhis people dwelt in his cities?\n\nMelchom. . .The idol of the Ammonites.\n\n49:2. Therefore behold the days come, saith the Lord, and I will cause\nthe noise of war to be heard in Rabbath of the children of Ammon, and\nit shall be destroyed into a heap, and her daughters shall be burnt\nwith fire, and Israel shall possess them that have possessed him, saith\nthe Lord.\n\n49:3. Howl, O Hesebon, for Hai is wasted.  Cry, ye daughters of Rabbath,\ngird yourselves with haircloth:  mourn and go about by the hedges:  for\nMelchom shall be carried into captivity, his priests, and his princes\ntogether.\n\n49:4. Why gloriest thou in the valleys?  thy valley hath flowed away, O\ndelicate daughter, that hast trusted in thy treasures, and hast said:\nWho shall come to me?\n\n49:5. Behold I will bring a fear upon thee, saith the Lord God of\nhosts, from all that are round about thee:  and you shall be scattered\nevery one out of one another's sight, neither shall there be any to\ngather together them that flee.\n\n49:6. And afterwards I will cause the captives of the children of Ammon\nto return, saith the Lord.\n\n49:7. Against Edom.  Thus saith the Lord of hosts:  Is wisdom no more in\nTheman?  counsel is perished from her children:  their wisdom is become\nunprofitable.\n\n49:8. Flee and turn your backs, go down into the deep hole, ye\ninhabitants of Dedan:  for I have brought the destruction of Esau upon\nhim, the time of his visitation.\n\n49:9. If grapegatherers had come to thee, would they not have left a\nbunch?  if thieves in the night, they would have taken what was enough\nfor them.\n\n49:10. But I have made Esau bare, I have revealed his secrets, and he\ncannot be hid:  his seed is laid waste, and his brethren, and his\nneighbours, and he shall not be.\n\n49:11. Leave thy fatherless children:  I will make them live:  and thy\nwidows shall hope in me.\n\n49:12. For thus saith the Lord:  Behold they whose judgment was not to\ndrink of the cup, shall certainly drink:  and shalt thou come off as\ninnocent?  thou shalt not come off as innocent, but drinking thou shalt\ndrink.\n\n49:13. For I have sworn by myself, saith the Lord, that Bosra shall\nbecome a desolation, and a reproach, and a desert, and a curse:  and all\nher cities shall be everlasting wastes.\n\n49:14. I have heard a rumour from the Lord, and an ambassador is sent\nto the nations:  Gather yourselves together, and come against her, and\nlet us rise up to battle.\n\n49:15. For behold I have made thee a little one among the nations,\ndespicable among men.\n\n49:16. Thy arrogancy hath deceived thee, and the pride of thy heart:  O\nthou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, and endeavourest to lay\nhold on the height of the hill:  but though thou shouldst make thy nest\nas high as an eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the\nLord.\n\n49:17. And Edom shall be desolate:  every one that shall pass by it,\nshall be astonished, and shall hiss at all its plagues.\n\n49:18. As Sodom was overthrown and Gomorrha, and the neighbours\nthereof, saith the Lord:  there shall not a man dwell there, and there\nshall no son of man inhabit it.\n\n49:19. Behold one shall come up as a lion from the swelling of the\nJordan, against the strong and beautiful:  for I will make him run\nsuddenly upon her:  and who shall be the chosen one whom I may appoint\nover her?  for who is like to me?  and who shall abide me?  and who is\nthat shepherd that can withstand my countenance?\n\n49:20. Therefore hear ye the counsel of the Lord, which he hath taken\nconcerning Edom:  and his thoughts which he hath thought concerning the\ninhabitants of Theman:  surely the little ones of the flock shall cast\nthem down, of a truth they shall destroy them with their habitation.\n\n49:21. The earth is moved at the noise of their fall:  the cry of their\nvoice is heard in the Red Sea.\n\n49:22. Behold he shall come up as an eagle, and fly:  and he shall\nspread his wings over Bosra:  and in that day the heart of the valiant\nones of Edom shall be as the heart of a woman in labour.\n\n49:23. Against Damascus.  Emath is confounded and Arphad:  for they have\nheard very bad tidings, they are troubled as in the sea:  through care\nthey could not rest.\n\n49:24. Damascus is undone, she is put to flight, trembling hath seized\non her:  anguish and sorrows have taken her as a woman in labour.\n\n49:25. How have they forsaken the city of renown, the city of joy!\n\n49:26. Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets:  and all the\nmen of war shall be silent in that day, saith the Lord of hosts.\n\n49:27. And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall\ndevour the strong holds of Benadad.\n\n49:28. Against Cedar and against the kingdoms of Asor, which\nNabuchodonosor king of Babylon destroyed.  Thus saith the Lord:  Arise,\nand go ye up to Cedar, and waste the children of the east.\n\nCedar and Asor. . .Were parts of Arabia; which with Moab, Ammon, Edom,\netc., were all brought under the yoke of Nabuchodonosor.\n\n49:29. They shall take their tents, and their flocks:  and shall carry\noff for themselves their curtains, and all their vessels, and their\ncamels:  and they shall call fear upon them round about.\n\n49:30. Flee ye, get away speedily, sit in deep holes, you that inhabit\nAsor, saith the Lord:  for Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon hath taken\ncounsel against you, and hath conceived designs against you.\n\n49:31. Arise, and go up to a nation that is at ease, and that dwelleth\nsecurely, saith the Lord:  they have neither gates, nor bars:  they dwell\nalone.\n\n49:32. And their camels shall be for a spoil and the multitude of their\ncattle for a booty, and I will scatter into every wind them that have\ntheir hair cut round, and I will bring destruction upon them from all\ntheir confines, saith the Lord.\n\n49:33. And Asor shall be a habitation for dragons, desolate for ever:\nno man shall abide there, nor son of man inhabit it.\n\n49:34. The word of the Lord that came to Jeremias the prophet against\nElam, in the beginning of the reign of Sedecias king of Juda, saying:\n\nElam. . .A part of Persia.\n\n49:35. Thus saith the Lord of hosts:  Behold I will break the bow of\nElam, and their chief strength.\n\n49:36. And I will bring upon Elam the four winds from the four quarters\nof heaven:  and I will scatter them into all these winds:  and there\nshall be no nation, to which the fugitives of Elam shall not come.\n\n49:37. And I will cause Elam to be afraid before their enemies, and in\nthe sight of them that seek their life:  and I will bring evil upon\nthem, my fierce wrath, saith the Lord:  and I will send the sword after\nthem, till I consume them.\n\n49:38. And I will set my throne in Elam, and destroy kings and princes\nfrom thence, saith the Lord.\n\n49:39. But in the latter days I will cause the captives of Elam, to\nreturn, saith the Lord.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 50\n\n\nBabylon, which hath afflicted the Israelites, after their restoration,\nshall be utterly destroyed.\n\n50:1. The word that the Lord hath spoken against Babylon, and against\nthe land of the Chaldeans in the hand of Jeremias the prophet.\n\n50:2. Declare ye among the nations, and publish it, lift up a standard:\nproclaim, and conceal it not:  say:  Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded,\nMerodach is overthrown, their graven things are confounded, their idols\nare overthrown.\n\nBel, etc. . .Bel and Merodach were worshipped for gods by the men of\nBabylon.\n\n50:3. For a nation is come up against her out of the north, which shall\nmake her land desolate:  and there shall be none to dwell therein, from\nman even to beast:  yea they are removed, and gone away.\n\nA nation, etc. . .Viz., the Medes.\n\n50:4. In those days, and at that time, saith the Lord, the children of\nIsrael shall come, they and the children of Juda together:  going and\nweeping they shall make haste, and shall seek the Lord their God.\n\n50:5. They shall ask the way to Sion, their faces are hitherward.  They\nshall come, and shall be joined to the Lord by an everlasting covenant,\nwhich shall never be forgotten.\n\n50:6. My people have been a lost flock, their shepherds have caused\nthem to go astray, and have made them wander in the mountains:  they\nhave gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their resting\nplace.\n\n50:7. All that found them, have devoured them:  and their enemies said:\nWe have not sinned in so doing:  because they have sinned against the\nLord the beauty of justice, and against the Lord the hope of their\nfathers.\n\n50:8. Remove out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land\nof the Chaldeans:  and be ye as kids at the head of the flock.\n\n50:9. For behold I raise up, and will bring against Babylon an assembly\nof great nations from the land of the north:  and they shall be prepared\nagainst her, and from thence she shall be taken:  their arrows, like\nthose of a mighty man, a destroyer, shall not return in vain.\n\n50:10. And Chaldea shall be made a prey:  all that waste her shall be\nfilled, saith the Lord.\n\n50:11. Because you rejoice, and speak great things, pillaging my\ninheritance:  because you are spread abroad as calves upon the grass,\nand have bellowed as bulls.\n\n50:12. Your mother is confounded exceedingly, and she that bore you is\nmade even with the dust:  behold she shall be the last among the\nnations, a wilderness unpassable, and dry.\n\n50:13. Because of the wrath of the Lord it shall not be inhabited, but\nshall be wholly desolate:  every one that shall pass by Babylon, shall\nbe astonished, and shall hiss at all her plagues.\n\n50:14. Prepare yourselves against Babylon round about, all you that\nbend the bow:  fight against her, spare not arrows:  because she hath\nsinned against the Lord.\n\n50:15. Shout against her, she hath every where given her hand, her\nfoundations are fallen, her walls are thrown down, for it is the\nvengeance of the Lord.  Take vengeance upon her:  as she hath done, so do\nto her.\n\n50:16. Destroy the sower out of Babylon, and him that holdeth the\nsickle in the time of harvest:  for fear of the sword of the dove every\nman shall return to his people, and every one shall flee to his own\nland.\n\nThe dove. . .Or the destroyer; for the Hebrew word signifies either the\none or the other.\n\n50:17. Israel is a scattered flock, the lions have driven him away:\nfirst the king of Assyria devoured him:  and last this Nabuchodonosor\nking of Babylon hath broken his bones.\n\n50:18. Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel:  Behold\nI will visit the king of Babylon and his land, as I have visited the\nking of Assyria.\n\n50:19. And I will bring Israel again to his habitation:  and he shall\nfeed on Carmel, and Bason, and his soul shall be satisfied in mount\nEphraim, and Galaad.\n\n50:20. In those days, and at that time, saith the Lord, the iniquity of\nIsrael shall be sought for, and there shall be none:  and the sin of\nJuda, and there shall none be found:  for I will be merciful to them,\nwhom I shall leave.\n\n50:21. Go up against the land of the rulers, and punish the inhabitants\nthereof, waste, and destroy all behind them, saith the Lord:  and do\naccording to all that I have commanded thee.\n\n50:22. A noise of war in the land, and a great destruction.\n\n50:23. How is the hammer of the whole earth broken, and destroyed! how\nis Babylon turned into a desert among the nations!\n\n50:24. I have caused thee to fall into a snare, and thou art taken, O\nBabylon, and thou wast not aware of it:  thou art found and caught,\nbecause thou hast provoked the Lord.\n\n50:25. The Lord hath opened his armoury, and hath brought forth the\nweapons of his wrath:  for the Lord the God of hosts hath a work to be\ndone in the land of the Chaldeans.\n\n50:26. Come ye against her from the uttermost borders:  open that they\nmay go forth that shall tread her down:  take the stones out of the way,\nand make heaps, and destroy her:  and let nothing of her be left.\n\n50:27. Destroy all her valiant men, let them go down to the slaughter:\nwoe to them, for their day is come, the time of their visitation.\n\n50:28. The voice of them that flee, and of them that have escaped out\nof the land of Babylon:  to declare in Sion the revenge of the Lord our\nGod, the revenge of his temple.\n\n50:29. Declare to many against Babylon, to all that bend the bow:  stand\ntogether against her round about, and let none escape; pay her\naccording to her work:  according to all that she hath done, do ye to\nher:  for she hath lifted up herself against the Lord, against the Holy\nOne of Israel.\n\n50:30. Therefore shall her young men fall in her streets:  and all her\nmen of war shall hold their peace in that day, saith the Lord.\n\n50:31. Behold I come against thee, O proud one, saith the Lord the God\nof hosts:  for thy day is come, the time of thy visitation.\n\n50:32. And the proud one shall fall, he shall fall down, and there\nshall be none to lift him up:  and I will kindle a fire in his cities,\nand it shall devour all round about him.\n\n50:33. Thus saith the Lord of hosts:  The children of Israel, and the\nchildren of Juda are oppressed together:  all that have taken them\ncaptives, hold them fast, they will not let them go.\n\n50:34. Their redeemer is strong, the Lord of hosts is his name:  he will\ndefend their cause in judgment, to terrify the land, and to disquiet\nthe inhabitants of Babylon.\n\n50:35. A sword is upon the Chaldeans, saith the Lord, and upon the\ninhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes, and upon her wise men.\n\n50:36. A sword upon her diviners, and they shall be foolish:  a sword\nupon her valiant ones, and they shall be dismayed.\n\n50:37. A sword upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all\nthe people that are in the midst of her:  and they shall become as\nwomen:  a sword upon her treasures, and they shall be made a spoil.\n\n50:38. A drought upon her waters, and they shall be dried up:  because\nit is a land of idols, and they glory in monstrous things.\n\n50:39. Therefore shall dragons dwell there with the fig fauns:  and\nostriches shall dwell therein, and it shall be no more inhabited for\never, neither shall it be built up from generation to generation.\n\nFig fauns. . .Monsters of the desert, or demons in monstrous shapes:\nsuch as the ancients called fauns and satyrs; and as they imagined them\nto live upon wild figs, they called them fauni ficarii or fig fauns.\n\n50:40. As the Lord overthrew Sodom and Gomorrha, and their neighbour\ncities, saith the Lord:  no man shall dwell there, neither shall the son\nof man inhabit it.\n\n50:41. Behold a people cometh from the north, and a great nation, and\nmany kings shall rise from the ends of the earth.\n\n50:42. They shall take the bow and the shield:  they are cruel and\nunmerciful:  their voice shall roar like the sea, and they shall ride\nupon horses:  like a man prepared for battle against thee, O daughter of\nBabylon.\n\n50:43. The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands\nare grown feeble:  anguish hath taken hold of him, pangs as a woman in\nlabour.\n\n50:44. Behold he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of the\nJordan to the strong and beautiful:  for I will make him run suddenly\nupon her:  and who shall be the chosen one whom I may appoint over her?\nfor who is like to me?  and who shall bear up against me?  and who is\nthat shepherd that can withstand my countenance?\n\n50:45. Therefore hear ye the counsel of the Lord, which he hath taken\nagainst Babylon:  and his thoughts which he hath thought against the\nland of the Chaldeans:  surely the little ones of the flocks shall pull\nthem down, of a truth their habitation shall be destroyed with them.\n\n50:46. At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved, and\nthe cry is heard amongst the nations.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 51\n\n\nThe miseries that shall fall upon Babylon from the Medes:  the\ndestruction of her idols.\n\n51:1. Thus saith the Lord:  Behold I will raise up as it were a\npestilential wind against Babylon and against the inhabitants thereof,\nwho have lifted up their heart against me.\n\n51:2. And I will send to Babylon fanners, and they shall fan her, and\nshall destroy her land:  for they are come upon her on every side in the\nday of her affliction.\n\n51:3. Let not him that bendeth, bend his bow, and let not him go up\nthat is armed with a coat of mail:  spare not her young men, destroy all\nher army.\n\n51:4. And the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and the\nwounded in the regions thereof.\n\n51:5. For Israel and Juda have not been forsaken by their God the Lord\nof hosts:  but their land hath been filled with sin against the Holy One\nof Israel.\n\n51:6. Flee ye from the midst of Babylon, and let every one save his own\nlife:  be not silent upon her iniquity:  for it is the time of revenge\nfrom the Lord, he will render unto her what she hath deserved.\n\n51:7. Babylon hath been a golden cup in the hand of the Lord, that made\nall the earth drunk:  the nations have drunk of her wine, and therefore\nthey have staggered.\n\n51:8. Babylon is suddenly fallen, and destroyed:  howl for her, take\nbalm for her pain, if so she may be healed.\n\n51:9. We would have cured Babylon, but she is not healed:  let us\nforsake her, and let us go every man to his own land:  because her\njudgment hath reached even to the heavens, and is lifted up to the\nclouds.\n\n51:10. The Lord hath brought forth our justices:  Come, and let us\ndeclare in Sion the work of the Lord our God.\n\n51:11. Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers, the Lord hath raised up\nthe spirit of the kings of the Medes:  and his mind is against Babylon\nto destroy it, because it is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance\nof his temple.\n\n51:12. Upon the walls of Babylon set up the standard, strengthen the\nwatch:  set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes:  for the Lord hath\nboth purposed, and done all that he spoke against the inhabitants of\nBabylon.\n\n51:13. O thou that dwellest upon many waters, rich in treasures, thy\nend is come for thy entire destruction.\n\n51:14. The Lord of hosts hath sworn by himself, saying:  I will fill\nthee with men as with locusts, and they shall lift up a joyful shout\nagainst thee.\n\n51:15. He that made the earth by his power, that hath prepared the\nworld by his wisdom, and stretched out the heavens by his\nunderstanding.\n\n51:16. When he uttereth his voice the waters are multiplied in heaven:\nhe lifteth up the clouds from the ends of the earth, he hath turned\nlightning into rain:  and hath brought forth the wind out of his\ntreasures.\n\n51:17. Every man is become foolish by his knowledge:  every founder is\nconfounded by his idol, for what he hath cast is a lie, and there is no\nbreath in them.\n\n51:18. They are vain works, and worthy to be laughed at, in the time of\ntheir visitation they shall perish.\n\n51:19. The portion of Jacob is not like them:  for he that made all\nthings he it is, and Israel is the sceptre of his inheritance:  the Lord\nof hosts is his name.\n\n51:20. Thou dashest together for me the weapons of war, and with thee I\nwill dash nations together, and with thee I will destroy kingdoms:\n\n51:21. And with thee I will break in pieces the horse, and his rider,\nand with thee I will break in pieces the chariot, and him that getteth\nup into it:\n\n51:22. And with thee I will break in pieces man and woman, and with\nthee I will break in pieces the old man and the child, and with thee I\nwill break in pieces the young man and the virgin:\n\n51:23. And with thee I will break in pieces the shepherd and his flock,\nand with thee I will break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of\noxen, and with thee I will break in pieces captains and rulers.\n\n51:24. And I will render to Babylon, and to all the inhabitants of\nChaldea all their evil, that they have done in Sion, before your eyes,\nsaith the Lord.\n\n51:25. Behold I come against thee, thou destroying mountain, saith the\nLord, which corruptest the whole earth:  and I will stretch out my hand\nupon thee, and will roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a\nburnt mountain.\n\n51:26. And they shall not take of thee a stone for the corner, nor a\nstone for foundations, but thou shalt be destroyed for ever, saith the\nLord.\n\n51:27. Set ye up a standard in the land:  sound with the trumpet among\nthe nations:  prepare the nations against her:  call together against her\nthe kings of Ararat, Menni, and Ascenez:  number Taphsar against her,\nbring the horse as the stinging locust.\n\n51:28. Prepare the nations against her, the kings of Media, their\ncaptains, and all their rulers, and all the land of their dominion.\n\n51:29. And the land shall be in a commotion, and shall be troubled:  for\nthe design of the Lord against Babylon shall awake, to make the land of\nBabylon desert and uninhabitable.\n\n51:30. The valiant men of Babylon have forborne to fight, they have\ndwelt in holds:  their strength hath failed, and they are become as\nwomen:  her dwelling places are burnt, her bars are broken.\n\n51:31. One running post shall meet another, and messenger shall meet\nmessenger:  to tell the king of Babylon that his city is taken from one\nend to the other:\n\n51:32. And that the fords are taken, and the marshes are burnt with\nfire, and the men of war are affrighted.\n\n51:33. For thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel:  The daughter\nof Babylon is like a thrashingfloor, this is the time of her thrashing:\nyet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come.\n\n51:34. Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon hath eaten me up, he hath\ndevoured me:  he hath made me as an empty vessel:  he hath swallowed me\nup like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicate meats, and\nhe hath cast me out.\n\n51:35. The wrong done to me, and my flesh be upon Babylon, saith the\nhabitation of Sion:  and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, saith\nJerusalem.\n\n51:36. Therefore thus saith the Lord:  Behold I will judge thy cause,\nand will take vengeance for thee, and I will make her sea desolate, I\nand will dry up her spring.\n\n51:37. And Babylon shall be reduced to heaps, a dwelling place for\ndragons, an astonishment and a hissing, because there is no inhabitant.\n\n51:38. They shall roar together like lions, they shall shake their\nmanes like young lions.\n\n51:39. In their heat I will set them drink:  and I will make them drunk,\nthat they may slumber, and sleep an everlasting sleep, and awake no\nmore, saith the Lord.\n\n51:40. I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, and like\nrams with kids.\n\n51:41. How is Sesach taken, and the renowned one of all the earth\nsurprised?  How is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations?\n\n51:42. The sea is come up over Babylon :  she is covered with the\nmultitude of the waves thereof.\n\n51:43. Her cities are become an astonishment, a land uninhabited and\ndesolate, a land wherein none can dwell, nor son of man pass through\nit.\n\n51:44. And I will visit against Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth\nout of his mouth that which he had swallowed down:  and the nations\nshall no more flow together to him, for the wall also of Babylon shall\nfall.\n\n51:45. Go out of the midst of her, my people:  that every man may save\nhis life from the fierce wrath of the Lord.\n\n51:46. And lest your hearts faint, and ye fear for the rumour that\nshall be heard in the land:  and a rumour shall come in one year, and\nafter this year another rumour:  and iniquity in the land, and ruler\nupon ruler.\n\n51:47. Therefore behold the days come, and I will visit the idols of\nBabylon:  and her whole land shall be confounded, and all her slain\nshall fall in the midst of her.\n\n51:48. And the heavens and the earth, and all things that are in them\nshall give praise for Babylon:  for spoilers shall come to her from the\nnorth, saith the Lord.\n\n51:49. And as Babylon caused that there should fall slain in Israel:  so\nof Babylon there shall fall slain in all the earth.\n\n51:50. You that have escaped the sword, come away, stand not still:\nremember the Lord afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.\n\n51:51. We are confounded, because we have heard reproach:  shame hath\ncovered our faces:  because strangers are come upon the sanctuaries of\nthe house of the Lord.\n\n51:52. Therefore behold the days come, saith the Lord, and I will visit\nher graven things, and in all her land the wounded shall groan:\n\n51:53. If Babylon should mount up to heaven, and establish her strength\non high:  from me there should come spoilers upon her, saith the Lord.\n\n51:54. The noise of a cry from Babylon, and great destruction from the\nland of the Chaldeans:\n\n51:55. Because the Lord hath laid Babylon waste, and destroyed out of\nher the great voice:  and their wave shall roar like many waters:  their\nvoice hath made a noise:\n\n51:56. Because the spoiler is come upon her, that is, upon Babylon, and\nher valiant men are taken, and their bow is weakened, because the Lord,\nwho is a strong revenger, will surely repay.\n\n51:57. And I will make her princes drunk, and her wise men, and her\ncaptains, and her rulers, and her valiant men:  and they shall sleep an\neverlasting sleep, and shall awake no more, saith the king whose name\nis Lord of hosts.\n\n51:58. Thus saith the Lord of hosts:  That broad wall of Babylon shall\nbe utterly broken down, and her high gates shall be burnt with fire,\nand the labours of the people shall come to nothing, and of the nations\nshall go to the fire, and shall perish.\n\n51:59. The word that Jeremias the prophet commanded Saraias the son of\nNerias, the son of Maasias, when he went with king Sedecias to Babylon,\nin the fourth year of his reign:  now Saraias was chief over the\nprophecy.\n\n51:60. And Jeremias wrote in one book all the evil that was to come\nupon Babylon:  all these words that are written against Babylon.\n\n51:61. And Jeremias said to Saraias:  When thou shalt come into Babylon,\nand shalt see, and shalt read all these words,\n\n51:62. Thou shalt say:  O Lord, thou hast spoken against this place to\ndestroy it:  so that there should be neither man nor beast to dwell\ntherein, and that it should be desolate for ever.\n\n51:63. And when thou shalt have made an end of reading this book, thou\nshalt tie a stone to it, and shalt throw it into the midst of the\nEuphrates:\n\n51:64. And thou shalt say:  Thus shall Babylon sink, and she shall not\nrise up from the affliction that I will bring upon her, and she shall\nbe utterly destroyed.  Thus far are the words of Jeremias.\n\n\n\nJeremias Chapter 52\n\n\nA recapitulation of the reign of Sedecias, and the destruction of\nJerusalem.  The number of the captives.\n\n52:1. Sedecias was one and twenty years old when he began to reign:  and\nhe reigned eleven years in Jerusalem:  and the name of his mother was\nAmital, the daughter of Jeremias of Lobna.\n\n52:2. And he did that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord, according\nto all that Joakim had done.\n\n52:3. For the wrath of the Lord was against Jerusalem, and against\nJuda, till he cast them out from his presence:  and Sedecias revolted\nfrom the king of Babylon.\n\n52:4. And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth\nmonth, the tenth day of the month, that Nabuchodonosor the king of\nBabylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and they besieged\nit, and built forts against it round about.\n\n52:5. And the city was besieged until the eleventh year of king\nSedecias.\n\n52:6. And in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, a famine\noverpowered the city:  and there was no food for the people of the land.\n\n52:7. And the city was broken up, and the men of war fled, and went out\nof the city in the night by the way of the gate that is between the two\nwalls, and leadeth to the king's garden, (the Chaldeans besieging the\ncity round about,) and they went by the way that leadeth to the\nwilderness.\n\n52:8. But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king:  and they\novertook Sedecias in the desert which is near Jericho:  and all his\ncompanions were scattered from him.\n\n52:9. And when they had taken the king, they carried him to the king of\nBabylon to Reblatha, which is in the land of Emath:  and he gave\njudgment upon him.\n\n52:10. And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Sedecias before his\neyes:  and he slew all the princes of Juda in Reblatha.\n\n52:11. And he put out the eyes of Sedecias, and bound him with fetters,\nand the king of Babylon brought him into Babylon, and he put him in\nprison till the day of his death.\n\n52:12. And in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, the same is\nthe nineteenth year of Nabuchodonosor, king of Babylon, came Nabuzardan\nthe general of the army, who stood before the king of Babylon in\nJerusalem.\n\n52:13. And he burnt the house of the Lord, and the king's house, and\nall the houses of Jerusalem, and every great house he burnt with fire.\n\n52:14. And all the army of the Chaldeans that were with the general\nbroke down all the wall of Jerusalem round about.\n\n52:15. But Nabuzardan the general carried away captives some of the\npoor people, and of the rest of the common sort who remained in the\ncity, and of the fugitives that were fled over to the king of Babylon,\nand the rest of the multitude.\n\n52:16. But of the poor of the land, Nabuzardan the general left some\nfor vinedressers, and for husbandmen.\n\n52:17. The Chaldeans also broke in pieces the brazen pillars that were\nin the house of the Lord, and the bases, and the sea of brass that was\nin the house of the Lord:  and they carried all the brass of them to\nBabylon.\n\n52:18. And they took the caldrons, and the fleshhooks, and the\npsalteries, and the bowls, and the little mortars, and all the brazen\nvessels that had been used in the ministry:  and\n\n52:19. The general took away the pitchers, and the censers, and the\npots, and the basins, and the candlesticks, and the mortars, and the\ncups:  as many as were of gold, in gold:  and as many as were of silver,\nin silver:\n\n52:20. And the two pillars, and one sea, and twelve oxen of brass that\nwere under the bases, which king Solomon had made in the house of the\nLord:  there was no weight of the brass of all these vessels.\n\n52:21. And concerning the pillars, one pillar was eighteen cubits high:\nand a cord of twelve cubits compassed it about:  but the thickness\nthereof was four fingers, and it was hollow within.\n\n52:22. And chapiters of brass were upon both:  and the height of one\nchapiter was five cubits:  and network, and pomegranates were upon the\nchapiters round about, all of brass.  The same of the second pillar, and\nthe pomegranates.\n\n52:23. And there were ninety-six pomegranates hanging down:  and the\npomegranates being a hundred in all, were compassed with network.\n\n52:24. And the general took Saraias the chief priest, and Sophonias the\nsecond priest, and the three keepers of the entry.\n\n52:25. He also took out of the city one eunuch that was chief over the\nmen of war:  and seven men of them that were near the king's person,\nthat were found in the city:  and a scribe, an officer of the army who\nexercised the young soldiers:  and threescore men of the people of the\nland, that were found in the midst of the city.\n\n52:26. And Nabuzardan the general took them, and brought them to the\nking of Babylon, to Reblatha.\n\n52:27. And the king of Babylon struck them, and put them to death in\nReblatha, in the land of Emath:  and Juda was carried away captive out\nof his land.\n\n52:28. This is the people whom Nabuchodonosor carried away captive:  in\nthe seventh year, three thousand and twenty-three Jews.\n\n52:29. In the eighteenth year of Nabuchodonosor, eight hundred and\nthirty-two souls from Jerusalem.\n\n52:30. In the three and twentieth year of Nabuchodonosor, Nabuzardan\nthe general carried away of the Jews seven hundred and forty-five\nsouls.  So all the souls were four thousand six hundred.\n\n52:31. And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the\ncaptivity of Joachin king of Juda, in the twelfth month, the five and\ntwentieth day of the month, that Evilmerodach king of Babylon, in the\nfirst year of his reign, lifted up the head of Joachin king of Juda,\nand brought him forth out of prison.\n\n52:32. And he spoke kindly to him, and he set his throne above the\nthrones of the kings that were with him in Babylon.\n\n52:33. And he changed his prison garments, and he ate bread before him\nalways all the days of his life.\n\n52:34. And for his diet a continual provision was allowed him by the\nking of Babylon, every day a portion, until the day of his death, all\nthe days of his life.\n\n\n\n\nTHE LAMENTATIONS OF JEREMIAS\n\n\n\nIn these JEREMIAS laments in a most pathetical manner the miseries of\nhis people, and the destruction of JERUSALEM and the temple, in Hebrew\nverses, beginning with different letters according to the order of the\nHebrew alphabet.\n\n\n\nLamentations Chapter 1\n\n\nPREFACE:  And it came to pass, after Israel was carried into captivity,\nand Jerusalem was desolate, that Jeremias the prophet sat weeping, and\nmourned with this lamentation over Jerusalem, and with a sorrowful\nmind, sighing and moaning, he said:\n\nAnd it came to pass, etc. . .This preface was not written by Jeremias,\nbut was added by the seventy interpreters, to give the reader to\nunderstand upon what occasion the Lamentations were published.\n\n1:1. Aleph.  How doth the city sit solitary that was full of people! how\nis the mistress of the Gentiles become as a widow:  the princes of\nprovinces made tributary!\n\n1:2. Beth.  Weeping, she hath wept in the night, and her tears are on\nher cheeks:  there is none to comfort her among all them that were dear\nto her:  all her friends have despised her, and are become her enemies.\n\n1:3. Ghimel.  Juda hath removed her dwelling place, because of her\naffliction, and the greatness of her bondage; she hath dwelt among the\nnations, and she hath found no rest; all her persecutors have taken her\nin the midst of straits.\n\n1:4. Daleth.  The ways of Sion mourn, because there are none that come\nto the solemn feast:  all her gates are broken down; her priests sigh;\nher virgins are in affliction; and she is oppressed with bitterness.\n\n1:5. He.  Her adversaries are become her lords; her enemies are\nenriched; because the Lord hath spoken against her for the multitude of\nher iniquities; her children are led into captivity, before the face of\nthe oppressor.\n\n1:6. Vau.  And from the daughter of Sion, all her beauty is departed;\nher princes are become like rams that find no pastures; and they are\ngone away without strength before the face of the pursuer.\n\n1:7. Zain.  Jerusalem hath remembered the days of her affliction, and\nprevarication of all her desirable things which she had from the days\nof old, when her people fell in the enemy's hand, and there was no\nhelper; the enemies have seen her, and have mocked at her sabbaths.\n\n1:8. Heth.  Jerusalem hath grievously sinned, therefore is she become\nunstable; all that honoured her, have despised her, because they have\nseen her shame; but she sighed, and turned backward.\n\n1:9. Teth.  Her filthiness is on her feet, and she hath not remembered\nher end; she is wonderfully cast down, not having a comforter:  behold,\nO Lord, my affliction, because the enemy is lifted up.\n\n1:10. Jod.  The enemy hath put out his hand to all her desirable things:\nfor she hath seen the Gentiles enter into her sanctuary, of whom thou\ngavest commandment that they should not enter into thy church.\n\n1:11. Caph.  All her people sigh, they seek bread:  they have given all\ntheir precious things for food to relieve the soul:  see, O Lord, and\nconsider, for I am become vile.\n\n1:12. Lamed.  O all ye that pass by the way, attend, and see if there be\nany sorrow like to my sorrow:  for he hath made a vintage of me, as the\nLord spoke in the day of his fierce anger.\n\n1:13. Mem.  From above he hath sent fire into my bones, and hath\nchastised me:  he hath spread a net for my feet, he hath turned me back:\nhe hath made me desolate, wasted with sorrow all the day long.\n\n1:14. Nun.  The yoke of my iniquities hath watched:  they are folded\ntogether in his hand, and put upon my neck:  my strength is weakened:\nthe Lord hath delivered me into a hand, out of which I am not able to\nrise.\n\n1:15. Samech.  The Lord hath taken away all my mighty men out of the\nmidst of me:  he hath called against me the time, to destroy my chosen\nmen:  the Lord hath trodden the winepress for the virgin daughter of\nJuda.\n\n1:16. Ain.  Therefore do I weep, and my eyes run down with water:\nbecause the comforter, the relief of my soul, is far from me:  my\nchildren are desolate because the enemy hath prevailed.\n\n1:17. Phe.  Sion hath spread forth her hands, there is none to comfort\nher:  the Lord hath commanded against Jacob, his enemies are round about\nhim:  Jerusalem is as a menstruous woman among them.\n\n1:18. Sade.  The Lord is just, for I have provoked his mouth to wrath:\nhear, I pray you, all ye people, and see my sorrow:  my virgins, and my\nyoung men are gone into captivity.\n\n1:19. Coph.  I called for my friends, but they deceived me:  my priests\nand my ancients pined away in the city:  while they sought their food,\nto relieve their souls.\n\n1:20. Res.  Behold, O Lord, for I am in distress, my bowels are\ntroubled:  my heart is turned within me, for I am full of bitterness:\nabroad the sword destroyeth and at home there is death alike.\n\n1:21. Sin.  They have heard that I sigh, and there is none to comfort\nme:  all my enemies have heard of my evil, they have rejoiced that thou\nhast done it:  thou hast brought a day of consolation, and they shall be\nlike unto me.\n\n1:22. Thau.  Let all their evil be present before thee:  and make vintage\nof them, as thou hast made vintage of me for all my iniquities:  for my\nsighs are many, and my heart is sorrowful.\n\n\n\nLamentations Chapter 2\n\n\n2:1. Aleph.  How hath the Lord covered with obscurity the daughter of\nSion in his wrath! how hath he cast down from heaven to the earth the\nglorious one of Israel, and hath not remembered his footstool in the\nday of his anger.\n\n2:2. Beth.  The Lord hath cast down headlong, and hath not spared, all\nthat was beautiful in Jacob:  he hath destroyed in his wrath the strong\nholds of the virgin of Juda, and brought them down to the ground:  he\nhath made the kingdom unclean, and the princes thereof.\n\n2:3. Ghimel.  He hath broken in his fierce anger all the horn of Israel:\nhe hath drawn back his right hand from before the enemy:  and he hath\nkindled in Jacob as it were a flaming fire devouring round about.\n\n2:4. Daleth.  He hath bent his bow as an enemy, he hath fixed his right\nhand as an adversary:  and he hath killed all that was fair to behold in\nthe tabernacle of the daughter of Sion, he hath poured out his\nindignation like fire.\n\n2:5. He.  The Lord is become as an enemy:  he hath cast down Israel\nheadlong, he hath overthrown all the walls thereof:  he hath destroyed\nhis strong holds, and hath multiplied in the daughter of Juda the\nafflicted, both men and women.\n\n2:6. Vau.  And he hath destroyed his tent as a garden, he hath thrown\ndown his tabernacle:  the Lord hath caused feasts and sabbaths to be\nforgotten in Sion:  and hath delivered up king and priest to reproach,\nand to the indignation of his wrath.\n\n2:7. Zain.  The Lord hath cast off his altar, he hath cursed his\nsanctuary:  he hath delivered the walls of the towers thereof into the\nhand of the enemy:  they have made a noise in the house of the Lord, as\nin the day of a solemn feast.\n\nHe hath cursed his sanctuary. . .That is, he permitted his sanctuary to\nbe destroyed, as if it had not been consecrated, but execrable.\n\n2:8. Heth.  The Lord hath purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter\nof Sion:  he hath stretched out his line, and hath not withdrawn his\nhand from destroying:  and the bulwark hath mourned, and the wall hath\nbeen destroyed together.\n\n2:9. Teth.  Her gates are sunk into the ground:  he hath destroyed, and\nbroken her bars:  her king and her princes are among the Gentiles:  the\nlaw is no more, and her prophets have found no vision from the Lord.\n\n2:10. Jod.  The ancients of the daughter of Sion sit upon the ground,\nthey have held their peace:  they have sprinkled their heads with dust,\nthey are girded with haircloth, the virgins of Jerusalem hang down\ntheir heads to the ground.\n\n2:11. Caph.  My eyes have failed with weeping, my bowels are troubled:\nmy liver is poured out upon the earth, for the destruction of the\ndaughter of my people, when the children, and the sucklings, fainted\naway in the streets of the city.\n\n2:12. Lamed.  They said to their mothers:  Where is corn and wine?  when\nthey fainted away as the wounded in the streets of the city:  when they\nbreathed out their souls in the bosoms of their mothers.\n\n2:13. Mem.  To what shall I compare thee?  or to what shall I liken thee,\nO daughter of Jerusalem?  to what shall I equal thee, that I may comfort\nthee, O virgin daughter of Sion?  for great as the sea is thy\ndestruction:  who shall heal thee?\n\n2:14. Nun.  Thy prophets have seen false and foolish things for thee:\nand they have not laid open thy iniquity, to excite thee to penance:\nbut they have seen for thee false revelations and banishments.\n\n2:15. Samech.  All they that passed by the way have clapped their hands\nat thee:  they have hissed, and wagged their heads at the daughter of\nJerusalem, saying:  Is this the city of perfect beauty, the joy of all\nthe earth?\n\n2:16. Phe.  All thy enemies have opened their month against thee:  they\nhave hissed, and gnashed with the teeth, and have said:  We will swallow\nher up:  lo, this is the day which we looked for:  we have found it, we\nhave seen it.\n\n2:17. Ain.  The Lord hath done that which he purposed, he hath fulfilled\nhis word, which he commanded in the days of old:  he hath destroyed, and\nhath not spared, and he hath caused the enemy to rejoice over thee, and\nhath set up the horn of thy adversaries.\n\n2:18. Sade.  Their heart cried to the Lord upon the walls of the\ndaughter of Sion:  Let tears run down like a torrent day and night:  give\nthyself no rest, and let not the apple of thy eye cease.\n\n2:19. Coph.  Arise, give praise in the night, in the beginning of the\nwatches:  pour out thy heart like water, before the face of the Lord:\nlift up thy hands to him for the life of thy little children, that have\nfainted for hunger at the top of all the streets.\n\n2:20. Res.  Behold, O Lord, and consider whom thou hast thus dealt with:\nshall women then eat their own fruit, their children of a span long?\nshall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord?\n\n2:21. Sin.  The child and the old man lie without on the ground:  my\nvirgins and my young men are fallen by the sword:  thou hast slain them\nin the day of thy wrath:  thou hast killed, and shewn them no pity.\n\n2:22. Thau.  Thou hast called as to a festival, those that should\nterrify me round about, and there was none in the day of the wrath of\nthe Lord that escaped and was left:  those that I brought up, and\nnourished, my enemy hath consumed them.\n\n\n\nLamentations Chapter 3\n\n\n3:1. Aleph.  I am the man that see my poverty by the rod of his\nindignation.\n\n3:2. Aleph.  He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, and not into\nlight.\n\n3:3. Aleph.  Only against me he hath turned, and turned again his hand\nall the day.\n\n3:4. Beth.  My skin and my flesh he hath made old, he hath broken my\nbones.\n\n3:5. Beth.  He hath built round about me, and he hath compassed me with\ngall, and labour.\n\n3:6. Beth.  He hath set me in dark places as those that are dead for\never.\n\n3:7. Ghimel.  He hath built against me round about, that I may not get\nout:  he hath made my fetters heavy.\n\n3:8. Ghimel.  Yea, and when I cry, and entreat, he hath shut out my\nprayer.\n\n3:9. Ghimel.  He hath shut up my ways with square stones, he hath turned\nmy paths upside down.\n\n3:10. Daleth.  He is become to me as a bear lying in wait:  as a lion in\nsecret places.\n\n3:11. Daleth.  He hath turned aside my paths, and hath broken me in\npieces, he hath made me desolate.\n\n3:12. Daleth.  He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for his\narrows.\n\n3:13. He.  He hath shot into my reins the daughters of his quiver.\n\n3:14. He.  I am made a derision to all my people, their song all the day\nlong.\n\n3:15. He.  He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath inebriated me with\nwormwood.\n\n3:16. Vau.  And he hath broken my teeth one by one, he hath fed me with\nashes.\n\n3:17. Vau.  And my soul is removed far off from peace, I have forgotten\ngood things.\n\n3:18. Vau.  And I said:  My end and my hope is perished from the Lord.\n\n3:19. Zain.  Remember my poverty, and transgression, the wormwood and\nthe gall.\n\n3:20. Zain.  I will be mindful and remember, and my soul shall languish\nwithin me.\n\n3:21. Zain.  These things I shall think over in my heart, therefore will\nI hope.\n\n3:22. Heth.  The mercies of the Lord that we are not consumed:  because\nhis commiserations have not failed.\n\n3:23. Heth.  They are new every morning, great is thy faithfulness.\n\n3:24. Heth.  The Lord is my portion, said my soul:  therefore will I wait\nfor him.\n\n3:25. Teth.  The Lord is good to them that hope in him, to the soul that\nseeketh him.\n\n3:26. Teth.  It is good to wait with silence for the salvation of God.\n\n3:27. Teth.  It is good for a man, when he hath borne the yoke from his\nyouth.\n\n3:28. Jod.  He shall sit solitary, and hold his peace:  because he hath\ntaken it up upon himself.\n\n3:29. Jod.  He shall put his mouth in the dust, if so be there may be\nhope.\n\n3:30. Jod.  He shall give his cheek to him that striketh him, he shall\nbe filled with reproaches.\n\n3:31. Caph.  For the Lord will not cast off for ever.\n\n3:32. Caph.  For if he hath cast off, he will also have mercy, according\nto the multitude of his mercies.\n\n3:33. Caph.  For he hath not willingly afflicted, nor cast off the\nchildren of men.\n\n3:34. Lamed.  To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the land,\n\n3:35. Lamed.  To turn aside the judgment of a man before the face of the\nmost High,\n\n3:36. Lamed.  To destroy a man wrongfully in his judgment, the Lord hath\nnot approved.\n\n3:37. Mem.  Who is he that hath commanded a thing to be done, when the\nLord commandeth it not?\n\n3:38. Mem.  Shall not both evil and good proceed out of the mouth of the\nHighest?\n\n3:39. Mem.  Why hath a living man murmured, man suffering for his sins?\n\n3:40. Nun.  Let us search our ways, and seek, and return to the Lord.\n\n3:41. Nun.  Let us lift up our hearts with our hands to the Lord in the\nheavens.\n\n3:42. Nun.  We have done wickedly, and provoked thee to wrath:  therefore\nthou art inexorable.\n\n3:43. Samech.  Thou hast covered in thy wrath, and hast struck us:  thou\nhast killed and hast not spared.\n\n3:44. Samech.  Thou hast set a cloud before thee, that our prayer may\nnot pass through.\n\n3:45. Samech.  Thou hast made me as an outcast, and refuse in the midst\nof the people.\n\n3:46. Phe.  All our enemies have opened their mouths against us.\n\n3:47. Phe.  Prophecy is become to us a fear, and a snare, and\ndestruction.\n\n3:48. Phe.  My eye hath run down with streams of water, for the\ndestruction of the daughter of my people.\n\n3:49. Ain.  My eye is afflicted, and hath not been quiet, because there\nwas no rest:\n\n3:50. Ain.  Till the Lord regarded and looked down from the heavens.\n\n3:51. Ain.  My eye hath wasted my soul because of all the daughters of\nmy city.\n\n3:52. Sade.  My enemies have chased me and caught me like a bird,\nwithout cause.\n\n3:53. Sade.  My life is fallen into the pit, and they have laid a stone\nover me.\n\n3:54. Sade.  Waters have flowed over my head:  I said:  I am cut off.\n\n3:55. Coph.  I have called upon thy name, O Lord, from the lowest pit.\n\n3:56. Coph.  Thou hast heard my voice:  turn not away thy ear from my\nsighs, and cries.\n\n3:57. Coph.  Thou drewest near in the day, when I called upon thee, thou\nsaidst:  Fear not.\n\n3:58. Res.  Thou hast judged, O Lord, the cause of my soul, thou the\nRedeemer of my life.\n\n3:59. Res.  Thou hast seen, O Lord, their iniquity against me:  judge\nthou my judgment.\n\n3:60. Res.  Thou hast seen all their fury, and all their thoughts\nagainst me.\n\n3:61. Sin.  Thou hast heard their reproach, O Lord, all their\nimaginations against me.\n\n3:62. Sin.  The lips of them that rise up against me:  and their devices\nagainst me all the day.\n\n3:63. Sin.  Behold their sitting down, and their rising up, I am their\nsong.\n\n3:64. Thau.  Thou shalt render them a recompense, O Lord, according to\nthe works of their hands.\n\n3:65. Thau.  Thou shalt give them a buckler of heart, thy labour.\n\n3:66. Thau.  Thou shalt persecute them in anger, and shalt destroy them\nfrom under the heavens, O Lord.\n\n\n\nLamentations Chapter 4\n\n\n4:1. Aleph.  How is the gold become dim, the finest colour is changed,\nthe stones of the sanctuary are scattered in the top of every street?\n\n4:2. Beth.  The noble sons of Sion, and they that were clothed with the\nbest gold:  how are they esteemed as earthen vessels, the work of the\npotter's hands?\n\n4:3. Ghimel.  Even the sea monsters have drawn out the breast, they have\ngiven suck to their young:  the daughter of my people is cruel, like the\nostrich in the desert.\n\n4:4. Daleth.  The tongue of the sucking child hath stuck to the roof of\nhis mouth for thirst:  the little ones have asked for bread, and there\nwas none to break it unto them.\n\n4:5. He.  They that were fed delicately have died in the streets:  they\nthat were brought up in scarlet have embraced the dung.\n\n4:6. Vau.  And the iniquity of the daughter of my people is made greater\nthan the sin of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment, and hands took\nnothing in her.\n\n4:7. Zain.  Her Nazarites were whiter than snow, purer than milk, more\nruddy than the old ivory, fairer than the sapphire.\n\n4:8. Heth.  Their face is now made blacker than coals, and they are not\nknown in the streets:  their skin hath stuck to their bones, it is\nwithered, and is become like wood.\n\n4:9. Teth.  It was better with them that were slain by the sword, than\nwith them that died with hunger:  for these pined away being consumed\nfor want of the fruits of the earth.\n\n4:10. Jod.  The hands of the pitiful women have sodden their own\nchildren:  they were their meat in the destruction of the daughter of my\npeople.\n\n4:11. Caph.  The Lord hath accomplished his wrath, he hath poured out\nhis fierce anger:  and he hath kindled a fire in Sion, and it hath\ndevoured the foundations thereof.\n\n4:12. Lamed.  The kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the\nworld would not have believed, that the adversary and the enemy should\nenter in by the gates of Jerusalem.\n\n4:13. Mem.  For the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her\npriests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her.\n\n4:14. Nun.  They have wandered as blind men in the streets, they were\ndefiled with blood:  and when they could not help walking in it, they\nheld up their skirts.\n\n4:15. Samech.  Depart you that are defiled, they cried out to them:\nDepart, get ye hence, touch not:  for they quarrelled, and being\nremoved, they said among the Gentiles:  He will no more dwell among\nthem.\n\n4:16. Phe.  The face of the Lord hath divided them, he will no more\nregard them:  they respected not the persons of the priests, neither had\nthey pity on the ancient.\n\n4:17. Ain.  While we were yet standing, our eyes failed, expecting help\nfor us in vain, when we looked attentively towards a nation that was\nnot able to save.\n\n4:18. Sade.  Our steps have slipped in the way of our streets, our end\ndraweth near:  our days are fulfilled, for our end is come.\n\n4:19. Coph.  Our persecutors were swifter than the eagles of the air:\nthey pursued us upon the mountains, they lay in wait for us in the\nwilderness.\n\n4:20. Res.  The breath of our mouth, Christ the Lord, is taken in our\nsins:  to whom we said:  Under thy shadow we shall live among the\nGentiles.\n\nChrist, etc. . .This, according to the letter, is spoken of their king,\nwho is called the Christ, that is, the Anointed of the Lord.  But it\nalso relates, in the spiritual sense, to Christ our Lord, suffering for\nour sins.\n\n4:21. Sin.  Rejoice, and be glad, O daughter of Edom, that dwellest in\nthe land of Hus:  to thee also shall the cup come, thou shalt be made\ndrunk, and naked.\n\n4:22. Thau.  Thy iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Sion, he will\nno more carry thee away into captivity:  he hath visited thy iniquity, O\ndaughter of Edom, he hath discovered thy sins.\n\nTHE PRAYER OF JEREMIAS THE PROPHET\n\n\n\nLamentations Chapter 5\n\n\n5:1. Remember, O Lord, what is come upon us:  consider and behold our\nreproach.\n\n5:2. Our inheritance is turned to aliens:  our houses to strangers.\n\n5:3. We are become orphans without a father:  our mothers are as widows.\n\n5:4. We have drunk our water for money:  we have bought our wood.\n\n5:6. We were dragged by the necks, we were weary and no rest was given\nus.\n\n5:6. We have given our hand to Egypt, and to the Assyrians, that we\nmight be satisfied with bread.\n\n5:7. Our fathers have sinned, and are not:  and we have borne their\niniquities.\n\n5:8. Servants have ruled over us:  there was none to redeem us out of\ntheir hand.\n\n5:9. We fetched our bread at the peril of our lives, because of the\nsword in the desert.\n\n5:10. Our skin was burnt as an oven, by reason of the violence of the\nfamine.\n\n5:11. They oppressed the women in Sion, and the virgins in the cities\nof Juda.\n\n5:12. The princes were hanged up by their hand:  they did not respect\nthe persons of the ancients.\n\n5:13. They abused the young men indecently:  and the children fell under\nthe wood.\n\n5:14. The ancients have ceased from the gates:  the young men from the\nchoir of the singers.\n\n5:15. The joy of our heart is ceased, our dancing is turned into\nmourning.\n\n5:16. The crown is fallen from our head:  woe to us, because we have\nsinned.\n\n5:17. Therefore is our heart sorrowful, therefore are our eyes become\ndim.\n\n5:18. For mount Sion, because it is destroyed, foxes have walked upon\nit.\n\n5:19. But thou, O Lord, shalt remain for ever, thy throne from\ngeneration to generation.\n\n5:20. Why wilt thou forget us for ever?  why wilt thou forsake us for a\nlong time?\n\n5:21. Convert us, O Lord, to thee, and we shall be converted:  renew our\ndays, as from the beginning.\n\n5:22. But thou hast utterly rejected us, thou art exceedingly angry\nwith us.\n\n\n\n\nTHE PROPHECY OF BARUCH\n\n\n\nBARUCH was a man of noble extraction, and learned in the law, secretary\nand disciple to the prophet JEREMIAS, and a sharer in his labours and\npersecutions:  which is the reason why the ancient fathers have\nconsidered this book as a part of the prophecy of JEREMIAS, and have\nusually quoted it under his name.\n\n\n\nBaruch Chapter 1\n\n\nThe Jews of Babylon send the book of Baruch with money to Jerusalem,\nrequesting their brethren there to offer sacrifice, and to pray for the\nking and for them, acknowledging their manifold sins.\n\n1:1. And these are the words of the book, which Baruch the son of\nNerias, the son of Maasias, the son of Sedecias, the son of Sedei, the\nson Helcias, wrote in Babylonia.\n\n1:2. In the fifth year, in the seventh day of the month, at the time\nthat the Chaldeans took Jerusalem, and burnt it with fire.\n\n1:3. And Baruch read the words of this book in the hearing of Jechonias\nthe son of Joakim king of Juda, and in the hearing of all the people\nthat came to hear the book.\n\n1:4. And in the hearing of the nobles, the sons of the kings, and in\nthe hearing of the ancients, and in the hearing of the people, from the\nleast even to the greatest of them that dwelt in Babylonia, by the\nriver Sedi.\n\n1:5. And when they heard it they wept, and fasted, and prayed before\nthe Lord.\n\n1:6. And they made a collection of money according to every man's\npower.\n\n1:7. And they sent it to Jerusalem to Joakim the priest, the son of\nHelcias, the son of Salom, and to the priests, and to all the people,\nthat were found with him in Jerusalem:\n\n1:8. At the time when he received the vessels of the temple of the\nLord, which had been taken away out of the temple, to return them into\nthe land of Juda the tenth day of the month Sivan, the silver vessels,\nwhich Sedecias the son of Josias king of Juda had made,\n\n1:9. After that Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon had carried away\nJechonias, and the princes, and all the powerful men, and the people of\nthe land from Jerusalem, and brought them bound to Babylon.\n\n1:10. And they said:  Behold we have sent you money, buy with it\nholocausts, and frankincense, and make meat offerings, and offerings\nfor sin at the altar of the Lord our God:\n\n1:11. And pray ye for the life of Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon,\nand for the life of Balthasar his son, that their days may be upon\nearth as the days of heaven:\n\n1:12. And that the Lord may give us strength, and enlighten our eyes,\nthat we may live under the shadow of Nabuchodonosor the king of\nBabylon, and under the shadow of Balthasar his son, and may serve them\nmany days, and may find favour in their sight.\n\n1:13. And pray ye for us to the Lord our God:  for we have sinned\nagainst the Lord our God, and his wrath is not turned away from us even\nto this day.\n\n1:14. And read ye this book, which we have sent to you to be read in\nthe temple of the Lord, on feasts, and proper days.\n\n1:15. And you shall say:  To the Lord our God belongeth justice, but to\nus confusion of our face:  as it is come to pass at this day to all\nJuda, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem,\n\n1:16. To our kings, and to our princes, and to our priests, and to our\nprophets, and to our fathers.\n\n1:17. We have sinned before the Lord our God, and have not believed\nhim, nor put our trust in him:\n\n1:18. And we were not obedient to him, and we have not hearkened to the\nvoice of the Lord our God, to walk in his commandments which he hath\ngiven us.\n\n1:19. From the day that he brought our fathers out of the land of\nEgypt, even to this day, we were disobedient to the Lord our God:  and\ngoing astray we turned away from hearing his voice.\n\n1:20. And many evils have cleaved to us, and the curses which the Lord\nforetold by Moses his servant:  who brought our fathers out of the land\nof Egypt, to give us a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this\nday.\n\n1:21. And we have not hearkened to the voice of the Lord our God\naccording to all the words of the prophets whom he sent to us:\n\n1:22. And we have gone away every man after the inclinations of his own\nwicked heart, to serve strange gods, and to do evil in the sight of the\nLord our God.\n\n\n\nBaruch Chapter 2\n\n\nA further confession of the sins of the people, and of the justice of\nGod.\n\n2:1. Wherefore the Lord our God hath made good his word, that he spoke\nto us, and to our judges that have judged Israel, and to our kings, and\nto our princes, and to all Israel and Juda:\n\n2:2. That the Lord would bring upon us great evils, such as never\nhappened under heaven, as they have come to pass in Jerusalem,\naccording to the things that are written in the law of Moses:\n\n2:3. That a man should eat the flesh of his own son, and the flesh of\nhis own daughter.\n\n2:4. And he hath delivered them up to be under the hand of all the\nkings that are round about us, to be a reproach, and desolation among\nall the people, among whom the Lord hath scattered us.\n\n2:5. And we are brought under, and are not uppermost:  because we have\nsinned against the Lord our God, by not obeying his voice.\n\n2:6. To the Lord our God belongeth justice:  but to us, and to our\nfathers confusion of face, as at this day.\n\n2:7. For the Lord hath pronounced against us all these evils that are\ncome upon us:\n\n2:8. And we have not entreated the face of the Lord our God, that we\nmight return every one of us from our most wicked ways.\n\n2:9. And the Lord hath watched over us for evil, and hath brought it\nupon us:  for the Lord is just in all his works which he hath commanded\nus:\n\n2:10. And we have not hearkened to his voice to walk in the\ncommandments of the Lord which he hath set before us.\n\n2:11. And now, O Lord God of Israel, who hast brought thy people out of\nthe land of Egypt with a strong hand, and with signs, and with wonders,\nand with thy great power, and with a mighty arm, and hast made thee a\nname as at this day,\n\n2:12. We have sinned, we have done wickedly, we have acted unjustly, O\nLord our God, against all thy justices.\n\n2:13. Let thy wrath be turned away from us:  for we are left a few among\nthe nations where thou hast scattered us.\n\n2:14. Hear, O Lord, our prayers, and our petitions, and deliver us for\nthy own sake:  and grant that we may find favour in the sight of them\nthat have led us away:\n\n2:15. That all the earth may know that thou art the Lord our God, and\nthat thy name is called upon Israel, and upon his posterity.\n\n2:16. Look down upon us, O Lord, from thy holy house, and incline thy\near, and hear us.\n\n2:17. Open thy eyes, and behold:  for the dead that are in hell, whose\nspirit is taken away from their bowels, shall not give glory and\njustice to the Lord:\n\nJustice, etc. . .They that are in hell shall not give justice to God;\nthat is, they shall not acknowledge and glorify his justice as penitent\nsinners do upon earth.\n\n2:18. But the soul that is sorrowful for the greatness of evil she hath\ndone, and goeth bowed down, and feeble, and the eyes that fail, and the\nhungry soul giveth glory and justice to thee the Lord.\n\n2:19. For it is not for the justices of our fathers that we pour out\nour prayers, and beg mercy in thy sight, O Lord our God:\n\n2:20. But because thou hast sent out thy wrath, and thy indignation\nupon us, as thou hast spoken by the hand of thy servants the prophets,\nsaying:\n\n2:21. Thus saith the Lord:  Bow down your shoulder, and your neck, and\nserve the king of Babylon:  and you shall remain in the land which I\nhave given to your fathers.\n\n2:22. But if you will not hearken to the voice of the Lord your God, to\nserve the king of Babylon:  I will cause you to depart out of the cities\nof Juda, and from without Jerusalem.\n\n2:23. And I will take away from you the voice of mirth, and the voice\nof joy, and the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride,\nand all the land shall be without any footstep of inhabitants.\n\n2:24. And they hearkened not to thy voice, to serve the king of\nBabylon:  and thou hast made good thy words, which thou spokest by the\nhands of thy servants the prophets, that the bones of our kings, and\nthe bones of our fathers should be removed out of their place:\n\n2:25. And behold they are cast out to the heat of the sun, and to the\nfrost of the night:  and they have died in grievous pains, by famine,\nand by the sword, and in banishment.\n\n2:26. And thou hast made the temple, in which thy name was called upon,\nas it is at this day, for the iniquity of the house of Israel, and the\nhouse of Juda.\n\n2:27. And thou hast dealt with us, O Lord our God, according to all thy\ngoodness, and according to all that great mercy of thine:\n\n2:28. As thou spokest by the hand of thy servant Moses, in the day when\nthou didst command him to write thy law before the children of Israel,\n\n2:29. Saying:  If you will not hear my voice, this great multitude shall\nbe turned into a very small number among the nations, where I will\nscatter them:\n\n2:30. For I know that the people will not hear me, for they are a\npeople of a stiff neck:  but they shall turn to their heart in the land\nof their captivity:\n\n2:31. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God:  and I will give\nthem a heart, and they shall understand:  and ears, and they shall hear.\n\n2:32. And they shall praise me in the land of their captivity, and\nshall be mindful of my name.\n\n2:33. And they shall turn away themselves from their stiff neck, and\nfrom their wicked deeds:  for they shall remember the way of their\nfathers, that sinned against me.\n\n2:34. And I will bring them back again into the land which I promised\nwith an oath to their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and they\nshall be masters thereof:  and I will multiply them, and they shall not\nbe diminished.\n\n2:35. And I will make with them another covenant that shall be\neverlasting, to be their God, and they shall be my people:  and I will\nno more remove my people, the children of Israel, out of the land that\nI have given them.\n\n\n\nBaruch Chapter 3\n\n\nThey pray for mercy, acknowledging that they are justly punished for\nforsaking true wisdom.  A prophecy of Christ.\n\n3:1. And now, O Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, the soul in anguish,\nand the troubled spirit crieth to thee:\n\n3:2. Hear, O Lord, and have mercy, for thou art a merciful God, and\nhave pity on us:  for we have sinned before thee.\n\n3:3. For thou remainest for ever, and shall we perish everlastingly?\n\n3:4. O Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, hear now the prayer of the\ndead of Israel, and of their children, that have sinned before thee,\nand have not hearkened to the voice of the Lord their God, wherefore\nevils have cleaved fast to us.\n\n3:5. Remember not the iniquities of our fathers, but think upon thy\nhand, and upon thy name at this time:\n\n3:6. For thou art the Lord our God, and we will praise thee, O Lord:\n\n3:7. Because for this end thou hast put thy fear in our hearts, to the\nintent that we should call upon thy name, and praise thee in our\ncaptivity, for we are converted from the iniquity of our fathers, who\nsinned before thee.\n\n3:8. And behold we are at this day in our captivity, whereby thou hast\nscattered us to be a reproach, and a curse, and an offence, according\nto all the iniquities of our fathers, who departed from thee, O Lord\nour God.\n\n3:9. Hear, O Israel, the commandments of life:  give ear, that thou\nmayst learn wisdom.\n\n3:10. How happeneth it, O Israel, that thou art in thy enemies' land?\n\n3:11. Thou art grown old in a strange country, thou art defiled with\nthe dead:  thou art counted with them that go down into hell.\n\n3:12. Thou hast forsaken the fountain of wisdom:\n\n3:13. For if thou hadst walked in the way of God, thou hadst surely\ndwelt in peace for ever.\n\n3:14. Learn where is wisdom, where is strength, where is understanding:\nthat thou mayst know also where is length of days and life, where is\nthe light of the eyes, and peace.\n\n3:15. Who hath found out her place?  and who hath gone in to her\ntreasures?\n\n3:16. Where are the princes of the nations, and they that rule over the\nbeasts that are upon the earth?\n\n3:17. That take their diversion with the birds of the air.\n\n3:18. That hoard up silver and gold, wherein men trust, and there is no\nend of their getting?  who work in silver and are solicitous, and their\nworks are unsearchable.\n\n3:19. They are cut off, and are gone down to hell, and others are risen\nup in their place.\n\n3:20. Young men have seen the light, and dwelt upon the earth:  but the\nway of knowledge they have not known,\n\n3:21. Nor have they understood the paths thereof, neither have their\nchildren received it, it is far from their face.\n\n3:22. It hath not been heard of in the land of Chanaan, neither hath it\nbeen seen in Theman.\n\nTheman. . .The capital city of Edom.\n\n3:23. The children of Agar also, that search after the wisdom that is\nof the earth, the merchants of Merrha, and of Theman, and the tellers\nof fables, and searchers of prudence and understanding:  but the way of\nwisdom they have not known, neither have they remembered her paths.\n\nAgar. . .The mother of the Ismaelites.\n\n3:24. O Israel, how great is the house of God, and how vast is the\nplace of his possession!\n\n3:25. It is great, and hath no end:  it is high and immense.\n\n3:26. There were the giants, those renowned men that were from the\nbeginning, of great stature, expert in war.\n\n3:27. The Lord chose not them, neither did they find the way of\nknowledge:  therefore did they perish.\n\n3:28. And because they had not wisdom, they perished through their\nfolly.\n\n3:29. Who hath gone up into heaven, and taken her, and brought her down\nfrom the clouds?\n\n3:30. Who hath passed over the sea, and found her, and brought her\npreferably to chosen gold?\n\n3:31. There is none that is able to know her ways, nor that can search\nout her paths:\n\n3:32. But he that knoweth all things, knoweth her, and hath found her\nout with his understanding:  he that prepared the earth for evermore,\nand filled it with cattle and fourfooted beasts:\n\n3:33. He that sendeth forth the light, and it goeth:  and hath called\nit, and it obeyeth him with trembling.\n\n3:34. And the stars have given light in their watches, and rejoiced:\n\n3:35. They were called, and they said:  Here we are:  and with\ncheerfulness they have shined forth to him that made them.\n\n3:36. This is our God, and there shall no other be accounted of in\ncomparison of him.\n\n3:37. He found out all the way of knowledge, and gave it to Jacob his\nservant, and to Israel his beloved.\n\n3:38. Afterwards he was seen upon earth, and conversed with men.\n\nWas seen upon earth, etc. . .viz., by the mystery of the incarnation, by\nmeans of which the son of God came visibly amongst us, and conversed\nwith men.  The prophets often speak of things to come as if they were\npast, to express the certainty of the event of the things foretold.\n\n\n\nBaruch Chapter 4\n\n\nThe prophet exhorts to the keeping of the law of wisdom, and encourages\nthe people to be patient, and to hope for their deliverance.\n\n4:1. This is the book of the commandments of God, and the law, that is\nfor ever:  all they that keep it, shall come to life:  but they that have\nforsaken it, to death.\n\n4:2. Return, O Jacob, and take hold of it, walk in the way by its\nbrightness, in the presence of the light thereof.\n\n4:3. Give not thy honour to another, nor thy dignity to a strange\nnation.\n\n4:4. We are happy, O Israel:  because the things that are pleasing to\nGod, are made known to us.\n\n4:5. Be of good comfort, O people of God, the memorial of Israel:\n\n4:6. You have been sold to the Gentiles, not for your destruction:  but\nbecause you provoked God to wrath, you are delivered to your\nadversaries.\n\n4:7. For you have provoked him who made you, the eternal God, offering\nsacrifice to devils, and not to God.\n\n4:8. For you have forgotten God, who brought you up, and you have\ngrieved Jerusalem that nursed you.\n\n4:9. For she saw the wrath of God coming upon you, and she said:  Give\near, all you that dwell near Sion, for God hath brought upon me great\nmourning:\n\n4:10. For I have seen the captivity of my people, of my sons, and my\ndaughters, which the Eternal hath brought upon them.\n\n4:11. For I nourished them with joy:  but I sent them away with weeping\nand mourning.\n\n4:12. Let no man rejoice over me, a widow, and desolate:  I am forsaken\nof many for the sins of my children, because they departed from the law\nof God.\n\n4:13. And they have not known his justices, nor walked by the ways of\nGod's commandments, neither have they entered by the paths of his truth\nand justice.\n\n4:14. Let them that dwell about Sion come, and remember the captivity\nof my sons and daughters, which the Eternal hath brought upon them.\n\n4:15. For he hath brought a nation upon them from afar, a wicked\nnation, and of a strange tongue:\n\n4:16. Who have neither reverenced the ancient, nor pitied children, and\nhave carried away the beloved of the widow, and have left me all alone\nwithout children.\n\n4:17. But as for me, what help can I give you?\n\n4:18. But he that hath brought the evils upon you, he will deliver you\nout of the hands of your enemies.\n\n4:19. Go your way, my children, go your way:  for I am left alone.\n\n4:20. I have put off the robe of peace, and have put upon me the\nsackcloth of supplication, and I will cry to the most High in my days.\n\n4:21. Be of good comfort, my children, cry to the Lord, and he will\ndeliver you out of the hand of the princes your enemies.\n\n4:22. For my hope is in the Eternal that he will save you:  and joy is\ncome upon me from the Holy One, because of the mercy which shall come\nto you from our everlasting Saviour.\n\n4:23. For I sent you forth with mourning and weeping:  but the Lord will\nbring you back to me with joy and gladness for ever.\n\n4:24. For as the neighbours of Sion have now seen your captivity from\nGod:  so shall they also shortly see your salvation from God, which\nshall come upon you with great honour, and everlasting glory.\n\n4:25. My children, suffer patiently the wrath that is come upon you:\nfor thy enemy hath persecuted thee, but thou shalt quickly see his\ndestruction:  and thou shalt get up upon his neck.\n\n4:26. My delicate ones have walked rough ways, for they were taken away\nas a flock made a prey by the enemies.\n\n4:27. Be of good comfort, my children, and cry to the Lord:  for you\nshall be remembered by him that hath led you away.\n\n4:28. For as it was your mind to go astray from God; so when you return\nagain you shall seek him ten times as much.\n\n4:29. For he that hath brought evils upon you, shall bring you\neverlasting joy again with your salvation.\n\n4:30. Be of good heart, O Jerusalem:  for he exhorteth thee, that named\nthee.\n\n4:31. The wicked that have afflicted thee, shall perish:  and they that\nhave rejoiced at thy ruin, shall be punished.\n\n4:32. The cities which thy children have served, shall be punished:  and\nshe that received thy sons.\n\nShe that received, etc. . .viz., Babylon.\n\n4:33. For as she rejoiced at thy ruin, and was glad of thy fall:  so\nshall she be grieved for her own desolation.\n\n4:34. And the joy of her multitude shall be cut off:  and her gladness\nshall be turned to mourning.\n\n4:35. For fire shall come upon her from the Eternal, long to endure,\nand she shall be inhabited by devils for a great time.\n\n4:36. Look about thee, O Jerusalem, towards the east, and behold the\njoy that cometh to thee from God.\n\n4:37. For behold thy children come, whom thou sentest away scattered,\nthey come gathered together from the east even to the west, at the word\nof the Holy One rejoicing for the honour of God.\n\n\n\nBaruch Chapter 5\n\n\nJerusalem is invited to rejoice and behold the return of her children\nout of their captivity.\n\n5:1. Put off, O Jerusalem, the garment of thy mourning, and affliction:\nand put on the beauty, and honour of that everlasting glory which thou\nhast from God.\n\n5:2. God will clothe thee with the double garment of justice, and will\nset a crown on thy head of everlasting honour.\n\n5:3. For God will shew his brightness in thee, to every one under\nheaven.\n\n5:4. For thy name shall be named to thee by God for ever:  the peace of\njustice, and honour of piety.\n\n5:5. Arise, O Jerusalem, and stand on high:  and look about towards the\neast, and behold thy children gathered together from the rising to the\nsetting sun, by the word of the Holy One rejoicing in the remembrance\nof God.\n\n5:6. For they went out from thee on foot, led by the enemies:  but the\nLord will bring them to thee exalted with honour as children of the\nkingdom.\n\n5:7. For God hath appointed to bring down every high mountain, and the\neverlasting rocks, and to fill up the valleys to make them even with\nthe ground:  that Israel may walk diligently to the honour of God.\n\n5:8. Moreover the woods, and every sweetsmelling tree have overshadowed\nIsrael by the commandment of God.\n\n5:9. For God will bring Israel with joy in the light of his majesty,\nwith mercy, and justice, that cometh from him.\n\n\n\nBaruch Chapter 6\n\n\nThe epistle of Jeremias to the captives, as a preservative against\nidolatry.\n\nA copy of the epistle that Jeremias sent to them that were to be led\naway captives into Babylon, by the king of Babylon, to declare to them\naccording to what was commanded him by God.\n\n6:1. For the sins that you have committed before God, you shall be\ncarried away captives into Babylon by Nabuchodonosor the king of\nBabylon.\n\n6:2. And when you are come into Babylon, you shall be there many years,\nand for a long time, even to seven generations:  and after that I will\nbring you away from thence with peace.\n\nSeven generations. . .That is, seventy years.\n\n6:3. But now, you shall see in Babylon gods of gold, and of silver, and\nof stone, and of wood borne upon shoulders, causing fear to the\nGentiles.\n\n6:4. Beware therefore that you imitate not the doings of others, and be\nafraid, and the fear of them should seize upon you.\n\n6:5. But when you see the multitude behind, and before, adoring them,\nsay you in your hearts:  Thou oughtest to be adored, O Lord.\n\n6:6. For my angel is with you:  And I myself will demand an account of\nyour souls.\n\n6:7. For their tongue that is polished by the craftsman, and themselves\nlaid over with gold and silver, are false things, and they cannot\nspeak.\n\n6:8. And as if it were for a maiden that loveth to go gay:  so do they\ntake gold and make them up.\n\n6:9. Their gods have golden crowns upon their heads:  whereof the\npriests secretly convey away from them gold, and silver, and bestow it\non themselves.\n\n6:10. Yea and they give thereof to prostitutes, and they dress out\nharlots:  and again when they receive it of the harlots, they adorn\ntheir gods.\n\n6:11. And these gods cannot defend themselves from the rust, and the\nmoth.\n\n6:12. But when they have covered them with a purple garment, they wipe\ntheir face because of the dust of the house, which is very much among\nthem.\n\n6:13. This holdeth a sceptre as a man, as a judge of the country, but\ncannot put to death one that offendeth him.\n\n6:14. And this hath in his hand a sword, or an axe, but cannot save\nhimself from war, or from robbers, whereby be it known to you, that\nthey are not gods.\n\n6:15. Therefore fear them not.  For as a vessel that a man uses when it\nis broken becometh useless, even so are their gods:\n\n6:16. When they are placed in the house, their eyes are full of dust by\nthe feet of them that go in.\n\n6:17. And as the gates are made sure on every side upon one that hath\noffended the king, or like a dead man carried to the grave, so do the\npriests secure the doors with bars and locks, lest they be stripped by\nthieves.\n\n6:18. They light candles to them, and in great number, of which they\ncannot see one:  but they are like beams in the house.\n\n6:19. And they say that the creeping things which are of the earth,\ngnaw their hearts, while they eat them and their garments, and they\nfeel it not.\n\n6:20. Their faces are black with the smoke that is made in the house.\n\n6:21. Owls, and swallows, and other birds fly upon their bodies, and\nupon their heads, and cats in like manner.\n\n6:22. Whereby you may know that they are no gods.  Therefore fear them\nnot.\n\n6:23. The gold also which they have, is for shew, but except a man wipe\noff the rust, they will not shine:  for neither when they were molten,\ndid they feel it.\n\n6:24. Men buy them at a high price, whereas there is no breath in them.\n\n6:25. And having not the use of feet they are carried upon shoulders,\ndeclaring to men how vile they are.  Be they confounded also that\nworship them.\n\n6:26. Therefore if they fall to the ground, they rise not up again of\nthemselves, nor if a man set them upright, will they stand by\nthemselves, but their gifts shall be set before them, as to the dead.\n\n6:27. The things that are sacrificed to them, their priests sell and\nabuse:  in like manner also their wives take part of them, but give\nnothing of it either to the sick, or to the poor.\n\n6:28. The childbearing and menstruous women touch their sacrifices:\nknowing, therefore, by these things that they are not gods, fear them\nnot.\n\n6:29. For how can they be called gods?  because women set offerings\nbefore the gods of silver, and of gold, and of wood:\n\n6:30. And priests sit in their temples, having their garments rent, and\ntheir heads and beards shaven, and nothing upon their heads.\n\n6:31. And they roar and cry before their gods, as men do at the feast\nwhen one is dead.\n\n6:32. The priests take away their garments, and clothe their wives and\ntheir children.\n\n6:33. And whether it be evil that one doth unto them, or good, they are\nnot able to recompense it:  neither can they set up a king, nor put him\ndown:\n\n6:34. In like manner they can neither give riches, nor requite evil.  If\na man make a vow to them, and perform it not:  they cannot require it.\n\n6:35. They cannot deliver a man from death, nor save the weak from the\nmighty.\n\n6:36. They cannot restore the blind man to his sight:  nor deliver a man\nfrom distress.\n\n36:7. They shall not pity the widow, nor do good to the fatherless.\n\n6:38. Their gods, of wood, and of stone, and of gold, and of silver,\nare like the stones that are hewn out of the mountains:  and they that\nworship them shall be confounded.\n\n6:39. How then is it to be supposed, or to be said, that they are gods?\n\n6:40. Even the Chaldeans themselves dishonor them:  who when they here\nof one dumb that cannot speak, they present him to Bel, entreating him,\nthat he may speak.\n\n6:41. As though they could be sensible that have no motion themselves:\nand they, when they shall perceive this, will leave them:  for their\ngods themselves have no sense.\n\n6:42. The women also, with cords about them, sit in the ways, burning\nolive-stones.\n\n6:43. And when any one of them, drawn away by some passenger, lieth\nwith him, she upbraideth her neighbor, that she was not thought as\nworthy as herself, nor her cord broken.\n\n6:44. But all things that are done about them, are false:  how is it\nthen to be thought, or to be said, that they are gods?\n\n6:45. And they are made by workmen, and by goldsmiths.  They shall be\nnothing else but what the priests will have them to be.\n\n6:46. For the artificers themselves that make them, are of no long\ncontinuance.  Can those things then that are made by them, be gods?\n\n6:47. But they have left false things and reproach to them that come\nafter.\n\n6:48. For when war cometh upon them , or evils:  the priests consult\nwith themselves, where they may hide themselves with them.\n\n6:49. How then can they be thought to be gods, that can neither deliver\nthemselves from war, nor save themselves from evils?\n\n6:50. For seeing they are but of wood, and laid over with gold, and\nwith silver, it shall be known hereafter that they are false things, by\nall nations, and kings:  and it shall be manifest that they are no gods,\nbut the work of men's hands, and that there is no work of God in them.\n\n6:51. Whence, therefore, is it known that they are not gods, but the\nwork of men's hands, and no work of God is in them?\n\n6:52. They cannot set up a king over the land, nor give rain to men.\n\n6:53. They determine no causes, nor deliver countries from oppression:\nbecause they can do nothing, and are as daws between heaven and earth.\n\n6:54. For when fire shall fall upon the house of these gods of wood,\nand of silver, and of gold, their priests indeed will flee away, and be\nsaved:  but they themselves shall be burnt in the midst like beams.\n\n6:55. And they cannot withstand a king and war.  How then can it be\nsupposed, or admitted, that they are gods?\n\n6:56. Neither are these gods of wood, and of stone, and laid over with\ngold, and with silver, able to deliver themselves from thieves or\nrobbers:  they that are stronger than them,\n\nThey that are stronger than them. . .That is, robbers and thieves are\nstronger than these idols, being things without life or motion.\n\n6:57. Shall take from them the gold, and silver, and the raiment\nwherewith they are clothed, and shall go their way, neither shall they\nhelp themselves.\n\n6:58. Therefore it is better to be a king that sheweth his power:  or\nelse a profitable vessel in the house, with which the owner thereof\nwill be well satisfied:  or a door in the house, to keep things safe\nthat are therein, than such false gods.\n\n6:59. The sun, and the moon, and the stars being bright, and sent forth\nfor profitable uses, are obedient.\n\n6:60. In like manner the lightning, when it breaketh forth, is easy to\nbe seen:  and after the same manner the wind bloweth in every country.\n\n6:61. And the clouds, when God commandeth them to go over the whole\nworld, do that which is commanded them.\n\n6:62. The fire also being sent from above to consume mountains, and\nwoods, doth as it is commanded.  But these neither in shew, nor in\npower, are alike to any one of them.\n\n6:63. Wherefore it is neither to be thought, nor to be said, that they\nare gods:  since they are neither able to judge causes, nor to do any\ngood to men.\n\n6:64. Knowing, therefore, that they are not gods, fear them not.\n\n6:65. For neither can they curse kings, nor bless them.\n\n6:66. Neither do they shew signs in the heaven to the nations, nor\nshine as the sun, nor give light as the moon.\n\n6:67. Beasts are better than they, which can fly under a covert, and\nhelp themselves.\n\n6:68. Therefore there is no manner of appearance that they are gods:  so\nfear them not.\n\n6:69. For as a scarecrow in a garden of cucumbers keepeth nothing, so\nare their gods of wood, and of silver, and laid over with gold.\n\n6:70. They are no better than a white thorn in a garden, upon which\nevery bird sitteth.  In like manner also their gods of wood, and laid\nover with gold, and with silver, are like to a dead body cast forth in\nthe dark.\n\n6:71. By the purple also and the scarlet which are motheaten upon them,\nyou shall know that they are not gods.  And they themselves at last are\nconsumed, and shall be a reproach in the country.\n\n6:72. Better, therefore, is the just man that hath no idols:  for he\nshall be far from reproach.\n\n\n\n\nTHE PROPHECY OF EZECHIEL\n\n\n\nEZECHIEL, whose name signifies the STRENGTH OF GOD, was of the priestly\nrace; and of the number of captives that were carried away to Babylon\nwith king JOACHIN.  He was contemporary with JEREMIAS, and prophesied to\nthe same effect in Babylon, as JEREMIAS did in Jerusalem; and is said\nto have ended his days in like manner, by martyrdom.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 1\n\n\nThe time of Ezechiel's prophecy:  he sees a glorious vision.\n\n1:1. Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on\nthe fifth day of the month, when I was in the midst of the captives by\nthe river Chobar, the heavens were opened, and I saw the visions of\nGod.\n\nThe thirtieth year. . .Either of the age of Ezechiel; or, as others will\nhave it, from the solemn covenant made in the eighteenth year of the\nreign of Josias.  4 Kings 23.\n\n1:2. On the fifth day of the month, the same was the fifth year of the\ncaptivity of king Joachin,\n\n1:3. The word of the Lord came to Ezechiel the priest the son of Buzi\nin the land of the Chaldeans, by the river Chobar:  and the hand of the\nLord was there upon him.\n\n1:4. And I saw, and behold a whirlwind came out of the north:  and a\ngreat cloud, and a fire infolding it, and brightness was about it:  and\nout of the midst thereof, that is, out of the midst of the fire, as it\nwere the resemblance of amber:\n\n1:5. And in the midst thereof the likeness of four living creatures:\nand this was their appearance:  there was the likeness of a man in them.\n\nLiving creatures. . .Cherubims (as appears from Ecclesiasticus 49.10)\nrepresented to the prophet under these mysterious shapes, as supporting\nthe throne of God, and as it were drawing his chariot.  All this chapter\nappeared so obscure, and so full of mysteries to the ancient Hebrews,\nthat, as we learn from St. Jerome, (Ep. ad Paulin.,) they suffered none\nto read it before they were thirty years old.\n\n1:6. Every one had four faces, and every one four wings.\n\n1:7. Their feet were straight feet, and the sole of their foot was like\nthe sole of a calf's foot, and they sparkled like the appearance of\nglowing brass.\n\n1:8. And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four\nsides:  and they had faces, and wings on the four sides,\n\n1:9. And the wings of one were joined to the wings of another.  They\nturned not when they went:  but every one went straight forward.\n\n1:10. And as for the likeness of their faces:  there was the face of a\nman, and the face of a lion on the right side of all the four:  and the\nface of an ox, on the left side of all the four:  and the face of an\neagle over all the four.\n\n1:11. And their faces, and their wings were stretched upward:  two wings\nof every one were joined, and two covered their bodies:\n\n1:12. And every one of them went straight forward:  whither the impulse\nof the spirit was to go, thither they went:  and they turned not when\nthey went.\n\n1:13. And as for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance\nwas like that of burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of\nlamps.  This was the vision running to and fro in the midst of the\nliving creatures, a bright fire, and lightning going forth from the\nfire.\n\n1:14. And the living creatures ran and returned like flashes of\nlightning.\n\n1:15. Now as I beheld the living creatures, there appeared upon the\nearth by the living creatures one wheel with four faces.\n\n1:16. And the appearance of the wheels, and the work of them was like\nthe appearance of the sea:  and the four had all one likeness:  and their\nappearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the midst of a\nwheel.\n\n1:17. When they went, they went by their four parts:  and they turned\nnot when they went.\n\nWhen they went, they went by their four parts. . .That is, indifferently\nto any of their sides either forward or backward:  to the right or to\nthe left.\n\n1:18. The wheels had also a size, and a height, and a dreadful\nappearance:  and the whole body was full of eyes round about all the\nfour.\n\n1:19. And, when the living creatures went, the wheels also went\ntogether by them:  and when the living creatures were lifted up from the\nearth, the wheels also were lifted up with them.\n\n1:20. Withersoever the spirit went, thither as the spirit went the\nwheels also were lifted up withal, and followed it:  for the spirit of\nlife was in the wheels.\n\n1:21. When those went these went, and when those stood these stood, and\nwhen those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up\ntogether, and followed them:  for the spirit of life was in the wheels.\n\n1:22. And over the heads of the living creatures was the likeness of\nthe firmament, the appearance of crystal terrible to behold, and\nstretched out over their heads above.\n\n1:23. And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward\nthe other, every one with two wings covered his body, and the other was\ncovered in like manner.\n\n1:24. And I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of many\nwaters, as it were the voice of the most high God:  when they walked, it\nwas like the voice of a multitude, like the noise of an army, and when\nthey stood, their wings were let down.\n\n1:25. For when a voice came from above the firmament, that was over\ntheir heads, they stood, and let down their wings.\n\n1:26. And above the firmament that was over their heads, was the\nlikeness of a throne, as the appearance of the sapphire stone, and upon\nthe likeness of the throne, was the likeness of the appearance of a man\nabove upon it.\n\n1:27. And I saw as it were the resemblance of amber as the appearance\nof fire within it round about:  from his loins and upward, and from his\nloins downward, I saw as it were the resemblance of fire shining round\nabout.\n\n1:28. As the appearance of the rainbow when it is in a cloud on a rainy\nday:  this was the appearance of the brightness round about.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 2\n\n\nThe prophet receives his commission.\n\n2:1. This was the vision of the likeness of the glory of the Lord, and\nI saw, and I fell upon my face, and I heard the voice of one that\nspoke, and he said to me:  Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will\nspeak to thee.\n\n2:2. And the spirit entered into me after that he spoke to me, and he\nset me upon my feet:  and I heard him speaking to me,\n\n2:3. And saying:  Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to\na rebellious people, that hath revolted from me, they, and their\nfathers, have transgressed my covenant even unto this day.\n\n2:4. And they to whom I send thee are children of a hard face, and of\nan obstinate heart:  and thou shalt say to them:  Thus saith the Lord\nGod:\n\n2:5. If so be they at least will hear, and if so be they will forbear,\nfor they are a provoking house:  and they shall know that there hath\nbeen a prophet in the midst of them.\n\n2:6. And thou, O son of man, fear not, neither be thou afraid of their\nwords:  for thou art among unbelievers and destroyers, and thou dwellest\nwith scorpions.  Fear not their words, neither be thou dismayed at their\nlooks:  for they are a provoking house.\n\n2:7. And thou shalt speak my words to them, if perhaps they will hear,\nand forbear:  for they provoke me to anger.\n\n2:8. But thou, O son of man, hear all that I say to thee:  and do not\nthou provoke me, as that house provoketh me:  open thy mouth, and eat\nwhat I give thee.\n\n2:9. And I looked, and behold, a hand was sent to me, wherein was a\nbook rolled up:  and he spread it before me, and it was written within\nand without:  and there were written in it lamentations, and canticles,\nand woe.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 3\n\n\nThe prophet eats the book, and receives further instructions:  the\noffice of a watchman.\n\n3:1. And he said to me:  Son of man, eat all that thou shalt find:  eat\nthis book, and go speak to the children of Israel.\n\nEat this book, and go speak to the children of Israel. . .By this eating\nof the book was signified the diligent attention and affection with\nwhich we are to receive, and embrace the word of God; and to let it, as\nit were, sink into our interior by devout meditation.\n\n3:2. And I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that book:\n\n3:3. And he said to me:  Son of man, thy belly shall eat, and thy bowels\nshall be filled with this book, which I give thee, and I did eat it:\nand it was sweet as honey in my mouth.\n\n3:4. And he said to me:  Son of man, go to the house of Israel, and thou\nshalt speak my words to them.\n\n3:5. For thou art not sent to a people of a profound speech, and of an\nunknown tongue, but to the house of Israel:\n\n3:6. Nor to many nations of a strange speech, and of an unknown tongue,\nwhose words thou canst not understand:  and if thou wert sent to them,\nthey would hearken to thee.\n\n3:7. But the house of Israel will not hearken to thee:  because they\nwill not hearken to me:  for all the house of Israel are of a hard\nforehead and an obstinate heart.\n\n3:8. Behold I have made thy face stronger than their faces:  and thy\nforehead harder than their foreheads.\n\n3:9. I have made thy face like an adamant and like flint:  fear them\nnot, neither be thou dismayed at their presence:  for they are a\nprovoking house.\n\n3:10. And he said to me:  Son of man, receive in thy heart, and hear\nwith thy ears, all the words that I speak to thee:\n\n3:11. And go get thee in to them of the captivity, to the children of\nthy people, and thou shalt speak to them, and shalt say to them:  Thus\nsaith the Lord:  If so be they will hear, and will forbear.\n\n3:12. And the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me the voice of a\ngreat commotion, saying:  Blessed be the glory of the Lord, from his\nplace.\n\n3:13. The noise of the wings of the living creatures striking one\nagainst another, and the noise of the wheels following the living\ncreatures, and the noise of a great commotion.\n\n3:14. The spirit also lifted me, and took me up:  and I went away in\nbitterness in the indignation of my spirit:  for the hand of the Lord\nwas with me, strengthening me.\n\n3:15. And I came to them of the captivity, to the heap of new corn, to\nthem that dwelt by the river Chobar, and I sat where they sat:  and I\nremained there seven days mourning in the midst of them.\n\nThe heap of new corn. . .It was the name of a place:  in Hebrew, tel\nabib.\n\n3:16. And at the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me,\nsaying:\n\n3:17. Son of man, I have made thee a watchman to the house of Israel:\nand thou shalt hear the word out of my mouth, and shalt tell it them\nfrom me.\n\n3:18. If, when I say to the wicked, Thou shalt surely die:  thou declare\nit not to him, nor speak to him, that he may be converted from his\nwicked way, and live:  the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity,\nbut I will require his blood at thy hand.\n\n3:19. But if thou give warning to the wicked, and he be not converted\nfrom his wickedness, and from his evil way:  he indeed shall die in his\niniquity, but thou hast delivered thy soul.\n\n3:20. Moreover if the just man shall turn away from his justice, and\nshall commit iniquity:  I will lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall\ndie, because thou hast not given him warning:  he shall die in his sin,\nand his justices which he hath done, shall not be remembered:  but I\nwill require his blood at thy hand.\n\n3:21. But if thou warn the just man, that the just may not sin, and he\ndoth not sin:  living he shall live, because thou hast warned him, and\nthou hast delivered thy soul.\n\n3:22. And the hand of the Lord was upon me, and he said to me:  Rise and\ngo forth into the plain, and there I will speak to thee.\n\n3:23. And I rose up, and went forth into the plain:  and behold the\nglory of the Lord stood there, like the glory which I saw by the river\nChobar:  and I fell upon my face.\n\n3:24. And the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet:  and he\nspoke to me, and said to me:  Go in; and shut thyself up in the midst of\nthy house.\n\n3:25. And thou, O son of man, behold they shall put bands upon thee,\nand they shall bind thee with them:  and thou shalt not go forth from\nthe midst of them.\n\n3:26. And I will make thy tongue stick fast to the roof of thy mouth,\nand thou shalt be dumb, and not as a man that reproveth:  because they\nare a provoking house.\n\n3:27. But when I shall speak to thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou\nshalt say to them:  Thus saith the Lord God:  He that heareth, let him\nhear:  and he that forbeareth, let him forbear:  for they are a provoking\nhouse.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 4\n\n\nA prophetic description of the siege of Jerusalem, and the famine that\nshall reign there.\n\n4:1. And thou, O son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee:\nand draw upon it the plan of the city of Jerusalem.\n\n4:2. And lay siege against it, and build forts, and cast up a mount,\nand set a camp against it, and place battering rams round about it.\n\n4:3. And take unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron\nbetween thee and the city:  and set thy face resolutely against it, and\nit shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it:  it is a sign\nto the house of Israel.\n\n4:4. And thou shalt sleep upon thy left side, and shalt lay the\niniquities of the house of Israel upon it, according to the number of\nthe days that thou shalt sleep upon it, and thou shalt take upon thee\ntheir iniquity.\n\n4:5. And I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according\nto the number of the days three hundred and ninety days:  and thou shalt\nbear the iniquity of the house of Israel.\n\n4:6. And when thou hast accomplished this, thou shalt sleep again upon\nthy right side, and thou shalt take upon thee the iniquity of the house\nof Juda forty days:  a day for a year, yea, a day for a year I have\nappointed to thee.\n\n4:7. And thou shalt turn thy face to the siege of Jerusalem and thy arm\nshall be stretched out:  and thou shalt prophesy against it.\n\n4:8. Behold I have encompassed thee with bands:  and thou shalt not turn\nthyself from one side to the other, till thou hast ended the days of\nthy siege.\n\n4:9. And take to thee wheat and barley, and beans, and lentils, and\nmillet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread\nthereof according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon\nthy side:  three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof.\n\n4:10. And thy meat that thou shalt eat, shall be in weight twenty\nstaters a day:  from time to time thou shalt eat it.\n\n4:11. And thou shalt drink water by measure, the sixth part of a hin:\nfrom time to time thou shalt drink it,\n\nHin. . .That is, a measure of liquids containing about ten pints.\n\n4:12. And thou shalt eat it as barley bread baked under the ashes:  and\nthou shalt cover it, in their sight, with the dung that cometh out of a\nman.\n\n4:13. And the Lord said:  So shall the children of Israel eat their\nbread all filthy among the nations whither I will cast them out.\n\n4:14. And I said:  Ah, ah, ah, O Lord God, behold my soul hath not been\ndefiled, and from my infancy even till now, I have not eaten any thing\nthat died of itself, or was torn by beasts, and no unclean flesh hath\nentered into my mouth.\n\n4:15. And he said to me:  Behold I have given thee neat's dung for man's\ndung, and thou shalt make thy bread therewith.\n\n4:16. And he said to me:  Son of man:  Behold, I will break in pieces the\nstaff of bread in Jerusalem:  and they shall eat bread by weight, and\nwith care:  and they shall drink water by measure, and in distress.\n\n4:17. So that when bread and water fail, every man may fall against his\nbrother, and they may pine away in their iniquities.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 5\n\n\nThe judgments of God upon the Jews are foreshewn under the type of the\nprophet's hair.\n\n5:1. And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife that shaveth the\nhair:  and cause it to pass over thy head, and over thy beard:  and take\nthee a balance to weigh in, and divide the hair.\n\n5:2. A third part thou shalt burn with fire in the midst of the city,\naccording to the fulfilling of the days of the siege:  and thou shalt\ntake a third part, and cut it in pieces with the knife all round about:\nand the other third part thou shalt scatter in the wind, and I will\ndraw out the sword after them.\n\n5:3. And thou shalt take thereof a small number:  and shalt bind them in\nthe skirt of thy cloak.\n\n5:4. And thou shalt take of them again, and shalt cast them in the\nmidst of the fire, and shalt burn them with fire:  and out of it shall\ncome forth a fire into all the house of Israel.\n\n5:5. Thus saith the Lord God:  This is Jerusalem, I have set her in the\nmidst of the nations, and the countries round about her.\n\n5:6. And she hath despised my judgments, so as to be more wicked than\nthe Gentiles; and my commandments, more than the countries that are\nround about her:  for they have cast off my judgments, and have not\nwalked in my commandments.\n\n5:7. Therefore thus saith the Lord God:  Because you have surpassed the\nGentiles that are round about you, and have not walked in my\ncommandments, and have not kept my judgments, and have not done\naccording to the judgments of the nations that are round about you:\n\n5:8. Therefore thus saith the Lord God:  Behold I come against thee, and\nI myself will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of\nthe Gentiles.\n\n5:9. And I will do in thee that which I have not done:  and the like to\nwhich I will do no more, because of all thy abominations.\n\n5:10. Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee,\nand the sons shall eat their fathers:  and I will execute judgments in\nthee, and I will scatter thy whole remnant into every wind.\n\n5:11. Therefore as I live, saith the Lord God:  Because thou hast\nviolated my sanctuary with all thy offences, and with all thy\nabominations:  I will also break thee in pieces, and my eye shall not\nspare, and I will not have any pity.\n\n5:12. A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and shall be\nconsumed with famine in the midst of thee:  and a third part of thee\nshall fall by the sword round about thee:  and a third part of thee will\nI scatter into every wind, and I will draw out a sword after them.\n\n5:13. And I will accomplish my fury, and will cause my indignation to\nrest upon them, and I will be comforted:  and they shall know that I the\nLord have spoken it in my zeal, when I shall have accomplished my\nindignation in them.\n\n5:14. And I will make thee desolate, and a reproach among the nations\nthat are round about thee, in the sight of every one that passeth by.\n\n5:15. And thou shalt be a reproach, and a scoff, an example, and an\nastonishment amongst the nations that are round about thee, when I\nshall have executed judgments in thee in anger, and in indignation, and\nin wrathful rebukes.\n\n5:16. I the Lord have spoken it:  When I shall send upon them the\ngrievous arrows of famine, which shall bring death, and which I will\nsend to destroy you:  and I will gather together famine against you:  and\nI will break among you the staff of bread.\n\n5:17. And I will send in upon you famine, and evil beasts unto utter\ndestruction:  and pestilence, and blood shall pass through thee, and I\nwill bring in the sword upon thee.  I the Lord have spoken it.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 6\n\n\nThe punishment of Israel for their idolatry:  a remnant shall be saved.\n\n6:1. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n6:2. Son of man set thy face towards the mountains of Israel, and\nprophesy against them.\n\n6:3. And say:  Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God:\nThus saith the Lord God to the mountains, and to the hills, and to the\nrocks, and the valleys:  Behold, I will bring upon you the sword, and I\nwill destroy your high places.\n\n6:4. And I will throw down your altars, and your idols shall be broken\nin pieces:  and I will cast down your slain before your idols.\n\n6:5. And I will lay the dead carcasses of the children of Israel before\nyour idols:  and I will scatter your bones round about your altars,\n\n6:6. In all your dwelling places.  The cities shall be laid waste, and\nthe high places shall be thrown down, and destroyed, and your altars\nshall be abolished, and shall be broken in pieces:  and your idols shall\nbe no more, and your temples shall be destroyed, and your works shall\nbe defaced.\n\n6:7. And the slain shall fall in the midst of you:  and you shall know\nthat I am the Lord.\n\n6:8. And I will leave in you some that shall escape the sword among the\nnations, when I shall have scattered you through the countries.\n\n6:9. And they that are saved of you shall remember me amongst the\nnations, to which they are carried captives:  because I have broken\ntheir heart that was faithless, and revolted from me:  and their eyes\nthat went a fornicating after their idols:  and they shall be displeased\nwith themselves because of the evils which they have committed in all\ntheir abominations.\n\n6:10. And they shall know that I the Lord have not spoken in vain that\nI would do this evil to them.\n\n6:11. Thus saith the Lord God:  Strike with thy hand and stamp with thy\nfoot, and say:  Alas, for all the abominations of the evils of the house\nof Israel:  for they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the\npestilence.\n\n6:12. He that is far off shall die of the pestilence:  and he that is\nnear, shall fall by the sword:  and he that remaineth, and is besieged,\nshall die by the famine:  and I will accomplish my indignation upon\nthem.\n\n6:13. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when your slain shall be\namongst your idols, round about your altars, in every high hill, and on\nall the tops of mountains, and under every woody tree, and under every\nthick oak, the place where they burnt sweet smelling frankincense to\nall their idols.\n\n6:14. And I will stretch forth my hand upon them:  and I will make the\nland desolate, and abandoned from the desert of Deblatha in all their\ndwelling places:  and they shall know that I am the Lord.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 7\n\n\nThe final desolation of Israel:  from which few shall escape.\n\n7:1. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n7:2. And thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God to the land of\nIsrael:  The end is come, the end is come upon the four quarters of the\nland.\n\n7:3. Now is an end come upon thee, and I will send my wrath upon thee,\nand I will judge thee according to thy ways:  and I will set all thy\nabominations against thee.\n\n7:4. And my eye shall not spare thee, and I will shew thee no pity:  but\nI will lay thy ways upon thee, and thy abominations shall be in the\nmidst of thee:  and you shall know that I am the Lord.\n\n7:5. Thus saith the Lord God:  One affliction, behold an affliction is\ncome.\n\n7:6. An end is come, the end is come, it hath awaked against thee:\nbehold it is come.\n\n7:7. Destruction is come upon thee that dwellest in the land:  the time\nis come, the day of slaughter is near, and not of the joy of mountains.\n\n7:8. Now very shortly I will pour out my wrath upon thee, and I will\naccomplish my anger in thee:  and I will judge thee according to thy\nways, and I will lay upon thee all thy crimes.\n\n7:9. And my eye shall not spare, neither will I shew mercy:  but I will\nlay thy ways upon thee, and thy abominations shall be in the midst of\nthee:  and you shall know that I am the Lord that strike.\n\n7:10. Behold the day, behold it is come:  destruction is gone forth, the\nrod hath blossomed, pride hath budded.\n\n7:11. Iniquity is risen up into a rod of impiety:  nothing of them shall\nremain, nor of their people, nor of the noise of them:  and there shall\nbe no rest among them.\n\n7:12. The time is come, the day is at hand:  let not the buyer rejoice:\nnor the seller mourn:  for wrath is upon all the people thereof.\n\n7:13. For the seller shall not return to that which he hath sold,\nalthough their life be yet among the living.  For the vision which\nregardeth all the multitude thereof, shall not go back:  neither shall\nman be strengthened in the iniquity of his life.\n\n7:14. Blow the trumpet, let all be made ready, yet there is none to go\nto the battle:  for my wrath shall be upon all the people thereof.\n\n7:15. The sword without:  and the pestilence, and the famine within:  he\nthat is in the field shall die by the sword:  and they that are in the\ncity, shall be devoured by the pestilence, and the famine.\n\n7:16. And such of them as shall flee shall escape:  and they shall be in\nthe mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them trembling, every\none for his iniquity.\n\n7:17. All hands shall be made feeble, and all knees shall run with\nwater.\n\n7:18. And they shall gird themselves with haircloth, and fear shall\ncover them and shame shall be upon every face, and baldness upon all\ntheir heads.\n\n7:19. Their silver shall be cast forth, and their gold shall become a\ndunghill.  Their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them\nin the day of the wrath of the Lord.  They shall not satisfy their soul,\nand their bellies shall not be filled:  because it hath been the\nstumblingblock of their iniquity.\n\n7:20. And they have turned the ornament of their jewels into pride, and\nhave made of it the images of their abominations, and idols:  therefore\nI have made it an uncleanness to them.\n\n7:21. And I will give it into the hands of strangers for spoil, and to\nthe wicked of the earth for a prey, and they shall defile it.\n\n7:22. And I will turn away my face from them, and they shall violate my\nsecret place:  and robbers shall enter into it, and defile it.\n\nSecret place, etc. . .Viz., the inward sanctuary, the holy of holies.\n\n7:23. Make a shutting up:  for the land is full of the judgment of\nblood, and the city is full of iniquity.\n\nMake a shutting up. . .In Hebrew, a chain, viz., for imprisonment and\ncaptivity.\n\n7:24. And I will bring the worst of the nations, and they shall possess\ntheir houses:  and I will make the pride of the mighty to cease, and\nthey shall possess their sanctuary.\n\n7:25. When distress cometh upon them, they will seek for peace and\nthere shall be none.\n\n7:26. Trouble shall come upon trouble, and rumour upon rumour, and they\nshall seek a vision of the prophet, and the law shall perish from the\npriest, and counsel from the ancients.\n\n7:27. The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with\nsorrow, and the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled.  I\nwill do to them according to their way, and will judge them according\nto their judgments:  and they shall know that I am the Lord.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 8\n\n\nThe prophet sees in a vision the abominations committed in Jerusalem;\nwhich determine the Lord to spare them no longer.\n\n8:1. And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the\nfifth day of the month, as I sat in my house, and the ancients of Juda\nsat before me, that the hand of the Lord God fell there upon me.\n\n8:2. And I saw, and behold a likeness as the appearance of fire:  from\nthe appearance of his loins, and downward, fire:  and from his loins,\nand upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the appearance of\namber.\n\n8:3. And the likeness of a hand was put forth and took me by a lock of\nmy head:  and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven,\nand brought me in the vision of God into Jerusalem, near the inner\ngate, that looked toward the north, where was set the idol of jealousy\nto provoke to jealousy.\n\n8:4. And behold the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to\nthe vision which I had seen in the plain.\n\n8:5. And he said to me:  Son of man, lift up thy eyes towards the way of\nthe north, and I lifted up my eyes towards the way of the north:  and\nbehold on the north side of the gate of the altar the idol of jealousy\nin the very entry.\n\n8:6. And he said to me:  Son of man, dost thou see, thinkest thou, what\nthese are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel\ncommitteth here, that I should depart far off from my sanctuary?  and\nturn thee yet again and thou shalt see greater abominations.\n\n8:7. And he brought me in to the door of the court:  and I saw, and\nbehold a hole in the wall.\n\n8:8. And he said to me:  Son of man, dig in the wall, and when I had\ndigged in the wall, behold a door.\n\n8:9. And he said to me:  Go in, and see the wicked abominations which\nthey commit here.\n\n8:10. And I went in and saw, and behold every form of creeping things,\nand of living creatures, the abominations, and all the idols of the\nhouse of Israel, were painted on the wall all round about.\n\n8:11. And seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and\nJezonias the son of Saaphan stood in the midst of them, that stood\nbefore the pictures:  and every one had a censer in his hand:  and a\ncloud of smoke went up from the incense.\n\n8:12. And he said to me:  Surely thou seest, O son of man, what the\nancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every one in private in\nhis chamber:  for they say:  The Lord seeth us not, the Lord hath\nforsaken the earth.\n\n8:13. And he said to me:  If thou turn thee again, thou shalt see\ngreater abominations which these commit.\n\n8:14. And he brought me in by the door of the gate of the Lord's house,\nwhich looked to the north:  and behold women sat there mourning for\nAdonis.\n\nAdonis. . .The favourite of Venus, slain by a wild boar, as feigned by\nthe heathen poets, and which being here represented by an idol, is\nlamented by the female worshippers of that goddess.  In the Hebrew, the\nname is Tammuz.\n\n8:15. And he said to me:  Surely thou hast seen, O son of man:  but turn\nthee again, thou shalt see greater abominations than these.\n\n8:16. And he brought me into the inner court of the house of the Lord:\nand behold at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and\nthe altar, were about five and twenty men having their backs towards\nthe temple of the Lord, in their faces to the east:  and they adored\ntowards the rising of the sun.\n\n8:17. And he said to me:  Surely thou hast seen, O son of man:  is this a\nlight thing to the house of Juda, that they should commit these\nabominations which they have committed here:  because they have filled\nthe land with iniquity, and have turned to provoke me to anger?  and\nbehold they put a branch to their nose.\n\n8:18. Therefore I also will deal with them in my wrath:  my eye shall\nnot spare them, neither will I shew mercy:  and when they shall cry to\nmy ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 9\n\n\nAll are ordered to be destroyed that are not marked in their foreheads.\nGod will not be entreated for them.\n\n9:1. And he cried in my ears with a loud voice, saying:  The visitations\nof the city are at hand, and every one hath a destroying weapon in his\nhand.\n\n9:2. And behold six men came from the way of the upper gate, which\nlooketh to the north:  and each one had his weapon of destruction in his\nhand:  and there was one man in the midst of them clothed with linen,\nwith a writer's inkhorn at his reins:  and they went in, and stood by\nthe brazen altar.\n\n9:3. And the glory of the Lord of Israel went up from the cherub, upon\nwhich he was, to the threshold of the house:  and he called to the man\nthat was clothed with linen, and had a writer's inkhorn at his loins.\n\n9:4. And the Lord said to him:  Go through the midst of the city,\nthrough the midst of Jerusalem:  and mark Thau upon the foreheads of the\nmen that sigh, and mourn for all the abominations that are committed in\nthe midst thereof.\n\nMark Thau. . .Thau, or Tau, is the last letter in the Hebrew alphabet,\nand signifies a sign, or a mark; which is the reason why some\ntranslators render this place set a mark, or mark a mark without\nspecifying what this mark was.  But St. Jerome, and other interpreters,\nconclude it was the form of the letter Thau, which in the ancient\nHebrew character, was the form of a cross.\n\n9:5. And to the others he said in my hearing:  Go ye after him through\nthe city, and strike:  let not your eyes spare, nor be ye moved with\npity.\n\n9:6. Utterly destroy old and young, maidens, children and women:  but\nupon whomsoever you shall see Thau, kill him not, and begin ye at my\nsanctuary.  So they began at the ancient men who were before the house.\n\n9:7. And he said to them:  Defile the house, and fill the courts with\nthe slain:  go ye forth.  And they went forth, and slew them that were in\nthe city.\n\n9:8. And the slaughter being ended I was left; and I fell upon my face,\nand crying, I said:  Alas, alas, alas, O Lord God, wilt thou then\ndestroy all the remnant of Israel, by pouring out thy fury upon\nJerusalem?\n\n9:9. And he said to me:  The iniquity of the house of Israel, and of\nJuda, is exceeding great, and the land is filled with blood, and the\ncity is filled with perverseness:  for they have said:  The Lord hath\nforsaken the earth, and the Lord seeth not.\n\n9:10. Therefore neither shall my eye spare, nor will I have pity:  I\nwill requite their way upon their head.\n\n9:11. And behold the man that was clothed with linen, that had the\ninkhorn at his back, returned the word, saying:  I have done as thou\nhast commanded me.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 10\n\n\nFire is taken from the midst of the wheels under the cherubims, and\nscattered over the city.  A description of the cherubims.\n\n10:1. And I saw and behold in the firmament that was over the heads of\nthe cherubims, there appeared over them as it were the sapphire stone,\nas the appearance of the likeness of a throne.\n\n10:2. And he spoke to the man, that was clothed with linen, and said:\nGo in between the wheels that are under the cherubims and fill thy hand\nwith the coals of fire that are between the cherubims, and pour them\nout upon the city.  And he went in, in my sight:\n\n10:3. And the cherubims stood on the right side of the house, when the\nman went in, and a cloud filled the inner court.\n\n10:4. And the glory of the Lord was lifted up from above the cherub to\nthe threshold of the house:  and the house was filled with the cloud,\nand the court was filled with the brightness of the glory of the Lord.\n\n10:5. And the sound of the wings of the cherubims was heard even to the\noutward court as the voice of God Almighty speaking.\n\n10:6. And when he had commanded the man that was clothed with linen,\nsaying:  Take fire from the midst of the wheels that are between the\ncherubims:  he went in and stood beside the wheel.\n\n10:7. And one cherub stretched out his arm from the midst of the\ncherubims to the fire that was between the cherubims:  and he took, and\nput it into the hands of him that was clothed with linen:  who took it\nand went forth.\n\n10:8. And there appeared in the cherubims the likeness of a man's hand\nunder their wings.\n\n10:9. And I saw, and behold there were four wheels by the cherubims:\none wheel by one cherub, and another wheel by another cherub:  and the\nappearance of the wheels was to the sight like the chrysolite stone:\n\n10:10. And as to their appearance, all four were alike:  as if a wheel\nwere in the midst of a wheel.\n\n10:11. And when they went, they went by four ways:  and they turned not\nwhen they went:  but to the place whither they first turned, the rest\nalso followed, and did not turn back.\n\nBy four ways. . .That is, by any of the four ways, forward, backward, to\nthe right or to the left.\n\n10:12. And their whole body, and their necks, and their hands, and\ntheir wings, and the circles were full of eyes, round about the four\nwheels.\n\n10:13. And these wheels he called voluble, in my hearing.\n\nVoluble. . .That is, rolling wheels, galgal.\n\n10:14. And every one had four faces:  one face was the face of a cherub,\nand the second face, the face of a man:  and in the third was the face\nof a lion:  and in the fourth the face of an eagle.\n\n10:15. And the cherubims were lifted up:  this is the living creature\nthat I had seen by the river Chobar.\n\n10:16. And when the cherubims went, the wheels also went by them:  and\nwhen the cherubims lifted up their wings, to mount up from the earth,\nthe wheels stayed not behind, but were by them.\n\n10:17. When they stood, these stood:  and when they were lifted up,\nthese were lifted up:  for the spirit of life was in them.\n\n10:18. And the glory of the Lord went forth from the threshold of the\ntemple:  and stood over the cherubims.\n\n10:19. And the cherubims lifting up their wings, were raised from the\nearth before me:  and as they went out, the wheels also followed:  and it\nstood in the entry of the east gate of the house of the Lord:  and the\nglory of the God of Israel was over them.\n\n10:20. This is the living creature, which I saw under the God of Israel\nby the river Chobar:  and I understood that they were cherubims.\n\n10:21. Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings:  and the\nlikeness of a man's hand was under their wings.\n\n10:22. And as to the likeness of their faces, they were the same faces\nwhich I had seen by the river Chobar, and their looks, and the impulse\nof every one to go straight forward.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 11\n\n\nA prophecy against the presumptuous assurance of the great ones.  A\nremnant shall be saved, and receive a new spirit, and a new heart.\n\n11:1. And the spirit lifted me up, and brought me into the east gate of\nthe house of the Lord, which looketh towards the rising of the sun:  and\nbehold in the entry of the gate five and twenty men:  and I saw in the\nmidst of them Jezonias the son of Azur, and Pheltias the son of\nBanaias, princes of the people.\n\n11:2. And he said to me:  Son of man, these are the men that study\niniquity, and frame a wicked counsel in this city,\n\n11:3. Saying:  Were not houses lately built?  This city is the caldron,\nand we the flesh.\n\nWere not houses lately built, etc. . .These men despised the predictions\nand threats of the prophets; who declared to them from God, that the\ncity should be destroyed, and the inhabitants carried into captivity:\nand they made use of this kind of argument against the prophets, that\nthe city, so far from being like to be destroyed, had lately been\naugmented by the building of new houses; from whence they further\ninferred, by way of a proverb, using the similitude of a cauldron, out\nof which the flesh is not taken, till it is thoroughly boiled, and fit\nto be eaten, that they should not be carried away out of their city,\nbut there end their days in peace.\n\n11:4. Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, thou son of man.\n\n11:5. And the spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and said to me:  Speak:\nThus saith the Lord:  Thus have you spoken, O house of Israel, for I\nknow the thoughts of your heart.\n\n11:6. You have killed a great many in this city, and you have filled\nthe streets thereof with the slain.\n\n11:7. Therefore thus saith the Lord God:  Your slain, whom you have laid\nin the midst thereof, they are the flesh, all this is the caldron:  and\nI will bring you forth out of the midst thereof.\n\n11:8. You have feared the sword, and I will bring the sword upon you,\nsaith the Lord God.\n\n11:9. And I will cast you out of the midst thereof, and I will deliver\nyou into the hand of the enemies, and I will execute judgments upon\nyou.\n\n11:10. You shall fall by the sword:  I will judge you in the borders of\nIsrael, and you shall know that I am the Lord.\n\nIn the borders of Israel. . .They pretended that they should die in\npeace in Jerusalem; God tells them it should not be so; but that they\nshould be judged and condemned, and fall by the sword in the borders of\nIsrael:  viz., in Reblatha in the land of Emath, where all their chief\nmen were put to death by Nabuchodonosor.  4 Kings 25., and Jer. 52.10,\n27.\n\n11:11. This shall not be as a caldron to you, and you shall not be as\nflesh in the midst thereof:  I will judge you in the borders of Israel.\n\n11:12. And you shall know that I am the Lord:  because you have not\nwalked in my commandments, and have not done my judgments, but you have\ndone according to the judgments of the nations that are round about\nyou.\n\n11:13. And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pheltias the son of\nBanaias died:  and I fell down upon my face, and I cried with a loud\nvoice:  and said:  Alas, alas, alas, O Lord God:  wilt thou make an end\nof all the remnant of Israel?\n\n11:14. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n11:15. Son of man, thy brethren, thy brethren, thy kinsmen, and all the\nhouse of Israel, all they to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have\nsaid:  Get ye far from the Lord, the land is given in possession to us.\n\nThy brethren, etc. . .He speaks of them that had been carried away\ncaptives before; who were despised by them that remained in Jerusalem:\nbut as the prophet here declares to them from God, should be in a more\nhappy condition than they, and after some time return from their\ncaptivity.\n\n11:16. Therefore thus saith the Lord God:  Because I have removed them\nfar off among the Gentiles, and because I have scattered them among the\ncountries:  I will be to them a little sanctuary in the countries\nwhither they are come.\n\n11:17. Therefore speak to them:  Thus saith the Lord God:  I will gather\nyou from among the peoples, and assemble you out of the countries\nwherein you are scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.\n\n11:18. And they shall go in thither, and shall take away all the\nscandals, and all the abominations thereof from thence.\n\n11:19. And I will give them one heart, and will put a new spirit in\ntheir bowels:  and I will take away the stony heart out of their flesh,\nand will give them a heart of flesh:\n\n11:20. That they may walk in my commandments, and keep my judgments,\nand do them:  and that they may be my people, and I may be their God.\n\n11:21. But as for them whose heart walketh after their scandals and\nabominations, I will lay their way upon their head, saith the Lord God.\n\n11:22. And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and the wheels with\nthem:  and the glory of the God of Israel was over them.\n\n11:23. And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city,\nand stood over the mount that is on the east side of the city.\n\n11:24. And the spirit lifted me up, and brought me into Chaldea, to\nthem of the captivity, in vision, by the spirit of God:  and the vision\nwhich I had seen was taken up from me.\n\n11:25. And I spoke to them of the captivity all the words of the Lord,\nwhich he had shewn me.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 12\n\n\nThe prophet forsheweth, by signs, the captivity of Sedecias, and the\ndesolation of the people:  all which shall quickly come to pass.\n\n12:1. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n12:2. Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a provoking house:  who\nhave eyes to see, and see not:  and ears to hear, and hear not:  for they\nare a provoking house.\n\n12:3. Thou, therefore, O son of man, prepare thee all necessaries for\nremoving, and remove by day into their sight:  and thou shalt remove out\nof thy place to another place in their sight, if so be they will regard\nit:  for they are a provoking house.\n\n12:4. And thou shalt bring forth thy furniture as the furniture of one\nthat is removing by day in their sight:  and thou shalt go forth in the\nevening in their presence, as one goeth forth that removeth his\ndwelling.\n\n12:5. Dig thee a way through the wall before their eyes:  and thou shalt\ngo forth through it.\n\n12:6. In their sight thou shalt be carried out upon men's shoulders,\nthou shalt be carried out in the dark:  thou shalt cover thy face, and\nshalt not see the ground:  for I have set thee for a sign of things to\ncome to the house of Israel.\n\n12:7. I did therefore as he had commanded me:  I brought forth my goods\nby day, as the goods of one that removeth:  and in the evening I digged\nthrough the wall with my hand, and I went forth in the dark, and was\ncarried on men's shoulders in their sight.\n\n12:8. And the word of the Lord came to me in the morning, saying:\n\n12:9. Son of man, hath not the house of Israel, the provoking house,\nsaid to thee:  What art thou doing?\n\n12:10. Say to them:  Thus saith the Lord God:  This burden concerneth my\nprince that is in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel, that are\namong them.\n\n12:11. Say:  I am a sign of things to come to you:  as I have done, so\nshall it be done to them:  they shall be removed from their dwellings,\nand go into captivity.\n\n12:12. And the prince that is in the midst of them, shall be carried on\nshoulders, he shall go forth in the dark:  they shall dig through the\nwall to bring him out:  his face shall be covered, that he may not see\nthe ground with his eyes.\n\n12:13. And I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my\nnet:  and I will bring him into Babylon, into the land of the Chaldeans,\nand he shall not see it, and there he shall die.\n\nHe shall not see it. . .Because his eyes shall be put out by\nNabuchodonosor.\n\n12:14. And all that are about him, his guards, and his troops I will\nscatter into every wind:  and I will draw out the sword after them.\n\n12:15. And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall have\ndispersed them among the nations, and scattered them in the countries.\n\n12:16. And I will leave a few men of them from the sword, and from the\nfamine, and from the pestilence:  that they may declare all their wicked\ndeeds among the nations whither they shall go:  and they shall know that\nI am the Lord.\n\n12:17. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n12:18. Son of man, eat thy bread in trouble and drink thy water in\nhurry and sorrow.\n\n12:19. And say to the people of the land:  Thus saith the Lord God to\nthem that dwell in Jerusalem in the land of Israel:  They shall eat\ntheir bread in care, and drink their water in desolation:  that the land\nmay become desolate from the multitude that is therein, for the\niniquity of all that dwell therein.\n\n12:20. And the cities that are now inhabited shall be laid waste, and\nthe land shall be desolate:  and you shall know that I am the Lord.\n\n12:21. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n12:22. Son of man, what is this proverb that you have in the land of\nIsrael?  saying:  The days shall be prolonged, and every vision shall\nfail.\n\n12:23. Say to them therefore:  Thus saith the Lord God:  I will make this\nproverb to cease, neither shall it be any more a common saying in\nIsrael:  and tell them that the days are at hand, and the effect of\nevery vision.\n\n12:24. For there shall be no more any vain visions, nor doubtful\ndivination in the midst of the children of Israel.\n\n12:25. For I the Lord will speak:  and what word soever I shall speak,\nit shall come to pass, and shall not be prolonged any more:  but in your\ndays, ye provoking house, I will speak the word, and will do it, saith\nthe Lord God.\n\n12:26. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n12:27. Son of man, behold the house of Israel, they that say:  The\nvisions that this man seeth, is for many days to come:  and this man\nprophesieth of times afar off.\n\n12:28. Therefore say to them:  Thus saith the Lord God:  not one word of\nmine shall be prolonged any more:  the word that I shall speak shall be\naccomplished, saith the Lord God.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 13\n\n\nGod declares against false prophets and prophetesses, that deceive the\npeople with lies.\n\n13:1. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n13:2. Son of man, prophesy thou against the prophets of Israel that\nprophesy:  and thou shalt say to them that prophesy out of their own\nheart:  Hear ye the word of the Lord:\n\n13:3. Thus saith the Lord God:  Woe to the foolish prophets that follow\ntheir own spirit, and see nothing.\n\n13:4. Thy prophets, O Israel, were like foxes in the deserts.\n\n13:5. You have not gone up to face the enemy, nor have you set up a\nwall for the house of Israel, to stand in battle in the day of the\nLord.\n\n13:6. They see vain things, and they foretell lies, saying:  The Lord\nsaith:  whereas the Lord hath not sent them:  and they have persisted to\nconfirm what they have said.\n\n13:7. Have you not seen a vain vision and spoken a lying divination:\nand you say:  The Lord saith:  whereas I have not spoken.\n\n13:8. Therefore thus saith the Lord God:  Because you have spoken vain\nthings, and have seen lies:  therefore behold I come against you, saith\nthe Lord God.\n\n13:9. And my hand shall be upon the prophets that see vain things, and\nthat divine lies:  they shall not be in the council of my people, nor\nshall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither\nshall they enter into the land of Israel, and you shall know that I am\nthe Lord God.\n\n13:10. Because they have deceived my people, saying:  Peace, and there\nis no peace:  and the people built up a wall, and they daubed it with\ndirt without straw.\n\n13:11. Say to them that daub without tempering, that it shall fall:  for\nthere shall be an overflowing shower, and I will cause great hailstones\nto fall violently from above, and a stormy wind to throw it down.\n\n13:12. Behold, when the wall is fallen:  shall it not be said to you:\nWhere is the daubing wherewith you have daubed it?\n\n13:13. Therefore thus saith the Lord God:  Lo, I will cause a stormy\nwind to break forth in my indignation, and there shall be an\noverflowing shower in my anger:  and great hailstones in my wrath to\nconsume.\n\n13:14. And I will break down the wall that you have daubed with\nuntempered mortar:  and I will make it even with the ground, and the\nfoundation thereof shall be laid bare:  and it shall fall, and shall be\nconsumed in the midst thereof:  and you shall know that I am the Lord.\n\n13:15. And I will accomplish my wrath upon the wall, and upon them that\ndaub it without tempering the mortar, and I will say to you:  The wall\nis no more, and they that daub it are no more.\n\n13:16. Even the prophets of Israel that prophesy to Jerusalem, and that\nsee visions of peace for her:  and there is no peace, saith the Lord\nGod.\n\n13:17. And thou, son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy\npeople that prophesy out of their own heart:  and do thou prophesy\nagainst them,\n\n13:18. And say:  Thus saith the Lord God:  Woe to them that sew cushions\nunder every elbow:  and make pillows for the heads of persons of every\nage to catch souls:  and when they caught the souls of my people, they\ngave life to their souls.\n\nSew cushions, etc. . .Viz., by making people easy in their sins, and\npromising them impunity.--Ibid.  They gave life to their souls. . .That\nis, they flattered them with promises of life, peace, and security.\n\n13:19. And they violated me among my people, for a handful of barley,\nand a piece of bread, to kill souls which should not die, and to save\nsouls alive which should not live, telling lies to my people that\nbelieve lies.\n\nViolated me. . .That is, dishonoured and discredited me.  Ibid.  To kill\nsouls, etc. . .That is, to sentence souls to death, which are not to\ndie; and to promise life to them who are not to live.\n\n13:20. Therefore thus saith the Lord God:  Behold I declare against your\ncushions, wherewith you catch flying souls:  and I will tear them off\nfrom your arms:  and I will let go the soul that you catch, the souls\nthat should fly.\n\n13:21. And I will tear your pillows, and will deliver my people out of\nyour hand, neither shall they be any more in your hands to be a prey:\nand you shall know that I am the Lord.\n\n13:22. Because with lies you have made the heart of the just to mourn,\nwhom I have not made sorrowful:  and have strengthened the hands of the\nwicked, that he should not return from his evil way, and live.\n\n13:23. Therefore you shall not see vain things, nor divine divinations\nany more, and I will deliver my people out of your hand:  and you shall\nknow that I am the Lord.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 14\n\n\nGod suffers the wicked to be deceived in punishment of their\nwickedness.  The evils that shall come upon them for their sins:  for\nwhich they shall not be delivered by the prayers of Noe, Daniel, and\nJob.  But a remnant shall be preserved.\n\n14:1. And some of the ancients of Israel came to me, and sat before me.\n\n14:2. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n14:3. Son of man, these men have placed their uncleannesses in their\nhearts, and have set up before their face the stumblingblock of their\niniquity:  and shall I answer when they inquire of me?\n\nUncleanness. . .That is, their filthy idols, upon which they have set\ntheir hearts:  and which are a stumblingblock to their souls.\n\n14:4. Therefore speak to them, and say to them:  Thus saith the Lord\nGod:  Man, man of the house of Israel that shall place his uncleannesses\nin his heart, and set up the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his\nface, and shall come to the prophet inquiring of me by him:  I the Lord\nwill answer him according to the multitude of his uncleannesses:\n\nMan, man. . .That is, every man, an Hebrew expression.\n\n14:5. That the house of Israel may be caught in their own heart, with\nwhich they have departed from me through all their idols.\n\n14:6. Therefore say to the house of Israel:  Thus saith the Lord God:  Be\nconverted, and depart from your idols, and turn away your faces from\nall your abominations.\n\n14:7. For every man of the house of Israel, and every stranger among\nthe proselytes in Israel, if he separate himself from me, and place his\nidols in his heart, and set the stumblingblock of his iniquity before\nhis face, and come to the prophet to inquire of me by him:  I the Lord\nwill answer him by myself.\n\n14:8. And I will set my face against that man, and will make him an\nexample, and a proverb, and will cut him off from the midst of my\npeople:  and you shall know that I am the Lord.\n\n14:9. And when the prophet shall err, and speak a word:  I the Lord have\ndeceived that prophet:  and I will stretch forth my hand upon him, and\nwill cut him off from the midst of my people Israel.\n\nThe prophet shall err, etc. . .He speaks of false prophets, answering\nout of their own heads and according to their own corrupt\ninclinations.--Ibid.  I have deceived that prophet. . .God Almighty\ndeceives false prophets, partly by withdrawing his light from them; and\nabandoning them to their own corrupt inclinations, which push them on\nto prophesy such things as are agreeable to those who consult them:  and\npartly by disappointing them, and causing all thing to happen contrary\nto what they have said.\n\n14:10. And they shall bear their iniquity:  according to the iniquity of\nhim that inquireth, so shall the iniquity of the prophet be.\n\n14:11. That the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, nor be\npolluted with all their transgressions:  but may be my people, and I may\nbe their God, saith the Lord of hosts.\n\n14:12. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n14:13. Son of man, when a land shall sin against me, so as to\ntransgress grievously, I will stretch forth my hand upon it, and will\nbreak the staff of the bread thereof:  and I will send famine upon it,\nand will destroy man and beast out of it.\n\n14:14. And if these three men, Noe, Daniel, and Job, shall be in it:\nthey shall deliver their own souls by their justice, saith the Lord of\nhosts.\n\n14:15. And if I shall bring mischievous beasts also upon the land to\nwaste it, and it be desolate, so that there is none that can pass\nbecause of the beasts:\n\n14:16. If these three men shall be in it, as I live, saith the Lord,\nthey shall deliver neither sons nor daughters:  but they only shall be\ndelivered, and the land shall be made desolate.\n\n14:17. Or if I bring the sword upon that land, and say to the sword:\nPass through the land:  and I destroy man and beast out of it:\n\n14:18. And these three men be in the midst thereof:  as I live, saith\nthe Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they\nthemselves alone shall be delivered.\n\n14:19. Or if I also send the pestilence upon that land, and pour out my\nindignation upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast:\n\n14:20. And Noe, and Daniel, and Job be in the midst thereof:  as I live,\nsaith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter:  but\nthey shall only deliver their own souls by their justice.\n\n14:21. For thus saith the Lord:  Although I shall send in upon Jerusalem\nmy four grievous judgments, the sword, and the famine, and the\nmischievous beasts, and the pestilence, to destroy out of it man and\nbeast,\n\n14:22. Yet there shall be left in it some that shall be saved, who\nshall bring away their sons and daughters:  behold they shall come among\nyou, and you shall see their way, and their doings:  and you shall be\ncomforted concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, in\nall things that I have brought upon it.\n\n14:23. And they shall comfort you, when you shall see their ways, and\ntheir doings:  and you shall know that I have not done without cause all\nthat I have done in it, saith the Lord God.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 15\n\n\nAs a vine cut down is fit for nothing but the fire; so it shall be with\nJerusalem, for her sins.\n\n15:1. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n15:2. Son of man, what shall be made of the wood of the vine, out of\nall the trees of the woods that are among the trees of the forests?\n\n15:3. Shall wood be taken of it, to do any work, or shall a pin be made\nof it for any vessel to hang thereon?\n\n15:4. Behold it is cast into the fire for fuel:  the fire hath consumed\nboth ends thereof, and the midst thereof is reduced to ashes:  shall it\nbe useful for any work?\n\n15:5. Even when it was whole it was not fit for work:  how much less,\nwhen the fire hath devoured and consumed it, shall any work be made of\nit?\n\n15:6. Therefore thus saith the Lord God:  As the vine tree among the\ntrees of the forests which I have given to the fire to be consumed, so\nwill I deliver up the inhabitants of Jerusalem.\n\n15:7. And I will set my face against them:  they shall go out from fire,\nand fire shall consume them:  and you shall know that I am the Lord,\nwhen I shall have set my face against them.\n\n15:8. And I shall have made their land a wilderness, and desolate,\nbecause they have been transgressors, saith the Lord God.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 16\n\n\nUnder the figure of an unfaithful wife, God upbraids Jerusalem with her\ningratitude and manifold disloyalties:  but promiseth mercy by a new\ncovenant.\n\n16:1. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n16:2. Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations.\n\nMake known to Jerusalem. . .That is, by letters, for the prophet was\nthen in Babylon.\n\n16:3. And thou shalt say:  Thus saith the Lord God to Jerusalem:  Thy\nroot, and thy nativity is of the land of Chanaan, thy father was an\nAmorrhite, and thy mother a Cethite.\n\n16:4. And when thou wast born, in the day of thy nativity thy navel was\nnot cut, neither wast thou washed with water for thy health, nor salted\nwith salt, nor swaddled with clouts.\n\n16:5. No eye had pity on thee to do any of these things for thee, out\nof compassion to thee:  but thou wast cast out upon the face of the\nearth in the abjection of thy soul, in the day that thou wast born.\n\n16:6. And passing by thee, I saw that thou wast trodden under foot in\nthy own blood:  and I said to thee when thou wast in thy blood:  Live:  I\nhave said to thee:  Live in thy blood.\n\n16:7. I caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field:  and thou didst\nincrease and grow great, and advancedst, and camest to woman's\nornament:  thy breasts were fashioned, and thy hair grew:  and thou was\nnaked, and full of confusion.\n\n16:8. And I passed by thee, and saw thee:  and behold thy time was the\ntime of lovers:  and I spread my garment over thee, and covered thy\nignominy.  and I swore to thee, and I entered into a covenant with thee,\nsaith the Lord God:  and thou becamest mine.\n\n16:9. And I washed thee with water, and cleansed away thy blood from\nthee:  and I anointed thee with oil.\n\n16:10. And I clothed thee with embroidery, and shod thee with violet\ncoloured shoes:  and I girded thee about with fine linen, and clothed\nthee with fine garments.\n\n16:11. I decked thee also with ornaments, and put bracelets on thy\nhands, and a chain about thy neck.\n\nI decked thee also with ornaments, etc. . .That is, with spiritual\nbenefits, giving you a law with sacrifices, sacraments, and other holy\nrites.\n\n16:12. And I put a jewel upon thy forehead and earrings in thy ears,\nand a beautiful crown upon thy head.\n\n16:13. And thou wast adorned with gold, and silver, and wast clothed\nwith fine linen, and embroidered work, and many colours:  thou didst eat\nfine flour, and honey, and oil, and wast made exceeding beautiful:  and\nwast advanced to be a queen.\n\n16:14. And thy renown went forth among the nations for thy beauty:  for\nthou wast perfect through my beauty, which I had put upon thee, saith\nthe Lord God.\n\n16:15. But trusting in thy beauty, thou playedst the harlot because of\nthy renown, and thou hast prostituted thyself to every passenger, to be\nhis.\n\n16:16. And taking of thy garments thou hast made thee high places sewed\ntogether on each side:  and hast played the harlot upon them, as hath\nnot been done before, nor shall be hereafter.\n\n16:17. And thou tookest thy beautiful vessels, of my gold, and my\nsilver, which I gave thee, and thou madest thee images of men, and hast\ncommitted fornication with them.\n\n16:18. And thou tookest thy garments of divers colours, and coveredst\nthem:  and settest my oil and my sweet incense before them.\n\n16:19. And my bread which I gave thee, the fine flour, and oil, and\nhoney, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast set before them for a sweet\nodour; and it was done, saith the Lord God.\n\n16:20. And thou hast taken thy sons, and thy daughters, whom thou hast\nborne to me:  and hast sacrificed the same to them to be devoured.  Is\nthy fornication small?\n\n16:21. Thou hast sacrificed and given my children to them, consecrating\nthem by fire.\n\nThou hast sacrificed, etc. . .As there is nothing more base and\nabominable than the crimes mentioned throughout this chapter; so the\ninfidelities of the Israelites in forsaking God, and sacrificing even\ntheir children to idols, are strongly figured by these allegories.\n\n16:22. And after all thy abominations, and fornications, thou hast not\nremembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked, and full of\nconfusion, trodden under foot in thy own blood.\n\n16:23. And it came to pass after all thy wickedness (woe, woe to thee,\nsaith the Lord God)\n\n16:24. That thou didst also build thee a common stew, and madest thee a\nbrothel house in every street.\n\n16:25. At every head of the way thou hast set up a sign of thy\nprostitution:  and hast made thy beauty to be abominable:  and hast\nprostituted thyself to every one that passed by, and hast multiplied\nthy fornications.\n\n16:26. And thou hast committed fornication with the Egyptians thy\nneighbours, men of large bodies, and hast multiplied thy fornications\nto provoke me.\n\n16:27. Behold, I will stretch out my hand upon thee, and will take away\nthy justification:  and I will deliver thee up to the will of the\ndaughters of the Philistines that hate thee, that are ashamed of thy\nwicked way.\n\n16:28. Thou hast also committed fornication with the Assyrians, because\nthou wast not yet satisfied:  and after thou hadst played the harlot\nwith them, even so thou wast not contented.\n\n16:29. Thou hast also multiplied thy fornications in the land of\nChanaan with the Chaldeans:  and neither so wast thou satisfied.\n\n16:30. Wherein shall I cleanse thy heart, saith Lord God:  seeing thou\ndost all these the works of a shameless prostitute?\n\n16:31. Because thou hast built thy brothel house at the head of every\nway, and thou hast made thy high place in every street:  and wast not as\na harlot that by disdain enhanceth her price,\n\n16:32. But is an adulteress, that bringeth in strangers over her\nhusband.\n\n16:33. Gifts are given to all harlots:  but thou hast given hire to all\nthy lovers, and thou hast given them gifts to come to thee from every\nside, to commit fornication with thee.\n\n16:34. And it hath happened in thee contrary to the custom of women in\nthy fornications, and after thee there shall be no such fornication,\nfor in that thou gavest rewards, and didst not take rewards, the\ncontrary hath been done in thee.\n\n16:35. Therefore, O harlot, hear the word of the Lord.\n\n16:36. Thus saith the Lord God:  Because thy money hath been poured out,\nand thy shame discovered through thy fornications with thy lovers, and\nwith the idols of thy abominations, by the blood of thy children whom\nthou gavest them:\n\n16:37. Behold, I will gather together all thy lovers with whom thou\nhast taken pleasure, and all whom thou hast loved, with all whom thou\nhast hated:  and I will gather them together against thee on every side,\nand will discover thy shame in their sight, and they shall see all thy\nnakedness.\n\n16:38. And I will judge thee as adulteresses, and they that shed blood\nare judged:  and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy.\n\n16:39. And I will deliver thee into their hands, and they shall destroy\nthy brothel house, and throw down thy stews:  and they shall strip thee\nof thy garments, and shall take away the vessels of thy beauty:  and\nleave thee naked, and full of disgrace.\n\n16:40. And they shall bring upon thee a multitude, and they shall stone\nthee with stones, and shall slay thee with their swords.\n\n16:41. And they shall burn thy houses with fire, and shall execute\njudgments upon thee in the sight of many women:  and thou shalt cease\nfrom fornication, and shalt give no hire any more.\n\n16:42. And my indignation shall rest in thee:  and my jealousy shall\ndepart from thee, and I will cease and be angry no more.\n\n16:43. Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast\nprovoked me in all these things:  wherefore I also have turned all thy\nways upon thy head, saith the Lord God, and I have not done according\nto thy wicked deeds in all thy abominations.\n\n16:44. Behold every one that useth a common proverb, shall use this\nagainst thee, saying:  As the mother was, so also is her daughter.\n\n16:45. Thou art thy mother's daughter, that cast off her husband, and\nher children:  and thou art the sister of thy sisters, who cast off\ntheir husbands, and their children:  your mother was a Cethite, and your\nfather an Amorrhite.\n\n16:46. And thy elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that\ndwell at thy left hand:  and thy younger sister that dwelleth at thy\nright hand is Sodom, and her daughters.\n\n16:47. But neither hast thou walked in their ways, nor hast thou done a\nlittle less than they according to their wickednesses:  thou hast done\nalmost more wicked things than they in all thy ways.\n\n16:48. As I live, saith the Lord God, thy sister Sodom herself, and her\ndaughters, have not done as thou hast done, and thy daughters.\n\n16:49. Behold this was the iniquity of Sodom thy sister, pride, fulness\nof bread, and abundance, and the idleness of her, and of her daughters:\nand they did not put forth their hand to the needy, and the poor.\n\nThis was the iniquity of Sodom, etc. . .That is, these were the steps by\nwhich the Sodomites came to fall into those abominations for which they\nwere destroyed.  For pride, gluttony, and idleness are the highroad to\nall kinds of lust; especially when they are accompanied with a neglect\nof the works of mercy.\n\n16:50. And they were lifted up, and committed abominations before me:\nand I took them away as thou hast seen.\n\n16:51. And Samaria committed not half thy sins:  but thou hast surpassed\nthem with thy crimes, and hast justified thy sisters by all thy\nabominations which thou hast done.\n\n16:52. Therefore do thou also bear thy confusion, thou that hast\nsurpassed thy sisters with thy sins, doing more wickedly than they:  for\nthey are justified above thee, therefore be thou also confounded, and\nbear thy shame, thou that hast justified thy sisters.\n\n16:53. And I will bring back and restore them by bringing back Sodom,\nwith her daughters, and by bringing back Samaria, and her daughters:\nand I will bring those that return of thee in the midst of them.\n\nI will bring back, etc. . .This relates to the conversion of the\nGentiles out of all nations, and of many of the Jews, to the church of\nChrist.\n\n16:54. That thou mayest bear thy shame, and mayest be confounded in all\nthat thou hast done, comforting them.\n\n16:55. And thy sister Sodom and her daughters shall return to their\nancient state:  and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their\nancient state:  and thou and thy daughters shall return to your ancient\nstate.\n\nAncient state. . .That is, to their former state of liberty, and their\nancient possessions.  In the spiritual sense, to the true liberty, and\nthe happy inheritance of the children of God, through faith in Christ.\n\n16:56. And Sodom thy sister was not heard of in thy mouth, in the day\nof thy pride,\n\n16:57. Before thy malice was laid open:  as it is at this time, making\nthee a reproach of the daughters of Syria, and of all the daughters of\nPalestine round about thee, that encompass thee on all sides.\n\n16:58. Thou hast borne thy wickedness, and thy disgrace, saith the Lord\nGod.\n\n16:59. For thus saith the Lord God:  I will deal with thee, as thou hast\ndespised the oath, in breaking the covenant:\n\n16:60. And I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy\nyouth:  and I will establish with thee an everlasting covenant.\n\n16:61. And thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed:  when thou\nshalt receive thy sisters, thy elder and thy younger:  and I will give\nthem to thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant.\n\n16:62. And I will establish my covenant with thee:  and thou shalt know\nthat I am the Lord,\n\n16:63. That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and mayest no more\nopen thy mouth because of thy confusion, when I shall be pacified\ntoward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord God.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 17\n\n\nThe parable of the two eagles and the vine.  A promise of the cedar of\nChrist and his church.\n\n17:1. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n17:2. Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable to the house\nof Israel,\n\n17:3. And say:  Thus saith the Lord God; A large eagle with great wings,\nlong-limbed, full of feathers, and of variety, came to Libanus, and\ntook away the marrow of the cedar.\n\nA large eagle. . .Nabuchodonosor, king of Babylon.--Ibid.  Came to\nLibanus. . .That is, to Jerusalem.--Ibid.  Took away the marrow of the\ncedar. . .King Jechonias.\n\n17:4. He cropped off the top of the twigs thereof:  and carried it away\ninto the land of Chanaan, and he set it in a city of merchants.\n\nChanaan. . .This name, which signifies traffic, is not taken here for\nPalestine, but for Chaldea:  and the city of merchants here mentioned is\nBabylon.\n\n17:5. And he took of the seed of the land, and put it in the ground for\nseed, that it might take a firm root over many waters:  he planted it on\nthe surface of the earth.\n\nOf the seed of the land, etc. . .Viz., Sedecias, whom he made king.\n\n17:6. And it sprung up and grew into a spreading vine of low stature,\nand the branches thereof looked towards him:  and the roots thereof were\nunder him.  So it became a vine, and grew into branches, and shot forth\nsprigs.\n\nTowards him. . .Nabuchodonosor, to whom Sedecias swore allegiance.\n\n17:7. And there was another large eagle, with great wings, and many\nfeathers:  and behold this vine, bending as it were her roots towards\nhim, stretched forth her branches to him, that he might water it by the\nfurrows of her plantation.\n\nAnother large eagle. . .Viz., the king of Egypt.\n\n17:8. It was planted in a good ground upon many waters, that it might\nbring forth branches, and bear fruit, that it might become a large\nvine.\n\n17:9. Say thou:  Thus saith the Lord God:  Shall it prosper then?  shall\nhe not pull up the roots thereof, and strip off its fruit, and dry up\nall the branches it hath shot forth, and make it wither:  and this\nwithout a strong arm, or many people to pluck it up by the root?\n\n17:10. Behold, it is planted:  shall it prosper then?  shall it not be\ndried up when the burning wind shall touch it, and shall it not wither\nin the furrows where it grew?\n\n17:11. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n17:12. Say to the provoking house:  Know you not what these things mean?\nTell them:  Behold the king of Babylon cometh to Jerusalem:  and he shall\ntake away the king and the princes thereof and carry them with him to\nBabylon.\n\nShall take away. . .Or, hath taken away, etc., for all this was now\ndone.\n\n17:13. And he shall take one of the king's seed, and make a covenant\nwith him, and take an oath of him.  Yea, and he shall take away the\nmighty men of the land,\n\n17:14. That it may be a low kingdom and not lift itself up, but keep\nhis covenant and observe it.\n\n17:15. But he hath revolted from him and sent ambassadors to Egypt,\nthat it might give him horses, and much people.  And shall he that hath\ndone thus prosper, or be saved?  and shall he escape that hath broken\nthe covenant?\n\n17:16. As I live, saith the Lord God:  In the place where the king\ndwelleth that made him king, whose oath he hath made void, and whose\ncovenant he broke, even in the midst of Babylon shall he die.\n\n17:17. And not with a great army, nor with much people shall Pharao\nfight against him:  when he shall cast up mounts, and build forts, to\ncut off many souls.\n\n17:18. For he had despised the oath, breaking his covenant, and behold\nhe hath given his hand:  and having done all these things, he shall not\nescape.\n\n17:19. Therefore thus saith the Lord God:  As I live, I will lay upon\nhis head the oath he hath despised, and the covenant he hath broken.\n\n17:20. And I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my\nnet:  and I will bring him into Babylon, and will judge him there for\nthe transgression by which he hath despised me.\n\n17:21. And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the\nsword:  and the residue shall be scattered into every wind:  and you\nshall know that I the Lord have spoken.\n\n17:22. Thus saith the Lord God:  I myself will take of the marrow of the\nhigh cedar, and will set it:  I will crop off a tender twig from the top\nof the branches thereof, and I will plant it on a mountain high and\neminent.\n\nOf the marrow of the high cedar, etc. . .Of the royal stock of\nDavid.--Ibid.  A tender twig. . .Viz., Jesus Christ, whom God hath\nplanted in mount Sion, that is, the high mountain of his church, to\nwhich all nations flow.\n\n17:23. On the high mountains of Israel will I plant it, and it shall\nshoot forth into branches and shall bear fruit, and it shall become a\ngreat cedar:  and all birds shall dwell under it, and every fowl shall\nmake its nest under the shadow of the branches thereof.\n\n17:24. And all the trees of the country shall know that I the Lord have\nbrought down the high tree, and exalted the low tree:  and have dried up\nthe green tree, and have caused the dry tree to flourish.  I the Lord\nhave spoken and have done it.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 18\n\n\nOne man shall not bear the sins of another, but every one his own; if a\nwicked man truly repent, he shall be saved; and if a just man leave his\njustice, he shall perish.\n\n18:1. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:  What is the meaning?\n\n18:2. That you use among you this parable as a proverb in the land of\nIsrael, saying:  The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the teeth of\nthe children are set on edge.\n\n18:3. As I live, saith the Lord God, this parable shall be no more to\nyou a proverb in Israel.\n\n18:4. Behold all souls are mine:  as the soul of the father, so also the\nsoul of the son is mine:  the soul that sinneth, the same shall die.\n\n18:5. And if a man be just, and do judgment and justice,\n\n18:6. And hath not eaten upon the mountains, nor lifted up his eyes to\nthe idols of the house of Israel:  and hath not defiled his neighbour's\nwife, nor come near to a menstruous woman:\n\nNot eaten upon the mountains. . .That is, of the sacrifices there\noffered to idols.\n\n18:7. And hath not wronged any man:  but hath restored the pledge to the\ndebtor, hath taken nothing away by violence:  hath given his bread to\nthe hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment:\n\n18:8. Hath not lent upon usury, nor taken any increase:  hath withdrawn\nhis hand from iniquity, and hath executed true judgment between man and\nman:\n\n18:9. Hath walked in my commandments, and kept my judgments, to do\ntruth:  he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord God.\n\nTo do truth. . .That is, to act according to truth; for the Hebrews\ncalled everything that was just, truth.\n\n18:10. And if he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and\nthat hath done some one of these things:\n\n18:11. Though he doth not all these things, but that eateth upon the\nmountains, and that defileth his neighbour's wife:\n\n18:12. That grieveth the needy and the poor, that taketh away by\nviolence, that restoreth not the pledge, and that lifteth up his eyes\nto idols, that comitteth abomination:\n\n18:13. That giveth upon usury, and that taketh an increase:  shall such\na one live?  he shall not live.  Seeing he hath done all these detestable\nthings, he shall surely die, his blood shall be upon him.\n\n18:14. But if he beget a son, who, seeing all his father's sins, which\nhe hath done, is afraid, and shall not do the like to them:\n\n18:15. That hath not eaten upon the mountains, nor lifted up his eyes\nto the idols of the house of Israel, and hath not defiled his\nneighbour's wife:\n\n18:16. And hath not grieved any man, nor withholden the pledge, nor\ntaken away with violence, but hath given his bread to the hungry, and\ncovered the naked with a garment:\n\n18:17. That hath turned away his hand from injuring the poor, hath not\ntaken usury and increase, but hath executed my judgments, and hath\nwalked in my commandments:  this man shall not die for the iniquity of\nhis father, but living he shall live.\n\n18:18. As for his father, because he oppressed and offered violence to\nhis brother, and wrought evil in the midst of his people, behold he is\ndead in his own iniquity.\n\n18:19. And you say:  Why hath not the son borne the iniquity of his\nfather?  Verily, because the son hath wrought judgment and justice, hath\nkept all my commandments, and done them, living, he shall live.\n\n18:20. The soul that sinneth, the same shall die:  the son shall not\nbear the iniquity of the father, and the father shall not bear the\niniquity of the son:  the justice of the just shall be upon him, and the\nwickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.\n\n18:21. But if the wicked do penance for all his sins which he hath\ncommitted, and keep all my commandments, and do judgment, and justice,\nliving he shall live, and shall not die.\n\n18:22. I will not remember all his iniquities that he hath done:  in his\njustice which he hath wrought, he shall live.\n\n18:23. Is it my will that a sinner should die, saith the Lord God, and\nnot that he should be converted from his ways, and live?\n\n18:24. But if the just man turn himself away from his justice, and do\niniquity according to all the abominations which the wicked man useth\nto work, shall he live?  all his justices which he hath done, shall not\nbe remembered:  in the prevarication, by which he hath prevaricated, and\nin his sin, which he hath committed, in them he shall die.\n\n18:25. And you have said:  The way of the Lord is not right.  Hear ye,\ntherefore, O house of Israel:  Is it my way that is not right, and are\nnot rather your ways perverse?\n\n18:26. For when the just turneth himself away from his justice, and\ncomitteth iniquity, he shall die therein:  in the injustice that he hath\nwrought he shall die.\n\n18:27. And when the wicked turneth himself away from his wickedness,\nwhich he hath wrought, and doeth judgment, and justice:  he shall save\nhis soul alive.\n\n18:28. Because he considereth and turneth away himself from all his\niniquities which he hath wrought, he shall surely live, and not die.\n\n18:29. And the children of Israel say:  The way of the Lord is not\nright.  Are not my ways right, O house of Israel, and are not rather\nyour ways perverse?\n\n18:30. Therefore will I judge every man according to his ways, O house\nof Israel, saith the Lord God.  Be converted, and do penance for all\nyour iniquities:  and iniquity shall not be your ruin.\n\n18:31. Cast away from you all your transgressions, by which you have\ntransgressed, and make to yourselves a new heart, and a new spirit:  and\nwhy will you die, O house of Israel?\n\n18:32. For I desire not the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord\nGod, return ye and live.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 19\n\n\nThe parable of the young lions, and of the vineyard that is wasted.\n\n19:1. Moreover take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,\n\n19:2. And say:  Why did thy mother the lioness lie down among the lions,\nand bring up her whelps in the midst of young lions?\n\nThy mother the lioness. . .Jerusalem.\n\n19:3. And she brought out one of her whelps, and he became a lion:  and\nhe learned to catch the prey, and to devour men.\n\nOne of her whelps. . .Viz., Joachaz, alias Sellum.\n\n19:4. And the nations heard of him, and took him, but not without\nreceiving wounds:  and they brought him in chains into the land of\nEgypt.\n\n19:5. But she seeing herself weakened, and that her hope was lost, took\none of her young lions, and set him up for a lion.\n\nOne of her young lions. . .Joakim.\n\n19:6. And he went up and down among the lions, and became a lion:  and\nhe learned to catch the prey, and to devour men.\n\n19:7. He learned to make widows, and to lay waste their cities:  and the\nland became desolate, and the fulness thereof by the noise of his\nroaring.\n\n19:8. And the nations came together against him on every side out of\nthe provinces, and they spread their net over him, in their wounds he\nwas taken.\n\n19:9. And they put him into a cage, they brought him in chains to the\nking of Babylon:  and they cast him into prison, that his voice should\nno more be heard upon the mountains of Israel.\n\n19:10. Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood planted by the water:  her\nfruit and her branches have grown out of many waters.\n\n19:11. And she hath strong rods to make sceptres for them that bear\nrule, and her stature was exalted among the branches:  and she saw her\nheight in the multitude of her branches.\n\n19:12. But she was plucked up in wrath, and cast on the ground, and the\nburning wind dried up her fruit:  her strong rods are withered, and\ndried up:  the fire hath devoured her.\n\n19:13. And now she is transplanted into the desert, in a land not\npassable, and dry.\n\n19:14. And a fire is gone out from a rod of her branches, which hath\ndevoured her fruit:  so that she now hath no strong rod, to be a sceptre\nof rulers.  This is a lamentation, and it shall be for a lamentation.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 20\n\n\nGod refuses to answer the ancients of Israel inquiring by the prophet:\nbut by him setteth his benefits before their eyes, and their heinous\nsins:  threatening yet greater punishments:  but still mixed with mercy.\n\n20:1. And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the\ntenth day of the month:  there came men of the ancients of Israel to\ninquire of the Lord, and they sat before me.\n\n20:2. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n20:3. Son of man, speak to the ancients of Israel and say to them:  Thus\nsaith the Lord God:  Are you come to inquire of me?  As I live, I will\nnot answer you, saith the Lord God.\n\n20:4. If thou judgest them, if thou judgest, O son of man, declare to\nthem the abominations of their fathers.\n\nIf thou judgest them. . .Or, if thou wilt enter into the cause and plead\nagainst them.\n\n20:5. And say to them:  Thus saith the Lord God:  In the day when I chose\nIsrael, and lifted up my hand for the race of the house of Jacob:  and\nappeared to them in the land of Egypt, and lifted up my hand for them,\nsaying:  I am the Lord your God:\n\n20:6. In that day I lifted up my hand for them to bring them out of the\nland of Egypt, into a land which I had provided for them, flowing with\nmilk and honey, which excelled amongst all lands.\n\n20:7. And I said to them:  Let every man cast away the scandals of his\neyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt:  I am the Lord\nyour God.\n\nScandals, etc. . .Offensiones.  That is, the abominations or idols, to\nthe worship of which they were allured by their eyes.\n\n20:8. But they provoked me, and would not hearken to me:  they did not\nevery man cast away the abominations of his eyes, neither did they\nforsake the idols of Egypt:  and I said I would pour out my indignation\nupon them, and accomplish my wrath against them in the midst of the\nland of Egypt.\n\n20:9. But I did otherwise for my name's sake, that it might not be\nviolated before the nations, in the midst of whom they were, and among\nwhom I made myself known to them, to bring them out of the land of\nEgypt.\n\n20:10. Therefore I brought them out from the land of Egypt, and brought\nthem into the desert.\n\n20:11. And I gave them my statutes, and I shewed them my judgments,\nwhich if a man do, he shall live in them.\n\n20:12. Moreover I gave them also my sabbaths, to be a sign between me\nand them:  and that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify\nthem.\n\n20:13. But the house of Israel provoked me in the desert:  they walked\nnot in my statutes, and they cast away my judgments, which if a man do\nhe shall live in them:  and they grievously violated my sabbaths.  I said\ntherefore that I would pour out my indignation upon them in the desert,\nand would consume them.\n\n20:14. But I spared them for the sake of my name, lest it should be\nprofaned before the nations, from which I brought them out, in their\nsight.\n\n20:15. So I lifted up my hand over them in the desert, not to bring\nthem into the land which I had given them flowing with milk and honey,\nthe best of all lands.\n\n20:16. Because they cast off my judgments, and walked not in my\nstatutes, and violated my sabbaths:  for their heart went after idols.\n\n20:17. Yet my eye spared them, so that I destroyed them not:  neither\ndid I consume them in the desert.\n\n20:18. And I said to their children in the wilderness:  Walk not in the\nstatutes of your fathers, and observe not their judgments, nor be ye\ndefiled with their idols:\n\n20:19. I am the Lord your God:  walk ye in my statutes, and observe my\njudgments, and do them.\n\n20:20. And sanctify my sabbaths, that they may be a sign between me and\nyou:  and that you may know that I am the Lord your God.\n\n20:21. But their children provoked me, they walked not in my\ncommandments, nor observed my judgments to do them:  which if a man do,\nhe shall live in them:  and they violated my sabbaths:  and I threatened\nto pour out my indignation upon them, and to accomplish my wrath in\nthem in the desert.\n\n20:22. But I turned away my hand, and wrought for my name's sake, that\nit might not be violated before the nations, out of which I brought\nthem forth in their sight.\n\n20:23. Again I lifted up my hand upon them in the wilderness, to\ndisperse them among the nations, and scatter them through the\ncountries:\n\n20:24. Because they had not done my judgments, and had cast off my\nstatutes, and had violated my sabbaths, and their eyes had been after\nthe idols of their fathers.\n\n20:25. Therefore I also gave them statutes that were not good, and\njudgments, in which they shall not live.\n\nStatutes that were not good, etc. . .Viz., the laws and ordinances of\ntheir enemies; or those imposes upon them by that cruel tyrant the\ndevil, to whose power they were delivered up for their sins.\n\n20:26. And I polluted them in their own gifts, when they offered all\nthat opened the womb, for their offences:  and they shall know that I am\nthe Lord.\n\nI polluted them, etc. . .That is, I gave them up to such blindness in\npunishment of their offences, as to pollute themselves with the blood\nof all their firstborn, whom they offered up to their idols in\ncompliance with their wicked devices.\n\n20:27. Wherefore speak to the house of Israel, O son of man, and say to\nthem:  Thus saith the Lord God:  Moreover in this also your fathers\nblaspheme me, when they had despised and contemned me;\n\n20:28. And I had brought them into the land, for which I lifted up my\nhand to give it them:  they saw every high hill, and every shady tree,\nand there they sacrificed their victims:  and there they presented the\nprovocation of their offerings, and there they set their sweet odours,\nand poured forth their libations.\n\n20:29. And I said to them:  What meaneth the high place to which you go?\nand the name thereof was called High-place even to this day.\n\n20:30. Wherefore say to the house of Israel:  Thus saith the Lord God:\nVerily, you are defiled in the way of your fathers, and you commit\nfornication with their abominations.\n\n20:31. And you defile yourselves with all your idols unto this day, in\nthe offering of your gifts, when you make your children pass through\nthe fire:  and shall I answer you, O house of Israel?  As I live, saith\nthe Lord God, I will not answer you.\n\n20:32. Neither shall the thought of your mind come to pass, by which\nyou say:  We will be as the Gentiles, and as the families of the earth,\nto worship stocks and stones.\n\n20:33. As I live, saith the Lord God, I will reign over you with a\nstrong hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out.\n\n20:34. And I will bring you out from the people, and I will gather you\nout of the countries, in which you are scattered, I will reign over you\nwith a strong hand and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured\nout.\n\n20:35. And I will bring you into the wilderness of people, and there\nwill I plead with you face to face.\n\nThe wilderness of people. . .That is, a desert in which there are no\npeople.\n\n20:36. As I pleaded against your fathers in the desert of the land of\nEgypt; even so will I judge you, saith the Lord God.\n\n20:37. And I will make you subject to my sceptre, and will bring you\ninto the bands of the covenant.\n\n20:38. And I will pick out from among you the transgressors, and the\nwicked, and will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, and\nthey shall not enter into the land of Israel:  and you shall know that I\nam the Lord.\n\n20:39. And as for you, O house of Israel:  thus saith the Lord God:  Walk\nye every one after your idols, and serve them.  But if in this also you\nhear me not, but defile my holy name any more with your gifts, and with\nyour idols;\n\nWalk ye every one, etc. . .It is not an allowance, much less a\ncommandment to serve idols; but a figure of speech, by which God would\nhave them to understand that if they would walk after their idols, they\nmust not pretend to serve him at the same time:  for that he would by no\nmeans suffer such a mixture of worship.\n\n20:40. In my holy mountain, in the high mountain of Israel, saith the\nLord God, there shall all the house of Israel serve me; all of them I\nsay, in the land in which they shall please me, and there will I\nrequire your firstfruits, and the chief of your tithes with all your\nsanctifications.\n\nIn my holy mountain, etc. . .The foregoing verse, to make the sense\ncomplete, must be understood so as to condemn and reject that mixture\nof worship which the Jews then followed.  In this verse, God promises to\nthe true Israelites, especially to those of the Christian church, that\nthey shall serve him in another manner, in his holy mountain, the\nspiritual Sion:  and shall by accepted of by him.\n\n20:41. I will accept of you for an odour of sweetness, when I shall\nhave brought you out from the people, and shall have gathered you out\nof the lands into which you are scattered, and I will be sanctified in\nyou in the sight of the nations.\n\n20:42. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall have brought\nyou into the land of Israel, into the land for which I lifted up my\nhand to give it to your fathers.\n\n20:43. And there you shall remember your ways, and all your wicked\ndoings with which you have been defiled; and you shall be displeased\nwith yourselves in your own sight, for all your wicked deeds which you\ncommitted.\n\n20:44. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall have done\nwell by you for my own name's sake, and not according to your evil\nways, nor according to your wicked deeds, O house of Israel, saith the\nLord God.\n\n20:45. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n20:46. Son of man, set thy face against the way of the south, and drop\ntowards the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field.\n\nOf the south. . .Jerusalem lay towards the south of Babylon, (where the\nprophet then was,) and is here called the forest of the south field,\nand is threatened with utter desolation.\n\n20:47. And say to the south forest:  Hear the word of the Lord:  Thus\nsaith the Lord God:  Behold I will kindle a fire in thee, and will burn\nin thee every green tree, and every dry tree:  the flame of the fire\nshall not be quenched:  and every face shall be burned in it, from the\nsouth even to the north.\n\n20:48. And all flesh shall see, that I the Lord have kindled it, and it\nshall not be quenched.\n\n20:49. And I said:  Ah, ah, ah, O Lord God:  they say of me:  Doth not\nthis man speak by parables?\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 21\n\n\nThe destruction of Jerusalem by the sword is further described:  the\nruin also of the Ammonites is forshewn.  And finally Babylon, the\ndestroyer of others, shall be destroyed.\n\n21:1. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n21:2. Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and let thy speech\nflow towards the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel:\n\n21:3. And say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God:  Behold I\ncome against thee, and I will draw forth my sword out of its sheath,\nand will cut off in thee the just, and the wicked.\n\n21:4. And forasmuch as I have cut off in thee the just and the wicked,\ntherefore shall my sword go forth out of its sheath against all flesh,\nfrom the south even to the north.\n\n21:5. That all flesh may know that I the Lord have drawn my sword out\nof its sheath not to be turned back.\n\n21:6. And thou, son of man, mourn with the breaking of thy loins, and\nwith bitterness sigh before them.\n\n21:7. And when they shall say to thee:  Why mournest thou?  thou shalt\nsay:  For that which I hear:  because it cometh, and every heart shall\nmelt, and all hands shall be made feeble, and every spirit shall faint,\nand water shall run down every knee:  behold it cometh, and it shall be\ndone, saith the Lord God.\n\n21:8. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n21:9. Son of man, prophesy, and say:  Thus saith the Lord God:  Say:  The\nsword, the sword is sharpened, and furbished.\n\n21:10. It is sharpened to kill victims:  it is furbished that it may\nglitter:  thou removest the sceptre of my son, thou hast cut down every\ntree.\n\nThou removest the sceptre of my son. . .He speaks (according to St.\nJerome) to the sword of Nabuchodonosor:  which was about to remove the\nsceptre of Israel, whom God here calls his son.\n\n21:11. And I have given it to be furbished, that it may be handled:\nthis sword is sharpened, and it is furbished, that it may be in the\nhand of the slayer.\n\n21:12. Cry, and howl, O son of man, for this sword is upon my people,\nit is upon all the princes of Israel, that are fled:  they are delivered\nup to the sword with my people, strike therefore upon thy thigh,\n\n21:13. Because it is tried:  and that when it shall overthrow the\nsceptre, and it shall not be, saith the Lord God.\n\n21:14. Thou therefore, O son of man, prophesy, and strike thy hands\ntogether, and let the sword be doubled, and let the sword of the slain\nbe tripled:  this is the sword of a great slaughter, that maketh them\nstand amazed,\n\n21:15. And languish in heart, and that multiplieth ruins.  In all their\ngates I have set the dread of the sharp sword, the sword that is\nfurbished to glitter, that is made ready for slaughter.\n\n21:16. Be thou sharpened, go to the right hand, or to the left, which\nway soever thou hast a mind to set thy face.\n\n21:17. And I will clap my hands together, and will satisfy my\nindignation:  I the Lord have spoken.\n\n21:18. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n21:19. And thou son of man, set thee two ways, for the sword of the\nking of Babylon to come:  both shall come forth out of one land:  and\nwith his hand he shall draw lots, he shall consult at the head of the\nway of the city.\n\n21:20. Thou shalt make a way that the sword may come to Rabbath of the\nchildren of Ammon, and to Juda unto Jerusalem the strong city.\n\n21:21. For the king of Babylon stood in the highway, at the head of two\nways, seeking divination, shuffling arrows:  he inquired of the idols,\nand consulted entrails.\n\n21:22. On his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to set\nbattering rams, to open the mouth in slaughter, to lift up the voice in\nhowling, to set engines against the gates, to cast up a mount, to build\nforts.\n\n21:23. And he shall be in their eyes as one consulting the oracle in\nvain, and imitating the leisure of sabbaths:  but he will call to\nremembrance the iniquity that they may be taken.\n\n21:24. Therefore thus saith the Lord God:  Because you have remembered\nyour iniquity, and have discovered your prevarications, and your sins\nhave appeared in all your devices:  because, I say, You have remembered,\nyou shall be taken with the hand.\n\n21:25. But thou profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come that\nhath been appointed in the time of iniquity:\n\nThou profane, etc. . .He speaks to king Sedecias, who had broken his\noath, and was otherwise a wicked prince.\n\n21:26. Thus saith the Lord God:  Remove the diadem, take off the crown:\nis it not this that hath exalted the low one, and brought down him that\nwas high?\n\nIs it not this that hath exalted the low one. . .The royal crown of Juda\nhad exalted Sedecias from a private state and condition to the\nsovereign power, as the loss of it had brought down Jechonias, etc.\n\n21:27. I will shew it to be iniquity, iniquity, iniquity:  but this was\nnot done till he came to whom judgment belongeth, and I will give it\nhim.\n\nI will shew it to be iniquity, etc. . .Or, I will overturn it, viz., the\ncrown of Juda for the manifold iniquities of the kings:  but it shall\nnot be utterly removed, till Christ come whose right it is:  and who\nshall reign in the spiritual house of Jacob, that is, in his church,\nfor evermore.\n\n21:28. And thou son of man, prophesy, and say:  Thus saith the Lord God\nconcerning the children of Ammon, and concerning their reproach, and\nthou shalt say:  O sword, O sword, come out of the scabbard to kill, be\nfurbished to destroy, and to glitter,\n\nConcerning their reproach. . .By which they had reproached and insulted\nover the Jews, at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem.\n\n21:29. Whilst they see vain things in thy regard, and they divine lies:\nto bring thee upon the necks of the wicked that are wounded, whose\nappointed day is come in the time of iniquity.\n\n21:30. Return into thy sheath.  I will judge thee in the place wherein\nthou wast created, in the land of thy nativity.\n\nReturn into thy sheath, etc. . .The sword of Babylon, after raging\nagainst many nations, was shortly to be judged and destroyed at home by\nthe Medes and Persians.\n\n21:31. And I will pour out upon thee my indignation:  in the fire of my\nrage will I blow upon thee, and will give thee into the hands of men\nthat are brutish and contrive thy destruction.\n\n21:32. Thou shalt be fuel for the fire, thy blood shall be in the midst\nof the land, thou shalt be forgotten:  for I the Lord have spoken it.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 22\n\n\nThe general corruption of the inhabitants of Jerusalem:  for which God\nwill consume them as dross in his furnace.\n\n22:1. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n22:2. And thou son of man, dost thou not judge, dost thou not judge the\ncity of blood?\n\n22:3. And thou shalt shew her all her abominations, and shalt say:  Thus\nsaith the Lord God:  This is the city that sheddeth blood in the midst\nof her, that her time may come:  and that hath made idols against\nherself, to defile herself.\n\n22:4. Thou art become guilty in thy blood which thou hast shed:  and\nthou art defiled in thy idols which thou hast made:  and thou hast made\nthy days to draw near, and hast brought on the time of thy years:\ntherefore have I made thee a reproach to the Gentiles, and a mockery to\nall countries.\n\n22:5. Those that are near, and those that are far from thee, shall\ntriumph over thee:  thou filthy one, infamous, great in destruction.\n\n22:6. Behold the princes of Israel, every one hath employed his arm in\nthee to shed blood.\n\n22:7. They have abused father and mother in thee, they have oppressed\nthe stranger in the midst of thee, they have grieved the fatherless and\nwidow in thee.\n\n22:8. Thou hast despised my sanctuaries, and profaned my sabbaths.\n\n22:9. Slanderers have been in thee to shed blood, and they have eaten\nupon the mountains in thee, they have committed wickedness in the midst\nof thee.\n\n22:10. They have discovered the nakedness of their father in thee, they\nhave humbled the uncleanness of the menstruous woman in thee.\n\n22:11. And every one hath committed abomination with his neighbour's\nwife, and the father in law hath wickedly defiled his daughter in law,\nthe brother hath oppressed his sister the daughter of his father in\nthee.\n\n22:12. They have taken gifts in thee to shed blood:  thou hast taken\nusury and increase, and hast covetously oppressed thy neighbours:  and\nthou hast forgotten me, saith the Lord God.\n\n22:13. Behold, I have clapped my hands at thy covetousness, which thou\nhast exercised:  and at the blood that hath been shed in the midst of\nthee.\n\n22:14. Shall thy heart endure, or shall thy hands prevail in the days\nwhich I will bring upon thee:  I the Lord have spoken, and will do it.\n\n22:15. And I will disperse thee in the nations, and will scatter thee\namong the countries, and I will put an end to thy uncleanness in thee.\n\n22:16. And I will possess thee in the sight of the Gentiles, and thou\nshalt know that I am the Lord.\n\n22:17. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n22:18. Son of man, the house of Israel is become dross to me:  all these\nare brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace:\nthey are become the dross of silver.\n\n22:19. Therefore thus saith the Lord God:  Because you are all turned\ninto dross, therefore behold I will gather you together in the midst of\nJerusalem.\n\n22:20. As they gather silver, and brass, and tin, and iron, and lead in\nthe midst of the furnace:  that I may kindle a fire in it to melt it:  so\nwill I gather you together in my fury and in my wrath, and will take my\nrest, and I will melt you down.\n\n22:21. And will gather you together, and will burn you in the fire of\nmy wrath, and you shall be melted in the midst thereof.\n\n22:22. As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall you be\nin the midst thereof:  and you shall know that I am the Lord, when I\nhave poured out my indignation upon you.\n\n22:23. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n22:24. Son of man, say to her:  Thou art a land that is unclean, and not\nrained upon in the day of wrath.\n\n22:25. There is a conspiracy of prophets in the midst thereof:  like a\nlion that roareth and catcheth the prey, they have devoured souls, they\nhave taken riches and hire, they have made many widows in the midst\nthereof.\n\n22:26. Her priests have despised my law, and have defiled my\nsanctuaries:  they have put no difference between holy and profane:  nor\nhave distinguished between the polluted and the clean:  and they have\nturned away their eyes from my sabbaths, and I was profaned in the\nmidst of them.\n\n22:27. Her princes in the midst of her, are like wolves ravening the\nprey to shed blood, and to destroy souls, and to run after gains\nthrough covetousness.\n\n22:28. And her prophets have daubed them without tempering the mortar,\nseeing vain things, and divining lies unto them, saying:  Thus saith the\nLord God:  when the Lord hath not spoken.\n\n22:29. The people of the land have used oppression, and committed\nrobbery:  they afflicted the needy and poor, and they oppressed the\nstranger by calumny without judgment.\n\n22:30. And I sought among them for a man that might set up a hedge, and\nstand in the gap before me in favour of the land, that I might not\ndestroy it:  and I found none.\n\n22:31. And I poured out my indignation upon them, in the fire of my\nwrath I consumed them:  I have rendered their way upon their own head,\nsaith the Lord God.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 23\n\n\nUnder the names of the two harlots, Oolla and Ooliba, are described the\nmanifold disloyalties of Samaria and Jerusalem, with the punishment of\nthem both.\n\n23:1. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n23:2. Son of man, there were two women, daughters of one mother.\n\n23:3. And they committed fornication in Egypt, in their youth they\ncommitted fornication:  there were their breasts pressed down, and the\nteats of their virginity were bruised.\n\nCommitted fornication. . .That is, idolatry.\n\n23:4. And their names were Oolla the elder, and Ooliba her younger\nsister:  and I took them, and they bore sons and daughters.  Now for\ntheir names, Samaria is Oolla, and Jerusalem is Ooliba.\n\nOolla and Ooliba. . .God calls the kingdom of Israel Oolla, which\nsignifies their own habitation, because they separated themselves from\nhis temple:  and the kingdom of Juda, Ooliba, which signifies his\nhabitation in her, because of his temple among them in Jerusalem.\n\n23:5. And Oolla committed fornication against me, and doted on her\nlovers, on the Assyrians that came to her,\n\nOn the Assyraians, etc. . .That is, the idols of the Assyrians:  for all\nthat is said in this chapter of the fornications of Israel and Juda, is\nto be understood in a spiritual sense, of their disloyalty to the Lord,\nby worshipping strange gods.\n\n23:6. Who were clothed with blue, princes, and rulers, beautiful\nyouths, all horsemen, mounted upon horses.\n\n23:7. And she committed her fornications with those chosen men, all\nsons of the Assyrians:  and she defiled herself with the uncleanness of\nall them on whom she doted.\n\n23:8. Moreover also she did not forsake her fornications which she had\ncommitted in Egypt:  for they also lay with her in her youth, and they\nbruised the breasts of her virginity, and poured out their fornication\nupon her.\n\n23:9. Therefore have I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, into\nthe hands of the sons of the Assyrians, upon whose lust she doted.\n\n23:10. They discovered her disgrace, took away her sons and daughters,\nand slew her with the sword:  and they became infamous women, and they\nexecuted judgments in her.\n\n23:11. And when her sister Ooliba saw this, she was mad with lust more\nthan she:  and she carried her fornication beyond the fornication of her\nsister.\n\n23:12. Impudently prostituting herself to the children of the\nAssyrians, the princes, and rulers that came to her, clothed with\ndivers colours, to the horsemen that rode upon horses, and to young men\nall of great beauty.\n\n23:13. And I saw that she was defiled, and that they both took one way.\n\n23:14. And she increased her fornications:  and when she had seen men\npainted on the wall, the images of the Chaldeans set forth in colours,\n\n23:15. And girded with girdles about their reins, and with dyed turbans\non their heads, the resemblance of all the captains, the likeness of\nthe sons of Babylon, and of the land of the Chaldeans wherein they were\nborn,\n\n23:16. She doted upon them with the lust of her eyes, and she sent\nmessengers to them into Chaldea.\n\n23:17. And when the sons of Babylon were come to her to the bed of\nlove, they defiled her with their fornications, and she was polluted by\nthem, and her soul was glutted with them.\n\n23:18. And she discovered her fornications, and discovered her\ndisgrace:  and my soul was alienated from her, as my soul was alienated\nfrom her sister.\n\n23:19. For she multiplied her fornications, remembering the days of her\nyouth, in which she played the harlot in the land of Egypt.\n\n23:20. And she was mad with lust after lying with them whose flesh is\nas the flesh of asses:  and whose issue as the issue of horses.\n\n23:21. And thou hast renewed the wickedness of thy youth, when thy\nbreasts were pressed in Egypt, and the paps of thy virginity broken.\n\n23:22. Therefore, Ooliba, thus saith the Lord God:  Behold I will raise\nup against thee all thy lovers with whom thy soul hath been glutted:\nand I will gather them together against thee round about.\n\n23:23. The children of Babylon, and all the Chaldeans, the nobles, and\nthe kings, and princes, all the sons of the Assyrians, beautiful young\nmen, all the captains, and rulers, the princes of princes, and the\nrenowned horsemen.\n\n23:24. And they shall come upon thee well appointed with chariot and\nwheel, a multitude of people:  they shall be armed against thee on every\nside with breastplate, and buckler, and helmet:  and I will set judgment\nbefore them, and they shall judge thee by their judgments.\n\n23:25. And I will set my jealousy against thee, which they shall\nexecute upon thee with fury:  they shall cut off thy nose and thy ears:\nand what remains shall fall by the sword:  they shall take thy sons, and\nthy daughters, and thy residue shall be devoured by fire.\n\n23:26. And they shall strip thee of thy garments, and take away the\ninstruments of thy glory.\n\n23:27. And I will put an end to thy wickedness in thee, and thy\nfornication brought out of the land of Egypt:  neither shalt thou lift\nup thy eyes to them, nor remember Egypt any more.\n\n23:28. For thus saith the Lord God:  Behold, I will deliver thee into\nthe hands of them whom thou hatest, into their hands with whom thy soul\nhath been glutted.\n\n23:29. And they shall deal with thee in hatred, and they shall take\naway all thy labours, and shall let thee go naked, and full of\ndisgrace, and the disgrace of thy fornication shall be discovered, thy\nwickedness, and thy fornications.\n\n23:30. They have done these things to thee, because thou hast played\nthe harlot with the nations among which thou wast defiled with their\nidols.\n\n23:31. Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister and I will give her\ncup into thy hand.\n\n23:32. Thus saith the Lord God:  Thou shalt drink thy sister's cup, deep\nand wide:  thou shalt be had in derision and scorn, which containeth\nvery much.\n\n23:33. Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness, and sorrow:  with the cup\nof grief and sadness, with the cup of thy sister Samaria.\n\n23:34. And thou shalt drink it, and shalt drink it up even to the\ndregs, and thou shalt devour the fragments thereof, thou shalt rend thy\nbreasts:  because I have spoken it, saith the Lord God.\n\n23:35. Therefore thus saith the Lord God:  Because thou hast forgotten\nme, and hast cast me off behind thy back, bear thou also thy\nwickedness, and thy fornications.\n\n23:36. And the Lord spoke to me, saying:  Son of man, dost thou judge\nOolla, and Ooliba, and dost thou declare to them their wicked deeds?\n\n23:37. Because they have committed adultery, and blood is in their\nhands, and they have committed fornication with their idols:  moreover\nalso their children, whom they bore to me, they have offered to them to\nbe devoured.\n\n23:38. Yea, and they have done this to me.  They polluted my sanctuary\non the same day, and profaned my sabbaths.\n\n23:39. And when they sacrificed their children to their idols, and went\ninto my sanctuary the same day to profane it:  they did these things\neven in the midst of my house.\n\n23:40. They sent for men coming from afar, to whom they had sent a\nmessenger:  and behold they came:  for whom thou didst wash thyself, and\ndidst paint thy eyes, and wast adorned with women's ornaments.\n\n23:41. Thou sattest on a very fine bed, and a table was decked before\nthee:  whereupon thou didst set my incense, and my ointment.\n\n23:42. And there was in her the voice of a multitude rejoicing:  and to\nsome that were brought of the multitude of men, and that came from the\ndesert, they put bracelets on their hands, and beautiful crowns on\ntheir heads.\n\n23:43. And I said to her that was worn out in her adulteries:  Now will\nthis woman still continue in her fornication.\n\n23:44. And they went in to her, as to a harlot:  so went they in unto\nOolla, and Ooliba, wicked women.\n\n23:45. They therefore are just men:  these shall judge them as\nadulteresses are judged, and as shedders of blood are judged:  because\nthey are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands.\n\n23:46. For thus saith the Lord God:  Bring a multitude upon them, and\ndeliver them over to tumult and rapine:\n\n23:47. And let the people stone them with stone, and let them be\nstabbed with their swords:  they shall kill their sons and daughters,\nand their houses they shall burn with fire.\n\n23:48. And I will take away wickedness out of the land:  and all women\nshall learn, not to do according to the wickedness of them.\n\n23:49. And they shall render your wickedness upon you, and you shall\nbear the sins of your idols:  and you shall know that I am the Lord God.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 24\n\n\nUnder the parable of a boiling pot is shewn the utter destruction of\nJerusalem:  for which the Jews at Babylon shall not dare to mourn.\n\n24:1. And the word of the Lord came to me in the ninth year, in the\ntenth month, the tenth day of the month, saying:\n\n24:2. Son of man, write thee the name of this day, on which the king of\nBabylon hath set himself against Jerusalem to day.\n\n24:3. And thou shalt speak by a figure a parable to the provoking\nhouse, and say to them:  Thus saith the Lord God:  Set on a pot, set it\non, I say, and put water in it.\n\n24:4. Heap together into it the pieces thereof, every good piece, the\nthigh and the shoulder, choice pieces and full of bones.\n\n24:5. Take the fattest of the flock, and lay together piles of bones\nunder it:  the seething thereof is boiling hot, and the bones thereof\nare thoroughly sodden in the midst of it.\n\n24:6. Therefore thus saith the Lord God:  Woe to the bloody city, to the\npot whose rust is in it, and its rust is not gone out of it:  cast it\nout piece by piece, there hath no lot fallen upon it.\n\n24:7. For her blood is in the midst of her, she hath shed it upon the\nsmooth rock:  she hath not shed it upon the ground, that it might be\ncovered with dust.\n\n24:8. And that I might bring my indignation upon her, and take my\nvengeance:  I have shed her blood upon the smooth rock, that it should\nnot be covered.\n\n24:9. Therefore thus saith the Lord God:  Woe to the bloody city, of\nwhich I will make a great bonfire.\n\n24:10. Heap together the bones, which I will burn with fire:  the flesh\nshall be consumed, and the whole composition shall be sodden, and the\nbones shall be consumed.\n\n24:11. Then set it empty upon burning coals, that it may be hot, and\nthe brass thereof may be melted:  and let the filth of it be melted in\nthe midst thereof, and let the rust of it be consumed.\n\n24:12. Great pains have been taken, and the great rust thereof is not\ngone out, not even by fire.\n\n24:13. Thy uncleanness is execrable:  because I desired to cleanse thee,\nand thou art not cleansed from thy filthiness:  neither shalt thou be\ncleansed, before I cause my indignation to rest in thee.\n\n24:14. I the Lord have spoken:  it shall come to pass, and I will do it:\nI will not pass by, nor spare, nor be pacified:  I will judge thee\naccording to thy ways, and according to thy doings, saith the Lord.\n\n24:15. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n24:16. Son of man, behold I take from thee the desire of thy eyes with\na stroke, and thou shall not lament, nor weep; neither shall thy tears\nrun down.\n\n24:17. Sigh in silence, make no mourning for the dead:  let the tire of\nthy head be upon thee, and thy shoes on thy feet, and cover not thy\nface, nor eat the meat of mourners.\n\n24:18. So I spoke to the people in the morning, and my wife died in the\nevening:  and I did in the morning as he had commanded me.\n\n24:19. And the people said to me:  Why dost thou not tell us what these\nthings mean that thou doest?\n\n24:20. And I said to them:  The word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n24:21. Speak to the house of Israel:  Thus saith the Lord God:  Behold I\nwill profane my sanctuary, the glory of your realm, and the thing that\nyour eyes desire, and for which your soul feareth:  your sons, and your\ndaughters, whom you have left, shall fall by the sword.\n\n24:22. And you shall do as I have done:  you shall not cover your faces,\nnor shall you eat the meat of mourners.\n\n24:23. You shall have crowns on your heads, and shoes on your feet:  you\nshall not lament nor weep, but you shall pine away for your iniquities,\nand every one shall sigh with his brother.\n\n24:24. And Ezechiel shall be unto you for a sign of things to come:\naccording to all that he hath done, so shall you do, when this shall\ncome to pass:  and you shall know that I am the Lord God.\n\n24:25. And thou, O son of man, behold in the day wherein I will take\naway from them their strength, and the joy of their glory, and the\ndesire of their eyes, upon which their souls rest, their sons and their\ndaughters.\n\n24:26. In that day when he that escapeth shall come to thee, to tell\nthee:\n\n24:27. In that day, I say, shall thy mouth be opened to him that hath\nescaped, and thou shalt speak, and shalt be silent no more:  and thou\nshalt be unto them for a sign of things to come, and you shall know\nthat I am the Lord.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 25\n\n\nA prophecy against the Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites, and Philistines,\nfor their malice against the Israelites.\n\n25:1. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n25:2. Son of man, set thy face against the children of Ammon, and thou\nshalt prophesy of them.\n\n25:3. And thou shalt say to the children of Ammon:  Hear ye the word of\nthe Lord God:  Thus saith the Lord God:  Because thou hast said:  Ha, ha,\nupon my sanctuary, because it was profaned:  and upon the land of\nIsrael, because it was laid waste:  and upon the house of Juda, because\nthey are led into captivity:\n\n25:4. Therefore will I deliver thee to the men of the east for an\ninheritance, and they shall place their sheepcotes in thee, and shall\nset up their tents in thee:  they shall eat thy fruits:  and they shall\ndrink thy milk.\n\n25:5. And I will make Rabbath a stable for camels, and the children of\nAmmon a couching place for flocks:  and you shall know that I am the\nLord.\n\nRabbath. . .The capital city of the Ammonites:  it was afterwards called\nPhiladelphia.\n\n25:6. For thus saith the Lord God:  Because thou hast clapped thy hands\nand stamped with thy foot, and hast rejoiced with all thy heart against\nthe land of Israel:\n\n25:7. Therefore behold I will stretch forth my hand upon thee, and will\ndeliver thee to be the spoil of nations, and will cut thee off from\namong the people, and destroy thee out of the lands, and break thee in\npieces:  and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.\n\n25:8. Thus saith the Lord God:  Because Moab and Seir have said:  Behold\nthe house of Juda is like all other nations:\n\n25:9. Therefore behold I will open the shoulder of Moab from the\ncities, from his cities, I say, and his borders, the noble cities of\nthe land of Bethiesimoth, and Beelmeon, and Cariathaim,\n\n25:10. To the people of the east with the children of Ammon, and I will\ngive it them for an inheritance:  that there may be no more any\nremembrance of the children of Ammon among the nations.\n\n25:11. And I will execute judgments in Moab:  and they shall know that I\nam the Lord.\n\n25:12. Thus saith the Lord God:  Because Edom hath taken vengeance to\nrevenge herself of the children of Juda, and hath greatly offended, and\nhath sought revenge of them:\n\n25:13. Therefore thus saith the Lord God:  I will stretch forth my hand\nupon Edom, and will take away out of it man and beast, and will make it\ndesolate from the south:  and they that are in Dedan shall fall by the\nsword.\n\n25:14. And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people\nIsrael:  and they shall do in Edom according to my wrath, and my fury:\nand they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord God.\n\n25:15. Thus saith the Lord God:  Because the Philistines have taken\nvengeance, and have revenged themselves with all their mind, destroying\nand satisfying old enmities:\n\n25:16. Therefore thus saith the Lord God:  Behold I will stretch forth\nmy hand upon the Philistines, and will kill the killers, and will\ndestroy the remnant of the sea coast.\n\n25:17. And I will execute great vengeance upon them, rebuking them in\nfury:  and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall lay my\nvengeance upon them.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 26\n\n\nA prophecy of the destruction of the famous city of Tyre by\nNabuchodonosor.\n\n26:1. And it came to pass in the eleventh year, the first day of the\nmonth, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n26:2. Son of man, because Tyre hath said of Jerusalem:  Aha, the gates\nof the people are broken, she is turned to me:  I shall be filled, now\nshe is laid waste.\n\n26:3. Therefore thus saith the Lord God:  Behold I come against thee, O\nTyre, and I will cause many nations to come up to thee, as the waves of\nthe sea rise up.\n\n26:4. And they shall break down the walls of Tyre, and destroy the\ntowers thereof:  and I will scrape her dust from her, and make her like\na smooth rock.\n\n26:5. She shall be a drying place for nets in the midst of the sea,\nbecause I have spoken it, saith the Lord God:  and she shall be a spoil\nto the nations.\n\n26:6. Her daughters also that are in the field, shall be slain by the\nsword:  and they shall know that I am the Lord.\n\n26:7. For thus saith the Lord God:  Behold I will bring against Tyre\nNabuchodonosor king of Babylon, the king of kings, from the north, with\nhorses, and chariots, and horsemen, and companies, and much people.\n\n26:8. Thy daughters that are in the field, he shall kill with the\nsword:  and he shall compass thee with forts, and shall cast up a mount\nround about:  and he shall lift up the buckler against thee.\n\n26:9. And he shall set engines of war and battering rams against thy\nwalls, and shall destroy thy towers with his arms.\n\n26:10. By reason of the multitude of his horses, their dust shall cover\nthee:  thy walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen, and wheels,\nand chariots, when they shall go in at thy gates, as by the entrance of\na city that is destroyed.\n\n26:11. With the hoofs of his horses he shall tread down all thy\nstreets, thy people he shall kill with the sword, and thy famous\nstatues shall fall to the ground.\n\n26:12. They shall waste thy riches, they shall make a spoil of thy\nmerchandise:  and they shall destroy thy walls, and pull down thy fine\nhouses:  and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber, and thy dust in\nthe midst of the waters.\n\n26:13. And I will make the multitude of thy songs to cease, and the\nsound of thy harps shall be heard no more.\n\n26:14. And I will make thee like a naked rock, thou shalt be a drying\nplace for nets, neither shalt thou be built any more:  for I have spoken\nit, saith the Lord God.\n\n26:15. Thus saith the Lord God to Tyre:  Shall not the islands shake at\nthe sound of thy fall, and the groans of thy slain when they shall be\nkilled in the midst of thee?\n\n26:16. Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their\nthrones:  and take off their robes, and cast away their broidered\ngarments, and be clothed with astonishment:  they shall sit on the\nground, and with amazement shall wonder at thy sudden fall.\n\n26:17. And taking up a lamentation over thee, they shall say to thee:\nHow art thou fallen, that dwellest in the sea, renowned city that wast\nstrong in the sea, with thy inhabitants whom all did dread?\n\n26:18. Now shall the ships be astonished in the day of thy terror:  and\nthe islands in the sea shall be troubled because no one cometh out of\nthee.\n\n26:19. For thus saith the Lord God:  When I shall make thee a desolate\ncity like the cities that are not inhabited:  and shall bring the deep\nupon thee, and many waters shall cover thee:\n\n26:20. And when I shall bring thee down with those that descend into\nthe pit to the everlasting people, and shall set thee in the lowest\nparts of the earth, as places desolate of old, with them that are\nbrought down into the pit, that thou be not inhabited:  and when I shall\ngive glory in the land of the living,\n\n26:21. I will bring thee to nothing, and thou shalt not be, and if thou\nbe sought for, thou shalt not be found any more for ever, saith the\nLord God.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 27\n\n\nA description of the glory and riches of Tyre:  and of her irrecoverable\nfall.\n\n27:1. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n27:2. Thou therefore, O son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyre:\n\n27:3. And say to Tyre that dwelleth at the entry of the sea, being the\nmart of the people for many islands:  Thus saith the Lord God:  O Tyre,\nthou hast said:  I am of perfect beauty,\n\n27:4. And situate in the heart of the sea.  Thy neighbours, that built\nthee, have perfected thy beauty:\n\n27:5. With fir trees of Sanir they have built thee with all sea planks:\nthey have taken cedars from Libanus to make thee masts.\n\nSea planks. . .That is, timber brought by sea to build the city.\n\n27:6. They have cut thy oars out of the oaks of Basan:  and they have\nmade thee benches of Indian ivory and cabins with things brought from\nthe islands of Italy.\n\n27:7. Fine broidered linen from Egypt was woven for thy sail, to be\nspread on thy mast:  blue and purple from the islands of Elisa, were\nmade thy covering.\n\n27:8. The inhabitants of Sidon, and the Arabians were thy rowers:  thy\nwise men, O Tyre, were thy pilots.\n\n27:9. The ancients of Gebal, and the wise men thereof furnished\nmariners for the service of thy various furniture:  all the ships of the\nsea, and their mariners were thy factors.\n\n27:10. The Persians, and Lydians, and the Libyans were thy soldiers in\nthy army:  they hung up the buckler and the helmet in thee for thy\nornament.\n\n27:11. The men of Arad were with thy army upon thy walls round about:\nthe Pygmeans also that were in thy towers, hung up their quivers on thy\nwalls round about:  they perfected thy beauty.\n\nPygmeans. . .That is, strong and valiant men.  In Hebrew, Gammadim.\n\n27:12. The Carthaginians thy merchants supplied thy fairs with a\nmultitude of all kinds of riches, with silver, iron, tin, and lead,\n\n27:13. Greece, Thubal, and Mosoch, they were thy merchants, they\nbrought to thy people slaves and vessels of brass.\n\n27:14. From the house of Thogorma they brought horses, and horsemen,\nand mules to thy market.\n\n27:15. The men of Dedan were thy merchants:  many islands were the\ntraffic of thy hand, they exchanged for thy price teeth of ivory and\nebony.\n\n27:16. The Syrian was thy merchant:  by reason of the multitude of thy\nworks, they set forth precious stories, and purple, and broidered\nworks, and fine linen, and silk, and chodchod in thy market.\n\nChodchod. . .It is the Hebrew name for some precious stone; but of what\nkind in particular interpreters are not agreed.\n\n27:17. Juda and the land of Israel, they were thy merchants with the\nbest corn:  they set forth balm, and honey, and oil and rosin in thy\nfairs.\n\n27:18. The men of Damascus were thy merchants in the multitude of thy\nworks, the multitude of divers riches, in rich wine, in wool of the\nbest colour.\n\n27:19. Dan, and Greece, and Mosel have set forth in thy marts wrought\niron:  stacte, and calamus were in thy market.\n\n27:20. The men of Dedan were thy merchants in tapestry for seats.\n\n27:21. Arabia, and all the princes of Cedar, they were the merchants of\nthy hand:  thy merchants came to thee with lambs, and rams, and kids.\n\n27:22. The sellers of Saba, and Reema, they were thy merchants:  with\nall the best spices, and precious stones, and gold, which they set\nforth in thy market.\n\n27:23. Haran, and Chene, and Eden were thy merchants; Saba, Assur, and\nChelmad sold to thee.\n\n27:24. They were thy merchants in divers manners, with bales of blue\ncloth, and of embroidered work, and of precious riches, which were\nwrapped up and bound with cords:  they had cedars also in thy\nmerchandise.\n\n27:25. The ships of the sea, were thy chief in thy merchandise:  and\nthou wast replenished, and glorified exceedingly in the heart of the\nsea.\n\n27:26. Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters:  the south wind\nhath broken thee in the heart of the sea.\n\n27:27. Thy riches, and thy treasures, and thy manifold furniture, thy\nmariners, and thy pilots, who kept thy goods, and were chief over thy\npeople:  thy men of war also, that were in thee, with all thy multitude\nthat is in the midst of thee:  shall fall in the heart of the sea in the\nday of thy ruin.\n\n27:28. Thy fleets shall be troubled at the sound of the cry of thy\npilots.\n\n27:29. And all that handled the oar shall come down from their ships:\nthe mariners, and all the pilots of the sea shall stand upon the land:\n\n27:30. And they shall mourn over thee with a loud voice and shall cry\nbitterly:  and they shall cast up dust upon their heads and shall be\nsprinkled with ashes.\n\n27:31. And they shall shave themselves bald for thee, and shall be\ngirded with haircloth:  and they shall weep for thee with bitterness of\nsoul, with most bitter weeping.\n\n27:32. And they shall take up a mournful song for thee, and shall\nlament thee:  What city is like Tyre, which is become silent in the\nmidst of the sea?\n\n27:33. Which by thy merchandise that went from thee by sea didst fill\nmany people:  which by the multitude of thy riches, and of thy people\ndidst enrich the kings of the earth.\n\n27:34. Now thou art destroyed by the sea, thy riches are in the bottom\nof the waters, and all the multitude that was in the midst of thee is\nfallen.\n\n27:35. All the inhabitants of the islands are astonished at thee:  and\nall their kings being struck with the storm have changed their\ncountenance.\n\n27:36. The merchants of people have hissed at thee:  thou art brought to\nnothing, and thou shalt never be any more.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 28\n\n\nThe king of Tyre, who affected to be like to God, shall fall under the\nlike sentence with Lucifer.  The judgment of Sidon.  The restoration of\nIsrael.\n\n28:1. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n28:2. Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre:  Thus saith the Lord God:\nBecause thy heart is lifted up, and thou hast said:  I am God, and I sit\nin the chair of God in the heart of the sea:  whereas thou art a man,\nand not God:  and hast set thy heart as if it were the heart of God.\n\n28:3. Behold thou art wiser than Daniel:  no secret is hid from thee.\n\nThou art wiser than Daniel. . .Viz., in thy own conceit.  The wisdom of\nDaniel was so much celebrated in his days, that it became a proverb\namongst the Chaldeans, when any one would express an extraordinary\nwisdom, to say he was as wise as Daniel.\n\n28:4. In thy wisdom and thy understanding thou hast made thyself\nstrong:  and hast gotten gold an silver into thy treasures.\n\n28:5. By the greatness of thy wisdom, and by thy traffic thou hast\nincreased thy strength:  and thy heart is lifted up with thy strength.\n\n28:6. Therefore, thus saith the Lord God:  Because thy heart is lifted\nup as the heart of God:\n\n28:7. Therefore behold, I will bring upon thee strangers:  the strongest\nof the nations:  and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of\nthy wisdom, and they shall defile thy beauty.\n\n28:8. They shall kill thee, and bring thee down:  and thou shalt die the\ndeath of them that are slain in the heart of the sea.\n\n28:9. Wilt thou yet say before them that slay thee:  I am God; whereas\nthou art a man, and not God, in the hand of them that slay thee?\n\n28:10. Thou shalt die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of\nstrangers:  for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God.\n\n28:11. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:  Son of man, take up\na lamentation upon the king of Tyre:\n\n28:12. And say to him:  Thus saith the Lord God:  Thou wast the seal of\nresemblance, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.\n\nThou wast the seal of resemblance. . .The king of Tyre, by his dignity\nand his natural perfections, bore in himself a certain resemblance to\nGod, by reason of which he might be called the seal of resemblance,\netc.  But what is here said to him is commonly understood of Lucifer,\nthe king over all the children of pride.\n\n28:13. Thou wast in the pleasures of the paradise of God:  every\nprecious stone was thy covering:  the sardius, the topaz, and the\njasper, the chrysolite, and the onyx, and the beryl, the sapphire, and\nthe carbuncle, and the emerald:  gold the work of thy beauty:  and thy\npipes were prepared in the day that thou wast created.\n\n28:14. Thou a cherub stretched out, and protecting, and I set thee in\nthe holy mountain of God, thou hast walked in the midst of the stones\nof fire.\n\nA cherub stretched out. . .That is, thy wings extended.  This alludes to\nthe figure of the cherubims in the sanctuary, which with stretched out\nwings covered the ark.--Ibid.  The stones of fire. . .That is, bright and\nprecious stones which sparkle like fire.\n\n28:15. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day of thy creation,\nuntil iniquity was found in thee.\n\n28:16. By the multitude of thy merchandise, thy inner parts were filled\nwith iniquity, and thou hast sinned:  and I cast thee out from the\nmountain of God, and destroyed thee, O covering cherub, out of the\nmidst of the stones of fire.\n\n28:17. And thy heart was lifted up with thy beauty:  thou hast lost thy\nwisdom in thy beauty, I have cast thee to the ground:  I have set thee\nbefore the face of kings, that they might behold thee.\n\n28:18. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thy\niniquities, and by the iniquity of thy traffic:  therefore I will bring\nforth a fire from the midst of thee, to devour thee, and I will make\nthee as ashes upon the earth in the sight of all that see thee.\n\n28:19. All that shall see thee among the nations, shall be astonished\nat thee:  thou art brought to nothing, and thou shalt never be any more.\n\n28:20. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n28:21. Son of man, set thy face against Sidon:  and thou shalt prophesy\nof it,\n\n28:22. And shalt say:  Thus saith the Lord God:  Behold I come against\nthee, Sidon, and I will be glorified in the midst of thee:  and they\nshall know that I am the Lord, when I shall execute judgments in her,\nand shall be sanctified in her.\n\n28:23. And I will send into her pestilence, and blood in her streets:\nand they shall fall being slain by the sword on all sides in the midst\nthereof:  and they shall know that I am the Lord.\n\n28:24. And the house of Israel shall have no more a stumblingblock of\nbitterness, nor a thorn causing pain on every side round about them, of\nthem that are against them:  and they shall know that I am the Lord God.\n\n28:25. Thus saith the Lord God:  When I shall have gathered together the\nhouse of Israel out of the people among whom they are scattered:  I will\nbe sanctified in them before the Gentiles:  and they shall dwell in\ntheir own land, which I gave to my servant Jacob.\n\n28:26. And they shall dwell therein secure, and they shall build\nhouses, and shall plant vineyards, and shall dwell with confidence,\nwhen I shall have executed judgments upon all that are their enemies\nround about:  and they shall know that I am the Lord their God.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 29\n\n\nThe king of Egypt shall be overthrown, and his kingdom wasted:  it shall\nbe given to Nabuchodonosor for his service against Tyre.\n\n29:1. In the tenth year, the tenth month, the eleventh day of the\nmonth, the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n29:2. Son of man, set thy face against Pharao king of Egypt:  and thou\nshalt prophesy of him, and of all Egypt:\n\n29:3. Speak, and say:  Thus saith the Lord God:  Behold, I come against\nthee, Pharao king of Egypt, thou great dragon that liest in the midst\nof thy rivers, and sayest:  The river is mine, and I made myself.\n\n29:4. But I will put a bridle in thy jaws:  and I will cause the fish of\nthy rivers to stick to thy scales:  and I will draw thee out of the\nmidst of thy rivers, and all thy fish shall stick to thy scales.\n\n29:5. And I will cast thee forth into the desert, and all the fish of\nthy river:  thou shalt fall upon the face of the earth, thou shalt not\nbe taken up, nor gathered together:  I have given thee for meat to the\nbeasts of the earth, and to the fowls of the air.\n\n29:6. And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord:\nbecause thou hast been a staff of a reed to the house of Israel.\n\n29:7. When they took hold of thee with the hand thou didst break, and\nrent all their shoulder:  and when they leaned upon thee, thou brokest,\nand weakenest all their loins.\n\n29:8. Therefore thus saith the Lord God:  Behold, I will bring the sword\nupon thee:  and cut off man and beast out of thee.\n\n29:9. And the land of Egypt shall become a desert, and a wilderness:\nand they shall know that I am the Lord, because thou hast said:  The\nriver is mine, and I made it.\n\n29:10. Therefore, behold I come against thee, and thy rivers:  and I\nwill make the land of Egypt utterly desolate, and wasted by the sword,\nfrom the tower of Syene, even to the borders of Ethiopia.\n\n29:11. The foot of man shall not pass through it, neither shall the\nfoot of beasts go through it:  nor shall it be inhabited during forty\nyears.\n\n29:12. And I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the\nlands that are desolate, and the cities thereof in the midst of the\ncites that are destroyed, and they shall be desolate for forty years:\nand I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse\nthem through the countries.\n\n29:13. For thus saith the Lord God:  At the end of forty years I will\ngather the Egyptians from the people among whom they had been\nscattered.\n\n29:14. And I will bring back the captivity of Egypt, and will place\nthem in the land of Phatures, in the land of their nativity, and they\nshall be there a low kingdom:\n\n29:15. It shall be the lowest among other kingdoms, and it shall no\nmore be exalted over the nations, and I will diminish them that they\nshall rule no more over the nations.\n\n29:16. And they shall be no more a confidence to the house of Israel,\nteaching iniquity, that they may flee, and follow them:  and they shall\nknow that I am the Lord God.\n\n29:17. And it came to pass in the seven and twentieth year in the first\nmonth, in the first of the month:  that the word of the Lord came to me,\nsaying:\n\n29:18. Son of man, Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon hath made his army to\nundergo hard service against Tyre:  every head was made bald, and every\nshoulder was peeled and there hath been no reward given him, nor his\narmy for Tyre, for the service that he rendered me against it.\n\n29:19. Therefore thus saith the Lord God:  Behold, I will set\nNabuchodonosor the king of Babylon in the land of Egypt:  and he shall\ntake her multitude, and take the booty thereof for a prey, and rifle\nthe spoils thereof:  and it shall be wages for his army.\n\n29:20. And for the service that he hath done me against it:  I have\ngiven him the land of Egypt, because he hath laboured for me, saith the\nLord God.\n\n29:21. In that day a horn shall bud forth to the house of Israel, and I\nwill give thee an open mouth in the midst of them:  and they shall know\nthat I am the Lord.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 30\n\n\nThe desolation of Egypt and her helpers:  all her cities shall be\nwasted.\n\n30:1. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n30:2. Son of man prophesy, and say:  Thus saith the Lord God:  Howl ye,\nWoe, woe to the day:\n\n30:3. For the day is near, yea the day of the Lord is near:  a cloudy\nday, it shall be the time of the nations.\n\n30:4. And the sword shall come upon Egypt:  and there shall be dread in\nEthiopia, when the wounded shall fall in Egypt, and the multitude\nthereof shall be taken away, and the foundations thereof shall be\ndestroyed.\n\n30:5. Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia, and all the rest of the crowd,\nand Chub, and the children of the land of the covenant, shall fall with\nthem by the sword.\n\n30:6. Thus saith the Lord God:  They also that uphold Egypt shall fall,\nand the pride of her empire shall be brought down:  from the tower of\nSyene shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the Lord the God of\nhosts.\n\n30:7. And they shall be desolate in the midst of the lands that are\ndesolate, and the cities thereof shall be in the midst of the cities\nthat are wasted.\n\n30:8. And they shall know that I am the Lord:  when I shall have set a\nfire in Egypt, and all the helpers thereof shall be destroyed.\n\n30:9. In that day shall messengers go forth from my face in ships to\ndestroy the confidence of Ethiopia, and there shall be dread among them\nin the day of Egypt:  because it shall certainly come.\n\n30:10. Thus saith the Lord God:  I will make the multitude of Egypt to\ncease by the hand of Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon.\n\n30:11. He and his people with him, the strongest of nations, shall be\nbrought to destroy the land:  and they shall draw their swords upon\nEgypt:  and shall fill the land with the slain.\n\n30:12. And I will make the channels of the rivers dry, and will deliver\nthe land into the hand of the wicked:  and will lay waste the land and\nall that is therein by the hands of strangers, I the Lord have spoken\nit.\n\n30:13. Thus saith the Lord God:  I will also destroy the idols, and I\nwill make an end of the idols of Memphis:  and there shall:  be no more a\nprince of the land of Egypt and I will cause a terror in the land of\nEgypt.\n\n30:14. And I will destroy the land of Phatures, and will make a fire in\nTaphnis, and will execute judgments in Alexandria.\n\nAlexandria. . .In the Hebrew, No:  which was the ancient name of that\ncity, which was afterwards rebuilt by Alexander the Great, and from his\nname called Alexandria.\n\n30:15. And I will pour out my indignation upon Pelusium the strength of\nEgypt, and will cut off the multitude of Alexandria.\n\n30:16. And I will make a fire in Egypt:  Pelusium shall be in pain like\na woman in labour, and Alexandria shall be laid waste, and in Memphis\nthere shall be daily distresses.\n\n30:17. The young men of Heliopolis, and of Bubastus shall fall by the\nsword, and they themselves shall go into captivity.\n\n30:18. And in Taphnis the day shall be darkened, when I shall break\nthere the sceptres of Egypt, and the pride of her power shall cease in\nher:  a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall be led into\ncaptivity.\n\n30:19. And I will execute judgments in Egypt:  and they shall know that\nI am the Lord.\n\n30:20. And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, in\nthe seventh day of the month, that the word of the Lord came, me,\nsaying:\n\n30:21. Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharao king of Egypt:  and\nbehold it is not bound up, to be healed, to be tied up with clothes,\nand swathed with linen, that it might recover strength, and hold the\nsword.\n\n30:22. Therefore, thus saith the Lord God:  Behold, I come against\nPharao king of Egypt, and I will break into pieces his strong arm,\nwhich is already broken:  and I will cause the sword to fall out of his\nhand:\n\n30:23. And I will disperse Egypt among the nations, and scatter them\nthrough the countries.\n\n30:24. And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and will\nput my sword in his hand:  and I will break the arms of Pharao, and they\nshall groan bitterly being slain before his face.\n\n30:25. And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and the\narms of Pharao shall fall:  and they shall know that I am the Lord, when\nI shall have given my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and\nhe shall have stretched it forth upon the land of Egypt.\n\n30:26. And I will disperse Egypt among the nations, and will scatter\nthem through the countries, and they shall know that I am the Lord.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 31\n\n\nThe Assyrian empire fell for their pride:  the Egyptian shall fall in\nlike manner.\n\n31:1. And it came to pass, in the eleventh year, the third month the\nfirst day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n31:2. Son of man, speak to Pharao king of Egypt, and to his people:  To\nwhom art thou like in thy greatness?\n\n31:3. Behold, the Assyrian like a cedar in Libanus, with fair branches,\nand full of leaves, of a high stature, and his top was elevated among\nthe thick boughs.\n\n31:4. The waters nourished him, the deep set him tip on high, the\nstreams thereof ran round about his roots, and it sent, forth its\nrivulets to all the trees of the country.\n\n31:5. Therefore was his height exalted above all the trees of the\ncountry and his branches were multiplied, and his boughs were elevated\nbecause of many waters.\n\n31:6. And when he had spread forth his shadow, all the fowls of the air\nmade their nests in his boughs, and all the beasts of the forest\nbrought forth their young under his branches, and the assembly of many\nnations dwelt under his shadow.\n\n31:7. And he was most beautiful for his greatness, and for the\nspreading of his branches:  for his root was near great waters.\n\n31:8. The cedars in the paradise of God were not higher than he, the\nfir trees did not equal his top, neither were the plane trees to be\ncompared with him for branches:  no tree in the paradise of God was like\nhim in his beauty.\n\n31:9. For I made him beautiful and thick set with many branches:  and\nall the trees of pleasure, that were in the paradise of God, envied\nhim.\n\n31:10. Therefore thus saith the Lord God:  Because he was exalted in\nheight, and shot up his top green and thick, and his heart was lifted\nup in his height:\n\n31:11. I have delivered him into the hands of the mighty one of the\nnations, he shall deal with him:  I have cast him out according to his\nwickedness.\n\nI have delivered. . .Here the time past is put for the future, i.  e., I\nshall deliver.--Ibid.  The mighty one, etc. . .Viz., Nabuchodonosor, who\nconquered both the Assyrians and Egyptians.\n\n31:12. And strangers, and the most cruel of the nations shall cut him\ndown, and cast him away upon the mountains, and his boughs shall fall\nin every valley, and his branches shall be broken on every rock of the\ncountry:  and all the people of the earth shall depart from his shadow,\nand leave him.\n\n31:13. All the fowls of the air dwelt upon his ruins, and all the\nbeasts of the field were among his branches.\n\n31:14. For which cause none of the trees by the waters shall exalt\nthemselves for their height:  nor shoot up their tops among the thick\nbranches and leaves, neither shall any of them that are watered stand\nup in their height:  for they are all delivered unto death to the lowest\nparts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with them that\ngo down into the pit.\n\n31:15. Thus saith the Lord God:  In the day when he went down to hell, I\nbrought in mourning, I covered him with the deep:  and I withheld its\nrivers, and restrained the many waters:  Libanus grieved for him, and\nall the trees of the field trembled.\n\n31:16. I shook the nations with the sound of his fall, when I brought\nhim down to hell with them that descend into the pit:  and all the trees\nof pleasure, the choice and best in Libanus, all that were moistened\nwith waters, were comforted in the lowest parts of the earth.\n\n31:17. For they also shall go down with him to hell to them that are\nslain by the sword; and the arm of every one shall sit down under his\nshadow in the midst of the nations.\n\n31:18. To whom art thou like, O thou that art famous and lofty among\nthe trees of pleasure?  Behold, thou art brought down with the trees of\npleasure to the lowest parts of the earth:  thou shalt sleep in the\nmidst of the uncircumcised, with them that are slain by the sword:  this\nis Pharao, and all his multitude, saith the Lord God.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 32\n\n\nThe prophet's lamentation for the king of Egypt.\n\n32:1. And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in\nthe first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me,\nsaying:\n\n32:2. Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharao the king of Egypt,\nand say to him:  Thou art like the lion of the nations, and the dragon\nthat is in the sea:  and thou didst push with the horn in thy rivers,\nand didst trouble the waters with thy feet, and didst trample upon\ntheir streams.\n\n32:3. Therefore, thus saith the Lord God:  I will spread out my net over\nthee with the multitude of many people, and I will draw thee up in my\nnet.\n\n32:4. And I will throw thee out on the land, I will cast thee away into\nthe open field and I will cause all the fowls of the air to dwell upon\nthee, and I will fill the beasts of all the earth with thee.\n\n32:5. And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains, and will fill thy\nhills with thy corruption,\n\n32:6. And I will water the earth with thy stinking blood upon the\nmountains, and the valleys shall be filled with thee.\n\n32:7. And I will cover the heavens, when thou shalt be put out, and I\nwill make the stars thereof dark:  I will cover the sun with a cloud,\nand the moon shall not give her light.\n\n32:8. I will make all the lights of heaven to mourn over thee and I\nwill cause darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord God, when thy wounded\nshall fall in the midst of the land, saith the Lord God.\n\n32:9. And I shall provoke to anger the heart of many people, when I\nshall have brought in thy destruction among the nations upon the lands,\nwhich thou knowest not.\n\n32:10. And I will make many people to be amazed at thee, and their\nkings shall be horribly afraid for thee, when my sword shall begin to\nfly upon their faces:  and they shall be astonished on a sudden, every\none for his own life, in the day of their ruin.\n\n32:11. For thus saith the Lord God:  The sword of the king of Babylon\nshall come upon thee,\n\n32:12. By the swords of the mighty I will overthrow thy multitude:  all\nthese nations are invincible:  and they shall waste the pride of Egypt,\nand the multitude thereof shall be destroyed.\n\n32:13. I will destroy also all the beasts thereof that were beside the\ngreat waters:  and the foot of man shall trouble them no more, neither\nshall the hoof of beasts trouble them.\n\n32:14. Then will I make their waters clear, and cause their rivers to\nrun like oil, saith the Lord God:\n\n32:15. When I shall have made the land of Egypt desolate:  and the land\nshall be destitute of her fulness, when I shall have struck all the\ninhabitants thereof and they shall know that I am the Lord.\n\n32:16. This is the lamentation, and they shall lament therewith:  the\ndaughters of the nations shall lament therewith for Egypt, and for the\nmultitude thereof they shall lament therewith, saith the Lord God.\n\n32:17. And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth day of\nthe month, that the word of the Lord came to me saying:\n\n32:18. Son of man, sing a mournful song for the multitude of Egypt:  and\ncast her down, both her, and the daughters of the mighty nations to the\nlowest part of the earth, with them that go down into the pit.\n\n32:19. Whom dost thou excel in beauty?  go down and sleep with the\nuncircumcised.\n\n32:20. They shall fall in the midst of them that are slain with the\nsword:  the sword is given, they have drawn her down, and all her\npeople.\n\n32:21. The most mighty among the strong ones shall speak to him from\nthe midst of hell, they that went down with his helpers and slept\nuncircumcised, slain by the sword.\n\n32:22. Assur is there, and all his multitude:  their graves are round\nabout him, all of them slain, and that fell by the sword.\n\n32:23. Whose graves are set in the lowest parts of the pit:  and his\nmultitude lay round about his grave:  all of them slain, and fallen by\nthe sword, they that heretofore spread terror in the land of the\nliving.\n\n32:24. There is Elam and all his multitude round about his grave, all\nof them slain, and fallen by the sword; that went down uncircumcised to\nthe lowest parts of the earth:  that caused their terror in the land of\nthe living, and they have borne their shame with them that go down into\nthe pit.\n\n32:25. In the midst of the slain they have set him a bed among all his\npeople:  their graves are round about him:  all these are uncircumcised,\nand slain by the sword:  for they spread their terror in the land of the\nliving, and have borne their shame with them that descend into the pit:\nthey are laid in the midst of the slain.\n\n32:26. There is Mosoch, and Thubal, and all their multitude:  their\ngraves are round about him:  all of them uncircumcised and slain, and\nfallen by the sword:  though they spread their terror in the land of the\nliving.\n\n32:27. And they shall not sleep with the brave, and with them that fell\nuncircumcised, that went down to hell with their weapons, and laid\ntheir swords under their heads, and their iniquities were in their\nbones, because they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the\nliving.\n\n32:28. So thou also shalt be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised,\nand shalt sleep with them that are slain by the sword.\n\n32:29. There is Edom, and her kings, and all her princes, who with\ntheir army are joined with them that are slain by the sword:  and have\nslept with the uncircumcised, and with them that go down into the pit.\n\n32:30. There are all the princes of the north, and all the hunters:  who\nwere brought down with the slain, fearing, and confounded in their\nstrength:  who slept uncircumcised with them that are slain by the\nsword, and have borne their shame with them that go down into the pit.\n\n32:31. Pharao saw them, and he was comforted concerning all his\nmultitude, which was slain by the sword:  Pharao, and all his army,\nsaith the Lord God:\n\n32:32. Because I have spread my terror in the land of the living, and\nhe hath slept in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that are\nslain by the sword:  Pharao and all his multitude, saith the Lord God.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 33\n\n\nThe duty of the watchman appointed by God:  the justice of God's ways:\nhis judgments upon the Jews.\n\n33:1. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n33:2. Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say to them:\nWhen I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a\nman, one of their meanest, and make him a watchman over them:\n\n33:3. And he sees the sword coming upon the land, and sound the\ntrumpet, and tell the people:\n\n33:4. Then he that heareth the sound of the trumpet, whosoever he be,\nand doth not look to himself, if the sword come, and cut him off:  his\nblood shall be upon his own head.\n\n33:5. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and did not look to himself,\nhis blood shall be upon him:  but if he look to himself, he shall save\nhis life.\n\n33:6. And if the watchman see the sword coming, and sound not the\ntrumpet:  and the people look not to themselves, and the sword come, and\ncut off a soul from among them:  he indeed is taken away in his\niniquity, but I will require his blood at the hand of the watchman.\n\n33:7. So thou, O son of man, I have made thee a watchman to the house\nof Israel:  therefore thou shalt hear the word from my mouth, and shalt\ntell it them from me.\n\n33:8. When I say to the wicked:  O wicked man, thou shalt surely die:  if\nthou dost not speak to warn the wicked man from his way:  that wicked\nman shall die in his iniquity, but I will require his blood at thy\nhand.\n\n33:9. But if thou tell the wicked man, that he may be converted from\nhis ways, and he be not converted from his way he shall die in his\niniquity:  but thou hast delivered thy soul.\n\n33:10. Thou therefore, O son of man, say to the house of Israel:  Thus\nyou have spoken, saying:  Our iniquities, and our sins are upon us, and\nwe pine away in them:  how then can we live?\n\n33:11. Say to them:  As I live, saith the Lord God, I desire not the\ndeath of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way, and live.\nTurn ye, turn ye from your evil ways:  and why will you die, O house of\nIsrael?\n\n33:12. Thou therefore, O son of man, say to the children of thy people:\nThe justice of the just shall not deliver him, in what day soever he\nshall sin:  and the wickedness of the wicked shall not hurt him, in what\nday soever he shall turn from his wickedness:  and the just shall not be\nable to live in his justice, in what day soever he shall sin.\n\n33:13. Yea, if I shall say to the just that he shall surely live, and\nhe, trusting in his justice, commit iniquity:  all his justices shall be\nforgotten, and his iniquity, which he hath committed, in the same shall\nhe die.\n\n33:14. And it I shall say to the wicked:  Thou shalt surely die:  and he\ndo penance for his sin, and do judgment and justice,\n\n33:15. And if that wicked man restore the pledge, and render what he\nhad robbed, and walk in the commandments of life, and do no unjust\nthing:  he shall surely live, and shall not die.\n\n33:16. None of his sins, which he hath committed, shall be imputed to\nhim:  he hath done judgment and justice, he shall surely live.\n\n33:17. And the children of thy people have said:  The way of the Lord is\nnot equitable:  whereas their own way is unjust.\n\n33:18. For when the just shall depart from his justice, and commit\niniquities, he shall die in them.\n\n33:19. And when the wicked shall depart from his wickedness, and shall\ndo judgments, and justice, he shall live in them.\n\n33:20. And you say:  The way of the Lord is not right, I will judge\nevery one of you according to his ways, O house of Israel.\n\n33:21. And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the\ntenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that there came to me one\nthat was fled from Jerusalem, saying:  The city is laid waste.\n\n33:22. And the hand of the Lord had been upon me in the evening, before\nhe that was fled came:  and he opened my mouth till he came to me in the\nmorning, and my mouth being opened, I was silent no more.\n\n33:23. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n33:24. Son of man, they that dwell in these ruinous places in the land\nof Israel, speak, saying:  Abraham was one, and he inherited the land,\nbut we are many, the land is given us in possession.\n\n33:25. Therefore say to them:  Thus saith the Lord God:  You that eat\nwith the blood and lift up your eyes to your uncleannesses, and that\nshed blood:  shall you possess the land by inheritance?\n\n33:26. You stood on your swords, you have committed abominations, and\nevery one hath defiled his neighbours wife; and shall you possess the\nland by inheritance?\n\n33:27. Say thou thus to them:  Thus saith the Lord God:  As I live, they\nthat dwell in the ruinous places, shall fall by the sword:  and he that\nis in the field, shall be given to the beasts to be devoured:  and they\nthat are in holds, and caves, shall die of the pestilence.\n\n33:28. And I will make the land a wilderness, and a desert, and the\nproud strength thereof shall fail, and the mountains of Israel shall be\ndesolate, because there is none to pass by them,\n\n33:29. And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall have made\ntheir land waste and desolate, for all their abominations which they\nhave committed.\n\n33:30. And thou son of man:  the children of thy people, that talk of\nthee by the walls, and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to\nanother each man to his neighbour, saying:  Come, and let us hear what\nis the word that cometh forth from the Lord.\n\n33:31. And they come to thee, as if people were coming in, and my\npeople sit before thee:  and hear thy words, and do them not:  for they\nturn them into a song of their mouth, and their heart goeth after their\ncovetousness.\n\n33:32. And thou art to them as a musical song which is sung with a\nsweet and agreeable voice:  and they hear thy words, and do them not.\n\n33:33. And when that which was foretold shall come to pass, for behold\nit is coming, then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 34\n\n\nEvil pastors are reproved.  Christ the true pastor shall come, and\ngather together his flock from all parts of the earth, and preserve it\nfor ever.\n\n34:1. And the word of the Lord came to me, it saying:\n\n34:2. Son of man, prophesy concerning the shepherds of Israel:\nprophesy, and say to the shepherds:  Thus saith the Lord God:  Woe to the\nshepherds of Israel, that fed themselves:  should not the flocks be fed\nby the shepherds?\n\nShepherds. . .That is, princes, magistrates, chief priests, and scribes.\n\n34:3. You ate the milk, and you clothed yourselves with the wool, and\nyou killed that which was fat:  but my flock you did not feed.\n\n34:4. The weak you have not strengthened, and that which was sick you\nhave not healed, that which was broken you have not bound up, and that\nwhich was driven away you have not brought again, neither have you\nsought that which was lost:  but you ruled over them with rigour, and\nwith a high hand.\n\n34:5. And my sheep were scattered, because there was no shepherd and\nthey became the prey of all the beasts of the field, and were\nscattered.\n\n34:6. My sheep have wandered in every mountain, and in every high hill:\nand my flocks were scattered upon the face of the earth, and there was\nnone that sought them, there was none, I say, that sought them.\n\n34:7. Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:\n\n34:8. As I live, saith the Lord God, forasmuch as my flocks have been\nmade a spoil, and my sheep are become a prey to all the beasts of the\nfield, because there was no shepherd:  for my shepherds did not seek\nafter my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my\nflocks:\n\n34:9. Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:\n\n34:10. Thus saith the Lord God:  Behold I myself come upon the\nshepherds, I will require my flock at their hand, and I will cause them\nto cease from feeding the flock any more, neither shall the shepherds\nfeed themselves any more:  and I will deliver my flock from their mouth,\nand it shall no more be meat for them.\n\n34:11. For thus saith the Lord God:  Behold I myself will seek my sheep,\nand will visit them.\n\n34:12. As the shepherd visiteth his flock in the day when he shall be\nin the midst of his sheep that were scattered, so will I visit my\nsheep, and will deliver them out of all the places where they have been\nscattered in the cloudy and dark day.\n\n34:13. And I will bring them out from the peoples, and will gather them\nout of the countries, and will bring them to their own land:  and I will\nfeed them in the mountains of Israel, by the rivers, and in all the\nhabitations of the land.\n\n34:14. I will feed them in the most fruitful pastures, and their\npastures shall be in the high mountains of Israel:  there shall they\nrest on the green grass, and be fed in fat pastures upon the mountains\nof Israel.\n\n34:15. I will feed my sheep:  and I will cause them to lie down, saith\nthe Lord God.\n\n34:16. I will seek that which was lost:  and that which was driven away,\nI will bring again:  and I will bind up that which was broken, and I\nwill strengthen that which was weak, and that which was fat and strong\nI will preserve, and I will feed them in judgment.\n\n34:17. And as for you, O my flocks, thus saith the Lord God:  Behold I\njudge between cattle and cattle, of rams and of he goats.\n\n34:18. Was it not enough for you to feed upon good pastures?  but you\nmust also tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures:  and\nwhen you drank the clearest water, you troubled the rest with your\nfeet.\n\n34:19. And my sheep were fed with that which you had trodden with your\nfeet:  and they drank what your feet had troubled.\n\n34:20. Therefore thus saith the Lord God to you:  Behold, I myself will\njudge between the fat cattle and the lean.\n\n34:21. Because you thrusted with sides and shoulders, and struck all\nthe weak cattle with your horns, till they were scattered abroad:\n\n34:22. I will save my flock, and it shall be no more a spoil, and I\nwill judge between cattle and cattle.\n\n34:23. And I WILL SET UP ONE SHEPHERD OVER THEM, and he shall feed\nthem, even my servant David:  he shall feed them, and he shall be their\nshepherd.\n\nDavid. . .Christ, who is of the house of David.\n\n34:24. And I the Lord will be their God:  and my servant David the\nprince in the midst of them:  I the Lord have spoken it.\n\n34:25. And I will make a covenant of peace with them, and will cause\nthe evil beasts to cease out of the land:  and they that dwell in the\nwilderness shall sleep secure in the forests.\n\n34:26. And I will make them a blessing round about my hill:  and I will\nsend down the rain in its season, there shall be showers of blessing.\n\n34:27. And the tree of the field shall yield its fruit, and the earth\nshall yield her increase, and they shall be in their land without fear:\nand they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall have broken the\nbonds of their yoke, and shall have delivered them out of the hand of\nthose that rule over them.\n\n34:28. And they shall be no more for a spoil to the nations, neither\nshall the beasts of the earth devour them:  but they shall dwell\nsecurely without, any terror.\n\n34:29. And I will raise up for them a bud of renown:  and they shall be\nno more consumed with famine in the land, neither shall they bear any\nmore the reproach of the Gentiles.\n\nA bud of renown. . .Germen nominatum.  He speaks of Christ our Lord, the\nillustrious bud of the house of David, renowned over all the earth.  See\nJer. 33.15.\n\n34:30. And they shall know that I the Lord their God am with them, and\nthat they are my people the house of Israel:  saith the Lord God.\n\n34:31. And you my flocks, the flocks of my pasture are men:  and I am\nthe Lord your God, saith the Lord God.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 35\n\n\nThe judgment of mount Seir, for their hatred of Israel.\n\n35:1. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n35:2. Son of man, set thy face against mount Seir, and prophesy\nconcerning it, and say to it:\n\n35:3. Thus saith the Lord God:  Behold I come against thee, mount Seir,\nand I will stretch forth my hand upon thee, and I will make thee\ndesolate and waste.\n\n35:4. I will destroy thy cities, and thou shalt be desolate:  and thou\nshalt know that I am the Lord.\n\n35:5. Because thou hast been an everlasting enemy, and hast shut up the\nchildren of Israel in the hands of the sword in the time of their\naffliction, in the time of their last iniquity.\n\n35:6. Therefore as I live, saith the Lord God, I will deliver thee up\nto blood, and blood shall pursue thee:  and whereas thou hast hated\nblood, blood shall pursue thee.\n\n35:7. And I will make mount Seir waste and desolate:  and I will take\naway from it him that goeth and him that returneth.\n\n35:8. And I will fill his mountains with his men that are slain:  in thy\nhills, and in thy valleys, and in thy torrents they shall fall that are\nslain with the sword.\n\n35:9. I will make thee everlasting desolations, and thy cities shall\nnot be inhabited:  and thou shalt know that I am the Lord God.\n\n35:10. Because thou hast said:  The two nations, and the two lands shall\nbe mine, and I will possess them by inheritance:  whereas the Lord was\nthere.\n\n35:11. Therefore as I live, saith the Lord God, I will do according to\nthy wrath, and according to thy envy, which thou hast exercised in\nhatred to them:  and I will be made known by them, when I shall have\njudged thee.\n\n35:12. And thou shalt know that I the Lord have heard all thy\nreproaches, that thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel,\nsaying.  They are desolate, they are given to us to consume.\n\n35:13. And you rose up against me with your mouth, and have derogated\nfrom me by your words:  I have heard them.\n\n35:14. Thus saith the Lord God:  When the whole earth shall rejoice, I\nwill make thee a wilderness.\n\n35:15. As thou hast rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of\nIsrael, because it was laid waste, so will I do to thee:  thou shalt be\nlaid waste, O mount Seir, and all Idumea:  and they shall know that I am\nthe Lord.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 36\n\n\nThe restoration of Israel, not for their merits, but by God's special\ngrace.  Christ's baptism.\n\n36:1. And thou son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and\nsay:  Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord:\n\n36:2. Thus saith the Lord God:  Because the enemy hath said to you:  Aha,\nthe everlasting heights are given to us for an inheritance.\n\n36:3. Therefore prophesy, and say:  Thus saith the Lord God:  Because you\nhave been desolate, and trodden under foot on every side, and made an\ninheritance to the rest of the nations, and are become the subject of\nthe talk, and the reproach of the people:\n\n36:4. Therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God:\nThus saith the Lord God to the mountains, and to the hills, to the\nbrooks, and to the valleys, and to desolate places, and ruinous walls,\nand to the cities that are forsaken, that are spoiled, and derided by\nthe rest of the nations round about.\n\n36:5. Therefore thus saith the Lord God:  In the fire of my zeal I have\nspoken of the rest of the nations, and of all Edom, who have taken my\nland to themselves, for an inheritance with joy, and with all the\nheart, and with the mind:  and have cast it out to lay it waste.\n\n36:6. Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say to the\nmountains, and to the hills, to the ridges, and to the valleys:  Thus\nsaith the Lord God:  Behold I have spoken in my zeal, and in my\nindignation, because you have borne the shame of the Gentiles.\n\n36:7. Therefore thus saith the Lord God:  I have lifted up my hand, that\nthe Gentiles who are round about you, shall themselves bear their\nshame.\n\n36:8. But as for you, O mountains of Israel, shoot ye forth your\nbranches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel:  for they are at\nhand to come.\n\n36:9. For I, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be\nploughed and sown.\n\n36:10. And I will multiply men upon you, and all the house of Israel:\nand the cities ball be inhabited, and the ruinous places shall be\nrepaired.\n\n36:11. And I will make you abound with men and with beasts:  and they\nshall be multiplied, and increased:  and I will settle you as from the\nbeginning, and will give you greater gifts, than you had from the\nbeginning:  and you shall know that I am the Lord.\n\n36:12. And I will bring men upon you, my people Israel, and they shall\npossess thee for their inheritance:  and thou shalt be their\ninheritance, and shalt no more henceforth be without them.\n\n36:13. Thus saith the Lord God:  Because thy say of you:  Thou art a\ndevourer of men, and one that suffocatest thy nation:\n\n36:14. Therefore thou shalt devour men no more nor destroy thy nation\nany more, saith the Lord God.\n\n36:15. Neither will I cause men to hear in thee the shame of the\nnations any more, nor shalt thou bear the reproach of the people, nor\nlose thy nation any more, saith the Lord God.\n\nNor lose thy nation any more. . .This whole promise principally relates\nto the church of Christ, and God's perpetual protection of her:  for as\nthe carnal Jews, they have been removed out of their land these sixteen\nhundred years.\n\n36:16. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n36:17. Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land,\nthey defiled it with their ways, and with their doings:  their way was\nbefore me like the uncleanness of a menstruous woman.\n\n36:18. And I poured out my indignation upon them for the blood which\nthey had shed upon the land, and with their idols they defiled it.\n\n36:19. And I scattered them among the nations, and they are dispersed\nthrough the countries:  I have judged them according to their ways, and\ntheir devices.\n\n36:20. And when they entered among the nations whither they went, they\nprofaned my holy name, when it was said of them:  This is the people of\nthe Lord, and they are come forth out of his land.\n\n36:21. And I have regarded my own holy name, which the house of Israel\nhath profaned among the nations to which they went in.\n\n36:22. Therefore thou shalt say to the house of Israel:  Thus saith the\nLord God:  It is not for your sake that I will do this, O house of\nIsrael, but for my holy name's sake, which you have profaned among the\nnations whither you went.\n\n36:23. And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the\nGentiles, which you have profaned in the midst of them:  that the\nGentiles may know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord of hosts, when I\nshall be sanctified in you before their eyes.\n\n36:24. For I will take you from among the Gentiles, and will gather you\ntogether out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own\nland.\n\n36:25. And I will pour upon you clean water, and you shall be cleansed\nfrom all your filthiness, and I will cleanse you from all your idols.\n\n36:26. And I will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit within\nyou:  and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and will\ngive you a heart of flesh.\n\n36:27. And I will put my spirit in the midst of you:  and I will cause\nyou to walk in my commandments, and to keep my judgments, and do them.\n\n36:28. And you shall dwell in the land which I gave to your fathers,\nand you shall be my people, and I will be your God.\n\n36:29. And I will save you from all your uncleannesses:  and I will call\nfor corn, and will multiply it, and will lay no famine upon you.\n\n36:30. And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of\nthe field, that you bear no more the reproach of famine among the\nnations.\n\n36:31. And you shall remember your wicked ways, and your doings that\nwere not good:  and your iniquities, and your wicked deeds shall\ndisplease you.\n\n36:32. It is not for your sakes that I will do this, saith the Lord\nGod, be it known to you:  be confounded, and ashamed at your own ways, O\nhouse of Israel.\n\n36:33. Thus saith the Lord God:  In the day that I shall cleanse you\nfrom all your iniquities, and shall cause the cities to be inhabited,\nand shall repair the ruinous places,\n\n36:34. And the desolate land shall be tilled, which before was waste in\nthe sight of all that passed by,\n\n36:35. They shall say:  This land that was untilled is become as a\ngarden of pleasure:  and the cities that were abandoned, and desolate,\nand destroyed, are peopled and fenced.\n\n36:36. And the nations, that shall be left round about you, shall know\nthat I the Lord have built up what was destroyed, and planted what was\ndesolate, that I the Lord have spoken and done it.\n\n36:37. Thus saith the Lord God:  Moreover in this shall the house of\nIsrael find me, that I will do it for them:  I will multiply them as a\nflock of men,\n\n36:38. As a holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts:\nso shall the waste cities be full of flocks of men:  and they shall know\nthat I am the Lord.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 37\n\n\nA vision of the resurrection of dry bones, foreshewing the deliverance\nof the people from their captivity.  Juda and Israel shall be all one\nkingdom under Christ.  God's everlasting covenant with the church.\n\n37:1. The hand of the Lord was upon me, and brought me forth in the\nspirit of the Lord:  and set me down in the midst of a plain that was\nfull of bones.\n\n37:2. And he led me about through them on every side:  now they were\nvery many upon the face of the plain, and they were exceeding dry.\n\n37:3. And he said to me:  Son of man, dost thou think these bones shall\nlive and I answered:  O Lord God, thou knowest.\n\n37:4. And he said to me:  Prophesy concerning these bones; and say to\nthem:  Ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.\n\n37:5. Thus saith the Lord God to these bones:  Behold, I will send\nspirit into you, and you shall live.\n\nSpirit. . .That is, soul, life, and breath.\n\n37:6. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to grow over\nyou, and will cover you with skin:  and I will give you spirit and you\nshall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.\n\n37:7. And I prophesied as he had commanded me:  and as I prophesied\nthere was a noise, and behold a commotion:  and the bones came together,\neach one, its joint.\n\n37:8. And I saw, and behold the sinews, and the flesh came up upon\nthem:  and the skin was stretched out over them, but there was no spirit\nin them.\n\n37:9. And he said to me:  Prophesy to the spirit, prophesy, O son of\nman, and say to the spirit:  Thus saith the Lord God:  Come, spirit, from\nthe four winds, and blow upon these slain, and let them live again.\n\n37:10. And I prophesied as he had commanded me:  and the spirit came\ninto them, and they lived:  and they stood up upon their feet, an\nexceeding great army.\n\n37:11. And he said to me:  Son of man:  All these bones are the house of\nIsrael:  they say:  Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost, and we\nare cut off.\n\n37:12. Therefore prophesy, and say to them:  Thus saith the Lord God:\nBehold I will open your graves, and will bring you out of your\nsepulchres, O my people:  and will bring you into the land of Israel.\n\n37:13. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall have opened\nyour sepulchres, and shall have brought you out of your graves, O my\npeople:\n\n37:14. And shall have put my spirit in you, and you shall live, and I\nshall make you rest upon your own land:  and you shall know that I the\nLord have spoken, and done it, saith the Lord God:\n\n37:15. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n37:16. And thou son of man, take thee a stick:  and write upon it:  Of\nJuda, and of the children of Israel his associates:  and take another\nstick and write upon it:  For Joseph the stick of Ephraim, and for all\nthe house of Israel, and of his associates.\n\n37:17. And join them one to the other into one stick, and they shall\nbecome one in thy hand.\n\n37:18. And when the children of thy people shall speak to thee, saying:\nWilt thou not tell us what thou meanest by this?\n\n37:19. Say to them:  Thus saith the Lord God:  Behold, I will take the\nstick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of\nIsrael that are associated with him, and I will put them together with\nthe stick of Juda, and will make them one stick:  and they shall be one\nin his hand.\n\n37:20. And the sticks whereon thou hast written, shall be in thy hand,\nbefore their eyes.\n\n37:21. And thou shalt say to them:  Thus saith the Lord God:  Behold, I\nwill take of the children of Israel from the midst of the nations\nwhither they are gone:  and I will gather them on every side, and will\nbring them to their own land.\n\n37:22. And I will make them one nation in the land on the mountains of\nIsrael, and one king shall be king over them all:  and they shall no\nmore be two nations, neither shall they be divided any more into two\nkingdoms.\n\n37:23. Nor shall they be defiled any more with their idols, nor with\ntheir abominations, nor with all their iniquities:  and I will save them\nout of all the places in which they have sinned, and I will cleanse\nthem:  and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.\n\n37:24. And my servant David shall be king over them, and they shall\nhave one shepherd:  they shall walk in my judgments, and shall keep my\ncommandments, and shall do them.\n\n37:25. And they shall dwell in the land which I gave to my servant\nJacob, wherein your fathers dwelt, and they shall dwell in it, they and\ntheir children, and their children's children, for ever:  and David my\nservant shall be their prince for ever.\n\n37:26. And I will make a covenant of peace with them, it shall be an\neverlasting covenant with them:  and I will establish them, and will\nmultiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for ever.\n\n37:27. And my tabernacle shall be with them:  and I will be their God,\nand they shall be my people.\n\n37:28. And the nations shall know that I am the Lord the sanctifier of\nIsrael, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for ever.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 38\n\n\nGog shall persecute the church in the latter days.  He shall be\noverthrown.\n\n38:1. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n38:2. Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the\nchief prince of Mosoch and Thubal:  and prophesy of him,\n\nGog. . .This name, which signifies hidden or covered, is taken in this\nplace, either for the persecutors of the church of God in general, or\nsome arch-persecutor in particular:  such as Antichrist shall be in the\nlatter days.  See Apoc. 20.8.  And what is said of the punishment of Gog,\nis verified by the unhappy ends of persecutors.--Ibid.  Magog. . .Scythia\nor Tartary, from whence the Turks, and other enemies of the church of\nChrist, originally sprung.\n\n38:3. And say to him:  Thus saith the Lord God:  Behold, I come against\nthee, O Gog, the chief prince of Mosoch and Thubal.\n\n38:4. And I will turn thee about, and I will put a bit in thy jaws:  and\nI will bring thee forth, and all thy army, horses and horsemen all\nclothed with coats of mail, a great multitude, armed with spears and\nshields and swords.\n\n38:5. The Persians, Ethiopians, and Libyans with them, all with shields\nand helmets.\n\n38:6. Gomer, and all his bands, the house of Thogorma, the northern\nparts and all his strength, and many peoples with thee.\n\n38:7. Prepare and make thyself ready, and all thy multitude that is\nassembled about thee, and be thou commander over them.\n\n38:8. After many days thou shalt be visited:  at the end of years thou\nshalt come to the land that is returned from the sword, and is gathered\nout of many nations, to the mountains of Israel which have been\ncontinually waste:  but it hath been brought forth out of the nations,\nand they shall all of them dwell securely in it.\n\n38:9. And thou shalt go up and come like a storm, and like a cloud to\ncover the land, thou and all thy bands and many people with thee.\n\n38:10. Thus saith the Lord God:  In that day projects shall enter into\nthy heart, and thou shalt conceive a mischievous design.\n\n38:11. And thou shalt say:  I will go up to the land which is without a\nwall, I will come to them that are at rest, and dwell securely:  all\nthese dwell without a wall, they have no bars nor gates:\n\n38:12. To take spoils, and lay hold on the prey, to lay thy hand upon\nthem that had been wasted, and afterwards restored, and upon the people\nthat is gathered together out of the nations, which hath begun to\npossess and to dwell in the midst of the earth.\n\n38:13. Saba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tharsis, and all the lions\nthereof shall say to thee:  Art thou come to take spoils?  behold, thou\nhast gathered thy multitude to take a prey, to take silver, and gold,\nand to carry away goods and substance, and to take rich spoils.\n\n38:14. Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy and say to Gog:  Thus saith\nthe Lord God:  Shalt thou not know, in that day, when my people of\nIsrael shall dwell securely?\n\n38:15. And thou shalt come out of thy place from the northern parts,\nthou and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great\ncompany and a mighty army.\n\n38:16. And thou shalt come upon my people of Israel like a cloud, to\ncover the earth.  Thou shalt be in the latter days, and I will bring\nthee upon my land:  that the nations may know me, when I shall be\nsanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.\n\n38:17. Thus saith the Lord God:  Thou then art he, of whom I have spoken\nin the days of old, by my servants the prophets of Israel, who\nprophesied in the days of those times that I would bring thee upon\nthem.\n\n38:18. And it shall come to pass in that day, in the day of the coming\nof Gog upon the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that my indignation\nshall come up in my wrath.\n\n38:19. And I have spoken in my zeal, and in the fire of my anger, that\nin that day there shall be a great commotion upon the land of Israel:\n\n38:20. So that the fishes of the sea, and the birds of the air, and the\nbeasts of the field, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the\nground, and all men that are upon the face of the earth, shall be moved\nat my presence:  and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the hedges\nshall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.\n\n38:21. And I will call in the sword against him in all my mountains,\nsaith the Lord God:  every man's sword shall be pointed against his\nbrother.\n\n38:22. And I will judge him with pestilence, and with blood, and with\nviolent rain, and vast hailstones:  I will rain fire and brimstone upon\nhim, and upon his army, and upon the many nations that are with him.\n\n38:23. And I will be magnified, and I will be sanctified:  and I will be\nknown in the eyes of many nations and they shall know that I am the\nLord.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 39\n\n\nGod's judgments upon Gog.  God's people were punished for their sins:\nbut shall be favoured with everlasting kindness.\n\n39:1. And thou, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say:  Thus saith\nthe Lord God:  Behold, I come against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of\nMosoch and Thubal.\n\n39:2. And I will turn thee round, and I will lead thee out, and will\nmake thee go up from the northern parts:  and will bring thee upon the\nmountains of Israel.\n\n39:3. And I will break thy bow in thy left hand, and I will cause thy\narrows to fall out of thy right hand.\n\n39:4. Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou and all thy\nbands, and thy nations that are with thee:  I have given thee to the\nwild beasts, to the birds, and to every fowl, and to the beasts of the\nearth to be devoured.\n\n39:5. Thou shalt fall upon the face of the field:  for I have spoken it,\nsaith the Lord God.\n\n39:6. And I will send a fire on Magog, and on them that dwell\nconfidently in the islands:  and they shall know that I am the Lord.\n\n39:7. And I will make my holy name known in the midst of my people\nIsrael, and my holy name shall be profaned no more:  and the Gentiles\nshall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.\n\n39:8. Behold it cometh, and it is done, saith the Lord God:  this is the\nday whereof I have spoken.\n\n39:9. And the inhabitants shall go forth of the cities of Israel, and\nshall set on fire and burn the weapons, the shields, and the spears,\nthe bows and the arrows, and the handstaves and the pikes:  and they\nshall burn them with fire seven years.\n\n39:10. And they shall not bring wood out of the countries, nor cut down\nout of the forests:  for they shall burn the weapons with fire, and\nshall make a prey of them to whom they had been a prey, and they shall\nrob those that robbed them, saith the Lord God.\n\n39:11. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give Gog a\nnoted place for a sepulchre in Israel:  the valley of the passengers on\nthe east of the sea, which shall cause astonishment in them that pass\nby:  and there shall they bury Gog, and all his multitude, and it shall\nbe called the valley of the multitude of Gog.\n\n39:12. And the house of Israel shall bury them for seven months to\ncleanse the land.\n\n39:13. And all the people of the land shall bury him, and it shall be\nunto them a noted day, wherein I was glorified, saith the Lord God.\n\n39:14. And they shall appoint men to go continually about the land, to\nbury and to seek out them that were remaining upon the face of the\nearth, that they may cleanse it:  and after seven months they shall\nbegin to seek.\n\n39:15. And they shall go about passing through the land:  and when they\nshall see the bone of a man, they shall set up sign by it, till the\nburiers bury it in the valley, of the multitude of Gog.\n\n39:16. And the name of the city shall be Amona, and they shall cleanse\nthe land.\n\n39:17. And thou, O son of man, saith the Lord God, say to every fowl,\nand to all the birds, and to all the beasts of the field:  Assemble\nyourselves, make haste, come together from every side to my victim,\nwhich I slay for you, a great victim upon the mountains of Israel:  to\neat flesh, and drink blood.\n\n39:18. You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and you shall drink the\nblood of the princes of the earth, of rams, and of lambs, and of he\ngoats, and bullocks, and of all that are well fed and fat.\n\n39:19. And you shall eat the fat till you be full, and shall drink\nblood till you be drunk of the victim which I shall slay for you.\n\n39:20. And you shall be filled at my table with horses, and mighty\nhorsemen, and all the men of war, saith the Lord God.\n\n39:21. And I will set my glory among the nations:  and all nations shall\nsee my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon\nthem.\n\n39:22. And the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God\nfrom that day and forward.\n\n39:23. And the nations shall know that the house of Israel were made\ncaptives for their iniquity, because they forsook me, and I hid my face\nfrom them:  and I delivered them into the hands of their enemies, and\nthey fell all by the sword.\n\n39:24. I have dealt with them according to their uncleanness, and\nwickedness, and hid my face from them.\n\n39:25. Therefore, thus saith the Lord God:  Now will I bring back the\ncaptivity of Jacob, and will have mercy on all the house of Israel and\nI will be jealous for my holy name.\n\n39:26. And they shall bear their confusion, and all the transgressions\nwherewith they have transgressed against me, when they shall dwell in\ntheir land securely fearing no man:\n\n39:27. And I shall have brought them back from among the nations, and\nshall have gathered them together out of the lands of their enemies,\nand shall be sanctified in them, in the sight of many nations.\n\n39:28. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, because I\ncaused them to be carried away among the nations; and I have gathered\nthem together unto their own land, and have not left any of them there.\n\n39:29. And I will hide my face no more from them, for I have poured out\nmy spirit upon all the house of Israel, saith the Lord God.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 40\n\n\nThe prophet sees in a vision the rebuilding of the temple:  the\ndimensions of several parts thereof.\n\n40:1. In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the beginning\nof the year, the tenth day of the month, the fourteenth year after the\ncity was destroyed:  in the selfsame day the hand of the Lord was upon\nme, and he brought me thither.\n\n40:2. In the visions of God he brought me into the land of Israel, and\nset me upon a very high mountain:  upon which there was as the building\nof a city, bending towards the south.\n\n40:3. And he brought me in thither, and behold a man, whose appearance\nwas like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and\na measuring reed in his hand, and he stood in the gate.\n\n40:4. And this man said to me:  Son of man, see with thy eyes, and hear\nwith thy ears, and set thy heart upon all that I shall shew thee:  for\nthou art brought hither that they may be shewn to thee:  declare all\nthat thou seest, to the house of Israel.\n\n40:5. And behold there was a wall on the outside of the house round\nabout, and in the man's hand a measuring reed of six cubits and a\nhandbreadth:  and he measured the breadth of the building one reed, and\nthe height one reed.\n\n40:6. And he came to the gate that looked toward the east, and he went\nup the steps thereof:  and he measured the breadth of the threshold of\nthe gate one reed, that is, one threshold was one reed broad;\n\n40:7. And every little chamber was one reed long, and one reed broad:\nand between the little chambers were five cubits:\n\n40:8. And the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate within,\nwas one reed.\n\n40:9. And he measured the porch of the gate eight cubits, and the front\nthereof two cubits:  and the porch of the gate was inward.\n\n40:10. And the little chambers of the gate that looked eastward were\nthree on this side, and three on that side:  all three were of one\nmeasure, and the fronts of one measure, on both parts.\n\n40:11. And he measured the breadth of the threshold of the gate ten\ncubits:  and the length of the gate thirteen cubits:\n\n40:12. And the border before the little chambers one cubit:  and one\ncubit was the border on both sides:  and the little chambers were six\ncubits on this side and that side.\n\n40:13. And he measured the gate from the roof of one little chamber to\nthe roof of another, in breadth five and twenty cubits:  door against\ndoor.\n\n40:14. He made also fronts of sixty cubits:  and to the front the court\nof the gate on every side round about.\n\n40:15. And before the face of the gate which reached even to the face\nof the porch of the inner gate, fifty cubits.\n\n40:16. And slanting windows in the little chambers, and in their\nfronts, which were within the gate on every side round about:  and in\nlike manner there were also in the porches windows round about within,\nand before the fronts the representation of palm trees.\n\n40:17. And he brought me into the outward court, and behold there were\nchambers, and a pavement of stone in the court round about:  thirty\nchambers encompassed the pavement.\n\nThere were chambers. . .Gazophylacia, so called, because the priests and\nLevites kept in them the stores and vessels that belonged to the\ntemple.\n\n40:18. And the pavement in the front of the gates according to the\nlength of the gates was lower.\n\n40:19. And he measured the breadth from the face of the lower gate to\nthe front of the inner court without, a hundred cubits to the east, and\nto the north.\n\n40:20. He measured also both the length and the breadth of the gate of\nthe outward court, which looked northward.\n\n40:21. And the little chambers thereof three on this side, and three on\nthat side:  and the front thereof, and the porch thereof according to\nthe measure of the former gate, fifty cubits long, and five and twenty\ncubits broad.\n\n40:22. And the windows thereof, and the porch, and the gravings\naccording to the measure of the gate that looked to the east, and they\nwent up to it by seven steps, and a porch was before it.\n\n40:23. And the gate of the inner court was over against the gate of the\nnorth, and that of the east:  and he measured from gate to gate a\nhundred cubits.\n\n40:24. And he brought me out to the way of the south, and behold the\ngate that looked to the south:  and he measured the front thereof, and\nthe porch thereof according to the former measures.\n\n40:25. And the windows thereof, and the porches round about, as the\nother windows:  the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and\ntwenty cubits.\n\n40:26. And there were seven steps to go up to it:  and a porch before\nthe doors thereof:  and there were graven palm trees, one on this side,\nand another on that side in the front thereof.\n\n40:27. And there was a gate of the inner court towards the south:  and\nhe measured from gate to gate towards the south, a hundred cubits.\n\n40:28. And he brought me into the inner court at the south gate:  and he\nmeasured the gate according to the former measures.\n\n40:29. The little chamber thereof, and the front thereof, and the porch\nthereof with the same measures:  and the windows thereof, and the porch\nthereof round about it was fifty cubits in length, and five and twenty\ncubits in breadth.\n\n40:30. And the porch round about was five and twenty cubits long, and\nfive cubits broad.\n\n40:31. And the porch thereof to the outward court, and the palm trees\nthereof in the front:  and there were eight steps to go up to it.\n\n40:32. And he brought me into the inner court by the way of the east:\nand he measured the gate according to the former measures.\n\n40:33. The little chamber thereof, and the front thereof, and the porch\nthereof as before:  and the windows thereof, and the porches thereof\nround about it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad.\n\n40:34. And the porch thereof, that is, of the outward court:  and the\ngraven palm trees in the front thereof on this side and on that side:\nand the going up thereof was by eight steps.\n\n40:35. And he brought me into the gate that looked to the north:  and he\nmeasured according to the former measures.\n\n40:36. The little chamber thereof, and the front thereof, and the porch\nthereof, and the windows thereof round about it was fifty cubits long,\nand five and twenty cubits broad.\n\n40:37. And the porch thereof looked to the outward court:  and the\ngraving of palm trees in the front thereof was on this side and on that\nside:  and the going up to it was by eight steps.\n\n40:38. And at every chamber was a door in the forefronts of the gates:\nthere they washed the holocaust.\n\n40:39. And in the porch of the gate were two tables on this side, and\ntwo tables on that side:  that the holocaust, and the sin offering, and\nthe trespass offering might be slain thereon.\n\n40:40. And on the outward side, which goeth up to the entry of the gate\nthat looketh toward the north, were two tables:  and at the other side\nbefore the porch of the gate were two tables,\n\n40:41. Four tables were on this side, and four tables on that side at\nthe sides of the gate were eight tables, upon which they slew the\nvictims.\n\n40:42. And the four tables for the holocausts were made of square\nstones:  one cubit and a half long, and one cubit and a half broad, and\none cubit high:  to lay the vessels upon, in which the holocaust and the\nvictim is slain.\n\n40:43. And the borders of them were of one handbreadth, turned inwards\nround about:  and upon the tables was the flesh of the offering.\n\n40:44. And without the inner gate were the chambers of the singing men\nin the inner court, which was on the side of the gate that looketh to\nthe north:  and their prospect was towards the south, one at the side of\nthe east gate, which looketh toward the north.\n\n40:45. And he said to me:  This chamber, which looketh toward the south\nshall be for the priests that watch in the wards of the temple.\n\n40:46. But the chamber that looketh towards the north shall be for the\npriests that watch over the ministry of the altar.  These are the sons\nof Sadoc, who among the sons of Levi, come near to the Lord, to\nminister to him.\n\n40:47. And he measured the court a hundred cubits long, and a hundred\ncubits broad foursquare:  and the altar that was before the face of the\ntemple.\n\n40:48. And he brought me into the porch of the temple:  and he measured\nthe porch five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side:  and\nthe breadth of the gate three cubits on this side, and three cubits on\nthat side.\n\n40:49. And the length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the breadth\neleven cubits, and there were eight steps to go up to it.  And there\nwere pillars in the fronts:  one on this side, and another on that side.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 41\n\n\nA description of the temple, and of all the parts of it.\n\n41:1. And he brought me into the temple, and he measured the fronts six\ncubits broad on this side, and six cubits on that side, the breadth of\nthe tabernacle.\n\nThe temple. . .This plan of a temple, which was here shewn to the\nprophet in a vision, partly had relation to the material temple, which\nwas to be rebuilt:  and partly, in a mystical sense, to the spiritual\ntemple of God, the church of Christ.\n\n41:2. And the breadth of the gate was ten cubits:  and the sides of the\ngate five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side:  and he\nmeasured the length thereof forty cubits, and the breadth twenty\ncubits.\n\n41:3. Then going inward he measured the front of the gate two cubits:\nand the gate six cubits, and the breadth of the gate seven cubits.\n\n41:4. And he measured the length thereof twenty cubits, and the breadth\ntwenty cubits, before the face of the temple:  and he said to me:  This\nis the holy of holies.\n\n41:5. And he measured the wall of the house six cubits:  and the breadth\nof every side chamber four cubits round about the house on every side.\n\n41:6. And the side chambers one by another, were twice thirty-three:\nand they bore outwards, that they might enter in through the wall of\nthe house in the sides round about, to hold in, and not to touch the\nwall of the temple.\n\nOne by another. . .Or one over another; literally, side to side, or side\nupon side.\n\n41:7. And there was a broad passage round about, going up by winding\nstairs, and it led into the upper loft of the temple all round:\ntherefore was the temple broader in the higher parts:  and so from the\nlower parts they went to the higher by the midst.\n\n41:8. And I saw in the house the height round about, the foundations of\nthe side chambers which were the measure of a reed the space of six\ncubits:\n\n41:9. And the thickness of the wall for the side chamber without, which\nwas five cubits:  and the inner house was within the side chambers of\nthe house,\n\nAnd the inner house was within the side chambers of the\nhouse. . .Because these side chambers were in the very walls of the\ntemple all round.  Or, it may also be rendered (more agreeably to the\nHebrew) so as to signify that the thickness of the wall for the side\nchamber within, was the same as that of the wall without; that is,\nequally five cubits.\n\n41:10. And between the chambers was the breadth of twenty cubits round\nabout the house on every side.\n\n41:11. And the door of the side chambers was turned towards the place\nof prayer:  one door was toward the north, and another door was toward\nthe south:  and the breadth of the place for prayer, was five cubits\nround about.\n\n41:12. And the building that was separate, and turned to the way that\nlooked toward the sea, was seventy cubits broad and the wall of the\nbuilding, five cubits thick round about:  and ninety cubits long.\n\n41:13. And he measured the length of the house, a hundred cubits:  and\nthe separate building, and the walls thereof, a hundred cubits in\nlength.\n\n41:14. And the breadth before the face of the house, and of the\nseparate place toward the east, a hundred cubits.\n\n41:15. And he measured the length of the building over against it,\nwhich was separated at the back of it:  and the galleries on both sides\na hundred cubits:  and the inner temple, and the porches of the court.\n\n41:16. The thresholds, and the oblique windows, and the galleries round\nabout on three sides, over against the threshold of every one, and\nfloored with wood all round about:  and the ground was up to the\nwindows, and the windows were shut over the doors.\n\n41:17. And even to the inner house, and without all the wall round\nabout within and without, by measure.\n\n41:18. And there were cherubims and palm trees wrought, so that a palm\ntree was between a cherub and a cherub, and every cherub had two faces.\n\n41:19. The face of a man was toward the palm tree on one side, and the\nface of a lion was toward the palm tree on the other side:  set forth\nthrough all the house round about.\n\n41:20. From the ground even to the upper parts of the gate, were\ncherubims and palm trees wrought in the wall of the temple.\n\n41:21. The threshold was foursquare, and the face of the sanctuary\nsight to sight.\n\nThe threshold was foursquare. . .That is, the gate of the temple was\nfoursquare:  and so placed as to answer the gate of the sanctuary\nwithin.\n\n41:22. The altar of wood was three cubits high:  and the length thereof\nwas two cubits:  and the corners thereof, aid the length thereof, and\nthe walls thereof, were of wood.  And he said to me:  This is the table\nbefore the Lord.\n\n41:23. And there were two doors in the temple, and in the sanctuary.\n\n41:24. And in the two doors on both sides were two little doors, which\nwere folded within each other:  for there were two wickets on both sides\nof the doors.\n\n41:25. And there were cherubims also wrought in the doors of the\ntemple, and the figures of palm trees, like as were made on the walls:\nfor which cause also the planks were thicker in the front of the porch\nwithout.\n\n41:26. Upon which were the oblique windows, and the representation of\npalm trees on this side, and on that side in the sides of the porch,\naccording to the sides of the house, and the breadth of the walls.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 42\n\n\nA description of the courts, chambers, and other places belonging to\nthe temple.\n\n42:1. And he brought me forth into the outward court by the way that\nleadeth to the north, and he brought me into the chamber that was over\nagainst the separate building, and over against the house toward the\nnorth.\n\n42:2. In the face of the north door was the length of hundred cubits,\nand the breadth of fifty cubits.\n\n42:3. Over against the twenty cubits of the inner court, and over\nagainst the pavement of the outward court that was paved with stone,\nwhere there was a gallery joined to a triple gallery.\n\n42:4. And before the chambers was a walk ten cubits broad, looking to\nthe inner parts of a way of one cubit.  And their doors were toward the\nnorth.\n\n42:5. Where were the store chambers lower above:  because they bore up\nthe galleries, which appeared above out of them from he lower parts,\nand from the midst of the building.\n\n42:6. For they were of three stories, and had not pillars, as the\npillars of the courts:  therefore did they appear above out of the lower\nplaces, and out of the middle places, fifty cubits from the ground.\n\n42:7. And the outward wall that went about by the chambers, which were\ntowards the outward court on the forepart of the chambers, was fifty\ncubits long.\n\n42:8. For the length of the chambers of the outward court was fifty\ncubits:  and the length before the face of the temple, a hundred cubits.\n\n42:9. And there was under these chambers, an entrance from the east,\nfor them that went into them out of the outward court.\n\n42:10. In the breadth of the outward wall of the court that was toward\nthe east, over against the separate building, and there were chambers\nbefore the building.\n\n42:11. And the way before them was like the chambers which were toward\nthe north:  they were as long as they, and as broad as they:  and all the\ngoing in to them, and their fashions, and their doors were alike.\n\n42:12. According to the doors of the chambers that were towards the\nsouth:  there was a door in the head of the way, which way was before\nthe porch, separated towards the east as one entereth in.\n\n42:13. And he said to me:  The chambers of the north, and the chambers\nof the south, which are before the separate building:  they are holy\nchambers, in which the priests shall eat, that approach to the Lord\ninto the holy of holies:  there they shall lay the most holy things, and\nthe offering for sin, and for trespass:  for it is a holy place.\n\n42:14. And when the priests shall have entered in, they shall not go\nout of the holy places into the outward court:  but there they shall lay\ntheir vestments, wherein they minister, for they are holy:  and they\nshall put on other garments, and so they shall go forth to the people.\n\n42:15. Now when he had made an end of measuring the inner house, he\nbrought me out by the way of the gate that looked toward the east:  and\nhe measured it on every side round about.\n\n42:16. And he measured toward the east with the measuring reed, five\nhundred reeds with the measuring reed round about.\n\n42:17. And he measured toward the north five hundred reeds with the\nmeasuring reed round about.\n\n42:18. And towards the south he measured five hundred reeds with the\nmeasuring reed round about.\n\n42:19. And toward the west he measured five hundred reeds, with the\nmeasuring reed.\n\n42:20. By the four winds he measured the wall thereof on every side\nround about, five hundred cubits and five hundred cubits broad, making\na separation between the sanctuary and the place of the people.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 43\n\n\nThe glory of God returns to the new temple.  The Israelites shall no\nmore profane God's name by idolatry:  the prophet is commanded to shew\nthem the dimensions, and form of the temple, and of the altar, with the\nsacrifices to be offered thereon.\n\n43:1. And he brought me to the gate that looked towards the east.\n\n43:2. And behold the glory of the God of Israel came in by the way of\nthe east:  and his voice was like the noise of many waters, and the\nearth shone with his majesty.\n\n43:3. And I saw the vision according to the appearance which I had seen\nwhen he came to destroy the city:  and the appearance was according to\nthe vision which I had seen by the river Chobar:  and I fell upon my\nface.\n\n43:4. And the majesty of the Lord went into the temple by the way of\nthe gate that looked to the east.\n\n43:5. And the spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court:\nand behold the house was filled with the glory of the Lord.\n\n43:6. And I heard one speaking to me out of the house, and the man that\nstood by me,\n\n43:7. Said to me:  Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of\nthe soles of my feet, where I dwell in the midst of the children of\nIsrael for ever:  and the house of Israel shall no more profane my holy\nname, they and their kings by their fornications, and by the carcasses\nof their kings, and by the high places.\n\n43:8. They who have set their threshold by my threshold, and their\nposts by my posts:  and there was but a wall between me, and them:  and\nthey profaned my holy name by the abominations which they committed:\nfor which reason I consumed them in my wrath.\n\n43:9. Now therefore let them put away their fornications, and the\ncarcasses of their kings far from me:  and I will dwell in the midst of\nthem for ever.\n\n43:10. But thou, son of man, shew to the house of Israel the temple,\nand let them be ashamed of their iniquities, and let them measure the\nbuilding:\n\n43:11. And be ashamed of all that they have done.  Shew them the form of\nthe house, and of the fashion thereof, the goings out and the comings\nin, and the whole plan thereof, and all its ordinances, and all its\norder, and all its laws, and thou shalt write it in their sight:  that\nthey may keep the whole form thereof, and its ordinances, and do them.\n\n43:12. This is the law of the house upon the top of the mountain:  All\nits border round about; most holy:  this then is the law of the house.\n\n43:13. And these are the measures of the altar by the truest cubit,\nwhich is a cubit and a handbreadth:  the bottom thereof was a cubit, and\nthe breadth a cubit:  and the border thereof unto its edge, and round\nabout, one handbreadth:  and this was the trench of the altar.\n\n43:14. And from the bottom of the ground to the lowest brim two cubits,\nand the breadth of one cubit:  and from the lesser brim to the greater\nbrim four cubits, and the breadth of one cubit.\n\n43:15. And the Ariel itself was four cubits:  and from the Ariel upward\nwere four horns.\n\nThe Ariel. . .That is, the altar itself, or rather the highest part of\nit, upon which the burnt offerings were laid.  In the Hebrew it is\nHarel, that is, the mountain of God:  but in the following verse\nHaariel, that is, the lion of God; a figure, from its consuming, and as\nit were devouring the sacrifices, as a lion devours its prey.\n\n43:16. And the Ariel was twelve cubits long, and twelve cubits broad,\nfoursquare, with equal sides.\n\n43:17. And the brim was fourteen cubits long, and fourteen cubits broad\nin the four corners thereof:  and the crown round about it was half a\ncubit, and the bottom of it one cubit round about:  and its steps turned\ntoward the east.\n\n43:18. And he said to me:  Son of man, thus saith the Lord God:  These\nare the ceremonies of the altar, in what day soever it shall be made:\nthat holocausts may be offered upon it, and blood poured out.\n\n43:19. And thou shalt give to the priests, and the Levites, that are of\nthe race of Sadoc, who approach to me, saith the Lord God, to offer to\nme a calf of the herd for sin.\n\n43:20. And thou shalt take of his blood, and shalt put it upon the four\nhorns thereof, and upon the four corners of the brim, and upon the\ncrown round about:  and thou shalt cleanse, and expiate it.\n\n43:21. And thou shalt take the calf, that is offered for sin:  and thou\nshalt burn him in a separate place of the house without the sanctuary.\n\n43:22. And in the second day thou shalt offer a he goat without blemish\nfor sin:  and they shall expiate the altar, as they expiated it with the\ncalf.\n\n43:23. And when thou shalt have made an end of the expiation thereof,\nthou shalt offer a calf of the herd without blemish, and a ram of the\nflock without blemish.\n\n43:24. And thou shalt offer them in the sight of the Lord, and the\npriests shall put salt upon them, and shall offer them a holocaust to\nthe Lord.\n\n43:25. Seven days shalt thou offer a he goat for sin daily:  they shall\noffer also a calf of the herd, and a ram of the flock without blemish.\n\n43:26. Seven days shall they expiate the altar, and shall cleanse it:\nand they shall consecrate it.\n\nConsecrate it. . .Literally, fill its hand, that is, dedicate and apply\nit to holy service.\n\n43:27. And the days being expired, on the eighth day and thenceforward,\nthe priests shall offer your holocausts upon the altar, and the peace\nofferings:  and I will be pacified towards you, saith the Lord God.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 44\n\n\nThe east gate of the sanctuary shall be always shut.  The uncircumcised\nshall not enter into the sanctuary:  nor the Levites that have served\nidols:  but the sons of Sadoc shall do the priestly functions, who stood\nfirm in the worst of times.\n\n44:1. And he brought me back to the way of the gate of the outward\nsanctuary, which looked towards the east:  and it was shut.\n\n44:2. And the Lord said to me:  This gate shall be shut, it shall not be\nopened, and no man shall pass through it:  because the Lord the God of\nIsrael hath entered in by it, and it shall be shut\n\n44:3. For the prince.  The prince himself shall sit in it, to eat bread\nbefore the Lord:  he shall enter in by the way of the porch of the gate,\nand shall go out by the same way.\n\n44:4. And he brought me by the way of the north gate, in the sight of\nthe house:  and I saw, and behold the glory of the Lord filled the house\nof the Lord:  and I fell on my face.\n\n44:5. And the Lord said to me:  Son of man, attend with thy heart and\nbehold with thy eyes, and hear with thy ears, all that I say to thee\nconcerning all the ceremonies of the house of the Lord, and concerning\nall the laws thereof:  and mark well the ways of the temple, with all\nthe goings out of the sanctuary.\n\n44:6. And thou shalt say to the house of Israel that provoketh me:  Thus\nsaith the Lord God:  Let all your wicked doings suffice you, O house of\nIsrael:\n\n44:7. In that you have brought in strangers uncircumcised in heart, and\nuncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, and to defile my house:\nand you offer my bread, the fat, and the blood:  and you have broken my\ncovenant by all your wicked doings.\n\n44:8. And you have not kept the ordinances of my sanctuary:  but you\nhave set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves.\n\n44:9. Thus saith the Lord God:  No stranger uncircumcised in heart, and\nuncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, no stranger that\nis in the midst of the children of Israel.\n\n44:10. Moreover the Levites that went away far from me, when the\nchildren of Israel went astray, and have wandered from me after their\nidols, and have borne their iniquity:\n\n44:11. They shall be officers in my sanctuary, and doorkeepers of the\ngates of the house, and ministers to the house:  they shall slay the\nholocausts, and the victims of the people:  and they shall stand in\ntheir sight, to minister to them.\n\n44:12. Because they ministered to them before their idols, and were a\nstumblingblock of iniquity to the house of Israel:  therefore have I\nlifted up my hand against them, saith the Lord God, and they shall bear\ntheir iniquity:\n\n44:13. And they shall not come near to me, to do the office of priest\nto me, neither shall they come near to any of my holy things that are\nby the holy of holies:  but they shall bear their shame, and their\nwickednesses which they have committed.\n\n44:14. And I will make them doorkeepers of the house, for all the\nservice thereof, and for all that shall be done therein.\n\n44:15. But the priests, and Levites, the sons of Sadoc, who kept the\nceremonies of my sanctuary, when the children of Israel went astray\nfrom me, they shall come near to me, to minister to me:  and they shall\nstand before me, to offer me the fat, and the blood, saith the Lord\nGod.\n\n44:16. They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to\nmy table, to minister unto me, and to keep my ceremonies.\n\n44:17. And when they shall enter in at the gates of the inner court,\nthey shall be clothed with linen garments:  neither shall any woollen\ncome upon them, when they minister in the gates of the inner court and\nwithin.\n\n44:18. They shall have linen mitres on their heads, and linen breeches\non their loins, and they shall not be girded with any thing that\ncauseth sweat.\n\n44:19. And when they shall go forth to the outward court to the people,\nthey shall put off their garments wherein they ministered, and lay them\nup in the store chamber of the sanctuary, and they shall clothe\nthemselves with other garments:  and they shall not sanctify the people\nwith their vestments.\n\nShall not sanctify the people with their vestments. . .By exposing them\nto the danger of touching the sacred vestments, which none were to\ntouch but they that were sanctified.\n\n44:20. Neither shall they shave their heads, nor wear long hair:  but\nthey shall only poll their heads.\n\n44:21. And no priest shall drink wine when he is to go into the inner\ncourt.\n\n44:22. Neither shall they take to wife a widow, nor one that is\ndivorced, but they shall take virgins of the seed of the house of\nIsrael:  but they may take a widow also, that is, the widow of a priest.\n\n44:23. And they shall teach my people the difference between holy and\nprofane, and shew them how to discern between clean and unclean.\n\n44:24. And when there shall be a controversy, they shall stand in my\njudgments, and shall judge:  they shall keep my laws, and my ordinances\nin all my solemnities, and sanctify my sabbaths.\n\n44:25. And they shall come near no dead person, lest they be defiled,\nonly their father and mother, and son and daughter, and brother and\nsister, that hath not had another husband:  for whom they may become\nunclean.\n\n44:26. And after one is cleansed, they shall reckon unto him seven\ndays.\n\n44:27. And in the day that he goeth into the sanctuary, to the inner\ncourt, to minister unto me in the sanctuary, he shall offer for his\nsin, saith the Lord God.\n\n44:28. And they shall have no inheritance, I am their inheritance:\nneither shall you give them any possession in Israel, for I am their\npossession.\n\n44:29. They shall eat the victim both for sin and for trespass:  and\nevery vowed thing in Israel shall be theirs.\n\n30. And the firstfruits of all the firstborn, and all the libations of\nall things that are offered, shall be the priest's:  and you shall give\nthe firstfruits of your meats to the priest, that he may return a\nblessing upon thy house.\n\n44:31. The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of itself or\ncaught by a beast, whether it be fowl or cattle.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 45\n\n\nPortions of land for the sanctuary, for the city, and for the prince.\nOrdinances for the prince.\n\n45:1. And when you shall begin to divide the land by lot, separate ye\nfirstfruits to the Lord, a portion of the land to be holy, in length\ntwenty-five thousand and in breadth ten thousand:  it shall be holy in\nall the borders thereof round about.\n\nTwenty-five thousand. . .Viz., reeds or cubits.\n\n45:2. And there shall be for the sanctuary on every side five hundred\nby five hundred, foursquare round about:  and fifty cubits for the\nsuburbs thereof round about.\n\n45:3. And with this measure thou shalt measure the length of five and\ntwenty thousand, and the breadth of ten thousand, and in it shall be\nthe temple and the holy of holies.\n\n45:4. The holy portion of the land shall be for the priests the\nministers of the sanctuary, who come near to the ministry of the Lord:\nand it shall be a place for their houses, and for the holy place of the\nsanctuary.\n\n45:5. And five and twenty thousand of length, and ten thousand of\nbreadth shall be for the Levites, that minister in the house:  they\nshall possess twenty store chambers.\n\n45:6. And you shall appoint the possession of the city five thousand\nbroad, and five and twenty thousand long, according to the separation\nof the sanctuary, for the whole house of Israel.\n\n45:7. For the prince also on the one side and on the other side,\naccording to the separation of the sanctuary, and according to the\npossession of the city, over against the separation of the sanctuary,\nand over against the possession of the city:  from the side of the sea\neven to the sea, and from the side of the east even to the east.  And\nthe length according to every part from the west border to the east\nborder.\n\n45:8. He shall have a portion of the land in Israel:  and the princes\nshall no more rob my people:  but they shall give the land to the house\nof Israel according to their tribes:\n\n45:9. Thus saith the Lord God:  Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel:\ncease from iniquity and robberies, and execute judgment and justice,\nseparate your confines from my people, saith the Lord God.\n\n45:10. You shall have just balances, and a just ephi, and a just bate.\n\n45:11. The ephi and the bate shall be equal, and of one measure:  that\nthe bate may contain the tenth part of a core, and the ephi the tenth\npart of a core:  their weight shall be equal according to the measure of\na core.\n\nThe ephi and the bate. . .These measures were of equal capacity, but the\nbate served for liquids, and the ephi for dry things.\n\n45:12. And the sicle hath twenty obols.  Now twenty sicles, and five and\ntwenty sicles, and fifteen sicles, make a mna,\n\n45:13. And these are the firstfruits, which you shall take:  the sixth\npart of an ephi of a core of wheat, and the sixth part of an ephi of a\ncore of barley.\n\n45:14. The measure of oil also, a bate of oil is the tenth part of a\ncore:  and ten bates make a core:  for ten bates fill a core.\n\n45:15. And one ram out of a flock of two hundred, of those that Israel\nfeedeth for sacrifice, and for holocausts, and for peace offerings, to\nmake atonement for them, saith the Lord God.\n\n45:16. All the people of the land shall be bound to these firstfruits\nfor the prince in Israel.\n\n45:17. And the prince shall give the holocaust, and the sacrifice, and\nthe libations on the feasts, and on the new moons, and on the sabbaths,\nand on all the solemnities of the house of Israel:  he shall offer the\nsacrifice for sin, and the holocaust, and the peace offerings to make\nexpiation for the house of Israel.\n\n45:18. Thus saith the Lord God:  In the first month, the first of the\nmonth, thou shalt take a calf of the herd without blemish, and thou\nshalt expiate the sanctuary.\n\n45:19. And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering:  and\nhe shall put it on the posts of the house, and on the four corners of\nthe brim of the altar, and oil the posts of the gate of the inner\ncourt.\n\n45:20. And so shalt thou do in the seventh day of the month, for every\none that hath been ignorant, and hath been deceived by error, and thou\nshalt make expiation for the house.\n\n45:21. In the first month, the fourteenth day of the month, you shall\nobserve the solemnity of the pasch:  seven days unleavened bread shall\nbe eaten.\n\n45:22. And the prince on that day shall offer for himself, and for all\nthe people of the land, a calf for sin.\n\n45:23. And in the solemnity of the seven days he shall offer for a\nholocaust to the Lord, seven calves, and seven rams without blemish\ndaily for seven days:  and for sin a he goat daily.\n\n45:24. And he shall offer the sacrifice of an ephi for every calf, and\nan ephi for every ram:  and a hin of oil for every ephi.\n\n45:25. In the seventh month, in the fifteenth day of the month, in the\nsolemn feast, he shall do the like for the seven days:  as well in\nregard to the sin offering, as to the holocaust, and the sacrifice, and\nthe oil.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 46\n\n\nOther ordinances for the prince and for the sacrifices.\n\n46:1. Thus saith the Lord God:  The gate of the inner court that looketh\ntoward the east, shall be shut the six days, on which work is done; but\non the sabbath day it shall be opened, yea and on the day of the new\nmoon it shall be opened.\n\n46:2. And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of the gate\nfrom without, and he shall stand at the threshold of the gate:  and the\npriests shall offer his holocaust, and his peace offerings:  and he\nshall adore upon the threshold of the gate, and shall go out:  but the\ngate shall not be shut till the evening.\n\n46:3. And the people of the land shall adore at the door of that gate\nbefore the Lord on the sabbaths, and on the new moons.\n\n46:4. And the holocaust that the prince shall offer to the Lord on the\nsabbath day, shall be six lambs without blemish, and a ram without\nblemish.\n\n46:5. And the sacrifice of all ephi for a ram:  but for the lambs what\nsacrifice his hand shall allow:  and a hin of oil for every ephi.\n\n46:6. And on the day of the new moon a calf of the herd without\nblemish:  and the six lambs, and the rams shall be without blemish.\n\n46:7. And he shall offer in sacrifice an ephi for calf, an ephi also\nfor a ram:  but for the lambs, as his hand shall find:  and a hin of oil\nfor every ephi.\n\n46:8. And when the prince is to go in, let him go in by the way of the\nporch of the gate, and let him go out the same way.\n\n46:9. But when the people of the land shall go in before the Lord in\nthe solemn feasts, he that goeth in by the north gate to adore, shall\ngo out by the way of the south gate; and he that goeth in by the way of\nthe south gate, shall go out by the way of the north gate:  he shall not\nreturn by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go out at\nthat over against it.\n\n46:10. And the prince in the midst of them, shall go in when they go\nin, and go out when they go out.\n\n46:11. And in the fairs, and in the solemnities there shall be the\nsacrifice of an ephi to a calf, and an ephi to a ram:  and to the lambs,\nthe sacrifice shall be as his hand shall find:  and a hin of oil to\nevery ephi.\n\n46:12. But when the prince shall offer a voluntary holocaust, or\nvoluntary peace offering to the Lord:  the gate that looketh towards the\neast shall be opened to him, and he shall offer his holocaust, and his\npeace offerings, as it is wont to be done on the sabbath day:  and he\nshall go out, and the gate shall be shut after he is gone forth.\n\n46:13. And he shall offer every day for a holocaust to the Lord, a lamb\nof the same year without blemish:  he shall offer it always in the\nmorning.\n\n46:14. And he shall offer the sacrifice for it morning by morning, the\nsixth part of an ephi:  and the third part of a hin of oil to be mingled\nwith the fine flour:  a sacrifice to the Lord by ordinance continual and\neverlasting.\n\n46:15. He shall offer the lamb, and the sacrifice, and the oil morning\nby morning:  an everlasting holocaust.\n\n46:16. Thus saith the Lord God:  If the prince give a gift to any of his\nsons:  the inheritance of it shall go to his children, they shall\npossess it by inheritance.\n\n46:17. But if he give a legacy out of his inheritance to one of his\nservants, it shall be his until the year of release, and it shall\nreturn to the prince:  but his inheritance shall go to his sons.\n\n46:18. And the prince shall not take of the people's inheritance by\nviolence, nor of their possession:  but out of his own possession he\nshall give an inheritance to his sons:  that my people be not dispersed\nevery man from his possession.\n\n46:19. And he brought me in by the entry that was at the side of the\ngate, into the chambers of the sanctuary that were for the priests,\nwhich looked toward the north.  And there was a place bending to the\nwest.\n\n46:20. And he said to me:  This is the place where the priests shall\nboil the sin offering, and the trespass offering:  where they shall\ndress the sacrifice, that they may not bring it out into the outward\ncourt, and the people be sanctified.\n\n46:21. And he brought me into the outward court, and he led me about by\nthe four corners of the court:  and behold there was a little court in\nthe corner of the court, to every corner of the court there was a\nlittle court.\n\n46:22. In the four corners of the court were little courts disposed,\nforty cubits long, and thirty broad, all the four were of one measure.\n\n46:23. And there was a wall round about compassing the four little\ncourts, and there were kitchens built under the rows round about.\n\n46:24. And he said to me:  This is the house of the kitchens wherein the\nministers of the house of the Lord shall boil the victims of the\npeople.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 47\n\n\nThe vision of the holy waters issuing out from under the temple:  the\nborders of the land to be divided among the twelve tribes.\n\n47:1. And he brought me again to the gate of the house, and behold\nwaters issued out from under the threshold of the house toward the\neast:  for the forefront of the house looked toward the east:  but the\nwaters came down to the right side of the temple to the south part of\nthe altar.\n\nWaters. . .These waters are not to be understood literally (for there\nwere none such that flowed from the temple); but mystically, of the\nbaptism of Christ, and of his doctrine and his grace:  the trees that\ngrow on the banks are Christian virtues:  the fishes are Christians,\nthat spiritually live in and by these holy waters, the fishermen are\nthe apostles, and apostolic preachers:  the fenny places, where there is\nno health, are such as by being out of the church are separated from\nthese waters of life.\n\n47:2. And he led me out by the way of the north gate, and he caused me\nto turn to the way without the outward gate to the way that looked\ntoward the east:  and behold there ran out waters on the right side.\n\n47:3. And when the man that had the line in his hand went out towards\nthe east, he measured a thousand cubits:  and he brought me through the\nwater up to the ankles.\n\n47:4. And again he measured a thousand, and he brought me through the\nwater up to the knees.\n\n47:5. And he measured a thousand, and he brought me through the water\nup to the loins.  And he measured a thousand, and it was a torrent,\nwhich I could not pass over:  for the waters were risen so as to make a\ndeep torrent, which could not be passed over.\n\n47:6. And he said to me:  Surely thou hast seen, O son of man.  And he\nbrought me out, and he caused me to turn to the bank of the torrent.\n\n47:7. And when I had turned myself, behold on the bank of the torrent\nwere very many trees on both sides.\n\n47:8. And he said to me:  These waters that issue forth toward the\nhillocks of sand to the east, and go down to the plains of the desert,\nshall go into the sea, and shall go out, and the waters shall be\nhealed.\n\n47:9. And every living creature that creepeth whithersoever the torrent\nshall come, shall live:  and there shall be fishes in abundance after\nthese waters shall come thither, and they shall be healed, and all\nthings shall live to which the torrent shall come.\n\n47:10. And the fishers shall stand over these waters, from Engaddi even\nto Engallim there shall be drying of nets:  there shall be many sorts of\nthe fishes thereof, as the fishes of the great sea, a very great\nmultitude:\n\n47:11. But on the shore thereof, and in the fenny places they shall not\nbe healed, because they shall be turned into saltpits.\n\n47:12. And by the torrent on the banks thereof on both sides shall grow\nall trees that bear fruit:  their leaf shall not fall off, and their\nfruit shall not fail:  every month shall they bring forth firstfruits,\nbecause the waters thereof shall issue out of the sanctuary:  and the\nfruits thereof shall be for food, and the leaves thereof for medicine.\n\n47:13. Thus saith the Lord God:  This is the border, by which you shall\npossess the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel:  for Joseph\nhath a double portion.\n\n47:14. And you shall possess it, every man in like manner as his\nbrother:  concerning which I lifted up my hand to give it to your\nfathers:  and this land shall fall unto you for a possession.\n\n47:15. And this is the border of the land:  toward the north side, from\nthe great sea by the way of Hethalon, as men go to Sedada,\n\n47:16. Emath, Berotha, Sabarim, which is between the border of Damascus\nand the border of Emath the house of Tichon, which is by the border of\nAuran.\n\n47:17. And the border from the sea even to the court of Enan, shall be\nthe border of Damascus, and from the north to the north:  the border of\nEmath, this is the north side.\n\n47:18. And the east side is from the midst of Auran, and from the midst\nof Damascus, and from the midst of Galaad, and from the midst of the\nland of Israel, Jordan making the bound to the east sea, and thus you\nshall measure the east side.\n\n47:19. And the south side southward is, from Thamar even to the waters\nof contradiction of Cades:  and, the torrent even to the great sea:  and\nthis is the south side southward.\n\n47:20. And the side toward the sea, is the great sea from the borders\nstraight on, till thou come to Emath:  this is the side of the sea.\n\n47:21. And you shall divide this land unto you by the tribes of Israel:\n\n47:22. And you shall divide it by lot for an inheritance to you, and to\nthe strangers that shall come over to you, that shall beget children\namong you:  and they shall be unto you as men of the same country born\namong the children of Israel:  they shall divide the possession with you\nin the midst of the tribes of Israel.\n\n47:23. And in what tribe soever the stranger shall be, there shall you\ngive him possession, saith the Lord God.\n\n\n\nEzechiel Chapter 48\n\n\nThe portions of the twelve tribes, of the sanctuary, of the city, and\nof the prince.  The dimensions and gates of the city.\n\n48:1. And these are the names of the tribes from the borders of the\nnorth, by the way of Hethalon, as they go to Emath, the court of Enan\nthe border of Damascus northward, by the way off Emath.  And from the\neast side thereof to the sea shall be one portion for Dan.\n\n48:2. And by the border of Dan, from the east side even to the side of\nthe sea, one portion for Aser:\n\n48:3. And by the border of Aser, from the east side even to the side of\nthe sea one portion for Nephthali.\n\n48:4. And by the border of Nephthali, from the east side even to the\nside of the one portion for Manasses.\n\n48:5. And by the border of Manasses, from the east side even to the\nside of the sea, one portion for Ephraim.\n\n48:6. And by the border of Ephraim, from the east side even to the side\nof the sea, one portion for Ruben.\n\n48:7. And by the border of Ruben, from the east side even to the side\nof the sea, one portion for Juda.\n\n48:8. And by the border of Juda, from the east side even to the side of\nthe sea, shall be the firstfruits which you shall set apart, five and\ntwenty thousand in breadth, and length, as every one of the portions\nfrom the east side to the side of the sea:  and the sanctuary shall be\nin the midst thereof.\n\n48:9. The firstfruits which you shall set apart for the Lord will be\nthe length of five and twenty thousand, and the breadth of ten\nthousand.\n\n48:10. And these shall be the firstfruits of the sanctuary for the\npriests:  toward the north five and twenty thousand in length, and\ntoward the sea ten thousand in breadth, and toward the east also ten\nthousand in breadth, and toward the south five and twenty thousand in\nlength:  and the sanctuary of the Lord shall be in the midst thereof.\n\n48:11. The sanctuary shall be for the priests of the sons of Sadoc, who\nkept my ceremonies, and went not astray when the children of Israel\nwent astray, as the Levites also went astray.\n\n48:12. And for them shall be the firstfruits of the firstfruits of the\nland holy of holies, by the border of the Levites,\n\n48:13. And the Levites in like manner shall have by the borders of the\npriests five and twenty thousand in length, and ten thousand in\nbreadth.  All the length shall be five and twenty thousand, and the\nbreadth ten thousand.\n\n48:14. And they shall not sell thereof, nor exchange, neither shall the\nfirstfruits of the land be alienated, because they are sanctified to\nthe Lord.\n\n48:15. But the five thousand that remain in the breadth over against\nthe five and twenty thousand, shall be a profane place for the city for\ndwelling, and for suburbs and the city shall be in the midst thereof.\n\n48:16. And these are the measures thereof:  on the north side four\nthousand and five hundred:  and on the south side four thousand and five\nhundred:  and on the east side four thousand and five hundred:  and on\nthe west side four thousand and five hundred.\n\n48:17. And the suburbs of the city shall be to the north two hundred\nand fifty, and the south two hundred and fifty, and to the east two\nhundred and fifty, and to the sea two hundred and fifty.\n\n48:18. And the residue in length by the firstfruits of the sanctuary,\nten thousand toward the east, and ten thousand toward the west, shall\nbe as the firstfruits of the sanctuary:  and the fruit thereof shall be\nfor bread to them that serve the city.\n\n48:19. And they that serve the city, shall serve it out of all the\ntribes of Israel.\n\n48:20. All the firstfruits, of five and twenty thousand, by five and\ntwenty thousand foursquare, shall be set apart for the firstfruits of\nthe sanctuary, and for the possession of the city.\n\n48:21. And the residue shall be for the prince on every side of the\nfirstfruits of the sanctuary, and of the possession of the city over\nagainst the five and twenty thousand of the firstfruits unto the east\nborder:  toward the sea also over against the five and twenty thousand,\nunto the border of the sea, shall likewise be the portion of the\nprince:  and the firstfruits of the sanctuary, and the sanctuary of the\ntemple shall be in the midst thereof.\n\n48:22. And from the possession of the Levites, and from the possession\nof the city which are in the midst of the prince's portions:  what shall\nbe to the border of Juda, and to the border of Benjamin, shall also\nbelong to the prince.\n\n48:23. And for the rest of the tribes:  from the east side to the west\nside, one portion for Benjamin.\n\n48:24. And over against the border of Benjamin, from the east side to\nthe west side, one portion for Simeon.\n\n48:25. And by the border of Simeon, from the east side to the west\nside, one portion for Issachar.\n\n48:26. And by the border of Issachar, from the east side to the west\nside, one portion for Zabulon.\n\n48:27. And by the border of Zabulon, from the east side to the side of\nthe sea, one portion for Gad.\n\n48:28. And by the border of Gad, the south side southward:  and the\nborder shall be from Thamar, even to the waters of contradiction of\nCades, the inheritance over against the great sea.\n\n48:29. This is the land which you shall divide by lot to the tribes of\nIsrael:  and these are the portions of them, saith the Lord God.\n\n48:30. And these are the goings out of the city:  on the north side thou\nshalt measure four thousand and five hundred.\n\n48:31. And the gates of the city according to the names of the tribes\nof Israel, three gates on the north side, the gate of Ruben one, the\ngate of Juda one, the gate of Levi one.\n\n48:32. And at the east side, four thousand and five hundred:  and three\ngates, the gate of Joseph one, the gate of Benjamin one, the gate of\nDan one.\n\n48:33. And at the south side, thou shalt measure four thousand and five\nhundred:  and three gates, the gate of Simeon one, the gate of Issachar\none, the gate of Zabulon one.\n\n48:34. And at the west side, four thousand and five hundred, and their\nthree gates, the gate of Gad one, the gate of Aser one, the gate of\nNephthali one.\n\n48:35. Its circumference was eighteen thousand:  and the name of the\ncity from that day, The Lord is there.\n\nThe Lord is there. . .  This name is here given to the city, that is, to\nthe church of Christ:  because the Lord is always with her till the end\nof the world.  Matt. 28.20.\n\n\n\n\nTHE PROPHECY OF DANIEL\n\n\n\nDANIEL, whose name signifies THE JUDGMENT OF GOD, was of the royal\nblood of the kings of Juda:  and one of those that were first of all\ncarried away into captivity.  He was so renowned for wisdom and\nknowledge, that it became a proverb among the Babylonians, AS WISE AS\nDANIEL (Ezech. 28.3).  And his holiness was so great from his very\nchildhood, that at the time when he was as yet but a young man, he is\njoined by the SPIRIT of GOD with NOE and JOB, as three persons most\neminent for virtue and sanctity, Ezech. 14.  He is not commonly numbered\nby the Hebrews among THE PROPHETS:  because he lived at court, and in\nhigh station in the world:  but if we consider his many clear\npredictions of things to come, we shall find that no one better\ndeserves the name and title of A PROPHET:  which also has been given him\nby the SON of GOD himself, Matt. 24, Mark 13., Luke 21.\n\n\n\nDaniel Chapter 1\n\n\nDaniel and his companions are taken into the palace of the king of\nBabylon:  they abstain from his meat and wine, and succeed better with\npulse and water.  Their excellence and wisdom.\n\n1:1. In the third year of the reign of Joakim, king of Juda,\nNabuchodonosor, king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem, and beseiged it.\n\n1:2. And the Lord delivered into his hands Joakim, the king of Juda,\nand part of the vessels of the house of God:  and he carried them away\ninto the land of Sennaar, to the house of his god, and the vessels he\nbrought into the treasure house of his god.\n\nHis god. . .Bel or Belus, the principal idol of the Chaldeans.\n\n1:3. And the king spoke to Asphenez, the master of the eunuchs, that he\nshould bring in some of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed,\nand of the princes,\n\n1:4. Children in whom there was no blemish, well favoured, and skilful\nin all wisdom, acute in knowledge, and instructed in science, and such\nas might stand in the king's palace, that he might teach them the\nlearning, and tongue of the Chaldeans.\n\n1:5. And the king appointed them a daily provision, of his own meat,\nand of the wine of which he drank himself, that being nourished three\nyears, afterwards they might stand before the king.\n\n1:6. Now there was among them of the children of Juda, Daniel, Ananias,\nMisael, and Azarias.\n\n1:7. And the master of the eunuchs gave them names:  to Daniel,\nBaltassar:  to Ananias, Sidrach:  to Misael, Misach:  and to Azarias,\nAbdenago.\n\n1:8. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not be defiled with\nthe king's table, nor with the wine which he drank:  and he requested\nthe master of the eunuchs that he might not be defiled.\n\nBe defiled, etc. . .Viz., either by eating meat forbidden by the law, or\nwhich had before been offered to idols.\n\n1:9. And God gave to Daniel grace and mercy in the sight of the prince\nof the eunuchs.\n\n1:10. And the prince of the eunuchs said to Daniel:  I fear my lord, the\nking, who hath appointed you meat and drink:  who if he should see your\nfaces leaner than those of the other youths, your equals, you shall\nendanger my head to the king.\n\n1:11. And Daniel said to Malasar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had\nappointed over Daniel, Ananias, Misael, and Azarias:\n\n1:12. Try, I beseech thee, thy servants for ten days, and let pulse be\ngiven us to eat, and water to drink:\n\nPulse. . .That is, pease, beans, and such like.\n\n1:13. And look upon our faces, and the faces of the children that eat\nof the king's meat:  and as thou shalt see, deal with thy servants.\n\n1:14. And when he had heard these words, he tried them for ten days.\n\n1:15. And after ten days, their faces appeared fairer and fatter than\nall the children that ate of the king's meat.\n\n1:16. So Malasar took their portions, and the wine that they should\ndrink:  and he gave them pulse.\n\n1:17. And to these children God gave knowledge, and understanding in\nevery book, and wisdom:  but to Daniel the understanding also of all\nvisions and dreams.\n\n1:18. And when the days were ended, after which the king had ordered\nthey should be brought in:  the prince of the eunuchs brought them in\nbefore Nabuchodonosor.\n\n1:19. And when the king had spoken to them, there were not found among\nthem all such as Daniel, Ananias, Misael, and Azarias:  and they stood\nin the king's presence.\n\n1:20. And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king\nenquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the diviners,\nand wise men, that were in all his kingdom.\n\n1:21. And Daniel continued even to the first year of king Cyrus.\n\n\n\nDaniel Chapter 2\n\n\nDaniel, by divine revelation, declares the dream of Nabuchodonosor, and\nthe interpretation of it.  He is highly honoured by the king.\n\n2:1. In the second year of the reign of Nabuchodonosor, Nabuchodonosor\nhad a dream, and his spirit was terrified, and his dream went out of\nhis mind.\n\nThe second year. . .Viz., from the death of his father Nabopolassar; for\nhe had reigned before as partner with his father in the empire.\n\n2:2. Then the king commanded to call together the diviners and the wise\nmen, and the magicians, and the Chaldeans:  to declare to the king his\ndreams:  so they came and stood before the king.\n\nThe Chaldeeans. . .That is, the astrologers, that pretended to divine by\nstars.\n\n2:3. And the king said to them:  I saw a dream:  and being troubled in\nmind I know not what I saw.\n\n2:4. And the Chaldeans answered the king in Syriac:  O king, live for\never:  tell to thy servants thy dream, and we will declare the\ninterpretation thereof.\n\n2:5. And the king, answering, said to the Chaldeans:  The thing is gone\nout of my mind:  unless you tell me the dream, and the meaning thereof,\nyou shall be put to death, and your houses shall be confiscated.\n\n2:6. but if you tell the dream, and the meaning of it, you shall\nreceive of me rewards, and gifts, and great honour:  therefore, tell me\nthe dream, and the interpretation thereof.\n\n2:7. They answered again and said:  Let the king tell his servants the\ndream, and we will declare the interpretation of it.\n\n2:8. The king answered and said:  I know for certain, that you seek to\ngain time, since you know that the thing is gone from me.\n\n2:9. If, therefore, you tell me not the dream, there is one sentence\nconcerning you, that you have also framed a lying interpretation, and\nfull of deceit, to speak before me till the time pass away.  Tell me,\ntherefore, the dream, that I may know that you also give a true\ninterpretation thereof.\n\n2:10. Then the Chaldeans answered before the king, and said:  There is\nno man upon earth, that can accomplish thy word, O king; neither doth\nany king, though great and mighty, ask such a thing of any diviner, or\nwise man, or Chaldean.\n\n2:11. For the thing that thou asketh, O king, is difficult:  nor can any\none be found that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose\nconversation is not with men.\n\n2:12. Upon hearing this, the king in fury, and in great wrath,\ncommanded that all the wise men of Babylon should be put to death.\n\n2:13. And the decree being gone forth, the wise men were slain:  and\nDaniel and his companions were sought for, to be put to death.\n\n2:14. Then Daniel inquired concerning the law and the sentence, of\nArioch, the general of the king's army, who was gone forth to kill the\nwise men of Babylon.\n\n2:15. And he asked him that had received the orders of the king, why so\ncruel a sentence was gone forth from the face of the king.  And when\nArioch had told the matter to Daniel,\n\n2:16. Daniel went in, and desired of the king, that he would give him\ntime to resolve the question, and declare it to the king.\n\n2:17. And he went into his house, and told the matter to Ananias, and\nMisael, and Azarias, his companions:\n\n2:18. To the end that they should ask mercy at the face of the God of\nheaven, concerning this secret, and that Daniel and his companions\nmight not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.\n\n2:19. Then was the mystery revealed to Daniel by a vision in the night:\nand Daniel blessed the God of heaven,\n\n2:20. And speaking, he said:  Blessed be the name of the Lord from\neternity and for evermore:  for wisdom and fortitude are his.\n\n2:21. And he changeth times and ages:  taketh away kingdoms, and\nestablisheth them:  giveth wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to them\nthat have understanding:\n\n2:22. He revealeth deep and hidden things, and knoweth what is in\ndarkness:  and light is with him.\n\n2:23. To thee, O God of our fathers, I give thanks, and I praise thee:\nbecause thou hast given me wisdom and strength:  and now thou hast shewn\nme what we desired of thee, for thou hast made known to us the king's\ndiscourse.\n\n2:24. After this Daniel went in to Arioch, to whom the king had given\norders to destroy the wise men of Babylon, and he spoke thus to him:\nDestroy not the wise men of Babylon:  bring me in before the king, and I\nwill tell the solution to the king.\n\n2:25. Then Arioch in haste brought in Daniel to the king, and said to\nhim:  I have found a man of the children of the captivity of Juda, that\nwill resolve the question to the king.\n\n2:26. The king answered, and said to Daniel, whose name was Baltassar:\nThinkest thou indeed that thou canst tell me the dream that I saw, and\nthe interpretation thereof?\n\n2:27. And Daniel made answer before the king, and said:  The secret that\nthe king desireth to know, none of the wise men, or the philosophers,\nor the diviners, or the soothsayers, can declare to the king.\n\n2:28. But there is a God in heaven that revealeth mysteries, who hath\nshewn to thee, O king Nabuchodonosor, what is to come to pass in the\nlatter times.  Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are\nthese:\n\n2:29. Thou, O king, didst begin to think in thy bed, what should come\nto pass hereafter:  and he that revealeth mysteries shewed thee what\nshall come to pass.\n\n2:30. To me also this secret is revealed, not by any wisdom that I have\nmore than all men alive:  but that the interpretation might be made\nmanifest to the king, and thou mightest know the thought of thy mind.\n\n2:31. Thou, O king, sawest, and behold there was as it were a great\nstatue:  this statue, which was great and high, tall of stature, stood\nbefore thee, and the look thereof was terrible.\n\n2:32. The head of this statue was of fine gold, but the breast and the\narms of silver, and the belly and the thighs of brass.\n\n2:33. And the legs of iron, the feet part of iron and part of clay.\n\n2:34. Thus thou sawest, till a stone was cut out of a mountain without\nhands:  and it struck the statue upon the feet thereof that were of iron\nand clay, and broke them in pieces.\n\n2:35. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold\nbroken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of a summer's\nthreshing floor, and they were carried away by the wind:  and there was\nno place found for them:  but the stone that struck the statue became a\ngreat mountain, and filled the whole earth.\n\n2:36. This is the dream:  we will also tell the interpretation thereof\nbefore thee, O king.\n\n2:37. Thou art a king of kings:  and the God of heaven hath given thee a\nkingdom, and strength, and power, and glory:\n\n2:38. And all places wherein the children of men, and the beasts of the\nfield do dwell:  he hath also given the birds of the air into thy hand,\nand hath put all things under thy power:  thou, therefore, art the head\nof gold.\n\n2:39. And after thee shall rise up another kingdom, inferior to thee,\nof silver:  and another third kingdom of brass, which shall rule over\nall the world.\n\nAnother kingdom. . .Viz., that of the Medes and Persians.  Ibid.  Third\nkingdom. . .Viz., that of Alexander the Great.\n\n2:40. And the fourth kingdom shall be as iron.  As iron breaketh into\npieces, and subdueth all things, so shall that break, and destroy all\nthese.\n\nThe fourth kingdom, etc. . .Some understand this of the successors of\nAlexander, the kings of Syria and Egypt, others of the Roman empire,\nand its civil wars.\n\n2:41. And whereas thou sawest the feet, and the toes, part of potter's\nclay, and part of iron:  the kingdom shall be divided, but yet it shall\ntake its origin from the iron, according as thou sawest the iron mixed\nwith the miry clay.\n\n2:42. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay:\nthe kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.\n\n2:43. And whereas thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay, they shall\nbe mingled indeed together with the seed of man, but they shall not\nstick fast one to another, as iron cannot be mixed with clay.\n\n2:44. But in the days of those kingdoms, the God of heaven will set up\na kingdom that shall never by destroyed, and his kingdom shall not be\ndelivered up to another people:  and it shall break in pieces, and shall\nconsume all these kingdoms:  and itself shall stand for ever.\n\nA kingdom. . .Viz., the kingdom of Christ in the Catholic Church which\ncannot be destroyed.\n\n2:45. According as thou sawest, that the stone was cut out of the\nmountain without hands, and broke in pieces the clay and the iron, and\nthe brass, and the silver, and the gold, the great God hath shewn the\nking what shall come to pass hereafter, and the dream is true, and the\ninterpretation thereof is faithful.\n\n2:46. Then king Nabuchodonosor fell on his face, and worshipped Daniel,\nand commanded that they should offer in sacrifice to him victims and\nincense.\n\n2:47. And the king spoke to Daniel, and said:  Verily, your God is the\nGod of gods, and Lord of kings, and a revealer of hidden things:  seeing\nthou couldst discover this secret.\n\n2:48. Then the king advanced Daniel to a high station, and gave him\nmany and great gifts:  and he made him governor over all the provinces\nof Babylon:  and chief of the magistrates over all the wise men of\nBabylon.\n\n2:49. And Daniel requested of the king, and he appointed Sidrach,\nMisach, and Abdenago, over the works of the province of Babylon:  but\nDaniel himself was in the king's palace.\n\n\n\nDaniel Chapter 3\n\n\nNabuchodonosor set up a golden statue; which he commands all to adore:\nthe three children for refusing to do it are cast into the fiery\nfurnace; but are not hurt by the flames.  Their prayer and canticle of\npraise.\n\n3:1. King Nabuchodonosor made a statue of gold, of sixty cubits high,\nand six cubits broad, and he set it up in the plain of Dura, of the\nprovince of Babylon.\n\n3:2. Then Nabuchodonosor, the king, sent to call together the nobles,\nthe magistrates, and the judges, the captains, the rulers, and\ngovernors, and all the chief men of the provinces, to come to the\ndedication of the statue which king Nabuchodonosor had set up.\n\n3:3. Then the nobles, the magistrates, and the judges, the captains,\nand rulers, and the great men that were placed in authority, and all\nthe princes of the provinces, were gathered together to come to the\ndedication of the statue, which king Nabuchodonosor had set up.  And\nthey stood before the statue which king Nabuchodonosor had set up.\n\n3:4. Then a herald cried with a strong voice:  To you it is commanded, O\nnations, tribes and languages:\n\n3:5. That in the hour that you shall hear the sound of the trumpet, and\nof the flute, and of the harp, of the sackbut, and of the psaltery, and\nof the symphony, and of all kind of music, ye fall down and adore the\ngolden statue which king Nabuchodonosor hath set up.\n\n3:6. But if any man shall not fall down and adore, he shall the same\nhour be cast into a furnace of burning fire.\n\n3:7. Upon this, therefore, at the time when all the people heard the\nsound of the trumpet, the flute, and the harp, of the sackbut, and the\npsaltery, of the symphony, and of all kind of music, all the nations,\ntribes, and languages fell down and adored the golden statue which king\nNabuchodonosor had set up.\n\n3:8. And presently at that very time some Chaldeans came and accused\nthe Jews,\n\n3:9. And said to king Nabuchodonosor:  O king, live for ever:\n\n3:10. Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear\nthe sound of the trumpet, the flute, and the harp, of the sackbut, and\nthe psaltery, of the symphony, and of all kind of music, shall\nprostrate himself, and adore the golden statue:\n\n3:11. And that if any man shall not fall down and adore, he should be\ncast into a furnace of burning fire.\n\n3:12. Now there are certain Jews, whom thou hast set over the works of\nthe province of Babylon, Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago:  these men, O\nking, have slighted thy decree:  they worship not thy gods, nor do they\nadore the golden statue which thou hast set up.\n\n3:13. Then Nabuchodonosor in fury, and in wrath, commanded that\nSidrach, Misach, ad Abdenago should be brought:  who immediately were\nbrought before the king.\n\n3:14. And Nabuchodonosor, the king, spoke to them, and said:  Is it\ntrue, O Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, that you do not worship my gods,\nnor adore the golden statue that I have set up?\n\n3:15. Now, therefore, if you be ready, at what hour soever, you shall\nhear the sound of the trumpet, flute, harp, sackbut, and psaltery, and\nsymphony, and of all kind of music, prostrate yourselves, and adore the\nstatue which I have made:  but if you do not adore, you shall be cast\nthe same hour into the furnace of burning fire:  and who is the God that\nshall deliver you out of my hand?\n\n3:16. Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, answered, and said to king\nNabuchodonosor:  We have no occasion to answer thee concerning this\nmatter.\n\n3:17. For behold our God, whom we worship, is able to save us from the\nfurnace of burning fire, and to deliver us out of thy hands, O king.\n\n3:18. But if he will not, be it known to thee, O king, that we will not\nworship thy gods, nor adore the golden statue which thou hast set up.\n\n3:19. Then was Nabuchodonosor filled with fury:  and the countenance of\nhis face was changed against Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, and he\ncommanded that the furnace should be heated seven times more than it\nhad been accustomed to be heated.\n\n3:20. And he commanded the strongest men that were in his army, to bind\nthe feet of Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, and to cast them into the\nfurnace of burning fire.\n\n3:21. And immediately these men were bound, and were cast into the\nfurnace of burning fire, with their coats, and their caps, and their\nshoes, and their garments.\n\n3:22. For the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace was heated\nexceedingly.  And the flame of the fire slew those men that had cast in\nSidrach, Misach, and Abdenago.\n\n3:23. But these three men, that is, Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, fell\ndown bound in the midst of the furnace of burning fire.\n\n3:24. And they walked in the midst of the flame, praising God, and\nblessing the Lord.\n\nAnd they walked, etc. . .Here St. Jerome takes notice, that from this\nverse, to ver. 91, was not in the Hebrew in his time.  But as it was in\nall the Greek Bibles, (which were originally translated from the\nHebrew,) it is more than probable that it had been formerly in the\nHebrew or rather in the Chaldaic, in which the book of Daniel was\nwritten.  But this is certain:  that it is, and has been of old, received\nby the church, and read as canonical scripture in her liturgy, and\ndivine offices.\n\n3:25. Then Azarias standing up, prayed in this manner, and opening his\nmouth in the midst of the fire, he said:\n\n3:26. Blessed art thou, O Lord, the God of our fathers, and thy name is\nworthy of praise, and glorious for ever:\n\n3:27. For thou art just in all that thou hast done to us, and all thy\nworks are true, and thy ways right, and all thy judgments true.\n\n3:28. For thou hast executed true judgments in all the things that thou\nhast brought upon us, and upon Jerusalem, the holy city of our fathers:\nfor according to truth and judgment, thou hast brought all these things\nupon us for our sins.\n\n3:29. For we have sinned, and committed iniquity, departing from thee:\nand we have trespassed in all things:\n\n3:30. And we have not hearkened to thy commandments, nor have we\nobserved nor done as thou hadst commanded us, that it might go well\nwith us.\n\n3:31. Wherefore, all that thou hast brought upon us, and every thing\nthat thou hast done to us, thou hast done in true judgment:\n\n3:32. And thou hast delivered us into the hands of our enemies that are\nunjust, and most wicked, and prevaricators, and to a king unjust, and\nmost wicked beyond all that are upon the earth.\n\n3:33. And now we cannot open our mouths:  we are become a shame, and a\nreproach to thy servants, and to them that worship thee.\n\n3:34. Deliver us not up for ever, we beseech thee, for thy name's sake,\nand abolish not thy covenant.\n\n3:35. And take not away thy mercy from us, for the sake of Abraham, thy\nbeloved, and Isaac, thy servant, and Israel, thy holy one:\n\n3:36. To whom thou hast spoken, promising that thou wouldst multiply\ntheir seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand that is on the sea\nshore.\n\n3:37. For we, O Lord, are diminished more than any nation, and are\nbrought low in all the earth this day for our sins.\n\n3:38. Neither is there at this time prince, or leader, or prophet, or\nholocaust, or sacrifice, or oblation, or incense, or place of first\nfruits before thee,\n\n3:39. That we may find thy mercy:  nevertheless, in a contrite heart and\nhumble spirit let us be accepted.\n\n3:40. As in holocausts of rams, and bullocks, and as in thousands of\nfat lambs:  so let our sacrifice be made in thy sight this day, that it\nmay please thee:  for there is no confusion to them that trust in thee.\n\n3:41. And now we follow thee with all our heart, and we fear thee, and\nseek thy face.\n\n3:42. Put us not to confusion, but deal with us according to thy\nmeekness, and according to the multitude of thy mercies.\n\n3:43. And deliver us, according to thy wonderful works, and give glory\nto thy name, O Lord:\n\n3:44. And let all them be confounded that shew evils to thy servants,\nlet them be confounded in all thy might, and let their strength be\nbroken:\n\n3:45. And let them know that thou art the Lord, the only God, and\nglorious over all the world.\n\n3:46. Now the king's servants that had cast them in, ceased not to heat\nthe furnace with brimstone and tow, and pitch, and dry sticks,\n\n3:47. And the flame mounted up above the furnace nine and forth cubits:\n\n3:48. And it broke forth, and burnt such of the Chaldeans as it found\nnear the furnace.\n\n3:49. But the angel of the Lord went down with Azarias and his\ncompanions into the furnace:  and he drove the flame of the fire out of\nthe furnace,\n\n3:50. And made the midst of the furnace like the blowing of a wind\nbringing dew, and the fire touched them not at all, nor troubled them,\nnor did them any harm.\n\n3:51. Then these three, as with one mouth, praised and glorified and\nblessed God, in the furnace, saying:\n\n3:52. Blessed art thou, O Lord, the God of our fathers; and worthy to\nbe praised, and glorified, and exalted above all for ever:  and blessed\nis the holy name of thy glory:  and worthy to be praised and exalted\nabove all, in all ages.\n\n3:53. Blessed art thou in the holy temple of thy glory:  and exceedingly\nto be praised and exalted above all for ever.\n\n3:54 Blessed art thou on the throne of thy kingdom, and exceedingly to be\npraised, and exalted above all forever.\n\n3:55. Blessed art thou that beholdest the depths, and sittest upon the\ncherubims:  and worthy to be praised and exalted above all for ever.\n\n3:56. Blessed art thou in the firmament of heaven:  and worthy of\npraise, and glorious for ever.\n\n3:57. All ye works of the Lord, bless the Lord:  praise and exalt him\nabove all for ever.\n\n3:58. O ye angels of the Lord, bless the Lord:  praise and exalt him\nabove all for ever.\n\n3:59. O ye heavens, bless the Lord:  praise and exalt him above all for\never.\n\n3:60. O all ye waters that are above the heavens, bless the Lord:\npraise and exalt him above all for ever.\n\n3:61. O all ye powers of the Lord, bless the Lord:  praise and exalt him\nabove all for ever.\n\n3:62. O ye sun and moon, bless the Lord:  praise and exalt him above all\nfor ever.\n\n3:63. O ye stars of heaven, bless the Lord:  praise and exalt him above\nall for ever.\n\n3:64. O every shower and dew, bless ye the Lord:  praise and exalt him\nabove all for ever.\n\n3:65. O all ye spirits of God, bless the Lord:  praise and exalt him\nabove all for ever.\n\n3:66. O ye fire and heat, bless the Lord:  praise and exalt him above\nall for ever.\n\n3:67. O ye cold and heat, bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above\nall for ever.\n\n3:68. O ye dews and hoar frost, bless the Lord:  praise and exalt him\nabove all for ever.\n\n3:69. O ye frost and cold, bless the Lord:  praise and exalt him above\nall for ever.\n\n3:70. O ye ice and snow, bless the Lord:  praise and exalt him above all\nfor ever.\n\n3:71. O ye nights and days, bless the Lord:  praise and exalt him above\nall for ever.\n\n3:72. O ye light and darkness, bless the Lord:  praise and exalt him\nabove all for ever.\n\n3:73. O ye lightnings and clouds, bless the Lord:  praise and exalt him\nabove all for ever.\n\n3:74. O let the earth bless the Lord:  let it praise and exalt him above\nall for ever.\n\n3:75 O ye mountains and hills, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above\nall for ever.\n\n3:76. O all ye things that spring up in the earth, bless the Lord:\npraise and exalt him above all for ever.\n\n3:77. O ye fountains, bless the Lord:  praise and exalt him above all\nfor ever.\n\n3:78. O ye seas and rivers, bless the Lord:  praise and exalt him above\nall for ever.\n\n3:79. O ye whales, and all that move in the waters, bless the Lord:\npraise and exalt him above all for ever.\n\n3:80. O all ye fowls of the air, bless the Lord:  praise and exalt him\nabove all for ever.\n\n3:81. O all ye beasts and cattle, bless the Lord:  praise and exalt him\nabove all for ever.\n\n3:82. O ye sons of men, bless the Lord:  praise and exalt him above all\nfor ever.\n\n3:83. O let Israel bless the Lord:  let them praise and exalt him above\nall for ever.\n\n3:84. O ye priests of the Lord, bless the Lord:  praise and exalt him\nabove all for ever.\n\n3:85. O ye servants of the Lord, bless the Lord:  praise and exalt him\nabove all for ever.\n\n3:86. O ye spirits and souls of the just, bless the Lord:  praise and\nexalt him above all for ever.\n\n3:87. O ye holy and humble of heart, bless the Lord:  praise and exalt\nhim above all for ever.\n\n3:88. O Ananias, Azarias, Misael, bless ye the Lord:  praise and exalt\nhim above all for ever.  For he hath delivered us from hell, ad saved us\nout of the hand of death, and delivered us out of the midst of the\nburning flame, and saved us out of the midst of the fire.\n\n3:89. O give thanks to the Lord, because he is good:  because his mercy\nendureth for ever and ever.\n\n3:90. O all ye religious, bless the Lord, the God of gods:  praise him,\nand give him thanks, because his mercy endureth for ever and ever.\n\n3:91. Then Nabuchodonosor, the king, was astonished, and rose up in\nhaste, and said to his nobles:  Did we not cast three men bound into the\nmidst of the fire?  They answered the king, and said:  True, O king.\n\n3:92. He answered, and said:  Behold, I see four men loose, and walking\nin the midst of the fire, and there is no hurt in them, and the form of\nthe fourth is like the son of God.\n\n3:93. Then Nabuchodonosor came to the door of the burning fiery\nfurnace, and said:  Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, ye servants of the\nmost high God, go ye forth, and come.  And immediately Sidrach, Misach,\nand Abdenago, went out from the midst of the fire.\n\n3:94. And the nobles, and the magistrates, and the judges, and the\ngreat men of the king, being gathered together, considered these men,\nthat the fire had no power on their bodies, and that not a hair of\ntheir head had been singed, nor their garments altered, nor the smell\nof the fire had passed on them.\n\n3:95. Then Nabuchodonosor breaking forth, said:  Blessed be the God of\nthem, to wit, of Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, who hath sent his\nangel, and delivered his servants that believed in him:  and they\nchanged the king's word, and delivered up their bodies, that they might\nnot serve nor adore any god except their own God.\n\n3:96. By me, therefore, this decree is made:  That every people, tribe,\nand tongue, which shall speak blasphemy against the God of Sidrach,\nMisach, and Abdenago, shall be destroyed, and their houses laid waste:\nfor there is no other God that can save in this manner.\n\n3:97. Then the king promoted Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, in the\nprovince of Babylon.\n\n3:98. Nabuchodonosor, the king, to all peoples, nations, and tongues,\nthat dwell in all the earth, peace be multiplied unto you.\n\nNabuchodonosor, etc. . .These last three verses are a kind of preface to\nthe following chapter, which is written in the style of an epistle from\nthe king.\n\n3:99. The most high God hath wrought signs and wonders towards me.  It\nhath seemed good to me, therefore, to publish\n\n3:100. His signs, because they are great:  and his wonders, because they\nare mighty:  and his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his power to\nall generations.\n\n\n\nDaniel Chapter 4\n\n\nNabuchodonosor's dream, by which the judgments of God are denounced\nagainst him for his pride, is interpreted by Daniel, and verified by\nthe event.\n\n4:1. I, Nabuchodonosor, was at rest in my house, and flourishing in my\npalace:\n\n4:2. I saw a dream that affrighted me:  and my thoughts in my bed, and\nthe visions of my head, troubled me.\n\n4:3. Then I set forth a decree, that all the wise men of Babylon should\nbe brought in before me, and that they should shew me the\ninterpretation of the dream.\n\n4:4. Then came in the diviners, the wise men, the Chaldeans, and the\nsoothsayers, and I told the dream before them:  but they did not shew me\nthe interpretation thereof.\n\n4:5. Till their colleague, Daniel, came in before me, whose name is\nBaltassar, according to the name of my god, who hath in him the spirit\nof the holy gods:  and I told the dream before him.\n\nBaltassar, according to the name of my god. . .He says this, because the\nname of Baltassar, or Belteshazzar, is derived from the name of Bel,\nthe chief god of the Babylonians.\n\n4:6. Baltassar, prince of the diviners, because I know that thou hast\nin thee the spirit of the holy gods, and that no secret is impossible\nto thee, tell me the visions of my dreams that I have seen, and the\ninterpretation of them?\n\n4:7. This was the vision of my head in my bed:  I saw, and behold a tree\nin the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was exceeding great.\n\n4:8. The tree was great and strong, and the height thereof reached unto\nheaven:  the sight thereof was even to the ends of all the earth.\n\n4:9. Its leaves were most beautiful, and its fruit exceeding much:  and\nin it was food for all:  under it dwelt cattle and beasts, and in the\nbranches thereof the fowls of the air had their abode:  and all flesh\ndid eat of it.\n\n4:10. I saw in the vision of my head upon my bed, and behold a watcher,\nand a holy one came down from heaven.\n\nA watcher. . .A vigilant angel, perhaps the guardian of Israel.\n\n4:11. He cried aloud, and said thus:  Cut down the tree, and chop off\nthe branches thereof:  shake off its leaves, and scatter its fruits:  let\nthe beasts fly away that are under it, and the birds from its branches.\n\n4:12. Nevertheless, leave the stump of its roots in the earth, and let\nit be tied with a band of iron and of brass, among the grass, that is\nwithout, and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let its portion\nbe with the wild beasts in the grass of the earth.\n\n4:13. Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be\ngiven him:  and let seven times pass over him.\n\nLet his heart be changed, etc. . .It does not appear by scripture that\nNabuchodonosor was changed from human shape; much less that he was\nchanged into an ox; but only that he lost his reason, and became mad;\nand in this condition remained abroad in the company of beasts, eating\ngrass like an ox, till his hair grew in such manner as to resemble the\nfeathers of eagles, and his nails to be like birds' claws.\n\n4:14. This is the decree by the sentence of the watchers, and the word\nand demand of the holy ones:  till the living know, that the most High\nruleth in the kingdom of men:  and he will give it to whomsoever it\nshall please him, and he will appoint the basest man over it.\n\n4:15. I, king Nabuchodonosor, saw this dream:  thou, therefore, O\nBaltassar, tell me quickly the interpretation:  for all the wise men of\nmy kingdom are not able to declare the meaning of it to me:  but thou\nart able, because the spirit of the holy gods is in thee.\n\n4:16. Then Daniel, whose name was Baltassar, began silently to think\nwithin himself for about one hour:  and his thought troubled him.  But\nthe king answering, said:  Baltassar, let not the dream and the\ninterpretation thereof trouble thee.  Baltassar answered, and said:  My\nlord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation\nthereof to thy enemies.\n\n4:17. The tree which thou sawest, which was high and strong, whose\nheight reached to the skies, and the sight thereof into all the earth:\n\n4:18. And the branches thereof were most beautiful, and its fruit\nexceeding much, and in it was food for all, under which the beasts of\nthe field dwelt, and the birds of the air had their abode in its\nbranches.\n\n4:19. It is thou, O king, who art grown great, and become mighty:  for\nthy greatness hath grown, and hath reached to heaven, and thy power\nunto the ends of the earth.\n\n4:20. And whereas the king saw a watcher, and a holy one come down from\nheaven, and say:  Cut down the tree, and destroy it, but leave the stump\nof the roots thereof in the earth, and let it be bound with iron and\nbrass, among the grass without, and let it be sprinkled with the dew of\nheaven, and let his feeding be with the wild beasts, till seven times\npass over him.\n\n4:21. This is the interpretation of the sentence of the most High,\nwhich is come upon my lord, the king.\n\n4:22. They shall cast thee out from among men, and thy dwelling shall\nbe with cattle, and with wild beasts, and thou shalt eat grass, as an\nox, and shalt be wet with the dew of heaven:  and seven times shall pass\nover thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth over the kingdom of\nmen, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.\n\n4:23. But whereas he commanded, that the stump of the roots thereof,\nthat is, of the tree, should be left:  thy kingdom shall remain to thee,\nafter thou shalt have known that power is from heaven.\n\n4:24. Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to thee, and\nredeem thou thy sins with alms, and thy iniquities with works of mercy\nto the poor:  perhaps he will forgive thy offences.\n\n4:25. All these things came upon king Nabuchodonosor.\n\n4:26. At the end of twelve months he was walking in the palace of\nBabylon.\n\n4:27. And the king answered, and said:  Is not this the great Babylon,\nwhich I have built, to be the seat of the kingdom, by the strength of\nmy power, and in the glory of my excellence?\n\n4:28. And while the word was yet in the king's mouth, a voice came down\nfrom heaven:  To thee, O king Nabuchodonosor, it is said:  Thy kingdom\nshall pass from thee.\n\n4:29. And they shall cast thee out from among men, and thy dwelling\nshall be with cattle and wild beasts:  thou shalt eat grass like an ox,\nand seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High\nruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.\n\n4:30. The same hour the word was fulfilled upon Nabuchodonosor, and he\nwas driven away from among men, and did eat grass, like an ox, and his\nbody was wet with the dew of heaven:  till his hairs grew like the\nfeathers of eagles, and his nails like birds' claws.\n\n4:31. Now at the end of the days, I, Nabuchodonosor, lifted up my eyes\nto heaven, and my sense was restored to me:  and I blessed the most\nHigh, and I praised and glorified him that liveth for ever:  for his\npower is an everlasting power, and his kingdom is to all generations.\n\n4:32. And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing\nbefore him:  for he doth according to his will, as well with the powers\nof heaven, as among the inhabitants of the earth:  and there is none\nthat can resist his hand, and say to him:  Why hast thou done it?\n\n4:33. At the same time my sense returned to me, and I came to the\nhonour and glory of my kingdom:  and my shape returned to me:  and my\nnobles, and my magistrates, sought for me, and I was restored to my\nkingdom:  and greater majesty was added to me.\n\n4:34. Therefore I, Nabuchodonosor, do now praise, and magnify, and\nglorify the King of heaven:  because all his works are true, and his\nways judgments, and them that walk in pride he is able to abase.\n\nI, Nabuchodonosor, do now, etc. . .From this place some commentators\ninfer that this king became a true convert, and dying not long after,\nwas probably saved.\n\n\n\nDaniel Chapter 5\n\n\nBaltasar's profane banquet:  his sentence is denounced by a handwriting\non the wall, which Daniel reads and interprets.\n\n5:1. Baltasar, the king, made a great feast for a thousand of his\nnobles:  and every one drank according to his age.\n\nBaltasar. . .He is believed to be the same as Nabonydus, the last of the\nChaldean kings, grandson to Nabuchodonosor.  He is called his son, ver.\n2, 11, etc., according to the style of the scriptures, because he was a\ndescendant from him.\n\n5:2. And being now drunk, he commanded that they should bring the\nvessels of gold and silver, which Nabuchodonosor, his father, had\nbrought away out of the temple, that was in Jerusalem, that the king\nand his nobles, and his wives, and his concubines, might drink in them.\n\n5:3. Then were the golden and silver vessels brought, which he had\nbrought away out of the temple that was in Jerusalem:  and the king and\nhis nobles, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them.\n\n5:4. They drank wine, and praised their gods of gold, and of silver, of\nbrass, of iron, and of wood, and of stone.\n\n5:5. In the same hour there appeared fingers, as it were of the hand of\na man, writing over against the candlestick, upon the surface of the\nwall of the king's palace:  and the king beheld the joints of the hand\nthat wrote.\n\n5:6. Then was the king's countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled\nhim:  and the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees struck one\nagainst the other.\n\n5:7. And the king cried out aloud to bring in the wise men, the\nChaldeans, and the soothsayers.  And the king spoke, and said to the\nwise men of Babylon:  Whosoever shall read this writing, and shall make\nknown to me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with purple,\nand shall have a golden chain on his neck, and shall be the third man\nin my kingdom.\n\n5:8. Then came in all the king's wise men, but they could neither read\nthe writing, nor declare the interpretation to the king.\n\n5:9. Wherewith king Baltasar was much troubled, and his countenance was\nchanged:  and his nobles also were troubled.\n\n5:10. Then the queen, on occasion of what had happened to the king, and\nhis nobles, came into the banquet-house:  and she spoke, and said:  O\nking, live for ever:  let not thy thoughts trouble thee, neither let thy\ncountenance be changed.\n\nThe queen. . .Not the wife, but the mother of the king.\n\n5:11. There is a man in thy kingdom that hath the spirit of the holy\ngods in him:  and in the days of thy father knowledge and wisdom were\nfound in him:  for king Nabuchodonosor, thy father, appointed him prince\nof the wise men, enchanters, Chaldeans, and soothsayers, thy father, I\nsay, O king:\n\n5:12. Because a greater spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, and\ninterpretation of dreams, and shewing of secrets, and resolving of\ndifficult things, were found in him, that is, in Daniel:  whom the king\nnamed Baltassar.  Now, therefore, let Daniel be called for, and he will\ntell the interpretation.\n\n5:13. Then Daniel was brought in before the king.  And the king spoke,\nand said to him:  Art thou Daniel, of the children of the captivity of\nJuda, whom my father, the king, brought out of Judea?\n\n5:14. I have heard of thee, that thou hast the spirit of the gods, and\nexcellent knowledge, and understanding, and wisdom are found in thee.\n\n5:15. And now the wise men, the magicians, have come in before me, to\nread this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof; and they\ncould not declare to me the meaning of this writing.\n\n5:16. But I have heard of thee, that thou canst interpret obscure\nthings, and resolve difficult things:  now if thou art able to read the\nwriting, and to shew me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be\nclothed with purple, and shalt have a chain of gold about thy neck, and\nshalt be the third prince in my kingdom.\n\n5:17. To which Daniel made answer, and said before the king:  thy\nrewards be to thyself, and the gifts of thy house give to another:  but\nthe writing I will read to thee, O king, and shew thee the\ninterpretation thereof.\n\n5:18. O king, the most high God gave to Nabuchodonosor, thy father, a\nkingdom, and greatness, and glory, and honour.\n\n5:19. And for the greatness that he gave to him, all people, tribes,\nand languages trembled, and were afraid of him:  whom he would, he slew:\nand whom he would, he destroyed:  and whom he would, he set up:  and whom\nhe would, he brought down.\n\n5:20. But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit hardened unto\npride, he was put down from the throne of his kingdom, and his glory\nwas taken away.\n\n5:21. And he was driven out from the sons of men, and his heart was\nmade like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses, and he\ndid eat grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven:\ntill he knew that the most High ruled in the kingdom of men, and that\nhe will set over it whomsoever it shall please him.\n\n5:22. Thou also, his son, O Baltasar, hast not humbled thy heart,\nwhereas thou knewest all these things:\n\n5:23. But hast lifted thyself up against the Lord of heaven:  and the\nvessels of his house have been brought before thee:  and thou, and thy\nnobles, and thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them:  and\nthou hast praised the gods of silver, and of gold, and of brass, of\niron, and of wood, and of stone, that neither see, nor hear, nor feel:\nbut the God who hath thy breath in his hand, and all thy ways, thou\nhast not glorified.\n\n5:24. Wherefore, he hath sent the part of the hand which hath written\nthis that is set down.\n\n5:25. And this is the writing that is written:  MANE, THECEL, PHARES.\n\n5:26. And this is the interpretation of the word.  MANE:  God hath\nnumbered thy kingdom, and hath finished it.\n\n5:27. THECEL:  thou art weighed in the balance, and art found wanting.\n\n5:28. PHARES:  thy kingdom is divided, and is given to the Medes and\nPersians.\n\n5:29. Then by the king's command, Daniel was clothed with purple, and a\nchain of gold was put about his neck:  and it was proclaimed of him that\nhe had power as the third man in the kingdom.\n\n5:30. The same night Baltasar, the Chaldean king, was slain.\n\n5:31. And Darius, the Mede, succeeded to the kingdom, being threescore\nand two years old.\n\nDarius. . .He is called Cyaxares by the historians; and was the son of\nAstyages, and uncle to Cyrus.\n\n\n\nDaniel Chapter 6\n\n\nDaniel is promoted by Darius:  his enemies procure a law forbidding\nprayer; for the transgression of this law Daniel is cast into the\nlions' den:  but miraculously delivered.\n\n6:1. It seemed good to Darius, and he appointed over the kingdom a\nhundred and twenty governors, to be over his whole kingdom.\n\n6:2. And three princes over them of whom Daniel was one:  that the\ngovernors might give an account to them, and the king might have no\ntrouble.\n\n6:3. And Daniel excelled all the princes, and governors:  because a\ngreater spirit of God was in him.\n\n6:4. And the king thought to set him over all the kingdom; whereupon\nthe princes, and the governors, sought to find occasion against Daniel,\nwith regard to the king:  and they could find no cause, nor suspicion,\nbecause he was faithful, and no fault, nor suspicion was found in him.\n\n6:5. Then these men said:  We shall not find any occasion against this\nDaniel, unless perhaps concerning the law of his God.\n\n6:6. Then the princes, and the governors, craftily suggested to the\nking, and spoke thus unto him:  King Darius, live for ever:\n\n6:7. All the princes of the kingdom, the magistrates, and governors,\nthe senators, and judges, have consulted together, that an imperial\ndecree, and an edict be published:  That whosoever shall ask any\npetition of any god, or man, for thirty days, but of thee, O king,\nshall be cast into the den of the lions.\n\n6:8. Now, therefore, O king, confirm the sentence, and sign the decree:\nthat what is decreed by the Medes and Persians may not be altered, nor\nany man be allowed to transgress it.\n\n6:9. So king Darius set forth the decree, and established it.\n\n6:10. Now, when Daniel knew this, that is to say, that the law was\nmade, he went into his house:  and opening the windows in his upper\nchamber towards Jerusalem, he knelt down three times a day, and adored\nand gave thanks before his God, as he had been accustomed to do before.\n\n6:11. Wherefore those men carefully watching him, found Daniel praying\nand making supplication to his God.\n\n6:12. And they came and spoke to the king concerning the edict:  O king,\nhast thou not decreed, that every man that should make a request to any\nof the gods, or men, for thirty days, but to thyself, O king, should be\ncast into the den of the lions?  And the king answered them, saying:  The\nword is true, according to the decree of the Medes and Persians, which\nit is not lawful to violate.\n\n6:13. Then they answered, and said before the king:  Daniel, who is of\nthe children of the captivity of Juda, hath not regarded thy law, nor\nthe decree that thou hast made:  but three times a day he maketh his\nprayer.\n\n6:14. Now when the king had heard these words, he was very much\ngrieved, and in behalf of Daniel he set his heart to deliver him, and\neven till sunset he laboured to save him.\n\n6:15. But those men perceiving the king's design, said to him:  Know\nthou, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, that no decree\nwhich the king hath made, may be altered.\n\n6:16. Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him\ninto the den of the lions.  And the king said to Daniel:  Thy God, whom\nthou always servest, he will deliver thee.\n\n6:17. And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den:\nwhich the king sealed with his own ring, and with the ring of his\nnobles, that nothing should be done against Daniel.\n\n6:18. And the king went away to his house, and laid himself down\nwithout taking supper, and meat was not set before him, and even sleep\ndeparted from him.\n\n6:19. Then the king rising very early in the morning, went in haste to\nthe lions' den:\n\n6:20. And coming near to the den, cried with a lamentable voice to\nDaniel, and said to him:  Daniel, servant of the living God, hath thy\nGod, whom thou servest always, been able, thinkest thou, to deliver\nthee from the lions?\n\n6:21. And Daniel answering the king, said:  O king, live for ever:\n\n6:22. My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut up the mouths of the\nlions, and they have not hurt me:  forasmuch as before him justice hath\nbeen found in me:  yea, and before thee, O king, I have done no offence.\n\n6:23. Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and he commanded that\nDaniel should be taken out of the den:  and Daniel was taken out of the\nden, and no hurt was found in him, because he believed in his God.\n\n6:24. And by the king's commandment, those men were brought that had\naccused Daniel:  and they were cast into the lions' den, they and their\nchildren, and their wives:  and they did not reach the bottom of the\nden, before the lions caught them, and broke all their bones in pieces.\n\n6:25. Then king Darius wrote to all people, tribes, and languages,\ndwelling in the whole earth:  PEACE be multiplied unto you.\n\n6:26. It is decreed by me, that in all my empire and my kingdom, all\nmen dread and fear the God of Daniel.  For he is the living and eternal\nGod for ever:  and his kingdom shall not be destroyed, and his power\nshall be for ever.\n\n6:27. He is the deliverer, and saviour, doing signs and wonders in\nheaven, and in earth:  who hath delivered Daniel out of the lions' den.\n\n6:28. Now Daniel continued unto the reign of Darius, and the reign of\nCyrus, the Persian.\n\n\n\nDaniel Chapter 7\n\n\nDaniel's vision of the four beasts, signifying four kingdoms:  of God\nsitting on his throne:  and of the opposite kingdoms of Christ and\nAntichrist.\n\n7:1. In the first year of Baltasar, king of Babylon, Daniel saw a\ndream:  and the vision of his head was upon his bed:  and writing the\ndream, he comprehended it in a few words:  and relating the sum of it in\nshort, he said:\n\n7:2. I saw in my vision by night, and behold the four winds of the\nheavens strove upon the great sea.\n\n7:3. And four great beasts, different one from another, came up out of\nthe sea.\n\nFour great beasts. . .Viz., the Chaldean, Persian, Grecian, and Roman\nempires.  But some rather choose to understand the fourth beast of the\nsuccessors of Alexander the Great, more especially of them that reigned\nin Asia and Syria.\n\n7:4. The first was like a lioness, and had the wings of an eagle:  I\nbeheld till her wings were plucked off, and she was lifted up from the\nearth, and stood upon her feet as a man, and the heart of a man was\ngiven to her.\n\n7:5. And behold another beast, like a bear, stood up on one side:  and\nthere were three rows in the mouth thereof, and in the teeth thereof,\nand thus they said to it:  Arise, devour much flesh.\n\n7:6. After this I beheld, and lo, another like a leopard, and it had\nupon it four wings, as of a fowl, and the beast had four heads, and\npower was given to it.\n\n7:7. After this I beheld in the vision of the night, and lo, a fourth\nbeast, terrible and wonderful, and exceeding strong, it had great iron\nteeth, eating and breaking in pieces, and treading down the rest with\nhis feet:  and it was unlike to the other beasts which I had seen before\nit, and had ten horns.\n\nTen horns. . .That is, ten kingdoms, (as Apoc. 17.12,) among which the\nempire of the fourth beast shall be parcelled.  Or ten kings of the\nnumber of the successors of Alexander; as figures of such as shall be\nabout the time of Antichrist.\n\n7:8. I considered the horns, and behold another little horn sprung out\nof the midst of them:  and three of the first horns were plucked up at\nthe presence thereof:  and behold eyes like the eyes of a man were in\nthis horn, and a mouth speaking great things.\n\nAnother little horn. . .This is commonly understood of Antichrist.  It\nmay also be applied to that great persecutor Antiochus Epiphanes, as a\nfigure of Antichrist.\n\n7:9. I beheld till thrones were placed, and the ancient of days sat:\nhis garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like clean\nwool:  his throne like flames of fire:  the wheels of it like a burning\nfire.\n\n7:10. A swift stream of fire issued forth from before him:  thousands of\nthousands ministered to him, and ten thousand times a hundred thousand\nstood before him:  the judgment sat, and the books were opened.\n\n7:11. I beheld, because of the voice of the great words which that horn\nspoke:  and I saw that the beast was slain, and the body thereof was\ndestroyed, and given to the fire to be burnt:\n\n7:12. And that the power of the other beasts was taken away:  and that\ntimes of life were appointed them for a time, and a time.\n\n7:13. I beheld, therefore, in the vision of the night, and lo, one like\nthe Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and he came even to the\nancient of days:  and they presented him before him.\n\n7:14. And he gave him power, and glory, and a kingdom:  and all peoples,\ntribes, and tongues shall serve him:  his power is an everlasting power\nthat shall not be taken away:  and his kingdom that shall not be\ndestroyed.\n\n7:15. My spirit trembled; I, Daniel, was affrighted at these things,\nand the visions of my head troubled me.\n\n7:16. I went near to one of them that stood by, and asked the truth of\nhim concerning all these things, and he told me the interpretation of\nthe words, and instructed me:\n\n7:17. These four great beasts, are four kingdoms, which shall arise out\nof the earth.\n\n7:18. But the saints of the most high God shall take the kingdom:  and\nthey shall possess the kingdom for ever and ever.\n\n7:19. After this I would diligently learn concerning the fourth beast,\nwhich was very different from all, and exceeding terrible:  his teeth\nand claws were of iron:  he devoured and broke in pieces, and the rest\nhe stamped upon with his feet:\n\n7:20. And concerning the ten horns that he had on his head:  and\nconcerning the other that came up, before which three horns fell:  and\nof that horn that had eyes, and a mouth speaking great things, and was\ngreater than the rest.\n\n7:21. I beheld, and lo, that horn made war against the saints, and\nprevailed over them,\n\n7:22. Till the ancient of days came and gave judgment to the saints of\nthe most High, and the time came, and the saints obtained the kingdom.\n\n7:23. And thus he said:  The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom\nupon earth, which shall be greater than all the kingdoms, and shall\ndevour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in\npieces.\n\n7:24. And the ten horns of the same kingdom, shall be ten kings:  and\nanother shall rise up after them, and he shall be mightier than the\nformer, and he shall bring down three kings.\n\n7:25. And he shall speak words against the High One, and shall crush\nthe saints of the most High:  and he shall think himself able to change\ntimes and laws, and they shall be delivered into his hand until a time,\nand times, and half a time.\n\nA time, and times, and half a time. . .That is, three years and a half;\nwhich is supposed to be the length of the duration of the persecution\nof Antichrist.\n\n7:26. And a judgment shall sit, that his power may be taken away, and\nbe broken in pieces, and perish even to the end.\n\n7:27. And that the kingdom, and power, and the greatness of the\nkingdom, under the whole heaven, may be given to the people of the\nsaints of the most High:  whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and\nall kings shall serve him, and shall obey him.\n\n7:28. Hitherto is the end of the word.  I, Daniel, was much troubled\nwith my thoughts, and my countenance was changed in me:  but I kept the\nword in my heart.\n\n\n\nDaniel Chapter 8\n\n\nDaniel's vision of the ram and the he goat interpreted by the angel\nGabriel.\n\n8:1. In the third year of the reign of king Baltasar, a vision appeared\nto me.  I, Daniel, after what I had seen in the beginning,\n\n8:2. Saw in my vision when I was in the castle of Susa, which is in the\nprovince of Elam:  and I saw in the vision that I was over the gate of\nUlai.\n\n8:3. And I lifted up my eyes, and saw:  and behold a ram stood before\nthe water, having two high horns, and one higher than the other, and\ngrowing up.  Afterward\n\nA ram. . .The empire of the Medes and Persians.\n\n8:4. I saw the ram pushing with his horns against the west, and against\nthe north, and against the south:  and no beasts could withstand him,\nnor be delivered out of his hand:  and he did according to his own will,\nand became great.\n\n8:5. And I understood:  and behold a he goat came from the west on the\nface of the whole earth, and he touched not the ground, and the he goat\nhad a notable horn between his eyes.\n\nA he goat. . .The empire of the Greeks, or Macedonians.  Ibid.  He\ntouched not the ground. . .He conquered all before him, with so much\nrapidity, that he seemed rather to fly, than to walk upon the\nearth.--Ibid.  A notable horn. . .Alexander the Great.\n\n8:6. And he went up to the ram that had the horns, which I had seen\nstanding before the gate, and he ran towards him in the force of his\nstrength.\n\n8:7. And when he was come near the ram, he was enraged against him, and\nstruck the ram:  and broke his two horns, and the ram could not\nwithstand him:  and when he had cast him down on the ground, he stamped\nupon him, and none could deliver the ram out of his hand.\n\n8:8. And the he goat became exceeding great:  and when he was grown, the\ngreat horn was broken, and there came up four horns under it towards\nthe four winds of heaven.\n\nFour horns. . .Seleucus, Antigonus, Philip, and Ptolemeus, the\nsuccessors of Alexander, who divided his empire among them.\n\n8:9. And out of one of them came forth a little horn:  and it became\ngreat against the south, and against the east, and against the\nstrength.\n\nA little horn. . .Antiochus Epiphanes, a descendant of Seleucus.  He grew\nagainst the south, and the east, by his victories over the kings of\nEgypt and Armenia:  and against the strength, that is, against Jerusalem\nand the people of God.\n\n8:10. And it was magnified even unto the strength of heaven:  and it\nthrew down of the strength, and of the stars, and trod upon them.\n\nUnto the strength of heaven. . .or, against the strength of heaven.  So\nare here called the army of the Jews, the people of God.\n\n8:11. And it was magnified even to the prince of the strength:  and it\ntook away from him the continual sacrifice, and cast down the place of\nhis sanctuary.\n\n8:12. And strength was given him against the continual sacrifice,\nbecause of sins:  and truth shall be cast down on the ground, and he\nshall do and shall prosper.\n\n8:13. And I heard one of the saints speaking, and one saint said to\nanother I know not to whom, that was speaking:  How long shall be the\nvision, concerning the continual sacrifice, and the sin of the\ndesolation that is made:  and the sanctuary, and the strength be trodden\nunder foot?\n\n8:14. And he said to him:  Unto evening and morning two thousand three\nhundred days:  and the sanctuary shall be cleansed.\n\nUnto evening and morning two thousand three hundred days. . .That is,\nsix years and almost four months:  which was the whole time from the\nbeginning of the persecution of Antiochus till his death.\n\n8:15. And it came to pass when I, Daniel, saw the vision, and sought\nthe meaning, that behold there stood before me as it were the\nappearance of a man.\n\n8:16. And I heard the voice of a man between Ulai:  and he called, and\nsaid:  Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.\n\n8:17. And he came, and stood near where I stood:  and when he was come,\nI fell on my face, trembling, and he said to me:  Understand, O son of\nman, for in the time of the end the vision shall be fulfilled.\n\n8:18. And when he spoke to me, I fell flat on the ground:  and he\ntouched me, and set me upright.\n\n8:19. And he said to me:  I will shew thee what things are to come to\npass in the end of the malediction:  for the time hath its end.\n\n8:20. The ram, which thou sawest with horns, is the king of the Medes\nand Persians.\n\n8:21. And the he goat, is the king of the Greeks, and the great horn\nthat was between his eyes, the same is the first king.\n\n8:22. But whereas when that was broken, there arose up four for it,\nfour kings shall rise up of his nation, but not with his strength.\n\n8:23. And after their reign, when iniquities shall be grown up, there\nshall arise a king of a shameless face, and understanding dark\nsentences.\n\n8:24. And his power shall be strengthened, but not by his own force:\nand he shall lay all things waste, and shall prosper, and do more than\ncan be believed.  And he shall destroy the mighty, and the people of the\nsaints,\n\n8:25. According to his will, and craft shall be successful in his hand:\nand his heart shall be puffed up, and in the abundance of all things he\nshall kill many:  and he shall rise up against the prince of princes,\nand shall be broken without hand.\n\n8:26. And the vision of the evening and the morning, which was told, is\ntrue:  thou, therefore, seal up the vision, because it shall come to\npass after many days.\n\n8:27. And I, Daniel, languished, and was sick for some days:  and when I\nwas risen up, I did the king's business, and I was astonished at the\nvision, and there was none that could interpret it.\n\n\n\nDaniel Chapter 9\n\n\nDaniel's confession and prayer:  Gabriel informs him concerning the\nseventy weeks to the coming of Christ.\n\n9:1. In the first year of Darius, the son of Assuerus, of the seed of\nthe Medes, who reigned over the kingdom of the Chaldeans:\n\n9:2. The first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by books the\nnumber of the years, concerning which the word of the Lord came to\nJeremias, the prophet, that seventy years should be accomplished of the\ndesolation of Jerusalem.\n\n9:3. And I set my face to the Lord, my God, to pray and make\nsupplication with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes.\n\n9:4. And I prayed to the Lord, my God, and I made my confession, and\nsaid:  I beseech thee, O Lord God, great and terrible, who keepest the\ncovenant, and mercy to them that love thee, and keep thy commandments.\n\n9:5. We have sinned, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly,\nand have revolted:  and we have gone aside from thy commandments, and\nthy judgments.\n\n9:6. We have not hearkened to thy servants, the prophets, that have\nspoken in thy name to our kings, to our princes, to our fathers, and to\nall the people of the land.\n\n9:7. To thee, O Lord, justice:  but to us confusion of face, as at this\nday to the men of Juda, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all\nIsrael, to them that are near, and to them that are far off, in all the\ncountries whither thou hast driven them, for their iniquities, by which\nthey have sinned against thee.\n\n9:8. O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our princes, and to\nour fathers, that have sinned.\n\n9:9. But to thee, the Lord our God, mercy and forgiveness, for we have\ndeparted from thee:\n\n9:10. And we have not hearkened to the voice of the Lord, our God, to\nwalk in his law, which he set before us by his servants, the prophets.\n\n9:11. And all Israel have transgressed thy law, and have turned away\nfrom hearing thy voice, and the malediction, and the curse, which is\nwritten in the book of Moses, the servant of God, is fallen upon us,\nbecause we have sinned against him.\n\n9:12. And he hath confirmed his words which he spoke against us, and\nagainst our princes that judged us, that he would bring in upon us a\ngreat evil, such as never was under all the heaven, according to that\nwhich hath been done in Jerusalem.\n\n9:13. As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon\nus:  and we entreated not thy face, O Lord our God, that we might turn\nfrom our iniquities, and think on thy truth.\n\n9:14. And the Lord hath watched upon the evil, and hath brought it upon\nus:  the Lord, our God, is just in all his works which he hath done:  for\nwe have not hearkened to his voice.\n\n9:15. And now, O Lord, our God, who hast brought forth thy people out\nof the land of Egypt, with a strong hand, and hast made thee a name as\nat this day:  we have sinned, we have committed iniquity,\n\n9:16. O Lord, against all thy justice:  let thy wrath and thy\nindignation be turned away, I beseech thee, from thy city, Jerusalem,\nand from thy holy mountain.  For by reason of our sins, and the\niniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem, and thy people, are a reproach to\nall that are round about us.\n\n9:17. Now, therefore, O our God, hear the supplication of thy servant,\nand his prayers:  and shew thy face upon thy sanctuary, which is\ndesolate, for thy own sake.\n\n9:18. Incline, O my God, thy ear, and hear:  open thy eyes, and see our\ndesolation, and the city upon which thy name is called:  for it is not\nfor our justifications that we present our prayers before thy face, but\nfor the multitude of thy tender mercies.\n\n9:19. O Lord, hear:  O Lord, be appeased:  hearken, and do:  delay not,\nfor thy own sake, O my God:  because thy name is invocated upon thy\ncity, and upon thy people.\n\n9:20. Now while I was yet speaking, and praying, and confessing my\nsins, and the sins of my people of Israel, and presenting my\nsupplications in the sight of my God, for the holy mountain of my God:\n\n9:21. As I was yet speaking in prayer, behold the man, Gabriel, whom I\nhad seen in the vision at the beginning, flying swiftly, touched me at\nthe time of the evening sacrifice.\n\nThe man Gabriel. . .The angel Gabriel in the shape of a man.\n\n9:22. And he instructed me, and spoke to me, and said:  O Daniel, I am\nnow come forth to teach thee, and that thou mightest understand.\n\n9:23. From the beginning of thy prayers the word came forth:  and I am\ncome to shew it to thee, because thou art a man of desires:  therefore,\ndo thou mark the word, and understand the vision.\n\nMan of desires. . .that is, ardently praying for the Jews then in\ncaptivity.\n\n9:24. Seventy weeks are shortened upon thy people, and upon thy holy\ncity, that transgression may be finished, and sin may have an end, and\niniquity may be abolished; and everlasting justice may be brought; and\nvision and prophecy may be fulfilled; and the Saint of saints may be\nanointed.\n\nSeventy weeks. . .Viz., of years, (or seventy times seven, that is, 490\nyears,) are shortened; that is, fixed and determined, so that the time\nshall be no longer.\n\n9:25. Know thou, therefore, and take notice:  that from the going forth\nof the word, to build up Jerusalem again, unto Christ, the prince,\nthere shall be seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks:  and the street shall\nbe built again, and the walls, in straitness of times.\n\nFrom the going forth of the word, etc. . .That is, from the twentieth\nyear of king Artaxerxes, when by his commandment Nehemias rebuilt the\nwalls of Jerusalem, 2 Esd. 2.  From which time, according to the best\nchronology, there were just sixty-nine weeks of years, that is, 483\nyears to the baptism of Christ, when he first began to preach and\nexecute the office of Messias.--Ibid.  In straitness of\ntimes. . .angustia temporum:  which may allude both to the difficulties\nand opposition they met with in building:  and to the shortness of the\ntime in which they finished the wall, viz., fifty-two days.\n\n9:26. And after sixty-two weeks Christ shall be slain:  and the people\nthat shall deny him shall not be his.  And a people, with their leader,\nthat shall come, shall destroy the city, and the sanctuary:  and the end\nthereof shall be waste, and after the end of the war the appointed\ndesolation.\n\nA people with their leader. . .The Romans under Titus.\n\n9:27. And he shall confirm the covenant with many, in one week:  and in\nthe half of the week the victim and the sacrifice shall fail:  and there\nshall be in the temple the abomination of desolation:  and the\ndesolation shall continue even to the consummation, and to the end.\n\nIn the half of the week. . .or, in the middle of the week, etc.  Because\nChrist preached three years and a half:  and then by his sacrifice upon\nthe cross abolished all the sacrifices of the law.--Ibid.  The\nabomination of desolation. . .Some understand this of the profanation of\nthe temple by the crimes of the Jews, and by the bloody faction of the\nzealots.  Others of the bringing in thither the ensigns and standard of\nthe pagan Romans.  Others, in fine, distinguish three different times of\ndesolation:  viz., that under Antiochus; that when the temple was\ndestroyed by the Romans; and the last near the end of the world under\nAntichrist.  To all which, as they suppose, this prophecy may have a\nrelation.\n\n\n\nDaniel Chapter 10\n\n\nDaniel having humbled himself by fasting and penance seeth a vision,\nwith which he is much terrified; but he is comforted by an angel.\n\n10:1. In the third year of Cyrus, king of the Persians, a word was\nrevealed to Daniel, surnamed Baltassar, and a true word, and great\nstrength:  and he understood the word:  for there is need of\nunderstanding in a vision.\n\n10:2. In those days I, Daniel, mourned the days of three weeks.\n\n10:3. I ate no desirable bread, and neither flesh, nor wine, entered\ninto my mouth, neither was I anointed with ointment:  till the days of\nthree weeks were accomplished.\n\n10:4. And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, I was by\nthe great river, which is the Tigris.\n\n10:5. And I lifted up my eyes, and I saw:  and behold a man clothed in\nlinen, and his loins were girded with the finest gold:\n\n10:6. And his body was like the chrysolite, and his face as the\nappearance of lightning, and his eyes as a burning lamp:  and his arms,\nand all downward even to the feet, like in appearance to glittering\nbrass:  and the voice of his word like the voice of a multitude.\n\n10:7. And I, Daniel alone, saw the vision:  for the men that were with\nme saw it not:  but an exceeding great terror fell upon them, and they\nfled away, and hid themselves.\n\n10:8. And I, being left alone, saw this great vision:  and there\nremained no strength in me, and the appearance of my countenance was\nchanged in me, and I fainted away, and retained no strength.\n\n10:9. And I heard the voice of his words:  and when I heard I lay in a\nconsternation upon my face, and my face was close to the ground.\n\n10:10. And behold a hand touched me, and lifted me up upon my knees,\nand upon the joints of my hands.\n\n10:11. And he said to me:  Daniel, thou man of desires, understand the\nwords that I speak to thee, and stand upright:  for I am sent now to\nthee.  And when he had said this word to me, I stood trembling.\n\n10:12. And he said to me:  Fear not, Daniel:  for from the first day that\nthou didst set thy heart to understand, to afflict thyself in the sight\nof thy God, thy words have been heard:  and I am come for thy words.\n\n10:13. But the prince of the kingdom of the Persians resisted me one\nand twenty days:  and behold Michael, one of the chief princes, came to\nhelp me, and I remained there by the king of the Persians.\n\nThe prince, etc. . .That is, the angel guardian of Persia:  who according\nto his office, seeking the spiritual good of the Persians was desirous\nthat many of the Jews should remain among them.\n\n10:14. But I am come to teach thee what things shall befall thy people\nin the latter days, for as yet the vision is for days.\n\n10:15. And when he was speaking such words to me, I cast down my\ncountenance to the ground, and held my peace.\n\n10:16. And behold as it were the likeness of a son of man touched my\nlips:  then I opened my mouth and spoke, and said to him that stood\nbefore me:  O my lord, at the sight of thee my joints are loosed, and no\nstrength hath remained in me.\n\n10:17. And how can the servant of my lord speak with my lord?  for no\nstrength remaineth in me; moreover, my breath is stopped.\n\n10:18. Therefore, he that looked like a man, touched me again, and\nstrengthened me.\n\n10:19. And he said:  Fear not, O man of desires, peace be to thee:  take\ncourage, and be strong.  And when he spoke to me, I grew strong, and I\nsaid:  Speak, O my lord, for thou hast strengthened me.\n\n10:20. And he said:  Dost thou know wherefore I am come to thee?  And now\nI will return, to fight against the prince of the Persians.  When I went\nforth, there appeared the prince of the Greeks coming.\n\n10:21. But I will tell thee what is set down in the scripture of truth:\nand none is my helper in all these things, but Michael your prince.\n\nMichael your prince. . .The guardian general of the church of God.\n\n\n\nDaniel Chapter 11\n\n\nThe angel declares to Daniel many things to come, with regard to the\nPersian and Grecian kings:  more especially with regard to Antiochus as\na figure of Antichrist.\n\n11:1. And from the first year of Darius, the Mede, I stood up, that he\nmight be strengthened, and confirmed.\n\n11:2. And now I will shew thee the truth.  Behold, there shall stand yet\nthree kings in Persia, and the fourth shall be enriched exceedingly\nabove them all:  and when he shall be grown mighty by his riches, he\nshall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece.\n\nThree kings. . .Viz., Cambyses, Smerdes Magus, and Darius, the son of\nHystaspes.--Ibid.  The fourth. . .Xerxes.\n\n11:3. But there shall rise up a strong king, and shall rule with great\npower:  and he shall do what he pleaseth.\n\nA strong king. . .Alexander.\n\n11:4. And when he shall come to his height, his kingdom shall be\nbroken, and it shall be divided towards the four winds of the heaven:\nbut not to his posterity, nor according to his power with which he\nruled.  For his kingdom shall be rent in peices, even for strangers,\nbesides these.\n\n11:5. And the king of the south shall be strengthened, and one of his\nprinces shall prevail over him, and he shall rule with great power:  for\nhis dominions shall be great.\n\nThe king of the south. . .Ptolemeus the son of Lagus, king of Egypt,\nwhich lies south of Jerusalem.--Ibid.  One of his princes. . .that is,\none of Alexander's princes, shall prevail over him:  that is, shall be\nstronger than the king of Egypt.  He speaks of Seleucus Nicator, king of\nAsia and Syria, whose successors are here called the kings of the\nnorth, because their dominions lay to the north in respect to\nJerusalem.\n\n11:6. And after the end of years they shall be in league together:  and\nthe daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the\nnorth to make friendship, but she shall not obtain the strength of the\narm, neither shall her seed stand:  and she shall be given up, and her\nyoung men that brought her, and they that strengthened her in these\ntimes.\n\nThe daughter of the king of the south. . .Viz., Berenice, daughter of\nPtolemeus Philadelphus, given in marriage to Antiochus Theos, grandson\nof Seleucus.\n\n11:7. And a plant of the bud of her roots shall stand up:  and he shall\ncome with an army, and shall enter into the province of the king of the\nnorth:  and he shall abuse them, and shall prevail.\n\nA plant, etc. . .Ptolemeus Evergetes, the son of Philadelphus.\n\n11:8. And he shall also carry away captive into Egypt their gods, and\ntheir graven things, and their precious vessels of gold and silver:  he\nshall prevail against the king of the north.\n\nThe king of the north. . .Seleucus Callinicus.\n\n11:9. And the king of the south shall enter into the kingdom, and shall\nreturn to his own land.\n\n11:10. And his sons shall be provoked, and they shall assemble a\nmultitude of great forces:  and he shall come with haste like a flood:\nand he shall return, and be stirred up, and he shall join battle with\nhis force.\n\nHis sons. . .Seleucus Ceraunius, and Antiochus the Great, the sons of\nCallinicus.--Ibid.  He shall come. . .Viz., Antiochus the Great.\n\n11:11. And the king of the south being provoked, shall go forth, and\nshall fight against the king of the north, and shall prepare an\nexceeding great multitude, and a multitude shall be given into his\nhands.\n\nThe king of the south. . .Ptolemeus Philopator, son of Evergetes.\n\n11:12. And he shall take a multitude, and his heart shall be lifted up,\nand he shall cast down many thousands:  but he shall not prevail.\n\n11:13. For the king of the north shall return, and shall prepare a\nmultitude much greater than before:  and in the end of times, and years,\nhe shall come in haste with a great army, and much riches.\n\n11:14. And in those times many shall rise up against the king of the\nsouth, and the children of prevaricators of thy people shall lift up\nthemselves to fulfil the vision, and they shall fall.\n\n11:15. And the king of the north shall come, and shall cast up a mount,\nand shall take the best fenced cities:  and the arms of the south shall\nnot withstand, and his chosen ones shall rise up to resist, and they\nshall not have strength.\n\n11:16. And he shall come upon him, and do according to his pleasure,\nand there shall be none to stand against his face:  and he shall stand\nin the glorious land, and it shall be consumed by his hand.\n\nHe shall come upon him. . .Viz., Antiochus shall come upon the king of\nthe south.--Ibid.  The glorious land. . .Judea.\n\n11:17. And he shall set his face to come to possess all his kingdom,\nand he shall make upright conditions with him:  and he shall give him a\ndaughter of women, to overthrow it:  and she shall not stand, neither\nshall she be for him.\n\nAll his kingdom. . .Viz., all the kingdom of Ptolemeus Epiphanes, son of\nPhilopator.--Ibid.  A daughter of women. . .That is, a most beautiful\nwoman, viz., his daughter Cleopatra.--Ibid.  To overthrow it. . .Viz.,\nthe kingdom of Epiphanes:  but his policy shall not succeed; for\nCleopatra shall take more to heart the interest of her husband, than that\nof her father.\n\n11:18. And he shall turn his face to the islands, and shall take many:\nand he shall cause the prince of his reproach to cease, and his\nreproach shall be turned upon him.\n\nThe prince of his reproach. . .Seipio the Roman general, called the\nprince of his reproach, because he overthrew Antiochus, and obliged him\nto submit to very dishonourable terms, before he would cease from the\nwar.\n\n11:19. And he shall turn his face to the empire of his own land, and he\nshall stumble, and fall, ans shall not be found.\n\n11:20. And there shall stand up in his place one most vile, and\nunworthy of kingly honour:  and in a few days he shall be destroyed, not\nin rage nor in battle.\n\nOne most vile. . .Seleucus Philopator, who sent Heliodorus to plunder\nthe temple:  and was shortly after slain by the same Heliodorus.\n\n11:21. And there shall stand up in his place one despised, and the\nkingly honour shall not be given him:  and he shall come privately, and\nshall obtain the kingdom by fraud.\n\nOne despised. . .Viz., Antiochus Epiphanes, who at first was despised\nand not received for king.  What is here said of this prince, is\naccommodated by St. Jerome and others to Antichrist; of whom this\nAntiochus was a figure.\n\n11:22. And the arms of the fighter shall be overcome before his face,\nand shall be broken:  yea, also the prince of the covenant.\n\nOf the fighter. . .That is, of them that shall oppose him, and shall\nfight against him.--Ibid.  The prince of the covenant. . .or, of the\nleague.  The chief of them that conspired against him:  or the king of\nEgypt his most powerful adversary.\n\n11:23. And after friendships, he will deal deceitfully with him:  and he\nshall go up, and shall overcome with a small people.\n\n11:24. And he shall enter into rich and plentiful cities:  and he shall\ndo that which his fathers never did, nor his fathers' fathers:  he shall\nscatter their spoils, and their prey, and their riches, and shall\nforecast devices against the best fenced places:  and this until a time.\n\n11:25. And his strength, and his heart, shall be stirred up against the\nking of the south, with a great army:  and the king of the south shall\nbe stirred up to battle with many and very strong succours:  and they\nshall not stand, for they shall form designs against him.\n\nThe king. . .Ptolemeus Philometor.\n\n11:26. And they that eat bread with him, shall destroy him, and his\narmy shall be overthrown:  and many shall fall down slain.\n\n11:27. And the heart of the two kings shall be to do evil, and they\nshall speak lies at one table, and they shall not prosper:  because as\nyet the end is unto another time.\n\n11:28. And he shall return into his land with much riches:  and his\nheart shall be against the holy covenant, and he shall succeed, and\nshall return into his own land.\n\n11:29. At the time appointed he shall return, and he shall come to the\nsouth, but the latter time shall not be like the former.\n\n11:30. And the galleys and the Romans shall come upon him, and he shall\nbe struck, and shall return, and shall have indignation against the\ncovenant of the sanctuary, and he shall succeed:  and he shall return,\nand shall devise against them that have forsaken the covenant of the\nsanctuary.\n\nThe galleys and the Romans. . .Popilius, and the other Roman\nambassadors, who came in galleys, and obliged him to depart from Egypt.\n\n11:31. And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall defile the\nsanctuary of strength, and shall take away the continual sacrifice:  and\nthey shall place there the abomination unto desolation.\n\nThey shall place there the abomination, etc. . .The idol of Jupiter\nOlympius, which Antiochus ordered to be set up in the sanctuary of the\ntemple:  which is here called the sanctuary of strength, from the\nAlmighty that was worshipped there.\n\n11:32. And such as deal wickedly against the covenant shall deceitfully\ndissemble:  but the people that know their God shall prevail and\nsucceed.\n\n11:33. And they that are learned among the people shall teach many:  and\nthey shall fall by the sword, and by fire, and by captivity, and by\nspoil for many days.\n\n11:34. And when they shall have fallen, they shall be relieved with a\nsmall help:  and many shall be joined to them deceitfully.\n\n11:35. And some of the learned shall fall, that they may be tried, and\nmay be chosen, and made white, even to the appointed time:  because yet\nthere shall be another time.\n\n11:36. And the king shall do according to his will, and he shall be\nlifted up, and shall magnify himself against every god:  and he shall\nspeak great things against the God of gods, and shall prosper, till the\nwrath be accomplished.  For the determination is made.\n\n11:37. And he shall make no account of the God of his fathers:  and he\nshall follow the lust of women, and he shall not regard any gods:  for\nhe shall rise up against all things.\n\n11:38. But he shall worship the god Maozim, in his place:  and a god\nwhom his fathers knew not, he shall worship with gold, and silver, and\nprecious stones, and things of great price.\n\nThe god Maozim. . .That is, the god of forces or strong holds.\n\n11:39. And he shall do this to fortify Maozim with a strange god, whom\nhe hath acknowledged, and he shall increase glory, and shall give them\npower over many, and shall divide the land gratis.\n\nAnd he shall increase glory, etc. . .He shall bestow honours, riches and\nlands, upon them that shall worship his god.\n\n11:40. And at the time prefixed the king of the south shall fight\nagainst him, and the king of the north shall come against him like a\ntempest, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with a great navy, and\nhe shall enter into the countries, and shall destroy, and pass through.\n\n11:41. And he shall enter into the glorious land, and many shall fall:\nand these only shall be saved out of his hand, Edom, and Moab, and the\nprincipality of the children of Ammon.\n\n11:42. And he shall lay his hand upon the lands:  and the land of Egypt\nshall not escape.\n\n11:43. And he shall have power over the treasures of gold, and of\nsilver, and all the precious things of Egypt:  and he shall pass through\nLybia, and Ethiopia.\n\n11:44. And tidings out of the east, and out of the north, shall trouble\nhim:  and he shall come with a great multitude to destroy and slay many.\n\n11:45. And he shall fix his tabernacle, Apadno, between the seas, upon\na glorious and holy mountain:  and he shall come even to the top\nthereof, and none shall help him.\n\nApadno. . .Some take it for the proper name of a place:  others, from the\nHebrew, translate it his palace.\n\n\n\nDaniel Chapter 12\n\n\nMichael shall stand up for the people of God:  with other things\nrelating to Antichrist, and the end of the world.\n\n12:1. But at that time shall Michael rise up, the great prince, who\nstandeth for the children of thy people:  and a time shall come, such as\nnever was from the time that nations began, even until that time.  And\nat that time shall thy people be saved, every one that shall be found\nwritten in the book.\n\n12:2. And many of those that sleep in the dust of the earth, shall\nawake:  some unto life everlasting, and others unto reproach, to see it\nalways.\n\n12:3. But they that are learned, shall shine as the brightness of the\nfirmament:  and they that instruct many to justice, as stars for all\neternity.\n\nLearned. . .Viz., in the law of God and true wisdom, which consists in\nknowing and loving God.\n\n12:4. But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to\nthe time appointed:  many shall pass over, and knowledge shall be\nmanifold.\n\n12:5. And I, Daniel, looked, and behold as it were two others stood:\none on this side upon the bank of the river, and another on that side,\non the other bank of the river.\n\n12:6. And I said to the man that was clothed in linen, that stood upon\nthe waters of the river:  How long shall it be to the end of these\nwonders?\n\n12:7. And I heard the man that was clothed in linen, that stood upon\nthe waters of the river, when he had lifted up his right hand, and his\nleft hand to heaven, and had sworn by him that liveth for ever, that it\nshould be unto a time, and times, and half a time.  And when the\nscattering of the band of the holy people shall be accomplished, all\nthese things shall be finished.\n\n12:8. And I heard, and understood not.  And I said:  O my lord, what\nshall be after these things?\n\n12:9. And he said:  Go, Daniel, because the words are shut up, and\nsealed until the appointed time.\n\n12:10. Many shall be chosen, and made white, and shall be tried as\nfire:  and the wicked shall deal wickedly, and none of the wicked shall\nunderstand, but the learned shall understand.\n\n12:11. And from the time when the continual sacrifice shall be taken\naway, and the abomination unto desolation shall be set up, there shall\nbe a thousand two hundred ninety days.\n\n12:12. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh unto a thousand three\nhundred thirty-five days.\n\n12:13. But go thou thy ways until the time appointed:  and thou shalt\nrest, and stand in thy lot unto the end of the days.\n\n\n\nDaniel Chapter 13\n\n\nThe history of Susanna and the two elders.\n\nThis history of Susanna, in all the ancient Greek and Latin Bibles, was\nplaced in the beginning of the book of Daniel:  till St. Jerome, in his\ntranslation, detached it from thence; because he did not find it in the\nHebrew:  which is also the case of the history of Bel and the Dragon.\nBut both the one and the other are received by the Catholic Church:  and\nwere from the very beginning a part of the Christian Bible.\n\n13:1. Now there was a man that dwelt in Babylon, and his name was\nJoakim:\n\n13:2. And he took a wife, whose name was Susanna, the daughter of\nHelcias, a very beautiful woman, and one that feared God.\n\n13:3. For her parents being just, had instructed their daughter\naccording to the law of Moses.\n\n13:4. Now Joakim was very rich, and had an orchard near his house:  and\nthe Jews resorted to him, because he was the most honourable of them\nall.\n\n13:5. And there were two of the ancients of the people appointed judges\nthat year, of whom the Lord said:  That iniquity came out from Babylon,\nfrom the ancient judges, that seemed to govern the people.\n\n13:6. These men frequented the house of Joakim, and all that hand any\nmatters of judgment came to them.\n\n13:7. And when the people departed away at noon, Susanna went in, and\nwalked in her husband's orchard.\n\n13:8. And the old men saw her going in every day, and walking:  and they\nwere inflamed with lust towards her:\n\n13:9. And they perverted their own mind, and turned away their eyes,\nthat they might not look unto heaven, nor remember just judgments.\n\n13:10. So they were both wounded with the love of her, yet they did not\nmake known their grief one to the other.\n\n13:11. For they were ashamed to declare to one another their lust,\nbeing desirous to have to do with her:\n\n13:12. And they watched carefully every day to see her.  And one said to\nthe other:\n\n13:13. Let us now go home, for it is dinner time.  So going out, they\ndeparted one from another.\n\n13:14. And turning back again, they came both to the same place:  and\nasking one another the cause, they acknowledged their lust:  and then\nthey agreed together upon a time, when they might find her alone.\n\n13:15. And it fell out, as they watched a fit day, she went in on a\ntime, as yesterday and the day before, with two maids only, and was\ndesirous to wash herself in the orchard:  for it was hot weather.\n\n13:16. And there was nobody there, but the two old men that had hid\nthemselves, and were beholding her.\n\n13:17. So she said to the maids:  Bring me oil, and washing balls, and\nshut the doors of the orchard, that I may wash me.\n\n13:18. And they did as she bade them:  and they shut the doors of the\norchard, and went out by a back door to fetch what she had commanded\nthem, and they knew not that the elders were hid within.\n\n13:19. Now when the maids were gone forth, the two elders arose, and\nran to her, and said:\n\n13:20. Behold the doors of the orchard are shut, and nobody seeth us,\nand we are in love with thee:  wherefore consent to us, and lie with us.\n\n13:21. But if thou wilt not, we will bear witness against thee, that a\nyoung man was with thee, and therefore thou didst send away thy maids\nform thee.\n\n13:22. Susanna sighed, and said:  I am straitened on every side:  for if\nI do this thing, it is death to me:  and if I do it not, I shall not\nescape your hands.\n\n13:23. But it is better for me to fall into your hands without doing\nit, than to sin in the sight of the Lord.\n\n13:24. With that Susanna cried out with a loud voice:  and the elders\nalso cried out against her.\n\n13:25. And one of them ran to the door of the orchard, and opened it.\n\n13:26. So when the servants of the house heard the cry in the orchard,\nthey rushed in by the back door, to see what was the matter.\n\n13:27. But after the old men had spoken, the servants were greatly\nashamed:  for never had there been any such word said of Susanna.  And on\nthe next day,\n\n13:28. When the people were come to Joakim, her husband, the two elders\nalso came full of wicked device against Susanna, to put her to death.\n\n13:29. And they said before the people:  Send to Susanna, daughter of\nHelcias, the wife of Joakim.  And presently they sent.\n\n13:30. And she came with her parents, and children and all her kindred.\n\n13:31. Now Susanna was exceeding delicate, and beautiful to behold.\n\n13:32. But those wicked men commanded that her face should be\nuncovered, (for she was covered) that so at least they might be\nsatisfied with her beauty.\n\n13:33. Therefore her friends, and all her acquaintance wept.\n\n13:34. But the two elders rising up in the midst of the people, laid\ntheir hands upon her head.\n\n13:35. And she weeping, looked up to heaven, for her heart had\nconfidence in the Lord.\n\n13:36. And the elders said:  As we walked in the orchard alone, this\nwoman came in with two maids, and shut the doors of the orchard, ans\nsent away the maids from her.\n\n13:37. Then a young man that was there hid came to her, and lay with\nher.\n\n13:38. But we that were in a corner of the orchard, seeing this\nwickedness, ran up to them, and we saw them lie together.\n\n13:39. And him indeed we could not take, because he was stronger than\nus, and opening the doors, he leaped out:\n\n13:40. But having taken this woman, we asked who the young man was, but\nshe would not tell us:  of this thing we are witnesses.\n\n13:41. The multitude believed them, as being the elders, and the judges\nof the people, and they condemned her to death.\n\n13:42. Then Susanna cried out with a loud voice, and said:  O eternal\nGod, who knowest hidden things, who knowest all things before they come\nto pass,\n\n13:43. Thou knowest that they have borne false witness against me:  and\nbehold I must die, whereas I have done none of these things, which\nthese men have maliciously forged against me.\n\n13:44. And the Lord heard her voice.\n\n13:45. And when she was led to be put to death, the Lord raised up the\nholy spirit of a young boy, whose name was Daniel:\n\n13:46. And he cried out with a loud voice:  I am clear from the blood of\nthis woman.\n\n13:47. Then all the people turning themselves towards him, said:  What\nmeaneth this word that thou hast spoken?\n\n13:48. But he standing in the midst of them, said:  Are ye so foolish,\nye children of Israel, that without examination or knowledge of the\ntruth, you have condemned a daughter of Israel?\n\n13:49. Return to judgment, for they have borne false witness against\nher.\n\n13:50. So all the people turned again in haste, and the old men said to\nhim:  Come, and sit thou down among us, and shew it us:  seeing God hath\ngiven thee the honour of old age.\n\n13:51. And Daniel said to the people:  Separate these two far from one\nanother, and I will examine them.\n\n13:52. So when they were put asunder one from the other, he called one\nof them, and said to him:  O thou that art grown old in evil days, now\nare thy sins come out, which thou hast committed before:\n\n13:53. In judging unjust judgments, oppressing the innocent, and\nletting the guilty to go free, whereas the Lord saith:  The innocent and\nthe just thou shalt not kill.\n\n13:54. Now then if thou sawest her, tell me under what tree thou sawest\nthem conversing together:  He said:  Under a mastic tree.\n\n13:55. And Daniel said:  Well hast thou lied against thy own head:  for\nbehold the angel of God having received the sentence of him, shall cut\nthee in two.\n\n13:56. And having put him aside, he commanded that the other should\ncome, and he said to him:  O thou seed of Chanaan, and not of Juda,\nbeauty hath deceived tee, and lust hath perverted thy heart:\n\n13:57. Thus did you do to the daughters of Israel, and they for fear\nconversed with you:  but a daughter of Juda would not abide your\nwickedness.\n\n13:58. Now, therefore, tell me, under what tree didst thou take them\nconversing together.  And he answered:  Under a holm tree.\n\n13:59. And Daniel said to him:  Well hast thou also lied against thy own\nhead:  for the angel of the Lord waiteth with a sword to cut thee in\ntwo, and to destroy you.\n\n13:60. With that all the assembly cried out with a loud voice, and they\nblessed God, who saveth them that trust in him.\n\n13:61. And they rose up against the two elders, (for Daniel had\nconvicted them of false witness by their own mouth) and they did to\nthem as they had maliciously dealt against their neighbour,\n\n13:62. To fulfil the law of Moses:  and they put them to death, and\ninnocent blood was saved in that day.\n\n13:63. But Helcias, and his wife, praised God, for their daughter,\nSusanna, with Joakim, her husband, and all her kindred, because there\nwas no dishonesty found in her.\n\n13:64. And Daniel became great in the sight of the people from that\nday, and thence forward.\n\n13:65. And king Astyages was gathered to his fathers; and Cyrus, the\nPersian, received his kingdom.\n\n\n\nDaniel Chapter 14\n\n\nThe history of Bel, and of the great serpent worshipped by the\nBabylonians.\n\n14:1. And Daniel was the king's guest, and was honoured above all his\nfriends.\n\nThe king's guest. . .It seems most probable, that the king here spoken\nof was Evilmerodach, the son and successor of Nabuchodonosor, and a\ngreat favourer of the Jews.\n\n14:2. Now the Babylonians had an idol called Bel:  and there was spent\nupon him every day twelve great measures of fine flour, and forty\nsheep, and six vessels of wine.\n\n14:3. The king also worshipped him, and went every day to adore him:\nbut Daniel adored his God.  And the king said to him:  Why dost thou not\nadore Bel?\n\n14:4. And he answered, and said to him:  Because I do not worship idols\nmade with hands, but the living God, that created heaven and earth, and\nhath power over all flesh.\n\n14:5. And the king said to him:  Doth not Bel seem to thee to be a\nliving god?  Seest thou not how much he eateth and drinketh every day?\n\n14:6. Then Daniel smiled, and said:  O king, be not deceived:  for this\nis but clay within, and brass without, neither hath he eaten at any\ntime.\n\n14:7. And the king being angry, called for his priests, and said to\nthem:  If you tell me not who it is that eateth up these expenses, you\nshall die.\n\n14:8. But if you can shew that Bel eateth these things, Daniel shall\ndie, because he hath blasphemed against Bel.  And Daniel said to the\nking:  Be it done according to thy word.\n\n14:9. Now the priests of Bel were seventy, beside their wives, and\nlittle ones, and children.  And the king went with Daniel into the\ntemple of Bel.\n\n14:10. And the priests of Bel said:  Behold, we go out:  and do thou, O\nking, set on the meats, and make ready the wine, and shut the door\nfast, and seal it with thy own ring:\n\n14:11. And when thou comest in the morning, if thou findest not that\nBel hath eaten up all, we will suffer death, or else Daniel, that hath\nlied against us.\n\n14:12. And they little regarded it, because they had made under the\ntable a secret entrance, and they always came in by it, and consumed\nthose things.\n\n14:13. So it came to pass after they were gone out, the king set the\nmeats before Bel:  and Daniel commanded his servants, and they brought\nashes, and he sifted them all over the temple before the king:  and\ngoing forth, they shut the door, and having sealed it with the king's\nring, they departed.\n\n14:14. But the priests went in by night, according to their custom,\nwith their wives, and their children:  and they eat and drank up all.\n\n14:15. And the king arose early in the morning, and Daniel with him.\n\n14:16. And the king said:  Are the seals whole, Daniel?  And he answered:\nThey are whole, O king.\n\n14:17. And as soon as he had opened the door, the king looked upon the\ntable, and cried out with a loud voice:  Great art thou, O Bel, and\nthere is not any deceit with thee.\n\n14:18. And Daniel laughed:  and he held the king, that he should not go\nin:  and he said:  Behold the pavement, mark whose footsteps these are.\n\n14:19. And the king said:  I see the footsteps of men, and women, and\nchildren.  And the king was angry.\n\n14:20. Then he took the priests, and their wives, and their children:\nand they shewed him the private doors by which they came in, and\nconsumed the things that were on the table.\n\n14:21. The king, therefore, put them to death, and delivered Bel into\nthe power of Daniel:  who destroyed him and his temple.\n\n14:22. And there was a great dragon in that place, and the Babylonians\nworshipped him.\n\n14:23. And the king said to Daniel:  Behold, thou canst not say now,\nthat this is not a living god:  adore him, therefore.\n\n14:24. And Daniel said:  I adore the Lord, my God:  for he is the living\nGod:  but that is no living god.\n\n14:25. But give me leave, O king, and I will kill this dragon without\nsword or club.  And the king said, I give thee leave.\n\n14:26. Then Daniel took pitch, and fat, and hair, and boiled them\ntogether:  and he made lumps, and put them into the dragon's mouth, and\nthe dragon burst asunder.  And he said:  Behold him whom you worship.\n\n14:27. And when the Babylonians had heard this, they took great\nindignation:  and being gathered together against the king, they said:\nThe king is become a Jew.  He hath destroyed Bel, he hath killed the\ndragon, and he hath put the priests to death.\n\n14:28. And they came to the king, and said:  Deliver us Daniel, or else\nwe will destroy thee and thy house.\n\n14:29. And the king saw that they pressed upon him violently:  and being\nconstrained by necessity:  he delivered Daniel to them.\n\n14:30. And they cast him into the den of lions, and he was there six\ndays.\n\nThe den of lions. . .Daniel was twice cast into the den of lions; one\nunder Darius the Mede, because he had transgressed the king's edict, by\npraying three times a day:  and another time under Evilmerodach by a\nsedition of the people.  This time he remained six days in the lions'\nden; the other time only one night.\n\n14:31. And in the den there were seven lions, and they had given to\nthem two carcasses every day, and two sheep:  but then they were not\ngiven unto them, that they might devour Daniel.\n\n14:32. Now there was in Judea a prophet called Habacuc, and he had\nboiled pottage, and had broken bread in a bowl:  and was going into the\nfield, to carry it to the reapers.\n\nHabacuc. . .The same, as some think whose prophecy is found among the\nlesser prophets but others believe him to be different.\n\n14:33. And the angel of the Lord said to Habacuc:  Carry the dinner\nwhich thou hast into Babylon, to Daniel, who is in the lions' den.\n\n14:34. And Habacuc said:  Lord, I never saw Babylon, nor do I know the\nden.\n\n14:35. And the angel of the Lord took him by the top of his head, and\ncarried him by the hair of his head, and set him in Babylon, over the\nden, in the force of his spirit.\n\n14:36. And Habacuc cried, saying:  O Daniel, thou servant of God, take\nthe dinner that God hath sent thee.\n\n14:37. And Daniel said, Thou hast remembered me, O God, and thou hast\nnot forsaken them that love thee.\n\n14:38. And Daniel arose, and eat.  And the angel of the Lord presently\nset Habacuc again in his own place.\n\n14:39. And upon the seventh day the king came to bewail Daniel:  and he\ncame to the den, and looked in, and behold Daniel was sitting in the\nmidst of the lions.\n\n14:40. And the king cried out with a loud voice, saying:  Great art\nthou, O Lord, the God of Daniel.  And he drew him out of the lions' den.\n\n14:41. But those that had been the cause of his destruction, he cast\ninto the den, and they were devoured in a moment before him.\n\n14:42. Then the king said:  Let all the inhabitants of the whole earth\nfear the God of Daniel:  for he is the Saviour, working signs, and\nwonders in the earth:  who hath delivered Daniel out of the lions' den.\n\n\n\n\nTHE PROPHECY OF OSEE\n\n\n\nOSEE, or Hosea, whose name signifies A saviour, was the first in the\norder of time among those who are commonly called lesser prophets,\nbecause their prophecies are short.  He prophesied in the kingdom of\nIsrael, that is, of the ten tribes, about the same time that Isaias\nprophesied in the kingdom of Juda.\n\n\n\nOsee Chapter 1\n\n\nBy marrying a harlot, and by the names of his children, the prophet\nsets forth the crimes of Israel and their punishment.  He foretells\ntheir redemption by Christ.\n\n1:1. The word of the Lord, that came to Osee, the son of Beeri, in the\ndays of Ozias, Joathan, Achaz, and Ezechias, kings of Juda, and in the\ndays of Jeroboam, the son of Joas, king of Israel.\n\n1:2. The beginning of the Lord's speaking by Osee:  and the Lord said to\nOsee:  Go, take thee a wife of fornications, and have of her children of\nfornications:  for the land by fornication shall depart from the Lord.\n\nA wife of fornications. . .That is, a wife that has been given to\nfornication.  This was to represent the Lord's proceedings with his\npeople Israel, who, by spiritual fornication, were continually\noffending him.--Ibid.  Children of fornications. . .So called from the\ncharacter of their mother, if not also from their own wicked\ndispositions.\n\n1:3. So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Debelaim:  and she\nconceived, and bore him a son.\n\n1:4. And the Lord said to him:  Call his name Jezrahel:  for yet a little\nwhile, and I will visit the blood of Jezrahel upon the house of Jehu,\nand I will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.\n\n1:5. And in that day I will break in pieces the bow of Israel in the\nvalley of Jezrahel.\n\n1:6. And she conceived again, and bore a daughter, and he said to him:\nCall her name, Without mercy:  for I will not add any more to have mercy\non the house of Israel, but I will utterly forget them.\n\nWithout mercy. . .Lo-Ruhamah.\n\n1:7. And I will have mercy on the house of Juda, and I will save them\nby the Lord, their God:  and I will not save them by bow, nor by sword,\nnor by battle, nor by horses, nor by horsemen.\n\n1:8. And she weaned her that was called Without mercy.  And she\nconceived, and bore a son.\n\n1:9. And he said:  Call his name, Not my people:  for you are not my\npeople, and I will not be yours.\n\nNot my people. . .Lo-ammi.\n\n1:10. And the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of\nthe sea, that is without measure, and shall not be numbered.  And it\nshall be in the place where it shall be said to them:  You are not my\npeople:  it shall be said to them:  Ye are the sons of the living God.\n\nThe number, etc. . .Viz., of the true Israelites, the children of the\nchurch of Christ.\n\n1:11. And the children of Juda, and the children of Israel, shall be\ngathered together:  and they shall appoint themselves one head, and\nshall come up out of the land:  for great is the day of Jezrahel.\n\nOne head. . .viz., Christ.--Ibid.  Great is the day of Jezrahel. . .That\nis, of the seed of God; for Jezrahel signifies the seed of God.\n\n\n\nOsee Chapter 2\n\n\nIsrael is justly punished for leaving God.  The abundance of grace in\nthe church of Christ.\n\n2:1. Say ye to your brethren:  You are my people:  and to your sister:\nThou hast obtained mercy.\n\nSay to your brethren, etc. . .or, Call your brethren, My people:  and\nyour sister, Her that hath obtained mercy.  This is connected with the\nlatter end of the foregoing chapter, and relates to the converts of\nIsrael.\n\n2:2. Judge your mother, judge her:  because she is not my wife, and I am\nnot her husband.  Let her put away her fornications from her face, and\nher adulteries from between her breasts.\n\nYour mother. . .The synagogue.\n\n2:3. Lest I strip her naked, and set her as in the day that she was\nborn:  and I will make her as a wilderness, and will set her as a land\nthat none can pass through and will kill her with drought.\n\n2:4. And I will not have mercy on her children.  for they are the\nchildren of fornications.\n\n2:5. For their mother hath committed fornication, she that conceived\nthem is covered with shame:  for she said:  I will go after my lovers,\nthat give me my bread, and my water, my wool, and my flax, my oil, and\nmy drink.\n\n2:6. Wherefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and I will\nstop it up with a wall, and she shall not find her paths.\n\n2:7. And she shall follow after her lovers, and shall not overtake\nthem:  and she shall seek them, and shall not find, and she shall say:  I\nwill go, and return to my first husband:  because it was better with me\nthen than now.\n\n2:8. And she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and\nmultiplied her silver, and gold, which they have used in the service of\nBaal.\n\n2:9. Therefore will I return, and take away my corn in its season, and\nmy wine in its season, and I will set at liberty my wool, and my flax,\nwhich covered her disgrace.\n\n2:10. And now I will lay open her folly in the eyes of her lovers:  and\nno man shall deliver her out of my hand:\n\n2:11. And I will cause all her mirth to cease, her solemnities, her new\nmoons, her sabbaths, and all her festival times.\n\n2:12. And I will destroy her vines, and her fig trees, of which she\nsaid:  These are my rewards, which my lovers have given me:  and I will\nmake her as a forest and the beasts of the field shall devour her.\n\n2:13. And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, to whom she burnt\nincense, and decked herself out with her earrings, and with her jewels,\nand went after her lovers, and forgot me, saith the Lord.\n\n2:14. Therefore, behold I will allure her, and will lead her into the\nwilderness:  and I will speak to her heart.\n\nI will allure her, etc. . .After all her disloyalties, I will still\nallure her by my grace etc., and send her vinedressers, viz., the\napostles:  originally her own children, who shall open to her the gates\nof hope; as heretofore at her coming into the land of promise, she had\nall good success after she had satisfied the divine justice by the\nexecution of Achan in the valley of Achor.  Jos. 7.\n\n2:15. And I will give her vinedressers out of the same place, and the\nvalley of Achor for an opening of hope:  and she shall sing there\naccording to the days of her youth, and according to the days of her\ncoming up out of the land of Egypt.\n\n2:16. And it shall be in that day, saith the Lord:  That she shall call\nme:  My husband, and she shall call me no more Banli.\n\nMy husband. . .In Hebrew, Ishi.  Baali, my lord.  The meaning of this\nverse is:  that whereas Ishi and Baali were used indifferently in those\ndays by wives speaking to their husbands; the synagogue, whom God was\npleased to consider as his spouse, should call him only Ishi, and\nabstain from the name of Baali, because of its affinity with the idol\nBaal.\n\n2:17. And I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and\nshe shall no more remember their name.\n\nBaalim. . .It is the plural number of Baal:  for there were divers idols\nof Baal.\n\n2:18. And in that day I will make a covenant with them, with the beasts\nof the field, and with the fowls of the air, and with the creeping\nthings of the earth:  and I will destroy the bow, and the sword, and war\nout of the land:  and I will make them sleep secure.\n\n2:19. And I will espouse thee to me for ever:  and I will espouse thee\nto me in justice, and judgment, and in mercy, and in commiserations.\n\nI will espouse thee, etc. . .This relates to the happy espousals of\nChrist with his church:  which shall never be dissolved.\n\n2:20. And I will espouse thee to me in faith:  and thou shalt know that\nI am the Lord.\n\n2:21. And it shall come to pass in that day:  I will hear, saith the\nLord, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth.\n\nHear the heavens, etc. . .All shall conspire in favour of the church,\nwhich in the following verse is called Jezrahel, that is, the seed of\nGod.\n\n2:22. And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil, and\nthese shall hear Jezrahel.\n\n2:23. And I will sow her unto me in the earth, and I will have mercy on\nher that was without mercy.\n\n2:24. And I will say to that which is not my people:  Thou art my\npeople:  and they shall say:  Thou art my God.\n\nThat which was not my people, etc. . .This relates to the conversion of\nthe Gentiles.\n\n\n\nOsee Chapter 3\n\n\nThe prophet is commanded again to love an adulteress; to signify God's\nlove to the synagogue.  The wretched state of the Jews for a long time,\ntill at last they shall be converted.\n\n3:1. And the Lord said to me:  Go yet again, and love a woman beloved of\nher friend, and an adulteress:  as the Lord loveth the children of\nIsrael, and they look to strange gods, and love the husks of the\ngrapes.\n\n3:2. And I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for a\ncore of barley, and for half a core of barley.\n\n3:3. And I said to her:  Thou shalt wait for me many days:  thou shalt\nnot play the harlot, and thou shalt be no man's, and I also will wait\nfor thee.\n\n3:4. For the children of Israel shall sit many days without king, and\nwithout prince, and without sacrifice, and without altar, and without\nephod, and without theraphim.\n\nTheraphim. . .Images or representations.\n\n3:5. And after this the children of Israel shall return and shall seek\nthe Lord, their God, and David, their king:  and they shall fear the\nLord, and his goodness, in the last days.\n\nDavid their king. . .That is, Christ, who is of the house of David.\n\n\n\nOsee Chapter 4\n\n\nGod's judgment against the sins of Israel:  Juda is warned not to follow\ntheir example.\n\n4:1. Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel, for the Lord\nshall enter into judgment with the inhabitants of the land:  for there\nis no truth, and there is no mercy, and there is no knowledge of God in\nthe land.\n\n4:2. Cursing, and lying, and killing, and theft, and adultery, have\noverflowed, and blood hath touched blood.\n\n4:3. Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth in it\nshall languish with the heat of the field, and with the fowls of the\nair:  yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be gathered together.\n\n4:4. But yet let not any man judge:  and let not a man be rebuked:  for\nthy people are as they that contradict the priest.\n\nLet not any man judge, etc. . .As if he would say:  It is in vain to\nstrive with them, or reprove them, they are so obstinate in evil.\n\n4:5. And thou shalt fall today, and the prophet also shall fall with\nthee:  in the night I have made thy mother to be silent.\n\n4:6. My people have been silent, because they had no knowledge:  because\nthou hast rejected knowledge, I will reject thee, that thou shalt not\ndo the office of priesthood to me:  and thou hast forgotten the law of\nthy God, I also will forget thy children.\n\n4:7. According to the multitude of them, so have they sinned against\nme:  I will change their glory into shame.\n\n4:8. They shall eat the sins of my people, and shall lift up their\nsouls to their iniquity.\n\n4:9. And there shall be like people like priest:  and I will visit their\nways upon them, and I will repay them their devices.\n\n4:10. And they shall eat and shall not be filled:  they have committed\nfornication, and have not ceased:  because they have forsaken the Lord\nin not observing the law.\n\n4:11. Fornication, and wine, and drunkenness, take away the\nunderstanding.\n\n4:12. My people have consulted their stocks, and their staff hath\ndeclared unto them:  for the spirit of fornication hath deceived them,\nand they have committed fornication against their God.\n\n4:13. They offered sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burnt\nincense upon the hills:  under the oak, and the poplar, and the\nturpentine tree, because the shadow thereof was good:  therefore shall\nyour daughters commit fornication, aud your spouses shall be\nadulteresses.\n\n4:14. I will not visit upon your daughters, when they shall commit\nfornication, and upon your spouses when they shall commit adultery:\nbecause themselves conversed with harlots, and offered sacrifice with\nthe effeminate, and the people that doth not understand shall be\nbeaten.\n\n4:15. If thou play the harlot, O Israel, at least let not Juda offend:\nand go ye not into Galgal, and come not up into Bethaven, and do not\nswear:  The Lord liveth.\n\nGalgal and Bethaven. . .Places where idols were worshipped.  Bethel,\nwhich signifies the house of God, is called by the prophet, Bethaven,\nthat is, the house of vanity, from Jeroboam's golden calf that was\nworshipped there.\n\n4:16. For Israel hath gone astray like a wanton heifer now will the\nLord feed them, as a lamb in a spacious place.\n\n4:17. Ephraim is a partaker with idols, let him alone.\n\n4:18. Their banquet is separated, they have gone astray by fornication:\nthey that should have protected them have loved to bring shame upon\nthem.\n\n4:19. The wind hath bound them up in its wings, and they shall be\nconfounded because of their sacrifices.\n\n\n\nOsee Chapter 5\n\n\nGod's threats against the priests, the people, and princes of Israel,\nfor their idolatry.\n\n5:1. Hear ye this, O priests, and hearken, O ye house of Israel, and\ngive ear, O house of the king:  for there is a judgment against you,\nbecause you have been a snare to them whom you should have watched over\nand a net spread upon Thabor.\n\nO priests. . .What is said of priests in this prophecy is chiefly\nunderstood of the priests of the kingdom of Israel; who were not true\npriests of the race of Aaron; but served the calves at Bethel and Dan.\n\n5:2. And you have turned aside victims into the depth and I am the\nteacher of them all.\n\n5:3. I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me for now Ephraim hath\ncommitted fornication, Israel is defiled.\n\n5:4. They will not set their thoughts to return to their God:  for the\nspirit of fornication is in the midst of them, and they have not known\nthe Lord.\n\n5:5. And the pride of Israel shall answer in his face:  and Israel, and\nEphraim shall fall in their iniquity, Juda also shall fall with them.\n\n5:6. With their flocks and with their herds, they shall go to seek the\nLord, and shall not find him:  he is withdrawn from them.\n\n5:7. They have transgressed against the Lord:  for they have begotten\nchildren that are strangers:  now shall a month devour them with their\nportions.\n\nChildren that are strangers. . .That is, aliens from God:  and therefore\nthey are threatened with speedy destruction.\n\n5:8. Blow ye the cornet in Gabaa, the trumpet in Rama:  howl ye in\nBethaven, behind thy back, O Benjamin.\n\n5:9. Ephraim shall be in desolation in the day of rebuke:  among the\ntribes of Israel I have shewn that which shall surely be.\n\n5:10. The princes of Juda are become as they that take up the bound:  I\nwill pour out my wrath upon them like water.\n\nAs they that take up the bound. . .That is, they that remove the\nboundary, encroaching on the property of their neighbors:  figuratively:\ngoing beyond the boundary of the laws of God.\n\n5:11. Ephraim is under oppression, and broken in judgment:  because he\nbegan to go after filthiness.\n\n5:12. And I will be like a moth to Ephraim:  and like rottenness to the\nhouse of Juda.\n\n5:13. And Ephraim saw his sickness, and Juda his band:  and Ephraim went\nto the Assyrian, and sent to the avenging king:  and he shall not be\nable to heal you, neither shall he be able to take off the band from\nyou.\n\n5:14. For I will be like a lioness to Ephraim, and like a lion's whelp\nto the house of Juda:  I, I will catch, and go:  I will take away, and\nthere is none that can rescue.\n\n5:15. I will go and return to my place:  until you are consumed, and\nseek my face.\n\n\n\nOsee Chapter 6\n\n\nAffliction shall be a means to bring many to Christ, a complaint of the\nuntowardness of the Jews.  God loves mercy more than sacrifice.\n\n6:1. In their affliction they will rise early to me:  Come, and let us\nreturn to the Lord.\n\n6:2. For he hath taken us, and he will heal us:  he will strike, and he\nwill cure us.\n\n6:3. He will revive us after two days:  on the third day he will raise\nus up, and we shall live in his sight.  We shall know, and we shall\nfollow on, that we may know the Lord.  His going forth is prepared as\nthe morning light, and he will come to us as the early and the latter\nrain to the earth.\n\n6:4. What shall I do to thee, O Ephraim?  what shall I do to thee, O\nJuda?  your mercy is as a morning cloud, and as the dew that goeth away\nin the morning.\n\n6:5. For this reason have I hewed them by the prophets, I have slain\nthem by the words of my mouth:  and thy judgments shall go forth as the\nlight.\n\n6:6. For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice:  and the knowledge of God\nmore than holocausts.\n\n6:7. But they, like Adam, have transgressed the covenant, there have\nthey dealt treacherously against me.\n\n6:8. Galaad is a city of workers of idols, supplanted with blood.\n\nSupplanted with blood. . .that is, undermined and brought to ruin, for\nshedding of blood:  and, as it is signified in the following verse, for\nconspiring with the priests (of Bethel) like robbers, to murder in the\nway such as passed out of Sichem to go towards the temple of Jerusalem.\nOr else . . .upplanted with blood. . .signifies flowing in such manner\nwith blood, as to suffer none to walk there without imbruing the soles\nof their feet in blood.\n\n6:9. And like the jaws of highway robbers, they conspire with the\npriests who murder in the way those that pass out of Sichem:  for they\nhave wrought wickedness.\n\n6:10. I have seen a horrible thing in the house of Israel:  the\nfornications of Ephraim there:  Israel is defiled.\n\n6:11. And thou also, O Juda, set thee a harvest, when I shall bring\nback the captivity of my people.\n\n\n\nOsee Chapter 7\n\n\nThe manifold sins of Israel, and of their kings, hinder the Lord from\nhealing them.\n\n7:1. When I would have healed Israel, the iniquity of Ephraim was\ndiscovered, and the wickedness of Samaria, for they have committed\nfalsehood, and the thief is come in to steal, the robber is without.\n\n7:2. And lest they may say in their hearts, that I remember all their\nwickedness:  their own devices now have beset them about, they have been\ndone before my face.\n\n7:3. They have made the king glad with their wickedness:  and the\nprinces with their lies.\n\nMade the king glad, etc. . .To please Jeroboam, and their other kings\nthey have given themselves up to the wicked worship of idols, which are\nmere falsehood and lies.\n\n7:4. They are all adulterers, like an oven heated by the baker:  the\ncity rested a little from the mingling of the leaven, till the whole\nwas leavened.\n\n7:5. The day of our king, the princes began to be mad with wine:  he\nstretched out his hand with scorners.\n\n7:6. Because they have applied their heart like an oven, when he laid\nsnares for them:  he slept all the night baking them, in the morning he\nhimself was heated as a flaming fire.\n\n7:7. They were all heated like an oven, and have devoured their judges:\nall their kings have fallen:  there is none amongst them that calleth\nunto me.\n\n7:8. Ephraim himself is mixed among the nations:  Ephraim is become as\nbread baked under the ashes, that is not turned.\n\n7:9. Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knew it not:  yea,\ngrey hairs also are spread about upon him, and he is ignorant of it.\n\n7:10. And the pride of Israel shall be humbled before his face:  and\nthey have not returned to the Lord their God, nor have they sought him\nin all these.\n\n7:11. And Ephraim is become as a dove that is decoyed, not having a\nheart:  they called upon Egypt, they went to the Assyrians.\n\n7:12. And when they shall go, I will spread my net upon them:  I will\nbring them down as the fowl of the air, I will strike them as their\ncongregation hath heard.\n\n7:13. Woe to them, for they have departed from me:  they shall be wasted\nbecause they have transgressed against me:  and I redeemed them:  and\nthey have spoken lies against me.\n\n7:14. And they have not cried to me with their heart, but they howled\nin their beds:  they have thought upon wheat and wine, they are departed\nfrom me.\n\n7:15. And I have chastised them, and strengthened their arms:  and they\nhave imagined evil against me.\n\n7:16. They returned, that they might be without yoke:  they became like\na deceitful bow:  their princes shall fall by the sword, for the rage of\ntheir tongue.  This is their derision in the land of Egypt.\n\n\n\nOsee Chapter 8\n\n\nThe Israelites are threatened with destruction for their impiety and\nidolatry.\n\n8:1. Let there be a trumpet in thy throat like an eagle upon the house\nof the Lord:  because they have transgressed my covenant, and have\nviolated my law.\n\n8:2. They shall call upon me:  O my God, we, Israel, know thee.\n\n8:3. Israel hath cast off the thing that is good, the enemy shall\npursue him.\n\n8:4. They have reigned, but not by me:  they have been princes, and I\nknew not:  of their silver and their gold they have made idols to\nthemselves, that they might perish.\n\n8:5. Thy calf, O Samaria, is cast off, my wrath is kindled against\nthem.  How long will they be incapable of being cleansed?\n\n8:6. For itself also is the invention of Israel:  a workman made it, and\nit is no god:  for the calf of Samaria shall be turned to spiders' webs.\n\n8:7. For they shall sow wind, and reap a whirlwind, there is no\nstanding stalk in it, the bud shall yield no meal; and if it should\nyield, strangers shall eat it.\n\n8:8. Israel is swallowed up:  now is he become among the nations like an\nunclean vessel.\n\n8:9. For they are gone up to Assyria, a wild ass alone by himself:\nEphraim hath given gifts to his lovers.\n\n8:10. But even though they shall have hired the nations, now will I\ngather them together:  and they shall rest a while from the burden of\nthe king, and the princes.\n\n8:11. Because Ephraim hath made many altars to sin:  altars are become\nto him unto sin.\n\n8:12. I shall write to him my manifold laws, which have been accounted\nas foreign.\n\n8:13. They shall offer victims, they shall sacrifice flesh, and shall\neat it, and the Lord will not receive them:  now will he remember their\niniquity, and will visit their sins:  they shall return to Egypt.\n\n8:14. And Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and hath built temples:  and\nJuda hath built many fenced cities:  and I will send a fire upon his\ncities, and it shall devour the houses thereof.\n\n\n\nOsee Chapter 9\n\n\nThe distress and captivity of Israel for their sins and idolatry.\n\n9:1. Rejoice not, O Israel:  rejoice not as the nations do:  for thou\nhast committed fornication against thy God, thou hast loved a reward\nupon every cornfloor.\n\n9:2. The floor and the winepress shall not feed them, and the wine\nshall deceive them.\n\n9:3. They shall not dwell in the Lord's land:  Ephraim is returned to\nEgypt, and hath eaten unclean things among the Assyrians.\n\n9:4. They shall not offer wine to the Lord, neither shall they please\nhim:  their sacrifices shall be like the bread of mourners:  all that\nshall eat it shall be defiled:  for their bread is life for their soul,\nit shall not enter into the house of the Lord.\n\n9:5. What will you do in the solemn day, in the day of the feast of the\nLord?\n\n9:6. For behold they are gone because of destruction:  Egypt shall\ngather them together, Memphis shall bury them:  nettles shall inherit\ntheir beloved silver, the bur shall be in their tabernacles.\n\n9:7. The days of visitation are come, the days of repaying are come:\nknow ye, O Israel, that the prophet was foolish, the spiritual man was\nmad, for the multitude of thy iniquity, and the multitude of thy\nmadness.\n\n9:8. The watchman of Ephraim was with my God:  the prophet is become a\nsnare of ruin upon all his ways, madness is in the house of his God.\n\n9:9. They have sinned deeply, as in the days of Gabaa:  he will remember\ntheir iniquity, and will visit their sin.\n\n9:10. I found Israel like grapes in the desert, I saw their fathers\nlike the firstfruits of the fig tree in the top thereof:  but they went\nin to Beelphegor, and alienated themselves to that confusion, and\nbecame abominable, as those things were, which they loved.\n\n9:11. As for Ephraim, their glory hath flown away like bird from the\nbirth, and from the womb, and from the conception.\n\n9:12. And though they should bring up their children, I will make them\nwithout children among men:  yea, and woe to them, when I shall depart\nfrom them.\n\n9:13. Ephraim, as I saw, was a Tyre, founded in beauty:  and Ephraim\nshall bring out his children to the murderer.\n\n9:14. Give them, O Lord.  What wilt thou give them?  Give them a womb\nwithout children, and dry breasts.\n\n9:15. All their wickedness is in Galgal, for there I hated them:  for\nthe wickedness of their devices I will cast them forth out of my house:\nI will love them no more, all their princes are revolters.\n\n9:16. Ephraim is struck, their root is dried up, they shall yield no\nfruit.  And if they should have issue, I will slay the best beloved\nfruit of their womb.\n\n9:17. My God will cast them away, because they hearkened not to him:\nand they shall be wanderers among the nations.\n\n\n\nOsee Chapter 10\n\n\nAfter many benefits, great affliction shall fall upon the ten tribes,\nfor their ingratitude to God.\n\n10:1. Israel a vine full of branches, the fruit is agreeable to it:\naccording to the multitude of his fruit, he hath multiplied altars,\naccording to the plenty of his land he hath abounded with idols.\n\n10:2. Their heart is divided:  now they shall perish:  he shall break\ndown their idols, he shall destroy their altars.\n\n10:3. For now they shall say:  We have no king:  because we fear not the\nLord:  and what shall a king do to us?\n\n10:4. You speak words of an unprofitable vision, and you shall make a\ncovenant:  and judgment shall spring up as bitterness in the furrows of\nthe field.\n\n10:5. The inhabitants of Samaria have worshipped the kine of Bethaven:\nfor the people thereof have mourned over it, and the wardens of its\ntemple that rejoiced over it in its glory because it is departed from\nit.\n\nThe kine of Bethaven. . .The golden calves of Jeroboam.\n\n10:6. For itself also is carried into Assyria, a present to the\navenging king:  shame shall fall upon Ephraim, and Israel shall be\nconfounded in his own will.\n\nItself also is carried, etc. . .One of the golden calves was given by\nking Manahem, to Phul, king of the Assyrians, to engage him to stand by\nhim.\n\n10:7. Samaria hath made her king to pass as froth upon the face of the\nwater.\n\n10:8. And the high places of the idol, the sin of Israel shall be\ndestroyed:  the bur and the thistle shall grow up over their altars:  and\nthey shall say to the mountains Cover us; and to the hills:  Fall upon\nus.\n\n10:9. From the days of Gabaa, Israel hath sinned, there they stood:  the\nbattle in Gabaa against the children of iniquity shall not overtake\nthem.\n\n10:10. According to my desire, I will chastise them:  and the nations\nshall be gathered together against them, when they shall be chastised\nfor their two iniquities.\n\nTheir two iniquities. . .Their two calves.\n\n10:11. Ephraim is a heifer taught to love to tread out corn, but I\npassed over upon the beauty of her neck:  I will ride upon Ephraim, Juda\nshall plough, Jacob shall break the furrows for himself.\n\n10:12. Sow for yourselves in justice, and reap in the mouth of mercy,\nbreak up your fallow ground:  but the time to seek the Lord is, when he\nshall come that shall teach you justice.\n\n10:13. You have ploughed wickedness, you have reaped iniquity, you have\neaten the fruit of lying:  because thou hast trusted in thy ways, in the\nmultitude of thy strong ones.\n\n10:14. A tumult shall arise among thy people:  and all thy fortresses\nshall be destroyed as Salmana was destroyed, by the house of him that\njudged Baal in the day of battle, the mother being dashed in pieces\nupon her children.\n\nAs Salmana, king of the Midianites, was destroyed by the house, that\nis, by the followers of him that judged Baal; that is, of Gideon, who\nthrew down the altar of Baal; and was therefore called Jerubaal.  See\nJudges 6 and 8.\n\n10:15. So hath Bethel done to you, because of the evil of your\niniquities.\n\n\n\nOsee Chapter 11\n\n\nGod proceeds in threatening Israel for their ingratitude:  yet he will\nnot utterly destroy them.\n\n11:1. As the morning passeth, so hath the king of Israel passed away.\nBecause Israel was a child, and I loved him:  and I called my son out of\nEgypt.\n\nI called my son. . .Viz., Israel.  But as the calling of Israel out of\nEgypt, was a figure of the calling of Christ from thence; therefore\nthis text is also applicable to Christ, as we learn from Matthew 2.15.\n\n11:2. As they called them, they went away from before their face:  they\noffered victims to Baalim, and sacrificed to idols.\n\nThey called. . .Viz., Moses and Aaron called; but they went away after\nother gods and would not hear.\n\n11:3. And I was like a foster father to Ephraim, I carried them in my\narms:  and they knew not that I healed them.\n\n11:4. I will draw them with the cords of Adam, with the bands of love:\nand I will be to them as one that taketh off the yoke on their jaws:\nand I put his meat to him that he might eat.\n\n11:5. He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian\nshall be his king:  because they would not be converted.\n\n11:6. The sword hath begun in his cities, and it shall consume his\nchosen men, and shall devour their heads.\n\n11:7. And my people shall long for my return:  but a yoke shall be put\nupon them together, which shall not be taken off.\n\n11:8. How shall I deal with thee, O Ephraim, shall I protect thee, O\nIsrael?  how shall I make thee as Adama, shall I set thee as Seboim?  my\nheart is turned within me, my repentance is stirred up.\n\nAdama, etc. . .Adama and Seboim were two cities in the neighborhood of\nSodom:  and underwent the like destruction.\n\n11:9. I will not execute the fierceness of my wrath:  I will not return\nto destroy Ephraim:  because I am God, and not man:  the holy one in the\nmidst of thee, and I will not enter into the city.\n\n11:10. They shall walk after the Lord, he shall roar as a lion:  because\nhe shall roar, and the children of the sea shall fear.\n\n11:11. And they shall fly away like a bird out of Egypt, and like a\ndove out of the land of the Assyrians:  and I will place them in their\nown houses, saith the Lord.\n\n11:12. Ephraim hath compassed me about with denials, and the house of\nIsrael with deceit:  but Juda went down as a witness with God, and is\nfaithful with the saints.\n\n\n\nOsee Chapter 12\n\n\nIsrael is reproved for sin.  God's favours to them.\n\n12:1. Ephraim feedeth on the wind, and followeth the burning heat:  all\nthe day long he multiplied lies and desolation:  and he hath made a\ncovenant with the Assyrians, and carried oil into Egypt.\n\n12:2. Therefore there is a judgment of the Lord with Juda, and a\nvisitation for Jacob:  he will render to him according to his ways, and\naccording to his devices.\n\n12:3. In the womb he supplanted his brother:  and by his strength he had\nsuccess with an angel.\n\n12:4. And he prevailed over the angel, and was strengthened:  he wept,\nand made supplication to him:  he found him in Bethel, and there he\nspoke with us.\n\n12:5. Even the Lord God of hosts, the Lord is his memorial.\n\n12:6. Therefore turn thou to thy God:  keep mercy and judgment, and hope\nin thy God always.\n\n12:7. He is like Chanaan, there is a deceitful balance in his hand, he\nhath loved oppression.\n\n12:8. And Ephraim said:  But yet I am become rich, I have found me an\nidol:  all my labours shall not find me the iniquity that I have\ncommitted.\n\n12:9. And I that am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt, will yet\ncause thee to dwell in tabernacles, as in the days of the feast.\n\n12:10. And I have spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied\nvisions, and I have used similitudes by the ministry of the prophets.\n\n12:11. If Galaad be an idol, then in vain were they in Galgal offering\nsacrifices with bullocks:  for their altars also are as heaps in the\nfurrows of the field.\n\nIf Galaad be an idol, etc. . .That is, if Galaad with all its idols and\nsacrifices be like a mere idol itself, being brought to nothing by\nTheglathphalasar:  how vain is it to expect, that the idols worshipped\nin Galgal shall be of any service to the tribes that remain.\n\n12:12. Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a\nwife, and was a keeper for a wife.\n\n12:13. But the Lord by a prophet brought Israel out of Egypt:  and he\nwas preserved by a prophet.\n\n12:14. Ephraim hath provoked me to wrath with his bitterness, and his\nblood shall come upon him, and his Lord will render his reproach unto\nhim.\n\n\n\nOsee Chapter 13\n\n\nThe judgments of God upon Israel for their sins.  Christ shall one day\nredeem them.\n\n13:1. When Ephraim spoke, a horror seized Israel:  and he sinned in\nBaal, and died.\n\n13:2. And now they have sinned more and more:  and they have made to\nthemselves a molten thing of their silver as the likeness of idols:  the\nwhole is the work of craftsmen:  to these that say:  Sacrifice men, ye\nthat adore calves.\n\n13:3. Therefore they shall be as a morning cloud, and as the early dew\nthat passeth away, as the dust that is driven with a whirlwind out of\nthe floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney.\n\n13:4. But I am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt:  and thou shalt\nknow no God but me, and there is no saviour beside me.\n\n13:5. I knew thee in the desert, in the land of the wilderness.\n\n13:6. According to their pastures they were filled, and were made full:\nand they lifted up their heart, and have forgotten me.\n\n13:7. And I will be to them as a lioness, as a leopard in the way of\nthe Assyrians.\n\n13:8. I will meet them as a bear that is robbed of her whelps, and I\nwill rend the inner parts of their liver:  and I will devour them there\nas a lion, the beast of the field shall tear them.\n\n13:9. Destruction is thy own, O Israel:  thy help is only in me.\n\n13:10. Where is thy king?  now especially let him save thee in all thy\ncities:  and thy judges, of whom thou saidst:  Give me kings and princes.\n\n13:11. I will give thee a king in my wrath, and will take him away in\nmy indignation.\n\n13:12. The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up, his sin is hidden.\n\n13:13. The sorrows of a woman in labour shall come upon him, he is an\nunwise son:  for now he shall not stand in the breach of the children.\n\n13:14. I will deliver them out of the hand of death.  I will redeem them\nfrom death:  O death, I will be thy death; O hell, I will be thy bite:\ncomfort is hidden from my eyes.\n\n13:15. Because he shall make a separation between brothers:  the Lord\nwill bring a burning wind that shall rise from the desert, and it shall\ndry up his springs, and shall make his fountain desolate, and he shall\ncarry off the treasure of every desirable vessel.\n\n\n\nOsee Chapter 14\n\n\nSamaria shall be destroyed.  An exhortation to repentance:  God's favour\nthrough Christ to the penitent.\n\n14:1. Let Samaria perish, because she hath stirred up her God to\nbitterness:  let them perish by the sword, let their little ones be\ndashed, and let the women with child be ripped up.\n\nPerish, because she hath stirred up her God to bitterness. . .It is not\na curse or imprecation, but a prophecy of what should come to pass.\n\n14:2. Return, O Israel, to the Lord thy God:  for thou hast fallen down\nby thy iniquity.\n\n14:3. Take with you words, and return to the Lord, and say to him:  Take\naway all iniquity, and receive the good:  and we will render the calves\nof our lips.\n\n14:4. Assyria shall not save us, we will not ride upon horses, neither\nwill we say any more:  The works of our hands are our gods:  for thou\nwilt have mercy on the fatherless that is in thee.\n\n14:5. I will heal their breaches, I will love them freely:  for my wrath\nis turned away from them.\n\n14:6. I will be as the dew, Israel shall spring as the lily, and his\nroot shall shoot forth as that of Libanus.\n\n14:7. His branches shall spread, and his glory shall be as the olive\ntree:  and his smell as that of Libanus.\n\n14:8. They shall be converted that sit under his shadow:  they shall\nlive upon wheat, and they shall blossom as a vine:  his memorial shall\nbe as the wine of Libanus.\n\n14:9. Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols?  I will\nhear him, and I will make him flourish like a green fir tree:  from me\nis thy fruit found.\n\n14:10. Who is wise, and he shall understand these things?  prudent, and\nhe shall know these things?  for the ways of the Lord are right, and the\njust shall walk in them:  but the transgressors shall fall in them.\n\n\n\n\nTHE PROPHECY OF JOEL\n\n\n\nJOEL, whose name, according to ST. JEROME, signifies THE LORD GOD:  or,\nas others say, THE COMING DOWN OF GOD:  prophesied about the same time\nin the kingdom of Judea, as OSEE did in the kingdom of Israel.  He\nforetells under figure the great evils that were coming upon the people\nfor their sins:  earnestly exhorts them to repentance:  and comforts them\nwith the promise of a TEACHER OF JUSTICE, viz., CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD,\nand of the coming down of his holy SPIRIT.\n\n\n\nJoel Chapter 1\n\n\nThe prophet describes the judgments that shall fall upon the people,\nand invites them to fasting and prayer.\n\n1:1. The word of the Lord, that came to Joel, the son of Phatuel.\n\n1:2. Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the\nland:  did this ever happen in your days, or in the days of your\nfathers?\n\n1:3. Tell ye of this to your children, and let your children tell their\nchildren, and their children to another generation.\n\n1:4. That which the palmerworm hath left, the locust hath eaten:  and\nthat which the locust hath left, the bruchus hath eaten:  and that which\nthe bruchus hath left, the mildew hath destroyed.\n\nThat which the palmerworm hath left, etc. . .Some understand this\nliterally of the desolation of the land by these insects:  others\nunderstand it of the different invasions of the Chaldeans, or other\nenemies.\n\n1:5. Awake, ye that are drunk, and weep, and mourn all ye that take\ndelight; in drinking sweet wine:  for it is cut off from your mouth.\n\n1:6. For a nation come up upon my land, strong, and without number:  his\nteeth are like the teeth of a lion:  and his cheek teeth as of a lion's\nwhelp.\n\n1:7. He hath laid my vineyard waste, and hath pilled off the bark of my\nfig tree:  he hath stripped it bare, and cast it away; the branches\nthereof are made white.\n\n1:8. Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her\nyouth.\n\n1:9. Sacrifice and libation is cut off from the house of the Lord:  the\npriests, the Lord's ministers, have mourned:\n\n1:10. The country is destroyed, the ground hath mourned:  for the corn\nis wasted, the wine is confounded, the oil hath languished.\n\n1:11. The husbandmen are ashamed, the vinedressers have howled for the\nwheat, and for the barley, because the harvest of the field is\nperished.\n\n1:12. The vineyard is confounded, and the fig tree hath languished:  the\npomegranate tree, and the palm tree, and the apple tree, and all the\ntrees of the field are withered:  because joy is withdrawn from the\nchildren of men.\n\n1:13. Gird yourselves, and lament, O ye priests, howl, ye ministers of\nthe altars:  go in, lie in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God:  because\nsacrifice and libation is cut off from the house of your God.\n\n1:14. Sanctify ye a fast, call an assembly, gather together the\nancients, all the inhabitants of the land into the house of your God:\nand cry ye to the Lord:\n\n1:15. Ah, ah, ah, for the day:  because the day of the Lord is at hand,\nand it shall come like destruction from the mighty.\n\n1:16. Is not your food cut off before your eyes, joy and gladness from\nthe house of our God?\n\n1:17. The beasts have rotted in their dung, the barns are destroyed,\nthe storehouses are broken down:  because the corn is confounded.\n\n1:18. Why did the beasts groan, why did the herds of cattle low?\nbecause there is no pasture for them:  yea, and the flocks of sheep are\nperished.\n\n1:19. To thee, O Lord, will I cry:  because fire hath devoured the\nbeautiful places of the wilderness:  and the flame hath burnt all the\ntrees of the country.\n\n1:20. Yea, and the beasts of the field have looked up to thee, as a\ngarden bed that thirsteth after rain, for the springs of waters are\ndried up, and fire hath devoured the beautiful places of the\nwilderness.\n\n\n\nJoel Chapter 2\n\n\n2:1. Blow ye the trumpet in Sion, sound an alarm in my holy mountain,\nlet all the inhabitants of the land tremble:  because the day of the\nLord cometh, because it is nigh at hand.\n\nThe day of the Lord. . .That is, the time when he will execute justice\nupon sinners.\n\n2:2. A day of darkness, and of gloominess, a day of clouds and\nwhirlwinds:  a numerous and strong people as the morning spread upon the\nmountains:  the like to it hath not been from the beginning, nor shall\nbe after it, even to the years of generation and generation.\n\nA numerous and strong people. . .The Assyrians, or Chaldeans.  Others\nunderstand all this of an army of locusts laying waste the land.\n\n2:3. Before the face thereof a devouring fire, and behind it a burning\nflame:  the land is like a garden of pleasure before it, and behind it a\ndesolate wilderness, neither is there any one that can escape it.\n\n2:4. The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses, and they\nshall run like horsemen.\n\n2:5. They shall leap like the noise of chariots upon the tops of\nmountains, like the noise of a flame of fire devouring the stubble, as\na strong people prepared to battle.\n\n2:6. At their presence the people shall be in grievous pains:  all faces\nshall be made like a kettle.\n\n2:7. They shall run like valiant men:  like men of war they shall scale\nthe wall:  the men shall march every one on his way, and they shall not\nturn aside from their ranks.\n\n2:8. No one shall press upon his brother:  they shall walk every one in\nhis path:  yea, and they shall fall through the windows, and shall take\nno harm.\n\n2:9. They shall enter into the city:  they shall run upon the wall, they\nshall climb up the houses, they shall come in at the windows, as a\nthief.\n\n2:10. At their presence the earth hath trembled, the heavens are moved:\nthe sun and moon are darkened, and the stars have withdrawn their\nshining.\n\n2:11. And the Lord hath uttered his voice before the face of his army:\nfor his armies are exceedingly great, for they are strong, and execute\nhis word:  for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible:  and who\ncan stand it?\n\n2:12. Now, therefore, saith the Lord.  Be converted to me with all your\nheart, in fasting, and in weeping, and mourning.\n\n2:13. And rend your hearts, and not your garments and turn to the Lord\nyour God:  for he is gracious and merciful, patient and rich in mercy,\nand ready to repent of the evil.\n\n2:14. Who knoweth but he will return, and forgive, and leave a blessing\nbehind him, sacrifice and libation to the Lord your God?\n\n2:15. Blow the trumpet in Sion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn\nassembly,\n\n2:16. Gather together the people, sanctify the church, assemble the\nancients, gather together the little ones, and them that suck at the\nbreasts:  let the bridegroom go forth from his bed, and the bride out of\nher bridal chamber.\n\n2:17. Between the porch and the altar the priests, the Lord's\nministers, shall weep, and shall say:  Spare, O Lord, spare thy people:\nand give not thy inheritance to reproach, that the heathens should rule\nover them.  Why should they say among the nations:  Where is their God?\n\n2:18. The Lord hath been zealous for his land, and hath spared his\npeople.\n\n2:19. And the Lord answered, and said to his people:  Behold I will send\nyou corn, and wine, and oil, and you shall be filled with them:  and I\nwill no more make you a reproach among the nations.\n\n2:20. And I will remove far off from you the northern enemy:  and I will\ndrive him into a land unpassable, and desert, with his face towards the\neast sea, and his hinder part towards the utmost sea:  and his stench\nshall ascend, and his rottenness shall go up, because he hath done\nproudly.\n\nThe northern enemy. . .Some understand this of Holofernes and his army:\nothers, of the locusts.\n\n2:21. Fear not, O land, be glad, and rejoice:  for the Lord hath done\ngreat things.\n\n2:22. Fear not, ye beasts of the fields:  for the beautiful places of\nthe wilderness are sprung, for the tree hath brought forth its fruit,\nthe fig tree, and the vine have yielded their strength.\n\n2:23. And you, O children of Sion, rejoice, and be joyful in the Lord\nyour God:  because he hath given you a teacher of justice, and he will\nmake the early and the latter rain to come down to you as in the\nbeginning.\n\n2:24. And the floors shall be filled with wheat, and the presses shall\noverflow with wine, and oil.\n\n2:25. And I will restore to you the years which the locust, and the\nbruchus, and the mildew, and the palmerworm hath eaten; my great host\nwhich I sent upon you.\n\n2:26. And you shall eat in plenty, and shall be filled and you shall\npraise the name of the Lord your God; who hath done wonders with you,\nand my people shall not be confounded for ever.\n\n2:27. And you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel:  and I am the\nLord your God, and there is none besides:  and my people shall not be\nconfounded forever.\n\n2:28. And it shall come to pass after this, that I will pour out my\nspirit upon all flesh:  and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy:\nyour old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.\n\n2:29. Moreover, upon my servants and handmaids in those days I will\npour forth my spirit.\n\n2:30. And I will shew wonders in heaven; and in earth, blood, and fire,\nand vapour of smoke.\n\n2:31. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood:\nbefore the great and dreadful day of the Lord doth come.\n\n2:32. And it shall come to pass, that every one that shall call upon\nthe name of the Lord, shall be saved:  for in Mount Sion, and in\nJerusalem shall be salvation, as the Lord hath said, and in the residue\nwhom the Lord shall call.\n\n\n\nJoel Chapter 3\n\n\n3:1. For behold in those days, and in that time when I shall bring back\nthe captivity of Juda, and Jerusalem:\n\n3:2. I will gather together all nations and will bring them down into\nthe valley of Josaphat:  and I will plead with them there for my people,\nand for my inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the\nnations, and have parted my land.\n\n3:3. And they have cast lots upon my people:  and the boy they have put\nin the stews, and the girl they have sold for wine, that they might\ndrink.\n\n3:4. But what have you to do with me, O Tyre, and Sidon, and all the\ncoast of the Philistines?  will you revenge yourselves on me?  and if you\nrevenge yourselves on me, I will very soon return you a recompense upon\nyour own head.\n\n3:5. For you have taken away my silver, and my gold:  and my desirable,\nand most beautiful things you have carried into your temples.\n\n3:6. And the children of Juda, and the children of Jerusalem, you have\nsold to the children of the Greeks, that you might remove them far off\nfrom their own country.\n\n3:7. Behold, I will raise them up out of the place wherein you have\nsold them:  and I will return your recompense upon your own heads.\n\n3:8. And I will sell your sons, and your daughters, by the hands of the\nchildren of Juda, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, a nation far\noff, for the Lord hath spoken it.\n\n3:9. Proclaim ye this among the nations:  Prepare war, raise up the\nstrong:  let them come, let all the men of war come up.\n\n3:10. Cut your ploughshares into swords, and your spades into spears.\nLet the weak say:  I am strong.\n\n3:11. Break forth, and come, all ye nations from round about, and\ngather yourselves together:  there will the Lord cause all thy strong\nones to fall down.\n\n3:12. Let them arise, and let the nations come up into the valley of\nJosaphat:  for there I will sit to judge all nations round about.\n\n3:13. Put ye in the sickles, for the harvest is ripe:  come and go down,\nfor the press is full, the fats run over:  for their wickedness is\nmultiplied.\n\n3:14. Nations, nations in the valley of destruction:  for the day of the\nLord is near in the valley of destruction.\n\n3:15. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars have withdrawn\ntheir shining.\n\n3:16. And the Lord shall roar out of Sion, and utter his voice from\nJerusalem:  and the heavens and the earth shall be moved, and the Lord\nshall be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of\nIsrael.\n\n3:17. And you shall know that I am the Lord your God, dwelling in Sion,\nmy holy mountain:  and Jerusalem shall be holy, and strangers shall pass\nthrough it no more.\n\n3:18. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall\ndrop down sweetness, aud the hills shall flow with milk:  and waters\nshall flow through all the rivers of Juda:  and a fountain shall come\nforth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the torrent of thorns.\n\nA fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, etc. . .Viz., the\nfountain of grace in the church militant, and of glory in the church\ntriumphant:  which shall water the torrent or valley of thorns, that is,\nthe souls that before, like barren ground brought forth nothing but\nthorns; or that were afflicted with the thorns of crosses and\ntribulations.\n\n3:19. Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom a wilderness destroyed:\nbecause they have done unjustly against the children of Juda, and have\nshed innocent blood in their land.\n\n3:20. And Judea shall be inhabited for ever, and Jerusalem to\ngeneration and generation.\n\nJudea--and Jerusalem. . .That is, the spiritual Jerusalem, viz., the\nchurch of Christ.\n\n3:21. And I will cleanse their blood, which I had not cleansed:  and the\nLord will dwell in Sion.\n\n\n\n\nTHE PROPHECY OF AMOS\n\n\n\nAMOS prophesied in Israel about the same time as OSEE:  and was called\nfrom following the cattle to denounce GOD'S judgments to the people of\nIsrael, and the neighbouring nations, for their repeated crimes, in\nwhich they continued without repentance.\n\n\n\nAmos Chapter 1\n\n\nThe prophet threatens Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, and Ammon with the\njudgments of God, for their obstinacy in sin.\n\n1:1. The words of Amos, who was among the herdsmen of Thecua:  which he\nsaw concerning Israel in the days of Ozias king of Juda, and in the\ndays of Jeroboam the son of Joas king of Israel two years before the\nearthquake.\n\nThe earthquake. . .Many understand this of a great earthquake, which\nthey say was felt at the time that king Ozias attempted to offer\nincense in the temple.  But the best chronologists prove that the\nearthquake here spoken of must have been before that time:  because\nJeroboam the second, under whom Amos prophesied, was dead long before\nthat attempt of Ozias.\n\n1:2. And he said:  The Lord will roar from Sion, and utter his voice\nfrom Jerusalem:  and the beautiful places of the shepherds have mourned,\nand the top of Carmel is withered.\n\n1:3. Thus saith the Lord:  For three crimes of Damascus, and for four I\nwill not convert it:  because they have thrashed Galaad with iron wains.\n\nFor three crimes--and for four. . .That is, for their many unrepented of\ncrimes.--Ibid.  I will not convert it. . .That is, I will not spare them,\nnor turn away the punishments I design to inflict upon them.\n\n1:4. And I will send a fire into the house of Azael, and it shall\ndevour the houses of Benadad.\n\n1:5. And I will break the bar of Damascus:  and I will cut off the\ninhabitants from the plain of the idol, and him that holdeth the\nsceptre from the house of pleasure:  and the people of Syria shall be\ncarried away to Cyrene, saith the Lord.\n\n1:6. Thus saith the Lord:  For three crimes of Gaza, and for four I will\nnot convert it:  because they have carried away a perfect captivity to\nshut them up in Edom.\n\n1:7. And I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, and it shall devour\nthe houses thereof.\n\n1:8. And I will cut off the inhabitant from Azotus, and him that\nholdeth the sceptre from Ascalon:  and I will turn my hand against\nAccaron, and the rest of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord\nGod.\n\n1:9. Thus saith the Lord:  For three crimes of Tyre, and for four I will\nnot convert it:  because they have shut up an entire captivity in Edom,\nand have not remembered the covenant of brethren.\n\n1:10. And I will send a fire upon the wall of Tyre, and it shall devour\nthe houses thereof.\n\n1:11. Thus saith the Lord:  For three crimes of Edom, and for four I\nwill not convert him:  because he hath pursued his brother with the\nsword, and hath carried on his fury, and hath kept his wrath to the\nend.\n\n1:12. I will send a fire into Theman:  and it shall devour the houses of\nBosra.\n\n1:13. Thus saith the Lord:  For three crimes of the children of Ammon,\nand for four I will not convert him:  because he hath ripped up the\nwomen with child of Galaad to enlarge his border.\n\n1:14. And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabba:  and it shall\ndevour the houses thereof with shouting in the day of battle, and with\na whirlwind in the day of trouble.\n\n1:15. And Melchom shall go into captivity, both he, and his princes\ntogether, saith the Lord.\n\nMelchom. . .The god or idol of the Ammonites, otherwise called Moloch,\nand Melech:  which in Hebrew signifies a king, and Melchom their king.\n\n\n\nAmos Chapter 2\n\n\nThe judgments with which God threatens Moab, Juda, and Israel for their\nsins, and their ingratitude.\n\n2:1. Thus saith the Lord:  For three crimes of Moab, and for four I will\nnot convert him:  because he hath burnt the bones of the king of Edom\neven to ashes.\n\n2:2. And I will send a fire into Moab, and it shall devour the houses\nof Carioth:  and Moab shall die with a noise, with the sound of the\ntrumpet:\n\n2:3. And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay\nall his princes with him, saith the Lord.\n\n2:4. Thus saith the Lord:  For three crimes of Juda, and for four I will\nnot convert him:  because he hath cast away the law of the Lord, and\nhath not kept his commandments:  for their idols have caused them to\nerr, after which their fathers have walked.\n\n2:5. And I will send a fire into Juda, and it shall devour the houses\nof Jerusalem.\n\n2:6. Thus saith the Lord:  For three crimes of Israel, and for four I\nwill not convert him:  because he hath sold the just man for silver, and\nthe poor man for a pair of shoes.\n\n2:7. They bruise the heads of the poor upon the dust of the earth, and\nturn aside the way of the humble:  and the son and his father have gone\nto the same young woman, to profane my holy name.\n\n2:8. And they sat down upon garments laid to pledge by every altar:  and\ndrank the wine of the condemned in the house of their God.\n\n2:9. Yet I cast out the Amorrhite before their face:  whose height was\nlike the height of cedars, and who was strong as an oak:  and I\ndestroyed his fruit from above, and his roots beneath.\n\n2:10. It is I that brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and I led\nyou forty years through the wilderness, that you might possess the land\nof the Amorrhite.\n\n2:11. And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men\nfor Nazarites.  Is it not so, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord?\n\n2:12. And you will present wine to the Nazarites:  and command the\nprophets, saying:  Prophesy not.\n\n2:13. Behold, I will screak under you as a wain screaketh that is laden\nwith hay.\n\nI will screak. . .Unable to bear any longer the enormous load of your\nsins, etc.  The spirit of God, as St. Jerome takes notice, accommodates\nhimself to the education of the prophet and inspires him with\ncomparisons taken from country affairs.\n\n2:14. And flight shall perish from the swift, and the valiant shall not\npossess his strength, neither shall the strong save his life.\n\n2:15. And he that holdeth the bow shall not stand, and the swift of\nfoot shall not escape, neither shall the rider of the horse save his\nlife.\n\n2:16. And the stout of heart among the valiant shall flee away naked in\nthat day, saith the Lord.\n\n\n\nAmos Chapter 3\n\n\nThe evils that shall fall upon Israel for their sins.\n\n3:1. Hear the word that the Lord hath spoken concerning you, O ye\nchildren of Israel:  concerning the whole family that I brought up out\nof the land of Egypt, saying:\n\n3:2. You only have I known of all the families of the earth:  therefore\nwill I visit upon you all your iniquities.\n\nVisit upon. . .That is, punish.\n\n3:3. Shall two walk together except they be agreed?\n\n3:4. Will a lion roar in the forest, if he have no prey?  will the\nlion's whelp cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing?\n\n3:5. Will the bird fall into the snare upon the earth, if there be no\nfowler?  Shall the snare be taken up from the earth, before it hath\ntaken somewhat?\n\n3:6. Shall the trumpet sound in a city, and the people not be afraid?\nShall there be evil in a city, which the Lord hath not done?\n\nEvil in a city. . .He speaks of the evil of punishments of war, famine,\npestilence, desolation, etc., but not of the evil of sin, of which God\nis not the author.\n\n3:7. For the Lord God doth nothing without revealing his secret to his\nservants the prophets.\n\n3:8. The lion shall roar, who will not fear?  The Lord God hath spoken,\nwho shall not prophesy?\n\n3:9. Publish it in the houses of Azotus, and in the houses of the land\nof Egypt, and say:  Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria,\nand behold the many follies in the midst thereof, and them that suffer\noppression in the inner rooms thereof.\n\n3:10. And they have not known to do the right thing, saith the Lord,\nstoring up iniquity, and robberies in their houses.\n\n3:11. Therefore thus saith the Lord God:  The land shall be in\ntribulation, and shall be compassed about:  and thy strength shall be\ntaken away from thee, and thy houses shall be spoiled.\n\n3:12. Thus saith the Lord:  As if a shepherd should get out of the\nlion's mouth two legs, or the tip of the ear:  so shall the children of\nIsrael be taken out that dwell in Samaria, in a place of a bed, and in\nthe couch of Damascus.\n\n3:13. Hear ye, and testify in the house of Jacob, saith the Lord the\nGod of hosts:\n\n3:14. That in the day when I shall begin to visit the transgressions of\nIsrael, I will visit upon him, and upon the altars of Bethel:  and the\nhorns of the altars shall be cut off, and shall fall to the ground.\n\n3:15. And I will strike the winter house with the summer house:  and the\nhouses of ivory shall perish, and many houses shall be destroyed, saith\nthe Lord.\n\n\n\nAmos Chapter 4\n\n\nThe Israelites are reproved for their oppressing the poor, for their\nidolatry, and their incorrigibleness.\n\n4:1. Hear this word, ye fat kine that are in the mountains of Samaria:\nyou that oppress the needy, and crush the poor:  that say to your\nmasters:  Bring, and we will drink.\n\nFat kine. . .He means the great ones that lived in plenty and wealth.\n\n4:2. The Lord God hath sworn by his holiness, that lo, the days shall\ncome upon you, when they shall lift you up on pikes, and what shall\nremain of you in boiling pots.\n\n4:3. And you shall go out at the breaches one over against the other,\nand you shall be cast forth into Armon, saith the Lord.\n\nArmon. . .A foreign country; some understand it of Armenia.\n\n4:4. Come ye to Bethel, and do wickedly:  to Galgal, and multiply\ntransgressions:  and bring in the morning your victims, your tithes in\nthree days.\n\n4:5. And offer a sacrifice of praise with leaven:  and call free\nofferings, and proclaim it:  for so you would do, O children of Israel,\nsaith the Lord God.\n\n4:6. Whereupon I also have given you dulness of teeth in all your\ncities, and want of bread in all your places:  yet you have not returned\nto me, saith the Lord.\n\n4:7. I also have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet\nthree months to the harvest:  and I caused it to rain upon on city, and\ncaused it not to rain upon another city:  one piece was rained upon:  and\nthe piece whereupon I rained not, withered.\n\n4:8. And two and three cities went to one city to drink water, and were\nnot filled:  yet you returned not to me, saith the Lord.\n\n4:9. I struck you with a burning wind, and with mildew, the palmerworm\nhath eaten up your many gardens, and your vineyards:  your olive groves,\nand fig groves:  yet you returned not to me, saith the Lord.\n\n4:10. I sent death upon you in the way of Egypt, I slew your young men\nwith the sword, even to the captivity of your horses:  and I made the\nstench of your camp to come up into your nostrils:  yet you returned not\nto me, saith the Lord.\n\n4:11. I destroyed some of you, as God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrha, and\nyou were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning:  yet you returned\nnot to me, saith the Lord.\n\n4:12. Therefore I will do these things to thee, O Israel:  and after I\nshall have done these things to thee, be prepared to meet thy God, O\nIsrael.\n\n4:13. For behold he that formeth the mountains and createth the wind,\nand declareth his word to man, he that maketh the morning mist, and\nwalketh upon the high places of the earth:  the Lord the God of hosts is\nhis name.\n\n\n\nAmos Chapter 5\n\n\nA lamentation for Israel:  an exhortation to return to God.\n\n5:1. Hear ye this word, which I take up concerning you for a\nlamentation.  The house of Israel is fallen, and it shall rise no more.\n\n5:2. The virgin of Israel is cast down upon her land, there is none to\nraise her up.\n\n5:3. For thus saith the Lord God:  The city, out of which came forth a\nthousand, there shall be left in it a hundred:  and out of which there\ncame a hundred, there shall be left in it ten, in the house of Israel.\n\n5:4. For thus saith the Lord to the house of Israel:  Seek ye me, and\nyou shall live.\n\n5:5. But seek not Bethel, and go not into Galgal, neither shall you\npass over to Bersabee:  for Galgal shall go into captivity, and Bethel\nshall be unprofitable.\n\nBethel,--Galgal,--Bersabee. . .The places where they worshipped their\nidols.\n\n5:6. Seek ye the Lord, and live:  lest the house of Joseph be burnt with\nfire, and it shall devour, and there shall be none to quench Bethel.\n\n5:7. You that turn judgment into wormwood, and forsake justice in the\nland,\n\n5:8. Seek him that maketh Arcturus, and Orion, and that turneth\ndarkness into morning, and that changeth day into night:  that calleth\nthe waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth:\nThe Lord is his name.\n\nArcturus and Orion. . .Arcturus is a bright star in the north:  Orion a\nbeautiful constellation in the south.\n\n5:9. He that with a smile bringeth destruction upon the strong, and\nwaste upon the mighty.\n\nWith a smile. . .That is, with all ease, and without making any effort.\n\n5:10. They have hated him that rebuketh in the gate:  and have abhorred\nhim that speaketh perfectly.\n\n5:11. Therefore because you robbed the poor, and took the choice prey\nfrom him:  you shall build houses with square stone, and shall not dwell\nin them:  you shall plant most delightful vineyards, and shall not drink\nthe wine of them.\n\n5:12. Because I know your manifold crimes, and your grievous sins:\nenemies of the just, taking bribes, and oppressing the poor in the\ngate.\n\n5:13. Therefore the prudent shall keep silence at that time, for it is\nan evil time.\n\n5:14. Seek ye good, and not evil, that you may live:  and the Lord the\nGod of hosts will be with you, as you have said.\n\n5:15. Hate evil, and love good, and establish judgment in the gate:  it\nmay be the Lord the God of hosts may have mercy on the remnant of\nJoseph.\n\n5:16. Therefore thus saith the Lord the God of hosts the sovereign\nLord:  In every street there shall be wailing:  and in all places that\nare without, they shall say:  Alas, alas! and they shall call the\nhusbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful in lamentation to\nlament.\n\n5:17. And in all vineyards there shall be wailing:  because I will pass\nthrough in the midst of thee, saith the Lord.\n\n5:18. Woe to them that desire the day of the Lord:  to what end is it\nfor you?  the day of the Lord is darkness, and not light.\n\n5:19. As if a man should flee from the face of a lion, and a bear\nshould meet him:  or enter into the house, and lean with his hand upon\nthe wall, and a serpent should bite him.\n\n5:20. Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light:  and\nobscurity, and no brightness in it?\n\n5:21. I hate, and have rejected your festivities:  and I will not\nreceive the odour of your assemblies.\n\n5:22. And if you offer me holocausts, and your gifts, I will not\nreceive them:  neither will I regard the vows of your fat beasts.\n\n5:23. Take away from me the tumult of thy songs:  and I will not hear\nthe canticles of thy harp.\n\n5:24. But judgment shall be revealed as water, and justice as a mighty\ntorrent.\n\n5:25. Did you offer victims and sacrifices to me in the desert for\nforty years, O house of Israel?\n\nDid you offer, etc. . .Except the sacrifices that were offered at the\nfirst, in the dedication of the tabernacle, the Israelites offered no\nsacrifices in the desert.\n\n5:26.But you carried a tabernacle for your Moloch, and the image of\nyour idols, the star of your god, which you made to yourselves.\n\nA tabernacle, etc. . .All this alludes to the idolatry which they\ncommitted, when they were drawn away by the daughters of Moab to the\nworship of their gods.  Num. 25.\n\n5:27. And I will cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith\nthe Lord, the God of hosts is his name.\n\n\n\nAmos Chapter 6\n\n\nThe desolation of Israel for their pride and luxury.\n\n6:1. Woe to you that are wealthy in Sion, and to you that have\nconfidence in the mountain of Samaria:  ye great men, heads of the\npeople, that go in with state into the house of Israel.\n\n6:2. Pass ye over to Chalane, and see, and go from thence into Emath\nthe great:  and go down into Geth of the Philistines, and to all the\nbest kingdoms of these:  if their border be larger than your border.\n\n6:3. You that are separated unto the evil day:  and that approach to the\nthrone of iniquity;\n\n6:4. You that sleep upon beds of ivory, and are wanton on your couches:\nthat eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of\nthe herd;\n\n6:5. You that sing to the sound of the psaltery:  they have thought\nthemselves to have instruments of music like David;\n\n6:6. That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the best\nointments:  and they are not concerned for the affliction of Joseph.\n\n6:7. Wherefore now they shall go captive at the head of them that go\ninto captivity:  and the faction of the luxurious ones shall be taken\naway.\n\n6:8. The Lord God hath sworn by his own soul, saith the Lord the God of\nhosts:  I detest the pride of Jacob, and I hate his houses, and I will\ndeliver up the city with the inhabitants thereof.\n\n6:9. And if there remain ten men in one house, they also shall die.\n\n6:10. And a man's kinsman shall take him up, and shall burn him, that\nhe may carry the bones out of the house; and he shall say to him that\nis in the inner rooms of the house:  Is there yet any with thee?\n\n6:11. And he shall answer:  There is an end.  And he shall say to him:\nHold thy peace, and mention not the name of the Lord.\n\n6:12. For behold the Lord hath commanded, and he will strike the\ngreater house with breaches, and the lesser house with clefts.\n\n6:13. Can horses run upon the rocks, or can any one plough with\nbuffles?  for you have turned judgment into bitterness, and the fruit of\njustice into wormwood.\n\n6:14. You that rejoice in a thing of nought:  you that say:  Have we not\ntaken unto us horns by our own strength?\n\n6:15. But behold, I will raise up a nation against you, O house of\nIsrael, saith the Lord the God of hosts; and they shall destroy you\nfrom the entrance of Emath, even to the torrent of the desert.\n\n\n\nAmos Chapter 7\n\n\nThe prophet sees, in three visions, evils coming upon Israel:  he is\naccused of treason by the false priest of Bethel.\n\n7:1. These things the Lord God shewed to me:  and behold the locust was\nformed in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter rain, and lo,\nit was the latter rain after the king's mowing.\n\nThe locust, etc. . .These judgments by locusts and fire, which, by the\nprophet's intercession, were moderated, signify the former invasions of\nthe Assyrians under Phul and Theglathphalasar, before the utter\ndesolation of Israel by Salmanasar.\n\n7:2. And it came to pass, that when they had made an end of eating the\ngrass of the land, I said:  O Lord God, be merciful, I beseech thee:  who\nshall raise up Jacob, for he is very little?\n\n7:3. The Lord had pity upon this:  It shall not be, said the Lord.\n\n7:4. These things the Lord God shewed to me:  and behold the Lord called\nfor judgment unto fire, and it devoured the great deep, and ate up a\npart at the same time.\n\n7:5. And I said:  O Lord God, cease, I beseech thee, who shall raise up\nJacob, for he is a little one?\n\n7:6. The Lord had pity upon this.  Yea this also shall not be, said the\nLord God.\n\n7:7. These things the Lord shewed to me:  and behold the Lord was\nstanding upon a plastered wall, and in his hand a mason's trowel.\n\n7:8. And the Lord said to me:  What seest thou, Amos?  And I said:  A\nmason's trowel.  And the Lord said:  Behold, I will lay down the trowel\nin the midst of my people Israel.  I will plaster them over no more.\n\n7:9. And the high places of the idol shall be thrown down, and the\nsanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste:  and I will rise up against\nthe house of Jeroboam with the sword.\n\n7:10. And Amasias the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel,\nsaying:  Amos hath rebelled against thee in the midst of the house of\nIsrael:  the land is not able to bear all his words.\n\n7:11. For thus saith Amos:  Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel\nshall be carried away captive out of their own land.\n\nJeroboam shall die by the sword. . .The prophet did not say this; but\nthat the Lord would rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the\nsword:  which was verified, when Zacharias, the son and successor of\nJeroboam, was slain by the sword.  4 Kings 15.10.\n\n7:12. And Amasias said to Amos:  Thou seer, go, flee away into the land\nof Juda:  and eat bread there, and prophesy there.\n\n7:13. But prophesy not again any more in Bethel:  because it is the\nking's sanctuary, and it is the house of the kingdom.\n\n7:14. And Amos answered and said to Amasias:  I am not a prophet, nor am\nI the son of a prophet:  but I am a herdsman plucking wild figs.\n\nI am not a prophet. . .That is, I am not a prophet by education:  nor is\nprophesying my calling or profession:  but I am a herdsman, whom God was\npleased to send hither to prophesy to Israel.\n\n7:15. And the Lord took me when I followed the flock, and the Lord said\nto me:  Go, prophesy to my people Israel.\n\n7:16. And now hear thou the word of the Lord:  Thou sayest, thou shalt\nnot prophesy against Israel, and thou shalt not drop thy word upon the\nhouse of the idol.\n\nThe house of the idol. . .Viz., of the calf worshipped in Bethel.\n\n7:17. Therefore thus saith the Lord:  Thy wife shall play the harlot in\nthe city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and\nthy land shall be measured by a line:  and thou shalt die in a polluted\nland, and Israel shall go into captivity out of their land.\n\n\n\nAmos Chapter 8\n\n\nUnder the figure of a hook, which bringeth down the fruit, the\napproaching desolation of Israel is foreshewed for their avarice and\ninjustices.\n\n8:1. These things the Lord shewed to me:  and behold a hook to draw down\nthe fruit.\n\n8:2. And he said:  What seest thou, Amos?  And I said:  A hook to draw\ndown fruit.  And the Lord said to me:  The end is come upon my people\nIsrael:  I will not again pass by them any more.\n\n8:3. And the hinges of the temple shall screak in that day, saith the\nLord God:  many shall die:  silence shall be cast in every place.\n\n8:4. Hear this, you that crush the poor, and make the needy of the land\nto fail,\n\n8:5. Saying:  When will the month be over, and we shall sell our wares:\nand the sabbath, and we shall open the corn:  that we may lessen the\nmeasure, and increase the sicle, and may convey in deceitful balances,\n\n8:6. That we may possess the needy for money, and the poor for a pair\nof shoes, and may sell the refuse of the corn?\n\n8:7. The Lord hath sworn against the pride of Jacob:  surely I will\nnever forget all their works.\n\n8:8. Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that\ndwelleth therein:  and rise up altogether as a river, and be cast out,\nand run down as the river of Egypt?\n\n8:9. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that\nthe sun shall go down at midday, and I will make the earth dark in the\nday of light:\n\n8:10. And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs\ninto lamentation:  and I will bring up sackcloth upon every back of\nyours, and baldness upon every head:  and I will make it as the mourning\nof an only son, and the latter end thereof as a bitter day.\n\n8:11. Behold the days come, saith the Lord, and I will send forth a\nfamine into the land:  not a famine of bread, nor a thirst of water, but\nof hearing the word of the Lord.\n\n8:12. And they shall move from sea to sea, and from the north to the\neast:  they shall go about seeking the word of the Lord, and shall not\nfind it.\n\n8:13. In that day the fair virgins, and the young men shall faint for\nthirst.\n\n8:14. They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say:  Thy God, O Dan,\nliveth:  and the way of Bersabee liveth:  and they shall fall, and shall\nrise no more.\n\n\n\nAmos Chapter 9\n\n\nThe certainty of the desolation of Israel:  the restoring of the\ntabernacle of David, and the conversion of the Gentiles to the church;\nwhich shall flourish for ever.\n\n9:1. I saw the Lord standing upon the altar, and he said:  Strike the\nhinges, and let the lintels be shook:  for there is covetousness in the\nhead of them all, and I will slay the last of them with the sword:\nthere shall be no flight for them:  they shall flee, and he that shall\nflee of them shall not be delivered.\n\n9:2. Though they go down even to hell, thence shall my hand bring them\nout:  and though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down.\n\n9:3. And though they be hid in the top of Carmel, I will search and\ntake them away from thence:  and though they hide themselves from my\neyes in the depth of the sea, there will I command the serpent and he\nshall bite them.\n\n9:4. And if they go into captivity before their enemies, there will I\ncommand the sword, and it shall kill them.  And I will set my eyes upon\nthem for evil, and not for good.\n\n9:5. And the Lord the God of hosts is he who toucheth the earth, and it\nshall melt:  and all that dwell therein shall mourn:  and it shall rise\nup as a river, and shall run down as the river of Egypt.\n\n9:6. He that buildeth his ascension in heaven, and hath founded his\nbundle upon the earth:  who calleth the waters of the sea, and poureth\nthem out upon the face of the earth, the Lord is his name.\n\nHis ascension. . .That is, his high throne.--Ibid.  His bundle. . .That\nis, his church bound up together by the bands of one faith and communion.\n\n9:7. Are not you as the children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children\nof Israel, saith the Lord?  did not I bring up Israel, out of the land\nof Egypt:  and the Philistines out of Cappadocia, and the Syrians out of\nCyrene?\n\nAs the children of the Ethiopians. . .That is, as black as they, by your\niniquities.\n\n9:8. Behold the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom, and I\nwill destroy it from the face of the earth:  but yet I will not utterly\ndestroy the house of Jacob, saith the Lord.\n\n9:9. For behold I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel\namong all nations, as corn is sifted in a sieve:  and there shall not a\nlittle stone fall to the ground.\n\n9:10. All the sinners of my people shall fall by the sword:  who say:\nThe evils shall not approach, and shall not come upon us.\n\n9:11. In that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David, that is\nfallen:  and I will close up the breaches of the walls thereof, and\nrepair what was fallen:  and I will rebuild it as in the days of old.\n\n9:12. That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all nations,\nbecause my name is invoked upon them:  saith the Lord that doth these\nthings.\n\n9:13. Behold the days come, saith the Lord, when the ploughman shall\novertake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed:\nand the mountains shall drop sweetness, and every hill shall be tilled.\n\nShall overtake, etc. . .By this is meant the great abundance of\nspiritual blessings; which, as it were, by a constant succession, shall\nenrich the church of Christ.\n\n9:14. And I will bring back the captivity of my people Israel:  and they\nshall build the abandoned cities, and inhabit them:  and they shall\nplant vineyards, and drink the wine of them:  and shall make gardens,\nand eat the fruits of them.  And I will plant them upon their own land:\nand I will no more pluck them out of their land which I have given\nthem, saith the Lord thy God.\n\n\n\n\nTHE PROPHECY OF ABDIAS\n\n\n\nABDIAS, whose name is interpreted THE SERVANT OF THE LORD, is believed\nto have prophesied about the same time as OSEE, JOEL, and AMOS:  though\nsome of the Hebrews, who believe him to be the same with ACHAB's\nsteward, make him much more ancient.  His prophecy is the shortest of\nany in number of words, but yields to none, says ST. JEROME, in the\nsublimity of mysteries.  It contains but one chapter.\n\n\n\nAbdias Chapter 1\n\n\nThe destruction of Edom for their pride:  and the wrongs they did to\nJacob:  the salvation and victory of Israel.\n\n1:1. The vision of Abdias.  Thus saith the Lord God to Edom:  We have\nheard a rumour from the Lord, and he hath sent an ambassador to the\nnations:  Arise, and let us rise up to battle against him.\n\n1:2. Behold I have made thee small among the nations:  thou art\nexceeding contemptible.\n\n1:3. The pride of thy heart hath lifted thee up, who dwellest in the\nclefts of the rocks, and settest up thy throne on high:  who sayest in\nthy heart:  Who shall bring me down to the ground?\n\n1:4. Though thou be exalted as an eagle, and though thou set thy nest\namong the stars:  thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord.\n\n1:5. If thieves had gone in to thee, if robbers by night, how wouldst\nthou have held thy peace?  would they not have stolen till they had\nenough?  if the grapegatherers had come in to thee, would they not have\nleft thee at the least a cluster?\n\n1:6. How have they searched Esau, how have they sought out his hidden\nthings?\n\n1:7. They have sent thee out even to the border:  all the men of thy\nconfederacy have deceived thee:  the men of thy peace have prevailed\nagainst thee:  they that eat with thee shall lay snares under thee:\nthere is no wisdom in him.\n\n1:8. Shall not I in that day, saith the Lord, destroy the wise out of\nEdom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau?\n\n1:9. And thy valiant men of the south shall be afraid, that man may be\ncut off from the mount of Esau.\n\n1:10. For the slaughter, and for the iniquity against thy brother\nJacob, confusion shall cover thee, and thou shalt perish for ever.\n\n1:11. In the day when thou stoodest against him, when strangers carried\naway his army captive, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast\nlots upon Jerusalem:  thou also wast as one of them.\n\n1:12. But thou shalt not look on in the day of thy brother, in the day\nof his leaving his country:  and thou shalt not rejoice over the\nchildren of Juda, in the day of their destruction:  and thou shalt not\nmagnify thy mouth in the day of distress.\n\nThou shalt not look, etc. . .or, thou shouldst not, etc.  It is a\nreprehension for what they had done, and at the same time a declaration\nthat these things should not pass unpunished.--Ibid.  Thou shalt not\nmagnify thy mouth. . .That is, thou shalt not speak arrogantly against\nthe children of Juda as insulting them in their distress.\n\n1:13. Neither shalt thou enter into the gate of my people in the day of\ntheir ruin:  neither shalt thou also look on in his evils in the day of\nhis calamity:  and thou shalt not be sent out against his army in the\nday of his desolation.\n\n1:14. Neither shalt thou stand in the crossways to kill them that flee:\nand thou shalt not shut up them that remain of him in the day of\ntribulation.\n\n1:15. For the day of the Lord is at hand upon all nations:  as thou hast\ndone, so shall it be done to thee:  he will turn thy reward upon thy own\nhead.\n\n1:16. For as you have drunk upon my holy mountain, so all nations shall\ndrink continually:  and they shall drink, and sup up, and they shall be\nas though they were not.\n\n1:17. And in mount Sion shall be salvation, and it shall be holy, and\nthe house of Jacob shall possess those that possessed them.\n\n1:18. And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a\nflame, and the house of Esau stubble:  and they shall be kindled in\nthem, and shall devour them:  and there shall be no remains of the house\nof Esau, for the Lord hath spoken it.\n\n1:19. And they that are toward the south, shall inherit the mount of\nEsau, and they that are in the plains, the Philistines:  and they shall\npossess the country of Ephraim, and the country of Samaria:  and\nBenjamin shall possess Galaad.\n\n1:20. And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel, all the\nplaces of the Chanaanites even to Sarepta:  and the captivity of\nJerusalem that is in Bosphorus, shall possess the cities of the south.\n\n1:21. And saviours shall come up into mount Sion to judge the mount of\nEsau:  and the kingdom shall be for the Lord.\n\n\n\n\nTHE PROPHECY OF JONAS\n\n\n\nJONAS prophesied in the reign of JEREBOAM the second:  as we learn from\n4 Kings 14.25. To whom also he foretold his success in restoring all\nthe borders of Israel.  He was of GETH OPHER in the tribe of ZABULON,\nand consequently of GALILEE:  which confutes that assertion of the\nPharisees, John 7.52, that no prophet ever rose out of GALILEE.  He\nprophesied and prefigured in his own person the death and resurrection\nof CHRIST:  and was the only one among the prophets that was sent to\npreach to the Gentiles.\n\n\n\nJonas Chapter 1\n\n\nJonas being sent to preach in Ninive, fleeth away by sea:  a tempest\nriseth:  of which he being found, by lot, to be the cause, is cast into\nthe sea, which thereupon is calmed.\n\n1:1. Now the word of the Lord came to Jonas, the son of Amathi, saying:\n\n1:2. Arise and go to Ninive, the great city, and preach in it:  For the\nwickedness thereof is come up before me.\n\nNineve. . .The capital city of the Assyrian empire.\n\n1:3. And Jonas rose up to flee into Tharsis from the face of the Lord,\nand he went down to Joppe, and found a ship going to Tharsis:  and he\npaid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them to\nTharsis from the face of the Lord,\n\nTharsis. . .Which some take to be Tharsus of Cilicia, others to be\nTartessus of Spain, others to be Carthage.\n\n1:4. But the Lord sent a great wind to the sea:  and a great tempest was\nraised in the sea, and the ship was in danger to be broken.\n\n1:5. And the mariners were afraid, and the men cried to their god:  and\nthey cast forth the wares that were in the ship, into the sea, to\nlighten it of them:  and Jonas went down into the inner part of the\nship, and fell into a deep sleep.\n\nA deep sleep. . .This is a lively image of the insensibility of sinners,\nfleeing from God, and threatened on every side with his judgments:  and\nyet sleeping as if they were secure.\n\n1:6. And the ship master came to him and said to him:  Why art thou fast\nasleep?  rise up call upon thy God, if so be that God will think of us\nthat we may not perish.\n\n1:7. And they said every one to his fellow:  Come and let us cast lots,\nthat we may know why this evil is upon us.  And they cast lots, and the\nlot fell upon Jonas.\n\n1:8. And they said to him:  Tell us for what cause this evil is upon us,\nwhat is thy business?  of what country art thou?  and whither goest thou?\nor of what people art thou?\n\n1:9. And he said to them:  I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, and the\nGod of heaven, who made both the sea and the dry land.\n\n1:10. And the men were greatly afraid, and they said to him:  Why hast\nthou done this?  (For the men knew that he fled from the face of the\nLord:  because he had told them.)\n\n1:11. And they said to him:  What shall we do with thee, that the sea\nmay be calm to us?  for the sea flowed and swelled.\n\n1:12. And he said to them:  take me up, and cast me into the sea, and\nthe sea shall be calm to you:  for I know for my sake this great tempest\nis upon you.\n\n1:13. And the men rowed hard to return the land, but they were not\nable:  because the sea tossed and swelled upon them.\n\n1:14. And they cried to the Lord, and said:  We beseech thee, O Lord let\nus not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood:\nfor thou, oh Lord, hast done as it pleased thee.\n\n1:15. And they took Jonas, and cast him into the sea, and the sea\nceased from raging.\n\n1:16. And the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and sacrificed victims\nto the Lord, and made vows.\n\n\n\nJonas Chapter 2\n\n\nJonas is swallowed up by a great fish:  he prayeth with confidence in\nGod; and the fish casteth him out on the dry land.\n\n2:1. Now the Lord prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonas:  and Jonas\nwas in the belly of a fish for three days and three nights.\n\n2:2. And Jonas prayed to the Lord, his God, out of the belly of the\nfish.\n\n2:3. And he said:  I cried out of my affliction to the Lord, and he\nheard me:  I cried out of the belly of hell, and thou hast heard my\nvoice.\n\n2:4. And thou hast cast me forth into the deep, in the heart of the\nsea, and a flood hast compassed me:  all thy billows, and thy waves have\npassed over me.\n\n2:5. And I said:  I am cast away out of the sight of thy eyes:  but yet I\nshall see the holy temple again.\n\n2:6. The waters compassed me about even to the soul:  the deep hath\nclosed me round about, the sea hath covered my head.\n\n2:7. I went down to the lowest parts of the mountains:  the bars of the\nearth have shut me up for ever:  and thou wilt bring up my life from\ncorruption, O Lord, my God.\n\n2:8. When my soul was in distress within me, I remembered the Lord:\nthat my prayer may come to thee, unto the holy temple.\n\n2:9. They that in vain observe vanities, forsake their own mercy.\n\n2:10. But I with the voice of praise will sacrifice to thee:  I will pay\nwhatsoever I have vowed for my salvation to the Lord.\n\n2:11. And the Lord spoke to the fish:  and it vomited out Jonas upon the\ndry land.\n\nSpoke to the fish. . .God's speaking to the fish, was nothing else but\nhis will, which all things obey.\n\n\n\nJonas Chapter 3\n\n\nJonas is sent again to preach in Ninive.  Upon their fasting and\nrepentance, God recalleth the sentence by which they were to be\ndestroyed.\n\n3:1. And the word of the Lord came to Jonas the second time saying:\n\n3:2. Arise, and go to Ninive, the great city:  and preach in it the\npreaching that I bid thee.\n\n3:3. And Jonas arose, and went to Ninive, according to the word of the\nLord:  now Ninive was a great city of three days' journey.\n\nOf three days' journey. . .By the computation of some ancient\nhistorians, Ninive was about fifty miles round:  so that to go through\nall the chief streets and public places was three days' journey.\n\n3:4. And Jonas began to enter into the city one day's journey:  and he\ncried and said:  Yet forty days and Ninive shall be destroyed.\n\n3:5. And the men of Ninive believed in God:  and they proclaimed a fast,\nand put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least.\n\n3:6. And the word came to the king of Ninive:  and he rose up out of his\nthrone, and cast away his robe from him, and was clothed in sackcloth,\nand sat in ashes.\n\n3:7. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published in Ninive, from\nthe mouth of the king and of his princes, saying:  Let neither men nor\nbeasts, oxen, nor sheep taste anything:  let them not feed, nor drink\nwater.\n\n3:8. And let men and beasts be covered with sackcloth, and cry to the\nLord with all their strength, and let them turn every one from his evil\nway, and from the iniquity that is in their hands.\n\n3:9. Who can tell if God will turn, and forgive:  and will turn away\nfrom his fierce anger, and we shall not perish?\n\n3:10. And God saw their works, that they were turned from their evil\nway:  and God had mercy with regard to the evil which he had said that\nhe would do to them, and he did it not.\n\n\n\nJonas Chapter 4\n\n\n4:1. And Jonas was exceedingly troubled, and was angry:\n\nWas exceedingly troubled, etc. . .His concern was lest he should pass\nfor a false prophet; or rather, lest God's word, by this occasion,\nmight come to be slighted and disbelieved.\n\n4:2. And he prayed to the Lord, and said:  I beseech thee, O Lord, is\nnot this what I said, when I was yet in my own country?  therefore I\nwent before to flee into Tharsis:  for I know that thou art a gracious\nand merciful God, patient, and of much compassion, and easy to forgive\nevil.\n\n4:3. And now, O Lord, I beseech thee take my life from me:  for it is\nbetter for me to die than to live.\n\n4:4. And the Lord said:  Dost thou think thou hast reason to be angry?\n\n4:5. Then Jonas went out of the city, and sat toward the east side of\nthe city:  and he made himself a booth there, and he sat under it in the\nshadow, till he might see what would befall the city.\n\n4:6. And the Lord God prepared an ivy, and it came up over the head of\nJonas, to be a shadow over his head, and to cover him (for he was\nfatigued):  and Jonas was exceeding glad of the ivy.\n\nThe Lord God prepared an ivy. . .Hederam.  In the Hebrew it is Kikajon,\nwhich some render a gourd:  others a palmerist, or palma Christi.\n\n4:7. But God prepared a worm, when the morning arose on the following\nday:  and it struck the ivy and it withered.\n\n4:8. And when the sun was risen, the Lord commanded a hot and burning\nwind:  and the sun beat upon the head of Jonas, and he broiled with the\nheat:  and he desired for his soul that he might die, and said:  It is\nbetter for me to die than to live.\n\n4:9. And the Lord said to Jonas:  Dost thou think thou hast reason to be\nangry, for the ivy?  And he said:  I am angry with reason even unto\ndeath.\n\n4:10. And the Lord said:  Thou art grieved for the ivy, for which thou\nhast not laboured, nor made it to grow, which in one night came up, and\nin one night perished.\n\n4:11. And shall I not spare Ninive, that great city, in which there are\nmore than a hundred and twenty thousand persons, that know not how to\ndistinguish between their right hand and their left, and many beasts?\n\n\n\n\nTHE PROPHECY OF MICHEAS\n\n\n\nMICHEAS, of Morasti, a little town in the tribe of JUDA, was\ncontemporary with the prophet ISAIAS:  whom he resembles both in his\nspirit and his style.  He is different from the prophet MICHEAS\nmentioned in the third book of Kings, chap. 22.  For that MICHEAS lived\nin the days of king ACHAB, one hundred and fifty years before the time\nof EZECHIAS, under whom this MICHEAS prophesied.\n\n\n\nMicheas Chapter 1\n\n\nSamaria for her sins shall be destroyed by the Assyrians; they shall\nalso invade Juda and Jerusalem.\n\n1:1. The word of the Lord, that came to Micheas, the Morasthite, in the\ndays of Joathan, Achaz, and Ezechias, kings of Juda:  which he saw\nconcerning Samaria and Jerusalem.\n\n1:2. Hear, all ye people:  and let the earth give ear, and all that is\ntherein:  and let the Lord God be a witness to you, the Lord from his\nholy temple.\n\n1:3. For behold the Lord will come forth out of his place:  and he will\ncome down, and will tread upon the high places of the earth.\n\n1:4. And the mountains shall be melted under him:  and the valleys shall\nbe cleft, as wax before the fire, and as waters that run down a steep\nplace.\n\n1:5. For the wickedness of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the\nhouse of Israel.  What is the wickedness of Jacob?  is it not Samaria?\nand what are the high places of Juda?  are they not Jerusalem?\n\n1:6. And I will make Samaria as a heap of stones in the field when a\nvineyard is planted:  and I will bring down the stones thereof into the\nvalley, and will lay her foundations bare.\n\n1:7. And all her graven things shall be cut in pieces, and all her\nwages shall be burnt with fire, and I will bring to destruction all her\nidols:  for they were gathered together of the hire of a harlot, and\nunto the hire of a harlot they shall return.\n\nHer wages. . .That is, her donaries or presents offered to her idols:  or\nthe hire of all her traffic and labour.--Ibid.  Of the hire of a harlot,\netc. . .They were gathered together by one idolatrous city, viz.,\nSamaria:  and they shall be carried away to another idolatrous city,\nviz., Ninive.\n\n1:8. Therefore will I lament, and howl:  I will go stript and naked:  I\nwill make a wailing like the dragons, and a mourning like the\nostriches.\n\n1:9. Because her wound is desperate, because it is come even to Juda,\nit hath touched the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem.\n\nIt hath touched the gate, etc. . .That is, the destruction of Samaria\nshall be followed by the invasion of my people of Juda, and the\nAssyrians shall come and lay all waste even to the confines of\nJerusalem.\n\n1:10. Declare ye it not in Geth, weep ye not with tears:  in the house\nof Dust sprinkle yourselves with dust.\n\nDeclare ye it not in Geth. . .Viz., amongst the Philistines, lest they\nrejoice at your calamity.--Ibid.  Weep ye not, etc. . .Keep in your\ntears, that you may not give your enemies an occasion of insulting over\nyou; but in your own houses, or in your house of dust, your earthly\nhabitation, sprinkle yourselves with dust, and put on the habit of\npenitents.  Some take the house of dust (in Hebrew, Aphrah) to be the\nproper name of a city.\n\n1:11. And pass away, O thou that dwellest in the beautiful place,\ncovered with thy shame:  she went not forth that dwelleth in the\nconfines:  the house adjoining shall receive mourning from you, which\nstood by herself.\n\nThou that dwellest in the Beautiful place, viz., in Samaria.  In the\nHebrew the Beautiful place is expressed by the word Sapir, which some\ntake for the proper name of a city.--Ibid.  She went not forth,\netc. . .that is, they that dwelt in the confines came not forth, but kept\nthemselves within, for fear.--Ibid.  The house adjoining, etc. . .Viz.,\nJudea and Jerusalem, neighbours to Samaria, and partners in her sins,\nshall share also in her mourning and calamity; though they have\npretended to stand by themselves, trusting in their strength.\n\n1:12. For she is become weak unto good that dwelleth in bitterness:  for\nevil is come down from the Lord into the gate of Jerusalem.\n\nShe is become weak, etc. . .Jerusalem is become weak unto any good;\nbecause she dwells in the bitterness of sin.\n\n1:13. A tumult of chariots hath astonished the inhabitants of Lachis:\nit is the beginning of sin to the daughter of Sion for in thee were\nfound the crimes of Israel.\n\nIt is the beginning, etc. . .That is, Lachis was the first city of Juda\nthat learned from Samaria the worship of idols, and communicated it to\nJerusalem.\n\n1:14. Therefore shall she send messengers to the inheritance of Geth:\nthe houses of lying to deceive the kings of Israel.\n\nTherefore shall she send, etc. . .Lachis shall send to Geth for help:\nbut in vain:  for Geth, instead of helping, shall be found to be a house\nof lying and deceit to Israel.\n\n1:15. Yet will I bring an heir to thee that dwellest in Maresa:  even to\nOdollam shall the glory of Israel come.\n\nAn heir, etc. . .Maresa (which was the name of a city of Juda) signifies\ninheritance:  but here God by his prophet tells the Jews, that he will\nbring them an heir to take possession of their inheritance:  and that\nthe glory of Israel shall be obliged to give place, and to retire even\nto Odollam, a city in the extremity of their dominions.  And therefore\nhe exhorts them to penance in the following verse.\n\n1:16. Make thee bald, and be polled for thy delicate children:  enlarge\nthy baldness as the eagle:  for they are carried into captivity from\nthee.\n\n\n\nMicheas Chapter 2\n\n\nThe Israelites by their crying injustices provoke God to punish them.\nHe shall at last restore Jacob.\n\n2:1. Woe to you that devise that which is unprofitable, and work evil\nin your beds:  in the morning light they execute it, because their hand\nis against God.\n\n2:2. And they have coveted fields, and taken them by violence, and\nhouses they have forcibly taken away:  and oppressed a man and his\nhouse, a man and his inheritance.\n\n2:3. Therefore thus saith the Lord:  Behold I devise an evil against\nthis family:  from which you shall not withdraw your necks, and you\nshall not walk haughtily, for this is a very evil time.\n\n2:4. In that day a parable shall be taken up upon you, and a song shall\nbe sung with melody by them that say:  We are laid waste and spoiled:\nthe portion of my people is changed:  how shall he depart from me,\nwhereas he is returning that will divide our land?\n\nHow shall he depart, etc. . .How do you pretend to say that the Assyrian\nis departing; when indeed he is coming to divide our lands amongst his\nsubjects?\n\n2:5. Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast the cord of a lot\nin the assembly of the Lord.\n\nThou shalt have none, etc. . .Thou shalt have no longer any lot or\ninheritance in the land of the people of the Lord.\n\n2:6. Speak ye not, saying:  It shall not drop upon these, confusion\nshall not take them.\n\nIt shall not drop, etc. . .That is, the prophecy shall not come upon\nthese.  Such were the sentiments of the people that were unwilling to\nbelieve the threats of the prophets.\n\n2:7. The house of Jacob saith:  Is the Spirit of the Lord straitened or\nare these his thoughts?  Are not my words good to him that walketh\nuprightly?\n\n2:8. But my people, on the contrary, are risen up as an enemy:  you have\ntaken away the cloak off from the coat:  and them that passed harmless\nyou have turned to war.\n\nYou have taken away, etc. . .You have even stripped people of their\nnecessary garments:  and have treated such as were innocently passing on\nthe way, as if they were at war with you.\n\n2:9. You have cast out the women of my people from their houses, in\nwhich they took delight:  you have taken my praise forever from their\nchildren.\n\nYou have cast out, etc. . .either by depriving them of their houses:  or,\nby your crimes, given occasion to their being carried away captives,\nand their children, by that means, never learning to praise the Lord.\n\n2:10. Arise ye, and depart, for there is no rest here for you.  For that\nuncleanness of the land, it shall be corrupted with a grievous\ncorruption.\n\n2:11. Would God I were not a man that hath the spirit, and that I\nrather spoke a lie:  I will let drop to thee of wine, and of\ndrunkenness:  and it shall be this people upon whom it shall drop.\n\nWould God, etc. . .The prophet could have wished, out of his love to his\npeople, that he might be deceived in denouncing to them these evils\nthat were to fall upon them:  but by conforming himself to the will of\nGod, he declares to them, that he is sent to prophesy, literally to let\ndrop upon them, the wine of God's indignation, with which they should\nbe made drunk; that is, stupified and cast down.\n\n2:12. I will assemble and gather together all of thee, O Jacob:  I will\nbring together the remnant of Israel, I will put them together as a\nflock in the fold, as sheep in the midst of the sheepcotes, they shall\nmake a tumult by reason of the multitude of men.\n\n2:13. For he shall go up that shall open the way before them:  they\nshall divide and pass through the gate, and shall come in by it:  and\ntheir king shall pass before them, and the Lord at the head of them.\n\n\n\nMicheas Chapter 3\n\n\nFor the sins of the rich oppressing the poor, of false prophets\nflattering for lucre, and of judges perverting justice, Jerusalem and\nthe temple shall be destroyed.\n\n3:1. And I said:  Hear, O ye princes of Jacob, and ye chiefs of the\nhouse of Israel:  Is it not your part to know judgment,\n\n3:2. You that hate good, and love evil:  that violently pluck off their\nskins from them and their flesh from their bones?\n\n3:3. Who have eaten the flesh of my people, and have flayed their skin\noff them:  and have broken, and chopped their bones as for the kettle,\nand as flesh in the midst of the pot.\n\n3:4. Then shall they cry to the Lord, and he will not hear them:  and he\nwill hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved\nwickedly in their devices.\n\n3:5. Thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that make my people\nerr:  that bite with their teeth, and preach peace:  and if a man give\nnot something into their mouth, they prepare war against him.\n\n3:6. Therefore night shall be to you instead of vision, and darkness to\nyou instead of divination:  and the sun shall go down upon the prophets,\nand the day shall be darkened over them.\n\n3:7. And they shall be confounded that see visions, and the diviners\nshall be confounded:  and they shall all cover their faces, because\nthere is no answer of God.\n\n3:8. But yet I am filled with the strength of the spirit of the Lord,\nwith judgment and power:  to declare unto Jacob his wickedness and to\nIsrael his sin.\n\n3:9. Hear this, ye princes of the house of Jacob, and ye judges of the\nhouse of Israel:  you that abhor judgment and pervert all that is right.\n\n3:10. You that build up Sion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.\n\n3:11. Her princes have judged for bribes:  and her priests have taught\nfor hire, and her prophets divined for money:  and they leaned upon the\nLord, saying:  Is not the Lord in the midst of us?  no evil shall come\namong us.\n\n3:12. Therefore because of you, Sion shall be ploughed as a field, and\nJerusalem shall be as a heap of stones, and the mountain of the temple\nas the high places of the forests.\n\n\n\nMicheas Chapter 4\n\n\nThe glory of the church of Christ, by the conversion of the Gentiles.\nThe Jews shall be carried captives to Babylon, and be delivered again.\n\n4:1. And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of\nthe house of the Lord shall be prepared in the top of the mountains,\nand high above the hills:  and people shall flow to it.\n\n4:2. And many nations shall come in haste, and say:  Come, let us go up\nto the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob:  and\nhe will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths:  for the\nlaw shall go forth out of Sion, and the word of the Lord out of\nJerusalem.\n\n4:3. And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations\nafar off:  and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their\nspears into spades:  nation shall not take sword against nation:  neither\nshall they learn war anymore.\n\nNeither shall they learn, etc. . .The law of Christ is a law of peace;\nand all his true subjects, as much as lies in them love and keep peace\nwith all the world.\n\n4:4. And every man shall sit under his vine, and under his fig tree,\nand there shall be none to make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord\nof hosts hath spoken.\n\n4:5. For all people will walk every one in the name of his god:  but we\nwill walk in the name of the Lord, our God, for ever and ever.\n\n4:6. In that day, saith the Lord, I will gather up her that halteth:\nand her that I had cast out, I will gather up:  and her whom I had\nafflicted.\n\n4:7. And I will make her that halted, a remnant:  and her that had been\nafflicted, a mighty nation:  and the Lord will reign over them in Mount\nSion, from this time now and forever.\n\n4:8. And thou, O cloudy tower of the flock, of the daughter of Sion,\nunto thee shall it come:  yea the first power shall come, the kingdom to\nthe daughter of Jerusalem.\n\n4:9. Now, why art thou drawn together with grief?  Hast thou no king in\nthee, or is thy counselor perished, because sorrow hath taken thee as a\nwoman in labour.\n\n4:10. Be in pain and labour, O daughter of Sion, as a woman that\nbringeth forth:  for now shalt thou go out of the city, and shalt dwell\nin the country, and shalt come even to Babylon, there thou shalt be\ndelivered:  there the Lord will redeem thee out of the hand of thy\nenemies.\n\n4:11. And now many nations are gathered together against thee, and they\nsay:  Let her be stoned:  and let our eye look upon Sion.\n\n4:12. But they have not known the thoughts of the Lord, and have not\nunderstood his counsel:  because he hath gathered them together as the\nhay of the floor.\n\n4:13. Arise, and tread, O daughter of Sion:  for I will make thy horn\niron, and thy hoofs I will make brass:  and thou shalt beat in pieces\nmany peoples, and shalt immolate the spoils of them to the Lord, and\ntheir strength to the Lord of the whole earth.\n\n\n\nMicheas Chapter 5\n\n\nThe birth of Christ in Bethlehem:  his reign and spiritual conquests.\n\n5:1. Now shalt thou be laid waste, O daughter of the robber:  they have\nlaid siege against us, with a rod shall they strike the cheek of the\njudge of Israel.\n\nDaughter of the robber. . .Some understand this of Babylon; which robbed\nand pillaged the temple of God:  others understand it of Jerusalem; by\nreason of the many rapines and oppressions committed there.\n\n5:2. And thou Bethlehem Ephrata, art a little one among the thousands\nof Juda, out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be the\nruler in Israel:  and his going forth is from the beginning, from the\ndays of eternity.\n\nHis going forth, etc. . .That is, he who as man shall be born in thee,\nas God was born of his Father from all eternity.\n\n5:3. Therefore will he give them up even till the time wherein she that\ntravaileth shall bring forth:  and the remnant of his brethren shall be\nconverted to the children of Israel.\n\n5:4. And he shall stand, and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the\nheight of the name of the Lord, his God:  and they shall be converted,\nfor now shall he be magnified even to the ends of the earth.\n\n5:5. And this man shall be our peace, when the Assyrian shall come into\nour land, and when he shall set his foot in our houses:  and we shall\nraise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men.\n\nThe Assyrian. . .That is, the persecutors of the church:  who are here\ncalled Assyrians by the prophet:  because the Assyrians were at that\ntime the chief enemies and persecutors of the people of God.--Ibid.\nSeven shepherds, etc. . .Viz., the pastors of God's church, and the\ndefenders of the faith.  The number seven in scripture is taken to\nsignify many:  and when eight is joined with it, we are to understand\nthat the number will be very great.\n\n5:6. And they shall feed the land of Assyria with the sword, and the\nland of Nemrod with the spears thereof:  and he shall deliver us from\nthe Assyrian when he shall come into our land, and when he shall tread\nin our borders.\n\nThey shall feed, etc. . .They shall make spiritual conquests in the\nlands of their persecutors, with the word of the spirit, which is the\nword of God.  Eph. 6.17.\n\n5:7. And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples, as\na dew from the Lord, and as drops upon the grass, which waiteth not for\nman, nor tarrieth for the children of men.\n\nThe remnant of Jacob. . .Viz., the apostles, and the first preachers of\nthe Jewish nation; whose doctrine, like dew, shall make the plants of\nthe converted Gentiles grow up, without waiting for any man to\ncultivate them by human learning.\n\n5:8. And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles, in the midst\nof many peoples, as a lion among the beasts of the forests, and as a\nyoung lion among the flocks of sheep:  who, when he shall go through,\nand tread down, and take there is none to deliver.\n\nAs a lion, etc. . .This denotes the fortitude of these first preachers;\nand their success in their spiritual enterprises.\n\n5:9. Thy hand shall be lifted up over thy enemies, and all thy enemies\nshall be cut off.\n\n5:10. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that I\nwill take away thy horses out of the midst of thee, and will destroy\nthy chariots.\n\nI will take away thy horses, etc. . .Some understand this, and all that\nfollows to the end of the chapter, as addressed to the enemies of the\nchurch.  But it may as well be understood of the converts to the church:\nwho should no longer put their trust in any of these things.\n\n5:11. And I will destroy the cities of thy land, and will throw down\nall thy strong holds, and I will take away sorceries out of thy hand,\nand there shall be no divinations in thee.\n\n5:12. And I will destroy thy graven things, and thy statues, out of the\nmidst of thee:  and thou shalt no more adore the works of thy hands.\n\n5:13. And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee:  and will\ncrush thy cities.\n\n5:14. And I will execute vengeance in wrath, and in indignation, among\nall the nations that have not given ear.\n\n\n\nMicheas Chapter 6\n\n\nGod expostulates with the Jews for their ingratitude and sins:  for\nwhich they shall be punished.\n\n6:1. Hear ye what the Lord saith:  Arise, contend thou in judgment\nagainst the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice.\n\nThe mountains, etc. . .That is, the great ones, the princes of the\npeople.\n\n6:2. Let the mountains hear the judgment of the Lord, and the strong\nfoundations of the earth:  for the Lord will enter into judgment with\nhis people, and he will plead against Israel.\n\n6:3. O my people, what have I done to thee, or in what have I molested\nthee?  answer thou me.\n\n6:4. For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and delivered thee\nout of the house of slaves:  and I sent before thy face Moses, and\nAaron, and Mary.\n\n6:5. O my people, remember, I pray thee, what Balach, the king of Moab,\npurposed:  and what Balaam, the son of Beor, answered him, from Setim to\nGalgal, that thou mightest know the justice of the Lord.\n\nFrom Setim to Galgal. . .He puts them in mind of the favour he did them,\nin not suffering them to be quite destroyed by the evil purpose of\nBalach, and the wicked counsel of Balaam:  and then gives them a hint of\nthe wonders he wrought, in order to bring them into the land of\nPromise, by stopping the course of the Jordan, in their march from\nSetim to Galgal.\n\n6:6. What shall I offer to the Lord that is worthy?  wherewith shall I\nkneel before the high God?  shall I offer holocausts unto him, and\ncalves of a year old?\n\nWhat shall I offer, etc. . .This is spoken in the person of the people,\ndesiring to be informed what they are to do to please God.\n\n6:7. May the Lord be appeased with thousands of rams, or with many\nthousands of fat he goats?  shall I give my firstborn for my wickedness,\nthe fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?\n\n6:8. I will shew thee, O man, what is good, and what the Lord requireth\nof thee:  Verily to do judgment, and to love mercy, and to walk\nsolicitous with thy God.\n\n6:9. The voice of the Lord crieth to the city, and salvation shall be\nto them that fear thy name:  hear O ye tribes, and who shall approve it?\n\n6:10. As yet there is a fire in the house of the wicked, the treasures\nof iniquity, and a scant measure full of wrath.\n\nFull of wrath, etc. . .That is, highly provoking in the sight of God.\n\n6:11. Shall I justify wicked balances, and the deceitful weights of the\nbag?\n\n6:12. By which her rich men were filled with iniquity, and the\ninhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue was deceitful in\ntheir mouth.\n\n6:13. And I therefore began to strike thee with desolation for thy\nsins.\n\n6:14. Thou shalt eat, but shalt not be filled:  and thy humiliation\nshall be in the midst of thee:  and thou shalt take hold, but shalt not\nsave:  and those whom thou shalt save, I will give up to the sword.\n\n6:15. Thou shalt sow, but shalt not reap:  thou shalt tread the olives,\nbut shalt not be anointed with oil:  and the new wine, but shalt not\ndrink the wine.\n\n6:16. For thou hast kept the statutes of Amri, and all the works of the\nhouse of Achab:  and thou hast walked according their wills, that I\nshould make thee a desolation, and the inhabitants thereof a hissing,\nand you shall bear the reproach of my people.\n\nThe statutes of Amri, etc. . .The wicked ways of Amri and Achab,\nidolatrous kings.\n\n\n\nMicheas Chapter 7\n\n\nThe prophet laments, that notwithstanding all his preaching, the\ngenerality are still corrupt in their manners:  therefore their\ndesolation is at hand:  but they shall be restored again and prosper;\nand all mankind shall be redeemed by Christ.\n\n7:1. Woe is me, for I am become as one that gleaneth in autumn the\ngrapes of the vintage:  there is no cluster to eat, my soul desired the\nfirst ripe figs.\n\n7:2. The holy man is perished out of the earth, and there is none\nupright among men:  they all lie in wait for blood, every one hunteth\nhis brother to death.\n\n7:3. The evil of their hands they call good:  the prince requireth, and\nthe judge is for giving:  and the great man hath uttered the desire of\nhis soul, and they have troubled it.\n\n7:4. He that is best among them, is as a brier, and he that is\nrighteous, as the thorn of the hedge.  The day of thy inspection, thy\nvisitation cometh:  now shall be their destruction.\n\n7:5. Believe not a friend, and trust not in a prince:  keep the doors of\nthy mouth from her that sleepeth in thy bosom.\n\n7:6. For the son dishonoureth the father, and the daughter riseth up\nagainst her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law:  and\na man's enemies are they of his own household.\n\n7:7. But I will look towards the Lord, I will wait for God, my saviour:\nmy God will hear me.\n\n7:8. Rejoice not, thou my enemy, over me, because I am fallen:  I shall\narise, when I sit in darkness, the Lord is my light.\n\n7:9. I will bear the wrath of the Lord, because I have sinned against\nhim:  until he judge my cause, and execute judgement for me:  he will\nbring me forth into the light, I shall behold his justice.\n\n7:10. And my enemy shall behold, and she shall be covered with shame,\nwho saith to me:  Where is the Lord thy God?  my eyes shall look down\nupon her:  now shall she be trodden under foot as the mire of the\nstreets.\n\nShe shall be covered, etc. . .Viz., Babylon my enemy.\n\n7:11. The day shall come, that thy walls may be built up:  in that day\nshall the law be far removed.\n\nThe law. . .Viz., of thy enemies, who have tyrannized over thee.\n\n7:12. In that day they shall come even from Assyria to thee, and to the\nfortified cities:  and from the fortified cities even to the river, and\nfrom sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain.\n\n7:13. And the land shall be made desolate because of the inhabitants\nthereof, and for the fruit of their devices.\n\nThe land, etc. . .Viz., of Babylon.\n\n7:14. Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thy inheritance, them\nthat dwell alone in the forest, in the midst of Carmel:  they shall feed\nin Basan and Galaad, according to the days of old.\n\n7:15. According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt, I\nwill shew him wonders.\n\n7:16. The nations shall see, and shall be confounded at all their\nstrength:  they shall put the hand upon the mouth, their ears shall be\ndeaf.\n\n7:17. They shall lick the dust like serpents, as the creeping things of\nthe earth, they shall be disturbed in their houses:  they shall dread\nthe Lord, our God, and shall fear thee.\n\n7:18. Who is a God like to thee, who takest away iniquity, and passest\nby the sin of the remnant of thy inheritance?  he will send his fury in\nno more, because he delighteth in mercy.\n\n7:19. He will turn again, and have mercy on us:  he will put away our\niniquities:  and he will cast all our sins into the bottom of the sea.\n\n7:20. Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, the mercy to Abraham:  which\nthou hast sworn to our fathers from the days of old.\n\n\n\n\nTHE PROPHECY OF NAHUM\n\n\n\nNAHUM, whose name signifies A COMFORTER, was a native of Elcese, or\nElcesai, supposed to be a little town in Galilee.  He prophesied, after\nthe ten tribes were carried into captivity, and foretold the utter\ndestruction of Ninive, by the Babylonians and Medes:  which happened in\nthe reign of JOSIAS.\n\n\n\nNahum Chapter 1\n\n\nThe majesty of God, his goodness to his people, and severity to his\nenemies.\n\n1:1. The burden of Ninive.  The book of the vision of Nahum, the\nElcesite.\n\n1:2. The Lord is a jealous God, and a revenger:  the Lord is a revenger,\nand hath wrath:  the Lord taketh vengeance on his adversaries, and he is\nangry with his enemies.\n\n1:3. The Lord is patient, and great in power, and will not cleanse and\nacquit the guilty.  The Lord's ways are in a tempest, and a whirlwind,\nand clouds are the dust of his feet.\n\n1:4. He rebuketh the sea and drieth it up:  and bringeth all the rivers\nto be a desert.  Basan languisheth and Carmel:  and the flower of Libanus\nfadeth away.\n\n1:5. The mountains tremble at him, and the hills are made desolate:  and\nthe earth hath quaked at his presence, and the world, and all that\ndwell therein.\n\n1:6. Who can stand before the face of his indignation?  and who shall\nresist in the fierceness of his anger?  his indignation is poured out\nlike fire:  and the rocks are melted by him.\n\n1:7. The Lord is good, and giveth strength in the day of trouble:  and\nknoweth them that hope in him.\n\n1:8. But with a flood that passeth by, he will make an utter end of the\nplace thereof:  and darkness shall pursue his enemies.\n\nOf the place thereof. . .Viz., of Ninive.\n\n1:9. What do ye devise against the Lord?  he will make an utter end:\nthere shall not rise a double affliction.\n\n1:10. For as thorns embrace one another:  so while they are feasting and\ndrinking together, they shall be consumed as stubble that is fully dry.\n\n1:11. Out of thee shall come forth one that imagineth evil against the\nLord, contriving treachery in his mind.\n\nShall come forth one, etc. . .Some understand this of Sennacherib.  But\nas his attempt against the people seems to have been prior to the\nprophecy of Nahum, we may better understand it of Holofernes.\n\n1:12. Thus saith the Lord:  Though they were perfect:  and many of them\nso, yet thus shall they be cut off, and he shall pass:  I have afflicted\nthee, and I will afflict thee no more.\n\nThough they were perfect, etc. . .That is, however strong or numerous\ntheir forces may be, they shall be cut off; and their prince or leader\nshall pass away and disappear.\n\n1:13. And now I will break in pieces his rod with which he struck thy\nback, and I will burst thy bonds asunder.\n\n1:14. And the Lord will give a commandment concerning thee, that no\nmore of thy name shall be sown:  I will destroy the graven and molten\nthing out of the house of thy God, I will make it thy grave, for thou\nart disgraced.\n\nWill give a commandment. . .That is, a decree, concerning thee, O king\nof Ninive, thy seed shall fail, etc.\n\n1:15. Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good\ntidings, and that preacheth peace:  O Juda, keep thy festivals, and pay\nthy vows:  for Belial shall no more pass through thee again, he is\nutterly cut off.\n\nBelial. . .The wicked one, viz., the Assyrian.\n\n\n\nNahum Chapter 2\n\n\nGod sends his armies against Ninive to destroy it.\n\n2:1. He is come up that shall destroy before thy face, that shall keep\nthe siege:  watch the way, fortify thy loins, strengthen thy power\nexceedingly.\n\n2:2. For the Lord hath rendered the pride of Jacob, as the pride of\nIsrael:  because the spoilers have laid them waste, and have marred\ntheir vine branches.\n\nHath rendered the pride of Jacob, etc. . .He hath punished Jacob for his\npride; and therefore Ninive must not expect to escape.  Or else,\nrendering the pride of Jacob means rewarding, that is, punishing Ninive\nfor the pride they exercised against Jacob.\n\n2:3. The shield of his mighty men is like fire, the men of the army are\nclad in scarlet, the reins of the chariot are flaming in the day of his\npreparation, and the drivers are stupefied.\n\nOf his mighty men, etc. . .He speaks of the Chaldeans and Medes sent to\ndestroy Ninive.--Ibid.  Stupefied. . .consopiti.  That is, they drive on\nfuriously like men intoxicated with wine.\n\n2:4. They are in confusion in the ways, the chariots jostle one against\nanother in the streets:  their looks are like torches, like lightning\nrunning to and fro.\n\n2:5. He will muster up his valiant men, they shall stumble in their\nmarch:  they shall quickly get upon the walls thereof:  and a covering\nshall be prepared.\n\nStumble in their march. . .By running hastily on.\n\n2:6. The gates of the rivers are opened, and the temple is thrown down\nto the ground.\n\n2:7. And the soldier is led away captive:  and her bondwomen were led\naway mourning as doves, murmuring in their hearts.\n\n2:8. And as for Ninive, her waters are like a great pool:  but the men\nflee away.  They cry:  Stand, stand, but there is none that will return\nback.\n\n2:9. Take ye the spoil of the silver, take the spoil of the gold:  for\nthere is no end of the riches of all the precious furniture.\n\n2:10. She is destroyed, and rent, and torn:  the heart melteth, and the\nknees fail, and all the loins lose their strength:  and the faces of\nthem all are as the blackness of a kettle.\n\n2:11. Where is now the dwelling of the lions, and the feeding place of\nthe young lions, to which the lion went, to enter in thither, the young\nlion, and there was none to make them afraid?\n\n2:12. The lion caught enough for his whelps, and killed for his\nlionesses:  and he filled his holes with prey, and his den with rapine.\n\n2:13. Behold I come against thee, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will\nburn thy chariots even to smoke, and the sword shall devour thy young\nlions:  and I will cut off thy prey out of the land, and the voice of\nthy messengers shall be heard no more.\n\n\n\nNahum Chapter 3\n\n\nThe miserable destruction of Ninive.\n\n3:1. Woe to thee, O city of blood, all full of lies and violence:\nrapine shall not depart from thee.\n\n3:2. The noise of the whip, and the noise of the rattling of the\nwheels, and of the neighing horse; and of the running chariot, and of\nthe horsemen coming up,\n\n3:3. And of the shining sword, and of the glittering spear, and of a\nmultitude slain, and of a grievous destruction:  and there is no end of\ncarcasses, and they shall fall down on their dead bodies.\n\n3:4. Because of the multitude of the fornications of the harlot that\nwas beautiful and agreeable, and that made use of witchcraft, that sold\nnations through her fornications, and families through her witchcrafts.\n\n3:5. Behold I come against thee, saith the Lord of hosts:  and I will\ndiscover thy shame to thy face, and will shew thy nakedness to the\nnations, and thy shame to kingdoms.\n\n3:6. And I will cast abominations upon thee, and will disgrace thee,\nand will make an example of thee.\n\n3:7. And it shall come to pass that every one that shall see thee,\nshall flee from thee, and shall say:  Ninive is laid waste:  who shall\nbemoan thee?  whence shall I seek a comforter for thee?\n\n3:8. Art thou better than the populous Alexandria, that dwelleth among\nthe rivers?  waters are round about it:  the sea is its riches:  the\nwaters are its walls.\n\nPopulous Alexandria. . .No-Ammon.  A populous city of Egypt destroyed by\nthe Chaldeans, and afterwards rebuilt by Alexander, and called\nAlexandria.  Others suppose No-Ammon to be the same as Diospolis.\n\n3:9. Ethiopia and Egypt were the strength thereof, and there is no end:\nAfrica and the Libyans were thy helpers.\n\n3:10. Yet she also was removed and carried into captivity:  her young\nchildren were dashed in pieces at the top of every street, and they\ncast lots upon her nobles, and all her great men were bound in fetters.\n\n3:11. Therefore thou also shalt be made drunk, and shalt be despised:\nand thou shalt seek help from the enemies.\n\n3:12. All thy strong holds shall be like fig trees with their green\nfigs:  if they be shaken, they shall fall into the mouth of the eater.\n\n3:13. Behold thy people in the midst of thee are women:  the gates of\nthy land shall be set wide open to thy enemies, the fire shall devour\nthy bars.\n\n3:14. Draw thee water for the siege, build up thy bulwarks:  go into the\nclay, and tread, work it and make brick.\n\n3:15. There shall the fire devour thee:  thou shalt perish by the sword,\nit shall devour thee like the bruchus:  assemble together like the\nbruchus, make thyself many like the locust.\n\n3:16. Thou hast multiplied thy merchandises above the stars of heaven:\nthe bruchus hath spread himself and flown away.\n\n3:17. Thy guards are like the locusts:  and thy little ones like the\nlocusts of locusts which swarm on the hedges in the day of cold:  the\nsun arose, and they flew away, and their place was not known where they\nwere.\n\nLocusts of locusts. . .The young locusts.\n\n3:18. Thy shepherds have slumbered, O king of Assyria, thy princes\nshall be buried:  thy people are hid in the mountains, and there is none\nto gather them.\n\n3:19. Thy destruction is not hidden, thy wound is grievous:  all that\nhave heard the fame of thee, have clapped their hands over thee:  for\nupon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?\n\n\n\n\nTHE PROPHECY OF HABACUC\n\n\n\nHABACUC was a native of Bezocher, and prophesied in JUDA, some time\nbefore the invasion of the CHALDEANS, which he foretold.  He lived to\nsee this prophecy fulfilled, and for many years after, according to the\ngeneral opinion, which supposes him to be the same that was brought by\nthe ANGEL to DANIEL in BABYLON, Dan. 14.\n\n\n\nHabacuc Chapter 1\n\n\nThe prophet complains of the wickedness of the people:  God reveals to\nhim the vengeance he is going to take of them by the Chaldeans.\n\n1:1. The burden that Habacuc the prophet saw.\n\nBurden. . .Such prophecies more especially are called burdens, as\nthreaten grievous evils and punishments.\n\n1:2. How long, O Lord, shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear?  shall I cry\nout to thee suffering violence, and thou wilt not save?\n\n1:3. Why hast thou shewn me iniquity and grievance, to see rapine and\ninjustice before me?  and there is a judgment, but opposition is more\npowerful.\n\n1:4. Therefore the law is torn in pieces, and judgment cometh not to\nthe end:  because the wicked prevaileth against the just, therefore\nwrong judgment goeth forth.\n\n1:5. Behold ye among the nations, and see:  wonder, and be astonished:\nfor a work is done in your days, which no man will believe when it\nshall be told.\n\n1:6. For behold, I will raise up the Chaldeans, a bitter and swift\nnation, marching upon the breadth of the earth, to possess the dwelling\nplaces that are not their own.\n\n1:7. They are dreadful, and terrible:  from themselves shall their\njudgment, and their burden proceed.\n\n1:8. Their horses are lighter than leopards, and swifter than evening\nwolves; and their horsemen shall be spread abroad:  for their horsemen\nshall come from afar, they shall fly as an eagle that maketh haste to\neat.\n\n1:9. They shall all come to the prey, their face is like a burning\nwind:  and they shall gather together captives as the sand.\n\n1:10. And their prince shall triumph over kings, and princes shall be\nhis laughingstock:  and he shall laugh at every strong hold, and shall\ncast up a mount, and shall take it.\n\n1:11. Then shall his spirit be changed, and he shall pass, and fall:\nthis is his strength of his god.\n\nThen shall his spirit, etc. . .Viz., the spirit of the king of Babylon.\nIt alludes to the judgment of God upon Nabuchodonosor, recorded Dan.\n4., and to the speedy fall of the Chaldean empire.\n\n1:12. Wast thou not from the beginning, O Lord my God, my holy one, and\nwe shall not die?  Lord, thou hast appointed him for judgment:  and made\nhim strong for correction.\n\n1:13. Thy eyes are too pure to behold evil, and thou canst not look on\niniquity.  Why lookest thou upon them that do unjust things, and holdest\nthy peace when the wicked devoureth the man that is more just than\nhimself?\n\n1:14. And thou wilt make men as the fishes of the sea, and as the\ncreeping things that have no ruler.\n\n1:15. He lifted up all them with his hook, he drew them in his drag,\nand gathered them into his net:  for this he will be glad and rejoice.\n\n1:16. Therefore will he offer victims to his drag, and he will\nsacrifice to his net:  because through them his portion is made fat, and\nhis meat dainty.\n\n1:17. For this cause therefore he spreadeth his net, and will not spare\ncontinually to slay the nations.\n\n\n\nHabacuc Chapter 2\n\n\nThe prophet is admonished to wait with faith.  The enemies of God's\npeople shall assuredly be punished.\n\n2:1. I will stand upon my watch, and fix my foot upon the tower:  and I\nwill watch, to see what will be said to me, and what I may answer to\nhim that reproveth me.\n\nWill stand, etc. . .Waiting to see what the Lord will answer to my\ncomplaint, viz., that the Chaldeans, who are worse than the Jews, and\nwho attribute all their success to their own strength, or to their\nidols, should nevertheless prevail over the people of the Lord.  The\nLord's answer is, that the prophet must wait with patience and faith:\nthat all should be set right in due time; and the enemies of God and\nhis people punished according to their deserts.\n\n2:2. And the Lord answered me, and said:  Write the vision, and make it\nplain upon tables:  that he that readeth it may run over it.\n\n2:3. For as yet the vision is far off, and it shall appear at the end,\nand shall not lie:  if it make any delay, wait for it:  for it shall\nsurely come, and it shall not be slack.\n\n2:4. Behold, he that is unbelieving, his soul shall not be right in\nhimself:  but the just shall live in his faith.\n\n2:5. And as wine deceiveth him that drinketh it:  so shall the proud man\nbe, and he shall not be honoured:  who hath enlarged his desire like\nhell:  and is himself like death, and he is never satisfied:  but will\ngather together unto him all nations, and heap together unto him all\npeople.\n\nAs wine deceiveth, etc. . .Viz., by affording only a short passing\npleasure; followed by the evils and disgrace that are the usual\nconsequences of drunkenness; so shall it be with the proud enemies of\nthe people of God; whose success affordeth them only a momentary\npleasure, followed by innumerable and everlasting evils.\n\n2:6. Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a dark\nspeech concerning him:  and it shall be said:  Woe to him that heapeth\ntogether that which is not his own?  how long also doth he load himself\nwith thick clay?\n\nThick clay. . .Ill-gotten goods, that, like mire, both burden and defile\nthe soul.\n\n2:7. Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee:  and they be\nstirred up that shall tear thee, and thou shalt be a spoil to them?\n\n2:8. Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all that shall be left of\nthe people shall spoil thee:  because of men's blood, and for the\niniquity of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.\n\n2:9. Woe to him that gathereth together an evil covetousness to his\nhouse, that his nest may be on high, and thinketh he may be delivered\nout of the hand of evil.\n\n2:10. Thou hast devised confusion to thy house, thou hast cut off many\npeople, and thy soul hath sinned.\n\n2:11. For the stone shall cry out of the wall:  and the timber that is\nbetween the joints of the building, shall answer.\n\n2:12. Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and prepareth a city\nby iniquity.\n\n2:13. Are not these things from the Lord of hosts?  for the people shall\nlabour in a great fire:  and the nations in vain, and they shall faint.\n\nAre not these things, etc. . .That is, shall not these punishments that\nare here recorded, come from the Lord upon him that is guilty of such\ncrimes.--Ibid.  The people shall labour, etc. . .Viz., the enemies of\nGod's people.\n\n2:14. For the earth shall be filled, that men may know the glory of the\nLord, as waters covering the sea.\n\n2:15. Woe to him that giveth drink to his friend, and presenteth his\ngall, and maketh him drunk, that he may behold his nakedness.\n\n2:16. Thou art filled with shame instead of glory:  drink thou also, and\nfall fast asleep:  the cup of the right hand of the Lord shall compass\nthee, and shameful vomiting shall be on thy glory.\n\n2:17. For the iniquity of Libanus shall cover thee, and the ravaging of\nbeasts shall terrify them because of the blood of men, and the iniquity\nof the land, and of the city, and of all that dwell therein.\n\nThe iniquity of Libanus. . .That is, the iniquity committed by the\nChaldeans against the temple of God, signified here by the name of\nLibanus.\n\n2:18. What doth the graven thing avail, because the maker thereof hath\ngraven it, a molten, and a false image?  because the forger thereof hath\ntrusted in a thing of his own forging, to make dumb idols.\n\n2:19. Woe to him that saith to wood:  Awake:  to the dumb stone:  Arise:\ncan it teach?  Behold, it is laid over with gold, and silver, and there\nis no spirit in the bowels thereof.\n\n2:20. But the Lord is in his holy temple:  let all the earth keep\nsilence before him.\n\n\n\nHabacuc Chapter 3\n\n\n3:1. A PRAYER OF HABACUC THE PROPHET FOR IGNORANCES.\n\nFor ignorances. . .That is, for the sins of his people.  In the Hebrew,\nit is Sigionoth:  which some take to signify a musical instrument, or\ntune; with which this sublime prayer and canticle was to be sung.\n\n3:2. O Lord, I have heard thy hearing, and was afraid.  O Lord, thy\nwork, in the midst of the years bring it to life:  In the midst of the\nyears thou shalt make it known:  when thou art angry, thou wilt remember\nmercy.\n\nThy hearing, etc. . .That is, thy oracles, the great and wonderful\nthings thou hast revealed to me; and I was struck with a reverential\nfear and awe.--Ibid.  Thy work. . .The great work of the redemption of\nman, which thou wilt bring to life and light in the midst of the years,\nwhen our calamities and miseries shall be at their height.\n\n3:3. God will come from the south, and the holy one from mount Pharan:\nHis glory covered the heavens, and the earth is full of his praise.\n\nGod will come from the south, etc. . .God himself will come to give us\nhis law, and to conduct us into the true land of promise:  as heretofore\nhe came from the South (in the Hebrew Theman) and from mount Pharan to\ngive his law to his people in the desert.  See Deut. 33.2.\n\n3:4. His brightness shall be as the light:  horns are in his hands:\nThere is his strength hid:\n\nHorns, etc. . .That is, strength and power, which, by a Hebrew phrase,\nare called horns.  Or beams of light, which come forth from his hands.\nOr it may allude to the cross, in the horns of which the hands of\nChrist were fastened, where his strength was hidden, by which he\novercame the world, and drove out death and the devil.\n\n3:5. Death shall go before his face.  And the devil shall go forth\nbefore his feet.\n\nDeath shall go before his face, etc. . .Both death and the devil shall\nbe the executioners of his justice against his enemies:  as they were\nheretofore against the Egyptians and Chanaanites.\n\n3:6. He stood and measured the earth.  He beheld, and melted the\nnations:  and the ancient mountains were crushed to pieces.  The hills of\nthe world were bowed down by the journeys of his eternity.\n\nHe beheld, etc. . .One look of his eye is enough to melt all the\nnations, and to reduce them to nothing.  For all heaven and earth\ndisappear when they come before his light.  Apoc. 20.11.  Ibid.  The\nancient mountains, etc. . .By the mountains and hills are signified the\ngreat ones of the world, that persecute the church, whose power was\nquickly crushed by the Almighty.\n\n3:7. I saw the tents of Ethiopia for their iniquity, the curtains of\nthe land of Madian shall be troubled.\n\nEthiopia. . .the land of the Blacks, and Madian, are here taken for the\nenemies of God and his people:  who shall perish for their iniquity.\n\n3:8. Wast thou angry, O Lord, with the rivers?  or was thy wrath upon\nthe rivers?  or thy indignation in the sea?  Who will ride upon thy\nhorses:  and thy chariots are salvation.\n\nWith the rivers, etc. . .He alludes to the wonders wrought heretofore by\nthe Lord in favour of his people Israel, when the waters of the rivers,\nviz., of Arnon and Jordan, and of the Red Sea, retired before their\nface:  when he came as it were with his horses and chariots to save them\nwhen he took up his bow for their defence, in consequence of the oath\nhe had made to their tribes:  when the mountains trembled, and the deep\nstood with its waves raised up in a heap, as with hands lifted up to\nheaven:  when the sun and the moon stood still at his command, etc., to\ncomply with his anger, not against the rivers and sea, but against the\nenemies of his people.  How much more will he do in favour of his Son:\nand against the enemies of his church?\n\n3:9. Thou wilt surely take up thy bow:  according to the oaths which\nthou hast spoken to the tribes.  Thou wilt divide the rivers of the\nearth.\n\n3:10. The mountains saw thee, and were grieved:  the great body of\nwaters passed away.  The deep put forth its voice:  the deep lifted up\nits hands.\n\n3:11. The sun and the moon stood still in their habitation, in the\nlight of thy arrows, they shall go in the brightness of thy glittering\nspear.\n\n3:12. In thy anger thou wilt tread the earth under foot:  in thy wrath\nthou wilt astonish the nations.\n\n3:13. Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people:  for salvation\nwith thy Christ.  Thou struckest the head of the house of the wicked:\nthou hast laid bare his foundation even to the neck.\n\nThe head of the house of the wicked. . .Such was Pharao heretofore:  such\nshall Antichrist be hereafter.\n\n3:14. Thou hast cursed his sceptres, the head of his warriors, them\nthat came out as a whirlwind to scatter me.  Their joy was like that of\nhim that devoureth the poor man in secret.\n\n3:15. Thou madest a way in the sea for thy horses, in the mud of many\nwaters.\n\nThou madest a way in the sea, etc. . .To deliver thy people from the\nEgyptian bondage:  and thou shalt work the like wonders in the spiritual\nway, to rescue the children of the church from their enemies.\n\n3:16. I have heard and my bowels were troubled:  my lips trembled at the\nvoice.  Let rottenness enter into my bones, and swarm under me.  That I\nmay rest in the day of tribulation:  that I may go up to our people that\nare girded.\n\nI have heard, etc. . .Viz., the evils that are now coming upon the\nIsraelites for their sins; and that shall come hereafter upon all\nimpenitent sinners; and the foresight that I have of these miseries\nmakes me willing to die, that I may be at rest, before this general\ntribulation comes, in which all good things shall be withdrawn from the\nwicked.--Ibid.  That I may go up to our people, etc. . .That I may join\nthe happy company in the bosom of Abraham, that are girded, that is,\nprepared for their journey, by which they shall attend their Lord, when\nhe shall ascend into heaven.  To which high and happy place, my Jesus,\nthat is, my Saviour, the great conqueror of death and hell, shall one\nday conduct me rejoicing and singing psalms of praise, ver. 18 and 19.\n\n3:17. For the fig tree shall not blossom:  and there shall be no spring\nin the vines.  The labour of the olive tree shall fail:  and the fields\nshall yield no food:  the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and\nthere shall be no herd in the stalls.\n\n3:18. But I will rejoice in the Lord:  and I will joy in God my Jesus.\n\n3:19. The Lord God is my strength:  and he will make my feet like the\nfeet of harts:  and he the conqueror will lead me upon my high places\nsinging psalms.\n\n\n\n\nTHE PROPHECY OF SOPHONIAS\n\n\n\nSOPHONIAS, whose name, saith St. Jerome, signifies The Watchman of the\nLord, or The hidden of the Lord, prophesied in the beginning of the\nreign of Josias.  He was a native of Sarabatha, and of the tribe of\nSimeon, according to the more general opinion.  He prophesied the\npunishments of the Jews, for their idolatry and other crimes; also the\npunishments that were to come on divers nations; the coming of Christ,\nthe conversion of the Gentiles, the blindness of the Jews, and their\nconversion towards the end of the world.\n\n\n\nSophonias Chapter 1\n\n\nFor divers enormous sins, the kingdom of Juda is threatened with severe\njudgment.\n\n1:1. The word of the Lord that came to Sophonias the son of Chusi, the\nson of Godolias, the son of Amarias, the son of Ezechias, in the days\nof Josias, the son of Amon king of Juda.\n\n1:2. Gathering, I will gather together all things from off the face of\nthe land, saith the Lord:\n\nGathering, I will gather, etc. . .That is, I will assuredly take away,\nand wholly consume, either by captivity, or death, both men and beasts\nout of this land.\n\n1:3. I will gather man, and beast, I will gather the birds of the air,\nand the fishes of the sea:  and the ungodly shall meet with ruin:  and I\nwill destroy men from off the face of the land, saith the Lord.\n\n1:4. And I will stretch out my hand upon Juda, and upon all the\ninhabitants of Jerusalem:  and I will destroy out of this place the\nremnant of Baal, and the names of the wardens of the temples with the\npriests:\n\nThe wardens, etc. . .Viz., of the temples of the idols.  AEdituos, in\nHebrew, the Chemarims, that is, such as kindle the fires, or burn\nincense.\n\n1:5. And them that worship the host of heaven upon the tops of houses,\nand them that adore, and swear by the Lord, and swear by Melchom.\n\nMelchom. . .The idol of the Ammonites.\n\n1:6. And them that turn away from following after the Lord, and that\nhave not sought the Lord, nor searched after him.\n\n1:7. Be silent before the face of the Lord God:  for the day of the Lord\nis near, for the Lord hath prepared a victim, he hath sanctified his\nguests.\n\n1:8. And it shall come to pass in the day of the victim of the Lord,\nthat I will visit upon the princes, and upon the king's sons, and upon\nall such as are clothed with strange apparel:\n\n1:9. And I will visit in that day upon every one that entereth\narrogantly over the threshold:  them that fill the house of the Lord\ntheir God with iniquity and deceit.\n\n1:10. And there shall be in that day, saith the Lord, the noise of a\ncry from the fish gate, and a howling from the Second, and a great\ndestruction from the hills.\n\nThe Second. . .A part of the city so called.\n\n1:11. Howl, ye inhabitants of the Morter.  All the people of Chanaan is\nhush, all are cut off that were wrapped up in silver.\n\nThe Morter. . .Maktesh.  A valley in or near Jerusalem.  Ibid.  The\npeople of Chanaan. . .So he calls the Jews, from their following the\nwicked ways of the Chanaanites.\n\n1:12. And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search\nJerusalem with lamps, and will visit upon the men that are settled on\ntheir lees:  that say in their hearts:  The Lord will not do good, nor\nwill he do evil.\n\nSettled on their lees. . .That is, the wealthy, and such as live at\ntheir ease, resting upon their riches, like wine upon the lees.\n\n1:13. And their strength shall become a booty, and their houses as a\ndesert:  and they shall build houses, and shall not dwell in them:  and\nthey shall plant vineyards, and shall not drink the wine of them.\n\n1:14. The great day of the Lord is near, it is near and exceeding\nswift:  the voice of the day of the Lord is bitter, the mighty man shall\nthere meet with tribulation.\n\n1:15. That day is a day of wrath, a day of tribulation and distress, a\nday of calamity and misery, a day of darkness and obscurity, a day of\nclouds and whirlwinds,\n\n1:16. A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and\nagainst the high bulwarks.\n\n1:17. And I will distress men, and they shall walk like blind men,\nbecause they have sinned against the Lord:  and their blood shall be\npoured out as earth, and their bodies as dung.\n\n1:18. Neither shall their silver and their gold be able to deliver them\nin the day of the wrath of the Lord:  all the land shall be devoured by\nthe fire of his jealousy:  for he shall make even a speedy destruction\nof all them that dwell in the land.\n\n\n\nSophonias Chapter 2\n\n\nAn exhortation to repentance.  The judgment of the Philistines, of the\nMoabites, and the Ammonites; of the Ethiopians and the Assyrians.\n\n2:1.Assemble yourselves together, be gathered together, O nation not\nworthy to be loved:\n\n2:2. Before the decree bring forth the day as dust passing away, before\nthe fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the\nLord's indignation come upon you.\n\n2:3. Seek the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, you that have wrought his\njudgment:  seek the just, seek the meek:  if by any means you may be hid\nin the day of the Lord's indignation.\n\n2:4. For Gaza shall be destroyed, and Ascalon shall be a desert, they\nshall cast out Azotus at noonday, and Accaron shall be rooted up.\n\n2:5. Woe to you that inhabit the sea coast, O nation of reprobates:  the\nword of the Lord upon you, O Chanaan, the land of the Philistines, and\nI will destroy thee, so that there shall not be an inhabitant.\n\n2:6. And the sea coast shall be the resting place of shepherds, and\nfolds for cattle:\n\n2:7. And it shall be the portion of him that shall remain of the house\nof Juda, there they shall feed:  in the houses of Ascalon they shall\nrest in the evening:  because the Lord their God will visit them, and\nbring back their captivity.\n\n2:8. I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the blasphemies of the\nchildren of Ammon, with which they reproached my people, and have\nmagnified themselves upon their borders.\n\n2:9. Therefore as I live, saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel,\nMoab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrha, the\ndryness of thorns, and heaps of salt, and a desert even for ever:  the\nremnant of my people shall make a spoil of them, and the residue of my\nnation shall possess them.\n\n2:10. This shall befall them for their pride:  because they have\nblasphemed, and have been magnified against the people of the Lord of\nhosts.\n\n2:11. The Lord shall be terrible upon them, and shall consume all the\ngods of the earth:  and they shall adore him every man from his own\nplace, all the islands of the Gentiles.\n\n2:12. You Ethiopians, also shall be slain with my sword.\n\n2:13. And he will stretch out his hand upon the north, and will destroy\nAssyria:  and he will make the beautiful city a wilderness, and as a\nplace not passable, and as a desert.\n\nThe beautiful city, viz. . .Ninive, which was destroyed soon after this,\nviz., in the sixteenth year of the reign of Josias.\n\n2:14. And flocks shall lie down in the midst thereof, all the beasts of\nthe nations:  and the bittern and the urchin shall lodge in the\nthreshold thereof:  the voice of the singing bird in the window, the\nraven on the upper post, for I will consume her strength.\n\n2:15. This is the glorious city that dwelt in security:  that said in\nher heart:  I am, and there is none beside me:  how is she become a\ndesert, a place for beasts to lie down in?  every one that passeth by\nher shall hiss, and wag his hand.\n\n\n\nSophonias Chapter 3\n\n\nA woe to Jerusalem for her sins.  A prophecy of the conversion of the\nGentiles, and of the poor of Israel:  God shall be with them.  The Jews\nshall be converted at last.\n\n3:1. Woe to the provoking and redeemed city, the dove.\n\n3:2. She hath not hearkened to the voice, neither hath she received\ndiscipline:  she hath not trusted in the Lord, she drew not near to her\nGod.\n\n3:3. Her princes are in the midst of her as roaring lions:  her judges\nare evening wolves, they left nothing for the morning.\n\n3:4. Her prophets are senseless, men without faith:  her priests have\npolluted the sanctuary, they have acted unjustly against the law.\n\n3:5. The just Lord is in the midst thereof, he will not do iniquity:  in\nthe morning, in the morning he will bring his judgment to light, and it\nshall not be hid:  but the wicked man hath not known shame.\n\n3:6. I have destroyed the nations, and their towers are beaten down:  I\nhave made their ways desert, so that there is none that passeth by:\ntheir cities are desolate, there is not a man remaining, nor any\ninhabitant.\n\n3:7. I said:  Surely thou wilt fear me, thou wilt receive correction:\nand her dwelling shall not perish, for all things wherein I have\nvisited her:  but they rose early, and corrupted all their thoughts.\n\n3:8. Wherefore expect me, saith the Lord, in the day of my resurrection\nthat is to come, for my judgment is to assemble the Gentiles, and to\ngather the kingdoms:  and to pour upon them my indignation, all my\nfierce anger:  for with the fire of my jealousy shall all the earth be\ndevoured.\n\n3:9. Because then I will restore to the people a chosen lip, that all\nmay call upon the name of the Lord, and may serve him with one\nshoulder.\n\n3:10. From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, shall my suppliants, the\nchildren of my dispersed people, bring me an offering.\n\n3:11. In that day thou shalt not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein\nthou hast transgressed against me for then I will take away out of the\nmidst of thee thy proud boasters, and thou shalt no more be lifted up\nbecause of my holy mountain.\n\n3:12. And I will leave in the midst of thee a poor and needy people:\nand they shall hope in the name of the Lord.\n\n3:13. The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies, nor\nshall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth:  for they shall feed,\nand shall lie down, and there shall be none to make them afraid.\n\n3:14. Give praise, O daughter of Sion:  shout, O Israel:  be glad, and\nrejoice with all thy heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.\n\n3:15. The Lord hath taken away thy judgment, he hath turned away thy\nenemies:  the king of Israel, the Lord, is in the midst of thee, thou\nshalt fear evil no more.\n\n3:16. In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:  Fear not:  to Sion:\nLet not thy hands be weakened.\n\n3:17. The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty, he will save:  he\nwill rejoice over thee with gladness, he will be silent in his love, he\nwill be joyful over thee in praise.\n\n3:18. The triflers that were departed from the law, I will gather\ntogether, because they were of thee:  that thou mayest no more suffer\nreproach for them.\n\n3:19. Behold I will cut off all that have afflicted thee at that time:\nand I will save her that halteth, and will gather her that was cast\nout:  and I will get them praise, and a name, in all the land where they\nhad been put to confusion.\n\n3:20. At that time, when I will bring you:  and at the time that I will\ngather you:  for I will give you a name, and praise among all the people\nof the earth, when I shall have brought back your captivity before your\neyes, saith the Lord.\n\n\n\n\nTHE PROPHECY OF AGGEUS\n\n\n\nAGGEUS was one of those that returned from the captivity of Babylon, in\nthe first year of the reign of king Cyrus.  He was sent by the Lord, in\nthe second year of the reign of king Darius, the son of Hystaspes, to\nexhort Zorobabel the prince of Juda, and Jesus the high priest, to the\nbuilding of the temple; which they had begun, but left off again\nthrough the opposition of the Samaritans.  In consequence of this\nexhortation they proceeded in the building and finished the temple.  And\nthe prophet was commissioned by the Lord to assure them that this\nsecond temple should be more glorious than the former, because the\nMessiah should honour it with his presence:  signifying withal how much\nthe church of the New Testament should excel that of the Old Testament.\n\n\n\nAggeus Chapter 1\n\n\nThe people are reproved for neglecting to build the temple.  They are\nencouraged to set about the work.\n\n1:1. In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the\nfirst day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Aggeus\nthe prophet, to Zorobabel the son of Salathiel, governor of Juda, and\nto Jesus the son of Josedec the high priest, saying:\n\n1:2. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, saying:  This people saith:  The time\nis not yet come for building the house of the Lord.\n\n1:3. And the word of the Lord came by the hand of Aggeus the prophet,\nsaying:\n\n1:4. Is it time for you to dwell in ceiled houses, and this house lie\ndesolate?\n\n1:5. And now thus saith the Lord of hosts:  Set your hearts to consider\nyour ways.\n\n1:6. You have sowed much, and brought in little:  you have eaten, but\nhave not had enough:  you have drunk, but have not been filled with\ndrink:  you have clothed yourselves, but have not been warmed:  and he\nthat hath earned wages, put them into a bag with holes.\n\n1:7. Thus saith the Lord of hosts:  Set your hearts upon your ways:\n\n1:8. Go up to the mountain, bring timber, and build the house:  and it\nshall be acceptable to me, and I shall be glorified, saith the Lord.\n\n1:9. You have looked for more, and behold it became less, and you\nbrought it home, and I blowed it away:  why, saith the Lord of hosts?\nbecause my house is desolate, and you make haste every man to his own\nhouse.\n\n1:10. Therefore the heavens over you were stayed from giving dew, and\nthe earth was hindered from yielding her fruits:\n\n1:11. And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains,\nand upon the corn, and upon the wine, and upon the oil, and upon all\nthat the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon beasts, and upon\nall the labour of the hands.\n\n1:12. Then Zorobabel the son of Salathiel, and Jesus the son of Josedec\nthe high priest, and all the remnant of the people hearkened to the\nvoice of the Lord their God, and to the words of Aggeus the prophet, as\nthe Lord their God sent him to them:  and the people feared before the\nLord.\n\n1:13. And Aggeus the messenger of the Lord, as one of the messengers of\nthe Lord, spoke, saying to the people:  I am with you, saith the Lord.\n\n1:14. And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zorobabel the son of\nSalathiel governor of Juda, and the spirit of Jesus the son of Josedec\nthe high priest, and the spirit of all the rest of the people:  and they\nwent in, and did the work in the house of the Lord of Hosts their God.\n\n\n\nAggeus Chapter 2\n\n\nChrist by his coming shall make the latter temple more glorious than\nthe former.  The blessing of God shall reward their labour in building.\nGod's promise to Zorobabel.\n\n2:1. In the four and twentieth day of the month, in the sixth month, in\nthe second year of Darius the king, they began.\n\n2:2. And in the seventh month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of\nAggeus the prophet, saying:\n\n2:3. Speak to Zorobabel the son of Salathiel the governor of Juda, and\nto Jesus the son of Josedec the high priest, and to the rest of the\npeople, saying:\n\n2:4. Who is left among you, that saw this house in its first glory?  and\nhow do you see it now?  is it not in comparison to that as nothing in\nyour eyes?\n\n2:5. Yet now take courage, O Zorobabel, saith the Lord, and take\ncourage, Jesus the son of Josedec the high priest, and take courage,\nall ye people of the land, saith the Lord of hosts:  and perform (for I\nam with you, saith the Lord of hosts)\n\n2:6. The word that I convenanted with you when you came out of the land\nof Egypt:  and my spirit shall be in the midst of you:  fear not.\n\n2:7. For thus saith the Lord of hosts:  Yet one little while, and I will\nmove the heaven and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land.\n\n2:8. And I will move all nations:  AND THE DESIRED OF ALL NATIONS SHALL\nCOME:  and I will fill this house with glory:  saith the Lord of hosts.\n\n2:9. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts.\n\n2:10. Great shall be the glory of this last house more than of the\nfirst, saith the Lord of hosts:  and in this place I will give peace,\nsaith the Lord of hosts.\n\n2:11. In the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, in the second\nyear of Darius the king, the word of the Lord came to Aggeus the\nprophet, saying:\n\n2:12. Thus saith the Lord of hosts:  Ask the priests the law, saying:\n\n2:13. If a man carry sanctified flesh in the skirt of his garment, and\ntouch with his skirt, bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat:\nshall it be sanctified?  And the priests answered, and said:  No.\n\n2:14. And Aggeus said:  If one that is unclean by occasion of a soul\ntouch any of all these things, shall it be defiled?  And the priests\nanswered, and said:  It shall be defiled.\n\nBy occasion of a soul. . .That is, by having touched the dead; in which\ncase, according to the prescription of the law, Num. 19.13, 22, a\nperson not only became unclean himself, but made every thing that he\ntouched unclean.  The prophet applies all this to the people, whose\nsouls remained unclean by neglecting the temple of God; and therefore\nwere not sanctified by the flesh they offered in sacrifice:  but rather\ndefiled their sacrifices by approaching to them in the state of\nuncleanness.\n\n2:15. And Aggeus answered, and said:  So is this people, and so is this\nnation before my face, saith the Lord, and so is all the work of their\nhands:  and all that they have offered there, shall be defiled.\n\n2:16. And now consider in your hearts, from this day and upward, before\nthere was a stone laid upon a stone in the temple of the Lord.\n\n2:17. When you went to a heap of twenty bushels, and they became ten:\nand you went into the press, to press out fifty vessels, and they\nbecame twenty.\n\n2:18. I struck you with a blasting wind, and all the works of your hand\nwith the mildew and with hail, yet there was none among you that\nreturned to me, saith the Lord.\n\n2:19. Set your hearts from this day, and henceforward, from the four\nand twentieth day of the ninth month:  from the day that the foundations\nof the temple of the Lord were laid, and lay it up in your hearts.\n\n2:20. Is the seed as yet sprung up?  or hath the vine, and the fig tree,\nand the pomegranate, and the olive tree as yet flourished?  from this\nday I will bless you.\n\n2:21. And the word of the Lord came a second time to Aggeus in the four\nand twentieth day of the month, saying:\n\n2:22. Speak to Zorobabel the governor of Juda, saying:  I will move both\nheaven and earth.\n\n2:23. And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and will destroy the\nstrength of the kingdom of the Gentiles:  and I will overthrow the\nchariot, and him that rideth therein:  and the horses and their riders\nshall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.\n\n2:24. In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, I will take thee, O\nZorobabel the son of Salathiel, my servant, saith the Lord, and will\nmake thee as a signet, for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord of hosts.\n\nO Zorobabel. . .This promise principally relates to Christ, who was of\nthe race of Zorobabel.\n\n\n\n\nTHE PROPHECY OF ZACHARIAS\n\n\n\nZACHARIAS began to prophesy in the same year as Aggeus, and upon the\nsame occasion.  His prophecy is full of mysterious figures and promises\nof blessings, partly relating to the synagogue, and partly to the\nchurch of Christ.\n\n\n\nZacharias Chapter 1\n\n\nThe prophet exhorts the people to return to God, and declares his\nvisions, by which he puts them in hopes of better times.\n\n1:1. In the eighth month, in the second year of king Darius, the word\nof the Lord came to Zacharias the son of Barachias, the son of Addo,\nthe prophet, saying:\n\n1:2. The Lord hath been exceeding angry with your fathers.\n\n1:3. And thou shalt say to them:  Thus saith the Lord of hosts:  Turn ye\nto me, saith the Lord of hosts:  and I will turn to you, saith the Lord\nof hosts.\n\n1:4. Be not as your fathers, to whom the former prophets have cried,\nsaying:  Thus saith the Lord of hosts:  Turn ye from your evil ways, and\nfrom your wicked thoughts:  but they did not give ear, neither did they\nhearken to me, saith the Lord.\n\n1:5. Your fathers, where are they?  and the prophets, shall they live\nalways?\n\n1:6. But yet my words, and my ordinances, which I gave in charge to my\nservants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers, and they\nreturned, and said:  As the Lord of hosts thought to do to us according\nto our ways, and according to our devices, so he hath done to us.\n\n1:7. In the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month which is\ncalled Sabath, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came\nto Zacharias the son of Barachias, the son of Addo, the prophet,\nsaying:\n\n1:8. I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he\nstood among the myrtle trees, that were in the bottom:  and behind him\nwere horses, red, speckled, and white.\n\nA man. . .An angel in the shape of a man.  It was probably Michael, the\nguardian angel of the church of God.\n\n1:9. And I said:  What are these, my Lord?  and the angel that spoke in\nme, said to me:  I will shew thee what these are:\n\n1:10. And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered, and said:\nThese are they, whom the Lord hath sent to walk through the earth.\n\nThese are they, etc. . .The guardian angels of provinces and nations.\n\n1:11. And they answered the angel of the Lord, that stood among the\nmyrtle trees, and said:  We have walked through the earth, and behold\nall the earth is inhabited, and is at rest.\n\n1:12. And the angel of the Lord answered, and said:  O Lord of hosts,\nhow long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem, and on the cities of\nJuda, with which thou hast been angry?  this is now the seventieth year.\n\nThe seventieth year. . .Viz., from the beginning of the seige of\nJerusalem, in the ninth year of king Sedecias, to the second year of\nking Darius.  These seventy years of the desolation of Jerusalem and the\ncities of Juda, are different from the seventy years of captivity\nforetold by Jeremias; which began in the fourth year of Joakim, and\nended in the first year of king Cyrus.\n\n1:13. And the Lord answered the angel, that spoke in me, good words,\ncomfortable words.\n\n1:14. And the angel that spoke in me, said to me:  Cry thou, saying:\nThus saith the Lord of hosts:  I am zealous for Jerusalem, and Sion with\na great zeal.\n\n1:15. And I am angry with a great anger with the wealthy nations:  for I\nwas angry a little, but they helped forward the evil.\n\n1:16. Therefore thus saith the Lord:  I will return to Jerusalem in\nmercies:  my house shall be built in it, saith the Lord of hosts:  and\nthe building line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.\n\n1:17. Cry yet, saying:  Thus saith the Lord of hosts:  My cities shall\nyet flow with good things:  and the Lord will yet comfort Sion, and he\nwill yet choose Jerusalem.\n\n1:18. And I lifted up my eyes, and saw:  and behold four horns.\n\nFour horns. . .The four horns represent the empires, or kingdoms, that\npersecute and oppress the kingdom of God.\n\n1:19. And I said to the angel that spoke in me:  What are these?  And he\nsaid to me:  These are the horns that have scattered Juda, and Israel,\nand Jerusalem.\n\n1:20. And the Lord shewed me four smiths.\n\nFour smiths. . .The four smiths, or carpenters ( for faber may signify\neither) represent those whom God makes his instruments in bringing to\nnothing the power of persecutors.\n\n1:21. And I said:  What come these to do?  and he spoke, saying:  These\nare the horns which have scattered Juda every man apart, and none of\nthem lifted up his head:  and these are come to fray them, to cast down\nthe horns of the nations, that have lifted up the horn upon the land of\nJuda to scatter it.\n\n\n\nZacharias Chapter 2\n\n\nUnder the name of Jerusalem, he prophesieth the progress of the church\nof Christ, by the conversion of some Jews and many Gentiles.\n\n2:1. And I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold a man, with a\nmeasuring line in his hand.\n\n2:2. And I said:  Whither goest thou?  and he said to me:  To measure\nJerusalem, and to see how great is the breadth thereof, and how great\nthe length thereof.\n\n2:3. And behold the angel that spoke in me went forth, and another\nangel went out to meet him.\n\n2:4. And he said to him:  Run, speak to this young man, saying:\nJerusalem shall be inhabited without walls, by reason of the multitude\nof men, and of the beasts in the midst thereof.\n\nJerusalem shall be inhabited without walls. . .This must be understood\nof the spiritual Jerusalem, the church of Christ.\n\n2:5. And I will be to it, saith the Lord, a wall of fire round about:\nand I will be in glory in the midst thereof.\n\n2:6. O, O flee ye out of the land of the north, saith the Lord, for I\nhave scattered you into the four winds of heaven, saith the Lord.\n\n2:7. O Sion, flee, thou that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon:\n\n2:8. For thus saith the Lord of hosts:  After the glory he hath sent me\nto the nations that have robbed you:  for he that toucheth you, toucheth\nthe apple of my eye:\n\n2:9. For behold, I lift up my hand upon them, and they shall be a prey\nto those that served them:  and you shall know that the Lord of hosts\nsent me.\n\n2:10. Sing praise, and rejoice, O daughter of Sion:  for behold I come,\nand I will dwell in the midst of thee:  saith the Lord.\n\n2:11. And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and\nthey shall be my people, and I will dwell in the midst of thee:  and\nthou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me to thee.\n\n2:12. And the Lord shall possess Juda his portion in the sanctified\nland:  and he shall yet choose Jerusalem.\n\n2:13. Let all flesh be silent at the presence of the Lord:  for he is\nrisen up out of his holy habitation.\n\n\n\nZacharias Chapter 3\n\n\nIn a vision Satan appeareth accusing the high priest.  He is cleansed\nfrom his sins.  Christ is promised, and great fruit from his passion.\n\n3:1. And the Lord shewed me Jesus the high priest standing before the\nangel of the Lord:  and Satan stood on his right hand to be his\nadversary.\n\nJesus. . .Alias, Josue, the son of Josedec, the high priest of that\ntime.\n\n3:2. And the Lord said to Satan:  The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan:  and the\nLord that chose Jerusalem rebuke thee:  Is not this a brand plucked out\nof the fire?\n\n3:3. And Jesus was clothed with filthy garments:  and he stood before\nthe face of the angel.\n\nWith filthy garments. . .Negligences and sins.\n\n3:4. Who answered, and said to them that stood before him, saying:  Take\naway the filthy garments from him.  And he said to him:  Behold I have\ntaken away thy iniquity, and have clothed thee with change of garments.\n\n3:5. And he said:  Put a clean mitre upon his head:  and they put a clean\nmitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments, and the angel of\nthe Lord stood.\n\n3:6. And the angel of the Lord protested to Jesus, saying:\n\n3:7. Thus saith the Lord of hosts:  If thou wilt walk in my ways, and\nkeep my charge, thou also shalt judge my house, and shalt keep my\ncourts, and I will give thee some of them that are now present here to\nwalk with thee.\n\nI will give thee, etc. . .Angels to attend and assist thee.\n\n3:8. Hear, O Jesus thou high priest, thou and thy friends that dwell\nbefore thee, for they are portending men:  for behold, I WILL BRING MY\nSERVANT THE ORIENT.\n\nPortending men. . .That is, men, who by words and actions are to\nforeshew wonders that are to come.--Ibid.  My servant the\nOrient. . .Christ, who according to his humanity is the servant of God,\nis called the Orient from his rising like the sun in the east to\nenlighten the world.\n\n3:9. For behold the stone that I have laid before Jesus:  upon one stone\nthere are seven eyes:  behold I will grave the graving thereof, saith\nthe Lord of hosts:  and I will take away the iniquity of that land in\none day.\n\nThe stone. . .Another emblem of Christ, the rock, foundation, and corner\nstone of his church.--Ibid.  Seven eyes. . .The manifold providence of\nChrist over his church, or the seven gifts of the spirit of God.--Ibid.\nOne day. . .Viz., the day of the passion of Christ, the source of all\nour good:  when this precious stone shall be graved, that is, cut and\npierced, with whips, thorns, nails, and spear.\n\n3:10. In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, every man shall call his\nfriend under the vine and under the fig tree.\n\n\n\nZacharias Chapter 4\n\n\nThe vision of the golden candlestick and seven lamps, and of the two\nolive trees.\n\n4:1. And the angel that spoke in me came again:  and he waked me, as a\nman that is wakened out of his sleep.\n\n4:2. And he said to me:  What seest thou?  And I said:  I have looked,\nand behold a candlestick all of gold, and its lamp upon the top of it:\nand the seven lights thereof upon it:  and seven funnels for the lights\nthat were upon the top thereof.\n\nA candlestick, etc. . .The temple of God that was then in building; and\nin a more sublime sense, the church of Christ.\n\n4:3. And two olive trees over it:  one upon the right side of the lamp,\nand the other upon the left side thereof.\n\n4:4. And I answered, and said to the angel that spoke in me, saying:\nWhat are these things, my lord?\n\n4:5. And the angel that spoke in me answered, and said to me:  Knowest\nthou not what these things are?  And I said:  No, my lord.\n\n4:6. And he answered, and spoke to me, saying:  This is the word of the\nLord to Zorobabel, saying:  Not with an army, nor by might, but by my\nspirit, saith the Lord of hosts.\n\nTo Zorobabel. . .This vision was in favour of Zorobabel:  to assure him\nof success in the building of the temple, which he had begun, signified\nby the candlestick; the lamp of which, without any other industry, was\nsupplied with oil, dropping from the two olive trees, and distributed\nby the seven funnels or pipes, to maintain the seven lights.\n\n4:7. Who art thou, O great mountain, before Zorobabel?  thou shalt\nbecome a plain:  and he shall bring out the chief stone, and shall give\nequal grace to the grace thereof.\n\nGreat mountain. . .So he calls the opposition made by the enemies of\nGod's people; which nevertheless, without an army or might on their\nside, was quashed by divine providence.--Ibid.  Shall give equal grace,\netc. . .Shall add grace to grace, or beauty to beauty.\n\n4:8. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n4:9. The hands of Zorobabel have laid the foundations of this house,\nand his hands shall finish it:  and you shall know that the Lord of\nhosts hath sent me to you.\n\n4:10. For who hath despised little days?  and they shall rejoice, and\nshall see the tin plummet in the hand of Zorobabel.  These are the seven\neyes of the Lord, that run to and fro through the whole earth.\n\nLittle days. . .That is, these small and feeble beginnings of the temple\nof God.--Ibid.  The tin plummet. . .Literally, the stone of tin.  He\nmeans the builder's plummet, which Zorobabel shall hold in his hand for\nthe finishing the building.--Ibid.  The seven eyes. . .The providence of\nGod, that oversees and orders all things.\n\n4:11. And I answered, and said to him:  What are these two olive trees\nupon the right side of the candlestick, and upon the left side thereof\n?\n\n4:12. And I answered again, and said to him:  What are the two olive\nbranches, that are by the two golden beaks, in which are the funnels of\ngold?\n\n4:13. And he spoke to me, saying:  Knowest thou not what these are?  And\nI said:  No, my lord.\n\n4:14. And he said:  These are two sons of oil who stand before the Lord\nof the whole earth.\n\nTwo sons of oil. . .That is, the two anointed ones of the Lord; viz.,\nJesus the high priest, and Zorobabel the prince.\n\n\n\nZacharias Chapter 5\n\n\nThe vision of the flying volume, and of the woman in the vessel.\n\n5:1. And I turned and lifted up my eyes:  and I saw, and behold a volume\nflying.\n\nA volume. . .That is, a parchment, according to the form of the ancient\nbooks, which, from being rolled up, were called volumes.\n\n5:2. And he said to me:  What seest thou?  And I said:  I see a volume\nflying:  the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof\nten cubits.\n\n5:3. And he said to me:  This is the curse that goeth forth over the\nface of the earth:  for every thief shall be judged as is there written:\nand every one that sweareth in like manner shall be judged by it.\n\n5:4. I will bring it forth, saith the Lord of hosts:  and it shall come\nto the house of the thief, and to the house of him that sweareth\nfalsely by my name:  and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and\nshall consume it, with the timber thereof, and the stones thereof.\n\n5:5. And the angel went forth that spoke in me, and he said to me:  Lift\nup thy eyes, and see what this is, that goeth forth.\n\n5:6. And I said:  What is it?  And he said:  This is a vessel going\nforth.  And he said:  This is their eye in all the earth.\n\nThis is their eye. . .This is what they fix their eye upon:  or this is a\nresemblance and figure of them, viz., of sinners.\n\n5:7. And behold a talent of lead was carried, and behold a woman\nsitting in the midst of the vessel.\n\n5:8. And he said:  This is wickedness.  And he cast her into the midst of\nthe vessel, and cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof.\n\n5:9. And I lifted up my eyes and looked:  and behold there came out two\nwomen, and wind was in their wings, and they had wings like the wings\nof a kite:  and they lifted up the vessel between the earth and the\nheaven.\n\n5:10. And I said to the angel that spoke in me:  Whither do these carry\nthe vessel?\n\n5:11. And he said to me:  That a house may be built for it in the land\nof Sennaar, and that it may be established, and set there upon its own\nbasis.\n\nThe land of Sennaar. . .Where Babel or Babylon was built, Gen. 11.,\nwhere note, that Babylon in holy writ is often taken for the city of\nthe devil:  that is, for the whole congregation of the wicked:  as\nJerusalem is taken for the city and people of God.\n\n\n\nZacharias Chapter 6\n\n\nThe vision of the four chariots.  Crowns are ordered for Jesus the high\npriest, as a type of Christ.\n\n6:1. And I turned, and lifted up my eyes, and saw:  and behold four\nchariots came out from the midst of two mountains:  and the mountains\nwere mountains of brass.\n\nFour chariots. . .The four great empires of the Chaldeans, Persians,\nGrecians, and Romans.  Or perhaps by the fourth chariot are represented\nthe kings of Egypt and of Asia, the descendants of Ptolemeus and\nSeleucus.\n\n6:2. In the first chariot were red horses, and in the second chariot\nblack horses.\n\n6:3. And in the third chariot white horses, and in the fourth chariot\ngrisled horses, and strong ones.\n\n6:4. And I answered, and said to the angel that spoke in me:  What are\nthese, my lord?\n\n6:5. And the angel answered, and said to me:  These are the four winds\nof the heaven, which go forth to stand before the Lord of all the\nearth.\n\n6:6. That in which were the black horses went forth into the land of\nthe north, and the white went forth after them:  and the grisled went\nforth to the land the south.\n\nThe land of the north. . .So Babylon is called; because it lay to the\nnorth in respect of Jerusalem.  The black horses, that is, the Medes and\nPersians:  and after them Alexander and his Greeks, signified by the\nwhite horses, went thither because they conquered Babylon, executed\nupon it the judgments of God, which is signified, ver. 8, by the\nexpression of quieting his spirit.--Ibid.  The land of the\nsouth. . .Egypt, which lay to the south of Jerusalem, and was occupied\nfirst by Ptolemeus, and then by the Romans.\n\n6:7. And they that were most strong, went out, and sought to go, and to\nrun to and fro through all the earth.  And he said:  Go, walk throughout\nthe earth:  and they walked throughout the earth.\n\n6:8. And he called me, and spoke to me, saying:  Behold they that go\nforth into the land of the north, have quieted my spirit in the land of\nthe north.\n\n6:9. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:\n\n6:10. Take of them of the captivity, of Holdai, and of Tobias, and of\nIdaias; thou shalt come in that day, a shalt go into the house of\nJosias, the son of Sophonias, who came out of Babylon.\n\n6:11. And thou shalt take gold and silver:  and shalt make crowns, and\nthou shalt set them on the head of Jesus the son of Josedec, the high\npriest.\n\n6:12. And thou shalt speak to him, saying:  Thus saith the Lord of\nhosts, saying:  BEHOLD A MAN, THE ORIENT IS HIS NAME:  and under him\nshall he spring up, a shall build a temple to the Lord.\n\n6:13. Yea, he shall build a temple to the Lord:  and he shall bear the\nglory, and shall sit, and rule upon his throne:  and he shall be a\npriest upon his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them\nboth.\n\nBetween them both. . .That is, he shall unite in himself the two offices\nor dignities of king and priest.\n\n6:14. And the crowns shall be to Helem, and Tobias, and Idaias, and to\nHem, the son of Sophonias, a memorial in the temple of the Lord.\n\n6:15. And they that are far off, shall come and shall build in the\ntemple of the Lord:  and you shall know that the Lord of hosts sent me\nto you.  But this shall come to pass, if hearing you will hear the voice\nof the Lord your God.\n\n\n\nZacharias Chapter 7\n\n\nThe people inquire concerning fasting:  they are admonished to fast from\nsin.\n\n7:1. And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the\nword of the Lord came to Zacharias, in the fourth day of the ninth\nmonth, which is Casleu.\n\n7:2. When Sarasar, and Rogommelech, and the men that were with him,\nsent to the house of God, to entreat the face of the Lord:\n\n7:3. To speak to the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts, and to\nthe prophets, saying:  Must I weep in the fifth month, or must I\nsanctify myself as I have now done for many years?\n\nThe fifth month. . .They fasted on the tenth day of the fifth month;\nbecause on that day the temple was burnt.  Therefore they inquire\nwhether they are to continue the fast, after the temple is rebuilt.  See\nthis query answered in the 19th verse of the following chapter.\n\n7:4. And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying:\n\n7:5. Speak to all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying:\nWhen you fasted, and mourned in the fifth and the seventh month for\nthese seventy years:  did you keep a fast unto me?\n\n7:6. And when you did eat and drink, did you not eat for yourselves,\nand drink for yourselves?\n\n7:7. Are not these the words which the Lord spoke by the hand of the\nformer prophets, when Jerusalem as yet was inhabited, and was wealthy,\nboth itself and the cities round about it, and there were inhabitants\ntowards the south, and in the plain?\n\n7:8. And the word of the Lord came to Zacharias, saying:\n\n7:9. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, saying:  Judge ye true judgment, and\nshew ye mercy and compassion every man to his brother.\n\n7:10. And oppress not the widow, and the fatherless, and the stranger,\nand the poor:  and let not a man devise evil in his heart against his\nbrother.\n\n7:11. But they would not hearken, and they turned away the shoulder to\ndepart:  and they stopped their ears, not to hear.\n\n7:12. And they made their heart as the adamant stone, lest they should\nhear the law, and the words which the Lord of hosts sent in his spirit\nby the hand of the former prophets:  so a great indignation came from\nLord of hosts.\n\n7:13. And it came to pass that as he spoke, and they heard not:  so\nshall they cry, and I will not hear, saith the Lord of hosts.\n\n7:14. And I dispersed them throughout all kingdoms, which they know\nnot:  and the land was left desolate behind them, so that no man passed\nthrough or returned:  and they changed the delightful land into a\nwilderness.\n\n\n\nZacharias Chapter 8\n\n\nJoyful promises to Jerusalem:  fully verified in the church of Christ.\n\n8:1. And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying:\n\n8:2. Thus saith the Lord of hosts:  I have been jealous for Sion with a\ngreat jealousy, and with a great indignation have I been jealous for\nher.\n\n8:3. Thus saith the Lord of hosts:  I am returned to Sion, and I will\ndwell in the midst of Jerusalem:  and Jerusalem shall be called The city\nof truth, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, The sanctified\nmountain.\n\n8:4. Thus saith the Lord of hosts:  There shall yet old men and old\nwomen dwell in the streets of Jerusalem:  and every man with his staff\nin his hand through multitude of days.\n\n8:5. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls,\nplaying in the streets thereof.\n\n8:6. Thus saith the Lord of hosts:  If it seem hard in the eyes of the\nremnant of this people in those days:  shall it be hard in my eyes,\nsaith the Lord of hosts?\n\n8:7. Thus saith the Lord of hosts:  Behold I will save my people from\nthe land of the east, and from the land of the going down of the sun.\n\n8:8. And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of\nJerusalem:  and they shall be my people, and I will be their God in\ntruth and in justice.\n\n8:9. Thus saith the Lord of hosts:  Let your hands be strengthened, you\nthat hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, in\nthe day that the house of the Lord of hosts was founded, that the\ntemple might be built.\n\n8:10. For before those days there was no hire for men, neither was\nthere hire for beasts, neither was there peace to him that came in, nor\nto him that went out, because of the tribulation:  and I let all men go\nevery one against his neighbour.\n\n8:11. But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people according\nto the former days, saith the Lord of hosts.\n\n8:12. But there shall be the seed of peace:  the vine shall yield her\nfruit, and the earth shall give her increase, and the heavens shall\ngive their dew:  and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess\nall these things.\n\n8:13. And it shall come to pass, that as you were a curse among the\nGentiles, O house of Juda, and house of Israel:  so will I save you, and\nyou shall be a blessing:  fear not, let your hands be strengthened.\n\n8:14. For thus saith the Lord of hosts:  As I purposed io afflict you,\nwhen your fathers had provoked me to wrath, saith the Lord,\n\n8:15. And I had no mercy:  so turning again I have thought in these days\nto do good to the house of Juda, and Jerusalem:  fear not.\n\n8:16. These then are the things, which you shall do:  Speak ye truth\nevery one to his neighbour; judge ye truth and judgment of peace in\nyour gates.\n\n8:17. And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his\nfriend:  and love not a false oath:  for all these are the things that I\nhate, saith the Lord.\n\n8:18. And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying:\n\n8:19. Thus saith the Lord of hosts:  The fast of the fourth month, and\nthe fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the\ntenth shall be to the house of Juda, joy, and gladness, and great\nsolemnities:  only love ye truth and peace.\n\nThe fast of the fourth month, etc. . .They fasted, on the ninth day of\nthe fourth month, because on that day Nabuchodonosor took Jerusalem,\nJer. 52.6.  On the tenth day of the fifth month, because on that day the\ntemple was burnt, Jer. 52.12.  On the third day of the seventh month,\nfor the murder of Godolias, Jer. 41.2.  And on the tenth day of the\ntenth month, because on that day the Chaldeans began to besiege\nJerusalem, 4 Kings 25.1.  All these fasts, if they will be obedient for\nthe future, shall be changed, as is here promised, into joyful\nsolemnities.\n\n8:20. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, until people come and dwell in many\ncities,\n\n8:21. And the inhabitants go one to another, saying:  Let us go, and\nentreat the face of the Lord, and let us seek the Lord of hosts:  I also\nwill go.\n\n8:22. And many peoples, and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord\nof hosts in Jerusalem, and to entreat the face of the Lord.\n\n8:23. Thus saith the Lord of hosts:  In those days, wherein ten men of\nall languages of the Gentiles shall take hold, and shall hold fast the\nskirt of one that is a Jew, saying:  We will go with you:  for we have\nheard that God is with you.\n\nTen men, etc. . .Many of the Gentiles became proselytes to the Jewish\nreligion before Christ:  but many more were converted to Christ by the\napostles and other preachers of the Jewish nation.\n\n\n\nZacharias Chapter 9\n\n\nGod will defend his church, and bring over even her enemies to the\nfaith.  The meek coming of Christ, to bring peace, to deliver the\ncaptives by his blood, and to give us all good things.\n\n9:1. The burden of the word of the Lord in the land of Hadrach, and of\nDamascus the rest thereof:  for the eye of man, and of all the tribes of\nIsrael is the Lord's.\n\nHadrach. . .Syria.\n\n9:2. Emath also in the borders thereof, and Tyre, and Sidon:  for they\nhave taken to themselves to be exceeding wise.\n\n9:3. And Tyre hath built herself a strong hold, and heaped together\nsilver as earth, and gold as the mire of the streets.\n\n9:4. Behold the Lord shall possess her, and shall strike her strength\nin the sea, and she shall be devoured with fire.\n\n9:5. Ascalon shall see, and shall fear, and Gaza, and shall be very\nsorrowful:  and Accaron, because her hope is confounded:  and the king\nshall perish from Gaza, and Ascalon shall not be inhabited.\n\n9:6. And the divider shall sit in Azotus, and I will destroy the pride\nof the Philistines.\n\n9:7. And I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his\nabominations from between his teeth:  and even he shall be left to our\nGod, and he shall be as a governor in Juda, and Accaron as a Jebusite.\n\nHis blood. . .It is spoken of the Philistines, and particularly of\nAzotus, (where the temple of Dagon was,) and contains a prophecy of the\nconversion of that people from their bloody sacrifices and abominations\nto the worship of the true God.\n\n9:8. And I will encompass my house with them that serve me in war,\ngoing and returning, and the oppressor shall no more pass through them:\nfor now I have seen with my eyes.\n\nThat serve me in war. . .Viz., the Machabees.\n\n9:9. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion, shout for joy, O daughter of\nJerusalem:  BEHOLD THY KING will come to thee, the just and saviour:  he\nis poor, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass.\n\n9:10. And I will destroy the chariot out of Ephraim, and the horse out\nof Jerusalem, and the bow for war shall be broken:  and he shall speak\npeace to the Gentiles, and his power shall be from sea to sea, and from\nthe rivers even to the end of the earth.\n\n9:11. Thou also by the blood of thy testament hast sent forth thy\nprisoners out of the pit, wherein is no water.\n\n9:12. Return to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope, I will render\nthee double as I declare today.\n\n9:13. Because I have bent Juda for me as a bow, I have filled Ephraim:\nand I will raise up thy sons, O Sion, above thy sons, O Greece, and I\nwill make thee as the sword of the mighty.\n\nThy sons, O Sion, etc. . .Viz., the apostles, who, in the spiritual way,\nconquered the Greeks, and subdued them to Christ.\n\n9:14. And the Lord God shall be seen over them, and his dart shall go\nforth as lightning:  and the Lord God will sound the trumpet, and go in\nthe whirlwind of the south.\n\n9:15. The Lord of hosts will protect them:  and they shall devour, and\nsubdue with the stones of the sling:  and drinking they shall be\ninebriated as it were with wine, and they shall be filled as bowls, and\nas the horns of the altar.\n\n9:16. And the Lord their God will save them in that day, as the flock\nof his people:  for holy stones shall be lifted up over his land.\n\nHoly stones. . .The apostles, who shall be as pillars and monuments in\nthe church.\n\n9:17. For what is the good thing of him, and what is his beautiful\nthing, but the corn of the elect, and wine springing forth virgins?\n\nThe corn, etc. . .His most excellent gift is the blessed Eucharist,\ncalled here The corn, that is, the bread of the elect, and the wine\nspringing forth virgins; that is, maketh virgins to bud, or spring\nforth, as it were, like flowers among thorns; because it has a\nwonderful efficacy to give and preserve purity.\n\n\n\nZacharias Chapter 10\n\n\nGod is to be sought to, and not idols.  The victories of his church,\nwhich shall arise originally from the Jewish nation.\n\n10:1. Ask ye of the Lord rain in the latter season, and the Lord will\nmake snows, and will give them showers of rain, to every one grass in\nthe field.\n\n10:2. For the idols have spoken what was unprofitable, and the diviners\nhave seen a lie, and the dreamers have spoken vanity:  they comforted in\nvain:  therefore they were led away as a flock:  they shall be afflicted,\nbecause they have no shepherd.\n\n10:3. My wrath is kindled against the shepherds, and I will visit upon\nthe buck goats:  for the Lord of hosts hath visited his flock, the house\nof Juda, and hath made them as the horse of his glory in the battle.\n\n10:4. Out of him shall come forth the corner, out of him the pin, out\nof him the bow of battle, out of him ever exacter together.\n\n10:5. And they shall be as mighty men, treading under foot the mire of\nthe ways in battle:  and they shall fight, because the Lord is with\nthem, and the riders of horses shall be confounded.\n\n10:6. And I will strengthen the house of Juda, and save the house of\nJoseph:  and I will bring them back again, because I will have mercy on\nthem:  and they shall be as they were when I had not cast them off, for\nI am the Lord their God, and will hear them.\n\n10:7. And they shall be as the valiant men of Ephraim, and their heart\nshall rejoice as through wine:  and their children shall see, and shall\nrejoice, and their heart shall be joyful in the Lord.\n\n10:8. I will whistle for them, and I will gather them together, because\nI have redeemed them:  and I will multiply them as they were multiplied\nbefore.\n\n10:9. And I will sow them among peoples:  and from afar they shall\nremember me:  and they shall live with their children, and shall return.\n\n10:10. And I will bring them back out of the land of Egypt, and I will\ngather them from among the Assyrians:  and will bring them to the land\nof Galaad, and Libanus, and place shall not be found for them.\n\n10:11. And he shall pass over the strait of the sea, and shall strike\nthe waves in the sea, and all the depths of the river shall be\nconfounded, and the pride of Assyria shall be humbled, and the sceptre\nof Egypt shall depart.\n\n10:12. I will strengthen them in the Lord, and they shall walk in his\nname, saith the Lord.\n\n\n\nZacharias Chapter 11\n\n\nThe destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.  God's dealings with the\nJews, and their reprobation.\n\n11:1. Open thy gates, O Libanus, and let fire devour thy cedars.\n\nO Libanus. . .So Jerusalem, and more particularly the temple, is called\nby the prophets, from its height, and from its being built of the\ncedars of Libanus.--Ibid.  Thy cedars. . .Thy princes and chief men.\n\n11:2. Howl, thou fir tree, for the cedar is fallen, for the mighty are\nlaid waste:  howl, ye oaks of Basan, because the fenced forest is cut\ndown.\n\n11:3. The voice of the howling of the shepherds, because their glory is\nlaid waste:  the voice of the roaring of the lions, because the pride of\nthe Jordan is spoiled.\n\n11:4. Thus saith the Lord my God:  Feed the flock of the slaughter,\n\n11:5. Which they that possessed, slew, and repented not, and they sold\nthem, saying:  Blessed be the Lord, we are become rich:  and their\nshepherds spared them not.\n\n11:6. And I will no more spare the inhabitants of the land, saith the\nLord:  behold I will deliver the men, every one into his neighbour's\nhand, and into the hand of his king:  and they shall destroy the land,\nand I will not deliver it out of their hand.\n\nEvery one into his neighbour's hand, etc. . .This alludes to the last\nsiege of Jerusalem, in which the different factions of the Jews\ndestroyed one another; and they that remained fell into the hands of\ntheir king, that is, of the Roman emperor, of whom they had said, John\n19.15, we have no king but Caesar.\n\n11:7. And I will feed the flock of slaughter for this, O ye poor of the\nflock.  And I took unto me two rods, one I called Beauty, and the other\nI called a Cord, and I fed the flock.\n\nTwo rods. . .Or shepherd's staves, meaning the different ways of God's\ndealing with his people; the one, by sweet means, called the rod of\nBeauty:  the other, by bands and punishments, called the Cord.  And where\nboth these rods are made of no use or effect by the obstinacy of\nsinners, the rods are broken, and such sinners are given up to a\nreprobate sense, as the Jews were.\n\n11:8. And I cut off three shepherds in one month, and my soul was\nstraitened in their regard:  for their soul also varied in my regard.\n\nThree shepherds in one month. . .That is, in a very short time.  By these\nthree shepherds probably are meant the latter princes and high priests\nof the Jews, whose reign was short.\n\n11:9. And I said:  I will not feed you:  that which dieth, let it die:\nand that which is cut off, let it be cut off:  and let the rest devour\nevery one the flesh of his neighbour.\n\n11:10. And I took my rod that was called Beauty, and I cut it asunder\nto make void my covenant, which I had made with all people.\n\n11:11. And it was made void in that day:  and so the poor of the flock\nthat keep for me, understood that it is the word of the Lord.\n\n11:12. And I said to them:  If it be good in your eyes, bring hither my\nwages:  and if not, be quiet.  And they weighed for my wages thirty\npieces of silver.\n\n11:13. And the Lord said to me:  Cast it to the statuary, a handsome\nprice, that I was prized at by them.  And I took the thirty pieces of\nsilver, and I cast them into the house of the Lord to the statuary.\n\nThe statuary. . .The Hebrew word signifies also a potter.\n\n11:14. And I cut off my second rod that was called a Cord, that I might\nbreak the brotherhood between Juda and Israel.\n\n11:15. And the Lord said to me:  Take to thee yet the instruments of a\nfoolish shepherd.\n\nA foolish shepherd. . .This was to represent the foolish, that is, the\nwicked princes and priests that should rule the people, before their\nutter desolation.\n\n11:16. For behold I will raise up a shepherd in the land, who shall not\nvisit what is forsaken, nor seek what is scattered, nor heal what is\nbroken, nor nourish that which standeth, and he shall eat the flesh of\nthe fat ones, and break their hoofs.\n\n11:17. O shepherd, and idol, that forsaketh the flock:  the sword upon\nhis arm and upon his right eye:  his arm shall quite wither away, and\nhis right eye shall be utterly darkened.\n\n\n\nZacharias Chapter 12\n\n\nGod shall protect his church against her persecutors.  The mourning of\nJerusalem.\n\n12:1. The burden of the word of the Lord upon Israel.  Thus saith the\nLord, who stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundations of\nthe earth, and formeth the spirit of man in him:\n\n12:2. Behold I will make Jerusalem a lintel of surfeiting to all the\npeople round about:  and Juda also shall be in the siege against\nJerusalem.\n\nA lintel of surfeiting. . .That is, a door into which they shall seek to\nenter, to glut themselves with blood; but they shall stumble, and fall\nlike men stupefied with wine.  It seems to allude to the times of\nAntiochus, and to the victories of the Machabees.\n\n12:3. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will make Jerusalem\na burdensome stone to all people:  all that shall lift it up shall be\nrent and torn, and all the kingdoms of the earth shall be gathered\ntogether against her.\n\n12:4. In that day, saith the Lord, I will strike every horse with\nastonishment, and his rider with madness:  and I will open my eyes upon\nthe house of Juda, and will strike every horse of the nations with\nblindness.\n\n12:5. And the governors of Juda shall say in their heart:  Let the\ninhabitants of Jerusalem be strengthened for me in the Lord of hosts,\ntheir God.\n\n12:6. In that day I will make the governors of Juda like a furnace of\nfire amongst wood, and as a firebrand amongst hay:  and they shall\ndevour all the people round about, to the right hand, and to the left:\nand Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place in Jerusalem.\n\n12:7. And the Lord shall save the tabernacles of Jada, as in the\nbeginning:  that the house of David, and the glory of the inhabitants of\nJerusalem, may not boast and magnify themselves against Juda.\n\n12:8. In that day shall the Lord protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem,\nand he that hath offended among them in that day shall be as David:  and\nthe house of David, as that of God, as an angel of the Lord in their\nsight.\n\n12:9. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to\ndestroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.\n\n12:10. And I will pour out upon the house of David, and upon the\ninhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace, and of prayers:  and they\nshall look upon me, whom they have pierced:  and they shall mourn for\nhim as one mourneth for an only son, and they shall grieve over him, as\nthe manner is to grieve for the death of the firstborn.\n\n12:11. In that day there shall be a great lamentation in Jerusalem like\nthe lamentation of Adadremmon in the plain of Mageddon.\n\nAdadremmon. . .A place near Mageddon, where the good king Josias was\nslain, and much lamented by his people.\n\n12:12. And the land shall mourn:  families and families apart:  the\nfamilies of the house of David apart, and their women apart:\n\n12:13. The families of the house of Nathan apart, and their women\napart:  the families of the house of Levi apart, and their women apart:\nthe families of Semei apart, and their women apart.\n\n12:14. All the rest of the families, families and families apart, and\ntheir women apart.\n\n\n\nZacharias Chapter 13\n\n\nThe fountain of Christ.  Idols and false prophets shall be extirpated:\nChrist shall suffer:  his people shall be tried by fire.\n\n13:1. In that day there shall be a fountain open to the house of David,\nand to the inhabitants of Jerusalem:  for the washing of the sinner, and\nof the unclean woman.\n\n13:2. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts,\nthat I will destroy the names of idols out of the earth, and they shall\nbe remembered no more:  and I will take away the false prophets, and the\nunclean spirit out of the earth.\n\n13:3. And it shall come to pass, that when any man shall prophesy any\nmore, his father and his mother that brought him into the world, shall\nsay to him:  Thou shalt not live:  because thou hast spoken a lie in the\nname of the Lord.  And his father, and his mother, his parents, shall\nthrust him through, when he shall prophesy.\n\n13:4. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be\nconfounded, every one by his own vision, when he shall prophesy,\nneither shall they be clad with a garment of sackcloth, to deceive:\n\n13:5. But he shall say:  I am no prophet, I am a husbandman:  for Adam is\nmy example from my youth.\n\n13:6. And they shall say to him:  What are these wounds in the midst of\nthy hands?  And he shall say:  With these I was wounded in the house of\nthem that loved me.\n\n13:7. Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that\ncleaveth to me, saith the Lord of hosts:  strike the shepherd, and the\nsheep shall be scattered:  and I will turn my hand to the little ones.\n\n13:8. And there shall be in all the earth, saith the Lord, two parts in\nit shall be scattered, and shall perish:  but the third part shall be\nleft therein.\n\n13:9. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine\nthem as silver is refined:  and I will try them as gold is tried.  They\nshall call on my name, and I will hear them.  I will say:  Thou art my\npeople:  and they shall say:  The Lord is my God.\n\n\n\nZacharias Chapter 14\n\n\nAfter the persecutions of the church shall follow great prosperity.\nPersecutors shall be punished:  so shall all that will not serve God in\nhis church.\n\n14:1. Behold the days of the Lord shall come, and thy spoils shall be\ndivided in the midst of thee.\n\n14:2. And I will gather all nations to Jerusalem to battle, and the\ncity shall be taken, and the houses shall be rifled, and the women\nshall be defiled:  and half of the city shall go forth into captivity,\nand the rest of the people shall not be taken away out of the city.\n\nI will gather, etc. . .This seems to be a prophecy of what was done by\nAntiochus.\n\n14:3. Then the Lord shall go forth, and shall fight against those\nnations, as when he fought in the day of battle.\n\n14:4. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives,\nwhich is over against Jerusalem towards the east:  and the mount of\nOlives shall be divided in the midst thereof to the east, and to the\nwest with a very great opening, and half of the mountain shall be\nseparated to the north, and half thereof to the south.\n\n14:5. And you shall flee to the valley of those mountains, for the\nvalley of the mountains shall be joined even to the next, and you shall\nflee as you fled from the face of the earthquake in the days of Ozias\nking of Juda:  and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with\nhim.\n\n14:6. And it shall come to pass in that day, that there shall be no\nlight, but cold and frost.\n\nNo light. . .Viz., in that dismal time of persecution of Antiochus, when\nit was neither day nor night:  (ver. 7) because they neither had the\ncomfortable light of the day, nor the repose of the night.\n\n14:7. And there shall be one day, which is known to the Lord, not day\nnor night:  and in the time of the evening there shall be light:\n\nIn the time of the evening there shall be light. . .An unexpected light\nshall arise by the means of the Machabees, when things shall seem to be\nat the worst.\n\n14:8. And it shall come to pass in that day, that living waters shall\ngo out from Jerusalem:  half of them to the east sea, and half of them\nto the last sea:  they shall be in summer and in winter.\n\nLiving waters. . .Viz., the gospel of Christ.\n\n14:9. And the Lord shall be king over all the earth:  in that day there\nshall be one Lord, and his name shall be one.\n\n14:10. And all the land shall return even to the desert, from the hill\nto Remmon to the south of Jerusalem:  and she shall be exalted, and\nshall dwell in her own place, from the gate of Benjamin even to the\nplace of the former gate, and even to the gate of the corners:  and from\nthe tower of Hananeel even to the king's winepresses.\n\nAll the land shall return, etc. . .This, in some measure, was verified\nby the means of the Machabees:  but is rather to be taken in a spiritual\nsense, as relating to the propagation of the church, and kingdom of\nChrist, the true Jerusalem, which alone shall never fall under the\nanathema of destruction, or God's curse.\n\n14:11. And people shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more an\nanathema:  but Jerusalem shall sit secure.\n\n14:12. And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord shall strike all\nnations that have fought against Jerusalem:  the flesh of every one\nshall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes\nshall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away\nin their mouth.\n\nThe flesh of every one shall consume, etc. . .Such judgments as these\nhave often fallen upon the persecutors of God's church, as appears by\nmany instances in history.\n\n14:13. In that day there shall be a great tumult from the Lord among\nthem:  and a man shall take the hand of his neighbour, and his hand\nshall be clasped upon his neighbour's hand.\n\n14:14. And even Juda shall fight against Jerusalem:  and the riches of\nall nations round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver,\nand garments in great abundance.\n\nEven Juda, etc. . .The carnal Jews, and other false brothers, shall join\nin persecuting the church.\n\n14:15. And the destruction of the horse, and of the mule, and of the\ncamel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts, that shall be in those\ntents, shall be like this destruction.\n\nShall be like this destruction. . .That is, the beasts shall be\ndestroyed as well as the men:  the common soldiers as well as their\nleaders.\n\n14:16. And all they that shall be left of all nations that came against\nJerusalem, shall go up from year to year, to adore the King, the Lord\nof hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.\n\nThey that shall be left, etc. . .That is, many of them that persecuted\nthe church shall be converted to its faith and communion.--Ibid.  To keep\nthe feast of tabernacles. . .This feast was kept by the Jews in memory\nof their sojourning forty years in the desert, in their way to the land\nof promise.  And in the spiritual sense is duly kept by all such\nChristians as in their earthly pilgrimage are continually advancing\ntoward their true home, the heavenly Jerusalem; by the help of the\nsacraments and sacrifice of the church.  And they that neglect this must\nnot look for the kind showers of divine grace, to give fruitfulness to\ntheir souls.\n\n14:17. And it shall come to pass, that he that shall not go up of the\nfamilies of the land to Jerusalem, to adore the King, the Lord of\nhosts, there shall be no rain upon them.\n\n14:18. And if the family of Egypt go not up nor come:  neither shall it\nbe upon them, but there shall be destruction wherewith the Lord will\nstrike all nations that will not go up to keep the feast of\ntabernacles.\n\n14:19. This shall be the sin of Egypt, and this the sin of all nations,\nthat will not go up to keep the feast of tabernacles.\n\n14:20. In that day that which is upon the bridle of the horse shall be\nholy to the Lord:  and the caldrons in the house of the Lord shall be as\nthe phials before the altar.\n\nThat which is upon the bridle, etc. . .The golden ornaments of the\nbridles, etc., shall be turned into offerings in the house of God.  And\nthere shall be an abundance of caldrons and phials for the sacrifices\nof the temple; by which is meant, under a figure, the great resort\nthere shall be to the temple, that is, to the church of Christ, and her\nsacrifice.\n\n14:21. And every caldron in Jerusalem and Juda shall be sanctified to\nthe Lord of hosts:  and all that sacrifice shall come, and take of them,\nand shall seethe in them:  and the merchant shall be no more in the\nhouse of the Lord of hosts in that day.\n\nThe merchant shall be no more, etc. . .Or, as some render it, The\nChanaanite shall be no more, etc., that is, the profane and unbelievers\nshall have no title to be in the house of the Lord.  Or there shall be\nno occasion for buyers or sellers of oxen, or sheep, or doves, in the\nhouse of God, such as Jesus Christ cast out of the temple.\n\n\n\n\nTHE PROPHECY OF MALACHIAS\n\n\n\nMALACHIAS, whose name signifies The Angel of the Lord, was contemporary\nwith NEHEMIAS, and by some is believed to have been the same person as\nESDRAS.  He was the last of the prophets, in the order of time, and\nflourished about four hundred years before Christ.  He foretells the\ncoming of Christ; the reprobation of the Jews and their sacrifices; and\nthe calling of the Gentiles, who shall offer up to God in every place\nan acceptable sacrifice.\n\n\n\nMalachias Chapter 1\n\n\nGod reproaches the Jews with their ingratitude:  and the priests for not\noffering pure sacrifices.  He will accept of the sacrifice that shall be\noffered in every place among the Gentiles.\n\n1:1. The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by the hand of\nMalachias.\n\n1:2. I have loved you, saith the Lord:  and you have said:  Wherein hast\nthou loved us?  Was not Esau brother to Jacob, saith the Lord, and I\nhave loved Jacob,\n\nI have loved Jacob, etc. . .I have preferred his posterity, to make them\nmy chosen people, and to lead them with my blessings, without any merit\non their part, and though they have been always ungrateful; whilst I\nhave rejected Esau, and executed severe judgments upon his posterity.\nNot that God punished Esau, or his posterity, beyond their desert:  but\nthat by his free election and grace he loved Jacob, and favoured his\nposterity above their deserts.  See the annotations upon Rom. 9.\n\n1:3. But have hated Esau?  and I have made his mountains a wilderness,\nand given his inheritance to the dragons of the desert.\n\n1:4. But if Edom shall say:  We are destroyed, but we will return and\nbuild up what hath been destroyed:  thus saith the Lord of hosts:  They\nshall build up, and I will throw down:  and they shall be called the\nborders of wickedness, and the people with whom the Lord is angry for\never.\n\n1:5. And your eyes shall see:  and you shall say:  The Lord be magnified\nupon the border of Israel.\n\n1:6. The son honoureth the father, and the servant his master:  if then\nI be a father, where is my honour?  and if I be a master, where is my\nfear:  saith the Lord of hosts.\n\n1:7. To you, O priests, that despise my name, and have said:  Wherein\nhave we despised thy name?  You offer polluted bread upon my altar, and\nyou say:  Wherein have we polluted thee?  In that you say:  The table of\nthe Lord is contemptible.\n\n1:8. If you offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil?  and if you\noffer the lame and the sick, is it not evil?  offer it to thy prince, if\nhe will be pleased with it, or if he will regard thy face, saith the\nLord of hosts.\n\n1:9. And now beseech ye the face of God, that he may have mercy on you,\n(for by your hand hath this been done,) if by any means he will receive\nyour faces, saith the Lord of hosts.\n\n1:10. Who is there among you, that will shut the doors, and will kindle\nthe fire on my altar gratis?  I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord\nof hosts:  and I will not receive a gift of your hand.\n\n1:11. For from the rising of the sun even to the going down, my name is\ngreat among the Gentiles, and in every place there is sacrifice, and\nthere is offered to my name a clean oblation:  for my name is great\namong the Gentiles, saith the Lord of hosts.\n\nA clean oblation. . .Viz., the precious body and blood of Christ in the\neucharistic sacrifice.\n\n1:12. And you have profaned it in that you say:  The table of the Lord\nis defiled:  and that which is laid thereupon is contemptible with the\nfire that devoureth it.\n\n1:13. And you have said:  Behold of our labour, and you puffed it away,\nsaith the Lord of hosts, and you brought in of rapine the lame, and the\nsick, and brought in an offering:  shall I accept it at your hands,\nsaith the Lord?\n\nBehold of our labour, etc. . .You pretended labour and weariness, when\nyou brought your offering; and so made it of no value, by offering it\nwith an evil mind.  Moreover, what you offered was both defective in\nitself, and gotten by rapine and extortion.\n\n1:14. Cursed is the deceitful man that hath in his flock a male, and\nmaking a vow offereth in sacrifice that which is feeble to the Lord:\nfor I am a great King, saith the Lord of hosts, and my name is dreadful\namong the Gentiles.\n\n\n\nMalachias Chapter 2\n\n\nThe priests are sharply reproved for neglecting their covenant.  The\nevil of marrying with idolaters:  and too easily putting away their\nwives.\n\n2:1. And now, O ye priests, this commandment is to you.\n\n2:2. If you will not hear, and if you will not lay it to heart, to give\nglory to my name, saith the Lord of hosts:  I will send poverty upon\nyou, and will curse your blessings, yea I will curse them, because you\nhave not laid it to heart.\n\n2:3. Behold, I will cast the shoulder to you, and will scatter upon\nyour face the dung of your solemnities, and it shall take you away with\nit.\n\nI will cast the shoulder to you. . .I will cast away the shoulder, which\nin the law was appointed to be your portion, and fling it at you in my\nanger:  and will reject both you and your festivals like dung.\n\n2:4. And you shall know that I sent you this commandment, that my\ncovenant might be with Levi, saith the Lord of hosts.\n\n2:5. My covenant was with him of life and peace:  and I gave him fear:\nand he feared me, and he was afraid before my name.\n\n2:6. The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in\nhis lips:  he walked with me in peace, and in equity, and turned many\naway from iniquity.\n\n2:7. For the lips of the priests shall keep knowledge, and they shall\nseek the law at his mouth:  because he is the angel of the Lord of\nhosts.\n\nThe angel. . .Viz., the minister and messenger.\n\n2:8. But you have departed out of the way, and have caused many to\nstumble at the law:  you have made void the covenant of Levi, saith the\nLord of hosts.\n\n2:9. Therefore have I also made you contemptible, and base before all\npeople, as you have not kept my ways, and have accepted persons in the\nlaw.\n\n2:10. Have we not all one father?  hath not one God created us?  why then\ndoth every one of us despise his brother, violating the covenant of our\nfathers?\n\n2:11. Juda hath transgressed, and abomination hath been committed in\nIsrael, and in Jerusalem:  for Juda hath profaned the holiness of the\nLord, which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god.\n\n2:12. The Lord will cut off the man that hath done this, both the\nmaster, and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that\noffereth an offering to the Lord of hosts.\n\n2:13. And this again have you done, you have covered the altar of the\nLord with tears, with weeping, and bellowing, so that I have no more a\nregard to sacrifice, neither do I accept any atonement at your hands.\n\nWith tears. . .Viz., by occasion of your wives, whom you have put away:\nand who came to weep and lament before the altar.\n\n2:14. And you have said:  For what cause?  Because the Lord hath been\nwitness between thee, and the wife of thy youth, whom thou hast\ndespised:  yet she was thy partner, and the wife of thy covenant.\n\n2:15. Did not one make her, and she is the residue of his spirit?  And\nwhat doth one seek, but the seed of God?  Keep then your spirit, and\ndespise not the wife of thy youth.\n\n2:16. When thou shalt hate her put her away, saith the Lord, the God of\nIsrael:  but iniquity shalt cover his garment, saith the Lord of hosts,\nkeep your spirit, and despise not.\n\nIniquity shall cover his garment. . .Viz., of every man that putteth\naway his wife without just cause; notwithstanding that God permitted it\nin the law, to prevent the evil of murder.\n\n2:17. You have wearied the Lord with your words, and you said:  Wherein\nhave we wearied him?  In that you say:  Every one that doth evil, is good\nin the sight of the Lord, and such please him:  or surely where is the\nGod of judgment?\n\n\n\nMalachias Chapter 3\n\n\nChrist shall come to his temple, and purify the priesthood.  They that\ncontinue in their evil ways shall be punished:  but true penitents shall\nreceive a blessing.\n\n3:1. Behold I send my angel, and he shall prepare the way before my\nface.  And presently the Lord, whom you seek, and the angel of the\ntestament, whom you desire, shall come to his temple.  Behold, he\ncometh, saith the Lord of hosts.\n\nMy angel. . .Viz., John the Baptist, the messenger of God, and\nforerunner of Christ.\n\n3:2. And who shall be able to think of the day of his coming?  and who\nshall stand to see him?  for he is like a refining fire, and like the\nfuller's herb:\n\n3:3. And he shall sit refining and cleansing the silver, and he shall\npurify the sons of Levi, and shall refine them as gold, and as silver,\nand they shall offer sacrifices to the Lord in justice.\n\n3:4. And the sacrifice of Juda and of Jerusalem shall please the Lord,\nas in the days of old, and in the ancient years.\n\n3:5. And I will come to you in judgment, and will be a speedy witness\nagainst sorcerers, and adulterers, and false swearers, and them that\noppress the hireling in his wages, the widows, and the fatherless:  and\noppress the stranger, and have not feared me, saith the Lord of hosts.\n\n3:6. For I am the Lord, and I change not:  and you the sons of Jacob are\nnot consumed.\n\n3:7. For from the days of your fathers you have departed from my\nordinances, and have not kept them:  Return to me, and I will return to\nyou, saith the Lord of hosts.  And you have said:  Wherein shall we\nreturn?\n\n3:8. Shall a man afflict God, for you afflict me.  And you have said:\nWherein do we afflict thee?  in tithes and in firstfruits.\n\n3:9. And you are cursed with want, and you afflict me, even the whole\nnation of you.\n\n3:10. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat\nin my house, and try me in this, saith the Lord:  if I open not unto you\nthe flood-gates of heaven, and pour you out a blessing even to\nabundance.\n\n3:11. And I will rebuke for your sakes the devourer, and he shall not\nspoil the fruit of your land:  neither shall the vine in the field be\nbarren, saith the Lord of hosts.\n\n3:12. And all nations shall call you blessed:  for you shall be a\ndelightful land, saith the Lord of hosts.\n\n3:13. Your words have been unsufferable to me, saith the Lord.\n\n3:14. And you have said:  What have we spoken against thee?  You have\nsaid:  He laboureth in vain that serveth God, and what profit is it that\nwe have kept his ordinances, and that we have walked sorrowful before\nthe Lord of hosts?\n\n3:15. Wherefore now we call the proud people happy, for they that work\nwickedness are built up, and they have tempted God and are preserved.\n\n3:16. Then they that feared the Lord, spoke every one with his\nneighbour:  and the Lord gave ear, and heard it:  and a book of\nremembrance was written before him for them that fear the Lord, and\nthink on his name.\n\n3:17. And they shall be my special possession, saith the Lord of hosts,\nin the day that I do judgment:  and I will spare them, as a man spareth\nhis son that serveth him.\n\n3:18. And you shall return, and shall see the difference between the\njust and the wicked:  and between him that serveth God, and him that\nserveth him not.\n\n\n\nMalachias Chapter 4\n\n\nThe judgment of the wicked, and reward of the just.  An exhortation to\nobserve the law.  Elias shall come for the conversion of the Jews.\n\n4:1. For behold the day shall come kindled as a furnace:  and all the\nproud, and all that do wickedly shall be stubble:  and the day that\ncometh shall set them on fire, saith the Lord of hosts, it shall not\nleave them root, nor branch.\n\n4:2. But unto you that fear my name, the Sun of justice shall arise,\nand health in his wings:  and you shall go forth, and shall leap like\ncalves of the herd.\n\n4:3. And you shall tread down the wicked when they shall be ashes under\nthe sole of your feet in the day that I do this, saith the Lord of\nhosts.\n\n4:4. Remember the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded him in\nHoreb for all Israel, the precepts, and judgments.\n\n4:5. Behold, I will send you Elias the prophet, before the coming of\nthe great and dreadful day of the Lord.\n\n4:6. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and\nthe heart of the children to their fathers:  lest I come, and strike the\nearth with anathema.\n\nHe shall turn the heart, etc. . .By bringing over the Jews to the faith\nof Christ, he shall reconcile them to their fathers, viz., the\npartiarchs and prophets; whose hearts for many ages have been turned\naway from them, because of their refusing to believe in Christ.--Ibid.\nWith anathema. . .In the Hebrew, Cherem, that is, with utter\ndestruction.\n\n\n\n\nTHE FIRST BOOK OF MACHABEES\n\n\n\nThese books are so called, because they contain the history of the\npeople of God under the command of Judas Machabeus and his brethren:\nand he, as some will have it, was surnamed Machabeus, from carrying in\nhis ensigns, or standards, those words of Exodus 15.11, Who is like to\nthee among the strong, O Lord:  in which the initial letters, in the\nHebrew, are M. C. B. E. I.  It is not known who is the author of these\nbooks.  But as to their authority, though they are not received by the\nJews, saith St. Augustine, (lib. 18, De Civ. Dei, c. 36,) they are\nreceived by the church:  who, in settling her canon of the scriptures,\nchose rather to be directed by the tradition she had received from the\napostles of Christ, than by that of the scribes and Pharisees.  And as\nthe church has declared these two Books canonical, even in two general\ncouncils, viz., Florence and Trent, there can be no doubt of their\nauthenticity.\n\n\n\n1 Machabees Chapter 1\n\n\nThe reign of Alexander and his successors:  Antiochus rifles and\nprofanes the temple of God:  and persecutes unto death all that will not\nforsake the law of God, and the religion of their fathers.\n\n1:1. Now it came to pass, after that Alexander the son of Philip the\nMacedonian, who first reigned in Greece, coming out of the land of\nCethim, had overthrown Darius, king of the Persians and Medes:\n\n1:2. He fought many battles, and took the strong holds of all, and slew\nthe kings of the earth:\n\n1:3. And he went through even to the ends of the earth:  and took the\nspoils of many nations:  and the earth was quiet before him.\n\n1:4. And he gathered a power, and a very strong army:  and his heart was\nexalted and lifted up:\n\n1:5. And he subdued countries of nations, and princes; and they became\ntributaries to him.\n\n1:6. And after these things, he fell down upon his bed, and knew that\nhe should die.\n\n1:7. And he called his servants, the nobles that were brought up with\nhim from his youth:  and he divided his kingdom among them, while he was\nyet alive.\n\nDivided his kingdom, etc. . .This is otherwise related by Q.  Curtius;\nthough he acknowledges that divers were of that opinion, and that it\nhad been delivered by some authors, lib. 10.  But here we find from the\nsacred text, that he was in error.\n\n1:8. And Alexander reigned twelve years, and he died.\n\n1:9. And his servants made themselves kings, every one in his place:\n\n1:10. And they all put crowns upon themselves after his death, and\ntheir sons after them, many years; and evils were multiplied in the\nearth.\n\n1:11. And there came out of them a wicked root, Antiochus the\nIllustrious, the son of king Antiochus, who had been a hostage at Rome:\nand he reigned in the hundred and thirty-seventh year of the kingdom of\nthe Greeks.\n\nAntiochus the Illustrius. . .Epiphanes, the younger son of Antiochus the\nGreat, who usurped the kingdom, to the prejudice of his nephew\nDemetrius, son of his elder brother Seleucus Philopater.--Ibid.  Of the\nkingdom of the Greeks. . .Counting, not from the beginning of the reign\nof Alexander, but from the first year of Seleucus Nicator.\n\n1:12. In those days there went out of Israel wicked men, and they\npersuaded many, saying:  Let us go and make a covenant with the heathens\nthat are round about us:  for since we departed from them, many evils\nhave befallen us.\n\n1:13. And the word seemed good in their eyes.\n\n1:14. And some of the people determined to do this, and went to the\nking:  and he gave them license to do after the ordinances of the\nheathens.\n\n1:15. And they built a place of exercise in Jerusalem, according to the\nlaws of the nations:\n\n1:16. And they made themselves prepuces, and departed from the holy\ncovenant, and joined themselves to the heathens, and were sold to do\nevil:\n\n1:17. And the kingdom was established before Antiochus, and he had a\nmind to reign over the land of Egypt, that he might reign over two\nkingdoms.\n\n1:18. And he entered into Egypt with a great multitude, with chariots,\nand elephants, and horsemen, and a great number of ships:\n\n1:19. And he made war against Ptolemee king of Egypt; but Ptolemee was\nafraid at his presence and fled, and many were wounded unto death.\n\n1:20. And he took the strong cities in the land of Egypt:  and he took\nthe spoils of the land of Egypt.\n\n1:21. And after Antiochus had ravaged Egypt, in the hundred and\nforty-third year, he returned and went up against Israel.\n\n1:22. And he went up to Jerusalem, with a great multitude.\n\n1:23. And he proudly entered into the sanctuary, and took away the\ngolden altar, and the candlestick of light, and all the vessels\nthereof, and the table of proposition, and the pouring vessels, and the\nvials, and the little mortars of gold, and the veil, and the crowns,\nand the golden ornament that was before the temple:  and he broke them\nall in pieces.\n\n1:24. And he took the silver and gold, and the precious vessels:  and he\ntook the hidden treasures, which he found:  and when he had taken all\naway, he departed into his own country.\n\n1:25. And he made a great slaughter of men, and spoke very proudly.\n\n1:26. And there was great mourning in Israel, and in every place where\nthey were:\n\n1:27. And the princes, and the ancients mourned, and the virgins and\nthe young men were made feeble, and the beauty of the women was\nchanged.\n\n1:28. Every bridegroom took up lamentation:  and the bride that sat in\nthe marriage bed, mourned:\n\n1:29. And the land was moved for the inhabitants thereof, and all the\nhouse of Jacob was covered with confusion.\n\n1:30. And after two full years, the king sent the chief collector of\nhis tributes to the cities of Juda, and he came to Jerusalem with a\ngreat multitude.\n\nThe chief collector, etc. . .Apollonius.\n\n1:31. And he spoke to them peaceable words in deceit; and they believed\nhim.\n\n1:32. And he fell upon the city suddenly, and struck it with a great\nslaughter, and destroyed much people in Israel.\n\n1:33. And he took the spoils of the city, and burnt it with fire, and\nthrew down the houses thereof, and the walls thereof round about:\n\n1:34. And they took the women captive, and the children, and the cattle\nthey possessed.\n\n1:35. And they built the city of David with a great and strong wall,\nand with strong towers, and made it a fortress for them:\n\nThe city of David. . .That is, the castle of Sion.\n\n1:36. And they placed there a sinful nation, wicked men, and they\nfortified themselves therein:  and they stored up armour; and victuals,\nand gathered together the spoils of Jerusalem;\n\n1:37. And laid them up there:  and they became a great snare.\n\n1:38. And this was a place to lie in wait against the sanctuary, and an\nevil devil in Israel.\n\nAn evil devil. . .That is, an adversary watching constantly to do harm,\nas the evil spirit is always watching and seeking whom he may devour.\n\n1:39. And they shed innocent blood round about the sanctuary, and\ndefiled the holy place.\n\n1:40. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem fled away by reason of them and\nthe city was made the habitation of strangers, and she became a\nstranger to her own seed, and her children forsook her.\n\n1:41. Her sanctuary was desolate like a wilderness, her festival days\nwere turned into mourning, her sabbaths into reproach, her honours were\nbrought to nothing.\n\n1:42. Her dishonour was increased according to her glory, and her\nexcellency was turned into mourning.\n\n1:43. And king Antiochus wrote to all his kingdom, that all the people\nshould be one:  and every one should leave his own law.\n\n1:44. And all nations consented, according to the word of king\nAntiochus.\n\n1:45. And many of Israel consented to his service, and they sacrificed\nto idols, and profaned the sabbath.\n\n1:46. And the king sent letters by the hands of messengers to\nJerusalem, and to all the cities of Juda; that they should follow the\nlaw of the nations of the earth.\n\n1:47. And should forbid holocausts and sacrifices, and atonements to be\nmade in the temple of God.\n\n1:48. And should prohibit the sabbath, and the festival days to be\ncelebrated.\n\n1:49. And he commanded the holy places to be profaned, and the holy\npeople of Israel.\n\n1:50. And he commanded altars to be built, and temples, and idols, and\nswine's flesh to be immolated, and unclean beasts,\n\n1:51. And that they should leave their children uncircumcised, and let\ntheir souls be defiled with all uncleannesses, and abominations, to the\nend that they should forget the law, and should change all the\njustifications of God.\n\n1:52. And that whosoever would not do according to the word of king\nAntiochus, should be put to death.\n\n1:53. According to all these words he wrote to his whole kingdom:  and\nhe appointed rulers over the people that should force them to do these\nthings.\n\n1:54. And they commanded the cities of Juda to sacrifice.\n\n1:55. Then many of the people were gathered to them that had forsaken\nthe law of the Lord:  and they committed evils in the land:\n\n1:56. And they drove away the people of Israel into lurking holes, and\ninto the secret places of fugitives.\n\n1:57. On the fifteenth day of the month, Casleu, in the hundred and\nforty-fifth year, king Antiochus set up the abominable idol of\ndesolation upon the altar of God, and they built altars throughout all\nthe cities of Juda round about:\n\nThe abominable idol, etc. . .Viz., the statue of Jupiter Olympius.\n\n1:58. And they burnt incense, and sacrificed at the doors of the houses\nand in the streets.\n\n1:59. And they cut in pieces, and burnt with fire the books of the law\nof God:\n\n1:60. And every one with whom the books of the testament of the Lord\nwere found, and whosoever observed the law of the Lord, they put to\ndeath, according to the edict of the king.\n\n1:61. Thus by their power did they deal with the people of Israel, that\nwere found in the cities month after month.\n\n1:62. And on the five and twentieth day of the month they sacrificed\nupon the altar of the idol that was over against the altar of God.\n\n1:63. Now the women that circumcised their children were slain\naccording to the commandment of king Antiochus,\n\n1:64. And they hanged the children about their neck in all their\nhouses:  and those that had circumcised them, they put to death.\n\n1:65. And many of the people of Israel determined with themselves, that\nthey would not eat unclean things:  and they chose rather to die, than\nto be defiled with unclean meats:\n\n1:66. And they would not break the holy law of God and they were put to\ndeath:\n\n1:67. And there was very great wrath upon the people.\n\n\n\n1 Machabees Chapter 2\n\n\nThe zeal and success of Mathathias.  His exhortation to his sons at his\ndeath.\n\n2:1. In those days arose Mathathias, the son of John, the son of\nSimeon, a priest of the sons of Joarib, from Jerusalem, and he abode in\nthe mountain of Modin:\n\n2:2. And he had five sons:  John, who was surnamed Gaddis:\n\n2:3. And Simon, who was surnamed Thasi;\n\n2:4. And Judas, who was called Machabeus;\n\n2:5. And Eleazar, who was surnamed Abaron; and Jonathan, who was\nsurnamed Apphus.\n\n2:6. These saw the evils that were done in the people of Juda, and in\nJerusalem.\n\n2:7. And Mathathias said:  Woe is me, wherefore was I born to see the\nruin of my people, and the ruin of the holy city, and to dwell there,\nwhen it is given into the hands of the enemies?\n\n2:8. The holy places are come into the hands of strangers her temple is\nbecome as a man without honour.\n\n2:9. The vessels of her glory are carried away captive; her old men are\nmurdered in the streets, and her young men are fallen by the sword of\nthe enemies.\n\n2:10. What nation hath not inherited her kingdom, and gotten of her\nspoils?\n\n2:11. All her ornaments are taken away.  She that was free is made a\nslave.\n\n2:12. And behold our sanctuary, and our beauty, and our glory is laid\nwaste, and the Gentiles have defiled them.\n\n2:13. To what end then should we live any longer?\n\n2:14. And Mathathias and his sons rent their garments, and they covered\nthemselves with haircloth, and made great lamentation.\n\n2:15. And they that were sent from king Antiochus, came thither, to\ncompel them that were fled into the city of Modin, to sacrifice, and to\nburn incense, and to depart from the law of God.\n\n2:16. And many of the people of Israel consented and came to them:  but\nMathathias and his sons stood firm.\n\n2:17. And they that were sent from Antiochus, answering, said to\nMathathias:  Thou art a ruler, and an honourable, and great man in this\ncity, and adorned with sons, and brethren.\n\n2:18. Therefore, come thou first, and obey the king's commandment, as\nall nations have done, and the men of Juda, and they that remain in\nJerusalem:  and thou, and thy sons shall be in the number of the king's\nfriends, and enriched with gold, and silver, and many presents.\n\n2:19. Then Mathathias answered, and said with a loud voice:  Although all\nnations obey king Antiochus, so as to depart every man from the service\nof the law of his fathers, and consent to his commandments:\n\n2:20. I and my sons, and my brethren will obey the law of our fathers.\n\n2:21. God be merciful unto us:  it is not profitable for us to forsake\nthe law, and the justices of God:\n\n2:22. We will not hearken to the words of king Antiochus, neither will\nwe sacrifice and transgress the commandments of our law, to go another\nway.\n\n2:23. Now as he left off speaking these words, there came a certain Jew\nin the sight of all to sacrifice to the idols upon the altar in the\ncity of Modin, according to the king's commandment.\n\n2:24. And Mathathias saw, and was grieved, and his reins trembled, and\nhis wrath was kindled according to the judgment of the law, and running\nupon him he slew him upon the altar:\n\n2:25. Moreover the man whom king Antiochus had sent, who compelled them\nto sacrifice, he slew at the same time, and pulled down the altar,\n\n2:26. And shewed zeal for the law, as Phinees did by Zamri, the son of\nSalomi.\n\n2:27. And Mathathias cried out in the city with a loud voice, saying:\nEvery one that hath zeal for the law, and maintaineth the testament,\nlet him follow me.\n\n2:28. So he and his sons fled into the mountains, and left all that\nthey had in the city.\n\n2:29. Then many that sought after judgment, and justice, went down into\nthe desert\n\n2:30. And they abode there, they and their children, and their wives,\nand their cattle:  because afflictions increased upon them.\n\n2:31. And it was told to the king's men, and to the army that was in\nJerusalem, in the city of David, that certain men, who had broken the\nking's commandment, were gone away into the secret places in the\nwilderness, and that many were gone after them.\n\n2:32. And forthwith they went out towards them, and made war against\nthem on the sabbath day.\n\n2:33. And they said to them:  Do you still resist?  come forth, and do\naccording to the edict of king Antiochus, and you shall live.\n\n2:34. And they said:  We will not come forth, neither will we obey the\nking's edict, to profane the sabbath day.\n\n2:35. And they made haste to give them battle.\n\n2:36. But they answered them not, neither did they cast a stone at\nthem, nor stopped up the secret places,\n\n2:37. Saying:  Let us all die in our innocency:  and heaven and earth\nshall be witnesses for us, that you put us to death wrongfully.\n\n2:38. So they gave them battle on the sabbath:  and they were slain,\nwith their wives, and their children, and their cattle, to the number\nof a thousand persons.\n\n2:39. And Mathathias and his friends heard of it, and they mourned for\nthem exceedingly.\n\n2:40. And every man said to his neighbour:  If we shall all do as our\nbrethren have done, and not fight against the heathens for our lives,\nand our justifications, they will now quickly root us out of the earth.\n\n2:41. And they determined in that day, saying:  Whosoever shall come up\nagainst us to fight on the sabbath day, we will fight against him:  and\nwe will not all die, as our brethren that were slain in the secret\nplaces.\n\n2:42. Then was assembled to them the congregation of the Assideans, the\nstoutest of Israel, every one that had a good will for the law.\n\nThe Assideans. . .A set of men that led a religious life; and were\nzealous for the law and worship of God.\n\n2:43. And all they that fled from the evils, joined themselves to them,\nand were a support to them.\n\n2:44. And they gathered an army, and slew the sinners in their wrath,\nand the wicked men in their indignation:  and the rest fled to the\nnations for safety.\n\n2:45. And Mathathias and his friends went round about, and they threw\ndown the altars:\n\n2:46. And they circumcised all the children whom they found in the\nconfines of Israel that were uncircumcised:  and they did valiantly.\n\n2:47. And they pursued after the children of pride, and the work\nprospered in their hands:\n\n2:48. And they recovered the law out of the hands of the nations, and\nout of the hands of the kings:  and they yielded not the horn to the\nsinner.\n\nThey yielded not the horn, etc. . .That is, they suffered not the power\nof Antiochus, that man of sin, to abolish the law and religion of God.\n\n2:49. Now the days drew near that Mathathias should die, and he said to\nhis sons:  Now hath pride and chastisement gotten strength, and the time\nof destruction, and the wrath of indignation:\n\n2:50. Now, therefore, O my sons, be ye zealous for the law, and give\nyour lives for the covenant of your fathers.\n\n2:51. And call to remembrance the works of the fathers, which they have\ndone in their generations:  and you shall receive great glory, and an\neverlasting name.\n\n2:52. Was not Abraham found faithful in temptation, and it was reputed\nto him unto justice?\n\n2:53. Joseph, in the time of his distress, kept the commandment, and he\nwas made lord of Egypt.\n\n2:54. Phinees, our father, by being fervent in the zeal of God,\nreceived the covenant of an everlasting priesthood.\n\n2:55. Jesus, whilst he fulfilled the word, was made ruler in Israel.\n\nJesus. . .That is, Josue.\n\n2:56. Caleb, for bearing witness before the congregation, received an\ninheritance.\n\n2:57. David, by his mercy, obtained the throne of an everlasting\nkingdom.\n\n2:58. Elias, while he is full of zeal for the law, was taken up into\nheaven.\n\n2:59. Ananias and Azarias and Misael, by believing, were delivered out\nof the flame.\n\n2:60. Daniel, in his innocency, was delivered out of the mouth of the\nlions.\n\n2:61. And thus consider, through all generations:  that none that trust\nin him, fail in strength.\n\n2:62. And fear not the words of a sinful man, for his glory is dung and\nworms:\n\n2:63. Today he is lifted up, and tomorrow he shall not be found,\nbecause he is returned into his earth and his thought is come to\nnothing.\n\n2:64. You, therefore, my sons, take courage, and behave manfully in the\nlaw:  for by it you shall be glorious.\n\n2:65. And behold, I know that your brother Simon is a man of counsel:\ngive ear to him always, and he shall be a father to you.\n\n2:66. And Judas Machabeus, who is valiant and strong from his youth up,\nlet him be the leader of your army, and he shall manage the war of the\npeople.\n\n2:67. And you shall take to you all that observe the law:  and revenge\nye the wrong of your people.\n\n2:68. Render to the Gentiles their reward, and take heed to the\nprecepts of the law.\n\n2:69. And he blessed them, and was joined to his fathers.\n\n2:70. And he died in the hundred and forty-sixth year:  and he was\nburied by his sons in the sepulchres of his fathers, in Modin, and all\nIsrael mourned for him with great mourning.\n\n\n\n1 Machabees Chapter 3\n\n\nJudas Machabeus succeeds his father, and overthrows Apollonius and\nSeron.  A great army is sent against him out of Syria.  He prepares his\npeople for battle by fasting and prayer.\n\n3:1. Then his son Judas, called Machabeus, rose up in his stead.\n\n3:2. And all his brethren helped him, and all they that had joined\nthemselves to his father, and they fought with cheerfulness the battle\nof Israel.\n\n3:3. And he got his people great honour, and put on a breastplate as a\ngiant, and girt his warlike armour about him in battles, and protected\nthe camp with his sword.\n\n3:4. In his acts he was like a lion, and like a lion's whelp roaring\nfor his prey.\n\n3:5. And he pursued the wicked and sought them out, and them that\ntroubled his people he burnt with fire:\n\n3:6. And his enemies were driven away for fear of him, and all the\nworkers of iniquity were troubled:  and salvation prospered in his hand.\n\n3:7. And he grieved many kings, and made Jacob glad with his works, and\nhis memory is blessed for ever.\n\n3:8. And he went through the cities of Juda, and destroyed the wicked\nout of them, and turned away wrath from Israel.\n\n3:9. And he was renowned even to the utmost part of the earth, and he\ngathered them that were perishing.\n\n3:10. And Apollonius gathered together the Gentiles, and a numerous and\ngreat army from Samaria, to make war against Israel.\n\n3:11. And Judas understood it, and went forth to meet him:  and he\noverthrew him, and killed him:  and many fell down slain, and the rest\nfled away.\n\n3:12. And he took their spoils, and Judas took the sword of Apollonius,\nand fought with it all his lifetime.\n\n3:13. And Seron, captain of the army of Syria, heard that Judas had\nassembled a company of the faithful, and a congregation with him,\n\n3:14. And he said I will get me a name, and will be glorified in the\nkingdom, and will overthrow Judas, and those that are with him, that\nhave despised the edict of the king.\n\n3:15. And he made himself ready; and the host of the wicked went up\nwith him, strong succours, to be revenged of the children of Israel.\n\n3:16. And they approached even as far as Bethoron:  and Judas went forth\nto meet him, with a small company.\n\n3:17. But when they saw the army coming to meet them, they said to\nJudas:  How shall we, being few, be able to fight against so great a\nmultitude, and so strong, and we are ready to faint with fasting today?\n\n3:18. And Judas said:  It is an easy matter for many to be shut up in\nthe hands of a few:  and there is no difference in the sight of the God\nof heaven to deliver with a great multitude, or with a small company:\n\n3:19. For the success of war is not in the multitude of the army, but\nstrength cometh from heaven.\n\n3:20. They come against us with an insolent multitude, and with pride,\nto destroy us, and our wives, and our children, and to take our spoils.\n\n3:21. But we will fight for our lives, and our laws:\n\n3:22. And the Lord himself will overthrow them before our face, but as\nfor you, fear them not\n\n3:23. And as soon as he had made an end of speaking, he rushed suddenly\nupon them:  and Seron, and his host were overthrown before him:\n\n3:24. And he pursued him by the descent of Bethoron, even to the plain,\nand there fell of them eight hundred men, and the rest fled into the\nland of the Philistines.\n\n3:25. And the fear of Judas, and of his brethren, and the dread of\nthem, fell upon all the nations round about them.\n\n3:26. And his fame came to the king, and all nations told of the\nbattles of Judas.\n\n3:27. Now when king Antiochus heard these words, he was angry in his\nmind:  and he sent, and gathered the forces of all his kingdom, an\nexceeding strong army.\n\n3:28. And he opened his treasury, and gave out pay to the army for a\nyear:  and he commanded them, that they should be ready for all things.\n\n3:29. And he perceived that the money of his treasures failed, and that\nthe tributes of the country were small, because of the dissension, and\nthe evil that he had brought upon the land, that he might take away the\nlaws of old times:\n\n3:30. And he feared that he should not have as formerly enough for\ncharges and gifts, which he had given before with a liberal hand:  for\nhe had abounded more than the kings that had been before him.\n\n3:31. And he was greatly perplexed in mind, and purposed to go into\nPersia, and to take tributes of the countries, and to gather much\nmoney.\n\n3:32. And he left Lysias, a nobleman of the blood royal to oversee the\naffairs of the kingdom from the river Euphrates even to the river of\nEgypt:\n\n3:33. And to bring up his son, Antiochus, till he came again.\n\n3:34. And he delivered to him half the army, and the elephants:  and he\ngave him charge concerning all that he would have done, and concerning\nthe inhabitants of Judea, and Jerusalem.\n\n3:35. And that he should send an army against them to destroy and root\nout the strength of Israel, and the remnant of Jerusalem, and to take\naway the memory of them from that place.\n\n3:36. And that he should settle strangers, to dwell in all their\ncoasts, and divide their land by lot.\n\n3:37. So the king took the half of the army that remained, and went\nforth from Antioch, the chief city of his kingdom, in the hundred and\nforty-seventh year:  and he passed over the river Euphrates, and went\nthrough the higher countries.\n\n3:38. Then Lysias chose Ptolemee, the son of Dorymenus, and Nicanor,\nand Gorgias, mighty men of the king's friends.\n\n3:39. And he sent with them forty thousand men, and seven thousand\nhorsemen:  to go into the land of Juda, and to destroy it, according to\nthe king's orders.\n\n3:40. So they went forth with all their power, and came, and pitched\nnear Emmaus, in the plain country.\n\n3:41. And the merchants of the countries heard the fame of them:  and\nthey took silver and gold in abundance, and servants:  and they came\ninto the camp, to buy the children of Israel for slaves:  and there were\njoined to them the forces of Syria, and of the land of the strangers.\n\n3:42. And Judas, and his brethren, saw that evils were multiplied, and\nthat the armies approached to their borders:  and they knew the orders\nthe king had given to destroy the people, and utterly abolish them.\n\n3:43. And they said, every man to his neighbour:  Let us raise up the\nlow condition of our people, and let us fight for our people, and our\nsanctuary.\n\n3:44. And the assembly was gathered, that they might be ready for\nbattle, and that they might pray, and ask mercy and compassion.\n\n3:45. Now Jerusalem was not inhabited, but was like a desert:  there was\nnone of her children that went in or out:  and the sanctuary was trodden\ndown:  and the children of strangers were in the castle, there was the\nhabitation of the Gentiles:  and joy was taken away from Jacob, and the\npipe and harp ceased there.\n\n3:46. And they assembled together, and came to Maspha, over against\nJerusalem:  for in Maspha was a place of prayer heretofore in Israel.\n\n3:47. And they fasted that day, and put on haircloth, and put ashes\nupon their heads:  and they rent their garments:\n\n3:48. And they laid open the books of the law, in which the Gentiles\nsearched for the likeness of their idols:\n\n3:49. And they brought the priestly ornaments, and the first fruits and\ntithes, and stirred up the Nazarites that had fulfilled their days:\n\n3:50. And they cried with a loud voice toward heaven, saying:  What\nshall we do with these, and whither shall we carry them?\n\n3:51. For thy holies are trodden down, and are profaned, and thy\npriests are in mourning, and are brought low.\n\n3:52. And behold the nations are come together against us, to destroy\nus:  thou knowest what they intend against us.\n\n3:53. How shall we be able to stand before their face, unless thou, O\nGod, help us?\n\n3:64. Then they sounded with trumpets, and cried out with a loud voice.\n\n3:66. And after this, Judas appointed captains over the people, over\nthousands, and over hundreds, and over fifties, and over tens.\n\n3:66. And he said to them that were building houses, or had betrothed\nwives, or were planting vineyards, or were fearful, that they should\nreturn every man to his house, according to the law.\n\n3:67. So they removed the camp, and pitched on the south side of\nEmmaus.\n\n3:68. And Judas said:  Gird yourselves, and be valiant men, and be ready\nagainst the morning, that you may fight with these nations that are\nassembled against us to destroy us and our sanctuary.\n\n3:59. For it is better for us to die in battle, than to see the evils\nof our nation, and of the holies:\n\n3:60. Nevertheless, as it shall be the will of God in heaven, so be it\ndone.\n\n\n\n1 Machabees Chapter 4\n\n\nJudas routs the king's army.  Gorgias flies before him.  Lysias comes\nagainst him with a great army, but is defeated.  Judas cleanses the\ntemple, sets up a new altar, and fortifies the sanctuary.\n\n4:1. Then Gorgias took five thousand men, and a thousand of the best\nhorsemen; and they removed out of the camp by night.\n\n4:2. That they might come upon the camp of the Jews and strike them\nsuddenly:  and the men that were of the castle were their guides.\n\n4:3. And Judas heard of it, and rose up, he and the valiant men, to\nattack the king's forces that were in Emmaus.\n\n4:4. For as yet the army was dispersed from the camp\n\nThe army was dispersed. . .That is, in different divisions, not\naltogether encamped.\n\n4:5. And Gorgias came by night into the camp of Judas, and found no\nman; and he sought them in the mountains:  for he said:  These men flee\nfrom us.\n\n4:6. And when it was day, Judas shewed himself in the plain with three\nthousand men only, who neither had armour nor swords:\n\nWho neither had armour nor swords. . .Such as they wished for.\n\n4:7. And they saw the camp of the Gentiles that it was strong, and the\nmen in breastplates, and the horsemen round about them, and these were\ntrained up to war.\n\n4:8. And Judas said to the men that were with him:  Fear ye not their\nmultitude, neither be ye afraid of their assault.\n\n4:9. Remember in what manner our fathers were saved in the Red Sea,\nwhen Pharaoh pursued them with a great army.\n\n4:10. And now let us cry to heaven, and the Lord will have mercy on us,\nand will remember the covenant of our fathers, and will destroy this\narmy before our face this day:\n\n4:11. And all nations shall know that there is one that redeemeth and\ndelivereth Israel.\n\n4:12. And the strangers lifted up their eyes, and saw them coming\nagainst them.\n\n4:13. And they went out of the camp to battle, and they that were with\nJudas sounded the trumpet.\n\n4:14. And they joined battle:  and the Gentiles were routed, and fled\ninto the plain.\n\n4:15. But all the hindmost of them fell by the sword and they pursued\nthem as far as Gezeron, and even to the plains of Idumea, and of\nAzotus, and of Jamnia:  and there fell of them to the number of three\nthousand men.\n\n4:16. And Judas returned again with his army that followed him.\n\n4:17. And he said to the people:  Be not greedy of the spoils; for there\nis war before us:\n\n4:18. And Gorgias and his army are near us in the mountain:  but stand\nye now against our enemies, and overthrow them, and you shall take the\nspoils afterwards with safety.\n\n4:19. And as Judas was speaking these words, behold part of them\nappeared, looking forth from the mountain.\n\n4:20. And Gorgias saw that his men were put to flight, and that they\nhad set fire to the camp:  for the smoke that was seen declared what was\ndone.\n\n4:21. And when they had seen this, they were seized with great fear,\nseeing at the same time Judas and his army in the plain ready to fight.\n\n4:22. So they all fled away into the land of the strangers.\n\n4:23. And Judas returned to take the spoils of the camp, and they got\nmuch gold, and silver, and blue silk, and purple of the sea, and great\nriches.\n\n4:24. And returning home, they sung a hymn, and blessed God in heaven,\nbecause he is good, because his mercy endureth for ever.\n\n4:25. So Israel had a great deliverance that day.\n\n4:26. And such of the strangers as escaped, went and told Lysias all\nthat had happened.\n\n4:27. And when he heard these things, he was amazed and discouraged:\nbecause things had not succeeded in Israel according to his mind, and\nas the king had commanded.\n\n4:28. So the year following, Lysias gathered together threescore\nthousand chosen men, and five thousand horsemen, that he might subdue\nthem.\n\n4:29. And they came into Judea, and pitched their tents in Bethoron,\nand Judas met them with ten thousand men.\n\n4:30. And they saw that the army was strong, and he prayed and said:\nBlessed art thou, O Saviour of Israel, who didst break the violence of\nthe mighty by the hand of thy servant David, and didst deliver up the\ncamp of the strangers into the hands of Jonathan the son of Saul, and\nof his armour bearer.\n\n4:31. Shut up this army in the hands of thy people Israel, and let them\nbe confounded in their host and their horsemen.\n\n4:32. Strike them with fear, and cause the boldness of their strength to\nlanguish, and let them quake at their own destruction.\n\n4:33. Cast them down with the sword of them that love thee:  and let all\nthat know thy name praise thee with hymns.\n\n4:34. And they joined battle:  and there fell of the army of Lysias five\nthousand men.\n\n4:35. And when Lysias saw that his men were put to flight, and how bold\nthe Jews were, and that they were ready either to live, or to die\nmanfully, he went to Antioch, and chose soldiers, that they might come\nagain into Judea with greater numbers.\n\n4:36. Then Judas, and his brethren said:  Behold our enemies are\ndiscomfited:  let us go up now to cleanse the holy places, and to repair\nthem.\n\n4:37. And all the army assembled together, and they went up into Mount\nSion.\n\n4:38. And they saw the sanctuary desolate, and the altar profaned, and\nthe gates burnt, and shrubs growing up in the courts as in a forest, or\non the mountains, and the chambers joining to the temple thrown down.\n\n4:39. And they rent their garments, and made great lamentation, and put\nashes on their heads:\n\n4:40. And they fell down to the ground on their faces, and they sounded\nwith the trumpets of alarm, and they cried towards heaven.\n\n4:41. Then Judas appointed men to fight against them that were in the\ncastle, till they had cleansed the holy places,\n\n4:42. And he chose priests without blemish, whose will was set upon the\nlaw of God.\n\n4:43. And they cleansed the holy places, and took away the stones that\nhad been defiled into an unclean place.\n\n4:44. And he considered about the altar of holocausts that had been\nprofaned, what he should do with it.\n\n4:45. And a good counsel came into their minds, to pull it down:  lest\nit should be a reproach to them, because the Gentiles had defiled it;\nso they threw it down.\n\n4:46. And they laid up the stones in the mountain of the temple, in a\nconvenient place, till there should come a prophet, and give answer\nconcerning them.\n\n4:47. Then they took whole stones, according to the law and built a new\naltar, according to the former:\n\n4:48. And they built up the holy places, and the things that were\nwithin the temple:  and they sanctified the temple and the courts.\n\n4:49. And they made new holy vessels, and brought in the candlestick,\nand the altar of incense, and the table, into the temple.\n\n4:50. And they put incense upon the altar, and lighted up the lamps\nthat were upon the candlestick, and they gave light in the temple.\n\n4:51. And they set the loaves upon the table, and hung up the veils,\nand finished all the works that they had begun to make.\n\n4:52. And they arose before the morning on the five and twentieth day\nof the ninth month, (which is the month of Casleu) in the hundred and\nforty-eighth year.\n\n4:53. And they offered sacrifice, according to the law, upon the new\naltar of holocausts which they had made.\n\n4:54. According to the time, and according to the day wherein the\nheathens had defiled it, in the same was it dedicated anew with\ncanticles, and harps, and lutes, and cymbals.\n\n4:55. And all the people fell upon their faces, and adored, and blessed\nup to heaven, him that had prospered them.\n\n4:56. And they kept the dedication of the altar eight days, and they\noffered holocausts with joy, and sacrifices of salvation, and of\npraise.\n\n4:57. And they adorned the front of the temple with crowns of gold, and\nescutcheons, and they renewed the gates, and the chambers, and hanged\ndoors upon them.\n\n4:58. And there was exceeding great joy among the people, and the\nreproach of the Gentiles was turned away.\n\n4:59. And Judas, and his brethren, and all the church of Israel\ndecreed, that the day of the dedication of the altar should be kept in\nits season from year to year for eight days, from the five and\ntwentieth day of the month of Casleu, with joy and gladness.\n\n4:60. They built up also at that time Mount Sion, with high walls, and\nstrong towers round about, lest the Gentiles should at any time come,\nand tread it down, as they did before.\n\n4:61. And he placed a garrison there, to keep it, and he fortified it,\nto secure Bethsura, that the people might have a defence against\nIdumea.\n\n\n\n1 Machabees Chapter 5\n\n\nJudas and his brethren attack the enemies of their country, and deliver\nthem that were distressed.  Josephus and Azarius, attempting contrary to\norder to fight against their enemies, are defeated.\n\n5:1. Now it came to pass, when the nations round about heard that the\naltar and the sanctuary were built up, as before, that they were\nexceeding angry.\n\n5:2. And they thought to destroy the generation of Jacob that were\namong them, and they began to kill some of the people, and to persecute\nthem.\n\n5:3. Then Judas fought against the children of Esau in Idumea, and them\nthat were in Acrabathane:  because they beset the Israelites round\nabout, and he made a great slaughter of them.\n\n5:4. And he remembered the malice of the children of Bean:  who were a\nsnare and a stumblingblock to the people, by lying in wait for them in\nthe way.\n\n5:5. And they were shut up by him in towers, and he set upon them, and\ndevoted them to utter destruction, and burnt their towers with fire,\nand all that were in them.\n\n5:6. Then he passed over to the children of Ammon, where he found a\nmighty power, and much people, and Timotheus was their captain:\n\n5:7. And he fought many battles with them, and they were discomfited in\ntheir sight, and he smote them:\n\n5:8. And he took the city of Gazer and her towns, and returned into\nJudea.\n\n5:9. And the Gentiles that were in Galaad, assembled themselves\ntogether against the Israelites that were in their quarters, to destroy\nthem:  and they fled into the fortress of Datheman.\n\n5:10. And they sent letters to Judas, and his brethren, saying:  The\nheathens that are round about are gathered together against us to\ndestroy us:\n\n5:11. And they are preparing to come, and to take the fortress into\nwhich we are fled:  and Timotheus is the captain of their host.\n\n5:12. Now therefore come, and deliver us out of their hands, for many\nof us are slain.\n\n5:13. And all our brethren that were in the places of Tubin, are\nkilled:  and they have carried away their wives, and their children,\ncaptives, and taken their spoils, and they have slain there almost a\nthousand men.\n\n5:14. And while they were yet reading these letters, behold there came\nother messengers out of Galilee with their garments rent, who related\naccording to these words:\n\n5:15. Saying, that they of Ptolemais, and of Tyre, and of Sidon, were\nassembled against them, and all Galilee is filled with strangers, in\norder to consume us.\n\n5:16. Now when Judas and the people heard these words, a great assembly\nmet together to consider what they should do for their brethren that\nwere in trouble, and were assaulted by them.\n\n5:17. And Judas said to Simon, his brother:  Choose thee men, and go,\nand deliver thy brethren in Galilee:  and I, and my brother Jonathan,\nwill go into the country of Galaad:\n\n5:18. And he left Joseph, the son of Zacharias, and Azarias, captains\nof the people, with the remnant of the army in Judea, to keep it:\n\n5:19. And he commanded them, saying:  Take ye the charge of this people;\nbut make no war against the heathens, till we return.\n\n5:20. Now three thousand men were allotted to Simon, to go into\nGalilee:  and eight thousand to Judas, to go into the land of Galaad.\n\n5:21. And Simon went into Galilee, and fought many battles with the\nheathens:  and the heathens were discomfited before his face, and he\npursued them even to the gate of Ptolemais.\n\n5:22. And there fell of the heathens almost three thousand men, and he\ntook the spoils of them.\n\n5:23. And he took with him those that were in Galilee and in Arbatis,\nwith their wives, and children, and all that they had, and he brought\nthem into Judea with great joy.\n\n5:24. And Judas Machabeus, and Jonathan, his brother, passed over the\nJordan, and went three days' journey through the desert.\n\n5:25. And the Nabutheans met them, and received them in a peaceable\nmanner, and told them all that happened to their brethren in the land\nof Galaad,\n\n5:26. And that many of them were shut up in Barasa, and in Bosor, and\nin Alima, and in Casphor, and in Mageth, and in Carnaim; all these\nstrong and great cities.\n\n5:27. Yea, and that they were kept shut up in the rest of the cities of\nGalaad, and that they had appointed to bring their army on the morrow\nnear to these cities, and to take them, and to destroy them all in one\nday.\n\n5:28. Then Judas and his army suddenly turned their march into the\ndesert, to Bosor, and took the city:  and he slew every male by the edge\nof the sword, and took all their spoils, and burnt it with fire.\n\n5:29. And they removed from thence by night, and went till they came to\nthe fortress.\n\n5:30. And it came to pass that early in the morning, when they lifted\nup their eyes, behold there were people without number, carrying\nladders and engines to take the fortress, and assault them.\n\n5:31. And Judas saw that the fight was begun, and the cry of the battle\nwent up to heaven like a trumpet, and a great cry out of the city:\n\n5:32. And he said to his host:  Fight ye today for your brethren.\n\n5:33. And he came with three companies behind them, and they sounded\ntheir trumpets, and cried out in prayer.\n\n5:34. And the host of Timotheus understood that it was Machabeus, and\nthey fled away before his face and they made a great slaughter of them,\nand there fell of them in that day almost eight thousand men.\n\n5:35. And Judas turned aside to Maspha, and assaulted, and took it, and\nhe slew every male thereof, and took the spoils thereof, and burnt it\nwith fire.\n\n5:36. From thence he marched, and took Casbon, and Mageth, and Bosor,\nand the rest of the cities of Galaad.\n\n5:37. But after this Timotheus gathered another army, and camped over\nagainst Raphon, beyond the torrent.\n\n5:38. And Judas sent men to view the army:  and they brought him word,\nsaying:  All the nations, that are round about us, are assembled unto\nhim an army exceeding great:\n\n5:39. And they have hired the Arabians to help them, and they have\npitched their tents beyond the torrent, ready to come to fight against\nthee.  And Judas went to meet them.\n\n5:40. And Timotheus said to the captains of his army:  When Judas and\nhis army come near the torrent of water, if he pass over unto us first,\nwe shall not be able to withstand him:  for he will certainly prevail\nover us.\n\n5:41. But if he be afraid to pass over, and camp on the other side of\nthe river, we will pass over to them, and shall prevail against him.\n\n5:42. Now when Judas came near the torrent of water, he set the scribes\nof the people by the torrent, and commanded them, saying:  Suffer no man\nto stay behind:  but let all come to the battle.\n\n5:43. And he passed over to them first, and all the people after him,\nand all the heathens were discomfited before them, and they threw away\ntheir weapons, and fled to the temple that was in Carnaim.\n\n5:44. And he took that city, and the temple he burnt with fire, with\nall things that were therein:  and Carnaim was subdued, and could not\nstand against the face of Judas.\n\n5:45. And Judas gathered together all the Israelites that were in the\nland of Galaad, from the least even to the greatest, and their wives\nand children, and an army exceeding great, to come into the land of\nJuda.\n\n5:46. And they came as far as Ephron:  now this was a great city,\nsituate in the way, strongly fortified, and there was no means to turn\nfrom it on the right hand or on the left, but the way was through the\nmidst of it.\n\n5:47. And they that were in the city shut themselves in, and stopped up\nthe gates with stones:  and Judas sent to them with peaceable words,\n\n5:48. Saying:  Let us pass through your land, to go into our own\ncountry, and no man shall hurt you; we will only pass through on foot.\nBut they would not open to them.\n\n5:49. Then Judas commanded proclamation to be made in the camp, that\nthey should make an assault, every man in the place where he was.\n\n5:50. And the men of the army drew near, and he assaulted that city all\nthe day, and all the night; and the city was delivered into his hands:\n\n5:51. And they slew every male with the edge of the sword, and he razed\nthe city, and took the spoils thereof, and passed through all the city\nover them that were slain.\n\n5:52. Then they passed over the Jordan to the great plain that is over\nagainst Bethsan.\n\n5:53. And Judas gathered together the hindmost, and he exhorted the\npeople, all the way through, till they came into the land of Juda.\n\n5:54. And they went up to mount Sion with joy and gladness, and offered\nholocausts, because not one of them was slain, till they had returned\nin peace.\n\n5:55. Now in the days that Judas and Jonathan were in the land of\nGalaad, and Simon his brother in Galilee, before Ptolemais,\n\n5:56. Joseph, the son of Zacharias, and Azarias, captain of the\nsoldiers, heard of the good success, and the battles that were fought,\n\n5:57. And he said:  Let us also get us a name, and let us go fight\nagainst the Gentiles that are round about us.\n\n5:58. And he gave charge to them that were in his army, and they went\ntowards Jamnia.\n\n5:59. And Gorgias and his men went out of the city, to give them\nbattle.\n\n5:60. And Joseph and Azarias were put to flight, and were pursued unto\nthe borders of Judea:  and there fell on that day, of the people of\nIsrael, about two thousand men, and there was a great overthrow of the\npeople:\n\n5:61. Because they did not hearken to Judas and his brethren, thinking\nthat they should do manfully.\n\n5:62. But they were not of the seed of those men by whom salvation was\nbrought to Israel.\n\n5:63. And the men of Juda were magnified exceedingly in the sight of\nall Israel, and of all the nations where their name was heard.\n\n5:64. And the people assembled to them with joyful acclamations.\n\n5:65. Then Judas and his brethren went forth and attacked the children\nof Esau, in the land towards the south, and he took Chebron and her\ntowns:  and he burnt the walls thereof, and the towers all round it.\n\n5:66. And he removed his camp to go into the land of the aliens, and he\nwent through Samaria.\n\n5:67. In that day some priests fell in battle, while desiring to do\nmanfully they went out unadvisedly to fight.\n\n5:68. And Judas turned to Azotus, into the land of the strangers, and\nhe threw down their altars, and he burnt the statues of their gods with\nfire:  and he took the spoils of the cities, and returned into the land\nof Juda.\n\n\n\n1 Machabees Chapter 6\n\n\nThe fruitless repentance and death of Antiochus.  His son comes against\nJudas with a formidable army.  He besieges Sion:  but at last makes peace\nwith the Jews.\n\n6:1. Now king Antiochus was going through the higher countries, and he\nheard that the city of Elymais in Persia, was greatly renowned, and\nabounding in silver and gold,\n\n6:2. And that there was in it a temple exceeding rich; and coverings of\ngold, and breastplates, and shields, which king Alexander, son of\nPhilip, the Macedonian, that reigned first in Greece, had left there.\n\n6:3. So he came, and sought to take the city and to pillage it; but he\nwas not able, because the design was known to them that were in the\ncity.\n\n6:4. And they rose up against him in battle, and he fled away from\nthence, and departed with great sadness, and returned towards\nBabylonia.\n\n6:5. And whilst he was in Persia there came one that told him how the\narmies that were in the land of Juda were put to flight:\n\n6:6. And that Lysias went with a very great power, and was put to\nflight before the face of the Jews, and that they were grown strong by\nthe armour, and power, and store of spoils which they had gotten out of\nthe camps which they had destroyed:\n\n6:7. And that they had thrown down the abomination which he had set up\nupon the altar in Jerusalem, and that they had compassed about the\nsanctuary with high walls as before, and Bethsura also, his city.\n\n6:8. And it came to pass, when the king heard these words, that he was\nstruck with fear, and exceedingly moved:  and he laid himself down upon\nhis bed, and fell sick for grief, because it had not fallen out to him\nas he imagined.\n\n6:9. And he remained there many days:  for great grief came more and\nmore upon him, and he made account that he should die.\n\n6:10. And he called for all his friends, and said to them:  Sleep is\ngone from my eyes, and I am fallen away, and my heart is cast down for\nanxiety:\n\n6:11. And I said in my heart:  Into how much tribulation am I come, and\ninto what floods of sorrow wherein now I am:  I that was pleasant and\nbeloved in my power!\n\n6:12. But now I remember the evils that I did in Jerusalem, from whence\nalso I took away all the spoils of gold, and of silver, that were in\nit, and I sent to destroy the inhabitants of Juda without cause.\n\n6:13. I know, therefore, that for this cause these evils have found me:\nand behold I perish with great grief in a strange land.\n\n6:14. Then he called Philip, one of his friends, and he made him regent\nover all his kingdom.\n\n6:15. And he gave him the crown, and his robe, and his ring, that he\nshould go to Antiochus, his son, and should bring him up for the\nkingdom.\n\n6:16. So king Antiochus died there in the year one hundred and\nforty-nine.\n\n6:17. And Lysias understood that the king was dead, and he set up\nAntiochus, his son, to reign, whom he had brought up young:  and he\ncalled his name Eupator.\n\n6:18. Now they that were in the castle, had shut up the Israelites\nround about the holy places:  and they were continually seeking their\nhurt, and to strengthen the Gentiles.\n\n6:19. And Judas purposed to destroy them:  and he called together all\nthe people, to besiege them.\n\n6:20. And they came together, and besieged them in the year one hundred\nand fifty, and they made battering slings and engines.\n\n6:21. And some of the besieged got out:  and some wicked men of Israel\njoined themselves unto them.\n\n6:22. And they went to the king, and said:  How long dost thou delay to\nexecute judgment, and to revenge our brethren?\n\n6:23. We determined to serve thy father, and to do according to his\norders, and obey his edicts:\n\n6:24. And for this they of our nation are alienated from us, and have\nslain as many of us as they could find, and have spoiled our\ninheritances.\n\n6:25. Neither have they put forth their hand against us only, but also\nagainst all our borders.\n\n6:26. And behold they have approached this day to the castle of\nJerusalem to take it, and they have fortified the strong hold of\nBethsura:\n\n6:27. And unless thou speedily prevent them, they will do greater\nthings than these, and thou shalt not be able to subdue them.\n\n6:28. Now when the king heard this, he was angry:  and he called\ntogether all his friends, and the captains of his army, and them that\nwere over the horsemen.\n\n6:29. There came also to him from other realms, and from the islands of\nthe sea, hired troops.\n\n6:30. And the number of his army was an hundred thousand footmen, and\ntwenty thousand horsemen, and thirty-two elephants trained to battle.\n\n6:31. And they went through Idumea, and approached to Bethsura, and\nfought many days, and they made engines:  but they sallied forth, and\nburnt them with fire, and fought manfully.\n\nBut they sallied forth. . .That is, the citizens of Bethsura sallied\nforth and burnt them, that is, burnt the engines of the besiegers.\n\n6:32. And Judas departed from the castle, and removed the camp to\nBethzacharam, over against the king's camp.\n\n6:33. And the king rose before it was light, and made his troops march\non fiercely towards the way of Bethzacharam:  and the armies made\nthemselves ready for the battle, and they sounded the trumpets:\n\n6:34. And they shewed the elephants the blood of grapes, and\nmulberries, to provoke them to fight.\n\n6:35. And they distributed the beasts by the legions:  and there stood\nby every elephant a thousand men in coats of mail, and with helmets of\nbrass on their heads:  and five hundred horsemen set in order were\nchosen for every beast.\n\n6:36. These before the time wheresoever the beast was they were there:\nand whithersoever it went, they went, and they departed not from it.\n\nThese before the time. . .That is, these were ready for every occasion.\n\n6:37. And upon the beast, there were strong wooden towers which covered\nevery one of them:  and engines upon them, and upon every one thirty-two\nvaliant men, who fought from above:  and an Indian to rule the beast.\n\n6:38. And the rest of the horsemen he placed on this side and on that\nside, at the two wings, with trumpets to stir up the army, and to\nhasten them forward that stood thick together in the legions thereof.\n\n6:39. Now when the sun shone upon the shields of gold, and of brass,\nthe mountains glittered therewith, and they shone like lamps of fire.\n\n6:40. And part of the king's army was distinguished by the high\nmountains, and the other part by the low places:  and they marched on\nwarily and orderly.\n\n6:41. And all the inhabitants of the land were moved at the noise of\ntheir multitude, and the marching of the company, and the rattling of\nthe armour, for the army was exceeding great and strong.\n\n6:42. And Judas and his army drew near for battle:  and there fell of\nthe king's army six hundred men.\n\n6:43. And Eleazar, the son of Saura, saw one of the beasts harnessed\nwith the king's harness:  and it was higher than the other beasts; and\nit seemed to him that the king was on it:\n\n6:44. And he exposed himself to deliver his people, and to get himself\nan everlasting name.\n\n6:45. And he ran up to it boldly in the midst of the legion, killing on\nthe right hand, and on the left, and they fell by him on this side and\nthat side.\n\n6:46. And he went between the feet of the elephant, and put himself\nunder it:  and slew it, and it fell to the ground upon him, and he died\nthere.\n\n6:47. Then they seeing the strength of the king and the fierceness of\nhis army, turned away from them.\n\n6:48. But the king's army went up against them to Jerusalem:  and the\nking's army pitched their tents against Judea and Mount Sion.\n\n6:49. And he made peace with them that were in Bethsura:  and they came\nforth out of the city, because they had no victuals, being shut up\nthere, for it was the year of rest to the land.\n\n6:50. And the king took Bethsura:  and he placed there a garrison to\nkeep it.\n\n6:51. And he turned his army against the sanctuary for many days:  and\nhe set up there battering slings, and engines, and instruments to cast\nfire, and engines to cast stones and javelins, and pieces to shoot\narrows, and slings.\n\n6:52. And they also made engines against their engines, and they fought\nfor many days.\n\n6:53. But there were no victuals in the city, because it was the\nseventh year:  and such as had stayed in Judea of them that came from\namong the nations, had eaten the residue of all that which had been\nstored up.\n\n6:54. And there remained in the holy places but a few, for the famine\nhad prevailed over them:  and they were dispersed every man to his own\nplace.\n\n6:55. Now Lysias heard that Philip; whom king Antiochus while he lived\nhad appointed to bring up his son, Antiochus, and to reign,\n\n6:56. Was returned from Persia, and Media, with the army that went with\nhim and that he sought to take upon him the affairs of the kingdom:\n\n6:57. Wherefore he made haste to go, and say to the king and to the\ncaptains of the army:  We decay daily, and our provision of victuals is\nsmall, and the place that we lay siege to is strong, and it lieth upon\nus to take order for the affairs of the kingdom.\n\n6:58. Now, therefore, let us come to an agreement with these men, and\nmake peace with them and with all their nation.\n\n6:59. And let us covenant with them, that they may live according to\ntheir own laws, as before.  For because of our despising their laws,\nthey have been provoked, and have done all these things.\n\n6:60. And the proposal was acceptable in the sight of the king, and of\nthe princes:  and he sent to them to make peace:  and they accepted of\nit.\n\n6:61. And the king and the princes swore to them:  and they came out of\nthe strong hold.\n\n6:62. Then the king entered into Mount Sion, and saw the strength of\nthe place:  and he quickly broke the oath that he had taken, and gave\ncommandment to throw down the wall round about.\n\n6:63. And he departed in haste and returned to Antioch, where he found\nPhilip master of the city:  and he fought against him, and took the\ncity.\n\n\n\n1 Machabees Chapter 7\n\n\nDemetrius is made king, and sends Bacchides and Alcimus the priest into\nJudea, and after them Nicanor, who is slain by Judas with all his army.\n\n7:1. In the hundred and fifty-first year, Demetrius, the son of\nSeleucus, departed from the city of Rome, and came up with few men into\na city of the sea coast, and reigned there.\n\n7:2. And it came to pass as he entered into the house of the kingdom of\nhis fathers, that the army seized upon Antiochus, and Lysias, to bring\nthem unto him.\n\n7:3. And when he knew it, he said:  Let me not see their face.\n\n7:4. So the army slew them.  And Demetrius sat upon the throne of his\nkingdom:\n\n7:5. And there came to him the wicked and ungodly men of Israel:  and\nAlcimus was at the head of them, who desired to be made high priest.\n\n7:6. And they accused the people to the king, saying:  Judas and his\nbrethren have destroyed all thy friends, and he hath driven us out of\nour land.\n\n7:7. Now, therefore, send some men whom thou trustest, and let him go,\nand see all the havoc he hath made amongst us, and in the king's lands:\nand let him punish all his friends and their helpers.\n\n7:8. Then the king chose Bacchides, one of his friends, that ruled\nbeyond the great river in the kingdom, and was faithful to the king:\nand he sent him,\n\n7:9. To see the havoc that Judas had made:  and the wicked Alcimus he\nmade high priest, and commanded him to take revenge upon the children\nof Israel.\n\n7:10. And they arose, and came with a great army into the land of Juda:\nand they sent messengers, and spoke to Judas and his brethren with\npeaceable words, deceitfully.\n\n7:11. But they gave no heed to their words:  for they saw that they were\ncome with a great army.\n\n7:12. Then there assembled to Alcimus and Bacchides a company of the\nscribes, to require things that are just:\n\n7:13. And first the Assideans, that were among the children of Israel,\nand they sought peace of them.\n\n7:14. For they said:  One that is a priest of the seed of Aaron is come,\nhe will not deceive us.\n\n7:15. And he spoke to them peaceably:  and he swore to them, saying:  We\nwill do you no harm, nor your friends.\n\n7:16. And they believed him.  And he took threescore of them, and slew\nthem in one day, according to the word that is written:\n\n7:17. The flesh of thy saints, and the blood of them they have shed round\nabout Jerusalem, and there was none to bury them.\n\n7:18. Then fear and trembling fell upon all the people:  for they said:\nThere is no truth, nor justice among them:  for they have broken the\ncovenant, and the oath which they made.\n\n7:19. And Bacchides removed the camp from Jerusalem, and pitched in\nBethzecha:  and he sent, and took many of them that were fled away from\nhim, and some of the people he killed, and threw them into a great pit.\n\n7:20. Then he committed the country to Alcimus, and left with him\ntroops to help him.  So Bacchides went away to the king.\n\n7:21. But Alcimus did what he could to maintain his chief priesthood.\n\n7:22. And they that disturbed the people resorted to him, and they got\nthe land of Juda into their power, and did much hurt in Israel.\n\n7:23. And Judas saw all the evils that Alcimus, and they that were with\nhim, did to the children of Israel, much more than the Gentiles.\n\n7:24. And he went out into all the coasts of Judea round about, and\ntook vengeance upon the men that had revolted, and they ceased to go\nforth any more into the country.\n\n7:25. And Alcimus saw that Judas and they that were with him,\nprevailed:  and he knew that he could not stand against them, and he\nwent back to the king, and accused them of many crimes.\n\n7:26. And the king sent Nicanor, one of his principal lords, who was a\ngreat enemy to Israel:  and he commanded him to destroy the people.\n\n7:27. And Nicanor came to Jerusalem with a great army, and he sent to\nJudas and to his brethren deceitfully, with friendly words,\n\n7:28. Saying:  Let there be no fighting between me and you:  I will come\nwith a few men, to see your faces with peace.\n\n7:29. And he came to Judas, and they saluted one another peaceably:  and\nthe enemies were prepared to take away Judas by force.\n\n7:30. And the thing was known to Judas that he was come to him with\ndeceit:  and he was much afraid of him, and would not see his face any\nmore.\n\n7:31. And Nicanor knew that his counsel was discovered:  and he went out\nto fight against Judas, near Capharsalama.\n\n7:32. And there fell of Nicanor's army almost five thousand men, and\nthey fled into the city of David.\n\n7:33. And after this Nicanor went up into mount Sion:  and some of the\npriests and the people came out to salute him peaceably, and to shew\nhim the holocausts that were offered for the king.\n\n7:34. But he mocked and despised them, and abused them:  and he spoke\nproudly,\n\n7:35. And swore in anger, saying:  Unless Judas and his army be\ndelivered into my hands, as soon as ever I return in peace, I will burn\nthis house.  And he went out in a great rage.\n\n7:36. And the priests went in, and stood before the face of the altar\nand the temple:  and weeping, they said:\n\n7:37. Thou, O Lord, hast chosen this house for thy name to be called\nupon therein, that it might be a house of prayer and supplication for\nthy people.\n\n7:38. Be avenged of this man, and his army, and let them fall by the\nsword:  remember their blasphemies, and suffer them not to continue any\nlonger.\n\n7:39. Then Nicanor went out from Jerusalem, and encamped near to\nBethoron:  and an army of Syria joined him.\n\n7:40. But Judas pitched in Adarsa with three thousand men:  and Judas\nprayed, and said:\n\n7:41. O Lord, when they that were sent by king Sennacherib blasphemed\nthee, an angel went out, and slew of them a hundred and eighty-five\nthousand:\n\n7:42. Even so destroy this army in our sight today and let the rest\nknow that he hath spoken ill against thy sanctuary:  and judge thou him\naccording to his wickedness.\n\n7:43. And the armies joined battle on the thirteenth day of the month,\nAdar:  and the army of Nicanor was defeated, and he himself was first\nslain in the battle.\n\n7:44. And when his army saw that Nicanor was slain they threw away\ntheir weapons, and fled:\n\n7:45. And they pursued after them one day's journey from Adazer, even\ntill ye come to Gazara, and they sounded the trumpets after them with\nsignals.\n\n7:46. And they went forth out of all the towns of Judea round about,\nand they pushed them with the horns, and they turned again to them, and\nthey were all slain with the sword, and there was not left of them so\nmuch as one.\n\n7:47. And they took the spoils of them for a booty, and they cut off\nNicanor's head, and his right hand, which he had proudly stretched out,\nand they brought it, and hung it up over against Jerusalem.\n\n7:48. And the people rejoiced exceedingly, and they spent that day with\ngreat joy.\n\n7:49. And he ordained that this day should be kept every year, being\nthe thirteenth of the month of Adar\n\n7:50. And the land of Juda was quiet for a short time.\n\n\n\n1 Machabees Chapter 8\n\n\nJudas hears of the great character of the Romans:  he makes a league\nwith them.\n\n8:1. Now Judas heard of the fame of the Romans, that they are powerful\nand strong, and willingly agree to all things that are requested of\nthem:  and that whosoever have come to them, they have made amity with\nthem, and that they are mighty in power.\n\n8:2. And they heard of their battles, and their noble acts which they\nhad done in Galatia, how they had conquered them, and brought them\nunder tribute:\n\nThey heard, etc. . .What is here set down of the history and character\nof the ancient Romans, is not an assertion, or affirmation of the\nsacred writer:  but only a relation of what Judas had heard of them.\n\n8:3. And how great things they had done in the land of Spain, and that\nthey had brought under their power the mines of silver and of gold that\nare there, and had gotten possession of all the place by their counsel\nand patience:\n\n8:4. And had conquered places that were very far off from them, and\nkings that came against them from the ends of the earth, and had\noverthrown them with great slaughter:  and the rest pay them tribute\nevery year.\n\n8:5. And that they had defeated in battle Philip and Perses the king of\nthe Ceteans, and the rest that had borne arms against them, and had\nconquered them:\n\nCeteans. . .That is, the Macedonians.\n\n8:6. And how Antiochus, the great king of Asia, who went to fight\nagainst them, having a hundred and twenty elephants, with horsemen, and\nchariots, and a very great army, was routed by them.\n\n8:7. And how they took him alive, and appointed to him, that both he\nand they that should reign after him, should pay a great tribute, and\nthat he should give hostages, and that which was agreed upon,\n\n8:8. And the country of the Indians, and of the Medes, and of the\nLydians, some of their best provinces:  and those which they had taken\nfrom them, they gave to king Eumenes.\n\nEumenes. . .King of Pergamus.\n\n8:9. And that they who were in Greece, had a mind to go and to destroy\nthem:  and they had knowledge thereof,\n\n8:10. And they sent a general against them, and fought with them, and\nmany of them were slain, and they carried away their wives, and their\nchildren captives, and spoiled them, and took possession of their land,\nand threw down their walls, and brought them to be their servants unto\nthis day.\n\n8:11. And the other kingdoms, and islands, that at any time had\nresisted them, they had destroyed and brought under their power.\n\n8:12. But with their friends, and such as relied upon them, they kept\namity, and had conquered kingdoms that were near, and that were far\noff:  for all that heard their name, were afraid of them.\n\n8:13. That whom they had a mind to help to a kingdom, those reigned:\nand whom they would, they deposed from the kingdom:  and they were\ngreatly exalted.\n\n8:14. And none of all these wore a crown, or was clothed in purple, to\nbe magnified thereby.\n\n8:15. And that they had made themselves a senate house, and consulted\ndaily three hundred and twenty men, that sat in counsel always for the\npeople, that they might do the things that were right:\n\n8:16. And that they committed their government to one man every year,\nto rule over all their country, and they all obey one, and there is no\nenvy nor jealousy amongst them.\n\nTo one man. . .There were two consuls:  but one only ruled at one time,\neach in his day.--Ibid.  No envy, etc. . .So Judas had heard:  and it was\nso far true, with regard to the ancient Romans, that as yet no envy or\njealousy had divided them into such open factions and civil wars, as\nthey afterwards experienced in the time of Marius and Sylla, etc.\n\n8:17. So Judas chose Eupolemus, the son of John, the son of Jacob, and\nJason, the son of Eleazar, and he sent them to Rome to make a league of\namity and confederacy with them:\n\n8:18. And that they might take off from them the yoke of the Grecians,\nfor they saw that they oppressed the kingdom of Israel with servitude.\n\n8:19. And they went to Rome, a very long journey, and they entered into\nthe senate house, and said:\n\n8:20. Judas Machabeus, and his brethren, and the people of the Jews,\nhave sent us to you to make alliance and peace with you, and that we\nmay be registered your confederates and friends.\n\n8:21. And the proposal was pleasing in their sight.\n\n8:22. And this is the copy of the writing that they wrote back again,\ngraven in tables of brass, and sent to Jerusalem, that it might be with\nthem there for a memorial of the peace, and alliance.\n\n8:23. GOOD SUCCESS BE TO THE ROMANS, and to the people of the Jews by\nsea, and by land, for ever:  and far be the sword and enemy from them.\n\n8:24. But if there come first any war upon the Romans, or any of their\nconfederates, in all their dominions:\n\n8:25. The nation of the Jews shall help them according as the time\nshall direct, with all their heart:\n\n8:26. Neither shall they give them, whilst they are fighting, or\nfurnish them with wheat, or arms, or money, or ships, as it hath seemed\ngood to the Romans:  and they shall obey their orders, without taking\nany thing of them.\n\n8:27. In like manner also if war shall come first upon the nation of\nthe Jews, the Romans shall help them with all their heart, according as\nthe time shall permit them:\n\n8:28. And there shall not be given to them that come to their aid,\neither wheat, or arms, or money, or ships, as it hath seemed good to\nthe Romans:  and they shall observe their orders without deceit.\n\n8:29. According to these articles did the Romans covenant with the\npeople of the Jews.\n\n8:30. And, if after this, one party or the other shall have a mind to\nadd to these articles, or take away any thing, they may do it at their\npleasure:  and whatsoever they shall add, or take away, shall be\nratified.\n\n8:31. Moreover, concerning the evils that Demetrius, the king, hath\ndone against them, we have written to him, saying:  Why hast thou made\nthy yoke heavy upon our friends and allies, the Jews.\n\n8:32. If, therefore, they come again to us complaining of thee, we will\ndo them justice, and will make war against thee by sea and land.\n\n\n\n1 Machabees Chapter 9\n\n\nBacchides is sent again into Judea:  Judas fights against him with eight\nhundred men and is slain.  Jonathan succeeds him and revenges the murder\nof his brother John.  He fights against Bacchides.  Alcimus dies\nmiserably.  Bacchides besieges Bethbessen.  He is forced to raise the\nsiege and leave the country.\n\n9:1. In the mean time, when Demetrius heard that Nicanor and his army\nwere fallen in battle, he sent again Bacchides and Alcimus into Judea;\nand the right wing of his army with them.\n\n9:2. And they took the road that leadeth to Galgal, and they camped in\nMasaloth, which is in Arabella:  and they made themselves masters of it,\nand slew many people.\n\n9:3. In the first month of the hundred and fifty-second year they\nbrought the army to Jerusalem:\n\n9:4. And they arose and went to Berea, with twenty thousand men, and\ntwo thousand horsemen.\n\n9:5. Now Judas had pitched his tents in Laisa, and three thousand\nchosen men with him:\n\n9:6. And they saw the multitude of the army that they were many, and\nthey were seized with great fear:  and many withdrew themselves out of\nthe camp, and there remained of them no more than eight hundred men.\n\n9:7. And Judas saw that his army slipped away, and the battle pressed\nupon him, and his heart was cast down:  because he had not time to\ngather them together, and he was discouraged.\n\n9:8. Then he said to them that remained:  Let us arise, and go against\nour enemies, if we may be able to fight against them.\n\n9:9. But they dissuaded him, saying:  We shall not be able, but let us\nsave our lives now, and return to our brethren, and then we will fight\nagainst them:  for we are but few.\n\n9:10. Then Judas said:  God forbid we should do this thing, and flee\naway from them:  but if our time be come, let us die manfully for our\nbrethren, and let us not stain our glory.\n\n9:11. And the army removed out of the camp, and they stood over against\nthem:  and the horsemen were divided into two troops, and the slingers,\nand the archers, went before the army, and they that were in the front\nwere all men of valour.\n\n9:12. And Bacchides was in the right wing, and the legion drew near on\ntwo sides, and they sounded the trumpets:\n\n9:13. And they also that were on Judas's side, even they also cried\nout, and the earth shook at the noise of the armies:  and the battle was\nfought from morning even unto the evening.\n\n9:14. And Judas perceived that the stronger part of the army of\nBacchides was on the right side, and all the stout of heart came\ntogether with him:\n\n9:15. And the right wing was discomfited by them, and he pursued them\neven to the mount Azotus.\n\n9:16. And they that were in the left wing saw that the right wing was\ndiscomfited, and they followed after Judas, and them that were with\nhim, at their back:\n\n9:17. And the battle was hard fought, and there fell many wounded of\nthe one side and of the other.\n\n9:18. And Judas was slain, and the rest fled away.\n\n9:19. And Jonathan and Simon took Judas, their brother, and buried him\nin the sepulchre of their fathers, in the city of Modin.\n\n9:20. And all the people of Israel bewailed him with great lamentation,\nand they mourned for him many days.\n\n9:21. And said:  How is the mighty man fallen, that saved the people of\nIsrael!\n\n9:22. But the rest of the words of the wars of Judas, and of the noble\nacts that he did, and of his greatness, are not written:  for they were\nvery many.\n\n9:23. And it came to pass, after the death of Judas, that the wicked\nbegan to put forth their heads in all the confines of Israel, and all\nthe workers of iniquity rose up.\n\n9:24. In those days there was a very great famine, and they and all\ntheir country yielded to Bacchides.\n\n9:25. And Bacchides chose the wicked men, and made them lords of the\ncountry:\n\n9:26. And they sought out, and made diligent search after the friends\nof Judas, and brought them to Bacchides, and he took vengeance of them,\nand abused them.\n\n9:27. And there was a great tribulation in Israel, such as was not\nsince the day, that there was no prophet seen in Israel.\n\n9:28. And all the friends of Judas came together, and said to Jonathan:\n\n9:29. Since thy brother Judas died there is not a man like him to go\nforth against our enemies, Bacchides, and them that are the enemies of\nour nation.\n\n9:30. Now, therefore, we have chosen thee this day to be our prince,\nand captain, in his stead, to fight our battles.\n\n9:31. So Jonathan took upon him the government at that time, and rose\nup in the place of Judas, his brother\n\n9:32. And Bacchides had knowledge of it, and sought to kill him.\n\n9:33. And Jonathan, and Simon, his brother, knew it, and all that were\nwith them:  and they fled into the desert of Thecua, and they pitched by\nthe water of the lake Asphar,\n\n9:34. And Bacchides understood it, and he came himself, with all his\narmy, over the Jordan, on the sabbath day.\n\n9:35. And Jonathan sent his brother, a captain of the people, to desire\nthe Nabutheans his friends, that they would lend them their equipage,\nwhich was copious.\n\n9:36. And the children of Jambri came forth out of Madaba, and took\nJohn, and all that he had, and went away with them.\n\n9:37. After this it was told Jonathan, and Simon, his brother, that the\nchildren of Jambri made a great marriage, and were bringing the bride\nout of Madaba, the daughter of one of the great princes of Chanaan,\nwith great pomp.\n\n9:38. And they remembered the blood of John, their brother:  and they\nwent up, and hid themselves under the covert of the mountain.\n\n9:39. And they lifted up their eyes, and saw:  and behold a tumult, and\ngreat preparation:  and the bridegroom came forth, and his friends, and\nhis brethren to meet them with timbrels, and musical instruments and\nmany weapons.\n\n9:40. And they rose up against them from the place where they lay in\nambush, and slew them, and there fell many wounded, and the rest fled\ninto the mountains, and they took all their spoils:\n\n9:41. And the marriage was turned into mourning, and the noise of their\nmusical instruments into lamentation.\n\n9:42. And they took revenge for the blood of their brother:  and they\nreturned to the bank of the Jordan.\n\n9:43. And Bacchides heard it, and he came on the sabbath day even to\nthe bank of the Jordan, with a great power.\n\n9:44. And Jonathan said to his company:  Let us arise, and fight against\nour enemies:  for it is not now as yesterday, and the day before.\n\n9:45. For behold the battle is before us, and the water of the Jordan\non this side and on that side, and banks, and marshes, and woods:  and\nthere is no place for us to turn aside.\n\n9:46. Now, therefore, cry ye to heaven, that ye may be delivered from\nthe hand of your enemies.  And they joined battle.\n\n9:47. And Jonathan stretched forth his hand to strike Bacchides, but he\nturned away from him backwards.\n\n9:48. And Jonathan, and they that were with him, leapt into the Jordan,\nand swam over the Jordan to them.\n\n9:49. And there fell of Bacchides' side that day a thousand men:  and\nthey returned to Jerusalem,\n\n9:50. And they built strong cities in Judea, the fortress that was in\nJericho, and in Ammaus, and in Bethoron, and in Bethel, and Thamnata,\nand Phara, and Thopo, with high walls, and gates, and bars.\n\n9:51. And he placed garrisons in them, that they might wage war against\nIsrael:\n\n9:52. And he fortified the city of Bethsura, and Gazara, and the\ncastle, and set garrisons in them, and provisions of victuals:\n\n9:53. And he took the sons of the chief men of the country for\nhostages, and put them in the castle in Jerusalem in custody.\n\n9:54. Now in the year one hundred and fifty-three, the second month,\nAlcimus commanded the walls of the inner court of the sanctuary to be\nthrown down, and the works of the prophets to be destroyed:  and he\nbegan to destroy.\n\n9:55. At that time Alcimus was struck:  and his works were hindered, and\nhis mouth was stopped, and he was taken with a palsy, so that he could no\nmore speak a word, nor give order concerning his house.\n\n9:56. And Alcimus died at that time in great torment.\n\n9:57. And Bacchides saw that Alcimus was dead:  and he returned to the\nking, and the land was quiet for two years.\n\n9:58. And all the wicked held a council, saying:  Behold Jonathan, and\nthey that are with him, dwell at ease and without fear:  now, therefore,\nlet us bring Bacchides hither, and he shall take them all in one night.\n\n9:59. So they went, and gave him counsel.\n\n9:60. And he arose to come with a great army:  and he sent secretly\nletters to his adherents that were in Judea to seize upon Jonathan, and\nthem that were with him:  but they could not, for their design was known\nto them.\n\n9:61. And he apprehended of the men of the country, that were the\nprincipal authors of the mischief, fifty men, and he slew them.\n\n9:62. And Jonathan, and Simon, and they that were with him, retired\ninto Bethbessen, which is in the desert:  and he repaired the breaches\nthereof, and they fortified it.\n\n9:63. And when Bacchides knew it, he gathered together all his\nmultitude:  and sent word to them that were of Judea.\n\n9:64. And he came, and camped above Bethbessen, and fought against it\nmany days, and made engines.\n\n9:65. But Jonathan left his brother, Simon, in the city and went forth\ninto the country, and came with a number of men,\n\n9:66. And struck Odares, and his brethren, and the children of\nPhaseron, in their tents, and he began to slay, and to increase in\nforces.\n\n9:67. But Simon, and they that were with him, sallied out of the city,\nand burnt the engines,\n\n9:68. And they fought against Bacchides, and he was discomfited by\nthem:  and they afflicted him exceedingly, for his counsel, and his\nenterprise was in vain.\n\n9:69. And he was angry with the wicked men that had given him counsel\nto come into their country, and he slew many of them:  and he purposed\nto return with the rest into their country.\n\n9:70. And Jonathan had knowledge of it, and he sent ambassadors to him\nto make peace with him, and to restore to him the prisoners.\n\n9:71. And he accepted it willingly, and did according to his words, and\nswore that he would do him no harm all the days of his life.\n\n9:72. And he restored to him the prisoners which he before had taken\nout of the land of Juda:  and he returned, and went away into his own\ncountry, and he came no more into their borders.\n\n9:73. So the sword ceased from Israel:  and Jonathan dwelt in Machmas,\nand Jonathan began there to judge the people, and he destroyed the\nwicked out of Israel.\n\n\n\n1 Machabees Chapter 10\n\n\nAlexander Bales sets himself up for king:  both he and Demetrius seek to\nmake Jonathan their friend.  Alexander kills Demetrius in battle, and\nhonours Jonathan.  His victory over Apollonius.\n\n10:1. Now in the hundred and sixtieth year, Alexander, the son of\nAntiochus, surnamed the Illustrious, came up and took Ptolemais, and\nthey received him, and he reigned there.\n\n10:2. And king Demetrius heard of it, and gathered together an\nexceeding great army, and went forth against him to fight.\n\n10:3. And Demetrius sent a letter to Jonathan, with peaceable words, to\nmagnify him.\n\n10:4. For he said:  Let us first make a peace with him, before he make\none with Alexander against us.\n\n10:5. For he will remember all the evils that we have done against him,\nand against his brother, and against his nation.\n\n10:6. And he gave him authority to gather together a army, and to make\narms, and that he should be his confederate:  and the hostages that were\nin the castle, he commanded to be delivered to him.\n\n10:7. And Jonathan came to Jerusalem, and read the letters in the\nhearing of all the people, and of them that were in the castle.\n\n10:8. And they were struck with great fear, because they heard that the\nking had given him authority to gather together an army.\n\n10:9. And the hostages were delivered to Jonathan, and he restored them\nto their parents.\n\n10:10. And Jonathan dwelt in Jerusalem, and began to build, and to\nrepair the city.\n\n10:11. And he ordered workmen to build the walls, and mount Sion round\nabout with square stones for fortification:  and so they did.\n\n10:12. Then the strangers that were in the strong holds, which\nBacchides had built, fled away.\n\n10:13. And every man left his place, and departed into his own country:\n\n10:14. Only in Bethsura there remained some of them, that had forsaken\nthe law, and the commandments of God:  for this was a place of refuge\nfor them.\n\n10:15. And king Alexander heard of the promises that Demetrius had made\nJonathan:  and they told him of the battles, and the worthy acts that he\nand his brethren had done, and the labours that they had endured.\n\n10:16. And he said:  Shall we find such another man?  now, therefore, we\nwill make him our friend and our confederate.\n\n10:17. So he wrote a letter, and sent it to him according to these\nwords, saying:\n\n10:18. King Alexander to his brother, Jonathan, greetings.\n\n10:19. We have heard of thee, that thou art a man of great power, and\nfit to be our friend:\n\n10:20. Now therefore, we make thee this day high priest of thy nation,\nand that thou be called the king's friend, (and he sent him a purple\nrobe, and a crown of gold) and that thou be of one mind with us in our\naffairs, and keep friendship with us.\n\n10:21. Then Jonathan put on the holy vestment in the seventh month, in\nthe year one hundred and threescore, at the feast day of the\ntabernacles:  and he gathered together an army, and made a great number\nof arms.\n\n10:22. And Demetrius heard these words, and was exceeding sorry, and\nsaid:\n\n10:23. What is this that we have done, that Alexander hath prevented us\nto gain the friendship of the Jews to strengthen himself?\n\n10:24. I also will write to them words of request, and offer dignities,\nand gifts:  that they may be with me to aid me.\n\n10:25. And he wrote to them in these words:  King Demetrius to the\nnation of the Jews, greeting.\n\n10:26. Whereas you have kept covenant with us, and have continued in\nour friendship, and have not joined with our enemies, we have heard of\nit, and are glad.\n\n10:27. Wherefore now continue still to keep fidelity towards us, and we\nwill reward you with good things, for what you have done in our behalf.\n\n10:28. And we will remit to you many charges, and will give you gifts.\n\n10:29. And now I free you, and all the Jews, from tributes, and I\nrelease you from the customs of salt, and remit the crowns, and the\nthirds of the seed:\n\n10:30. And the half of the fruit of trees, which is my share, I leave\nto you from this day forward, so that it shall not be taken of the land\nof Juda, and of the three cities that are added thereto out of Samaria\nand Galilee, from this day forth, and for ever:\n\n10:31. And let Jerusalem be holy and free, with the borders thereof:\nand let the tenths, and tributes be for itself.\n\n10:32. I yield up also the power of the castle that is in Jerusalem,\nand I give it to the high priest, to place therein such men as he shall\nchoose, to keep it.\n\n10:33. And every soul of the Jews that hath been carried captive from\nthe land of Juda in all my kingdom, I set at liberty freely, that all\nbe discharged from tributes, even of their cattle.\n\n10:34. And I will that all the feasts, and the sabbaths, and the new\nmoons, and the days appointed, and three days before the solemn day,\nand three days after the solemn day, be all days of immunity and\nfreedom, for all the Jews that are in my kingdom:\n\n10:35. And no man shall have power to do any thing against them, or to\nmolest any of them, in any cause.\n\n10:36. And let there be enrolled in the king's army to the number of\nthirty thousand of the Jews:  and allowance shall be made them, as is\ndue to all the king's forces and certain of them shall be appointed to\nbe in the fortresses of the great king:\n\n10:37. And some of them shall be set over the affairs of the kingdom,\nthat are of trust, and let the governors be taken from among\nthemselves, and let them walk in their own laws, as the king hath\ncommanded in the land of Juda.\n\n10:38. And the three cities that are added to Judea, out of the country\nof Samaria, let them be accounted with Judea:  that they may be under\none, and obey no other authority but that of the high priest:\n\n10:39. Ptolemais and the confines thereof, I give as a free gift to the\nholy places that are in Jerusalem, for the necessary charges of the\nholy things.\n\n10:40. And I give every year fifteen thousand sickles of silver out of\nthe king's accounts, of what belongs to me:\n\n10:41. And all that is above, which they that were over the affairs the\nyears before, had not paid, from this time they shall give it to the\nworks of the house.\n\n10:42. Moreover, the five thousand sickles of silver, which they\nreceived from the account of the holy places, every year, shall also\nbelong to the priests that execute the ministry.\n\n10:43. And whosoever shall flee into the temple that is in Jerusalem,\nand in all the borders thereof, being indebted to the king for any\nmatter, let them be set at liberty, and all that they have in my\nkingdom, let them have it free.\n\n10:44. For the building also, or repairing the works of the holy\nplaces, the charges shall be given out of the king's revenues:\n\n10:45. For the building also of the walls of Jerusalem, and the\nfortifying thereof round about, the charges shall be given out of the\nking's account, as also for the building of the walls in Judea.\n\n10:46. Now when Jonathan and the people heard these words, they gave no\ncredit to them, nor received them because they remembered the great\nevil that he had done in Israel, for he had afflicted them exceedingly.\n\n10:47. And their inclinations were towards Alexander, because he had\nbeen the chief promoter of peace in their regard, and him they always\nhelped.\n\n10:48. And king Alexander gathered together a great army, and moved his\ncamp near to Demetrius.\n\n10:49. And the two kings joined battle, and the army of Demetrius fled\naway, and Alexander pursued after him, and pressed them close.\n\n10:50. And the battle was hard fought, till the sun went down:  and\nDemetrius was slain that day.\n\n10:51. And Alexander sent ambassadors to Ptolemee king of Egypt, with\nwords to this effect, saying:\n\nPtolemee. . .Surnamed Philometer.\n\n10:52. Forasmuch as I am returned into my kingdom and am set in the\nthrone of my ancestors, and have gotten the dominion, and have\noverthrown Demetrius and possessed our country,\n\n10:53. And have joined battle with him, and both he and his army have\nbeen destroyed by us, and we are placed in the throne of his kingdom:\n\n10:54. Now, therefore, let us make friendship one with another:  and\ngive me now thy daughter to wife, and I will be thy son in law, and I\nwill give both thee and her gifts worthy of thee.\n\n10:55. And king Ptolomee answered, saying:  Happy is the day wherein\nthou didst return to the land of thy fathers, and sattest in the throne\nof their kingdom.\n\n10:56. And now I will do to thee as thou hast written but meet me at\nPtolemais, that we may see one another, and I may give her to thee as\nthou hast said.\n\n10:57. So Ptolemee went out of Egypt, with Cleopatra his daughter, and\nhe came to Ptolemais, in the hundred and sixty-second year.\n\n10:58. And king Alexander met him, and he gave him his daughter,\nCleopatra:  and he celebrated her marriage at Ptolemais with great\nglory, after the manner of kings.\n\n10:59. And king Alexander wrote to Jonathan, that he should come and\nmeet him.\n\n10:60. And he went honourably to Ptolemais, and he met there the two\nkings, and he gave them much silver, and gold, and presents:  and he\nfound favour in their sight.\n\n10:61. And some pestilent men of Israel, men of a wicked life,\nassembled themselves against him, to accuse him:  and the king gave no\nheed to them.\n\n10:62. And he commanded that Jonathan's garments should be taken off,\nand that he should be clothed with purple:  and they did so.  And the\nking made him sit by himself.\n\n10:63. And he said to his princes:  Go out with him into the midst of\nthe city, and make proclamation, that no man complain against him of\nany matter, and that no man trouble him for any manner of cause.\n\n10:64. So when his accusers saw his glory proclaimed, and him clothed\nwith purple, they all fled away.\n\n10:65. And the king magnified him, and enrolled him amongst his chief\nfriends, and made him governor, and partaker of his dominion.\n\n10:66. And Jonathan returned into Jerusalem with peace and joy.\n\n10:67. In the year one hundred and sixty-five, Demetrius, the son of\nDemetrius, came from Crete into the land of his fathers.\n\n10:68. And king Alexander heard of it, and was much troubled, and\nreturned to Antioch.\n\n10:69. And king Demetrius made Apollonius his general, who was governor\nof Celesyria:  and he gathered together a great army, and came to\nJamnia:  and he sent to Jonathan, the high priest,\n\n10:70. Saying:  Thou alone standest against us, and I am laughed at and\nreproached, because thou shewest thy power against us in the mountains.\n\n10:71. Now, therefore, if thou trustest in thy forces, come down to us\ninto the plain, and there let us try one another:  for with me is the\nstrength of war.\n\n10:72. Ask, and learn who I am, and the rest that help me, who also say\nthat your foot cannot stand before our face, for thy fathers have twice\nbeen put to flight in their own land:\n\n10:73. And now how wilt thou be able to abide the horsemen, and so\ngreat an army in the plain, where there is no stone, nor rock, nor\nplace to flee to?\n\n10:74. Now when Jonathan heard the words of Apollonius, he was moved in\nhis mind:  and he chose ten thousand men, and went out of Jerusalem, and\nSimon, his brother, met him to help him.\n\n10:75. And they pitched their tents near Joppe, but they shut him out\nof the city:  because a garrison of Apollonius was in Joppe, and he laid\nsiege to it.\n\n10:76. And they that were in the city being affrighted, opened the\ngates to him:  so Jonathan took Joppe.\n\n10:77. And Apollonius heard of it, and he took three thousand horsemen,\nand a great army.\n\n10:78. And he went to Azotus, as one that was making a journey, and\nimmediately he went forth into the plain:  because he had a great number\nof horsemen, and he trusted in them.  And Jonathan followed after him to\nAzotus, and they joined battle.\n\n10:79. And Apollonius left privately in the camp a thousand horsemen\nbehind them.\n\n10:80. And Jonathan knew that there was an ambush behind him, and they\nsurrounded his army, and cast darts at the people from morning till\nevening.\n\n10:81. But the people stood still, as Jonathan had commanded them:  and\nso their horses were fatigued.\n\n10:82. Then Simon drew forth his army, and attacked the legion:  for the\nhorsemen were wearied:  and they were discomfited by him, and fled.\n\n10:83. And they that were scattered about the plain fled into Azotus,\nand went into Bethdagon, their idol's temple, there to save themselves.\n\n10:84. But Jonathan set fire to Azotus, and the cities that were round\nabout it, and took the spoils of them and the temple of Dagon:  and all\nthem that were fled into it, he burnt with fire.\n\n10:85. So they that were slain by the sword, with them that were burnt,\nwere almost eight thousand men.\n\n10:86. And Jonathan, removed his army from thence and camped against\nAscalon:  and they went out of the city to meet him with great honour.\n\n10:87. And Jonathan returned into Jerusalem with his people, having\nmany spoils.\n\n10:88. And it came to pass, when Alexander, the king heard these words,\nthat he honoured Jonathan yet more.\n\n10:89. And he sent him a buckle of gold, as the custom is, to be given\nto such as are of the royal blood.  And he gave him Accaron, and all the\nborders thereof, in possession.\n\n\n\n1 Machabees Chapter 11\n\n\nPtolemee invades the kingdom of Alexander:  the latter is slain:  and the\nformer dies soon after.  Demetrius honours Jonathan, and is rescued by\nthe Jews from his own subjects in Antioch.  Antiochus the younger\nfavours Jonathan.  His exploits in divers places.\n\n11:1. And the king of Egypt gathered together an army, like the sand\nthat lieth upon the sea shore, and many ships:  and he sought to get the\nkingdom of Alexander by deceit, and join it to his own kingdom.\n\n11:2. And he went out into Syria with peaceable words and they opened\nto him the cities, and met him:  for king Alexander had ordered them to\ngo forth to meet him, because he was his father in law.\n\n11:3. Now when Ptolemee entered into the cities, he put garrisons of\nsoldiers in every city.\n\n11:4. And when he came near to Azotns, they shewed him the temple of\nDagon that was burnt with fire, and Azotus, and the suburbs thereof,\nthat were destroyed, and the bodies that were cast abroad, and the\ngraves of them that were slain in the battle, which they had made near\nthe way.\n\n11:5. And they told the king that Jonathan had done these things, to\nmake him odious:  but the king held his peace.\n\n11:6. And Jonathan came to meet the king at Joppe with glory, and they\nsaluted one another, and they lodged there.\n\n11:7. And Jonathan went with the king as far as the river, called\nEleutherus:  and he returned into Jerusalem.\n\n11:8. And king Ptolemee got the dominion of the cities by the sea side,\neven to Seleucia, and he devised evil designs against Alexander.\n\n11:9. And he sent ambassadors to Demetrius, saying:  Come, let us make a\nleague between us, and I will give thee my daughter whom Alexander\nhath, and thou shalt reign in the kingdom of thy father.\n\n11:10. For I repent that I have given him my daughter:  for he hath\nsought to kill me.\n\n11:11. And he slandered him, because he coveted his kingdom,\n\n11:12. And he took away his daughter, and gave her to Demetrius, and\nalienated himself from Alexander, and his enmities were made manifest.\n\n11:13. And Ptolemee entered into Antioch, and set two crowns upon his\nhead, that of Egypt, and that of Asia.\n\n11:14. Now king Alexander was in Cilicia at that time:  because they\nthat were in those places had rebelled.\n\n11:15. And when Alexander heard of it, he came to give him battle:  and\nking Ptolemee brought forth his army, and met him with a strong power,\nand put him to flight.\n\n11:16. And Alexander fled into Arabia, there to be protected:  and king\nPtolemee was exalted.\n\n11:17. And Zabdiel the Arabian took off Alexander's head, and sent it\nto Ptolemee.\n\n11:18. And king Ptolemee died the third day after:  and they that were\nin the strong holds were destroyed by them that were within the camp.\n\n11:19. And Demetrius reigned in the hundred and sixty-seventh year.\n\n11:20. In those days Jonathan gathered together them that were in\nJudea, to take the castle that was in Jerusalem:  and they made many\nengines of war against it.\n\n11:21. Then some wicked men that hated their own nation, went away to\nking Demetrius, and told him that Jonathan was besieging the castle.\n\n11:22. And when he heard it, he was angry:  and forthwith he came to\nPtolemais, and wrote to Jonathan that he should not besiege the castle,\nbut should come to him in haste, and speak to him.\n\n11:23. But when Jonathan heard this, he bade them besiege it still:  and\nhe chose some of the ancients of Israel, and of the priests, and put\nhimself in danger\n\n11:24. And he took gold, and silver, and raiment, and many other\npresents, and went to the king to Ptolemais and he found favour in his\nsight.\n\n11:25. And certain wicked men of his nation made complaints against\nhim.\n\n11:26. And the king treated him as his predecessors had done before:\nand he exalted him in the sight of all his friends.\n\n11:27. And he confirmed him in the high priesthood and all the honours\nhe had before, and he made him the chief of his friends.\n\n11:28. And Jonathan requested of the king that he would make Judea free\nfrom tribute, and the three governments, and Samaria, and the confines\nthereof:  and he promised him three hundred talents.\n\n11:29. And the king consented:  and he wrote letters to Jonathan of all\nthese things, to this effect.\n\n11:30. King Demetrius to his brother, Jonathan, and to the nation of\nthe Jews, greeting.\n\n11:31. We send you here a copy of the letter which we have written to\nLasthenes, our parent, concerning you, that you might know it.\n\n11:32. King Demetrius to Lasthenes, his parent, greetings.\n\n11:33. We have determined to do good to the nation of the Jews, who are\nour friends, and keep the things that are just with us, for their good\nwill which they bear towards us.\n\n11:34. We have ratified, therefore, unto them all the borders of Judea,\nand the three cities, Apherema, Lydda, and Ramatha, which are added to\nJudea, out of Samaria, and all their confines, to be set apart to all\nthem that sacrifice in Jerusalem, instead of the payments which the\nking received of them every year, and for the fruits of the land, and\nof the trees.\n\nApherema. . .is found only in the Greek version.\n\n11:35. And as for other things that belonged to us of the tithes, and\nof the tributes, from this time we discharge them of them:  the saltpans\nalso, and the crowns that were presented to us.\n\n11:36. We give all to them, and nothing hereof shall be revoked from\nthis time forth and for ever.\n\n11:37. Now, therefore, see that thou make a copy of these things, and\nlet it be given to Jonathan, and set upon the holy mountain, in a\nconspicuous place.\n\n11:38. And king Demetrius, seeing that the land was quiet before him,\nand nothing resisted him, sent away all his forces, every man to his\nown place, except the foreign army, which he had drawn together from\nthe islands of the nations:  so all the troops of his fathers hated him.\n\n11:39. Now there was one Tryphon who had been of Alexander's party\nbefore:  who seeing that all the army murmured against Demetrius, went\nto Emalchuel, the Arabian, who brought up Antiochus, the son of\nAlexander:\n\n11:40. And he pressed him much to deliver him to him, that he might be\nking in his father's place:  and he told him all that Demetrius had\ndone, and how his soldiers hated him.  And he remained there many days.\n\n11:41. And Jonathan sent to king Demetrius, desiring that he would cast\nout them that were in the castle in Jerusalem, and those that were in\nthe strong holds:  because they fought against Israel.\n\n11:42. And Demetrius sent to Jonathan, saying:  I will not only do this\nfor thee, and for thy people, but I will greatly honour thee, and thy\nnation, when opportunity shall serve.\n\n11:43. Now, therefore, thou shalt do well if thou send me men to help\nme:  for all my army is gone from me.\n\n11:44. And Jonathan sent him three thousand valiant men to Antioch:  and\nthey came to the king, and the king was very glad of their coming.\n\n11:45. And they that were of the city assembled themselves together, to\nthe number of a hundred and twenty thousand men, and would have killed\nthe king.\n\n11:46. And the king fled into the palace:  and they of the city kept the\npassages of the city, and began to fight.\n\n11:47. And the king called the Jews to his assistance:  and they came to\nhim all at once, and they all dispersed themselves through the city.\n\n11:48. And they slew in that day a hundred thousand men, and they set\nfire to the city, and got many spoils that day, and delivered the king.\n\n11:49. And they that were of the city saw that the Jews had got the\ncity as they would:  and they were discouraged in their mind, and cried\nto the king, making supplication, and saying\n\n1:50. Grant us peace, and let the Jews cease from assaulting us, and\nthe city.\n\n11:51. And they threw down their arms, and made peace, and the Jews\nwere glorified in the sight of the king, and in the sight of all that\nwere in his realm, and were renowned throughout the kingdom, and\nreturned to Jerusalem with many spoils.\n\n11:52. So king Demetrius sat in the throne of his kingdom:  and the land\nwas quiet before him.\n\n11:53. And he falsified all whatsoever he had said, and alienated\nhimself from Jonathan, and did not reward him according to the benefits\nhe had received from him, but gave him great trouble.\n\n11:54. And after this Tryphon returned, and with him Antiochus, the\nyoung boy, who was made king, and put on the diadem.\n\n11:55. And there assembled unto him all the hands which Demetrius had\nsent away, and they fought against Demetrius who turned his back and\nfled.\n\n11:56. And Tryphon took the elephants, and made himself master of\nAntioch.\n\n11:57. And young Antiochus wrote to Jonathan, saying:  I confirm thee in\nthe high priesthood, and I appoint thee ruler over the four cities, and\nto be one of the king's friends.\n\n11:58. And he sent him vessels of gold for his service, and he gave him\nleave to drink in gold, and to be clothed in purple, and to wear a\ngolden buckle:\n\n11:59. And he made his brother, Simon, governor, from the borders of\nTyre even to the confines of Egypt.\n\n11:60. Then Jonathan went forth, and passed through the cities beyond\nthe river, and all the forces of Syria gathered themselves to him to\nhelp him, and he came to Ascalon, and they met him honourably out of\nthe city.\n\n11:61. And he went from thence to Gaza:  and they that were in Gaza shut\nhim out:  and he besieged it, and burnt all the suburbs round about, and\ntook the spoils.\n\n11:62. And the men of Gaza made supplication to Jonathan, and he gave\nthem the right hand:  and he took their sons for hostages, and sent them\nto Jerusalem:  and he went through the country, as far as Damascus.\n\n11:63. And Jonathan heard that the generals of Demetrius were come\ntreacherously to Cades, which is in Galilee, with a great army,\npurposing to remove him from the affairs of the kingdom.\n\n11:64. And he went against them:  but left his brother, Simon, in the\ncountry.\n\n11:65. And Simon encamped against Bethsura, and assaulted it many days,\nand shut them up.\n\n11:66. And they desired him to make peace, and he granted it them:  and\nhe cast them out from thence, and took the city, and placed a garrison\nin it.\n\n11:67. And Jonathan and his army encamped by the water of Genesar, and\nbefore it was light they were ready in the plain of Asor.\n\n11:68. And behold the army of the strangers met him in the plain, and\nthey laid an ambush for him in the mountains:  but he went out against\nthem.\n\n11:69. And they that lay in ambush rose out of their places, and joined\nbattle.\n\n11:70. And all that were on Jonathan's side fled, and none was left of\nthem, but Mathathias, the son of Absalom, and Judas, the son of Calphi,\nchief captain of the army.\n\n11:71. And Jonathan rent his garments, and cast earth upon his head,\nand prayed.\n\n11:72. And Jonathan turned again to them to battle, and he put them to\nflight, and they fought.\n\n11:73. And they of his part that fled saw this, and they turned again\nto him, and they all with him pursued the enemies, even to Cades, to\ntheir own camp, and they came even thither.\n\n11:74. And there fell of the aliens in that day three thousand men:  and\nJonathan returned to Jerusalem.\n\n\n\n1 Machabees Chapter 12\n\n\nJonathan renews his league with the Romans and Lacedemonians.  The\nforces of Demetrius flee away from him.  He is deceived and made\nprisoner by Tryphon.\n\n12:1. And Jonathan saw that the time served him, and he chose certain\nmen, and sent them to Rome, to confirm and to renew the amity with\nthem:\n\n12:2. And he sent letters to the Spartans, and to other places,\naccording to the same form.\n\n12:3. And they went to Rome, and entered into the senate house, and\nsaid:  Jonathan, the high priest, and the nation of the Jews, have sent\nus to renew the amity, and alliance, as it was before.\n\n12:4. And they gave them letters to their governors in every place, to\nconduct them into the land of Juda with peace.\n\n12:5. And this is a copy of the letters which Jonathan wrote to the\nSpartans:\n\n12:6. Jonathan, the high priest, and the ancients of the nation, and\nthe priests, and the rest of the people of the Jews, to the Spartans,\ntheir brethren, greeting.\n\n12:7. There were letters sent long ago to Onias the high priest, from\nArius, who reigned then among you to signify that you are our brethren,\nas the copy here underwritten doth specify.\n\n12:8. And Onias received the ambassador with honour and received the\nletters, wherein there was mention made of the alliance, and amity.\n\n12:9. We, though we needed none of these things having for our comfort\nthe holy books that are in our hands,\n\n12:10. Chose rather to send to you to renew the brotherhood and\nfriendship, lest we should become stranger to you altogether:  for there\nis a long time passed since you sent to us.\n\n12:11. We, therefore, at all times without ceasing, both in our\nfestivals, and other days wherein it is convenient, remember you in the\nsacrifices that we offer, and in our observances, as it is meet and\nbecoming to remember brethren.\n\n12:12. And we rejoice at your glory.\n\n12:13. But we have had many troubles and wars on every side; and the\nkings that are round about us have fought against us.\n\n12:14. But we would not be troublesome to you, nor to the rest of our\nallies and friends, in these wars.\n\n12:15. For we have had help from heaven, and we have been delivered,\nand our enemies are humbled.\n\n12:16. We have chosen, therefore, Numenius the son of Antiochus, and\nAntipater, the son of Jason, and have sent them to the Romans, to renew\nwith them the former amity and alliance.\n\n12:17. And we have commanded them to go also to you, and salute you,\nand to deliver you our letters, concerning the renewing of our\nbrotherhood.\n\n12:18. And now you shall do well to give us an answer hereto.\n\n12:19. And this is the copy of the letter which he had sent to Onias:\n\n12:20. Arius, king of the Spartans, to Onias, the high priest,\ngreeting.\n\n12:21. It is found in writing concerning the Spartans, and the Jews,\nthat they are brethren, and that they are of the stock of Abraham.\n\n12:22. And now since this is come to our knowledge, you do well to\nwrite to us of your prosperity.\n\n12:23. And we also have written back to you, That our cattle, and our\npossessions, are yours:  and yours, ours.  We, therefore, have commanded\nthat these things should be told you.\n\n12:24. Now Jonathan heard that the generals of Demetrius were come\nagain with a greater army than before to fight against him.\n\n12:25. So he went out from Jerusalem, and met them in the land of\nAmath:  for he gave them no time to enter into his country.\n\n12:26. And he sent spies into their camp, and they came back, and\nbrought him word that they designed to come upon them in the night.\n\n12:27. And when the sun was set, Jonathan commanded his men to watch,\nand to be in arms all night long ready to fight, and he set sentinels\nround about the camp.\n\n12:28. And the enemies heard that Jonathan and his men were ready for\nbattle:  and they were struck with fear and dread in their heart:  and\nthey kindled fires in their camp.\n\n12:29. But Jonathan, and they that were with him, knew it not till the\nmorning:  for they saw the lights burning.\n\n12:30. And Jonathan pursued after them, but overtook them not:  for they\nhad passed the river Eleutherus.\n\n12:31. And Jonathan turned upon the Arabians, that are called\nZabadeans:  and he defeated them, and took the spoils of them.\n\n12:32. And he went forward, and came to Damascus, and passed through\nall that country.\n\n12:33. Simon also went forth, and came as far as Ascalon, and the\nneighbouring fortresses, and he turned aside to Joppe, and took\npossession of it,\n\n12:34. (For he heard that they designed to deliver the hold to them\nthat took part with Demetrius) and he put a garrison there to keep it.\n\n12:35. And Jonathan came back, and called together the ancients of the\npeople; and he took a resolution with them to build fortresses in\nJudea,\n\n12:36. And to build up walls in Jerusalem, and raise a mount between\nthe castle and the city, to separate it from the city, that so it might\nhave no communication, and that they might neither buy nor sell.\n\n12:37. And they came together to build up the city:  for the wall that\nwas upon the brook, towards the east, was broken down, and he repaired\nthat which is called Caphetetha:\n\n12:38. And Simon built Adiada in Sephela, and fortified it, and set up\ngates and bars.\n\n12:39. Now when Tryphon had conceived a design to make himself king of\nAsia and to take the crown, and to stretch out his hand against king\nAntiochus:\n\n12:40. Fearing lest Jonathan would not suffer him, but would fight\nagainst him:  he sought to seize upon him, and to kill him.  So he rose\nup and came to Bethsan.\n\n12:41. And Jonathan went out to meet him with forty thousand men chosen\nfor battle, and came to Bethsan.\n\n12:42. Now when Tryphon saw that Jonathan came with a great army, he\ndurst not stretch forth his hand against him.\n\n12:43. But received him with honour, and commended him to all his\nfriends, and gave him presents:  and he commanded his troops to obey\nhim, as himself.\n\n12:44. And he said to Jonathan:  Why hast thou troubled all the people,\nwhereas we have no war?\n\n12:45. Now, therefore, send them back to their own houses:  and choose\nthee a few men that may be with thee, and come with me to Ptolemais,\nand I will deliver it to thee, and the rest of the strong holds, and\nthe army, and all that have any charge, and I will return and go away:\nfor this is the cause of my coming.\n\n12:46. And Jonathan believed him, and did as he said:  and sent away his\narmy, and they departed into the land of Juda:\n\n12:47. But he kept with him three thousand men:  of whom he sent two\nthousand into Galilee, and one thousand went with him.\n\n12:48. Now as soon as Jonathan entered into Ptolemais, they of\nPtolemais shut the gates of the city, and took him:  and all them that\ncame in with him they slew with the sword.\n\n12:49. Then Tryphon sent an army and horsemen into Galilee, and into\nthe great plain, to destroy all Jonathan's company.\n\n12:50. But they, when they understood that Jonathan, and all that were\nwith him, were taken and slain, encouraged one another, and went out\nready for battle.\n\n12:51. Then they that had come after them, seeing that they stood for\ntheir lives, returned back.\n\n12:52. Whereupon they all came peaceably into the land of Juda and they\nbewailed Jonathan, and them that had been with him, exceedingly:  and\nIsrael mourned with great lamentation.\n\n12:53. Then all the heathens that were round about them, sought to\ndestroy them.  For they said:\n\n12:54. They have no prince, nor any to help them:  now therefore, let us\nmake war upon them, and take away the memory of them from amongst men.\n\n\n\n1 Machabees Chapter 13\n\n\nSimon is made captain general in the room of his brother.  Jonathan is\nslain by Tryphon.  Simon is favoured by Demetrius:  he taketh Gaza, and\nthe castle of Jerusalem.\n\n13:1. Now Simon heard that Tryphon was gathering together a very great\narmy to invade the land of Juda, and to destroy it.\n\n13:2. And seeing that the people was in dread and in fear, he went up\nto Jerusalem, and assembled the people,\n\n13:3. And exhorted them, saying:  You know what great battles I and my\nbrethren, and the house of my father, have fought for the laws, and the\nsanctuary, and the distresses that we have seen:\n\n13:4. By reason whereof all my brethren have lost their lives for\nIsrael's sake, and I am left alone.\n\n13:5. And now far be it from me to spare my life in any time of\ntrouble:  for I am not better than my brethren.\n\n13:6. I will avenge then my nation and the sanctuary, and our children,\nand wives:  for all the heathens are gathered together to destroy us out\nof mere malice.\n\n13:7. And the spirit of the people was enkindled as soon as they heard\nthese words:\n\n13:8. And they answered with a loud voice, saying:  Thou art our leader\nin the place of Judas, and Jonathan, thy brother:\n\n13:9. Fight thou our battles, and we will do whatsoever thou shalt say\nto us.\n\n13:10. So gathering together all the men of war, he made haste to\nfinish all the walls of Jerusalem, and he fortified it round about.\n\n13:11. And he sent Jonathan, the son of Absalom, and with him a new\narmy, into Joppe, and he cast out them that were in it, and himself\nremained there.\n\n13:12. And Tryphon removed from Ptolemais with a great army, to invade\nthe land of Juda, and Jonathan was with him in custody.\n\n13:13. But Simon pitched in Addus, over against the plain.\n\n13:14. And when Tryphon understood that Simon was risen up in the place\nof his brother, Jonathan, and that he meant to join battle with him, he\nsent messengers to him,\n\n13:15. Saying:  We have detained thy brother, Jonathan, for the money\nthat he owed in the king's account, by reason of the affairs which he\nhad the management of.\n\n13:16. But now send a hundred talents of silver, and his two sons for\nhostages, that when he is set at liberty he may not revolt from us, and\nwe will release him.\n\n13:17. Now Simon knew that he spoke deceitfully to him; nevertheless,\nhe ordered the money and the children to be sent, lest he should bring\nupon himself a great hatred of the people of Israel, who might have\nsaid:\n\n13:18. Because he sent not the money and the children therefore is he\nlost.\n\n13:19. So he sent the children and the hundred talents and he lied, and\ndid not let Jonathan go.\n\n13:20. And after this, Tryphon entered within the country, to destroy\nit:  and they went about by the way that leadeth to Ador:  and Simon and\nhis army marched to every place whithersoever they went.\n\nSimon and his army marched to every place whithersoever they\nwent. . .That is, whithersoever Tryphon and his horsemen went in order\nto oppose them.\n\n13:21. And they that were in the castle, sent messengers to Tryphon,\nthat he should make haste to come through the desert, and send them\nvictuals.\n\n13:22. And Tryphon made ready all his horsemen to come that night; but\nthere fell a very great snow, and he came not into the country of\nGalaad.\n\n13:23. And when he approached to Bascama, he slew Jonathan and his sons\nthere.\n\n13:24. And Tryphon returned, and went into his own country.\n\n13:25. And Simon sent, and took the bones of Jonathan, his brother, and\nburied them in Modin, the city of his fathers.\n\n13:26. And all Israel bewailed him with great lamentation:  and they\nmourned for him many days.\n\n13:27. And Simon built over the sepulchre of his father and of his\nbrethren, a building lofty to the sight, of polished stone, behind and\nbefore:\n\n13:28. And he set up seven pyramids, one against another, for his\nfather, and his mother, and his four brethren:\n\n13:29. And round about these he set great pillars; and upon the\npillars, arms, for a perpetual memory; and by the arms, ships carved,\nwhich might be seen by all that sailed on the sea.\n\n13:30. This is the sepulchre that he made in Modin, even unto this day.\n\n13:31. But Tryphon, when he was upon a journey with the young king,\nAntiochus, treacherously slew him.\n\n13:32. And he reigned in his place, and put on the crown of Asia:  and\nbrought great evils upon the land.\n\n13:33. And Simon built up the strong holds of Judea, fortifying them\nwith high towers, and great walls, and gates and bars:  and he stored up\nvictuals in the fortresses.\n\n13:34. And Simon chose men, and sent to king Demetrius, to the end that\nhe should grant an immunity to the land; for all that Tryphon did, was\nto spoil.\n\n13:35. And king Demetrius, in answer to this request, wrote a letter in\nthis manner:\n\n13:36. King Demetrius to Simon, the high priest, and friend of kings,\nand to the ancients, and to the nation of the Jews, greeting:\n\n13:37. The golden crown, and the palm, which you sent, we have\nreceived:  and we are ready to make a firm peace with you, and to write\nto the king's chief officers to release you the things that we have\nreleased.\n\n13:38. For all that we have decreed in your favour shall stand in\nforce.  The strong holds that you have built, shall be your own.\n\n13:39. And as for any oversight or fault committed unto this day, we\nforgive it:  and the crown which you owed:  and if any other thing were\ntaxed in Jerusalem, now let it not be taxed.\n\n13:40. And if any of you be fit to be enrolled among ours, let them be\nenrolled, and let there be peace between us.\n\n13:41. In the year one hundred and seventy, the yoke of the Gentiles\nwas taken off from Israel.\n\n13:42. And the people of Israel began to write in the instruments, and\npublic records, The first year under Simon, the high priest, the great\ncaptain, and prince of the Jews.\n\n13:43. In those days Simon besieged Gaza, and camped round about it,\nand he made engines, and set them to the city, and he struck one tower,\nand took it.\n\n13:44. And they that were within the engine leapt into the city:  and\nthere was a great uproar in the city.\n\n13:45. And they that were in the city went up, with their wives and\nchildren, upon the wall, with their garments rent, and they cried with\na loud voice, beseeching Simon to grant them peace.\n\n13:46. And they said:  Deal not with us according to our evil deeds, but\naccording to thy mercy.\n\n13:47. And Simon being moved, did not destroy them but yet he cast them\nout of the city, and cleansed the houses wherein there had been idols,\nand then he entered into it with hymns, blessing the Lord:\n\n13:48. And having cast out of it all uncleanness, he placed in it men\nthat should observe the law:  and he fortified it, and made it his\nhabitation.\n\n13:49. But they that were in the castle of Jerusalem were hindered from\ngoing out and coming into the country, and from buying and selling:  and\nthey were straitened with hunger, and many of them perished through\nfamine.\n\n13:50. And they cried to Simon for peace, and he granted it to them:\nand he cast them out from thence and cleansed the castle from\nuncleannesses.\n\n13:51. And they entered into it the three and twentieth day of the\nsecond month, in the year one hundred and seventy-one, with\nthanksgiving, and branches of palm trees, and harps, and cymbals, and\npsalteries, and hymns, and canticles, because the great enemy was\ndestroyed out of Israel.\n\n13:52. And he ordained that these days should be kept every year with\ngladness.\n\n13:53. And he fortified the mountain of the temple that was near the\ncastle, and he dwelt there himself, and they that were with him.\n\n13:54. And Simon saw that John, his son, was a valiant man for war:  and\nhe made him captain of all the forces:  and he dwelt in Gazara.\n\n\n\n1 Machabees Chapter 14\n\n\nDemetrius is taken by the king of Persia.  Judea flourishes under the\ngovernment of Simon.\n\n14:1. In the year one hundred and seventy-two king Demetrius assembled\nhis army, and went into Media to get him succours to fight against\nTryphon.\n\n14:2. And Arsaces, the king of Persia and Media, heard that Demetrius\nwas entered within his borders, and he sent one of his princes to take\nhim alive, and bring him to him.\n\n14:3. And he went, and defeated the army of Demetrius:  and took him,\nand brought him to Arsaces, and he put him into custody.\n\n14:4. And all the land of Juda was at rest all the days of Simon, and\nhe sought the good of his nation:  and his power, and his glory pleased\nthem well all his days.\n\n14:5. And with all his glory he took Joppe for a haven, and made an\nentrance to the isles of the sea.\n\n14:6. And he enlarged the bounds of his nation, and made himself master\nof the country.\n\n14:7. And he gathered together a great number of captives, and had the\ndominion of Gazara, and of Bethsura, and of the castle:  and took away\nall uncleanness out of it, and there was none that resisted him.\n\n14:8. And every man tilled his land with peace, and the land of Juda\nyielded her increase, and the trees of the fields their fruit.\n\n14:9. The ancient men sat all in the streets, and treated together of\nthe good things of the land, and the young men put on them glory, and\nthe robes of war.\n\n14:10. And he provided victuals for the cities, and he appointed that\nthey should be furnished with ammunition, so that the fame of his glory\nwas renowned even to the end of the earth.\n\n14:11. He made peace in the land, and Israel rejoiced with great joy.\n\n14:12. And every man sat under his vine, and under his fig tree:  and\nthere was none to make them afraid.\n\n14:13. There was none left in the land to fight against them:  kings\nwere discomfited in those days.\n\n14:14. And he strengthened all those of his people that were brought\nlow, and he sought the law, and took away every unjust and wicked man.\n\n14:15. He glorified the sanctuary, and multiplied the vessels of the\nholy places.\n\n14:16. And it was heard at Rome, and as far as Sparta, that Jonathan\nwas dead:  and they were very sorry.\n\n14:17. But when they heard that Simon, his brother, was made high\npriest in his place, and was possessed of all the country, and the\ncities therein:\n\n14:18. They wrote to him in tables of brass, to renew the friendship\nand alliance which they had made with Judas and with Jonathan, his\nbrethren.\n\n14:19. And they were read before the assembly in Jerusalem.  And this is\nthe copy of the letters that the Spartans sent.\n\n14:20. The princes and the cities of the Spartans, to Simon, the high\npriest, and to the ancients, and the priests, and the rest of the\npeople of the Jews, their brethren, greeting.\n\n14:21. The ambassadors that were sent to our people, have told us of\nyour glory, and honour, and joy:  and we rejoiced at their coming.\n\n14:22. And we registered what was said by them in the councils of the\npeople, in this manner:  Numenius, the son of Antiochus, and Antipater,\nthe son of Jason, ambassadors of the Jews, came to us to renew the\nformer friendship with us.\n\n14:23. And it pleased the people to receive the men honourably, and to\nput a copy of their words in the public records, to be a memorial to\nthe people of the Spartans.  And we have written a copy of them to\nSimon, the high priest.\n\n14:24. And after this Simon sent Numenius to Rome, with a great shield\nof gold, of the weight of a thousand pounds, to confirm the league with\nthem.  And when the people of Rome had heard\n\n14:25. These words, they said:  What thanks shall we give to Simon, and\nhis sons:\n\n14:26. For he hath restored his brethren, and hath driven away in fight\nthe enemies of Israel from them:  and they decreed him liberty, and\nregistered it in tables of brass, and set it upon pillars in mount\nSion.\n\n14:27. And this is a copy of the writing.  The eighteenth day of the\nmonth Elul, in the year one hundred and seventy-two, being the third\nyear under Simon, the high priest, at Asaramel,\n\n14:28. In a great assembly of the priests, and of the people, and the\nprinces of the nation, and the ancients of the country, these things\nwere notified:  Forasmuch as there have often been wars in our country,\n\n14:29. And Simon, the son of Mathathias, of the children of Jarib, and\nhis brethren, have put themselves in danger, and resisted the enemies\nof their nation, for the maintenance of their holy places, and the law:\nand have raised their nation to great glory.\n\n14:30. And Jonathan gathered together his nation, and was made their\nhigh priest, and he was laid to his people.\n\n14:31. And their enemies desired to tread down and destroy their\ncountry, and to stretch forth their hands against their holy places.\n\n14:32. Then Simon resisted and fought for his nation, and laid out much\nof his money, and armed the valiant men of his nation, and gave them\nwages.\n\n14:33. And he fortified the cities of Judea and Bethsura that lieth in\nthe borders of Judea, where the armour of the enemies was before:  and\nhe placed there a garrison of Jews.\n\n14:34. And he fortified Joppe, which lieth by the sea:  and Gazara,\nwhich bordereth upon Azotus, wherein the enemies dwelt before, and he\nplaced Jews here:  and furnished them with all things convenient for\ntheir reparation.\n\n14:35. And the people seeing the acts of Simon, and to what glory he\nmeant to bring his nation, made him their prince and high priest,\nbecause he had done all these things, and for the justice and faith\nwhich he kept to his nation, and for that he sought by all means to\nadvance his people.\n\n14:36. And in his days things prospered in his hands, so that the\nheathens were taken away out of their country, and they also that were\nin the city of David, in Jerusalem, in the castle, out of which they\nissued forth, and profaned all places round about the sanctuary, and\ndid much evil to purity.\n\n14:37. And he placed therein Jews for the defence of the country, and\nof the city, and he raised up the walls of Jerusalem.\n\n14:38. And king Demetrius confirmed him in the high priesthood.\n\n14:39. According to these things he made him his friend, and glorified\nhim with great glory.\n\n14:40. For he had heard that the Romans had called the Jews their\nfriends, and confederates, and brethren, and that they had received\nSimon's ambassadors with honour:\n\n14:41. And that the Jews, and their priests, had consented that he\nshould be their prince and high priest for ever, till there should\narise a faithful prophet:\n\n14:42. And that he should be chief over them, and that he should have\nthe charge of the sanctuary, and that he should appoint rulers over\ntheir works, and over the country, and over the armour, and over the\nstrong holds;\n\n14:43. And that he should have care of the holy places; and that he\nshould be obeyed by all, and that all the writings in the country\nshould be made in his name; and that he should be clothed with purple\nand gold:\n\n14:44. And that it should not be lawful for any of the people, or of\nthe priests, to disannul any of these things, or to gainsay his words,\nor to call together an assembly in the country without him:  or to be\nclothed with purple, or to wear a buckle of gold.\n\n14:45. And whosoever shall do otherwise, or shall make void any of\nthese things, shall be punished.\n\n14:46. And it pleased all the people to establish Simon, and to do\naccording to these words.\n\n14:47. And Simon accepted thereof, and was well pleased to execute the\noffice of the high priesthood, and to be captain, and prince of the\nnation of the Jews, and of the priests, and to be chief over all.\n\n14:48. And they commanded that this writing should be put in tables of\nbrass, and that they should be set up within the compass of the\nsanctuary, in a conspicuous place:\n\n14:49. And that a copy thereof should be put in the treasury, that\nSimon, and his sons, may have it.\n\n\n\n1 Machabees Chapter 15\n\n\nAntiochus son of Demetrius honours Simon.  The Romans write to divers\nnations in favour of the Jews.  Antiochus quarrels with Simon, and sends\ntroops to annoy him.\n\n15:1. And king Antiochus, the son of Demetrius, sent letters from the\nisles of the sea to Simon, the priest, and prince of the nation of the\nJews, and to all the people:\n\n15:2. And the contents were these:  King Antiochus to Simon, the high\npriest, and to the nation of the Jews, greeting.\n\n15:3. Forasmuch as certain pestilent men have usurped the kingdom of\nour fathers, and my purpose is to challenge the kingdom, and to restore\nit to its former estate; and I have chosen a great army, and have built\nships of war.\n\n15:4. And I design to go through the country, that I may take revenge\nof them that have destroyed our country, and that have made many cities\ndesolate in my realm.\n\n15:5. Now, therefore, I confirm unto thee all the oblations which all\nthe kings before me remitted to thee, and what other gifts soever they\nremitted to thee:\n\n15:6. And I give thee leave to coin thy own money in thy country:\n\n15:7. And let Jerusalem be holy and free, and all the armour that hath\nbeen made, and the fortresses which thou hast built, and which thou\nkeepest in thy hands, let them remain to thee.\n\n15:8. And all that is due to the king, and what should be the king's\nhereafter, from this present and for ever, is forgiven thee.\n\n15:9. And when we shall have recovered our kingdom, we will glorify\nthee, and thy nation, and the temple, with great glory, so that your\nglory shall be made manifest in all the earth.\n\n15:10. In the year one hundred and seventy-four, Antiochus entered into\nthe land of his fathers, and all the forces assembled to him, so that\nfew were left with Tryphon.\n\n15:11. And king Antiochus pursued after him, and he fled along by the\nsea coast and came to Dora.\n\n15:12. For he perceived that evils were gathered together upon him, and\nhis troops had forsaken him.\n\n15:13. And Antiochus camped above Dora with a hundred and twenty\nthousand men of war, and eight thousand horsemen:\n\n15:14. And he invested the city, and the ships drew near by sea:  and\nthey annoyed the city by land, and by sea, and suffered none to come\nin, or to go out.\n\n15:15. And Numenius, and they that had been with him, came from the\ncity of Rome, having letters written to the kings, and countries, the\ncontents whereof were these:\n\n15:16. Lucius, the consul of the Romans, to king Ptolemee, greeting.\n\nPtolemee. . .Surnamed Physeon, brother and successor to Philometer.\n\n15:17. The ambassadors of the Jews, our friends, came to us, to renew\nthe former friendship and alliance, being sent from Simon, the high\npriest, and the people of the Jews.\n\n15:18. And they brought also a shield of gold of a thousand pounds.\n\n15:19. It hath seemed good therefore to us, to write to the kings and\ncountries, that they should do them no harm, nor fight against them,\ntheir cities, or countries:  and that they should give no aid to them\nthat fight against them.\n\n15:20. And it hath seemed good to us to receive the shield of them.\n\n15:21. If, therefore, any pestilent men are fled out of their country\nto you, deliver them to Simon, the high priest, that he may punish them\naccording to their law.\n\n15:22. These same things were written to king Demetrius, and to\nAttalus, and to Ariarathes, and to Arsaces,\n\nAttalus, etc. . .Attalus was king of Pergamus; Ariarathes was king of\nCappadocia; and Arsaces was king of the Parthians.\n\n15:23. And to all the countries:  and to Lampsacus and to the Spartans,\nand to Delus, and Myndus, and Sicyon, and Caria, and Samus, and\nPamphylia, and Lycia, and Alicarnassus, and Cos, and Side, and Aradus,\nand Rhodes, and Phaselis, and Gortyna, and Gnidus, and Cyprus, and\nCyrene.\n\n15:24. And they wrote a copy thereof to Simon, the high priest, and to\nthe people of the Jews.\n\n15:25. But king Antiochus moved his camp to Dora the second time,\nassaulting it continually, and making engines:  and he shut up Tryphon,\nthat he could not go out.\n\n15:26. And Simon sent to him two thousand chosen men to aid him, silver\nalso, and gold, and abundance of furniture.\n\n15:27. And he would not receive them, but broke all the covenant that\nhe had made with him before, and alienated himself from him.\n\n15:28. And he sent to him Athenobius, one of his friends, to treat with\nhim, saying:  You hold Joppe and Gazara, and the castle that is in\nJerusalem, which are cities of my kingdom:\n\n15:29. Their borders you have wasted, and you have made great havoc in\nthe land, and have got the dominion of many places in my kingdom.\n\n15:30. Now, therefore, deliver up the cities that you have taken, and\nthe tributes of the places whereof you have gotten the dominion without\nthe borders of Judea.\n\n15:31. But if not, give me for them five hundred talents of silver, and\nfor the havoc that you have made, and the tributes of the cities, other\nfive hundred talents:  or else we will come and fight against you.\n\n15:32. So Athenobius, the king's friend came to Jerusalem, and saw the\nglory of Simon and his magnificence in gold, and silver, and his great\nequipage, and he was astonished, and told him the king's words.\n\n15:33. And Simon answered him, and said to him:  We have neither taken\nother men's land, neither do we hold that which is other men's, but the\ninheritance of our fathers, which was for some time unjustly possessed\nby our enemies.\n\n15:34. But we having opportunity, claim the inheritance of our fathers.\n\n15:35. And as to thy complaints concerning Joppe and Gazara, they did\ngreat harm to the people, and to our country:  yet for these we will\ngive a hundred talents.  And Athenobius answered him not a word.\n\n15:36. But returning in a rage to the king, made report to him of these\nwords, and of the glory of Simon, and of all that he had seen, and the\nking was exceeding angry.\n\n15:37. And Tryphon fled away by ship to Orthosias.\n\n15:38. And the king appointed Cendebeus captain of the sea coast, and\ngave him an army of footmen and horsemen.\n\n15:39. And he commanded him to march with his army towards Judea:  and\nhe commanded him to build up Gedor, and to fortify the gates of the\ncity, and to war against the people.  But the king himself pursued after\nTryphon.\n\n15:40. And Cendebeus came to Jamnia, and began to provoke the people,\nand to ravage Judea, and to take the people prisoners, and to kill, and\nto build Gedor.\n\n15:41. And he placed there horsemen, and an army:  that they might issue\nforth, and make incursions upon the ways of Judea, as the king had\ncommanded him.\n\n\n\n1 Machabees Chapter 16\n\n\nThe sons of Simon defeat the troops of Antiochus.  Simon with two of his\nsons are treacherously murdered by Ptolemee his son in law.\n\n16:1. Then John came up from Gazara, and told Simon, his father, what\nCendebeus had done against their people.\n\nJohn. . .He was afterwards surnamed Hircanus, and succeeded his father\nin both his dignities of high priest and prince.  He conquered the\nEdomites, and obliged them to a conformity with the Jews in religion;\nand destroyed the schismatical temple of the Samaritans.\n\n16:2. And Simon called his two eldest sons, Judas and John, and said to\nthem:  I and my brethren, and my father's house, have fought against the\nenemies of Israel from our youth even to this day:  and things have\nprospered so well in our hands, that we have delivered Israel\noftentimes.\n\n16:3. And now I am old, but be you instead of me, and my brethren, and\ngo out, and fight for our nation:  and the help from heaven be with you.\n\n16:4. Then he chose out of the country twenty thousand fighting men,\nand horsemen, and they went forth against Cendebeus:  and they rested in\nModin.\n\n16:5. And they arose in the morning, and went into the plain:  and\nbehold a very great army of footmen and horsemen came against them, and\nthere was a running river between them.\n\n16:6. And he and his people pitched their camp over against them, and\nhe saw that the people were afraid to go over the river, so he went\nover first:  then the men seeing him, passed over after him.\n\nHe. . .Viz., John.\n\n16:7. And he divided the people, and set the horsemen in the midst of\nthe footmen:  but the horsemen of the enemies were very numerous.\n\n16:8. And they sounded the holy trumpets:  and Cendebeus and his army\nwere put to flight:  and there fell many of them wounded, and the rest\nfled into the strong hold.\n\n16:9. At that time, Judas, John's brother, was wounded:  but John\npursued after them, till he came to Cedron, which he had built:\n\nCedron. . .Otherwise called Gedon, the city that Cendebeus was\nfortifying.\n\n16:10. And they fled even to the towers that were in the fields of\nAzotus, and he burnt them with fire.  And there fell of them two\nthousand men, and he returned into Judea in peace.\n\n16:11. Now Ptolemee, the son of Abobus, was appointed captain in the\nplain of Jericho, and he had abundance of silver and gold.\n\n16:12. For he was son in law of the high priest.\n\n16:13. And his heart was lifted up, and he designed to make himself\nmaster of the country, and he purposed treachery against Simon and his\nsons, to destroy them.\n\n16:14. Now Simon, as he was going through the cities that were in the\ncountry of Judea, and taking care for the good ordering of them, went\ndown to Jericho, he and Mathathias and Judas, his sons, in the year one\nhundred and seventy-seven, the eleventh month:  the same is the month\nSabath.\n\n16:15. And the son of Abobus received them deceitfully into a little\nfortress, that is called Doch, which he had built:  and he made them a\ngreat feast, and hid men there.\n\n16:16. And when Simon and his sons had drunk plentifully, Ptolemee and\nhis men rose up, and took their weapons, and entered into the\nbanqueting place, and slew him, and his two sons, and some of his\nservants.\n\n16:17. And he committed a great treachery in Israel, and rendered evil\nfor good.\n\n16:18. And Ptolemee wrote these things, and sent to the king that he\nshould send him an army to aid him, and he would deliver him the\ncountry, and their cities, and tributes.\n\n16:19. And he sent others to Gazara to kill John:  and to the tribunes\nhe sent letters to come to him, and that he would give them silver, and\ngold, and gifts.\n\n16:20. And he sent others to take Jerusalem, and the mountain of the\ntemple.\n\n16:21. Now one running before, told John in Gazara, that his father and\nhis brethren were slain, and that he hath sent men to kill thee also.\n\n16:22. But when he heard it, he was exceedingly afraid:  and he\napprehended the men that came to kill him, and he put them to death:\nfor he knew that they sought to make him away.\n\n16:23. And as concerning the rest of the acts of John, and his wars,\nand the worthy deeds, which he bravely achieved, and the building of\nthe walls, which he made, and the things that he did:\n\n16:24. Behold, these are written in the book of the days of his\npriesthood, from the time that he was made high priest after his\nfather.\n\n\n\n\nTHE SECOND BOOK OF MACHABEES\n\n\n\nThis second book of MACHABEES is not a continuation of the history\ncontained in the first:  nor does is come down so low as the first does:\nbut relates many of the same facts more at large, and adds other\nremarkable particulars, omitted in the first book, relating to the\nstate of the Jews, as well before as under the persecution of\nANTIOCHUS.  The author, who is not the same with that of the first book,\nhas given (as we learn from chap. 2.20, etc.) a short abstract of what\nJASON of Cyrene had written in the five volumes, concerning JUDAS and\nhis brethren.  He wrote in Greek, and begins with two letters, sent by\nthe Jews of Jerusalem to their brethren in Egypt.\n\n\n\n2 Machabees Chapter 1\n\n\nLetters of the Jews of Jerusalem to them that were in Egypt.  They give\nthanks for their delivery from Antiochus:  and exhort their brethren to\nkeep the feast of the dedication of the altar, and of the miraculous\nfire.\n\n1:1. To the brethren, the Jews that are throughout Egypt; the brethren,\nthe Jews that are in Jerusalem, and in the land of Judea, send health\nand good peace.\n\n1:2. May God be gracious to you, and remember his covenant that he made\nwith Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, his faithful servants:\n\n1:3. And give you all a heart to worship him, and to do his will with a\ngreat heart, and a willing mind.\n\n1:4. May he open your heart in his law, and in his commandments, and\nsend you peace.\n\n1:5. May he hear your prayers, and be reconciled unto you, and never\nforsake you in the evil time.\n\n1:6. And now here we are praying for you.\n\n1:7. When Demetrius reigned, in the year one hundred and sixty-nine, we\nJews wrote to you in the trouble and violence that came upon us in\nthose years, after Jason withdrew himself from the holy land, and from\nthe kingdom.\n\n1:8. They burnt the gate, and shed innocent blood:  then we prayed to\nthe Lord, and were heard, and we offered sacrifices, and fine flour,\nand lighted the lamps, and set forth the loaves.\n\n1:9. And now celebrate ye the days of Scenopegia in the month of\nCasleu.\n\nScenopegia. . .Viz., the Encenia, or feast of the dedication of the\naltar, called here Scenopegia, or feast of tabernacles, from being\ncelebrated with the like solemnity.\n\n1:10. In the year one hundred and eighty-eight, the people that is at\nJerusalem, and in Judea, and the senate, and Judas, to Aristobolus, the\npreceptor of king Ptolemee, who is of the stock of the anointed\npriests, and to the Jews that are in Egypt, health and welfare.\n\n1:11. Having been delivered by God out of great dangers, we give him\ngreat thanks, forasmuch as we have been in war with such a king.\n\nSuch a king. . .Viz., Antiochus Sidetes, who began to make war upon the\nJews, whilst Simon was yet alive.  1 Mac. 15.39.  And afterwards besieged\nJerusalem under John Hircanus.  So that the Judas here mentioned, ver.\n10, is not Judas Machabeus, who was dead long before the year 188 of\nthe kingdom of the Greeks, for he died in the year 146 of that epoch,\n(see above 1 Mac. chap. 2., ver. 70, also the note on chap. 1, ver. 2,)\nbut either Judas the eldest son of John Hircanus, or Judas the Essene,\nrenowned for the gift of prophecy, who flourished about that time.\n\n1:12. For he made numbers of men swarm out of Persia, that have fought\nagainst us, and the holy city.\n\n1:13. For when the leader himself was in Persia, and with him a very\ngreat army, he fell in the temple of Nanea, being deceived by the\ncounsel of the priests of Nanea.\n\nNanea. . .A Persian goddess, which some have taken for Diana, others for\nVenus.\n\n1:14. For Antiochus, with his friends, came to the place as though he\nwould marry her, and that he might receive great sums of money under\nthe title of a dowry.\n\n1:15. And when the priests of Nanea had set it forth, and he with a\nsmall company had entered into the compass of the temple, they shut the\ntemple,\n\n1:16. When Antiochus was come in:  and opening a secret entrance of the\ntemple, they cast stones and slew the leader, and them that were with\nhim, and hewed them in pieces; and cutting off their heads, they threw\nthem forth.\n\n1:17. Blessed be God in all things, who hath delivered up the wicked.\n\n1:18. Therefore, whereas we purpose to keep the purification of the\ntemple on the five and twentieth day of the month of Casleu, we thought\nit necessary to signify it to you:  that you also may keep the day of\nScenopegia, and the day of the fire, that was given when Nehemias\noffered sacrifice, after the temple and the altar was built.\n\n1:19. For when our fathers were led into Persia, the priests that then\nwere worshippers of God, took privately the fire from the altar, and\nhid it in a valley where there was a deep pit without water, and there\nthey kept it safe, so that the place was unknown to all men.\n\nPersia. . .Babylonia, called here Persia, from being afterwards a part\nof the Persian empire.\n\n1:20. But when many years had passed, and it pleased God that Nehemias\nshould be sent by the king of Persia, he sent some of the posterity of\nthose priests that had hid it, to seek for the fire:  and as they told\nus, they found no fire, but thick water.\n\n1:21. Then he bade them draw it up, and bring it to him:  and the\npriest, Nehemias, commanded the sacrifices that were laid on, to be\nsprinkled with the same water, both the wood, and the things that were\nlaid upon it.\n\n1:22. And when this was done, and the time came that the sun shone out,\nwhich before was in a cloud, there was a great fire kindled, so that\nall wondered.\n\n1:23. And all the priests made prayer, while the sacrifice was\nconsuming, Jonathan beginning, and the rest answering.\n\n1:24. And the prayer of Nehemias was after this manner:  O Lord God,\nCreator of all things, dreadful and strong, just and merciful, who\nalone art the good king,\n\n1:25. Who alone art gracious, who alone art just, and almighty, and\neternal, who deliverest Israel from all evil, who didst choose the\nfathers, and didst sanctify them:\n\n1:26. Receive the sacrifice for all thy people Israel, and preserve thy\nown portion, and sanctify it.\n\n1:27. Gather together our scattered people, deliver them that are\nslaves to the Gentiles, and look upon them that are despised and\nabhorred:  that the Gentiles may know that thou art our God\n\n1:28. Punish them that oppress us, and that treat us injuriously with\npride.\n\n1:29. Establish thy people in thy holy place, as Moses hath spoken.\n\n1:30. And the priests sung hymns till the sacrifice was consumed.\n\n1:31. And when the sacrifice was consumed, Nehemias commanded the water\nthat was left to be poured out upon the great stones.\n\n1:32. Which being done, there was kindled a flame from them:  but it was\nconsumed by the light that shined from the altar.\n\n1:33. And when this matter became public, it was told to the king of\nPersia, that in the place where the priests that were led away, had hid\nthe fire, there appeared water, with which Nehemias and they that were\nwith him had purified the sacrifices.\n\n1:34. And the king considering, and diligently examining the matter,\nmade a temple for it, that he might prove what had happened.\n\nA temple. . .That is, an enclosure, or a wall round about the place\nwhere the fire was hid, to separate it from profane uses, to the end\nthat it might be respected as a holy place.\n\n1:35. And when he had proved it, he gave the priests many goods, and\ndivers presents, and he took and distributed them to them with his own\nhand.\n\n1:36. And Nehemias called this place Nephthar, which is interpreted\npurification.  But many call it Nephi.\n\n\n\n2 Machabees Chapter 2\n\n\nA continuation of the second letter.  Of Jeremias' hiding the ark at the\ntime of the captivity.  The author's preface.\n\n2:1.Now it is found in the descriptions of Jeremias, the prophet, that\nhe commanded them that went into captivity, to take the fire, as it\nhath been signified, and how he gave charge to them that were carried\naway into captivity.\n\nThe descriptions. . .That is, the records or memoirs of Jeremias, a work\nthat is now lost.\n\n2:2. And how he gave them the law, that they should not forget the\ncommandments of the Lord, and that they should not err in their minds,\nseeing the idols of gold, and silver, and the ornaments of them.\n\n2:3. And with other such like speeches, he exhorted them that they\nwould not remove the law from their heart.\n\n2:4. It was also contained in the same writing, how the prophet, being\nwarned by God, commanded that the tabernacle and the ark should\naccompany him, till he came forth to the mountain where Moses went up,\nand saw the inheritance of God.\n\n2:5. And when Jeremias came thither he found a hollow cave:  and he\ncarried in thither the tabernacle, and the ark, and the altar of\nincense, and so stopped the door.\n\n2:6. Then some of them that followed him, came up to mark the place:\nbut they could not find it.\n\n2:7. And when Jeremias perceived it, he blamed them, saying:  The place\nshall be unknown, till God gather together the congregation of the\npeople, and receive them to mercy.\n\n2:8. And then the Lord will shew these things, and the majesty of the\nLord shall appear, and there shall be a cloud as it was also shewed to\nMoses, and he shewed it when Solomon prayed that the place might be\nsanctified to the great God.\n\n2:9. For he treated wisdom in a magnificent manner:  and like a wise\nman, he offered the sacrifice of the dedication, and of the finishing\nof the temple.\n\n2:10. And as Moses prayed to the Lord, and fire came down from heaven,\nand consumed the holocaust:  so Solomon also prayed, and fire came down\nfrom heaven and consumed the holocaust.\n\n2:11. And Moses said:  Because the sin offering was not eaten, it was\nconsumed.\n\n2:12. So Solomon also celebrated the dedication eight days.\n\n2:13. And these same things were set down in the memoirs, and\ncommentaries of Nehemias:  and how he made a library, and gathered\ntogether out of the countries, the books both of the prophets, and of\nDavid, and the epistles of the kings, and concerning the holy gifts.\n\n2:14. And in like manner Judas also gathered together all such things\nas were lost by the war we had, and they are in our possession.\n\n2:15. Wherefore, if you want these things, send some that may fetch\nthem to you.\n\n2:16. As we are then about to celebrate the purification, we have\nwritten unto you:  and you shall do well, if you keep the same days.\n\nThe purification. . .That is, the feast of the purifying or cleansing of\nthe temple.\n\n2:17. And we hope that God, who hath delivered his people, and hath\nrendered to all the inheritance, and the kingdom, and the priesthood,\nand the sanctuary,\n\n2:18. As he promised in the law, will shortly have mercy upon us, and\nwill gather us together from every land under heaven into the holy\nplace.\n\n2:19. For he hath delivered us out of great perils, and hath cleansed\nthe place.\n\n2:20. Now as concerning Judas Machabeus, and his brethren, and the\npurification of the great temple, and the dedication of the altar:\n\n2:21. As also the wars against Antiochus, the Illustrious, and his son,\nEupator:\n\n2:22. And the manifestations that came from heaven to them, that\nbehaved themselves manfully on the behalf of the Jews, so that, being\nbut a few they made themselves masters of the whole country, and put to\nflight the barbarous multitude:\n\n2:23. And recovered again the most renowned temple in all the world,\nand delivered the city, and restored the laws that were abolished, the\nLord with all clemency shewing mercy to them.\n\n2:24. And all such things as have been comprised in five books by\nJason, of Cyrene, we have attempted to abridge in one book.\n\n2:25. For considering the multitude of books, and the difficulty that\nthey find that desire to undertake the narrations of histories, because\nof the multitude of the matter,\n\n2:26. We have taken care for those indeed that are willing to read,\nthat it might be a pleasure of mind:  and for the studious, that they\nmay more easily commit to memory:  and that all that read might receive\nprofit.\n\n2:27. And as to ourselves indeed, in undertaking this work of\nabridging, we have taken in hand no easy task; yea, rather a business\nfull of watching and sweat.\n\nNo easy task, etc. . .The spirit of God, that assists the sacred penmen,\ndoes not exempt them from labour in seeking out the matter which they\nare to treat of, and the order and manner in which they are to deliver\nit.  So St. Luke writ the gospel having diligently attained to all\nthings.  Luke 1. ver. 3.\n\n2:28. But as they that prepare a feast, and seek to satisfy the will of\nothers:  for the sake of many, we willingly undergo the labour.\n\n2:29. Leaving to the authors the exact handling of every particular,\nand as for ourselves, according to the plan proposed, studying to be\nbrief.\n\n2:30. For as the master builder of a new house must have care of the\nwhole building:  but he that taketh care to paint it, must seek out fit\nthings for the adorning of it:  so must it be judged of us.\n\n2:31. For to collect all that is to be known, to put the discourse in\norder, and curiously to discuss every particular point, is the duty of\nthe author of a history:\n\n2:32. But to pursue brevity of speech, and to avoid nice declarations\nof things, is to be granted to him that maketh an abridgment.\n\n2:33. Here then we will begin the narration:  let this be enough by way\nof a preface:  for it is a foolish thing to make a long prologue, and to\nbe short in the story itself.\n\n\n\n2 Machabees Chapter 3\n\n\nHeliodorus is sent by king Seleucus to take away the treasures\ndeposited in the temple.  He is struck by God, and healed by the prayers\nof the high priest.\n\n3:1. Therefore, when the holy city was inhabited with all peace, and\nthe laws as yet were very well kept, because of the godliness of Onias,\nthe high priest and the hatred his soul had of evil,\n\n3:2. It came to pass that even the kings themselves and the princes\nesteemed the place worthy of the highest honour, and glorified the\ntemple with very great gifts:\n\n3:3. So that Seleucus, king of Asia, allowed out of his revenues all\nthe charges belonging to the ministry of the sacrifices.\n\nSeleucus. . .Son of Antiochus the Great, and elder brother of Antiochus\nEpiphanes.\n\n3:4. But one Simon, of the tribe of Benjamin, who was appointed\noverseer of the temple, strove in opposition to the high priest, to\nbring about some unjust thing in the city.\n\n3:5. And when he could not overcome Onias, he went to Apollonius, the\nson of Tharseas, who at that time was governor of Celesyria, and\nPhenicia:\n\n3:6. And told him, that the treasury in Jerusalem was full of immense\nsums of money, and the common store was infinite, which did not belong\nto the account of the sacrifices:  and that it was possible to bring all\ninto the king's hands.\n\n3:7. Now when Apollonius had given the king notice concerning the money\nthat he was told of, he called for Heliodorus, who had the charge over\nhis affairs, and sent him with commission to bring him the foresaid\nmoney.\n\n3:8. So Heliodorus forthwith began his journey, under a colour of\nvisiting the cities of Celesyria and Phenicia, but indeed to fulfil the\nking's purpose.\n\n3:9. And when he was come to Jerusalem, and had been courteously\nreceived in the city by the high priest, he told him what information\nhad been given concerning the money:  and declared the cause for which\nhe was come:  and asked if these things were so indeed.\n\n3:10. Then the high priest told him that these were sums deposited, and\nprovisions for the subsistence of the widows and the fatherless:\n\n3:11. And that some part of that which wicked Simon had given\nintelligence of belonged to Hircanus, son of Tobias, a man of great\ndignity; and that the whole was four hundred talents of silver, and two\nhundred of gold.\n\n3:12. But that to deceive them who had trusted to the place and temple\nwhich is honoured throughout the whole world, for the reverence and\nholiness of it, was a thing which could not by any means be done.\n\n3:13. But he, by reason of the orders he had received from the king,\nsaid, that by all means the money must be carried to the king.\n\n3:14. So on the day he had appointed, Heliodorus entered in to order\nthis matter.  But there was no small terror throughout the whole city.\n\n3:15. And the priests prostrated themselves before the altar in their\npriests' vestments, and called upon him from heaven, who made the law\nconcerning things given to be kept, that he would preserve them safe,\nfor them that had deposited them.\n\n3:16. Now whosoever saw the countenance of the high priest, was wounded\nin heart:  for his face, and the changing of his colour, declared the\ninward sorrow of his mind.\n\n3:17. For the man was so compassed with sadness and horror of the body,\nthat it was manifest to them that beheld him, what sorrow he had in his\nheart.\n\n3:18. Others also came flocking together out of their houses, praying\nand making public supplication, because the place was like to come into\ncontempt.\n\n3:19. And the women, girded with haircloth about their breasts, came\ntogether in the streets.  And the virgins also that were shut up, came\nforth, some to Onias, and some to the walls, and others looked out of\nthe windows.\n\n3:20. And all holding up their hands towards heaven made supplication.\n\n3:21. For the expectation of the mixed multitude, and of the high\npriest, who was in an agony, would have moved any one to pity.\n\n3:22. And these indeed called upon almighty God, to preserve the things\nthat had been committed to them safe and sure for those that had\ncommitted them.\n\n3:23. But Heliodorus executed that which he had resolved on, himself\nbeing present in the same place with his guard about the treasury.\n\n3:24. But the spirit of the Almighty God gave a great evidence of his\npresence, so that all that had presumed to obey him, falling down by\nthe power of God, were struck with fainting and dread.\n\n3:25. For there appeared to them a horse, with a terrible rider upon\nhim, adorned with a very rich covering:  and he ran fiercely and struck\nHeliodorus with his fore feet, and he that sat upon him seemed to have\narmour of gold.\n\n3:26. Moreover there appeared two other young men, beautiful and\nstrong, bright and glorious, and in comely apparel:  who stood by him,\non either side, and scourged him without ceasing with many stripes.\n\n3:27. And Heliodorus suddenly fell to the ground, and they took him up,\ncovered with great darkness, and having put him into a litter, they\ncarried him out.\n\n3:28. So he that came with many servants, and all his guard, into the\naforesaid treasury, was carried out, no one being able to help him, the\nmanifest power of God being known.\n\n3:29. And he indeed, by the power of God, lay speechless, and without\nall hope of recovery.\n\n3:30. But they praised the Lord, because he had glorified his place:\nand the temple, that a little before was full of fear and trouble, when\nthe Almighty Lord appeared, was filled with joy and gladness.\n\n3:31. Then some of the friends of Heliodorus forthwith begged of Onias,\nthat he would call upon the Most High to grant him his life, who was\nready to give up the ghost.\n\n3:32. So the high priest, considering that the king might perhaps\nsuspect that some mischief had been done to Heliodorus by the Jews,\noffered a sacrifice of health for the recovery of the man.\n\n3:33. And when the high priest was praying, the same young men in the\nsame clothing stood by Heliodorus, and said to him:  Give thanks to\nOnias the priest:  because for his sake the Lord hath granted thee life.\n\n3:34. And thou having been scourged by God, declare unto all men the\ngreat works and the power of God.  And having spoken thus, they appeared\nno more.\n\n3:35. So Heliodorus, after he had offered a sacrifice to God, and made\ngreat vows to him, that had granted him life, and given thanks to\nOnias, taking his troops with him, returned to the king.\n\n3:36. And he testified to all men the works of the great God, which he\nhad seen with his own eyes.\n\n3:37. And when the king asked Heliodorus, who might be a fit man to be\nsent yet once more to Jerusalem, he said:\n\n3:38. If thou hast any enemy, or traitor to thy king dom, send him\nthither, and thou shalt receive him again scourged, if so be he escape:\nfor there is undoubtedly in that place a certain power of God.\n\n3:39. For he that hath his dwelling in the heavens, is the visitor and\nprotector of that place, and he striketh and destroyeth them that come\nto do evil to it.\n\n3:40. And the things concerning Heliodorus, and the keeping of the\ntreasury, fell out in this manner.\n\n\n\n2 Machabees Chapter 4\n\n\nOnias has recourse to the king.  The ambition and wickedness of Jason\nand Menelaus.  Onias is treacherously murdered.\n\n4:1. But Simon, of whom we spoke before, who was the betrayer of the\nmoney, and of his country, spoke ill of Onias, as though he had incited\nHeliodorus to do these things, and had been the promoter of evils:\n\n4:2. And he presumed to call him a traitor to the kingdom, who provided\nfor the city, and defended his nation, and was zealous for the law of\nGod.\n\n4:3. But when the enmities proceeded so far, that murders also were\ncommitted by some of Simon's friends:\n\n4:4. Onias, considering the danger of this contention, and that\nApollonius, who was the governor of Celesyia, and Phenicia, was\noutrageous, which increased the malice of Simon, went to the king,\n\n4:5. Not to be an accuser of his countrymen, but with view to the\ncommon good of all the people.\n\n4:6. For he saw that, except the king took care, it was impossible that\nmatters should be settled in peace, or that Simon would cease from his\nfolly.\n\n4:7. But after the death of Seleucus, when Antiochus, who was called\nthe Illustrious, had taken possession of the kingdom, Jason, the\nbrother of Onias, ambitiously sought the high priesthood:\n\n4:8. And went to the king, promising him three hundred and sixty\ntalents of silver, and out of other revenues fourscore talents.\n\n4:9. Besides this he promised also a hundred and fifty more, if he\nmight have license to set him up a place for exercise, and a place for\nyouth, and to entitle them that were at Jerusalem, Antiochians.\n\n4:10. Which when the king had granted, and he had gotten the rule into\nhis hands, forthwith he began to bring over his countrymen to the\nfashion of the heathens.\n\n4:11. And abolishing those things, which had been decreed of special\nfavour by the kings in behalf of the Jews, by the means of John, the\nfather of that Eupolemus, who went ambassador to Rome to make amity and\nalliance, he disannulled the lawful ordinances of the citizens, and\nbrought in fashions that were perverse.\n\n4:12. For he had the boldness to set up, under the very castle, a place\nof exercise, and to put all the choicest youths in brothel houses.\n\n4:13. Now this was not the beginning, but an increase, and progress of\nheathenish and foreign manners, through the abominable and unheard of\nwickedness of Jason, that impious wretch, and no priest.\n\n4:14. Insomuch that the priests were not now occupied about the offices\nof the altar, but despising the temple and neglecting the sacrifices,\nhastened to be partakers of the games, and of the unlawful allowance\nthereof, and of the exercise of the discus.\n\n4:15. And setting nought by the honours of their fathers, they esteemed\nthe Grecian glories for the best:\n\n4:16. For the sake of which they incurred a dangerous contention, and\nfollowed earnestly their ordinances, and in all things they coveted to\nbe like them, who were their enemies and murderers.\n\n4:17. For acting wickedly against the laws of God doth not pass\nunpunished:  but this the time following will declare.\n\n4:18. Now when the game that was used every fifth year was kept at\nTyre, the king being present,\n\n4:19. The wicked Jason sent from Jerusalem sinful men, to carry three\nhundred didrachmas of silver for the sacrifice of Hercules; but the\nbearers thereof desired it might not be bestowed on the sacrifices,\nbecause it was not necessary, but might be deputed for other charges.\n\n4:20. So the money was appointed by him that sent it to the sacrifice\nof Hercules:  but because of them that carried it was employed for the\nmaking of galleys.\n\n4:21. Now when Apollonius, the son of Mnestheus was sent into Egypt to\ntreat with the nobles of king Philometor, and Antiochus understood that\nhe was wholly excluded from the affairs of the kingdom, consulting his\nown interest, he departed thence and came to Joppe, and from thence to\nJerusalem.\n\n4:22. Where he was received in a magnificent manner by Jason, and the\ncity, and came in with torch lights, and with praises, and from thence\nhe returned with his army into Phenicia.\n\n4:23. Three years afterwards Jason sent Menelaus, brother of the\naforesaid Simon, to carry money to the king, and to bring answers from\nhim concerning certain necessary affairs.\n\n4:24. But he being recommended to the king, when he had magnified the\nappearance of his power, got the high priesthood for himself, by\noffering more than Jason by three hundred talents of silver.\n\n4:25. So having received the king's mandate, he returned, bringing\nnothing worthy of the high priesthood:  but having the mind of a cruel\ntyrant, and the rage of a savage beast.\n\n4:26. Then Jason, who had undermined his own brother, being himself\nundermined, was driven out a fugitive into the country of the\nAmmonites.\n\n4:27. So Menelaus got the principality:  but as for the money he had\npromised to the king, he took no care, when Sostratus, the governor of\nthe castle, called for it.\n\n4:28. For to him appertained the gathering of the taxes:  wherefore they\nwere both called before the king.\n\n4:29. And Menelaus was removed from the priesthood, Lysimachus, his\nbrother, succeeding:  and Sostratus alas made governor of the Cyprians.\n\n4:30. When these things were in doing, it fell out that they of\nTharsus, and Mallos, raised a sedition, because they were given for a\ngift to Antiochus, the king's concubine.\n\n4:31. The king, therefore, went in all haste to appease them, leaving\nAndronicus, one of his nobles, for his deputy.\n\n4:32. Then Menelaus supposing that he had found a convenient time,\nhaving stolen certain vessels of gold out of the temple, gave them to\nAndronicus, and others he had sold at Tyre, and in the neighbouring\ncities:\n\n4:33. Which when Onias understood most certainly, he reproved him,\nkeeping himself in a safe place at Antioch, beside Daphne.\n\n4:34. Whereupon Menelaus coming to Andronicus, desired him to kill\nOnias.  And he went to Onias, and gave him his right hand with an oath,\nand (though he were suspected by him) persuaded him to come forth out\nof the sanctuary, and immediately slew him, without any regard to\njustice.\n\n4:35. For which cause not only the Jews, but also the other nations,\nconceived indignation, and were much grieved for the unjust murder of\nso great a man.\n\n4:36. And when the king was come back from the places of Cilicia, the\nJews that were at Antioch, and also the Greeks, went to him:\ncomplaining of the unjust murder of Onias.\n\n4:37. Antiochus, therefore, was grieved in his mind for Onias, and\nbeing moved to pity, shed tears, remembering the sobriety and modesty\nof the deceased.\n\n4:38. And being inflamed to anger, he commanded Andronicus to be\nstripped of his purple, and to be led about through all the city:  and\nthat in the same place wherein he had committed the impiety against\nOnias, the sacrilegious wretch should be put to death, the Lord\nrepaying him his deserved punishment.\n\n4:39. Now when many sacrileges had been committed by Lysimachus in the\ntemple, by the counsel of Menelaus, and the rumour of it was spread\nabroad, the multitude gathered themselves together against Lysimachus,\na great quantity of gold being already carried away.\n\n4:40. Wherefore the multitude making an insurrection, and their minds\nbeing filled with anger, Lysimachus armed about three thousand men, and\nbegan to use violence, one Tyrannus being captain, a man far gone both\nin age and in madness.\n\n4:41. But when they perceived the attempt of Lysimachus, some caught up\nstones, some strong clubs, and some threw ashes upon Lysimachus.\n\n4:42. And many of them were wounded, and some struck down to the\nground, but all were put to flight:  and as for the sacrilegious fellow\nhimself, they slew him beside the treasury.\n\n4:43. Now concerning these matters, an accusation was laid against\nMenelaus.\n\n4:44. And when the king was come to Tyre, three men were sent from the\nancients to plead the cause before him.\n\n4:45. But Menelaus being convicted, promised Ptolemee to give him much\nmoney to persuade the king to favour him.\n\nPtolemee. . .The son of Dorymenus, a favourite of the king.\n\n4:46. So Ptolemee went to the king in a certain court where he was, as\nit were to cool himself, and brought him to be of another mind:\n\n4:47. So Menelaus, who was guilty of all the evil, was acquitted by him\nof the accusations:  and those poor men, who, if they had pleaded their\ncause even before Scythians, should have been judged innocent, were\ncondemned to death.\n\n4:48. Thus they that persecuted the cause for the city, and for the\npeople, and the sacred vessels, did soon suffer unjust punishment.\n\n4:49. Wherefore even the Tyrians, being moved with indignation, were\nvery liberal towards their burial.\n\n4:50. And so through the covetousness of them that were in power,\nMenelaus continued in authority, increasing in malice to the betraying\nof the citizens.\n\n\n\n2 Machabees Chapter 5\n\n\nWonderful signs are seen in the air.  Jason's wickedness and end.\nAntiochus takes Jerusalem, and plunders the temple.\n\n5:1. At the same time Antiochus prepared for a second journey into\nEgypt.\n\n5:2. And it came to pass, that through the whole city of Jerusalem, for\nthe space of forty days, there were seen horsemen running in the air,\nin gilded raiment, and armed with spears, like bands of soldiers.\n\n5:3. And horses set in order by ranks, running one against another,\nwith the shakings of shields, and a multitude of men in helmets, with\ndrawn swords, and casting of darts, and glittering of golden armour,\nand of harnesses of all sorts.\n\n5:4. Wherefore all men prayed that these prodigies might turn to good.\n\n5:5. Now when there was gone forth a false rumour as though Antiochus\nhad been dead, Jason taking with him no fewer than a thousand men,\nsuddenly assaulted the city:  and though the citizens ran together to\nthe wall, the city at length was taken, and Menelaus fled into the\ncastle.\n\n5:6. But Jason slew his countrymen without mercy, not considering that\nprosperity against one's own kindred is a very great evil, thinking\nthey had been enemies, and not citizens, whom he conquered.\n\n5:7. Yet he did not get the principality, but received confusion at the\nend, for the reward of his treachery, and fled again into the country\nof the Ammonites.\n\n5:8. At the last, having been shut up by Aretas, the king of the\nArabians, in order for his destruction, flying from city to city, hated\nby all men, as a forsaker of the laws and execrable, as an enemy of his\ncountry and countrymen, he was thrust out into Egypt:\n\n5:9. And he that had driven many out of their country perished in a\nstrange land, going to Lacedemon, as if for kindred sake he should have\nrefuge there:\n\n5:10. But he that had cast out many unburied, was himself cast forth\nboth unlamented and unburied, neither having foreign burial, nor being\npartaker of the sepulchre of his fathers.\n\n5:11. Now when these things were done, the king suspected that the Jews\nwould forsake the alliance:  whereupon departing out of Egypt with a\nfurious mind, he took the city by force of arms,\n\n5:12. And commanded the soldiers to kill, and not to spare any that\ncame in their way, and to go up into the houses to slay.\n\n5:13. Thus there was a slaughter of young and old, destruction of women\nand children, and killing of virgins and infants.\n\n5:14. And there were slain in the space of three whole days fourscore\nthousand, forty thousand were made prisoners, and as many sold.\n\n5:15. But this was not enough, he presumed also to enter into the\ntemple, the most holy in all the world Menelaus, that traitor to the\nlaws, and to his country, being his guide.\n\n5:16. And taking in his wicked hands the holy vessels, which were given\nby other kings and cities, for the ornament and the glory of the place,\nhe unworthily handled and profaned them.\n\n5:17. Thus Antiochus going astray in mind, did not consider that God\nwas angry for a while, because of the sins of the inhabitants of the\ncity:  and therefore this contempt had happened to the place:\n\n5:18. Otherwise had they not been involved in many sins, as Heliodorus,\nwho was sent by king Seleucus to rob the treasury, so this man also, as\nsoon as he had come, had been forthwith scourged, and put back from his\npresumption.\n\n5:19. But God did not choose the people for the place's sake, but the\nplace for the people's sake.\n\n5:20. And, therefore, the place also itself was made partaker of the\nevils of the people:  but afterwards shall communicate in the good\nthings thereof, and as it was forsaken in the wrath of Almighty God,\nshall be exalted again with great glory, when the great Lord shall be\nreconciled.\n\n5:21. So when Antiochus had taken away out of the temple a thousand and\neight hundred talents, he went back in all haste to Antioch, thinking\nthrough pride that he might now make the land navigable, and the sea\npassable on foot:  such was the haughtiness of his mind.\n\n5:22. He left also governors to afflict the people:  at Jerusalem,\nPhilip, a Phrygian by birth, but in manners more barbarous than he that\nset him there:\n\n5:23. And in Gazarim, Andronicus and Menelaus, who bore a more heavy\nhand upon the citizens than the rest.\n\n5:24. And whereas he was set against the Jews, he sent that hateful\nprince, Apollonius, with an army of two and twenty thousand men,\ncommanding him to kill all that were of perfect age, and to sell the\nwomen and the younger sort.\n\n5:25. Who, when he was come to Jerusalem, pretending peace, rested till\nthe holy day of the sabbath:  and then the Jews keeping holiday, he\ncommanded his men to take arms.\n\n5:26. And he slew all that were come forth to flee:  and running through\nthe city with armed men, he destroyed a very great multitude.\n\n5:27. But Judas Machabeus, who was the tenth, had withdrawn himself\ninto a desert place, and there lived amongst wild beasts in the\nmountains with his company:  and they continued feeding on herbs, that\nthey might not be partakers of the pollution.\n\nWas the tenth. . .That is, he had nine others in his company.\n\n\n\n2 Machabees Chapter 6\n\n\nAntiochus commands the law to be abolished, sets up an idol in the\ntemple, and persecutes the faithful.  The martyrdom of Eleazar.\n\n6:1. But not long after the king sent a certain old man of Antioch, to\ncompel the Jews to depart from the laws of their fathers and of God:\n\n6:2. And to defile the temple that was in Jerusalem, and to call it the\ntemple of Jupiter Olympius:  and that in Garazim of Jupiter Hospitalis,\naccording as they were that inhabited the place.\n\nThat in Gazarim. . .Viz., the temple of the Samaritans.  And as they were\noriginally strangers, the name of Hospitalis (which signifies of or\nbelonging to strangers) was applicable to the idol set up in their\ntemple.\n\n6:3. And very bad was this invasion of evils, and grievous to all.\n\n6:4. For the temple was full of the riot and revellings of the\nGentiles:  and of men lying with lewd women.  And women thrust themselves\nof their accord into the holy places, and brought in things that were\nnot lawful.\n\n6:5. The altar also was filled with unlawful things, which were\nforbidden by the laws.\n\n6:6. And neither were the sabbaths kept, nor the solemn days of the\nfathers observed, neither did any man plainly profess himself to be a\nJew.\n\n6:7. But they were led by bitter constraint on the king's birthday to\nthe sacrifices:  and when the feast of Bacchus was kept, they were\ncompelled to go about crowned with ivy in honour of Bacchus.\n\n6:8. And there went out a decree into the neighbouring cities of the\nGentiles, by the suggestion of the Ptolemeans, that they also should\nact in like manner against the Jews, to oblige them to sacrifice:\n\n6:9. And whosoever would not conform themselves to the ways of the\nGentiles, should be put to death:  then was misery to be seen.\n\n6:10. For two women were accused to have circumcised their children:\nwhom, when they had openly led about through the city, with the infants\nhanging at their breasts, they threw down headlong from the walls.\n\n6:11. And others that had met together in caves that were near, and\nwere keeping the sabbath day privately, being discovered by Philip,\nwere burnt with fire, because they made a conscience to help themselves\nwith their hands, by reason of the religious observance of the day.\n\nPhilip. . .The governor of Jerusalem.\n\n6:12. Now I beseech those that shall read this book, that they be not\nshocked at these calamities, but that they consider the things that\nhappened, not as being for the destruction, but for the correction of\nour nation.\n\n6:13. For it is a token of great goodness, when sinners are not\nsuffered to go on in their ways for a long time, but are presently\npunished.\n\n6:14. For, not as with other nations, (whom the Lord patiently\nexpecteth, that when the day of judgment shall come, he may punish them\nin the fulness of their sins:)\n\n6:15. Doth he also deal with us, so as to suffer our sins to come to\ntheir height, and then take vengeance on us.\n\n6:16. And therefore he never withdraweth his mercy from us:  but though\nhe chastise his people with adversity he forsaketh them not.\n\n6:17. But let this suffice in a few words for a warning to the readers.\nAnd now we must come to the narration.\n\n6:18. Eleazar one of the chief of the scribes, a man advanced in years,\nand of a comely countenance, was pressed to open his mouth to eat\nswine's flesh.\n\n6:19. But he, choosing rather a most glorious death than a hateful\nlife, went forward voluntarily to the torment.\n\n6:20. And considering in what manner he was to come to it, patiently\nbearing, he determined not to do any unlawful things for the love of\nlife.\n\n6:21. But they that stood by, being moved with wicked pity, for the old\nfriendship they had with the man, taking him aside, desired that flesh\nmight be brought which it was lawful for him to eat, that he might make\nas if he had eaten, as the king had commanded, of the flesh of the\nsacrifice:\n\nWicked pity. . .Their pity was wicked, inasmuch as it suggested that\nwicked proposal of saving his life by dissimulation.\n\n6:22. That by so doing he might be delivered from death; and for the\nsake of their old friendship with the man, they did him this courtesy.\n\n6:23. But he began to consider the dignity of his age, and his ancient\nyears, and the inbred honour of his grey head, and his good life and\nconversation from a child; and he answered without delay, according to\nthe ordinances of the holy law made by God, saying, that he would\nrather be sent into the other world.\n\n6:24. For it doth not become our age, said he, to dissemble:  whereby\nmany young persons might think that Eleazar, at the age of fourscore\nand ten years, was gone over to the life of the heathens:\n\n6:25. And so they, through my dissimulation, and for a little time of a\ncorruptible life, should be deceived, and hereby I should bring a stain\nand a curse upon my old age.\n\n6:26. For though, for the present time, I should be delivered from the\npunishments of men, yet should I not escape the hand of the Almighty\nneither alive nor dead.\n\n6:27. Wherefore, by departing manfully out of this life, I shall shew\nmyself worthy of my old age:\n\n6:28. And I shall leave an example of fortitude to young men, if with a\nready mind and constancy I suffer an honourable death, for the most\nvenerable and most holy laws.  And having spoken thus, he was forthwith\ncarried to execution.\n\n6:29. And they that led him, and had been a little before more mild,\nwere changed to wrath for the words he had spoken, which they thought\nwere uttered out of arrogancy.\n\n6:30. But when be was now ready to die with the stripes, he groaned:\nand said:  O Lord, who hast the holy knowledge, thou knowest manifestly\nthat whereas I might be delivered from death, I suffer grievous pains\nin body:  but in soul am well content to suffer these things, because I\nfear thee.\n\n6:31. Thus did this man die, leaving not only to young men, but also to\nthe whole nation, the memory of his death, for an example of virtue and\nfortitude.\n\n\n\n2 Machabees Chapter 7\n\n\nThe glorious martyrdom of the seven brethren and their mother.\n\n7:1. It came to pass also, that seven brethren, together with their\nmother, were apprehended, and compelled by the king to eat swine's\nflesh against the law, for which end they were tormented with whips and\nscourges.\n\n7:2. But one of them, who was the eldest, said thus:  What wouldst thou\nask, or learn of us?  we are ready to die, rather than to transgress the\nlaws of God, received from our fathers.\n\n7:3. Then the king being angry, commanded fryingpans and brazen\ncaldrons to be made hot:  which forthwith being heated,\n\n7:4. He commanded to cut out the tongue of him that had spoken first:\nand the skin of his head being drawn off, to chop off also the\nextremities of his hands and feet, the rest of his brethren and his\nmother looking on.\n\n7:6. And when he was now maimed in all parts, he commanded him, being\nyet alive, to be brought to the fire, and to be fried in the fryingpan:\nand while he was suffering therein long torments, the rest, together\nwith the mother, exhorted one another to die manfully,\n\n7:6. Saying:  The Lord God will look upon the truth, and will take\npleasure in us, as Moses declared in the profession of the canticle;\nAnd in his servants he will take pleasure.\n\n7:7. So when the first was dead after this manner, they brought the\nnext to make him a mocking stock:  and when they had pulled off the skin\nof his head with the hair, they asked him if he would eat, before he\nwere punished throughout the whole body in every limb.\n\n7:8. But he answered in his own language, and said:  I will not do it.\nWherefore he also, in the next place, received the torments of the first:\n\n7:9. And when he was at the last gasp, he said thus:  Thou indeed, O\nmost wicked man, destroyest us out of this present life:  but the King\nof the world will raise us up, who die for his laws, in the\nresurrection of eternal life.\n\n7:10. After him the third was made a mocking-stock, and when he was\nrequired, he quickly put forth his tongue, and courageously stretched\nout his hands:\n\n7:11. And said with confidence:  These I have from heaven, but for the\nlaws of God I now despise them, because I hope to receive them again\nfrom him.\n\n7:12. So that the king, and they that were with him, wondered at the\nyoung man's courage, because he esteemed the torments as nothing.\n\n7:13. And after he was thus dead, they tormented the fourth in the like\nmanner.\n\n7:14. And when he was now ready to die, he spoke thus:  It is better,\nbeing put to death by men, to look for hope from God, to be raised up\nagain by him; for, as to thee, thou shalt have no resurrection unto\nlife.\n\n7:15. And when they had brought the fifth, they tormented him.  But he,\nlooking upon the king,\n\n7:16. Said:  Whereas thou hast power among men though thou art\ncorruptible, thou dost what thou wilt but think not that our nation is\nforsaken by God.\n\n7:17. But stay patiently a while, and thou shalt see his great power,\nin what manner he will torment thee and thy seed.\n\n7:18. After him they brought the sixth, and he being ready to die,\nspoke thus:  Be not deceived without cause:  for we suffer these things\nfor ourselves, having sinned against our God, and things worthy of\nadmiration are done to us:\n\n7:19. But do not think that thou shalt escape unpunished, for that thou\nhast attempted to fight against God.\n\n7:20. Now the mother was to be admired above measure, and worthy to be\nremembered by good men, who beheld her seven sons slain in the space of\none day, and bore it with a good courage, for the hope that she had in\nGod:\n\n7:21. And she bravely exhorted every one of them in her own language,\nbeing filled with wisdom; and joining a man's heart to a woman's\nthought,\n\n7:22. She said to them:  I know not how you were formed in my womb; for\nI neither gave you breath, nor soul, nor life, neither did I frame the\nlimbs of every one of you.\n\n7:23. But the Creator of the world, that formed the nativity of man,\nand that found out the origin of all, he will restore to you again, in\nhis mercy, both breath and life, as now you despise yourselves for the\nsake of his laws.\n\n7:24. Now Antiochus, thinking himself despised, and withal despising\nthe voice of the upbraider, when the youngest was yet alive, did not\nonly exhort him by words, but also assured him with an oath, that he\nwould make him a rich and a happy man, and, if he would turn from the\nlaws of his fathers, would take him for a friend, and furnish him with\nthings necessary.\n\n7:25. But when the young man was not moved with these things, the king\ncalled the mother, and counselled her to deal with the young man to\nsave his life.\n\n7:26. And when he had exhorted her with many words she promised that\nshe would counsel her son.\n\n7:27. So bending herself towards him, mocking the cruel tyrant, she\nsaid in her own language:  My son have pity upon me, that bore thee nine\nmonths in my womb, and gave thee suck three years, and nourished thee,\nand brought thee up unto this age.\n\n7:28. I beseech thee, my son, look upon heaven and earth, and all that\nis in them, and consider that God made them out of nothing, and mankind\nalso:\n\n7:29. So thou shalt not fear this tormentor, but being made a worthy\npartner with thy brethren, receive death, that in that mercy I may\nreceive thee again with thy brethren.\n\n7:30. While she was yet speaking these words, the young man said:  For\nwhom do you stay?  I will not obey the commandment of the king, but the\ncommandment of the law which was given us by Moses.\n\n7:31. But thou that hast been the author of all mischief against the\nHebrews, shalt not escape the hand of God.\n\n7:32. For we suffer thus for our sins.\n\n7:33. And though the Lord, our God, is angry with us a little while,\nfor our chastisement and correction, yet he will be reconciled again to\nhis servants.\n\n7:34. But thou, O wicked, and of all men most flagitious, be not lifted\nup without cause with vain hopes, whilst thou art raging against his\nservants.\n\n7:35. For thou hast not yet escaped the judgment of the Almighty God,\nwho beholdeth all things.\n\n7:36. For my brethren having now undergone a short pain, are under the\ncovenant of eternal life:  but thou, by the judgment of God, shalt\nreceive just punishment for thy pride.\n\n7:37. But I, like my brethren, offer up my life and my body for the\nlaws of our fathers:  calling upon God to be speedily merciful to our\nnation, and that thou by torments and stripes mayst confess that he\nalone is God.\n\n7:38. But in me, and in my brethren, the wrath of the Almighty, which\nhath justly been brought upon all our nation, shall cease.\n\n7:39. Then the king being incensed with anger, raged against him more\ncruelly than all the rest, taking it grievously that he was mocked.\n\n7:40. So this man also died undefiled, wholly trusting in the Lord.\n\n7:41. And last of all, after the sons, the mother also was consumed.\n\n7:42. But now there is enough said of the sacrifices and of the\nexcessive cruelties.\n\n\n\n2 Machabees Chapter 8\n\n\nJudas Machabeus gathering an army gains divers victories.\n\n8:1. But Judas Machabeus, and they that were with him, went privately\ninto the towns:  and calling together their kinsmen and friends, and\ntaking unto them such as continued in the Jews' religion, they\nassembled six thousand men.\n\n8:2. And they called upon the Lord, that he would look upon his people\nthat was trodden down by all and would have pity on the temple, that\nwas defiled by the wicked:\n\n8:3. That he would have pity also upon the city that was destroyed,\nthat was ready to be made even with the ground, and would hear the\nvoice of the blood that cried to him:\n\n8:4. That he would remember also the most unjust deaths of innocent\nchildren, and the blasphemies offered to his name, and would shew his\nindignation on this occasion.\n\n8:5. Now when Machabeus had gathered a multitude, he could not be\nwithstood by the heathens:  for the wrath of the Lord was turned into\nmercy.\n\n8:6. So coming unawares upon the towns and cities, he set them on fire,\nand taking possession of the most commodious places, he made no small\nslaughter of the enemies:\n\n8:7. And especially in the nights he went upon these expeditions, and\nthe fame of his valour was spread abroad every where.\n\n8:8. Then Philip seeing that the man gained ground by little and\nlittle, and that things for the most part succeeded prosperously with\nhim, wrote to Ptolemee, the governor of Celesyria and Phenicia, to send\naid to the king's affairs.\n\nPhilip seeing, etc. . .The governor of Jerusalem found himself unable to\ncontend with Judas, especially after the victories he had obtained over\nApollonius and Seron.  1 Mac. 3.\n\n8:9. And he with all speed sent Nicanor, the son of Patroclus, one of\nhis special friends, giving him no fewer than twenty thousand armed men\nof different nations, to root out the whole race of the Jews, joining\nalso with him Gorgias, a good soldier, and of great experience in\nmatters of war.\n\nTwenty thousand. . .The whole number of the forces sent at that time\ninto Judea, was 40,000 footmen, and 7000 horsemen, 1 Mac. 3.30.  But\nonly 20,000 are here taken notice of, because there were no more with\nNicanor at the time of the battle.\n\n8:10. And Nicanor purposed to raise for the king the tribute of two\nthousand talents, that was to be given to the Romans, by making so much\nmoney of the captive Jews:\n\n8:11. Wherefore he sent immediately to the cities upon the sea coast,\nto invite men together to buy up the Jewish slaves, promising that they\nshould have ninety slaves for one talent, not reflecting on the\nvengeance which was to follow him from the Almighty.\n\n8:12. Now when Judas found that Nicanor was coming, he imparted to the\nJews that were with him, that the enemy was at hand.\n\n8:13. And some of them being afraid, and distrusting the justice of\nGod, fled away.\n\n8:14. Others sold all that they had left, and withal besought the Lord,\nthat he would deliver them from the wicked Nicanor, who had sold them\nbefore he came near them:\n\n8:15. And if not for their sakes, yet for the covenant that he had made\nwith their fathers, and for the sake of his holy and glorious name that\nwas invoked upon them.\n\n8:16. But Machabeus calling together seven thousand that were with him,\nexhorted them not to be reconciled to the enemies, nor to fear the\nmultitude of the enemies who came wrongfully against them, but to fight\nmanfully:\n\nSeven thousand. . .In the Greek it is six thousand.  But then three\nthousand of them had no arms.  1 Mac. 4.6.\n\n8:17. Setting before their eyes the injury they had unjustly done the\nholy place, and also the injury they had done to the city, which had\nbeen shamefully abused, besides their destroying the ordinances of the\nfathers.\n\n8:18. For, said he, they trust in their weapons, and in their boldness:\nbut we trust in the Almighty Lord, who at a beck can utterly destroy\nboth them that come against us, and the whole world.\n\n8:19. Moreover, he put them in mind also of the helps their fathers had\nreceived from God:  and how, under Sennacherib, a hundred and\neighty-five thousand had been destroyed.\n\n8:20. And of the battle that they had fought against the Galatians, in\nBabylonia; how they, being in all but six thousand, when it came to the\npoint, and the Macedonians, their companions, were at a stand, slew a\nhundred and twenty thousand, because of the help they had from heaven,\nand for this they received many favours.\n\nGalatians. . .That is, the Gauls, who having ravaged Italy and Greece,\npoured themselves in upon Asia, in immense multitudes, where also they\nfounded the kingdom of Galatia or Gallo Graecia.\n\n8:21. With these words they were greatly encouraged and disposed even\nto die for the laws and their country.\n\n8:22. So he appointed his brethren captains over each division of his\narmy; Simon, and Joseph, and Jonathan, giving to each one fifteen\nhundred men.\n\n8:23. And after the holy book had been read to them by Esdras, and he\nhad given them for a watchword, The help of God:  himself leading the\nfirst band, he joined battle with Nicanor:\n\n8:24. And the Almighty being their helper, they slew above nine\nthousand men:  and having wounded and disabled the greater part of\nNicanor's army, they obliged them to fly.\n\nAbove nine thousand. . .Viz., including the three thousand slain in the\npursuit.\n\n8:25. And they took the money of them that came to buy them, and they\npursued them on every side.\n\n8:26. But they came back for want of time:  for it was the day before\nthe sabbath:  and therefore they did not continue the pursuit.\n\n8:27. But when they had gathered together their arms and their spoils,\nthey kept the sabbath:  blessing the Lord who had delivered them that\nday, distilling the beginning of mercy upon them.\n\n8:28. Then after the sabbath they divided the spoils to the feeble and\nthe orphans, and the widows, and the rest they took for themselves and\ntheir servants.\n\n8:29. When this was done, and they had all made a common supplication,\nthey besought the merciful Lord, to be reconciled to his servants unto\nthe end.\n\n8:30. Moreover, they slew above twenty thousand of them that were with\nTimotheus and Bacchides, who fought against them, and they made\nthemselves masters of the high strong holds:  and they divided amongst\nthem many spoils, giving equal portions to the feeble, the fatherless,\nand the widows; yea, and the aged also\n\n8:31. And when they had carefully gathered together their arms, they\nlaid them all up in convenient places, and the residue of their spoils\nthey carried to Jerusalem:\n\n8:32. They slew also Philarches, who was with Timotheus, a wicked man,\nwho had many ways afflicted the Jews.\n\n8:33. And when they kept the feast of the victory at Jerusalem, they\nburnt Callisthenes, that had set fire to the holy gates, who had taken\nrefuge in a certain house, rendering to him a worthy reward for his\nimpieties:\n\n8:34. But as for that most wicked man, Nicanor, who had brought a\nthousand merchants to the sale of the Jews,\n\n8:35. Being, through the help of the Lord, brought down by them, of\nwhom he had made no account, laying aside his garment of glory, fleeing\nthrough the midland country, he came alone to Antioch, being rendered\nvery unhappy by the destruction of his army.\n\nLaying aside his garment of glory. . .That is, his splendid apparel,\nwhich he wore through ostentation; he now throws it off, lest he should\nbe known on his flight.\n\n8:36. And he that had promised to levy the tribute for the Romans, by\nthe means of the captives of Jerusalem, now professed that the Jews had\nGod for their protector, and therefore they could not be hurt, because\nthey followed the laws appointed by him.\n\n\n\n2 Machabees Chapter 9\n\n\nThe wretched end, and fruitless repentance of king Antiochus.\n\n9:1. At that time Antiochus returned with dishonour out of Persia.\n\n9:2. For he had entered into the city called Persepolis, and attempted\nto rob the temple, and to oppress the city, but the multitude running\ntogether to arms, put them to flight:  and so it fell out that Antiochus\nbeing put to flight, returned with disgrace.\n\nPersepolis. . .Otherwise called Elymais.\n\n9:3. Now when he was come about Ecbatana, he received the news of what\nhad happened to Nicanor and Timotheus.\n\n9:4. And swelling with anger, he thought to revenge upon the Jews the\ninjury done by them that had put him to flight.  And therefore he\ncommanded his chariot to be driven, without stopping in his journey,\nthe judgment of heaven urging him forward, because he had spoken so\nproudly, that he would come to Jerusalem, and make it a common burying\nplace of the Jews.\n\n9:5. But the Lord, the God of Israel, that seeth all things, struck him\nwith an incurable and an invisible plague.  For as soon as he had ended\nthese words, a dreadful pain in his bowels came upon him, and bitter\ntorments of the inner parts.\n\n9:6. And indeed very justly, seeing he had tormented the bowels of\nothers with many and new torments, albeit he by no means ceased from\nhis malice.\n\n9:7. Moreover, being filled with pride, breathing out fire in his rage\nagainst the Jews, and commanding the matter to be hastened, it happened\nas he was going with violence, that he fell from the chariot, so that\nhis limbs were much pained by a grievous bruising of the body.\n\n9:8. Thus he that seemed to himself to command even the waves of the\nsea, being proud above the condition of man, and to weigh the heights\nof the mountains in a balance, now being cast down to the ground, was\ncarried in a litter, bearing witness to the manifest power of God in\nhimself:\n\n9:9. So that worms swarmed out of the body of this man, and whilst he\nlived in sorrow and pain, his flesh fell off, and the filthiness of his\nsmell was noisome to the army.\n\n9:10. And the man that thought a little before he could reach to the\nstars of heaven, no man could endure to carry, for the intolerable\nstench.\n\n9:11. And by this means, being brought from his great pride, he began\nto come to the knowledge of himself, being admonished by the scourge of\nGod, his pains increasing every moment.\n\n9:12. And when he himself could not now abide his own stench, he spoke\nthus:  It is just to be subject to God, and that a mortal man should not\nequal himself to God.\n\n9:13. Then this wicked man prayed to the Lord, of whom he was not like\nto obtain mercy.\n\nOf whom he was not like to obtain mercy. . .Because his repentance was\nnot for the offence committed against God:  but barely on account of his\npresent sufferings.\n\n9:14. And the city, to which he was going in haste to lay it even with\nthe ground, and to make it a common burying place, he now desireth to\nmake free:\n\n9:15. And the Jews, whom he said he would not account worthy to be so\nmuch as buried, but would give them up to be devoured by the birds and\nwild beasts, and would utterly destroy them with their children, he now\npromiseth to make equal with the Athenians.\n\n9:16. The holy temple also, which before he had spoiled, he promised to\nadorn with goodly gifts, and to multiply the holy vessels, and to allow\nout of his revenues the charges pertaining to the sacrifices.\n\n9:17. Yea also, that he would become a Jew himself, and would go\nthrough every place of the earth, and declare the power of God.\n\n9:18. But his pains not ceasing, (for the just judgment of God was come\nupon him) despairing of life, he wrote to the Jews, in the manner of a\nsupplication, a letter in these words:\n\n9:19. To his very good subjects the Jews, Antiochus, king and ruler,\nwisheth much health, and welfare, and happiness.\n\n9:20. If you and your children are well, and if all matters go with you\nto your mind, we give very great thanks.\n\n9:21. As for me, being infirm, but yet kindly remembering you,\nreturning out of the places of Persia, and being taken with a grievous\ndisease, I thought it necessary to take care for the common good:\n\n9:22. Not distrusting my life, but having great hope to escape the\nsickness.\n\n9:23. But considering that my father also, at what time he led an army\ninto the higher countries, appointed who should reign after him:\n\n9:24. To the end that if any thing contrary to expectation should fall\nout, or any bad tidings should be brought, they that were in the\ncountries, knowing to whom the whole government was left, might not be\ntroubled.\n\n9:25. Moreover, considering that neighbouring princes, and borderers,\nwait for opportunities, and expect what shall be the event, I have\nappointed my son, Antiochus, king, whom I often recommended to many of\nyou, when I went into the higher provinces:  and I have written to him\nwhat I have joined here below.\n\n9:26. I pray you, therefore, and request of you, that, remembering\nfavours both public and private, you will every man of you continue to\nbe faithful to me and to my son.\n\n9:27. For I trust that he will behave with moderation and humanity, and\nfollowing my intentions, will be gracious unto you.\n\n9:28. Thus the murderer and blasphemer being grievously struck, as\nhimself had treated others, died a miserable death in a strange\ncountry, among the mountains.\n\n9:29. But Philip, that was brought up with him, carried away his body:\nand out of fear of the son of Antiochus, went into Egypt to Ptolemee\nPhilometor.\n\n\n\n2 Machabees Chapter 10\n\n\nThe purification of the temple and city.  Other exploits of Judas.  His\nvictory over Timotheus.\n\n10:1. But Machabeus, and they that were with him, by the protection of\nthe Lord, recovered the temple and the city again.\n\n10:2. But he threw down the altars which the heathens had set up in the\nstreets, as also the temples of the idols.\n\n10:3. And having purified the temple, they made another altar:  and\ntaking fire out of the fiery stones, they offered sacrifices after two\nyears, and set forth incense, and lamps, and the loaves of proposition.\n\n10:4. And when they had done these things, they besought the Lord,\nlying prostrate on the ground, that they might no more fall into such\nevils; but if they should at any time sin, that they might be chastised\nby him more gently, and not be delivered up to barbarians and\nblasphemous men.\n\n10:5. Now upon the same day that the temple had been polluted by the\nstrangers on the very same day it was cleansed again; to wit, on the\nfive and twentieth day of the month of Casleu.\n\n10:6. And they kept eight days with joy, after the manner of the feast\nof the tabernacles, remembering that not long before they had kept the\nfeast of the tabernacles when they were in the mountains, and in dens\nlike wild beasts.\n\n10:7. Therefore they now carried boughs and green branches and palms,\nfor him that had given them good success in cleansing his place.\n\n10:8. And they ordained by a common statute, and decree, that all the\nnation of the Jews should keep those days every year.\n\n10:9. And this was the end of Antiochus, that was called the\nIllustrious.\n\n10:10. But now we will repeat the acts of Eupator, the son of that\nwicked Antiochus, abridging the account of the evils that happened in\nthe wars.\n\n10:11. For when he was come to the crown, he appointed over the affairs\nof his realm one Lysias, general of the army of Phenicia and Syria.\n\n10:12. For Ptolemee, that was called Macer, was determined to be\nstrictly just to the Jews and especially by reason of the wrong that\nhad been done them, and to deal peaceably with them.\n\n10:13. But being accused for this to Eupator by his friends, and being\noftentimes called traitor, because he had left Cyprus, which Philometor\nhad committed to him, and coming over to Antiochus the Illustrious, had\nrevolted also from him, he put an end to his life by poison.\n\n10:14. But Gorgias, who was governor of the holds, taking with him the\nstrangers, often fought against the Jews.\n\n10:15. And the Jews that occupied the most commodious holds, received\nthose that were driven out of Jerusalem, and attempted to make war.\n\nThe Jews, etc. . .He speaks of them that had fallen from their religion,\nand were enemies of their country, who joining with the Idumeans or\nEdomites, kept possession of the strong holds, and from thence annoyed\ntheir countrymen.\n\n10:16. Then they that were with Machabeus, beseeching the Lord by\nprayers to be their helper, made a strong attack upon the strong holds\nof the Idumeans:\n\n10:17. And assaulting them with great force, won the holds, killed them\nthat came in the way, and slew altogether no fewer than twenty\nthousand.\n\n10:18. And whereas some were fled into very strong towers, having all\nmanner of provision to sustain a siege,\n\n10:19. Machabeus left Simon and Joseph, and Zacheus, and them that were\nwith them, in sufficient number to besiege them, and departed to those\nexpeditions which urged more.\n\n10:20. Now they that were with Simon, being led with covetousness, were\npersuaded for the sake of money by some that were in the towers:  and\ntaking seventy thousand didrachmas, let some of them escape.\n\n10:21. But when it was told Machabeus what was done, he assembled the\nrulers of the people, and accused those men that they had sold their\nbrethren for money, having let their adversaries escape.\n\n10:22. So he put these traitors to death, and forthwith took the two\ntowers.\n\n10:23. And having good success in arms, and all things he took in hand,\nhe slew more than twenty thousand in the two holds.\n\n10:24. But Timotheus, who before had been overcome by the Jews, having\ncalled together a multitude of foreign troops, and assembled horsemen\nout of Asia, came as though he would take Judea by force of arms.\n\n10:26. But Machabeus, and they that were with him, when he drew near,\nprayed to the Lord, sprinkling earth upon their heads, and girding\ntheir loins with haircloth,\n\n10:26. And lying prostrate at the foot of the altar, besought him to be\nmerciful to them, and to be an enemy to their enemies, and an adversary\nto their adversaries, as the law saith.\n\n10:27. And so after prayer taking their arms, they went forth further\nfrom the city, and when they were come very near the enemies they\nrested.\n\n10:28. But as soon as the sun was risen both sides joined battle:  the\none part having, with their valour, the Lord for a surety of victory,\nand success:  but the other side making their rage their leader in\nbattle.\n\n10:29. But when they were in the heat of the engagement, there appeared\nto the enemies from heaven five men upon horses, comely, with golden\nbridles, conducting the Jews:\n\n10:30. Two of them took Machabeus between them, and covered him on\nevery side with their arms, and kept him safe; but cast darts and\nfireballs against the enemy, so that they fell down, being both\nconfounded with blindness, and filled with trouble.\n\n10:31. And there were slain twenty thousand five hundred, and six\nhundred horsemen.\n\n10:32. But Timotheus fled into Gazara, a strong hold where Chereas was\ngovernor.\n\n10:33. Then Machabeus, and they that were with him cheerfully laid\nsiege to the fortress four days.\n\n10:34. But they that were within, trusting to the strength of the\nplace, blasphemed exceedingly, and cast forth abominable words.\n\n10:35. But when the fifth day appeared, twenty young men of them that\nwere with Machabeus, inflamed in their minds, because of the blasphemy,\napproached manfully to the wall, and pushing forward with fierce\ncourage, got up upon it:\n\n10:36. Moreover, others also getting up after them, went to set fire to\nthe towers and the gates, and to burn the blasphemers alive.\n\n10:37. And having for two days together pillaged and sacked the\nfortress, they killed Timotheus, who was found hid in a certain place:\nthey slew also his brother Chereas, and Apollophanes.\n\nTimotheus. . .This man, who was killed at the taking of Gazara, is\ndifferent from that Timotheus who is mentioned in the fifth chapter of\nthe first book of Machabees, and of whom there is mention in the\nfollowing chapter.\n\n10:38. And when this was done, they blessed the Lord with hymns and\nthanksgiving, who had done great things in Israel, and given them the\nvictory.\n\n\n\n2 Machabees Chapter 11\n\n\nLysias is overthrown by Judas.  He sues for peace.\n\n11:1. A short time after this Lysias, the king's lieutenant, and\ncousin, and who had chief charge over all the affairs, being greatly\ndispleased with what had happened,\n\n11:2. Gathered together fourscore thousand men, and all the horsemen,\nand came against the Jews, thinking to take the city, and make it a\nhabitation of the Gentiles:\n\n11:3. And to make a gain of the temple, as of the other temples of the\nGentiles and to set the high priesthood to sale every year:\n\n11:4. Never considering the power of God, but puffed up in mind, and\ntrusting in the multitude of his foot soldiers, and the thousands of\nhis horsemen, and his fourscore elephants.\n\n11:5. So he came into Judea, and approaching to Bethsura, which was in\na narrow place, the space of five furlongs from Jerusalem, he laid\nsiege to that fortress.\n\n11:6. But when Machabeus, and they that were with him, understood that\nthe strong holds were besieged, they and all the people besought the\nLord with lamentations and tears, that he would send a good angel to\nsave Israel.\n\n11:7. Then Machabeus himself first taking his arms, exhorted the rest\nto expose themselves together with him, to the danger, and to succour\ntheir brethren.\n\n11:8. And when they were going forth together with a willing mind,\nthere appeared at Jerusalem a horseman going before them in white\nclothing, with golden armour, shaking a spear.\n\n11:9. Then they all together blessed the merciful Lord, and took great\ncourage:  being ready to break through not only men, but also the\nfiercest beasts, and walls of iron.\n\n11:10. So they went on courageously, having a helper from heaven, and\nthe Lord, who shewed mercy to them.\n\n11:11. And rushing violently upon the enemy, like lions, they slew of\nthem eleven thousand footmen, and one thousand six hundred horsemen:\n\n11:12. And put all the rest to flight; and many of them being wounded,\nescaped naked:  Yea, and Lysias himself fled away shamefully, and\nescaped.\n\n11:13. And as he was a man of understanding, considering with himself\nthe loss he had suffered, and perceiving that the Hebrews could not be\novercome, because they relied upon the help of the Almighty God, he\nsent to them:\n\n11:14. And promised that he would agree to all things that are just,\nand that he would persuade the king to be their friend.\n\n11:15. Then Machabeus consented to the request of Lysias, providing for\nthe common good in all things; and whatsoever Machabeus wrote to\nLysias, concerning the Jews, the king allowed of.\n\n11:16. For there were letters written to the Jews from Lysias, to this\neffect:  Lysias, to the people of the Jews, greeting.\n\n11:17. John, and Abesalom, who were sent from you, delivering your\nwritings, requested that I would accomplish those things which were\nsignified by them.\n\n11:18. Therefore whatsoever things could be reported to the king,\nI have represented to him:  and he hath granted as much as the matter\npermitted.\n\n11:19. If, therefore, you will keep yourselves loyal in affairs,\nhereafter also I will endeavour to be a means of your good.\n\n11:20. But as concerning other particulars, I have given orders by word\nboth to these, and to them that are sent by me, to commune with you.\n\n11:21. Fare ye well.  In the year one hundred and forty-eight, the four\nand twentieth day of the month of Dioscorus.\n\nIn the year 148. . .Viz., according to the computation followed by the\nGreeks; which was different from that of the Hebrews, followed by the\nwriter of the first book of Machabees.  However, by this date, as well\nas by other circumstances, it appears that the expedition of Lysias,\nmentioned in this chapter, is different from that which is recorded,\n1 Mac. 6.\n\n11:22. But the king's letter contained these words King Antiochus to\nLysias, his brother, greeting.\n\n11:23. Our father being translated amongst the gods we are desirous\nthat they that are in our realm should live quietly, and apply\nthemselves diligently to their own concerns.\n\n11:24. And we have heard that the Jews would not consent to my father\nto turn to the rites of the Greeks but that they would keep to their\nown manner of living and therefore that they request us to allow them\nto live after their own laws.\n\n11:25. Wherefore being desirous that this nation also should be at\nrest, we have ordained and decreed, that the temple should be restored\nto them, and that they may live according to the custom of their\nancestors.\n\n11:26. Thou shalt do well, therefore, to send to them, and grant them\npeace, that our pleasure being known, they may be of good comfort, and\nlook to their own affairs.\n\n11:27. But the king's letter to the Jews was in this manner:  King\nAntiochus to the senate of the Jews, and to the rest of the Jews,\ngreeting.\n\n11:28. If you are well, you are as we desire:  we ourselves also are\nwell.\n\n11:29. Menelaus came to us, saying that you desired to come down to\nyour countrymen, that are with us.\n\n11:30. We grant, therefore, a safe conduct to all that come and go,\nuntil the thirtieth day of the month of Xanthicus,\n\n11:31. That the Jews may use their own kind of meats, and their own\nlaws, as before:  and that none of them any manner of ways be molested\nfor things which have been done by ignorance.\n\n11:32. And we have sent also Menelaus to speak to you.\n\n11:33. Fare ye well.  In the year one hundred and forty-eight, the\nfifteenth day of the month of Xanthicus.\n\n11:34. The Romans also sent them a letter, to this effect:  Quintus\nMemmius, and Titus Manilius, ambassadors of the Romans, to the people\nof the Jews, greeting.\n\n11:35. Whatsoever Lysias, the king's cousin, hath granted to you, we\nalso have granted.\n\n11:36. But touching such things as he thought should be referred to the\nking, after you have diligently conferred among yourselves, send some\none forthwith, that we may decree as it is convenient for you:  for we\nare going to Antioch.\n\n11:37. And therefore make haste to write back, that we may know of what\nmind you are.\n\n11:38. Fare ye well.  In the year one hundred and forty-eight, the\nfifteenth day of the month of Xanthicus.\n\n\n\n2 Machabees Chapter 12\n\n\nThe Jews are still molested by their neighbours.  Judas gains divers\nvictories over them.  He orders sacrifice and prayers for the dead.\n\n12:1. When these covenants were made, Lysias went to the king, and the\nJews gave themselves to husbandry.\n\n12:2. But they that were behind, viz.  Timotheus, and Apollonius, the\nson of Genneus, also Hieronymus, and Demophon, and besides them\nNicanor, the governor of Cyprus, would not suffer them to live in\npeace, and to be quiet.\n\n12:3. The men of Joppe also were guilty of this kind of wickedness:\nthey desired the Jews, who dwelt among them, to go with their wives and\nchildren into the boats, which they had prepared, as though they had no\nenmity to them.\n\n12:4. Which when they had consented to, according to the common decree\nof the city, suspecting nothing, because of the peace:  when they were\ngone forth into the deep, they drowned no fewer than two hundred of\nthem.\n\n12:5. But as soon as Judas heard of this cruelty done to his\ncountrymen, he commanded the men that were with him:  and after having\ncalled upon God, the just judge,\n\n12:6. He came against those murderers of his brethren, and set the\nhaven on fire in the night, burnt the boats, and slew with the sword\nthem that escaped from the fire.\n\n12:7. And when he had done these things in this manner, he departed as\nif he would return again, and root out all the Joppites.\n\n12:8. But when he understood that the men of Jamnia also designed to do\nin like manner to the Jews that dwelt among them,\n\n12:9. He came upon the Jamnites also by night, and set the haven on\nfire, with the ships, so that the light of the fire was seen at\nJerusalem, two hundred and forty furlongs off.\n\n12:10. And when they were now gone from thence nine furlongs, and were\nmarching towards Timotheus, five thousand footmen, and five hundred\nhorsemen of the Arabians, set upon them.\n\n12:11. And after a hard fight, in which, by the help of God, they got\nthe victory, the rest of the Arabians being overcome, besought Judas\nfor peace, promising to give him pastures, and to assist him in other\nthings.\n\n12:12. And Judas thinking that they might be profitable indeed in many\nthings, promised them peace, and after having joined hands, they\ndeparted to their tents.\n\n12:13. He also laid siege to a certain strong city, encompassed with\nbridges and walls, and inhabited by multitudes of different nations,\nthe name of which is Casphin.\n\n12:14. But they that were within it, trusting in the strength of the\nwalls, and the provision of victuals, behaved in a more negligent\nmanner, and provoked Judas with railing and blaspheming, and uttering\nsuch words as were not to be spoken.\n\n12:15. But Machabeus calling upon the great Lord of the world, who\nwithout any rams or engines of war threw down the walls of Jericho, in\nthe time of Josue, fiercely assaulted the walls.\n\nRams. . .That is, engines for battering walls, etc., which were used in\nsieges in those times.\n\n12:16. And having taken the city by the will of the Lord, he made an\nunspeakable slaughter, so that a pool adjoining, of two furlongs broad,\nseemed to run with the blood of the slain.\n\n12:17. From thence they departed seven hundred and fifty furlongs, and\ncame to Characa, to the Jews that are called Tubianites.\n\n12:18. But as for Timotheus, they found him not in those places, for\nbefore he had dispatched any thing he went back, having left a very\nstrong garrison in a certain hold:\n\n12:19. But Dositheus, and Sosipater, who were captains with Machabeus,\nslew them that were left by Timotheus in the hold, to the number of ten\nthousand men.\n\n12:20. And Machabeus having set in order about him six thousand men,\nand divided them by bands, went forth against Timotheus, who had with\nhim a hundred and twenty thousand footmen, and two thousand five\nhundred horsemen.\n\n12:21. Now when Timotheus had knowledge of the coming of Judas, he sent\nthe women and children, and the other baggage, before him into a\nfortress, called Carnion:  for it was impregnable, and hard to come at,\nby reason of the straitness of the places.\n\n12:22. But when the first band of Judas came in sight, the enemies were\nstruck with fear, by the presence of God, who seeth all things, and\nthey were put to flight one from another, so that they were often\nthrown down by their own companions, and wounded with the strokes of\ntheir own swords.\n\n12:23. But Judas pursued them close, punishing the profane, of whom he\nslew thirty thousand men.\n\n12:24. And Timotheus himself fell into the hands of the band of\nDositheus and Sosipater, and with many prayers he besought them to let\nhim go with his life, because he had the parents and brethren of many\nof the Jews, who, by his death, might happen to be deceived.\n\n12:25. And when he had given his faith that he would restore them\naccording to the agreement, they let him go without hurt, for the\nsaving of their brethren.\n\n12:26. Then Judas went away to Carnion, where he slew five and twenty\nthousand persons.\n\n12:27. And after he had put to flight and destroyed these, he removed\nhis army to Ephron, a strong city, wherein there dwelt a multitude of\ndivers nations:  and stout young men standing upon the walls, made a\nvigorous resistance:  and in this place there were many engines of war,\nand a provision of darts.\n\n12:28. But when they had invocated the Almighty, who with his power\nbreaketh the strength of the enemies, they took the city:  and slew five\nand twenty thousand of them that were within.\n\n12:29. From thence they departed to Scythopolis, which lieth six\nhundred furlongs from Jerusalem.\n\nScythopolis. . .Formerly called Bethsan.\n\n12:30. But the Jews that were among the Scythopolitans testifying that\nthey were used kindly by them, and that even in the times of their\nadversity they had treated them with humanity:\n\n12:31. They gave them thanks, exhorting them to be still friendly to\ntheir nation, and so they came to Jerusalem, the feast of the weeks\nbeing at hand.\n\n12:32. And after Pentecost they marched against Gorgias, the governor\nof Idumea.\n\n12:33. And he came out with three thousand footmen and four hundred\nhorsemen.\n\n12:34. And when they had joined battle, it happened that a few of the\nJews were slain.\n\n12:35. But Dositheus, a horseman, one of Bacenor's band, a valiant man,\ntook hold of Gorgias:  and when he would have taken him alive, a certain\nhorseman of the Thracians came upon him, and cut off his shoulder:  and\nso Gorgias escaped to Maresa.\n\n12:36. But when they that were with Esdrin had fought long, and were\nweary, Judas called upon the Lord to be their helper, and leader of the\nbattle:\n\n12:37. Then beginning in his own language, and singing hymns with a\nloud voice, he put Gorgias's soldiers to flight.\n\n12:38. So Judas having gathered together his army, came into the city\nOdollam:  and when the seventh day came, they purified themselves\naccording to the custom, and kept the sabbath in the same place.\n\n12:39. And the day following Judas came with his company, to take away\nthe bodies of them that were slain, and to bury them with their\nkinsmen, in the sepulchres of their fathers.\n\n12:40. And they found under the coats of the slain, some of the\ndonaries of the idols of Jamnia, which the law forbiddeth to the Jews:\nso that all plainly saw, that for this cause they were slain.\n\nOf the donaries, etc. . .That is, of the votive offerings, which had\nbeen hung up in the temples of the idols, which they had taken away\nwhen they burnt the port of Jamnia, ver. 9., contrary to the\nprohibition of the law, Deut. 7.25.\n\n12:41. Then they all blessed the just judgment of the Lord, who had\ndiscovered the things that were hidden.\n\n12:42. And so betaking themselves to prayers, they besought him, that\nthe sin which had been committed might be forgotten.  But the most\nvaliant Judas exhorted the people to keep themselves from sin,\nforasmuch as they saw before their eyes what had happened, because of\nthe sins of those that were slain.\n\n12:43. And making a gathering, he sent twelve thousand drachms of\nsilver to Jerusalem for sacrifice to be offered for the sins of the\ndead, thinking well and religiously concerning the resurrection.\n\n12:44. (For if he had not hoped that they that were slain should rise\nagain, it would have seemed superfluous and vain to pray for the dead,)\n\n12:45. And because he considered that they who had fallen asleep with\ngodliness, had great grace laid up for them.\n\nWith godliness. . .Judas hoped that these men who died fighting for the\ncause of God and religion, might find mercy:  either because they might\nbe excused from mortal sin by ignorance; or might have repented of\ntheir sin, at least at their death.\n\n12:46. It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the\ndead, that they may be loosed from sins.\n\nIt is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the\ndead. . .Here is an evident and undeniable proof of the practice of\npraying for the dead under the old law, which was then strictly observed\nby the Jews, and consequently could not be introduced at that time by\nJudas, their chief and high priest, if it had not been always their\ncustom.\n\n\n\n2 Machabees Chapter 13\n\n\nAntiochus and Lysias again invade Judea.  Menelaus is put to death.  The\nking's great army is worsted twice.  The peace is renewed.\n\n13:1. In the year one hundred and forty-nine, Judas understood that\nAntiochus Eupator was coming with a multitude against Judea,\n\n13:2. And with him Lysias, the regent, who had charge over the affairs\nof the realm, having with him a hundred and ten thousand footmen, five\nthousand horsemen, twenty-two elephants, and three hundred chariots.\n\nA hundred and ten thousand, etc. . .The difference between the numbers\nhere set down, and those recorded, 1 Mac. 4, is easily accounted for;\nif we consider that such armies as these are liable to be at one time\nmore numerous than at another; either by sending away large\ndetachments, or being diminished by sickness; or increased by receiving\nfresh supplies of troops, according to different exigencies or\noccurrences.\n\n13:3. Menelaus also joined himself with them:  and with great\ndeceitfulness besought Antiochus, not for the welfare of his country,\nbut in hopes that he should be appointed chief ruler.\n\n13:4. But the King of kings stirred up the mind of Antiochus against\nthe sinner, and upon Lysias suggesting that he was the cause of all the\nevils, he commanded (as the custom is with them) that he should be\napprehended and put to death in the same place.\n\n13:5. Now there was in that place a tower fifty cubits high, having a\nheap of ashes on every side:  this had a prospect steep down.\n\n13:6. From thence he commanded the sacrilegious wretch to be thrown\ndown into the ashes, all men thrusting him forward unto death.\n\n13:7. And by such a law it happened that Menelaus the transgressor of\nthe law, was put to death:  not having so much as burial in the earth.\n\n13:8. And indeed very justly, for insomuch as he had committed many\nsins against the altar of God, the fire and ashes of which were holy:\nhe was condemned to die in ashes.\n\n13:9. But the king, with his mind full of rage, came on to shew himself\nworse to the Jews than his father was.\n\n13:10. Which when Judas understood, he commanded the people to call\nupon the Lord day and night, that as he had always done, so now also he\nwould help them:\n\n13:11. Because they were afraid to be deprived of the law, and of their\ncountry, and of the holy temple:  and that he would not suffer the\npeople, that had of late taken breath for a little while, to be again\nin subjection to blasphemous nations.\n\n13:12. So when they had all done this together, and had craved mercy of\nthe Lord with weeping and fasting, lying prostrate on the ground for\nthree days continually, Judas exhorted them to make themselves ready.\n\n13:13. But he, with the ancients, determined before the king should\nbring his army into Judea, and make himself master of the city, to go\nout, and to commit the event of the thing to the judgment of the Lord.\n\n13:14. So committing all to God, the Creator of the world, and having\nexhorted his people to fight manfully, and to stand up even to death\nfor the laws, the temple, the city, their country, and citizens:  he\nplaced his army about Modin.\n\n13:15. And having given his company for a watchword, The victory of\nGod, with most valiant chosen young men, he set upon the king's quarter\nby night, and slew four thousand men in the camp, and the greatest of\nthe elephants, with them that had been upon him,\n\n13:16. And having filled the camp of the enemies with exceeding great\nfear and tumult, they went off with good success.\n\n13:17. Now this was done at the break of day, by the protection and\nhelp of the Lord.\n\n13:18. But the king having taken a taste of the hardiness of the Jews,\nattempted to take the strong places by policy:\n\n13:19. And he marched with his army to Bethsura, which was a strong\nhold of the Jews:  but he was repulsed, he failed, he lost his men.\n\n13:20. Now Judas sent necessaries to them that were within\n\n13:21. But Rhodocus, one of the Jews' army, disclosed the secrets to\nthe enemies, so he was sought out, and taken up, and put in prison.\n\n13:22. Again the king treated with them that were in Bethsura:  gave his\nright hand:  took theirs:  and went away.\n\n13:23. He fought with Judas:  and was overcome.  And when he understood\nthat Philip, who had been left over the affairs, had rebelled at\nAntioch, he was in a consternation of mind, and entreating the Jews,\nand yielding to them, he swore to all things that seemed reasonable,\nand, being reconciled, offered sacrifice, honoured the temple, and left\ngifts.\n\n13:24. He embraced Machabeus, and made him governor and prince from\nPtolemais unto the Gerrenians.\n\n13:25. But when he was come to Ptolemais, the men of that city were\nmuch displeased with the conditions of the peace, being angry for fear\nthey should break the covenant.\n\n13:26. Then Lysias went up to the judgment seat, and set forth the\nreason, and appeased the people, and returned to Antioch:  and thus\nmatters went with regard to the king's coming and his return.\n\n\n\n2 Machabees Chapter 14\n\n\nDemetrius challenges the kingdom.  Alcimus applies to him to be made\nhigh priest:  Nicanor is sent into Judea:  his dealings with Judas:  his\nthreats.  The history of Razias.\n\n14:1. But after the space of three years Judas, and they that were with\nhim, understood that Demetrius, the son of Seleucus, was come up with a\ngreat power, and a navy by the haven of Tripolis, to places proper for\nhis purpose,\n\n14:2. And had made himself master of the countries against Antiochus,\nand his general, Lysias.\n\n14:3. Now one Alcimus, who had been chief priest, but had wilfully\ndefiled himself in the time of mingling with the heathens, seeing that\nthere was no safety for him, nor access to the altar,\n\nNow Alcimus, who had been chief priest. . .This Alcimus was of the stock\nof Aaron, but for his apostasy here mentioned was incapable of the high\npriesthood, but king Antiochus Eupator appointed him in place of the\nhigh priest, (see above, 1 Mac. chap. 7., ver. 9,) as Menelaus had been\nbefore him, set up by Antiochus (above chap. 4.), yet neither of them\nwere truly high priests; for the true high priesthood was amongst the\nMachabees, who were also of the stock of Aaron, and had strictly held\ntheir religion, and were ordained according to the rites commanded in\nthe law of Moses.--Ibid.  Mingling. . .with the heathens; that is, in\ntheir idolatrous worship.\n\n14:4. Came to king Demetrius in the year one hundred and fifty,\npresenting unto him a crown of gold, and a palm, and besides these,\nsome boughs that seemed to belong to the temple.  And that day indeed he\nheld his peace.\n\n14:5. But having gotten a convenient time to further his madness, being\ncalled to counsel by Demetrius, and asked what the Jews relied upon,\nand what were their counsels,\n\n14:6. He answered thereunto:  They among the Jews that are called\nAssideans, of whom Judas Machabeus is captain, nourish wars, and raise\nseditions, and will not suffer the realm to be in peace.\n\n14:7. For I also being deprived of my ancestor's glory (I mean of the\nhigh priesthood) am now come hither:\n\n14:8. Principally indeed out of fidelity to the king's interests, but\nin the next place also to provide for the good of my countrymen:  for\nall our nation suffereth much from the evil proceedings of these men.\n\n14:9. Wherefore, O king, seeing thou knowest all these things, take\ncare, I beseech thee, both of the country, and of our nation, according\nto thy humanity which is known to all men.\n\n14:10. For as long as Judas liveth it is not possible that the state\nshould be quiet.\n\n14:11. Now when this man had spoken to this effect the rest also of the\nking's friends, who were enemies of Judas, incensed Demetrius against\nhim.\n\n14:12. And forthwith he sent Nicanor, the commander over the elephants,\ngovernor into Judea:\n\n14:13. Giving him in charge, to take Judas himself:  and disperse all\nthem that were with him, and to make Alcimus the high priest of the\ngreat temple.\n\n14:14. Then the Gentiles who had fled out of Judea, from Judas, came to\nNicanor by flocks, thinking the miseries and calamities of the Jews to\nbe the welfare of their affairs.\n\n14:15. Now when the Jews heard of Nicanor's coming, and that the\nnations were assembled against them, they cast earth upon their heads,\nand made supplication to him who chose his people to keep them for\never, and who protected his portion by evident signs.\n\n14:16. Then at the commandment of their captain, they forthwith removed\nfrom the place where they were, and went to the town of Dessau, to meet\nthem.\n\n14:17. Now Simon, the brother of Judas, had joined battle with Nicanor:\nbut was frightened with the sudden coming of the adversaries.\n\n14:18. Nevertheless Nicanor hearing of the valour of Judas's\ncompanions, and the greatness of courage, with which they fought for\ntheir country, was afraid to try the matter by the sword.\n\n14:19. Wherefore he sent Posidonius, and Theodotius and Matthias before\nto present and receive the right hands.\n\n14:20. And when there had been a consultation thereupon, and the\ncaptain had acquainted the multitude with it, they were all of one mind\nto consent to covenants.\n\n14:21. So they appointed a day upon which they might come together by\nthemselves:  and seats were brought out, and set for each one.\n\n14:22. But Judas ordered armed men to be ready in convenient places,\nlest some mischief might be suddenly practised by the enemies:  so they\nmade an agreeable conference.\n\n14:23. And Nicanor abode in Jerusalem, and did no wrong, but sent away\nthe flocks of the multitudes that had been gathered together.\n\n14:24. And Judas was always dear to him from the heart, and he was well\naffected to the man.\n\n14:25. And he desired him to marry a wife, and to have children.  So he\nmarried:  he lived quietly, and they lived in common.\n\n14:26. But Alcimus seeing the love they had one to another, and the\ncovenants, came to Demetrius, and told him that Nicanor had assented to\nthe foreign interest, for that he meant to make Judas, who was a\ntraitor to the kingdom, his successor.\n\n14:27. Then the king, being in a rage, and provoked with this man's\nwicked accusation, wrote to Nicanor, signifying that he was greatly\ndispleased with the covenant of friendship:  and that he commanded him\nnevertheless to send Machabeus prisoner in all haste to Antioch.\n\n14:28. When this was known, Nicanor was in a consternation, and took it\ngrievously that he should make void the articles that were agreed upon,\nhaving received no injury from the man.\n\n14:29. But because he could not oppose the king, he watched an\nopportunity to comply with the orders\n\n14:30. But when Machabeus perceived that Nicanor was more stern to him,\nand that when they met together as usual he behaved himself in a rough\nmanner; and was sensible that this rough behaviour came not of good, he\ngathered together a few of his men, and hid himself from Nicanor.\n\n14:31. But he finding himself notably prevented by the man, came to the\ngreat and holy temple:  and commanded the priests that were offering the\naccustomed sacrifices, to deliver him the man.\n\n14:32. And when they swore unto him, that they knew not where the man\nwas whom he sought, he stretched out his hand to the temple,\n\n14:33. And swore, saying:  Unless you deliver Judas prisoner to me, I\nwill lay this temple of God even with the ground, and will beat down\nthe altar, and I will dedicate this temple to Bacchus.\n\n14:34. And when he had spoken thus, he departed.  But the priests\nstretching forth their hands to heaven, called upon him that was ever\nthe defender of their nation, saying in this manner:\n\n14:35. Thou, O Lord of all things, who wantest nothing, wast pleased\nthat the temple of thy habitation should be amongst us.\n\n14:36. Therefore now, O Lord, the holy of all holies, keep this house\nfor ever undefiled, which was lately cleansed.\n\n14:37. Now Razias, one of the ancients of Jerusalem, was accused to\nNicanor, a man that was a lover of the city, and of good report, who\nfor his kindness was called the father of the Jews.\n\n14:38. This man, for a long time, had held fast his purpose of keeping\nhimself pure in the Jews' religion, and was ready to expose his body\nand life, that he might persevere therein.\n\n14:39. So Nicanor being willing to declare the hatred that he bore the\nJews, sent five hundred soldiers to take him.\n\n14:40. For he thought by ensnaring him to hurt the Jews very much.\n\n14:41. Now as the multitude sought to rush into his house, and to break\nopen the door, and to set fire to it, when he was ready to be taken, he\nstruck himself with his sword:\n\nHe struck himself, etc. . .St. Augustine, (Epist. 61, ad Dulcitium, et\nlib. 2, cap. 23, ad Epist. 2, Gaud.) discussing this fact of Razias,\nsays, that the holy scripture relates it, but doth not praise it, as to\nbe admired or imitated, and that either it was not well done by him, or\nat least not proper in this time of grace.\n\n14:42. Choosing to die nobly rather than to fall into the hands of the\nwicked, and to suffer abuses unbecoming his noble birth.\n\n14:43. But whereas through haste he missed of giving a sure wound, and\nthe crowd was breaking into the doors, he ran boldly to the wall, and\nmanfully threw himself down to the crowd:\n\n14:44. But they quickly making room for his fall, he came upon the\nmidst of the neck.\n\nHe came upon the midst of the neck. . .Venit per mediam cervicem.  In the\nGreek it is keneona, which signifies a void place, where there is no\nbuilding.\n\n14:45. And as he had yet breath in him, being inflamed in mind, he\narose:  and while his blood ran down with a great stream, and he was\ngrievously wounded, he ran through the crowd:\n\n14:46. And standing upon a steep rock, when he was now almost without\nblood, grasping his bowels, with both hands he cast them upon the\nthrong, calling upon the Lord of life and spirit, to restore these to\nhim again:  and so he departed this life.\n\n\n\n2 Machabees Chapter 15\n\n\nJudas encouraged by a vision gains a glorious victory over Nicanor.  The\nconclusion.\n\n15:1. But when Nicanor understood that Judas was in the places of\nSamaria, he purposed to set upon him with all violence, on the sabbath\nday.\n\n15:2. And when the Jews that were constrained to follow him, said:  Do\nnot act so fiercely and barbarously, but give honour to the day that is\nsanctified:  and reverence him that beholdeth all things:\n\n15:3. That unhappy man asked, if there were a mighty One in heaven,\nthat had commanded the sabbath day to be kept.\n\n15:4. And when they answered:  There is the living Lord himself in\nheaven, the mighty One, that commanded the seventh day to be kept.\n\n15:5. Then he said:  And I am mighty upon the earth, and I command to\ntake arms, and to do the king's business.  Nevertheless he prevailed not\nto accomplish his design.\n\n15:6. So Nicanor being puffed up with exceeding great pride, thought to\nset up a public monument of his victory over Judas.\n\n15:7. But Machabeus ever trusted with all hope that God would help\nthem.\n\n15:8. And he exhorted his people not to fear the coming of the nations,\nbut to remember the help they had before received from heaven, and now\nto hope for victory from the Almighty.\n\n15:9. And speaking to them out of the law, and the prophets, and withal\nputting them in mind of the battles they had fought before, he made\nthem more cheerful:\n\n15:10. Then after he had encouraged them, he shewed withal the\nfalsehood of the Gentiles, and their breach of oaths.\n\n15:11. So he armed every one of them, not with defence of shield and\nspear, but with very good speeches, and exhortations, and told them a\ndream worthy to be believed, whereby he rejoiced them all.\n\n15:12. Now the vision was in this manner.  Onias, who had been high\npriest, a good and virtuous man, modest in his looks, gentle in his\nmanners, and graceful in speech, and who from a child was exercised in\nvirtues holding up his hands, prayed for all the people of the Jews:\n\n15:13. After this there appeared also another man, admirable for age,\nand glory, and environed with great beauty and majesty:\n\n15:14. Then Onias answering, said:  This is a lover of his brethren, and\nof the people of Israel:  this is he that prayeth much for the people,\nand for all the holy city, Jeremias, the prophet of God.\n\n15:15. Whereupon Jeremias stretched forth his right hand, and gave to\nJudas a sword of gold, saying:\n\n15:16. Take this holy sword, a gift from God, wherewith thou shalt\noverthrow the adversaries of my people Israel.\n\n15:17. Thus being exhorted with the words of Judas, which were very\ngood, and proper to stir up the courage, and strengthen the hearts of\nthe young men, they resolved to fight, and to set upon them manfully:\nthat valour might decide the matter, because the holy city, and the\ntemple were in danger.\n\n15:18. For their concern was less for their wives, and children, and\nfor their brethren, and kinsfolks:  but their greatest and principal\nfear was for the holiness of the temple.\n\n15:19. And they also that were in the city, had no little concern for\nthem that were to be engaged in battle.\n\n15:20. And now when all expected what judgment would be given, and the\nenemies were at hand, and the army was set in array, the beasts and the\nhorsemen ranged in convenient places,\n\n15:21. Machabeus considering the coming of the multitude, and the\ndivers preparations of armour, and the fierceness of the beasts,\nstretching out his hands to heaven, called upon the Lord, that worketh\nwonders, who giveth victory to them that are worthy, not according to\nthe power of their arms, but according as it seemeth good to him.\n\n15:22. And in his prayer he said after this manner:  Thou, O Lord, who\ndidst send thy angel in the time of Ezechias, king of Juda, and didst\nkill a hundred and eighty-five thousand of the army of Sennacherib:\n\n15:23. Send now also, O Lord of heaven, thy good angel before us, for\nthe fear and dread of the greatness of thy arm,\n\n15:24. That they may be afraid, who come with blasphemy against thy\nholy people.  And thus he concluded his prayer.\n\n15:25. But Nicanor, and they that were with him came forward, with\ntrumpets and songs.\n\n15:26. But Judas, and they that were with him, encountered them,\ncalling upon God by prayers:\n\n15:27. So fighting with their hands, but praying to the Lord with their\nhearts, they slew no less than five and thirty thousand, being greatly\ncheered with the presence of God.\n\n15:28. And when the battle was over, and they were returning with joy,\nthey understood that Nicanor was slain in his armour.\n\n15:29. Then making a shout, and a great noise, they blessed the\nAlmighty Lord in their own language.\n\n15:30. And Judas, who was altogether ready, in body and mind, to die\nfor his countrymen, commanded that Nicanor's head, and his hand, with\nthe shoulder, should be cut off, and carried to Jerusalem.\n\n15:31. And when he was come thither, having called together his\ncountrymen, and the priests to the altar, he sent also for them that\nwere in the castle,\n\n15:32. And shewing them the head of Nicanor, and the wicked hand, which\nhe had stretched out, with proud boasts, against the holy house of the\nAlmighty God,\n\n15:33. He commanded also, that the tongue of the wicked Nicanor should\nbe cut out, and given by pieces to birds, and the hand of the furious\nman to be hanged up over against the temple.\n\n15:34. Then all blessed the Lord of heaven, saying:  Blessed be he that\nhath kept his own place undefiled.\n\n15:35. And he hung up Nicanor's head in the top of the castle, that it\nmight be an evident and manifest sign of the help of God.\n\n15:36. And they all ordained by a common decree, by no means to let\nthis day pass without solemnity:\n\n15:37. But to celebrate the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, called\nin the Syrian language, the day before Mardochias' day.\n\n15:38. So these things being done with relation to Nicanor, and from\nthat time the city being possessed by the Hebrews, I also will here\nmake an end of my narration.\n\n15:39. Which if I have done well, and as it becometh the history, it is\nwhat I desired:  but if not so perfectly, it must be pardoned me.\n\nIf not so perfectly, etc. . .This is not said with regard to the truth\nof the narration; but with regard to the style and manner of writing:\nwhich in the sacred penmen is not always the most accurate.  See St.\nPaul, 2 Cor. 11.6.\n\n15:40. For as it is hurtful to drink always wine, or always water, but\npleasant to use sometimes the one, and sometimes the other:  so if the\nspeech be always nicely framed, it will not be grateful to the readers.\nBut here it shall be ended.\n\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDICES\n\n\n\nThese texts come from the 1610 Doway printing of the second tome of the\nOld Testament (see the 'History' section at the top of the e-text).  The\nprimary sources provide a glimpse both into the history of the Douay-\nRheims version and the English language itself.  The reader will quickly\nnotice that the letter 'j' does not appear in the texts, rather 'i'\nfunctions either as a vowel or a consonant.  Likewise 'u' is not a\ndistinct letter; it is employed typographically in the lower-case in\nplace of 'v' where not starting a word.  The letters 'u' and 'v' both\nfunction either as vowels or consonants.  The word 'vniuersity'\ndemonstrates this rule.  The letter 'w' is often employed, but in some\ncases the earlier form of a double-v (vv) appears instead.\n\nThe transcriber has done his best to render the text accurately.  Note\nthe relaxed spelling standards of the time; many variants appear.  While\nthe errata section from the 1610 edition observed:  \"We haue also found\nsome other faultes of lesse importance; and feare there be more.  But we\ntrust the reader may easely correct them, as they occurre.\" only obvious\nerrors have been amended.  Where the transcriber has doubt between\nwhether an irregular spelling is either an error and a variant, the\nprinted text stands.  7-bit ASCII cannot fully represent the\ntypographical standards of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and\nmany special characters have been replaced with modern equivalents.\nWhere verse numbers stand in the margins of the printed texts, they have\nbeen transferred to the body; the verse numbers in the 'Prayer of\nManasses' have been supplied from other versions.  Reference notes have\nbeen transferred from the margins, and their abbreviations modernized.\n\n\n\n\n\nADDITIONAL BOOKS\n\n\n\nThe prayer of Manasses, vvith the third & fourth Bookes of Esdras, extant\nin most Latin and vulgare Bibles, are here placed after al the Canonical\nbookes, of the old Testament:  because they are not receiued into the\nCanon of Diuine Scriptures by the Catholique Church.\n\n\n\n\nTHE PRAYER OF MANASSES KING OF IVDA, WHEN HE WAS HELD CAPTIVE IN BABYLON.\n\n\n\nLORD omnipotent God of our fathers, Abraham, & Isaac, and Iacob, and of\ntheir iust sede, (2 Par 33:12) [2] which didst make heauen and earth:\nwith al the ornamentes of them, [3] which hast bound the sea with the\nword of thy precept, which hast shut vp the depth, and sealed it with\nthy terrible and laudable name:  [4] whom al thinges dread, & tremble at\nthe countinance of thy powre, [5] because the magnificence of thy glorie\nis importable, & the wrath of thy threatning vpon sinners is\nintollerable:  [6] but the mercie of thy promise is infinite and\nvnsearchable:  [7] because thou art our Lord, most high, benigne, long\nsuffering, and very merciful, and penitent vpon the wickednes of men.\nThou Lord according to the multitude of thy goodnes hast promised\npenance, and remission to them that haue sinned to thee, and by the\nmultitude of thy mercies thou hast decreed penance to sinners, vnto\nsaluation.  [8] Thou therfore Lord God of the iust, hast not appointed\npenance to the iust, Abraham, & Isaac and Iacob, them that haue not\nsinned to thee, but hast appointed penance for me a sinner:  [9] because\nI haue sinned aboue the number of the sand of the sea.  Myne iniquities\nLord be multiplied, mine iniquities be multiplied, and I am not worthie\nto behold, & looke vpon the height of heauen, for the multitude of mine\niniquities.  [10] I am made crooked with manie a band of yron, that I can\nnot lift vp my head, and I haue not respiration:  because I haue stirred\nvp thy wrath, and haue done euil before thee:  I haue not done thy wil,\nand thy commandmentes I haue not kept:  I haue set vp abominations, and\nmultiplied offenses.  [11] And now I bowe the knee of my hart, beseeching\ngoodnes of thee.  [12] I haue sinned Lord, I haue sinned, & I acknowlege\nmyne iniquities.  [13] Wherefore I beseech disiring thee, forgeue me\nLord, forgeue me:  and destroy me not together with myne iniquities,\nneither reserue thou for euer, being angrie, euils for me, neither damme\nme into the lowest places of the earth:  because thou art Lord, God, I\nsay, of the penitent:  [14] in me thou shalt shew al thy goodnes because\nthou shalt saue me vnworthie according to thy great mercie, [15] and I\nwil prayse thee alwayes al the dayes of my life:  because al the power of\nthe heauens prayseth thee, and to thee is glorie for euer and euer.\nAmen.\n\n\n\n\nTHE THIRD BOOKE OF ESDRAS.\n\n\n\nFor helpe of the readers, especially such as haue not leysure to read al,\nvve haue gathered the contentes of the chapters; but made no Annotations:\nbecause the text it self is but as a Commentarie to the Canonical bookes;\nand therfore we haue only added the concordance of other Scriptures in\nthe margin.\n\n\n\nCHAP. I.\n\n\nIosias king of Iuda maketh a great Pasch, 7. geuing manie hostes to such\nas wanted for sacrifice:  14. the Priestes and Leuites performing their\nfunctions therin:  22. in the eightenth yeare of his reigne, 25. He is\nslayne in battel by the king of AEgypt, 32. and much lamented by the\nIewes.  34. His sonne Ieconias succedeth.  37. After him Ioacim, 40. who\nis deposed by the king of Babylon.  43. Ioachim reigneth three monethes,\nand is caried into Babylon.  46. Sedecias reigneth eleuen yeares\nwickedly.  52. and he with his people is caried captiue into Babylon, the\ncitie and temple are destroyed.  57. so remayned til the Monarchie of the\nPersians.\n\nAND Iosias made a Pasch in Ierusalem to our Lord & immolated the Phase\nthe fourtenth moone of the moneth:  (4 Kings 23:21 / 2 Par 35:1)\n2 appointing the Priestes by courses of dayes clothed with stoles in the\ntemple of our Lord.  3 And he spake to the Leuites the sacred seruantes\nof Isreal, that they should sanctifie them selues to our Lord in the\nplacing of the holie arke of our Lord in the house, which king Salomon\nsonne of Dauid built.  4 It shal not be for you to take it vpon your\nshoulders.  And now serue your Lord, and take the care of that nation\nIsrael, in part according to your villages and tribes, 5 according to the\nwriting of Dauid king of Israel, and according to the magnificence of\nSalomon his sonne, al in the temple, and according to your fathers\nportion of principalitie, among them that stand in the sight of your\nbrethren the children of Isreal.  6 Immolate the Pasch, and prepare the\nsacrifices for your bretheren, and doe according to the precept of our\nLord which was geuen to Moyses.  (Ex 12 / Lev 23 / Num 28)  7 And Iosias\ngaue vnto the people that was found of sheepe, lambes, and kiddes, and\ngoates thirtie thousand, calues there thousand.  8 These thinges were\ngeuen to the people of the kinges goodes according to promisse:  and to\nthe priestes for the Phase, sheepe in number two thousand, and calues an\nhundred.  9 And Iechonias, and Semeias, and Nathanael bretheren, and\nHasabias, and Oziel, and Coraba for the Phase sheepe fiue thousand,\ncalues fiue hundred.  10 And when these thinges were done in good order,\nthe Priestes an the Leuites stood hauing azymes by tribes.  11 And\naccording to the portions of their fathers principalitie, in the sight of\nthe people they did offer, to our Lord according to those thinges, which\nwere written in the booke of Moyses:  12 and rosted the Phase with fire\nas it ought:  and the hostes they boyled in cauldrons, and in pottes with\nbeneuolence:  13 and they brought to al that were of the people:  and\nafterward they prepared for them selues and the priestes.  14 For the\nPriestes offered the fatte, vntil the houre was ended:  and the Leuites\nprepared for them selues, and their brethren, the children of Aaron.\n15 And the sacred singing men, the children of Asaph were by order\naccording to the precept of Dauid and Asaph, and Zacharias, and Ieddimus,\nwhich was from the king.  16 And the porters at euerie gate, so that none\ntransgressed his owne:  for their brethren prepared for them.  17 And the\nthinges were consummate that perteyned to the sacrifice of our Lord.\n18 In that day they celebrated the Phase, and offered hostes vpon the\nsacrifice of our Lord, according to the precept of king Iosias.  19 And\nthe children of Israel, that were found at that time, celebrated the\nPhase:  and the festiual day of Azymes for seuen dayes:  20 and there was\nnot celebrated such a Phase in Isreal, from the times of Samuel the\nprophet:  21 and al the kinges of Israel did not celebrate such a Phase\nas Iosias did, and the Priestes, and the Leuites, and the Iewes, and al\nIsrael, that were found in their abode at Ierusalem.  22 In the eightenth\nyeare, Iosias reigning was the Phase celebrated.  23 And the workes of\nIosias were directed in the sight of his Lord in a hart ful of feare:\n24 and the thinges concerning him are writen in the ancient times,\ntouching them that sinned, and were irreligous against our Lord aboue al\nnations, and that sought not the wordes of our Lord vpon Israel.  25 And\nafter al this fact of Iosias, came vp Pharao the king of AEgypt comming\nin Charcamis from the way vpon Euphrates, and Iosias went forth to meete\nhim.  (4 Kings 23:29 / 2 Par 35:20)  26 And the king of AEgypt sent to\nIosias saying:  What is there betwen me & thee king of Iuda?  27 I was\nnot sent of the Lord to fight against thee:  for my battel is vpon\nEuphrates, goe downe in hast.  28 And Iosias did not returne vpon his\nchariote:  but endeuoured to ouerthrow him, not attending the word of the\nprophet from the mouth of our Lord:  29 but he made battel against him in\nthe field of Mageddo.  And princes went downe to king Iosias.  30 And the\nking said to his seruantes:  Remoue me from the battel, for I am weakned\nexcedingly.  And forthwith his seruantes remoued him out of the battel.\n31 And he went vp into his second chariote:  & comming to Ierusalem,\ndyed, and was buried in his fathers sepulchre.  32 And in al Iurie they\nmourned for Iosias, & the rulers with their wiues lamented him vntil this\nday.  And this was geuen out to be done alwayes vnto al the stocke of\nIsrael.  33 But these thinges were writen before in the booke of the\nhistories of the kinges of Iuda:  and al the actes of the doing of\nIosias, and his glorie and his vnderstanding in the law of our Lord:  and\nthe thinges that were done by him, and that are not writen in the booke\nof the kinges of Israel and Iuda.  34 And they that were of the nation,\ntaking Iechonias the sonne of Iosias, made him king for Iosias his\nfather, when he was three and twentie yeares old.  (4 Kings 23:30 /\n2 Par 36:1)  35 And he reigned ouer Israel three monethes.  And the king\nof AEgypt remoued him, that he should not reigne in Ierusalem:  36 and he\nput a taxe vpon the nation of siluer an hundred talentes, and of gold one\ntalent.  37 And the king of AEgypt made Ioacim his brother king of Iuda\nand Ierusalem:  38 and he bound the magistrates of Ioacim, and Zaracel\nhis brother, and taking them brought them backe into AEgypt.  39 Ioacim\nwas fiue and twentie yeares old when he began to reigne in the land of\nIuda and Ierusalem:  and he did euil in the sight of our Lord.  40 And\nafter this man came vp Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon, and binding\nhim with a bande of brasse, brought him into Babylon.  41 And\nNabuchodonosor tooke the sacred vessels of our Lord, and carried away,\nand consecrated them in his temple in Babylon.  42 For his vncleanes, and\nlacke of religion is written in the booke of the times of the kinges.\n43 And Ioachin his sonne reigned for him.  And when he was made king, he\nwas eightene yeares old.  44 And reigned three monethes and ten dayes in\nIerusalem, and did euil in the sight of our Lord:  45 and after a yeare\nNabuchodonosor sending, transported him into Babylon together with the\nsacred vessels of our Lord.  (4 Kings 24:13)  46 And he made Sedecias\nking of Iuda and Ierusalem, when he was one and twentie yeares old:\n(4 Kings 24:17)  and he reigned eleuen yeares.  47 And he did euil in the\nsight of our Lord, and was not afraid of the wordes which were spoken by\nIeremie the prophet from the mouth of our Lord:  (Jer 37:2)  48 and being\nsworne of king Nabuchodonosor, forsworne he did reuolt:  and his necke\nbeing hardened, & his hart, he transgressed the ordinances of our Lord\nthe God of Israel.  49 And the princes of the people of our Lord did\nmanie thinges wickedly, and they did impiously aboue al the vncleannes of\nthe nations:  and they polluted the temple of our Lord that was holie of\nIerusalem.  50 And the God of their fathers sent by his messenger to\nreclame them, for that he would spare them, and his tabernacle.  51 But\nthey scorned at his messengers:  and in the day that our Lord spake to\nthem, they were mocking his prophetes.  52 Who was moued euen vnto wrath\nvpon his nation for their impietie, and commanded the kinges of the\nChaldees to come vp.  53 These slewe their yong men with the sword, round\nabout their holie temple, and spared not yong man, and old man, and\nvirgin, and youth:  54 but al were deliuered into their handes:  & taking\nal the sacred vessels of our Lord, and the kinges treasures, they caried\nthem into Babylon, 55 and burnt the house of our Lord, and threwe downe\nthe walles of Ierusalem:  and the towres therof they burnt with fire,\n56 and consumed al their honorable thinges, and brought them to naught,\nand those that were left of the sword, they led into Babylon.  57 And\nthey were his seruants vntil the Persians reigned in the fulfilling of\nthe word of our Lord by the mouth of Ieremie:  (Jer 25:12 / Jer 29:10 /\nDan 9:2)  58 as long as the land quietly kept her sabbathes, al the time\nof her desolation she sabbathized in the application of seuentie yeares.\n\n\n\nCHAP. II.\n\n\nCyrus king of Persia permitteth the Iewes to returne into their countrie:\n10. and deliuereth to them the holie vessels, which Nabuchodonosor had\ntaken from the temple.  16. Certaine aduersaries writing to king\nArtaxerxes, hinder those that would repayre the ruines of Ierusalem.\n\nCYRVS king of the Persians reigning for the accomplishment of the word of\nour Lord by the mouth of Ieremie, (2 Par 36:22 / 1 Esd 1:1 / 1 Esd 6:3 /\nJer 25:12 / Jer 29:10 / Dan 9:2) 2 our Lord raysed vp the spirit of Cyrus\nking of the Persians, and he proclaymed in al his kingdomes, and that by\nwriting, 3 saying:  Thus sayth Cyrus king of the Persians:  The Lord of\nIsrael, the high Lord, hath made me king ouer the whole earth.  4 and\nhath signified to me to build him a house in Ierusalem, which is in\nIurie.  5 If there be any of your kinred, his Lord goe vp with him into\nIerusalem.  6 Whosoeuer therefore dwel about the places, let them helpe\nthem that are in the same place, in gold and siluer, 7 in giftes, with\nhorses, and beastes, and with other thinges which by vowes are added into\nthe temple of our Lord, which is in Ierusalem.  8 And the princes of the\ntribes, of the villages and of Iurie, of the tribe of Beniamin, & the\nPriestes, and the Leuites standing vp, whom our Lord moued to goe vp, and\nto build the house of our Lord which is in Ierusalem, and they that were\nround about them, 9 did helpe them with al their gold and siluer, and\nbeastes, and manie whose minde was stirred vp, with many vowes.  10 And\nCyrus the king brought forth the sacred vessel of our Lord, which\nNabuchodonosor the king of Babylon transported out of Ierusalem, and\nconsecrated them to his Idol.  11 And Cyrus the king of Persians bringing\nthem forth, deliuered them to Mithridatus, who was ouer his treasures.\n12 And by him they were deliuered to Salmanasar president of Iurie.\n13 And of these this was the number:  Cuppes for libamentes of siluer two\nthousand foure hundred, basens of siluer thirtie:  phials of gold\nthirtie, also of siluer two thousand foure hundred:  and other vessels a\nthousand.  14 and al the vessels of gold and siluer, were fiue thousand\neight hundred sixtie.  15 And they were numbered to Salmanasar together\nwith them, that came out of the captiuite of Babylon into Ierusalem.\n16 But in the times of Artaxerxes king of the Persians, there wrote to\nhim of them that dwelt in Iurie and Ierusalem, Balsamus, and Mithridatus,\nand Sabellius, and Rathimus, Balthemus, Sabellius scribe, and the rest\ndweling in Samaria, and other places the epistle folowing to king\nArtaxerxes.  (1 Esd 4:7)  17 SIR, thy seruantes Rathimus ouer\noccurrentes, and Sabellius the scribe, and the other iudges of thy court\nin Caelesyria, and Phenice.  18 And now be it knowen to our Lord the\nking, that Iewes came vp from you to vs, coming into Ierusalem a\nrebellious, & very naughty citie, do build the fornaces thereof, and set\nvp the walles, and rayse the temple.  19 And if this citie, and the\nwalles shal be finished, they wil not onlie not abyde to pay tributes,\nbut also wil resist the kinges.  20 And because that is in doing about\nthe temple, we thought it should doe wel not to neglect this same thing:\n21 but to make it knowen to our Lord the king, that if it shal seme good,\no king it may be sought in the bookes of thy fathers, 22 and thou shalt\nfind in the recordes, thinges writen of these, and thou shalt know that\nthis citie hath bene rebellious, and trubling kinges, and cities, 23 and\nthe Iewes rebelles, & making battels in it from time out of mind, for the\nwhich cause this citie was made desolate.  24 Now therfore we doe thee to\nvnderstand, Lord king, that if this citie shal be built, and the walles\ntherof shal be erected, there wil be no comming downe for thee into\nCaelesyria, & Phenice.  25 Then wrote the king to Rathimus, the writer of\nthe occurrentes, and to Balthemus, and to Sabellius the scribe, and to\nthe rest ioyned with them, and to the dwellers in Syria, and Phenice, as\nfoloweth:  26 I haue read the epistle that you sent me.  I commanded\ntherfore search to be made, & it was found that the same citie is from\nthe beginning rebellious to kinges, 27 and the men rebelles, and making\nbattels in it, & there were most valient kinges ruling in Ierusalem, and\nexacting tributes in Caelesyria, & Phenice.  28 Now therfore I haue geuen\ncommandment to forbid those men to build the citie, and to stay them that\nnothing be done more then is:  29 and that they proceeded not farder,\nwherof are euils, so that there may be truble brougt vpon the kinges.\n30 Then these things being read which were writen of king Artaxerxes,\nRathimus, and Sabellius the scribe, and they that were apointed with them\nioyning together in hast came to Ierusalem with a troupe of horsemen, and\nmultitude, & companie:  31 and they begane to forbid the builders, and\nthey ceased from building of the temple in Ierusalem, til in the second\nyeare of the reigne of Darius king of the Persians.\n\n\n\nCHAP. III.\n\n\nAfter a solemne supper made to al the court, and chief princes, king\nDarius sleeping:  4. three esquires of the bodie keeping watch, proposed\nthe question:  10. VVhether wine, or a King, or wemen, or the truth doth\nexcel?  17. The first prayseth wine.\n\nKING Darius made a great supper to al his domestical seruantes, and to al\nthe magistrates of Media and Persia, 2 and to al that were purple, and to\nthe praetors, and counsuls, and liuetenantes vnder him from India vnto\nAEthiopia, an hundred twentie seuen prouinces.  3 And when they had eaten\nand drunken, and returned ful, then Darius went vp into his chamber, and\nslept, and awaked.  4 Then those three youngmen kepers of his bodie,\nwhich garded the kings bodie, sayd one to an other; 5 Let euerie one of\nvs say a word that may excel:  & whose word soeuer shal appeare wiser\nthen the others, to him wil king Darius geue great giftes, 6 to be\ncouered with purple, & to drinke in gold, and to sleepe vpon gold, & a\nchariote with a bridle of gold, & a bonet of silke, and a cheyne about\nhis necke:  7 and he shal sit in the second place next Darius for his\nwisdome.  And he shal be called the cosin of Darius.  8 Then euerie one\nwriting his word signed it, and they put it vnder the pillow of Darius\nthe king, 9 and they sayd.  When the king shal rise, we wil geue him our\nwritinges:  and which soeuer of the three the king shal iudge, and the\nmagistrates of Persia, that his word is the wiser, to him shal the\nvictorie be geuen as is writen.  10 One wrote:  Wine is strong.  11 An\nother wrote, a King is stronger.  12 The third wrote, Wemen are more\nstrong:  but aboue al thinges truth ouercometh.  13 And when the king was\nrisen, they tooke their writinges, and gaue him, and he read.  14 And\nsending he called al the Magistrates of Persians, and the Medes, and them\nthat weare purple, and the pretors, and the ouerseers; 15 and they sate\nin the councel:  and the writinges were read before them.  16 And he\nsayd:  Cal the youngmen, and they shal declare their owne wordes.  And\nthey were called, and went in.  17 And he sayd to them:  Declare vnto vs\nconcerning these thinges which are writen.  And the first began, he that\nhad spoken of the strength of wine, 18 and sayd:  O ye men, how doth wine\npreuaile ouer al men that drinke!  it seduceth the minde.  19 And also\nthe mind of king and orphane it maketh vaine.  Also of the bondman and\nthe free, of the rich man and the poore, 20 and euerie mind it turneth\ninto securitie and pleasantnes, and it remembreth not any sorow and\ndewtie, 21 and al hartes it maketh honest, and it remembreth not king,\nnor magistrate, and it maketh a man speake al thinges by talentes.\n22 And when they haue drunke, they remember not frendship, nor\nbrotherhood:  yea and not long after they take swordes.  23 And when they\nare recouered and risen from the wine, they remember not what they haue\ndone.  24 O ye men, doth not wine excel?  who thinketh to doe so?  And\nhauing sayd this, he held his peace.\n\n\n\nCHAP. IIII.\n\n\nThe second prayseth the excellencie of a king:  13. The third (which is\nZorobabel) commendeth wemen:  33. but preferreth truth aboue al.\n41. VVhich is so approued, and he is rewarded.  42. The king moreouer at\nhis request restoreth the holie vessels of the temple, and granteth\nmeanes to build the citie of Ierusalem, and the temple.\n\nAND the next began to speake, he that spake of the strength of a king.\n2 O ye men doe not the men excel, which obteyne land and sea, and al\nthinges that are in them?  3 But a king excelleth aboue al thinges, and\nhath dominion ouer them:  and euerie thing whatsoeuer he shal say to\nthem, they doe.  4 And if he send them to warryers, they goe, and throw\ndowne mountaines, and the walles, and towers.  5 They kil, and are\nkilled:  and the kinges word they transgresse not.  For if they shal\nouercome, they bring to the king al thinges whatsoeuer they haue taken\nfor a praye.  6 In like maner also al others, for so many as are not\nsouldiars, nor fight, but til the ground:  when they shal reape, againe\nthey bring tributes to the king.  7 And he being one onlie if he say:\nKil ye, they kil:  say he:  forgeue, the forgeue.  8 say he:  strike:\nthey strike:  say he, destroy, they destroy:  say he build, they build.\n9 say he, cut downe, they cut downe, say he plant, they plant:  10 and al\nthe people, & potestates here him, and beside this he sitteth downe, and\ndrinketh, and sleepeth.  11 And others gard him round about, and can not\ngoe euerie one, and doe their owne workes, but at a word are obedient to\nhim.  12 O ye men, how doth not a king excel that is so renowmed?  And he\nheld his peace.  13 The third that spake of wemen and truth, this is\nZorobabel, began to speake.  14 O ye men, not the great king, & many men,\nneither is it wine that dothe excel.  Who is it then that hath the\ndominion of them?  15 Haue not wemen brought forth the king, and al the\npeople, that ruleth ouer land & sea:  16 and were they not borne of them,\nand did not they bring vp them which planted the vineyardes, whereof wine\nis made?  17 And they make the garmentes of al men, & they doe honor to\nal men, and men can not be separed from wemen.  18 If they haue gathered\ngold and siluer, and euerie beutiful thing, & see a woman comelie and\nfayre, 19 leauing al these thinges they fixe their looke vpon her, & with\nopen mouth beholde her, and allure her more then gold and siluer, and\neuerie precious thing.  20 Man forsaketh his father that brought him vp,\nand his countrie, and ioyneth himself to a woman.  21 And with a woman he\nrefresheth his soul:  and neither doth he remember father, nor mother,\nnor countrie.  22 And hereby you must know that wemen rule ouer you.  Are\nyou not sorie?  23 And a man taketh his sword, & goeth into the way to\ncommit theftes and murders, & to sayle seas & riuers, 24 and seeth a\nlyon, and goeth in darkenes:  and when he hath committed theft, and\nfraude, and spoyles, he bringeth it to his beloued.  25 And againe, man\nloueth his wife more then father or mother.  26 And many haue become\nmadde for their wiues:  and haue been made bondmen for them:  27 and many\nhaue perished and bene slayne, and haue sinned for wemen.  28 And now\nbeleue me, that the king is great in his powre:  because al countries are\nafrayd to touch him.  29 Neuertheles I saw Apemes the daughter of Bezaces\nthe concubine of a meruelous king, sitting by the king at his right hand,\n30 and taking of the crowne from his head, and putting it vpon her self,\nand with the palme of her left hand she stroke the king.  31 And beside\nthese thinges he with open mouth beheld her:  and if she smiled he\nlaugheth, and if she be angrie with him, he flattereth, til he be\nreconciled to her fauour.  32 O ye men, why are not wemen stronger?\nGreat is the earth, and high is the heauen:  who doeth these thinges?\n33 And then the king and they that weare purple looked one vpon an other.\nAnd he began to speake of truth.  34 O ye men, are not wemen strong?  The\nearth is great and heauen is high:  & the swift course of the sunne\nturneth the heauen round into his place in one day.  35 Is not he\nmagnifical that doth these thinges, and the truth great, and stronger\naboue al thinges?  36 Al the earth calleth vpon the truth, heauen also\nblesseth it, and al workes are moued, and tremble at it, and there is not\nany thing with it vniust.  37 Wine is vniust, the king is vniust, wemen\nare vniust, al the sonnes of men are vniust, and al their workes are\nvniust, and in them is not truth, and they shal perish in their\niniquitie:  38 and truth abydeth, and groweth strong for euer, and\nliueth, and preuayleth for euer and euer.  39 Neither is there with it\nacception of persons, nor differences:  but the thinges that are iust it\ndoth to al men, to the vniust and malignant, and al men are wel pleased\nin the workes thereof.  40 And there is no vniust thing in the iudgement\ntherof, but strength, and reigne, and power, and maiestie of worldes.\nBlessed be the God of truth.  41 And he left speaking.  And al the people\ncryed, and sayd:  Great is truth and it preuaileth.  42 Then the king\nsayd to him:  Aske, if thou wilt any more, then the thinges that are\nwriten, and I wil geue it thee, according as thou art found wiser then\nthy neighbours, & thou shalt sitte next to me, and shalt be called my\ncosin.  43 Then sayd he to the king:  Be midful of thy vow, which thou\nhast vowed, to build Ierusalem in the day that thou didst receiue the\nkingdom:  44 and to send backe al the vessels that were taken out of\nIerusalem, which Cyrus separated, when he sacked Babylon, and would haue\nsent them backe thither.  45 And thou hast vowed to build the temple,\nwhich the Idumeians burnt, when Iurie was destroyed of the Chaldees.\n46 And now this is that which I aske Lord, & which I desire, this is the\nmaiestie which I desire of thee, that thou performe the vowe which thou\nhast vowed to the king of heauen by thy mouth.  47 Then Darius the king\nrising vp, kissed him:  and wrote letters to al the officers, and\nouerseers, and them that weare purple, that they should conduct him, and\nthem that were with him, al going vp to build Ierusalem.  48 And to al\nthe ouerseers that were in Syria, and Phoenice, and Libanus he wrote\nletters, that they should draw Ceder trees from Libanus into Ierusalem,\nto build the citie with them.  49 And he wrote to al the Iewes which went\nvp from the kingdome into Iurie for libertie, euerie mightie man, &\nmagistrate, & ouerseer not to come vpon them to their gates, 50 and al\nthe countrie which they had obtayned to be free vnto them, & that the\nIdumeians leaue the castels which they possesse of the Iewes, 51 and to\nthe building of the temple to geue euerie yeare twentie talentes vntil it\nwere throughly built:  52 & vpon the altars to burne holocausts dayly, as\nthey haue commandment:  to offer other ten talentes euery yeare, 53 & to\nal that go forth from Babylon to build the citie, that there should be\nlibertie as wel to them as to their children, and to al the priestes that\ngoe before.  54 And he wrote a quantitie also, and commanded the sacred\nstole to be geuen, wherein they should serue; 55 and to the Leuites he\nwrote to geue preceptes, vntil the day wherein the house shal be\nfinished, and Ierusalem builded.  56 And to al that kepe the citie, he\nwrote portions and wages to be geuen to them.  57 And he sent away al the\nvessels whatsoeuer Cyrus had separated from Babylon, and al thinges\nwhatsoeuer Cyrus sayd, he also commanded to be donne, and to be sent to\nIerusalem.  58 And when that yong man was gone forth, lyfting vp his face\ntoward Ierusalem, he blessed the king of heauen, 59 & sayd:  Of thee is\nvictorie, and of thee is wisdome, and glorie.  And I am thy seruant.\n60 Blessed art thou which hast geuen me wisedom, and I wil confesse to\nthee Lord God of our fathers.  61 And he toke the letters, and went into\nBabylon.  And he came, and told al his brethren that were in Babylon:\n62 and they blessed the God of their fathers, because he gaue them\nremission and refreshing, 63 that they should goe vp and build Ierusalem,\nand the temple wherein his name was renowmed, and they reioyced with\nmusike and ioy seuen dayes.\n\n\n\nCHAP. V.\n\n\nThose that returned from captiuitie of Bablyon into Ierusalem, and Iurie,\nare recited.  47. They restore Gods seruice:  66. but are hindered from\nbuilding.\n\nAFTER these thinges there were chosen, to goe vp the princes of townes by\ntheir houses, and tribes, and their wiues, and their sonnes and\ndaughters, and their men seruantes and wemen seruantes, and their cattel.\n(1 Esd 2:1)  2 And Darius the king sent together with them a thousand\nhorsmen, til they conducted them to Ierusalem with peace, & with musicke\n& with tymbrels, and shaulmes:  3 and al the brethren were playing, and\nhe made them goe vp together with them.  4 And these are the names of the\nmen that went vp by their townes according to tribes, and according to\nthe portion of their principalitie.  5 Priestes:  The children of\nPhinees, the sonne of Aaron, Iesus the sonne of Iosedec, Ioacim the sonne\nof Zorobabel, the sonne of Salatheil of the house of Dauid, of the\nprogenie of Phares, of the tribe of Iuda.  6 Who spake vnder Darius king\nof the Persians the meruelous wordes in the second yeare of his reigne\nthe first moneth Nisan.  7 And they are these, that of Iurie came vp from\nthe captiuitie of the transmigration, whom Nabuchodonosor the king of\nBabylon transported into Babylon, and returned into Ierusalem.\n(1 Esd 2:2 / 2 Esd 7:6)  8 And euerie one sought a part of Iurie\naccording to his owne citie, they that came with Zorobabel, and Iesus,\nNehemias, Areores, Elimeo, Emmanio, Mardocheo, Beelsuro, Mechpsatochor,\nOlioro, Emonia one of their princes.  9 And the number of them of the\nsame nation, of their rulers the children of Phares, two thousand an\nhundred seuentie two:  10 The children of Ares, three thousand an hundred\nfiftie seuen:  11 The children of Phoemo, an hundred fourtie two:  in the\nchildren of Iesus and Ioabes, a thousand three hundred two:  12 the\nchildren of Demu, two thousand foure hundred seuentie:  the children of\nChoraba, two hundred fiue:  the children of Banica, an hundred sixtie\neight, 13 the children of Bebech, foure hundred three:  the children of\nArchad, foure hundred twentie seuen:  14 the children of Cham, thirtie\nseuen:  the children of Zoroar, two thousand sixtie seuen:  the children\nof Adin, foure hundred sixtie one:  15 the children of Aderectes, an\nhundred eight:  the children of Ciaso and Zelas an hundred seuen:  the\nchildren of Azoroc, foure hundred thirtie nine:  16 the children of\nIedarbone, an hundred thirtie two:  the children of Ananias, an hundred\nthirtie:  the children of Asoni, ninetie:  17 the children of Marsar,\nfoure hundred twentie two:  the children of Zabarus, nintie fiue:  the\nchildren of Sepolemon, an hundred twentie three:  18 the children of\nNepopas, fiftie fiue:  the children of Hechanatus, an hundred fiftie\neight:  the children of Cebethamus, an hundred thirite two:  19 the\nchildren of Crearpatros, which are of Enocadie and Modia, foure hundred\ntwentie three:  they of Gramas and Babea, an hundred twentie one.\n20 They of Besselon, and Ceagge, sixtie fiue:  they of Bastraro, an\nhundred twentie two:  21 they of Bechenobes, fiftie fiue:  the children\nof Liptis, an hundred fiftie fiue:  the children of Labonni, three\nhundred fiftie seuen:  22 the children of Sichem, three hundred seuentie:\nthe children of Suadon, & Cliomus, three hundred seuentie eight:  23 the\nchildren of Ericus, two thousand an hundred fourtie fiue:  the children\nof Anaas, three hundred seuentie.  The priestes:  24 the children of\nIeddus, the sonne of Euther, the sonne of Eliasib, three hundred seuenty\ntwo:  the children of Emerus, two hundred fiftie two:  25 the children of\nPhasurius, three hundred fiftie seuen the children of Caree, two hundred\ntwentie seuen.  26 The Leuites:  The children of Iesus in Caduhel, and\nBamis, and Serebias, and Edias, seuentie foure, the whole number from the\ntwelfth yeare, thiritie thousand foure hundred sixtie two.  27 The\nsonnes, and daughters, and wiues, the whole number, fourtie thousand two\nhundred fourtie two.  28 The children of the Priestes, that sang in the\ntemple:  the children of Asaph, an hundred twentie eight.  29 And the\nporters:  the children of Esmeni, the children of Azer, the children of\nAmon, the children of Accuba, of Topa, the children of Tobi, al an\nhundred thirtie nine.  30 Priestes that serued in the temple:  the\nchildren of Sel, the children of Gaspha, the children of Tobloch, the\nchildren of Caria, the children of Su, the children of Hellu, the\nchildren of Lobana, the children of Armacha, the children of Accub, the\nchildren of Vtha, the children of Cetha, the children of Aggab, the\nchildren of Obai, the children of Anani, the children of Canna, the\nchildren of Geddu, 31 the children or An, the children of Radin, the\nchildren of Desanon, the children of Nachoba, the children of Caseba, the\nchildren of Gaze, the children of Ozui, the children of Sinone, the\nchildren of Attre, the children of Hasten, the children of Asiana, the\nchildren of Manei, the children of Nasissim, the children of Acusu, the\nchildren of Agista, the children of Azui, the children of Fauon, the\nchildren of Phasalon, 32 the children of Meedda, the children of Phusa,\nthe children of Caree, the children of Burcus, the children of Saree, the\nchildren of Coesi, the children of Nasith, the children of Agisti, the\nchildren of Pedon.  33 Salomon his children, the children of Asophot, the\nchildren of Phasida, the children of Celi, the children of Dedon, the\nchildren of Gaddehel, the children of Sephegi, 34 the children of Aggia,\nthe children of Sachareth, the children of Sabathen, the children of\nCaroneth, the children of Malsith, the children of Ama, the children of\nSasus, the children of Addus, the children of Suba, the children of Eura,\nthe children of Rahotis, the children of Phasphat, the children of\nMalmon.  35 Al that serued the sanctuarie, and the seruantes of Salomon,\nfoure hundred eightie two.  36 These are the children that came vp from\nThelmela, Thelharsa:  the princes of them, Carmellam, and Careth:  37 and\nthey could not declare their cities, and their progenies, how they are of\nIsrael.  The children of Dalari, the children of Tubal, the children of\nNechodaici, 38 of the Priestes, that did the function of priesthood:  and\nthere were not found the children of Obia, the children of Achisos, the\nchildren of Addin, who tooke a wife of the daughters of Pargeleu:  39 and\nthey were called by his name, and the writing of the kinred of these was\nsought in the register, and it was not found, and they were forbid to doe\nthe function of priesthood.  40 And Nehemias and Astharus sayd to them:\nLet not the holie thinges be participated, til there arise a hiegh priest\nlerned for declaration and truth.  41 And al Israel was beside men\nseruantes, and wemen seruantes, fourtie two thousand three hundred\nfourtie.  42 Their men seruantes and wemen seruantes, seuen thousand\nthree hundred thirtie seuen.  Singing men and singing wemen, two hundred\nthree score fiue.  43 Camels, foure hundred thiritie fiue.  Horses, seuen\nthousand thirtie six.  Mules, two hundred thousand fourtie fiue.  Beastes\nvnder yoke, fiue thousand twentie fiue.  44 And of the rulers themselues\nby their villages, when they came into the temple of God, which was in\nIerusalem, to renew and raise vp the temple in his place, according to\ntheir power:  45 and to be geuen into the temple to the sacred treasure\nof the workes, of gold twelue thousand mnas, and fiue thousand mnas of\nsiluer, and stoles for Priestes an hundred.  46 And the Priestes and\nLeuites, and they that came out of the people, dwelt in Ierusalem, and in\nthe countrie, and the sacred singingmen, and porters, and al Israel in\ntheir countries.  47 And the seuenth moneth being at hand, and when the\nchildren of Israel were euerie man in his owne affayres, they came\ntogether with one minde into the court, that was before the east gate.\n(1 Esd 3:1)  48 And Iesus the sonne of Iosedec, and his brethren the\npriestes:  Zorobabel the sonne of Salathiel, and his brethren standing\nvp, prepared an altar, 49 that they might offer vpon it holocaustes,\naccording to the thinges that are writen in the booke of Moyses the man\nof God.  50 And there assembled there of other nations of the land, and\nal the nations of the land erected the altar in his place, and they\noffered hostes, and morning holocaustes to our Lord.  51 And they\ncelebrated the feast of Tabernacles, and the solemne day, as it is\ncommanded in the lawe:  and sacrifices dayly, as it behoued:  52 and\nafter these the appointed oblations, and the hostes of the sabbathes, and\nof the newmoones, and of al the solemne sanctified dayes.  53 And as\nmanie as vowed to our Lord from the new moone of the seuenth moneth,\nbegan to offer the hostes to God, and the temple of our Lord was not yet\nbuilt.  54 And they gaue monie to the masones and workemen, and drinke\nand victuals with ioy.  55 And they gaue cartes to the Sidonians, and\nTyrianes, that with them they should carie ceder beames from Lybanus, and\nshould make boates in the hauen Ioppe, according to the decre that was\nwriten for them by Cyrus king of the Persians.  56 And in the second\nyeare coming into the temple of God in Ierusalem, in the second moneth\nbegan Zorobel the sonne of Salathiel, and Iosue the sonne of Iosedec, and\ntheir bretheren, and the Priestes and Leuites, and al that were come from\nthe captiuitie into Ierusalem.  57 and they founded the temple of God in\nthe newmoone of the second moneth of the second yeare, after that they\ncame into Iurie and Ierusalem.  58 And they appoynted the Leuites from\ntwentie yeares, ouer the workes of our Lord:  and Iesus stood and his\nsonne, and the bretheren, al Leuites ioyning together, & executors of the\nlawe, doing the workes in the house of our Lord.  59 And al the Priestes\nstood, hauing stoles with trumpettes:  60 and Leuites the children of\nAsaph, hauing cymbals together praysing our Lord, and blessing him\naccording to Dauid king of Israel.  61 And they song a song to our Lord,\nbecause his sweetenes, and honour is for euer vpon Israel.  62 And al the\npeople sounded with trumpet, and cried out with a loud voice, praysing\nour Lord in the raysing vp of the house of our Lord.  63 And there came\nof the Priestes and Leuites, and presidentes by their villages the more\nancientes, which had sene the old house:  64 and to the building of this\nwith crie and great lamentation, and manie with trumpettes and great ioy:\n65 in so much that the people heard not the trumpettes for the\nlamentatinon of the people.  For the multitude was sounding with\ntrumpettes magnifically, so that it was heard far of.  66 And the enimes\nof the tribe of Iuda, and Beniamin heard it, and they came to knowe what\nthe voyce of the trumpettes was:  67 And they knew that they which were\nof the captiuitie doe build a temple to our Lord the God of Israel.\n68 And coming to Zorobabel & Iesus, the ouerseers of the villages, they\nsayd to them:  We will build together with you:  (1 Esd 4:2)  69 For we\nhaue in like maner heard your Lord, & we walke like from the dayes of\nAsbazareth king of the Assyrians, who transported vs hither.  70 And\nZorobabel, and Iesus, & the princes of the villages of Israel, sayd to\nthem:  71 It is not for vs and you to build the house of our God.  For we\nalone wil build to our Lord of Israel according as Cyrus the king of the\nPersians hath commanded.  72 And the nations of the land lying vpon them\nthat are in Iurie, and lifting vp the worke of the building, and bringing\nambushmentes, and peoples, prohibited them to build.  73 and practising\nassaultes hindred them, that the building might not be finished al the\ntime of the life of king Cyrus, and they differred the building for two\nyeares vntil the reigne of Darius.\n\n\n\nCHAP. VI.\n\n\nThe Iewes by assistance of king Darius build vp the Temple in Ierusalem.\n\nAND in the second yeare of the reigne of Darius prophecied Aggeus, and\nZacharias the sonne of Addo the prophet to Iurie and Ierusalem in the\nname of God of Israel vpon them.  (1 Esd 5:1)  2 Then Zorobabel the sonne\nof Salathiel standing vp, and Iesus the sonne of Iosedec begane to build\nthe house of our Lord, which is in Ierusalem.  3 When the prophetes of\nour Lord were present with them, and did helpe them.  At the same time\ncame Sisennes to them, the deputie of Syria, and of Phenice, and\nSatrabuzanes, and his felowes:  4 and they sayd to them:  By whose\ncommandment, build ye this house, and this roofe, and perfite al other\nthinges?  And who are the workmen that build these thinges?  5 And the\nancientes of the Iewes, which were left of the captiuitie by our Lord,\nhad fauoure when the visitation was made vpon them.  6 And they were not\nhindered from building, til it was signified to Darius of al these\nthinges, and answer was receiued.  7 A copie of the letter, which they\nsent to Darius.  SISENNES deputie of Syria and Phenice, and Satrabuzanes,\nand his felowes in Syria and Phenice presidents, to king Darius\ngreetings:  8 Be al thinges knowen to our Lord the king, that when we\ncame into the countrie of Iurie, and had entered into Ierusalem, we found\nthem building the great house of God.  9 And the temple of polished\nstones, and of great and precious matter in the walles.  10 And the\nworkes to be a doing earnestly, and to succede, and prosper in their\nhandes, and in al glorie to be perfited most diligently.  11 Then we\nasked the ancients saying, by whose permission build ye this house, &\nfound these workes?  12 And therfore we asked them, that we might doe\nthee to know the men & the ouerseers, and we required of them a rolle of\nthe names of the ouerseers.  13 But they answered vs saying:  We are the\nseruantes of the Lord, which made heauen and earth.  14 And this house\nwas built these manie yeares past by a king of Israel, that was great and\nmost valiant, and was finished.  15 And because our fathers were\nprouoking to wrath, and sinned agaynst God of Israel, he deliuered them\ninto the handes of Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon, king of the\nChaldees.  16 And throwing downe this house they burnt it, and they led\nthe people captiue into Babylon.  17 In the first yeare when Cyrus\nreigned the king of Babylon, Cyrus the king wrote to build this house.\n18 And these sacred vessels of gold and siluer which Nabuchodonosor had\ntaken out of the house which is in Ierusalem, and had consecrated them in\nhis owne temple, Cyrus brought them forth agayne out of the temple which\nwas in Babylon, and they were deliuered to Zorobabel, & to Salmanasar the\ndeputie.  19 And it was commanded them that they should offer these\nvessels, & lay them vp in the temple, which was in Ierusalem, and build\nthe temple of God itself in his place.  20 Then did Salmanasar lay the\nfundations of the house of our Lord, which is in Ierusalem:  and from\nthat time vntil now it is a building, and is not accomplished.  21 Now\ntherfore if thou thincke it good o king, let it be sought in the kings\nliberaries of Cyrus the king, which are in Babylon:  22 and if it shal be\nfound, that the building of the house of the Lord, which is in Ierusalem,\nbegane by the counsel of Cyrus the king, and it be thought good of our\nLord the king, let him write to vs of these thinges.  23 Then Darius the\nking commanded search to be made in the libraries:  and there was found\nin Ecbatana a towne that is in the countrie of Media, one place wherin\nwere writen these wordes:  (1 Esd 6:1)  24 IN THE FIRST YEARE of the\nreigne of Cyrus, king Cyrus commanded to build the house of the Lord\nwhich is in Ierusalem, where they did burne incense with dayly fire,\n25 the height wherof shal be of ten cubits, & the bredth three score\ncubites, foure square with three stones polished, and with a loft galerie\nof wood of the same countrie, & one new galerie, and the expenses to be\ngeuen out of the house of Cyrus the king.  26 And the sacred vesseles of\nthe house of the Lord, as wel of gold as of siluer, which Nabuchodonosor\ntooke from the house of our Lord, which is in Ierusalem where they were\nlayed, that they be put there:  27 And he commanded Sisennes the deputie\nof Syria & Phoenice, and Satrabuzanes, and his felowes & them that were\nordayned presidentes in Syria & Phoenice, that they should refraine\nthemselues from that place.  28 And I also haue geuen commandment to\nbuild it wholly:  and haue prouided, that they helpe them, which are of\nthe captiuitie of the Iewes, til the temple of the house of the Lord be\naccomplished.  29 And from the vexation of the tributes of Coelesyria &\nPhoenice, a quantitie to be geuen diligently to these men for the\nsacrifice of the Lord, to Zorobabel the gouernour, for oxen, and rammes,\nand lambes.  30 And in like maner corne also, and salt, and wine, and\noyle continually yeare by yeare, according as the priestes which are in\nIerusalem, haue prescribed to be spent dayly:  31 that libamentes may be\noffered to the most high God for the king & his children, & that they may\npray for their life.  32 And that it be denounced, that whosoeuer shal\ntransgresse anie thing of these which are writen, or shal despise it, a\nbeame be taken of theyr owne, & they be hanged, & their goodes be\nconfiscate to the king.  33 Therfore the Lord also, whose name is\ninuocated there, destroy euery king & nation, that shal extend their hand\nto hinder or to handle il the house of the Lord which is in Ierusalem.\n34 I Darius the king haue decreed that it be most diligently done\naccording to these thinges.\n\n\n\nCHAP. VII.\n\n\nThe house of God is finished, 7. and dedicated, 10. the feast of Pasch is\nalso celebrated seuen dayes with Azimes.\n\nTHEN Sisennes the deputie of Coelesyria, and Phaenice, and Satrabuzames,\nand their felowes, obeying those thinges which were decreed of Darius the\nking, (1 Esd 6:13) 2 applied the sacred workes most diligently, working\ntogether with the ancientes of the Iewes, the princes of Syria.  3 And\nthe sacred workes prospered, Aggeus & Zacharias the prophetes\nprophecying.  4 And they accomplished al thinges by the precept of our\nLord the God of Israel, and by the counsel of Cyrus, & Darius, and\nArtaxerxes the king of the Persians.  5 And our house was a finishing\nvntil the three and twentith day of the moneth of Adar, the sixth yeare\nof Darius the king.  6 And the children of Israel, and the Priestes and\nLeuites, and the rest that were of the captiuitie, which were added did\naccording to those thinges that are written in the booke of Moyses.\n7 And they offered for the dedication of the temple of our Lord, oxen an\nhundred, rammes two hundred, lambes foure hundred.  8 And kiddes for the\nsinnes of al Israel, twelue, according to the number of the tribes of\nIsrael.  9 And the Priestes and Leuites stood clothed with stoles by\ntribes, ouer al the workes of our Lord the God of Israel, according to\nthe booke of Moyses, and the porters at euerie gate.  10 And the children\nof Israel, wih them that were of the captiuitie celebrated the phase of\nthe fourtenth moone of the first moneth, when the Priestes and Leuites\nwere sanctified.  11 Al the children of the captiuitie were not\nsanctified together, because al the Leuites were sanctified together.\n12 And al the children of the captuitie immolated the phase, both for\ntheir brethren the Priestes, and for them selues.  13 And the children of\nIsrael did eate, they that were of the captiuitie al that remayned apart\nfrom al the abominations of the nations of the land seeking our Lord.\n14 And they celebrated the festiual day of Azymes seuen dayes feasting in\nthe sight of our Lord.  15 Because he turned the counsel of the king of\nthe Assirians toward them, to strengthen their handes to the workes of\nour Lord the God of Israel.\n\n\n\nCHAP. VIII.\n\n\nEsdras going from Babylon to Ierusalem, 9. carieth king Artaxerxes\nfauourable letters, 14. with licence to take gold, siluer, and al thinges\nnecessarie at their pleasure.  31. The chief men that goe with him are\nrecited.  51. He voweth a fast praying for good success in their iorney.\n56. weigheth the gold and siluer, which he deliuereth to the Priestes,\nand Leuites.  69. And seuerely admonisheth the people to repentance, for\ntheir mariages made with infideles.\n\nAND after him when Artaxerxes king of the Persians reigned, came Esdras\nthe sonne of Azarias, the sonne of Helcias the sonne of Salome,\n(1 Esd 7:1) 2 the sonne of Sadoc, the sonne of Achitob, the sonne of\nAmeri, the sonne of Azahel, the sonne of Bocci, the sonne of Abisue, the\nsonne of Phinees the sonne of Eleazar, the sonne of Aaron the first\npriest.  3 This Esdras came vp from Babylon being scribe & wise in the\nlaw of Moyses, which was geuen of our Lord the God of Israel to teach and\nto doe.  4 And the king gaue him glorie, because he had found grace in al\ndignitie and desire in his sight.  5 And there went vp with him of the\nchildren of Israel, and the Priestes, and the Leuites, and the sacred\nsingers of the temple, and the porters, and the seuantes of the temple\ninto Ierusalem.  6 In the seuenth yeare when Artaxerxes reigned in the\nfifth moneth, this is the seuenth yeare of his reigne, going forth of\nBabylon in the newmoone of the fifth moneth, 7 they came to Ierusalem\naccording to his commandment, according to the prosperitie of their\niourney, which their Lord gaue them.  8 For in these Esdras had great\nknowlege, that he would not pretermitte anie of those thinges, which were\naccording to the law, and the preceptes of our Lord, and in teaching al\nIsrael al iusticie and iudgement.  9 And they that wrote the writinges of\nAraxerxes the king, coming deliuered the writing which was granted of\nArtaxerxes the king to Esdras the Priest, & the reader of the law of our\nLord, the copie wherof here foloweth.  10 KING Artaxerxes to Esdras the\nPriest, and reader of the law of the Lord, greeting.  11 I of curtesie\nesteming it among benifites, haue commanded them that of their owne\naccord are desirous of the nation of the Iewes, and of the Priestes and\nLeuites, which are in my kingdom, to goe with thee into Ierusalem.  12 If\nanie therfore desire to goe with thee, let them come together, and set\nforward as it hath pleased me, and my seuen freindes my counselers:\n13 that they may visite those thinges which are done touching Iurie and\nIerusalem, obseruing as thou hast in the law of the Lord.  14 And let\nthem carie the giftes to the Lord the God of Israel, which I haue vowed\nand my freindes to Ierusalem, and al the gold and siluer, that shal be\nfound in the countrie of Babylon to the Lord in Ierusalem, with that,\n15 which is geuen for the nation it self vnto the temple of their Lord\nwhich is in Ierusalem:  that this gold and siluer be gathered for oxen,\nand rammes, and lambes, and kiddes, and for the thinges that are agreable\nto these, 16 that they may offer hostes to the Lord vpon the altar of\ntheir Lord, which is in Ierusalem.  17 And al thinges whatsoeuer thou\nwith thy brethren wilt doe with gold and siluer, doe it at thy pleasure\naccording to the precept of the Lord thy God.  18 And the sacred vessels,\nwhich are geuen thee to the workes of the house of the Lord thy God,\nwhich is in Ierusalem.  19 And other thinges whatsoeuer shal helpe thee\nto the workes of the temple of thy God, thou shalt geue it out of the\nkings treasure.  20 When thou with thy brethren wilt doe ought with gold\nand siluer, doe according to the wil of the Lord.  21 And I king\nArtaxerxes haue geuen commandment to the keepers of the treasure of Syria\nand Phaenice, that what thinges soeuer Esdras the Priest and reader of\nthe law of the Lord, shal write for, they geue him vnto an hundred\ntalentes of siluer, likewise also of gold.  22 And vnto an hundred\nmeasures of corne, & an hundred vessels of wine, and other thinges\nwhatsoeuer abound without taxing.  23 Let al thinges be done to the most\nhigh God according to the law of God, lest perhaps there arise wrath in\nthe reigne of the king, and of his sonne, and his sonnes.  24 And to you\nit is sayd, that vpon al the Priestes, and Leuites, and sacred singers,\nand seruantes of the temple, & scribes of this temple 25 no tribute, nor\nany other taxe be sette, and that no man haue auctoritie to obiect any\nthing to them.  26 But thou Esdras according to the wisedom of God\nappoynt iudges, and arbitrers in al Syria and Phaenice:  and teach al\nthem that know no the law of thy God:  27 that whosoeuer shal transgresse\nthe law, they be diligently punished either with death, or with torment,\nor els with a forfeite of money, or with banishment.  28 And Esdras the\nscribe sayd:  Blessed be the God of our fathers, which hath geuen this\nwil into the kings hart, to glorifie his house, which is in Ierusalem.\n29 And hath honoured me in the sight of the king, and of his counselers,\nand freindes, and them that weare purple.  30 And I was made constant in\nminde according to the ayde of our Lord my God, and gathered together of\nIsrael men, that should goe vp together with me.  31 And these are the\nprinces according to their kindredes, and seueral principalities of them\nthat came vp from Babylon the kingdom of Artaxerxes.  (1 Esd 8:1)  32 Of\nthe children of Phares, Gerfomus:  and of the children of Siemarith,\nAmenus:  of the children of Dauid, Acchus the sonne of Scecilia:  33 Of\nthe children of Phares, Zacharias, and with him returned an hundred\nfiftie men.  34 Of the children of leader Moabilion, Zaraei, and with him\ntwo hundred fiftie men:  35 Of the children of Zachues, Iechonias of\nZechoel, and with him two hundred fiftie men:  36 of the children of\nSala, Maasias of Gotholia, & with him seuentie men:  37 of the children\nof Saphatia, Zarias of Michel, and with him eightie men:  38 of the\nchildren of Iob, Abdias of Iehel, and with him two hundred twelue men:\n39 of the children of Bania, Salimoth, the sonne of Iosaphia, and with\nhim an hundred sixtie men:  40 of the children of Beer, Zacharias Bebei,\nand with him two hundred eight men:  41 of the children of Ezead, Ioannes\nof Eccetan, and with him an hundred ten men:  42 of the children of\nAdonicam, which were last, and these are their names, Eliphalam the sonne\nof Gebel, and Semeias, and with him seuentie men.  43 And I gathered them\ntogether to the riuer that is called Thia, and we camped there three\ndayes, and vewed them againe.  44 And of the children of the Priestes and\nLeuites I found not there.  45 And I sent to Eleazarus, and Eccelon, and\nMasman, and Maloban, and Enaathan, and Samea, and Ioribum, Nathan,\nEnuaugam, Zacharias, and Mosolam the leaders them selues, and that were\nskilful.  46 And I sayd to them that they should come to Loddeus, who was\nat the place of the treasurie.  47 And I commanded them to say to\nLoddeus, and his brethren, and to them that were in the treasurie, that\nthey should send vs them that might doe the function of priesthood in the\nhouse of the Lord our God.  48 And they brought vnto vs according to the\nmightie hand of the Lord our God cunning men:  of the children of Moholi,\nthe sonne of Leui, the sonne of Israel, Sebebia, & his sonnes and\nbrethren, which were eightene:  49 Asbia, and Amin of the sonnes of the\nchildren of Chananeus, and their children twentie men.  50 And of them\nthat serued the temple, whom Dauid gaue, and the princes themselues to\nthe ministerie of the Leuites of them that serued the temple, two hundred\ntwentie.  Al their names were signified in writings.  51 And I vowed\nthere a fast to the yong men in the sight of God, that I might aske of\nhim a good iourney for vs, and them that were with vs, and for the\nchildren, and the cattel because of ambushementes.  52 For I was ashamed\nto aske of the king footemen and horsemen in my companie, to guard vs,\nagainst our aduersaries.  53 For we sayd to the king that the power of\nour Lord wil be with them that seeke him with al affection.  54 And\nagayne we besought the Lord our God according to these thinges:  whom\nalso we had propicious, and we obteyned of our God.  55 And I separated\nof the rulers of the people, and of the Priestes of the temple, twelue\nmen, and Sedebia, and Asanna, and with them of their brethren ten men.\n56 And I weyed to them the gold and siluer, and the vessels of the house\nof our God perteyning to the Priestes, which the king had geuen, and his\ncounselers, and the princes, and al Israel.  57 And when I had weyed it,\nI deliuered of siluer an hundred fiftie talentes, and siluer vessels of\nan hundred talentes, and of gold an hundred talentes.  58 And of vessels\nof gold seuen score and twelue brasen vessels good of shyning brasse,\nresembling the forme of gold.  59 And I sayd to them:  You are also\nsanctified to our Lord, and the vessels be holie, and the gold and siluer\nis vowed to our Lord the God of our fathers.  60 Watch and keepe, til you\ndeliuer them to some of the rulers of the people, and to the Priestes,\nand Leuites, and to the princes of the cities of Israel in Ierusalem, in\nthe treasurie of the house of our God.  61 And those Priestes and Leuites\nthat receiued the gold and siluer and vessels, brought it to Ierusalem\ninto the temple of our Lord.  62 And we went forward from the riuer Thia,\nthe twelfth day of the first moneth, til we entred into Ierusalem.\n63 And when the third day was come, in the fourth day the gold being\nweyed, and the siluer, was deliuered in the house of the Lord our God, to\nMarimoth Priest the sonne of Iori.  64 And with him was Eleazar the sonne\nof Phinees:  and with them were Iosadus the sonne of Iesus, and Medias,\nand Banni the sonne of a Leuite, by number and weight al thinges.  65 And\nthe weight of them was writen the same houre.  66 And they that came out\nof the captiuitie, offered sacrifice to our Lord the God of Israel, oxen\ntwelue, for al Israel, rammes eightie six, 67 lambes seuentie two, bucke\ngoates for sinne twelue, and for health twelue kyne, al for the sacrifice\nof our Lord.  68 And they read againe the preceptes of the king to the\nkinges officers, and to the deputies of Coelesyria, and Phoenice:  and\nthey honored the nation, and the temple of our Lord.  69 And these\nthinges being finished, the rulers came to me, saying:  The stocke of\nIsreal, and the princes, and the Priestes, and the Leuites, (1 Esd 9:1)\n70 and the strange people, and nations of the land haue not separated\ntheir vncleannes from the Chananeites, and Hetheites, and Pherezeites,\nand Iebuseites, and Moobites, & AEgyptians, and Idumeians.  71 For they\nare ioyned to their daughters both themselues, and their sonnes:  and the\nholie sede is mingled with the strange nations of the earth, and the\nrulers and magistrates were partakers of that iniquitie from the\nbeginning of the reigne it self.  72 And forthwith as I heard these\nthinges, I rent my garmentes and sacred tunike:  and tearing the heares\nof my head, and my beard, I sate sorowful and heauie.  73 And there\nassembled to me mourning vpon this iniquitie, as manie as were then moued\nby the word of our Lord the God of Israel, and I sate sad vntil the\neuening sacrifice.  74 And I rising vp from fasting, hauing my garmentes\nrent and the sacred tunike, kneeling, and stretching forth my handes to\nour Lord, 75 I sayd:  Lord I am confounded, and ashamed before thy face,\n76 for our sinnes are multiplied ouer our heades, and our iniquities are\nexalted euen to heauen.  77 Because from the times of our fathers we are\nin great sinne vnto this day.  78 And for the sinnes of vs, and of our\nfathers we haue bene deliuered with our brethren, and with our Priestes\nto the kinges of the earth, into sword and captiuitie, and spoile with\nconfusion vnto this present day.  79 And now what a great thing is this\nthat mercie hath happened to vs from thee o Lord God, & leaue thou vnto\nvs a roote, and a name in the place of thy sanctification, 80 to discouer\nour light in the house of the Lord our God, to geue vs meate in al the\ntime of our bondage.  81 And when we serued, we were not forsaken of the\nLord our God:  but he sette vs in fauour, appointing the kinges of the\nPersians to geue us meate, 82 and to glorifie the temple of the Lord our\nGod, and to build the desolations of Sion, to geue vs stabilitie in\nIurie, and Ierusalem.  83 And now what say we Lord, hauing these thinges?\nFor we haue transgressed thy preceptes, which thou gauest into the handes\nof thy seruantes the prophetes, 84 saying:  That the land into which ye\nentred to possesse the inheritance therof, is a land polluted with the\ncoinquinations of the strangers of the land, and their vncleanes hath\nfilled it wholy with their filthines.  85 And now your daughters you shal\nnot match with their sonnes, and their daughters you shal not take for\nyour sonnes.  86 And you shal not seeke to haue peace with them for euer,\nthat growing strong you may eate the best things of the land, and may\ndistribute the inheritance to your children for euer.  87 And the thinges\nthat happen to vs, al are done for our nauhtie workes, and our great\nsinnes.  88 And thou gauest vs such a roote, and we are returned againe\nto transgresse thy ordinances, that we would be mingled with the\nvncleannes of the nations of this land.  89 Wilt not thou be wrath with\nvs to destroy vs, til there be no roote left nor our name?  90 Lord God\nof Israel thou art true.  For there is a roote left vntil this present\nday.  91 Behold, now we are in thy sight in our iniquities.  For it is\nnot to stand any longer before thee in these matters.  92 And when Esdras\nwith adoration confessed weeping, lying flat on the ground before the\ntemple, there were gathered before him out of Ierusalem a verie great\nmultitude, men and wemen, and yong men and yong wemen.  For there was\ngreat weeping in the multitude it self.  (1 Esd 10:1)  93 And when he had\ncried, Iechonias of Ieheli of the children of Israel, sayd to Esdras:  We\nhaue sinned against our Lord, for that we haue taken vnto vs in mariage\nstrange wemen of the nations of the land.  94 And now thou art ouer al\nIsrael, in these therfore let there be an othe from our Lord to expel al\nour wiues that are of strangers with their children.  95 As it was\ndecreed to thee of the ancesters according to the law of our Lord, rising\nvp declare it.  96 For to thee the busines perteineth, and we are with\nthee:  doe manfully.  97 And Esdras rysing vp adiured the princes of the\nPriestes and Leuites, and al Israel to doe according to these thinges and\nthey sware.\n\n\n\nCHAP. IX.\n\n\nEsdras fasting for the sinnes of the people, commandeth that they\nseparate al strange wemen from them.  18. The Priestes and Leuites, which\nhad offended herein, are recited.  38 He readeth the law before the\npeople:  48 certaine doe expound to the multitudes in seueral places.\n52 And so they are dismissed with ioy.\n\nAND Esdras rysing vp from before the court of the temple, went into the\nchamber of Ionathas the sonne of Nasabi.  (1 Esd 10:6)  2 And lodging\nthere he tasted no bread, nor dranke water for the iniquitie of the\nmultitude.  3 And there was proclamation made in al Iurie, & in Ierusalem\nto al that were of the captiuitie gathered in Ierusalem, 4 that whosoeuer\nshal not appeare with in two or three dayes, according to the iudgement\nof the ancients sitting vpon it, their goods should be taken away, and\nhimselfe should be iudged an alien from the multitude of the captiuitie.\n5 And al were gathered that were of the tribe of Iuda, and of Beniamin\nwithin three dayes in Ierusalem:  this is the ninth moneth, the twentith\nday of the moneth.  6 And al the multitude sate in the court of the\ntemple trembling, for the present winter.  7 And Esdras rysing vp sayd to\nthem:  You haue done vnlawfully taking to you in mariage strang wiues,\nthat you might adde to the sinnes of Israel.  8 And now geue confession,\n& magnificence to our Lord the God of our fathers:  9 and accomplish his\nwil, and depart from the nations of the land, and from your wiues the\nstrangers.  10 And al the multitude cried, and they sayd with a lowde\nvoice:  As thou hast sayd, we wil doe.  11 But because the multitude is\ngreat, and winter time, and we can not stand in the ayre without succour:\nand this is a worke for vs not of one day, nor of two, for we haue sinned\nmuch in these thinges:  12 Let the rulers of the multitude stand, and\nthat dwel with vs, and as manie as haue with them forreine wiues, 13 and\nat a time appointed let the priestes out of euerie place, and the iudges\nassist, vntil they appeaze the wrath of our Lord concerning this busines.\n14 And Ionathas the sonne of Ezeli, and Ozias of Thecam tooke vpon them\naccording to these wordes:  and Bosoramus, and Leuis, and Sabbathaeus,\nwrought together with them.  15 And al that were of the captiuitie stood\naccording to al these thinges.  16 And Esdras the priest chose vnto him\nmen the great princes of their fathers according to their names:  & they\nsate together in the newmoone of the tenth moneth to examine this\nbusines.  17 And they determined of the men that had outlandish wiues,\nvntil the newmoone of the first moneth.  18 And there were found of the\npriestes entermingled that had outlandish wiues.  19 Of the sonnes of\nIesus the sonne of Iosedec, and his brethren:  Maseas, and Eleazarus, and\nIoribus, and Ioadeus, 20 and they put to their handes to expel their\nwiues:  and to offer a ramme to obtayne pardon for their ignorance.\n21 And the sonnes of Semmeri:  Maseas and Esses, Ieelech, and Azarias.\n22 And of the children of Fofere:  Limosias, Hismaenis, and Nathanee,\nIussio, Reddus, and Thalsas.  23 And of the Leuites:  Iorabdus, and\nSemeis, and Colnis, and Calitas, and Facteas, and Coluas, and Eliomas,\n24 and of the sacred singing men, Eliasib, Zaccarus.  25 And of the\nporters, Salumus, and Tolbanes.  26 And of Israel:  of the sonnes of\nForo, Ozi, and Remias, and Geddias, & Melchias, and Michelus, Eleazarus,\nand Iammebias, and Bannas.  27 And of the sonnes of Iolaman:  Chamas, and\nZacharias, and Iezuelus, and Ioddius, and Erimoth, and Helias.  28 And of\nthe sonnes of Zathoim:  Eliadas, and Liasumus, Zochias, and Larimoth, &\nZabdis, and Thebedias.  29 And of the sonnes of Zebes:  Ioannes, and\nAmanias, and Zabdias, and Emeus.  30 And of the sonnes of Banni:  Olamus,\n& Maluchus, and Ieddeus, and Iasub, and Azabus, & Ierimoth.  31 And of\nthe sonnes of Addin:  Nathus, and Moosias, & Caleus, and Raanas, Maaseas,\nMathathias, and Beseel, and Bonnus, and Manasses.  32 And of the sonnes\nof Nuae:  Noneas, and Aseas, and Melchias, and Sameas, and Simon,\nBeniamin, and Malchus, and Marras.  33 And of the sonnes of Asom:\nCarianeus, Mathathias, & Bannus, & Eliphalach, and Manasses, and Semei.\n34 And of the sonnes of Banni:  Ieremias, and Moadias, and Abramus, &\nIohel, and Baneas, & Pelias, and Ionas, and Marimoth, & Eliasib, and\nMatheneus, and Eliasis, and Orizas, and Dielus, and Semedius, & Zambris,\nand Iosephus.  35 And of the sonnes of Nobei:  Idelus, and Mathathias,\nand Sabadus, and Zecheda, Zedmi, and Iessei, Baneas.  36 Al these maried\noutlandish wiues, and did put them away with their children.  37 And the\nPriestes and the Leuites, and they that were of Israel, dwelt in\nIerusalem, and in the whole countrie in the newmoone of the seuenth\nmoneth.  And the children of Israel were in their habitations.  38 And al\nthe multitude was gathered together into the court, which is on the east\nof the sacred gate:  39 and they sayd to Esdras the high priest, and\nreader, that he should bring the law of Moyses, which was deliuered of\nour Lord the God of Israel.  40 And Esdras the high priest brought the\nlaw to al the multitude of them from man vnto woman, and to al the\npriestes to heare the law in the newmoone of the seuenth moneth.  41 And\nhe read in the court, which is before the sacred gate of the temple, from\nbreake of day vntil euening before men and wemen.  And they al gaue their\nminde to the law.  42 And Esdras the priest, and reader of the law stoode\nvpon a tribunal of wood, which was made.  43 And by him stood Mathathias,\nand Samus, and Ananias, Azarias, Vrias, Ezechias, and Balsamus on the\nright hand, 44 and on the left Faldeus, Misael, Malachias, Ambusthas,\nSabus, Nabadias, and Zacharias.  45 And Esdras tooke the booke before al\nthe multitude:  for he was chiefe in glorie in the sight of al.  46 And\nwhen he had ended the law, they stood al vpright:  and Esdras blessed our\nLord the most high God, the God of Sabaoth omnipotent.  47 And al the\npeople answered:  Amen.  And lifting vp their handes falling on the\nground, they adored our Lord.  48 Iesus and Banaeus, and Sarebias, and\nIaddimus, and Accubus, and Sabbathaeus, and Calithes, & Azarias, and\nIoradus, and Ananias, and Philias Leuites, 49 who taught the law of our\nLord, and read the same in the multitude, & euerie one preferred them\nthat vnderstood the lesson.  50 And Atharathes sayd to Esdras the high\npriest and the reader, and to the Leuites, that taught the multitude,\n51 saying:  This day is sancitified to our Lord.  And they al wept, when\nthey had heard the law.  52 And Esdras sayd, departing therfore eate ye\nal the fattest thinges, & drinke al most swete things, and send giftes to\nthem that haue not.  53 For this is the holy day of our Lord, & be not\nsad.  For our Lord wil glorifie you.  54 And the Leuites denounced openly\nto al, saying:  This day is holie, be not sad.  55 And they went al to\neate, and drinke, and make merie, and to geue giftes to them that had\nnot, that they might make merie, for they were excedingly exalted with\nthe wordes that they were taught.  56 And they were al gathered in\nIerusalem to celebrate the ioy, according to the testament of our Lord\nthe God of Israel.\n\n\n\n\nTHE FOVRTH BOOKE OF ESDRAS.\n\n\n\nCHAP. I.\n\n\nEsdras is sent to expostulate with the vngratful Iewes for neglecting\nGods manie great benefites.\n\nTHE second book of Esdras the prophet, the sonne of Sarei, the sonne of\nAzarei, the sonne of Helcias, the sonne of Sadanias, the sonne of Sadoch,\nthe sonne of Achitob, (1 Esd 7:1) 2 the sonne of Achias, the sonne of\nPhinees, the sonne of Heli, the sonne of Amerias, the sonne of Asiel, the\nsonne of Marimoth, the sonne of Arna, the sonne of Ozias, the sonne of\nBorith, the sonne of Abisei, the sonne of Phinees, the sonne of Eleazar,\n3 the sonne of Aaron of the tribe of Leui; who was captiue in the\ncountrie of the Medes, in the reigne of Artaxerxes king of the Persians.\n4 And the word of our Lord came to me, saying:  5 Goe, and tel my people\ntheir wicked deedes, and their children the iniquities, that they haue\ndone against me, that they may tel their childrens children:  6 because\nthe sinnes of their parentes are increased in them, for they being\nforgetful of me haue sacrified to strange goddes.  7 Did not I bring them\nout of the land of AEgypt from the house of bondage?  But they haue\nprouoked me, & haue despised my counsels.  8 But doe thou shake of the\nheare of thy head, and throw al euils vpon them:  because they haue not\nobeyed my law.  And it is a people without discipline.  9 How long shal I\nbeare with them, on whom I haue bestowed so great benefiates?  10 I haue\nouer throwen manie kinges from them.  I haue stroke Pharao with his\nseruantes, and al his hoste.  (Ex 14)  11 Al nations did I destroy before\ntheir face, & in the East I dissipated the peoples of two prouinces Tyre\nand Sidon, and I slew al their aduersaries.  12 But speake thou to them,\nsaying:  Thus sayth our Lord:  13 I made you passe through the sea, and\ngaue you fensed streates from the beginning.  I gaue you Moyses for your\ngouernour, and Aaron for the Priest:  14 I gaue you light by the piller\nof fire, & did manie meruelous things among you:  but you haue forgotten\nme, sayth our Lord.  (Ex 13)  15 Thus sayth our Lord omnipotent:  The\nquayle was a signe to you, I gaue you a campe for defense, and there you\nmurmured:  16 And you triumphed not in my name for the destruction of\nyour enemies, but yet vntil now you haue murmured.  (Ex 16)  17 Where\nare the benefites, that I haue geuen you?  Did you not crie out to me\nwhen you were hungrie in the desert, 18 saying:  Why hast thou brought vs\ninto this desert to kil vs?  it had bene better for vs to serue the\nAEgyptians, then to dye in this desert.  (Num 14)  19 I was sorie for\nyour mournings, & gaue you manna to eate.  You did eate bread of Angels.\n(Ex 16 / Wis 16:20)  20 When you thirsted did not I cleaue the rocke, &\nwaters flowed in abundance?  for the heates I couered you with the leaues\nof trees.  21 I deliuered vnto you fatte landes:  The Chananeites, and\nPherezeites, and Philistheans I threw out from your face:  what shal I\nyet doe to you, sayth our Lord?  (Isa 9:4)  22 Thus sayth our Lord\nomnipotent:  In the desert when you were thirstie in the riuer of the\nAmorrheites, and blasphemeing my name, (Ex 15:25) 23 I gaue you not fire\nfor blasphemies, but casting wood into the water, I made the riuer swete.\n24 What shal I doe to thee Iacob?  Thou wouldest not obey o Iuda.  I wil\ntransferre my self to other nations, and wil geue them my name, that they\nmay keepe my ordinances.  (Ex 32)  25 Because you haue forsaken me, I\naslo forsake you:  when you aske mercie of me, I wil not haue mercie.\n(Isa 1:15)  26 When you shal inuocate me, I wil not heare you.  For you\nhaue defiled your handes with bloud, and your fete are quicke to commit\nmurders.  27 Not as though you haue forsaken me, but yourselues, sayth\nour Lord.  28 Thus saith our Lord omnipotent, haue not I desired you, as\na father his sonnes, and a mother her daughters, and as a nurce her litle\nones, 29 that you would be my people, and I your God, and to me for\nchildren, and I to you for a father?  30 So haue I gathered you, as the\nhenne her chickenes vnder her winges.  But now what shal I doe to you?  I\nwil throw you from my face.  (Matt 23:37)  31 When you shal bring me\noblation, I wil turne away my face from you.  (Isa 66:5)  For I haue\nrefused your festiual dayes, & newmoones, and circumcisions.  32 I sent\nmy seruantes the prophetes to you, whom being taken you slew, and mangled\ntheir bodies, whose bloud I wil require, sayth our Lord.  33 Thus sayth\nour Lord omnipotent, your house is made desolate, I wil throw you away,\nas the winde doth stubble, 34 and your children shal not haue issue:\nbecause they haue neglected my commandment, and haue done that which is\neuil before me.  35 I wil deliuer your houses to a people comming, who\nnot hearing me do beleue:  to whom I haue not shewed signes, they wil do\nthe thinges that I haue commanded.  36 The prophetes they haue not sene,\nand they wil be mindful of their iniquities.  37 I cal to witnes the\ngrace of the people comming, whose litle ones reioyce with ioy, not seing\nme with their carnal eyes, but in spirit beleuing the thinges that I haue\nsayd.  38 And now brother behold what glorie:  and see people comming\nfrom the east, 39 to whom I wil geue the conduction of Abraham, Isaac,\nand Iacob, and of Osee, and Amos, and of Ioel, and Abdias, and Ionas, and\nMichaeas, 40 and Naum and Habacuc, of Sophonias, Aggaeus, Zacharias, and\nMalachias, who also is called the Angel of our Lord.  (Mal 3:1)\n\n\n\nCHAP. II.\n\n\nThe Synagogue expostulateth with her children for their ingratitude;\n10. shewing that they shal be forsaken, and the gentiles called.\n\nTHVS saith our Lord:  I brought this people out of bondage, to whom I\ngaue commandment by my seruantes the Prophetes, whom they would not\nheare, but made my counsel frustrate.  2 Their mother that bare them,\nsayth to them:  Goe children, because I am a wydow and forsaken.  3 I\nbrought you vp with ioy, & haue lost you with mourning & sorow, because\nyou haue sinned before our Lord your God, & haue done that which is euil\nbefore him.  4 But now what shal I doe to you?  I am a wydow and\ndesolote, goe my children, & aske mercie of our Lord.  5 And I cal thee o\nfather a witnes vpon the mother of the children, that would not keepe my\ntestament, 6 that thou geue them confusion, & their mother into spoile,\nthat there be no generation of them.  7 Let their names be dispersed into\nthe Gentiles, let them be destroyed out of the land:  because they haue\ndespised my sacrament.  8 Woe be to thee Assur, which hidest the wicked\nwith thee.  Thou naughtie nation, remember what I did to Sodom &\nGomorrha:  (Gen 19:24)  9 whose land lieth in cloddes of pitch, & heapes\nof ashes:  so wil I make them, that haue not heard me, saith our Lord\nomnipotent.  10 Thus saith our Lord to Esdras:  Tel my pople, that I wil\ngeue them the kingdom of Ierusalem, which I ment to geue to Isreal.\n11 And I wil take to me the glorie of them, and wil geue them eternal\ntabernacles, which I had prepared for them.  12 The wood of life shal be\nto them for an odour of oyntment, and they shal not labour, nor be\nwearied.  13 Goe & you shal receiue.  Aske for your selues a few dayes,\nthat they may abide.  Now the kingdom is prepared for you, watch ye.\n14 Cal thou heauen and earth to witnes:  for I haue destroyed euil, and\nhaue created good, because I liue sayth our Lord.  15 Mother embrace thy\nchildren, bring them vp with ioy.  As a doue confirme their feete:\nbecause I haue chosen thee, sayth our Lord.  16 And I wil raise againe\nthe dead out of their places, and out of the monumentes I wil bring them\nforth, because I haue knowen my name in Israel.  17 Feare not o mother of\nthe children, because I haue chosen thee, saith our Lord.  18 I wil send\nthee ayde, my seruantes I saie, and Ieremie, at whose counsel I haue\nsanctified, and prepared for thee tweleue trees loden with diuerse\nfruites, 19 and as manie fountaines flowing milke and honie:  and seuen\nhuge mountaines, hauing the rose and the lilie, in the which I wil fil\nthy children with ioy.  (Ex 15:27)  20 Iustifie thou the widow, iudge for\nthe pupil, geue to the needie, defend the orphane, cloth the naked,\n21 cure the broken & feeble, mocke not the lame, defend the maimed, and\nadmitte the blind to the vision of my glorie.  22 The old man & the yong\nkeepe with in thy walles:  23 where thou shalt finde the dead, committe\nthem to the graue signing it, & I wil geue thee the first seate in my\nresurrection.  (Tob 1:20)  24 Pause and rest my people, because thy rest\nshal come.  25 As a good nurce nourish thy children, confirme their\nfeete.  26 The seruantes that I haue geuen thee, none of them shal\nperish.  For I wil require them of thy number.  27 Be not wearied.  For\nwhen the day of affliction and distresse shal come, others shal weepe,\nand be sad, but thou shalt be merie and plenteous.  28 The gentiles shal\nenuie, and shal be able to doe nothing against thee, sayth our Lord.\n29 My handes shal couer thee, that thy children see not hel.  30 Be\npleasant thou mother with thy children, because I wil deliuer thee sayth\nour Lord.  31 Remember thy children that sleepe, for I wil bring them out\nof the sides of the earth, & wil doe mercie with them:  because I am\nmerciful, sayth our Lord omnipotent.  32 Embrace thy children til I come,\n& shew them mercie:  because my fountaines runne ouer, and my grace shal\nnot faile.  33 I Esdras receiued commandment of our Lord, in mount Oreb;\nthat I should goe to Israel:  to whom when I came, they refused me, and\nreiected the commandement of our Lord.  34 And therfore, I say vnto you\ngentiles, which heare, and vnderstand, Looke for your pastor, he wil geue\nyou the rest of eternitie:  because he is at hand, that shal come in the\nend of the world.  35 Be ye readie for the rewardes of the kingdom,\nbecause perpetual light shal shine to you for time euerlasting.  36 Flee\nfrom the shadow of this world:  receiue ye the pleasantnes of your\nglorie.  I openly cal to witnes my sauiour.  37 Receiue the commended\ngift and be pleasant, geuing thankes to him that called you to the\nheauenlie kingdomes.  38 Arise, & stand & see the number of them that are\nsigned in the feast of our Lord.  39 They that haue transferred them\nselues from the shadow of the world, haue receiued glorious garmentes of\nour Lord.  40 Receiue o Sion thy number, and shut vp thyne made white,\nwhich haue accomplished the law of our Lord.  41 The number of thy\nchildren, which thou didst wish is ful.  Desire the powre of our Lord\nthat thy people may be sanctified, which was called from the beginning.\n42 I Esdras saw in mount Sion a great multiude, which I could not number,\nand they did al prayse our Lord with songes.  (Apoc 7:9)  43 And in the\nmiddes of them was a young man high of stature, appearing aboue ouer them\nal, & he put crownes vpon euerie one of their heades, and he was more\nexalted.  And I was astonied at the miracle.  44 Then asked I an Angel,\nand sayd:  Who are these Lord?  45 Who answering sayd to me:  These are\nthey that haue laid of the mortal garment, and taken an immortal, and\nhaue confessed the name of God.  Now they are crowned, and receiue\npalmes.  46 And I sayd to the Angel:  That yongman what is he, which\nputteth the crownes vpon them, and geueth palmes into their handes?\n47 And answering he sayd to me:  The same is the Sonne of God, whom they\ndid confesse in the world:  & I begane to magnifie them, that stood\nstrongly for the name of our Lord.  48 Then sayd the Angel to me:  Goe,\ntel my people, what maner of meruelous thinges and how great, thou hast\nsene of the Lord God.\n\n\n\nCHAP. III.\n\n\nThe workes of God are wonderful from the beginning, 7. and men vngrateful\n13. In Abraham God chose to himself a peculiar people:  who neuertheles\nwere froward, and obstinate.  23. He also chose Dauid, but stil the\npeople were sinful:  28. the Babylonians also, by whom the are afflicted,\nare no lesse but rather greater sinners.\n\nIN the thirteth yeare of the ruine of the citie I was in Babylon, and was\ntrubled lying in my chamber, and my cogitations came vp ouer my hart:\n2 because I saw the desolation of Sion, and the abundance of them that\ndwelt in Babylon.  3 And my spirit was tossed excedingly, and I began to\nspeake to the highest timorous wordes, 4 and sayd:  O Lord dominatour\nthou spakest from the beginning, when thou didst plant the earth, and\nthat alone, and didst rule ouer the people, (Gen 1) 5 and gauest Adam a\ndead bodie:  but that also was the worke of thy handes, & didst breath\ninto him the spirit of life, and he was made to liue before thee:\n(Gen 2:7)  6 and thou broughst him into paradise, which thy right hand\nhad planted, before the earth came.  7 And him thou didst command to loue\nthy way, and he transgressed it, & forth with thou didst institute death\nin him, and in his posteritie, and there were borne nations, and tribes,\nand peoples, and kindreds, wherof there is no number.  8 And euerie\nnation walked in their owne wil, & they did meruelous thinges before\nthee, and despised thy preceptes.  9 And agane in time thou broughst in\nthe floud vpon inhabitantes of the world, and didst destroy them.\n(Gen 7)  10 And there was made in euery one of them, as vnto Adam to dye,\nso to them the floud, 11 But thou didst leaue one of them, Noe with his\nhouse and of him were al the iust.  12 And it came to passe, when they\nbegan to be multiplied, that dwelt vpon the earth, & multiplied children\nand peoples and manie nations:  and they begane againe to doe impietie\nmore then the former.  13 And it came to passe when they did iniquitie\nbefore thee, thou didst choose thee a man of them whose name was Abraham.\n14 And thou didst loue him and to him onlie thou didst shew thy wil.\n(Gen 12)  15 And thou didst dispose vnto him an euerlasting testament,\nand toldst him that thou wouldst neuer forsake his seede.  And thou\ngauest him Issac, and to Isaac thou gauest Iacob and Esau.  16 And Iacob\nthou didst seuer to thy selfe, but Esau thou didst separate.  And Iacob\ngrewe to a great multitude.  17 And it came to passe when thou didst\nbring forth his sede out of AEgypt, thou broughst it vpon mount Sinai.\n(Ex 19)  18 And thou didst bowe the heauens, and fasten the earth, and\ndidst shake the world, and madest the depthes to tremble, and trubledst\nthe world, 19 and thy glorie passed foure gates of fire, and of\nearthquake, and winde, and frost, that thou mightst geue a law to the\nseede of Iacob, and to the generation of Israel diligence.  20 And thou\ndidst not take away from them a malignant hart, that thy law might bring\nforth fruite in them.  21 For Adam the first bearing a vicious hart\ntransgressed and was ouercome, yea and al that were borne of him.  22 And\nit was made a permanent infirmitie, and the law with the hart of the\npeople, with the wickednes of the roote, and that which is good departed,\nand the wicked remayned.  23 And the times passed, & the yeares were\nended:  and thou didst raise vp vnto thee a seruant named Dauid, 24 and\nspakest vnto him to build a citie of thy name, and to offer vnto thee in\nit frankencense, and oblations.  25 And this was done manie yeares, and\nthey that inhabited the citie forsooke thee, 26 in al things as Adam and\nal his generations.  For they also vsed a wicked hart.  27 And thou didst\ndeliuer thy citie into the hands of thyne enimies.  28 Why, doe they\nbetter thinges, that inhabite Babylon?  And for this shal she rule ouer\nSion?  (Jer 12)  29 It came to passe when I was come hither, and had sene\nthe impieties that can not be numbred:  and my soul saw manie offending\nthis thirteth yeare, & my hart was astonied:  30 because I saw how thou\nbearest with their sinne, and didst spare them that did impiously, and\ndidst destroy thine owne people, and preserue thine enimies, and didst\nnot signifie it.  31 I nothing remember how this way should be forsaken:\ndoth Babylon better thinges then Sion?  32 Or hath anie nation knowen\nthee beside Israel:  or what tribes haue beleued thy testamentes as\nIacob?  33 Whose reward hath not appeared, nor their labour fructified.\nFor passing through I passed among the nations, and I saw them abound,\nand not mindeful of thy commandmentes.  34 Now therfore wey our\niniquities in a ballance, and theirs that dwel in the world:  & thy name\nshal not be found, but in Israel.  35 Or when haue not they sinned in thy\nsight, that inhabite the earth?  or what nation hath so obserued thy\ncommandmentes?  36 These certes by their names thou shalt finde to haue\nkept thy commandments, but the nations thou shalt not finde.\n\n\n\nCHAP. IIII.\n\n\nMans witte and reason is not able to vnderstand the counsel and iudgement\nof God, 22. why his people are afflicted by wicked nations, 33. nor of\ntimes, and thinges to come.\n\nAND the Angel answered me, that was sent to me, whose name was Vriel,\n2 and sayd to me:  Thy hart exceding hath exceded in this world, & thou\nthinkest to comprehend the way of the Highest.  3 And I sayd:  It is so\nmy Lord.  And he answered me, & sayd:  I am sent to shew thee three\nwayes, & to propose to thee three similitudes.  4 Of the which if thou\nshalt declare to me one of them, I also wil shew thee the way which thou\ndesirest to see, and wil teach thee whence a wicked hart is.  5 And I\nsayd, Speak my Lord.  And he sayd to me:  Goe, wey me the weight of the\nfire, or measure me the blast of the winde, or cal me backe the day that\nis past.  6 And I answered, and sayd:  what man borne can doe it, that\nthou askest me of these thinges?  7 And he sayd to me:  If I should aske\nthee, saying:  How great habitations are there in the hart of the sea, or\nhow great vaines be there in the beginning of the depth, or how great\nvaines be there aboue the firmament, and what are the issues of paradise:\n8 thou wouldest perhaps say to me:  I haue not descended into the depth,\nnor into hel as yet, neither haue I ascended at anie time into heauen.\n9 But now I haue not asked thee, sauing of the fire, and the winde, and\nthe day by the which thou hast passed, and from the which thou canst not\nbe separated:  and thou hast not answered me of them.  10 And he sayd to\nme:  Thou canst not know the thinges that are thine which grow together\nwith thee:  11 and how can thy vessel comprehend the way of the Highest,\nand now the world being outwardly corrupted, vnderstand the corruption\neuident in my sight:  12 I sayd to him:  Better were it for vs not to be,\nthen yet liuing to liue in impieties, and to suffer, and not to\nvnderstand for what thing.  13 And he answered me, & said:  Going forth I\nwent forward to a wood of trees in the filde, and they deuised a deuise,\n(Judges 9 / 2 Par 25) 14 and said:  Come and let vs goe, and make warre\nagainst the sea, that it may retyre backe before vs, and we may make vs\nother woodes.  15 And in like maner the waues of the sea they also\ndeuised a deuise, and sayd:  Come let vs goe vp, let vs ouerthrow the\nwoodes of the filde, that there also we may consummate an other countrie\nfor our selues.  16 And the woodes deuise was made vaine, for fire came,\nand consumed it.  17 Likewise also the deuise of the waues of the sea.\nFor the sand stood, & stayed them.  18 For if thou wert iudge of these,\nwhom wouldest thou begin to iustifie, or whom to condemne?  19 And I\nanswered, and sayd:  Verely they deuised a vayne deuise.  For the earth\nis geuen to the wood, and a place to the sea to carie her waues.  20 And\nhe answered me, and sayed:  Thou hast iudged wel, and why hast thou not\niudged for thy self?  21 For as the earth is geuen to the wood, and the\nsea for the waues therof:  so they that inhabite vpon the earth, can\nvnderstand onlie the thinges that are vpon the earth:  and they vpon the\nheauens, the thinges that are aboue the height of the heauens.  22 And I\nanswered, and sayd:  I besech thee Lord, that sense may be geuen me to\nvnderstand.  23 For I meant not to aske of thy superiour thinges, but of\nthose that passe by vs dayly.  For what cause Israel is geuen into\nreproche to the gentiles, the people whom thou hast loued, is geuen to\nimpious tribes, & the law of our fathers is brought to destruction, & the\nwritten ordinances are no where:  24 and we haue passed out of the world,\nas locustes, and our life is astonishment and dreade, and we are not\nworthie to obtaine mercie.  25 But what wil he doe to his name that is\ninuocated vpon vs?  and of these thinges I did aske.  26 And he answered\nme, and sayd:  If thou search very much, thou shalt often meruail:\nbecause the world hastening hasteneth to passe, 27 and can not comprehend\nthe thinges which in times to come are promised to the iust:  because\nthis world is ful of iniustice and infirmities.  28 But conerning the\nthinges that thou demandest I wil tel thee:  for the euil is sowed, and\nthe destruction therof is not yet come.  29 If then that which is sowen\nbe not turned vp, and the place depart where the euil is sowen, that shal\nnot come where the good is sowen.  30 Because the grayne of il seede hath\nbene sowen in the hart of Adam from the beginning:  and how much impietie\nhath it ingendered vntil now, and doth ingender vntil the floore come?\n31 And esteme with thy self the graine of the il seede, how much fruite\nof impietie it hath ingendred:  32 When the eares shal be cut, which are\ninnumerable, what a great floore wil they begin to make?  33 And I\nanswered, and sayd:  How, and when shal these things be?  why are our\nyeares few and euil?  34 And he answered me, and sayd to me, Hasten not\naboue the Highest.  For thou doest hasten in vaine to be aboue him, for\nthy excesse is much.  35 Did not the soules of the iust in the cellars,\naske of these things, saying:  How hope I so, and when shal the fruite\ncome of the floore of our reward?  36 And Ieremiel the Archangel answered\nto those things, and sayd:  When the number of the sedes in you shal be\nfilled, because he hath weyed the world in a balance, 37 and with a\nmeasure hath he measured the times, and in number he hath numbered the\ntimes, and hath not moued, nor stirred them, vntil the foresayd measure\nbe filled.  38 And I answered, and sayd:  O Lord Dominatour, we also are\nal ful of impietie.  39 And left perhaps for vs the floores of the iust\nbe not filled, for the sinnes of the inhabitantes vpon the earth.  40 And\nhe answered me, and sayd:  Goe, and aske a woman with childe, if when\nshe hath accomplished her nine monethes, her wombe can yet hold the\ninfant within it?  41 And I sayd it can not Lord.  And he sayd to me, in\nhel the cellars of the soules are like to the matrice.  42 For as she\nthat is:  In trauail maketh hast, to escape the necessitie of trauailing:\nso this also hasteneth to render those thinges which are commended to it.\n43 From the beginning it shal be shewed thee touching those thinges,\nwhich thou doest couet to see.  44 And I answered, and sayd:  If I haue\nfound grace before thine eyes, & if it be possible, and if I by fitte,\n45 shew mee if there be more to come then is passed, or more things haue\npassed, then are to come.  46 What passed, I know:  but what is to come,\nI know not.  47 And he sayd to me:  Stand vpon the right side, and I wil\nshew thee the interpretation of the similitude.  48 And I stood, and saw:\nand behold a burning fornace passed before me, & it came to passe when\nthe flame passed, I saw:  and behold the smoke ouercame.  49 And these\nthinges there passed before me a clowd ful of water, and with violence\ncasting in much raine:  and when the violence of raine was cast, the\ndroppes therin ouercame.  50 And he sayd to me:  Thinke with thyself, as\nthe raine increaseth more then the droppes, and the fire then the smoke:\nso did the measure that passed, more a bound.  But the droppes, and the\nsmoke ouercame:  51 and I prayed, & sayd, shal I liue thinkest thou vntil\nthese dayes?  or what shal be in those dayes?  52 He answered me, and\nsayd:  Of the signes wherof thou askest me, in part I can tel thee,\nhowbeit of thy life I was not sent to tel thee, neither doe I know.\n\n\n\nCHAP. V.\n\n\nDiuers signes of thinges to come are shewed to Esdras by an Angel:\n16. for the comforth of the people in captiuitie.\n\nBVT concerning signes:  behold the dayes shal come, wherin they that\ninhabite the earth shal be taken in a great number:  and the way of truth\nshal be hid:  and the countrie shal be barren from fayth.  2 And\niniustice shal be multiplied aboue that which thy self seest, & aboue\nthat which thou hast heard in time past.  (Matt 24)  3 And they shal put\ntheir foote into the countrie which now thou seest to reigne, and they\nshal see it desolate.  4 And if the Highest geue thee life, thou shalt\nsee after the third trumpet, and the sunne shal sodenly shine agayne in\nthe night, and the moone thrise in a day, 5 and out of wood bloud shal\ndistil, and the stone shal geue his voice, and the peoples shal be moued:\n6 and he reigne, whom they hope not that inhabite vpon the earth, and\nsoules shal make their flight away.  7 & the sea of Sodom shal cast the\nfishes, and shal make a noise in the night, which manie knew not, and al\nshal heare the voice therof, 8 and there shal be made a confusion in\nmanie places, and the fire shal often be sent backe, and the sauage\nbeastes shal goe to other places, and wemen in their monethlie flowers\nshal bring forth monsters, 9 and in swete waters shal salt waters be\nfound, and al frendes shal ouerthrow one an other:  and then shal witte\nbe hid, and vnderstanding shal be separated into his cellar:  10 and it\nshal be sought of manie, and shal not be found:  and iniustice shal be\nmultiplied, and incontinencie vpon the earth.  11 And one countrie shal\naske her neighbour, and shal say:  Hath iustice doing iust passed\nthrought thee?  and she shal denie it.  12 And it shal be in that time,\nmen shal hope, and shal not obtaine:  they shal labour, and their wayes\nshal not haue successe.  13 These signes I am permitted to tel thee:  and\nif thou pray againe and weepe, as also now, and fast seuen dayes, thou\nshalt heare againe greater thinges then these.  14 And I awaked, and my\nbodie did shiuer excedingly:  and my soule laboured, that it fainted:\n15 and the Angel that came, that spake in me, held me, and strengthened\nme, and sette me vpon my feete.  16 And it came to passe in the second\nnight, and Salathiel the prince of the people came to me, and sayd to me:\nWhere wast thou?  and why is thy countenance heauie?  17 Knowest thou not\nthat Isreal is committed to thee in the countrie of their transmigration?\n18 Rise vp therfore, and taste bread, and forsake vs not, as the pastour\nhis flocke in the hand of wicked wolues.  19 And I sayd to him:  Goe from\nme, & approch not vnto me.  And he heard, as I sayd:  and he departed\nfrom me.  20 And I fasted seuen dayes howling & weeping, as Vriel the\nAngel commanded me.  21 And it came to passe after seuen dayes, and\nagaine cogitations of my hart molested me very much, 22 and my soule\nresumed the spirit of vnderstanding:  & agayne I began to speake wordes\nbefore the Highest:  23 and I sayd:  Lord Dominatour of euerie wood of\nthe earth, & al the trees therof, thou hast chosen one vineyard:  24 & of\neuerie land of the world thou hast chosen thee one ditch:  & of al the\nflowers of the world thou hast chosen thee one lilie:  25 and of al\ndepthes of the sea, thou hast filled thee one riuer:  and of al the\nbuilded cities, thou hast sanctified vnto thyself Sion:  26 and of al\ncreated soules, thou hast named thee one doue:  and of al beastes that\nwere made, thou hast prouided thee one shepe:  27 and of al multiplied\npeoples, thou host purchased thee one people:  and a law approued of al\nthou hast geuen to this people, whom thou didst desire.  28 And now Lord,\nwhy hast thou deliuered one vnto manie?  And thou hast perpared vpon one\nroote others, and hast dispersed thy onlie one in manie:  29 and they\nhaue troden vpon it, which gainesayd thy couenants, and which beleued not\nthy testamentes.  30 And if hating thou hatest thy people, it ought to be\nchastised with thy handes.  31 And it came to passe, when I had spoken\nthe wordes, and the Angel was sent to me, that came to me before the\nnight past, 32 and he sayd to me:  Heare me, and I wil instruct thee:\nand harken to me, and I wil adde before thee.  33 And I sayd:  Speake my\nLord.  And he sayd to me:  Thou art become excedingly in excesse of minde\nfor Israel:  hast thou loued it more then him that made it?  34 And I\nsayd to him:  No Lord, but for sorow I haue spoken, for my veynes torment\nme euerie houre, to apprehend the pathe of the Highest, and to search\npart of his iudgement.  35 And he sayd to me:  Thou canst not.  And I\nsayd:  Why Lord?  To what was I borne, or why was not my mothers wombe my\ngraue, that I might not see the labour of Iacob, & the wearines of the\nstocke of Israel?  36 And he sayd to me:  Number me the thinges that are\nnot yet come, and gather me the dispersed droppes, and make me the\nwithered flowers grene againe, 37 and open me the shut cellars, & bring\nme forth the blastes inclosed in them, shew me the image of a voice:  and\nthen wil I shew thee the labour that thou desirest to see.  38 And I\nsayd:  Lord Dominatour, for who is there that can know these thinges, but\nhe that hath not his habitation with men?  39 And I am vnwise, and how\ncan I speake of these thinges, which thou hast asked me?  40 And he sayd\nto me:  As thou canst not doe one of these thiges, which haue bene sayd:\nso canst thou not finde my iudgement, or in the end the charitie, which I\nhaue promised to the people.  41 And I sayd:  But behold Lord thou art\nnigh to them that are nere the end:  and what shal they doe that haue\nbene before me, or we, or they after vs?  42 And he sayd to me:  I wil\nresemble my iudgement to a crowne.  As there shal not be slacknes of the\nlast, so neither swiftnes of the former.  43 And I answered, and sayd:\nCouldst thou not make them that haue bene, and that are, and that shal\nbe, at once, that thou mayst shew thy iudgement the quicker?  44 And he\nanswered me, and sayd:  The creature can not hasten aboue the Creatour,\nnor the world sustayne them that are to be created in it, at once.\n45 And I sayd:  As thou didst say to thy seruant, that quickening thou\ndidst quicken the creature created by thee at once, and the creature\nsusteined it:  it may now also beare them present at once.  46 And he\nsayd to me:  Aske the matrice of a woman, & thou shalt say to it:  And if\nthou bring forth children, why by times?  Aske it therfore, that it geue\nten at once.  47 And I sayd, it can not verily:  but according to time.\n48 And he sayd to me:  And I haue geuen a matrice to the earth for them,\nthat are sowen vpon it by time.  49 For as the infant bringeth not forth\nthe thinges that perteyne to the aged, so haue I disposed the world\ncreated of me.  50 And I asked, and sayd:  Wheras thou hast now geuen me\na way, I wil speake before thee:  for our mother, of whom thou toldest\nme, yet she is yong:  now draweth nigh to old age.  51 And he answered\nme, and sayd:  Aske her that beareth children, and she wil tel thee.\n52 For thou shalt say to her:  Why are not they whom thou hast brought\nforth, now like to them that were before thee, but lesse of stature?\n53 And she also wil say vnto thee:  They that are borne in the youth of\nstreingth are of one sort, and they of an other, that are borne about the\ntime of old age, when the matrice fayleth.  54 Consider therfore thou\nalso, that you are of lesse stature, then they that were before you:\n55 and they that are after you, of lesser then you, as it were creatures\nnow waxing old, and past the strength of youth.  56 And I sayd:  I besech\nthee Lord, if I haue found grace before thine eyes, shew vnto thy\nseruant, by whom thou doest visite thy creature.\n\n\n\nCHAP. VI.\n\n\nGod knowing al thinges before they were made, created them 54. for man:\nand considerth the endes of al.\n\nAND he sayd to me:  In the beginning of the earthlie world, and before\nthe endes of the world stood, and before the congregation of the windes\ndid blow, (Prov 8) 2 and before the voyces of thunders sounded, & before\nthe flashinges of lightenings shined, and before the fundations of\nparadise were confirmed, 3 and before beautiful flowers were sene, and\nbefore the moued powers were established, and before the innumerable\nhostes of Angels were gathered, 4 and before the heightes of the ayre\nwere aduanced, and before the measures of the firmaments were named, and\nbefore the chymneies were hote in Sion, 5 and before the present yeares\nwere searched out, and before their inuentions that now sinne, were put\naway, and they signed that made fayth their treasure:  6 then I thought,\nand they were made by me only, and not by any other:  and the end by me,\nand not by any other.  7 And I answered, and sayd:  What separation of\ntimes shal there be?  and when shal the end of the former be, and the\nbegynning of that which foloweth?  8 And he sayd to me, from Abraham vnto\nIsaac, when Iacob and Esau were borne of him, the hand of Iacob held from\nthe begynning the heele of Esau, 9 for the end of this world is Esau, and\nthe begynning of the next Iacob.  10 The hand of a man betwen the heele\nand the hand.  Aske no other thing Esdras.  11 And I answered, and sayd:\nO Lord dominatour, if I haue found grace before thyne eyes, 12 I pray\nthee shew thy seruant the end of thy signes, wherof thou didst shew me\npart the night before.  13 And he answered, and sayd to me:  Arise vpon\nthy feete, and heare a voice most ful of sound.  14 And it shal be as it\nwere a commotion, neither shal the place be moued wherin thou standest.\n15 Therfore when it speaketh be not thou afrayd, because of the end is\nthe word, and the fundation of the earth vnderstood, 16 for concerning\nthem the word trembleth and is moued, for it knoweth that their end must\nbe changed.  17 And it came to passe, when I had heard, I rose vpon my\nfeete, and I heard:  and behold a voice speaking, and the sound therof as\nthe sound of manie waters:  18 and it sayd:  Behold the dayes come, and\nthe time shal be when I wil begyne to approch, that I may visite the\ninhabitantes vpon the earth.  19 And when I wil begin to enquire of them\nthat vniustly haue hurt with their iniustice, and when the humilitie of\nSion shal be accomplished.  20 And when the world shal be ouersigned that\nshal beginne to passe, I wil doe these signes:  Bookes shal be opened\nbefore the face of the firmament, and al shal see together, 21 and\ninfantes of one yeare shal speake with their voices, & wemen with child\nshal bring forth vntimely infantes not ripe of three or foure monethes,\nand shal liue, and shal be raysed vp.  22 And sodenly shal appeare sowen\nplaces not sowen, & ful cellers shal sodenly be found emptie:  23 and a\ntrumpet shal sound; which when al shal heare, they wil sodenly be afrayd.\n24 And it shal be in that time, freindes as enimies shal ouerthrow\nfreindes, and the earth shal be afrayd with them:  & the vaynes of\nfountaynes shal stand, and shal not runne in three howres:  25 and it\nshal be, euerie one that shal be leaft of al these, of whom I haue\nforetold thee, he shal be saued, and shal see my saluation, & the end of\nyour world.  26 And the men that are receiued, shal see, they that tasted\nnot death from their natiuitie, and the hart of the inhabitantes shal be\nturned into an other sense.  27 For euil shal be put out, and deceite\nshal be extinguished, 28 but fayth shal florish, and corruption shal be\nouercome, and truth shal be shewed, which was without fruite so manie\ndayes.  29 And it came to passe, when he spake to me, & I loe by litle &\nlitle looked on him before whom I stood, 30 and he sayd to me these\nwordes:  I am come to shew thee the time of the night to come.  31 If\ntherfore thou pray agayne, and fast agayne seuen dayes, agayne I wil tel\nthee greater thinges by the day which I haue heard.  32 For thy voice is\nheard before the Highest.  For the strong hath sene thy direction, and\nhath fore sene the chastitie which thou hast had from thy youth:  33 and\nfor this cause he hath sent me to shew thee al these thinges, and to say\nto thee, haue confidence, and feare not, 34 and hasten not with the\nformer times to thinke vayne thinges, that thou hasten not from the last\ntimes.  35 And it came to passe after these thinges, and I wept againe,\nand in like maner I fasted seuen dayes, to accomplish the three weekes,\nthat were told me.  36 And it came to passe in the eight night, and my\nhart was trubled againe in me, and I began to speake before the Highest.\n37 For my spirit was inflamed excedingly, and my soul was distressed.\n38 And I sayd:  O Lord, speaking thou didst speake from the beginning of\ncreature from the first day, saying:  Let heauen be made and earth:  and\nthy word was a perfect worke.  39 And then there was spirit, and\ndarknesse was caried about, and silence, the sound of the voyce of man\nwas not yet from thee.  40 Then thou didst command the lighsome light to\nbe brought forth of thy treasures, wherby thy worke might appeare.\n41 And in the second day thou didst create the spirit of the firmament,\nand commandest it to diuide, and to make a diuision betwen the waters,\nthat a certayn part should depart vpward, and part should remaine beneth.\n42 And in the third day thou didst command the waters to be gathered\ntogether in the seuenth part of the earth:  but sixe partes thou didst\ndrie and preserue, that of them might be seruing before thee thinges\nsowen of God, and tilled.  43 For thy word proceded, and the worke forth\nwith was made.  44 For sodenly came forth fruite of multitude infinite,\nand diurse tastes of concupiscence, and flowers of vnchangeable colour,\nand odours of vnsearcheable smel, and in the third day these thinges were\nmade.  45 And in the fourth day thou didst command to be made the\nbrightnesse of the sunne, the light of the moone, the disposition of the\nstarres:  46 and didst command them that they should serue man, that\nshould be made.  47 And in the fifth day:  thou saydst to the seuenth\npart, where the water was gathered together, that it should bring forth\nbeastes, and foules, and fishes:  and so was it done, 48 the dumme water\nand without life, the thinges that by Gods appointement were commanded,\nmade beastes, that therby the nations may declare thy meruelous workes.\n49 And then thou didst preserue two soules:  the name of one thou didst\ncal Henoch, and the name of the second thou didst cal Leuiathan, 50 and\nthou didst separate them from eche other.  For the seuenth part, where\nthe water was gathered together, could not hold them.  51 And thou gauest\nto Henoch one part, which was dried the third day, to dwelt therin, where\nare a thousand mountaynes.  52 But to Leuiathan thou gauest the seuenth\npart being moyst, and kepst it, that it might be to deuoure whom thou\nwilt, and when thou wilt.  53 And in the sixt day thou didst command the\nearth, to create before thee cattel, and beastes, and creeping creatures:\n54 and ouer these Adam, whom thou madest ruler ouer al the workes, which\nthou didst make, & out of him are al we brought forth, and the people\nwhom thou hast chosen.  55 And al these thinges I haue sayd before thee o\nLord, because thou didst create the world for vs.  56 But the residue of\nthe nations borne of Adam thou saydst that they were nothing, and that\nthey were like to spittle, and as it were the droping out of a vessel\nthou didst liken the abundance of them.  57 And now Lord, behold these\nnations which are reputed for nothing, haue begune to rule ouer vs, and\nto deuoure vs:  58 but we thy people whom thou didst cal thy first onlie\nbegotten emulatour, are deliuered into their handes:  59 and if the world\nwas created for vs, why doe not we possesse inheritance with the world?\nhow long these thinges?\n\n\n\nCHAP. VII.\n\n\nWithout tribulations no man can attayne immortal life:  17. which the\niust shal inherite:  and the wicked shal perish.  28. Christ wil come,\nand dye for mankind.  36. Prayers of the iust shal profite til the end of\nthis world, but not after the general iudgement.  48. Al sinned in Adam.\n52. and haue added more sinnes, 57. but it is in mans powre, 62. by Gods\ngrace, to liue eternally.\n\nAND it came to passe when I had ended to speake these wordes, the Angel\nwas sent to me, which had bene sent to me the first nights, 2 and he sayd\nto me:  Arise Esdras, and heare the wordes which I am come to speake to\nthee.  3 And I sayd:  Speake my God.  And he sayd to me:  The sea is set\nin a large place, that it might be deepe and wide:  4 but the entrance to\nit shal be set in a straict place, that it might be like to riuers.\n5 For who witting wil enter into the sea, and see it, or rule ouer it:\nif he passe not the streite, how shal he come into the bredth?  6 Also an\nother thing:  A citie is built, and set in a plaine place, and it is ful\nof al goodes.  7 The entrance therof narrow, and set in a stepe place, so\nthat on the right hand there was fire, & on the left depe water:  8 and\nthere is one onlie pathe set betwen them, that is, betwen the fire and\nthe water, so that the pathe can not conteyne, but onlie a mans steppe.\n9 And if the citie shal be geuen a man for inheritance, if he neuer passe\nthrough the peril set before it, how shal he receiue his inhertance?\n10 And I sayd:  So Lord.  And he sayd to me, So it is:  Israel also a\npart.  11 For I made the world for them:  and when Adam transgressed my\nconstitution, that was iudged which was done.  12 And the entrance of\nthis world were made streite, and sorowful, & paynful, and few and euil,\nand ful of dangers, & stuffed very much with labour.  13 For the\nentrances of the greater world are large andsecure, and making fruite of\nimmortalitie.  14 If then they that liue entring in enter into these\nstreite and vayne thinges:  they can not receiue the thinges that are\nlayd vp.  15 Now therfore why art thou trubled, wheras thou art\ncorruptible?  and why art thou moued, wheras thou art mortal?  16 And why\nhast thou not taken in thy hart that which is to come, but that which is\npresent?  17 I answered, and sayd:  Lord dominatour:  behold thou hast\ndisposed by thy law that the iust shal inherite these thinges, and the\nimpious shal perish.  (Deut 8)  18 But the iust shal suffer the streites,\nhoping for the wyde places, for they that haue done impiously, haue both\nsuffered the streites, and shal not see the wide places.  19 And he sayd\nto me:  There is no iudge aboue God, nor that vnderstandeth aboue the\nHighest.  20 For manie present doe perish, because the law of God which\nwas set before, is neglected.  21 For God commanding commanded them that\ncame, when they came, what doing they should liue, and what obseruing\nthey should not be punished.  22 But they were not perswaded, and\ngaynesayd him, and made to them selues a cogitation of vanitie, 23 and\nproposed to them selues deceites of sinnes, & they sayd to the Highest\nthat he was not, and they knew not his wayes, 24 and dispised his law,\nand denyed his couenaunces, and had not fidelitie in his ordinances, and\ndid not accomplish his workes.  25 For this cause Esdras, the emptie to\nthe emptie, and the ful to the ful.  26 Behold the time shal come, and it\nshal be when the signes shal come, which I haue foretold thee, and the\nbride shal appeare, and appearing she shal be shewed that now is hid with\nthe earth:  27 and euerie one that is deliuered from the foresaid euils,\nhe shal see my meruelous thinges.  28 For my sonne IESVS shal be reueled\nwith them that are with him, and they shal be merie that are leaft in the\nfoure hundred yeares.  29 And it shal be after these yeares, and my sonne\nCHRIST shal dye:  and al men that haue breath, 30 and the world shal be\nturned into the old silence seuen dayes, as in the former iudgementes, so\nthat none shal be leaft.  31 And it shal be after seuen dayes, and the\nworld shal be raysed vp that yet waketh not, and shal dye corrupted:\n32 and the earth shal render the thinges that sleepe in it, & the dust\nthem that dwel in it with silence, and the cellars shal render the soules\nthat are commended to them.  33 And the Highest shal be reueled vpon the\nseate of iudgement, and miseries shal passe, and long sufferance shal be\ngathered together.  34 And iudgement onlie shal remayne, truth shal\nstand, and fayth shal waxe strong, 35 and the worke shal folow, and the\nreward shal be shewed, and iustice shal awake, and iniustice shal not\nhaue dominion.  [See note below.]  36 And I sayd:  First Abraham prayed\nfor the Sodomites, and Moyses for the fathers that sinned in the desert.\n(Gen 18 / Ex 32)  37 And they that were after him for Isreal in the dayes\nof Achaz, and of Samuel, 38 and Dauid for the destruction, and Salomon\nfor them that came vnto the sanctification.  (2 Kings 24:17 / 2 Par 6:13)\n39 And Elias for them that receiued raine, and for the dead that he might\nliue, (3 Kings 17 & 18) 40 and Ezechias for the people in the dayes of\nSennacherib, and manie for manie.  (4 Kings 19:15)  41 If therfore now\nwhen corruptible did increase, and iniustice was multiplied, and the iust\nprayed for the impious:  why now also shal it not be so?  42 And he\nanswered me and sayd:  This present world is not the end, much glorie\nremaineth in it:  for this cause they prayed for the impotent.  43 For\nthe day of iudgement shal be the end of this time, and the beginning of\nthe immortalitie to come, wherein corruption is past:  44 intemperance is\ndissolued, incredulitie is cut of:  and iustice hath increased, truth is\nstrong.  45 For then no man can saue him that hath perished, nor drowne\nhim that hath ouercome.  And I answered, 46 and sayd:  This is my word\nthe first and the last, that it had bene better not to geue the earth to\nAdam, or when he had now geuen it, to restraine him that he should not\nsinne.  47 For what doth it profit men presently to liue in sorow, and\nbeing dead to hope for punishment?  48 O what hast thou done Adam?  For\nif thou didst sinne, it was not made thy fal only, but ours also which\ncame of thee.  (Rom 5:12)  49 For what doth it profit vs if immortal time\nbe promised to vs:  but we haue done mortal workes?  50 And that\neuerlasting hope is foretold vs:  but we most wicked are become vayne?\n51 And that habitations of health and securitie are reserued for vs, but\nwe haue conuerst naughtely?  52 And that the glorie of the Highest is\nreserued to protect them that haue slowly conuerst:  but we haue walked\nin most wicked wayes.  53 And that paradise shal be shewed, whose fruite\ncontinueth incorrupted, wherin is securitie and remedie:  54 but we shal\nnot enter in:  for we haue conuerst in vnlawful places.  55 And their\nfaces which haue had abstinence, shal shyne aboue the starres:  but our\nfaces blacke aboue darkenes.  56 For we did not thinke liuing when we\ndid iniquitie, that we shal beginne after death to suffer.  57 And he\nanswered, and sayd:  This is the cogitation of the battel which man shal\nfight, who is borne vpon the earth, 58 that if he shal be ouercome, he\nsuffer that which thou hast sayd:  but if he ouercome he shal receiue\nthat which I say:  59 for this is the life which Moyses spake of when he\nliued, to the people, saying:  Choose vnto thee life, that thou mayst\nliue.  (Deut 30:19)  60 But they beleued him not, no nor the Prophetes\nafter him, no nor me which haue spoken to them.  61 Because there should\nnot be sorow vnto their perdition, as there shal be ioy vpon them, to\nwhom saluation is perswaded.  62 And I answered, and sayd:  I know Lord,\nthat the Highest is called merciful in that, that he hath mercie on them\nwhich are not yet come into the world, 63 and that he hath mercie on them\nwhich conuerse in his law:  64 and he is long suffering, because he\nsheweth long sufferance to them that haue sinned, as it were with their\nowne workes:  65 and he is bountiful, because he wil geue according to\nexigentes:  66 and of freat mercie, because he multiplieth more mercies\nto them that are present, and that are past, and that are to come.\n67 For if he shal not multiplie his mercies, the world shal not be made\naliue with them that did inherite it.  68 And he geueth:  for if he shal\nnot geue of his bountie, that they may be releeued which haue done\niniquitie, the tenth thousand part of men can not be quickned from their\niniquities.  69 And the iudge if he shal not forgeue them that are cured\nwith his word, and wype away a multitude of contentions:  there should\nnot perhaps be leaft in an innumerable multitiude, but very few.\n\n\n\nCHAP. VIII.\n\n\nGod is merciful in this world, yet fewe are saued.  6. Gods workes, and\ndisposition of his creatures are meruelous.  15. Esdras prayeth for the\npeople of Israel:  37. and saluation is promised to the iust, and\npunishment threatned to the wicked.\n\nAND he answered me, & sayd:  This world the Highest made for manie, but\nthat to come for few.  2 And I wil speake a similitude Esdras before\nthee.  For as thou shalt aske the earth, and it wil tel thee, that it wil\ngeue much more earth wherof earthen worke may be made, but a litle dust\nwherof gold is made:  so also is the act of this present world.  3 Manie\nin deede are created, but few shal be saued.  (Matt 20:16)  4 And I\nanswered, and sayd:  Then o soul swallow vp the sense, and deuoure that\nwhich is wise.  5 For thou art agred to obey, and willing to prophecie.\nFor there is no space geuen thee but only to liue.  6 O Lord if thou wilt\nnot permitte thy seruant, that we pray before thee, and thou geue vs\nseede to the hart, and tillage to the vnderstanding, wherof may the\nfruite be made, wherby euerie corrupt person may liue, that shal beare\nthe place of a man?  7 For thou art alone, and we are one workmanshippe\nof thy handes, as thou hast spoken:  8 and as now the bodie made in the\nmatrice, and thou doest geue the members, thy creature is preserued in\nfire & water:  and nine monethes thy workemanship doth suffer thy\ncreature that is created in it:  9 and it self that keepeth, and that\nwhich is kept, both shal be preserued:  and the matrice being preserued\nrendreth agayne at some time the thinges that are growen in it.  10 For\nthou hast commanded of the members, that is the brestes to geue milke\nvnto the fruite of the brestes, 11 that the thing which is made, may be\nnourished til a certayne time, and afterward thou mayst dispose him to\nthy mercie.  12 For thou hast, brought him vp in thy iustice, and hast\ninstructed him in thy law, and hast corrected him in thy vnderstanding:\n13 and thou shalt mortifie him, as thy creature:  and shalt geue him\nlife, as thy worke.  14 If then thou wilt destroy him that is made with\nso great labours:  it is easie by thy commandment to be ordayned, that\nalso which was made, might be preserued.  15 And now Lord I wil speake,\nof euerie man thou rather knowest:  but concerning thy people, for which\nI am sorowful:  16 and concerning thine inheritance, for which I mourne,\nand for Israel for whom I am pensiue, and concerning Iacob, for whom I am\nsorowful.  17 Therfore wil I begin to pray before thee for me, & for\nthem:  because I see our defaultes that inhabite the earth.  18 But I\nhaue heard of the celeritie of the iudge that shal be.  19 Therfore heare\nmy voyce, and vnderstand my word, and I wil speake before thee.  20 The\nbeginning of the wordes of Esdras before he was assumpted:  and I sayd:\nLord which inhabitest the world, whose eyes are eleuated vnto thinges on\nhigh and in the ayre:  21 and whose throne is inestimable, and glorie\nincomprehensible:  by whom standeth an host of Angels with trembling,\n22 whose keping is turned in wynde and fire, thou whose word is true, and\nsayings premanent:  23 whose commandment is strong, and disposition\nterrible:  whose looke dryeth vp the depthes, and indignation maketh the\nmountaynes to melt, and truth doth testifie.  24 Heare the prayer of thy\nseruant, & with thine eares receiue the petition of thy creature.  25 For\nwhiles I liue, I wil speake:  and whiles I vnderstand, I wil answere:\n26 Neither doe thou respect the sinnes of thy people, but them that serue\nthee in truth.  27 Neither doe thou attend the impious endeuours of the\nnations, but them that with sorowes haue kept thy testimonies.\n28 Neither thinke thou of them that in thy sight haue conuerst falsly,\nbut remember them that according to thy wil haue knowen thy feare.\n29 Neither be thou willing to destroy them that haue had the maners of\nbeastes:  but respect them that haue taught thy law gloriously.\n30 Neither haue indignation towards them, which are iudged worse then\nbeastes:  but loue them that alwayes haue confidence in thy iustice, and\nglorie.  31 Because we and our fatheres languish with such diseases:  but\nthou for sinners shalt be called merciful.  32 For if thou shalt be\ndesirous to haue mercie on vs, then thou shalt be called merciful, to vs\nhauing no workes of iustice.  33 For the iust which haue manie workes\nlayd vp, of their owne workes shal receiue reward.  34 For what is man,\nthat thou art angrie with him:  or the corruptible kinde, that thou art\nso bitter touching it?  35 For in truth there is no man of them that be\nborne, which hath not done impiously, and of them that confesse, which\nhaue not sinned.  (3 Kings 8:46 / 2 Par 6:36)  36 For in this shal thy\niustice be declared, and thy goodnes, o Lord, when thou shalt haue mercie\non them, that haue no substance of good workes.  37 And he answered me,\nand sayd:  Thou hast spoken somethinges rightly:  and according to thy\nwordes, so also shal it be done, 38 because I wil not in dede thinke vpon\nthe worke of them that haue sinned before death, before the iudgement,\nbefore perdition:  39 but I wil reioyce vpon the creature of the iust,\nand I wil remember their pilgrimage also, and saluation, and receiuing of\nreward.  40 Therfore as I haue spoken, so also it is.  41 For as the\nhusbandman soweth vpon the ground manie seedes, and planteth manie\nplantes, but not al which were sowen in time, are preserued, nor yet al\nthat were planted, shal take roote:  so they also that are sowen in the\nworld, shal not al be saued.  (Matt 13 & 20)  42 And I answered, and\nsayd:  If I haue found grace, let me speake.  43 As the seede of the\nhusbandman, if it come not vp, or receiue not the rayne in time, if it be\ncorupted with much rayne, perisheth:  44 so likewise also man who made\nwith thy handes, and thou named his image:  because thou art likened to\nhim, for whom thou hast made al thinges, and hast likened him to the\nseede of the husbandman.  45 Be not angrie vpon vs, but spare thy people,\nand haue mercie on thy inheritance.  And thou hast mercie on thy\ncreature.  46 And he answered me, and sayd:  The thinges that are present\nto them that are present, and that shal be, to them that shal be.  47 For\nthou lackest much to be able to loue my creature aboue me:  and to thee\noften times, euen to thyselfe I haue approched, but to the vniust neuer.\n48 But in this also thou art meruelous before the Highest, 49 because\nthou hast humbled thyself as becometh thee:  & hast not iudged thyself,\nthat among the iust thou maist be very much glorified.  50 For which\ncause manie miseries, and miserable thinges shal be done to them that\ninhabite the world in the later dayes:  because they haue walked in much\npride.  51 But thou for thyselfe vnderstand, & for them that are like\nvnto thee seeke glorie.  52 For to you paradise is open, the tree of life\nis planted, time to come is prepared, abundance is prepared, a citie is\nbuilded, rest is approued, goodnes is perfited, & perfit wisdome.  53 The\nroote of euil is signed from you:  infirmitie, and mothe is hid from you:\n& corruption is fled into hel in obliuion.  54 Sorowes are past, & the\ntreasure of immortalitie is shewed in the end.  55 Adde not therfore\ninquiring of the multitude of them that perish.  56 For they also\nreceiuing libertie, haue despised the Highest, and contemned his lawe,\nand forsaken his wayes.  57 Yea and moreouer they haue troden downe his\niust ones, 58 and haue sayd in their hart, that there is no God:  and\nthat, knowing that they dye.  (Ps 13 & 52)  59 For as the thinges\naforesayd shal receiue you:  so thirst and torment, which are prepared\nshal take them:  for he would not man to be destroyed.  60 But they them\nselues also which are created, haue defyled his name which made them:  &\nhaue bene vnkind to him that prepared life.  61 Wherfore my iudgement now\napprocheth.  62 Which thinges I haue not shewed to al, but to thee, & to\nfew like vnto thee.  And I answered, and sayd:  63 Behold now Lord thou\nhast shewed me a multitude of signes, which thou wilt beginne to doe in\nthe latter times:  but thou hast not shewed me at what time.\n\n\n\nCHAP. IX.\n\n\nCertaine signes shal goe before the day of iudgement.  14. More shal\nperish then be saued.  25. Prayer with other good workes, are meanes to\nsaluation.\n\nAND he answered me, and sayd:  Measuring measure thou the time in it\nselfe:  and it shal be when thou seest, after a certaine part of the\nsignes which are spoken of before shal passe, 2 then shalt thou\nvnderstand, that the same is the time wherin the Highest wil beginne to\nvisite the world that was made by him.  3 And when there shal be sene in\nthe world mouing of places, and truble of peoples, 4 then shalt thou\nvnderstand, that of these spake the Highest, from the dayes that were\nbefore thee, from the beginning.  5 For as al that is made in the world\nhath a beginning, and also a consummation, and the consummation is\nmanifest:  6 so also the times of the Highest haue the beginning manifest\nin wonders and powers, and the consummations in worke and in signes.\n7 And it shal be, euery one that shal be saued, and that can escape by\nhis workes, and by fayth, in which you haue beleeued, 8 shal be leaft out\nof the foresayd dangers, and shal see my saluation in my land, and in my\ncostes, because I haue sancitifed my selfe from the world.  9 And then\nshal they be in miserie, that now haue abused my wayes:  and they that\nhaue reiected them in contempt, shal abide in torments.  10 For they that\nknew not me, hauing obtained benefits when they liued:  11 and they that\nloathed my law, when they yet had libertie, 12 and when as yet place of\npenance was open to them vnderstoode not, but despised:  they must after\ndeath in torment know it.  13 Thou therfore be not yet curious, how the\nimpious shal be tormented:  but inquire how the iust shal be saued, and\nwhose the world is, and for whom the world is, and when.  14 And I\nanswered, and sayd:  15 I haue spoken hertofore, and now I say, and\nhereafter wil say:  that they are more which perish then that shal be\nsaued:  (Matt 10)  16 as a floud is multiplied aboue, more then a droppe.\n17 And he ansvvered me, and sayd:  Like as the field so also the sedes:\nand as the flovvers, such also the colours:  and as the workeman, such\nalso the worke:  and such as the husbandman, such is the husbandrie:\nbecause it was the time of the world.  18 And now when I was preparing\nfor them, for these that now are before the world was made, wherin they\nshould dwel:  and no man gaynsayd me.  19 For then euery man, and now the\ncreator in this world prepared, and haruest not fayling, and law\nvnsearchable their manners are corrupted.  20 And I considered the world,\nand behold there was danger because of the cogitations that came in it.\n21 And I saw, and spared it very much:  and I kept vnto my selfe a grape\nkernel of a cluster, and a plant of a great trybe.  22 Let the multitude\ntherfore perish, which was borne without cause, and let my kernel be\nkept, & my plant:  because I finished it with much labour.  23 And thou\nif thou adde yet seuen other dayes, but thou shalt not fast in them,\n24 thou shalt goe into a field of flowers, where no house is built:  &\nthou shalt eate only of the flowers of the field, and flesh thou shalt\nnot tast, and wine thou shalt not drinke, but only flowers.  25 Pray to\nthe Highest without intermission, and I wil come, and wil speake with\nthee.  26 And I went forth, as he sayd to me, into a field which is\ncalled Ardath, and I sate there among the flowers.  And I did eate of the\nherbes of the field, and the meate of them made me ful.  27 And it came\nto passe after seuen dayes, and I sate downe vpon the grasse, and my hart\nwas trubled ayayne as before.  28 And my mouth was opened, and I beganne\nto speake before the Highest, and sayd:  29 O Lord thou shewing thy selfe\nto vs, wast shewed to our fathers in the desert, which is not troden, and\nvnfruitful, when they came out of AEgypt:  and saying thou saydst:\n(Ex 19 & 24 / Deut 4)  30 Thou Israel heare me, and sede of Iacob attend\nto my wordes.  31 For behold, I sow my lawe in you, and it shal bring\nforth fruite in you, and you shal be glorified in it for euer.  32 For\nour fathers receiuing the law obserued it not, and kept not my\nordinances, and the fruite of the law did not appeare:  for it could not,\nbecause it was thine.  33 For they that receiued it, perished, not\nkeeping that which had bene sowen in them.  (Ex 32)  34 And behold it is\nthe custome, that when the earth hath receiued sede, or the sea a shippe,\nor some vessel meate or drinke:  when that shal be destroyed wherin it\nwas sowne, or into the which it was cast:  35 that which was sowne, or\ncast in, or the thinges that were receiued, are destroyed withal, and the\nthinges receiued now tarye not with vs:  but it is not so done to vs.\n36 We in dede that receiued the law, sinning haue perished, and our hart\nthat receiued it:  37 For the law hath not perished, but hath remayned in\nhis labour.  (Ezech 48)  38 And when I spake these thinges in my hart, I\nlooked backe with myne eyes, and saw a woman on the right side, and\nbehold she mourned, and wept with a lowd voice, and was sorrowful in\nmynde exceedingly, and her garments rent, and ashes vpon her heade.\n39 And I left the cogitations, wherin I was thinking, and I turned to her\nand sayd to her:  40 Why weepest thou?  and why art thou sorie in mynde.\nAnd she sayd to me:  41 Suffer me my Lord, that I may lament myselfe, &\nadde sorrow:  because I am of a very pensiue mynde, and am humbled\nexceedingly.  42 And I sayd to her, What ayleth thee:  tel me.  And she\nsayd to me:  43 I thy seruant haue beene barren, and haue not borne\nchilde, hauing a husband thirty yeares.  44 For I euery howre, and euerie\nday, and these thirty yeares do beseche the Highest night and day.\n45 And it came to passe, after thirtie yeares God heard me thy handmayd,\nand saw my humilitie, and attended to my tribulation, and gaue me a\nsonne:  and I was very ioyful vpon him, and my husband, and al my\ncitizens, and we did glorifie the Strong exceedingly.  46 And I nourished\nhim with much labour.  47 And it came to passe when he was growen, and\ncame to take a wife, I made a feast day.\n\n\n\nCHAP. X.\n\n\nThe state of Ierusalem is prefigured by a woman mourning, 25. and\nafterwardes reioycing.\n\nAND it came to passe, when my sonne was entred into his inner chamber, he\nfel downe, and dyed:  2 and we al ouerthrewe the lights, and al my\ncitizens rose vp to comfort me, and I was quiet vntil the other day at\nnight.  3 And it came to passe, when al were quiet to comfort me, that I\nmight be quiet:  and I arose in the night, and fled:  and came as thou\nseest into this field.  4 And I meane nowe not to returne into the citie,\nbut to stay here:  and neither eate, nor drinke, but without intermission\nto mourne, and to fast vntil I dye.  5 And I left the talke wherin I was,\nand with anger answered her, & sayd:  6 Thou foole aboue al wemen, seest\nthou not our mourning, & what thinges chance to vs?  7 Because Sion our\nmother is sorroweful with al sorrowe, and humbled, and mourneth most\nbitterly.  8 And now wheras we al mourne, and are sadde:  wheras we are\nsorrowful, and art thou sorrowful for one sonne?  9 For aske the earth,\nand it wil tel thee:  that it is she, that ought to lament the fal of so\nmanie thinges that spring vpon it.  10 And of her were al borne from the\nbeginning, and others shal come:  and behold, almost al walke into\nperdition, and the multitude of them commeth to destruction.  11 And who\nthen ought to mourne more, but she that hath lost so great a multitude,\nrather then thou which art sorie for one?  12 And if thou say vnto me,\nthat my mourning is not lyke the earthes:  because I haue lost the fruite\nof my wombe, which I bare with sorrowes, and brought forth with paynes:\n13 but the earth according to the maner of the earth, and the present\nmultitude in it hath departed as it came:  and I saye to thee, 14 as thou\nhast brought forth with payne, so the earth also geueth her fruite for\nman from the beginning to him that made her.  15 Now therfore kepe in\nwith thy sorrowe, and beare stoutly the chances that haue befallen thee.\n16 For if thou iustifie the end of God, thou shalt in time both receiue\nhis counsel, and also in such thinges thou shalt be praysed.  17 Goe in\ntherfore into the citie to thy husband.  And she sayd to me:  18 I wil\nnot doe it, neither wil I enter into the citie, but here wil I dye.\n19 And I added yet to speake to her, & sayd:  20 Doe not this word, but\nconsent to him that counseleth thee.  For how manie are the chances of\nSion?  Take comfort for the sorrowe of Ierusalem.  21 For thou seest that\nour sanctification is made desert, and our altar is throwen downe, and\nour temple is destroyed, 22 and our psalter is humbled, and hymne is\nsilent, and our exultation is dissolued, and the light of our\ncandelsticke is extinguished, and the arke of our testament is taken for\nspoyle, & our holie thinges are contaminated, and the name that is\ninuocated vpon vs, is almost prophaned:  and our children haue suffred\ncontumelie, and our Priestes are burnt, & our Leuites are gone into\ncaptiuitie, & our virgins are defloured, and our wiues haue suffered\nrape, and our iust men are violently taken, and our litle ones are lost,\nand our yong men are in bondage, and our valiants are made impotent:\n23 and that which is greatest of al, the seale of Sion, because she is\nvnsealed of her glorie:  For she is also deliuered into the handes of\nthem that hate vs.  24 Thou therfore shake of thy great heauines, and lay\naway from thee the multitude of sorrowes, that the Strong may be\npropicious to thee agayne, and the Highest wil geue thee rest, rest from\nthy labours.  25 And it came to passe, when I spake to her, her face did\nshine suddenly, and her shape, and her visage was made glistering, so\nthat I was afrayde excedingly at her, & thought what this thing should\nbe.  26 And Behold, suddenly she put forth a great sound of a voyce ful\nof feare, that the earth was moued at the womans sound.  And I saw:\n27 and behold, the woman did no more appeare vnto me, but a citie was\nbuilt, & a place was shewed of great fundations:  and I was afrayd, &\ncrying with a loude voyce I sayd:  28 Where is Vriel the Angel, that from\nthe beginning came to me?  for he made me come in multitude in excesse of\nthis minde, and my end is made into corruption, & my prayer into reproch.\n29 And when I was speaking these thinges, behold he came to me, and sawe\nme.  30 And behold I was layd as dead, & my vnderstanding was alienated,\nand he held my right hand, and strengthned me, & set me vpon my feete, &\nsayd to me:  31 What ayleth thee?  and why is thy vnderstanding, and the\nsense of thy hart trubled, & why art thou trubled?  And I sayd:\n32 Because thou hast forsaken me, and I in dede haue done according to\nthy wordes, & went out into the field:  & behold, I haue seene, & doe see\nthat which I cannot vtter.  And he sayd to me:  33 Stand like a man, & I\nwil moue thee.  And I sayd:  34 Speake thou my Lord in me, forsake me\nnot, that I die not in vaine:  35 because I haue seene thinges that I\nknew not, & I doe heare thinges that I know not.  36 Or is my sense\ndeceiued, & doth my soule dreame?  37 Now therfore I besech thee, that\nthou shew vnto thy seruant concerning this trance.  And he answered me, &\nsayd:  38 Heare me, and I wil teach thee, and wil tel thee of what\nthinges thou art afrayd:  because the Highest hath reuealed vnto thee\nmanie mysteries.  39 He hath seene thy right way, that without\nintermission thou was forrowful for thy people, and didst mourne\nexceedingly for Sion.  40 This therfore is the vnderstanding of the\nvision which appeared to thee a litle before.  41 The woman whom thou\nsawest mourning, thou beganst to comfort her.  42 And now thou seest not\nthe forme of the woman, but there appeared to thee a citie to be built.\n43 And because she tolde thee of the fal of her sonne, this is the\ninterpretation.  44 This woman which thou sawest, she is Sion, and wheras\nshe told thee of her, whom now also thou shalt see, as a citie builded.\n45 And whereas she told thee, that she was barren thirtie yeares:  for\nthe which there were thirtie yeares, when there was not yet oblation\noffered in it.  46 And it came to passe after thirtie yeares, Salomon\nbuilt the citie, and offered oblations:  then it was, when the barren\nbare a childe.  47 And that which she sayd vnto thee, that she nourished\nhim with labour, this was the habitation in Ierusalem.  48 And wheras she\nsayd to thee, that my sonne comming into the bryde chamber dyed, and that\na fal chanced vnto him, this was the ruine of Ierusalem that is made.\n49 And behold, thou hast seene the similitude of her:  and because she\nlamented her sonne, thou beganst to comfort her:  and of these thinges\nthat haue chanced, these were to be opened to thee.  50 And now the\nHighest seeth that thou wast sorie from the hart:  and because with thy\nwhole hart thou sufferest for her, he hath shewed thee the clearnes of\nher glorie, and the fayrenes of her beautie.  51 For therfore did he say\nto thee, that thou shouldest tarie in a field where house is not built.\n52 For I knew that the Highest beganne to shew thee these thinges:\n53 therfore I sayd vnto thee, that thou shouldest goe into a field, where\nis no fundation of building.  54 For the worke of mans building could not\nbe borne in the place, where the citie of the Highest began to be shewed.\n55 Thou therfore feare not, neither let thy hart dread:  but goe in, and\nsee the beautie, and greatnes of the building, as much as the sight of\nthyne eyes is capable to see:  56 & afterward thou shalt heare as much,\nas the hearing of thyne eares is capable to heare.  57 For thou art\nblessed aboue manie, and art called with the Highest as few.  58 And to\nmorrow night thou shalt tarie here:  59 and the Highest wil shew thee\nthose visions of the thinges on high, which the Highest wil doe to them\nthat inhabite vpon the earth in the later dayes.  60 And I slept that\nnight, and the other next, as he had sayd to me.\n\n\n\nCHAP. XI.\n\n\nAn eagle appeareth to Esdras coming forth of the sea, with three heades,\nand twelue winges:  sometimes one reigning in the world, sometimes an\nother, but euerie one vanisheth away.  36. A lion also appeareth coming\nforth of the wood, to suppresse the eagle.\n\nAND I sawe a dreame, & behold an eagle came vp out of the sea:  which had\ntwelue winges of fethers, and three heades.  2 And I saw, and behold she\nspred her winges into al the earth, and al the windes of heauen blew vpon\nher, and were gathered together.  3 And I saw, and of her fethers sprang\ncontrarie feathers, and they became litle winges, and smale.  4 For her\nheades were at rest, and the midle head was greater then the other\nheades, but she rested with them.  5 And I saw, and behold the eagle flew\nwith her winges, and reigned ouer the earth, and ouer them that dwel in\nit.  6 And I saw, that al thinges vnder heauen were subiect to her, and\nno man gaynesayd her, no not one of the creature that is vpon the earth.\n7 And I saw, and behold the eagle rose vp vpon her talons, and made a\nvoice with her winges, saying:  8 Watch not al together, sleepe euerie\none in his place, & watch according to time.  9 But let the heades be\npreserued to the last.  10 And I saw, and behold the voice came not out\nof her heades, but from the middes of her bodie.  11 And I numbered her\ncontrarie winges, and behold they were eight.  12 And I saw, and behold\non the right side rose one wing, and reighned ouer al the earth.  13 And\nit came to passe, when it reigned, an end came to it, and the place\ntherof appeared not:  and the next rose vp, & reigned, that held much\ntime.  14 And it came to passe, when it reigned, & the end of it also\ncame, that it appeared not as the former.  15 And behold, a voice was\nsent forth to it, saying:  16 Heare thou that hast held the earth of long\ntime.  Thus I tel thee before thou beginne not to appeare.  17 None after\nthee shal hold thy time, no nor the halfe therof.  18 And the third\nlifted vp it selfe, and held the principalitie as also the former:  and\nthat also appeared not.  19 And so it chanced to al the other by one & by\none to haue the principalitie, & agayne to appeare nowhere.  20 And I\nsaw, and behold in time the rest of the winges were sent vp on the right\nside, that they also might hold the principalitie:  and of them there\nwere that held it, but yet forthwith they appeared not.  21 For some also\nof them stoode vp, but they held not the principalitie.  22 And I saw\nafter these thinges, and behold the twelue winges, and two litle winges\nappeared not:  23 and nothing remayned in the bodie of the eagle but two\nheades resting, and six litle winges.  24 And I saw, and behold from the\nsix litle winges two were diuided, and they remayned vnder the head, that\nis on the right side.  For foure taried in their place.  25 And I saw,\nand behold the vnderwinges thought to set vp them selues, and to hold the\nprincipalities.  26 And I saw, and behold one was set vp, but forthwith\nit appeared not.  27 And they that were second did sooner vanish away\nthen the former.  28 And I saw, and behold the two that remayned, thought\nwith them selues that they also would reigne:  29 and when they were\nthincking thereon, behold one of the resting heades, which was the midde\none awaked, for this was greater then the other two heades.  30 And I saw\nthat the two heades were complete with themselues.  31 And behold the\nhead with them that were with him turned, and did eate the two\nvnderwinges that thought to reigne.  32 And this head terrified al the\nearth, & ruled in it ouer them that inhabite the earth with much labour,\nand he that held the dominion of the whole world aboue al the winges that\nwere.  33 And I saw after these thinges, and behold the midle head\nsodenly appeared not, as did the winges.  34 And there remained two\nheads, which reigned also themselues ouer the earth, and ouer them that\ndwelt therein.  35 And I saw, and behold the head on the right side\ndeuoured that which was on the left.  36 And I heard a voice saying to\nme, Looke against thee, and consider what thou seest.  37 And I saw, &\nbehold as a lion raysed out of the wood roaring:  and I saw that he sent\nout a mans voyce to the eagle.  And he spake saying.  38 Heare thou, and\nI wil speake to thee, and the Highest wil say to thee:  39 Is it not thou\nthat hast ouercome of the foure beastes, which I made to reigne in my\nworld, and that by them the end of their times might come?  40 And the\nfourth coming ouercame al the beastes that were past, and by might held\nthe world with much feare, and al the world with most wicked laboure, and\nhe inhabitied the whole earth so long time with deceipte.  41 And thou\nhast iudged the earth not with truth.  42 For thou hast afflicted the\nmeeke, and hast trubled them that were quiet, and hast loued lyers, &\nhast destroyed their habitations that did fructifie, and hast ouerthrowen\ntheir walles that did not hurt thee.  43 And thy contumelie is ascended\neuen to the Highest, and thy pride to the Strong.  44 And the Highest\nhath looked vpon the proud times:  and behold they are ended, and the\nabominations therof are accomplished.  45 Therfore thou eagle appeare no\nmore, and thy horrible winges, & thy litle winges most wicked, and thy\nheades malignant, and thy talons most wicked, and al thy bodie vayne,\n46 that al the earth may be refreshed, and may returne deliuered from thy\nviolence, and may hope for his iudgement, and mercie that made it.\n\n\n\nCHAP. XII.\n\n\nThe eagle vanisheth away, 5. Esdras prayeth, 10. and the former visions\nare declared to him.\n\nAND it came to passe, whiles the lyon spake these wordes to the eagle:  I\nsaw, 2 and behold the head that had ouercome, and those foure winges\nappeared not which passed to him, and were set vp to reigne:  and their\nreigne was smal, and ful of tumult.  3 And I saw, and behold they\nappeared not, and al the bodie of the eagle was burnt, & the earth was\nafrayd excedingly, and I by the tumult and traunce of minde, and for\ngreat feare awaked, and sayd to my spirit:  4 Behold thou hast geuen me\nthis, in that, that thou searchest the wayes of the Highest.  5 Behold\nyet I am wearie in minde, and in my spirit I am very feeble, and there is\nnot so much as a litle strength in me for the great feare, that I was\nafrayd of this night.  6 Now therfore I wil pray the Highest, that he\nstrengthen me euen to the end.  7 And I sayd:  Lord Dominatour, if I haue\nfound grace before thine eyes, and if I am iustified before thee aboue\nmanie, and if in deede my prayer be ascended before thy face,\n8 strengthen me, and shew vnto me thy seruant the interpretation, and\ndistinction of this horrible vision, that thou mayst comfort my soule\nmost fully.  9 For thou hast counted me worthie to shew vnto me the later\ntimes.  And he sayd to me:  10 This is the interpretation of this vision.\n11 The eagle which thou sawest coming vp from the sea, this is the\nkingdom which was sene in a vision to Daniel thy brother.  (Dan 7:7)\n12 But it was not interpreted to him, therfore I do now interprete it to\nthee.  13 Behold the dayes come, and there shal rise a kingdon vpon the\nearth, and the feare shal be more terrible then of al the kingdomes that\nwere before it.  14 And there shal twelue kinges reigne in it, one after\nan other.  15 For the second shal beginne to reigne, and he shal continew\nmore time then the rest of the twelue.  16 This is the interpretation of\nthe twelue winges which thou sawest.  17 And the voice that spake which\nthou heardst, not coming forth of her heads, but from the middes of her\nbodie, 18 this is the interpretation, that after the time of that kingdom\nshal rise no smal contentions, and it shal be in danger to fal:  and it\nshal not fal then, but shal be constituted againe according to the\nbeginning therof.  19 And wheras thou sawest eight vnderwings cleauing to\nthe wings therof, 20 this is the interpretation, eight kinges shal arise\nin it, whose times shal be light, and yeares swift, and two of them shal\nperish.  21 But when the middest time approcheth, foure shal be kept til\na time, when the time therof shal beginne to approch to be ended, yet two\nshal be kept to the end.  22 And wheras thou sawest three heads resting,\n23 this is the interpretation:  in her last dayes the Highest wil rayse\nvp three kingdoms, and wil cal backe manie thinges into them, and they\nshal rule ouer the earth, 24 and them that dwel in it, with much labour\naboue al them that vvere before them.  For this cause they are called the\nheads of the eagle.  25 For these shal be they that shal recapitulate her\nimpieties, and that shal accomplish her last thinges.  26 And wheras thou\nsawest a greater head not appearing, this is the interpretation therof:\nthat one of them shal dye vpon his bed, and yet with torments.  27 For\nthe two that shal remayne, the sword shal eate them.  28 For the sword of\none shal deuoure him that is with him:  but yet this also at the last\nshal fal by the sword.  29 And wheras thou sawest two vnderwings passing\nouer the head that is on the right side, 30 this is the interpretation:\nthese are they whom the Highest hath kept to their end, this is a smal\nkingdom, and ful of truble.  31 As thou sawest the lyon also, whom thou\nsawest awaking out of the wood, and roaring, and speaking to the eagle,\nand rebuking her, and her iniustices by al his wordes as thou hast heard:\n32 this is the wynde which the Highest hath kept vnto the end for them,\nand their impieties:  and he shal rebuke them, and shal cast in their\nspoyles before them.  33 For he shal sette them in iudgment aliue:  and\nit shal be, when he hath reproued them, then shal he chastise them.\n34 For the rest of my people he shal deliuer with miserie, them that are\nsaued vpon my borders, and he shal make them ioyful til the end shal\ncome, the day of iudgment, wherof I haue spoken to thee from the\nbeginning.  35 This is the dreame which thou sawest, and these be the\ninterpretations.  36 Thou therfore only hast bene worthie to know this\nsecrete of the Highest.  37 Write therfore in a booke al these thinges\nwhich thou hast sene, and put them in a hidden place:  38 and thou shalt\nteach them the wise men of thy people, whose harts thou knowest able to\ntake, and to kepe these secretes.  39 But doe thou stay here yet other\nseuen dayes, that there may be shewed thee whatsoeuer shal seme good to\nthe Highest to shew thee.  40 And he departed from me.  And it came to\npasse, when al the people had heard that the seuen dayes were past, and I\nhad not returned into the citie, and al gathered them selues together\nfrom the least vnto the greatest:  & came to me, & spake to me saying:\n41 What haue we sinned to thee, or what haue we done vniustly against\nthee, that leauing vs thou hast sitten in this place?  42 For thou alone\nart remayning to vs of al peoples, as a cluster of grapes of the\nvineyard, and as a candle in a darke place, and as an hauen and shippe\nsaued from the tempest.  43 Or are not the euiles that chance, sufficient\nfor vs?  44 If then thou shalt forsake vs, how much better had it bene to\nvs, if we also had bene burnt with the burning of Sion?  45 For we are\nnot better then they that dyed there.  And they wept with a lowd voice.\nAnd I answered them, and sayd:  46 Be of good chere Israel, and be not\nsorowful thou house of Iacob.  47 For there is remebrance of you before\nthe Highest, and the Strong hath not forgotten you in tentation.  48 For\nI haue not forsaken you, neither did I depart form you:  but I came into\nthis place, to pray for the desolation of Sion, and to seeke mercie for\nthe low estate of your sanctification.  49 And now goe euery one of you\ninto his house, and I wil come to you after these dayes.  50 And the\npeople departed, as I sayd to them, into the citie:  51 but I sate in the\nfielde seuen dayes, as he commanded me:  and I did eate of the flowers of\nthe field only, of the herbes was my meate made in those dayes.\n\n\n\nCHAP. XIII.\n\n\nA vision of a winde (as it first semed, but) in dede, v. 3. of a man:\n5. strong against the enimies:  21. with the interpretation.\n\nAND it came to passe after seuen dayse, and I dreamed a dreame in the\nnight.  2 And behold there rose a winde from the sea, that trubled al the\nwaues therof.  3 And I saw, and behold that man grew strong with\nthousandes of heauen:  and when he turned his countenance to consider, al\nthinges trembled that were sene vnder him:  4 and whersoeuer voyce\nproceded out of his mouth, al that heard his voices begane to burne, as\nthe earth is quiet when it feeleth the fire.  5 And I saw after these,\nand behold a multitude of men was gathered together, of whom there was no\nnumber, from the foure windes of heauen, to fight against the man that\nwas come vp out of the sea.  6 And I saw, and behold he had grauen to\nhimself a great mountaine, & he flew vpon it.  7 And I sought to see the\ncountrie, or the place whence the mountaine was grauen, & I could not.\n8 And after these thinges I saw, and behold al that were gathered to him,\nto ouerthrowe him, feared exceedingly, yet they were bold to fieght.\n9 And behold as he sawe the violence of the multitude that came, he\nlifted not vp his hand, nor held sword, nor anie warlyke instrument but\nonly as I saw, 10 that he sent forth out of his mouth as it were a blaste\nof fire, and from his lippes a spirit of flame, & from his tongue he\nsentforth sparkles & tempests, and al thinges were mingled together with\nthis blast of fire, & spirit of flame, & multitude of tempests.  11 And\nit fel with violence vpon the multitude, that was prepared to fight, and\nburned them al, that suddenly there was nothing sene of an innumerable\nmultitude, but only dust, & the sauour of smoke:  and I saw, and was\nafrayd.  12 And after these thinges I saw the man himself descending from\nthe mountaine, and calling to him an other peaceable multitude, 13 and\nthere came to him the countenance of manie men some reioycing, and some\nsorrowing:  and some bond, some bringing of them them that were offered.\nAnd I was sicke for much feare, and awaked, and sayd.  14 Thou from the\nbeginning hast shewed thy seruant these meruelous thinges, and hast\ncounted me worthie that thou wouldest receiue my petition.  15 And now\nshew me yet the interpretation of this dreame.  16 For as I thinke in my\niudgement, woe to them that were leaft in those dayes:  & much more woe\nto them that were not leaft.  17 For they that were not leaft, were\nsorrowful.  18 I vnderstand now what thinges are layde vp in the later\ndayes, and they shal happen to them, yea and to them that are leaft.\n19 For therefore they came into great dangers, and manie necessities, as\nthese dreames do shew.  20 But yet it is easier, aduenturing to come into\nit, then to passe, as a cloud from the world, and vow to see the thinges\nthat happen in the later time.  And he answered me, and sayd:  21 Both\nthe interpretation of the vision I wil tel thee:  and also concerning the\nthinges that thou hast spoken I wil open to thee.  22 Wheras thou\nspeakest of them that were leaft, this is the interpretation.  23 He that\ntaketh away danger at that time, he hath garded himself.  They that haue\nfallen into danger, these are they that haue workes, and fayth in the\nStrongest.  24 Know therefore that they are more blessed which are leaft,\nthen they that are dead.  25 These are the interpretations of the vision,\nwheras thou sawest a man coming from the hart of the sea, 26 the same is\nhe whom the Highest preserueth much time, which by himself shal deliuer\nhis creature:  and he shal dispose them that are leaft.  27 And wheras\nthou sawest proceede out of his mouth, as it were winde, and fire, and\ntempest:  28 and wheras he held no sworde, nor warlike instrument:  for\nhis violence destroyed the multitude that came to ouerthrow him:  this is\nthe interpretation.  29 Behold the dayes come, when the Highest shal\nbegin to deliuer them, that are vpon the earth:  30 and he shal come in\nexcesse of minde vpon them that inhabit the earth.  31 And one shal\nthinke to ouerthrow an other:  one citie an other citie, one place an\nother place, and nation against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.\n(Matt 24 / Luke 21)  32 And it shal be, when these thinges shal come to\npasse, and the signes shal happen, which I shewed thee before:  and then\nshal my sonne be reueled, whom thou sawest, as a man coming vp.  33 And\nit shal be when al nations shal heare his voice:  and euery one in his\ncountrie shal leaue their warre, that they haue toward each other:\n34 and an innumerable multitude shal be gathered in one, as willing to\ncome to ouerthrow him.  35 But he shal stand vpon the top of mount Sion.\n36 And Sion shal come, and it shal be shewed to al prepared and builded,\nas thou sawest the mountaine to be grauen without handes.  37 And the\nsame my sonne shal reproue the thinges that the gentils haue inuented,\nthese their impieties which came nere to the tempest, because of their\neuil cogitaitons, and torments wherewith they shal begin to be tormented.\n38 Which were likened to the flame, and he shal destroy them without\nlabour by the law that was likened to the fyre.  39 And wheras thou\nsawest him gathering vnto him an other peaceable multitude.  40 These are\nthe ten tribes, which were made captiue out of their land in the dayes of\nOsee the King, whom Salmanasar the King of the Assyrians led captiue:\nand he transported them beyond the riuer, and they were transported into\nan other land.  (4 Kings 17)  41 But they gaue themselues this counsel,\nto forsake the multitude of nations, and to goe forth into a farther\ncountrie, where mankind neuer inhabited.  42 Or there to obserue their\nordinances, which they had not kept in their countrie.  43 And they\nentred in by the narrow entrances of the riuer Euphrates.  44 For the\nHighest then wrought them signes, and stayed the vaines of the riuer til\nthey passed.  (Ex 14 / Jos 3)  45 For by that countie was a great way to\ngoe, of one yeare and a half:  for the countrie is called Arsareth.\n46 Then did they inhabite there til in the later time:  and now againe\nwhen they beginne to come, 47 againe the Highest shal stay the vaines of\nthe riuer, that they may passe:  for these thou sawest a multitiude with\npeace.  48 But they also that were leaft of the people, these are they\nthat be within my border.  49 In shal come to passe therefore, when he\nshal begine to destroy the multitude of these nations, that are gathered,\nhe shal protect them that haue ouercome the people:  50 and then shal he\nshew them very manie wonders.  51 And I sayd:  Lord dominatour, shew me\nthis, why I saw a man comming vp from the hart of the sea, and he sayd to\nme:  52 As thou canst not either search these thinges, or know what\nthinges are in the depth of the sea:  so can not any man vpon the earth\nsee my sonne, or them that are with him, but in the time of a day.\n53 This is the interpretation of the dreame which thou sawest, and for\nthe which thou only art here illuminated.  54 For thou hast leaft thyne\nowne law, and hast bene occupied about my law, and hast sought it.\n55 For thou hast disposed thy lyfe in wisdom, and thyne vnderstanding\nthou hast called mother:  56 and for this I haue shewed thee riches with\nthe Highest.  For it shal be after other three dayes, I wil speake other\nthinges to thee, and I wil expound to thee weightie and meruelous\nthinges.  57 And I went forth, and passed into the fielde, much\nglorifying & praising the Highest for the meruelous thinges that he did\nby time.  58 And because he gouerneth it, and the thinges that are\nbrought in times, & I sate there three dayes.\n\n\n\nCHAP. XIIII.\n\n\nGod appeareth in a bush, 6. reuealing some thinges to be published, and\nsome thinges to be hid.  10. As the world waxeth old, al thinges become\nworse.  27. The people of Israel are vngratful.  32. Al shal be iudged in\nthe Resurrection according to their deedes.\n\nAND it came to passe the third day, and I sate vnder an oke.  2 And\nbehold a voice came forth against me out of a bush, and sayd:  Esdras,\nEsdras:  and I sayd:  Loe here I am Lord.  And I arose vpon my feete.\nAnd he sayd to me:  3 Reueling I was reueled vpon the bush, and spake to\nMoyses, when the people serued in AEgypt, (Ex 3) 4 and I sent him, and\nbrought my people out of AEgypt, and brought him vpon mount Sina, & held\nhim with me manie dayes.  5 And I told him manie meruelous thinges, &\nshewed him the secrets of times, and the end:  and I commanded him,\nsaying:  6 These wordes thou shalt publish abroade, and these thou shalt\nhyde.  7 And now to thee I say:  8 The signes which I haue shewed, and\nthe dreames which thou hast sene, and the interpretations which thou hast\nsene, lay them vp in thy hart.  9 For thou shalt be receiued of al, thou\nshalt be conuerted the residue with thy counsel, and with the like to\nthee, til the times be finished:  10 Because the world hath lost his\nyouth, and the times draw nere to waxe old.  11 For the world is diuided\nby twelue partes, & the tenth part, & half of the tenth part are passed:\n12 and there remaineth hereafter the half of the tenth part.  13 Now\ntherefore dispose thy house, and correct thy people, & comfort the humble\nof them, & forsake now corruption, 14 and put from thee mortal\ncogitations, and cast from thee humane burdens, and doe from thee now\ninfirme nature, & lay at one side cogitations most trublesome to thee, &\nmake speedie transmigration from these times, 15 for the euiles which\nthou hast sene to haue chanced now, worse then these wil they doe againe:\n(Matt 24 / 1 John 2)  16 for looke how much the world shal become weake\nby age, so much shal euiles be multiplied vpon the inhabitants.  17 For\ntruth hath remoued it self farther of, and lying hath approched, for now\nthe vision which thou sawest, hasteneth to come.  18 And I answered, and\nsayd before thee o Lord:  19 For behold I wil goe, as thou hast commanded\nme, & wil rebuke the people that now is.  But them that shal yet be born,\nwho shal admonish?  20 The world therfore is set in darknes, and they\nthat dwel in it without light.  21 Because thy law is burnt, therefore no\nman knowth the workes that haue bene done by thee, or that shal begin.\n22 For if I haue found grace with thee, send the Holie Ghost to me, & I\nwil write al that hath bene done in the world from the beginning, the\nthinges that were written in thy law, that men may finde the pathe:  and\nthey that wil liue in the later times, may liue.  23 And he answered me,\nand sayd:  Goe gather together the people, and thou shalt say to them,\nthat they seeke thee not for fourtie dayes.  24 And doe thou prepare thee\nmanie tables of boxe, & take with thee Sarea, Dabria, Salemia, Echanus,\nand Asiel, these fiue which are readie to write sweeftly.  25 And come\nhither, & I wil light in thy hart a candle of vnderstanding, which shal\nnot be put out til the things be finished, which thou shalt begine to\nwrite.  26 And then some thinges thou shalt open to the perfect, some\nthou shalt deliuer secretly to the wyse.  For to morrow this houre thou\nshalt begine to write.  27 And I went as he commanded me, & gathered\ntogether al the people, and sayd:  28 Heare Israel these wordes:  29 Our\nfathers were pilgrimes from the beginning in AEgypt, and were deliuered\nfrom thence.  (Gen 47)  30 And they receiued the law of life, which they\nkept not, which you also after them haue transgressed:  (Deut 4 / Acts 7)\n31 and the land was geuen you by lotte, and the land of Sion, and your\nfathers, and you haue done iniquitie, and haue not kept the wayes which\nthe Highest commanded you.  32 And whereas he is a iust iudge, he hath\ntaken from you in time that which he had geuen.  33 And now you are here,\nand your brethren are among you.  34 If then you wil rule ouer your\nsense, & instruct your hart, you shal be preserued aliue, and after death\nshal obtaine mercie.  35 For the iudgement shal come after death, when we\nshal returne to lyfe againe:  and then the names of the iust shal\nappeare, and the dedes of the impious shal be shewed.  36 Let no man\ntherfore come to me now, nor aske for me vntil fourtie dayes.  37 And I\ntooke the fiue men, as he commandede me, and we went forth into the\nfield, and taried there.  38 And I was come to the morrow, & behold as\nvoice called me, saying:  Esdras open thy mouth, and drinke that which I\nwil geue thee to drinke.  (Ezech 3)  39 And I opened my mouth, & behold a\nful cuppe was brought me, this was ful as it were with water:  but the\ncolour therof like as fire.  40 And I tooke it, and dranke; and when I\nhad drunken of it, my hart was tormented with vnderstanding, and wisdome\ngrewe into my brest.  For my spirit was kept by memorie.  41 And my mouth\nwas opened, and was shut no more.  42 The Highest gaue vnderstanding vnto\nthe fiue men, and they wrote excesses of the night which were spoken,\nwhich they knewe not.  43 And at night they did eate breade, but I spake\nby day, & by night held not my peace.  44 And there were written in the\nfourtie dayes two hundred foure bookes.  45 And it came to passe when\nthey had ended the fourtie daies, the Highest spake, saying:  46 The\nformer thinges which thou hast written, set abrode, and let the worthie\nand vnworthiereade:  but the last seuentie bookes thou shalt keepe, that\nthou mayest deliuer them to the wyse of thy people.  47 For in these is\nthe vaine of vnderstanding, and the fountaine of wisdome, and the streame\nof knowledge.  and I did soe.\n\n\n\nCHAP. XV.\n\n\nEsdras is bid to denounce, that assuredly manie euiles wil come to the\nworld.  9. God wil protect his people, the wicked shal be punished, and\nlament their final miseries, God reuenging for the good.\n\nBEHOLD speake into the eares of my people the wordes of prophecie, which\nI shal put into thy mouth, sayth our Lord:  2 and see that they be\nwritten in paper, because they be faithful and true.  3 Be not afrayd of\nthe cogitations against thee, neither let the incredulities truble thee\nof them that speake.  4 Because euerie incredulous person shal dye in his\nincredulitie.  5 Behold I bring in, sayth our Lord, vpon the whole earth\neuils, sword, and famine, and death, and destruction.  6 Because\niniquitie hath fully polluted ouer al the earth, and their hurtful workes\nare accomplished.  7 Therefore sayth our Lord:  8 I wil not now kepe\nsilence of their impieties which they doe irreligiously, neither wil I\nbeare with those thinges, which they practise vniustly.  Behold the\ninnocent & iust bloud crieth to me, & the soules of the iust crie\ncontinually.  9 Reuenging I wil reuenge them, sayth our Lord, and I wil\ntake al innocent bloud out of them vnto me.  (Apoc 6:10 & 19:2)\n10 Behold my people is led to slaughter as a flocke, I wil no more suffer\nit to dwel in the land of AEgypt.  11 But I wil bring them forth in a\nmightie hand and valiant arme, and wil strike with plague as before, and\nwil corrupt al the land thereof.  12 AEgypt shal mourne, and fundations\nthereof beaten with plague, and with the chastisement which God wil bring\nvpon it.  13 The husbandmen that til the ground shal mourne, because\ntheir seedes shal perish by blasting, and haile, and by a terible starre.\n14 Woe to the world and them that dwel therein.  15 Because the sword is\nat hand and the destruction of them, and nation shal rise vp against\nnation to fight, & sword in their handes.  (Matt 24 / Luke 21)  16 For\nthere shal be instabilitie to men, & growing one against an other they\nshal not care for their king, & the princes of the way of their doinges,\nin their might.  17 For a man shal desire to go into the citie & can not.\n18 Because of their prides the cities shal be trubled, the houses raised,\nthe men shal feare.  19 Man shal not pitie his neighbour, to make their\nhouses nothing worth in the sword, to spoyle their goodes for famine of\nbread, & much tribulation.  20 Behold, I cal together sayth God, al the\nkinges of the earth to feare me, that are from the Orient, & from the\nSouth, from the East, & from Libanus, to be turned vpon themselues, and\nto render the thinges that they haue geuen them.  21 As they doe vntil\nthis day to myne elect, so wil I doe, and render in their bosome.  Thus\nsayth our Lord God:  22 My right hand shal not spare sinners, neither\nshal the sword cease vpon them that shede innocent bloud vpon the earth.\n23 Fire came forth from his wrath, and hath deuoured the fundations of\nthe earth, and sinners as it were straw set on fire.  24 Woe to them that\nsinne, and obserue not my comandmentes, sayth our Lord.  25 I wil not\nspare them:  depart o children from the powre.  Defile not my\nsanctification:  26 because the Lord knoweth al that sinne against him;\ntherefore hath he deliuered them into death and into slaughter.  27 For\nnow are euils come vpon the world, and you shal tarrie in them.  For God\nwil not deliuer you, because you haue sinned against him.  28 Behold an\nhorrible vision, and the face of it from the east.  29 And the nations of\ndragons of Arabians shal come forth in manie chariots, & as a winde the\nnumber of them is caried vpon the earth, so that now al doe feare and\ntremble, that shal heare them.  30 the Carmonians madde for anger, and\nthey shal goe forth as wild boares out of the wood, & they shal come with\ngreat power, and shal stand in fight with them, & they shal waste the\nportion of the land of the Assirians.  31 And after these thinges the\ndragons shal preuaile mindful of their natiuitie, and conspiring shal\nturne themselues in great force to pursue them.  32 These shal be trubled\nand hold their peace at their force, and shal turne their fete into\nflight.  33 And from the territorie of the Assirians the besiegers shal\nbeseige them, and shal consume one of them, and there shal be feare and\ntrembling in their armie, and contention against their kinges.  34 Behold\ncloudes from the east, and from the north vnto the south, and their face\nvery horrible, ful of wrath and storme.  35 And they shal beate one\nagainst an other, and they shal beate downe manie starres, and their\nstarre vpon the earth, and bloud shal be from the sword vnto the bellie.\n36 And mans dung vnto the camels litter, and there shal be much feare,\nand trembling vpon the earth.  37 And they shal shake that shal see that\nwrath, and tremble shal take them:  and after these thinges there shal\nmanie showers be moued:  38 from the south, and the north:  and an other\nportion from the weast.  39 And the windes from the east shal reuaile\nvpon it, and shal shut it vp, and the cloudes which he raised in wrath,\nand the starre to make terrour to the east winde, and the west shal be\ndestroyed.  40 And there shal be exalted great and mightie cloudes ful of\nwrath, and a starre to terrifie al the earth, and the inhabitantes\ntherof, and they shal powre in vpon euerie high, and eminent place a\nterrible starre, 41 fire, and haile, and flying swordes, and manie\nwaters, so that al fildes also shal be filled, and al riuers with the\nfulnes of manie waters.  42 And they shal throw downe cities, and walles,\nand mountaines, and hilles, and the trees of the woodes, and the grasse\nof the medowes, and their corne.  43 And they shal passe constant vnto\nBabylon, and shal raise her.  (Apoc 18)  44 They shal come together\nagainst her, and shal compasse her, and shal power out the starre, and al\nwrath vpon her, and the dust and smoke shal goe vp euen into heauen, and\nround about shal lament her.  45 And they that shal remaine vnder her,\nshal serue them that terified her.  46 And thou Asia agreeing into the\nhope of Babylon, and the glorie of her person, 47 woe be to thee thou\nwretch, because thou art like to her, and hast adorned thy daughters in\nfornication, to please & glorie in thy louers, which haue desired alwayes\nto fornicate with thee.  48 Thou hast imitated the odious in al her\nworkes, and in her inuentions:  therefore sayth God:  49 I wil send in\neuils vpon thee, widowhood, pouertie, and famine, and sword, and\npestilence, to destroy thy houses by violation, and death, and glorie of\nthy vertue.  50 As a flower shal be withered, when the heate shal rise\nthat is sent forth vpon thee, 51 thou shalt be weakned as a litle poore\nsoule plaged and chastised of wemen, that the mightie and the louers may\nnot receiue thee.  52 Wil I be zealous against thee sayth our Lord,\n53 vnles thou hadst slayne myne elect at al times, exalting the slaughter\nof the handes, and saying vpon their death, when thou wast drunken.\n54 Adorne the beautie of thy countenance.  55 The reward of thy\nfornication is in thy bosome, therefore thou shalt receiue recompence.\n56 As thou shalt doe to my elect, sayth our Lord, so shal God do to thee,\nand shal deliuer thee vnto euil.  57 And thy children shal dye for\nfamine:  and thou shalt fal by the sword, and thy cities shal be\ndestroyed, & al thyne shal fal in the filde by the sword.  58 And they\nthat are in the mountaines, shal perish, with famine, and shal eate their\nowne flesh, & drinke bloud, for the famine of bread and thirst of waters.\n59 Vnhappie by the seas shalt thou come, and againe thou shalt receuie\neuils.  60 And in the passage they shal beate against the idle citie, and\nshal destroy some portion of thy land, and shal deface part of thy\nglorie, againe returning to Babylon ourethrowen.  61 And being throwen\ndowne thou shalt be to them for stubble, and they shal be to thee fire:\n62 and deuoure thee, and thy cities, thy land, and thy mountaynes, al thy\nwoodes and fruitful trees they wil burne with fire.  63 Thy children they\nshal lead captiue, & shal haue thy goodes for a praye, and the glorie of\nthy face they shal destroy.\n\n\n\nCHAP. XVI.\n\n\nAl are admonished, that extreme calamities shal fal vpon this world,\n36. the penitent returning to iustice shal escape, 55. & as al thinges\nwere made by Gods omnipotent powre at his wil, so al thinges shal serue\nto the reward of the blessed, and punishment of the wicked.\n\nVVOE to thee Babylon & Asia, woe to thee AEgypt, and Syria.  2 Gird\nyourselues with sackclothes and shirtes of heare, & mourne for your\nchildren, & be sorie:  because your destruction is at hand.  3 The sword\nis sent in vpon you, and who is he that can turne it away?  4 Fire is\nsent in vpon you, and who is he that can quench it?  5 Euiles are sent in\nvpon you, and who is he that can repel them?  6 Shal anie man repel the\nlion being hungrie in the woode, or quench the fire in stubble, forthwith\nwhen it beginneth to burne?  7 Shal anie man repel the arrow shot of a\nstrong archer?  8 Our strong Lord sendeth in euiles, and who is he that\ncan repel them?  9 Fire came forth from his wrath, and who is he that can\nquench it?  10 He wil lighten, who shal not feare, he wil thunder, and\nwho shal not be afrayed?  11 Our Lord wil threaten, and who shal not\nvtterly be destroyed before his face?  12 The earth hath trembled, and\nthe fundations thereof, the sea tosseth vp waues from the depth, and the\nfloudes of it shal be destroyed, and the fishes thereof at the face of\nour Lord, and at the glorie of his powre:  13 because his right hand is\nstrong which bendeth the bow, his arrowes be sharpe that are shot of him,\nthey shal not misse, when they shal begine to be shot into the endes of\nthe earth.  14 Behold euiles are sent, and they shal not returne til they\ncome vpon the earth.  15 The fire is kindled and it shal not be quenched,\ntil it consume the fundations of the earth.  16 For as the arrow shot of\na strong archer returneth not, so shal not the euils returne backe, that\nshal be sent vpon the earth.  17 Woe is me, woe is me:  who shal deliuer\nme in those dayes?  18 The beginning of sorrowes and much mourning, the\nbeginning of famine and much destruction.  The beginning of warres and\nthe potestates shal feare, the beginning of euiles and al shal tremble.\n19 In these what shal I doe, when the euils shal come?  20 Behold famine,\nand plague, and tribulation, and distresse are sent al as scourges for\namendment, 21 and in al these they wil not conuert themselues from their\niniquities, neither wil they be alwayes mindful of the scourges.\n22 Behold, there shal be good cheape victuals vpon the earth, so that\nthey may thinke that peace is directly coming toward them, and then shal\neuiles spring vpon the earth, sword, famine, and great confusion.  23 For\nby famine manie that inhabit the earth shal dye, and the sword shal\ndestroy the rest that remained aliue of the famine, 24 and the dead shal\nbe cast forth as dung, and there shal be none to comfort them.  For the\nearth shal be left desert, and the cities therof shal be throwen downe.\n25 There shal not be left a man to til the ground and to sow it.  26 The\ntrees shal yeeld fruites, and who shal gather them?  27 The grape shal\nbecome ripe, & who shal tread it?  For there shal be great desolation to\nplaces.  28 For a man shal desire to see a man, or to heare his voyce.\n29 For there shal be leaft ten of a citie, and two of the field that haue\nhid themselues in thicke woodes, and cliffes of rockes.  30 As there are\nleft in the oliuet, and on euerie tree, three of foure oliues.  31 Or as\nin a vinyeard when it is gathered there are grapes left by them, that\ndiligently search the vineyard:  32 so shal there be left in those dayes\nthree or foure, by them that search their houses in the sword.  33 And\nthe earth shal be left desolate, and the fildes thereof shal waxe old, &\nthe wayes thereof, and al the pathes thereof shal bringforth thornes,\nbecause no man shal passe by it.  34 Virgins shal mourne hauing no\nbridegromes, wemen shal mourne hauing no husbandes, their daughters shal\nmourne hauing no helpe:  35 their bridegromes shal be consumed in battel,\nand their husbandes be destroyed in famine.  36 But heare these thinges,\nand know them ye seruantes of our Lord.  37 Behold the word of our Lord,\nreceiue it:  beleue not the goddes of whom our Lord speaketh.  38 Behold\nthe euiles approch, and slacke not.  39 As a woman with childe when shee\nbringeth forth her child in the ninth moneth, the houre of her\ndeliuerance approching, two or three howres before, paines come about her\nwombe, and the infants coming out of her wombe, they wil not tarrie one\nmoment.  40 So the euiles shal not slacke to come forth vpon the earth,\nand the world shal lament, and sorowes shal hold it round about.\n41 Heare the word, my people:  prepare yourselues vnto the fight, & in\nthe euiles so be ye as strangers of the earth.  42 He that selleth as if\nhe should flee, and he that byeth as he that should lose it.  43 He that\nplayeth the marchant, as he that should take no fruite:  and he that\nbuildeth as he that should not inhabite.  44 He that soweth, as he that\nshal not reape:  so he also that pruneth a vinyeard, as if he should not\nhaue the vintage.  45 They that marie so as if they should not get\nchildren, & they that marie not, so as if were widowes.  46 Wherfore they\nthat labour, labour without cause:  47 for foreners shal reape their\nfruites, & shal violently take their goodes, and ouerthrow their houses,\nand lead theire children captiue, because in captiuitie, and famine they\nbeget their children.  48 And they that play the marchantes by robrie,\nthe longer they adorne their cities and houses, and their possessions and\npersons:  49 so much the more wil I be zealous toward them, vpon their\nsinnes, sayth our Lord.  50 As a whore enuieth an honest & very good\nwoman:  51 so shal iustice hate impietie when she adorneth herselfe, and\naccuseth her to her face, when he shal come that may defend him that\nsearcheth out al vpon the earth.  52 Therefore be not made like to her,\nnor to her workes.  53 For yet a little whyle & iniquitie shal be taken\naway from the earth, & iustice shal reigne ouer you.  54 Let not the\nsinner say he hath not sinned:  because he shal burne coales of fire vpon\nhis head, that sayth I haue not sinned before our Lord God and his\nglorie.  55 Behold our Lord shal know al the workes of men, and their\ninuentions, & their cogitations, and their hartes.  (Eccli 23 / Luke 16)\n56 For he sayd:  Let the earth be made, and it was made:  let the heauen\nbe made, & it was made.  (Gen 1)  57 And by his worde the starrs were\nmade, & he noweth the number of the starres.  (Ps 146:4)  58 Who\nsearcheth the depth and the treasures therof:  who hath measured the sea,\n& capacitie therof.  (Job 38)  59 Who hath shut vp the sea in the midest\nof waters, & hath hanged the earth vpon the waters with his word.  60 Who\nhath spred heauen as it were a vault, ouer the waters he hath founded it.\n61 Who hath put fountaines of waters in the desert, and lakes vpon the\ntoppes of mountaines, to send forth riuers from the high rocke to watter\nthe earth.  62 Who made man & put his hart in the midds of the bodie, and\ngaue him spirit, life and vnderstanding.  63 And the inspiration of God\nomnipotent that made al thinges, and searcheth al hid thinges, in the\nsecretes of the earth.  64 He knoweth your inuention, and what you thinke\nin your hartes sinning, and willing to hide your sinnes.  65 Wherfore our\nLord in searching hath searched al your workes, and he wil put you al to\nopen shame, 66 and you shal be confounded when your sinnes shal come\nforth before men, and the iniquities shal be they, that shal stand\naccusers in that day.  67 What wil you doe?  or how shal you hide your\nsinnes before God and his Angels?  68 Behold God is the Iudge, feare him.\nCease from your sinnes, and now forget your iniquities to doe them anie\nmore, & God wil bring you out, and deliuer you from al tribulation.\n69 For behold the heate of a great multitude is kindled ouer you, and\nthey shal take certaine of you by violence, & shal make the slaine to be\nmeate for idols.  70 And they that shal consent vnto them, shal be to\nthem in derision, and in reproch, and in conculcation.  71 For there shal\nbe place against places, and against the next cities great insurrection\nvpon them that feare our Lord.  72 They shal be as it were madde sparing\nno bodie, to spoyle and waste yet them that feare our Lord.  73 because\nthey shal waste and spoyle the goodes, and shal cast them out of their\nhouses.  74 Then shal appeare the probation of mine elect, as gold that\nis proued by the fire.  75 Heare be beloued, sayth our Lord:  Behold the\ndayes of tribulation are come:  and out of them I wil deliuer you.\n76 Doe not feare, nor stagger, because God is your guide.  77 And he that\nkepeth my commandmentes, and precepts, sayth our Lord God:  Let not your\nsinnes ouerway you, nor your inquities be aduanced ouer you.  78 Woe to\nthem that are entangled with their sinnes, and are couered with their\niniquities, as a filde is entangled with the wood, & the path therof\ncouered with thornes, by which no man passeth, & it is closed out, & cast\nto be deuoured of the fire.\n\nFINIS.\n\n\n\nNote:  This translation comes from the Latin text, usually printed in an\nappendix to editions of the Vulgate, but these editions miss seventy\nverses between 7:35 and 7:36.  The missing fragment was discovered in a\nLatin manuscript by Robert Lubbock Bensly in 1874.  Below is a\ntranslation of this fragment from a revised Authorized Version.\nAlthough often numbered 7:36-7:105, they are here number as A:1-A:70 to\navoid any repetition in chapter:verse designations.\n\nA:1. And the pit of torment shall appear, and over against it shall be\nthe place of rest:  and the furnace of hell shall be shewed, and over\nagainst it the paradise of delight.\nA:2. And then shall the Most High say to the nations that are raised from\nthe dead, See ye and understand whom ye have denied, or whom ye have not\nserved, or whose commandments ye have despised.\nA:3. Look on this side and on that:  here is delight and rest, and there\nfire and torments.  Thus shall he speak unto them in the day of\njudgement:\nA:4. This is a day that hath neither sun, nor moon, nor stars,\nA:5. neither cloud, nor thunder, nor lightning, neither wind, nor water,\nnor air, neither darkness, nor evening, nor morning,\nA:6. neither summer, nor spring, nor heat, nor winter, neither frost, nor\ncold, nor hail, nor rain, nor dew,\nA:7. neither noon, nor night, nor dawn, neither shining, nor brightness,\nnor light, save only the splendour of the glory of the Most High, whereby\nall shall see the things that are set before them:\nA:8. for it shall endure as it were a week of years.\nA:9. This is my judgement and the ordinance thereof; but to thee only\nhave I shewed these things.\nA:10. And I answered, I said even then, O Lord, and I say now:  Blessed\nare they that be now alive and keep the statutes ordained of thee.\nA:11. But as touching them for whom my prayer was made, what shall I say?\nfor who is there of them that be alive that hath not sinned, and who of\nthe sons of men that hath not transgressed thy covenant?\nA:12. And now I see, that the world to come shall bring delight to few,\nbut torments unto many.\nA:13. For an evil heart hath grown up in us, which hath led us astray\nfrom these statutes, and hath brought us into corruption and into the\nways of death, hath shewed us the paths of perdition and removed us far\nfrom life; and that, not a few only, but well nigh all that have been\ncreated.\nA:14. And he answered me, and said, Hearken unto me, and I will instruct\nthee; and I will admonish thee yet again:\nA:15. for this cause the Most High hath not made one world, but two.\nA:16. For whereas thou hast said that the just are not many, but few, and\nthe ungodly abound, hear the answer thereunto.\nA:17. If thou have choice stones exceeding few, wilt thou set for thee\nover against them according to their number things of lead and clay?\nA:18. And I say, Lord, how shall this be?\nA:19. And he said unto me, Not only this, but ask the earth, and she\nshall tell thee; intreat her, and she shall declare unto thee.\nA:20. For thou shalt say unto her, Thou bringest forth gold and silver\nand brass, and iron also and lead and clay:\nA:21. but silver is more abundant than gold, and brass than silver, and\niron than brass, lead than iron, and clay than lead.\nA:22. Judge thou therefore which things are precious and to be desired,\nwhatso is abundant or what is rare.\nA:23. And I said, O Lord that bearest rule, that which is plentiful is of\nless worth, for that which is more rare is more precious.\nA:24. And he answered me, and said, Weigh within thyself the things that\nthou hast thought, for he that hath what is hard to get rejoiceth over\nhim that hath what is plentiful.\nA:25. So also is the judgement which I have promised:  for I will rejoice\nover the few that shall be saved, inasmuch as these are they that have\nmade my glory now to prevail, and of whom my name is now named.\nA:26. And I will not grieve over the multitude of them that perish; for\nthese are they that are now like unto vapour, and are become as flame and\nsmoke; they are set on fire and burn hotly, and are quenched.\nA:27. And I answered and said, O thou earth, wherefore hast thou brought\nforth, if the mind is made out of dust, like as all other created things?\nA:28. For it were better that the dust itself had been unborn, so that\nthe mind might not have been made therefrom.\nA:29. But now the mind groweth with us, and by reason of this we are\ntormented, because we perish and know it.\nA:30. Let the race of men lament and the beasts of the field be glad; let\nall that are born lament, but let the fourfooted beasts and the cattle\nrejoice.\nA:31. For it is far better with them than with us; for they look not for\njudgement, neither do they know of torments or of salvation promised unto\nthem after death.\nA:32. For what doth it profit us, that we shall be preserved alive, but\nyet be afflicted with torment?\nA:33. For all that are born are defiled with iniquities, and are full of\nsins and laden with offences:\nA:34. and if after death we were not to come into judgement, peradventure\nit had been better for us.\nA:35. And he answered me, and said, When the Most High made the world,\nand Adam and all them that came of him, he first prepared the judgement\nand the things that pertain unto the judgement.\nA:36. And now understand from thine own words, for thou hast said that\nthe mind groweth with us.\nA:37. They therefore that dwell upon the earth shall be tormented for\nthis reason, that having understanding they have wrought iniquity, and\nreceiving commandments have not kept them, and having obtained a law they\ndealt unfaithfully with that which they received.\nA:38. What then will they have to say in the judgement, or how will they\nanswer in the last times?\nA:39. For how great a time hath the Most High been longsuffering with\nthem that inhabit the world, and not for their sakes, but because of the\ntimes which he hath foreordained!\nA:40. And I answered and said, If I have found grace in thy sight, O\nLord, shew this also unto thy servant, whether after death, even now when\nevery one of us giveth up his soul, we shall be kept in rest until those\ntimes come, in which thou shalt renew the creation, of whether we shall\nbe tormented forthwith.\nA:41. And he answered me, and said, I will shew thee this also; but join\nnot thyself with them that are scorners, nor number thyself with them\nthat are tormented.\nA:42. For thou hast a treasure of good works laid up with the Most High,\nbut it shall not be shewed thee until the last times.\nA:43. For concerning death the teaching is:  When the determinate\nsentence hath gone forth from the Most High that a man should die, as the\nspirit leaveth the body to return again to him who gave it, it adoreth\nthe glory of the Most High first of all.\nA:44. And if it be one of those that have been scorners and have not kept\nthe way of the Most High, and that have despised his law, and that hate\nthem that fear God,\nA:45. these spirits shall not enter into habitations, but shall wander\nand be in torments forthwith, ever grieving and sad, in seven ways.\nA:46. The first way, because they have despised the law of the Most High.\nA:47. The second way, because they cannot now make a good returning that\nthey may live.\nA:48. The third way, they shall see the reward laid up for them that have\nbelieved the covenants of the Most High.\nA:49. The fourth way, they shall consider the torment laid up for\nthemselves in the last days.\nA:50. The fifth way, they shall see the dwelling places of the others\nguarded by angels, with great quietness.\nA:51. The sixth way, they shall see how forthwith some of them shall pass\ninto torment.\nA:52. The seventh way, which is more grievous than all the aforesaid\nways, because they shall pine away in confusion and be consumed with\nshame, and shall be withered up by fears, seeing the glory of the Most\nHigh before whom they have sinned whilst living, and before whom they\nshall be judged in the last times.\nA:53. Now this is the order of those who have kept the ways of the Most\nHigh, when they shall be separated from the corruptible vessel.\nA:54. In the time that they dwelt therin they painfully served the Most\nHigh, and were in jeopardy every hour, that they might keep the law of\nthe lawgiver perfectly.\nA:55. Wherefore this is the teaching concerning them:\nA:56. First of all they shall see with great joy the glory of him who\ntaketh them up, for they shall have rest in seven orders.\nA:57. The first order, because they have striven with great labour to\novercome the evil thought which was fashioned together with them, that it\nmight not lead them astray from life into death.\nA:58. The second order, because they see the perplexity in which the\nsouls of the ungodly wander, and the punishment that awaiteth them.\nA:59. The third order, they see the witness which he that fashioned them\nbeareth concerning them, that while they lived they kept the law which\nwas given them in trust.\nA:60. The fourth order, they understand the rest which, being gathered in\ntheir chambers, they now enjoy with great quietness, guarded by angels,\nand the glory that awaiteth them in the last days.\nA:61. The fifth order, they rejoice, seeing how they have now escaped\nfrom that which is corruptible, and how they shall inherit that which is\nto come, while they see moreover the straitness and the painfulness from\nwhich they have been delivered, and the large room which they shall\nreceive with joy and immortality.\nA:62. The sixth order, when it is shewed unto them how their face shall\nshine as the sun, and how they shall be made like unto the light of the\nstars, being henceforth incorruptible.\nA:63. The seventh order, which is greater than all the aforesaid orders,\nbecause they shall rejoice with confidence, and because they shall be\nbold without confusion, and shall be glad without fear, for they hasten\nto behold the face of him whom in their lifetime they served, and from\nwhom they shall receive their reward in glory.\nA:64. This is the order of the souls of the just, as from henceforth is\nannounced unto them, and aforesaid are the ways of torture which they\nthat would not give heed shall suffer from henceforth.\nA:65. And I answered and said, Shall time therefore be given unto the\nsouls after they are separated from the bodies, that they may see that\nwhereof thou hast spoken unto me?\nA:66. And he said, Their freedom shall be for seven days, that for seven\ndays they may see the things whereof thou hast been told, and afterwards\nthey shall be gathered together in their habitations.\nA:67. And I answered and said, If I have found favour in thy sight, shew\nfurther unto me thy servant whether in the day of judgement the just will\nbe able to intercede for the ungodly or to intreat the Most High for\nthem,\nA:68. whether fathers for children, or children for parents, or brethren\nfor brethren, or kinsfolk for their next of kin, or friends for them that\nare most dear.\nA:69. And he answered me, and said, Since thou hast found favour in my\nsight, I will shew thee this also:  The day of judgement is a day of\ndecision, and displayeth unto all the seal of truth; even as now a father\nsendeth not his son, or a son his father, or a master his slave, or a\nfriend him that is most dear, that in his stead he may be sick, or sleep,\nor eat, or be healed:\nA:70. so never shall any one pray for another in that day, neither shall\none lay a burden on another, for then shall all bear every one his own\nrighteousness or unrighteousness.\n\n\n\n\n\nBOOK FOR COMPARISON\n\n\n\n\nTHE PROPHECIE OF ABDIAS.\n\n\n\nABDIAS borne in Sichem, of the tribe Ephraim, prophecied the same time\nwith Amos; so briefly that his prophecie is not parted into chapters:\n1. against the Idumeans; foreshewing their destruction; 10. for their\nperpetual emnitie against the Iewes, and confederacie with the Chaldees.\n17. The captiuitie and relaxation of the Iewes.  19. And redemption of\nthe whole world by Christ.\n\n\nTHE vision of Abdias.  Thus sayth our Lord God to Edom:  We haue heard a\nbruit from our Lord, and he hath sent a legate to the Gentils:  Rise ye,\nand let vs arise against him into battel.  2 Behold I haue geuen thee a\nlitle one in the Gentils:  thou art contemptible excedingly.  3 The pride\nof thy hart hath extolled thee, dwelling in the clefts of rockes,\nexalting thy throne:  which sayst in thy hart:  Who shal plucke me downe\nto the earth.  4 If thou shalt be exalted as an eagle, and if thou shalt\nset thy nest among the starres:  thence wil I plucke thee downe, sayth\nour Lord.  5 If theues had gone in to thee, if robbers by night, how\nhadst thou held thy peace.  would not they haue stolen thinges sufficent\nfor themselues.  if the grape gathereres had entered in to thee, would\nthey not haue left thee at the least a cluster.  6 How haue they searched\nEsau, haue they sought out his hidden thinges.  7 Euen to the border haue\nthey cast thee out:  al the men of thy league haue mocked thee:  the men\nof thy peace haue peuailed against thee:  they that eate with thee, shal\nlay embushments vnder thee:  there is no wisedom in him.  8 Why, shal not\nI in that day, sayth our Lord, destroy the wise out of Idumea, and\nprudence from the mount of Esau, 9 And thy valients of the South shal\nfeare, that man may perish from the mount of Esau.  10 For the slaughter,\nand for the iniquitie against thy brother Iacob, confusion shal couer\nthee, and thou shalt perish for euer.  11 In the day when thou stoodest\nagainst him, when strangers tooke his armie, and foreners entered his\ngates, and vpon Ierusalem cast lotte:  thou also wast as one of them.\n12 And thou shalt not dispise in the day of thy brother, in the day of\nhis peregrination:  and thou shalt not reioyce ouer the children of Iuda,\nin the day of their perdition:  & thou shalt not magnifie thy mouth in\nthe day of distresse.  13 Neither shalt thou enter the gate of my people\nin the day of their ruine:  neither shalt thou also dispise in his euils\nin the day of his distruction:  and thou shalt not be sent out against\nhis armie in the day of his destruction.  14 Neither shalt thou stand in\nthe outgoings to kil them that flee:  and thou shalt not shut vp his\nremnant in the day of tribulation.  15 Because the day of our Lord is at\nhand vpon al nations:  as thou hast done, so shal it be done to thee:\nthy retribution he wil returne vpon thine owne head.  16 For as you haue\ndrunke vpon my holie mount, shal al Gentils drinke continually:  & they\nshal drinke, and swallow vp, and they shal be as though they were not.\n17 And in mount Sion shal be saluation, and it shal be holie:  and the\nhouse of Iacob shal possesse those that had possessed them.  18 And the\nhouse of Iacob shal be a fyre, and the house of Ioseph a flame, and the\nhouse of Esau stubble:  and they shal be kindled in them, and shal\ndeuoure them:  and there shal be no remaynes of the house of Esau,\nbecause our Lord hath spoken.  19 And they that are toward the South,\nshal inherite the mount of Esau, and they in the champaine countries,\nPhilisthiims:  and they shal possesse the region of Ephraim, and the\nregion of Samaria:  and Beniamin shal possesse Galaad.  20 And the\ntransmigration of this host of the children of Israel, al places of the\nChananeits euen to Sarepta:  and the transmigration of Ierusalem, that is\nin Bosphorus, shal possesse the cities of the South.  21 And sauiours\nshal ascend into mount Sion to iudge the mount of Esau:  and the kingdom\nshal be to our Lord.","title":"The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Old Testament \u2014 Part 2","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":416316}