8:1Who is like the wise man? and to whom is the sense of anything clear? A man's wisdom makes his face shining, and his hard face will be changed. 8:2I say to you, Keep the king's law, from respect for the oath of God. 8:3Be not quick to go from before him. Be not fixed in an evil design, because he does whatever is pleasing to him. 8:4The word of a king has authority; and who may say to him, What is this you are doing? 8:5Whoever keeps the law will come to no evil: and a wise man's heart has knowledge of time and of decision. 8:6For every purpose there is a time and a decision, because the sorrow of man is great in him. 8:7No one is certain what is to be, and who is able to say to him when it will be? 8:8No man has authority over the wind, to keep the wind; or is ruler over the day of his death. In war no man's time is free, and evil will not keep the sinner safe. 8:9All this have I seen, and have given my heart to all the work which is done under the sun: there is a time when man has power over man for his destruction. 8:10And then I saw evil men put to rest, taken even from the holy place; and they went about and were praised in the town because of what they had done. This again is to no purpose. 8:11Because punishment for an evil work comes not quickly, the minds of the sons of men are fully given to doing evil. 8:12Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and his life is long, I am certain that it will be well for those who go in fear of God and are in fear before him. 8:13But it will not be well for the evil-doer; he will not make his days long like a shade, because he has no fear before God. 8:14There is a thing which is to no purpose done on the earth: that there are good men to whom is given the same punishment as those who are evil, and there are evil men who get the reward of the good. I say that this again is to no purpose. 8:15So I gave praise to joy, because there is nothing better for a man to do under the sun than to take meat and drink and be happy; for that will be with him in his work all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun. 8:16When I gave my mind to the knowledge of wisdom and to seeing the business which is done on the earth (and there are those whose eyes see not sleep by day or by night), 8:17Then I saw all the work of God, and that man may not get knowledge of the work which is done under the sun; because, if a man gives hard work to the search he will not get knowledge, and even if the wise man seems to be coming to the end of his search, still he will be without knowledge.
9:1All this I took to heart, and my heart saw it all: that the upright and the wise and their works are in the hand of God; and men may not be certain if it will be love or hate; all is to no purpose before them. 9:2Because to all there is one event, to the upright man and to the evil, to the clean and to the unclean, to him who makes an offering and to him who makes no offering; as is the good so is the sinner; he who takes an oath is as he who has fear of it. 9:3This is evil in all things which are done under the sun: that there is one fate for all, and the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil; while they have life their hearts are foolish, and after that--to the dead. 9:4For him who is joined to all the living there is hope; a living dog is better than a dead lion. 9:5The living are conscious that death will come to them, but the dead are not conscious of anything, and they no longer have a reward, because there is no memory of them. 9:6Their love and their hate and their envy are now ended; and they have no longer a part for ever in anything which is done under the sun. 9:7Come, take your bread with joy, and your wine with a glad heart. God has taken pleasure in your works. 9:8Let your clothing be white at all times, and let not your head be without oil. 9:9Have joy with the woman of your love all the days of your foolish life which he gives you under the sun. Because that is your part in life and in your work which you do under the sun. 9:10Whatever comes to your hand to do with all your power, do it because there is no work, or thought, or knowledge, or wisdom in the place of the dead to which you are going. 9:11And again I saw under the sun that the reward goes not to him who is quick, or the fruits of war to the strong; and there is no bread for the wise, or wealth for men of learning, or respect for those who have knowledge; but time and chance come to all. 9:12Even man has no knowledge of his time; like fishes taken in an evil net, or like birds taken by deceit, are the sons of men taken in an evil time when it comes suddenly on them. 9:13This again I have seen under the sun as wisdom and it seemed great to me. 9:14There was a little town and the number of its men was small, and there came a great king against it and made an attack on it, building works of war round about it. 9:15Now there was in the town a poor, wise man, and he, by his wisdom, kept the town safe. But no one had any memory of that same poor man. 9:16Then I said, Wisdom is better than strength, but the poor man's wisdom is not respected, and his words are not given a hearing. 9:17The words of the wise which come quietly to the ear are noted more than the cry of a ruler among the foolish. 9:18Wisdom is better than instruments of war, but one sinner is the destruction of much good.
10:1Dead flies make the oil of the perfumer give out an evil smell; more valued is a little wisdom than the great glory of the foolish. 10:2The heart of the wise man goes in the right direction; but the heart of a foolish man in the wrong. 10:3And when the foolish man is walking in the way, he has no sense and lets everyone see that he is foolish. 10:4If the wrath of the ruler is against you, keep in your place; in him who keeps quiet even great sins may be overlooked. 10:5There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, like an error which comes by chance from a ruler: 10:6The foolish are placed in high positions, but men of wealth are kept low. 10:7I have seen servants on horses, and rulers walking on the earth as servants. 10:8He who makes a hole for others will himself go into it, and for him who makes a hole through a wall the bite of a snake will be a punishment. 10:9He who gets out stones from the earth will be damaged by them, and in the cutting of wood there is danger. 10:10If the iron has no edge, and he does not make it sharp, then he has to put out more strength; but wisdom makes things go well. 10:11If a snake gives a bite before the word of power is said, then there is no longer any use in the word of power. 10:12The words of a wise man's mouth are sweet to all, but the lips of a foolish man are his destruction. 10:13The first words of his mouth are foolish, and the end of his talk is evil crime. 10:14The foolish are full of words; man has no knowledge of what will be; and who is able to say what will be after him? 10:15The work of the foolish will be a weariness to him, because he has no knowledge of the way to the town. 10:16Unhappy is the land whose king is a boy, and whose rulers are feasting in the morning. 10:17Happy is the land whose ruler is of noble birth, and whose chiefs take food at the right time, for strength and not for feasting. 10:18When no work is done the roof goes in, and when the hands do nothing water comes into the house. 10:19A feast is for laughing, and wine makes glad the heart; but by the one and the other money is wasted. 10:20Say not a curse against the king, even in your thoughts; and even secretly say not a curse against the man of wealth; because a bird of the air will take the voice, and that which has wings will give news of it.
11:1Put out your bread on the face of the waters; for after a long time it will come back to you again. 11:2Give a part to seven or even to eight, because you have no knowledge of the evil which will be on the earth. 11:3If the clouds are full of rain, they send it down on the earth; and if a tree comes down to the south, or the north, in whatever place it comes down, there it will be. 11:4He who is watching the wind will not get the seed planted, and he who is looking at the clouds will not get in the grain. 11:5As you have no knowledge of the way of the wind, or of the growth of the bones in the body of her who is with child, even so you have no knowledge of the works of God who has made all. 11:6In the morning put your seed into the earth, and till the evening let not your hand be at rest; because you are not certain which will do well, this or that--or if the two will be equally good. 11:7Truly the light is sweet, and it is good for the eyes to see the sun. 11:8But even if a man's life is long and he has joy in all his years, let him keep in mind the dark days, because they will be great in number. Whatever may come is to no purpose. 11:9Have joy, O young man, while you are young; and let your heart be glad in the days of your strength, and go in the ways of your heart, and in the desire of your eyes; but be certain that for all these things God will be your judge. 11:10So put away trouble from your heart, and sorrow from your flesh; because the early years and the best years are to no purpose.
12:1Let your mind be turned to your Maker in the days of your strength, while the evil days come not, and the years are far away when you will say, I have no pleasure in them; 12:2While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, are not dark, and the clouds come not back after the rain; 12:3In the day when the keepers of the house are shaking for fear, and the strong men are bent down, and the women who were crushing the grain are at rest because their number is small, and those looking out of the windows are unable to see; 12:4When the doors are shut in the street, and the sound of the crushing is low, and the voice of the bird is soft, and the daughters of music will be made low; 12:5And he is in fear of that which is high, and danger is in the road, and the tree is white with flower, and the least thing is a weight, and desire is at an end, because man goes to his last resting-place, and those who are sorrowing are in the streets; 12:6Before ever the silver cord is cut, or the vessel of gold is broken, or the pot is broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the water-hole; 12:7And the dust goes back to the earth as it was, and the spirit goes back to God who gave it. 12:8All things are to no purpose, says the Preacher, all is to no purpose. 12:9And because the Preacher was wise he still gave the people knowledge; searching out, testing, and putting in order a great number of wise sayings. 12:10The Preacher made search for words which were pleasing, but his writing was in words upright and true. 12:11The words of the wise are pointed, and sayings grouped together are like nails fixed with a hammer; they are given by one guide. 12:12And further, my son, take note of this: of the making of books there is no end, and much learning is a weariness to the flesh. 12:13This is the last word. All has been said. Have fear of God and keep his laws; because this is right for every man. 12:14God will be judge of every work, with every secret thing, good or evil.
Song of Solomon
1:1The song of Songs, which is Solomon's. 1:2Let him give me the kisses of his mouth: for his love is better than wine. 1:3Sweet is the smell of your perfumes; your name is as perfume running out; so the young girls give you their love. 1:4Take me to you, and we will go after you: the king has taken me into his house. We will be glad and full of joy in you, we will give more thought to your love than to wine: rightly are they your lovers. 1:5I am dark, but fair of form, O daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. 1:6Let not your eyes be turned on me, because I am dark, because I was looked on by the sun; my mother's children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vine-gardens; but my vine-garden I have not kept. 1:7Say, O love of my soul, where you give food to your flock, and where you make them take their rest in the heat of the day; why have I to be as one wandering by the flocks of your friends? 1:8If you have not knowledge, O most beautiful among women, go on your way in the footsteps of the flock, and give your young goats food by the tents of the keepers. 1:9I have made a comparison of you, O my love, to a horse in Pharaoh's carriages. 1:10Your face is a delight with rings of hair, your neck with chains of jewels. 1:11We will make you chains of gold with ornaments of silver. 1:12While the king is seated at his table, my spices send out their perfume. 1:13As a bag of myrrh is my well-loved one to me, when he is at rest all night between my breasts. 1:14My love is to me as a branch of the cypress-tree in the vine-gardens of En-gedi. 1:15See, you are fair, my love, you are fair; you have the eyes of a dove. 1:16See, you are fair, my loved one, and a pleasure; our bed is green. 1:17Cedar-trees are the pillars of our house; and our boards are made of fir-trees.
2:1I am a rose of Sharon, a flower of the valleys. 2:2As the lily-flower among the thorns of the waste, so is my love among the daughters. 2:3As the apple-tree among the trees of the wood, so is my loved one among the sons. I took my rest under his shade with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. 2:4He took me to the house of wine, and his flag over me was love. 2:5Make me strong with wine-cakes, let me be comforted with apples; I am overcome with love. 2:6His left hand is under my head, and his right hand is round about me. 2:7I say to you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes of the field, do not let love be moved till it is ready. 2:8The voice of my loved one! See, he comes dancing on the mountains, stepping quickly on the hills. 2:9My loved one is like a roe; see, he is on the other side of our wall, he is looking in at the windows, letting himself be seen through the spaces. 2:10My loved one said to me, Get up, my love, my fair one, and come away. 2:11For, see, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; 2:12The flowers are come on the earth; the time of cutting the vines is come, and the voice of the dove is sounding in our land; 2:13The fig-tree puts out her green fruit and the vines with their young fruit give a good smell. Get up from your bed, my beautiful one, and come away. 2:14O my dove, you are in the holes of the mountain sides, in the cracks of the high hills; let me see your face, let your voice come to my ears; for sweet is your voice, and your face is fair. 2:15Take for us the foxes, the little foxes, which do damage to the vines; our vines have young grapes. 2:16My loved one is mine, and I am his: he takes his food among the flowers. 2:17Till the evening comes, and the sky slowly becomes dark, come, my loved one, and be like a roe on the mountains of Bether.
3:1By night on my bed I was looking for him who is the love of my soul: I was looking for him, but I did not see him. 3:2I will get up now and go about the town, in the streets and in the wide ways I will go after him who is the love of my soul: I went after him, but I did not see him. 3:3The watchmen who go about the town came by me; to them I said, Have you seen him who is my heart's desire? 3:4I was but a little way from them, when I came face to face with him who is the love of my soul. I took him by the hands, and did not let him go, till I had taken him into my mother's house, and into the room of her who gave me birth. 3:5I say to you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes of the field, let not love be moved till it is ready. 3:6Who is this coming out of the waste places like pillars of smoke, perfumed with sweet spices, with all the spices of the trader? 3:7See, it is the bed of Solomon; sixty men of war are about it, of the army of Israel, 3:8All of them armed with swords, trained in war; every man has his sword at his side, because of fear in the night. 3:9King Solomon made himself a bed of the wood of Lebanon. 3:10He made its pillars of silver, its base of gold, its seat of purple, the middle of it of ebony. 3:11Go out, O daughters of Jerusalem, and see King Solomon, with the crown which his mother put on his head on the day when he was married, and on the day of the joy of his heart.
4:1See, you are fair, my love, you are fair; you have the eyes of a dove; your hair is as a flock of goats, which take their rest on the side of Gilead. 4:2Your teeth are like a flock of sheep whose wool is newly cut, which come up from the washing; every one has two lambs, and there is not one without young. 4:3Your red lips are like a bright thread, and your mouth is fair of form; the sides of your head are like pomegranate fruit under your veil. 4:4Your neck is like the tower of David made for a store-house of arms, in which a thousand breastplates are hanging, breastplates for fighting-men. 4:5Your two breasts are like two young roes of the same birth, which take their food among the lilies. 4:6Till the evening comes, and the sky slowly becomes dark, I will go to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense. 4:7You are all fair, my love; there is no mark on you. 4:8Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, with me from Lebanon; see from the top of Amana, from the top of Senir and Hermon, from the places of the lions, from the mountains of the leopards. 4:9You have taken away my heart, my sister, my bride; you have taken away my heart, with one look you have taken it, with one chain of your neck! 4:10How fair is your love, my sister! How much better is your love than wine, and the smell of your oils than any perfume! 4:11Your lips are dropping honey; honey and milk are under your tongue; and the smell of your clothing is like the smell of Lebanon. 4:12A garden walled-in is my sister, my bride; a garden shut up, a spring of water stopped. 4:13The produce of the garden is pomegranates; with all the best fruits, henna and spikenard, 4:14Spikenard and safron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices. 4:15You are a fountain of gardens, a spring of living waters, and flowing waters from Lebanon. 4:16Be awake, O north wind; and come, O south, blowing on my garden, so that its spices may come out. Let my loved one come into his garden, and take of his good fruits.
5:1I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; to take my myrrh with my spice; my wax with my honey; my wine with my milk. Take meat, O friends; take wine, yes, be overcome with love. 5:2I am sleeping, but my heart is awake; it is the sound of my loved one at the door, saying, Be open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my very beautiful one; my head is wet with dew, and my hair with the drops of the night. 5:3I have put off my coat; how may I put it on? My feet are washed; how may I make them unclean? 5:4My loved one put his hand on the door, and my heart was moved for him. 5:5I got up to let my loved one in; and my hands were dropping with myrrh, and my fingers with liquid myrrh, on the lock of the door. 5:6I made the door open to my loved one; but my loved one had taken himself away, and was gone, my soul was feeble when his back was turned on me; I went after him, but I did not come near him; I said his name, but he gave me no answer. 5:7The keepers who go about the town overtook me; they gave me blows and wounds; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me. 5:8I say to you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you see my loved one, what will you say to him? That I am overcome with love. 5:9What is your loved one more than another, O fairest among women? What is your loved one more than another, that you say this to us? 5:10My loved one is white and red, the chief among ten thousand. 5:11His head is as the most delicate gold; his hair is thick, and black as a raven. 5:12His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the water streams, washed with milk, and rightly placed. 5:13His face is as beds of spices, giving out perfumes of every sort; his lips like lilies, dropping liquid myrrh. 5:14His hands are as rings of gold ornamented with beryl-stones; his body is as a smooth plate of ivory covered with sapphires. 5:15His legs are as pillars of stone on a base of delicate gold; his looks are as Lebanon, beautiful as the cedar-tree. 5:16His mouth is most sweet; yes, he is all beautiful. This is my loved one, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.
6:1Where is your loved one gone, O most fair among women? Where is your loved one turned away, that we may go looking for him with you? 6:2My loved one is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to take food in the gardens, and to get lilies. 6:3I am for my loved one, and my loved one is for me; he takes food among the lilies. 6:4You are beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, as fair as Jerusalem; you are to be feared like an army with flags. 6:5Let your eyes be turned away from me; see, they have overcome me; your hair is as a flock of goats which take their rest on the side of Gilead. 6:6Your teeth are like a flock of sheep which come up from the washing; every one has two lambs, and there is not one without young. 6:7Like pomegranate fruit are the sides of your head under your veil. 6:8There are sixty queens, and eighty servant-wives, and young girls without number. 6:9My dove, my very beautiful one, is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the dearest one of her who gave her birth. The daughters saw her, and gave her a blessing; yes, the queens and the servant-wives, and they gave her praises. 6:10Who is she, looking down as the morning light, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, who is to be feared like an army with flags? 6:11I went down into the garden of nuts to see the green plants of the valley, and to see if the vine was in bud, and the pomegranate-trees were in flower. 6:12Before I was conscious of it, ... 6:13Come back, come back, O Shulammite; come back, come back, so that our eyes may see you. What will you see in the Shulammite? A sword-dance.
7:1How beautiful are your feet in their shoes, O king's daughter! The curves of your legs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a good workman: 7:2Your stomach is a store of grain with lilies round it, and in the middle a round cup full of wine. 7:3Your two breasts are like two young roes of the same birth. 7:4Your neck is as a tower of ivory; your eyes like the waters in Heshbon, by the doorway of Bath-rabbim; your nose is as the tower on Lebanon looking over Damascus: 7:5Your head is like Carmel, and the hair of your head is like purple, in whose net the king is prisoner. 7:6How beautiful and how sweet you are, O love, for delight. 7:7You are tall like a palm-tree, and your breasts are like the fruit of the vine. 7:8I said, Let me go up the palm-tree, and let me take its branches in my hands: your breasts will be as the fruit of the vine, and the smell of your breath like apples; 7:9And the roof of your mouth like good wine flowing down smoothly for my loved one, moving gently over my lips and my teeth. 7:10I am for my loved one, and his desire is for me. 7:11Come, my loved one, let us go out into the field; let us take rest among the cypress-trees. 7:12Let us go out early to the vine-gardens; let us see if the vine is in bud, if it has put out its young fruit, and the pomegranate is in flower. There I will give you my love. 7:13The mandrakes give out a sweet smell, and at our doors are all sorts of good fruits, new and old, which I have kept for my loved one.
8:1Oh that you were my brother, who took milk from my mother's breasts! When I came to you in the street, I would give you kisses; yes, I would not be looked down on. 8:2I would take you by the hand into my mother's house, and she would be my teacher. I would give you drink of spiced wine, drink of the pomegranate. 8:3His left hand would be under my head, and his right hand about me. 8:4I say to you, O daughters of Jerusalem, do not let love be moved till it is ready. 8:5Who is this, who comes up from the waste places, resting on her loved one? It was I who made you awake under the apple-tree, where your mother gave you birth; there she was in pain at your birth. 8:6Put me as a sign on your heart, as a sign on your arm; love is strong as death, and wrath bitter as the underworld: its coals are coals of fire; violent are its flames. 8:7Much water may not put out love, or the deep waters overcome it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would be judged a price not great enough. 8:8We have a young sister, and she has no breasts; what are we to do for our sister in the day when she is given to a man? 8:9If she is a wall, we will make on her a strong base of silver; and if she is a door, we will let her be shut up with cedar-wood. 8:10I am a wall, and my breasts are like towers; then was I in his eyes as one to whom good chance had come. 8:11Solomon had a vine-garden at Baal-hamon; he let out the vine-garden to keepers; every one had to give a thousand bits of silver for its fruit. 8:12My vine-garden, which is mine, is before me: you, O Solomon, will have the thousand, and those who keep the fruit of them two hundred. 8:13You who have your resting-place in the gardens, the friends give ear to your voice; make me give ear to it. 8:14Come quickly, my loved one, and be like a roe on the mountains of spice.
Isaiah
1:1The vision of Isaiah, the son of Amoz, which he saw about Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. 1:2Give ear, O heavens, and you, O earth, to the word which the Lord has said: I have taken care of my children till they became men, but their hearts have been turned away from me. 1:3Even the ox has knowledge of its owner, and the ass of the place where its master puts its food: but Israel has no knowledge, my people give no thought to me. 1:4O nation full of sin, a people weighted down with crime, a generation of evil-doers, false-hearted children: they have gone away from the Lord, they have no respect for the Holy One of Israel, their hearts are turned back from him. 1:5Why will you have more and more punishment? why keep on in your evil ways? Every head is tired and every heart is feeble. 1:6The body, from head to foot, is all diseased; it is a mass of open wounds, marks of blows, and broken flesh: the flow of blood has not been stopped, and no oil has been put on the wounds. 1:7Your country has become waste; your towns are burned with fire; as for your land, it is overturned before your eyes, made waste and overcome by men from strange lands. 1:8And the daughter of Zion has become like a tent in a vine-garden, like a watchman's house in a field of fruit, like a town shut in by armies. 1:9If the Lord of armies had not kept some at least of us safe, we would have been like Sodom, and the fate of Gomorrah would have been ours. 1:10Give ear to the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; let your hearts be turned to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah. 1:11What use to me is the number of the offerings which you give me? says the Lord; your burned offerings of sheep, and the best parts of fat cattle, are a weariness to me; I take no pleasure in the blood of oxen, or of lambs, or of he-goats. 1:12At whose request do you come before me, making my house unclean with your feet? 1:13Give me no more false offerings; the smoke of burning flesh is disgusting to me, so are your new moons and Sabbaths and your holy meetings. 1:14Your new moons and your regular feasts are a grief to my soul: they are a weight in my spirit; I am crushed under them. 1:15And when your hands are stretched out to me, my eyes will be turned away from you: even though you go on making prayers, I will not give ear: your hands are full of blood. 1:16Be washed, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes; let there be an end of sinning; 1:17Take pleasure in well-doing; let your ways be upright, keep down the cruel, give a right decision for the child who has no father, see to the cause of the widow. 1:18Come now, and let us have an argument together, says the Lord: how may your sins which are red like blood be white as snow? how may their dark purple seem like wool? 1:19If you will give ear to my word and do it, the good things of the land will be yours; 1:20But if your hearts are turned against me, I will send destruction on you by the sword; so the Lord has said. 1:21The upright town has become untrue; there was a time when her judges gave right decisions, when righteousness had a resting-place in her, but now she is full of those who take men's lives. 1:22Your silver is no longer true metal, your wine is mixed with water. 1:23Your chiefs have gone against the Lord, they have become friends of thieves; every one of them is looking for profit and going after rewards; they do not give right decisions for the child who has no father, and they do not let the cause of the widow come before them. 1:24For this reason the Lord, the Lord of armies, the Strong One of Israel, has said, I will put an end to my haters, and send punishment on those who are against me; 1:25And my hand will again be on you, washing away what is unclean as with soap, and taking away all your false metal; 1:26And I will give you judges again as at the first, and wise guides as in the past; then you will be named, The Town of Righteousness, the true town. 1:27Upright acts will be the price of Zion's forgiveness, and by righteousness will men be living there. 1:28But a common destruction will overtake sinners and evil-doers together, and those who have gone away from the Lord will be cut off. 1:29For you will be put to shame because of the trees of your desire, and because of the gardens of your pleasure. 1:30For you will be like a tree whose leaves have become dry, and like a garden without water. 1:31And the strong will be as food for the fire, and his work as a flame; and they will be burned together, with no one to put out the fire.
2:1The word which Isaiah, the son of Amoz, saw about Judah and Jerusalem. 2:2And it will come about in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord will be placed on the top of the mountains, and be lifted up over the hills; and all nations will come to it. 2:3And the peoples will say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob: and he will give us knowledge of his ways, and we will be guided by his word; for out of Zion the law will go out, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 2:4And he will be the judge between the nations, and the peoples will be ruled by his decisions: and their swords will be turned into plough-blades, and their spears into vine-knives: no longer will the nations be turning their swords against one another, and the knowledge of war will be gone for ever. 2:5O family of Jacob, come, and let us go in the light of the Lord. 2:6For you, O Lord, have given up your people, the family of Jacob, because they are full of the evil ways of the east, and make use of secret arts like the Philistines, and are friends with the children of strange countries. 2:7And their land is full of silver and gold, and there is no end to their stores; their land is full of horses, and there is no end to their carriages. 2:8Their land is full of images; they give worship to the work of their hands, even to that which their fingers have made. 2:9And the poor man's head is bent, and the great man goes down on his face: for this cause there will be no forgiveness for their sin. 2:10Go into a hole in the rock, covering yourselves with dust, in fear of the Lord, before the glory of his power. 2:11The high looks of man will be put to shame, and the pride of men will be made low, and only the Lord will be lifted up in that day. 2:12For the day of the Lord of armies is coming on all the pride of men, and on all who are high and lifted up; 2:13And on all the high trees of Lebanon, and on all the strong trees of Bashan; 2:14And on all the high mountains, and on all the hills which are lifted up; 2:15And on every high tower, and on every strong wall; 2:16And on all the ships of Tarshish, and on all the fair boats. 2:17And the high looks of man will be put to shame, and the pride of men will be made low: and only the Lord will be lifted up in that day. 2:18And the images will never be seen again. 2:19And men will go into cracks of the rocks, and into holes of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and before the glory of his power, when he comes out of his place, shaking the earth with his strength. 2:20In that day men will put their images of silver and of gold, which they made for worship, in the keeping of the beasts of the dark places; 2:21To take cover in the cracks of the rocks, and in the holes of the hills, for fear of the Lord, and before the glory of his power, when he comes out of his place, shaking the earth with his strength. 2:22Have no more to do with man, whose life is only a breath, for he is of no value.
3:1For the Lord, the Lord of armies, is about to take away from Jerusalem and from Judah all their support; their store of bread and of water; 3:2The strong man and the man of war; the judge and the prophet; the man who has knowledge of secret arts, and the man who is wise because of his years; 3:3The captain of fifty, and the man of high position, and the wise guide, and the wonder-worker, and he who makes use of secret powers. 3:4And I will make children their chiefs, and foolish ones will have rule over them. 3:5And the people will be crushed, every one by his neighbour; the young will be full of pride against the old, and those of low position will be lifted up against the noble. 3:6When one man puts his hand on another in his father's house, and says, You have clothing, be our ruler and be responsible for us in our sad condition: 3:7Then he will say with an oath, I will not be a helper, for in my house there is no bread or clothing: I will not let you make me a ruler of the people. 3:8For Jerusalem has become feeble, and destruction has come on Judah, because their words and their acts are against the Lord, moving the eyes of his glory to wrath. 3:9Their respect for a man's position is a witness against them; and their sin is open to the view of all; like that of Sodom, it is not covered. A curse on their soul! for the measure of their sin is full. 3:10Happy is the upright man! for he will have joy of the fruit of his ways. 3:11Unhappy is the sinner! for the reward of his evil doings will come on him. 3:12As for my people, their ruler is acting like a child, and those who have authority over them are women. O my people, your guides are the cause of your wandering, turning your footsteps out of the right way. 3:13The Lord is ready to take up his cause against his people, and is about to come forward as their judge. 3:14The Lord comes to be the judge of their responsible men and of their rulers: it is you who have made waste the vine-garden, and in your houses is the property of the poor which you have taken by force. 3:15By what right are you crushing my people, and putting a bitter yoke on the necks of the poor? This is the word of the Lord, the Lord of armies. 3:16Again, the Lord has said, Because the daughters of Zion are full of pride, and go with outstretched necks and wandering eyes, with their foot-chains sounding when they go: 3:17The Lord will send disease on the heads of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will let their secret parts be seen. 3:18In that day the Lord will take away the glory of their foot-rings, and their sun-jewels, and their moon-ornaments, 3:19The ear-rings, and the chains, and the delicate clothing, 3:20The head-bands, and the arm-chains, and the worked bands, and the perfume-boxes, and the jewels with secret powers, 3:21The rings, and the nose-jewels, 3:22The feast-day dresses, and the robes, and the wide skirts, and the handbags, 3:23The looking-glasses, and the fair linen, and the high head-dresses, and the veils. 3:24And in the place of sweet spices will be an evil smell, and for a fair band a thick cord; for a well-dressed head there will be the cutting-off of the hair, and for a beautiful robe there will be the clothing of sorrow; the mark of the prisoner in place of the ornaments of the free. 3:25Your men will be put to the sword, and your men of war will come to destruction in the fight. 3:26And in the public places of her towns will be sorrow and weeping; and she will be seated on the earth, waste and uncovered.
4:1And in that day seven women will put their hands on one man, saying, There will be no need for you to give us food or clothing, only let us go under your name, so that our shame may be taken away. 4:2In that day will the young growth of the Lord be beautiful in glory, and the fruit of the earth will be the pride of those who are still living in Israel. 4:3And it will come about that the rest of the living in Zion, and of those who have been kept from destruction in Jerusalem, will be named holy, even everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem: 4:4When Zion has been washed from her sin by the Lord, and Jerusalem made clean from her blood by a judging and a burning wind. 4:5And over every living-place on Mount Zion, all over all her meetings, the Lord will make a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night, for over all, the glory of the Lord will be a cover and a tent; 4:6And a shade in the daytime from the heat, and a safe cover from storm and from rain.
5:1Let me make a song about my loved one, a song of love for his vine-garden. My loved one had a vine-garden on a fertile hill: 5:2And after working the earth of it with a spade, he took away its stones, and put in it a very special vine; and he put up a watchtower in the middle of it, hollowing out in the rock a place for the grape-crushing; and he was hoping that it would give the best grapes, but it gave common grapes. 5:3And now, you people of Jerusalem and you men of Judah, be the judges between me and my vine-garden. 5:4Is there anything which might have been done for my vine-garden which I have not done? why then, when I was hoping for the best grapes did it give me common grapes? 5:5And now, this is what I will do to my vine-garden: I will take away the circle of thorns round it, and it will be burned up; its wall will be broken down and the beasts of the field will go through it; 5:6And I will make it waste; its branches will not be touched with the knife, or the earth worked with the spade; but blackberries and thorns will come up in it: and I will give orders to the clouds not to send rain on it. 5:7For the vine-garden of the Lord of armies is the people of Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant of his delight: and he was looking for upright judging, and there was blood; for righteousness, and there was a cry for help. 5:8Cursed are those who are joining house to house, and putting field to field, till there is no more living-space for any but themselves in all the land! 5:9The Lord of armies has said to me secretly, Truly, numbers of great and fair houses will be waste, with no one living in them. 5:10For ten fields of vines will only give one measure of wine, and a great amount of seed will only give a small measure of grain. 5:11Cursed are those who get up early in the morning to give themselves up to strong drink; who keep on drinking far into the night till they are heated with wine! 5:12And corded instruments and wind-instruments and wine are in their feasts: but they give no thought to the work of the Lord, and they are not interested in what his hands are doing. 5:13For this cause my people are taken away as prisoners into strange countries for need of knowledge: and their rulers are wasted for need of food, and their loud-voiced feasters are dry for need of water. 5:14For this cause the underworld has made wide its throat, opening its mouth without limit: and her glory, and the noise of her masses, and her loud-voiced feasters, will go down into it. 5:15And the poor man's head is bent, and the great man goes down on his face, and the eyes of pride are put to shame: 5:16But the Lord of armies is lifted up as judge, and the Holy God is seen to be holy in righteousness. 5:17Then the lambs will get food as in their grass-lands, and the fat cattle will be feasting in the waste places. 5:18Cursed are those who make use of ox-cords for pulling the evil thing, and the bands of a young ox for their sin! 5:19Who say, Let him do his work quickly, let him make it sudden, so that we may see it: let the design of the Holy One of Israel come near, so that it may be clear to us. 5:20Cursed are those who give the name of good to evil, and of evil to what is good: who make light dark, and dark light: who make bitter sweet, and sweet bitter! 5:21Cursed are those who seem wise to themselves, and who take pride in their knowledge! 5:22Cursed are those who are strong to take wine, and great in making mixed drinks! 5:23Who for a reward give support to the cause of the sinner, and who take away the righteousness of the upright from him. 5:24For this cause, as the waste of the grain is burned up by tongues of fire, and as the dry grass goes down before the flame, so their root will be like the dry stems of grain, and their flower will go up in dust: because they have gone against the law of the Lord of armies, and have given no honour to the word of the Holy One of Israel. 5:25For this reason the wrath of the Lord has been burning against his people, and his hand has been stretched out against them in punishment, and the hills were shaking, and their dead bodies were like waste in the open places of the town. 5:26And he will let a flag be lifted up as a sign to a far-off nation, whistling to them from the ends of the earth: and they will come quickly and suddenly. 5:27There is no weariness among them, and no man is feeble-footed: they come without resting or sleeping, and the cord of their shoes is not broken. 5:28Their arrows are sharp, and every bow is bent: the feet of their horses are like rock, and their wheels are like a rushing storm. 5:29The sound of their armies will be like the voice of a lion, and their war-cry like the noise of young lions: with loud cries they will come down on their food and will take it away safely, and there will be no one to take it out of their hands. 5:30And his voice will be loud over him in that day like the sounding of the sea: and if a man's eyes are turned to the earth, it is all dark and full of trouble; and the light is made dark by thick clouds.