And God made man, according to the image of God he made him, male and female he made them.

And God blessed them, saying, Increase and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the seas and flying creatures of heaven, and all the cattle and all the earth, and all the reptiles that creep on the earth.

And God said, Behold I have given to you every seed-bearing herb sowing seed which is upon all the earth, and every tree which has in itself the fruit of seed that is sown, to you it shall be for food. And to all the wild beasts of the earth, and to all the flying creatures of heaven, and to every reptile creeping on the earth, which has in itself the breath of life, even every green plant for food; and it was so. (Genesis 1:27-30 Brenton)

And Noe built an altar to the Lord, and took of all clean beasts, and of all clean birds, and offered a whole burnt-offering upon the altar. And the Lord God smelled a smell of sweetness, and the Lord God having considered, said, I will not any more curse the earth, because of the works of men, because the imagination of man is intently bent upon evil things from his youth, I will not therefore any more smite all living flesh as I have done. All the days of the earth, seed and harvest, cold and heat, summer and spring, shall not cease by day or night. (Genesis 8:20-22 Brenton)

And God blessed Noe and his sons, and said to them, Increase and multiply, and fill the earth and have dominion over it. And the dread and the fear of you shall be upon all the wild beasts of the earth, on all the birds of the sky, and on all things moving upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea, I have placed them under you power. And every reptile which is living shall be to you for meat, I have given all things to you as the green herbs. But flesh with blood of life ye shall not eat.

For your blood of your lives will I require at the hand of all wild beasts, and I will require the life of man at the hand of his brother man. He that sheds man's blood, instead of that blood shall his own be shed, for in the image of God I made man. But do ye increase and multiply, and fill the earth, and have dominion over it.

And God spoke to Noe, and to his sons with him, saying, And behold I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you, and with every living creature with you, of birds and of beasts, and with all the wild beasts of the earth, as many as are with you, of all that come out of the ark. And I will establish my covenant with you and all flesh shall not any more die by the water of the flood, and there shall no more be a flood of water to destroy all the earth.

And the Lord God said to Noe, This is the sign of the covenant which I set between me and you, and between every living creature which is with you for perpetual generations. I set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of covenant between me and the earth.

And it shall be when I gather clouds upon the earth, that my bow shall be seen in the cloud. And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you, and between every living soul in all flesh, and there shall no longer be water for a deluge, so as to blot out all flesh. And my bow shall be in the cloud, and I will look to remember the everlasting covenant between me and the earth, and between every living soul in all flesh, which is upon the earth. And God said to Noe, This is the sign of the covenant, which I have made between me and all flesh, which is upon the earth. (Genesis 9:1-17 Brenton)

And the Lord said to Abram, Go forth out of thy land and out of thy kindred, and out of the house of thy father, and come into the land which I will shew thee.

And I will make thee a great nation, and I will bless thee and magnify thy name, and thou shalt be blessed. And I will bless those that bless thee, and curse those that curse thee, and in thee shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed.

And Abram went as the Lord spoke to him, and Lot departed with him, and Abram was seventy-five years old, when he went out of Charrhan. And Abram took Sara his wife, and Lot the son of his brother, and all their possessions, as many as they had got, and every soul which they had got in Charrhan, and they went forth to go into the land of Chanaan.

And Abram traversed the land lengthwise as far as the place Sychem, to the high oak, and the Chananites then inhabited the land. And the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, I will give this land to thy seed. And Abram built an altar there to the Lord who appeared to him. (Genesis 12:1-7 Brenton)

And after these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram, I shield thee, thy reward shall be very great. And Abram said, Master and Lord, what wilt thou give me? whereas I am departing without a child, but the son of Masek my home-born female slave, this Eliezer of Damascus is mine heir. And Abram said, I am grieved since thou hast given me no seed, but my home-born servant shall succeed me.

And immediately there was a voice of the Lord to him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come out of thee shall be thine heir. And he brought him out and said to him, Look up now to heaven, and count the stars, if thou shalt be able to number them fully, and he said, Thus shall thy seed be. And Abram believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness.

And he said to him, I am God that brought thee out of the land of the Chaldeans, so as to give thee this land to inherit. And he said, Master and Lord, how shall I know that I shall inherit it? And he said to him, Take for me an heifer in her third year, and a she-goat in her third year, and a ram in his third year, and a dove and a pigeon.

So he took to him all these, and divided them in the midst, and set them opposite to each other, but the birds he did not divide. And birds came down upon the bodies, even upon the divided parts of them, and Abram sat down by them. And about sunset a trance fell upon Abram, and lo! a great gloomy terror falls upon him.

And it was said to Abram, Thou shalt surely know that thy seed shall be a sojourner in a land not their own, and they shall enslave them, and afflict them, and humble them four hundred years. And the nation whomsoever they shall serve I will judge; and after this, they shall come forth hither with much property. But thou shalt depart to thy fathers in peace, nourished in a good old age. And in the fourth generation they shall return hither, for the sins of the Amorites are not yet filled up, even until now.

And when the sun was about to set, there was a flame, and behold a smoking furnace and lamps of fire, which passed between these divided pieces. In that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, To thy seed I will give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates. The Kenites, and the Kenezites, and the Kedmoneans, and the Chettites, and the Pherezites, and the Raphaim, and the Amorites, and the Chananites, and the Evites, and the Gergesites, and the Jebusites. (Genesis 15:1-21 Brenton)

And Abram was ninety-nine years old, and the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, I am thy God, be well-pleasing before me, and be blameless. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and I will multiply thee exceedingly.

And Abram fell upon his face, and God spoke to him, saying, And I, behold! my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of a multitude of nations. And thy name shall no more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraam, for I have made thee a father of many nations. And I will increase thee very exceedingly, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.

And I will establish my covenant between thee and thy seed after thee, to their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be thy God, and the God of thy seed after thee. And I will give to thee and to thy seed after thee the land wherein thou sojournest, even all the land of Chanaan for an everlasting possession, and I will be to them a God.

And God said to Abraam, Thou also shalt fully keep my covenant, thou and thy seed after thee for their generations. And this is the covenant which thou shalt fully keep between me and you, and between thy seed after thee for their generations; every male of you shall be circumcised. And ye shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between me and you.

And the child of eight days old shall be circumcised by you, every male throughout your generations, and the servant born in the house and he that is bought with money, of every son of a stranger, who is not of thy seed. He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with money shall be surely circumcised, and my covenant shall be on your flesh for an everlasting covenant.

And the uncircumcised male, who shall not be circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin on the eighth day, that soul shall be utterly destroyed from its family, for he has broken my covenant. (Genesis 17:1-14 Brenton)

And God said to Abraam, Sara thy wife—her name shall not be called Sara, Sarrha shall be her name. And I will bless her, and give thee a son of her, and I will bless him, and he shall become nations, and kings of nations shall be of him.

And Abraam fell upon his face, and laughed; and spoke in his heart, saying, Shall there be a child to one who is a hundred years old, and shall Sarrha who is ninety years old, bear? And Abraam said to God, Let this Ismael live before thee.

And God said to Abraam, Yea, behold, Sarrha thy wife shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name Isaac; and I will establish my covenant with him, for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to him and to his seed after him.

And concerning Ismael, behold, I have heard thee, and, behold, I have blessed him, and will increase him and multiply him exceedingly; twelve nations shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarrha shall bear to thee at this time, in the next year.

And he left off speaking with him, and God went up from Abraam. (Genesis 17:15-22 Brenton)

And there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine, which was in the time of Abraam; and Isaac went to Abimelech the king of the Phylistines to Gerara. And the Lord appeared to him and said, Go not down to Egypt, but dwell in the land, which I shall tell thee of. And sojourn in this land; and I will be with thee, and bless thee, for I will give to thee and to thy seed all this land; and I will establish my oath which I swore to thy father Abraam. And I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven; and I will give to thy seed all this land, and all the nations of the earth shall be blest in thy seed. Because Abraam thy father hearkened to my voice, and kept my injunctions, and my commandments, and my ordinances, and my statutes. (Genesis 26:1-5 Brenton)

And Jacob went forth from the well of the oath, and departed into Charrhan. And came to a certain place and slept there, for the sun had gone down; and he took one of the stones of the place, and put it at his head, and lay down to sleep in that place, and dreamed, and behold a ladder fixed on the earth, whose top reached to heaven, and the angels of God ascended and descended on it.

And the Lord stood upon it, and said, I am the God of thy father Abraam, and the God of Isaac; fear not, the land on which thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed. And thy seed shall be as the sand of the earth; and it shall spread abroad to the sea, and the south, and the north, and to the east; and in thee and in thy seed shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed. And behold I am with thee to preserve thee continually in all the way wherein thou shalt go; and I will bring thee back to this land; for I will not desert thee, until I have done all that I have said to thee.

And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and said, The Lord is in this place, and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How fearful is this place! this is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.

And Jacob rose up in the morning, and took the stone he had laid there by his head, and he set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on the top of it. And he called the name of that place, the House of God; and the name of the city before was Ulam-luz. And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If the Lord God will be with me, and guard me throughout on this journey, on which I am going, and give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, and bring me back in safety to the house of my father, then shall the Lord be for a God to me. And this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be to me a house of God; and of all whatsoever thou shalt give me, I will tithe a tenth for thee. (Genesis 28:10-22 Brenton)

And he rose up in that night, and took his two wives and his two servant-maids, and his eleven children, and crossed over the ford of Jaboch. And he took them, and passed over the torrent, and brought over all his possessions.

And Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him till the morning. And he saw that he prevailed not against him; and he touched the broad part of his thigh, and the broad part of Jacob's thigh was benumbed in his wrestling with him. And he said to him, Let me go, for the day has dawned; but he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. And he said to him, What is thy name? and he answered, Jacob. And he said to him, Thy name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name; for thou hast prevailed with God, and shalt be mighty with men.

And Jacob asked and said, Tell me thy name; and he said, Wherefore dost thou ask after my name? and he blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of that place, the Face of God; for, said he, I have seen God face to face, and my life was preserved. And the sun rose upon him, when he passed the Face of God; and he halted upon his thigh.

Therefore the children of Israel will by no means eat of the sinew which was benumbed, which is on the broad part of the thigh, until this day, because the angel touched the broad part of the thigh of Jacob—even the sinew which was benumbed. (Genesis 32:22-32 Brenton)


And God said to Jacob, Arise, go up to the place, Baethel, and dwell there; and make there an altar to the God that appeared to thee, when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.

And Jacob said to his house, and to all that were with him, Remove the strange gods that are with you from the midst of you, and purify yourselves, and change your clothes. And let us rise and go up to Baethel, and let us there make an alter to God who hearkened to me in the day of calamity, who was with me, and preserved me throughout in the journey, by which I went.

And they gave to Jacob the strange gods, which were in their hands, and the ear-rings which were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the turpentine tree which is in Secima, and destroyed them to this day. So Israel departed from Secima, and the fear of God was upon the cities round about them, and they did not pursue after the children of Israel.

And Jacob came to Luza, which is in the land of Chanaan, which is Baethel, he and all the people that were with him. And he built there an altar, and called the name of the place Baethel; for there God appeared to him, when he fled from the face of his brother Esau. And Deborrha, Rebecca's nurse, died, and was buried below Baethel under the oak; and Jacob called its name, The Oak of Mourning.

And God appeared to Jacob once more in Luza, when he came out of Mesopotamia of Syria, and God blessed him. And God said to him, Thy name shall not be called Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name; and he called his name Israel. And God said to him, I am thy God; increase and multiply; for nations and gatherings of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins. And the land which I gave to Abraam and Isaac, I have given it to thee; and it shall come to pass that I will give this land also to thy seed after thee.

And God went up from him from the place where he spoke with him. And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where God spoke with him, even a pillar of stone; and offered a libation upon it, and poured oil upon it. And Jacob called the name of the place in which God spoke with him, Baethel. (Genesis 35:1-15 Brenton)

And Jacob called his sons, and said to them, Assemble yourselves, that I may tell you what shall happen to you in the last days. Gather yourselves together, and hear me, sons of Jacob; hear Israel, hear your father.

Ruben, thou art my first-born, thou my strength, and the first of my children, hard to be endured, hard and self-willed. Thou wast insolent like water, burst not forth with violence, for thou wentest up to the bed of thy father; then thou defiledst the couch, whereupon thou wentest up.

Symeon and Levi, brethren, accomplished the injustice of their cutting off. Let not my soul come into their counsel, and let not mine inward parts contend in their conspiracy, for in their wrath they slew men, and in their passion they houghed a bull. Cursed be their wrath, for it was willful, and their anger, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.

Juda, thy brethren have praised thee, and thy hands shall be on the back of thine enemies; thy father's sons shall do thee reverence. Juda is a lion's whelp: from the tender plant, my son, thou art gone up, having couched thou liest as a lion, and as a whelp; who shall stir him up? A ruler shall not fail from Juda, nor a prince from his loins, until there come the things stored up for him; and he is the expectation of nations. Binding his foal to the vine, and the foal of his ass to the branch of it, he shall wash his robe in wine, and his garment in the blood of the grape. His eyes shall be more cheering than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk. (Genesis 49:1-12 Brenton)

And it came to pass when the king sat in his house, and the Lord had given him an inheritance on every side free from all his enemies round about him; that the king said to Nathan the prophet, Behold now, I live in a house of cedar, and the ark of the Lord dwells in the midst of a tent. And Nathan said to the king, Go and do all that is in thine heart, for the Lord is with thee.

And it came to pass in that night, that the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, Go, and say to my servant David, Thus says the Lord, Thou shalt not build me a house for me to dwell in. For I have not dwelt in a house from the day that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt to this day, but I have been walking in a lodge and in a tent, wheresoever I went with all Israel. Have I ever spoken to any of the tribes of Israel, which I commanded to tend my people Israel, saying, Why have ye not built me a house of Cedar?

And now thus shalt thou say to my servant David, Thus says the Lord Almighty, I took thee from the sheep-cote, that thou shouldest be a prince over my people, over Israel. And I was with thee wheresoever thou wentest, and I destroyed all thine enemies before thee, and I made thee renowned according to the renown of the great ones on the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, and they shall dwell by themselves, and shall be no more distressed; and the son of iniquity shall no more afflict them, as he has done from the beginning, from the days when I appointed judges over my people Israel: and I will give thee rest from all thine enemies, and the Lord will tell thee that thou shalt build a house to him.

And it shall come to pass when thy days shall have been fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, even thine own issue, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build for me a house to my name, and I will set up his throne even for ever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. And when he happens to transgress, then will I chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the sons of men. But my mercy I will not take from him, as I took it from those whom I removed from my presence. And his house shall be made sure, and his kingdom for ever before me, and his throne shall be set up for ever.

According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David. (2 Samuel 7:1-17 Brenton)


And now, O my Lord, the Almighty Lord God of Israel, confirm the word for ever which thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and his house: and now as thou hast said, Let thy name be magnified for ever. Almighty Lord God of Israel, thou hast uncovered the ear of thy servant, saying, I will build thee a house: therefore thy servant has found in his heart to pray this prayer to thee.

And now, O Lord my Lord, thou art God; and thy words will be true, and thou hast spoken these good things concerning thy servant. And now begin and bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee; for thou, O Lord, my Lord, hast spoken, and the house of thy servant shall be blessed with thy blessing so as to continue for ever. (2 Samuel 7:25-29 Brenton)


And it came to pass as David dwelt in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Behold, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under curtains of skins. And Nathan said to David, Do all that is in thy heart; for God is with thee. And it came to pass in that night, that the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, Go and say to David my servant, Thus said the Lord, Thou shalt not build me a house for me to dwell in it. For I have not dwelt in a house from the day that I brought up Israel until this day, but I have been in a tabernacle and a tent, in all places through which I have gone with all Israel: did I ever speak to any one tribe of Israel whom I commanded to feed my people, saying, Why is it that ye have not built me a house of cedar?

And now thus shalt thou say to my servant David, Thus saith the Lord Almighty, I took thee from the sheepfold, from following the flocks, to be a ruler over my people Israel: and I was with thee in all places whither thou wentest, and I destroyed all thine enemies from before thee, and I made for thee a name according to the name of the great ones that are upon the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and I will plant him, and he shall dwell by himself, and shall no longer be anxious; and the son of iniquity shall no longer afflict him, as at the beginning, and from the days when I appointed judges over my people Israel. Also I have humbled all thine enemies, and I will increase thee, and the Lord will build thee a house. (1 Chronicles 17:1-10 Brenton)

And it shall come to pass when thy days shall be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build me a house, and I will set up his throne for ever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son: and my mercy will I not withdraw from him, as I withdrew it from them that were before thee. And I will establish him in my house and in his kingdom for ever; and his throne shall be set up for ever.

According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so spoke Nathan to David. (1 Chronicles 17:11-15 Brenton)

Concerning the Land of Bondage

To Abram

And it was said to Abram, Thou shalt surely know that thy seed shall be a sojourner in a land not their own, and they shall enslave them, and afflict them, and humble them four hundred years. And the nation whomsoever they shall serve I will judge; and after this, they shall come forth hither with much property. But thou shalt depart to thy fathers in peace, nourished in a good old age. And in the fourth generation they shall return hither, for the sins of the Amorites are not yet filled up, even until now. (Genesis 15:13-14 Brention)

To the Children of Israel

Go, speak to the children of Israel, saying, I am the Lord; and I will lead you forth from the tyranny of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from bondage, and I will ransom you with a high arm, and great judgment. And I will take you to me a people for myself, and will be your God; and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the tyranny of the Egyptians. And I will bring you into the land concerning which I stretched out my hand to give it to Abraam and Isaac and Jacob, and I will give it you for an inheritance: I am the Lord. (Exodus 6:6-8 Brenton)

Concerning the Promised Land

When Going Forth in War

And if ye shall go forth to war in your land against your enemies that are opposed to you, then shall ye sound with the trumpets; and ye shall be had in remembrance before the Lord, and ye shall be saved from your enemies. (Numbers 10:9 Brenton)


And if thou shouldest go forth to war against thine enemies, and shouldest see horse, and rider, and a people more numerous than thyself; thou shalt not be afraid of them, for the Lord thy God is with thee, who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

And it shall come to pass whenever thou shalt draw nigh to battle, that the priest shall draw nigh and speak to the people, and shall say to them, Hear, O Israel; ye are going this day to battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint, fear not, neither be confounded, neither turn aside from their face. For it is the Lord your God who advances with you, to fight with you against your enemies, and to save you. (Deuteronomy 20:1-4 Brenton)

And it shall come to pass, if thou wilt indeed hear the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and do all these commands, which I charge thee this day, that the Lord thy God shall set thee on high above all the nations of the earth; and all these blessings shall come upon thee, and shall find thee.

If thou wilt indeed hear the voice of the Lord thy God, blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the offspring of thy body, and the fruits of thy land, and the herds of thy oxen, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy barns, and thy stores. Blessed shalt thou be in thy coming in, and blessed shalt thou be in thy going out. The Lord deliver thine enemies that withstand thee utterly broken before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and they shall flee seven ways from before thee. The Lord send upon thee his blessing in thy barns, and on all on which thou shalt put thine hand, in the land which the Lord thy God gives thee.

The Lord raise thee up for himself a holy people, as he sware to thy fathers; if thou wilt hear the voice of the Lord thy God, and walk in all his ways. And all the nations of the earth shall see thee, that the name of the Lord is called upon thee, and they shall stand in awe of thee.

And the Lord thy God shall multiply thee for good in the offspring of thy body, and in the offspring of thy cattle, and in the fruits of thy land, on thy land which the Lord sware to thy fathers to give to thee. May the Lord open to thee his good treasure, the heaven, to give rain to thy land in season: may he bless all the works of thy hands: so shalt thou lend to many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over thee.

The Lord thy God make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt then be above and thou shalt not be below, if thou wilt hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, in all things that I charge thee this day to observe. Thou shalt not turn aside from any of the commandments, which I charge thee this day, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. (Deuteronomy 28:1-14 Brenton)

But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe all his commandments, as many as I charge thee this day, then all these curses shall come on thee, and overtake thee.

Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. Cursed shall be thy barns and thy stores. Cursed shall be the offspring of thy body, and the fruits of thy land, the herds of thine oxen, and the flocks of thy sheep. Cursed shalt thou be in thy coming in, and cursed shalt thou be in thy going out.

The Lord send upon thee want, and famine, and consumption of all things on which thou shalt put thy hand, until he shall have utterly destroyed thee, and until he shall have consumed thee quickly because of thine evil devices, because thou hast forsaken me. The Lord cause the pestilence to cleave to thee, until he shall have consumed thee off the land into which thou goest to inherit it. The Lord smite thee with distress, and fever, and cold, and inflammation, and blighting, and paleness, and they shall pursue thee until they have destroyed thee. And thou shalt have over thine head a sky of brass, and the earth under thee shall be iron. The Lord thy God make the rain of thy land dust; and dust shall come down from heaven, until it shall have destroyed thee, and until it shall have quickly consumed thee.

The Lord give thee up for slaughter before thine enemies: thou shalt go out against them one way, and flee from their face seven ways; and thou shalt be a dispersion in all the kingdoms of the earth. And your dead men shall be food to the birds of the sky, and to the beasts of the earth; and there shall be none to scare them away. The Lord smite thee with the botch of Egypt in the seat, and with a malignant scab, and itch, so that thou canst not be healed. The Lord smite thee with insanity, and blindness, and astonishment of mind. And thou shalt grope at mid-day, as a blind man would grope in the darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways; and then thou shalt be unjustly treated, and plundered continually, and there shall be no helper.

[T]hou shalt take a wife, and another man shall have her; thou shalt build a house, and thou shalt not dwell in it; thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes of it. Thy calf shall be slain before thee, and thou shalt not eat of it; thine ass shall be violently taken away from thee, and shall not be restored to thee: thy sheep shall be given to thine enemies, and thou shalt have no helper. Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given to another nation, and thine eyes wasting away shall look for them: thine hand shall have no strength. A nation which thou knowest not shall eat the produce of thy land, and all thy labours; and thou shalt be injured and crushed always. And thou shalt be distracted, because of the sights of thine eyes which thou shalt see. The Lord smite thee with an evil sore, on the knees and the legs, so that thou shalt not be able to be healed from the sole of thy foot to the crown of thy head.

The Lord carry away thee and thy princes, whom thou shalt set over thee, to a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers know; and thou shalt there serve other gods, wood and stone. An thou shalt be there for a wonder, and a parable, and a tale, among all the nations, to which the Lord thy God shall carry thee away. Thou shalt carry forth much seed into the field, and thou shalt bring in little, because the locust shall devour it. Thou shalt plant a vineyard, and dress it, and shalt not drink the wine, neither shalt thou delight thyself with it, because the worm shall devour it. Thou shalt have olive trees in all thy borders, and thou shalt not anoint thee with oil, because thine olive shall utterly cast its fruit. Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, and they shall not be thine, for they shall depart into captivity. All thy trees and the fruits of thy land shall the blight consume. The stranger that is within thee shall get up very high, and thou shalt come down very low. He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.

And all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and shall overtake thee, until he shall have consumed thee, and until he shall have destroyed thee; because thou didst not hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commands, and his ordinances which he has commanded thee.

And these things shall be signs in thee, and wonders among thy seed for ever; because thou didst not serve the Lord thy God with gladness and a good heart, because of the abundance of all things. And thou shalt serve thine enemies, which the Lord will send forth against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in the want of all things; and thou shalt wear upon thy neck a yoke of iron until he shall have destroyed thee.

The Lord shall bring upon thee a nation from the extremity of the earth, like the swift flying of an eagle, a nation whose voice thou shalt not understand; a nation bold in countenance, which shall not respect the person of the aged and shall not pity the young. And it shall eat up the young of thy cattle, and the fruits of thy land, so as not to leave to thee corn, wine, oil, the herds of thine oxen, and the flocks of thy sheep, until it shall have destroyed thee; and have utterly crushed thee in thy cities, until the high and strong walls be destroyed, in which thou trustest, in all thy land; and it shall afflict thee in thy cities, which he has given to thee.

And thou shalt eat the fruit of thy body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, all that he has given thee, in thy straitness and thy affliction, with which thine enemy shall afflict thee. He that is tender and very delicate within thee shall look with an evil eye upon his brother, and the wife in his bosom, and the children that are left, which may have been left to him; so as not to give to one of them of the flesh of his children, whom he shall eat, because of his having nothing left him in thy straitness, and in thy affliction, with which thine enemies shall afflict thee in all thy cities. And she that is tender and delicate among you, whose foot has not assayed to go upon the earth for delicacy and tenderness, shall look with an evil eye on her husband in her bosom, and her son and her daughter, and her offspring that comes out between her feet, and the child which she shall bear; for she shall eat them because of the want of all things, secretly in thy straitness, and in thy affliction, with which thine enemy shall afflict thee in thy cities.

If thou wilt not hearken to do all the words of this law, which have been written in this book, to fear this glorious and wonderful name, the Lord thy God; then the Lord shall magnify thy plagues, and the plagues of thy seed, great and wonderful plagues, and evil and abiding diseases. And he shall bring upon thee all the evil pain of Egypt, of which thou wast afraid, and they shall cleave to thee. And the Lord shall bring upon thee every sickness, and every plague that is not written, and every one that is written in the book of this law, until he shall have destroyed thee. And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of the sky in multitude; because thou didst not hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God.

And it shall come to pass that as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you, so the Lord will rejoice over you to destroy you; and ye shall be quickly removed from the land, into which ye go to inherit it. And the Lord thy God shall scatter thee among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other; and thou shalt there serve other gods, wood and stone, which thou hast not known, nor thy fathers.

Moreover among those nations he will not give thee quiet, neither by any means shall the sole of thy foot have rest; and the Lord shall give thee there another and a misgiving heart, and failing eyes, and a wasting soul. And thy life shall be in suspense before thine eyes; and thou shalt be afraid by day and by night, and thou shalt have no assurance of thy life. In the morning thou shalt say, Would it were evening! and in the evening thou shalt say, Would it were morning! for the fear of thine heart with which thou shalt fear, and for the sights of thine eyes which thou shalt see. And the Lord shall bring thee back to Egypt in ships, by the way of which I said, Thou shalt not see it again; and ye shall be sold there to your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and none shall buy you. (Deuteronomy 28:15-68 Brenton)

A People Saved by YHVH

There is not any such as the God of the beloved; he who rides upon the heaven is thy helper, and the magnificent One of the firmament. And the rule of God shall protect thee, and that under the strength of the everlasting arms; and he shall cast forth the enemy from before thy face, saying, Perish. And Israel shall dwell in confidence alone on the land of Jacob, with corn and wine; and the sky shall be misty with dew upon thee. Blessed art thou, O Israel; who is like to thee, O people saved by the Lord? thy helper shall hold his shield over thee, and his sword is thy boast; and thine enemies shall speak falsely to thee, and thou shalt tread upon their neck. (Deuteronomy 33:26-29 Brenton)

Hezekiah's Prayer

And Ezekias took the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and he went up to the house of the Lord, an Ezekias spread it before the Lord, and said, O Lord God of Israel that dwellest over the cherubs, thou art the only god in all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. Incline thine ear, O Lord, and hear: open, Lord, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherim, which he has sent to reproach the living God. For truly, Lord, the kings of Assyria have wasted the nations, and have cast their gods into the fire: because they are no gods, but the works of men's hands, wood and stone; and they have destroyed them. And now, O Lord our God, deliver us out of his hand, and all the kingdoms of the earth shall know that thou alone art the Lord God. (2 Kings 19:14-19 Brenton)

YHVH Delivers Jerusalem

And king Ezekias and Esaias the prophet the son of Amos prayed concerning these things, and they cried to heaven. And the Lord sent an angel, and he destroyed every mighty man and warrior, and leader and captain in the camp of the king of Assyria: and he returned with shame of face to his own land and came into the house of his god: and some of them that came out of his bowels slew him with the sword.

So the Lord delivered Ezekias and the dwellers in Jerusalem out of the hand of Sennacherim King of Assyria, and out of the hand of all his enemies, and gave them rest round about. And many brought gifts to the Lord to Jerusalem, and presents to Ezekias king of Juda; and he was exalted in the eyes of all the nations after these things. (2 Chronicles 32:20-23 Brenton)

From the Psalms

Psalm 19: For the end, a Psalm of David

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims the work of his hands. Day to day utters speech, and night to night proclaims knowledge. There are no speeches or words, in which their voices are not heard.

Their voice is gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. In the sun he has set his tabernacle; and he comes forth as a bridegroom out of his chamber: he will exult as a giant to run his course. His going forth is from the extremity of heaven, and his circuit to the other end of heaven: and no one shall be hidden from his heat.

The law of the Lord is perfect, converting souls: the testimony of the Lord is faithful, instructing babes. The ordinances of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is bright, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring for ever and ever: the judgments of the Lord are true, and justified altogether. To be desired more than gold, and much precious stone: sweeter also than honey and the honey-comb. For thy servant keeps to them: in the keeping of them there is great reward.

Who will understand his transgressions? purge thou me from my secret sins. And spare thy servant the attack of strangers: if they do not gain the dominion over me, then shall I be blameless, and I shall be clear from great sin. So shall the sayings of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be pleasing continually before thee, O Lord my helper, and my redeemer. (Psalms 19:1-14 Brenton)

Psalm 72: For Solomon

O God, give thy judgment to the king, and thy righteousness to the king's son; that he may judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment. Let the mountains and the hills raise peace to thy people: he shall judge the poor of the people in righteousness, and save the children of the needy; and shall bring low the false accuser. And he shall continue as long as the sun, and before the moon for ever. He shall come down as rain upon a fleece; and as drops falling upon the earth.

In his days shall righteousness spring up; and abundance of peace till the moon be removed. And he shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth. The Ethiopians shall fall down before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tharsis, and the isles, shall bring presents: the kings of the Arabians and Saba shall offer gifts. And all kings shall worship him; all the Gentiles shall serve him. For he has delivered the poor from the oppressor; and the needy who had no helper. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall deliver the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their souls from usury and injustice: and their name shall be precious before him. And he shall live, and there shall be given him of the gold of Arabia: and men shall pray for him continually; and all the day shall they praise him.

There shall be an establishment on the earth on the tops of the mountains: the fruit thereof shall be exalted above Libanus, and they of the city shall flourish as grass of the earth. Let his name be blessed for ever: his name shall endure longer than the sun: and all the tribes of the earth shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed.

Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, who alone does wonders. And blessed is his glorious name for ever, even for ever and ever: and all the earth shall be filled with his glory. So be it, so be it. The hymns of David the son of Jessae are ended. (Psalms 72:1-20 Brenton)

Psalm 74: A Psalm of Instruction for Asaph

Wherefore hast thou rejected us, O God, for ever? wherefore is thy wrath kindled against the sheep of thy pasture? Remember thy congregation which thou hast purchased from the beginning; thou didst ransom the rod of thine inheritance; this mount Sion wherein thou hast dwelt.

Lift up thine hands against their pride continually; because of all that the enemy has done wickedly in thy holy places. And they that hate thee have boasted in the midst of thy feast; they have set up their standards for signs, ignorantly as it were in the entrance above; they cut down its doors at once with axes as in a wood of trees; they have broken it down with hatchet and stone cutter.

They have burnt thy sanctuary with fire to the ground; they have profaned the habitation of thy name. They have said in their heart, even all their kindred together, Come, let us abolish the feasts of the Lord from the earth. We have not seen our signs; there is no longer a prophet; and God will not know us any more.

How long, O God, shall the enemy reproach? shall the enemy provoke thy name forever? Wherefore turnest thou away thine hand, and thy right hand from the midst of thy bosom for ever? But God is our King of old; he has wrought salvation in the midst of the earth. Thou didst establish the sea, in thy might, thou didst break to pieces the heads of the dragons in the water. Thou didst break to pieces the heads of the dragon; thou didst give him for meat to the Ethiopian nations. Thou didst cleave fountains and torrents; thou driedst up mighty rivers.

The day is thine, and the night is thine; thou hast prepared the sun and the moon. Thou hast made all the borders of the earth; thou hast made summer and spring. Remember this thy creation: an enemy has reproached the Lord, and a foolish people has provoked thy name. Deliver not to the wild beasts a soul that gives praise to thee: forget not for ever the souls of thy poor. Look upon thy covenant: for the dark places of the earth are filled with the habitations of iniquity. let not the afflicted and shamed one be rejected: the poor and needy shall praise thy name. Arise, O God, plead thy cause: remember thy reproaches that come from the foolish one all the day. Forget not the voice of thy suppliants: let the pride of them that hate thee continually ascend before thee. (Psalms 74:1-23 Brenton)

Psalm 77: For the End, for Idithun, a Psalm of Asaph

I cried to the Lord with my voice, yea, my voice was addressed to God; and he gave heed to me. In the day of mine affliction I earnestly sought the Lord; even with my hands by night before him, and I was not deceived; my soul refused to be comforted. I remembered God, and rejoiced; I poured out my complaint, and my soul fainted. Pause.

All mine enemies set a watch against me: I was troubled, and spoke not. I considered the days of old, and remembered ancient years. And I meditated; I communed with my heart by night, and diligently searched my spirit, saying, Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be well pleased no more? Will he cut off his mercy for ever, even for ever and ever? Will God forget to pity? or will he shut up his compassions in his wrath? Pause.

And I said, Now I have begun; this is the change of the right hand of the Most High. I remembered the works of the Lord; for I will remember thy wonders from the beginning. And I will meditate on all thy works, and will consider thy doings. O God, thy way is in the sanctuary; who is a great God as our God? Thou art the God that doest wonders; thou hast made known thy power among the nations. Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Pause.

The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee, and feared; and the depths were troubled. There was an abundant sound of waters: the clouds uttered a voice; for thine arrows went abroad. The voice of thy thunder was abroad, and around thy lightnings appeared to the world; the earth trembled a quaked. Thy way is in the sea, and thy paths in many waters, and thy footsteps cannot be known. Thou didst guide thy people as sheep by the hand of Moses and Aaron. (Psalms 77:1-20 Brenton)

Psalm 78: A Psalm of Instruction for Asaph

Give heed, O my people, to my law: incline your ear to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in parables: I will utter dark sayings which have been from the beginning. All which we have heard and known, and our fathers have declared to us. They were not hid from their children to a second generations; the fathers declaring the praises of the Lord, and his mighty acts, and his wonders which he wrought.

And he raised up a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, to make it known to their children: that another generation might know, even the sons which should be born; and they should arise and declare them to their children. That they might set their hope on God, and not forget the works of God, but diligently seek his commandments. That they should not be as their fathers, a perverse and provoking generation; a generation which set not its heart aright, and its spirit was not steadfast with God.

The children of Ephraim, bending and shooting with the bow, turned back in the day of battle. They kept not the covenant of God, and would not walk in his law. And they forgot his benefits, and his miracles which he had shewed them; the miracles which he wrought before their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the plain of Tanes.

He clave the sea, and led them through: he made the waters to stand as in a bottle. And he guided them with a cloud by day, and all the night with a light of fire. he clave a rock in the wilderness, and made them drink as in a great deep. And he brought water out of the rock, and caused waters to flow down as rivers.

And they sinned yet more against him; they provoked the Most High in the wilderness. And they tempted God in their hearts, in asking meat for the desire of their souls. They spoke also against God, and said, Will God be able to prepare a table in the wilderness? Forasmuch as he smote the rock, and the waters flowed, and the torrents ran abundantly; will he be able also to give bread, or prepare a table for his people?

Therefore the Lord heard, and was provoked: and fire was kindled in Jacob, and wrath went up against Israel. Because they believed not in God, and trusted not in his salvation. Yet he commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven, and rained upon them manna to eat, and gave them the bread of heaven. Man ate angels' bread; he sent them provision to the full.

He removed the south wind from heaven; and by his might he brought in the south-west wind. And he rained upon them flesh like dust, and feathered birds like the sand of the seas. And they fell into the midst of their camp, round about their tents. So they ate, and were completely filled; and he gave them their desire. They were not disappointed of their desire: but when their food was yet in their mouth, then the indignation of God rose up against them, and slew the fattest of them, and overthrew the choice men of Israel.

In the midst of all this they sinned yet more, and believed not his miracles. And their days were consumed in vanity, and their years with anxiety. When he slew them, they sought him: and they returned and called betimes upon God. And they remembered that God was their helper, and the most high God was their redeemer.

Yet they loved him only with their mouth, and lied to him with their tongue. For their heart was not right with him, neither were they steadfast in his covenant. But he is compassionate, and will forgive their sins, and will not destroy them: yea, he will frequently turn away his wrath, and will not kindle all his anger. And he remembered that they are flesh; a wind that passes away, and returns not. How often did they provoke him in the wilderness, and anger him in a dry land!

Yea, they turned back, and tempted God, and provoked the Holy One of Israel. They remembered not his hand, the day in which he delivered them from the hand of the oppressor. How he had wrought his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field of Tanes: and had changed their rivers into blood; and their streams, that they should not drink. He sent against them the dog-fly, and it devoured them; and the frog, and it spoiled them. And he gave their fruit to the canker worm, and their labours to the locust. He killed their vines with hail, and their sycamores with frost. And he gave up their cattle to hail, and their substance to the fire. He sent out against them the fury of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and affliction, a message by evil angels.

He made a way for his wrath; he spared not their souls from death, but consigned their cattle to death; and smote every first-born in the land of Egypt; the first-fruits of their labours in the tents of Cham.

And he removed his people like sheep; he led them as a flock in the wilderness. And he guided them with hope, and they feared not: but the sea covered their enemies. And he brought them in to the mountain of his sanctuary, this mountain which his right hand had purchased. And he cast out the nations from before them, and made them to inherit by a line of inheritance, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.

Yet they tempted and provoked the most high God, and kept not his testimonies. And they turned back, and broke covenant, even as also their fathers: they became like a crooked bow. And they provoked him with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images.

God heard and lightly regarded them, and greatly despised Israel. And he rejected the tabernacle of Selom, his tent where he dwelt among men. And he gave their strength into captivity, and their beauty into the enemy's hand. And he gave his people to the sword; and disdained his inheritance. Fire devoured their young men; and their virgins mourned not. Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows shall not be wept for.

So the Lord awaked as one out of sleep, and as a mighty man who has been heated with wine. And he smote his enemies in the hinder parts: he brought on them a perpetual reproach. And he rejected the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim; but chose the tribe of Juda, the mount Sion which he loved. And he built his sanctuary as the place of unicorns; he founded it for ever on the earth.

He chose David also his servant, and took him up from the flocks of sheep. He took him from following the ewes great with young, to be the shepherd of Jacob his servant, and Israel his inheritance. So he tended them in the innocency of his heart; and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands. (Psalms 78:1-72 Brenton)

Psalm 103: A Psalm of David

Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his praises: who forgives all thy transgressions, who heals all thy diseases; who redeems thy life from corruption; who crowns thee with mercy and compassion; who satisfies thy desire with good things: so that thy youth shall be renewed like that of the eagle.

The Lord executes mercy and judgment for all that are injured. He made known his ways to Moses, his will to the children of Israel. The Lord is compassionate and pitiful, long-suffering, and full of mercy. He will not be always angry; neither will he be wrathful for ever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor recompensed us according to our iniquities.

For as the heaven is high above the earth, the Lord has so increased his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, the Lord pities them that fear him. For he knows our frame: remember that we are dust.

As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so shall he flourish. For the wind passes over it, and it shall not be; and it shall know its place no more. But the mercy of the Lord is from generation to generation upon them that fear him, and his righteousness to children's children; to them that keep his covenant, and remember his commandments to do them.

The Lord has prepared his throne in the heaven; and his kingdom rules over all. Bless the Lord, all ye his angels, mighty in strength, who perform his bidding, ready to hearken to the voice of his words. Bless the Lord, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his that do his will. Bless the Lord, all his works, in every place of his dominion: bless the Lord, O my soul. (Psalms 103:1-22 Brenton)

Psalm 106

Alleluia. Give thanks to the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endures for ever. Who shall tell the mighty acts of the Lord? who shall cause all his praises to be heard? Blessed are they that keep judgment, and do righteousness at all times. Remember us, O Lord, with the favour thou hast to thy people: visit us with thy salvation; that we may behold the good of thine elect, that we may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, that we may glory with thine inheritance.

We have sinned with our fathers, we have transgressed, we have done unrighteously. Our fathers in Egypt understood not thy wonders, and remembered not the multitude of thy mercy; but provoked him as they went up by the Red Sea. Yet he saved them for his name's sake, that he might cause his mighty power to be known. And he rebuked the Red Sea, and it was dried up: so he led them through the deep as through the wilderness. And he saved them out of the hand of them that hated them, and redeemed them out of the hand of the enemy. The water covered those that oppressed them: there was not one of them left. Then they believed his words, and celebrated his praise.

They made haste, they forgot his works; they waited not for his counsel. And they lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the dry land. And he gave them their request, and sent fullness into their souls. They provoked Moses also in the camp, and Aaron the holy one of the Lord. The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and closed upon the congregation of Abiron. And a fire was kindled in their congregation, and a flame burnt up the sinners. And they made a calf in Choreb, and worshipped the graven image, and they changed their glory into the similitude of a calf that feeds on grass.

They forgot God that saved them, who had wrought great deeds in Egypt; wondrous works in the land of Cham, and terrible things at the Red Sea. So he said that he would have destroyed them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn him away from the fierceness of his anger, so that he should not destroy them.

Moreover they set at nought the desirable land, and believed not his word. And they murmured in their tents: they hearkened not to the voice of the Lord. So he lifted up his hand against them, to cast them down in the wilderness; and to cast down their seed among the nations, and to scatter them in the countries. They were joined also to Beelphegor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead. And they provoked him with their devices; and destruction, was multiplied among them.

Then Phinees stood up, and made atonement: and the plague ceased. And it was counted to him for righteousness, to all generations for ever. They provoked him also at the water of Strife, and Moses was hurt for their sakes; for they provoked his spirit, and he spoke unadvisedly with his lips.

They destroyed not the nations which the Lord told them to destroy; but were mingled with the heathen, and learned their works. And they served their graven images; and it became an offence to them. And they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to devils, and shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Chanaan; and the land was defiled with blood. and was polluted with their works; and they went a whoring with their own devices.

So the Lord was very angry with his people, and he abhorred his inheritance. And he delivered them into the hands of their enemies; and they that hated them ruled over them. Ands their enemies oppressed them, and they were brought down under their hands.

Many a time he delivered them; but they provoked him by their counsel, and they were brought low by their iniquities. Ye the Lord looked upon their affliction, when he heard their petition. And he remembered his covenant, and repented according to the multitude of his mercy. And he caused them to be pitied in the sight of all who carried them captive.

Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy holy name, that we may glory in thy praise. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting and to everlasting; and all the people shall say, Amen, Amen. (Psalms 106:1-48 Brenton)

Psalm 107

Alleluia. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his mercy endures for ever. Let them say so who have been redeemed by the Lord, whom he has redeemed from the hand of the enemy; and gathered them out of the countries, from the east, and west, and north, and south.

They wandered in the wilderness in a dry land; they found no way to a city of habitation. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried to the Lord in their affliction, and he delivered them out of their distresses. And he guided them into a straight path, that they might go to a city of habitation. Let them acknowledge to the Lord his mercies, and his wonderful works to the children of men. For he satisfies the empty soul, and fills the hungry soul with good things, even them that sit in darkness and the shadow of death, fettered in poverty and iron; because they rebelled against the words of God, and provoked the counsel of the Most High.

So their heart was brought low with troubles; they were weak, and there was no helper. Then they cried to the Lord in their affliction, and he saved them out of their distresses. And he brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke their bonds asunder.

Let them acknowledge to the Lord his mercies, and his wonders to the children of men. For he broke to pieces the brazen gates, and crushed the iron bars. He helped them out of the way of their iniquity; for they were brought low because of their iniquities. Their soul abhorred all meat; and they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried to the Lord in their affliction, and he saved them out of their distresses. He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them out of their destructions. Let them acknowledge to the Lord his mercies, and his wonderful works to the children of men. And let them offer to him the sacrifice of praise, and proclaim this works with exultation.

They that go down to the sea in ships, doing business in many waters; these men have seen the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. He speaks, and the stormy wind arises, and its waves are lifted up. They go up to the heavens, and go down to the depths; their soul melts because of troubles. They are troubled, they stagger as a drunkard, and all their wisdom is swallowed up. Then they cry to the Lord in their affliction, and he brings them out of their distresses. And he commands the storm, and it is calmed into a gentle breeze, and its waves are still. And they are glad, because they are quiet; and he guides them to their desire haven. Let them acknowledge to the Lord his mercies, and his wonderful works to the children of men. Let them exalt him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the seat of the elders.

He turns rivers into a desert, and streams of water into a dry land; a fruitful land into saltness, for the wickedness of them that dwell in it. He turns a wilderness into pools of water, and a dry land into streams of water. And there he causes the hungry to dwell, and they establish for themselves cities of habitation. And they sow fields, and plant vineyards, and they yield fruit of increase. And he blesses them, and they multiply exceedingly, and he diminishes not the number of their cattle.

Again they become few, and are brought low, by the pressure of evils and pain. Contempt is poured upon their princes, and he causes them to wander in a desert and trackless land. But he helps the poor out of poverty, and makes him families as a flock. The upright shall see and rejoice; and all iniquity shall stop her mouth. Who is wise, and will observe these things, and understand the mercies of the Lord? (Psalms 107:1-43 Brenton)

According to Isaiah

Isaiah 35

Be glad, thou thirsty desert: let the wilderness exult, and flower as the lily. And the desert places of Jordan shall blossom and rejoice; the glory of Libanus has been given to it, and the honour of Carmel; and my people shall see the glory of the Lord, and the majesty of God.

Be strong, ye relaxed hands and palsied knees. Comfort one another, ye fainthearted; be strong, fear not; behold, our God renders judgment, and he will render it; he will come and save us. Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall hear. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the stammerers shall speak plainly; for water has burst forth in the desert, and a channel of water in a thirsty land.

And the dry land shall become pools, and a fountain of water shall be poured into the thirsty land; there shall there be a joy of birds, ready habitations and marshes. There shall be there a pure way, and it shall be called a holy way; and there shall not pass by there any unclean person, neither shall there be there an unclean way; but the dispersed shall walk on it, and they shall not go astray.

And there shall be no lion there, neither shall any evil beast go up upon it, nor at all be found there; but the redeemed and gathered on the Lord's behalf, shall walk in it, and shall return, and come to Sion with joy, and everlasting joy shall be over their head; for on their head shall be praise and exultation, and joy shall take possession of them: sorrow and pain, and groaning have fled away. (Isaiah 35:1-10 Brenton)

Isaiah 41

Hold a feast to me, ye islands: for the princes shall renew their strength: let them draw nigh and speak together: then let them declare judgment. Who raised up righteousness from the east, and called it to his feet, so that it should go? shall appoint it an adversary of Gentiles, and shall dismay kings, and bury their swords in the earth, and cast forth their bows and arrows as sticks? And he shall pursue them; the way of his feet shall proceed in peace. Who has wrought and done these things? he has called it who called it from the generations of old; I God, the first and to all futurity, I AM. The nations saw, and feared; the ends of the earth drew nigh, and came together, every one judging for his neighbor and that to assist his brother: and one will say, The artificer has become strong, and the coppersmith that smites with the hammer, and forges also: sometimes he will say, It is a piece well joined: they have fastened them with nails; they will fix them, and they shall not be moved. But thou, Israel, art my servant Jacob, and he whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraam, whom I have loved: whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth, and from the high places of it I have called thee, and said to thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and I have not forsaken thee. Fear not; for I am with thee: wander not; for I am thy God, who have strengthened thee; and I have helped thee, and have established thee with my just right hand. Behold, all thine adversaries shall be ashamed and confounded; for they shall be as if they were not: and all thine opponents shall perish. Thou shalt seek them, and thou shalt not find the men who shall insolently rage against thee: for they shall be as if they were not, and they that war against thee shall not be. For I am thy God, who holdeth thy right hand, who saith to thee, Fear not, Jacob, and thou Israel few in number; I have helped thee, saith thy God, he that redeems thee, O Israel. Behold, I have made thee as new saw-shaped threshing wheels of a waggon; and thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat the hills to powder, and make them as chaff: and thou shalt winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away, and a tempest shall scatter them: but thou shalt rejoice in the holy ones of Israel. And the poor and the needy shall exult; for when they shall seek water, and there shall be none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the Lord God, I the God of Israel will hear, and will not forsake them: but I will open rivers on the mountains, and fountains in the midst of plains: I will make the desert pools of water, and a thirsty land watercourses. I will plant in the dry land the cedar and box, the myrtle and cypress, and white poplar: that they may see, and know, and perceive, and understand together, that the hand of the Lord has wrought these works, and the Holy One of Israel has displayed them. (Isaiah 41:1-20 Brenton)

Isaiah 43

And now thus saith the Lord God that made thee, O Jacob, and formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. And if thou pass through water, I am with thee; and the rivers shall not overflow thee: and if thou go through fire, thou shalt not be burned; the flame shall not burn thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, that saves thee: I have made Egypt and Ethiopia thy ransom, and given Soene for thee. Since thou becamest precious in my sight, thou hast become glorious, and I have loved thee: and I will give men for thee, and princes for thy life. Fear not; for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and will gather thee from the west. I will say to the north, Bring; and to the south, Keep not back; bring my sons from the land afar off, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; even all who are called by my name: for I have prepared him for my glory, and I have formed him, and have made him: and I have brought forth the blind people; for their eyes are alike blind, and they that have ears are deaf. All the nations are gathered together, and princes shall be gathered out of them: who will declare these things? or who will declare to you things from the beginning? let them bring forth their witnesses, and be justified; and let them hear, and declare the truth. Be ye my witnesses, and I too am a witness, saith the Lord God, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know, and believe, and understand that I am he: before me there was no other God, and after me there shall be none. I am God; and beside me there is no Saviour. I have declared, and have saved; I have reproached, and there was no strange god among you: ye are my witnesses, and I am the Lord God, even from the beginning; and there is none that can deliver out of my hands: I will work, and who shall turn it back? Thus saith the Lord God that redeems you, the Holy One of Israel; for your sakes I will send to Babylon, and I will stir up all that flee, and the Chaldeans shall be bound in ships. I am the Lord God, your Holy One, who have appointed for Israel your king. Thus saith the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty water; who brought forth chariots and horse, and a mighty multitude: but they have lain down, and shall not rise: they are extinct, as quenched flax. Remember ye not the former things, and consider not the ancient things. Behold, I will do new things, which shall presently spring forth, and ye shall know them: and I will make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the dry land. the beasts of the field shall bless me, the owls and young ostriches; for I have given water in the wilderness, and rivers in the dry land, to give drink to my chosen race, my people whom I have preserved to tell forth my praises. I have not now called thee, O Jacob; neither have I made thee weary, O Israel. Thou hast not brought me the sheep of thy whole-burnt-offering; neither hast thou glorified me with thy sacrifices. I have not caused thee to serve with sacrifices, neither have I wearied thee with frankincense. Neither hast thou purchased for me victims for silver, neither have I desired the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou didst stand before me in thy sins, and in thine iniquities. I, even I, am he that blots out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and thy sins; and I will not remember them. But do thou remember, and let us plead together: do thou first confess thy transgressions, that thou mayest be justified. Your fathers first, and your princes have transgressed against me. And the princes have defiled my sanctuaries: so I gave Jacob to enemies to destroy, and Israel to reproach. (Isaiah 43:1-28 Brenton)

Isaiah 44

But now hear, Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen. Thus saith the Lord God that made thee, and he that formed thee from the womb; Thou shalt yet be helped: fear not, my servant Jacob; and beloved Israel, whom I have chosen. For I will give water to the thirsty that walk in a dry land: I will put my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessings upon thy children: and they shall spring up as grass between brooks, and as willows on the banks of running water. One shall say, I am God's; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall write with his hand, I am God's, and shall call himself by the name of Israel. Thus saith God the King of Israel, and the God of hosts that delivered him; I am the first, and I am hereafter: beside me there is no God. Who is like me? let him stand, and call, and declare, and prepare for me from the time that I made man for ever; and let them tell you the things that are coming before they arrive. Hide not yourselves, nor go astray: have ye not heard from the beginning, and have not I told you? ye are witnesses if there is a God beside me. (Isaiah 44:1-8 Brenton)

Remember these things, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant; I have formed thee to be my servant: and do thou, Israel, not forget me. For behold, I have blotted out as a cloud thy transgressions, and thy sin as darkness: turn to me, and I will redeem thee. Rejoice, ye heavens; for God has had mercy upon Israel: sound the trumpet, ye foundations of the earth: ye mountains, shout with joy, ye hills, and all the trees therein: for God has redeemed Jacob, and Israel shall be glorified. Thus saith the Lord that redeems thee, and who formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that performs all things: I stretched out the heaven alone, and established the earth. Who else will frustrate the tokens of those that have divining spirits, and prophecies from the heart of man? turning the wise back, and making their counsel foolishness; and confirming the word of his servant, and verifying the counsel of his messengers: who says to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Idumea, Ye shall be built, and her desert places shall spring forth. Who says to the deep, Thou shalt be dried up, and I will dry up the rivers. Who bids Cyrus be wise, and he shall perform all my will: who says to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built, and I will lay the foundation of my holy house. (Isaiah 44:21-28 Brenton)

Isaiah 48

Hear me, O Jacob, and Israel whom I call; I am the first, and I endure for ever. My hand also has founded the earth, and my right hand has fixed the sky: I will call them, and they shall stand together. And all shall be gathered, and shall hear: who has told them these things? Out of love to thee I have fulfilled thy desire on Babylon, to abolish the seed of the Chaldeans. I have spoken, I have called, I have brought him, and made his way prosperous. Draw nigh to me, and hear ye these words; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning: when it took place, there was I, and now the Lord, even the Lord, and his Spirit, hath sent me. Thus saith the Lord that delivered thee, the Holy One of Israel; I am thy God, I have shewn thee how thou shouldest find the way wherein thou shouldest walk. And if thou hadst hearkened to my commandments, then would thy peace have been like a river, and thy righteousness as a wave of the sea. Thy seed also would have been as the sand, and the offspring of thy belly as the dust of the ground: neither now shalt thou by any means be utterly destroyed, neither shall thy name perish before me. Go forth of Babylon, thou that fleest from the Chaldeans: utter aloud a voice of joy, and let this be made known, proclaim it to the end of the earth; say ye, The Lord hath delivered his servant Jacob. And if they shall thirst, he shall lead them through the desert; he shall bring forth water to them out of the rock: the rock shall be cloven, and the water shall flow forth, and my people shall drink. There is no joy, saith the Lord, to the ungodly. (Isaiah 48:12-22 Brenton)

Isaiah 49

Hearken to me, ye islands; and attend, ye Gentiles; after a long time it shall come to pass, saith the Lord: from my mother's womb he has called my name: and he has made my mouth as a sharp sword, and he has hid me under the shadow of his hand; he has made me as a choice shaft, and he has hid me in his quiver; and said to me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, and in thee I will be glorified. Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have given my strength for vanity and for nothing: therefore is my judgment with the Lord, and my labour before my God. And now, thus saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his own servant, to gather Jacob to him and Israel. I shall be gathered and glorified before the Lord, and my God shall be my strength. And he said to me, It is a great thing for thee to be called my servant, to establish the tribes of Jacob, and to recover the dispersion of Israel: behold, I have given thee for the covenant of a race, for a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation to the end of the earth. Thus saith the Lord that delivered thee, the God of Israel, Sanctify him that despises his life, him that is abhorred by the nations that are the servants of princes: kings shall behold him, and princes shall arise, and shall worship him, for the Lord's sake: for the Holy One of Israel is faithful, and I have chosen thee. Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I succored thee: and I have formed thee, and given thee for a covenant of the nations, to establish the earth, and to cause to inherit the desert heritages: saying to them that are in bonds, Go forth; and bidding them that are in darkness shew themselves. They shall be fed in all the ways, and in all the paths shall be their pasture. They shall not hunger, neither shall they thirst; neither shall the heat nor the sun smite them; but he that has mercy on them shall comfort them, and by fountains of waters shall he lead them. And I will make every mountain a way, and every path a pasture to them. Behold, these shall come from far: and these from the north and the west, and others from the land of the Persians. Rejoice, ye heavens; and let the earth be glad: let the mountains break forth with joy; for the Lard has had mercy on his people, and has comforted the lowly ones of his people. But Sion said, The Lord has forsaken me, and, The Lord has forgotten me. Will a woman forget her child, so as not to have compassion upon the offspring of her womb? but if a woman should even forget these, yet I will not forget thee, saith the Lord. Behold, I have painted thy walls on my hands, and thou art continually before me. And thou shalt soon be built by those by whom thou were destroyed, and they that made thee desolate shall go forth of thee. Lift up thine eyes round about, and look on them all; behold, they are gathered together, and are come to thee. As I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt clothe thyself with them all as with an ornament, and put them on as a bride her attire. For thy desert and marred and ruined places shall now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that devoured thee shall be removed far from thee. For thy sons whom thou hast lost shall say in thine ears, The place is too narrow for me: make room for me that I may dwell. And thou shalt say in thine heart, Who has begotten me these? whereas I was childless, and a widow; but who has brought up these for me? and I was left alone; but whence came these to me? Thus saith the Lord, even the Lord, Behold, I lift up mine hand to the nations, and I will lift up my signal to the islands: and they shall bring thy sons in their bosom, and shall bear thy daughters on their shoulders. And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their princesses thy nurses, they shall bow down to thee on the face of the earth, and shall lick the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord, and they that wait on me shall not be ashamed. Will any one take spoils from a giant? and if one should take a man captive unjustly, shall he be delivered? For thus saith the Lord, If one should take a giant captive, he shall take spoils, and he who takes them from a mighty man shall be delivered: for I will plead thy cause, and I will deliver thy children. And they that afflicted thee shall eat their own flesh; and they shall drink their own blood as new wine, and shall be drunken: and all flesh shall perceive that I am the Lord that delivers thee, and that upholds the strength of Jacob. (Isaiah 49:1-26 Brenton)

Isaiah 51

Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, and seek the Lord: look to the solid rock, which ye have hewn, and to the hole of the pit which ye have dug. Look to Abraam your father, and to Sarrha that bore you: for he was alone when I called him, and blessed him, and loved him, and multiplied him. And now I will comfort thee, O Sion: and I have comforted all her desert places; and I will make her desert places as a garden, and her western places as the garden of the Lord; they shall find in her gladness and exultation, thanksgiving and the voice of praise. Hear me, hear me, my people; and ye kings, hearken to me: for a law shall proceed from me, and my judgment shall be for a light of the nations. My righteousness speedily draws nigh, and my salvation shall go forth as light, and on mine arm shall the Gentiles trust: the isles shall wait for me, and on mine arm shall they trust. Lift up your eyes to the sky, and look on the earth beneath: for the sky was darkened like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and the inhabitants shall die in like manner: but my righteousness shall not fail. Hear me, ye that know judgment, the people in whose heart is my law: fear not the reproach of men, and be not overcome by their contempt. For as a garment will be devoured by time, and as wool will be devoured by a moth, so shall they be consumed; but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation for all generations. Awake, awake, O Jerusalem, and put on the strength of thine arm; awake as in the early time, as the ancient generation. Art thou not it that dried the sea, the water, even the abundance of the deep; that made the depths of the sea a way of passage for the delivered and redeemed? for by the help of the Lord they shall return, and come to Sion with joy and everlasting exultation, for praise and joy shall come upon their head: pain, and grief, and groaning, have fled away. I, even I, am he that comforts thee: consider who thou art, that thou wast afraid of mortal man, and of the son of man, who are withered as grass. And thou hast forgotten God who made thee, who made the sky and founded the earth; and thou wert continually afraid because of the wrath of him that afflicted thee: for whereas he counselled to take thee away, yet now where is the wrath of him that afflicted thee? For in thy deliverance he shall not halt, nor tarry; for I am thy God, that troubles the sea, and causes the waves thereof to roar: the Lord of hosts is my name. I will put my words into thy mouth, and I will shelter thee under the shadow of mine hand, with which I fixed the sky, and founded the earth: and the Lord shall say to Sion, Thou art my people. Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, that hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury: for thou hast drunk out and drained the cup of calamity, the cup of wrath: and there was none to comfort thee of all the children whom thou borest; and there was none to take hold of thine hand, not even of all the children whom thou has reared. Wherefore these things are against thee; who shall sympathize with thee in thy grief? downfall, and destruction, famine, and sword: who shall comfort thee? Thy sons are the perplexed ones, that sleep at the top of every street as a half-boiled beet; they that are full of the anger of the Lord, caused to faint by the Lord God. Therefore hear, thou afflicted one, and drunken, but not with wine; thus saith the Lord God that judges his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of calamity, the cup of my wrath; and thou shalt not drink it any more. And I will give it into the hands of them that injured thee, and them that afflicted thee; who said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may pass over: and thou didst level thy body with the ground to them passing by without. (Isaiah 51:1-23 Brenton)

Isaiah 52

Awake, awake, Sion; put on thy strength, O Sion; and o thou put on thy glory, Jerusalem the holy city: there shall no more pass through thee, the uncircumcised and unclean. Shake off the dust and arise; sit down, Jerusalem: put off the band of thy neck, captive daughter of Sion. For thus saith the Lord, Ye have been sold for nought; and ye shall not be ransomed with silver. Thus saith the Lord, My people went down before to Egypt to sojourn there; and were carried away forcibly to the Assyrians. And now why are ye here? Thus saith the Lord, Because my people was taken for nothing, wonder ye and howl. Thus saith the Lord, On account of you my name is continually blasphemed among the Gentiles. Therefore shall my people know my name in that day, for I am he that speaks: I am present, as a season of beauty upon the mountains, as the feet of one preaching glad tidings of peace, as one preaching good news: for I will publish thy salvation, saying, O Sion, thy God shall reign. For the voice of them that guard thee is exalted, and with the voice together they shall rejoice: for eyes shall look to eyes, when the Lord shall have mercy upon Sion. Let the waste places of Jerusalem break forth in joy together, because the Lord has had mercy upon her, and has delivered Jerusalem. And the Lord shall reveal his holy arm in the sight of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation that comes from our God. Depart ye, depart, go out from thence, and touch not the unclean thing; go ye out from the midst of her; separate yourselves, ye that bear the vessels of the Lord. For ye shall not go forth with tumult, neither go by flight: for the Lord shall go first in advance of you; and the God of Israel shall be he that brings up your rear. Behold, my servant shall understand, and be exalted, and glorified exceedingly. As many shall be amazed at thee, so shall thy face be without glory from men, and thy glory shall not be honoured by the sons of men. Thus shall many nations wonder at him; and kings shall keep their mouths shut: for they to whom no report was brought concerning him, shall see; and they who have not heard, shall consider. (Isaiah 52:1-15 Brenton)

Isaiah 54

Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that dost not travail: for more are the children of the desolate than of her that has a husband: for the Lord has said, Enlarge the place of thy tent, and of thy curtains: fix the pins, spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy pins; spread forth thy tent yet to the right and the left: for thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and thou shalt make the desolate cities to be inhabited. Fear not, because thou has been put to shame, neither be confounded, because thou was reproached: for thou shalt forget thy former shame, and shalt no more at all remember the reproach of thy widowhood. For it is the Lord that made thee; the Lord of hosts is his name: and he that delivered thee, he is the God of Israel, and shall be called so by the whole earth. The Lord has not called thee as a deserted and faint-hearted woman, nor as a woman hated from her youth, saith thy God. For a little while I left thee: but with great mercy will I have compassion upon thee. In a little wrath I turned away my face from thee; but with everlasting mercy will I have compassion upon thee, saith the Lord that delivers thee. From the time of the water of Noe this is my purpose: as I sware to him at that time, saying of the earth, I will no more be wroth with thee, neither when thou art threatened, shall the mountains depart, nor shall thy hills be removed: so neither shall my mercy fail thee, nor shall the covenant of thy peace be at all removed: for the Lord who is gracious to thee has spoken it. Afflicted and outcast thou has not been comforted: behold, I will prepare carbuncle for thy stones, and sapphire for thy foundations; and I will make thy buttresses jasper, and thy gates crystal, and thy border precious stones. And I will cause all thy sons to be taught of God, and thy children to be in great peace. And thou shalt be built in righteousness: abstain from injustice, and thou shalt not fear; and trembling shall not come nigh thee. Behold, strangers shall come to thee by me, and shall sojourn with thee, and shall run to thee for refuge. Behold, I have created thee, not as the coppersmith blowing coals, and bringing out a vessel fit for work; but I have created thee, not for ruin, that I should destroy thee. I will not suffer any weapon formed against thee to prosper; and every voice that shall rise up against thee for judgment, thou shalt vanquish them all; and thine adversaries shall be condemned thereby. There is an inheritance to them that serve the Lord, and ye shall be righteous before me, saith the Lord. (Isaiah 54:1-17 Brenton)

Isaiah 59

Has the hand of the Lord no power to save? or has he made his ear heavy, so that he should not hear? Nay, your iniquities separate between you and God, and because of your sins has he turned away his face from you, so as not to have mercy upon you. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with sins; your lips also have spoken iniquity, and your tongue meditates unrighteousness. None speaks justly, neither is there true judgment: they trust in vanities, and speak empty words; for they conceive trouble, and bring forth iniquity. They have hatched asps' eggs, and weave a spider's web: and he that is going to eat of their eggs, having crushed an addled egg, has found also in it a basilisk. Their web shall not become a garment, nor shall they at all clothe themselves with their works; for their works are works of iniquity. And their feet run to wickedness, swift to shed blood; their thoughts also are thoughts of murder; destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace they know not, neither is there judgment in their ways; for their paths by which they go are crooked, and they know not peace. Therefore has judgment departed from them, and righteousness shall not overtake them: while they waited for light, darkness came upon them; while they waited for brightness, they walked in perplexity. They shall feel for the wall as blind men, and shall feel for it as if they had no eyes: and they shall feel at noon-day as at midnight; they shall groan as dying men. They shall proceed together as a bear and as a dove: we have waited for judgment, and there is no salvation, it is gone far from us. For our iniquity is great before thee, and our sins have risen up against us: for our iniquities are in us, and we know our unrighteous deeds. We have sinned, and dealt falsely, and revolted from our God: we have spoken unrighteous words, and have been disobedient; we have conceived and uttered from our heart unrighteous words. And we have turned judgment back, and righteousness has departed afar off: for truth is consumed in their ways, and they could not pass by a straight path. And truth has been taken away, and they have turned aside their mind from understanding. And the Lord saw it, and it pleased him not that there was no judgment. And he looked, and there was no man, and he observed, and there was none to help: so he defended them with his arm, and stablished them with his mercy. And he put on righteousness as a breast-plate, and placed the helmet of salvation on his head; and he clothed himself with the garment of vengeance, and with his cloak, as one about to render a recompence, even reproach to his adversaries. So shall they of the west fear the name of the Lord, and they that come from the rising of the sun his glorious name: for the wrath of the Lord shall come as a mighty river, it shall come with fury. And the deliverer shall come for Sion's sake, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. And this shall be my covenant with them, said the Lord; My Spirit which is upon thee, and the words which I have put in thy mouth, shall never fail from thy mouth, nor from the mouth of thy seed, for the Lord has spoken it, henceforth and for ever. (Isaiah 59:1-21 Brenton)

Isaiah 60

Be enlightened, be enlightened, O Jerusalem, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. Behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and there shall be gross darkness on the nations: but the Lord shall appear upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And kings shall walk in thy light, and nations in thy brightness. Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold thy children gathered: all thy sons have come from far, and thy daughters shall be borne on men's shoulders. Then shalt thou see, and fear, and be amazed in thine heart; for the wealth of the sea shall come round to thee, and of nations and peoples; and herds of camels shall come to thee, and the camels of Madiam and Gaepha shall cover thee: all from Saba shall come bearing gold, and shall bring frankincense, and they shall publish the salvation of the Lord. And all the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered, and the rams of Nabaeoth shall come; and acceptable sacrifices shall be offered on my altar, and my house of prayer shall be glorified. Who are these that fly as clouds, and as doves with young ones to me? The isles have waited for me, and the ships of Tharsis among the first, to bring thy children from afar, and their silver and their gold with them, and that for the sake of the holy name of the Lord, and because the Holy One of Israel is glorified. And strangers shall build thy walls, and their kings shall wait upon thee: for by reason of my wrath I smote thee, and by reason of mercy I loved thee. And thy gates shall be opened continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; to bring in to thee the power of the Gentiles, and their kings as captives. For the nations and the kings which will not serve thee shall perish; and those nations shall be made utterly desolate. And the glory of Libanus shall come to thee, with the cypress, and pine, and cedar together, to glorify my holy place. And the sons of them that afflicted thee, and of them that provoked thee, shall come to thee in fear; and thou shalt be called Sion, the city of the Holy One of Israel. Because thou has become desolate and hated, and there was no helper, therefore I will make thee a perpetual gladness, a joy of many generations. And thou shalt suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt eat the wealth of kings: and shalt know that I am the Lord that saves thee and delivers thee, the Holy One of Israel. And for brass I will bring thee gold, and for iron I will bring thee silver, and instead of wood I will bring thee brass, and instead of stones, iron; and I will make thy princes peaceable, and thine overseers righteous. And injustice shall no more be heard in thy land, nor destruction nor misery in thy coasts; but thy walls shall be called Salvation, and thy gates Sculptured Work. And thou shalt no more have the sun for a light by day, nor shall the rising of the moon lighten thy night; but the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and God thy glory. For the sun shall no more set, nor shall the moon be eclipsed; for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be completed. Thy people also shall be all righteous; they shall inherit the land for ever, preserving that which they have planted, even the works of their hands, for glory. The little one shall become thousands, and the least a great nation; I the Lord will gather them in due time. (Isaiah 60:1-22 Brenton)

Isaiah 62

For Sion's sake I will not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her righteousness go forth as light, and my salvation burn as a torch. And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and kings thy glory: and one shall call thee by a new name, which the Lord shall name. And thou shalt be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. And thou shalt no more be called Forsaken; and thy land shall no more be called Desert: for thou shalt be called My Pleasure, and thy land Inhabited: for the Lord has taken pleasure in thee, and thy land shall be inhabited. And as a young man lives with a virgin, so shall thy sons dwell in thee: and it shall come to pass that as a bridegroom will rejoice over a bride, so will the Lord rejoice over thee. And on thy walls, O Jerusalem, have I set watchmen all day and all night, who shall never cease making mention of the Lord. For there is none like you, when he shall have established, and made Jerusalem a praise on the earth. For the Lord has sworn by his glory, and by the might of his arm, I will no more give thy corn and thy provisions to thine enemies; nor shall strangers any more drink thy wine, for which thou has laboured. But they that have gathered them shall eat them, and they shall praise the Lord; and they that have gathered the grapes shall drink thereof in my holy courts. Go through my gates, and make a way for my people; and cast the stones out of the way; lift up a standard for the Gentiles. For behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth, say ye to the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy Saviour has come to thee, having his reward and his work before his face. And one shall call them the holy people, the redeemed of the Lord: and thou shalt be called a city sought out, and not forsaken. (Isaiah 62:1-12 Brenton)

Isaiah 63

Who is this that is come from Edom, with red garments from Bosor? thus fair in his apparel, with mighty strength? I speak of righteousness and saving judgment. Wherefore are thy garments red, and thy raiment as if fresh from a trodden winepress? I am full of trodden grape, and of the nations there is not a man with me; and I trampled them in my fury, and dashed them to pieces as earth, and brought down their blood to the earth. For the day of recompence has come upon them, and the year of redemption is at hand. And I looked, and there was no helper; and I observed, and none upheld: therefore my arm delivered them, and mine anger drew nigh. And I trampled them in mine anger, and brought down their blood to the earth. I remembered the mercy of the Lord, the praises of the Lord in all things wherein he recompenses us. The Lord is a good judge to the house of Israel; he deals with us according to his mercy, and according to the abundance of his righteousness. And he said, Is it not my people? the children surely will not be rebellious: and he became to them deliverance out of all their affliction: not an ambassador, nor a messenger, but himself saved them, because he loved them and spared them: he himself redeemed them, and took them up, and lifted them up all the days of old. But they disobeyed, and provoked his Holy Spirit: so he turned to be an enemy, he himself contended against them. Then he remembered the ancient days, saying, Where is he that brought up from the sea the shepherd of the sheep? where is he that put his Holy Spirit in them? who led Moses with his right hand, the arm of his glory? he forced the water to separate from before him, to make himself an everlasting name. He led them through the deep, as a horse through the wilderness, and they fainted not, and as cattle through a plain: the Spirit came down from the Lord, and guided them: thus thou leddest thy people, to make thyself a glorious name. Turn from heaven, and look from thy holy habitation and from thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy strength? where is the abundance of thy mercy and of thy compassions, that thou hast withholden thyself from us? For thou art our Father; for though Abraham knew us not, and Israel did not acknowledge us, yet do thou, O Lord, our Father, deliver us: thy name has been upon us from the beginning. Why hast thou caused us to err, O Lord, from thy way? and has hardened our hearts, that we should not fear thee? Return for thy servants' sake, for the sake of the tribes of thine inheritance, that we may inherit a small part of thy holy mountain. We are become as at the beginning, when thou didst not rule over us, and thy name was not called upon us. (Isaiah 63:1-19 Brenton)

According to Micah

Alas for me! for I am become as one gathering straw in harvest, and as one gathering grape-gleanings in the vintage, when there is no cluster for me to eat the first-ripe fruit: alas my soul! For the godly is perished from the earth; and there is none among men that orders his way aright: they all quarrel even to blood: they grievously afflict every one his neighbour: they prepare their hands for mischief, the prince asks a reward, and the judge speaks flattering words; it is the desire of their soul: therefore I will take away their goods as a devouring moth, and as one who acts by a rigid rule in a day of visitation. Woe, woe, thy times of vengeance are come; now shall be their lamentations.

Trust not in friends, and confide not in guides: beware of thy wife, so as not to commit anything to her. For the son dishonours his father, the daughter will rise up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law: those in his house shall be all a man's enemies. But I will look to the Lord; I will wait upon God my Saviour: my God will hearken to me.

Rejoice not against me, mine enemy; for I have fallen yet shall arise; for though I should sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light to me. I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he make good my cause: he also shall maintain my right, and shall bring me out to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.

And she that is mine enemy shall see it, and shall clothe herself with shame, who says, Where is the Lord thy God? mine eyes shall look upon her: now shall she be for trampling as mire in the ways. It is the day of making of brick; that day shall be thine utter destruction, and that day shall utterly abolish thine ordinances. And thy cities shall be levelled, and parted among the Assyrians; and thy strong cities shall be parted from Tyre to the river, and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain. And the land shall be utterly desolate together with them that inhabit it, because of the fruit of their doings.

Tend thy people with thy rod, the sheep of thine inheritance, those that inhabit by themselves the thicket in the midst of Carmel: they shall feed in the land of Basan, and in the land of Galaad, as in the days of old. And according to the days of thy departure out of Egypt shall ye see marvellous things. The nations shall see and be ashamed; and at all their might they shall lay their hands upon their mouth, their ears shall be deafened. They shall lick the dust as serpents crawling on the earth, they shall be confounded in their holes; they shall be amazed at the Lord our God, and will be afraid of thee.

Who is a God like thee, cancelling iniquities, and passing over the sins of the remnant of his inheritance? and he has not kept his anger for a testimony, for he delights in mercy. He will return and have mercy upon us; he will sink our iniquities, and they shall be cast into the depth of the sea, even all our sins. He shall give blessings truly to Jacob, and mercy to Abraam, as thou swarest to our fathers, according to the former days. (Micah 7:1-20 Brenton)

According to Habakkuk

And the Lord answered me and said, Write the vision, and that plainly on a tablet, that he that reads it may run. For the vision is yet for a time, and it shall shoot forth at the end, and not in vain: though he should tarry, wait for him; for he will surely come, and will not tarry. If he should draw back, my soul has no pleasure in him: but the just shall live by my faith. But the arrogant man and the scorner, the boastful man, shall not finish anything; who has enlarged his desire as the grave, and like death he is never satisfied, and he will gather to himself all the nations, and will receive to himself all the peoples.

Shall not all these take up a parable against him? and a proverb to tell against him? and they shall say, Woe to him that multiplies to himself the possessions which are not his! how long? and who heavily loads his yoke. For suddenly there shall arise up those that bite him, and they that plot against thee shall awake, and thou shalt be a plunder to them. Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the nations that are left shall spoil thee, because of the blood of men, and the sins of the land and city, and of all that dwell in it.

Woe to him that covets an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evils. Thou hast devised shame to thy house, thou hast utterly destroyed many nations, and thy soul has sinned. For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beetle out of the timber shall speak.

Woe to him that builds a city with blood, and establishes a city by unrighteousness. Are not these things of the Lord Almighty? surely many people have been exhausted in the fire, and many nations have fainted. For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord; it shall cover them as water.

Woe to him that gives his neighbour to drink the thick lees of wine, and intoxicates him, that he may look upon their secret parts. Drink thou also thy fill of disgrace instead of glory: shake, O heart, and quake, the cup of the right hand of the Lord has come round upon thee, and dishonour has gathered upon thy glory. For the ungodliness of Libanus shall cover thee, and distress because of wild beasts shall dismay thee, because of the blood of men, and the sins of the land and city, and of all that dwell in it.

What profit it the graven image, that they have graven it? one has made it a molten work, a false image; for the maker has trusted in his work, to make dumb idols. Woe to him that says to the wood, Awake, arise; and to the stone, Be thou exalted! whereas it is an image, and this is a casting of gold and silver, and there is no breath in it. But the Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth fear before him. (Habakkuk 2:1-20 Brenton)

A PRAYER OF THE PROPHET AMBACUM, WITH A SONG.

O Lord, I have heard thy report, and was afraid: I considered thy works, and was amazed: thou shalt be known between the two living creatures, thou shalt be acknowledged when the years draw nigh; thou shalt be manifested when the time is come; when my soul is troubled, thou wilt in wrath remember mercy. God shall come from Thaeman, and the Holy One from the dark shady mount Pharan. Pause.

His excellence covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise. And his brightness shall be as light; there were horns in his hands, and he caused a mighty love of his strength. Before his face shall go a report, and it shall go forth into the plains, the earth stood at his feet and trembled: he beheld, and the nations melted away: the mountains were violently burst through, the everlasting hills melted at his everlasting going forth.

Because of troubles I looked upon the tents of the Ethiopians: the tabernacles also of the land of Madiam shall be dismayed. Wast thou angry, O Lord, with the rivers? or was thy wrath against the rivers, or thine anger against the sea? for thou wilt mount on thine horses, and thy chariots are salvation. Surely thou didst bend they bow at scepters, saith the Lord. Pause.

The land of rivers shall be torn asunder. The nations shall see thee and be in pain, as thou dost divide the moving waters: the deep uttered her voice, and raised her form on high. The sun was exalted, and the moon stood still in her course: thy darts shall go forth at the light, at the brightness of the gleaming of thine arms. Thou wilt bring low the land with threatening, and in wrath thou wilt break down the nations. Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, to save thine anointed: thou shalt bring death on the heads of transgressors; thou has brought bands upon their neck. Pause.

Thou didst cut asunder the heads of princes with amazement, they shall tremble in it; they shall burst their bridles, they shall be as a poor man devouring in secret. And thou dost cause thine horses to enter the sea, disturbing much water. I watched, and my belly trembled at the sound of the prayer of my lips, and trembling entered into my bones, and my frame was troubled within me; I will rest in the day of affliction, from going up to the people of my sojourning.

For though the fig-tree shall bear no fruit, and there shall be no produce on the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall produce no food: the sheep have failed from the pasture, and there are no oxen at the cribs; yet I will exult in the Lord, I will joy in God my Saviour. The Lord God is my strength, and he will perfectly strengthen my feet; he mounts me upon high places, that I may conquer by his song. (Habakkuk 3:1-19 Brenton)

According to Zephaniah

This is the scornful city that dwells securely, that says in her heart, I am, and there is no longer any to be after me: how is she become desolate, a habitation of wild beasts! every one that passes through her shall hiss, and shake his hands.

Alas the glorious and ransomed city. The dove hearkened not to the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the Lord, and she drew not near to her God. Her princes within her were as roaring lions, her judges as the wolves of Arabia; they remained not till the morrow. Her prophets are light and scornful men: her priests profane the holy things, and sinfully transgress the law.

But the just Lord is in the midst of her, and he will never do an unjust thing: morning by morning he will bring out his judgment to the light, and it is not hidden, and he knows not injustice by extortion, nor injustice in strife. I have brought down the proud with destruction; their corners are destroyed: I will make their ways completely waste, so that none shall go through: their cities are come to an end, by reason of no man living or dwelling in them.

I said, But do ye fear me, and receive instruction, and ye shall not be cut off from the face of the land for all the vengeance I have brought upon her: prepare thou, rise early: all their produce is spoilt. Therefore wait upon me, saith the Lord, until the day when I rise up for a witness: because my judgment shall be on the gatherings of the nations, to draw to me kings, to pour out upon them all my fierce anger: for the whole earth shall be consumed with the fire of my jealousy.

For then will I turn to the peoples a tongue for her generation, that all may call on the name of the Lord, to serve him under one yoke. From the boundaries of the rivers of Ethiopia will I receive my dispersed ones; they shall offer sacrifices to me. In that day thou shalt not be ashamed of all thy practices, wherein thou hast transgressed against me: for then will I take away from thee thy disdainful pride, and thou shalt no more magnify thyself upon my holy mountain. And I will leave in thee a meek and lowly people; and the remnant of Israel shall fear the name of the Lord, and shall do no iniquity, neither shall they speak vanity; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed, and lie down, and there shall be none to terrify them.

Rejoice, O daughter of Sion; cry aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem; rejoice and delight thyself with all thine heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The Lord has taken away thine iniquities, he has ransomed thee from the hand of thine enemies: the Lord, the King of Israel, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more.

At that time the Lord shall say to Jerusalem, Be of good courage, Sion; let not thine hands be slack. The Lord thy God is in thee; the Mighty One shall save thee: he shall bring joy upon thee, and shall refresh thee with his love; and he shall rejoice over thee with delight as in a day of feasting. And I will gather thine afflicted ones.

Alas! who has taken up a reproach against her? Behold, I will work in thee for thy sake at that time, saith the Lord: and I will save her that was oppressed, and receive her that was rejected; and I will make them a praise, and honoured in all the earth. And their enemies shall be ashamed at that time, when I shall deal well with you, and at the time when I shall receive you: for I will make you honoured and a praise among all the nations of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before you, saith the Lord. (Zephaniah 3:1-20 Brenton)