The Hebrew Prophets

It was broken down--a city of emptiness, Shut hath been every house from entrance.

A cry over the wine is in out-places, Darkened hath been all joy, Removed hath been the joy of the land.

Left in the city is desolation, And with wasting is the gate smitten.

When thus it is in the heart of the land, In the midst of the peoples, As the compassing of the olive, As gleanings when harvest hath been finished,

They--they lift up their voice, They sing of the excellency of Jehovah, They have cried aloud from the sea.

Therefore in prosperity honour ye Jehovah, In isles of the sea, the name of Jehovah, God of Israel.

From the skirt of the earth we heard songs, The desire of the righteous. And I say, `Leanness is to me, Leanness is to me, woe is to me.' Treacherous dealers dealt treacherously, Yea, treachery, treacherous dealers dealt treacherously.

Fear, and a snare, and a gin, Are on thee, O inhabitant of the land.

And it hath come to pass, He who is fleeing from the noise of the fear Doth fall into the snare, And he who is coming up from the midst of the snare, Is captured by the gin, For windows on high have been opened, And shaken are foundations of the land.

Utterly broken down hath been the land, Utterly broken hath been the land, Utterly moved hath been the land.

Stagger greatly doth the land as a drunkard, And it hath been moved as a lodge, And heavy on it hath been its transgression, And it hath fallen, and addeth not to rise.

And it hath come to pass, in that day, Jehovah layeth a charge on the host of the high place in the high place, And on the kings of the land on the land.

And they have been gathered--A gathering of bound ones in a pit, And shut up they have been in a prison, And after a multitude of days are inspected.

And confounded hath been the moon, And ashamed hath been the sun, For reigned hath Jehovah of Hosts In mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, And over-against His elders--honour!

O Jehovah, my God art Thou, I exalt Thee, I confess Thy name, For Thou hast done a wonderful thing, Counsels of old, stedfastness, O stedfast One.

For Thou didst make of a city a heap, Of a fenced city a ruin, A high place of strangers from being a city, To the age it is not built.

Therefore honour Thee do a strong people, A city of the terrible nations feareth Thee.

For Thou hast been a stronghold for the poor, A stronghold for the needy in his distress, A refuge from storm, a shadow from heat, When the spirit of the terrible is as a storm--a wall.

As heat in a dry place, The noise of strangers Thou humblest, Heat with the shadow of a thick cloud, The singing of the terrible is humbled.

And made hath Jehovah of Hosts, For all the peoples in this mount, A banquet of fat things, a banquet of preserved things, Fat things full of marrow, preserved things refined.

And swallowed up hath He in this mountain The face of the wrapping that is wrapped over all the peoples, And of the covering that is spread over all the nations.

He hath swallowed up death in victory, And wiped hath the Lord Jehovah, The tear from off all faces, And the reproach of His people He turneth aside from off all the earth, For Jehovah hath spoken.

And one hath said in that day, `Lo, this is our God, We waited for Him, and He saveth us, This is Jehovah, we have waited for Him, We joy and rejoice in His salvation.'

For rest doth the hand of Jehovah on this mountain, And trodden down is Moab under Him, As trodden down is straw on a dunghill.

And he spread out his hands in its midst, As spread out doth the swimmer to swim; And He hath humbled his excellency With the machinations of his hands.