The Bible (Old and New Testaments)

The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, violated the statute, broken the everlasting covenant.

Therefore hath a curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are found guilty; therefore the inhabitants of the earth waste away, and men are left few.

The new wine faileth, the vine fadeth; all the merry-hearted do sigh.

The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth.

They drink not wine with a song; strong drink is bitter to them that drink it.

Broken down is the city of wasteness; every house is shut up, that none may come in.

There is a crying in the streets amidst the wine; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone.

In the city is left desolation, and the gate is smitten unto ruin.

For thus shall it be in the midst of the earth, among the peoples, as at the beating of an olive-tree, as at the gleanings when the vintage is done.

Those yonder lift up their voice, they sing for joy; for the majesty of the LORD they shout from the sea:

'Therefore glorify ye the LORD in the regions of light, even the name of the LORD, the God of Israel, in the isles of the sea.'

From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs: 'Glory to the righteous.' But I say: I waste away, I waste away, woe is me! The treacherous deal treacherously; yea, the treacherous deal very treacherously.

Terror, and the pit, and the trap, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.

And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the terror shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the trap; for the windows on high are opened, and the foundations of the earth do shake;

The earth is broken, broken down, the earth is crumbled in pieces, the earth trembleth and tottereth;

The earth reeleth to and fro like a drunken man, and swayeth to and fro as a lodge; and the transgression thereof is heavy upon it, and it shall fall, and not rise again.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD will punish the host of the high heaven on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.

And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the dungeon, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be punished.

Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed; for the LORD of hosts will reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before His elders shall be Glory.

O LORD, Thou art my God, I will exalt Thee, I will praise Thy name, for Thou hast done wonderful things; even counsels of old, in faithfulness and truth.

For Thou hast made of a city a heap, of a fortified city a ruin; a castle of strangers to be no city, it shall never be built.

Therefore shall the strong people glorify Thee, the city of the terrible nations shall fear Thee.

For Thou hast been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat; for the blast of the terrible ones was as a storm against the wall.

As the heat in a dry place, Thou didst subdue the noise of strangers; as the heat by the shadow of a cloud, the song of the terrible ones was brought low.

And in this mountain will the LORD of hosts make unto all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.

And He will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering that is cast over all peoples, and the veil that is spread over all nations.

He will swallow up death for ever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the reproach of His people will He take away from off all the earth; for the LORD hath spoken it.

And it shall be said in that day: 'Lo, this is our God, for whom we waited, that He might save us; this is the LORD, for whom we waited, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.'

For in this mountain will the hand of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down in his place, even as straw is trodden down in the dunghill.

And when he shall spread forth his hands in the midst thereof, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim, his pride shall be brought down together with the cunning of his hands.

And the high fortress of thy walls will He bring down, lay low, and bring to the ground, even to the dust.

In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; walls and bulwarks doth He appoint for salvation.

Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation that keepeth faithfulness may enter in.

The mind stayed on Thee Thou keepest in perfect peace; because it trusteth in Thee.

Trust ye in the LORD for ever, for the LORD is GOD, an everlasting Rock.

For He hath brought down them that dwell on high, the lofty city, laying it low, laying it low even to the ground, bringing it even to the dust.

The foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy.

The way of the just is straight; Thou, Most Upright, makest plain the path of the just.

Yea, in the way of Thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for Thee; to Thy name and to Thy memorial is the desire of our soul.

With my soul have I desired Thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me have I sought Thee earnestly; for when Thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.

Let favour be shown to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness will he deal wrongfully, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD.

LORD, Thy hand was lifted up, yet they see not; they shall see with shame Thy zeal for the people; yea, fire shall devour Thine adversaries.

LORD, Thou wilt establish peace for us; for Thou hast indeed wrought all our works for us.

O LORD our God, other lords beside Thee have had dominion over us; but by Thee only do we make mention of Thy name.

The dead live not, the shades rise not; to that end hast Thou punished and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish.

Thou hast gotten Thee honour with the nations, O LORD, yea, exceeding great honour with the nations; Thou art honoured unto the farthest ends of the earth.

LORD, in trouble have they sought Thee, silently they poured out a prayer when Thy chastening was upon them.

Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been at Thy presence, O LORD.

We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the land; neither are the inhabitants of the world come to life.

Thy dead shall live, my dead bodies shall arise — awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust — for Thy dew is as the dew of light, and the earth shall bring to life the shades.

Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee; hide thyself for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.

For, behold, the LORD cometh forth out of His place to visit upon the inhabitants of the earth their iniquity; the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.

In that day the LORD with His sore and great and strong sword will punish leviathan the slant serpent, and leviathan the tortuous serpent; and He will slay the dragon that is in the sea.

In that day sing ye of her: 'A vineyard of foaming wine!'

I the LORD do guard it, I water it every moment; lest Mine anger visit it, I guard it night and day.

Fury is not in Me; would that I were as the briers and thorns in flame! I would with one step burn it altogether.

Or else let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; yea, let him make peace with Me.

In days to come shall Jacob take root, Israel shall blossom and bud; and the face of the world shall be filled with fruitage.

Hath He smitten him as He smote those that smote him? Or is he slain according to the slaughter of them that were slain by Him?

In full measure, when Thou sendest her away, Thou dost contend with her; He hath removed her with His rough blast in the day of the east wind.

Therefore by this shall the iniquity of Jacob be expiated, and this is all the fruit of taking away his sin: when he maketh all the stones of the altar as chalkstones that are beaten in pieces, so that the Asherim and the sun-images shall rise no more.

For the fortified city is solitary, a habitation abandoned and forsaken, like the wilderness; there shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down, and consume the branches thereof.

When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off; the women shall come, and set them on fire; for it is a people of no understanding; therefore He that made them will not have compassion upon them, and He that formed them will not be gracious unto them.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD will beat off His fruit from the flood of the River unto the Brook of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great horn shall be blown; and they shall come that were lost in the land of Assyria, and they that were dispersed in the land of Egypt; and they shall worship the LORD in the holy mountain at Jerusalem.

Woe to the crown of pride of the drunkards of Ephraim, and to the fading flower of his glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley of them that are smitten down with wine!

Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, as a storm of hail, a tempest of destruction, as a storm of mighty waters overflowing, that casteth down to the earth with violence.

The crown of pride of the drunkards of Ephraim shall be trodden under foot;

And the fading flower of his glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be as the first-ripe fig before the summer, which when one looketh upon it, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up.

In that day shall the LORD of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of His people;

And for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn back the battle at the gate.

But these also reel through wine, and stagger through strong drink; the priest and the prophet reel through strong drink, they are confused because of wine, they stagger because of strong drink; they reel in vision, they totter in judgment.

For all tables are full of filthy vomit, and no place is clean.

Whom shall one teach knowledge? And whom shall one make to understand the message? Them that are weaned from the milk, them that are drawn from the breasts?

For it is precept by precept, precept by precept, line by line, line by line; here a little, there a little.

For with stammering lips and with a strange tongue shall it be spoken to this people;

To whom it was said: 'This is the rest, give ye rest to the weary; and this is the refreshing'; yet they would not hear.

And so the word of the LORD is unto them precept by precept, precept by precept, line by line, line by line; here a little, there a little; that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.

Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scoffers, the ballad-mongers of this people which is in Jerusalem:

Because ye have said: 'We have made a covenant with death, and with the nether-world are we at agreement; when the scouring scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us; for we have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood have we hid ourselves';

Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a costly corner-stone of sure foundation; he that believeth shall not make haste.

And I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plummet; and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding-place.

And your covenant with death shall be disannulled and your agreement with the nether-world shall not stand; when the scouring scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it,

As often as it passeth through, it shall take you; for morning by morning shall it pass through, by day and by night; and it shall be sheer terror to understand the message.

For the bed is too short for a man to stretch himself; and the covering too narrow when he gathereth himself up.

For the LORD will rise up as in mount Perazim, He will be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon; that He may do His work, strange is His work, and bring to pass His act, strange is His act.

Now therefore be ye not scoffers, lest your bands be made strong; for an extermination wholly determined have I heard from the Lord, the GOD of hosts, upon the whole land.

Give ye ear, and hear my voice; attend, and hear my speech.

Is the plowman never done with plowing to sow, with the opening and harrowing of his ground?

When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the black cummin, and scatter the cummin, and put in the wheat in rows and the barley in the appointed place and the spelt in the border thereof?

For He doth instruct him aright; his God doth teach him.

For the black cummin is not threshed with a threshing-sledge, neither is a cart-wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the black cummin is beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod.

Is bread corn crushed? Nay, he will not ever be threshing it; and though the roller of his wagon and its sharp edges move noisily, he doth not crush it.

This also cometh forth from the LORD of hosts: Wonderful is His counsel, and great His wisdom.

Ah, Ariel, Ariel, the city where David encamped! Add ye year to year, let the feasts come round!

Then will I distress Ariel, and there shall be mourning and moaning; and she shall be unto Me as a hearth of God.

And I will encamp against thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with a mound, and I will raise siege works against thee.

And brought down thou shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust; and thy voice shall be as of a ghost out of the ground, and thy speech shall chirp out of the dust.

But the multitude of thy foes shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the terrible ones as chaff that passeth away; yea, it shall be at an instant suddenly —

There shall be a visitation from the LORD of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire.