The Bible (Old and New Testaments)

The meal-offering and the drink-offering is cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests mourn, even the LORD'S ministers.

The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted, the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth.

Be ashamed, O ye husbandmen, wail, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished.

The vine is withered, and the fig-tree languisheth; the pomegranate-tree, the palm-tree also, and the apple-tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered; for joy is withered away from the sons of men.

Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests, wail, ye ministers of the altar; come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God; for the meal-offering and the drink-offering is withholden from the house of your God.

Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land unto the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD.

Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.

Is not the food cut off before our eyes, yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God?

The grains shrivel under their hoes; the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered.

How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.

Unto Thee, O LORD, do I cry; for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath set ablaze all the trees of the field.

Yea, the beasts of the field pant unto Thee; for the water brooks are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.

Blow ye the horn in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain; let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is at hand;

A day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, as blackness spread upon the mountains; a great people and a mighty, there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after them, even to the years of many generations.

A fire devoureth before them, and behind them a flame blazeth; the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing escapeth them.

The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so do they run.

Like the noise of chariots, on the tops of the mountains do they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a mighty people set in battle array.

At their presence the peoples are in anguish; all faces have gathered blackness.

They run like mighty men, they climb the wall like men of war; and they move on every one in his ways, and they entangle not their paths.

Neither doth one thrust another, they march every one in his highway; and they break through the weapons, and suffer no harm.

They leap upon the city, they run upon the wall, they climb up into the houses; they enter in at the windows like a thief.

Before them the earth quaketh, the heavens tremble; the sun and the moon are become black, and the stars withdraw their shining.

And the LORD uttereth His voice before His army; for His camp is very great, for he is mighty that executeth His word; for great is the day of the LORD and very terrible; and who can abide it?

Yet even now, saith the LORD, turn ye unto Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with lamentation;

And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God; for He is gracious and compassionate, long-suffering, and abundant in mercy, and repenteth Him of the evil.

Who knoweth whether He will not turn and repent, and leave a blessing behind Him, even a meal-offering and a drink-offering unto the LORD your God?

Blow the horn in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly;

Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts; let the bridegroom go forth from his chamber, and the bride out of her pavilion.

Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say: 'Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not Thy heritage to reproach, that the nations should make them a byword: wherefore should they say among the peoples: Where is their God?'

Then was the LORD jealous for His land, and had pity on His people.

And the LORD answered and said unto His people: 'Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations;

But I will remove far off from you the northern one, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the eastern sea, and his hinder part toward the western sea; that his foulness may come up, and his ill savour may come up, because he hath done great things.'

Fear not, O land, be glad and rejoice; for the LORD hath done great things.

Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field; for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth its fruit, the fig-tree and the vine do yield their strength.

Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God; for He giveth you the former rain in just measure, and He causeth to come down for you the rain, the former rain and the latter rain, at the first.

And the floors shall be full of corn, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.

And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the canker-worm, and the caterpiller, and the palmer-worm, My great army which I sent among you.

And ye shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and shall praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you; and My people shall never be ashamed.

And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and there is none else; and My people shall never be ashamed.

And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions;

And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out My spirit.

And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.

The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD come.

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered; for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those that escape, as the LORD hath said, and among the remnant those whom the LORD shall call.

For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring back the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,

I will gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them there for My people and for My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and divided My land.

And they have cast lots for My people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, and have drunk.

And also what are ye to Me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the regions of Philistia? will ye render retribution on My behalf? and if ye render retribution on My behalf, swiftly, speedily will I return your retribution upon your own head.

Forasmuch as ye have taken My silver and My gold, and have carried into your temples My goodly treasures;

the children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the sons of Jevanim, that ye might remove them far from their border;

behold, I will stir them up out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your retribution upon your own head;

and I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the men of Sheba, to a nation far off; for the LORD hath spoken.

Proclaim ye this among the nations, prepare war; stir up the mighty men; let all the men of war draw near, let them come up.

Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears; let the weak say: 'I am strong.'

Haste ye, and come, all ye nations round about, and gather yourselves together; thither cause Thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD!

Let the nations be stirred up, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the nations round about.

Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; come, tread ye, for the winepress is full, the vats overflow; for their wickedness is great.

Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.

The sun and the moon are become black, and the stars withdraw their shining.

And the LORD shall roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shall shake; but the LORD will be a refuge unto His people, and a stronghold to the children of Israel.

So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God, dwelling in Zion My holy mountain; then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the brooks of Judah shall flow with waters; and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim.

Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.

But Judah shall be inhabited for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.

And I will hold as innocent their blood that I have not held as innocent; and the LORD dwelleth in Zion.

THE WORDS of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

And he said: The LORD roareth from Zion, and uttereth His voice from Jerusalem; and the pastures of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.

For thus saith the LORD: For three transgressions of Damascus, yea, for four, I will not reverse it: because they have threshed Gilead with sledges of iron.

So will I send a fire into the house of Hazael, and it shall devour the palaces of Ben-hadad;

And I will break the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from Bikath-Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from Beth-eden; and the people of Aram shall go into captivity unto Kir, saith the LORD.

Thus saith the LORD: For three transgressions of Gaza, yea, for four, I will not reverse it: because they carried away captive a whole captivity, to deliver them up to Edom.

So will I send a fire on the wall of Gaza, and it shall devour the palaces thereof;

And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holdeth the sceptre from Ashkelon; and I will turn My hand against Ekron, and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord GOD.

Thus saith the LORD: For three transgressions of Tyre, yea, for four, I will not reverse it: because they delivered up a whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant.

So will I send a fire on the wall of Tyre, and it shall devour the palaces thereof.

Thus saith the LORD: For three transgressions of Edom, yea, for four, I will not reverse it: because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever.

So will I send a fire upon Teman, and it shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.

Thus saith the LORD: For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, yea, for four, I will not reverse it: because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border.

So will I kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind;

And their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes together, saith the LORD.

Thus saith the LORD: For three transgressions of Moab, yea, for four, I will not reverse it: because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime.

So will I send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth; and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the horn;

And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith the LORD.

Thus saith the LORD: For three transgressions of Judah, yea, for four, I will not reverse it: because they have rejected the law of the LORD, and have not kept His statutes, and their lies have caused them to err, after which their fathers did walk.

So will I send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.

Thus saith the LORD: For three transgressions of Israel, yea, for four, I will not reverse it: because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes;

That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the humble; and a man and his father go unto the same maid, to profane My holy name;

And they lay themselves down beside every altar upon clothes taken in pledge, and in the house of their God they drink the wine of them that have been fined.

Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.

Also I brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and led you forty years in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorites.

And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazirites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the LORD.

But ye gave the Nazirites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying: 'Prophesy not.'

Behold, I will make it creak under you, as a cart creaketh that is full of sheaves.

And flight shall fail the swift, and the strong shall not exert his strength, neither shall the mighty deliver himself;

Neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself; neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself;

And he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith the LORD.

Hear this word that the LORD hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up out of the land of Egypt, saying:

You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will visit upon you all your iniquities.

Will two walk together, except they have agreed?

Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? Will a young lion give forth his voice out of his den, if he have taken nothing?