The Bible (Old and New Testaments)

Therefore their wealth shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation; yea, they shall build houses, but shall not inhabit them, and they shall plant vineyards, but shall not drink the wine thereof.

The great day of the LORD is near, it is near and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD, wherein the mighty man crieth bitterly.

That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,

A day of the horn and alarm, against the fortified cities, and against the high towers.

And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the LORD; and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as dung.

Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole earth shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy; for He will make and end, yea, a terrible end, of all them that dwell in the earth.

Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O shameless nation;

Before the decree bring forth the day when one passeth as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD'S anger come upon you.

Seek ye the LORD, all ye humble of the earth, that have executed His ordinance; seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD'S anger.

For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation; they shall drive out Ashdod at the noonday, and Ekron shall be rooted up.

Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea-coast, the nation of the Cherethites! the word of the LORD is against you, O Canaan, the land of the Philistines; I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant.

And the sea-coast shall be pastures, even meadows for shepherds, and folds for flocks.

And it shall be a portion for the remnant of the house of Judah, whereon they shall feed; in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening; for the LORD their God will remember them, and turn their captivity.

I have heard the taunt of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, wherewith they have taunted My people, and spoken boastfully concerning their border.

Therefore as I live, saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding-place of nettles, and saltpits, and a desolation, for ever; the residue of My people shall spoil them, and the remnant of My nation shall inherit them.

This shall they have for their pride, because they have taunted and spoken boastfully against the people of the LORD of hosts.

The LORD will be terrible unto them; for He will famish all the gods of the earth; then shall all the isles of the nations worship Him, every one from its place.

Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be slain by My sword.

And He will stretch out His hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like the wilderness.

And all beasts of every kind shall lie down in the midst of her in herds; both the pelican and the bittern shall lodge in the capitals thereof; voices shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the posts; for the cedar-work thereof shall be uncovered.

This is the joyous city that dwelt without care, that said in her heart: 'I am, and there is none else beside me'; how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! Every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his hand.

Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city!

She hearkened not to the voice, she received not correction; she trusted not in the LORD, she drew not near to her God.

Her princes in the midst of her are roaring lions; her judges are wolves of the desert, they leave not a bone for the morrow.

Her prophets are wanton and treacherous persons; her priests have profaned that which is holy, they have done violence to the law.

The LORD who is righteous is in the midst of her, He will not do unrighteousness; every morning doth He bring His right to light, it faileth not; but the unrighteous knoweth no shame.

I have cut off nations, their corners are desolate; I have made their streets waste, so that none passeth by; their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, so that there is no inhabitant.

I said: 'Surely thou wilt fear Me, thou wilt receive correction; so her dwelling shall not be cut off, despite all that I have visited upon her'; but they betimes corrupted all their doings.

Therefore wait ye for Me, saith the LORD, until the day that I rise up to the prey; for My determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them Mine indignation, even all My fierce anger; for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of My jealousy.

For then will I turn to the peoples a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve Him with one consent.

From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia shall they bring My suppliants, even the daughter of My dispersed, as Mine offering.

In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against Me; for then I will take away out of the midst of thee thy proudly exulting ones, and thou shalt no more be haughty in My holy mountain.

And I will leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall take refuge in the name of the LORD.

The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies, neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

Sing, O daughter of Zion, shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.

The LORD hath taken away thy judgments, He hath cast out thine enemy; The King of Israel, even the LORD, is in the midst of thee; thou shalt not fear evil any more.

In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: 'Fear thou not; O Zion, let not thy hands be slack.

The LORD thy God is in the midst of thee, a Mighty One who will save; He will rejoice over thee with joy, He will be silent in His love, He will joy over thee with singing.'

I will gather them that are far from the appointed season, who are of thee, that hast borne the burden of reproach.

Behold, at that time I will deal with all them that afflict thee; and I will save her that is lame, and gather her that was driven away; and I will make them to be a praise and a name, whose shame hath been in all the earth.

At that time will I bring you in, and at that time will I gather you; for I will make you to be a name and a praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I turn your captivity before your eyes, saith the LORD.

IN THE second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying:

'Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying: This people say: The time is not come, the time that the LORD'S house should be built.'

Then came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying:

'Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your cieled houses, while this house lieth waste?

Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways.

Ye have sown much, and brought in little, ye eat, but ye have not enough, ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink, ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages for a bag with holes.

Thus saith the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways.

Go up to the hill-country, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD.

Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of My house that lieth waste, while ye run every man for his own house.

Therefore over you the heaven hath kept back, so that there is no dew, and the earth hath kept back her produce.

And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands.'

Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, hearkened unto the voice of the LORD their God, and unto the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him; and the people did fear before the LORD.

Then spoke Haggai the LORD'S messenger in the LORD'S message unto the people, saying: 'I am with you, saith the LORD.'

And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the LORD of hosts, their God,

in the four and twentieth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.

In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying:

'Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, saying:

Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? and how do ye see it now? is not such a one as nothing in your eyes?

Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work; for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts.

The word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt have I established, and My spirit abideth among you; fear ye not.

For thus saith the LORD of hosts: Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;

and I will shake all nations, and the choicest things of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.

Mine is the silver, and Mine the gold, saith the LORD of hosts.

The glory of this latter house shall be greater than that of the former, saith the LORD of hosts; and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.'

In the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying:

'Thus saith the LORD of hosts: Ask now the priests for instruction, saying:

If one bear hallowed flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any food, shall it be holy?' And the priests answered and said: 'No.'

Then said Haggai: 'If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean?' And the priests answered and said: 'It shall be unclean.'

Then answered Haggai, and said: 'So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the LORD; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean.

And now, I pray you, consider from this day and forward — before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the LORD,

through all that time, when one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten; when one came to the winevat to draw out fifty press-measures, there were but twenty;

I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the work of your hands; yet ye turned not to Me, saith the LORD —

consider, I pray you, from this day and forward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the LORD'S temple was laid, consider it;

is the seed yet in the barn? yea, the vine, and the fig-tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive-tree hath not brought forth — from this day will I bless you.'

And the word of the LORD came the second time unto Haggai in the four and twentieth day of the month, saying:

'Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying: I will shake the heavens and the earth;

and I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.

In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, My servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the LORD, and will make thee as a signet; for I have chosen thee, saith the LORD of hosts.'

IN THE eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet, saying:

'The LORD hath been sore displeased with your fathers.

Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts: Return unto Me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.

Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets proclaimed, saying: Thus saith the LORD of hosts: Return ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings; but they did not hear, nor attend unto Me, saith the LORD.

Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?

But My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers? so that they turned and said: Like as the LORD of hosts purposed to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath He dealt with us.'

Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet, saying —

I saw in the night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle-trees that were in the bottom; and behind him there were horses, red, sorrel, and white.

Then said I: 'O my lord, what are these?' And the angel that spoke with me said unto me: 'I will show thee what these are.'

And the man that stood among the myrtle-trees answered and said: 'These are they whom the LORD hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth.'

And they answered the angel of the LORD that stood among the myrtle-trees, and said: 'We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest.'

Then the angel of the LORD spoke and said: 'O LORD of hosts, how long wilt Thou not have compassion on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which Thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years?

And the LORD answered the angel that spoke with me with good words, even comforting words —

so the angel that spoke with me said unto me: 'Proclaim thou, saying: Thus saith the LORD of hosts: I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy;

and I am very sore displeased with the nations that are at ease; for I was but a little displeased, and they helped for evil.

Therefore thus saith the LORD: I return to Jerusalem with compassions: My house shall be built in it, saith the LORD of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth over Jerusalem.

Again, proclaim, saying: Thus saith the LORD of hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity; and the LORD shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.'

And I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns.

And I said unto the angel that spoke with me: 'What are these?' And he said unto me: 'These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.'

And the LORD showed me four craftsmen.

Then said I: 'What come these to do?' And he spoke, saying: 'These — the horns which scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head — these then are come to frighten them, to cast down the horns of the nations, which lifted up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.'