5 For it is a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of per

plexity;

The day of the Lord JEHOVAH God of Hosts in the valley of

vision:

Breaking down the wall, and crying to the mountain. 6 And Elam beareth the quiver;

With chariots cometh the Syrian, and with horsemen i

And Kir uncovereth the shield.

7 And thy choicest valleys shall be filled with chariots; And the horsemen shall set themselves in array against the gate.

8 And the barrier of Judah shall be laid open:

Then thou shalt look towards the arsenal of the house of the

forest.

9 And the breaches of the city of David, ye shall see that they are many;

And

ye shall collect the waters of the lower pool;

10 And the houses of Jerusalem ye shall number;

And ye shall break down the houses to fortify the rampart: 11 And ye shall make a lake between the two walls,

To receive the waters of the old pool.

But ye look not to him, that hath disposed this:

And him, that formed it of old, ye regard not,

12 And the Lord JEHOVAH God of Hosts called in that day,

To weeping, and to lamentation;

And to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:

13 But, behold, joy and gladness,

14

15

16

Slaying of oxen, and killing of sheep;

Eating of flesh, and drinking of wine :

Let us eat, and drink; for to-morrow we die.

And the voice of JEHOVAH God of hosts was revealed to
mine ears:

Surely this your iniquity shall not be expiated, till ye die;
Saith the Lord JEHOVAH God of hosts.

THUS saith the Lord JEHOVAH God of hosts: Go, get thee to this treasurer, unto Shebna, who is over the household; and say unto him:

What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here?
That thou hast hewn out here a sepulchre for thyself P
O thou that hewest out thy sepulchre on high,

That gravest in the rock an habitation for thyself!
Behold JEHOVAH will cast thee out,

Casting thee violently out, and will surely cover thee;
He will whirl thee round and round, and cast thee away,
Like a ball [from a sling,] into a wide country:

There shalt thou die; and there shall thy glorious chariots
Become the shame of the house of thy lord.

And I will drive thee from thy station,
And from thy state will I overthrow thee.
And in that day I will call my servant,
Even Eliakim the son of Hilkiah.

And I will clothe him with thy robe,

And with thy baldric will I strengthen him :

And thy government will I commit to his hand;

And he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem,

And to the house of Judah :

And I will lay the key of the house of David upon his shoulder ;

And he shall open, and none shall shut;

And he shall shut, and none shall open.

And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place;

And he shall become a glorious seat for his father's house.

And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house,

The offspring of high and of low degree;

Every small vessel; from every sort of goblets,

Το every sort of meaner vessels.

In that day, saith JEHOVAH God of hosts,

The nail once fastened in a sure place shall be moved;

And it shall be hewn down, and it shall fall;

And the burthen, which was upon it, shall be cut off:
For JEHOVAH hath spoken it.

CHAP. XXIII.

1 THE ORACLE CONCERNING TYRE.

HOWL, O ye ships of Tarshish!

For she is utterly destroyed both within and without:

From the land of Chittim the tidings are brought unto them.

2 Be silent, O ye inhabitants of the sea-coast:

The merchants of Sidon, they that

pass over the sea, crowded

thee.

3 And the seed of the Nile, growing from abundant waters;

The harvest of the river was her revenue:

And she became the mart of the nations.

4 Be thou ashamed, O Sidon; for the sea hath spoken,
Even the mighty fortress of the sea, saying:

I am, as if I had not travailed, nor brought forth children;
As if I had not nourished youths, nor educated virgins.

5 When the tidings shall reach Egypt,

They shall be seized with anguish at the tidings of Tyre.

6 Pass ye over to Tarshish; howl, O ye inhabitants of the seacoast!

7 Is this your triumphant city; whose antiquity is of the earliest

date?

Her own feet bear her far away to sojourn.

8 Who hath purposed this against Tyre, who dispensed crowns; Whose merchants were princes; whose traders were nobles of

the land?

9 JEHOVAH God of hosts hath counselled it;

To stain the pride of all beauty;

To make contemptible all the nobles of the earth.

10 Overflow thy land, like a river,

O daughter of Tarshish; the mound [that kept in thy waters

is no more.

11 He hath stretched his hand over the sea; he hath shaken the

kingdoms:

JEHOVAH hath issued a command concerning Canaan, that they should destroy her strong places.

12 And he hath said: Thou shalt triumph no more,

O thou defloured virgin, the daughter of Sidon!

To Chittim arise, pass over; even there thou shalt have no rest. 13 Behold the land of the Chaldeans;

This people was of no account:

(The Assyrian founded it for the inhabitants of the desert; They raised the watch-towers, they set up the palaces, thereof:) This people hath reduced her to a ruin.

14 Howl, O ye ships of Tarshish; for your strong hold is destroyed.

15 And it shall come to pass in that day;

That Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years,
According to the days of one king:

At the end of seventy years,

Tyre shall sing, as the harlot singeth.

16 Take the lyre, go about the city, O harlot long forgotten; Strike the lyre artfully; multiply the song; that thou mayest again be remembered.

17 And at the end of seventy years,

JEHOVAH will take account of Tyre:

And she shall return to her gainful practice;

And she shall play the harlot with all the kingdoms of the world,

That are upon the face of the earth.

18 But her traffic, and her gain, shall be holy to JEHOVAH:
It shall not be treasured, nor shall it be kept in store;
For her traffic shall be for them, that dwell before JEHOVAH,
For food sufficient, and for durable clothing.

CHAP. XXIV.

1 BEHOLD, JEHOVAH emptieth the land and maketh it waste;

He even turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants.

2 And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest;

As with the servant, so with his master;

As with the handmaid, so with her mistress ;
As with the buyer, so with the seller;

As with the usurer, so with the giver of

usury,

As with the borrower, so with the lender;

3 The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled; For JEHOVAH hath spoken this word.

4 The land mourneth, it withereth; The world languisheth, it withereth;

The lofty people of the land do languish.

5 The land is even polluted under her inhabitants;

For they have transgressed the law, they have changed the de

decree ;

They have broken the everlasting covenant.

6 Therefore hath a curse devoured the land;

Because they are guilty, that dwell in her.

Therefore are the inhabitants of the land destroyed;

And few are the mortals, that are left in her.

7 The new wine mourneth; the vine languisheth; All, that were glad of heart, sigh.

N

8 The joyful sound of the tabour ceaseth ; The noise of exultation is no more;

The joyful sound of the harp ceaseth :

9 With songs they shall no more drink wine;
The palm-wine shall be bitter to them that drink it.
10 The city is broken down; it is desolate :

Every house is obstructed, so that no one can enter.
11 There is a cry in the streets for wine ;
All gladness is passed away;

The joy of the whole land is banished.

12 Desolation is left in the city;

And with a great tumult the gate is battered down.

13 Yea thus shall it be in the very centre of the land, in the midst of the people;

As the shaking of the olive; as the gleaning when the vintage

is finished.

14 But these shall lift up their voice, they shall sing;

The waters shall resound with the exaltation of JEHOVAH.

15 Wherefore in the distant coasts, glorify ye JEHOVAH;

In the distant coasts of the sea, the name of JEHOVAH, the God of Israel.

16 From the uttermost part of the land, we have heard songs, Glory to the righteous!

But I said, Alas, my wretchedness, my wretchedness!
Wo is me! the plunderers plunder;

Yea, the plunderers still continue their cruel depredations.

17 The terror, the pit, and the snare,

Are upon thee, O inhabitant of the land:

18 And it shall be, that whoso fleeth from the terror,

He shall fall into the pit;

And whoso escapeth from the pit,

He shall be taken in the snare:

For the flood-gates from on high are opened;

And the foundations of the earth tremble.

19 The land is grievously shaken;

The land is utterly shattered to pieces;

The land is violently moved out of her place;

20 The land reeleth to and fro like a drunkard;

And moveth this way and that, like a lodge for a night :

For her iniquity lieth heavy upon her;

And she shall fall, and rise no more.