Ecclesiastes 7 Cross References - EJ2000

¹ ¶ A good name is better than precious ointment and the day of death than the day of one’s birth. ² It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. ³ Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made whole. ⁴ The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure. ⁵ It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools. ⁶ The laughter of the fool is as the crackling of thorns under a pot, and this also (the laughter or prosperity of the fool) is vanity. ⁷ ¶ Surely oppression makes a wise man mad, and a gift destroys the heart. ⁸ Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and he who has suffered in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. ⁹ Do not be hasty in thy spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools. ¹⁰ Never say, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this. ¹¹ ¶ Knowledge is good with an inheritance and is the excellency of those that see the sun. ¹² For knowledge is a defence, and money is a defence; but wisdom excels in that it gives life to those that have it. ¹³ Consider the work of God; for who can make straight that which he has twisted? ¹⁴ In the day of good enjoy that which is good, but in the day of adversity open your eyes and learn: God also has made the one (the day of adversity) before the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him. ¹⁵ All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just man that perishes for his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongs his days by his wickedness. ¹⁶ Do not be too legalistic; neither make thyself over wise in thine own eyes: why should thou destroy thyself? ¹⁷ Do not be hasty to condemn, neither be thou foolish: why should thou die in the midst of thy labours? ¹⁸ It is good that thou should take hold of this; and also from the other not withdraw thy hand; for he that fears God shall come through with everything. ¹⁹ Wisdom strengthens the wise more than ten mighty men who are in the city. ²⁰ For surely there is not a just man upon earth that in doing good does not sin. ²¹ Also do not take to heart all the words that are spoken lest thou hear thy slave speak evil of thee: ²² For thine own heart knows that thou thyself likewise hast spoken evil of others many times. ²³ ¶ All this I have proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise, but it was far from me. ²⁴ That which has been is far off and that which is exceeding deep, who can find it out? ²⁵ I applied my heart to know and to search and to seek out wisdom and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly and the madness of error; ²⁶ and I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands are bonds; whosoever pleases God shall escape from her, but the sinner shall be held prisoner in her. ²⁷ Behold, this I have found, saith the preacher, weighing things one by one to find out the answer, ²⁸ which my soul yet seeks, but I find not: one man among a thousand I have found, but a woman among all those I have not found. ²⁹ Behold, this only have I found: that God has made man upright, but they have sought out many perversions.

²⁶ ¶ And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air and over the beasts and over all the earth and over every serpent that moves upon the earth. ²⁷ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

⁵ For God knows that in the day ye eat of it then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. ⁶ ¶ And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was desirable to the eyes, and a tree of covetousness to understand, she took of its fruit and ate and gave also unto her husband with her; and he ate.

⁶ ¶ And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was desirable to the eyes, and a tree of covetousness to understand, she took of its fruit and ate and gave also unto her husband with her; and he ate. ⁷ And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves girdles.

⁵ but he did not look upon Cain and his present. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. ⁶ ¶ Then the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?

⁸ ¶ And Cain talked with Abel his brother, and it came to pass when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and slew him.

¹ ¶ This is the book of the descendants of Adam. In the day that God created man, he made him in the likeness of God;

⁵ And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. ⁶ ¶ And the LORD repented of having made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

¹¹ ¶ The earth corrupted itself before God, and the earth filled itself with violence. ¹² And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth.

⁴ And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. ⁵ ¶ And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the sons of the man built. ⁶ And the LORD said, Behold, the people are one, and they all have one language; and they begin to do this, and now nothing will be restrained from them which they have imagined to do.

⁷ And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob’s daughter, a thing which ought not to be done.

⁷ And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob’s daughter, a thing which ought not to be done. ⁸ And Hamor spoke with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem is joined to your daughter; I pray you give her to him as wife.

²⁵ ¶ And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brethren, took each man his sword and came upon the city boldly and slew all the males. ²⁶ And they slew Hamor and Shechem, his son, with the edge of the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house, and went out.

³⁰ And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house. ³¹ And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with a harlot?

⁷ And Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD and the LORD slew him. ⁸ Then Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother’s wife and marry her and raise up seed to thy brother. ⁹ And Onan knew that the seed would not be his, and it came to pass when he went in unto his brother’s wife, that he corrupted it on the ground, to not give seed to his brother. ¹⁰ And the thing which he did displeased the LORD, and he slew him also.

⁹ And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years; few and evil have the days of the years of my life been and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.

¹ ¶ And it came to pass after these things that it was told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick; and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. ² And one told Jacob and said, Behold, thy son Joseph comes unto thee. Then Israel strengthened himself and sat upon the bed ³ and said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me ⁴ and said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of peoples and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession. ⁵ And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. ⁶ And those whom thou hast begotten after them shall be thine and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance. ⁷ Because when I came from Padanaram, Rachel died unto me in the land of Canaan in the way when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath; and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. ⁸ ¶ And Israel beheld Joseph’s sons and said, Who are these? ⁹ And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God has given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them. ¹⁰ Now the eyes of Israel were so dim for age that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him, and he kissed them and embraced them. ¹¹ And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face, and, behold, God has showed me also thy seed. ¹² Then Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. ¹³ And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand and brought them near unto him. ¹⁴ Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it upon Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands with understanding; for Manasseh was the firstborn. ¹⁵ And he blessed Joseph and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has fed me all my life long unto this day, ¹⁶ the Angel who frees me from all evil, bless these young men, and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. ¹⁷ Then Joseph seeing that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head. ¹⁸ And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head. ¹⁹ And his father refused and said, I know it, my son, I know it; he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of Gentiles. ²⁰ And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh. And he set Ephraim before Manasseh. ²¹ And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die; but God shall be with you and bring you again unto the land of your fathers. ²² Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.

² Gather yourselves together and hear, ye sons of Jacob, and hearken unto Israel your father. ³ Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, principal in dignity, and the principal in power. ⁴ Unstable as water, thou shalt not be principal because thou didst go up to thy father’s bed; then thou became defiled, going up to my couch. ⁵ ¶ Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of injustice are their weapons. ⁶ Let my soul not enter into their secret; nor let my honour join their assembly; for in their anger they slew a man, and in their own will they dug down a wall. ⁷ Cursed be their anger, which is strong, and their wrath, which is hard; I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel. ⁸ ¶ Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise; thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s sons shall bow down before thee. ⁹ Judah is a lion’s whelp; from the prey, my son, thou art gone up; he stooped down, he couched as a lion and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? ¹⁰ The sceptre shall not be taken from Judah, nor the lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh comes; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. ¹¹ Binding his foal unto the vine and his ass’s colt unto the choice roots; he washed his garments in wine and his covering in the blood of grapes; ¹² His eyes red with wine, and his teeth white with milk. ¹³ ¶ Zebulun shall dwell at the port of the sea; and he shall be for a port of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon. ¹⁴ Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens; ¹⁵ and he saw that rest was good and the land that it was pleasant and bowed his shoulder to bear and became a servant unto tribute. ¹⁶ Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. ¹⁷ Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that bites the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward. ¹⁸ I have waited for thy saving health, O LORD. ¹⁹ Gad, an army shall invade him, but he shall invade at the last. ²⁰ Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield delight unto the king. ²¹ Naphtali is a hind let loose, who shall give forth a good word. ²² ¶ Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a fountain, whose daughters run over the wall. ²³ The arches have sorely grieved him and shot at him and hated him; ²⁴ but his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty one of Jacob; from there did the stone of Israel shepherd, ²⁵ by the God of thy father, who shall help thee, and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of the heavens above, with blessings of the deep that lies under, with blessings of the breasts and of the womb. ²⁶ The blessings of thy father were greater than the blessings of my progenitors; unto the borders of the eternal hills they shall be upon the head of Joseph and on the crown of the Nazarite of his brethren. ²⁷ Benjamin, ravening wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and in the evening he shall divide the spoil. ²⁸ ¶ All these were the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke unto them and blessed them; each one according to his blessing he blessed them. ²⁹ And he charged them and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron, the Hittite, ³⁰ in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron, the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace. ³¹ There they buried Abraham and Sarah, his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah, his wife; and there I buried Leah. ³² The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the sons of Heth. ³³ And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed and expired and was gathered unto his people.

¹⁵ ¶ And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him. ¹⁶ And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying, ¹⁷ So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren and their sin, for they did unto thee evil; and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the slaves of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spoke unto him.

⁸ And thou shalt take no bribe; for the bribe blinds the wise and perverts the words of the righteous.

¹⁰ Who shall count the dust of Jacob and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let my soul die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!

³ And he afflicted thee and caused thee to hunger and sustained thee with manna, food of which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know, that he might make thee know that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD shall man live.

¹⁹ Thou shalt not twist that which is right; thou shalt not respect persons neither take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous.

³³ The fruit of thy land and all thy labours shall a people which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt only be oppressed and crushed all the days. ³⁴ So that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.

⁴⁷ Because thou didst not serve the LORD thy God with joyfulness and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things;

⁶⁵ Neither shalt thou find rest among these Gentiles, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest; but there the LORD shall give thee a trembling heart and failing of eyes and sorrow of soul;

¹¹ ¶ For this commandment which I command thee today is not hidden unto thee, neither is it far off. ¹² It is not in heaven, that thou should say, Who shall go up for us to heaven and take it for us and recite it unto us, that we may fulfil it? ¹³ Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou should say, Who shall go over the sea for us and take it for us and recite it unto us, that we may fulfil it? ¹⁴ But the word is very near unto thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart that thou may fulfil it.

¹⁹ I call the heavens and the earth to witness today against you that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore, choose life that both thou and thy seed may live, ²⁰ that thou may love the LORD thy God and that thou may hear his voice and that thou may cleave unto him; for he is thy life and the length of thy days that thou may dwell in the land which the LORD swore unto thy fathers, to Abraham to Isaac and to Jacob, to give them.

²⁹ O that they were wise, if they were prudent, they would understand their latter end!

⁴⁶ and he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I protest against you today, to command them unto your children and keep and fulfil all the words of this law. ⁴⁷ For it is not a vain thing for you because it is your life; and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, which ye shall pass the Jordan to inherit.

¹³ Get up, sanctify the people and say, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow; for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, There is anathema in the midst of thee, O Israel; thou canst not stand before thy enemies until ye take away the anathema from among you.

¹³ And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this befallen us? And where are all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.

¹⁵ And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and confide under my shadow; and if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.

¹⁸ ¶ And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the cardinals of the Philistines, saying, Come up this time, for he has showed me all his heart. Then the cardinals of the Philistines came up unto her and brought the money in their hand. ¹⁹ And she caused him to sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him. ²⁰ And she said, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep and said, This time I will go out like before and escape; not knowing that the LORD had departed from him. ²¹ But the Philistines took hold of him and put out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with fetters of iron that he should grind in the prison house.

³ And his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after greed, receiving bribes and perverting that which is right.

³ Behold, here I am; witness against me before the LORD and before his anointed. If I have taken anyone’s ox or if I have taken anyone’s ass or if I have defrauded anyone or if I have oppressed anyone or if I have received a bribe {Heb. ransom} from anyone to blind my eyes, I will restore it you.

¹⁸ Then the king said to Doeg, Turn thou and fall upon the priests. And Doeg, the Edomite, turned and he fell upon the priests and slew on that day eighty-five men that wore a linen ephod. ¹⁹ And Nob, the city of the priests, he smote with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and sucklings and oxen and asses and sheep with the edge of the sword.

²¹ Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow has in the wilderness so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him, and he has returned unto me evil for good. ²² Let God do so and more also unto the enemies of David if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light any that piss against the wall.

³⁶ ¶ And Abigail came to Nabal, and, behold, he held a banquet in his house like the banquet of a king; and Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken; therefore, she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light.

³⁸ And it came to pass about ten days after, that the LORD smote Nabal, and he died.

¹⁶ And so he brought him down, and behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking, and holding a feast because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines and out of the land of Judah.

¹² And she answered him, No, my brother, do not force me, for no such thing ought to be done in Israel. Do not commit this folly.

²² And Absalom spoke neither good nor bad unto his brother Amnon, for Absalom hated Amnon because he had forced his sister Tamar.

²⁸ Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, Mark ye now when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine, and when I say unto you, Smite Amnon, then kill him. Fear not; have I not commanded you? Be courageous, and be valiant.

³² And Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David’s brother, answered and said, Do not let my lord suppose that they have slain all the young men, the king’s sons, for only Amnon is dead, for by the mouth of Absalom this has been determined from the day that he forced his sister Tamar.

¹⁰ And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? So let him curse, because the LORD has said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Why hast thou done so?

¹⁹ And said unto the king, Let not my lord impute iniquity unto me, neither retain the memory of the wickedness that thy slave did the day that my lord the king went out of Jerusalem, that the king should guard it in his heart.

⁴³ Then the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, and said, We have ten parts in the king, and we have also more right in David than ye; why then did ye not take us into account? Did we not speak first about bringing back our king? But in the end words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel.

¹⁶ Then a wise woman cried out in the city, Hear, hear, I pray you, tell Joab to come here, that I may speak with him. ¹⁷ And when he had come near unto her, the woman said, Art thou Joab? And he answered, I am he. Then she said unto him, Hear the words of thy handmaid. And he answered, I hear. ¹⁸ Then she spoke, saying, They used to speak in old times, saying, If you have a question ask it at Abel; and so they concluded the matter. ¹⁹ I am one of those that are peaceable and faithful in Israel, and thou seekest to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel; why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of the LORD? ²⁰ And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me that I should swallow up or destroy. ²¹ The matter is not so, but a man of Mount Ephraim, Sheba, the son of Bichri, by name, has lifted up his hand against King David; give only him over, and I will depart from the city. And the woman said unto Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall. ²² Then the woman went unto all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba, the son of Bichri, and cast it out to Joab. And he blew the shofar, and they retired from the city, each one to his tent. And Joab returned to Jerusalem unto the king.

⁴⁴ The king said moreover to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness which thy heart knoweth well that thou didst to David my father; therefore, the LORD has turned thy wickedness upon thine own head;

⁶ And Solomon said, Thou hast shown unto thy slave David, my father, great mercy, according to the way he walked before thee in truth and in righteousness and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great mercy that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. ⁷ And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy slave king instead of David my father; and I am but a tender young man; I do not know how to go out or come in. ⁸ And thy slave is in the midst of thy people whom thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. ⁹ Give, therefore, thy slave a hearing heart to judge thy people that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this thy so great a people?

¹¹ And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing and hast not asked for thyself long life neither hast asked riches for thyself nor hast asked the life of thine enemies, but hast asked for thyself understanding to hear judgment, ¹² behold, I have done according to thy words: behold, I have given thee a wise and understanding heart so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.

⁴⁶ If they have sinned against thee (for there is no man that does not sin) and thou should be angry with them and deliver them to the enemy so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near, ⁴⁷ and they return unto their heart in the land where they were carried captives and return and make supplication unto thee in the land of those that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned and have done iniquity, we have committed wickedness;

¹ ¶ But King Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites,

¹ ¶ But King Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites, ² of the Gentiles concerning which the LORD had said unto the sons of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods. Solomon clave unto these in love.

² of the Gentiles concerning which the LORD had said unto the sons of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods. Solomon clave unto these in love. ³ And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart.

³ And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. ⁴ For it came to pass when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David, his father. ⁵ For Solomon went after Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites. ⁶ And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father. ⁷ Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the mount that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the sons of Ammon. ⁸ And he did likewise for all his strange wives, who burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.

¹⁷ ¶ And it came to pass after these things that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. ¹⁸ And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? Art thou come unto me to call my iniquity to remembrance and to cause my son to die?

¹⁶ And they went out at noon. But Benhadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty-two kings that helped him.

¹³ Then the two men, sons of Belial, came in and sat before him; and those men of Belial witnessed against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth blasphemed God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones that he died.

³⁶ If they sin against thee (for there is no man who does not sin,)and thou art angry with them and deliver them over before their enemies so that those that take them carry them away captives unto an enemy land far off or near,

²¹ And they conspired against him and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the LORD. ²² Thus Joash, the king, did not remember the mercy which Jehoiada, his father, had done to him but slew his son; who said when he died, The LORD look upon it and require it.

¹² And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, ¹³ and when he prayed unto him, he was heard; for he heard his supplication and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.

² the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? This is nothing else but brokenness of heart. Then I was very sore afraid ³ and said unto the king, Let the king live for ever; why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the house of my fathers’ sepulchres, lies waste, and its gates are consumed with fire? ⁴ Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of the heavens. ⁵ And I said unto the king, If it pleases the king, and if thy slave has found favour in thy sight, that thou would send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers’ sepulchres, that I may rebuild it.

⁵ And when Haman saw that Mordecai did not kneel or worship before him, then Haman was filled with wrath. ⁶ And he thought it a small matter to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for now they had declared unto him the people of Mordecai; therefore, Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, the people of Mordecai.

⁴ ¶ And his sons went and had banquets in their houses, each one on his day, and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. ⁵ And it was so, when the days of their banquets were over, that Job sent and sanctified them and rose up early in the morning and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned and blasphemed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.

¹⁰ Hast thou not made a hedge about him and about his house and about all that he has on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands; therefore, his substance has increased in the land.

¹⁷ There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary are at rest.

¹² Behold, he shall take away, who can cause him to restore? Who shall say unto him, What doest thou?

²² ¶ One thing remains, that I say, He consumes the perfect and the wicked. ²³ If it is the scourge, it slays suddenly, and it does not laugh at the trial of the innocent.

¹ ¶ My soul is cut off in my life; therefore, I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. ² I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; cause me to understand why thou dost contend with me.

⁷ ¶ Canst thou by searching find out God? Canst thou come unto the perfection of the Almighty? ⁸ It is higher than the heavens; what canst thou do? It is deeper than Sheol; how canst thou know it?

¹⁰ If he cuts off, or shuts up, or gathers together, then who can hinder him?

¹² The vain man shall make himself understood, though man is born like a wild ass’s colt.

¹⁴ Behold, he shall break down, and it shall not be built again; he shall shut up a man, and no one shall be able to open unto him.

¹⁴ What is man that he should be clean and that he that is born of a woman should be justified? ¹⁵ Behold, he puts no trust in his saints, and not even the heavens are clean in his sight. ¹⁶ How much less the man who is abominable and filthy, who drinks iniquity like water?

³² He shall be cut off before his time, and his branch shall not be green. ³³ He shall shake off his sour grapes as the vine and shall cast off his flower as the olive.

⁷ ¶ Why do the wicked live and become old and even increase in riches? ⁸ Their seed is with them, established in their sight, and their offspring before their eyes. ⁹ Their houses are safe from fear; neither is the rod of God upon them. ¹⁰ Their cows conceive, and do not abort; their cows calve and do not cast forth their young. ¹¹ They send forth their little ones like a flock of sheep, and their children dance. ¹² They jump at the sound of the timbrel and harp and rejoice at the sound of the organ. ¹³ They spend their days in pleasure and in a moment go down to Sheol. ¹⁴ Therefore, they say unto God, Depart from us; for we do not desire the knowledge of thy ways. ¹⁵ Who is the Almighty that we should serve him? And what profit should we have if we pray unto him?

¹⁶ Who were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood.

²¹ ¶ Make up thy friendship now with him, and thou shalt have peace; thereby good shall come unto thee. ²² Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart. ²³ If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tent; ²⁴ then thou shalt lay up gold as dust and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. ²⁵ And the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver.

¹² But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? ¹³ Man never knew its price; neither is it found in the land of the living. ¹⁴ ¶ The deep saith, It is not in me; and the sea saith, It is not with me. ¹⁵ It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for its price. ¹⁶ It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx or the sapphire. ¹⁷ Gold cannot equal it, nor can diamond; neither shall it be exchanged for vessels of fine gold. ¹⁸ No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls; for wisdom is better than precious stones. ¹⁹ The emerald of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold. ²⁰ ¶ Where then does wisdom come from? And where is the place of understanding? ²¹ Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living and kept concealed from every fowl of the heaven. ²² Hell and death say, We have heard its fame with our ears. ²³ God understands its way, and he alone knows its place.

²⁸ And unto man he said, Behold, that the fear of the Lord, is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.

²³ If there is a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to show unto man his uprightness;

²⁹ When he gives rest, who then can make trouble? If he hides his face, who then can behold him? This applies to a nation and the same to a man,

¹⁴ ¶ Hearken unto this, Job; stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God.

³ ¶ When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

¹ To the Overcomer upon Sheminith,
A Psalm of David. ¶ Help, LORD; for the merciful man ceases, for the faithful fail from among the children of men.

² The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any that did understand and seek God. ³ They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is no one that does good, no, not one.

¹² Lamed Who is the man that fears the LORD? Him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose. ¹³ Mem His soul shall rest in that which is good; and his seed shall inherit the earth. ¹⁴ Nun The secret of the LORD is for those that fear him, and he will show them his covenant.

¹¹ Thou hast turned my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth and girded me with gladness; ¹² to the end that I may sing glory unto thee and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.

⁶ Thy righteousness is like the mountains of God; thy judgments are a great deep; O LORD, thou dost preserve man and beast.

⁶ Surely man walks in darkness; surely they are disquieted in vain; they heap up riches not knowing who shall gather them.

³ And he has put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God; many shall see it and fear and shall wait on the LORD.

²³ But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of the grave; bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days, but I will trust in thee.

¹ To the Overcomer upon,
Do not destroy, Michtam of David, when he fled from the presence of Saul in the cave. ¶ Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusts in thee; and in the shadow of thy wings I will make my refuge until these calamities are overpast.

⁹ Before your pots can feel the fire of the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath.

¹² They that sat in the gate spoke against me, and I was the song of the drunkards.

³ For I became angry against the foolish when I saw the peace of the wicked. ⁴ Because there is no restraint that would bring about their death, but their strength is firm. ⁵ They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men. ⁶ Therefore they are crowned with pride; they cover themselves with violence as a garment. ⁷ Their eyes stand out with fatness; they easily obtain the desires of their heart. ⁸ They are lawless and speak wickedly of doing violence; they speak loftily. ⁹ They set their mouth against heaven, and their tongue walks through the earth. ¹⁰ Therefore his people shall return here; and waters of a full cup are wrung out to them. ¹¹ And they say, How does God know? and is there knowledge in the most High? ¹² Behold, these ungodly men, without being troubled by the world obtain riches. ¹³ Verily, in vain have I cleansed my heart and washed my hands in innocency

¹² ¶ Cause us to learn this that we might number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

¹² ¶ Blessed is the man whom thou dost chasten, O JAH, and teach him out of thy law, ¹³ to cause him to rest in the days of adversity, until the pit is dug for the wicked.

⁸ Thou didst answer them, O LORD our God; thou wast a God that didst forgive them, and an avenger for their works.

²⁹ Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions; and the plague broke in upon them.

³⁹ Thus they were defiled with their own works and went a whoring with their own inventions.

⁴³ Who is wise and will observe these things and shall understand the mercies of the LORD?

¹² They compassed me about like bees; they were quenched as the fire of thorns; for in the name of the LORD I will cut them off.

⁶⁷ ¶ Before I was humbled, I went into error, but now I keep thy spoken word.

⁷¹ ¶ It was good for me that I have been humbled, that I might learn thy statutes.

⁵ Those that sow with tears shall reap with joy. ⁶ He that goes forth and weeps, bearing the precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

³ If thou, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall endure?

² It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that runs down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard, that goes down to the skirts of his garments;

⁶ Thy knowledge is wonderful beyond my ability to comprehend; it is high, I cannot understand it.

⁵ ¶ Let the righteous smite me in mercy, and let him reprove me: and let not a flattering evil prince anoint my head, for my prayer shall ever be against his evil.

² And enter not into judgment with thy slave; for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.

¹⁹ Resh He will fulfil the desire of those that fear him; he also will hear their cry and will save them. ²⁰ Schin The LORD preserves all those that love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.

⁷ He keeps the person of the upright; he is a buckler to those that walk perfectly,

¹¹ discretion shall preserve thee, intelligence shall keep thee

¹⁶ to deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger who flatters with her words,

¹⁸ Therefore her house inclines unto death, and her paths unto the dead. ¹⁹ None that go unto her return again, neither do they take hold of the paths of life.

¹⁸ She is a tree of life to those that lay hold upon her, and blessed is every one that retains her.

²⁵ Let thine eyes look upon that which is right, and let thine eyelids straighten thy path before thee. ²⁶ Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. ²⁷ Turn not to the right hand nor to the left; remove thy foot from evil.

³ For the lips of the strange woman drop as a honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil, ⁴ But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword. ⁵ Her feet go down to death, her steps uphold Sheol,

²¹ With her much fair speech she caused him to yield; with the flattering of her lips she persuaded him. ²² He went after her straightway, as an ox goes to the slaughter or as a fool to the correction of the stocks, ²³ until the arrow pierces through his liver. He is as a bird struggling in the snare and not knowing that it is against his own life. ²⁴ ¶ Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye sons, and attend to the words of my mouth. ²⁵ Let not thine heart decline to her ways; do not go astray in her paths. ²⁶ For she has caused many to fall down dead; yea, all the strong men have been slain by her. ²⁷ Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death.

¹⁰ Receive my chastening and not silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold. ¹¹ For wisdom is better than precious stones; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.

²⁰ I shall lead in the way of righteousness in the midst of the paths of judgment,

³⁵ For whosoever finds me shall find life and shall obtain the will of the LORD.

⁸ Chasten not a scorner lest he hate thee; chasten a wise man, and he will love thee.

¹¹ For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased.

¹⁸ But he does not know that the dead are there and that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

²⁷ ¶ The fear of the LORD shall prolong days, but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.

⁴ ¶ Riches shall not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness shall deliver from death.

¹⁰ ¶ Pride shall certainly give birth to contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.

¹³ ¶ Whosoever despises the word shall perish by it: but he that fears the commandment shall be rewarded.

¹⁸ ¶ Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuses chastening: but he that regards reproof shall be honoured.

¹⁷ ¶ He that is soon angry shall deal foolishly, and the man of wicked devices shall be hated.

²⁰ ¶ The poor is hated even of his own neighbour, but many are those who love the rich.

²⁹ ¶ He that is slow to wrath is of great intelligence, but he that is short of spirit exalts folly.

¹⁸ ¶ A wrathful man stirs up strife, but he that is slow to anger appeases strife.

³⁰ ¶ The light of the eyes rejoices the heart, and a good report makes the bones fat. ³¹ ¶ The ear that hears the reproof of life shall abide among the wise. ³² ¶ He that refuses chastening despises his own soul, but he that hears reproof has an understanding heart.

³² ¶ He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he that rules his spirit than he that takes a city.

⁸ ¶ A bribe is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that has it; wherever it turns, it prospers.

¹⁰ ¶ Reproof is of more benefit to a wise man than a hundred stripes to a fool.

¹² ¶ It is better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool in his folly.

²³ ¶ A wicked man takes a gift in secret to pervert the paths of judgment.

¹⁰ ¶ The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous shall run into it, and be raised up. ¹¹ ¶ The rich man’s wealth is his strong city and as a high wall in his imagination.

⁹ ¶ Who shall be able to say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?

²² ¶ The wise man took the city of the mighty and cast down its strength in which it trusted.

¹ ¶ A good reputation is rather to be chosen than great riches and good grace rather than silver and gold.

¹⁴ ¶ The mouth of strange women is a deep pit; he that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein.

⁴ ¶ Do not labour to be rich; cease from thine own wisdom.

²⁷ For a whore is a deep ditch and a strange woman is a narrow pit. ²⁸ She also lies in wait as for a prey and increases the transgressors among men.

⁵ The wise man is strong; and the man of understanding is a mighty man of valour.

¹⁶ ¶ Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it.

¹¹ ¶ As a dog returns to his vomit, so the fool returns to his folly.

²³ ¶ Burning lips and a wicked heart are like a potsherd covered with silver dross. ²⁴ ¶ He that hates dissembles with his lips and lays up deceit within him; ²⁵ when he speaks fair, do not believe him, for there are seven abominations in his heart. ²⁶ Even though his hatred is covered up in the desert, his wickedness shall be showed before the whole congregation.

⁶ Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

⁹ ¶ Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart, so does the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel.

²⁵ ¶ He that is of a proud heart stirs up strife, but he that puts his trust in the LORD shall be made fat.

⁹ ¶ If a wise man contends with a foolish man, whether he rages or laughs, there is no rest.

¹⁰ ¶ Do not accuse a slave in the presence of his master, lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty.

¹ ¶ The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. ² Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.

¹³ And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven (this sore travail God has given to the sons of man that they be occupied in it). ¹⁴ I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. ¹⁵ That which is crooked cannot be made straight, and that which is lacking cannot be numbered.

¹⁵ That which is crooked cannot be made straight, and that which is lacking cannot be numbered. ¹⁶ I communed with my own heart, saying, Behold, I am come to great estate and have gotten more wisdom than all those that have been before me in Jerusalem; and my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. ¹⁷ And I gave my heart to know wisdom and knowledge and to know folly and those who are mad; I learned in the end that this also is vexation of spirit.

¹ ¶ I said in my heart, Come now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy good things; and, behold, this also is vanity. ² I said of laughter, It is mad, and of mirth, What does it do?

² I said of laughter, It is mad, and of mirth, What does it do? ³ I proposed in my heart to regale my flesh with wine and that my heart would walk in wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, until I might see what was that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life.

¹² ¶ And I turned myself to behold wisdom and those who are mad, and folly; for what can the man do that comes after the king? even that which has already been done. ¹³ And I have seen that wisdom excels folly as far as light excels darkness.

¹⁵ Then I said in my heart, As it shall happen to the fool, so it shall happen even to me. Why have I worked until now to make myself wiser? Then I said in my heart that this also is vanity.

²⁰ Therefore my heart began to despair again regarding all the labour which I took under the sun.

²³ For all his days are only sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart does not take rest in the night. This is also vanity.

²⁶ For God gives to the man that is good in his sight wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he gives travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to the one that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.

⁴ a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

¹¹ ¶ He has made every thing beautiful in his time: even the world he has given over to their will, in such a way that no man can attain to this work that God makes from the beginning to the end.

¹⁴ I have understood that whatever God does, it shall be for ever; nothing can be added to it, nor any thing taken from it because God does it that men should fear before him.

¹⁶ ¶ And moreover I saw under the sun that instead of judgment, there was wickedness; and instead of righteousness, that iniquity was there.

¹⁶ ¶ And moreover I saw under the sun that instead of judgment, there was wickedness; and instead of righteousness, that iniquity was there. ¹⁷ I said in my heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked; for there is a time determined to judge every will and regarding everything that is done.

²² Therefore I perceive that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion; for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?

¹ ¶ So I returned and considered all the violence that is done under the sun and behold the tears of such as are oppressed, and they have no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but the oppressed had no comforter. ² Therefore I praised the dead who are already dead more than the living who are yet alive.

¹⁶ And this also is a sore evil; that in all points as he came, so shall he go; and what profit has he that has laboured for the wind? ¹⁷ In addition to this, all the days of his life he shall eat in darkness, with much wrath and pain and sorrow sickness.

¹² For who knows what is good for man in this life, all the days of the life of his vanity which he causes to be as a shadow? for who shall teach the man what shall be after him under the sun?

²³ ¶ All this I have proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise, but it was far from me. ²⁴ That which has been is far off and that which is exceeding deep, who can find it out?

²⁷ Behold, this I have found, saith the preacher, weighing things one by one to find out the answer,

¹² Though a sinner does evil one hundred times and his judgment is prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with those that fear God, who fear before his presence;

¹² Though a sinner does evil one hundred times and his judgment is prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with those that fear God, who fear before his presence; ¹³ but it shall never be well with the wicked, neither shall his days be prolonged, which are as a shadow, because he did not fear before the presence of God. ¹⁴ ¶ There is another vanity which is done upon the earth: that there are just men, who are recompensed as if they had done according to the work of the wicked; again, there are wicked men, who are recompensed as if they had done according to the work of the righteous; I say that this also is vanity.

¹ ¶ Certainly I applied my heart unto all of this that I might declare all of this: that the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God; no man knows either love or hatred by all that passes before them.

¹ ¶ Certainly I applied my heart unto all of this that I might declare all of this: that the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God; no man knows either love or hatred by all that passes before them. ² All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean and to the unclean; to him that sacrifices and to him that does not sacrifice: as unto the good so unto the sinner; and unto him that swears as unto him that fears the oath.

² All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean and to the unclean; to him that sacrifices and to him that does not sacrifice: as unto the good so unto the sinner; and unto him that swears as unto him that fears the oath. ³ This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all; and also that the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

⁹ Live joyfully with the wife whom thou dost love all the days which thou art to live in this lake of vanity, which are given unto thee; all the days of thy vanity under the sun: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour in which thou dost work under the sun.

¹³ ¶ I have also seen this wisdom under the sun, which is important unto me: ¹⁴ There was a little city and few men within it; and a great king came against it and besieged it and built great bulwarks against it; ¹⁵ now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no one remembered that same poor man. ¹⁶ Then I said, Wisdom is better than strength: even though the poor man’s knowledge is despised, and his words are not heard. ¹⁷ The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that rules among fools. ¹⁸ Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.

¹ ¶ Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: likewise a small act of folly unto him that is esteemed for wisdom and honour.

¹³ The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness, and the end of his talk is mischievous madness.

⁶ In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand; for thou knowest not which shall prosper, either this or that or whether they both shall be equally good. ⁷ ¶ Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun,

⁸ ¶ Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.

⁸ ¶ Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity. ⁹ And the wiser the preacher became that much more did he teach wisdom to the people, causing them to listen and to search things out, and he composed many proverbs. ¹⁰ The preacher sought to find willing words and upright writings, even words of truth.

¹² My son, in addition to this, be admonished: of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. ¹³ ¶ The conclusion of the entire sermon is heard: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole happiness of man.

³ Because of the savour of thy good ointments (ointment poured forth is thy name), therefore have the virgins loved thee.

¹⁰ How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices!

²³ Thy princes are rebellious and companions of thieves; every one loves bribes and follows after rewards; they do not hear the fatherless in judgment, neither does the cause of the widow come unto them.

¹¹ Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning that they may continue their drunkenness; that continue until night until wine inflames them! ¹² And the harp and the viol, the tambourine and flutes and wine are in their feasts; but they do not regard the work of the LORD, nor consider the work of his hands.

¹² And the harp and the viol, the tambourine and flutes and wine are in their feasts; but they do not regard the work of the LORD, nor consider the work of his hands.

²⁴ ¶ Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD of the hosts, O my people, dweller of Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian; he shall smite thee with a rod and shall lift up his stick against thee by the way of Egypt; ²⁵ yet from now until a very little while the indignation and my anger shall cease, to make an end of them.

²⁸ He is come to Aiath; he is passed unto Migron; in Michmash he shall number his army: ²⁹ They are gone over the fords; they have taken up their lodging at Geba; Ramah is afraid; Gibeah of Saul is fled. ³⁰ Lift up thy voice, O daughter of Gallim; Laish cause poor Anathoth to hear thee. ³¹ Madmenah is in upheaval; the inhabitants of Gebim shall gather themselves together. ³² Even yet shall come a day when he shall rest at Nob; he shall raise his hand unto the mountain of the daughter of Zion unto the hill of Jerusalem. ³³ Behold, the Lord, the LORD of the hosts, shall lop the bough with force, and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall be humbled. ³⁴ And he shall cut down the thickness of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by force.

²⁷ For the LORD of the hosts has purposed, and who shall disannul it? His hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?

⁴ My heart panted; the horror frightened me; the night of my pleasure he has turned into fear unto me.

¹² Therefore the Lord GOD of the hosts did call in this day unto weeping and to mourning and to baldness and to girding with sackcloth: ¹³ And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine while they say, let us eat and drink for tomorrow we shall die. ¹⁴ This was revealed in my ears by the LORD of the hosts, That surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you until ye die, saith the Lord GOD of the hosts.

⁹ With my soul I desire thee in the night; yea, even as long as the spirit is within me I will seek thee early: for as long as thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.

¹¹ LORD, when thy hand is withdrawn, they will not see: but they shall see in the end and be ashamed with the zeal of the people. And fire shall consume thine enemies.

²¹ Those that made men to sin in word; those that laid a snare for him that reproved in the gate, and turned that which is just into vanity.

² They leave to descend into Egypt and have not asked for a word from my mouth, to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh and to place their hope in the shadow of Egypt.

² And that man shall be as a hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a hot land.

⁶ And in thy times wisdom and knowledge, and the strength of salvation shall reign: the fear of the LORD shall be his treasure.

¹⁵ He that walks in righteousness, he that speaks uprightly; he that despises the gain of violence, he that shakes his hands from receiving bribes; he that stops his ears to not hear of blood; he who shuts his eyes to not see evil;

²⁵ Therefore he has poured upon him the fury of his anger and the strength of battle; he put fire round about him, yet he was careless; and it set him on fire, yet he did not lay it to heart.

¹³ Even before the day was I existed; and there is no one that can deliver out of my hand; if I work, who shall hinder it?

¹⁰ declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: ¹¹ Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executes my counsel from a far country; I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it; I will also do it.

⁷ ¶ And thou didst say, I shall be a lady for ever. Until now thou hast not laid these things to heart, neither didst thou remember thy latter end.

¹ ¶ Thus saith the LORD, Where is the bill of your mother’s divorce, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities ye are sold, and for your rebellions was your mother put away,

³ He is despised and rejected among men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with weakness; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. ⁴ ¶ Surely he has borne our sicknesses and suffered our pain: and we considered him stricken, smitten of God, and cast down.

⁶ All we like sheep have become lost; we have turned each one to his own way; and the LORD transposed in him the iniquity of us all.

⁸ For my thoughts are not as your thoughts, neither are your ways as my ways, saith the LORD. ⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts more than your thoughts.

⁵ even unto them will I give in my house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall never be cut off.

¹ ¶ The righteous perishes, and no man lays it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. ² He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness.

⁶ ¶ But we were all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses as filthy rags; and we all fell as the leaves of a tree; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

¹³ Therefore thus has the Lord GOD said, Behold, my slaves shall eat, but ye shall be hungry; behold, my slaves shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty; behold, my slaves shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed: ¹⁴ Behold, my slaves shall rejoice by the joy of their heart, but ye shall cry for the sorrow of your heart and shall howl for the destruction of spirit. ¹⁵ And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen; for the Lord GOD shall slay thee and call his slaves by another name.

²⁰ There shall no longer be there an infant of days, nor an old man that has not filled his days, for the child shall die one hundred years old; and he who sins at one hundred years of age shall be accursed.

¹² Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this; and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, said the LORD. ¹³ For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters to hew them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

³³ Why dost thou trim thy way to seek love? therefore thou hast also taught the wicked ones thy ways. ³⁴ Even in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents; thou didst not find them in any trespass, but by all these things.

²² For my people are foolish; the ignorant sons with no understanding have not known me; they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.

¹ ¶ Righteous art thou, O LORD, even though I dispute with thee: even so, I will speak judgments with thee; Why does the way of the wicked prosper? All those that completely rebel against thee have peace. ² Thou hast planted them, and they have taken root: they grow, and they bring forth fruit; thou art near in their mouth and far from their kidneys.

²⁰ The anger of the LORD shall not return until he has executed and until he has performed the thoughts of his heart: in the last of the days ye shall understand it with understanding.

⁸ Behold, I turn them from the land of the north wind and gather them from the coasts of the earth; there shall be blind and lame among them, and women with child and those that travail with child together; a great company shall return there. ⁹ They shall come with weeping, but with mercies I will cause them to return; I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, in which they shall not stumble; for I shall be a father to Israel, and Ephraim shall be my firstborn.

¹⁵ Thus hath the LORD said; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her sons, she refused to be comforted regarding her sons, because they perished. ¹⁶ Thus hath the LORD said; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears; for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. ¹⁷ There is also hope for thine end, saith the LORD, and the sons shall come again to their own border. ¹⁸ ¶ I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus, Thou hast afflicted me, and I was chastised as an indomitable bullock: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God. ¹⁹ Surely after I was turned, I repented; and after I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh; I was ashamed, and even confounded, because I bore the reproach of my youth. ²⁰ Peradventure is Ephraim a precious son unto me? Peradventure is he unto me a delightful child? With all this since I spoke of him, I have remembered him constantly. Therefore my bowels are troubled for him; in tenderness I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the LORD.

⁴⁰ and I will make an eternal covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good, and I will put my fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from me.

¹⁷ But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goes forth out of our own mouth to burn incense unto the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings unto her as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil. ¹⁸ But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have lacked all things and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine. ¹⁹ And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men?

⁴ In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the sons of Israel shall come, they and the sons of Judah together, going and weeping they shall go and seek the LORD their God. ⁵ They shall ask the way to Zion, unto where they shall turn their faces, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the LORD in an eternal covenant that shall never be forgotten.

³⁹ In their heat I will place their feasts before them, and I will make them drunken that they may rejoice and sleep an eternal sleep and not wake, said the LORD.

⁵⁷ And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men; and they shall sleep an eternal sleep and shall not wake, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of the hosts.

¹⁷ Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? For after they have filled the land with evil and have returned to provoke me to anger; behold, they put the stench to my nose.

²⁰ Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these thou hast sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter,

⁶ Behold, the princes of Israel, each one according to their power, were in thee to shed blood. ⁷ In thee they have despised father and mother; in the midst of thee they have dealt by oppression with the stranger; in thee they have vexed the fatherless and the widow. ⁸ Thou hast despised my holy things and hast profaned my sabbaths. ⁹ In thee are men that carry tales to shed blood; and in thee they eat upon the mountains; in the midst of thee they commit lewdness. ¹⁰ In thee they have discovered their fathers’ nakedness; in thee they have forced the unclean menstruous woman. ¹¹ And one has committed abomination with his neighbour’s wife; and another has lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law; and another in thee has forced his sister, his father’s daughter. ¹² In thee they have taken bribes to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion and hast forgotten me, said the Lord GOD. ¹³ Behold, therefore I have smitten my hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made and at thy blood which has been in the midst of thee.

³⁵ and all the inhabitants of the earth are counted as nothing; and in the army of heaven and in the inhabitants of the earth, he does according to his will; nor is there anyone who can interfere with his hand and say unto him, What doest thou?

¹ ¶ Belshazzar the king made a great banquet to a thousand of his lords, and against the thousand he drank wine. ² Belshazzar, under the influence of the wine, commanded that they bring the vessels of gold and of silver which Nebuchadnezzar his father had brought from the temple of Jerusalem; that the king and his princes, his wives and his concubines, might drink with them. ³ Then they brought the vessels of gold that they had brought from the temple of the house of God which was in Jerusalem; and the king and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank with them. ⁴ They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.

³⁰ ¶ That same night Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans was slain.

³ And I turned my face unto the Lord God, seeking him in prayer and supplication, in fasting and sackcloth, and ashes: ⁴ ¶ and I prayed unto the LORD my God and made my confession and said, Now O Lord, thou great God who is worthy to be feared, who keeps the covenant and the mercy with those that love thee and keep thy commandments; ⁵ we have sinned, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly, and we have been rebels, and we have departed from thy commandments and from thy judgments. ⁶ We have not hearkened unto thy slaves the prophets, who spoke in thy name to our kings and to our princes, to our fathers, and to all the people of the land. ⁷ O Lord, the righteousness belongs unto thee, but unto us the confusion of face, as at this day; to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near and that are far off through all the lands where thou hast driven them because of their rebellion with which they have rebelled against thee. ⁸ O Lord, to us belongs confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. ⁹ Of the Lord our God is the ability to have mercy and to forgive, even though we have rebelled against him ¹⁰ and have not listened to the voice of the LORD our God to walk by his laws, which he set before us by the hand of his slaves the prophets. ¹¹ And all Israel transposed thy law, departing by not hearing thy voice; by which the curse has fallen upon us and the oath that is written in the law of Moses, the slave of God, because we have sinned against him. ¹² And he has confirmed his words, which he spoke over us and over our judges that governed us, by bringing upon us such a great evil: that such has never been done under the whole heaven as has been done upon Jerusalem. ¹³ As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us, and we never sought the face of the LORD our God, that we might be converted from our iniquities, and understand thy truth. ¹⁴ And the LORD hastened upon the chastisement and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is just in all his works which he has done, for we did not listen to his voice. ¹⁵ And now, O Lord our God, who hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and hast won for thyself a very clear name as appears unto this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. ¹⁶ O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and all thy people is given in reproach to all that are about us. ¹⁷ Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy slave and his supplications and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is made desolate, by the Lord. ¹⁸ O my God, incline thine ear and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee confiding in our righteousnesses, but in thy many mercies. ¹⁹ O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.

² In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three weeks of days. ³ I ate no pleasant bread, neither did flesh nor wine come into my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all until the three weeks of days were fulfilled.

¹⁹ and said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be of good cheer, and be well. And as he spoke unto me, I was strengthened and said, Let my Lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me.

⁶ ¶ Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns and make a wall that she shall not find her paths. ⁷ And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them; then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband, for then it was better with me than now.

⁵ In the day of our king the princes have made him sick with a wineskin; he stretched out his hand with the scorners.

³ Ye that put far away the evil day and cause the seat of violence to come near; ⁴ that lie upon beds of ivory and stretch themselves upon their couches and eat the lambs out of the flock and the calves out of the midst of the stall; ⁵ that chant to the sound of the flute and invent to themselves instruments of music, like David; ⁶ that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments, but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.

¹⁰ and I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation; and I will cause sackcloth to be brought up upon all loins and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son and the end thereof as a bitter day.

⁹ And God said to Jonah, Art thou so angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.

⁹ ¶ The LORD’s voice cries out unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and he who has established it.

¹⁰ For while they are entwined together as thorns, and while the drunkards shall be drinking, they shall be devoured as stubble full of dryness.

⁵ Now therefore thus hath the LORD of the hosts said; Consider your ways.

⁵ Now therefore thus hath the LORD of the hosts said; Consider your ways. ⁶ Ye have sown much and bring in little; ye eat, but ye are not filled; ye drink, but ye are not satisfied; ye clothe yourselves, but you are not warm; and he that is a hireling receives his wages in a bag with holes. ⁷ Thus hath the LORD of the hosts said, Consider your ways.

¹⁰ And I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and of prayer, and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn over him as one mourns for his only son, afflicting themselves over him as one afflicts himself over his firstborn. ¹¹ In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. ¹² And the land shall mourn, each family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; ¹³ the family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart; ¹⁴ all the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.

² If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, said the LORD of the hosts, I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings; yea, I have cursed them already because ye do not lay it to heart.

² But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness be born, and in his wings he shall bring saving health; and ye shall go forth and jump like calves of the herd.

⁴ Blessed are those that mourn, for they shall be comforted.

¹ ¶ Take heed not to do your alms {lit. acts of mercy} before men, to be seen of them; otherwise, ye have no reward of your Father who is in the heavens. ² Therefore, when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They already have their reward. ³ But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth ⁴ that thine alms may be in secret; and thy Father who sees in secret, he shall reward thee openly. ⁵ ¶ And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They already have their reward. ⁶ But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy chamber, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret; and thy Father who sees in secret shall reward thee openly. ⁷ But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions as the worldly do, for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

¹⁴ ¶ And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother lying in bed and with fever. ¹⁵ And he touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she arose and ministered unto them. ¹⁶ When evening was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils, and he cast out the spirits with the word and healed all that were sick

¹³ Therefore go ye and learn what this is, I will have mercy and not sacrifice, for I am not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. ¹⁴ ¶ Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but thy disciples do not fast?

⁶ But when Herod’s birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod. ⁷ Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatever she would ask. ⁸ And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John the Baptist’s head in a platter. ⁹ And the king was sorry; nevertheless because of the oath and of those who sat with him at the table, he commanded it to be given her. ¹⁰ And he sent and beheaded John in the prison. ¹¹ And his head was brought in a platter and given to the damsel, and she brought it to her mother. ¹² And his disciples came and took up the body and buried it and went and told Jesus.

² Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread. ³ But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? ⁴ For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother, and, He that curses father or mother, let him die without recourse. ⁵ But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, Whatever I might have helped thee with is already my offering unto God, ⁶ and now has no need to honour his father or his mother with succour. Thus ye have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. ⁷ Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, ⁸ This people draws nigh unto me with their mouth and honours me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. ⁹ But in vain do they worship me, teaching doctrines and commandments of men.

¹⁹ For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:

³² Then his lord, after he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked slave, I forgave thee all that debt because thou didst beseech me; ³³ was it not also expedient unto thee to have mercy on thy fellowslave even as I had mercy on thee? ³⁴ And his lord was wroth and delivered him to the tormentors until he should pay all that was due unto him. ³⁵ So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you unless from your hearts ye forgive every one his brother their trespasses.

⁵ But they do all their works that they may be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries and enlarge the borders of their garments

²³ Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin and have omitted that which is more important of the law: judgment, mercy, and faith; these were expedient for ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. ²⁴ Ye blind guides, who strain at a gnat and swallow a camel.

²⁹ Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the sepulchres of the righteous

³⁴ ¶ Therefore, behold, I send unto you prophets and wise men and scribes, and some of them ye shall kill and crucify, and some of them ye shall scourge in your synagogues and persecute them from city to city, ³⁵ that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye murdered between the temple and the altar.

³⁸ Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

³⁸ And they came to the house of the prince of the synagogue and saw the tumult and those that wept and wailed greatly. ³⁹ And when he was come in, he said unto them, Why make ye this ado and weep? The damsel is not dead, but sleeps. ⁴⁰ And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he took the father and the mother of the damsel and those that were with him and entered in where the damsel was lying. ⁴¹ And taking the damsel by the hand, he said unto her, Talitha cumi, which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. ⁴² And straightway the damsel arose and walked, for she was twelve years old. And they were astonished with a great astonishment. ⁴³ And he charged them straitly that no one should know it and commanded that something should be given her to eat.

¹⁹ Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him and would have killed him, but she could not;

²¹ And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his princes and tribunes and to the principal people of Galilee; ²² and when the daughter of Herodias came in and danced and pleased Herod and those that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it unto thee. ²³ And he swore unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it unto thee, unto the half of my kingdom. ²⁴ And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist.

²⁴ And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. ²⁵ And she came in with haste unto the king and asked, saying, I will that thou give me immediately in a platter the head of John the Baptist. ²⁶ And the king was exceeding sorry, yet for his oath’s sake and for the sakes of those who sat with him, he would not reject her. ²⁷ And straightway the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought, and he went and beheaded him in the prison ²⁸ and brought his head in a platter and gave it to the damsel, and the damsel gave it to her mother. ²⁹ And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse and laid it in a tomb.

⁸ For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men as the washing of pots and cups, and many other such like things ye do. ⁹ And he also said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

⁵⁰ And his mercy is on those that fear him from generation to generation.

²¹ Blessed are those that hunger now, for ye shall be filled. Blessed are those that weep now, for ye shall laugh.

²⁵ Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.

¹² Now when he came near to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and many people from the city were with her. ¹³ And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said unto her, Weep not.

²⁰ Notwithstanding, rejoice not in this, that the spirits are subject unto you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in the heavens.

⁴² But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs and pass over the judgment and the charity of God; these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

¹⁷ And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have abundance of bread, and I perish here with hunger! ¹⁸ I will arise and go to my father and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee

⁸ And the lord commended the unjust steward because he had done discreetly; for the sons of this age are in their generation more prudent than the sons of light. ⁹ And I say unto you, Make friends unto yourselves with the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when these fail, you may be received into eternal dwellings.

²⁵ But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime didst receive thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted here, and thou art tormented.

¹² I fast two meals every sabbath; I give tithes of all that I possess.

¹⁹ In your patience ye shall possess your souls.

⁷ So when they continued asking him, he lifted himself up and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him be the first to cast a stone at her. ⁸ And again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. ⁹ And those who heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest even unto the last; and Jesus was left alone and the woman that had been in the midst.

³¹ Then the Jews who were with her in the house and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goes unto the grave to weep there. ³² Then when Mary was come where Jesus was and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother would not have died. ³³ ¶ When Jesus therefore saw her weeping and the Jews also weeping who came with her, he became enraged in the Spirit and stirred himself up ³⁴ and said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. ³⁵ Jesus wept.

⁵⁰ And I know that his commandment is eternal life; whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.

² And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him,

² They shall put you out of the synagogues, and the hour will even come when whosoever kills you will think that he does God service.

²⁰ Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, and the world shall rejoice; but even though ye shall be sorrowful, your sorrow shall be turned into joy. ²¹ The woman, when she is in travail, has pain, because her hour is come; but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembers the anguish no more, for joy that a man is born into the world. ²² And ye now therefore have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and no one shall take your joy from you.

²² And ye now therefore have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and no one shall take your joy from you. ²³ ¶ And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give you.

³ And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

⁵ Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and gave up the spirit; and great fear came on all those that heard these things.

¹⁰ Then she fell down straightway at his feet and yielded up the spirit; and the young men came in and found her dead and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.

⁴⁰ saying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before us; for as for this Moses, who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him. ⁴¹ And then they made a calf and offered sacrifice unto the idol and rejoiced in the works of their own hands. ⁴² ¶ Then God withdrew and gave them up to worship the host of the heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness? ⁴³ On the contrary, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them; and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.

⁵² Who of the prophets have your fathers not persecuted? and they have slain those who announced before the coming of the Just One, of whom ye have now been the betrayers and murderers,

²³ And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him because he did not give God the glory, and he expired eaten of worms.

²² confirming the souls of the disciples and exhorting them to remain in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

²¹ because having known God, they did not glorify him as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. ²² Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools

²² Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools ²³ and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man and of birds and of fourfooted beasts and of serpents. ²⁴ Therefore God also gave them over to the lusts of their own hearts for uncleanness, to contaminate their own bodies between themselves, ²⁵ who changed the truth of God into a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for all ages. Amen. ²⁶ For this cause God gave them up unto shameful affections, for even their women changed the natural use into that which is against nature; ²⁷ and likewise also the males, leaving the natural use of the females, burned in their lust one toward another, males with males committing nefarious works and receiving in themselves the recompense that proceeded from their error. ²⁸ And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a perverse understanding, to do those things which are not convenient, ²⁹ being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, ³⁰ backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, ³¹ without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, without mercy. ³² Who having understood the righteousness of God, they did not understand that those who do such things are worthy of death, not only those that do the same, but even those who encourage those that do them.

⁷ to those who persevered in well doing, glory and honour and incorruption, to those who seek eternal life; ⁸ but unto those that are contentious and do not obey the truth, but are persuaded by unrighteousness, indignation and wrath.

⁹ What then? Are we better than they? No, in no wise; for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles that they are all under sin; ¹⁰ as it is written, There is no one righteous, no, not one; ¹¹ there is no one that understands; there is no one that seeks after God. ¹² They are all gone out of the way; they are together become unprofitable; there is no one that does good, no, not one. ¹³ Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips, ¹⁴ whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; ¹⁵ their feet are swift to shed blood; ¹⁶ destruction and misery are in their ways, ¹⁷ and the way of peace they have not known; ¹⁸ there is no fear of God before their eyes. ¹⁹ ¶ Now we know that all that the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may submit themselves unto God.

²³ for all have sinned and are made destitute of the glory of God,

³ And not only this, but we even glory in the tribulations, knowing that the tribulation works patience; ⁴ and patience, experience; and experience, hope;

²¹ What fruit had ye then in those things of which ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. ²² But now freed from sin and made slaves to God, ye have as your fruit sanctification and as the end, everlasting life.

¹⁵ For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

¹⁹ Thou wilt say then unto me, Why does he become angry? For who shall resist his will?

² For I give testimony that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.

²⁵ For I would not, brethren, that ye ignore this mystery, that ye not be arrogant regarding yourselves: that blindness in part has happened in Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles are come in.

³³ ¶ O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are his judgments and his ways past finding out!

³ Therefore I say through the grace given unto me, to all those that are among you not to obtain more knowledge than is prudent to know, but to obtain knowledge with temperance, each one according to the measure of faith that God has dealt.

²⁰ Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the philosopher of this world? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

¹⁸ ¶ Let no one deceive himself. If any one among you seems to be wise in this age, let them become a fool that they may be wise.

²⁰ And again, The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.

⁵ is not injurious, seeks not her own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil, ⁶ rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; ⁷ bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

¹⁷ For our tribulation, which is momentary and light, prepares an exceeding and eternal weight of glory unto us;

¹ ¶ For we know that if the earthly house of this our habitation were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

⁸ We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

⁹ Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance; for ye were made sorry by God that ye might suffer no loss by us. ¹⁰ For godly sorrow works repentance to salvation, of which there is no need to repented; but the sorrow of the world works death. ¹¹ For behold this same thing, that when ye were made sorry by God, what carefulness it wrought in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things ye have shown yourselves to be clean in this matter.

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is this: Charity, joy, peace, tolerance, gentleness, goodness, faith,

¹¹ in him in whom likewise we have obtained an inheritance, having had the way marked out beforehand according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his own will,

² in which in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the will of the prince of the power of this air, the spirit that now works in the sons of disobedience, ³ among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind and were by nature the children of wrath, even as all the others.

² ¶ with all humility and meekness, with tolerance, forbearing one another in love,

²⁶ Be ye angry and sin not; let not the sun go down upon your wrath, ²⁷ neither give place to the devil.

²¹ ¶ For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. ²² But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour, yet I do not know what to choose. ²³ For I am in a strait between the two, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better:

⁶ concerning zeal, a persecutor of the congregation {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones}; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

⁸ And doubtless I even count all things as loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ

¹⁹ whose end shall be perdition, whose God is their belly and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things).

⁹ ¶ For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, asking that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, ¹⁰ that ye might walk worthy of the Lord, pleasing him in everything, being fruitful in every good work, and growing in the knowledge of God, ¹¹ strengthened with all might, according to the power of his glory unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness,

¹⁸ Let no one govern you according to their own will under pretext of humility and religion of angels, intruding into those things which they have not seen, vainly puffed up by their fleshly mind,

²³ which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will worship and humility and neglecting of the body, but they have absolutely no value against the appetites of the flesh.

³ they shall forbid to marry and shall command men to abstain from foods, which God has created to be received with thanksgiving by those who are faithful and have known the truth.

¹⁶ the only one who has immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto, whom no man has seen nor can see, to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen. ¹⁷ Charge those that are rich in this world, that they not be highminded, not placing their hope in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy; ¹⁸ but charge them to do good, that they be rich in good works, liberal to distribute, willing to communicate, ¹⁹ laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the future, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

³ For we ourselves also were foolish in another time, rebellious, deceived, serving diverse lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.

²⁷ And as it is appointed unto men to die once, and after this the judgment;

³⁶ for patience is necessary, so that after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.

² For by it the elders obtained a good report.

³⁹ And these all, approved by testimony of faith, received not the promise,

¹⁰ For they verily for a few days chastened us as it seemed good unto them, but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. ¹¹ It is true that no chastening at present seems to be cause for joy, but rather for grief; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto those who are exercised by it.

² ¶ My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into diverse trials, ³ knowing that the proving of your faith works patience, ⁴ and the patience finishes the work, that ye may be perfect and entire, not lacking in anything.

¹⁹ ¶ Therefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;

²¹ So then, leave all uncleanness and remains of malice and receive with meekness the word ingested within you, which is able to cause your souls to be saved.

² For we all offend in many things. If any man offends not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to govern the whole body with restraint.

⁹ With it we bless God, even the Father; and with it we curse men, who are made in the image of God.

¹³ ¶ Who is wise and ready among you? let him show out of a good conversation his works in meekness of wisdom. ¹⁴ But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, boast not and do not be liars against the truth. ¹⁵ This wisdom is not that which descends from above, but is earthly, natural, diabolical. ¹⁶ For where there is envy and contention, there is confusion and every perverse work. ¹⁷ But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, modest, benevolent, full of mercy and of good fruits, not judgmental, unfeigned.

⁸ Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. ⁹ Be afflicted and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to heaviness. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

⁸ Be ye also patient and confirm your hearts, for the coming of the Lord draws near.

¹¹ Behold, we count blessed those who endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job and have seen the end of the Lord, that the Lord is very merciful, and full of compassion.

¹³ Is anyone among you afflicted? let them pray. Is anyone happy? let them sing.

¹³ ¶ Therefore, having the loins of your understanding girded with temperance, wait perfectly in the grace that is presented unto you when Jesus, the Christ, is manifested unto you,

²⁰ For what glory is it if, when ye are buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is due to grace from God. ²¹ Because for this were ye called: for the Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps

³ For it should suffice us that during the time past of our life we had done the will of the Gentiles, when we conversed in lasciviousness, lusts, drunkenness, gluttony, orgies, and abominable idolatries. ⁴ ¶ And it seems strange to those that speak evil of you, that ye do not run with them to the same unchecked dissolution;

⁵ ¶ Likewise, young people, be subject to the elders in such a manner that you are all subject to one another. Be clothed with humility of will, for God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. ⁶ Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time,

³ ¶ and in covetousness they shall make merchandise of you with feigned words, upon whom the condemnation from a long time ago does not delay, and their perdition does not sleep. ⁴ For if God did not forgive the angels that sinned, but cast them down into the deepest abyss {Gr. Tartarus} and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; ⁵ and if he did not forgive the old world, but kept Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven other persons, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; ⁶ and if he condemned by destruction the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha, turning them into ashes, making them an example unto those that after should live without fear and reverence of God; ⁷ ¶ and delivered just Lot, who was persecuted by those abominable people because of their nefarious conversation; ⁸ (for that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, afflicted his righteous soul from day to day with the deeds of those unjust people); ⁹ the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished;

¹³ receiving the reward of their unrighteousness, as those that count it pleasure to live luxuriously every day. These are spots and blemishes, who eat together with you, while at the same time they revel in their deceit, ¹⁴ having their eyes full of adultery, and not knowing how to cease from sin, baiting unstable souls, having their heart exercised in covetous practices; cursed sons, ¹⁵ who forsaking the right way have erred, having followed the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness, ¹⁶ and was rebuked for his iniquity; a dumb animal accustomed to a yoke (upon which he was seated), speaking with man’s voice, hindered the madness of the prophet. ¹⁷ These are wells without water, clouds that are brought by a whirlwind, to whom gross darkness is reserved for ever.

³ ¶ knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts ⁴ and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? For since the day in which the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. ⁵ Of course, they willingly ignore that the heavens were created of old and the earth standing out of the water and in the water, by the word of God; ⁶ by which the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished; ⁷ but the heavens, which are now, and the earth are conserved by the same word, kept unto the fire in the day of judgment and of perdition of the ungodly men. ⁸ ¶ But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day before the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years are as one day. ⁹ ¶ The Lord is not late concerning his promise, as some count lateness, but is patient with us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

⁸ ¶ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and there is no truth in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

¹² These are spots in your banquets of charity, feeding themselves without any fear whatsoever: clouds without water, carried to and fro of the winds; trees withered as in fall, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; ¹³ raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own abominations; erratic stars, to whom is reserved gross darkness eternally.

¹⁹ As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten; be zealous therefore, and repent.

¹³ ¶ And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on; Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours, and their works do follow them.

¹⁹ And they cast dust on their heads and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, in which all that had ships in the sea were made rich by reason of her riches! for in one hour is she made desolate.