Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria,Thy worthies are at rest:Thy people are scattered upon the mountains,And there is none to gather them.There is no assuaging of thy hurt;Thy wound is grievous:All that hear the bruit of thee clap the hands over thee:For upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?
Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria,Thy worthies are at rest:Thy people are scattered upon the mountains,And there is none to gather them.There is no assuaging of thy hurt;Thy wound is grievous:All that hear the bruit of thee clap the hands over thee:For upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?
Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria,Thy worthies are at rest:Thy people are scattered upon the mountains,And there is none to gather them.
There is no assuaging of thy hurt;Thy wound is grievous:All that hear the bruit of thee clap the hands over thee:For upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?
RHAPSODY OF THE DROUGHT
Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they sit in black upon the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.
And their nobles send their little ones to the waters: they come to the pits, and find no water; they return with their vessels empty: they are ashamed and confounded, and cover their heads.
Because of the ground which is chapt, for that no rain hath been in the land, the plowmen are ashamed, they cover their heads.
Yea, the hind also in the field calveth, and forsaketh her young, because there is no grass. And the wild asses stand on the bare heights, they pant for air like jackals; their eyes fail, because there is no herbage.
Repentant Israel
Though our iniquities testify against us, work thou for thy name's sake, OLord: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee. O thou hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in the time of trouble, why shouldest thoube as a sojourner in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night? Why shouldest thou be as a man astonied, as a mighty man that cannot save? yet thou, OLord, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name: leave us not.
The Prophet
Thus saith theLordunto this people, Even so have they loved to wander; they have not refrained their feet: therefore theLorddoth not accept them; now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins.
The Lord(to the Prophet)
Pray not for this people for their good. When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.
The Prophet
Ah, LordGod! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place.
The Lord
The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake I untothem; they prophesy unto you a lying vision, and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their own heart. Therefore thus saith theLordconcerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land: By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed. And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury them, them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters: for I will pour their wickedness upon them. And thou shalt say this word unto them, 'Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease; for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous wound. If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine! for both the prophet and the priest go about in the land and have no knowledge.'
Repentant Israel
Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? hath thy soul loathed Zion? why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of healing, and behold dismay! We acknowledge, OLord, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee. Do not abhor us, forthy name's sake; do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us. Are there any among the vanities of the heathen that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, OLordour God? therefore we will wait upon thee; for thou hast made all these things.
The Lord(to the Prophet)
Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth. And it shall come to pass, when they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith theLord: Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for captivity, to captivity. And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the Lord: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and to destroy. And I will cause them to be tossed to and fro among all the kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem. For who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? or who shall bemoan thee? or who shall turn aside to ask of thy welfare? Thou hast rejected me, saith theLord, thou art gone backward: therefore have I stretched out my hand against thee, and destroyed thee; I am wearywith repenting. And I have fanned them with a fan in the gates of the land; I have bereaved them of children, I have destroyed my people; they have not returned from their ways. Their widows are increased to me above the sand of the seas: I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a spoiler at noonday: I have caused anguish and terrors to fall upon her suddenly. She that hath borne seven languisheth; she hath given up the ghost; her sun is gone down while it was yet day; she hath been ashamed and confounded: and the residue of them will I deliver to the sword before their enemies, saith theLord.
The Prophet
Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have not lent on usury, neither have men lent to me on usury; yet every one of them doth curse me.
The Lord(to the Prophet)
Verily I will strengthen thee for good; verily I will cause the enemy to make supplication unto thee in the time of evil and in the time of affliction.
The Lord(to the People)
Can one break iron, even iron from the north, and brass? Thy substance and thy treasures will I give for a spoilwithout price, and that for all thy sins, even in all thy borders. And I will make thee to serve thine enemies in a land which thou knowest not: for a fire is kindled in mine anger, which shall burn upon you.
Repentant Israel
OLord, thou knowest: remember me, and visit me, and avenge me of my persecutors: take me not away in thy longsuffering: know that for thy sake I have suffered reproach. Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy words were unto me a joy and the rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, OLordGod of hosts. I sat not in the assembly of them that make merry, nor rejoiced: I sat alone because of thy hand; for thou hast filled me with indignation. Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed? wilt thou indeed be unto me as a deceitful brook, as waters that fail?
The Lord
Therefore thus saith theLord: If thou return, then will I bring thee again, that thou mayest stand before me; and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: they shall return unto thee, but thou shalt not return unto them.
Epilogue(to the Prophet)
And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen wall; and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith theLord. And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible.
RHAPSODY OF THE CHALDEANS
The Mystery
The Prophet
OLord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear? I cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save. Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to look upon perverseness? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there is strife, and contention riseth up. Therefore the law is slacked, and judgement doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore judgement goeth forth perverted.
The Lord
Behold ye among the nations, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I work a work in your days, which ye will not believe though it be told you. For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation; which march through the breadth of the earth, to possess dwelling places that are not theirs. They are terrible and dreadful:their judgement and their dignity proceed from themselves. Their horses also are swifter than leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves; and their horsemen bear themselves proudly: yea, their horsemen come from far; they fly as an eagle that hasteth to devour. They come all of them for violence; their faces are set eagerly as the east wind; and they gather captives as the sand. Yea, he scoffeth at kings, and princes are a derision unto him: he derideth every strong hold; for he heapeth up dust, and taketh it. Then shall he sweep by as a wind, and shall pass over, and be guilty: even he whose might is his god.
The Prophet
Art not thou from everlasting, OLordmy God, mine Holy One? thou diest not. OLord, thou hast ordained him for judgement; and thou, O Rock, hast established him for correction. Thou that art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and that canst not look on perverseness, wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy peace when the wicked swalloweth up the man that is more righteous than he; and makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them? He taketh up all of them with the angle, he catcheth them in his net, and gathereth them in his drag: therefore he rejoiceth and is glad. Thereforehe sacrificeth unto his net, and burneth incense unto his drag; because by them his portion is fat, and his meat plenteous. Shall he therefore empty his net, and not spare to slay the nations continually?
The Solution
The Prophet
I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will look forth to see what he will speak by me, and what I shall answer concerning my complaint.
The Lord
Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for the appointed time, and it hasteth toward the end, and shall not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not delay. Behold, his soul is puffed up, it is not upright in him: but the just shall live in his faithfulness. Yea, moreover, wine is a treacherous dealer, a haughty man, and that keepeth not at home; who enlargeth his desire as hell, and he is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapethunto him all peoples. Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say:
Doom of the Chaldeans
1
Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his,—How long?—And that ladeth himself with pledges!
Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his,—How long?—And that ladeth himself with pledges!
Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his,—How long?—And that ladeth himself with pledges!
Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall exact usury of thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them? Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the peoples shall spoil thee; because of men's blood, and for the violence done to the land, to the city, and to all that dwell therein.
2
Woe to him that getteth an evil gain for his house,That he may set his nest on high,That he may be delivered from the hand of evil!
Woe to him that getteth an evil gain for his house,That he may set his nest on high,That he may be delivered from the hand of evil!
Woe to him that getteth an evil gain for his house,That he may set his nest on high,That he may be delivered from the hand of evil!
Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many peoples, and hast sinned against thy soul. For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.
3
Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood,And stablisheth a city by iniquity!
Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood,And stablisheth a city by iniquity!
Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood,And stablisheth a city by iniquity!
Behold, is it not of theLordof hosts that the peoples labour for the fire, and the nations weary themselves for vanity? For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of theLord, as the waters cover the sea.
4
Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink,That addest thy venom thereto,And makest him drunken also,That thou mayest look on their nakedness!
Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink,That addest thy venom thereto,And makest him drunken also,That thou mayest look on their nakedness!
Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink,That addest thy venom thereto,And makest him drunken also,That thou mayest look on their nakedness!
Thou art filled with shame for glory: drink thou also, and be as one uncircumcised. The cup of theLord'sright hand shall be turned unto thee, and foul shame shall be upon thy glory. For the violence done to Lebanon shall cover thee, and the destruction of the beasts which made them afraid; because of men's blood, and for the violence done to the land, to the city, and to all that dwell therein.
5
What profiteth the graven image, that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and the teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols?—
Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake;To the dumb stone, Arise!
Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake;To the dumb stone, Arise!
Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake;To the dumb stone, Arise!
Shall this teach? Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it. But theLordis in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him!
Jehovah come to Judgment
Prelude
OLord, I have heard the report of thee, and am afraid:OLord, revive thy work in the midst of the years,In the midst of the years make it known:In wrath remember mercy!
OLord, I have heard the report of thee, and am afraid:OLord, revive thy work in the midst of the years,In the midst of the years make it known:In wrath remember mercy!
OLord, I have heard the report of thee, and am afraid:OLord, revive thy work in the midst of the years,In the midst of the years make it known:In wrath remember mercy!
Strophe
God cometh from Teman,And the Holy One from Mount Paran.His glory covereth the heavens,And the earth is full of his praise.And his brightness is as the light;He hath rays coming forth from his hand;And there is the hiding of his power.Before him goeth the pestilence,And fiery bolts go forth at his feet.He standeth and shaketh the earth;He beholdeth, and driveth asunder the nations:And the eternal mountains are scattered,The everlasting hills do bow;His ways are everlasting.I see the tents of Cushan in affliction;The curtains of the land of Midian do tremble.
God cometh from Teman,And the Holy One from Mount Paran.His glory covereth the heavens,And the earth is full of his praise.And his brightness is as the light;He hath rays coming forth from his hand;And there is the hiding of his power.Before him goeth the pestilence,And fiery bolts go forth at his feet.He standeth and shaketh the earth;He beholdeth, and driveth asunder the nations:And the eternal mountains are scattered,The everlasting hills do bow;His ways are everlasting.I see the tents of Cushan in affliction;The curtains of the land of Midian do tremble.
God cometh from Teman,And the Holy One from Mount Paran.His glory covereth the heavens,And the earth is full of his praise.And his brightness is as the light;He hath rays coming forth from his hand;And there is the hiding of his power.Before him goeth the pestilence,And fiery bolts go forth at his feet.He standeth and shaketh the earth;He beholdeth, and driveth asunder the nations:And the eternal mountains are scattered,The everlasting hills do bow;His ways are everlasting.I see the tents of Cushan in affliction;The curtains of the land of Midian do tremble.
Antistrophe
Is theLorddispleased against the rivers?Is thine anger against the rivers, or thy wrath against the sea,That thou dost ride upon thine horses,Upon thy chariots of salvation?Thy bow is made quite bare,Sworn are the chastisements of thy word.Thou dost cleave the earth with rivers;The mountains see thee and are afraid;The tempest of waters passeth by;The deep uttereth his voice,And lifteth up his hands on high;The sun and moon stand still in their habitationAt the light of thine arrows as they go,At the shining of thy glittering spear.Thou dost march through the land in indignation,Thou dost thresh the nations in anger.
Is theLorddispleased against the rivers?Is thine anger against the rivers, or thy wrath against the sea,That thou dost ride upon thine horses,Upon thy chariots of salvation?Thy bow is made quite bare,Sworn are the chastisements of thy word.Thou dost cleave the earth with rivers;The mountains see thee and are afraid;The tempest of waters passeth by;The deep uttereth his voice,And lifteth up his hands on high;The sun and moon stand still in their habitationAt the light of thine arrows as they go,At the shining of thy glittering spear.Thou dost march through the land in indignation,Thou dost thresh the nations in anger.
Is theLorddispleased against the rivers?Is thine anger against the rivers, or thy wrath against the sea,That thou dost ride upon thine horses,Upon thy chariots of salvation?Thy bow is made quite bare,Sworn are the chastisements of thy word.Thou dost cleave the earth with rivers;The mountains see thee and are afraid;The tempest of waters passeth by;The deep uttereth his voice,And lifteth up his hands on high;The sun and moon stand still in their habitationAt the light of thine arrows as they go,At the shining of thy glittering spear.Thou dost march through the land in indignation,Thou dost thresh the nations in anger.
Epode
Thou art come for the salvation of thy people,For the salvation of thine anointed:Thou dost smite off the head from the house of the wicked,Laying bare the foundation even unto the neck.Thou dost pierce with his own staves the head of his warriors:(They came as a whirlwind to scatter me,Their rejoicing was as to devour the poor secretly:)Thou dost tread the sea with thine horses, the surge of mighty waters.
Thou art come for the salvation of thy people,For the salvation of thine anointed:Thou dost smite off the head from the house of the wicked,Laying bare the foundation even unto the neck.Thou dost pierce with his own staves the head of his warriors:(They came as a whirlwind to scatter me,Their rejoicing was as to devour the poor secretly:)Thou dost tread the sea with thine horses, the surge of mighty waters.
Thou art come for the salvation of thy people,For the salvation of thine anointed:Thou dost smite off the head from the house of the wicked,Laying bare the foundation even unto the neck.Thou dost pierce with his own staves the head of his warriors:(They came as a whirlwind to scatter me,Their rejoicing was as to devour the poor secretly:)Thou dost tread the sea with thine horses, the surge of mighty waters.
Postlude
I heard, and my belly trembled,My lips quivered at the voice;Rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in my place:That I should rest waiting for the day of trouble,When he that shall invade them in troops cometh up against the people.For though the fig tree shall not blossom,Neither shall fruit be in the vines;The labour of the olive shall fail,And the fields shall yield no meat;The flock shall be cut off from the fold,And there shall be no herd in the stalls:Yet I will rejoice in the LORD,I will joy in the God of my salvation.Jehovah, the Lord, is my strength,And he maketh my feet like hinds' feet,And will make me to walk upon mine high places.
I heard, and my belly trembled,My lips quivered at the voice;Rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in my place:That I should rest waiting for the day of trouble,When he that shall invade them in troops cometh up against the people.For though the fig tree shall not blossom,Neither shall fruit be in the vines;The labour of the olive shall fail,And the fields shall yield no meat;The flock shall be cut off from the fold,And there shall be no herd in the stalls:Yet I will rejoice in the LORD,I will joy in the God of my salvation.Jehovah, the Lord, is my strength,And he maketh my feet like hinds' feet,And will make me to walk upon mine high places.
I heard, and my belly trembled,My lips quivered at the voice;Rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in my place:That I should rest waiting for the day of trouble,When he that shall invade them in troops cometh up against the people.For though the fig tree shall not blossom,Neither shall fruit be in the vines;The labour of the olive shall fail,And the fields shall yield no meat;The flock shall be cut off from the fold,And there shall be no herd in the stalls:Yet I will rejoice in the LORD,I will joy in the God of my salvation.Jehovah, the Lord, is my strength,And he maketh my feet like hinds' feet,And will make me to walk upon mine high places.
RHAPSODY OF THE LOCUST PLAGUE
The Land Desolate and Mourning
Old Men
Hear this, ye old men,And give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land!Hath this been in your days,Or in the days of your fathers?Tell ye your children of it,And let your children tell their children,And their children another generation.That which the palmerworm hath leftHath the locust eaten;And that which the locust hath leftHath the cankerworm eaten;And that which the cankerworm hath leftHath the caterpillar eaten.
Hear this, ye old men,And give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land!Hath this been in your days,Or in the days of your fathers?Tell ye your children of it,And let your children tell their children,And their children another generation.That which the palmerworm hath leftHath the locust eaten;And that which the locust hath leftHath the cankerworm eaten;And that which the cankerworm hath leftHath the caterpillar eaten.
Hear this, ye old men,And give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land!Hath this been in your days,Or in the days of your fathers?Tell ye your children of it,And let your children tell their children,And their children another generation.That which the palmerworm hath leftHath the locust eaten;And that which the locust hath leftHath the cankerworm eaten;And that which the cankerworm hath leftHath the caterpillar eaten.
Revellers
Awake, ye drunkards, and weep,And howl, all ye drinkers of wine,Because of the sweet wine;For it is cut off from your mouth!For a nation is come up upon my land,Strong, and without number;His teeth are the teeth of a lion,And he hath the jaw teeth of a great lion.He hath laid my vine waste,And barked my fig tree:He hath made it clean bare, and cast it away;The branches thereof are made white.
Awake, ye drunkards, and weep,And howl, all ye drinkers of wine,Because of the sweet wine;For it is cut off from your mouth!For a nation is come up upon my land,Strong, and without number;His teeth are the teeth of a lion,And he hath the jaw teeth of a great lion.He hath laid my vine waste,And barked my fig tree:He hath made it clean bare, and cast it away;The branches thereof are made white.
Awake, ye drunkards, and weep,And howl, all ye drinkers of wine,Because of the sweet wine;For it is cut off from your mouth!For a nation is come up upon my land,Strong, and without number;His teeth are the teeth of a lion,And he hath the jaw teeth of a great lion.He hath laid my vine waste,And barked my fig tree:He hath made it clean bare, and cast it away;The branches thereof are made white.
Priests
Lament like a virginGirded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth!The meal offering and the drink offeringIs cut off from the house of theLord:The priests, theLord'sministers, mourn.The field is wasted,The land mourneth;For the corn is wasted,The new wine is dried up,The oil languisheth.
Lament like a virginGirded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth!The meal offering and the drink offeringIs cut off from the house of theLord:The priests, theLord'sministers, mourn.The field is wasted,The land mourneth;For the corn is wasted,The new wine is dried up,The oil languisheth.
Lament like a virginGirded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth!The meal offering and the drink offeringIs cut off from the house of theLord:The priests, theLord'sministers, mourn.The field is wasted,The land mourneth;For the corn is wasted,The new wine is dried up,The oil languisheth.
Husbandmen
Be ashamed, O ye husbandmen,Howl, O ye vinedressers,For the wheat, and for the barley;For the harvest of the field is perished!The vine is withered,And the fig tree languisheth;The pomegranate tree,The palm tree also, and the apple tree,Even all the trees of the field are withered:For joy is withered away from the sons of men.
Be ashamed, O ye husbandmen,Howl, O ye vinedressers,For the wheat, and for the barley;For the harvest of the field is perished!The vine is withered,And the fig tree languisheth;The pomegranate tree,The palm tree also, and the apple tree,Even all the trees of the field are withered:For joy is withered away from the sons of men.
Be ashamed, O ye husbandmen,Howl, O ye vinedressers,For the wheat, and for the barley;For the harvest of the field is perished!The vine is withered,And the fig tree languisheth;The pomegranate tree,The palm tree also, and the apple tree,Even all the trees of the field are withered:For joy is withered away from the sons of men.
Priests
Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests;Howl, ye ministers of the altar;Come, lie all night in sackcloth,Ye ministers of my God:For the meal offering and the drink offeringIs withholden from the house of your God!
Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests;Howl, ye ministers of the altar;Come, lie all night in sackcloth,Ye ministers of my God:For the meal offering and the drink offeringIs withholden from the house of your God!
Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests;Howl, ye ministers of the altar;Come, lie all night in sackcloth,Ye ministers of my God:For the meal offering and the drink offeringIs withholden from the house of your God!
The Whole People
Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the old men and all the inhabitants of the land unto the house of theLordyour God, and cry unto theLord:
Alas for the day! for the day of theLordis at hand!And as destruction from the Almighty shall it come.Is not the meat cut off before our eyes,Yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God?The seeds rot under their clods:The garners are laid desolate,The barns are broken down;For the corn is withered.How do the beasts groan!The herds of cattle are perplexed,Because they have no pasture;Yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.OLord, to thee do I cry:For the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness,And the flame hath burned all the trees of the field.Yea, the beasts of the field pant unto thee:For the water brooks are dried up,And the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
Alas for the day! for the day of theLordis at hand!And as destruction from the Almighty shall it come.Is not the meat cut off before our eyes,Yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God?The seeds rot under their clods:The garners are laid desolate,The barns are broken down;For the corn is withered.How do the beasts groan!The herds of cattle are perplexed,Because they have no pasture;Yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.OLord, to thee do I cry:For the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness,And the flame hath burned all the trees of the field.Yea, the beasts of the field pant unto thee:For the water brooks are dried up,And the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
Alas for the day! for the day of theLordis at hand!And as destruction from the Almighty shall it come.Is not the meat cut off before our eyes,Yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God?
The seeds rot under their clods:The garners are laid desolate,The barns are broken down;For the corn is withered.
How do the beasts groan!The herds of cattle are perplexed,Because they have no pasture;Yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.
OLord, to thee do I cry:For the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness,And the flame hath burned all the trees of the field.Yea, the beasts of the field pant unto thee:For the water brooks are dried up,And the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
The Judgment Advancing
Blow ye the trumpet in Zion,And sound an alarm in my holy mountain;Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble!
Blow ye the trumpet in Zion,And sound an alarm in my holy mountain;Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble!
Blow ye the trumpet in Zion,And sound an alarm in my holy mountain;Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble!
For the Day of theLordcometh, for it is nigh at hand; a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, as the dawn spread upon the mountains; a great people and a strong, there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after them, even to the years of many generations!
A fire devoureth before them;And behind them a flame burneth:The land is as the garden of Eden before them,And behind them a desolate wilderness!
A fire devoureth before them;And behind them a flame burneth:The land is as the garden of Eden before them,And behind them a desolate wilderness!
A fire devoureth before them;And behind them a flame burneth:The land is as the garden of Eden before them,And behind them a desolate wilderness!
Yea, and none hath escaped them. The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so do they run. Like the noise of chariots on the tops of the mountains do they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.
At their presence the peoples are in anguish:All faces are waxed pale:They run like mighty men;They climb the wall like men of war;And they march every one on his ways.
At their presence the peoples are in anguish:All faces are waxed pale:They run like mighty men;They climb the wall like men of war;And they march every one on his ways.
At their presence the peoples are in anguish:All faces are waxed pale:They run like mighty men;They climb the wall like men of war;And they march every one on his ways.
And they break not their ranks: neither doth one thrust another; they march every one in his path: and they burst through the weapons, and break not off their course.
They leap upon the city;They run upon the wall;They climb up into the houses;They enter in at the windows like a thief.The earth quaketh before them;The heavens tremble:The sun and the moon are darkened,And the stars withdraw their shining.
They leap upon the city;They run upon the wall;They climb up into the houses;They enter in at the windows like a thief.The earth quaketh before them;The heavens tremble:The sun and the moon are darkened,And the stars withdraw their shining.
They leap upon the city;They run upon the wall;They climb up into the houses;They enter in at the windows like a thief.The earth quaketh before them;The heavens tremble:The sun and the moon are darkened,And the stars withdraw their shining.
And theLorduttereth his voice before his army; for his camp is very great; for he is strong that executeth his word: for the Day of theLordis great and very terrible; and who can abide it?
Repentance at the Last Moment
The Lord
Yet even now, saith theLord, turn ye unto me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto theLordyour God: for he is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy, and repenteth him of the evil.
The People
Who knoweth whether he will not turn and repent, and leave a blessing behind him, even a meal offering and a drink offering unto theLordyour God?
Blow the trumpet in Zion,Sanctify a fast,Call a solemn assembly:Gather the people,Sanctify the congregation,Assemble the old men,Gather the children, and those that suck the breasts:Let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber,And the bride out of her closet.
Blow the trumpet in Zion,Sanctify a fast,Call a solemn assembly:Gather the people,Sanctify the congregation,Assemble the old men,Gather the children, and those that suck the breasts:Let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber,And the bride out of her closet.
Blow the trumpet in Zion,Sanctify a fast,Call a solemn assembly:Gather the people,Sanctify the congregation,Assemble the old men,Gather the children, and those that suck the breasts:Let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber,And the bride out of her closet.
Let the priests, the ministers of theLord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say:
Priests
Spare thy people, OLord,And give not thine heritage to reproach,That the nations should use a byword against them,Wherefore should they say among the peoples,Where is their God?
Spare thy people, OLord,And give not thine heritage to reproach,That the nations should use a byword against them,Wherefore should they say among the peoples,Where is their God?
Spare thy people, OLord,And give not thine heritage to reproach,That the nations should use a byword against them,Wherefore should they say among the peoples,Where is their God?
Relief and Restoration
Then was theLordjealous for his land, and had pity on his people.
The Lord
Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations: but I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, his forepart into the eastern sea, and his hinder part into the western sea; and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.
Fear not, O land, be glad and rejoice; for theLordhath done great things. Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field; for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength. Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in theLordyour God: for he giveth you the former rain in just measure, and he causeth to come down for you the rain, the former rain and the latter rain, in the first month. And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil. And I will restoreto you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. And ye shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and shall praise the name of theLordyour God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am theLordyour God, and there is none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.
Afterward
The Lord
And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of theLordcome. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of theLordshall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those that escape, as theLordhath said, and in the remnant whom theLorddoth call. For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all nations, and will bring them down into the Valley of Jehoshaphat[6]; and I will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. And they have cast lots for my people: and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink. Yea, and what are ye to me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the regions of Philistia? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head. Forasmuch as ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things; the children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the sons of the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border: behold, I will stir them up out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompence upon your own head; and I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the men of Sheba, to a nation far off: for theLordhath spoken it.
[6]TheLord'sDecision.
[6]TheLord'sDecision.
Advance to the Valley of Decision
The Lord
Proclaim ye this among the nations; prepare war: stir up the mighty men; let all the men of war draw near, let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.
Voices
Haste ye, and come, all ye nations round about, and gather yourselves together. Thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, OLord.
The Lord
Let the nations bestir themselves, and come up to the Valley of 'Jehoshaphat': for there will I 'sit to judge' all the nations round about.
The Lord(to his Hosts)
Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, tread ye; for the winepress is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.
The Prophetic Spectator
Multitudes, multitudes in the Valley of Decision! for the Day of theLordis near in the Valley of Decision. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. And theLordshall roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but theLordwill be a refuge unto his people, and a strong hold to the children of Israel.
The Holy Mountain and Eternal Peace
The Lord
So shall ye know that I am theLordyour God, dwelling in Zion my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the brooks of Judah shall flow with waters; and a fountain shall come forth of the house of theLord, and shall water the Valley of Acacias. Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness,for the violence done to the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. But Judah shall be inhabited for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. And I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for theLorddwelleth in Zion.
THE HURT OF THE DAUGHTER OF MY
PEOPLE
A Rhapsodic Discourse of Jeremiah
Thus saith theLord: Shall men fall, and not rise up again? shall one turn away, and not return? Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return. I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repenteth him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turneth to his course, as a horse that rusheth headlong in the battle. Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the swallow and the crane observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the ordinance of theLord. How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of theLordis with us? But, behold, the false pen of the scribes hath wrought falsely. The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of theLord; and what manner of wisdom is in them? Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall possess them: for every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. And they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people lightly,saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith theLord. I will utterly consume them, saith theLord: there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them.
The People
Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the defenced cities, and let us be silent there: for theLordour God hath put us to silence, and given us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned against theLord. We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of healing, and behold dismay! The snorting of his horses is heard from Dan: at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones the whole land trembleth; for they are come, and have devoured the land and all that is in it; the city and those that dwell therein.
The Lord
For, behold, I will send serpents, basilisks, among you, which will not be charmed; and they shall bite you, saith theLord.
The Prophet
Oh that I could comfort myself against sorrow! my heart is faint within me. Behold, the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people from a land that is very far off—
The People
Is not theLordin Zion? is not her King in her?
The Lord
Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities?
The People
The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved!
The Prophet
For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt: I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me. Is there no balm in Gilead? is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered? Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people! Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave mypeople and go from them! for they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men. And they bend their tongue as it were their bow for falsehood; and they are grown strong in the land, but not for truth.
The Lord
For they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith theLord. Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will go about with slanders. And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies; they weary themselves to commit iniquity. Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith theLord. Therefore thus saith theLordof hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how else should I do, because of the daughter of my people? Their tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in his heart he layeth wait for him. Shall I not visit them for these things? saith theLord: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
THE LORD'S CONTROVERSY BEFORE THE
MOUNTAINS
A Dramatic Morceau of Micah
The Lord
Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice. Hear, O ye mountains, theLord'scontroversy, and ye enduring foundations of the earth: for theLordhath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel.
O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me. For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of bondage; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him; remember from Shittim unto Gilgal, that ye may know the righteous acts of theLord.
The People
Wherewith shall I come before theLord, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will theLordbe pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousandsof rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
The Mountains
He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth theLordrequire of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
A CRY OF COMFORT FOR JERUSALEM
Prelude to the Rhapsody of 'Zion Redeemed'
Jehovah
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned; that she hath received of theLord'shand double for all her sins.
[Voices carry on the tidings across the desert to Jerusalem
A Voice of one crying