Categories
Amos

Amos 9

1 I saw the Lord standing over an altar, and he said: “Strike the hinges, and let the lintels be shaken. For there is avarice at the head of them all, and I will execute the very last of them with the sword. There will be no escape for them. They will flee, and he who flees from among them will not be saved.

2 If they descend even to the underworld, from there my hand will draw them out; and if they ascend even to the sky, from there will I pull them down.

3 And if they were hiding at the top of Carmel, when searching there, I would steal them away, and if they conceal themselves from my eyes in the depths of the sea, I will command the serpent there and he will bite them.

4 And if they go into captivity in the sight of their enemies, there I will command the sword, and it will kill them. And I will set my eyes over them for harm and not for good.”

5 And the Lord God of hosts, he touches the earth and it will melt. And all who dwell in it will mourn. And everyone will rise up like a river, and will flow away like the river of Egypt.

6 He establishes his ascension into heaven, and he has founded his bundle on the earth. He calls the waters of the ocean, and pours them over the face of the earth. The Lord is his name.

7 Sons of Israel, are you not like the sons of the Ethiopians to me, says the Lord? Did I not cause Israel to rise up out of the land of Egypt, and the Philistines out of Cappadocia, and the Syrians out of Cyrene?

8 Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are on the sinning kingdom, and I will wipe it from the face of the earth. Though truly, when destroying, I will not wipe away the house of Jacob, says the Lord.

9 For behold, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all the nations, as wheat is sifted in a sieve. And not even one small stone will fall to the ground.

10 All the sinners of my people will die by the sword. They say, “Disaster will not come near us, and it will not overcome us.”

11 In that day, I will raise up the tabernacle of David, which is fallen. And I will repair the breaches in its walls, and I will restore that which collapsed. And I will rebuild it, just as in the days of antiquity,

12 so that they may possess the remnant of Idumea and all the nations, for my name has been invoked over them, says the Lord who does this.

13 Behold, the days pass, says the Lord, and the plower will overtake the harvester, and the treader of grapes will overtake the sower of seed. And the mountains will drip sweetness, and every hill will be cultivated.

14 And I will turn back the captivity of my people Israel. And they will rebuild the deserted cities and inhabit them. And they will plant vineyards and drink their wine. And they will create gardens and eat their fruits.

15 And I will plant them on their own soil. And I will no longer root them out of their own land, which I have given them, says the Lord your God.

Categories
Obadiah

Obadiah 1

1 The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord God to Edom: We have heard a report from the Lord, and he has sent an envoy to the nations: “Arise, and let us together rise up in battle against him.”

2 Behold, I have made you little among the nations. You are greatly contemptible.

3 The arrogance of your heart has lifted you up, living in the clefts of the rocks, exalting your throne. You say in your heart, “Who will pull me down to the ground?”

4 Though you have been lifted high like an eagle, and though you have placed your nest among the stars, from there I will pull you down, says the Lord.

5 If thieves had approached you, if robbers by night, how would you have remained unnoticed? Would they not have stolen all that they wanted? If the grape-pickers had approached you, would they not have left you at least a cluster?

6 In what way have they been examining Esau? They investigated his secrets.

7 They have sent you out all the way to the limit. All the men of your alliance have deceived you. Your men of peace have prevailed against you. Those who eat with you will place snares under you. There is no foresight in him.

8 Shall I not, in that day, says the Lord, wipe away understanding from Idumea and foresight from the mount of Esau?

9 And your strong from the Meridian will be afraid, so that man may perish from the mount of Esau.

10 Because of the execution, and because of the iniquity against your brother Jacob, confusion will cover you, and you will pass away into eternity.

11 In the day when you stood against him, when strangers seized his army, and foreigners entered into his gates, and they cast lots over Jerusalem: you also were just like one of them.

12 But you shall not show disdain for the day of your brother in the day of his sojourn. And you shall not rejoice over the sons of Judah in the day of their perdition. And you shall not magnify your mouth in the day of anguish.

13 And neither shall you enter into the gate of my people in the day of their ruin. And neither shall you also show disdain for his troubles in the day of his desolation. And you shall not send out against his army in the day of his desolation.

14 Neither shall you stand at the exits to execute those who will flee. And you shall not enclose their remnant in the day of tribulation.

15 For the day of the Lord is near, over all nations. Just as you have done, so will it be done to you. He will turn back your retribution on your own head.

16 For in the manner that you drank on my holy mountain, so shall all nations drink continually. And they will drink, and they will absorb, and they will be as if they were not.

17 And on mount Zion there will be salvation, and it will be holy. And the house of Jacob will possess those who had possessed them.

18 And the house of Jacob will be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau stubble. And they will be set on fire among them, and they will devour them. And there will be no remnant of the house of Esau, for the Lord has spoken.

19 And those who are towards the South, and who are in the camps of the Philistines, will inherit the mount of Esau. And they will possess the region of Ephraim, and the region of Samaria. And Benjamin will possess Gilead.

20 And the exiles of this army of the sons of Israel, all the places of the Canaanites all the way to Sarepta, and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Bosphoro, will possess the cities of the South.

21 And the saviors will ascend to mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau. And the kingdom will be for the Lord.

Categories
Jonah

Jonah 1

1 And the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying:

2 Rise and go to Nineveh, the great city, and preach in it. For its malice has ascended before my eyes.

3 And Jonah rose in order to flee from the face of the Lord to Tarshish. And he went down to Joppa and found a ship bound for Tarshish. And he paid its fare, and he went down into it, in order to go with them to Tarshish from the face of the Lord.

4 But the Lord sent a great wind into the sea. And a great tempest took place in the sea, and the ship was in danger of being crushed.

5 And the mariners were afraid, and the men cried out to their god. And they threw the containers that were in the ship into the sea in order to lighten it of them. And Jonah went down into the interior of the ship, and he fell into a painful deep sleep.

6 And the helmsman approached him, and he said to him, “Why are you weighed down with sleep? Rise, call upon your God, so perhaps God will be mindful of us and we might not perish.”

7 And a man said to his shipmate, “Come, and let us cast lots, so that we may know why this disaster is upon us.” And they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.

8 And they said to him: “Explain to us what is the reason that this disaster is upon us. What is your work? Which is your country? And where are you going? Or which people are you from?”

9 And he said to them, “I am Hebrew, and I fear the Lord God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”

10 And the men were greatly afraid, and they said to him, “Why have you done this?” (For the men knew that he was fleeing from the face of the Lord, because he had told them.)

11 And they said to him, “What are we to do with you, so that the sea will cease for us?” For the sea flowed and swelled.

12 And he said to them, “Take me, and cast me into the sea, and the sea will cease for you. For I know that it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.”

13 And the men were rowing, so as to return to dry land, but they did not succeed. For the sea flowed and swelled against them.

14 And they cried out to the Lord, and they said, “We beseech you, Lord, do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not attribute to us innocent blood. For you, Lord, have done just as it pleased you.”

15 And they took Jonah and cast him into the sea. And the sea was stilled from its fury.

16 And the men feared the Lord greatly, and they sacrificed victims to the Lord, and they made vows.

Categories
Jonah

Jonah 2

1 And the Lord prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.

2 And Jonah prayed to the Lord, his God, from the belly of the fish.

3 And he said: “I cried out to the Lord from my tribulation, and he heeded me. From the belly of hell, I cried out, and you heeded my voice.

4 And you have thrown me into the deep, in the heart of the sea, and a flood has encircled me. All your whirlpools and your waves have passed over me.

5 And I said: I am expelled from the sight of your eyes. Yet, truly, I will see your holy temple again.

6 The waters surrounded me, even to the soul. The abyss has walled me in. The ocean has covered my head.

7 I descended to the base of the mountains. The bars of the earth have enclosed me forever. And you will raise up my life from corruption, Lord, my God.

8 When my soul was in anguish within me, I called to mind the Lord, so that my prayer might come to you, to your holy temple.

9 Those who in vain observe vanities, abandon their own mercy.

10 But I, with a voice of praise, will sacrifice to you. I will repay whatever I have vowed to the Lord, because of my salvation.”

11 And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

Categories
Jonah

Jonah 3

1 And the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying:

2 Rise, and go to Nineveh, the great city. And preach in it the preaching that I say to you.

3 And Jonah rose, and he went to Nineveh in accordance with the word of the Lord. And Nineveh was a great city of three days’ journey.

4 And Jonah began to enter into the city one day’s journey. And he cried out and said, “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed.”

5 And the men of Nineveh believed in God. And they proclaimed a fast, and they put on sackcloth, from the greatest all the way to the least.

6 And word reached the king of Nineveh. And he rose from his throne, and he threw off his robe from himself and was clothed in sackcloth, and he sat in ashes.

7 And he cried out and spoke: “In Nineveh, from the mouth of the king and of his princes, let it be said: Men and beasts and oxen and sheep may not taste anything. Neither shall they feed or drink water.

8 And let men and beasts be covered with sackcloth, and let them cry out to the Lord with strength, and may man be converted from his evil way, and from the iniquity that is in their hands.

9 Who knows if God may turn and forgive, and may turn away from his furious wrath, so that we might not perish?”

10 And God saw their works, that they had been converted from their evil way. And God took pity on them, concerning the harm that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.

Categories
Jonah

Jonah 4

1 And Jonah was afflicted with a great affliction, and he was angry.

2 And he prayed to the Lord, and he said, “I beg you, Lord, was this not my word, when I was still in my own land? Because of this, I knew beforehand to flee into Tarshish. For I know that you are a lenient and merciful God, patient and great in compassion, and forgiving despite ill will.

3 And now, Lord, I ask you to take my life from me. For it is better for me to die than to live.”

4 And the Lord said, “Do you really think you are right to be angry?”

5 And Jonah went out of the city, and he sat opposite the east of the city. And he made himself a shelter there, and he was sitting under it in the shadow, until he might see what would befall the city.

6 And the Lord God prepared an ivy, and it ascended over the head of Jonah so as to be a shadow over his head, and to protect him (for he had labored hard). And Jonah rejoiced because of the ivy, with great rejoicing.

7 And God prepared a worm, when dawn approached on the next day, and it struck the ivy, and it dried up.

8 And when the sun had risen, the Lord ordered a hot and burning wind. And the sun beat down on the head of Jonah, and he burned. And he petitioned for his soul that he might die, and he said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”

9 And the Lord said to Jonah, “Do you really think that you are right to be angry because of the ivy?” And he said, “I am right to be angry even unto death.”

10 And the Lord said, “You grieve for the ivy, for which you have not labored and which you did not cause to grow, though it had been born during one night, and during one night perished.

11 And shall I not spare Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than one hundred and twenty thousand men, who do not know the difference between their right and their left, and many beasts?”

Categories
Micah

Micah 1

1 The word of the Lord that came to Micah the Moreshethite, in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw about Samaria and Jerusalem.

2 All peoples, listen. And may the earth and its fullness pay attention. And may the Lord God be a witness to you, the Lord from his holy temple.

3 For behold, the Lord will go forth from his place. And he will descend, and he will trample over the high places of the earth.

4 And the mountains will be consumed under him, and the valleys will be torn apart, like wax before the face of fire, and like waters that rush swiftly downward.

5 All this is for the wickedness of Jacob and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the wickedness of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what is the loftiness of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem?

6 And I will place Samaria like a pile of stones in the field, when a vineyard is planted. And I will pull down its stones into the valley, and I will reveal her foundations.

7 And all her graven images will be cut to pieces, and all her rewards will be burned with fire, and I will place all her idols in perdition. For they have been gathered together from the pay of a kept woman, and even to the pay of a kept woman, they will return.

8 I will lament and wail about this. I will go out despoiled and naked. I will make a howl like the dragons, and a mourning like the ostriches.

9 For her wound has been in despair. For it has come even to Judah. It has touched the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem.

10 Do not be willing to announce it in Gath; may you not lament with tears. In the house of Dust, besprinkle yourselves with dust.

11 And cross over to your dwelling place, Beauty, bewildered by disgrace. She did not depart, who dwells at the place of departure. The House nearby, which remained firm by herself, will receive mourning from you.

12 For she has been weakened in goodness, who dwells in bitterness. For disaster has descended from the Lord to the gate of Jerusalem.

13 A tumult of four-horse chariots has stupefied the inhabitants of Lachish. The beginning has been sin for the daughter of Zion, because in you have been found the evil deeds of Israel.

14 Because of this, she will send emissaries to the inheritance of Gath: the house of Lying in order to deceive the kings of Israel.

15 Nevertheless, I will lead an heir to you, who dwell in Mareshah: the glory of Israel will reach all the way to Adullam.

16 Become bald and shaved for your delicate sons. Increase your baldness like the eagle. For they have been carried into captivity from you.

Categories
Micah

Micah 2

1 Woe to you who devise useless things and who work evil in your beds. In the morning light, they undertake it, because their hand is against God.

2 And they have desired fields and have taken them by violence, and they have stolen houses. And they have made false accusations against a man and his house, a man and his inheritance.

3 For this reason, thus says the Lord: Behold, I devise an evil against this family, from which you will not steal away your necks. And you will not walk in arrogance, because this is a most wicked time.

4 In that day, a parable will be taken up about you, and a song will be sung with sweetness, saying: “We have been devastated by depopulation.” The fate of my people has been altered. How can he withdraw from me, when he might be turned back, he who might tear apart our country?

5 Because of this, there will be for you no casting of the cord of fate in the assembly of the Lord.

6 Do not speak by saying, “It will not drop on these ones; shame will not embrace them.”

7 The house of Jacob says, “Has the Spirit of the Lord been weakened, or are such things his thoughts?” Are not my words good for him who walks uprightly?

8 But, to the contrary, my people have risen up in opposition. You have lifted the cover from the undergarment, and those who passed by harmlessly, you have converted into war.

9 You have evicted the women among my people from their delicate houses. You have taken my praise forever from their little ones.

10 Rise and depart, for there is no relief for you here. Because of its uncleanness, it will be corrupted with a most wicked decay.

11 I wish that I were not a man who has breath, and that I rather spoke a lie. I will drop it down to you in wine and in drunkenness. And it will be this people on whom it will rain down.

12 I will gather together in a congregation all of you, Jacob. I will lead together as one, the remnant of Israel. I will set them together like a flock in the fold, like a sheep in the midst of the sheep pen. They will cause a tumult before the multitude of men.

13 For he will ascend, opening the way before them. They will separate, and they will cross the gate and enter through it. And their king will pass by, before their very eyes, and the Lord will be at their head.

Categories
Micah

Micah 3

1 And I said: Listen, leaders of Jacob and chiefs of the house of Israel. Does it not belong to you to know judgment,

2 you who hold hatred for good, and love evil, who violently steal their skins from over them and their flesh from over their bones?

3 They have devoured the flesh of my people, and have stripped their skin from over them, and they have shattered and chopped their bones, as if for the kettle, and like flesh in the middle of the pot.

4 Then they will cry out to the Lord, and he will not heed them. And he will hide his face from them in that time, just as they have acted wickedly with their inventions.

5 Thus says the Lord about the prophets who seduce my people: They bite with their teeth and preach peace, and if anyone does not give something to their mouth, they sanctify a battle against him.

6 Because of this, night will be yours for vision, and darkness yours for divination, and the sun will meet with death over the prophets, and the day will be darkened over them.

7 And those who see visions will be confounded, and the diviners will be confounded. And they will all cover their faces, because there is no response from God.

8 Nevertheless, truly I have been filled with the strength of the Spirit of the Lord, with judgment and virtue, in order to announce to Jacob his wickedness and to Israel his sin.

9 Hear this, leaders of the house of Jacob and judges of the house of Israel, you who abominate judgment and who pervert all that is right.

10 You build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.

11 Her leaders have judged for tributes, and her priests have taught for payment, and her prophets divined for money. And they leaned upon the Lord, saying: “Is not the Lord in our midst? No disaster will overcome us.”

12 For this reason, because of you, Zion will be plowed under like a field, and Jerusalem will become like a pile of stones, and the mountain of the temple like the high places of the forests.

Categories
Micah

Micah 4

1 And this shall be: In the last days, the mountain of the house of the Lord will be prepared at the top of the mountains and high above the hills. And the people will flow to it.

2 And many nations will hurry, and will say: “Come, let us ascend to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob. And he will teach us about his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

3 And he will judge among the many peoples, and he will correct strong nations, even from afar. And they will cut up their swords into plows, and their spears into hoes. Nation will not take up the sword against nation, and they will no longer learn to wage war.

4 And a man will sit under his vine and under his fig tree, and there will be no one to fear, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.

5 For all people will walk, each one in the name of his god. But we will walk in the name of the Lord our God, forever and ever.

6 In that day, says the Lord, I will gather together the lame. And I will recover her whom I had rejected, and her whom I had afflicted.

7 And I will place the lame within the remnant, and she who had been in distress, within a healthy people. And the Lord will reign over them on Mount Zion, from the present time and even unto eternity.

8 And you, cloudy tower of the flock of the daughter of Zion, even to you it will come. And the first power will arrive, the kingdom to the daughter of Jerusalem.

9 Now, why have you come together in grief? Is there not a king in you, or has your counselor gone away? For sorrow has overtaken you, like the pain of giving birth.

10 Be grieved and overwhelmed, daughter of Zion, like a woman giving birth. For now you must depart from the city and dwell in the countryside, and you will approach even to Babylon. There you will be delivered. There the Lord will redeem you from the hand of your adversaries.

11 And now many peoples have been gathered together against you, and they say, “Let her be stoned and let our eyes gaze upon Zion.”

12 But they have not known the thoughts of the Lord, and they have not understood his counsel. For he has gathered them together like hay on a threshing floor.

13 Rise and thresh, daughter of Zion. For I will set your horn like iron, and I will set your hoofs like brass. And you will shatter many peoples, and you will immolate their spoils for the Lord, and their strength for the Lord of the whole earth.