Catholic Public Domain Version – Page 79 – Catholic Public Domain Version

Sirach

Sirach 48

1 And the prophet Elijah arose like a fire, and his word burned like a torch.

2 He brought a famine upon them, and those who provoked him in their envy became few. For they could not bear the precepts of the Lord.

3 By the word of the Lord, he closed the heavens, and he brought down fire from heaven three times.

4 In this way, Elijah was magnified in his wondrous works. So who can say that he is similar to you in glory?

5 He raised up a dead man from the grave, from the fate of death, by the word of the Lord God.

6 He threw down kings unto perdition, and he easily shattered their power and boasting from his bed.

7 He heeded the judgment at Sinai, and the judgments of punishment at Horeb.

8 He anointed kings unto repentance, and he chose the prophets who would follow after him.

9 He was received into a whirlwind of fire, into a swift chariot with fiery horses.

10 He is written in the judgments of the times, so as to lessen the wrath of the Lord, to reconcile the heart of the father to the son, and to restore the tribes of Jacob.

11 Blessed are those who saw you, and who were adorned with your friendship.

12 For we live only in our life, and after death, our name will not be the same.

13 Certainly, Elijah was covered by the whirlwind, and his spirit was completed in Elisha. In his days, he was not fearful of the ruler, and no power defeated him.

14 No word overwhelmed him, and after death, his body prophesied.

15 In his life, he gave great portents, and in death, he wrought miracles.

16 In all these things, the people did not repent, and they did not withdraw from their sins, even until they were cast out of their land, and were dispersed throughout all the earth.

17 And there was left behind a people very few in number, but with a leader in the house of David.

18 Some of these did what pleased God. But others committed many sins.

19 Hezekiah fortified his city, and he brought water into its midst, and he dug into rock with iron, and he built a well for water.

20 In his days, Sennacherib rose up, and he sent Rabshakeh, and he lifted up his hand against them, and he extended his hand against Zion, and he became arrogant in his power.

21 Then their hearts and hands shook. And they were in pain, like women giving birth.

22 And they called upon the merciful Lord. And they spread their hands and lifted them up to heaven. And the holy Lord God quickly heeded their voice.

23 He was not mindful of their sins, and he did not give them over to their enemies. Instead, he purified them by the hand of Isaiah, the holy prophet.

24 He threw down the army of the Assyrians, and the Angel of the Lord crushed them.

25 For Hezekiah did what pleased God, and he went with fortitude in the way of David his father, just as he had been commanded by Isaiah, a prophet great and faithful in the sight of God.

26 In his days, the sun went backwards, and he added to the king’s life.

27 With a great spirit he saw the final things. And he consoled the mourners in Zion.

28 He revealed the future, even the distant future, and hidden things before they occurred.

Sirach

Sirach 49

1 The memory of Josiah is like a blend of fragrances composed by the work of a perfumer.

2 His remembrance will be sweet like honey in every mouth, and like music at a banquet of wine.

3 He was divinely directed for the repentance of the nation, and he took away the abominations of impiety.

4 And he guided his heart toward the Lord. And during the days of sinners, he strengthened piety.

5 Other than David, and Hezekiah, and Josiah, everyone committed sin.

6 For the kings of Judah abandoned the law of the Most High, and they held contempt for the fear of God.

7 For they gave their kingdom to foreigners, and their glory to a strange people.

8 They set fire to the chosen city of sanctity, and they made its streets desolate, in accord with the hand of Jeremiah.

9 For they treated him wickedly, though he was consecrated as a prophet from his mother’s womb: to overthrow, and to root out, and to destroy, and also to rebuild and to renew.

10 It was Ezekiel who saw a vision of glory, which was revealed to him with the chariot of the Cherubim.

11 For it called to mind the enemies under the figure of rain, to do good to those who have revealed the upright ways.

12 And may the bones of the twelve prophets spring up from their place. For they strengthened Jacob, and they redeemed themselves with a virtuous faith.

13 How will we magnify Zerubbabel? For he, too, was like a signet on the right hand.

14 So also was Jesus, the son of Jozadak, who in their days built the house, and raised up a holy temple to the Lord, as a preparation for everlasting glory.

15 And may Nehemiah be remembered for a long time. He raised up for us the walls that had been torn down. And he made firm the gates and the bars. He raised up our houses.

16 No one has been born upon the earth like Enoch. And he was also taken up from the earth.

17 And there was no one like Joseph, who was a man born to be foremost among his brothers, the firmament of his clan, a guide to his brethren, the mainstay of his people.

18 And his bones were visited, and after death, they prophesied.

19 Shem and Seth obtained glory among men. And above every soul, at the very beginning, was Adam.

Sirach

Sirach 50

1 Simon, the high priest, son of Onias: in his life, he propped up the house, and in his days, he strengthened the temple.

2 Even the height of the temple was established by him: the double building and the high walls of the temple.

3 In his days, waters flowed out from the wells, and these were full beyond measure, like the sea.

4 He cared for his nation, and he freed it from perdition.

5 He prevailed, so as to enlarge the city. And he obtained glory by his behavior among the people. And he enlarged the entrance of the house and of the atrium.

6 He shined in his days like the morning star through the midst of a cloud, and like the full moon.

7 And he shined forth in the temple of God in this manner: like the sun when it shines brightly,

8 and like a rainbow shining amid clouds of glory, and like flowering roses in the days of spring, and like lilies along the water’s edge, and like sweet smelling frankincense in the days of summer,

9 like a fire shining brightly, and like frankincense burning within a fire,

10 like a vessel of solid gold, adorned with every precious stone,

11 like an olive tree producing buds, and like a cypress tree lifting itself on high, when he received the robe of glory and was vested with the consummation of virtue.

12 He gave glory to the vestment of sanctity, when he ascended to the holy altar.

13 Then, when he received the portions from the hands of the priests, he himself stood next to the altar. And around him was the crown of his brethren, like a cedar planted on a mountain of Lebanon.

14 And they stood around him like palm branches, and all were sons of Aaron in their glory.

15 Then the oblation of the Lord was in their hands, in the sight of the entire synagogue of Israel. And completing his service at the altar, so as to magnify the offering to the Most High King,

16 he extended his hand to make a libation, and he offered from the blood of the grape.

17 At the base of the altar, he poured out a divine fragrance to the Most High Prince.

18 Then the sons of Aaron shouted; they sounded finely-made trumpets, and they made a great noise, as a memorial in the sight of God.

19 Then all the people at once hurried forward, and they fell to the ground on their faces, to adore the Lord their God, and to offer prayers to Almighty God Most High.

20 And the singers of Psalms raised their voices, and a full sweet sound increased in the great house.

21 And the people petitioned the Most High Lord in prayer, even until the honor of the Lord was completed, and they finished offering their gifts.

22 Then, descending, he extended his hands over the entire congregation of the sons of Israel, to give glory to God from his lips, and to glory in his name.

23 And he repeated his prayer, wanting to reveal the virtue of God.

24 And now, pray to the God of all, who has accomplished great things over all the earth, who has increased our days from our mother’s womb, and who has acted toward us in accord with his mercy.

25 May he give us joyfulness in heart, and may there be peace in our days, in Israel for unending days,

26 so that Israel may trust the mercy of God to be with us, in order to free us in his days.

27 Two nations my soul hates, and a third, which I hate, is not a nation:

28 those who sit upon mount Seir, and the Philistines, and the foolish people who live at Shechem.

29 Jesus, the son of Sirach, of Jerusalem, who renewed wisdom from his heart, wrote the doctrine of wisdom and discipline in this book.

30 Blessed is he who lives by these good things. Whoever places these things in his heart will be ever wise.

31 For if he does these things, he will prevail in all things. For the light of God is upon his footsteps.

Sirach

Sirach 51

1 The prayer of Jesus, the son of Sirach: I will confess to you, O Lord and King, and I will give praise to you, O God my Saviour.

2 I will acknowledge your name. For you have been my Helper and Protector.

3 And you have freed my body from perdition, from the snare of the iniquitous tongue, and from the lips of those who forge lies. And you have been my Helper in the sight of those who stood nearby.

4 And you have freed me according to the multitude of the mercy of your name: from those who roared and prepared to devour,

5 from the hands of those who sought my life, and from the gates of tribulation that surrounded me,

6 from the oppression of the flames that surrounded me, and so I was not burned in the midst of the fire,

7 from the depths of the bowels of hell, and from the defiled tongue, and from lying words, from an iniquitous king, and from an unjust tongue.

8 My soul shall praise the Lord, even unto death.

9 For my life was drawing near to hell below.

10 And they surrounded me on every side. And there was no one who would help me. I looked around for the assistance of men, and there was none.

11 Then I remembered your mercy, O Lord, and your works, which are from the very beginning.

12 For you rescue those who persevere for you, O Lord, and you free them from the hands of the Gentiles.

13 You exalted my habitation upon the earth, and I made supplication that death would pass away.

14 I called upon the Lord, the Father of my Lord, so that he would not abandon me in the day of my tribulation, nor in the time of arrogance without assistance.

15 I will praise your name unceasingly, and I will praise it with thanksgiving, for my prayer was heeded.

16 And you freed me from perdition, and you rescued me from the time of iniquity.

17 Because of this, I will give thanks and praise to you, and I will bless the name of the Lord.

18 When I was still young, before I wandered astray, I sought wisdom openly in my prayer.

19 I asked for her before the temple, and even to the very end, I will inquire after her. And she flourished like a newly-ripened grape.

20 My heart rejoiced in her. My feet walked in the right path. From my youth, I pursued her.

21 I bent my ear a little and accepted her.

22 I found much wisdom within myself, and I benefited greatly by her.

23 I will give glory to him who gives wisdom to me.

24 For I have decided that I should act according to wisdom. I have been zealous for what is good, and so I will not be confounded.

25 My soul has struggled for wisdom, and in doing so, I have been confirmed.

26 I extended my hands on high, and I mourned my ignorance of her.

27 I directed my soul toward her, and I found her within knowledge.

28 From the beginning, I held my heart to wisdom. Because of this, I will not be forsaken.

29 My stomach was stirred up while seeking her. Because of her, I will hold a good possession.

30 The Lord has given me a tongue as my reward, and I will praise him with it.

31 Draw near to me, you who are untaught, and gather yourselves into the house of discipline.

32 Why are you reluctant? And what do you have to say about these things? Your souls are exceedingly thirsty!

33 I have opened my mouth, and I have spoken. Buy wisdom for yourselves without silver,

34 and subject your neck to her yoke, and let your soul accept her discipline. For she is close enough to be found.

35 See with your own eyes how I have labored only a little, and have found much rest for myself.

36 Take up discipline, as if it were a great sum of money, and possess an abundance of gold in her.

37 Let your soul rejoice in his mercy. For you will not be confounded by his praise.

38 Accomplish your work before the time. And he will give you your reward in his time.

Isaiah

Isaiah 1

1 The vision of Isaiah, the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Joatham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

2 Listen, O heavens, and pay attention, O earth, for the Lord has spoken. I have nurtured and raised children, but they have spurned me.

3 An ox knows his owner, and a donkey knows the manger of his lord, but Israel has not known me, and my people have not understood.

4 Woe to a sinful nation, a people burdened by iniquity, a wicked offspring, accursed children. They have abandoned the Lord. They have blasphemed the Holy One of Israel. They been taken away backwards.

5 For what reason shall I continue to strike you, as you increase transgressions? The entire head is feeble, and the entire heart is grieving.

6 From the sole of the foot, even to the top of the head, there is no soundness within. Wounds and bruises and swelling sores: these are not bandaged, nor treated with medicine, nor soothed with oil.

7 Your land is desolate. Your cities have been set ablaze. Foreigners devour your countryside in your sight, and it will become desolate, as if devastated by enemies.

8 And the daughter of Zion will be left behind, like an arbor in a vineyard, and like a shelter in a cucumber field, and like a city being laid to waste.

9 If the Lord of hosts had not bequeathed us offspring, we would have been like Sodom, and we would have been comparable to Gomorrah.

10 Listen to the Word of the Lord, you leaders of the people of Sodom. Listen closely to the law of our God, O people of Gomorrah.

11 The multitude of your sacrifices, what is that to me, says the Lord? I am full. I do not desire holocausts of rams, nor the fat of fatlings, nor the blood of calves and of lambs and of he-goats.

12 When you approach before my sight, who is it that requires these things from your hands, so that you would walk in my courts?

13 You should no longer offer sacrifice vain. Incense is an abomination to me. The new moons and the Sabbaths and the other feast days, I will not receive. Your gatherings are iniquitous.

14 My soul hates your days of proclamation and your solemnities. They have become bothersome to me. I labor to endure them.

15 And so, when you extend your hands, I will avert my eyes from you. And when you multiply your prayers, I will not heed you. For your hands are full of blood.

16 Wash, become clean, take away the evil of your intentions from my eyes. Cease to act perversely.

17 Learn to do good. Seek judgment, support the oppressed, judge for the orphan, defend the widow.

18 And then approach and accuse me, says the Lord. Then, if your sins are like scarlet, they shall be made white like snow; and if they are red like vermillion, they shall become white like wool.

19 If you are willing, and you listen to me, then you will eat the good things of the land.

20 But if you are not willing, and you provoke me to anger, then the sword will devour you. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

21 How has the faithful city, full of judgment, become a harlot? Justice lived in her, but now murderers.

22 Your silver has turned into dross. Your wine has been mixed with water.

23 Your leaders are unfaithful, the associates of thieves. They all love gifts; they pursue rewards. They do not judge for orphans, and the widow’s case is not brought before them.

24 Because of this, the Lord God of hosts, the Strength of Israel, says: Ah! I will be consoled over my enemies, and I will be vindicated from my adversaries.

25 And I will turn my hand to you. And I will temper your dross unto purity, and I will take away all your tin.

26 And I will restore your judges, so that they will be as before, and your counselors as in times long past. After this, you shall be called the City of the Just, the Faithful City.

27 Zion will be redeemed in judgment, and they will lead her back to justice.

28 And he shall crush the accursed and sinners together. And those who have abandoned the Lord will be consumed.

29 For they shall be confounded because of the idols, to which they have sacrificed. And you shall be ashamed over the gardens that you chose,

30 when you were like an oak with falling leaves, and like a garden without water.

31 And your strength will be like the embers from stubble, and your work will be like a spark, and both will burn together, and there will be no one to extinguish it.

Isaiah

Isaiah 2

1 The word that Isaiah, the son of Amoz, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

2 And in the last days, the mountain of the house of the Lord will be prepared at the summit of the mountains, and it will be exalted above the hills, and all the nations shall flow to it.

3 And many peoples will go, and they will say: “Let us approach and ascend to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob. And he will teach us 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.

4 And he will judge the nations, and he will rebuke many peoples. And they shall forge their swords into plowshares, and their spears into sickles. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they continue to train for battle.

5 O house of Jacob, let us approach and walk in the light of the Lord.

6 For you have cast aside your people, the house of Jacob, because they have been filled up, as in past times, and because they have had soothsayers as the Philistines have, and because they have joined themselves to foreign servants.

7 Their land has been filled with silver and gold. And there is no end to their storehouses.

8 And their land has been filled with horses. And their four-horse chariots are innumerable. And their land has been filled with idols. They have adored the work of their hands, which their own fingers have made.

9 And man has bowed himself down, and so man has become debased. Therefore, you should not forgive them.

10 Enter into the rock, and hide in a ditch in the soil, from the presence of the fear of the Lord, and from the glory of his majesty.

11 The lofty eyes of man have been humbled, and the haughtiness of men will be bowed down. Then the Lord alone shall be exalted, in that day.

12 For the day of the Lord of hosts will prevail over all the proud and self-exalted, and over all the arrogant, and each one shall be humbled,

13 and over all the straight and tall cedars of Lebanon, and over all the oaks of Bashan;

14 and over all the lofty mountains, and over all the elevated hills;

15 and over every lofty tower, and over every fortified wall;

16 and over all the ships of Tarshish, and over all the beauty that may be seen.

17 And the loftiness of men will be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men will be brought low. And the Lord alone shall be exalted, in that day.

18 And idols will be thoroughly crushed.

19 And they will go into the caves of the rocks, and into the caverns of the earth, from the presence of the dread of the Lord, and from the glory of his majesty, when he will have risen up to strike the earth.

20 In that day, man shall cast aside his idols of silver and his images of gold, which he had made for himself, as if to reverence the moles and the bats.

21 And so he will go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the caverns of stone, from the presence of the dread of the Lord, and from the glory of his majesty, when he will have risen up to strike the earth.

22 Therefore, rest away from man, whose breath is in his nostrils, for he considers himself to be exalted.

Isaiah

Isaiah 3

1 For behold, the sovereign Lord of hosts will take away, from Jerusalem and from Judah, the powerful and the strong: all the strength from bread, and all the strength from water;

2 the strong man, and the man of war, the judge and the prophet, and the seer and the elder;

3 the leader over fifty and the honorable in appearance; and the counselor, and the wise among builders, and the skillful in mystical speech.

4 And I will provide children as their leaders, and the effeminate will rule over them.

5 And the people will rush, man against man, and each one against his neighbor. The child shall rebel against the elder, and the ignoble against the noble.

6 For a man will apprehend his brother, from the household of his own father, saying: “The vestment is yours. Be our leader, but let this ruin be under your hand.”

7 In that day, he will respond by saying: “I am not a healer, and there is no bread or vestment in my house. Do not choose to appoint me as a leader of the people.”

8 For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah has fallen, because their words and their plans are against the Lord, in order to provoke the eyes of his majesty.

9 The acknowledgement of their countenance is their response. For they have proclaimed their own sin, like Sodom; and they have not concealed it. Woe to their souls! For evils are being repaid to them.

10 Tell the just man that it is well, for he shall eat from the fruit from his own plans.

11 Woe to the impious man immersed in evil! For retribution will be given to him from his own hands.

12 As for my people, their oppressors have despoiled them, and women have ruled over them. My people, who call you blessed, the same are deceiving you and disrupting the path of your steps.

13 The Lord stands for judgment, and he stands to judge the people.

14 The Lord will enter into judgment with the elders of his people, and with their leaders. For you have been devouring the vineyard, and the plunder from the poor is in your house.

15 Why do you wear down my people, and grind up the faces of the poor, says the Lord, the God of hosts?

16 And the Lord said: Because the daughters of Zion have been lifted up, and have walked with extended necks and winking eyes, because they have continued on, walking noisily and advancing with a pretentious stride,

17 the Lord will make the heads of the daughters of Zion bald, and the Lord will strip them of the locks of their hair.

18 In that day, the Lord will take away their decorative shoes,

19 and the little moons and chains, and the necklaces and bracelets, and the hats,

20 and the ornaments for their hair, and the anklets, and the touches of myrrh and little bottles of perfumes, and the earrings,

21 and the rings, and the jewels hanging on their foreheads,

22 and the continual changes in appearance, and the short skirts, and the fine linens and embroidered cloths,

23 and the mirrors, and scarves, and ribbons, and their sparse clothing.

24 And in place of a sweet fragrance, there will be stench. And in place of a belt, there will be a rope. And in place of stylish hair, there will be baldness. And in place of a blouse, there will be haircloth.

25 Likewise, your most handsome men will fall by the sword, and your strong men will fall in battle.

26 And her gates will grieve and mourn. And she will sit on the ground, desolate.

Isaiah

Isaiah 4

1 And seven women will take hold of one man, in that day, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothing, only let us be called by your name, so as to take away our reproach.”

2 In that day, the seedling of the Lord will have magnificence and glory, and the fruit of the earth will be greatly-esteemed and a source of joy to those who will have been saved out of Israel.

3 And this shall be: all who are left behind in Zion, and who remain in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, all who have been written in life in Jerusalem.

4 Then the Lord will have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and will have washed away the blood of Jerusalem from its midst, by means of a spirit of judgment and a spirit of intense devotion.

5 And the Lord will create, over every place of Mount Zion and wherever he is called upon, a cloud by day and a smoke with the splendor of burning fire by night. For protection will be over every glory.

6 And there will be a tabernacle for shade from the heat in daytime, and for security, and for protection from the whirlwind and from rain.

Isaiah

Isaiah 5

1 I will sing to my beloved the canticle of my paternal cousin, about his vineyard. A vineyard was made for my beloved, at the horn in the son of oil.

2 And he fenced it in, and he picked the stones out of it, and he planted it with the best vines, and he built a tower in the middle of it, and he set up a winepress within it. And he expected it to produce grapes, but it produced wild vines.

3 Now then, inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah: judge between me and my vineyard.

4 What more should I have done for my vineyard that I did not do for it? Should I not have expected it to produce grapes, though it produced wild vines?

5 And now, I will reveal to you what I will do to my vineyard. I will take away its fence, and it will be plundered. I will pull down its wall, and it will be trampled.

6 And I will make it desolate. It will not be pruned, and it will not be dug. And briers and thorns will rise up. And I will command the clouds not to rain upon it.

7 For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel. And the man of Judah is his delightful seedling. And I expected that he would do judgment, and behold iniquity, and that he would do justice, and behold an outcry.

8 Woe to you who join house to house, and who combine field to field, even to the limits of the place! Do you intend to live alone in the midst of the earth?

9 These things are in my ears, says the Lord of hosts. Otherwise, many houses, great and beautiful, will become desolate, without an inhabitant.

10 Then ten acres of vineyard will produce one small bottle of wine, and thirty measures of seed will produce three measures of grain.

11 Woe to you who rise up in the morning to pursue drunkenness, and to drink even until evening, so as to be inflamed with wine.

12 Harp and lyre and timbrel and pipe, as well as wine, are at your feasts. But you do not respect the work of the Lord, nor do you consider the works of his hands.

13 Because of this, my people have been led away as captives, for they did not have knowledge, and their nobles have passed away from famine, and their multitudes have dried up from thirst.

14 For this reason, Hell has expanded its soul, and has opened its mouth without any limits. And their strong ones, and their people, and their exalted and glorious ones will descend into it.

15 And man will be bowed down, and man will be humbled, and the eyes of the exalted will be brought low.

16 And the Lord of hosts will be exalted in judgment, and the holy God will be sanctified in justice.

17 And the lambs will pasture in proper order, and new arrivals will eat from the deserts turned into fertile lands.

18 Woe to you who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and who draw sin as if with the rope of a cart,

19 and who say: “Let him hurry, and let his work arrive soon, so that we may see it. And let the plan of the Holy One of Israel approach and arrive, so that we may know it.”

20 Woe to you who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light, and light for darkness; who exchange bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

21 Woe to you who are wise in your own eyes, and prudent in your own sight!

22 Woe to you who are powerful at drinking wine, who are strong men in contriving inebriation!

23 For you justify an impious man in exchange for bribes, and you carry away the justice of a just man from him.

24 Because of this, as the tongue of fire devours stubble, and as the heat of a flame burns it completely, so will their root become like glowing embers, and so will their offshoot ascend like dust. For they have cast aside the law of the Lord of hosts, and they have blasphemed the eloquence of the Holy One of Israel.

25 For this reason, the fury of the Lord has been enraged against his people, and he has extended his hand over them, and he has struck them. And the mountains were disturbed. And their carcasses became like dung in the midst of the streets. After all this, his fury was not turned away; instead, his hand was still extended.

26 And he will lift up a sign to nations far away, and he will whistle to them from the ends of the earth. And behold, they will rush forward speedily.

27 There is no one weak or struggling among them. They will not become drowsy, and they will not sleep. Neither will the belt around their waist be loosened, nor the laces of their boots be broken.

28 Their arrows are sharp, and all their bows are taut. The hoofs of their horses are like flint, and their wheels are like the force of a tempest.

29 Their roaring is like the lion; they will roar like young lions. They will both roar and seize their prey. And they will wrap themselves around it, and there will be no one who can rescue it.

30 And in that day, they will make a noise over it, like the sound of the sea. We will gaze out toward the land, and behold, the darkness of the tribulation, and even the light has been darkened by its gloom.

Isaiah

Isaiah 6

1 In the year in which king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, sublime and exalted, and the things that were under him filled the temple.

2 The Seraphims were standing above the throne. One had six wings, and the other had six wings: with two they were covering his face, and with two they were covering his feet, and with two they were flying.

3 And they were crying out to one another, and saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts! All the earth is filled with his glory!”

4 And the lintels above the hinges were shaken at the voice of the one crying out. And the house was filled with smoke.

5 And I said: “Woe to me! For I have remained silent. For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live in the midst of a people having unclean lips, and I have seen with my eyes the King, the Lord of hosts!”

6 And one of the Seraphims flew to me, and in his hand was a burning coal, which he had taken with tongs from the altar.

7 And he touched my mouth, and he said, “Behold, this has touched your lips, and so your iniquities will be taken away, and your sin will be cleansed.”

8 And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send?” and, “Who will go for us?” And I said: “Here I am. Send me.”

9 And he said: “Go forth! And you shall say to this people: ‘When you listen, you will hear and not understand. And when you see a vision, you will not comprehend.’

10 Blind the heart of this people. Make their ears heavy and close their eyes, lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and then I would heal them.”

11 And I said, “For how long, O Lord?” And he said, “Until the cities are desolate, without an inhabitant, and the houses are without a man, and the land will be left behind, deserted.”

12 For the Lord will take the men far away, and she who will have been left behind will be multiplied in the midst of the earth.

13 But still, there will be a tithing within her, and she will be converted, and she will be put on display, like a terebinth tree and like an oak which extends its branches. And what will remain standing within her will be a holy offspring.