and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: and he shall deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our border. And the remnant 7 of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples as dew from the LORD, as showers upon the grass; that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men. And the remnant of Jacob 8 shall be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep who, if he go through, treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and there is none to deliver. Let thine hand be lifted up above 9 thine adversaries, and let all thine enemies be cut off.

And it shall come to pass in that day, saith 10 the LORD, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and will destroy thy chariots and I will cut off the cities of thy 11 land, and will throw down all thy strong holds : and I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; 12 and thou shalt have no more soothsayers: and 13 1 Or, obelisks I will cut off thy graven images and thy 'pillars out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands. And 14 I will pluck up thine Asherim out of the midst of thee and I will destroy thy cities. And I 15 will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the nations 'which hearkened not.

2 See Ex.
xxxiv. 13.
3 Or, enemies

4 Or, such as they have not heard

Hear ye now what the LORD saith: Arise, 1 6 contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice. Hear, O ye mountains, 2 the LORD's controversy, and ye enduring foundations of the earth for the LORD hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel. O my people, what have I done 3

unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? 4 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 5 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 6 of the LORD. Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt 7 offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of 8 my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

9

II

1 Some ancient

fear.

The voice of the LORD crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom will 'see thy name : hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it. versions read, 10 Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant 'measure 2 Heb. ephah. I that is abominable? Shall I be pure with wicked balances, and with a bag of deceitful 12 weights? For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in 13 their mouth. Therefore I also have smitten thee with a grievous wound; I have made 14 thee desolate because of thy sins. Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied; and thy humiliation Or, shall be in the midst of thee: and thou shalt emptiness remove, but shalt not carry away safe; and that which thou carriest away will I give up to the

3

1 Or, an astonishment

2

3 Or, Both

forth for evil to do it &c.

sword. Thou shalt sow, but shalt not reap: 15 thou shalt tread the olives, but shalt not anoint thee with oil; and the vintage, but shalt not drink the wine. For the statutes of Omri are 16 kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and ye walk in their counsels: that I should make thee 1a desolation, and the inhabitants thereof an hissing; and ye shall bear the reproach of my people.

Woe is me! for I am as when they have 1 7 gathered the summer fruits, as the grape gleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to Or, nor first- eat; my soul desireth the firstripe fig. The 2 ripe fig which godly man is perished out of the earth, and my soul desired there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net. Their hands are upon 3 hands are put that which is evil to do it diligently; the prince asketh, and the judge is ready for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth the mischief of his soul: thus they weave it together. The best 4 of them is as a brier: 'the most upright is worse than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen, even thy visitation, is come; now shall be their perplexity. Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not 5 confidence in a 'guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. For 6 the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house.

4 Or, the straightest is

as it were taken from &c.

Or, familiar friend

6 Or, in the LORD will I keep watch

7 See ver. 10.

But as for me, I will look unto the LORD; I 7 will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me. Rejoice not against me, O'mine 8 enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me. I 9 will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him; until he plead my

A day for

Or, In the walls are to be

cause, and execute judgement for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold 10 his righteousness. Then mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her; which said unto me, Where is the LORD thy God? Mine eyes shall behold her; now shall she be trodden I down as the mire of the streets. building thy walls! in that day shall the decree 12 be far removed. In that day shall they come unto thee, from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, and from Egypt even to the River, and from 3 Or, sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain. boundary 13 Yet shall the land be desolate because of them that dwell therein, for the fruit of their doings.

14

4

3

day that thy

built
2 Sec Zeph. ii.

2.

4 Heb. Mazor.

"Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of 5 Or, Rule thine heritage, which dwell solitarily, in the forest in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in 15 Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.

As

in the days of thy coming forth out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous 16 things. The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf. 17 They shall lick the dust like a serpent; like crawling things of the earth they shall come trembling out of their close places: they shall come with fear unto the LORD our God, and 18 shall be afraid because of thee. Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for 19 ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again and have compassion upon us; he will tread our iniquities under foot: and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the 20 sea. Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.

NAHUM.

1 Or, oracle concerning

THE 'burden of Nineveh. The book of the 1 1 vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.

The LORD is a jealous God and avengeth; the LORD avengeth and is full of wrath; the LORD taketh vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies. The LORD 3 is slow to anger, and great in power, and will by no means clear the guilty: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. He rebuketh 4 the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth. The 5 mountains quake at him, and the hills melt; and the earth is upheaved at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein. Who can 6 stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken asunder by him. The LORD is good, a strong hold in 7 the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that put their trust in him. But with an overrunning 8 flood he will make a full end of the place thereof, and will pursue his enemies into darkness. What do ye imagine against the LORD? he 9 will make a full end: affliction shall not rise up the second time. For though they be like 10