IX. 1. The glory of the new Jerusalem.-Israel, universally acknowledged and blessed as the priest of the LORD, will endure forever. ARISE, shine! for thy light is come, And the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. 2. For, behold darkness shall cover the earth, gross darkness the nations; And But upon thee shall the LORD arise, And his glory shall be seen upon thee. 3. Nations shall come to thy light, And kings to the brightness that riseth upon thee. 4. They that despised thee shall fall down at thy feet; And they shall call thee the city of the LORD, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. 5. Instead of being forsaken and hated, And thy magistrates righteousness. 7. Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, Wasting or destruction within thy borders; Thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. 8. Thy people shall be all righteous; Forever shall they possess the land, The scion of my planting, The work of my hands, that I may be glorified. 9. The little one shall become a thousand, And the small one a strong nation; 1, the LORD, will hasten it in its time. (Chap. LX; 1-3, 15-18, 21-22) 10. Remember these things, O Jacob. O Israel, for thou art my servant! I formed thee; thou art my servant; O Israel, I will not forget thee. 11. I have caused thy transgressions to vanish like a cloud, And thy sins like a mist; Return to me, for I have redeemed thee! Chap. XLIV; 21-22. 12. Hearken to me, ye that know righteousness, The people in whose heart is my law! Fear ye not the reproach of men, Nor be disheartened by their revilings! 13. For the moth shall consume them like a garment. And the worm shall eat them like wool. But my goodness shall endure forever, And my salvation from generation to generation. (Ch. LI; 7-8,) 1. X. The duty of the prophet. The covenant of the spirit. The new heaven and the new earth. THE spirit of the LORD Eternal is upon me, For the Lord hath anointed me; He hath sent me to publish good tidings to the distressed, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2. To proclaim the year of mercy from the Lord, And to comfort all that mourn; 3. To give gladness to the mourners in Zion; To give them a beautiful crown instead of ashes, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, 4. They shall build up the old ruins ; 5. (Chap. LX; 1-3.) But ye For I, the LORD, love justice, I hate rapine and iniquity, And an everlasting covenant will I make with them. 5. Their race shall be illustrious among the nations, And their offspring among the people; 6. All that see them shall acknowledge That they are a race which the LORD hath blessed. (Chap. LXI; 6, 8-9.) As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD: My spirit which is upon thee, And my words, which I have put in thy mouth, They shall not depart from thy mouth, Nor from the mouth of thy sons, Nor from the mouth of thy sons' sons, saith the LORD, From this time forth forever. 7. For the mountains shall depart, And the hills be overthrown, But my kindness shall not depart from thee, Nor shall my covenant of peace be overthrown, (Chap. LIV; 10-11. 8. For as the new heavens, and the new earth, which I make, Endure before me, saith the LORD, So shall your race and your name endure. (Chap. LXVI; 22. HAGGAI. 520 B. C. E. The people reproved for neglecting to build the temple. . 1. In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua, the son of Josedec, the high2. priest, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts: This people saith, The time is not yet come, the time that the house of the LORD 3. should be built. But the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying: Is it then a time for yourselves To dwell in ceiled houses, While this house lieth waste? 5. And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel, the son of 6. Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua, the son of Josedec, the high-priest, and the spirit of all the remnant 7. of people, so that they came and executed work upon the house of the LORD of hosts, their God, on the four and twentieth day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king. (Chap. I; 1-5, 14-15.) IN the seventh month, on the one and twentieth day of the month, came the word of the LORD by the prophet Haggai, 9. saying: Speak now to Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, gover nor of Judah, and to Joshua, the son of Josedec, the highpriest, and to the remnant of the people, saying: 8. 10. Who is there left among you, That saw this house In its former glory? And what do you it see now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes? Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; And be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedec, the high-priest; work! or I am with you said the LORD of hosts. 13. For thus saith the LORD of hosts: Yet once more, in a short time, I will shake the heavens and the earth, The sea and the dry land, 14. I will shake all the nations. you when ye came out 15. Greater shall be thy glory of this latter house than of the for mer, Saith the LORD of hosts; And in this place will I give peace. (Chap. II; 1-7, 9.) 1. 2. ZECHARIAH. 520., B. C. E. I. Exhortation to Repentance. IN the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD, to Zechariah, the son of Barachiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet, saying: The LORD hath been much displeased with your fathers. 3. But say thou to them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts: 4. Turn ye to me, and I will turn to you, Be ye not as your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried, saying, Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings! But they did not hear, nor hearken to me, saith the LORD. 5. Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? 6. But my words and my statutes, Which I commanded my servants, the prophets, Did they not overtake your fathers? 7. And they returned and said, Even as the LORD of hosts thought to do to us according to our ways, And according to our doings, so hath he done to us. (Chap. I; 1-7.) This is the curse that goeth forth Over the face of the whole land; For every one who stealeth shall be cut off from hence, according to it. 7. I will bring it forth, saith the LORD of hosts, And it shall enter into the house of the thief, And into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name; And it shall abide in his house, And shall consume it, with the timber thereof and the stones thereof. (Chap. II; 3-4.) 1. Through reformation and the prevalence of true righteousness, the favor of God shall change fasts into feasts, and the nations will be converted to the God Israel. THIS is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel, saying:Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, Saith the LORD of hosts, 2. What art thou, O great mountain ? 3. Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain! And he shall bring forth the corner-stone amid shoutings, [The people crying,]" Grace, grace be to it!"; The Moreover, the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 4. hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands shall finish it. And thou shalt know that the LORD 5. of hosts hath sent me to you. For who hath despised the day of small things? With joy shall the plummet be seen in the For, behold, I will come, (Chap. IV; 6-10.) And I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD; 7. And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, And shall be my people; And I will dwell in the midst of thee; And thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me to thee. 8. And the LORD will possess Judah as his portion in the holy land, And will again choose Jerusalem. 9. Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD! For he riseth up from his holy habitation. (Chap. II; 10-13.) |