10. Turn aside from the way, depart from the path, And trust in oppression and perverseness, and lean thereon, Whose fall cometh suddenly, in an instant. 13. It is broken like a potter's vessel, Which is dashed in pieces and not spared, So that among its fragments not a sherd is found to take up Or to dip water from the cistern. 14. For thus said the LORD Eternal, the Holy One of Israel; By a return and by rest shall ye be saved; In quietness and confidence is your strength; 15. But ye would not. Ye said, "No! we will bound along upon horses: "We will ride along upon swift coursers; 16. A thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one, And ten thousand at the rebuke of five, Till what remains of you shall be as a beacon on the top of a mountain, As a banner upon a hill. 17. And yet will the LORD wait to be gracious to you, And yet will he arise to have mercy upon you; For the LORD is a righteous God; Happy are all they who wait for him! (Chap. XXX; 1, 9-18) VIII. The kingdom of Israel threatened with destruction on account of the depravity and intemperance of the leaders and the priests. 1. The higher classes in Judah are charged with disobedience and impiety. WOE to the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim, To the fading flower, his glorious beauty, At the head of the rich valley of a people stupefied with wine. 2. Behold a strong, a mighty one from the LORD Like a storm of hail, like a destructive tempest, Like a flood of mighty, overflowing waters, 3. The priest and the prophet stagger through strong drink, They stumble through strong drink; They reel in vision, they stagger in judgment. 4. "Whom," say they, "will he teach knowledge, And to whom will he impart instruction? To the weaned from the milk? To those just taken from the breast? 5. For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Command upon command, command upon command, A little here, and a little there." 6. Yea, with stammering lips and a strange tongue He shall indeed speak to this people; 7. He that said to them, "This is the way of rest, give rest to the weary; This is the way of safety;" but they would not hear. 8. Then shall the word of the LORD be indeed to them: "Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Command upon command, command upon A little here, and a little there," command, So that they shall go on, and fall backwards, and be broken, 9. Wherefore hear ye the word of the LORD, Ye scoffers, who rule this people in Jerusalem! 10. Since ye say, "We have entered into a covenant with death, And with the under-world have we made an agreement, The overflowing scourge, when it passeth through, shall not reach us; For we have made falsehood our refuge, And in deceit we have hidden ourselves." 11. Therefore thus saith the Lord Eternal: Behold, I have laid in Zion as a foundation, a stone, A tried stone, a precious corner-stone, a sure foundation; 12. I will make justice a line, and righteousness a plummet, 13. And your covenant with death shall be broken, And your agreement with the under-world shall not stand; By it shall ye be beaten down. (Chap. XXVIII; 1, 3, 9-18.) IX. The destruction of the Assyrian army besieging Jerusalem predicted. Assyria is but an instrument of God's judgment against 1. Judah, which shall not be destroyed, only corrected. A remnant shall remain, the nucleus of the WOE to the Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, The staff in whose hands is the instrument of my indignation! 2. Against an impious nation I will send him, And against a people under my wrath I will give him a charge, And to trample them under foot like the mire of the streets. 3. But he doth not so purpose, And his heart doth not so intend; But to destroy is in his heart, And to cut off a multitude of nations. 4. For he hath said: "By the strength of my hand I have done it, And by my wisdom; for I am wise; I have removed the bounds of nations, I have plundered their treasures; As a hero have I brought down them that sat upon thrones." 5. Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth with it? Or shall the saw magnify itself against him that moveth it? As if the rod should wield him that lifteth it! As if the staff should lift up him that is not wood! 6. Wherefore the Eternal, the LORD of hosts, will send upon his fat ones, leanness, And under his glory shall he kindle a burning, like the burning of a fire, 7. Which shall burn and devour his thorns and briers in one day. 8. The glory of his forest and of his fruitful field From the spirit even to the flesh shall he consume; 10. In that day shall the remnant of Israel, And they that have escaped of the house of Jacob, no more lean upon him that smote them; They shall lean upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 11. The remnant shall return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty Potentate; 12. For though thy people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, 13. It shall overflow with righteousness. (Chap. X; 5-7, 13-22.) Give ear, all ye distant parts of the earth! 14. Form your plan, and it shall come to naught; For God is with us. 15. Thou shalt see no more a fierce people, (Chap. VII; 9-10.) A people of a dark language, which thou couldst not hear, 16. Thou shalt see Zion, the city of our solemn feasts; Thine eyes shall behold Jerusalem, as a quiet habitation. Whose stakes shall never be taken away, 17. For there the glorious God will be to us Which no oared galley shall pass, and no gallant ship go through. 18. For the Eternal is our judge; the Eternal is our lawgiver; The Eternal is our king; it is he that will save us. (Chap. XXX; 15-16, 19-22.) X. Hymn of thanks (by an unknown prophet) for the destruction of the tyrants and the restoration of his people. 1. O LORD, thou art my God; I will exalt thee; I will praise thy name, For thou hast done wonderful things ; Thine ancient purposes are faithfulness and truth. 2. Thou hast made the city a heap; the fortified city a ruin. The palace of the barbarians is to be no more a city; It shall never be built again. 3. Therefore shall mighty kingdoms praise thee; 4. For thou hast been a defence to the poor; A refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, 5. As heat in a dry land is made to vanish, So thou puttest down the tumult of the barbarians : So the triumph of the tyrants is brought low. (Chap. XXV: 1-5.) 6. He will destroy in this mountain the covering that was cast over all people, And the veil that was spread over all nations. 7. He will destroy death forever; The Lord Eternal will wipe away the tears from all faces, For the LORD hath said it. 8. In that day shall men say, "Behold, this is our God; We waited for him, and he hath saved us; 9. This is the LORD, for whom we waited Let us rejoice and exult in his salvation." (Chap. XXV; 7-9.) In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah : "We have a strong city; His aid doth God appoint for walls and bulwarks. 10. Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation may enter in, The nation that keepeth the truth. 11. Him that is of a steadfast mind Thou wilt keep in continual peace, Because he trusteth in thee. 12. Trust ye in the Lord forever, For the Lord Eternal is an everlasting rock. 13. For he hath brought down the inhabitants of the fortress: The lofty city he hath laid low; He hath laid her low even to the ground; He hath levelled her with the dust. 14. The way of the upright is a smooth way; Thou, O most righteous, dost level the path of the upright! 15. In the way of thy judgments, O LORD, we have waited for thee; The desire of our souls is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. 16. My soul longeth for thee in the night, And my spirit within me seeketh thee in the morning; For when thy judgments are in the earth, The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. 17. Though favor be shown to the wicked, In the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, |