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, To gather the spoil, and seize the prey, 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; 9. The remaining trees of the forest shall be few, 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, It shall overflow with righteousness. 13. Rage, ye nations, and despair! (Chap. X; 5-7, 13-22.) Give ear, all ye distant parts of the earth! Gird yourselves, and despair! 14. Form your plan, and it shall come to naught; Give the command, and it shall not stand; 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, And whose cords shall never be broken. 17. For there the glorious God will be to us Instead of rivers and broad streams, 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 defence to the needy in his distress; 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, And the reproach of his people will he take away from the whole earth; For the LORD hath said it. 8. In that day shall men say, "Behold, this is our God; 9. (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, 18. Thy hand, O LORD is lifted up, yet do they not see; But they shall see with shame thy zeal for thy people. 19. Thou, O LORD, wilt give us peace; For all our works thou doest for us. (Chap. XXVI; 1-12.) 1. XI. The happiness of the people under a righteous and liberal BEHOLD! a king shall reign in righteousness, And princes shall rule with equity. 2. Every one of them shall be a hiding-place from the wind, And a shelter from the tempest; As streams of water in a dry place, As the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. 3. The eyes of them that see shall no more be blind, And the ears of them that hear shall hearken, 4. The heart of the rash shall gain wisdom, And the tongue of the stammerer learn to speak plainly. 5. The vile shall no more be called liberal, Nor the niggard said to be bountiful; 6. For the vile will still utter villainy, He will practice deception, and speak impiety against God And deprive the thirsty of drink. 7. The instruments also of the niggard are evil; He plotteth mischievous devices, To destroy the poor with lying words, 8. But the liberal deviseth liberal things, And in liberal things will he persevere. (Chap. XXXII; 1-8.) 9. And the effect of righteousness shall be peace, And the fruit of righteousness quiet and security forever. 10. Then shall my people dwell in peaceful habitations, In secure dwellings, in quiet resting-places. (Chap. XXXII; 1-8.) 11. The LORD is exalted; yea, he dwelleth on high; He filleth Zion with justice and righteousness. 12. There shall be security in thy times; 1. Wisdom and knowledge shall be thy store of prosperity, And the fear of the LORD, this shall be thy treasure! (Chap. XXXIII; 5-6.) 13. He that walketh in righteousness, And speaketh that which is right, And shaketh his hands from bribery, That stoppeth his ears, so as not to hear of blood, And shutteth his eyes, so as not to behold iniquity: 14. He shall dwell on high; The strongholds of rocks shall be his defence; His bread shall be given him, His water shall not fail. (Chap. XXX; 15-16.) 1. NAHUM. About 630, B. C. E. The destruction of Nineveh, the oppressing city. THE prophecy concerning Nineveh, prophecy of Nahum, the 2. The LORD is slow to anger, but great in He will by no means clear the guilty; power; The LORD cometh in the whirlwind and the storm, 3. He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, And drieth up all the rivers. Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, And the flower of Lebanon languisheth. 4. The mountains tremble before him, and the hills melt; The earth is moved at his presence, Yea, the world and all that dwell therein. 5. Who can stand before his indignation, And who can abide before the fierceness of his anger ? And the rocks are cast down by him! 6. The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; He careth for them that trust in him; 7. But with an overwhelming flood will he make a full end of her place, [Nineveh] And darkness shall pursue his enemies. |