Amos 6-9
New King James Version
Warnings to Zion and Samaria
6 Woe (A)to you who are at (B)ease in Zion,
And (C)trust in Mount Samaria,
Notable persons in the (D)chief nation,
To whom the house of Israel comes!
2 (E)Go over to (F)Calneh and see;
And from there go to (G)Hamath the great;
Then go down to Gath of the Philistines.
(H)Are you better than these kingdoms?
Or is their territory greater than your territory?
3 Woe to you who (I)put far off the day of (J)doom,
(K)Who cause (L)the seat of violence to come near;
4 Who lie on beds of ivory,
Stretch out on your couches,
Eat lambs from the flock
And calves from the midst of the stall;
5 (M)Who sing idly to the sound of stringed instruments,
And invent for yourselves (N)musical instruments (O)like David;
6 Who (P)drink wine from bowls,
And anoint yourselves with the best ointments,
(Q)But are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
7 Therefore they shall now go (R)captive as the first of the captives,
And those who recline at banquets shall be removed.
8 (S)The Lord God has sworn by Himself,
The Lord God of hosts says:
“I abhor (T)the pride of Jacob,
And hate his palaces;
Therefore I will deliver up the city
And all that is in it.”
9 Then it shall come to pass, that if ten men remain in one house, they shall die. 10 And when [a]a relative of the dead, with one who will burn the bodies, picks up the [b]bodies to take them out of the house, he will say to one inside the house, “Are there any more with you?”
Then someone will say, “None.”
And he will say, (U)“Hold your tongue! (V)For we dare not mention the name of the Lord.”
11 For behold, (W)the Lord gives a command:
(X)He will break the great house into bits,
And the little house into pieces.
12 Do horses run on rocks?
Does one plow there with oxen?
Yet (Y)you have turned justice into gall,
And the fruit of righteousness into wormwood,
13 You who rejoice over [c]Lo Debar,
Who say, “Have we not taken [d]Karnaim for ourselves
By our own strength?”
14 “But, behold, (Z)I will raise up a nation against you,
O house of Israel,”
Says the Lord God of hosts;
“And they will afflict you from the (AA)entrance of Hamath
To the Valley of the Arabah.”
Vision of the Locusts
7 Thus the Lord God showed me: Behold, He formed locust swarms at the [e]beginning of the late crop; indeed it was the late crop after the king’s mowings. 2 And so it was, when they had finished eating the grass of the land, that I said:
“O Lord God, forgive, I pray!
(AB)Oh,[f] that Jacob may stand,
For he is small!”
3 So (AC)the Lord relented concerning this.
“It shall not be,” said the Lord.
Vision of the Fire
4 Thus the Lord God showed me: Behold, the Lord God called [g]for conflict by fire, and it consumed the great deep and devoured the [h]territory. 5 Then I said:
“O Lord God, cease, I pray!
(AD)Oh, that Jacob may stand,
For he is small!”
6 So the Lord relented concerning this.
“This also shall not be,” said the Lord God.
Vision of the Plumb Line
7 Thus He showed me: Behold, the Lord stood on a wall made with a plumb line, with a plumb line in His hand. 8 And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?”
And I said, “A plumb line.”
Then the Lord said:
“Behold, (AE)I am setting a plumb line
In the midst of My people Israel;
(AF)I will not pass by them anymore.
9 (AG)The [i]high places of Isaac shall be desolate,
And the [j]sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste.
(AH)I will rise with the sword against the house of Jeroboam.”
Amaziah’s Complaint
10 Then Amaziah the (AI)priest of (AJ)Bethel sent to (AK)Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to [k]bear all his words. 11 For thus Amos has said:
‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
And Israel shall surely be led away (AL)captive
From their own land.’ ”
12 Then Amaziah said to Amos:
“Go, you seer!
Flee to the land of Judah.
There eat bread,
And there prophesy.
13 But (AM)never again prophesy at Bethel,
(AN)For it is the king’s [l]sanctuary,
And it is the royal [m]residence.”
14 Then Amos answered, and said to Amaziah:
“I was no prophet,
Nor was I (AO)a son of a prophet,
But I was a (AP)sheepbreeder
And a tender of sycamore fruit.
15 Then the Lord took me [n]as I followed the flock,
And the Lord said to me,
‘Go, (AQ)prophesy to My people Israel.’
16 Now therefore, hear the word of the Lord:
You say, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel,
And (AR)do not [o]spout against the house of Isaac.’
17 “Therefore(AS) thus says the Lord:
(AT)‘Your wife shall be a harlot in the city;
Your sons and daughters shall fall by the sword;
Your land shall be divided by survey line;
You shall die in a (AU)defiled land;
And Israel shall surely be led away captive
From his own land.’ ”
Vision of the Summer Fruit
8 Thus the Lord God showed me: Behold, a basket of summer fruit. 2 And He said, “Amos, what do you see?”
So I said, “A basket of summer fruit.”
Then the Lord said to me:
(AV)“The end has come upon My people Israel;
(AW)I will not pass by them anymore.
3 And (AX)the songs of the temple
Shall be wailing in that day,”
Says the Lord God—
“Many dead bodies everywhere,
(AY)They shall be thrown out in silence.”
4 Hear this, you who [p]swallow up the needy,
And make the poor of the land fail,
5 Saying:
“When will the New Moon be past,
That we may sell grain?
And (AZ)the Sabbath,
That we may [q]trade wheat?
(BA)Making the ephah small and the shekel large,
Falsifying the scales by (BB)deceit,
6 That we may buy the poor for (BC)silver,
And the needy for a pair of sandals—
Even sell the bad wheat?”
7 The Lord has sworn by (BD)the pride of Jacob:
“Surely (BE)I will never forget any of their works.
8 (BF)Shall the land not tremble for this,
And everyone mourn who dwells in it?
All of it shall swell like [r]the River,
Heave and subside
(BG)Like the River of Egypt.
9 “And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord God,
(BH)“That I will make the sun go down at noon,
And I will darken the earth in [s]broad daylight;
10 I will turn your feasts into (BI)mourning,
(BJ)And all your songs into lamentation;
(BK)I will bring sackcloth on every waist,
And baldness on every head;
I will make it like mourning for an only son,
And its end like a bitter day.
11 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord God,
“That I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine of bread,
Nor a thirst for water,
But (BL)of hearing the words of the Lord.
12 They shall wander from sea to sea,
And from north to east;
They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord,
But shall (BM)not find it.
13 “In that day the fair virgins
And strong young men
Shall faint from thirst.
14 Those who (BN)swear by (BO)the [t]sin of Samaria,
Who say,
‘As your god lives, O Dan!’
And, ‘As the way of (BP)Beersheba lives!’
They shall fall and never rise again.”
The Destruction of Israel
9 I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and He said:
“Strike the [u]doorposts, that the thresholds may shake,
And (BQ)break them on the heads of them all.
I will slay the last of them with the sword.
(BR)He who flees from them shall not get away,
And he who escapes from them shall not be delivered.
2 “Though(BS) they dig into [v]hell,
From there My hand shall take them;
(BT)Though they climb up to heaven,
From there I will bring them down;
3 And though they (BU)hide themselves on top of Carmel,
From there I will search and take them;
Though they hide from My sight at the bottom of the sea,
From there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them;
4 Though they go into captivity before their enemies,
From there (BV)I will command the sword,
And it shall slay them.
(BW)I will set My eyes on them for harm and not for good.”
5 The Lord God of hosts,
He who touches the earth and it (BX)melts,
(BY)And all who dwell there mourn;
All of it shall swell like [w]the River,
And subside like the River of Egypt.
6 He who builds His (BZ)layers[x] in the sky,
And has founded His strata in the earth;
Who (CA)calls for the waters of the sea,
And pours them out on the face of the earth—
(CB)The Lord is His name.
7 “Are you not like the [y]people of Ethiopia to Me,
O children of Israel?” says the Lord.
“Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt,
The (CC)Philistines from (CD)Caphtor,[z]
And the Syrians from (CE)Kir?
8 “Behold, (CF)the eyes of the Lord God are on the sinful kingdom,
And I (CG)will destroy it from the face of the earth;
Yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,”
Says the Lord.
9 “For surely I will command,
And will [aa]sift the house of Israel among all nations,
As grain is sifted in a sieve;
(CH)Yet not the smallest [ab]grain shall fall to the ground.
10 All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword,
(CI)Who say, ‘The calamity shall not overtake nor confront us.’
Israel Will Be Restored
11 “On(CJ) that day I will raise up
The [ac]tabernacle of David, which has fallen down,
And [ad]repair its damages;
I will raise up its ruins,
And rebuild it as in the days of old;
12 (CK)That they may possess the remnant of (CL)Edom,[ae]
And all the Gentiles who are called by My name,”
Says the Lord who does this thing.
13 “Behold, (CM)the days are coming,” says the Lord,
“When the plowman shall overtake the reaper,
And the treader of grapes him who sows seed;
(CN)The mountains shall drip with sweet wine,
And all the hills shall flow with it.
14 (CO)I will bring back the captives of My people Israel;
(CP)They shall build the waste cities and inhabit them;
They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them;
They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them.
15 I will plant them in their land,
(CQ)And no longer shall they be pulled up
From the land I have given them,”
Says the Lord your God.
Footnotes
- Amos 6:10 Lit. his loved one or uncle
- Amos 6:10 Lit. bones
- Amos 6:13 Lit. Nothing
- Amos 6:13 Lit. Horns, a symbol of strength
- Amos 7:1 Lit. beginning of the sprouting of
- Amos 7:2 Or How shall Jacob stand
- Amos 7:4 to contend
- Amos 7:4 Lit. portion
- Amos 7:9 Places of pagan worship
- Amos 7:9 Or holy places
- Amos 7:10 Or endure
- Amos 7:13 Or holy place
- Amos 7:13 Lit. house
- Amos 7:15 Lit. from behind
- Amos 7:16 Lit. drip
- Amos 8:4 Or trample on, Amos 2:7
- Amos 8:5 Lit. open
- Amos 8:8 The Nile; some Heb. mss., LXX, Tg., Syr., Vg. River (cf. 9:5); MT the light
- Amos 8:9 Lit. a day of light
- Amos 8:14 Or Ashima, a Syrian goddess
- Amos 9:1 Capitals of the pillars
- Amos 9:2 Or Sheol
- Amos 9:5 The Nile
- Amos 9:6 Or stairs
- Amos 9:7 Lit. sons of the Ethiopians
- Amos 9:7 Crete
- Amos 9:9 shake
- Amos 9:9 Lit. pebble
- Amos 9:11 Lit. booth; a figure of a deposed dynasty
- Amos 9:11 Lit. wall up its breaches
- Amos 9:12 LXX mankind
Obadiah
New King James Version
The Coming Judgment on Edom
1 The vision of Obadiah.
Thus says the Lord God (A)concerning Edom
(B)(We have heard a report from the Lord,
And a messenger has been sent among the nations, saying,
“Arise, and let us rise up against her for battle”):
2 “Behold, I will make you small among the nations;
You shall be greatly despised.
3 The (C)pride of your heart has deceived you,
You who dwell in the clefts of the rock,
Whose habitation is high;
(D)You who say in your heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’
4 (E)Though you ascend as high as the eagle,
And though you (F)set your nest among the stars,
From there I will bring you down,” says the Lord.
5 “If (G)thieves had come to you,
If robbers by night—
Oh, how you will be cut off!—
Would they not have stolen till they had enough?
If grape-gatherers had come to you,
(H)Would they not have left some gleanings?
6 “Oh, how Esau shall be searched out!
How his hidden treasures shall be sought after!
7 All the men in your confederacy
Shall force you to the border;
(I)The men at peace with you
Shall deceive you and prevail against you.
Those who eat your bread shall lay a [a]trap for you.
(J)No[b] one is aware of it.
8 “Will(K) I not in that day,” says the Lord,
“Even destroy the wise men from Edom,
And understanding from the mountains of Esau?
9 Then your (L)mighty men, O (M)Teman, shall be dismayed,
To the end that everyone from the mountains of Esau
May be cut off by slaughter.
Edom Mistreated His Brother
10 “For (N)violence against your brother Jacob,
Shame shall cover you,
And (O)you shall be cut off forever.
11 In the day that you (P)stood on the other side—
In the day that strangers carried captive his forces,
When foreigners entered his gates
And (Q)cast lots for Jerusalem—
Even you were as one of them.
12 “But you should not have (R)gazed[c] on the day of your brother
[d]In the day of his captivity;
Nor should you have (S)rejoiced over the children of Judah
In the day of their destruction;
Nor should you have spoken proudly
In the day of distress.
13 You should not have entered the gate of My people
In the day of their calamity.
Indeed, you should not have [e]gazed on their affliction
In the day of their calamity,
Nor laid hands on their substance
In the day of their calamity.
14 You should not have stood at the crossroads
To cut off those among them who escaped;
Nor should you have [f]delivered up those among them who remained
In the day of distress.
15 “For(T) the day of the Lord upon all the nations is near;
(U)As you have done, it shall be done to you;
Your [g]reprisal shall return upon your own head.
16 (V)For as you drank on My holy mountain,
So shall all the nations drink continually;
Yes, they shall drink, and swallow,
And they shall be as though they had never been.
Israel’s Final Triumph
17 “But on Mount Zion there (W)shall be [h]deliverance,
And there shall be holiness;
The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.
18 The house of Jacob shall be a fire,
And the house of Joseph (X)a flame;
But the house of Esau shall be stubble;
They shall kindle them and devour them,
And no survivor shall remain of the house of Esau,”
For the Lord has spoken.
19 The [i]South (Y)shall possess the mountains of Esau,
(Z)And the Lowland shall possess Philistia.
They shall possess the fields of Ephraim
And the fields of Samaria.
Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
20 And the captives of this host of the children of Israel
Shall possess the land of the Canaanites
As (AA)far as Zarephath.
The captives of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
(AB)Shall possess the cities of the [j]South.
21 Then (AC)saviors[k] shall come to Mount Zion
To judge the mountains of Esau,
And the (AD)kingdom shall be the Lord’s.
Footnotes
- Obadiah 1:7 Or wound or plot
- Obadiah 1:7 Or There is no understanding in him
- Obadiah 1:12 Gloated over
- Obadiah 1:12 Lit. On the day he became a foreigner
- Obadiah 1:13 Gloated over
- Obadiah 1:14 Handed over to the enemy
- Obadiah 1:15 Or reward
- Obadiah 1:17 Or salvation
- Obadiah 1:19 Heb. Negev
- Obadiah 1:20 Heb. Negev
- Obadiah 1:21 deliverers
Jonah 1-4
New King James Version
Jonah’s Disobedience
1 Now the word of the Lord came to (A)Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to (B)Nineveh, that (C)great city, and cry out against it; for (D)their wickedness has come up before Me.” 3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to (E)Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to (F)Tarshish (G)from the presence of the Lord.
The Storm at Sea
4 But (H)the Lord [a]sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up.
5 Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten [b]the load. But Jonah had gone down (I)into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep.
6 So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, (J)call on your God; (K)perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.”
7 And they said to one another, “Come, let us (L)cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, (M)“Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?”
9 So he said to them, “I am a Hebrew; and I fear [c]the Lord, the God of heaven, (N)who made the sea and the dry land.”
Jonah Thrown into the Sea
10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, “Why have you done this?” For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. 11 Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?”—for the sea was growing more tempestuous.
12 And he said to them, (O)“Pick me up and [d]throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me.”
13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to return to land, (P)but they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them. 14 Therefore they cried out to the Lord and said, “We pray, O Lord, please do not let us perish for this man’s life, and (Q)do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O Lord, (R)have done as it pleased You.” 15 So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, (S)and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men (T)feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows.
Jonah’s Prayer and Deliverance
17 Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And (U)Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Jonah’s Prayer and God’s Answer
2 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly. 2 And he said:
“Out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
And You heard my voice.
3 (X)For You cast me into the deep,
Into the heart of the seas,
And the floods surrounded me;
(Y)All Your billows and Your waves passed over me.
4 (Z)Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight;
Yet I will look again (AA)toward Your holy temple.’
5 The (AB)waters surrounded me, even to my soul;
The deep closed around me;
Weeds were wrapped around my head.
6 I went down to the [e]moorings of the mountains;
The earth with its bars closed behind me forever;
Yet You have brought up my (AC)life from the pit,
O Lord, my God.
7 “When my soul fainted within me,
I remembered the Lord;
(AD)And my prayer went up to You,
Into Your holy temple.
8 “Those who regard (AE)worthless idols
Forsake their own [f]Mercy.
9 But I will (AF)sacrifice to You
With the voice of thanksgiving;
I will pay what I have (AG)vowed.
(AH)Salvation is of the (AI)Lord.”
10 So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
Jonah Preaches at Nineveh
3 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, [g]a three-day journey in extent. 4 And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then (AJ)he cried out and said, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”
The People of Nineveh Believe
5 So the (AK)people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. 6 Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth (AL)and sat in ashes. 7 (AM)And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his [h]nobles, saying,
Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. 8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, (AN)let every one turn from his evil way and from (AO)the violence that is in his hands. 9 (AP)Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?
10 (AQ)Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.
Jonah’s Anger and God’s Kindness
4 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. 2 So he prayed to the Lord, and said, “Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I (AR)fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a (AS)gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm. 3 (AT)Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for (AU)it is better for me to die than to live!”
4 Then the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?”
5 So Jonah went out of the city and sat on the east side of the city. There he made himself a shelter and sat under it in the shade, till he might see what would become of the city. 6 And the Lord God prepared a [i]plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be shade for his head to deliver him from his misery. So Jonah [j]was very grateful for the plant. 7 But as morning dawned the next day God prepared a worm, and it so damaged the plant that it withered. 8 And it happened, when the sun arose, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat on Jonah’s head, so that he grew faint. Then he wished death for himself, and said, (AV)“It is better for me to die than to live.”
9 Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”
And he said, “It is right for me to be angry, even to death!”
10 But the Lord said, “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which [k]came up in a night and perished in a night. 11 And should I not pity Nineveh, (AW)that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons (AX)who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?”
Footnotes
- Jonah 1:4 Lit. hurled
- Jonah 1:5 Lit. from upon them
- Jonah 1:9 Heb. YHWH
- Jonah 1:12 Lit. hurl
- Jonah 2:6 foundations or bases
- Jonah 2:8 Or Lovingkindness
- Jonah 3:3 Exact meaning unknown
- Jonah 3:7 Lit. great ones
- Jonah 4:6 Heb. kikayon, exact identity unknown
- Jonah 4:6 Lit. rejoiced with great joy
- Jonah 4:10 Lit. was a son of a night
Micah 1-7
New King James Version
Judgment on Israel and Judah
1 The word of the Lord that came to (A)Micah of Moresheth in the days of (B)Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
The Coming Judgment on Israel
2 Hear, all you peoples!
Listen, O earth, and all that is in it!
Let the Lord God be a witness against you,
The Lord from (C)His holy temple.
3 For behold, the Lord is coming out of His place;
He will come down
And tread on the high places of the earth.
4 (D)The mountains will melt under Him,
And the valleys will split
Like wax before the fire,
Like waters poured down a steep place.
5 All this is for the transgression of Jacob
And for the sins of the house of Israel.
What is the transgression of Jacob?
Is it not Samaria?
And what are the (E)high places of Judah?
Are they not Jerusalem?
6 “Therefore I will make Samaria (F)a heap of ruins in the field,
Places for planting a vineyard;
I will pour down her stones into the valley,
And I will (G)uncover her foundations.
7 All her carved images shall be beaten to pieces,
And all her (H)pay as a harlot shall be burned with the fire;
All her idols I will lay desolate,
For she gathered it from the pay of a harlot,
And they shall return to the (I)pay of a harlot.”
Mourning for Israel and Judah
8 Therefore I will wail and howl,
I will go stripped and naked;
(J)I will make a wailing like the jackals
And a mourning like the ostriches,
9 For her wounds are incurable.
For (K)it has come to Judah;
It has come to the gate of My people—
To Jerusalem.
10 (L)Tell it not in Gath,
Weep not at all;
In [a]Beth Aphrah
Roll yourself in the dust.
11 Pass by in naked shame, you inhabitant of [b]Shaphir;
The inhabitant of [c]Zaanan does not go out.
Beth Ezel mourns;
Its place to stand is taken away from you.
12 For the inhabitant of [d]Maroth [e]pined for good,
But (M)disaster came down from the Lord
To the gate of Jerusalem.
13 O inhabitant of (N)Lachish,
Harness the chariot to the swift steeds
(She was the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion),
For the transgressions of Israel were (O)found in you.
14 Therefore you shall (P)give presents to [f]Moresheth Gath;
The houses of (Q)Achzib[g] shall be a lie to the kings of Israel.
15 I will yet bring an heir to you, O inhabitant of (R)Mareshah;[h]
The glory of Israel shall come to (S)Adullam.[i]
16 Make yourself (T)bald and cut off your hair,
Because of your (U)precious children;
Enlarge your baldness like an eagle,
For they shall go from you into (V)captivity.
Woe to Evildoers
2 Woe to those who devise iniquity,
And [j]work out evil on their beds!
At (W)morning light they practice it,
Because it is in the power of their hand.
2 They (X)covet fields and take them by violence,
Also houses, and seize them.
So they oppress a man and his house,
A man and his inheritance.
3 Therefore thus says the Lord:
“Behold, against this (Y)family I am devising (Z)disaster,
From which you cannot remove your necks;
Nor shall you walk haughtily,
For this is an evil time.
4 In that day one shall take up a proverb against you,
And (AA)lament with a bitter lamentation, saying:
‘We are utterly destroyed!
He has changed the [k]heritage of my people;
How He has removed it from me!
To [l]a turncoat He has divided our fields.’ ”
5 Therefore you will have no [m]one to determine boundaries by lot
In the assembly of the Lord.
Lying Prophets
6 “Do not prattle,” you say to those who [n]prophesy.
So they shall not prophesy [o]to you;
[p]They shall not return insult for insult.
7 You who are named the house of Jacob:
“Is the Spirit of the Lord restricted?
Are these His doings?
Do not My words do good
To him who walks uprightly?
8 “Lately My people have risen up as an enemy—
You pull off the robe with the garment
From those who trust you, as they pass by,
Like men returned from war.
9 The women of My people you cast out
From their pleasant houses;
From their children
You have taken away My glory forever.
10 “Arise and depart,
For this is not your (AB)rest;
Because it is (AC)defiled, it shall destroy,
Yes, with utter destruction.
11 If a man should walk in a false spirit
And speak a lie, saying,
‘I will [q]prophesy to you [r]of wine and drink,’
Even he would be the (AD)prattler of this people.
Israel Restored
12 “I(AE) will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob,
I will surely gather the remnant of Israel;
I will put them together (AF)like sheep of [s]the fold,
Like a flock in the midst of their pasture;
(AG)They shall make a loud noise because of so many people.
13 The one who breaks open will come up before them;
They will break out,
Pass through the gate,
And go out by it;
(AH)Their king will pass before them,
(AI)With the Lord at their head.”
Wicked Rulers and Prophets
3 And I said:
“Hear now, O heads of Jacob,
And you (AJ)rulers of the house of Israel:
(AK)Is it not for you to know justice?
2 You who hate good and love evil;
Who strip the skin from [t]My people,
And the flesh from their bones;
3 Who also (AL)eat the flesh of My people,
Flay their skin from them,
Break their bones,
And chop them in pieces
Like meat for the pot,
(AM)Like flesh in the caldron.”
4 Then (AN)they will cry to the Lord,
But He will not hear them;
He will even hide His face from them at that time,
Because they have been evil in their deeds.
5 Thus says the Lord (AO)concerning the prophets
Who make my people stray;
Who chant [u]“Peace”
[v]While they (AP)chew with their teeth,
But who prepare war against him
(AQ)Who puts nothing into their mouths:
6 “Therefore(AR) you shall have night without [w]vision,
And you shall have darkness without divination;
The sun shall go down on the prophets,
And the day shall be dark for (AS)them.
7 So the seers shall be ashamed,
And the diviners abashed;
Indeed they shall all cover their lips;
(AT)For there is no answer from God.”
8 But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord,
And of justice and might,
(AU)To declare to Jacob his transgression
And to Israel his sin.
9 Now hear this,
You heads of the house of Jacob
And rulers of the house of Israel,
Who abhor justice
And [x]pervert all equity,
10 (AV)Who build up Zion with (AW)bloodshed
And Jerusalem with iniquity:
11 (AX)Her heads judge for a bribe,
(AY)Her priests teach for pay,
And her prophets divine for [y]money.
(AZ)Yet they lean on the Lord, and say,
“Is not the Lord among us?
No harm can come upon us.”
12 Therefore because of you
Zion shall be (BA)plowed like a field,
(BB)Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins,
And (BC)the mountain of the [z]temple
Like the bare hills of the forest.
The Lord’s Reign in Zion(BD)
4 Now (BE)it shall come to pass in the latter days
That the mountain of the Lord’s house
Shall be established on the top of the mountains,
And shall be exalted above the hills;
And peoples shall flow to it.
2 Many nations shall come and say,
“Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
He will teach us His ways,
And we shall walk in His paths.”
For out of Zion the law shall go forth,
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
3 He shall judge between many peoples,
And rebuke strong nations afar off;
They shall beat their swords into (BF)plowshares,
And their spears into [aa]pruning hooks;
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
(BG)Neither shall they learn war anymore.
4 (BH)But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree,
And no one shall make them afraid;
For the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.
5 For all people walk each in the name of his god,
But (BI)we will walk in the name of the Lord our God
Forever and ever.
Zion’s Future Triumph
6 “In that day,” says the Lord,
(BJ)“I will assemble the lame,
(BK)I will gather the outcast
And those whom I have afflicted;
7 I will make the lame (BL)a remnant,
And the outcast a strong nation;
So the Lord (BM)will reign over them in Mount Zion
From now on, even forever.
8 And you, O tower of the flock,
The stronghold of the daughter of Zion,
To you shall it come,
Even the former dominion shall come,
The kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.”
9 Now why do you cry aloud?
(BN)Is there no king in your midst?
Has your counselor perished?
For (BO)pangs have seized you like a woman in [ab]labor.
10 Be in pain, and labor to bring forth,
O daughter of Zion,
Like a woman in birth pangs.
For now you shall go forth from the city,
You shall dwell in the field,
And to (BP)Babylon you shall go.
There you shall be delivered;
There the (BQ)Lord will (BR)redeem you
From the hand of your enemies.
11 (BS)Now also many nations have gathered against you,
Who say, “Let her be defiled,
And let our eye (BT)look upon Zion.”
12 But they do not know (BU)the thoughts of the Lord,
Nor do they understand His counsel;
For He will gather them (BV)like sheaves to the threshing floor.
13 “Arise(BW) and (BX)thresh, O daughter of Zion;
For I will make your horn iron,
And I will make your hooves bronze;
You shall (BY)beat in pieces many peoples;
(BZ)I will consecrate their gain to the Lord,
And their substance to (CA)the Lord of the whole earth.”
The Messiah Will Be Born at Bethlehem
5 Now gather yourself in troops,
O daughter of troops;
He has laid siege against us;
They will (CB)strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek.
The Coming Messiah
2 “But you, (CC)Bethlehem (CD)Ephrathah,
Though you are little (CE)among the (CF)thousands of Judah,
Yet out of you shall come forth to Me
The One to be (CG)Ruler in Israel,
(CH)Whose goings forth are from of old,
From [ac]everlasting.”
3 Therefore He shall give them up,
Until the time that (CI)she who is in labor has given birth;
Then (CJ)the remnant of His brethren
Shall return to the children of Israel.
4 And He shall stand and (CK)feed[ad] His flock
In the strength of the Lord,
In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God;
And they shall abide,
For now He (CL)shall be great
To the ends of the earth;
5 And this One (CM)shall be peace.
Judgment on Israel’s Enemies
When the Assyrian comes into our land,
And when he treads in our palaces,
Then we will raise against him
Seven shepherds and eight princely men.
6 They shall [ae]waste with the sword the land of Assyria,
And the land of (CN)Nimrod at its entrances;
Thus He shall (CO)deliver us from the Assyrian,
When he comes into our land
And when he treads within our borders.
7 Then (CP)the remnant of Jacob
Shall be in the midst of many peoples,
(CQ)Like dew from the Lord,
Like showers on the grass,
That [af]tarry for no man
Nor [ag]wait for the sons of men.
8 And the remnant of Jacob
Shall be among the Gentiles,
In the midst of many peoples,
Like a (CR)lion among the beasts of the forest,
Like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
Who, if he passes through,
Both treads down and tears in pieces,
And none can deliver.
9 Your hand shall be lifted against your adversaries,
And all your enemies shall be [ah]cut off.
10 “And it shall be in that day,” says the Lord,
“That I will (CS)cut[ai] off your (CT)horses from your midst
And destroy your (CU)chariots.
11 I will cut off the cities of your land
And throw down all your strongholds.
12 I will cut off sorceries from your hand,
And you shall have no (CV)soothsayers.
13 (CW)Your carved images I will also cut off,
And your sacred pillars from your midst;
You shall (CX)no more worship the work of your hands;
14 I will pluck your [aj]wooden images from your midst;
Thus I will destroy your cities.
15 And I will (CY)execute vengeance in anger and fury
On the nations that have not [ak]heard.”
God Pleads with Israel
6 Hear now what the Lord says:
“Arise, plead your case before the mountains,
And let the hills hear your voice.
2 (CZ)Hear, O you mountains, (DA)the Lord’s complaint,
And you strong foundations of the earth;
For (DB)the Lord has a complaint against His people,
And He will [al]contend with Israel.
3 “O My people, what (DC)have I done to you?
And how have I (DD)wearied you?
Testify against Me.
4 (DE)For I brought you up from the land of Egypt,
I redeemed you from the house of bondage;
And I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
5 O My people, remember now
What (DF)Balak king of Moab counseled,
And what Balaam the son of Beor answered him,
From [am]Acacia Grove to Gilgal,
That you may know (DG)the righteousness of the Lord.”
6 With what shall I come before the Lord,
And bow myself before the High God?
Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings,
With calves a year old?
7 (DH)Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
Ten thousand (DI)rivers of oil?
(DJ)Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
[an]The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has (DK)shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But (DL)to do justly,
To love [ao]mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?
Punishment of Israel’s Injustice
9 The Lord’s voice cries to the city—
Wisdom shall see Your name:
“Hear the rod!
Who has appointed it?
10 Are there yet the treasures of wickedness
In the house of the wicked,
And the short measure that is an abomination?
11 Shall I count pure those with (DM)the wicked scales,
And with the bag of deceitful weights?
12 For her rich men are full of (DN)violence,
Her inhabitants have spoken lies,
And (DO)their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
13 “Therefore I will also (DP)make you sick by striking you,
By making you desolate because of your sins.
14 (DQ)You shall eat, but not be satisfied;
[ap]Hunger shall be in your midst.
You may carry some away,[aq] but shall not save them;
And what you do rescue I will give over to the sword.
15 “You shall (DR)sow, but not reap;
You shall tread the olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil;
And make sweet wine, but not drink wine.
16 For the statutes of (DS)Omri are (DT)kept;
All the works of Ahab’s house are done;
And you walk in their counsels,
That I may make you a [ar]desolation,
And your inhabitants a hissing.
Therefore you shall bear the (DU)reproach of [as]My people.”
Sorrow for Israel’s Sins
7 Woe is me!
For I am like those who gather summer fruits,
Like those who (DV)glean vintage grapes;
There is no cluster to eat
Of the first-ripe fruit which (DW)my soul desires.
2 The (DX)faithful[at] man has perished from the earth,
And there is no one upright among men.
They all lie in wait for blood;
(DY)Every man hunts his brother with a net.
3 That they may successfully do evil with both hands—
The prince asks for gifts,
The judge seeks a (DZ)bribe,
And the great man utters his evil desire;
So they scheme together.
4 The best of them is (EA)like a brier;
The most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge;
The day of your watchman and your punishment comes;
Now shall be their perplexity.
5 (EB)Do not trust in a friend;
Do not put your confidence in a companion;
Guard the doors of your mouth
From her who lies in your (EC)bosom.
6 For (ED)son dishonors father,
Daughter rises against her mother,
Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
A man’s enemies are the men of his own household.
7 Therefore I will look to the Lord;
I will (EE)wait for the God of my salvation;
My God will hear me.
Israel’s Confession and Comfort
8 (EF)Do not rejoice over me, my enemy;
(EG)When I fall, I will arise;
When I sit in darkness,
The Lord will be a light to me.
9 (EH)I will bear the indignation of the Lord,
Because I have sinned against Him,
Until He pleads my (EI)case
And executes justice for me.
He will bring me forth to the light;
I will see His righteousness.
10 Then she who is my enemy will see,
And (EJ)shame will cover her who said to me,
(EK)“Where is the Lord your God?”
My eyes will see her;
Now she will be trampled down
Like mud in the streets.
11 In the day when your (EL)walls are to be built,
In that day [au]the decree shall go far and wide.
12 In that day (EM)they[av] shall come to you
From Assyria and the [aw]fortified cities,
From the [ax]fortress to [ay]the River,
From sea to sea,
And mountain to mountain.
13 Yet the land shall be desolate
Because of those who dwell in it,
And (EN)for the fruit of their deeds.
God Will Forgive Israel
14 Shepherd Your people with Your staff,
The flock of Your heritage,
Who dwell [az]solitarily in a (EO)woodland,
In the midst of Carmel;
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead,
As in days of old.
16 The nations (ER)shall see and be ashamed of all their might;
(ES)They shall put their hand over their mouth;
Their ears shall be deaf.
17 They shall lick the (ET)dust like a serpent;
(EU)They shall crawl from their holes like [bb]snakes of the earth.
(EV)They shall be afraid of the Lord our God,
And shall fear because of You.
18 (EW)Who is a God like You,
(EX)Pardoning iniquity
And passing over the transgression of (EY)the remnant of His heritage?
(EZ)He does not retain His anger forever,
Because He delights in (FA)mercy.[bc]
19 He will again have compassion on us,
And will subdue our iniquities.
You will cast all [bd]our sins
Into the depths of the sea.
20 (FB)You will give truth to Jacob
And [be]mercy to Abraham,
(FC)Which You have sworn to our fathers
From days of old.
Footnotes
- Micah 1:10 Lit. House of Dust
- Micah 1:11 Lit. Beautiful
- Micah 1:11 Lit. Going Out
- Micah 1:12 Lit. Bitterness
- Micah 1:12 Lit. was sick
- Micah 1:14 Lit. Possession of Gath
- Micah 1:14 Lit. Lie
- Micah 1:15 Lit. Inheritance
- Micah 1:15 Lit. Refuge
- Micah 2:1 Plan
- Micah 2:4 Lit. portion
- Micah 2:4 Lit. one turning back, an apostate
- Micah 2:5 Lit. one casting a surveyor’s line
- Micah 2:6 Or preach, lit. drip words
- Micah 2:6 Lit. to these
- Micah 2:6 Vg. He shall not take shame
- Micah 2:11 Or preach, lit. drip
- Micah 2:11 concerning
- Micah 2:12 Heb. Bozrah
- Micah 3:2 Lit. them
- Micah 3:5 All is well
- Micah 3:5 For those who feed them
- Micah 3:6 Prophetic revelation
- Micah 3:9 Lit. twist
- Micah 3:11 Lit. silver
- Micah 3:12 Lit. house
- Micah 4:3 pruning knives
- Micah 4:9 childbirth
- Micah 5:2 Lit. the days of eternity
- Micah 5:4 shepherd
- Micah 5:6 devastate
- Micah 5:7 wait
- Micah 5:7 delay
- Micah 5:9 destroyed
- Micah 5:10 destroy
- Micah 5:14 Heb. Asherim, Canaanite deities
- Micah 5:15 obeyed
- Micah 6:2 bring charges against
- Micah 6:5 Heb. Shittim, Num. 25:1; Josh. 2:1; 3:1
- Micah 6:7 My own child
- Micah 6:8 Or lovingkindness
- Micah 6:14 Or Emptiness or Humiliation
- Micah 6:14 Tg., Vg. You shall take hold
- Micah 6:16 Or object of horror
- Micah 6:16 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX nations
- Micah 7:2 Or loyal
- Micah 7:11 Or the boundary shall be extended
- Micah 7:12 Lit. he, collective of the captives
- Micah 7:12 Heb. arey mazor, possibly cities of Egypt
- Micah 7:12 Heb. mazor, possibly Egypt
- Micah 7:12 The Euphrates
- Micah 7:14 Alone
- Micah 7:15 Lit. him, collective for the captives
- Micah 7:17 Lit. crawlers
- Micah 7:18 Or lovingkindness
- Micah 7:19 Lit. their
- Micah 7:20 Or lovingkindness
Nahum 1-3
New King James Version
God’s Mercy and Judgment
1 The [a]burden (A)against Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
God’s Wrath on His Enemies
2 God is (B)jealous, and the Lord avenges;
The Lord avenges and is furious.
The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries,
And He reserves wrath for His enemies;
3 The Lord is (C)slow to anger and (D)great in power,
And will not at all acquit the wicked.
(E)The Lord has His way
In the whirlwind and in the storm,
And the clouds are the dust of His feet.
4 (F)He rebukes the sea and makes it dry,
And dries up all the rivers.
(G)Bashan and Carmel wither,
And the flower of Lebanon wilts.
5 The mountains quake before Him,
The hills melt,
And the earth [b]heaves at His presence,
Yes, the world and all who dwell in it.
6 Who can stand before His indignation?
And (H)who can endure the fierceness of His anger?
His fury is poured out like fire,
And the rocks are thrown down by Him.
7 (I)The Lord is good,
A stronghold in the day of trouble;
And (J)He knows those who trust in Him.
8 But with an overflowing flood
He will make an utter end of its place,
And darkness will pursue His enemies.
9 (K)What do you [c]conspire against the Lord?
(L)He will make an utter end of it.
Affliction will not rise up a second time.
10 For while tangled (M)like thorns,
(N)And while drunken like drunkards,
(O)They shall be devoured like stubble fully dried.
11 From you comes forth one
Who plots evil against the Lord,
A [d]wicked counselor.
12 Thus says the Lord:
“Though they are [e]safe, and likewise many,
Yet in this manner they will be (P)cut down
When he passes through.
Though I have afflicted you,
I will afflict you no more;
13 For now I will break off his yoke from you,
And burst your bonds apart.”
14 The Lord has given a command concerning you:
[f]“Your name shall be perpetuated no longer.
Out of the house of your gods
I will cut off the carved image and the molded image.
I will dig your (Q)grave,
For you are (R)vile.”[g]
15 Behold, on the mountains
The (S)feet of him who brings good tidings,
Who proclaims peace!
O Judah, keep your appointed feasts,
Perform your vows.
For the [h]wicked one shall no more pass through you;
He is (T)utterly cut off.
The Destruction of Nineveh
2 He[i] who scatters has come up before your face.
Man the fort!
Watch the road!
Strengthen your flanks!
Fortify your power mightily.
2 For the Lord will restore the excellence of Jacob
Like the excellence of Israel,
For the emptiers have emptied them out
And ruined their vine branches.
3 The shields of his mighty men are made red,
The valiant men are in scarlet.
The chariots come with flaming torches
In the day of his preparation,
And [j]the spears are brandished.
4 The chariots rage in the streets,
They jostle one another in the broad roads;
They seem like torches,
They run like lightning.
5 He remembers his nobles;
They stumble in their walk;
They make haste to her walls,
And the defense is prepared.
6 The gates of the rivers are opened,
And the palace is dissolved.
7 [k]It is decreed:
She shall be led away captive,
She shall be brought up;
And her maidservants shall lead her as with the voice of doves,
Beating their breasts.
8 Though Nineveh of old was like a pool of water,
Now they flee away.
[l]“Halt! Halt!” they cry;
But no one turns back.
9 [m]Take spoil of silver!
Take spoil of (U)gold!
There is no end of treasure,
Or wealth of every desirable prize.
10 She is empty, desolate, and waste!
The heart melts, and the knees shake;
Much pain is in every side,
And all their faces [n]are drained of color.
11 Where is the dwelling of the (V)lions,
And the feeding place of the young lions,
Where the lion walked, the lioness and lion’s cub,
And no one made them afraid?
12 The lion tore in pieces enough for his cubs,
[o]Killed for his lionesses,
(W)Filled his caves with prey,
And his dens with [p]flesh.
13 “Behold, (X)I am against you,” says the Lord of hosts, “I will burn [q]your chariots in smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions; I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your (Y)messengers shall be heard no more.”
The Woe of Nineveh
3 Woe to the (Z)bloody city!
It is all full of lies and robbery.
Its [r]victim never departs.
2 The noise of a whip
And the noise of rattling wheels,
Of galloping horses,
Of [s]clattering chariots!
3 Horsemen charge with bright sword and glittering spear.
There is a multitude of slain,
A great number of bodies,
Countless corpses—
They stumble over the corpses—
4 Because of the multitude of [t]harlotries of the [u]seductive harlot,
(AA)The mistress of sorceries,
Who sells nations through her harlotries,
And families through her sorceries.
5 “Behold, I am (AB)against you,” says the Lord of hosts;
(AC)“I will lift your skirts over your face,
I will show the nations your nakedness,
And the kingdoms your shame.
6 I will cast abominable filth upon you,
Make you (AD)vile,[v]
And make you (AE)a spectacle.
7 It shall come to pass that all who look upon you
(AF)Will flee from you, and say,
(AG)‘Nineveh is laid waste!
(AH)Who will bemoan her?’
Where shall I seek comforters for you?”
8 (AI)Are you better than (AJ)No[w] Amon
That was situated by the [x]River,
That had the waters around her,
Whose rampart was the sea,
Whose wall was the sea?
9 Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength,
And it was boundless;
(AK)Put and Lubim were [y]your helpers.
10 Yet she was carried away,
She went into captivity;
(AL)Her young children also were dashed to pieces
(AM)At the head of every street;
They (AN)cast lots for her honorable men,
And all her great men were bound in chains.
11 You also will be (AO)drunk;
You will be hidden;
You also will seek refuge from the enemy.
12 All your strongholds are (AP)fig trees with ripened figs:
If they are shaken,
They fall into the mouth of the eater.
13 Surely, (AQ)your people in your midst are women!
The gates of your land are wide open for your enemies;
Fire shall devour the (AR)bars of your gates.
14 Draw your water for the siege!
(AS)Fortify your strongholds!
Go into the clay and tread the mortar!
Make strong the brick kiln!
15 There the fire will devour you,
The sword will cut you off;
It will eat you up like a (AT)locust.
Make yourself many—like the locust!
Make yourself many—like the swarming locusts!
16 You have multiplied your (AU)merchants more than the stars of heaven.
The locust plunders and flies away.
17 (AV)Your commanders are like swarming locusts,
And your generals like great grasshoppers,
Which camp in the hedges on a cold day;
When the sun rises they flee away,
And the place where they are is not known.
18 (AW)Your shepherds slumber, O (AX)king of Assyria;
Your nobles rest in the dust.
Your people are (AY)scattered on the mountains,
And no one gathers them.
19 Your injury has no healing,
(AZ)Your wound is severe.
(BA)All who hear news of you
Will clap their hands over you,
For upon whom has not your wickedness passed continually?
Footnotes
- Nahum 1:1 oracle, prophecy
- Nahum 1:5 Tg. burns
- Nahum 1:9 Or devise
- Nahum 1:11 Lit. counselor of Belial
- Nahum 1:12 Or at peace or complete
- Nahum 1:14 Lit. No more of your name shall be fruitful
- Nahum 1:14 Or contemptible
- Nahum 1:15 Lit. one of Belial
- Nahum 2:1 Vg. He who destroys
- Nahum 2:3 Lit. the cypresses are shaken; LXX, Syr. the horses rush about; Vg. the drivers are stupefied
- Nahum 2:7 Heb. Huzzab
- Nahum 2:8 Lit. Stand
- Nahum 2:9 Plunder
- Nahum 2:10 LXX, Tg., Vg. gather blackness; Joel 2:6
- Nahum 2:12 Lit. Strangled
- Nahum 2:12 Torn flesh
- Nahum 2:13 Lit. her
- Nahum 3:1 Lit. prey
- Nahum 3:2 bounding or jolting
- Nahum 3:4 Spiritual unfaithfulness
- Nahum 3:4 Lit. goodly charm, in a bad sense
- Nahum 3:6 despicable
- Nahum 3:8 Ancient Thebes; Tg., Vg. populous Alexandria
- Nahum 3:8 Lit. rivers, the Nile and the surrounding canals
- Nahum 3:9 LXX her
Habakkuk 1-3
New King James Version
The Prophet Questions God’s Judgments
1 The [a]burden which the prophet Habakkuk saw.
The Prophet’s Question
2 O Lord, how long shall I cry,
(A)And You will not hear?
Even cry out to You, (B)“Violence!”
And You will (C)not save.
3 Why do You show me iniquity,
And cause me to see [b]trouble?
For plundering and violence are before me;
There is strife, and contention arises.
4 Therefore the law is powerless,
And justice never goes forth.
For the (D)wicked surround the righteous;
Therefore perverse judgment proceeds.
The Lord’s Reply
5 “Look(E) among the nations and watch—
Be utterly astounded!
For I will work a work in your days
Which you would not believe, though it were told you.
6 For indeed I am (F)raising up the Chaldeans,
A bitter and hasty (G)nation
Which marches through the breadth of the earth,
To possess dwelling places that are not theirs.
7 They are terrible and dreadful;
Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.
8 Their horses also are (H)swifter than leopards,
And more fierce than evening wolves.
Their [c]chargers [d]charge ahead;
Their cavalry comes from afar;
They fly as the (I)eagle that hastens to eat.
9 “They all come for violence;
Their faces are set like the east wind.
They gather captives like sand.
10 They scoff at kings,
And princes are scorned by them.
They deride every stronghold,
For they heap up earthen mounds and seize it.
11 Then his [e]mind changes, and he transgresses;
He commits offense,
(J)Ascribing this power to his god.”
The Prophet’s Second Question
12 Are You not (K)from everlasting,
O Lord my God, my Holy One?
We shall not die.
O Lord, (L)You have appointed them for judgment;
O Rock, You have marked them for (M)correction.
13 You are of purer eyes than to behold evil,
And cannot look on wickedness.
Why do You look on those who deal treacherously,
And hold Your tongue when the wicked devours
A person more righteous than he?
14 Why do You make men like fish of the sea,
Like creeping things that have no ruler over them?
15 They take up all of them with a hook,
They catch them in their net,
And gather them in their dragnet.
Therefore they rejoice and are glad.
16 Therefore (N)they sacrifice to their net,
And burn incense to their dragnet;
Because by them their share is [f]sumptuous
And their food plentiful.
17 Shall they therefore empty their net,
And continue to slay nations without pity?
The Just Shall Live by Faith
2 I will (O)stand my watch
And set myself on the rampart,
And watch to see what He will say to me,
And what I will answer when I am corrected.
The Just Live by Faith
2 Then the Lord answered me and said:
(P)“Write the vision
And make it plain on tablets,
That he may run who reads it.
3 For (Q)the vision is yet for an appointed time;
But at the end it will speak, and it will (R)not lie.
Though it tarries, (S)wait for it;
Because it will (T)surely come,
It will not tarry.
4 “Behold the proud,
His soul is not upright in him;
But the (U)just shall live by his faith.
Woe to the Wicked
5 “Indeed, because he transgresses by wine,
He is a proud man,
And he does not stay at home.
Because he (V)enlarges his desire as [g]hell,
And he is like death, and cannot be satisfied,
He gathers to himself all nations
And heaps up for himself all peoples.
6 “Will not all these (W)take up a proverb against him,
And a taunting riddle against him, and say,
‘Woe to him who increases
What is not his—how long?
And to him who loads himself with [h]many pledges’?
7 Will not [i]your creditors rise up suddenly?
Will they not awaken who oppress you?
And you will become their booty.
8 (X)Because you have plundered many nations,
All the remnant of the people shall plunder you,
Because of men’s [j]blood
And the violence of the land and the city,
And of all who dwell in it.
9 “Woe to him who covets evil gain for his house,
That he may (Y)set his nest on high,
That he may be delivered from the [k]power of disaster!
10 You give shameful counsel to your house,
Cutting off many peoples,
And sin against your soul.
11 For the stone will cry out from the wall,
And the beam from the timbers will answer it.
12 “Woe to him who builds a town with bloodshed,
Who establishes a city by iniquity!
13 Behold, is it not of the Lord of hosts
That the peoples labor [l]to feed the fire,
And nations weary themselves in vain?
14 For the earth will be filled
With the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,
As the waters cover the sea.
15 “Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbor,
[m]Pressing him to your (Z)bottle,
Even to make him drunk,
That you may look on [n]his nakedness!
16 You are filled with shame instead of glory.
You also—drink!
And [o]be exposed as uncircumcised!
The cup of the Lord’s right hand will be turned against you,
And utter shame will be on your glory.
17 For the violence done to Lebanon will cover you,
And the plunder of beasts which made them afraid,
Because of men’s blood
And the violence of the land and the city,
And of all who dwell in it.
18 “What profit is the image, that its maker should carve it,
The molded image, a teacher of lies,
That the maker of its mold should trust in it,
To make mute idols?
19 Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’
To silent stone, ‘Arise! It shall teach!’
Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver,
Yet in it there is no breath at all.
20 “But(AA) the Lord is in His holy temple.
Let all the earth keep silence before Him.”
The Prophet’s Prayer
3 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, on [p]Shigionoth.
2 O Lord, I have heard Your speech and was afraid;
O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years!
In the midst of the years make it known;
In wrath remember mercy.
3 God came from Teman,
The Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah
His glory covered the heavens,
And the earth was full of His praise.
4 His brightness was like the light;
He had rays flashing from His hand,
And there His power was hidden.
5 Before Him went pestilence,
And fever followed at His feet.
6 He stood and measured the earth;
He looked and startled the nations.
(AB)And the everlasting mountains were scattered,
The perpetual hills bowed.
His ways are everlasting.
7 I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction;
The curtains of the land of Midian trembled.
8 O Lord, were You displeased with the rivers,
Was Your anger against the rivers,
Was Your wrath against the sea,
That You rode on Your horses,
Your chariots of salvation?
9 Your bow was made quite ready;
Oaths were sworn over Your [q]arrows. Selah
You divided the earth with rivers.
10 The mountains saw You and trembled;
The overflowing of the water passed by.
The deep uttered its voice,
And (AC)lifted its hands on high.
11 The (AD)sun and moon stood still in their habitation;
At the light of Your arrows they went,
At the shining of Your glittering spear.
12 You marched through the land in indignation;
You [r]trampled the nations in anger.
13 You went forth for the salvation of Your people,
For salvation with Your Anointed.
You struck the head from the house of the wicked,
By laying bare from foundation to neck. Selah
14 You thrust through with his own arrows
The head of his villages.
They came out like a whirlwind to scatter me;
Their rejoicing was like feasting on the poor in secret.
15 (AE)You walked through the sea with Your horses,
Through the heap of great waters.
16 When I heard, (AF)my body trembled;
My lips quivered at the voice;
Rottenness entered my bones;
And I trembled in myself,
That I might rest in the day of trouble.
When he comes up to the people,
He will invade them with his troops.
A Hymn of Faith
17 Though the fig tree may not blossom,
Nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,
And there be no herd in the stalls—
18 Yet I will (AG)rejoice in the Lord,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.
19 [s]The Lord God is my strength;
He will make my feet like (AH)deer’s feet,
And He will make me (AI)walk on my high hills.
To the Chief Musician. With my stringed instruments.
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 1:1 oracle, prophecy
- Habakkuk 1:3 Or toil
- Habakkuk 1:8 Lit. horsemen
- Habakkuk 1:8 Lit. spring about
- Habakkuk 1:11 Lit. spirit or wind
- Habakkuk 1:16 Lit. fat
- Habakkuk 2:5 Or Sheol
- Habakkuk 2:6 Syr., Vg. thick clay
- Habakkuk 2:7 Lit. those who bite you
- Habakkuk 2:8 Or bloodshed
- Habakkuk 2:9 Lit. hand of evil
- Habakkuk 2:13 Lit. for what satisfies fire, for what is of no lasting value
- Habakkuk 2:15 Lit. Attaching or Joining
- Habakkuk 2:15 Lit. their
- Habakkuk 2:16 DSS, LXX reel!; Syr., Vg. fall fast asleep!
- Habakkuk 3:1 Exact meaning unknown
- Habakkuk 3:9 Lit. tribes or rods, cf. v. 14
- Habakkuk 3:12 Or threshed
- Habakkuk 3:19 Heb. YHWH Adonai
Zephaniah 1
New King James Version
The Great Day of the Lord(A)
1 The word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of (B)Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.
The Great Day of the Lord
2 “I will [a]utterly consume everything
From the face of the land,”
Says the Lord;
3 “I(C) will consume man and beast;
I will consume the birds of the heavens,
The fish of the sea,
And the [b]stumbling blocks along with the wicked.
I will cut off man from the face of the [c]land,”
Says the Lord.
4 “I will stretch out My hand against Judah,
And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
[d]I will cut off every trace of Baal from this place,
The names of the (D)idolatrous[e] priests with the pagan priests—
5 Those (E)who worship the host of heaven on the housetops;
Those who worship and swear oaths by the Lord,
But who also swear (F)by [f]Milcom;
6 (G)Those who have turned back from following the Lord,
And (H)have not sought the Lord, nor inquired of Him.”
7 (I)Be silent in the presence of the Lord God;
(J)For the day of the Lord is at hand,
For (K)the Lord has prepared a sacrifice;
He has [g]invited His guests.
8 “And it shall be,
In the day of the Lord’s sacrifice,
That I will punish (L)the princes and the king’s children,
And all such as are clothed with foreign apparel.
9 In the same day I will punish
All those who (M)leap over the threshold,
Who fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit.
10 “And there shall be on that day,” says the Lord,
“The sound of a mournful cry from (N)the Fish Gate,
A wailing from the Second Quarter,
And a loud crashing from the hills.
11 (O)Wail, you inhabitants of [h]Maktesh!
For all the merchant people are cut down;
All those who handle money are cut off.
12 “And it shall come to pass at that time
That I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
And punish the men
Who are (P)settled[i] in complacency,
(Q)Who say in their heart,
‘The Lord will not do good,
Nor will He do evil.’
13 Therefore their goods shall become booty,
And their houses a desolation;
They shall build houses, but not inhabit them;
They shall plant vineyards, but (R)not drink their wine.”
14 (S)The great day of the Lord is near;
It is near and hastens quickly.
The noise of the day of the Lord is bitter;
There the mighty men shall cry out.
15 (T)That day is a day of wrath,
A day of trouble and distress,
A day of devastation and desolation,
A day of darkness and gloominess,
A day of clouds and thick darkness,
16 A day of (U)trumpet and alarm
Against the fortified cities
And against the high towers.
17 “I will bring distress upon men,
And they shall (V)walk like blind men,
Because they have sinned against the Lord;
Their blood shall be poured out like dust,
And their flesh like refuse.”
18 (W)Neither their silver nor their gold
Shall be able to deliver them
In the day of the Lord’s wrath;
But the whole land shall be devoured
By the fire of His jealousy,
For He will make speedy riddance
Of all those who dwell in the land.
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 1:2 Lit. make a complete end of, Jer. 8:13
- Zephaniah 1:3 Idols
- Zephaniah 1:3 ground
- Zephaniah 1:4 Fulfilled in 2 Kin. 23:4, 5
- Zephaniah 1:4 Heb. chemarim
- Zephaniah 1:5 Or Malcam, an Ammonite god, 1 Kin. 11:5; Jer. 49:1; Molech, Lev. 18:21
- Zephaniah 1:7 Lit. set apart, consecrated
- Zephaniah 1:11 A market district of Jerusalem, lit. Mortar
- Zephaniah 1:12 Lit. on their lees; like the dregs of wine
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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