Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one {is} an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand {is} stretched out still. {folly: or, villany}

O thou sword of the LORD, how long {will it be} ere thou be quiet? put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still. {put...: Heb. gather thyself}

For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done {it}, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant {man}: {a valiant...: or, many people}

Hast thou not heard long ago, {how} I have done it; {and} of ancient times, that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste defenced cities {into} ruinous heaps. {Hast...: or, Hast thou not heard how I have made it long ago, and formed it of ancient times? should I now bring it to be laid waste, and defenced cities to be ruinous heaps?}

Behold, I will command, saith the LORD, and cause them to return to this city; and they shall fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire: and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without an inhabitant.

And the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt, every one that maketh mention thereof shall be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the LORD of hosts, which he hath determined against it.

And they shall be as mighty {men}, which tread down {their enemies} in the mire of the streets in the battle: and they shall fight, because the LORD {is} with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded. {the riders...: or, they shall make the riders on horses ashamed}

Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations.

And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the LORD. {feignedly: Heb. in falsehood}

The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?

{Ye} hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,

I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people {there was} none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.

I have raised up {one} from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as {upon} morter, and as the potter treadeth clay.

Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near {me} with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:

Their roaring {shall be} like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry {it} away safe, and none shall deliver {it}.

And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth.

Then {she that is} 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 down as the mire of the streets. {Then...: or, And thou wilt see her that is mine enemy, and cover her with shame} {shall she...: Heb. she shall be for a treading down}

Then did I beat them as small as the dust of the earth, I did stamp them as the mire of the street, {and} did spread them abroad.

That this {is} a rebellious people, lying children, children {that} will not hear the law of the LORD:

O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?

For {it is} a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of perplexity by the Lord GOD of hosts in the valley of vision, breaking down the walls, and of crying to the mountains.

Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut; {have...: or, strengthened}

Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire: no man shall spare his brother. {fuel: Heb. meat}

Through God we shall do valiantly: for he {it is that} shall tread down our enemies.

Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one {is} an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand {is} stretched out still. {folly: or, villany}

Then did I beat them as small as the dust of the earth, I did stamp them as the mire of the street, {and} did spread them abroad.

I have raised up {one} from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as {upon} morter, and as the potter treadeth clay.

Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:

The LORD hath also a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him. {punish: Heb. visit upon}

I have given him the land of Egypt {for} his labour wherewith he served against it, because they wrought for me, saith the Lord GOD. {for his...: or, for his hire}

For {it is} a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of perplexity by the Lord GOD of hosts in the valley of vision, breaking down the walls, and of crying to the mountains.

I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine inheritance, and given them into thine hand: thou didst shew them no mercy; upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke.

To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places {that are now} inhabited, and upon the people {that are} gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land. {To take...: Heb. To spoil the spoil, and to prey the prey} {midst: Heb. navel}

Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?

Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy: and they which hate us spoil for themselves.

Man's goings {are} of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?

And they shall be as mighty {men}, which tread down {their enemies} in the mire of the streets in the battle: and they shall fight, because the LORD {is} with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded. {the riders...: or, they shall make the riders on horses ashamed}

Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?

And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; {and} break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: {trodden...: Heb. for a treading}

Wherein the king granted the Jews which {were} in every city to gather themselves together, and to stand for their life, to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish, all the power of the people and province that would assault them, {both} little ones and women, and {to take} the spoil of them for a prey,

And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the LORD. {feignedly: Heb. in falsehood}

How can it be quiet, seeing the LORD hath given it a charge against Ashkelon, and against the sea shore? there hath he appointed it. {How...: Heb. How canst thou}

Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.

For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria. {the riches...: or, he that is before the king of Assyria shall take away the riches, etc}

Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind: I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets.

Go up against the land of Merathaim, {even} against it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod: waste and utterly destroy after them, saith the LORD, and do according to all that I have commanded thee. {of Merathaim: or, of the rebels} {Pekod: or, Visitation}

Come against her from the utmost border, open her storehouses: cast her up as heaps, and destroy her utterly: let nothing of her be left. {from...: Heb. from the end} {cast...: or, tread her}

Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, {yet} from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith the LORD.

Thou {art} the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee {so}: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.

Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.

{There is} no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually? {healing: Heb. wrinkling}

The lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his holes with prey, and his dens with ravin.

And also by the hand of the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani came the word of the LORD against Baasha, and against his house, even for all the evil that he did in the sight of the LORD, in provoking him to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam; and because he killed him.

It may be the LORD thy God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God; and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up {thy} prayer for the remnant that are left. {left: Heb. found}

And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies;

And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city: for God did vex them with all adversity. {destroyed: Heb. beaten in pieces}

And the letters were sent by posts into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, {even} upon the thirteenth {day} of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and {to take} the spoil of them for a prey.

In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: every hand of the wicked shall come upon him. {wicked: or, troublesome}

Look on every one {that is} proud, {and} bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place.

Let the enemy persecute my soul, and take {it}; yea, let him tread down my life upon the earth, and lay mine honour in the dust. Selah.

O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them. {O thou...: or, The destructions of the enemy are come to a perpetual end: and their cities hast thou destroyed, etc}

Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations; {even} all {that} the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary.

All that pass by the way spoil him: he is a reproach to his neighbours.

Better {it is to be} of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.

Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. {laden: Heb. of heaviness} {gone...: Heb. alienated, or, separated}

Their roaring {shall be} like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry {it} away safe, and none shall deliver {it}.

Therefore the abundance they have gotten, and that which they have laid up, shall they carry away to the brook of the willows. {brook...: or, valley of the Arabians}

He stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook the kingdoms: the LORD hath given a commandment against the merchant {city}, to destroy the strong holds thereof. {against...: or, concerning a merchantman} {the merchant city: Heb. Canaan} {strong...: or, strengths}

The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.

For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill. {trodden down under: or, threshed, etc} {trodden down for...: or, threshed in Madmenah}

The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?

Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee.

Because ye were glad, because ye rejoiced, O ye destroyers of mine heritage, because ye are grown fat as the heifer at grass, and bellow as bulls; {fat: Heb. big, or, corpulent} {bellow...: or, neigh as steeds}

Therefore when thou doest {thine} alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. {do not...: or, cause not a trumpet to be sounded}

He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man {with} his destroying weapon in his hand.

For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner?

Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near {me} with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: