And {then} the LORD'S wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and {lest} ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you.

[A Song of degrees for Solomon.] Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh {but} in vain. {for...: or, of Solomon} {that...: Heb. that are builders of it in it}

Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: {yet} surely my judgment {is} with the LORD, and my work with my God. {my work: or, my reward}

Behold, {is it} not of the LORD of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity? {for...: or, in vain?}

Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.

Ye looked for much, and, lo, {it came} to little; and when ye brought {it} home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of mine house that {is} waste, and ye run every man unto his own house. {blow...: or, blow it away}

I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume. {consume: or, possess}

I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.

Since those {days} were, when {one} came to an heap of twenty {measures}, there were {but} ten: when {one} came to the pressfat for to draw out fifty {vessels} out of the press, there were {but} twenty.

Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather {but} little in; for the locust shall consume it.

In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: {but} the harvest {shall be} a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow. {a heap...: or, removed in the day of inheritance, and there shall be deadly sorrow}

Let thistles grow instead of wheat, and cockle instead of barley. The words of Job are ended. {cockle: or, noisome weeds}

Cursed {shall be} the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.

A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein. {barrenness: Heb. saltiness}

Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages {to put it} into a bag with holes. {with holes: Heb. pierced through}

When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

But in vain they do worship me, teaching {for} doctrines the commandments of men.

Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shalt set it with strange slips:

Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olives, but thou shalt not anoint thee with oil; and sweet wine, but shalt not drink wine.

I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: {there shall be} no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and {the things that} I have given them shall pass away from them.

The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth.

So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thine enemies, while they pursue thee? or that there be three days' pestilence in thy land? now advise, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me.

Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: {yet} surely my judgment {is} with the LORD, and my work with my God. {my work: or, my reward}

They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they {are} the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them.