Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth {that which is} not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay! {Woe...: or, Ho, he}

And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, {saying}, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel.

For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none can pass through {them}; neither can {men} hear the voice of the cattle; both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are fled; they are gone. {habitations: or, pastures} {burned up: or, desolate} {both...: Heb. from the fowl even to, etc}

Yet will I bring an heir unto thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah: he shall come unto Adullam the glory of Israel. {inhabitant: Heb. inhabitress} {he...: or, the glory of Israel shall, etc}

Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for cunning {women}, that they may come:

Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, {utterly...: Heb. desolate with desolation}

And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save {thee}.

The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word.

Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots {shall be} as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled.

And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went their way.

That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased! {proverb: or, taunting speech} {golden...: or, exactress of gold}

O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, {and} hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants' sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.

If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine! yea, both the prophet and the priest go about into a land that they know not. {go about...: or, make merchandise against a land, and men acknowledge it not}

I will utterly consume all {things} from off the land, saith the LORD. {I will...; Heb. By taking away I will make an end} {the land: Heb. the face of the land}

Arise ye, and depart; for this {is} not {your} rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy {you}, even with a sore destruction.

Until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.

And in all vineyards {shall be} wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the LORD.

And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said:

How doth the city sit solitary, {that was} full of people! {how} is she become as a widow! she {that was} great among the nations, {and} princess among the provinces, {how} is she become tributary!

Moreover Job continued his parable, and said, {continued: Heb. added to take up}

And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah: and all the singing men and the singing women spake of Josiah in their lamentations to this day, and made them an ordinance in Israel: and, behold, they {are} written in the lamentations.

Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.

And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said: {whose...: Heb. who had his eyes shut, but now opened}

And he spread it before me; and it {was} written within and without: and {there was} written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.

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 he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor:

Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God.

Hear ye this word which I take up against you, {even} a lamentation, O house of Israel.

And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia: {them...: Heb. the remainder from the sword}

Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use {this} proverb against thee, saying, As {is} the mother, {so is} her daughter.

And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son:

And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, {saying}, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel.

And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;

Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth {that which is} not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay! {Woe...: or, Ho, he}

Hear ye this word which I take up against you, {even} a lamentation, O house of Israel.

Therefore the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord, saith thus; Wailing {shall be} in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing.

For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we spoiled! we are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken the land, because our dwellings have cast {us} out.

And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Set on a pot, set {it} on, and also pour water into it:

And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and say to thee, How art thou destroyed, {that wast} inhabited of seafaring men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, which cause their terror {to be} on all that haunt it! {of...: Heb. of the seas}