The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Old Testament — Part 2 (part 2 of 5)

The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Old Testament — Part 2 (part 2 of 5)

5:9. All those things are passed away like a shadow, and like a post that runneth on,

5:10. And as a ship, that passeth through the waves: whereof when it is gone by, the trace cannot be found. nor the path of its keel in the waters:

5:11. Or as when a bird flieth through the air, of the passage of which no mark can be found, but only the sound of the wings beating the light air, and parting it by the force of her flight: she moved her wings, and hath flown through, and there is no mark found afterwards of her way:

5:12. Or as when an arrow is shot at a mark, the divided air quickly cometh together again, so that the passage thereof is not known:

5:13. So we also being born, forthwith ceased to be: and have been able to shew no mark of virtue: but are consumed in our wickedness.

5:14. Such things as these the sinners said in hell:

5:15. For the hope of the wicked is as dust, which is blown away with the wind, and as a thin froth which is dispersed by the storm: and a smoke that is scattered abroad by the wind: and as the remembrance of a guest of one day that passeth by.

5:16. But the just shall live for evermore: and their reward is with the Lord, and the care of them with the most High.

5:17. Therefore shall they receive a kingdom of glory, and a crown of beauty at the hand of the Lord: for with his right hand he will cover them, and with his holy arm he will defend them.

5:18. And his zeal will take armour, and he will arm the creature for the revenge of his enemies.

5:19. He will put on justice as a breastplate, and will take true judgment instead of a helmet:

5:20. He will take equity for an invincible shield:

5:21. And he will sharpen his severe wrath for a spear, and the whole world shall fight with him against the unwise.

5:22. Then shafts of lightning shall go directly from the clouds, as from a bow well bent, they shall be shot out, and shall fly to the mark.

5:23. And thick hail shall be cast upon them from the stone casting wrath: the water of the sea shall rage against them, and the rivers shall run together in a terrible manner.

5:24. A mighty wind shall stand up against them, and as a whirlwind shall divide them: and their iniquity shall bring all the earth to a desert, and wickedness shall overthrow the thrones of the mighty.

Wisdom Chapter 6

An address to princes to seek after wisdom: she is easily found by those that seek her.

6:1. Wisdom is better than strength: and a wise man is better than a strong man.

6:2. Hear, therefore, ye kings, and understand, learn ye that are judges of the ends of the earth.

6:3. Give ear, you that rule the people, and that please yourselves in multitudes of nations:

6:4. For power is given you by the Lord, and strength by the most High, who will examine your works: and search out your thoughts:

6:6. Because being ministers of his kingdom, you have not judged rightly, nor kept the law of justice, nor walked according to the will of God.

6:6. Horribly and speedily will he appear to you: for a most severe judgment shall be for them that bear rule.

6:7. For to him that is little, mercy is granted: but the mighty shall be mightily tormented.

6:8. For God will not except any man's person, neither will he stand in awe of any man's greatness: for he made the little and the great, and he hath equally care of all.

6:9. But a greater punishment is ready for the more mighty.

6:10. To you, therefore, O kings, are these my words, that you may learn wisdom, and not fall from it.

6:11. For they that have kept just things justly, shall be justified: and they that have learned these things, shall find what to answer.

6:12. Covet ye, therefore, my words, and love them, and you shall have instruction.

6:13. Wisdom is glorious, and never fadeth away, and is easily seen by them that love her, and is found by them that seek her.

6:14. She preventeth them that covet her, so that she first sheweth herself unto them.

6:15. He that awaketh early to seek her, shall not labour: for he shall find her sitting at his door.

6:16. To think, therefore, upon her, is perfect understanding: and he that watcheth for her, shall quickly be secure.

6:17. For she goeth about seeking such as are worthy of her, and she sheweth herself to them cheerfully in the ways, and meeteth them with all providence.

6:18. For the beginning of her is the most true desire of discipline.

6:19. And the care of discipline is love: and love is the keeping of her laws: and the keeping of her laws is the firm foundation of incorruption:

6:20. And incorruption bringeth near to God.

6:21. Therefore the desire of wisdom bringeth to the everlasting kingdom.

6:22. If then your delight be in thrones, and sceptres, O ye kings of the people, love wisdom, that you may reign for ever.

6:23. Love the light of wisdom, all ye that bear rule over peoples.

6:24. Now what wisdom is, and what was her origin, I will declare: and I will not hide from you the mysteries of God, but will seek her out from the beginning of her birth, and bring the knowledge of her to light, and will not pass over the truth:

6:25. Neither will I go with consuming envy: for such a man shall not be partaker of wisdom.

6:26. Now the multitude of the wise is the welfare of the whole world: and a wise king is the upholding of the people.

6:27. Receive, therefore, instruction by my words, and it shall be profitable to you.

Wisdom Chapter 7

The excellence of wisdom: how she is to be found.

7:1. I myself am a mortal man, like all others, and of the race of him, that was first made of the earth, and in the womb of my mother I was fashioned to be flesh.

7:2. In the time of ten months I was compacted in blood, of the seed of man, and the pleasure of sleep concurring.

7:3. And being born, I drew in the common air, and fell upon the earth, that is made alike, and the first voice which I uttered was crying, as all others do.

7:4. I was nursed in swaddling clothes, and with great cares.

7:5. For none of the kings had any other beginning of birth.

7:6. For all men have one entrance into life, and the like going out.

7:7. Wherefore I wished, and understanding was given me: and I called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came upon me:

7:8. And I preferred her before kingdoms and thrones, and esteemed riches nothing in comparison of her.

7:9. Neither did I compare unto her any precious stone: for all gold, in comparison of her, is as a little sand; and silver, in respect to her, shall be counted as clay.

7:10. I loved her above health and beauty, and chose to have her instead of light: for her light cannot be put out.

7:11. Now all good things came to me together with her, and innumerable riches through her hands,

7:12. And I rejoiced in all these: for this wisdom went before me, and I knew not that she was the mother of them all.

7:13. Which I have learned without guile, and communicate without envy, and her riches I hide not.

7:14. For she is an infinite treasure to men: which they that use, become the friends of God, being commended for the gifts of discipline.

7:15. And God hath given to me to speak as I would, and to conceive thoughts worthy of those things that are given me: because he is the guide of wisdom, and the director of the wise:

7:16. For in his hand are both we, and our words, and all wisdom, and the knowledge and skill of works.

7:17. For he hath given me the true knowledge of the things that are: to know the disposition of the whole world, and the virtues of the elements,

7:18. The beginning, and ending, and midst of the times, the alterations of their courses, and the changes of seasons,

7:19. The revolutions of the year, and the dispositions of the stars,

7:20. The natures of living creatures, and rage of wild beasts, the force of winds, and reasonings of men, the diversities of plants, and the virtues of roots,

7:21. And all such things as are hid, and not foreseen, I have learned: for wisdom, which is the worker of all things, taught me.

7:22. For in her is the spirit of understanding; holy, one, manifold, subtile, eloquent, active, undefiled, sure, sweet, loving that which is good, quick, which nothing hindereth, beneficent,

7:23. Gentle, kind, steadfast, assured, secure, having all power, overseeing all things, and containing all spirits: intelligible, pure, subtile:

7:24. For wisdom is more active than all active things; and reacheth everywhere, by reason of her purity.

7:25. For she is a vapour of the power of God, and a certain pure emmanation of the glory of the Almighty God: and therefore no defiled thing cometh into her.

7:26. For she is the brightness of eternal light, and the unspotted mirror of God's majesty, and the image of his goodness.

7:27. And being but one, she can do all things: and remaining in herself the same, she reneweth all things, and through nations conveyeth herself into holy souls, she maketh the friends of God and prophets.

7:28. For God loveth none but him that dwelleth with wisdom.

7:29. For she is more beautiful than the sun, and above all the order of the stars: being compared with the light, she is found before it.

7:30. For after this cometh night, but no evil can overcome wisdom.

Wisdom Chapter 8

Further praises of wisdom: and her fruits.

8:1. She reacheth, therefore, from end to end mightily, and ordereth all things sweetly.

8:2. Her have I loved, and have sought her out from my youth, and have desired to take for my spouse, and I became a lover of her beauty.

8:3. She glorifieth her nobility by being conversant with God: yea, and the Lord of all things hath loved her.

8:4. For it is she that teacheth the knowledge of God and is the chooser of his works.

8:5. And if riches be desired in life, what is richer than wisdom, which maketh all things?

8:6. And if sense do work: who is a more artful worker than she of those things that are?

8:7. And if a man love justice: her labours have great virtues: for she teacheth temperance, and prudence, and justice, and fortitude, which are such things as men can have nothing more profitable in life.

8:8. And if a man desire much knowledge: she knoweth things past, and judgeth of things to come: she knoweth the subtilties of speeches, and the solutions of arguments: she knoweth signs and wonders before they be done, and the events of times and ages.

8:9. I purposed, therefore, to take her to me to live with me: knowing that she will communicate to me of her good things, and will be a comfort in my cares and grief.

8:10. For her sake I shall have glory among the multitude, and honour with the ancients, though I be young:

8:11. And I shall be found of a quick conceit in judgment, and shall be admired in the sight of the mighty, and the faces of princes shall wonder at me.

8:12. They shall wait for me when I hold my peace, and they shall look upon me when I speak; and if I talk much, they shall lay their hands on their mouth.

8:13. Moreover, by the means of her I shall have immortality: and shall leave behind me an everlasting memory to them that come after me.

8:14. I shall set the people in order: and nations shall be subject to me.

8:15. Terrible kings hearing, shall be afraid of me: among the multitude I shall be found good, and valiant in war.

8:16. When I go into my house, I shall repose myself with her: for her conversation hath no bitterness, nor her company any tediousness, but joy and gladness.

8:17. Thinking these things with myself, and pondering them in my heart, that to be allied to wisdom is immortality,

8:18. And that there is great delight in her friendship, and inexhaustible riches in the works of her hands, and in the exercise of conference with her, wisdom, and glory in the communication of her words: I went about seeking, that I might take her to myself.

8:19. And I was a witty child, and had received a good soul.

8:20. And whereas I was more good, I came to a body undefiled.

8:21. And as I knew that I could not otherwise be continent, except God gave it, and this also was a point of wisdom, to know whose gift it was, I went to the Lord, and besought him, and said with my whole heart:

Wisdom Chapter 9

Solomon's prayer for wisdom.

9:1. God of my fathers, and Lord of mercy, who hast made all things with thy word,

9:2. And by thy wisdom hast appointed man, that he should have dominion over the creature that was made by thee,

9:3. That he should order the world according to equity and justice, and execute justice with an upright heart:

9:4. Give me wisdom, that sitteth by thy throne, and cast me not off from among thy children:

9:5. For I am thy servant, and the son of thy handmaid, a weak man, and of short time, and falling short of the understanding of judgment and laws.

9:6. For if one be perfect among the children of men, yet if thy wisdom be not with him, he shall be nothing regarded.

9:7. Thou hast chosen me to be king of thy people, and a judge of thy sons and daughters:

9:8. And hast commanded me to build a temple on thy holy mount, and an altar in the city of thy dwelling place, a resemblance of thy holy tabernacle, which thou hast prepared from the beginning:

9:9. And thy wisdom with thee, which knoweth thy works, which then also was present when thou madest the world, and knew what was agreeable to thy eyes, and what was right in thy commandments.

9:10. Send her out of thy holy heaven, and from the throne of thy majesty, that she may be with me, and may labour with me, that I may know what is acceptable with thee:

9:11. For she knoweth and understandeth all things, and shall lead me soberly in my works, and shall preserve me by her power.

9:12. So shall my works be acceptable, and I shall govern thy people justly, and shall be worthy of the throne of my father.

9:13. For who among men is he that can know the counsel of God? or who can think what the will of God is?

9:14. For the thoughts of mortal men are fearful, and our counsels uncertain.

9:15. For the corruptible body is a load upon the soul, and the earthly habitation presseth down the mind that museth upon many things.

9:16. And hardly do we guess aright at things that are upon earth: and with labour do we find the things that are before us. But the things that are in heaven, who shall search out?

9:17. And who shall know thy thought, except thou give wisdom, and send thy holy Spirit from above:

9:18. And so the ways of them that are upon earth may be corrected, and men may learn the things that please thee?

9:19. For by wisdom they were healed, whosoever have pleased thee, O Lord, from the beginning.

Wisdom Chapter 10

What wisdom did for Adam, Noe, Abraham, Lot, Jacob, Joseph, and the people of Israel.

10:1. She preserved him, that was first formed by God, the father of the world, when he was created alone,

10:2. And she brought him out of his sin, and gave him power to govern all things.

10:3. But when the unjust went away from her in his anger, he perished by the fury wherewith he murdered his brother.

The unjust. . .Cain.

10:4. For whose cause, when water destroyed the earth, wisdom healed it again, directing the course of the just by contemptible wood.

For whose cause. . .Viz., for the wickedness of the race of Cain.--Ibid. The just. . .Noe.

10:5. Moreover, when the nations had conspired together to consent to wickedness, she knew the just, and preserved him without blame to God, and kept him strong against the compassion for his son.

She knew the just. . .She found out and approved Abraham. Ibid. And kept him strong, etc. . .Gave him strength to stand firm against the efforts of his natural tenderness, when he was ordered to sacrifice his son.

10:6. She delivered the just man, who fled from the wicked that were perishing, when the fire came down upon Pentapolis:

The just man. . .Lot.--Ibid. Pentapolis. . .The land of the five cities, Sodom, Gomorrha, etc.

10:7. Whose land, for a testimony of their wickedness, is desolate, and smoketh to this day, and the trees bear fruits that ripen not, and a standing pillar of salt is a monument of an incredulous soul.

10:8. For regarding not wisdom, they did not only slip in this, that they were ignorant of good things; but they left also unto men a memorial of their folly, so that in the things in which they sinned, they could not so much as lie hid.

10:9. But wisdom hath delivered from sorrow them that attend upon her.

10:10. She conducted the just, when he fled from his brother's wrath, through the right ways, and shewed him the kingdom of God, and gave him the knowledge of the holy things, made him honourable in his labours, and accomplished his labours.

The just. . .Jacob.

10:11. In the deceit of them that overreached him, she stood by him, and made him honourable.

10:12. She kept him safe from his enemies, and she defended him from seducers, and gave him a strong conflict, that he might overcome, and know that wisdom is mightier than all.

Conflict. . .Viz., with the angel.

10:13. She forsook not the just when he was sold, but delivered him from sinners: she went down with him into the pit.

The just when he was sold. . .Viz., Joseph.

10:14. And in bands she left him not, till she brought him the sceptre of the kingdom, and power against those that oppressed him: and shewed them to be liars that had accused him, and gave him everlasting glory.

10:15. She delivered the just people, and blameless seed, from the nations that oppressed them.

10:16. She entered into the soul of the servant of God and stood against dreadful kings in wonders and signs.

The servant of God. . .Viz., Moses.

10:17. And she rendered to the just the wages of their labours, and conducted them in a wonderful way: and she was to them for a covert by day, and for the light of stars by night:

10:18. And she brought them through the Red Sea, and carried them over through a great water.

10:19. But their enemies she drowned in the sea, and from the depth of hell she brought them out. Therefore the just took the spoils of the wicked.

10:20. And they sung to thy holy name, O Lord, and they praised with one accord thy victorious hand.

10:21. For wisdom opened the mouth of the dumb, and made the tongues of infants eloquent.

Wisdom Chapter 11

Other benefits of wisdom to the people of God.

11:1. She prospered their works in the hands of the holy prophet.

The holy prophet. . .Moses.

11:2. They went through wildernesses that were not inhabited, and in desert places they pitched their tents.

11:3. They stood against their enemies, and revenged themselves of their adversaries.

Their enemies. . .The Amalecites.

11:4. They were thirsty, and they called upon thee, and water was given them out of the high rock, and a refreshment of their thirst out of the hard stone.

11:5. For by what things their enemies were punished, when their drink failed them, while the children of Israel abounded therewith, and rejoiced:

By what things, etc. . .The meaning is, that God, who wrought a miracle to punish the Egyptians by thirst, when he turned all their waters into blood, (at which time the Israelites, who were exempt from those plagues, had plenty of water,) wrought another miracle in favour of his own people in their thirst, by giving them water out of the rock.

11:6. By the same things they in their need were benefited.

11:7. For instead of a fountain of an ever running river, thou gavest human blood to the unjust.

11:8. And whilst they were diminished for a manifest reproof of their murdering the infants, thou gavest to thine abundant water unlooked for:

11:9. Shewing by the thirst that was then, how thou didst exalt thine, and didst kill their adversaries.

11:10. For when they were tried, and chastised with mercy, they knew how the wicked were judged with wrath, and tormented.

11:11. For thou didst admonish and try them as a father: but the others, as a severe king, thou didst examine and condemn.

11:12. For whether absent or present, they were tormented alike.

11:13. For a double affliction came upon them, and a groaning for the remembrance of things past.

11:14. For when they heard that by their punishments the others were benefited, they remembered the Lord, wondering at the end of what was come to pass.

By their punishments, etc. . .That is, that the Israelites had been benefited and miraculously favoured in the same kind, in which they had been punished.

11:15. For whom they scorned before, when he was thrown out at the time of his being wickedly exposed to perish, him they admired in the end, when they saw the event: their thirsting being unlike to that of the just.

11:16. But for the foolish devices of their iniquity, because some being deceived worshipped dumb serpents and worthless beasts, thou didst send upon them a multitude of dumb beasts for vengeance:

Dumb beasts. . .Viz., frogs, sciniphs, flies, and locusts.

11:17. That they might know that by what things a man sinneth, by the same also he is tormented.

11:18. For thy almighty hand, which made the world of matter without form, was not unable to send upon them a multitude of bears, or fierce lions,

11:19. Or unknown beasts of a new kind, full of rage; either breathing out a fiery vapour, or sending forth a stinking smoke, or shooting horrible sparks out of their eyes:

11:20. Whereof not only the hurt might be able to destroy them, but also the very sight might kill them through fear.

11:21. Yea, and without these, they might have been slain with one blast, persecuted by their own deeds, and scattered by the breath of thy power: but thou hast ordered all things in measure, and number, and weight.

11:22. For great power always belonged to thee alone: and who shall resist the strength of thy arm?

11:23. For the whole world before thee is as the least grain of the balance, and as a drop of the morning dew, that falleth down upon tho earth.

11:24. But thou hast mercy upon all, because thou canst do all things, and overlookest the sins of men for the sake of repentance.

11:25. For thou lovest all things that are, and hatest none of the things which thou hast made: for thou didst not appoint, or make any thing hating it.

11:26. And how could any thing endure, if thou wouldst not? or be preserved, if not called by thee?

11:27. But thou sparest all: because they are thine, O Lord, who lovest souls.

Wisdom Chapter 12

God's wisdom and mercy in his proceedings with the Chanaanites.

12:1. O how good and sweet is thy Spirit, O Lord, in all things!

12:2. And therefore thou chastisest them that err, by little and little: and admonishest them, and speakest to them, concerning the things wherein they offend: that leaving their wickedness, they may believe in thee, O Lord.

12:3. For those ancient inhabitants of thy holy land, whom thou didst abhor,

12:4. Because they did works hateful to thee by their sorceries, and wicked sacrifices,

12:5. And those merciless murderers of their own children, and eaters of men's bowels, and devourers of blood from the midst of thy consecration,

From the midst of thy consecration. . .Literally, sacrament. That is, the land sacred to thee, in which thy temple was to be established, and man's redemption to be wrought.

12:6. And those parents sacrificing with their own hands helpless souls, it was thy will to destroy by the hands of our parents,

12:7. That the land which of all is most dear to thee, might receive a worthy colony of the children of God.

12:8. Yet even those thou sparedst as men, and didst send wasps forerunners of thy host, to destroy them by little and little.

12:9. Not that thou wast unable to bring the wicked under the just by war, or by cruel beasts, or with one rough word to destroy them at once:

12:10. But executing thy judgments by degrees, thou gavest them place of repentance, not being ignorant that they were a wicked generation, and their malice natural, and that their thought could never be changed.

12:11. For it was a cursed seed from the beginning: neither didst thou for fear of any one give pardon to their sins.

12:12. For who shall say to thee: What hast thou done? or who shall withstand thy judgment? or who shall come before thee to be a revenger of wicked men? or who shall accuse thee, if the nations perish, which thou hast made ?

12:13. For there is no other God but thou, who hast care of all, that thou shouldst shew that thou dost not give judgment unjustly.

12:14. Neither shall king, nor tyrant, in thy sight inquire about them whom thou hast destroyed.

12:15. For so much then, as thou art just, thou orderest all things justly: thinking it not agreeable to the power, to condemn him who deserveth not to be punished.

12:16. For thy power is the beginning of justice: and because thou art Lord of all, thou makest thyself gracious to all.

12:17. For thou shewest thy power, when men will not believe thee to be absolute in power, and thou convincest the boldness of them that know thee not.

12:18. But thou being master of power, judgest with tranquillity, and with great favour disposest of us: for thy power is at hand when thou wilt.

12:19. But thou hast taught thy people by such works, that they must be just and humane, and hast made thy children to be of a good hope: because in judging, thou givest place for repentance for sins.

12:20. For if thou didst punish the enemies of thy servants, and that deserved to die, with so great deliberation, giving them time and place whereby they might be changed from their wickedness:

12:21. With what circumspection hast thou judged thy own children, to whose parents thou hast sworn, and made covenants of good promises?

12:22. Therefore whereas thou chastisest us, thou scourgest our enemies very many ways, to the end that when we judge we may think on thy goodness: and when we are judged, we may hope for thy mercy.

12:23. Wherefore thou hast also greatly tormented them, who, in their life, have lived foolishly and unjustly, by the same things which they worshipped.

12:24. For they went astray for a long time in the ways of error, holding those things for gods which are the most worthless among beasts, living after the manner of children without understanding.

12:25. Therefore thou hast sent a judgment upon them, as senseless children, to mock them.

12:26. But they that were not amended by mockeries and reprehensions, experienced the worthy judgment of God.

12:27. For seeing, with indignation, that they suffered by those very things which they took for gods, when they were destroyed by the same, they acknowledged him the true God, whom in time past they denied that they knew: for which cause the end also of their condemnation came upon them.

Wisdom Chapter 13

Idolaters are inexcusable: and those most of all that worship for gods the works of the hands of men.

13:1. But all men are vain, in whom there is not the knowledge of God: and who by these good things that are seen, could not understand him that is, neither by attending to the works have acknowledged who was the workman:

13:2. But have imagined either the fire, or the wind, or the swift air, or the circle of the stars, or the great water, or the sun and moon, to be the gods that rule the world.

13:3. With whose beauty, if they, being delighted, took them to be gods: let them know how much the Lord of them is more beautiful than they: for the first author of beauty made all those things.

13:4. Or if they admired their power, and their effects, let them understand by them, that he that made them, is mightier than they:

13:5. For by the greatness of the beauty, and of the creature, the creator of them may be seen, so as to be known thereby.

13:6. But yet as to these they are less to be blamed. For they perhaps err, seeking God, and desirous to find him.

13:7. For being conversant among his works, they search: and they are persuaded that the things are good which are seen.

13:8. But then again they are not to be pardoned.

13:9. For if they were able to know so much as to make a judgment of the world: how did they not more easily find out the Lord thereof?

13:10. But unhappy are they, and their hope is among the dead, who have called gods the works of the hand of men, gold and silver, the inventions of art, and the resemblances of beasts, or an unprofitable stone the work of an ancient hand.

13:11. Or if an artist, a carpenter, hath cut down a tree proper for his use in the wood, and skilfully taken off all the bark thereof, and with his art, diligently formeth a vessel profitable for the common uses of life,

13:12. And useth the chips of his work to dress his meat:

13:13. And taking what was left thereof, which is good for nothing, being a crooked piece of wood, and full of knots, carveth it diligently when he hath nothing else to do, and by the skill of his art fashioneth it, and maketh it like the image of a man:

13:14. Or the resemblance of some beast, laying it over with vermilion, and painting it red, and covering every spot that is in it:

13:15. And maketh a convenient dwelling place for it, and setting it in a wall, and fastening it with iron,

13:16. Providing for it, lest it should fall, knowing that it is unable to help itself: for it is an image, and hath need of help.

13:17. And then maketh prayer to it, enquiring concerning his substance, and his children, or his marriage. And he is not ashamed to speak to that which hath no life:

13:18. And for health he maketh supplication to the weak, and for life prayeth to that which is dead, and for help calleth upon that which is unprofitable:

13:19. And for a good journey he petitioneth him that cannot walk: and for getting, and for working, and for the event of all things he asketh him that is unable to do any thing.

Wisdom Chapter 14

The beginning of worshipping idols: and the effects thereof.

14:1. Again, another designing to sail, and beginning to make his voyage through the raging waves, calleth upon a piece of wood more frail than the wood that carrieth him.

14:2. For this the desire of gain devised, and the workman built it by his skill.

14:3. But thy providence, O Father, governeth it: for thou hast made a way even in the sea, and a most sure path among the waves,

14:4. Shewing that thou art able to save out of all things, yea, though a man went to sea without art.

14:5. But that the works of thy wisdom might not be idle: therefore men also trust their lives even to a little wood, and passing over the sea by ship, are saved.

14:6. And from the beginning also, when the proud giants perished, the hope of the world fleeing to a vessel, which was governed by thy hand, left to the world seed of generation.

14:7. For blessed is the wood, by which justice cometh

14:8. But the idol that is made by hands, is cursed, as well it, as he that made it: he because he made it; and it because being frail it is called a god.

14:9. But to God the wicked and his wickedness are hateful alike.

14:10. For that which is made, together with him that made it, shall suffer torments.

14:11. Therefore there shall be no respect had even to the idols of the Gentiles: because the creatures of God are turned to an abomination, and a temptation to the souls of men, and a snare to the feet of the unwise.

14:12. For the beginning of fornication is the devising of idols: and the invention of them is the corruption of life.

14:13. For neither were they from the beginning, neither shall they be for ever.

14:14. For by the vanity of men they came into the world: and therefore they shall be found to come shortly to an end.

14:15. For a father being afflicted with bitter grief, made to himself the image of his son, who was quickly taken away: and him who then had died as a man, he began now to worship as a god, and appointed him rites and sacrifices among his servants.

14:16. Then, in process of time, wicked custom prevailing, this error was kept as a law, and statues were worshipped by the commandment of tyrants.

14:17. And those whom men could not honour in presence, because they dwelt far off, they brought their resemblance from afar, and made an express image of the king, whom they had a mind to honour: that by this their diligence, they might honour as present, him that was absent.

14:18. And to the worshipping of these, the singular diligence also of the artificer helped to set forward the ignorant.

14:19. For he being willing to please him that employed him, laboured with all his art to make the resemblance in the best manner.

14:20. And the multitude of men, carried away by the beauty of the work, took him now for a god, that little before was but honoured as a man.

14:21. And this was the occasion of deceiving human life: for men serving either their affection, or their kings, gave the incommunicable name to stones and wood.

14:22. And it was not enough for them to err about the knowledge of God, but whereas they lived in a great war of ignorance, they call so many and so great evils peace.

14:23. For either they sacrifice their own children, or use hidden sacrifices, or keep watches full of madness,

14:24. So that now they neither keep life, nor marriage undefiled, but one killeth another through envy, or grieveth him by adultery:

14:25. And all things are mingled together, blood, murder, theft, and dissimulation, corruption and unfaithfulness, tumults and perjury, disquieting of the good,

14:26. Forgetfulness of God, defiling of souls, changing of nature, disorder in marriage, and the irregularity of adultery and uncleanness.

14:27. For the worship of abominable idols is the cause, and the beginning and end of all evil.

14:28. For either they are mad when they are merry: or they prophesy lies, or they live unjustly, or easily forswear themselves.

14:29. For whilst they trust in idols, which are without life, though they swear amiss, they look not to be hurt.

14:30. But for both these things they shall be justly punished, because they have thought not well of God, giving heed to idols, and have sworn unjustly, in guile despising justice.

14:31. For it is not the power of them, by whom they swear, but the just vengeance of sinners always punisheth the transgression of the unjust.

Wisdom Chapter 15

The servants of God praise him who hath delivered them from idolatry; condemning both the makers and the worshippers of idols.

15:1. But thou, our God, art gracious and true, patient, and ordering all things in mercy.

15:2. For if we sin, we are thine, knowing thy greatness: and if we sin not, we know that we are counted with thee.

15:3. For to know thee is perfect justice: and to know thy justice, and thy power, is the root of immortality.

15:4. For the invention of mischievous men hath not deceived us, nor the shadow of a picture, a fruitless labour, a graven figure with divers colours,

15:5. The sight whereof enticeth the fool to lust after it, and he loveth the lifeless figure of a dead image.

15:6. The lovers of evil things deserve to have no better things to trust in, both they that make them, and they that love them, and they that worship them.

15:7. The potter also tempering soft earth, with labour fashioneth every vessel for our service, and of the same clay he maketh both vessels that are for clean uses, and likewise such as serve to the contrary: but what is the use of these vessels, the potter is the judge.

15:8. And of the same clay by a vain labour he maketh a god: he who a little before was made of earth himself, and a little after returneth to the same out of which he was taken, when his life, which was lent him, shall be called for again.

15:9. But his care is, not that he shall labour, nor that his life is short, but he striveth with the goldsmiths and silversmiths: and he endeavoureth to do like the workers in brass, and counteth it a glory to make vain things.

15:10. For his heart is ashes, and his hope vain earth and his life more base than clay:

15:11. Forasmuch as he knew not his maker, and him that inspired into him the soul that worketh, and that breathed into him a living spirit.

15:12. Yea, and they have counted our life a pastime and the business of life to be gain, and that we must be getting every way, even out of evil.

15:13. For that man knoweth that he offendeth above all others, who of earthly matter maketh brittle vessels, and graven gods.

15:14. But all the enemies of thy people that hold them in subjection, are foolish, and unhappy, and proud beyond measure:

15:15. For they have esteemed all the idols of the heathens for gods, which neither have the use of eyes to see, nor noses to draw breath, nor ears to hear, nor fingers of hands to handle, and as for their feet, they are slow to walk.

15:16. For man made them: and he that borroweth his own breath, fashioned them. For no man can make a god like to himself.

15:17. For being mortal himself, he formeth a dead thing with his wicked hands. For he is better than they whom he worshippeth, because he indeed hath lived, though he were mortal, but they never.

15:18. Moreover, they worship also the vilest creatures: but things without sense, compared to these, are worse than they.

15:19. Yea, neither by sight can any man see good of these beasts. But they have fled from the praise of God, and from his blessing.

Wisdom Chapter 16

God's different dealings with the Egyptians and with his own people.

16:1. For these things, and by the like things to these, they were worthily punished, and were destroyed by a multitude of beasts.

16:2. Instead of which punishment, dealing well with thy people, thou gavest them their desire of delicious food, of a new taste, preparing for them quails for their meat:

16:3. To the end, that they indeed desiring food, by means of those things that were shewn and sent among them, might loath even that which was necessary to satisfy their desire. But these, after suffering want for a short time, tasted a new meat.

They indeed desiring food, etc. . .He means the Egyptians; who were restrained even from that food which was necessary, by the frogs and the flies that were sent amongst them, and spoiled all their meats.--Ibid. But these. . .Viz., the Israelites.

16:4. For it was requisite that inevitable destruction should come upon them that exercised tyranny: but to these it should only be shewn how their enemies were destroyed.

16:5. For when the fierce rage of beasts came upon these, they were destroyed by the bitings of crooked serpents.

16:6. But thy wrath endured not for ever, but they were troubled for a short time for their correction, having a sign of salvation, to put them in remembrance of the commandment of thy law.

Sign of salvation. . .The brazen serpent, an emblem of Christ our Saviour.

16:7. For he that turned to it, was not healed by that which he saw, but by thee, the Saviour of all.

16:8. And in this thou didst shew to our enemies, that thou art he who deliverest from all evil.

16:9. For the bitings of locusts, and of flies, killed them, and there was found no remedy for their life: because they were worthy to be destroyed by such things.

16:10. But not even the teeth of venomous serpents overcame thy children: for thy mercy came and healed them.

16:11. For they were examined for the remembrance of thy words, and were quickly healed, lest falling into deep forgetfulness, they might not be able to use thy help.

16:12. For it was neither herb, nor mollifying plaster, that healed them, but thy word, O Lord, which healeth all things.

16:13. For it is thou, O Lord, that hast power of life and death, and leadest down to the gates of death, and bringest back again:

16:14. A man indeed killeth through malice, and when the spirit is gone forth, it shall not return, neither shall he call back the soul that is received:

16:15. But it is impossible to escape thy hand:

16:16. For the wicked that denied to know thee, were scourged by the strength of thy arm, being persecuted by strange waters, and hail, and rain, and consumed by fire.

16:17. And which was wonderful, in water, which extinguisheth all things, the fire had more force: for the world fighteth for the just.

The fire had more force. . .Viz., when the fire and hail mingled together laid waste the land of Egypt. Ex. 9.

16:18. For at one time the fire was mitigated, that the beasts which were sent against the wicked might not be burnt, but that they might see, and perceive that they were persecuted by the judgment of God.

16:19. And at another time the fire, above its own power, burnt in the midst of water, to destroy the fruits of a wicked land.

16:20. Instead of which things, thou didst feed thy people with the food of angels, and gavest them bread from heaven, prepared without labour; having in it all that is delicious, and the sweetness of every taste.

16:21. For thy sustenance shewed thy sweetness to thy children, and serving every man's will, it was turned to what every man liked.

16:22. But snow and ice endured the force of fire, and melted not: that they might know that the fire, burning in the hail, and flashing in the rain, destroyed the fruits of the enemies.

16:23. But this same again, that the just might be nourished, did even forget its own strength.

16:24. For the creature serving thee, the Creator, is made fierce against the unjust for their punishment: and abateth its strength for the benefit of them that trust in thee.

16:25. Therefore even then it was transformed into all things, and was obedient to thy grace, that nourisheth all, according to the will of them that desired it of thee:

16:26. That thy children, O Lord, whom thou lovedst, might know that it is not the growing of fruits that nourisheth men, but thy word preserveth them that believe in thee.

16:27. For that which could not be destroyed by fire, being warmed with a little sunbeam, presently melted away:

16:28. That it might be known to all, that we ought to prevent the sun to bless thee, and adore thee at the dawning of the light.

16:29. For the hope of the unthankful shall melt away as the winter's ice, and shall run off as unprofitable water.

Wisdom Chapter 17

The Egyptian darkness.

17:1. For thy judgments, O Lord, are great, and thy words cannot be expressed: therefore undisciplined souls have erred.

17:2. For while the wicked thought to be able to have dominion over the holy nation, they themselves being fettered with the bonds of darkness, and a long night, shut up in their houses, lay there exiled from the eternal providence.

17:3. And while they thought to lie hid in their obscure sins, they were scattered under a dark veil of forgetfullness, being horribly afraid, and troubled with exceeding great astonishment.

17:4. For neither did the den that held them, keep them from fear: for noises coming down troubled them, and sad visions appearing to them, affrighted them.

17:5. And no power of fire could give them light, neither could the bright flames of the stars enlighten that horrible night.

17:6. But there appeared to them a sudden fire, very dreadful: and being struck with the fear of that face, which was not seen, they thought the things which they saw to be worse:

17:7. And the delusions of their magic art were put down, and their boasting of wisdom was reproachfully rebuked.

17:8. For they who promised to drive away fears and troubles from a sick soul, were sick themselves of a fear worthy to be laughed at.

17:9. For though no terrible thing disturbed them: yet being scared with the passing by of beasts, and hissing of serpents, they died for fear and denying that they saw the air, which could by no means be avoided.

17:10. For whereas wickedness is fearful, it beareth witness of its condemnation: for a troubled conscience always forecasteth grievous things.

17:11. For fear is nothing else but a yielding up of the succours from thought.

17:12. And while there is less expectation from within, the greater doth it count the ignorance of that cause which bringeth the torment.

17:13. But they that during that night, in which nothing could be done, and which came upon them from the lowest and deepest hell, slept the same sleep,

17:14. Were sometimes molested with the fear of monsters, sometimes fainted away, their soul failing them: for a sudden and unlooked for fear was come upon them.

17:15. Moreover, if any of them had fallen down, he was kept shut up in prison without irons.

17:16. For if any one were a husbandman, or a shepherd, or a labourer in the field, and was suddenly overtaken, he endured a necessity from which he could not fly.

17:17. For they were all bound together with one chain of darkness. Whether it were a whistling wind, or the melodious voice of birds, among the spreading branches of trees, or a fall of water running down with violence,

17:18. Or the mighty noise of stones tumbling down, or the running that could not be seen of beasts playing together, or the roaring voice of wild beasts, or a rebounding echo from the highest mountains: these things made them to swoon for fear.

17:19. For the whole world was enlightened, with a clear light, and none were hindered in their labours.

17:20. But over them only was spread a heavy night, an image of that darkness which was to come upon them. But they were to themselves more grievous than the darkness.

Wisdom Chapter 18

The slaughter of the firstborn in Egypt: the efficacy of Aaron's intercession, in the sedition on occasion of Core.

18:1. But thy saints had a very great light, and they heard their voice indeed, but did not see their shape. And because they also did not suffer the same things, they glorified thee:

18:2. And they that before had been wronged, gave thanks, because they were not hurt now: and asked this gift, that there might be a difference.

18:3. Therefore they received a burning pillar of fire for a guide of the way which they knew not, and thou gavest them a harmless sun of a good entertainment.

A harmless sun. . .A light that should not hurt or molest them; but that should be an agreeable guest to them.

18:4. The others indeed were worthy to be deprived of light, and imprisoned in darkness, who kept thy children shut up, by whom the pure light of the law was to be given to the world.

18:5. And whereas they thought to kill the babes of the just: one child being cast forth, and saved to reprove them, thou tookest away a multitude of their children, and destroyedst them altogether in a mighty water.

One child. . .Viz., Moses.

18:6. For that night was known before by our fathers, that assuredly knowing what oaths they had trusted to, they might be of better courage.

18:7. So thy people received the salvation of the just, and destruction of the unjust.

18:8. For as thou didst punish the adversaries so thou didst also encourage and glorify us.

18:9. For the just children of good men were offering sacrifice secretly, and they unanimously ordered a law of justice: that the just should receive both good and evil alike, singing now the praises of the fathers.

Of good men. . .Viz., of the patriarchs. Their children, the Israelites, offered in private the sacrifice of the paschal lamb; and were regulating what they were to do in their journey, when that last and most dreadful plague was coming upon their enemies.

18:10. But on the other side there sounded an ill according cry of the enemies, and a lamentable mourning was heard for the children that were bewailed.

18:11. And the servant suffered the same punishment as the master, and a common man suffered in like manner as the king.

18:12. So all alike had innumerable dead, with one kind of death. Neither were the living sufficient to bury them: for in one moment the noblest offspring of them was destroyed.

The noblest offspring. . .That is, the firstborn.

18:13. For whereas they would not believe any thing before by reason of the enchantments, then first upon the destruction of the firstborn, they acknowledged the people to be of God.

18:14. For while all things were in quiet silence, and the night was in the midst of her course,

18:15. Thy Almighty word leaped down from heaven from thy royal throne, as a fierce conqueror into the midst of the land of destruction,

18:16. With a sharp sword carrying thy unfeigned commandment, and he stood and filled all things with death, and standing on the earth, reached even to heaven.

18:17. Then suddenly visions of evil dreams troubled them, and fears unlooked for came upon them.

18:18. And one thrown here, another there, half dead, shewed the cause of his death.

18:19. For the visions that troubled them foreshewed these things, lest they should perish, and not know why they suffered these evils.

18:20. But the just also were afterwards touched by an assault of death, and there was a disturbance of the multitude in the wilderness: but thy wrath did not long continue;

18:21. For a blameless man made haste to pry for the people, bringing forth the shield of his ministry, prayer, and by incense making supplication, withstood the wrath, and put an end to the calamity, shewing that he was thy servant.

18:22. And he overcame the disturbance, not by strength of body nor with force of arms, but with a word he subdued him that punished them, alleging the oath and covenant made with the fathers.

18:23. For when they were now fallen down dead by heaps one upon another, he stood between and stayed the assault, and cut off the way to the living.

18:24. For in the priestly robe which he wore, was the whole world: and in the four rows of the stones, the glory of the fathers was graven, and thy majesty was written upon the diadem of his head.

18:26. And to these the destroyer gave place, and was afraid of them: for the proof only of wrath was enough.

Wisdom Chapter 19

Why God shewed no mercy to the Egyptians. His favour to the Israelites. All creatures obey God's orders for the service of the good, and the punishment of the wicked.

19:1. But as to the wicked, even to the end there came upon them wrath without mercy. For he knew before also what they would do:

19:2. For when they had given them leave to depart and had sent them away with great care, they repented and pursued after them.

19:3. For whilst they were yet mourning, and lamenting at the graves of the dead, they took up another foolish device: and pursued them as fugitives whom they had pressed to be gone:

19:4. For a necessity, of which they were worthy, brought them to this end: and they lost the remembrance of those things which had happened, that their punishment might fill up what was wanting to their torments:

19:5. And that thy people might wonderfully pass through, but they might find a new death.

19:6. For every creature, according to its kind was fashioned again as from the beginning, obeying thy commandments, that thy children might be kept without hurt.

19:7. For a cloud overshadowed their camps and where water was before, dry land appeared, and in the Red Sea a way without hindrance, and out of the great deep a springing field:

19:8. Through which all the nation passed which was protected with thy hand, seeing thy miracles and wonders.

19:9. For they fed on their food like horses, and they skipped like lambs, praising thee, O Lord, who hadst delivered them.

19:10. For they were yet mindful of those things which had been done in the time of their sojourning, how the ground brought forth flies instead of cattle, and how the river cast up a multitude of frogs instead of fishes.

19:11. And at length they saw a new generation of birds, when being led by their appetite, they asked for delicate meats.

19:12. For to satisfy their desire, the quail came up to them from the sea: and punishments came upon the sinners, not without foregoing signs by the force of thunders: for they suffered justly according to their own wickedness.

19:13. For they exercised a more detestable inhospitality than any: others indeed received not strangers unknown to them, but these brought their guests into bondage that had deserved well of them.

19:14. And not only so, but in another respect also they were worse: for the others against their will received the strangers.

19:15. But these grievously afflicted them whom they had received with joy, and who lived under the same laws.

19:16. But they were struck with blindness: as those others were at the doors of the just man, when they were covered with sudden darkness, and every one sought the passage of his own door.

19:17. For while the elements are changed in themselves, as in an instrument the sound of the quality is changed, yet all keep their sound: which may clearly be perceived by the very sight.

Elements are changed, etc. . .The meaning is, that whatever changes God wrought in the elements by miracles in favour of his people, they still kept their harmony by obeying his will.

19:18. For the things of the land were turned into things of the water: and the things that before swam in the water passed upon the land.

19:19. The fire had power in water above its own virtue, and the water forgot its quenching nature.

19:20. On the other side, the flames wasted not the flesh of corruptible animals walking therein, neither did they melt that good food, which was apt to melt as ice. For in all things thou didst magnify thy people, O Lord, and didst honour them, and didst not despise them, but didst assist them at all times, and in every place.

That good food. . .The manna.

ECCLESIASTICUS

This Book is so called from a Greek word that signifies a preacher: because, like an excellent preacher, it gives admirable lessons of all virtues. The author was Jesus the son of Sirach of Jerusalem, who flourished about two hundred years before Christ. As it was written after the time of Esdras, it is not in the Jewish canon; but is received as canonical and divine by the Catholic Church, instructed by apostolical tradition, and directed by the spirit of God. It was first written in the Hebrew, but afterwards translated into Greek, by another Jesus, the grandson of the author, whose prologue to this book is the following:

THE PROLOGUE.

The knowledge of many and great things hath been shewn us by the law, and the prophets, and others that have followed them: for which things Israel is to be commended for doctrine and wisdom, because not only they that speak must needs be skilful, but strangers also, both speaking and writing, may by their means become most learned. My grandfather Jesus, after he had much given himself to a diligent reading of the law, and the prophets, and other books, that were delivered to us from our fathers, had a mind also to write something himself, pertaining to doctrine and wisdom; that such as are desirous to learn, and are made knowing in these things, may be more and more attentive in mind, and be strengthened to live according to the law. I entreat you therefore to come with benevolence, and to read with attention, and to pardon us for those things wherein we may seem, while we follow the image of wisdom, to come short in the composition of words; for the Hebrew words have not the same force in them when translated into another tongue. And not only these, but the law also itself, and the prophets, and the rest of the books, have no small difference, when they are spoken in their own language. For in the eight and thirtieth year coming into Egypt, when Ptolemy Evergetes was king, and continuing there a long time, I found there books left, of no small nor contemptible learning. Therefore I thought it good, and necessary for me to bestow some diligence and labour to interpret this book; and with much watching and study in some space of time, I brought the book to an end, and set it forth for the service of them that are willing to apply their mind, and to learn how they ought to conduct themselves, who purpose to lead their life according to the law of the Lord.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 1

All wisdom is from God, and is given to them that fear and love God.

1:1. All wisdom is from the Lord God, and hath been always with him, and is before all time.

1:2. Who hath numbered the sand of the sea, and the drops of rain, and the days of the world? Who hath measured the height of heaven, and the breadth of the earth, and the depth of the abyss?

1:3. Who hath searched out the wisdom of God that goeth before all things?

1:4. Wisdom hath been created before all things, and the understanding of prudence from everlasting.

1:5. The word of God on high is the fountain of wisdom, and her ways are everlasting commandments.

1:6. To whom hath the root of wisdom been revealed, and who hath known her wise counsels?

1:7. To whom hath the discipline of wisdom been revealed and made manifest? and who hath understood the multiplicity of her steps?

1:8. There is one most high Creator Almighty, and a powerful king, and greatly to be feared, who sitteth upon his throne, and is the God of dominion.

1:9. He created her in the Holy Ghost, and saw her, and numbered her, and measured her.

1:10. And he poured her out upon all his works, and upon all flesh according to his gift, and hath given her to them that love him.

1:11. The fear of the Lord is honour, and glory, and gladness, and a crown of joy.

1:12. The fear of the Lord shall delight the heart, and shall give joy, and gladness, and length of days.

1:13. With him that feareth the Lord, it shall go well in the latter end, and in the day of his death he shall be blessed.

1:14. The love of God is honourable wisdom.

1:15. And they to whom she shall shew herself love her by the sight, and by the knowledge of her great works.

1:16. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and was created with the faithful in the womb, it walketh with chosen women, and is known with the just and faithful.

1:17. The fear of the Lord is the religiousness of knowledge.

1:18. Religiousness shall keep and justify the heart, it shall give joy and gladness.

1:19. It shall go well with him that feareth the Lord, and in the days of his end he shall be blessed.

1:20. To fear God is the fulness of wisdom, and fulness is from the fruits thereof.

1:21. She shall fill all her house with her increase, and the storehouses with her treasures.

1:22. The fear of the Lord is a crown of wisdom, filling up peace and the fruit of salvation:

1:23. And it hath seen, and numbered her: but both are the gifts of God.

1:24. Wisdom shall distribute knowledge, and understanding of prudence: and exalteth the glory of them that hold her.

1:25. The root of wisdom is to fear the Lord: and the branches thereof are long-lived.

1:26. In the treasures of wisdom is understanding, and religiousness of knowledge: but to sinners wisdom is an abomination.

1:27. The fear of the Lord driveth out sin:

1:28. For he that is without fear, cannot be justified: for the wrath of his high spirits is his ruin.

1:29. A patient man shall bear for a time, and afterwards joy shall be restored to him.

1:30. A good understanding will hide his words for a time, and the lips of many shall declare his wisdom.

1:31. In the treasures of wisdom is the signification of discipline:

1:32. But the worship of God is an abomination to a sinner.

1:33. Son, if thou desire wisdom, keep justice, and God will give her to thee.

1:34. For the fear of the Lord is wisdom and discipline: and that which is agreeable to him,

1:35. Is faith, and meekness: and he will fill up his treasures.

1:36. Be not incredulous to the fear of the Lord: and come not to him with a double heart.

1:37. Be not a hypocrite in the sight of men, and let not thy lips be a stumblingblock to thee.

1:38. Watch over them, lest thou fall, and bring dishonour upon thy soul,

1:39. And God discover thy secrets, and cast thee down in the midst of the congregation.

1:40. Because thou camest to the Lord wickedly, and thy heart is full of guile and deceit.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 2

God's servants must look for temptations: and must arm themselves with patience and confidence in God.

2:1. Son, when thou comest to the service of God, stand in justice and in fear, and prepare thy soul for temptation.

2:2. Humble thy heart, and endure: incline thy ear, and receive the words of understanding: and make not haste in the time of clouds.

2:3. Wait on God with patience: join thyself to God, and endure, that thy life may be increased in the latter end.

2:4. Take all that shall be brought upon thee: and in thy sorrow endure, and in thy humiliation keep patience.

2:5. For gold and silver are tried in the fire, but acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation.

2:6. Believe God, and he will recover thee: and direct thy way, and trust in him. Keep his fear, and grow old therein.

2:7. Ye that fear the Lord, wait for his mercy: and go not aside from him lest ye fall.

2:8. Ye that fear the Lord, believe him: and your reward shall not be made void.

2:9. Ye that fear the Lord hope in him, and mercy shall come to you for your delight.

2:10. Ye that fear the Lord, love him, and your hearts shall be enlightened.

2:11. My children behold the generations of men: and know ye that no one hath hoped in the Lord, and hath been confounded.

2:12. For who hath continued in his commandment, and hath been forsaken? or who hath called upon him, and he despised him?

2:13. For God is compassionate and merciful, and will forgive sins in the day of tribulation: and he is a protector to all that seek him in truth.

2:14. Woe to them that are of a double heart and to wicked lips, and to the hands that do evil, and to the sinner that goeth on the earth two ways.

2:15. Woe to them that are fainthearted, who believe not God: and therefore they shall not be protected by him.

2:16. Woe to them that have lost patience, and that have forsaken the right ways, and have gone aside into crooked ways.

2:17. And what will they do, when the Lord shall begin to examine?

2:18. They that fear the Lord, will not be incredulous to his word: and they that love him, will keep his way.

2:19. They that fear the Lord, will seek after the things that are well pleasing to him: and they that love him, shall be filled with his law.

2:20. They that fear the Lord, will prepare their hearts, and in his sight will sanctify their souls,

2:21. They that fear the Lord, keep his commandments, and will have patience even until his visitation,

2:22. Saying: If we do not penance, we shall fall into the hands of the Lord, and not into the hands of men.

2:23. For according to his greatness, so also is his mercy with him.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 3

Lessons concerning the honour of parents, and humility, and avoiding curiosity.

3:1. The sons of wisdom are the church of the just: and their generation, obedience and love.

3:2. Children, hear the judgment of your father, and so do that you may be saved.

3:3. For God hath made the father honourable to the children: and seeking the judgment of the mothers, hath confirmed it upon the children.

3:4. He that loveth God, shall obtain pardon for his sins by prayer, and shall refrain himself from them, and shall be heard in the prayer of days.

3:5. And he that honoureth his mother is as one that layeth up a treasure.

3:6. He that honoureth his father shall have joy in his own children, and in the day of his prayer he shall be heard.

3:7. He that honoureth his father shall enjoy a long life: and he that obeyeth the father, shall be a comfort to his mother.

3:8. He that feareth the Lord, honoureth his parents, and will serve them as his masters that brought him into the world.

3:9. Honour thy father, in work and word, and all patience,

3:10. That a blessing may come upon thee from him, and his blessing may remain in the latter end.

3:11. The father's blessing establisheth the houses of the children: but the mother's curse rooteth up the foundation.

3:12. Glory not in the dishonour of thy father: for his shame is no glory to thee.

3:13. For the glory of a man is from the honour of his father, and a father without honour is the disgrace of the son.

3:14. Son, support the old age of thy father, and grieve him not in his life;

3:15. And if his understanding fail, have patience with him, and despise him not when thou art in thy strength: for the relieving of the father shall not be forgotten.

3:16. For good shall be repaid to thee for the sin of thy mother.

3:17. And in justice thou shalt be built up, and in the day of affliction thou shalt be remembered: and thy sins shall melt away as the ice in the fair warm weather.

3:18. Of what an evil fame is he that forsaketh his father: and he is cursed of God that angereth his mother.

3:19. My son, do thy works in meekness, and thou shalt be beloved above the glory of men.

3:20. The greater thou art, the more humble thyself in all things, and thou shalt find grace before God:

3:21. For great is the power of God alone, and he is honoured by the humble.

3:22. Seek not the things that are too high for thee, and search not into things above thy ability: but the things that God hath commanded thee, think on them always, and in many of his works be not curious.

3:23. For it is not necessary for thee to see with thy eyes those things that are hid.

3:24. In unnecessary matters be not over curious, and in many of his works thou shalt not be inquisitive.

3:25. For many things are shewn to thee above the understanding of men.

3:26. And the suspicion of them hath deceived many, and hath detained their minds in vanity.

3:27. A hard heart shall fear evil at the last: and he that loveth danger shall perish in it.

3:28. A heart that goeth two ways shall not have success, and the perverse of heart shall be scandalized therein.

3:29. A wicked heart shall be laden with sorrows, and the sinner will add sin to sin.

3:30. The congregation of the proud shall not be healed: for the plant of wickedness shall take root in them, and it shall not be perceived.

3:31. The heart of the wise is understood in wisdom, and a good ear will hear wisdom with all desire.

3:32. A wise heart, and which hath understanding, will abstain from sins, and in the works of justice shall have success.

3:33. Water quencheth a flaming fire, and alms resisteth sins:

3:34. And God provideth for him that sheweth favour: he remembereth him afterwards, and in the time of his fall he shall find a sure stay.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 4

An exhortation to works of mercy, and to the love of wisdom.

4:1. Son, defraud not the poor of alms, and turn not away thy eyes from the poor.

4:2. Despise not the hungry soul: and provoke not the poor in his want.

4:3. Afflict not the heart of the needy, and defer not to gibe to him that is in distress.

4:4. Reject not the petition of the afflicted: and turn not away thy face from the needy.

4:5. Turn not away thy eyes from the poor for fear of anger: and leave not to them that ask of thee to curse thee behind thy back.

4:6. For the prayer of him that curseth thee in the bitterness of his soul, shall be heard, for he that made him will hear him.

4:7. Make thyself affable to the congregation of the poor, and humble thy soul to the ancient, and bow thy head to a great man.

4:8. Bow down thy ear cheerfully to the poor, and pay what thou owest, and answer him peaceable words with mildness.

4:9. Deliver him that suffereth wrong out of the hand of the proud: and be not fainthearted in thy soul.

4:10. In judging be merciful to the fatherless as a father, and as a husband to their mother.

4:11. And thou shalt be as the obedient son of the most High, and he will have mercy on thee more than a mother.

4:12. Wisdom inspireth life into her children, and protecteth them that seek after her, and will go before them in the way of justice.

4:13. And he that loveth her, loveth life: and they that watch for her, shall embrace her sweetness.

4:14. They that hold her fast, shall inherit life: and whithersoever she entereth, God will give a blessing.

4:15. They that serve her, shall be servants to the holy one: and God loveth them that love her.

4:16. He that hearkeneth to her, shall judge nations: and he that looketh upon her, shall remain secure.

4:17. If he trust to her, he shall inherit her, and his generation shall be in assurance.

4:18. For she walketh with him in temptation, and at the first she chooseth him.

In temptation, etc. . .The meaning is, that before wisdom will choose any for her favourite, she will try them by leading them through contradictions, afflictions, and temptations, the usual noviceship of the children of God.

4:19. She will bring upon him fear and dread and trial: and she will scourge him with the affliction of her discipline, till she try him by her laws, and trust his soul.

4:20. Then she will strengthen him, and make a straight way to him, and give him joy,

4:21. And will disclose her secrets to him, and will heap upon him treasures of knowledge and understanding of justice.

4:22. But if he go astray, she will forsake him, and deliver him into the hands of his enemy.

4:23. Son, observe the time, and fly from evil.

4:24. For thy soul be not ashamed to say the truth.

4:25. For there is a shame that bringeth sin, and there is a shame that bringeth glory and grace.

4:26. Accept no person against thy own person, nor against thy soul a lie.

4:27. Reverence not thy neighbour in his fall:

4:28. And refrain not to speak in the time of salvation. Hide not thy wisdom in her beauty.

4:29. For by the tongue wisdom is discerned: and understanding, and knowledge, and learning by the word of the wise, and steadfastness in the works of justice.

4:30. In nowise speak against the truth, but be ashamed of the lie of thy ignorance.

4:31. Be not ashamed to confess thy sins, but submit not thyself to every man for sin.

4:32. Resist not against the face of the mighty, and do not strive against the stream of the river.

4:33. Strive for justice for thy soul, and even unto death fight for justice, and God will overthrow thy enemies for thee.

4:34. Be not hasty in thy tongue: and slack and remiss in thy works.

4:35. Be not as a lion in thy house, terrifying them of thy household, and oppressing them that are under thee.

4:36. Let not thy hand be stretched out to receive, and shut when thou shouldst give.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 5

We must not presume of our wealth or strength: nor of the mercy of God, to go on in sin: we must be steadfast in virtue and truth.

5:1. Set not thy heart upon unjust possessions, and say not: I have enough to live on: for it shall be of no service in the time of vengeance and darkness.

5:2. Follow not in thy strength the desires of thy heart:

5:3. And say not: How mighty am I? and who shall bring me under for my deeds? for God will surely take revenge.

5:4. Say not: I have sinned, and what harm hath befallen me? for the most High is a patient rewarder.

5:5. Be not without fear about sin forgiven, and add not sin upon sin:

5:6. And say not: The mercy of the Lord is great, he will have mercy on the multitude of my sins.

5:7. For mercy and wrath quickly come from him, and his wrath looketh upon sinners.

5:8. Delay not to be converted to the Lord, and defer it not from day to day.

5:9. For his wrath shall come on a sudden, and in the time of vengeance he will destroy thee.

5:10. Be not anxious for goods unjustly gotten: for they shall not profit thee in the day of calamity and revenge.

5:11. Winnow not with every wind, and go not into every way: for so is every sinner proved by a double tongue.

5:12. Be steadfast in the way of the Lord, and in the truth of thy judgment, and in knowledge, and let the word of peace and justice keep with thee.

5:13. Be meek to hear the word, that thou mayst understand: and return a true answer with wisdom.

5:14. If thou have understanding, answer thy neighbour: but if not, let thy hand be upon thy mouth, lest thou be surprised in an unskilful word, and be confounded.

5:15. Honour and glory is in the word of the wise, but the tongue of the fool is his ruin.

5:16. Be not called a whisperer, and be not taken in thy tongue, and confounded.

5:17. For confusion and repentance is upon a thief, and an evil mark of disgrace upon the double tongued, but to the whisperer hatred, and enmity, and reproach.

5:18. Justify alike the small and the great.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 6

Of true and false friends: and of the of the fruits of wisdom.

6:1. Instead of a friend become not an enemy to thy neighbour: for an evil man shall inherit reproach and shame, so shall every sinner that is envious and double tongued.

6:2. Extol not thyself in the thoughts of thy soul like a bull: lest thy strength be quashed by folly,

6:3. And it eat up thy leaves, and destroy thy fruit, and thou be left as a dry tree in the wilderness.

6:4. For a wicked soul shall destroy him that hath it, and maketh him to be a joy to his enemies, and shall lead him into the lot of the wicked.

6:5. A sweet word multiplieth friends, and appeaseth enemies, and a gracious tongue in a good man aboundeth.

6:6. Be in peace with many, but let one of a thousand be thy counsellor.

6:7. If thou wouldst get a friend, try him before thou takest him, and do not credit him easily.

6:8. For there is a friend for his own occasion, and he will not abide in the day of thy trouble.

6:9. And there is a friend that turneth to enmity; and there is a friend that will disclose hatred and strife and reproaches.

6:10. And there is a friend a companion at the table, and he will not abide in the day of distress.

6:11. A friend if he continue steadfast, shall be to thee as thyself, and shall act with confidence among them of thy household.

6:12. If he humble himself before thee, and hide himself from thy face, thou shalt have unanimous friendship for good.

6:13. Separate thyself from thy enemies, and take heed of thy friends.

6:14. A faithful friend is a strong defence: and he that hath found him, hath found a treasure.

6:15. Nothing can be compared to a faithful friend, and no weight of gold and silver is able to countervail the goodness of his fidelity.

6:16. A faithful friend is the medicine of life and immortality: and they that fear the Lord, shall find him.

6:17. He that feareth God, shall likewise have good friendship: because according to him shall his friend be.

6:18. My son, from thy youth up receive instruction, and even to thy grey hairs thou shalt find wisdom.

6:19. Come to her as one that plougheth, and soweth, and wait for her good fruits:

6:20. For in working about her thou shalt labour a little, and shalt quickly eat of her fruits.

6:21. How very unpleasant is wisdom to the unlearned, and the unwise will not continue with her.

6:22. She shall be to them as a mighty stone of trial, and they will cast her from them before it be long.

6:23. For the wisdom of doctrine is according to her name, and she is not manifest unto many, but with them to whom she is known, she continueth even to the sight of God.

6:24. Give ear, my son, and take wise counsel, and cast not away my advice.

6:25. Put thy feet into her fetters, and thy neck into her chains:

6:26. Bow down thy shoulder, and bear her, and be not grieved with her bands.

6:27. Come to her with all thy mind, and keep her ways with all thy power.

6:28. Search for her, and she shall be made known to thee, and when thou hast gotten her, let her not go:

6:29. For in the latter end thou shalt find rest in her, and she shall be turned to thy joy.

6:30. Then shall her fetters be a strong defence for thee, and a firm foundation, and her chain a robe of glory:

6:31. For in her is the beauty of life, and her bands are a healthful binding.

6:32. Thou shalt put her on as a robe of glory, and thou shalt set her upon thee as a crown of joy.

6:33. My son, if thou wilt attend to me, thou shalt learn: and if thou wilt apply thy mind, thou shalt be wise.

6:34. If thou wilt incline thy ear, thou shalt receive instruction: and if thou love to hear, thou shalt be wise.

6:35. Stand in the multitude of ancients that are wise, and join thyself from thy heart to their wisdom, that thou mayst hear every discourse of God, and the sayings of praise may not escape thee.

6:36. And if thou see a man of understanding, go to him early in the morning, and let thy foot wear the steps of his doors.

6:37. Let thy thoughts be upon the precepts of God, and meditate continually on his commandments: and he will give thee a heart, and the desire of wisdom shall be given to thee.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 7

Religious and moral duties.

7:1. Do no evils, and no evils shall lay hold of thee.

7:2. Depart from the unjust, and evils shall depart from thee.

7:3. My son, sow not evils in the furrows of injustice, and thou shalt not reap them sevenfold.

7:4. Seek not of the Lord a preeminence, nor of the king the seat of honour.

7:5. Justify not thyself before God, for he knoweth the heart: and desire not to appear wise before the king.

7:6. Seek not to be made a judge, unless thou have strength enough to extirpate iniquities: lest thou fear the person of the powerful, and lay a stumblingblock for thy integrity.

7:7. Offend not against the multitude of a city, neither cast thyself in upon the people,

7:8. Nor bind sin to sin: for even in one thou shalt not be unpunished.

7:9. Be not fainthearted in thy mind:

7:10. Neglect not to pray, and to give alms.

7:11. Say not: God will have respect to the multitude of my gifts, and when I offer to the most high God, he will accept my offerings.

7:12. Laugh no man to scorn in the bitterness of his soul: for there is one that humbleth and exalteth, God who seeth all.

7:13. Devise not a lie against thy brother: neither do the like against thy friend.

7:14. Be not willing to make any manner of lie: for the custom thereof is not good.

7:15. Be not full of words in a multitude of ancients, and repeat not the word in thy prayer.

Repeat not, etc. . .Make not much babbling by repetition of words: but aim more at fervour of heart.

7:16. Hate not laborious works, nor husbandry ordained by the most High.

7:17. Number not thyself among the multitude of the disorderly.

7:18. Remember wrath, for it will not tarry long.

7:19. Humble thy spirit very much: for the vengeance on the flesh of the ungodly is fire and worms.

7:20. Do not transgress against thy friend deferring money, nor despise thy dear brother for the sake of gold.

7:21. Depart not from a wise and good wife, whom thou hast gotten in the fear of the Lord: for the grace of her modesty is above gold.

7:22. Hurt not the servant that worketh faithfully, nor the hired man that giveth thee his life.

7:23. Let a wise servant be dear to thee as thy own soul, defraud him not of liberty, nor leave him needy.

7:24. Hast thou cattle? have an eye to them: and if they be for thy profit, keep them with thee.

7:25. Hast thou children? instruct them, and bow down their neck from their childhood.

7:26. Hast thou daughters? have a care of their body, and shew not thy countenance gay towards them.

7:27. Marry thy daughter well, and thou shalt do a great work, and give her to a wise man.

7:28. If thou hast a wife according to thy soul, cast her not off: and to her that is hateful, trust not thyself. With thy whole heart,

7:29. Honour thy father, and forget not the groanings of thy mother:

7:30. Remember that thou hadst not been born but through them: and make a return to them as they have done for thee.

7:31. With all thy soul fear the Lord, and reverence his priests.

7:32. With all thy strength love him that made thee: and forsake not his ministers.

7:33. Honour God with all thy soul and give honour to the priests, and purify thyself with thy arms.

Thy arms. . .That is, with all thy power: or else by arms (brachiis) are here signified the right shoulders of the victims, which by the law fell to the priests. See ver. 35.

7:34. Give them their portion, as it is commanded thee, of the firstfruits and of purifications: and for thy negligences purify thyself with a few.

7:35. Offer to the Lord the gift of thy shoulders, and the sacrifice of sanctification, and the firstfruits of the holy things:

7:36. And stretch out thy hand to the poor, that thy expiation and thy blessing may be perfected.

7:37. A gift hath grace in the sight of all the living, and restrain not grace from the dead.

And restrain not grace from the dead. . .That is, withhold not from them the benefit of alms, prayers, and sacrifices. Such was the doctrine and practice of the church of God even in the time of the Old Testament. And the same has always been continued from the days of the apostles in the church of the New Testament.

7:38. Be not wanting in comforting them that weep, and walk with them that mourn.

7:39. Be not slow to visit the sick: for by these things thou shalt be confirmed in love.

7:40. In all thy works remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 8

Other lessons of wisdom and virtue.

8:1. Strive not with a powerful man, lest thou fall into his hands.

8:2. Contend not with a rich man, lest he bring an action against thee.

8:3. For gold and silver hath destroyed many, and hath reached even to the heart of kings, and perverted them.

8:4. Strive not with a man that is full of tongue, and heap not wood upon his fire.

8:5. Communicate not with an ignorant man, lest he speak ill of thy family.

8:6. Despise not a man that turneth away from sin, nor reproach him therewith: remember that we are all worthy of reproof.

8:7. Despise not a man in his old age; for we also shall become old.

8:8. Rejoice not at the death of thy enemy; knowing that we all die, and are not willing that others should rejoice at our death.

8:9. Despise not the discourse of them that are ancient and wise, but acquaint thyself with their proverbs.

8:10. For of them thou shalt learn wisdom, and instruction of understanding, and to serve great men without blame.

8:11. Let not the discourse of the ancients escape thee, for they have learned of their fathers:

8:12. For of them thou shalt learn understanding, and to give an answer in time of need.

8:13. Kindle not the coals of sinners by rebuking them, lest thou be burnt with the flame of the fire of their sins.

8:14. Stand not against the face of an injurious person, lest he sit as a spy to entrap thee in thy words.

8:15. Lend not to a man that is mightier than thyself: and if thou lendest, count it as lost.

8:16. Be not surety above thy power: and if thou be surety, think as if thou wert to pay it.

8:17. Judge not against a judge: for he judgeth according to that which is just.

8:18. Go not on the way with a bold man, lest he burden thee with his evils: for he goeth according to his own will, and thou shalt perish together with his folly.

8:19. Quarrel not with a passionate man, and go not into the desert with a bold man: for blood is as nothing in his sight, and where there is no help he will overthrow thee.

8:20. Advise not with fools, for they cannot love but such things as please them.

8:21. Before a stranger do no matter of counsel: for thou knowest not what he will bring forth.

8:22. Open not thy heart to every man: lest he repay thee with an evil turn, and speak reproachfully to thee.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 9

Cautions with regard to women, and dangerous conversations.

9:1. Be not jealous over the wife of thy bosom, lest she shew in thy regard the malice of a wicked lesson.

9:2. Give not the power of thy soul to a woman, lest she enter upon thy strength, and thou be confounded.

9:3. Look not upon a woman that hath a mind for many: lest thou fall into her snares.

9:4. Use not much the company of her that is a dancer, and hearken not to her, lest thou perish by the force of her charms.

9:5. Gaze not upon a maiden, lest her beauty be a stumblingblock to thee.

9:6. Give not thy soul to harlots in any point: lest thou destroy thyself and thy inheritance.

9:7. Look not round about thee in the ways of the city, nor wander up and down in the streets thereof.

9:8. Turn away thy face from a woman dressed up, and gaze not about upon another's beauty.

9:9. For many have perished by the beauty of a woman, and hereby lust is enkindled as a fire.

9:10. Every woman that is a harlot, shall be trodden upon as dung in the way.

9:11. Many by admiring the beauty of another man's wife, have become reprobate, for her conversation burneth as fire.

9:12. Sit not at all with another man's wife, nor repose upon the bed with her:

9:13. And strive not with her over wine, lest thy heart decline towards her and by thy blood thou fall into destruction.

9:14. Forsake not an old friend, for the new will not be like to him.

9:15. A new friend is as new wine: it shall grow old, and thou shalt drink it with pleasure.

9:16. Envy not the glory and riches of a sinner: for thou knowest not what his ruin shall be.

9:17. Be not pleased with the wrong done by the unjust, knowing that even to hell the wicked shall not please.

9:18. Keep thee far from the man that hath power to kill, so thou shalt not suspect the fear of death.

9:19. And if thou come to him, commit no fault, lest he take away thy life.

9:20. Know it to be a communication with death: for thou art going in the midst of snares, and walking upon the arms of them that are grieved.

9:21. According to thy power beware of thy neighbour, and treat with the wise and prudent.

9:22. Let just men be thy guests, and let thy glory be in the fear of God.

9:23. And let the thought of God be in thy mind, and all thy discourse on the commandments of the Highest.

9:24. Works shall be praised for the hand of the artificers, and the prince of the people for the wisdom of his speech, but the word of the ancients for the sense.

9:25. A man full of tongue is terrible in his city, and he that is rash in his word shall be hateful.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 10

The virtues and vices of men in power: the great evil of pride.

10:1. A wise judge shall judge his people, and the government of a prudent man shall be steady.

Judge his people. . .In the Greek it is, instruct his people.

10:2. As the judge of the people is himself, so also are his ministers: and what manner of man the ruler of a city is, such also are they that dwell therein.

10:3. An unwise king shall be the ruin of his people: and cities shall be inhabited through the prudence of the rulers.

10:4. The power of the earth is in the hand of God, and in his time he will raise up a profitable ruler over it.

10:5. The prosperity of man is in the hand of God, and upon the person of the scribe he shall lay his honour.

The scribe. . .That is, the man that is wise and learned in the law.

10:6. Remember not any injury done thee by thy neighbour, and do thou nothing by deeds of injury.

10:7. Pride is hateful before God and men: and all iniquity of nations is execrable.

10:8. A kingdom is translated from one people to another, because of injustices, and wrongs, and injuries, and divers deceits.

10:9. But nothing is more wicked than the covetous man. Why is earth, and ashes proud?

10:10. There is not a more wicked thing than to love money: for such a one setteth even his own soul to sale: because while he liveth he hath cast away his bowels.

10:11. All power is of short life. A long sickness is troublesome to the physician.

10:12. The physician cutteth off a short sickness: so also a king is to day, and to morrow he shall die.

10:13. For when a man shall die, he shall inherit serpents, and beasts, and worms.

10:14. The beginning of the pride of man, is to fall off from God:

10:15. Because his heart is departed from him that made him: for pride is the beginning of all sin: he that holdeth it, shall be filled with maledictions, and it shall ruin him in the end.

10:16. Therefore hath the Lord disgraced the assemblies of the wicked, and hath utterly destroyed them.

10:17. God hath overturned the thrones of proud princes, and hath set up the meek in their stead.

10:18. God hath made the roots of proud nations to wither, and hath planted the humble of these nations.

10:19. The Lord hath overthrown the lands of the Gentiles, and hath destroyed them even to the foundation.

10:20. He hath made some of them to wither away, and hath destroyed them, and hath made the memory of them to cease from the earth.

10:21. God hath abolished the memory of the proud, and hath preserved the memory of them that are humble in mind.

10:22. Pride was not made for men: nor wrath for the race of women.

10:23. That seed of men shall be honoured, which feareth God: but that seed shall be dishonoured, which transgresseth the commandments of the Lord.

10:24. In the midst of brethren their chief is honourable: so shall they that fear the Lord, be in his eyes.

10:25. The fear of God is the glory of the rich, and of the honourable, and of the poor.

10:26. Despise not a just man that is poor, and do not magnify a sinful man that is rich.

10:27. The great man, and the judge, and the mighty is in honour: and there is none greater than he that feareth God.

10:28. They that are free shall serve a servant that is wise: and a man that is prudent and well instructed will not murmur when he is reproved; and he that is ignorant, shall not be honoured.

10:29. Extol not thyself in doing thy work, and linger not in the time of distress;

10:30. Better is he that laboureth, and aboundeth in all things, than he that boasteth himself and wanteth bread.

10:31. My son, keep thy soul in meekness, and give it honour according to its desert.

10:32. Who will justify him that sinneth against his own soul? and who will honour him that dishonoureth his own soul?

10:33. The poor man is glorified by his discipline and fear, and there is a man that is honoured for his wealth.

10:34. But he that is glorified in poverty, how much more in wealth? and he that is glorified in wealth, let him fear poverty.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 11

Lessons of humility and moderation in all things.

11:1. The wisdom of the humble shall exalt his head, and shall make him sit in the midst of great men.

11:2. Praise not a man for his beauty, neither despise a man for his look.

11:3. The bee is small among flying things but her fruit hath the chiefest sweetness.

11:4. Glory not in apparel at any time, and be not exalted in the day of thy honour: for the works of the Highest only are wonderful, and his works are glorious, and secret, and hidden.

11:5. Many tyrants have sat on the throne, and he whom no man would think on, hath worn the crown.

11:6. Many mighty men have been greatly brought down, and the glorious have been delivered into the hand of others.

11:7. Before thou inquire, blame no man: and when thou hast inquired, reprove justly.

11:8. Before thou hear, answer not a word: and interrupt not others in the midst of their discourse.

11:9. Strive not in a matter which doth not concern thee, and sit not in judgment with sinners.

11:10. My son, meddle not with many matters: and if thou be rich, thou shalt not be free from sin: for if thou pursue after thou shalt not overtake; and if thou run before thou shalt not escape.

11:11. There is an ungodly man that laboureth, and maketh haste, and is in sorrow, and is so much the more in want.

11:12. Again, there is an inactive man that wanteth help, is very weak in ability, and full of poverty:

11:13. Yet the eye of God hath looked upon him for good, and hath lifted him up from his low estate, and hath exalted his head: and many have wondered at him, and have glorified God.

11:14. Good things and evil, life and death, poverty and riches, are from God.

11:15. Wisdom and discipline, and the knowledge of the law are with God. Love and the ways of good things are with him.

11:16. Error and darkness are created with sinners: and they that glory in evil things, grow old in evil.

11:17. The gift of God abideth with the just, and his advancement shall have success for ever.

11:18. There is one that is enriched by living sparingly, and this is the portion of his reward.

11:19. In that he saith: I have found me rest, and now I will eat of my goods alone:

11:20. And he knoweth not what time shall pass, and that death approacheth, and that he must leave all to others, and shall die.

11:21. Be steadfast in thy covenant, and be conversant therein, and grow old in the work of thy commandments.

11:22. Abide not in the works of sinners. But trust in God, and stay in thy place,

11:23. For it is easy in the eyes of God on a sudden to make the poor man rich.

11:24. The blessing of God maketh haste to reward the just, and in a swift hour his blessing beareth fruit.

11:25. Say not: What need I, and what good shall I have by this?

11:26. Say not: I am sufficient for myself: and what shall I be made worse by this?

11:27. In the day of good things be not unmindful of evils: and in the day of evils be not unmindful of good things:

11:28. For it is easy before God in the day of death to reward every one according to his ways.

11:29. The affliction of an hour maketh one forget great delights, and in the end of a man is the disclosing of his works.

11:30. Praise not any man before death, for a man is known by his children.

11:31. Bring not every man into thy house: for many are the snares of the deceitful.

11:32. For as corrupted bowels send forth stinking breath, and as the partridge is brought into the cage, and as the roe into the snare: so also is the heart of the proud, and as a spy that looketh on the fall of his neighbour.

11:33. For he lieth in wait and turneth good into evil, and on the elect he will lay a blot.

11:34. Of one spark cometh a great fire, and of one deceitful man much blood: and a sinful man lieth in wait for blood.

11:35. Take heed to thyself of a mischievous man, for he worketh evils: lest he bring upon thee reproach for ever.

11:36. Receive a stranger in, and he shall overthrow thee with a whirlwind, and shall turn thee out of thy own.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 12

We are to be liberal to the just: and not to trust the wicked.

12:1. If thou do good, know to whom thou dost it, and there shall be much thanks for thy good deeds.

12:2. Do good to the just, and thou shalt find great recompense: and if not of him, assuredly of the Lord.

12:3. For there is no good for him that is always occupied in evil, and that giveth no alms: for the Highest hateth sinners, and hath mercy on the penitent.

12:4. Give to the merciful and uphold not the sinner: God will repay vengeance to the ungodly and to sinners, and keep them against the day of vengeance.

12:5. Give to the good, and receive not a sinner.

12:6. Do good to the humble, and give not to the ungodly: hold back thy bread, and give it not to him, lest thereby he overmaster thee.

12:7. For thou shalt receive twice as much evil for all the good thou shalt have done to him: for the Highest also hateth sinners, and will repay vengeance to the ungodly.

12:8. A friend shall not be known in prosperity, and an enemy shall not be hidden in adversity.

12:9. In the prosperity of a man, his enemies are grieved: and a friend is known in his adversity.

12:10. Never trust thy enemy for as a brass pot his wickedness rusteth:

12:11. Though he humble himself and go crouching, yet take good heed and beware of him.

12:12. Set him not by thee, neither let him sit on thy right hand, lest he turn into thy place, and seek to take thy seat and at the last thou acknowledge my words, and be pricked with my sayings.

12:13. Who will pity an enchanter struck by a serpent, or any that come near wild beasts? so is it with him that keepeth company with a wicked man, and is involved in his sins.

12:14. For an hour he will abide with thee: but if thou begin to decline, he will not endure it.

12:15. An enemy speaketh sweetly with his lips, but in his heart he lieth in wait, to throw thee into a pit.

12:16. An enemy weepeth with his eyes: but if he find an opportunity he will not be satisfied with blood:

12:17. And if evils come upon thee, thou shalt find him there first.

12:18. An enemy hath tears in his eyes, and while he pretendeth to help thee, will undermine thy feet.

12:19. He will shake his head, and clap his hands, and whisper much, and change his countenance.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 13

Cautions in the choice of company.

13:1. He that toucheth pitch, shall be defiled with it: and he that hath fellowship with the proud, shall put on pride.

13:2. He shall take a burden upon him that hath fellowship with one more honourable than himself. And have no fellowship with one that is richer than thyself.

13:3. What agreement shall the earthen pot have with the kettle? for if they knock one against the other, it shall be broken.

13:4. The rich man hath done wrong, and yet he will fume: but the poor is wronged and must hold his peace.

13:5. If thou give, he will make use of thee: and if thou have nothing, he will forsake thee.

13:6. If thou have any thing, he will live with thee, and will make thee bare, and he will not be sorry for thee.

13:7. If he have need of thee he will deceive thee, and smiling upon thee will put thee in hope; he will speak thee fair, and will say: What wantest thou?

13:8. And he will shame thee by his meats, till he have drawn thee dry twice or thrice, and at last he will laugh at thee: and afterward when he seeth thee, he will forsake thee, and shake his head at thee.

13:9. Humble thyself to God, and wait for his hands.

13:10. Beware that thou be not deceived into folly, and be humbled.

13:11. Be not lowly in thy wisdom, lest being humbled thou be deceived into folly.

13:12. If thou be invited by one that is mightier, withdraw thyself: for so he will invite thee the more.

13:13. Be not troublesome to him, lest thou be put back: and keep not far from him, lest thou be forgotten.

13:14. Affect not to speak with him as an equal, and believe not his many words: for by much talk he will sift thee, and smiling will examine thee concerning thy secrets.

13:15. His cruel mind will lay up thy words: and he will not spare to do thee hurt, and to cast thee into prison.

13:16. Take heed to thyself, and attend diligently to what thou hearest: for thou walkest in danger of thy ruin.

13:17. When thou hearest those things, see as it were in sleep, and thou shalt awake.

13:18. Love God all thy life, and call upon him for thy salvation.

13:19. Every beast loveth its like: so also every man him that is nearest to himself.

13:20. All flesh shall consort with the like to itself, and every man shall associate himself to his like.

13:21. If the wolf shall at any time have fellowship with the lamb, so the sinner with the just.

13:22. What fellowship hath a holy man with a dog, or what part hath the rich with the poor?

13:23. The wild ass is the lion's prey in the desert: so also the poor are devoured by the rich.

13:24. And as humility is an abomination to the proud: so also the rich man abhorreth the poor.

13:25. When a rich man is shaken, he is kept up by his friends: but when a poor man is fallen down, he is thrust away even by his acquaintance.

13:26. When a rich man hath been deceived, he hath many helpers: he hath spoken proud things, and they have justified him.

13:27. The poor man was deceived, and he is rebuked also: he hath spoken wisely, and could have no place.

13:28. The rich man spoke, and all held their peace, and what he said they extol even to the clouds.

13:29. The poor man spoke, and they say: Who is this? and if he stumble, they will overthrow him.

13:30. Riches are good to him that hath no sin in his conscience: and poverty is very wicked in the mouth of the ungodly.

13:31. The heart of a man changeth his countenance, either for good, or for evil.

13:32. The token of a good heart, and a good countenance thou shalt hardly find, and with labour.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 14

The evil of avarice: works of mercy are recommended, and the love of wisdom.

14:1. Blessed is the man that hath not slipped by a word out of his mouth, and is not pricked with the remorse of sin.

14:2. Happy is he that hath had no sadness of his mind, and who is not fallen from his hope.

14:3. Riches are not comely for a covetous man and a niggard, and what should an envious man do with gold?

14:4. He that gathereth together by wronging his own soul, gathereth for others, and another will squander away his goods in rioting.

14:5. He that is evil to himself, to whom will he be good? and he shall not take pleasure in his goods.

14:6. There is none worse than he that envieth himself, and this is the reward of his wickedness:

14:7. And if he do good, he doth it ignorantly, and unwillingly: and at the last he discovereth his wickedness.

14:8. The eye of the envious is wicked: and he turneth away his face, and despiseth his own soul.

14:9. The eye of the covetous man is insatiable in his portion of iniquity: he will not be satisfied till he consume his own soul, drying it up.

14:10. An evil eye is towards evil things: and he shall not have his fill of bread, but shall be needy and pensive at his own table.

14:11. My son, if thou have any thing, do good to thyself, and offer to God worthy offerings.

14:12. Remember that death is not slow, and that the covenant of hell hath been shewn to thee: for the covenant of this world shall surely die.

Covenant of hell. . .The decree by which all are to go down to the regions of death.

14:13. Do good to thy friend before thou die, and according to thy ability, stretching out thy hand give to the poor.

14:14. Defraud not thyself of the good day, and let not the part of a good gift overpass thee.

14:15. Shalt thou not leave to others to divide by lot thy sorrows and labours?

14:16. Give and take, and justify thy soul.

14:17. Before thy death work justice: for in hell there is no finding food.

14:18. All flesh shall fade as grass, and as the leaf that springeth out on a green tree.

14:19. Some grow, and some fall off: so is the generation of flesh and blood, one cometh to an end, and another is born.

14:20. Every work that is corruptible shall fail in the end: and the worker thereof shall go with it.

14:21. And every excellent work shall be justified: and the worker thereof shall be honoured therein.

14:22. Blessed is the man that shall continue in wisdom, and that shall meditate in his justice, and in his mind shall think of the all seeing eye of God.

14:23. He that considereth her ways in his heart, and hath understanding in her secrets, who goeth after her as one that traceth, and stayeth in her ways.

14:24. He who looketh in at her windows, and hearkeneth at her door.

14:25. He that lodgeth near her house, and fastening a pin in her walls shall set up his tent high unto her, where good things shall rest in his lodging for ever.

14:26. He shall set his children under her shelter, and shall lodge under her branches:

14:27. He shall be protected under her covering from the heat, and shall rest in her glory.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 15

Wisdom embraceth them that fear God. God is not the author of sin.

15:1. He that feareth God, will do good: and he that possesseth justice, shall lay hold on her,

15:2. And she will meet him as an honourable mother, and will receive him as a wife married of a virgin.

15:3. With the bread of life and understanding, she shall feed him, and give him the water of wholesome wisdom to drink: and she shall be made strong in him, and he shall not be moved.

15:4. And she shall hold him fast, and he shall not be confounded: and she shall exalt him among his neighbours.

15:5. And in the midst of the church she shall open his mouth, and shall fill him with the spirit of wisdom and understanding, and shall clothe him with a robe of glory.

15:6. She shall heap upon him a treasure of joy and gladness, and shall cause him to inherit an everlasting name.

15:7. But foolish men shall not obtain her, and wise men shall meet her, foolish men shall not see her: for she is far from pride and deceit.

15:8. Lying men shall be mindful of her: but men that speak truth shall be found with her, and shall advance, even till they come to the sight of God.

15:9. Praise is not seemly in the mouth of a sinner:

15:10. For wisdom came forth from God: for praise shall be with the wisdom of God, and shall abound in a faithful mouth, and the sovereign Lord will give praise unto it.

15:11. Say not: It is through God, that she is not with me: for do not thou the things that he hateth.

15:12. Say not: He hath caused me to err: for he hath no need of wicked men.

15:13. The Lord hateth all abomination of error, and they that fear him shall not love it.

15:14. God made man from the beginning, and left him in the hand of his own counsel.

15:15. He added his commandments and precepts.

15:16. If thou wilt keep the commandments and perform acceptable fidelity for ever, they shall preserve thee.

15:17. He hath set water and fire before thee: stretch forth thy hand to which thou wilt.

15:18. Before man is life and death, good and evil, that which he shall choose shall be given him:

15:19. For the wisdom of God is great, and he is strong in power, seeing all men without ceasing.

15:20. The eyes of the Lord are towards them that fear him, and he knoweth al the work of man.

15:21. He hath commanded no man to do wickedly, and he hath given no man license to sin;

15:22. For he desireth not a multitude of faithless and unprofitable children.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 16

It is better to have none than many wicked children. Of the justice and mercy of God. His ways are unsearchable.

16:1. Rejoice not in ungodly children, if they be multiplied: neither be delighted in them, if the fear of God be not with them.

16:2. Trust not to their life, and respect not their labours.

16:3. For better is one that feareth God, than a thousand ungodly children.

16:4. And it is better to die without children, than to leave ungodly children.

16:5. By one that is wise a country shall be inhabited, the tribe of the ungodly shall become desolate.

16:6. Many such things hath my eyes seen, and greater things than these my ear hath heard.

16:7. In the congregation of sinners a fire shall be kindled, and in an unbelieving nation wrath shall flame out.

16:8. The ancient giants did not obtain pardon for their sins, who were destroyed trusting to their own strength:

16:9. And he spared not the place where Lot sojourned, but abhorred them for the pride of their word.

16:10. He had not pity on them, destroying the whole nation that extolled themselves in their sins.

16:11. So did he with the six hundred thousand footmen, who were gathered together in the hardness of their heart: and if one had been stiffnecked, it is a wonder if he had escaped unpunished:

Six hundred thousand footmen, etc. . .Viz., the children of Israel, whom he sentenced to die in the wilderness. Num. 14.

16:12. For mercy and wrath are with him. He is mighty to forgive, and to pour out indignation:

16:13. According as his mercy is, so his correction judgeth a man according to his works.

16:14. The sinner shall not escape in his rapines, and the patience of him that sheweth mercy shall not be put off.

16:15. All mercy shall make a place for every man according to the merit of his works, and according to the wisdom of his sojournment.

16:16. Say not: I shall be hidden from God, and who shall remember me from on high?

16:17. In such a multitude I shall not be known: for what is my soul in such an immense creation?

16:18. Behold the heaven, and the heavens of heavens, the deep, and all the earth, and the things that are in them, shall be moved in his sight,

16:19. The mountains also, and the hills, and the foundations of the earth: when God shall look upon them, they shall be shaken with trembling.

16:20. And in all these things the heart is senseless: and every heart is understood by him.

16:21. And his ways who shall understand, and the storm, which no eye of man shall see?

16:22. For many of his works are hidden, but the works of his justice who shall declare? or who shall endure? for the testament is far from some, and the examination of all is in the end.

16:23. He that wanteth understanding thinketh vain things, and the foolish, and erring man, thinketh foolish things.

16:24. Hearken to me, my son, and learn the discipline of understanding, and attend to my words in thy heart.

16:25. And I will shew forth good doctrine in equity, and will seek to declare wisdom: and attend to my words in thy heart, whilst with equity of spirit I tell thee the virtues that God hath put upon his works from the beginning, and I shew forth in truth his knowledge.

16:26. The works of God are done in judgment from the beginning, and from the making of them he distinguished their parts, and their beginnings in their generations.

16:27. He beautified their works for ever, they have neither hungered, nor laboured, and they have not ceased from their works.

16:28. Nor shall any of them straiten his neighbour at any time.

16:29. Be not thou incredulous to his word.

16:30. After this God looked upon the earth, and filled it with his goods.

16:31. The soul of every living thing hath shewn forth before the face thereof, and into it they return again.

Shewn forth. . .Viz., the glory and power of God upon the earth.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 17

The creation and favour of God to man. An exhortation to turn to God.

17:1. God created man of the earth, and made him after his own image.

17:2. And he turned him into it again, and clothed him with strength according to himself.

17:3. He gave him the number of his days and time, and gave him power over all things that are upon the earth.

17:4. He put the fear of him upon all flesh, and he had dominion over beasts and fowls.

17:5. He created of him a helpmate like to himself, he gave them counsel, and a tongue, and eyes, and ears, and a heart to devise: and he filled them with the knowledge of understanding.

17:6. He created in them the science of the spirit, he fired their heart with wisdom, and shewed them both good and evil.

17:7. He set his eye upon their hearts to shew them the greatness of his works:

17:8. That they might praise the name which he hath sanctified: and glory in his wondrous act that they might declare the glorious things of his works.

17:9. Moreover he gave them instructions, and the law of life for an inheritance.

17:10. He made an everlasting covenant with them, and he shewed them his justice and judgments.

17:11. And their eye saw the majesty of his glory, and their ears heard his glorious voice, and he said to them: Beware of all iniquity.

Their eye saw, etc. . .Viz., when he gave the law on mount Sinai.

17:12. And he gave to every one of them commandment concerning his neighbour.

17:13. Their ways are always before him, they are not hidden from his eyes.

17:14. Over every nation he set a ruler.

17:15. And Israel was made the manifest portion of God.

17:16. And all their works are as the sun in the sight of God: and his eyes are continually upon their ways.

17:17. Their covenants were not hid by their iniquity, and all their iniquities are in the sight of God.

17:18. The alms of a man is as a signet with him, and shall preserve the grace of a man as the apple of the eye:

17:19. And afterward he shall rise up, and shall render them their reward, to every one upon their own head, and shall turn them down into the bowels of the earth.

17:20. But to the penitent he hath given the way of justice, and he hath strengthened them that were fainting in patience, and hath appointed to them the lot of truth.

17:21. Turn to the Lord, and forsake thy sins:

17:22. Make thy prayer before the face of the Lord, and offend less.

Offend less. . .Minue offendicula. That is, remove sins and the occasions of sins.

17:23. Return to the Lord, and turn away from thy injustice, and greatly hate abomination.

17:24. And know the justices and judgments of God, and stand firm in the lot set before thee, and in prayer to the most high God.

17:25. Go to the side of the holy age, with them that live and give praise to God.

Go to the side, etc. . .Fly from the side of Satan and sin, and join with the holy ones, that follow God and godliness.

17:26. Tarry not in the error of the ungodly, give glory before death. Praise perisheth from the dead as nothing.

17:27. Give thanks whilst thou art living, whilst thou art alive and in health thou shalt give thanks, and shalt praise God, and shalt glory in his mercies.

17:28. How great is the mercy of the Lord, and his forgiveness to them that turn to him !

17:29. For all things cannot be in men, because the son of man is not immortal, and they are delighted with the vanity of evil.

17:30. What is brighter than the sun; yet it shall be eclipsed. Or what is more wicked than that which flesh and blood hath invented? and this shall be reproved.

17:31. He beholdeth the power of the height of heaven: and all men are earth and ashes.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 18

God's works are wonderful: we must serve him, and not our lusts.

18:1. He that liveth for ever created all things together. God only shall be justified, and he remaineth an invincible king for ever.

18:2. Who is able to declare his works?

18:3. For who shall search out his glorious acts?

18:4. And who shall show forth the power of his majesty? or who shall be able to declare his mercy?

18:5. Nothing may be taken away, nor added, neither is it possible to find out the glorious works of God.

18:6. When a man hath done, then shall he begin: and when he leaveth off, he shall be at a loss.

Then shall he begin. . .God is so great and incomprehensible, that when man has done all that he can to find out his greatness and boundless perfections, he is still to begin: for what he has found out, is but a mere nothing in comparison with his infinity.

18:7. What is man, and what is his grace? and what is his good, or what is his evil?

18:8. The number of the days of men at the most are a hundred years, as a drop of water of the sea are they esteemed: and as a pebble of the sand, so are a few years compared to eternity.

18:9. Therefore God is patient in them, and poureth forth his mercy upon them.

18:10. He hath seen the presumption of their heart that it is wicked, and hath known their end that it is evil.

18:11. Therefore hath he filled up his mercy in their favour, and hath shewn them the way of justice.

18:12. The compassion of man is toward his neighbour: but the mercy of God is upon all flesh.

18:13. He hath mercy, and teacheth, and correcteth, as a shepherd doth his flock.

18:14. He hath mercy on him that receiveth the discipline of mercy, and that maketh haste in his judgments.

18:15. My son, in thy good deeds, make no complaint, and when thou givest any thing, add not grief by an evil word.

18:16. Shall not the dew assuage the heat? so also the good word is better than the gift.

18:17. Lo, is not a word better than a gift? but both are with a justified man.

18:18. A fool will upbraid bitterly: and a gift of one ill taught consumeth the eyes.

18:19. Before judgment prepare thee justice, and learn before thou speak.

18:20. Before sickness take a medicine, and before judgment examine thyself, and thou shalt find mercy in the sight of God.

18:21. Humble thyself before thou art sick, and in the time of sickness shew thy conversation.

18:22. Let nothing hinder thee from praying always, and be not afraid to be justified even to death: for the reward of God continueth for ever.

18:23. Before prayer prepare thy soul: and be not as a man that tempteth God.

18:24. Remember the wrath that shall be at the last day, and the time of repaying when he shall turn away his face.

18:25. Remember poverty in the time of abundance, and the necessities of poverty in the day of riches.

18:26. From the morning until the evening the time shall be changed, and all these are swift in the eyes of God.

18:27. A wise man will fear in every thing, and in the days of sins will beware of sloth.

18:28. Every man of understanding knoweth wisdom, and will give praise to him that findeth her.

18:29. They that were of good understanding in words, have also done wisely themselves: and have understood truth and justice, and have poured forth proverbs and judgments.

18:30. Go not after thy lusts, but turn away from thy own will.

18:31. If thou give to thy soul her desires, she will make thee a joy to thy enemies.

18:32. Take no pleasure in riotous assemblies, be they ever so small: for their concertation is continual.

18:33. Make not thyself poor by borrowing to contribute to feasts when thou hast nothing in thy purse: for thou shalt be an enemy to thy own life.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 19

Admonition against sundry vices.

19:1. A workman that is a drunkard shall not be rich: and he that contemneth small things, shall fall by little and little.

19:2. Wine and women make wise men fall off, and shall rebuke the prudent:

19:3. And he that joineth himself to harlots, will be wicked. Rottenness and worms shall inherit him, and he shall be lifted up for a greater example, and his soul shall be taken away out of the number.

19:4. He that is hasty to give credit, is light of heart, and shall be lessened: and he that sinneth against his own soul, shall be despised.

19:5. He that rejoiceth in iniquity, shall be censured, and he that hateth chastisement, shall have less life: and he that hateth babbling, extinguisheth evil.

19:6. He that sinneth against his own soul, shall repent: and he that is delighted with wickedness, shall be condemned.

19:7. Rehearse not again a wicked and harsh word, and thou shalt not fare the worse.

19:8. Tell not thy mind to friend or foe: and if there be a sin with thee, disclose it not.

19:9. For he will hearken to thee, and will watch thee, and as it were defending thy sin he will hate thee, and so will he be with thee always.

19:10. Hast thou heard a word against thy neighbour? let it die within thee, trusting that it will not burst thee.

19:11. At the hearing of a word the fool is in travail, as a woman groaning in the bringing forth a child.

19:12. As an arrow that sticketh in a man's thigh: so is a word in the heart of a fool.

19:13. Reprove a friend, lest he may not have understood, and say: I did it not: or if he did it, that he may do it no more.

19:14. Reprove thy neighbour, for it may be he hath not said it: and if he hath said it, that he may not say it again.

19:15. Admonish thy friend: for there is often a fault committed.

19:16. And believe not every word. There is one, that slippeth with the tongue, but not from his heart.

19:17. For who is there that hath not offended with his tongue? Admonish thy neighbour before thou threaten him.

19:18. And give place to the fear of the most High: for the fear of God is all wisdom, and therein is to fear God, and the disposition of the law is in all wisdom.

19:19. But the learning of wickedness is not wisdom: and the device of sinners is not prudence.

19:20. There is a subtle wickedness, and the same is detestable: and there is a man that is foolish, wanting in wisdom.

19:21. Better is a man that hath less wisdom, and wanteth understanding, with the fear of God, than he that aboundeth in understanding, and transgresseth the law of the most High.

19:22. There is an exquisite subtilty, and the same is unjust.

19:23. And there is one that uttereth an exact word telling the truth. There is one that humbleth himself wickedly, and his interior is full of deceit:

19:24. And there is one that submitteth himself exceedingly with a great lowliness: and there is one that casteth down his countenance, and maketh as if he did not see that which is unknown:

19:25. And if he be hindered from sinning for want of power, if he shall find opportunity to do evil, he will do it.

19:26. A man is known by his look, and a wise man, when thou meetest him, is known by his countenance.

19:27. The attire of the body, and the laughter of the teeth, and the gait of the man, shew what he is.

19:28. There is a lying rebuke in the anger of an injurious man: and there is a judgment that is not allowed to be good: and there is one that holdeth his peace, he is wise.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 20

Rules with regard to correction, discretion, and avoiding lies.

20:1. How much better is it to reprove, than to be angry, and not to hinder him that confesseth in prayer.

20:2. The lust of an eunuch shall deflour a young maiden:

20:3. So is he that by violence executeth of the unwise.

20:4. How good is it, when thou art reproved, to shew repentance! for so thou shalt escape wilful sin.

20:5. There is one that holdeth his peace, that is found wise: and there is another that is hateful, that is bold in speech.

20:6. There is one that holdeth his peace, because he knoweth not what to say: and there is another that holdeth his peace, knowing the proper time.

20:7. A wise man will hold his peace till he see opportunity: but a babbler, and a fool, will regard no time.

20:8. He that useth many words shall hurt his own soul: and he that taketh authority to himself unjustly shall be hated.

20:9. There is success in evil things to a man without discipline, and there is a finding that turneth to loss.

20:10. There is a gift that is not profitable: and there is a gift, the recompense of which is double.

20:11. There is an abasement because of glory: and there is one that shall lift up his head from a low estate.

20:12. There is that buyeth much for a small price, and restoreth the same sevenfold.

20:13. A man wise in words shall make himself beloved: but the graces of fools shall be poured out.

20:14. The gift of the fool shall do thee no good: for his eyes are sevenfold.

20:15. He will give a few things, and upbraid much: and the opening of his mouth is the kindling of a fire.

20:16. To day a man lendeth, and to morrow he asketh it again: such a man as this is hateful.

20:17. A fool shall have no friend, and there shall be no thanks for his good deeds.

20:18. For they that eat his bread, are of a false tongue. How often, and how many will laugh him to scorn!

20:19. For he doth not distribute with right understanding that which was to be had: in like manner also that which was not to be had.

20:20. The slipping of a false tongue is as one that falleth on the pavement: so the fall of the wicked shall come speedily.

20:21. A man without grace is as a vain fable, it shall be continually in the mouth of the unwise.

20:22. A parable coming out of a fool's mouth shall be rejected: for he doth not speak it in due season.

20:23. There is that is hindered from sinning through want, and in his rest he shall be pricked.

20:24. There is that will destroy his own soul through shamefacedness, and by occasion of an unwise person he will destroy it: and by respect of person he will destroy himself.

20:25. There is that for bashfulness promiseth to his friend, and maketh him his enemy for nothing.

20:26. A lie is a foul blot in a man, and yet it will be continually in the mouth of men without discipline.

20:27. A thief is better than a man that is always lying: but both of them shall inherit destruction.

20:28. The manners of lying men are without honour: and their confusion is with them without ceasing.

20:29. A wise man shall advance himself with his words, and a prudent man shall please the great ones.

20:30. He that tilleth his land shall make a high heap of corn: and he that worketh justice shall be exalted: and he that pleaseth great men shall escape iniquity.

20:31. Presents and gifts blind the eyes of judges, and make them dumb in the mouth, so that they cannot correct.

20:32. O Wisdom that is hid, and treasure that is not seen: what profit is there in them both?

20:33. Better is he that hideth his folly, than the man that hideth his wisdom.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 21

Cautions against sin in general, and some sins in particular.

21:1. My son, hast thou sinned? do so no more: but for thy former sins also pray that they may be forgiven thee.

21:2. Flee from sins as from the face of a serpent: for if thou comest near them, they will take hold of thee.

21:3. The teeth thereof are the teeth of a lion, killing the souls of men.

21:4. All iniquity is like a two-edged sword, there is no remedy for the wound thereof.

21:5. Injuries and wrongs will waste riches: and the house that is very rich shall be brought to nothing by pride: so the substance of the proud shall be rooted out.

21:6. The prayer out of the mouth of the poor shall reach the ears of God, and judgment shall come for him speedily.

21:7. He that hateth to be reproved walketh in the trace of a sinner: and he that feareth God will turn to his own heart.

21:8. He that is mighty by a bold tongue is known afar off, but a wise man knoweth to slip by him.

21:9. He that buildeth his house at other men's charges, is as he that gathereth himself stones to build in the winter.

21:10. The congregation of sinners is like tow heaped together, and the end of them is a flame of fire.

21:11. The way of sinners is made plain with stones, and in their end is hell, and darkness, and pains.

21:12. He that keepeth justice shall get the understanding thereof.

21:13. The perfection of the fear of God is wisdom and understanding.

21:14. He that is not wise in good, will not be taught.

21:15. But there is a wisdom that aboundeth in evil: and there is no understanding where there is bitterness.

21:16. The knowledge of a wise man shall abound like a flood, and his counsel continueth like a fountain of life.

21:17. The heart of a fool is like a broken vessel, and no wisdom at all shall it hold.

21:18. A man of sense will praise every wise word he shall hear, and will apply it to himself: the luxurious man hath heard it, and it shall displease him, and he will cast it behind his back.

21:19. The talking of a fool is like a burden in the way: but in the lips of the wise, grace shall be found.

21:20. The mouth of the prudent is sought after in the church, and they will think upon his words in their hearts.

21:21. As a house that is destroyed, so is wisdom to a fool: and the knowledge of the unwise is as words without sense.

21:22. Doctrine to a fool is as fetters on the feet, and like manacles on the right hand.

21:23. A fool lifteth up his voice in laughter: but a wise man will scarce laugh low to himself.

21:24. Learning to the prudent is as an ornament of gold, and like a bracelet upon his right arm.

21:25. The foot of a fool is soon in his neighbour's house: but a man of experience will be abashed at the person of the mighty.

21:26. A fool will peep through the window into the house: but he that is well taught will stand without.

21:27. It is the folly of a man to hearken at the door: and a wise man will be grieved with the disgrace.

21:28. The lips of the unwise will be telling foolish things: but the words of the wise shall be weighed in a balance.

21:29. The heart of fools is in their mouth: and the mouth of wise men is in their heart.

21:30. While the ungodly curseth the devil, he curseth his own soul.

While the ungodly, etc. . .He condemneth and curseth himself: inasmuch as by sin he takes part with the devil, and is, as it were, his member and subject.

21:31. The talebearer shall defile his own soul, and shall be hated by all: and he that shall abide with him shall be hateful: the silent and wise man shall be honoured.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 22

Wise sayings on divers subjects.

22:1. The sluggard is pelted with a dirty stone, and all men will speak of his disgrace.

22:2. The sluggard is pelted with the dung of oxen: and every one that toucheth him will shake his hands.

22:3. A son ill taught is the confusion of the father: and a foolish daughter shall be to his loss.

22:4. A wise daughter shall bring an inheritance to her husband: but she that confoundeth, becometh a disgrace to her father.

22:5. She that is bold shameth both her father and husband, and will not be inferior to the ungodly: and shall be disgraced by them both.

22:6. A tale out of time is like music in mourning: but the stripes and instruction of wisdom are never out of time.

22:7. He that teacheth a fool, is like one that glueth a potsherd together.

22:8. He that telleth a word to him that heareth not, is like one that waketh a man out of a deep sleep.

22:9. He speaketh with one that is asleep, who uttereth wisdom to a fool: and in the end of the discourse he saith: Who is this?

22:10. Weep for the dead, for his light hath failed: and weep for the fool, for his understanding faileth.

For the fool. . .In the language of the Holy Ghost, he is styled a fool, that turns away from God to follow vanity and sin. And what is said by the wise man against fools is meant of such fools as these.

22:11. Weep but a little for the dead, for he is at rest.

22:12. For the wicked life of a wicked fool is worse than death.

22:13. The mourning for the dead is seven days: but for a fool and an ungodly man all the days of their life.

22:14. Talk not much with a fool and go not with him that hath no sense.

22:15. Keep thyself from him, that thou mayst not have trouble, and thou shalt not be defiled with his sin.

22:16. Turn away from him, and thou shalt find rest, and shalt not be wearied out with his folly.

22:17. What is heavier than lead? and what other name hath he but fool?

22:18. Sand and salt, and a mass of iron is easier to bear, than a man without sense, that is both foolish and wicked.

22:19. A frame of wood bound together in the foundation of a building, shall not be loosed: so neither shall the heart that is established by advised counsel.

22:20. The thought of him that is wise at all times, shall not be depraved by fear.

22:21. As pales set in high places, and plasterings made without cost, will not stand against the face of the wind:

22:22. So also a fearful heart in the imagination of a fool shall not resist against the violence of fear.

22:23. As a fearful heart in the thought of a fool at all times will not fear, so neither shall he that continueth always in the commandments of God.

22:24. He that pricketh the eye, bringeth out tears: and he that pricketh the heart, bringeth forth resentment.

22:25. He that flingeth a stone at birds, shall drive them away: so he that upbraideth his friend, breaketh friendship.

22:26. Although thou hast drawn a sword at a friend, despair not: for there may be a returning. To a friend,

22:27. If thou hast opened a sad mouth, fear not, for there may be a reconciliation: except upbraiding, and reproach, and pride, and disclosing of secrets, or a treacherous wound: for in all these cases a friend will flee away.

22:28. Keep fidelity with a friend in his poverty, that in his prosperity also thou mayst rejoice.

22:29. In the time of his trouble continue faithful to him, that thou mayst also be heir with him in his inheritance.

22:30. As the vapour of a chimney, and the smoke of the fire goeth up before the fire: so also injurious words, and reproaches, and threats, before blood.

22:31. I will not be ashamed to salute a friend, neither will I hide myself from his face: and if any evil happen to me by him, I will bear it.

22:32. But every one that shall hear it, will beware of him.

22:33. Who will set a guard before my mouth, and a sure seal upon my lips, that I fall not by them, and that my tongue destroy me not?

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 23

A prayer for grace to flee sin: cautions against profane swearing and other vices.

23:1. O Lord, father, and sovereign ruler of my life, leave me not to their counsel: nor suffer me to fall by them.

By them. . .Viz., the tongue and the lips, mentioned in the last verse of the foregoing chapter.

23:2. Who will set scourges over my thoughts, and the discipline of wisdom over my heart, that they spare me not in their ignorances, and that their sins may not appear:

That they spare me not in their ignorances, etc. . .That is, that the scourges and discipline of wisdom may restrain the ignorances, that is, the slips and offences which are usually committed by the tongue and the lips.

23:3. Lest my ignorances increase, and my offences be multiplied, and my sins abound, and I fall before my adversaries, and my enemy rejoice over me?

23:4. O Lord, father, and God of my life, leave me not to their devices.

23:5. Give me not haughtiness of my eyes, and turn away from me all coveting.

23:6. Take from me the greediness of the belly, and let not the lusts of the flesh take hold of me, and give me not over to a shameless and foolish mind.

23:7. Hear, O ye children, the discipline of the mouth, and he that will keep it shall not perish by his lips, nor be brought to fall into most wicked works.

23:8. A sinner is caught in his own vanity, and the proud and the evil speakers shall fall thereby.

23:9. Let not thy mouth be accustomed to swearing: for in it there are many falls.

23:10. And let not the naming of God be usual in thy mouth, and meddle not with the names of saints, for thou shalt not escape free from them.

23:11. For as a slave daily put to the question, is never without a blue mark: so every one that sweareth, and nameth, shall not be wholly pure from sin.

23:12. A man that sweareth much, shall be filled with iniquity, and a scourge shall not depart from his house.

23:13. And if he make it void, his sin shall be upon him, and if he dissemble it, he offendeth double:

23:14. And if he swear in vain, he shall not be justified: for his house shall be filled with his punishment.

23:15. There is also another speech opposite to death, let it not be found in the inheritance of Jacob.

23:16. For from the merciful all these things shall be taken away, and they shall not wallow in sins.

23:17. Let not thy mouth be accustomed to indiscreet speech: for therein is the word of sin.

23:18. Remember thy father and thy mother, for thou sittest in the midst of great men:

23:19. Lest God forget thee in their sight, and thou, by thy daily custom be infatuated and suffer reproach: and wish that thou hadst not been born, and curse the day of thy nativity.

23:20. The man that is accustomed to opprobrious words, will never be corrected all the days of his life.

23:21. Two sorts of men multiply sins, and the third bringeth wrath and destruction.

23:22. A hot soul is a burning fire, it will never be quenched, till it devour some thing.

23:23. And a man that is wicked in the mouth of his flesh, will not leave off till he hath kindled a fire.

23:24. To a man that is a fornicator all bread is sweet, he will not be weary of sinning unto the end.

23:25. Every man that passeth beyond his own bed, despising his own soul, and saying: Who seeth me?

23:26. Darkness compasseth me about, and the walls cover me, and no man seeth me: whom do I fear? the most High will not remember my sins.

23:27. And he understandeth not that his eye seeth all things, for such a man's fear driveth him from the fear of God, and the eyes of men fearing him:

23:28. And he knoweth not that the eyes of the Lord are far brighter than the sun, beholding round about all the ways of men, and the bottom of the deep, and looking into the hearts of men, into the most hidden parts.

23:29. For all things were known to the Lord God, before they were created: so also after they were perfected he beholdeth all things.

23:30. This man shall be punished in the streets of the city, and he shall be chased as a colt: and where he suspected not, he shall be taken.

23:31. And he shall be in disgrace with all men, because he understood not the fear of the Lord.

23:32. So every woman also that leaveth her husband, and bringeth in an heir by another:

23:33. For first she hath been unfaithful to the law of the most High: and secondly, she hath offended against her husband: thirdly, she hath fornicated in adultery, and hath gotten her children of another man.

23:34. This woman shall be brought into the assembly, and inquisition shall be made of her children.

23:35. Her children shall not take root, and her branches shall bring forth no fruit.

23:36. She shall leave her memory to be cursed, and her infamy shall not be blotted out.

23:37. And they that remain shall know, that there is nothing better than the fear of God: and that there is nothing sweeter than to have regard to the commandments of the Lord.

23:38. It is great glory to follow the Lord: for length of days shall be received from him.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 24

Wisdom praiseth herself: her origin, her dwelling, her dignity, and her fruits.

24:1. Wisdom shall praise her own self, and shall be honoured in God, and shall glory in the midst of her people,

24:2. And shall open her mouth in the churches of the most High, and shall glorify herself in the sight of his power,

24:3. And in the midst of her own people she shall be exalted, and shall be admired in the holy assembly.

24:4. And in the multitude of the elect she shall have praise, and among the blessed she shall be blessed, saying:

24:5. I came out of the mouth of the most High, the firstborn before all creatures:

24:6. I made that in the heavens there should rise light that never faileth, and as a cloud I covered all the earth:

24:7. I dwelt in the highest places, and my throne is in a pillar of a cloud.

24:8. I alone have compassed the circuit of heaven, and have penetrated into the bottom of the deep, and have walked in the waves of the sea,

24:9. And have stood in all the earth: and in every people,

24:10. And in every nation I have had the chief rule:

24:11. And by my power I have trodden under my feet the hearts of all the high and low: and in all these I sought rest, and I shall abide in the inheritance of the Lord.

24:12. Then the creator of all things commanded, and said to me: and he that made me, rested in my tabernacle,

24:13. And he said to me: Let thy dwelling be in Jacob, and thy inheritance in Israel, and take root in my elect.

24:14. From the beginning, and before the world, was I created, and unto the world to come I shall not cease to be, and in the holy dwelling place I have ministered before him.

24:15. And so was I established in Sion, and in the holy city likewise I rested, and my power was in Jerusalem.

24:16. And I took root in an honourable people, and in the portion of my God his inheritance, and my abode is in the full assembly of saints.

24:17. I was exalted like a cedar in Libanus, and as a cypress tree on mount Sion.

24:18. I was exalted like a palm tree in Cades, and as a rose plant in Jericho:

24:19. As a fair olive tree in the plains, and as a plane tree by the water in the streets, was I exalted.

24:20. I gave a sweet smell like cinnamon, and aromatical balm: I yielded a sweet odour like the best myrrh:

24:21. And I perfumed my dwelling as storax, and galbanum, and onyx, and aloes, and as the frankincense not cut, and my odour is as the purest balm.

24:22. I have stretched out my branches as the turpentine tree, and my branches are of honour and grace.

24:23. As the vine I have brought forth a pleasant odour: and my flowers are the fruit of honour and riches.

24:24. I am the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope.

24:25. In me is all grace of the way and of the truth, in me is all hope of life and of virtue.

24:26. Come over to me, all ye that desire me, and be filled with my fruits.

24:27. For my spirit is sweet above honey, and my inheritance above honey and the honeycomb.

24:28. My memory is unto everlasting generations.

24:29. They that eat me, shall yet hunger: and they that drink me, shall yet thirst.

24:30. He that hearkeneth to me, shall not be confounded: and they that work by me, shall not sin.

24:31. They that explain me shall have life everlasting.

24:32. All these things are the book of life, and the covenant of the most High, and the knowledge of truth.

24:33. Moses commanded a law in the precepts of justices, and an inheritance to the house of Jacob, and the promises to Israel.

24:34. He appointed to David his servant to raise up of him a most mighty king, and sitting on the throne of glory for ever.

A most mighty king. . .Viz., Christ, who by his gospel, like an overflowing river, has enriched the earth with heavenly wisdom.

24:35. Who filleth up wisdom as the Phison, and as the Tigris in the days of the new fruits.

24:36. Who maketh understanding to abound as the Euphrates, who multiplieth it as the Jordan in the time of harvest.

24:37. Who sendeth knowledge as the light, and riseth up as Gehon in the time of the vintage.

24:38. Who first hath perfect knowledge of her, and a weaker shall not search her out.

Who first hath perfect knowledge of her. . .Christ was the first that had perfect knowledge of heavenly wisdom.

24:39. For her thoughts are more vast than the sea, and her counsels more deep than the great ocean.

24:40. I, wisdom, have poured out rivers.

24:41. I, like a brook out of a river of a mighty water; I, like a channel of a river, and like an aqueduct, came out of paradise.

24:42. I said: I will water my garden of plants, and I will water abundantly the fruits of my meadow.

24:43. And behold my brook became a great river, and my river came near to a sea:

24:44. For I make doctrine to shine forth to all as the morning light, and I will declare it afar off.

24:45. I will penetrate to all the lower parts of the earth, and will behold all that sleep, and will enlighten all that hope in the Lord.

24:46. I will yet pour out doctrine as prophecy, and will leave it to them that seek wisdom, and will not cease to instruct their offspring even to the holy age.

24:47. See ye that I have not laboured myself only, but for all that seek out the truth.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 25

Documents of wisdom on several subjects.

25:1. With three things my spirit is pleased, which are approved before God and men:

25:2. The concord of brethren, and the love of neighbours, and man and wife that agree well together.

25:3. Three sorts my soul hateth, and I am greatly grieved at their life:

25:4. A poor man that is proud: a rich man that is a liar: an old man that is a fool, and doting.

25:5. The things that thou hast not gathered in thy youth, how shalt thou find them in thy old age?

25:6. O how comely is judgment for a grey head, and for ancients to know counsel!

25:7. O how comely is wisdom for the aged, and understanding and counsel to men of honour!

25:8. Much experience is the crown of old men, and the fear of God is their glory.

25:9. Nine things that are not to be imagined by the heart have I magnified, and the tenth I will utter to men with my tongue.

25:10. A man that hath joy of his children: and he that liveth and seeth the fall of his enemies.

25:11. Blessed is he that dwelleth with a wise woman, and that hath not slipped with his tongue, and that hath not served such as are unworthy of him.

25:12. Blessed is he that findeth a true friend, and that declareth justice to an ear that heareth.

25:13. How great is he that findeth wisdom and knowledge! but there is none above him that feareth the Lord.

25:14. The fear of God hath set itself above all things:

25:15. Blessed is the man, to whom it is given to have the fear of God: he that holdeth it, to whom shall he be likened?

25:16. The fear of God is the beginning of his love: and the beginning of faith is to be fast joined unto it.

25:17. The sadness of the heart is every plague: and the wickedness of a woman is all evil.

25:18. And a man will choose any plague, but the plague of the heart:

25:19. And any wickedness, but the wickedness of a woman:

25:20. And any affliction, but the affliction from them that hate him:

25:21. And any revenge, but the revenge of enemies.

25:22. There is no head worse than the head of a serpent:

25:23. And there is no anger above the anger of a woman. It will be more agreeable to abide with a lion and a dragon, than to dwell with a wicked woman.

25:24. The wickedness of a woman changeth her face: and she darkeneth her countenance as a bear: and sheweth it like sackcloth. In the midst of her neighbours,

25:25. Her husband groaned, and hearing he sighed a little.

25:26. All malice is short to the malice of a woman, let the lot of sinners fall upon her.

25:27. As the climbing of a sandy way is to the feet of the aged, so is a wife full of tongue to a quiet man.

25:28. Look not upon a woman's beauty, and desire not a woman for beauty.

25:29. A woman's anger, and impudence, and confusion is great.

25:30. A woman, if she have superiority, is contrary to her husband.

25:31. A wicked woman abateth the courage, and maketh a heavy countenance, and a wounded heart.

25:32. Feeble hands, and disjointed knees, a woman that doth not make her husband happy.

25:33. From the woman came the beginning of sin, and by her we all die.

25:34. Give no issue to thy water, no, not a little: nor to a wicked woman liberty to gad abroad.

25:35. If she walk not at thy hand, she will confound thee in the sight of thy enemies.

25:36. Cut her off from thy flesh, lest she always abuse thee.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 26

Of good and bad women.

26:1. Happy is the husband of a good wife: for the number of his years is double.

26:2. A virtuous woman rejoiceth her husband, and shall fulfil the years of his life in peace.

26:3. A good wife is a good portion, she shall be given in the portion of them that fear God, to a man for his good deeds.

26:4. Rich or poor, if his heart is good, his countenance shall be cheerful at all times.

26:5. Of three things my heart hath been afraid, and at the fourth my face hath trembled:

26:6. The accusation of a city, and the gathering together of the people:

26:7. And a false calumny, all are more grievous than death.

26:8. A jealous woman is the grief and mourning of the heart.

26:9. With a jealous woman is a scourge of the tongue which communicateth with all.

26:10. As a yoke of oxen that is moved to and fro, so also is a wicked woman: he that hath hold of her, is as he that taketh hold of a scorpion.

26:11. A drunken woman is a great wrath: and her reproach and shame shall not be hid.

26:12. The fornication of a woman shall be known by the haughtiness of her eyes and by her eyelids.

26:13. On a daughter that turneth not away herself, set a strict watch: lest finding an opportunity she abuse herself.

26:14. Take heed of the impudence of her eyes, and wonder not if she slight thee.

26:15. She will open her mouth as a thirsty traveller to the fountain, and will drink of every water near her, and will sit down by every hedge, and open her quiver against every arrow, until she fail.

26:16. The grace of a diligent woman shall delight her husband, and shall fat his bones.

26:17. Her discipline is the gift of God.

26:18. Such is a wise and silent woman, and there is nothing so much worth as a well instructed soul.

26:19. A holy and shamefaced woman is grace upon grace.

26:20. And no price is worthy of a continent soul.

26:21. As the sun when it riseth to the world in the high places of God, so is the beauty of a good wife for the ornament of her house.

26:22. As the lamp shining upon the holy candlestick, so is the beauty of the face in a ripe age,

26:23. As golden pillars upon bases of silver, so are the firm feet upon the soles of a steady woman.

26:24. As everlasting foundations upon a solid rock, so the commandments of God in the heart of a holy woman.

26:25. At two things my heart is grieved, and the third bringeth anger upon me.

26:26. A man of war fainting through poverty, and a man of sense despised:

26:27. And he that passeth over from justice to sin, God hath prepared such an one for the sword.

26:28. Two sorts of callings have appeared to me hard and dangerous: a merchant is hardly free from negligence: and a huckster shall not be justified from the sins of the lips.

From negligence. . .That is, from the neglect of the service of God: because the eager pursuit of the mammon of this world, is apt to make men of that calling forget the great duties of loving God above all things, and their neighbours as themselves.--Ibid. A huckster. . .Or, a retailer of wine. Men of that profession are both greatly exposed to danger of sin themselves, and are too often accessary to the sins of others.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 27

Dangers of sin from several heads: the fear of God is the best preservative. He that diggeth a pit, shall fall into it.

27:1. Through poverty many have sinned: and he that seeketh to be enriched, turneth away his eye.

27:2. As a stake sticketh fast in the midst of the joining of stones, so also in the midst of selling and buying, sin shall stick fast.

27:3. Sin shall be destroyed with the sinner.

27:4. Unless thou hold thyself diligently in the fear of the Lord, thy house shall quickly be overthrown.

27:5. As when one sifteth with a sieve, the dust will remain: so will the perplexity of a man in his thoughts.

27:6. The furnace trieth the potter's vessels, and the trial of affliction just men.

27:7. As the dressing of a tree sheweth the fruit thereof, so a word out of the thought of the heart of man.

27:8. Praise not a man before he speaketh, for this is the trial of men.

27:9. If thou followest justice, thou shalt obtain her: and shalt put her on as a long robe of honour, and thou shalt dwell with her: and she shall protect thee for ever, and in the day of acknowledgment thou shalt find a strong foundation.

27:10. Birds resort unto their like: so truth will return to them that practise her.

27:11. The lion always lieth in wait for prey: so do sins for them that work iniquities.

27:12. A holy man continueth in wisdom as the sun: but a fool is changed as the moon.

27:13. In the midst of the unwise keep in the word till its time: but be continually among men that think.

27:14. The discourse of sinners is hateful, and their laughter is at the pleasures of sin.

27:15. The speech that sweareth much shall make the hair of the head stand upright: and its irreverence shall make one stop his ears.

27:16. In the quarrels of the road is the shedding of blood: and their cursing is a grievous hearing.

27:17. He that discloseth the secret of a friend loseth his credit, and shall never find a friend to his mind.

27:18. Love thy neighbour, and be joined to him with fidelity.

27:19. But if thou discover his secrets, follow no more after him.

27:20. For as a man that destroyeth his friend, so is he that destroyeth the friendship of his neighbour.

27:21. And as one that letteth a bird go out of his hand, so hast thou let thy neighbour go, and thou shalt not get him again.

27:22. Follow after him no more, for he is gone afar off, he is fled, as a roe escaped out of the snare because his soul is wounded.

27:23. Thou canst no more bind him up. And of a curse there is reconciliation:

And of a curse there is reconciliation. . .That is, it is easier to obtain a reconciliation after a curse, than after disclosing a secret.

27:24. But to disclose the secrets of a friend, leaveth no hope to an unhappy soul.

27:25. He that winketh with the eye forgeth wicked things, and no man will cast him off:

27:26. In the sight of thy eyes he will sweeten his mouth, and will admire thy words: but at the last he will writhe his mouth, and on thy words he will lay a stumblingblock.

27:27. I have hated many things but not like him, and the Lord will hate him.

27:28. If one cast a stone on high, it will fall upon his own head: and the deceitful stroke will wound the deceitful.

27:29. He that diggeth a pit, shall fall into it: and he that setteth a stone for his neighbour, shall stumble upon it: and he that layeth a snare for another, shall perish in it.

27:30. A mischievous counsel shall be rolled back upon the author, and he shall not know from whence it cometh to him.

27:31. Mockery and reproach are of the proud, and vengeance as a lion shall lie in wait for him.

27:32. They shall perish in a snare that are delighted with the fall of the just: and sorrow shall consume them before they die.

27:33. Anger and fury are both of them abominable, and the sinful man shall be subject to them.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 28

Lessons against revenge and quarrels. The evils of the tongue.

28:1. He that seeketh to revenge himself, shall find vengeance from the Lord, and he will surely keep his sins in remembrance.

28:2. Forgive thy neighbour if he hath hurt thee: and then shall thy sins be forgiven to thee when thou prayest.

28:3. Man to man reserveth anger, and doth he seek remedy of God?

28:4. He hath no mercy on a man like himself, and doth he entreat for his own sins?

28:5. He that is but flesh, nourisheth anger, and doth he ask forgiveness of God? who shall obtain pardon for his sins?

28:6. Remember thy last things, and let enmity cease:

28:7. For corruption and death hang over in his commandments.

In his commandments. . .Supply the sentence out of the Greek thus: Remember corruption and death, and abide in the commandments.

28:8. Remember the fear of God, and be not angry with thy neighbour.

28:9. Remember the covenant of the most High, and overlook the ignorance of thy neighbour.

28:10. Refrain from strife, and thou shalt diminish thy sins.

28:11. For a passionate man kindleth strife, and a sinful man will trouble his friends, and bring in debate in the midst of them that are at peace.

28:12. For as the wood of the forest is, so the fire burneth, and as a man's strength is, so shall his anger be, and according to his riches he shall increase his anger.

28:13. A hasty contention kindleth a fire and a hasty quarrel sheddeth blood and a tongue that beareth witness bringeth death.

28:14. If thou blow the spark, it shall burn as a fire: and if thou spit upon it, it shall be quenched: both come out of the mouth.

28:15. The whisperer and the double tongue is accursed: for he hath troubled many that were at peace.

28:16. The tongue of a third person hath disquieted many, and scattered them from nation to nation.

28:17. It hath destroyed the strong cities of the rich, and hath overthrown the houses of great men.

28:18. It hath cut in pieces the forces of people, and undone strong nations.

28:19. The tongue of a third person hath cast out valiant women, and deprived them of their labours.

28:20. He that hearkeneth to it, shall never have rest, neither shall he have a friend in whom he may repose.

28:21. The stroke of a whip maketh a blue mark: but the stroke of the tongue will break the bones.

28:22. Many have fallen by the edge of the sword, but not so many as have perished by their own tongue.

28:23. Blessed is he that is defended from a wicked tongue, that hath not passed into the wrath thereof, and that hath not drawn the yoke thereof, and hath not been bound in its bands.

28:24. For its yoke is a yoke of iron: and its bands are bands of brass.

28:25. The death thereof is a most evil death: and hell is preferable to it.

28:26. Its continuance shall not be for a long time, but it shall possess the ways of the unjust: and the just shall not be burnt with its flame.

28:27. They that forsake God shall fall into it, and it shall burn in them, and shall not be quenched, and it shall be sent upon them as a lion, and as a leopard it shall tear them.

28:28. Hedge in thy ears with thorns, hear not a wicked tongue, and make doors and bars to thy mouth.

28:29. Melt down thy gold and silver, and make a balance for thy words, and a just bridle for thy mouth:

28:30. And take heed lest thou slip with thy tongue, and fall in the sight of thy enemies who lie in wait for thee, and thy fall be incurable unto death.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 29

Of charity in lending money, and justice in repaying. Of alms, and of being surety.

29:1. He that sheweth mercy, lendeth to his neighbour: and he that is stronger in hand, keepeth the commandments.

And he that is stronger in hand. . .That is, he that is hearty and bountiful in lending to his neighbour in his necessity.

29:2. Lend to thy neighbour in the time of his need, and pay thou thy neighbour again in due time.

29:3. Keep thy word, and deal faithfully with him: and thou shalt always find that which is necessary for thee.

29:4. Many have looked upon a thing lent as a thing found, and have given trouble to them that helped them.

29:5. Till they receive, they kiss the hands of the lender, and in promises they humble their voice:

29:6. But when they should repay, they will ask time, and will return tedious and murmuring words, and will complain of the time:

29:7. And if he be able to pay, he will stand off, he will scarce pay one half, and will count it as if he had found it:

29:8. But if not, he will defraud him of his money, and he shall get him for an enemy without cause.

29:9. And he will pay him with reproaches and curses, and instead of honour and good turn will repay him injuries.

29:10. Many have refused to lend, not out of wickedness, but they were afraid to be defrauded without cause.

29:11. But yet towards the poor be thou more hearty, and delay not to shew him mercy.

29:12. Help the poor because of the commandment: and send him not away empty handed because of his poverty.

29:13. Lose thy money for thy brother and thy friend: and hide it not under a stone to be lost.

29:14. Place thy treasure in the commandments of the most High, and it shall bring thee more profit than gold.

29:15. Shut up alms in the heart of the poor, and it shall obtain help for thee against all evil.

29:16. Better than the shield of the mighty, and better than the spear:

29:17. It shall fight for thee against thy enemy.

29:18. A good man is surety for his neighbour: and he that hath lost shame, will leave him to himself.

29:19. Forget not the kindness of thy surety: for he hath given his life for thee.

29:20. The sinner and the unclean fleeth from his surety.

29:21. A sinner attributeth to himself the goods of his surety: and he that is of an unthankful mind will leave him that delivered him.

29:22. A man is surety for his neighbour: and when he hath lost all shame, he shall forsake him.

29:23. Evil suretyship hath undone many of good estate, and hath tossed them as a wave of the sea.

29:24. It hath made powerful men to go from place to place round about, and they have wandered in strange countries.

29:25. A sinner that transgresseth the commandment of the Lord, shall fall into an evil suretyship: and he that undertaketh many things, shall fall into judgment.

29:26. Recover thy neighbour according to thy power, and take heed to thyself that thou fall not.

29:27. The chief thing for man's life is water and bread, and clothing, and a house to cover shame.

29:28. Better is the poor man's fare under a roof of boards, than sumptuous cheer abroad in another man's house.

29:29. Be contented with little instead of much, and thou shalt not hear the reproach of going abroad.

29:30. It is a miserable life to go as a guest from house to house: for where a man is a stranger, he shall not deal confidently, nor open his mouth.

29:31. He shall entertain and feed, and give drink to the unthankful, and moreover he shall hear bitter words.

29:32. Go, stranger, and furnish the table, and give others to eat what thou hast in thy hand.

29:33. Give place to the honourable presence of my friends: for I want my house, my brother being to be lodged with me.

29:34. These things are grievous to a man of understanding: the upbraiding of houseroom, and the reproaching of the lender.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 30

Of correction of children. Health is better than wealth. Excessive grief is hurtful.

30:1. He that loveth his son, frequently chastiseth him, that he may rejoice in his latter end, and not grope after the doors of his neighbours.

30:2. He that instructeth his son shall be praised in him, and shall glory in him in the midst of them of his household.

30:3. He that teacheth his son, maketh his enemy jealous, and in the midst of his friends he shall glory in him.

30:4. His father is dead, and he is as if he were not dead: for he hath left one behind him that is like himself.

30:5. While he lived he saw and rejoiced in him: and when he died he was not sorrowful, neither was he confounded before his enemies.

30:6. For he left behind him a defender of his house against his enemies, and one that will requite kindness to his friends.

30:7. For the souls of his sons he shall bind up his wounds, and at every cry his bowels shall be troubled.

30:8. A horse not broken becometh stubborn, and a child left to himself will become headstrong.

30:9. Give thy son his way, and he shall make thee afraid: play with him, and he shall make thee sorrowful.

30:10. Laugh not with him, lest thou have sorrow, and at the last thy teeth be set on edge.

30:11. Give him not liberty in his youth, and wink not at his devices.

30:12. Bow down his neck while he is young, and beat his sides while he is a child, lest he grow stubborn, and regard thee not, and so be a sorrow of heart to thee.

30:13. Instruct thy son, and labour about him, lest his lewd behaviour be an offence to thee.

30:14. Better is a poor man who is sound, and strong of constitution, than a rich man who is weak and afflicted with evils.

30:15. Health of the soul in holiness of justice, is better than all gold and silver: and a sound body, than immense revenues.

30:16. There is no riches above the riches of the health of the body: and there is no pleasure above the joy of the heart.

30:17. Better is death than a bitter life, and everlasting rest, than continual sickness.

30:18. Good things that are hidden in a mouth that is shut, are as messes of meat set about a grave.

30:19. What good shall an offering do to an idol? for it can neither eat, nor smell:

30:20. So is he that is persecuted by the Lord, bearing the reward of his iniquity:

30:21. He seeth with his eyes, and groaneth, as an eunuch embracing a virgin, and sighing.

30:22. Give not up thy soul to sadness, and afflict not thyself in thy own counsel.

30:23. The joyfulness of the heart, is the life of a man, and a never failing treasure of holiness: and the joy of a man is length of life.

30:24. Have pity on thy own soul, pleasing God, and contain thyself: gather up thy heart in his holiness: and drive away sadness far from thee.

30:25. For sadness hath killed many, and there is no profit in it.

30:26. Envy and anger shorten a man's days, and pensiveness will bring old age before the time.

30:27. A cheerful and good heart is always feasting: for his banquets are prepared with diligence.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 31

Of the desire of riches, and of moderation in eating and drinking.

31:1. Watching for riches consumeth the flesh, and the thought thereof driveth away sleep.

31:2. The thinking beforehand turneth away the understanding, and a grievous sickness maketh the soul sober.

31:3. The rich man hath laboured in gathering riches together, and when he resteth he shall be filled with his goods.

31:4. The poor man hath laboured in his low way of life, and in the end he is still poor.

31:5. He that loveth gold, shall not be justified: and he that followeth after corruption, shall be filled with it.

31:6. Many have been brought to fall for gold, and the beauty thereof hath been their ruin.

31:7. Gold is a stumblingblock to them that sacrifice to it: woe to them that eagerly follow after it, and every fool shall perish by it.

31:8. Blessed is the rich man that is found without blemish: and that hath not gone after gold, nor put his trust in money nor in treasures.

31:9. Who is he, and we will praise him? for he hath done wonderful things in his life.

31:10. Who hath been tried thereby, and made perfect, he shall have glory everlasting. He that could have transgressed, and hath not transgressed: and could do evil things, and hath not done them:

31:11. Therefore are his goods established in the Lord, and all the church of the saints shall declare his alms.

31:12. Art thou set at a great table? be not the first to open thy mouth upon it.

31:13. Say not: There are many things which are upon it.

31:14. Remember that a wicked eye is evil.

31:15. What is created more wicked than an eye? therefore shall it weep over all the face when it shall see.

31:16. Stretch not out thy hand first, lest being disgraced with envy thou be put to confusion.

31:17. Be not hasty in a feast.

31:18. Judge of the disposition of thy neighbour by thyself.

31:19. Use as a frugal man the things that are set before thee: lest if thou eatest much, thou be hated.

31:20. Leave off first, for manners' sake: and exceed not, lest thou offend.

31:21. And if thou sittest among many, reach not thy hand out first of all, and be not the first to ask for drink.

31:22. How sufficient is a little wine for a man well taught, and in sleeping thou shalt not be uneasy with it, and thou shalt feel no pain.

31:23. Watching, and choler, and gripes, are with an intemperate man:

31:24. Sound and wholesome sleep with a moderate man: he shall sleep till morning, and his soul shall be delighted with him.

31:25. And if thou hast been forced to eat much, arise, go out, and vomit: and it shall refresh thee, and thou shalt not bring sickness upon thy body.

31:26. Hear me, my son, and despise me not: and in the end thou shalt find my words.

31:27. In all thy works be quick, and no infirmity shall come to thee.

31:28. The lips of many shall bless him that is liberal of his bread, and the testimony of his truth is faithful.

31:29. Against him that is niggardly of his bread, the city will murmur, and the testimony of his niggardliness is true.

31:30. Challenge not them that love wine: for wine hath destroyed very many.

31:31. Fire trieth hard iron: so wine drunk to excess shall rebuke the hearts of the proud.

31:32. Wine taken with sobriety is equal life to men: if thou drink it moderately, thou shalt be sober.

31:33. What is his life, who is diminished with wine?

31:34. What taketh away life? death.

31:35. Wine was created from the beginning to make men joyful, and not to make them drunk.

31:36. Wine drunken with moderation is the joy of the soul and the heart.

31:37. Sober drinking is health to soul and body.

31:38. Wine drunken with excess raiseth quarrels, and wrath, and many ruins.

31:39. Wine drunken with excess is bitterness of the soul.

31:40. The heat of drunkenness is the stumblingblock of the fool, lessening strength and causing wounds.

31:41. Rebuke not thy neighbour in a banquet of wine: and despise him not in his mirth.

31:42. Speak not to him words of reproach: and press him not in demanding again.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 32

Lessons for superiors and inferiors. Advantages of fearing God, and doing nothing without counsel.

32:1. Have they made thee ruler? be not lifted up: be among them as one of them.

32:2. Have care of them, and so sit down, and when thou hast acquitted thyself of all thy charge, take thy place:

32:3. That thou mayst rejoice for them, and receive a crown as an ornament of grace, and get the honour of the contribution.

32:4. Speak, thou that art elder: for it becometh thee,

32:5. To speak the first word with careful knowledge, and hinder not music.

32:6. Where there is no hearing, pour not out words, and be not lifted up out of season with thy wisdom.

32:7. A concert of music in a banquet of wine is as a carbuncle set in gold.

32:8. As a signet of an emerald in a work of gold: so is the melody of music with pleasant and moderate wine.

32:9. Hear in silence, and for thy reverence good grace shall come to thee.

32:10. Young man, scarcely speak in thy own cause.

32:11. If thou be asked twice, let thy answer be short.

32:12. In many things be as if thou wert ignorant, and hear in silence and withal seeking.

32:13. In the company of great men take not upon thee: and when the ancients are present, speak not much.

32:14. Before a storm goeth lightning: and before shamefacedness goeth favour: and for thy reverence good grace shall come to thee.

32:15. And at the time of rising be not slack: but be first to run home to thy house, and there withdraw thyself, and there take thy pastime.

32:16. And do what thou hast a mind, but not in sin or proud speech.

32:17. And for all these things bless the Lord, that made thee, and that replenisheth thee with all his good things.

32:18. He that feareth the Lord, will receive his discipline: and they that will seek him early, shall find a blessing.

32:19. He that seeketh the law, shall be filled with it: and he that dealeth deceitfully, shall meet with a stumblingblock therein.

32:20. They that fear the Lord, shall find just judgment, and shall kindle justice as a light.

32:21. A sinful man will flee reproof, and will find an excuse according to his will.

32:22. A man of counsel will not neglect understanding, a strange and proud man will not dread fear:

32:23. Even after he hath done with fear without counsel, he shall be controlled by the things of his own seeking.

32:24. My son, do thou nothing without counsel, and thou shalt not repent when thou hast done.

32:25. Go not in the way of ruin, and thou shalt not stumble against the stones: trust not thyself to a rugged way, lest thou set a stumblingblock to thy soul.

32:26. And beware of thy own children, and take heed of them of thy household.

32:27. In every work of thine regard thy soul in faith: for this is the keeping of the commandments.

In faith. . .That is, follow sincerely thy soul in her faith and conscience.

32:28. He that believeth God, taketh heed to the commandments: and he that trusteth in him, shall fare never the worse.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 33

The fear of God is the best security. Times and men are in the hands of God. Take care of thyself as long as thou livest, and look to thy servants.

33:1. No evils shall happen to him that feareth the Lord, but in temptation God will keep him and deliver him from evils.

33:2. A wise man hateth not the commandments and justices, and he shall not be dashed in pieces as a ship in a storm.

33:3. A man of understanding is faithful to the law of God, and the law is faithful to him.

33:4. He that cleareth up a question, shall prepare what to say, and so having prayed he shall be heard, and shall keep discipline, and then he shall answer.

33:5. The heart of a fool is as a wheel of a cart: and his thoughts are like a rolling axletree.

33:6. A friend that is a mocker, is like a stallion horse: he neigheth under every one that sitteth upon him.

33:7. Why doth one day excel another, and one light another, and one year another year, when all come of the sun?

33:8. By the knowledge of the Lord they were distinguished, the sun being made, and keeping his commandment.

33:9. And he ordered the seasons, and holidays of them, and in them they celebrated festivals at an hour.

33:10. Some of them God made high and great days, and some of them he put in the number of ordinary days. And all men are from the ground, and out of the earth, from whence Adam was created.

33:11. With much knowledge the Lord hath divided them and diversified their ways.

33:12. Some of them hath he blessed, and exalted: and some of them hath he sanctified, and set near himself: and some of them hath he cursed and brought low, and turned them from their station.

33:13. As the potter's clay is in his hand, to fashion and order it:

33:14. All his ways are according to his ordering: so man is in the hand of him that made him, and he will render to him according to his judgment.

33:15. Good is set against evil, and life against death: so also is the sinner against a just man. And so look upon all the works of the most High. Two and two, and one against another.

33:16. And I awaked last of all, and as one that gathereth after the grapegatherers.

33:17. In the blessing of God I also have hoped: and as one that gathereth grapes, have I filled the winepress.

33:18. See that I have not laboured for myself only, but for all that seek discipline.

33:19. Hear me, ye great men, and all ye people, and hearken with your ears, ye rulers of the church.

33:20. Give not to son or wife, brother or friend, power over thee while thou livest; and give not thy estate to another, lest thou repent, and thou entreat for the same.

33:21. As long as thou livest, and hast breath in thee, let no man change thee.

Change thee. . .That is, so as to have this power over thee.

33:22. For it is better that thy children should ask of thee, than that thou look toward the hands of thy children.

33:23. In all thy works keep the pre-eminence.

The pre-eminence. . .That is, be master in thy own house, and part not with thy authority.

33:24. Let no stain sully thy glory. In the time when thou shalt end the days of thy life, and in the time of thy decease, distribute thy inheritance.

33:25. Fodder, and a wand, and a burden are for an ass: bread, and correction, and work for a slave.

33:26. He worketh under correction, and seeketh to rest: let his hands be idle, and he seeketh liberty.

33:27. The yoke and the thong bend a stiff neck, and continual labours bow a slave.

33:28. Torture and fetters are for a malicious slave: send him to work, that he be not idle:

33:29. For idleness hath taught much evil.

33:30. Set him to work: for so it is fit for him. And if he be not obedient, bring him down with fetters, but be not excessive towards any one, and do no grievous thing without judgment.

33:31. If thou have a faithful servant, let him be to thee as thy own soul: treat him as a brother: because in the blood of thy soul thou hast gotten him.

33:32. If thou hurt him unjustly, he will run away:

33:33. And if he rise up and depart, thou knowest not whom to ask, and in what way to seek him.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 34

The vanity of dreams. The advantage of experience, and of the fear of God.

34:1. The hopes of a man that is void of understanding are vain and deceitful: and dreams lift up fools.

34:2. The man that giveth heed to lying visions, is like to him that catcheth at a shadow, and followeth after the wind.

34:3. The vision of dreams is the resemblance of one thing to another: as when a man's likeness is before the face of a man.

34:4. What can be made clean by the unclean? and what truth can come from that which is false?

34:5. Deceitful divinations and lying omens and the dreams of evildoers, are vanity:

34:6. And the heart fancieth as that of a woman in travail: except it be a vision sent forth from the most High, set not thy heart upon them.

34:7. For dreams have deceived many, and they have failed that put their trust in them.

34:8. The word of the law shall be fulfilled without a lie, and wisdom shall be made plain in the mouth of the faithful.

34:9. What doth he know, that hath not been tried? A man that hath much experience, shall think of many things: and he that hath learned many things, shall shew forth understanding.

34:10. He that hath no experience, knoweth little: and he that hath been experienced in many things, multiplieth prudence.

34:11. He that hath not been tried, what manner of things doth he know? he that hath been surprised, shall abound with subtlety.

34:12. I have seen many things by travelling, and many customs of things.

34:13. Sometimes I have been in danger of death for these things, and I have been delivered by the grace of God.

34:14. The spirit of those that fear God, is sought after, and by his regard shall be blessed.

34:15. For their hope is on him that saveth them, and the eyes of God are upon them that love him.

34:16. He that feareth the Lord shall tremble at nothing, and shall not be afraid: for he is his hope.

34:17. The soul of him that feareth the Lord is blessed.

34:18. To whom doth he look, and who is his strength?

34:19. The eyes of the Lord are upon them that fear him, he is their powerful protector, and strong stay, a defence from the heat, and a cover from the sun at noon,

34:20. A preservation from stumbling, and a help from falling: he raiseth up the soul, and enlighteneth the eyes, and giveth health, and life, and blessing.

34:21. The offering of him that sacrificeth of a thing wrongfully gotten, is stained, and the mockeries of the unjust are not acceptable.

34:22. The Lord is only for them that wait upon him in the way of truth and justice.

34:23. The most High approveth not the gifts of the wicked: neither hath he respect to the oblations of the unjust, nor will he be pacified for sins by the multitude of their sacrifices.

34:24. He that offereth sacrifice of the goods of the poor, is as one that sacrificeth the son in the presence of his father.

34:25. The bread of the needy, is the life of the poor: he that defraudeth them thereof, is a man of blood.

34:26. He that taketh away the bread gotten by sweat, is like him that killeth his neighbour.

34:27. He that sheddeth blood, and he that defraudeth the laborer of his hire, are brothers.

34:28. When one buildeth up, and another pulleth down: what profit have they but the labour?

34:29. When one prayeth, and another curseth: whose voice will God hear?

34:30. He that washeth himself after touching the dead, if he toucheth him again, what doth his washing avail?

34:31. So a man that fasteth for his sins, and doth the same again, what doth his humbling himself profit him? who will hear his prayer?

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 35

What sacrifices are pleasing to God.

35:1. He that keepeth the law, multiplieth offerings.

35:2. It is a wholesome sacrifice to take heed to the commandments, and to depart from all iniquity.

35:3. And to depart from injustice, is to offer a propitiatory sacrifice for injustices, and a begging of pardon for sins.

35:4. He shall return thanks, that offereth fine flour: and he that doth mercy, offereth sacrifice.

35:5. To depart from iniquity is that which pleaseth the Lord, and to depart from injustice, is an entreaty for sins.

35:6. Thou shalt not appear empty in the sight of the Lord.

35:7. For all these things are to be done because of the commandment of God.

35:8. The oblation of the just maketh the altar fat, and is an odour of sweetness in the sight of the most High.

35:9. The sacrifice of the just is acceptable, and the Lord will not forget the memorial thereof.

35:10. Give glory to God with a good heart: and diminish not the firstfruits of thy hands.

35:11. In every gift shew a cheerful countenance, and sanctify thy tithes with joy.

35:12. Give to the most High according to what he hath given to thee, and with a good eye do according to the ability of thy hands:

35:13. For the Lord maketh recompense, and will give thee seven times as much.

35:14. Do not offer wicked gifts, for such he will not receive.

35:15. And look not upon an unjust sacrifice, for the Lord is judge, and there is not with him respect of person.

35:16. The Lord will not accept any person against a poor man, and he will hear the prayer of him that is wronged.

35:17. He will not despise the prayers of the fatherless: nor the widow, when she poureth out her complaint.

35:18. Do not the widow's tears run down the cheek, and her cry against him that causeth them to fall?

35:19. For from the cheek they go up even to heaven, and the Lord that heareth will not be delighted with them.

35:20. He that adoreth God with joy, shall be accepted, and his prayer shall approach even to the clouds.

35:21. The prayer of him that humbleth himself, shall pierce the clouds: and till it come nigh he will not be comforted: and he will not depart till the most High behold.

35:22. And the Lord will not be slack, but will judge for the just, and will do judgment: and the Almighty will not have patience with them, that he may crush their back:

35:23. And he will repay vengeance to the Gentiles, till he have taken away the multitude of the proud, and broken the sceptres of the unjust,

35:24. Till he have rendered to men according to their deeds: and according to the works of Adam, and according to his presumption,

35:25. Till he have judged the cause of his people, and he shall delight the just with his mercy.

35:26. The mercy of God is beautiful in the time of affliction, as a cloud of rain in the time of drought.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 36

A prayer for the church of God. Of a good heart, and a good wife.

36:1. Have mercy upon us, O God of all, and behold us, and shew us the light of thy mercies:

36:2. And send thy fear upon the nations, that have not sought after thee: that they may know that there is no God beside thee, and that they may shew forth thy wonders.

36:3. Lift up thy hand over the strange nations, that they may see thy power.

36:4. For as thou hast been sanctified in us in their sight, so thou shalt be magnified among them in our presence,

36:5. That they may know thee, as we also have known thee, that there is no God beside thee, O Lord.

36:6. Renew thy signs, and work new miracles.

36:7. Glorify thy hand, and thy right arm.

36:8. Raise up indignation, and pour out wrath.

36:9. Take away the adversary, and crush the enemy.

36:10. Hasten the time, and remember the end, that they may declare thy wonderful works.

36:11. Let him that escapeth be consumed by the rage of the fire: and let them perish that oppress thy people.

36:12. Crush the head of the princes of the enemies that say: There is no other beside us.

36:13. Gather together all the tribes of Jacob: that they may know that there no God besides thee, and may declare thy great works: and thou shalt inherit them as from the beginning.

36:14. Have mercy on thy people, upon whom thy name is invoked: and upon Israel, whom thou hast raised up to be thy firstborn.

36:15. Have mercy on Jerusalem, the city which thou hast sanctified, the city of thy rest.

36:16. Fill Sion with thy unspeakable words, and thy people with thy glory.

36:17. Give testimony to them that are thy creatures from the beginning, and raise up the prophecies which the former prophets spoke in thy name.

36:18. Reward them that patiently wait for thee, that thy prophets may be found faithful: and hear the prayers of thy servants,

36:19. According to the blessing of Aaron over thy people, and direct us into the way of justice, and let all know that dwell upon the earth, that thou art God the beholder of all ages.

36:20. The belly will devour all meat, yet one is better than another.

36:21. The palate tasteth venison and the wise heart false speeches.

36:22. A perverse heart will cause grief, and a man of experience will resist it.

36:23. A woman will receive every man: yet one daughter is better than another.

A woman will receive every man. . .That is, any man that her parents propose to her to marry, though she does not like him, but marries in obedience to her parents, who make the choice for her.

36:24. The beauty of a woman cheereth the countenance of her husband, and a man desireth nothing more.

36:25. If she have a tongue that can cure, and likewise mitigate and shew mercy: her husband is not like other men.

36:26. He that possesseth a good wife, beginneth a possession: she is a help like to himself, and a pillar of rest.

36:27. Where there is no hedge, the possession shall be spoiled: and where there is no wife, he mourneth that is in want.

36:28. Who will trust him that hath no rest, and that lodgeth wheresoever the night taketh him, as a robber well appointed, that skippeth from city to city.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 37

Of the choice of friends and counsellors.

37:1. Every friend will say: I also am his friend: but there is a friend, that is only a friend in name. Is not this a grief even to death?

37:2. But a companion and a friend shall be turned to an enemy.

37:3. O wicked presumption, whence camest thou to cover the earth with thy malice, and deceitfulness?

37:4. There is a companion who rejoiceth with his friend in his joys, but in the time of trouble, he will be against him.

37:5. There is a companion who condoleth with his friend for his belly's sake, and he will take up a shield against the enemy.

37:6. Forget not thy friend in thy mind, and be not unmindful of him in thy riches.

37:7. Consult not with him that layeth a snare for thee, and hide thy counsel from them that envy thee.

37:8. Every counsellor giveth out counsel, but there is one that is a counsellor for himself.

37:9. Beware of a counsellor. And know before what need he hath: for he will devise to his own mind:

37:10. Lest he thrust a stake into the ground, and say to thee:

37:11. Thy way is good; and then stand on the other side to see what shall befall thee.

37:12. Treat not with a man without religion concerning holiness, nor with an unjust man concerning justice, nor with a woman touching her of whom she is jealous, nor with a coward concerning war, nor with a merchant about traffic, nor with a buyer of selling, nor with an envious man of giving thanks,

37:13. Nor with the ungodly of piety, nor with the dishonest of honesty, nor with the field laborer of every work,

37:14. Nor with him that worketh by the year of the finishing of the year, nor with an idle servant of much business: give no heed to these in any matter of counsel.

37:15. But be continually with a holy man, whomsoever thou shalt know to observe the fear of God,

37:16. Whose soul is according to thy own soul: and who, when thou shalt stumble in the dark, will be sorry for thee.

37:17. And establish within thyself a heart of good counsel: for there is no other thing of more worth to thee than it.

37:18. The soul of a holy man discovereth sometimes true things, more than seven watchmen that sit in a high place to watch.

37:19. But above all these things pray to the most High, that he may direct thy way in truth.

37:20. In all thy works let the true word go before thee, and steady counsel before every action.

37:21. A wicked word shall change the heart: out of which four manner of things arise, good and evil, life and death: and the tongue is continually the ruler of them. There is a man that is subtle and a teacher of many, and yet is unprofitable to his own soul.

37:22. A skilful man hath taught many, and is sweet to his own soul.

37:23. He that speaketh sophistically, is hateful: he shall be destitute of every thing.

37:24. Grace is not given him from the Lord: for he is deprived of all wisdom.

37:25. There is a wise man that is wise to his own soul: and the fruit of his understanding is commendable.

37:26. A wise man instructeth his own people, and the fruits of his understanding are faithful.

37:27. A wise man shall be filled with blessings, and they that see shall praise him.

37:28. The life of a man is in the number of his days: but the days of Israel are innumerable.

37:29. A wise man shall inherit honour among his people, and his name shall live for ever.

37:30. My son, prove thy soul in thy life: and if it be wicked, give it no power:

37:31. For all things are not expedient for all, and every kind pleaseth not every soul.

37:32. Be not greedy in any feasting, and pour not out thyself upon any meat:

37:33. For in many meats there will be sickness, and greediness will turn to choler.

37:34. By surfeiting many have perished, but he that is temperate, shall prolong life.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 38

Of physicians and medicines: what is to be done in sickness, and how we are to mourn for the dead. Of the employments of labourers and artificers.

38:1. Honour the physician for the need thou hast of him: for the most High hath created him.

38:2. For all healing is from God, and he shall receive gifts of the king.

38:3. The skill of the physician shall lift up his head, and in the sight of great men he shall be praised.

38:4. The most High hath created medicines out of the earth, and a wise man will not abhor them.

38:5. Was not bitter water made sweet with wood?

38:6. The virtue of these things is come to the knowledge of men, and the most High hath given knowledge to men, that he may be honoured in his wonders.

38:7. By these he shall cure and shall allay their pains, and of these the apothecary shall make sweet confections, and shall make up ointments of health, and of his works there shall be no end.

38:8. For the peace of God is over all the face of the earth.

38:9. My son, in thy sickness neglect not thyself, but pray to the Lord, and he shall heal thee.

38:10. Turn away from sin and order thy hands aright, and cleanse thy heart from all offence.

38:11. Give a sweet savour, and a memorial of fine flour, and make a fat offering, and then give place to the physician.

38:12. For the Lord created him: and let him not depart from thee, for his works are necessary.

38:13. For there is a time when thou must fall into their hands:

38:14. And they shall beseech the Lord, that he would prosper what they give for ease and remedy, for their conversation.

38:15. He that sinneth in the sight of his Maker, shall fall into the hands of the physician.

38:16. My son, shed tears over the dead, and begin to lament as if thou hadst suffered some great harm, and according to judgment cover his body, and neglect not his burial.

38:17. And for fear of being ill spoken of weep bitterly for a day, and then comfort thyself in thy sadness.

38:18. And make mourning for him according to his merit for a day, or two, for fear of detraction.

38:19. For of sadness cometh death, and it overwhelmeth the strength, and the sorrow of the heart boweth down the neck.

38:20. In withdrawing aside sorrow remaineth: and the substance of the poor is according to his heart.

38:21. Give not up thy heart to sadness, but drive it from thee: and remember the latter end.

38:22. Forget it not: for there is no returning, and thou shalt do him no good, and shalt hurt thyself.

38:23. Remember my judgment: for thine also shall be so: yesterday for me, and to day for thee.

38:24. When the dead is at rest, let his remembrance rest, and comfort him in the departing of his spirit.

38:25. The wisdom of a scribe cometh by his time of leisure: and he that is less in action, shall receive wisdom.

A scribe. . .That is, a doctor of the law, or, a learned man.

38:26. With what wisdom shall he be furnished that holdeth the plough, and that glorieth in the goad, that driveth the oxen therewith, and is occupied in their labours, and his whole talk is about the offspring of bulls?

38:27. He shall give his mind to turn up furrows, and his care is to give the kine fodder.

38:28. So every craftsman and workmaster that laboureth night and day, he who maketh graven seals, and by his continual diligence varieth the figure: he shall give his mind to the resemblance of the picture, and by his watching shall finish the work.

38:29. So doth the smith sitting by the anvil and considering the iron work. The vapour of the fire wasteth his flesh, and he fighteth with the heat of the furnace.

38:30. The noise of the hammer is always in his ears, and his eye is upon the pattern of the vessel he maketh.

38:31. He setteth his mind to finish his work, and his watching to polish them to perfection.

38:32. So doth the potter sitting at his work, turning the wheel about with his feet, who is always carefully set to his work, and maketh all his work by number:

38:33. He fashioneth the clay with his arm, and boweth down his strength before his feet:

38:34. He shall give his mind to finish the glazing, and his watching to make clean the furnace.

38:35. All these trust to their hands, and every one is wise in his own art.

38:36. Without these a city is not built.

38:37. And they shall not dwell, nor walk about therein, and they shall not go up into the assembly.

38:38. Upon the judges' seat they shall not sit, and the ordinance of judgment they shall not understand, neither shall they declare discipline and judgment, and they shall not be found where parables are spoken:

38:39. But they shall strengthen the state of the world, and their prayer shall be in the work of their craft, applying their soul, and searching in the law of the most High.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 39

The exercises of the wise man. The Lord is to be glorified for his works.

39:1. The wise man will seek out the wisdom of all the ancients, and will be occupied in the prophets.

39:2. He will keep the sayings of renowned men, and will enter withal into the subtilties of parables.

39:3. He will search out the hidden meanings of proverbs, and will be conversant in the secrets of parables.

39:4. He shall serve among great men, and appear before the governor.

39:5. He shall pass into strange countries: for he shall try good and evil among men.

39:6. He will give his heart to resort early to the Lord that made him, and he will pray in the sight of the most High.

39:7. He will open his mouth in prayer, and will make supplication for his sins.

39:8. For if it shall please the great Lord, he will fill him with the spirit of understanding:

39:9. And he will pour forth the words of his wisdom as showers, and in his prayer he will confess to the Lord.

39:10. And he shall direct his counsel, and his knowledge, and in his secrets shall he meditate.

39:11. He shall shew forth the discipline he hath learned, and shall glory in the law of the covenant of the Lord.

39:12. Many shall praise his wisdom, and it shall never be forgotten.

39:13. The memory of him shall not depart away, and his name shall be in request from generation to generation.

39:14. Nations shall declare his wisdom, and the church shall shew forth his praise.

39:15. If he continue, he shall leave a name above a thousand: and if he rest, it shall be to his advantage.

39:16. I will yet meditate that I may declare: for I am filled as with a holy transport.

39:17. By a voice he saith: Hear me, ye divine offspring, and bud forth as the rose planted by the brooks of waters.

Ye divine offspring. . .He speaks to the children of Israel, the people of God: whom he exhorts to bud forth and flourish with virtue.

39:18. Give ye a sweet odour as frankincense.

39:19. Send forth flowers, as the lily, and yield a smell, and bring forth leaves in grace, and praise with canticles, and bless the Lord in his works.

39:20. Magnify his name, and give glory to him with the voice of your lips, and with the canticles of your mouths, and with harps, and in praising him, you shall say in this manner:

39:21. All the works of the Lord are exceeding good.

39:22. At his word the waters stood as a heap: and at the words of his mouth the receptacles of waters:

39:23. For at his commandment favour is shewn, and there is no diminishing of his salvation.

39:24. The works of all flesh are before him, and there is nothing hid from his eyes.

39:25. He seeth from eternity to eternity, and there is nothing wonderful before him.

39:26. There is no saying: What is this, or what is that? for all things shall be sought in their time.

39:27. His blessing hath overflowed like a river.

39:28. And as a flood hath watered the earth; so shall his wrath inherit the nations, that have not sought after him.

39:29. Even as he turned the waters into a dry land, and the earth was made dry: and his ways were made plain for their journey: so to sinners they are stumblingblocks in his wrath.

39:30. Good things were created for the good from the beginning, so for the wicked, good and evil things.

39:31. The principal things necessary for the life of men, are water, fire, and iron, salt, milk, and bread of flour, and honey, and the cluster of the grape, and oil, and clothing.

39:32. All these things shall be for good to the holy, so to the sinners and the ungodly they shall be turned into evil.

39:33. There are spirits that are created for vengeance, and in their fury they lay on grievous torments.

39:34. In the time of destruction they shall pour out their force: and they shall appease the wrath of him that made them.

39:35. Fire, hail, famine, and death, all these were created for vengeance.

39:36. The teeth of beasts, and scorpions, and serpents, and the sword taking vengeance upon the ungodly unto destruction.

39:37. In his commandments they shall feast, and they shall be ready upon earth when need is, and when their time is come they shall not transgress his word.

39:38. Therefore from the beginning I was resolved, and I have meditated, and thought on these things and left them in writing,

39:39. All the works of the Lord are good, and he will furnish every work in due time.

39:40. It is not to be said: This is worse than that: for all shall be well approved in their time.

39:41. Now therefore with the whole heart and mouth praise ye him, and bless the name of the Lord.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 40

The miseries of the life of man are relieved by the grace of God and his fear.

40:1. Great labour is created for all men, and a heavy yoke is upon the children of Adam from the day of their coming out of their mother's womb, until the day of their burial into the mother of all.

40:2. Their thoughts, and fears of the heart, their imagination of things to come, and the day of their end:

40:3. From him that sitteth on a glorious throne, unto him that is humbled in earth and ashes:

40:4. From him that weareth purple, and beareth the crown, even to him that is covered with rough linen: wrath, envy, trouble, unquietness, and the fear of death, continual anger, and strife,

40:5. And in the time of rest upon his bed, the sleep of the night changeth his knowledge.

40:6. A little and as nothing is his rest, and afterward in sleep, as in the day of keeping watch.

40:7. He is troubled in the vision of his heart, as if he had escaped in the day of battle. In the time of his safety he rose up, and wondereth that there is no fear.

40:8. Such things happen to all flesh, from man even to beast, and upon sinners are sevenfold more.

40:9. Moreover, death, and bloodshed, strife, and sword, oppressions, famine, and affliction, and scourges:

40:10. All these things are created for the wicked, and for their sakes came the flood.

40:11. All things that are of the earth, shall return to the earth again, and all waters shall return to the sea.

40:12. All bribery, and injustice shall be blotted out, and fidelity shall stand for ever.

40:13. The riches of the unjust shall be dried up like a river, and shall pass away with a noise like a great thunder in rain.

40:14. While he openeth his hands he shall rejoice: but transgressors shall pine away in the end.

40:15. The offspring of the ungodly shall not bring forth many branches, and make a noise as unclean roots upon the top of a rock.

40:16. The weed growing over every water, and at the bank of the river, shall be pulled up before all grass.

40:17. Grace is like a paradise in blessings, and mercy remaineth for ever.

40:18. The life of a laborer that is content with what he hath, shall be sweet, and in it thou shalt find a treasure.

40:19. Children, and the building of a city shall establish a name, but a blameless wife shall be counted above them both.

40:20. Wine and music rejoice the heart, but the love of wisdom is above them both.

40:21. The flute and the psaltery make a sweet melody, but a pleasant tongue is above them both.

40:22. Thy eye desireth favour and beauty, but more than these green sown fields.

40:23. A friend and companion meeting together in season, but above them both is a wife with her husband.

40:24. Brethren are a help in the time of trouble, but mercy shall deliver more than they.

40:25. Gold and silver make the feet stand sure: but wise counsel is above them both.

40:26. Riches and strength lift up the heart: but above these is the fear of the Lord.

40:27. There is no want in the fear of the Lord, and it needeth not to seek for help.

40:28. The fear of the Lord is like a paradise of blessing, and they have covered it above all glory.

40:29. My son, in thy lifetime be not indigent: for it is better to die than to want.

40:30. The life of him that looketh toward another man's table is not to be counted a life: for he feedeth his soul with another man's meat.

40:31. But a man, well instructed and taught, will look to himself.

40:32. Begging will be sweet in the mouth of the unwise, but in his belly there shall burn a fire.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 41

Of the remembrance of death: of an evil and of a good name: of what things we ought to be ashamed.

41:1. O death, how bitter is the remembrance of thee to a man that hath peace in his possessions!

41:2. To a man that is at rest, and whose ways are prosperous in all things, and that is yet able to take meat!

41:3. O death thy sentence is welcome to the man that is in need, and to him whose strength faileth:

41:4. Who is in a decrepit age, and that is in care about all things, and to the distrustful that loseth patience!

41:5. Fear not the sentence of death. Remember what things have been before thee, and what shall come after thee: this sentence is from the Lord upon all flesh.

41:6. And what shall come upon thee by the good pleasure of the most High? whether ten, or a hundred, or a thousand years.

41:7. For among the dead there is no accusing of life.

41:8. The children of sinners become children of abominations, and they that converse near the houses of the ungodly.

41:9. The inheritance of the children of sinners shall perish, and with their posterity shall be a perpetual reproach.

41:10. The children will complain of an ungodly father, because for his sake they are in reproach.

41:11. Woe to you, ungodly men, who have forsaken the law of the most high Lord.

41:12. And if you be born, you shall be born in malediction: and if you die, in malediction shall be your portion.

41:13. All things that are of the earth, shall return into the earth: so the ungodly shall from malediction to destruction.

41:14. The mourning of men is about their body, but the name of the ungodly shall be blotted out.

41:15. Take care of a good name: for this shall continue with thee, more than a thousand treasures precious and great.

41:16. A good life hath its number of days: but a good name shall continue for ever.

41:17. My children, keep discipline in peace: for wisdom that is hid, and a treasure that is not seen, what profit is there in them both?

41:18. Better is the man that hideth his folly, than the man that hideth his wisdom.

41:19. Wherefore have a shame of these things I am now going to speak of.

Have a shame, etc. . .That is to say, be ashamed of doing any of these things, which I am now going to mention; for though sometimes shamefacedness is not to be indulged: yet it is often good and necessary: as in the following cases.

41:20. For it is not good to keep all shamefacedness: and all things do not please all men in opinion.

41:21. Be ashamed of fornication before father and mother: and of a lie before a governor and a man in power:

41:22. Of an offence before a prince, and a judge: of iniquity before a congregation and a people:

41:23. Of injustice before a companion and friend: and in regard to the place where thou dwellest,

41:24. Of theft, and of the truth of God, and the covenant: of leaning with thy elbow over meat, and of deceit in giving and taking:

41:25. Of silence before them that salute thee: of looking upon a harlot: and of turning away thy face from thy kinsman.

41:26. Turn not away thy face from thy neighbour, and of taking away a portion and not restoring.

41:27. Gaze not upon another man's wife, and be not inquisitive after his handmaid, and approach not her bed.

41:28. Be ashamed of upbraiding speeches before friends: and after thou hast given, upbraid not.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 42

Of what things we ought not to be ashamed. Cautions with regard to women. The works and greatness of God.

42:1. Repeat not the word which thou hast heard, and disclose not the thing that is secret; so shalt thou be truly without confusion, and shalt find favour before all men: be not ashamed of any of these things, and accept no person to sin thereby:

42:2. Of the law of the most High, and of his covenant, and of judgment to justify the ungodly:

42:3. Of the affair of companions and travellers, and of the gift of the inheritance of friends:

42:4. Of exactness of balance and weights, of getting much or little:

42:5. Of the corruption of buying, and of merchants, and of much correction of children, and to make the side of a wicked slave to bleed.

42:6. Sure keeping is good over a wicked wife.

42:7. Where there are many hands, shut up, and deliver all things in number, and weight: and put all in writing that thou givest out or receivest in.

42:8. Be not ashamed to inform the unwise and foolish, and the aged, that are judged by young men: and thou shalt be well instructed in all things, and well approved in the sight of all men living.

42:9. The father waketh for the daughter when no man knoweth, and the care for her taketh away his sleep, when she is young, lest she pass away the flower of her age, and when she is married, lest she should be hateful:

42:10. In her virginity, lest she should be corrupted, and be found with child in her father's house: and having a husband, lest she should misbehave herself, or at the least become barren.

42:11. Keep a sure watch over a shameless daughter: lest at anytime she make thee become a laughingstock to thy enemies, and a byword in the city, and a reproach among the people, and she make thee ashamed before all the multitude.

42:12. Behold not everybody's beauty: and tarry not among women.

42:13. For from garments cometh a moth, and from a woman the iniquity of a man.

42:14. For better is the iniquity of a man, than a woman doing a good turn, and a woman bringing shame and reproach.

Better is the iniquity, etc. . .That is, there is, commonly speaking, less danger to be apprehended to the soul from the churlishness, or injuries we receive from men, than from the flattering favours and familiarity of women.

42:15. I will now remember the works of the Lord, and I will declare the things I have seen. By the words of the Lord are his works.

42:16. The sun giving light hath looked upon all things, and full of the glory of the Lord is his work.

42:17. Hath not the Lord made the saints to declare all his wonderful works, which the Lord Almighty hath firmly settled to be established for his glory?

42:18. He hath searched out the deep, and the heart of men: and considered their crafty devices.

42:19. For the Lord knoweth all knowledge, and hath beheld the signs of the world, he declareth the things that are past, and the things that are to come, and revealeth the traces of hidden things.

42:20. No thought escapeth him, and no word can hide itself from him.

42:21. He hath beautified the glorious works of his wisdom: and he is from eternity to eternity, and to him nothing may be added,

42:22. Nor can he be diminished, and he hath no need of any counsellor.

42:23. O how desirable are all his works, and what we can know is but as a spark!

42:24. All these things live, and remain for ever, and for every use all things obey him.

42:25. All things are double, one against another, and he hath made nothing defective.

42:26. He hath established the good things of every one. And who shall be filled with beholding his glory?

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 43

The works of God are exceedingly glorious and wonderful: no man is able sufficiently to praise him.

43:1. The firmament on high is his beauty, the beauty of heaven with its glorious shew.

43:2. The sun when he appeareth shewing forth at his rising, an admirable instrument, the work of the most High.

43:3. At noon he burneth the earth, and who can abide his burning heat? As one keeping a furnace in the works of heat:

43:4. The sun three times as much, burneth the mountains, breathing out fiery vapours, and shining with his beams, he blindeth the eyes.

43:5. Great is the Lord that made him, and at his words he hath hastened his course.

43:6. And the moon in all in her season, is for a declaration of times and a sign of the world.

43:7. From the moon is the sign of the festival day, a light that decreaseth in her perfection.

43:8. The month is called after her name, increasing wonderfully in her perfection.

43:9. Being an instrument of the armies on high, shining gloriously in the firmament of heaven.

43:10. The glory of the stars is the beauty of heaven; the Lord enlighteneth the world on high.

43:11. By the words of the holy one they stand in judgment, and shall never fall in their watches.

43:12. Look upon the rainbow, and bless him that made it: it is very beautiful in its brightness.

43:13. It encompasseth the heaven about with the circle of its glory, the hands of the most High have displayed it.

43:14. By his commandment he maketh the snow to fall apace, and sendeth forth swiftly the lightnings of his judgment.

43:15. Through this are the treasures opened, and the clouds fly out like birds.

43:16. By his greatness he hath fixed the clouds, and the hailstones are broken.

43:17. At his sight shall the mountains be shaken, and at his will the south wind shall blow.

43:18. The noise of his thunder shall strike the earth, so doth the northern storm, and the whirlwind:

43:19. And as the birds lighting upon the earth, he scattereth snow, and the falling thereof, is as the coming down of locusts.

43:20. The eye admireth at the beauty of the whiteness thereof, and the heart is astonished at the shower thereof.

43:21. He shall pour frost as salt upon the earth: and when it freezeth, it shall become like the tops of thistles.

43:22. The cold north wind bloweth, and the water is congealed into crystal; upon every gathering together of waters it shall rest, and shall clothe the waters as a breastplate.

43:23. And it shall devour the mountains, and burn the wilderness, and consume all that is green as with fire.

43:24. A present remedy of all is the speedy coming of a cloud, and a dew that meeteth it, by the heat that cometh, shall overpower it.

43:25. At his word the wind is still, and with his thought he appeaseth the deep, and the Lord hath planted islands therein.

43:26. Let them that sail on the sea, tell the dangers thereof: and when we hear with our ears, we shall admire.

43:27. There are great and wonderful works: a variety of beasts, and of all living things, and the monstrous creatures of whales.

43:28. Through him is established the end of their journey, and by his word all things are regulated.

43:29. We shall say much, and yet shall want words: but the sum of our words is, He is all.

43:30. What shall we be able to do to glorify him? for the Almighty himself is above all his works.

43:31. The Lord is terrible, and exceeding great, and his power is admirable.

43:32. Glorify the Lord as much as ever you can, for he will yet far exceed, and his magnificence is wonderful.

43:33. Blessing the Lord, exalt him as much as you can; for he is above all praise.

43:34. When you exalt him put forth all your strength, and be not weary: for you can never go far enough.

43:35. Who shall see him, and declare him? and who shall magnify him as he is from the beginning?

43:36. There are many things hidden from us that are greater than these: for we have seen but a few of his works.

43:37. But the Lord hath made all things, and to the godly he hath given wisdom.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 44

The praises of the holy fathers, in particular of Enoch, Noe, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

44:1. Let us now praise men of renown and our fathers in their generation.

44:2. The Lord hath wrought great glory through his magnificence from the beginning.

44:3. Such as have borne rule in their dominions, men of great power, and endued with their wisdom, shewing forth in the prophets the dignity of prophets,

44:4. And ruling over the present people, and by the strength of wisdom instructing the people in most holy words.

44:5. Such as by their skill sought out musical tunes, and published canticles of the scriptures.

44:6. Rich men in virtue, studying beautifulness: living at peace in their houses.

44:7. All these have gained glory in their generations, and were praised in their days.

44:8. They that were born of them have left a name behind them, that their praises might be related:

44:9. And there are some, of whom there is no memorial: who are perished, as if they had never been: and are become as if they had never been born, and their children with them.

44:10. But these were men of mercy, whose godly deeds have not failed:

44:11. Good things continue with their seed,

44:12. Their posterity are a holy inheritance, and their seed hath stood in the covenants.

44:13. And their children for their sakes remain for ever: their seed and their glory shall not be forsaken.

44:14. Their bodies are buried in peace, and their name liveth unto generation and generation.

44:15. Let the people shew forth their wisdom, and the church declare their praise.

44:16. Henoch pleased God, and was translated into paradise, that he may give repentance to the nations.

44:17. Noe was found perfect, just, and in the time of wrath he was made a reconciliation.

44:18. Therefore was there a remnant left to the earth, when the flood came.

44:19. The covenants of the world were made with him, that all flesh should no more be destroyed with the flood.

44:20. Abraham was the great father of a multitude of nations, and there was not found the like to him in glory, who kept the law of the most High, and was in covenant with him.

44:21. In his flesh he established the covenant, and in temptation he was found faithful.

44:22. Therefore by an oath he gave him glory in his posterity, that he should increase as the dust of the earth,

44:23. And that he would exalt his seed as the stars, and they should inherit from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth.

44:24. And he did in like manner with Isaac for the sake of Abraham his father.

44:25. The Lord gave him the blessing of all nations, and confirmed his covenant upon the head of Jacob.

44:26. He acknowledged him in his blessings, and gave him an inheritance, and divided him his portion in twelve tribes.

44:27. And he preserved for him men of mercy, that found grace in the eyes of all flesh.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 45

The praises of Moses, of Aaron, and of Phinees.

45:1. Moses was beloved of God, and men: whose memory is in benediction.

45:2. He made him like the saints in glory, and magnified him in the fear of his enemies, and with his words he made prodigies to cease.

45:3. He glorified him in the sight of kings, and gave him commandments in the sight of his people, and shewed him his glory.

45:4. He sanctified him in his faith, and meekness, and chose him out of all flesh.

45:5. For he heard him, and his voice, and brought him into a cloud.

45:6. And he gave him commandments before his face, and a law of life and instruction, that he might teach Jacob his covenant, and Israel his judgments.

45:7. He exalted Aaron his brother, and like to himself of the tribe of Levi:

45:8. He made an everlasting covenant with him, and gave him the priesthood of the nation, and made him blessed in glory,

45:9. And he girded him about with a glorious girdle, and clothed him with a robe of glory, and crowned him with majestic attire.

45:10. He put upon him a garment to the feet, and breeches, and an ephod, and he compassed him with many little bells of gold all round about,

45:11. That as he went there might be a sound, and a noise made that might be heard in the temple, for a memorial to the children of his people.

45:12. He gave him a holy robe of gold, and blue, and purple, a woven work of a wise man, endued with judgment and truth:

45:13. Of twisted scarlet the work of an artist, with precious stones cut and set in gold, and graven by the work of a lapidary for a memorial, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.

45:14. And a crown of gold upon his mitre wherein was engraved Holiness, an ornament of honour: a work of power, and delightful to the eyes for its beauty.

45:15. Before him there were none so beautiful, even from the beginning.

45:16. No stranger was ever clothed with them, but only his children alone, and his grandchildren for ever.

45:17. His sacrifices were consumed with fire every day.

45:18. Moses filled his hands and anointed him with holy oil.

45:19. This was made to him for an everlasting testament, and to his seed as the days of heaven, to execute the office of the priesthood, and to have praise, and to glorify his people in his name.

45:20. He chose him out of all men living, to offer sacrifice to God, incense, and a good savour, for a memorial to make reconciliation for his people:

45:21. And he gave him power in his commandments, in the covenants of his judgments, that he should teach Jacob his testimonies, and give light to Israel in his law.

45:22. And strangers stood up against him, and through envy the men that were with Dathan and Abiron, compassed him about in the wilderness, and the congregation of Core in their wrath.

45:23. The Lord God saw and it pleased him not, and they were consumed in his wrathful indignation.

45:24. He wrought wonders upon them, and consumed them with a flame of fire.

45:25. And he added glory to Aaron, and gave him an inheritance, and divided unto him the firstfruits of the increase of the earth.

45:26. He prepared them bread in the first place unto fulness: for the sacrifices also of the Lord they shall eat, which he gave to him, and to his seed.

45:27. But he shall not inherit among the people in the land, and he hath no portion among the people: for he himself is his portion and inheritance.

45:28. Phinees the son of Eleazar is the third in glory, by imitating him in the fear of the Lord:

45:29. And he stood up in the shameful fall of the people: in the goodness and readiness of his soul he appeased God for Israel.

45:30. Therefore he made to him a covenant of peace, to be the prince of the sanctuary, and of his people, that the dignity of priesthood should be to him and to his seed for ever.

45:31. And a covenant to David the king, the son of Jesse of the tribe of Juda, an inheritance to him and to his seed, that he might give wisdom into our heart to judge his people in justice, that their good things might not be abolished, and he made their glory in their nation everlasting.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 46

The praise of Josue, of Caleb, and of Samuel.

46:1. Valiant in war was Jesus the son of Nave, who was successor of Moses among the prophets, who was great according to his name,

Jesus the son of Nave. . .So Josue is named in the Greek Bibles. For Josue and Jesus signify the same thing, viz., a saviour.

46:2. Very great for the saving the elect of God, to overthrow the enemies that rose up against them, that he might get the inheritance for Israel.

46:3. How great glory did he gain when he lifted up his hands, and stretched out swords against the cities?

46:4. Who before him hath so resisted? for the Lord himself brought the enemies.

46:5. Was not the sun stopped in his anger, and one day made as two?

46:6. He called upon the most high Sovereign when the enemies assaulted him on every side, and the great and holy God heard him by hailstones of exceeding great force.

46:7. He made a violent assault against the nation of his enemies, and in the descent he destroyed the adversaries.

And in the descent. . .Of Beth-horon (Jos. 10.).

46:8. That the nations might know his power, that it is not easy to fight against God. And he followed the mighty one:

46:9. And in the days of Moses he did a work of mercy, he and Caleb the son of Jephone, in standing against the enemy, and withholding the people from sins, and appeasing the wicked murmuring.

46:10. And they two being appointed, were delivered out of the danger from among the number of six hundred thousand men on foot, to bring them into their inheritance, into the land that floweth with milk and honey.

46:11. And the Lord gave strength also to Caleb, and his strength continued even to his old age, so that he went up to the high places of the land, and his seed obtained it for an inheritance:

46:12. That all the children of Israel might see, that it is good to obey the holy God.

46:13. Then all the judges, every one by name, whose heart was not corrupted: who turned not away from the Lord,

46:14. That their memory might be blessed, and their bones spring up out of their place,

46:15. And their name continue for ever, the glory of the holy men remaining unto their children.

46:16. Samuel the prophet of the Lord, the beloved of the Lord his God, established a new government, and anointed princes over his people.

46:17. By the law of the Lord he judged the congregation, and the God of Jacob beheld, and by his fidelity he was proved a prophet.

46:18. And he was known to be faithful in his words, because he saw the God of light:

46:19. And called upon the name of the Lord Almighty, in fighting against the enemies who beset him on every side, when he offered a lamb without blemish.

46:20. And the Lord thundered from heaven, and with a great noise made his voice to be heard.

46:21. And he crushed the princes of the Tyrians, and all the lords of the Philistines:

46:22. And before the time of the end of his life in the world, he protested before the Lord, and his anointed: money, or any thing else, even to a shoe, he had not taken of any man, and no man did accuse him.

46:23. And after this he slept, and he made known to the king, and shewed him the end of his life, and he lifted up his voice from the earth in prophecy to blot out the wickedness of the nation.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 47

The praise of Nathan, of David, and of Solomon: Of his fall and punishment.

47:1. Then Nathan the prophet arose in the days of David.

47:2. And as the fat taken away from the flesh, so was David chosen from among the children of Israel.

47:3. He played with lions as with lambs: and with bears he did in like manner as with the lambs of the flock, in his youth.

47:4. Did not he kill the giant, and take away reproach from his people?

47:5. In lifting up his hand, with the stone in the sling he beat down the boasting of Goliath:

47:6. For he called upon the Lord the Almighty, and he gave strength in his right hand, to take away the mighty warrior, and to set up the horn of his nation.

47:7. So in ten thousand did he glorify him, and praised him in the blessings of the Lord, in offering to him a crown of glory:

47:8. For he destroyed the enemies on every side, and extirpated the Philistines the adversaries unto this day: he broke their horn for ever.

47:9. In all his works he gave thanks to the holy one, and to the most High, with words of glory.

47:10. With his whole heart he praised the Lord, and loved God that made him: and he gave him power against his enemies:

47:11. And he set singers before the altar, and by their voices he made sweet melody.

47:12. And to the festivals he added beauty, and set in order the solemn times even to the end of his life, that they should praise the holy name of the Lord, and magnify the holiness of God in the morning.

47:13. The Lord took away his sins, and exalted his horn for ever: and he gave him a covenant of the kingdom, and a throne of glory in Israel.

47:14. After him arose up a wise son, and for his sake he cast down all the power of the enemies.

47:15. Solomon reigned in days of peace, and God brought all his enemies under him, that he might build a house in his name, and prepare a sanctuary for ever: O how wise wast thou in thy youth!

47:16. And thou wast filled as a river with wisdom, and thy soul covered the earth.

47:17. And thou didst multiply riddles in parables: thy name went abroad to the islands far off, and thou wast beloved in thy peace.

47:18. The countries wondered at thee for thy canticles, and proverbs, and parables, and interpretations,

47:19. And at the name of the Lord God, whose surname is, God of Israel.

47:20. Thou didst gather gold as copper, and didst multiply silver as lead,

47:21. And thou didst bow thyself to women: and by thy body thou wast brought under subjection.

47:22. Thou hast stained thy glory, and defiled thy seed so as to bring wrath upon thy children, and to have thy folly kindled,

47:23. That thou shouldst make the kingdom to be divided, and out of Ephraim a rebellious kingdom to rule.

47:24. But God will not leave off his mercy, and he will not destroy, nor abolish his own works, neither will he cut up by the roots the offspring of his elect: and he will not utterly take away the seed of him that loveth the Lord.

47:25. Wherefore he gave a remnant to Jacob, and to David of the same stock.

47:26. And Solomon had an end with his fathers.

47:27. And he left behind him of his seed, the folly of the nation,

47:28. Even Roboam that had little wisdom, who turned away the people through his counsel:

47:29. And Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who caused Israel to sin, and shewed Ephraim the way of sin, and their sins were multiplied exceedingly.

47:30. They removed them far away from their land.

47:31. And they sought out all iniquities, till vengeance came upon them, and put an end to all their sins.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 48

The praise of Elias, of Eliseus, of Ezechias, and of Isaias.

48:1. And Elias the prophet stood up, as a fire, and his word burnt like a torch.

48:2. He brought a famine upon them, and they that provoked him in their envy, were reduced to a small number, for they could not endure the commandments of the Lord.

48:3. By the word of the Lord he shut up the heaven, and he brought down fire from heaven thrice.

48:4. Thus was Elias magnified in his wondrous works. And who can glory like to thee?

48:5. Who raisedst up a dead man from below, from the lot of death, by the word of the Lord God.

48:6. Who broughtest down kings to destruction, and brokest easily their power in pieces, and the glorious from their bed.

48:7. Who heardest judgment in Sina, and in Horeb the judgments of vengeance.

48:8. Who anointedst kings to penance, and madest prophets successors after thee.

48:9. Who wast taken up in a whirlwind of fire, in a chariot of fiery horses.

48:10. Who art registered in the judgments of times to appease the wrath of the Lord, to reconcile the heart of the father to the son, and to restore the tribes of Jacob.

48:11. Blessed are they that saw thee, and were honoured with thy friendship.

48:12. For we live only in our life, but after death our name shall not be such.

48:13. Elias was indeed covered with the whirlwind, and his spirit was filled up in Eliseus: in his days he feared not the prince, and no man was more powerful than he.

48:14. No word could overcome him, and after death his body prophesied.

48:15. In his life he did great wonders, and in death he wrought miracles.

48:16. For all this the people repented not, neither did they depart from their sins till they were cast out of their land, and were scattered through all the earth.

48:17. And there was left but a small people, and a prince in the house of David.

48:18. Some of these did that which pleased God: but others committed many sins.

48:19. Ezechias fortified his city, and brought in water into the midst thereof, and he digged a rock with iron, and made a well for water.

48:20. In his days Sennacherib came up, and sent Rabsaces, and lifted up his hand against them, and he stretched out his hand against Sion, and became proud through his power.

48:21. Then their hearts and hands trembled, and they were in pain as women in travail.

48:22. And they called upon the Lord who is merciful, and spreading their hands, they lifted them up to heaven: and the holy Lord God quickly heard their voice.

48:23. He was not mindful of their sins, neither did he deliver them up to their enemies, but he purified them by the hand of Isaias, the holy prophet.

48:24. He overthrew the army of the Assyrians, and the angel of the Lord destroyed them.

48:25. For Ezechias did that which pleased God, and walked valiantly in the way of David his father, which Isaias, the great prophet, and faithful in the sight of God, had commanded him.

48:26. In his days the sun wen backward, and he lengthened the king's life.

48:27. With a great spirit he saw the things that are to come to pass at last, and comforted the mourners in Sion.

48:28. He showed what should come to pass for ever, and secret things before they came.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 49

The praise of Josias, of Jeremias, Ezechiel, and the twelve prophets. Also of Zorobabel, Jesus the son of Josedech, Nehemias, Enoch, Joseph, Seth, Sem, and Adam.

49:1. The memory of Josias is like the composition of a sweet smell made by the art of a perfumer:

49:2. His remembrance shall be sweet as honey in every mouth, and as music at a banquet of wine.

49:3. He was directed by God unto the repentance of the nation, and he took away the abominations of wickedness.

49:4. And he directed his heart towards the Lord, and in the days of sinners he strengthened godliness.

49:5. Except David, and Ezechias and Josias, all committed sin.

49:6. For the kings of Juda forsook the law of the most High, and despised the fear of God.

49:7. So they gave their kingdom to others, and their glory to a strange nation,

49:8. They burnt the chosen city of holiness, and made the streets thereof desolate according to the prediction of Jeremias.

49:9. For they treated him evil, who was consecrated a prophet from his mother's womb, to overthrow, and pluck up, and destroy, and to build again, and renew.

49:10. It was Ezechiel that saw the glorious vision, which was shewn him upon the chariot of cherubims.

49:11. For he made mention of the enemies under the figure of rain, and of doing good to them that shewed right ways.

49:12. And may the bones of the twelve prophets spring up out of their place: for they strengthened Jacob, and redeemed themselves by strong faith.

49:13. How shall we magnify Zorobabel? for he was as a signet on the right hand;

49:14. In like manner Jesus the son of Josedec who in their days built the house, and set up a holy temple to the Lord, prepared for everlasting glory.

49:15. And let Nehemias be a long time remembered, who raised up for us our walls that were cast down, and set up the gates and the bars, who rebuilt our houses.

49:16. No man was born upon earth like Henoch: for he also was taken up from the earth.

49:17. Nor as Joseph, who was a man born prince of his brethren, the support of his family, the ruler of his brethren, the stay of the people:

49:18. And his bones were visited, and after death they prophesied.

They prophesied. . .That is, by their being carried out of Egypt they verified the prophetic prediction of Joseph. Gen. 50.

49:19. Seth and Sem obtained glory among men: and above every soul Adam in the beginning,

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 50

The praises of Simon the high priest. The conclusion.

50:1. Simon the high priest, the son of Onias, who in his life propped up the house, and in his days fortified the temple.

50:2. By him also the height of the temple was founded, the double building and the high walls of the temple.

50:3. In his days the wells of water flowed out, and they were filled as the sea above measure.

50:4. He took care of his nation, and delivered it from destruction.

50:5. He prevailed to enlarge the city, and obtained glory in his conversation with the people: and enlarged the entrance of the house and the court.

50:6. He shone in his days as the morning star in the midst of a cloud, and as the moon at the full.

50:7. And as the sun when it shineth, so did he shine in the temple of God.

50:8. And as the rainbow giving light in bright clouds, and as the flower of roses in the days of the spring, and as the lilies that are on the brink of the water, and as the sweet smelling frankincense in the time of summer.

50:9. As a bright fire, and frankincense burning in the fire.

50:10. As a massy vessel of gold, adorned with every precious stone.

50:11. As an olive tree budding forth, and a cypress tree rearing itself on high, when he put on the robe of glory, and was clothed with the perfection of power.

Clothed with the perfection of power. . .That is, with all the vestments denoting his dignity and authority.

50:12. When he went up to the holy altar, he honoured the vesture of holiness.

50:13. And when he took the portions out of the hands of the priests, he himself stood by the altar. And about him was the ring of his brethren: and as the cedar planted in mount Libanus,

50:14. And as branches of palm trees, they stood round about him, and all the sons of Aaron in their glory.

50:15. And the oblation of the Lord was in their hands, before all the congregation of Israel: and finishing his service, on the altar, to honour the offering of the most high King,

50:16. He stretched forth his hand to make a libation, and offered of the blood of the grape.

50:17. He poured out at the foot of the altar a divine odour to the most high Prince.

50:18. Then the sons of Aaron shouted, they sounded with beaten trumpets, and made a great noise to be heard for a remembrance before God.

50:19. Then all the people together made haste, and fell down to the earth upon their faces, to adore the Lord their God, and to pray to the Almighty God the most High.

50:20. And the singers lifted up their voices, and in the great house the sound of sweet melody was increased.

50:21. And the people in prayer besought the Lord the most High, until the worship of the Lord was perfected, and they had finished their office.

50:22. Then coming down, he lifted up his hands over all the congregation of the children of Israel, to give glory to God with his lips, and to glory in his name:

50:23. And he repeated his prayer, willing to shew the power of God.

50:24. And now pray ye to the God of all, who hath done great things in all the earth, who hath increased our days from our mother's womb, and hath done with us according to his mercy.

50:25. May he grant us joyfulness of heart, and that there be peace in our days in Israel for ever:

50:26. That Israel may believe that the mercy of God is with us, to deliver us in his days.

50:27. There are two nations which my soul abhorreth: and the third is no nation: which I hate:

Abhorreth. . .Viz., with a holy indignation, as enemies of God and persecutors of his people. Such were then the Edomites who abode in mount Seir, the Philistines, and the Samaritans who dwelt in Sichem, and had their schismatical temple in that neighbourhood.

50:28. They that sit on mount Seir, and the Philistines, and the foolish people that dwell in Sichem.

50:29. Jesus the son of Sirach, of Jerusalem, hath written in this book the doctrine of wisdom and instruction, who renewed wisdom from his heart.

50:30. Blessed is he that is conversant in these good things and he that layeth them up in his heart, shall be wise always.

50:31. For if he do them, he shall be strong to do all things: because the light of God guideth his steps.

Ecclesiasticus Chapter 51

A prayer of praise and thanksgiving.

51:1. A prayer of Jesus the son of Sirach. I will give glory to thee, O Lord, O King, and I will praise thee, O God my Saviour.

51:2. I will give glory to thy name: for thou hast been a helper and protector to me.

51:3. And hast preserved my body from destruction, from the snare of an unjust tongue, and from the lips of them that forge lies, and in the sight of them that stood by, thou hast been my helper.

51:4. And thou hast delivered me, according to the multitude of the mercy of thy name, from them that did roar, prepared to devour.

51:5. Out of the hands of them that sought my life, and from the gates of afflictions, which compassed me about:

51:6. From the oppression of the flame which surrounded me, and in the midst of the fire I was not burnt.

51:7. From the depth of the belly of hell, and from an unclean tongue, and from lying words, from an unjust king, and from a slanderous tongue:

51:8. My soul shall praise the Lord even to death.

51:9. And my life was drawing near to hell beneath.

51:10. They compassed me on every side, and there was no one that would help me. I looked for the succour of men, and there was none.

51:11. I remembered thy mercy, O Lord, and thy works, which are from the beginning of the world.

51:12. How thou deliverest them that wait for thee, O Lord, and savest them out of the hands of the nations.

51:13. Thou hast exalted my dwelling place upon the earth and I have prayed for death to pass away.

51:14. I called upon the Lord, the father of my Lord, that he would not leave me in the day of my trouble, and in the time of the proud without help.

51:15. I will praise thy name continually, and will praise it with thanksgiving, and my prayer was heard.

51:16. And thou hast saved me from destruction, and hast delivered me from the evil time.

51:17. Therefore I will give thanks, and praise thee, and bless the name of the Lord.

51:18. When I was yet young, before I wandered about, I sought for wisdom openly in my prayer.

51:19. I prayed for her before the temple, and unto the very end I will seek after her, and she flourished as a grape soon ripe.

51:20. My heart delighted in her, my foot walked in the right way, from my youth up I sought after her.

51:21. I bowed down my ear a little, and received her.

51:22. I found much wisdom in myself, and profited much therein.

51:23. To him that giveth me wisdom, will I give glory.

51:24. For I have determined to follow her: I have had a zeal for good, and shall not be confounded.

51:25. My soul hath wrestled for her, and in doing it I have been confirmed.

51:26. I stretched forth my hands on high, and I bewailed my ignorance of her.

51:27. I directed my soul to her, and in knowledge I found her.

51:28. I possessed my heart with her from the beginning: therefore I shall not be forsaken.

51:29. My entrails were troubled in seeking her: therefore shall I possess a good possession.

51:30. The Lord hath given me a tongue for my reward: and with it I will praise him.

51:31. Draw near to me, ye unlearned, and gather yourselves together into the hours of discipline.

51:32. Why are ye slow and what do you say of these things? your souls are exceeding thirsty.

51:33. I have opened my mouth, and have spoken: buy her for yourselves without silver,

51:34. And submit your neck to the yoke, and let your soul receive discipline: for she is near at hand to be found.

51:35. Behold with your eyes how I have laboured a little, and have found much rest to myself.

51:36. Receive ye discipline as a great sum of money, and possess abundance of gold by her.

51:37. Let your soul rejoice in his mercy and you shall not be confounded in his praise.

51:38. Work your work before the time, and he will give you your reward in his time.

THE PROPHECY OF ISAIAS

This inspired writer is called by the Holy Ghost, the great prophet, (Ecclesiasticus 48.25,) from the greatness of his prophetic spirit, by which he hath foretold so long before, and in so clear a manner, the coming of Christ, the mysteries of our redemption, the calling of the Gentiles, and the glorious establishment, and perpetual flourishing of the church of Christ: insomuch that he may seem to have been rather an evangelist than a prophet. His very name is not without mystery; for Isaias in Hebrew signifies the salvation of the Lord, or Jesus is the Lord. He was, according to the tradition of the Hebrews, of the blood royal of the kings of Juda: and after a most holy life, ended his days by a glorious martyrdom; being sawed in two, at the command of his wicked son in law, King Manasses, for reproving his evil ways.

Isaias Chapter 1

The prophet complains of the sins of Juda and Jerusalem, and exhorts them to a sincere conversion.

1:1. The vision of Isaias the Son of Amos, which he saw concerning Juda and Jerusalem in the days of Ozias, Joathan, Achaz, and Ezechias, kings of Juda.

1:2. Hear, O ye heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord hath spoken. I have brought up children, and exalted them: but they have despised me.

1:3. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel hath not known me, and my people hath not understood.

1:4. Woe to the sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a wicked seed, ungracious children: they have forsaken the Lord, they have blasphemed the Holy One of Israel, they are gone away backwards.

1:5. For what shall I strike you any more, you that increase transgression? the whole head is sick, and the whole heart is sad.

1:6. From the sole of the foot unto the top of the head, there is no soundness therein: wounds and bruises and swelling sores: they are not bound up, nor dressed, nor fomented with oil.

1:7. Your land is desolate, your cities are burnt with fire: your country strangers devour before your face, and it shall be desolate as when wasted by enemies.

1:8. And the daughter of Sion shall be left as a covert in a vineyard, and as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, and as a city that is laid waste.

1:9. Except the Lord of hosts had left us seed, we had been as Sodom, and we should have been like to Gomorrha.

1:10. Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom, give ear to the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrha.

1:11. To what purpose do you offer me the multitude of your victims, saith the Lord? I am full, I desire not holocausts of rams, and fat of fatlings, and blood of calves, and lambs, and buck goats.

1:12. When you came to appear before me, who required these things at your hands, that you should walk in my courts?

1:13. Offer sacrifice no more in vain: incense is an abomination to me. The new moons, and the sabbaths and other festivals I will not abide, your assemblies are wicked.

1:14. My soul hateth your new moons, and your solemnities: they are become troublesome to me, I am weary of bearing them.

1:15. And when you stretch forth your hands, I will turn away my eyes from you: and when you multiply prayer, I will not hear: for your hands are full of blood.

1:16. Wash yourselves, be clean, take away the evil of your devices from my eyes, cease to do perversely,

1:17. Learn to do well: seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge for the fatherless, defend the widow.

1:18. And then come, and accuse me, saith the Lord: if your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow: and if they be red as crimson, they shall be white as wool.

1:19. If you be willing, and will hearken to me, you shall eat the good things of the land.

1:20. But if you will not, and will provoke me to wrath: the sword shall devour you because the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

1:21. How is the faithful city, that was full of judgment, become a harlot? justice dwelt in it, but now murderers.

1:22. Thy silver is turned into dross: thy wine is mingled with water.

1:23. Thy princes are faithless, companions of thieves: they all love bribes, they run after rewards. They judge not for the fatherless: and the widow's cause cometh not in to them.

1:24. Therefore saith the Lord the God of hosts, the mighty one of Israel: Ah! I will comfort myself over my adversaries: and I will be revenged of my enemies.

1:25. And I will turn my hand to thee, and I will clean purge away thy dross, and I will take away all thy tin.

1:26. And I will restore thy judges as they were before, and thy counsellors as of old. After this thou shalt be called the city of the just, a faithful city.

1:27. Sion shall be redeemed in judgment, and they shall bring her back in justice.

1:28. And he shall destroy the wicked, and the sinners together: and they that have forsaken the Lord, shall be consumed.

1:29. For they shall be confounded for the idols, to which they have sacrificed: and you shall be ashamed of the gardens which you have chosen.

1:30. When you shall be as an oak with the leaves falling off, and as a garden without water.

1:31. And your strength shall be as the ashes of tow, and your work as a spark: and both shall burn together, and there shall be none to quench it.

Isaias Chapter 2

All nations shall flow to the church of Christ. The Jews shall be rejected for their sins. Idolatry shall be destroyed.

2:1. The word that Isaias the son of Amos saw, concerning Juda and Jerusalem.

2:2. And in the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be prepared on the top of mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it.

The last days. . .The whole time of the new law, from the coming of Christ till the end of the world, is called in the scripture the last days; because no other age or time shall come after it, but only eternity.--Ibid. On the top of mountains, etc. . .This shews the perpetual visibility of the church of Christ: for a mountain upon the top of mountains cannot be hid.

2:3. And many people shall go, and say: Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall come forth from Sion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

2:4. And he shall judge the Gentiles, and rebuke many people: and they shall turn their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into sickles: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they be exercised any more to war.

2:5. O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.

2:6. For thou hast cast off thy people, the house of Jacob: because they are filled as in times past, and have had soothsayers as the Philistines, and have adhered to strange children.

2:7. Their land is filled with silver and gold: and there is no end of their treasures.

2:8. And their land is filled with horses: and their chariots are innumerable. Their land also is full of idols: they have adored the work of their own hands, which their own fingers have made.

2:9. And man hath bowed himself down, and man hath been debased: therefore forgive them not.

2:10. Enter thou into the rock, and hide thee in the pit from the face of the fear of the Lord, and from the glory of his majesty.

2:11. The lofty eyes of man are humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be made to stoop: and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.

2:12. Because the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and highminded, and upon every one that is arrogant, and he shall be humbled.

2:13. And upon all the tall and lofty cedars of Libanus, and upon all the oaks of Basan.

2:14. And upon all the high mountains and upon all the elevated hills.

2:15. And upon every high tower, and every fenced wall.

2:16. And upon all the ships of Tharsis, and upon all that is fair to behold.

2:17. And the loftiness of men shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be humbled, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.

2:18. And idols shall be utterly destroyed.

Idols shall be utterly destroyed. . .or utterly pass away. This was verified by the establishment of Christianity. And by this and other texts of the like nature, the wild system of some modern sectaries is abundantly confuted, who charge the whole Christian church with worshipping idols, for many ages.

2:19. And they shall go into the holes of rocks, and into the caves of the earth from the face of the fear of the Lord, and from the glory of his majesty, when he shall rise up to strike the earth.

2:20. In that day a man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which he had made for himself to adore, moles and bats.

2:21. And he shall go into the clefts of rocks, and into the holes of stones from the face of the fear of the Lord, and from the glory of his majesty, when he shall rise up to strike the earth.

2:22. Cease ye therefore from the man, whose breath is in his nostrils, for he is reputed high.

Isaias Chapter 3

The confusion and other evils that shall come upon the Jews for their sins. The pride of their women shall be punished.

3:1. For behold the sovereign Lord of hosts shall take away from Jerusalem, and from Juda the valiant and the strong, the whole strength of bread, and the whole strength of water.

3:2. The strong man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet and the cunning man, and the ancient.

3:3. The captain over fifty, and the honourable in countenance, and the counsellor, and the architect, and the skilful in eloquent speech.

3:4. And I will give children to be their princes, and the effeminate shall rule over them.

3:5. And the people shall rush one upon another, and every man against his neighbour: the child shall make a tumult against the ancient, and the base against the honourable.

3:6. For a man shall take hold of his brother, one of the house of his father, saying: Thou hast a garment, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand.

3:7. In that day he shall answer, saying: I am no healer, and in my house there is no bread, nor clothing: make me not ruler of the people.

3:8. For Jerusalem is ruined, and Juda is fallen: because their tongue, and their devices are against the Lord, to provoke the eyes of his majesty.

3:9. The shew of their countenance hath answered them: and they have proclaimed abroad their sin as Sodom, and they have not hid it: woe to their souls, for evils are rendered to them.

3:10. Say to the just man that it is well, for he shall eat the fruit of his doings.

3:11. Woe to the wicked unto evil: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.

3:12. As for my people, their oppressors have stripped them, and women have ruled over them. O my people, they that call thee blessed, the same deceive thee, and destroy the way of thy steps.

3:13. The Lord standeth up to judge, and he standeth to judge the people.

3:14. The Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and its princes: for you have devoured the vineyard, and the spoil of the poor is in your house.

3:15. Why do you consume my people, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord the God of hosts.

3:16. And the Lord said: Because the daughters of Sion are haughty, and have walked with stretched out necks, and wanton glances of their eyes, and made a noise as they walked with their feet and moved in a set pace:

3:17. The Lord will make bald the crown of the head of the daughters of Sion, and the Lord will discover their hair.

3:18. In that day the Lord will take away the ornaments of shoes, and little moons,

3:19. And chains and necklaces, and bracelets, and bonnets,

3:20. And bodkins, and ornaments of the legs, and tablets, and sweet balls, and earrings,

3:21. And rings, and jewels hanging on the forehead,

3:22. And changes of apparel, and short cloaks, and fine linen, and crisping pins,

3:23. And lookingglasses, and lawns, and headbands, and fine veils.

3:24. And instead of a sweet smell there shall be stench, and instead of a girdle, a cord, and instead of curled hair, baldness, and instead of a stomacher, haircloth.

3:25. Thy fairest men also shall fall by the sword, and thy valiant ones in battle.

3:26. And her gates shall lament and mourn, and she shall sit desolate on the ground.

Isaias Chapter 4

After an extremity of evils that shall fall upon the Jews, a remnant shall be comforted by Christ.

4:1. And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying: We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, take away our reproach.

4:2. In that day the bud of the Lord shall be in magnificence and glory, and the fruit of the earth shall be high, and a great joy to them that shall have escaped of Israel.

The bud of the Lord. . .That is, Christ.

4:3. And it shall come to pass, that every one that shall be left in Sion, and that shall remain in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, every one that is written in life in Jerusalem.

4:4. If the Lord shall wash away the filth of the daughters of Sion, and shall wash away the blood of Jerusalem out of the midst thereof, by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.

4:5. And the Lord will create upon every place of mount Sion, and where he is called upon, a cloud by day, and a smoke and the brightness of a flaming fire in the night: for over all the glory shall be a protection.

4:6. And there shall be a tabernacle for a shade in the daytime from the heat, and for a security and covert from the whirlwind, and from rain.

Isaias Chapter 5

The reprobation of the Jews is foreshewn under the parable of a vineyard. A woe is pronounced against sinners: the army of God shall send against them.

5:1. I will sing to my beloved the canticle of my cousin concerning his vineyard. My beloved had a vineyard on a hill in a fruitful place.

My cousin. . .So the prophet calls Christ, as being of his family and kindred, by descending from the house of David. Ibid. On a hill, etc. . .Literally, in the horn, the son of oil.

5:2. And he fenced it in, and picked the stones out of it, and planted it with the choicest vines, and built a tower in the midst thereof, and set up a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.

5:3. And now, O ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and ye men of Juda, judge between me and my vineyard.

5:4. What is there that I ought to do more to my vineyard, that I have not done to it? was it that I looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it hath brought forth wild grapes?

5:5. And now I will shew you what I will do to my vineyard. I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be wasted: I will break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down.

5:6. And I will make it desolate: it shall not be pruned, and it shall not be digged: but briers and thorns shall come up: and I will command the clouds to rain no rain upon it.

5:7. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel: and the man of Juda, his pleasant plant: and I looked that he should do judgment, and behold iniquity: and do justice, and behold a cry.

5:8. Woe to you that join house to house and lay field to field, even to the end of the place: shall you alone dwell in the midst of the earth?

5:9. These things are in my ears, saith the Lord of hosts: Unless many great and fair houses shall become desolate, without an inhabitant.

5:10. For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one little measure, and thirty bushels of seed shall yield three bushels.

5:11. Woe to you that rise up early in the morning to follow drunkenness, and to drink in the evening, to be inflamed with wine.

5:12. The harp, and the lyre, and, the timbrel and the pipe, and wine are in your feasts: and the work of the Lord you regard not, nor do you consider the works of his hands.

5:13. Therefore is my people led away captive, because they had not knowledge, and their nobles have perished with famine, and their multitude were dried up with thirst.

5:14. Therefore hath hell enlarged her soul, and opened her mouth without any bounds, and their strong ones, and their people, and their high and glorious ones shall go down into it.

5:15. And man shall be brought down, and man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be brought low.

5:16. And the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and the holy God shall be sanctified in justice.

5:17. And the lambs shall feed according to their order, and strangers shall eat the deserts turned into fruitfulness.

5:18. Woe to you that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as the rope of a cart.

5:19. That say: Let him make haste, and let his work come quickly, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel come, that we may know it.

5:20. Woe to you that call evil good, and good evil: that put darkness for light, and light for darkness: that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter.

5:21. Woe to you that are wise in your own eyes, and prudent in your own conceits.

5:22. Woe to you that are mighty to drink wine, and stout men at drunkenness.

5:23. That justify the wicked for gifts, and take away the justice of the just from him.

5:24. Therefore as the tongue of the fire devoureth the stubble, and the heat of the flame consumeth it: so shall their root be as ashes, and their bud shall go up as dust: for they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and have blasphemed the word of the Holy One of Israel.

5:25. Therefore is the wrath of the Lord kindled against his people, and he hath stretched out his hand upon them, and struck them: and the mountains were troubles, and their carcasses became as dung in the midst of the streets. For after this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

5:26. And he will lift up a sign to the nations afar off, and will whistle to them from the ends of the earth: and behold they shall come with speed swiftly.

5:27. There is none that shall faint, nor labour among them: they shall not slumber nor sleep, neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken.

5:28. Their arrows are sharp, and all their bows are bent. The hoofs of their horses shall be like the flint, and their wheels like the violence of a tempest.

5:29. Their roaring like that of a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea they shall roar, and take hold of the prey, and they shall keep fast hold of it, and there shall be none to deliver it.

5:30. And they shall make a noise against them that day, like the roaring of the sea; we shall look towards the land, and behold darkness of tribulation, and the light is darkened with the mist thereof.

Isaias Chapter 6

A glorious vision, in which the prophet's lips are cleansed: he foretelleth the obstinacy of the Jews.

6:1. In the year that king Ozias died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and elevated: and his train filled the temple.

6:2. Upon it stood the seraphims: the one had six wings, and the other had six wings: with two they covered his face, and with two they covered his feet, and with two they flew.

6:3. And they cried one to another, and said: Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God of hosts, all the earth is full of his glory,

6:4. And the lintels of the doors were moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

6:5. And I said: Woe is me, because I have held my peace; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people that hath unclean lips, and I have seen with my eyes the King the Lord of hosts.

6:6. And one of the seraphims flew to me, and in his hand was a live coal, which he had taken with the tongs off the altar.

6:7. And he touched my mouth, and said: Behold this hath touched thy lips, and thy iniquities shall be taken away, and thy sin shall be cleansed.

6:8. And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: Whom shall I send? and who shall go for us? And I said: Lo, here am I, send me.

6:9. And he said: Go, and thou shalt say to this people: Hearing, hear, and understand not: and see the vision, and know it not.

6:10. Blind the heart of this people, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes: lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted and I heal them.

6:11. And I said: How long, O Lord? And he said: Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land shall be left desolate.

6:12. And the Lord shall remove men far away, and she shall be multiplied that was left in the midst of the earth.

6:13. And there shall be still a tithing therein, and she shall turn, and shall be made a show as a turpentine tree, and as an oak that spreadeth its branches: that which shall stand therein, shall be a holy seed.

Isaias Chapter 7

The prophet assures king Achaz that the two kings his enemies shall not take Jerusalem. A virgin shall conceive and bear a son.

7:1. And it came to pass in the days of Achaz the son of Joathan, the son of Ozias, king of Juda, that Rasin king of Syria and Phacee the son of Romelia king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem, to fight against it: but they could not prevail over it.

7:2. And they told the house of David, saying: Syria hath rested upon Ephraim, and his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the woods are moved with the wind.

7:3. And the Lord said to Isaias: Go forth to meet Achaz, thou and Jasub thy son that is left, to the conduit of the upper pool in the way of the fuller's field.

7:4. And thou shalt say to him: See thou be quiet: fear not, and let not thy heart be afraid of the two tails of these firebrands, smoking with the wrath of the fury of Rasin king of Syria, and of the son of Romelia.

7:5. Because Syria hath taken counsel against thee, unto the evil of Ephraim and the son of Romelia, saying:

7:6. Let us go up to Juda, and rouse it up, and draw it away to us, and make the son of Tabeel king in the midst thereof.

7:7. Thus saith the Lord God: It shall not stand, and this shall not be.

7:8. But the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rasin: and within threescore and five years, Ephraim shall cease to be a people:

7:9. And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Romelia. If you will not believe, you shall not continue.

7:10. And the Lord spoke again to Achaz, saying:

7:11. Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God, either unto the depth of hell, or unto the height above.

7:12. And Achaz said: I will not ask, and I will not tempt the Lord.

7:13. And he said: Hear ye therefore, O house of David: Is it a small thing for you to be grievous to men, that you are grievous to my God also?

7:14. Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son and his name shall be called Emmanuel.

7:15. He shall eat butter and honey, that he may know to refuse the evil, and to choose the good.

7:16. For before the child know to refuse the evil and to choose the good, the land which thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of the face of her two kings.

7:17. The Lord shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon the house of thy father, days that have not come since the time of the separation of Ephraim from Juda with the king of the Assyrians.

7:18. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall hiss for the fly, that is in the uttermost parts of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.

7:19. And they shall come, and shall all of them rest in the torrents of the valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all places set with shrubs, and in all hollow places.

7:20. In that day the Lord shall shave with a razor that is hired by them that are beyond the river, by the king of the Assyrians, the head and the hairs of the feet, and the whole beard.

7:21. And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep.

7:22. And for the abundance of milk he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that shall be left in the midst of the land.

7:23. And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place where there were a thousand vines, at a thousand pieces of silver, shall become thorns and briers.

7:24. With arrows and with bows they shall go in thither: for briers and thorns shall be in all the land.

7:25. And as for the hills that shall be raked with a rake, the fear of thorns and briers shall not come thither, but they shall be for the ox to feed on, and the lesser cattle to tread upon.

Isaias Chapter 8

The name of a child that is to be born: many evils shall come upon the Jews for their sins.

8:1. And the Lord said to me: Take thee a great book, and write in it with a man's pen. Take away the spoils with speed, quickly take the prey.

8:2. And I took unto me faithful witnesses, Urias the priest, and Zacharias the son of Barachias.

8:3. And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived, and bore a son. And the Lord said to me: Call his name, Hasten to take away the spoils: Make hast to take away the prey.

8:4. For before the child know to call his father and his mother, the strength of Damascus, and the spoils of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of the Assyrians.

8:5. And the Lord spoke to me again, saying:

8:6. Forasmuch as this people hath cast away the waters of Siloe, that go with silence, and hath rather taken Rasin, and the son of Romelia:

8:7. Therefore behold the Lord will bring upon them the waters of the river strong and many, the king of the Assyrians, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and shall overflow all his banks.

8:8. And shall pass through Juda, overflowing, and going over shall reach even to the neck. And the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy, land, O Emmanuel.

8:9. Gather yourselves together, O ye people, and be overcome, and give ear, all ye lands afar off: strengthen yourselves, and be overcome, gird yourselves, and be overcome.

8:10. Take counsel together, and it shall be defeated: speak a word, and it shall not be done: because God is with us.

8:11. For thus saith the Lord to me: As he hath taught me, with a strong arm, that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying:

8:12. Say ye not: A conspiracy: for all that this people speaketh, is a conspiracy: neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.

8:13. Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself: and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.

8:14. And he shall be a sanctification to you. But for a stone of stumbling, and for a rock of offence to the two houses of Israel, for a snare and a ruin to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

8:15. And very many of them shall stumble and fall, and shall be broken in pieces, and shall be snared, and taken.

8:16. Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.

8:17. And I will wait for the Lord, who hath hid his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.

8:18. Behold I and my children, whom the Lord hath given me for a sign, and for a wonder in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwelleth in mount Sion.

8:19. And when they shall say to you: Seek of pythons, and of diviners, who mutter in their enchantments: should not the people seek of their God, for the living of the dead?

Seek of pythons. . .That is, people pretending to tell future things by a prophesying spirit.--Ibid. Should not the people seek of their God, for the living of the dead?. . .Here is signified, that it is to God we should pray to be directed, and not to seek of the dead, (that is, of fortune-tellers dead in sin,) for the health of the living.

8:20. To the law rather, and to the testimony. And if they speak not according to this word, they shall not have the morning light.

8:21. And they shall pass by it, they shall fall, and be hungry: and when they shall be hungry, they will be angry, and curse their king, and their God, and look upwards.

8:22. And they shall look to the earth, and behold trouble and darkness, weakness and distress, and a mist following them, and they cannot fly away from their distress.

Isaias Chapter 9

What joy shall come after afflictions by the birth and kingdom of Christ; which shall flourish for ever. Judgments upon Israel for their sins.

9:1. At the first time the land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephtali was lightly touched: and at the last the way of the sea beyond the Jordan of the Galilee of the Gentiles was heavily loaded.

9:2. The people that walked in darkness, have seen a great light: to them that dwelt in the region of the shadow of death, light is risen.

9:3. Thou hast multiplied the nation, and hast not increased the joy. They shall rejoice before thee, as they that rejoice in the harvest, as conquerors rejoice after taking a prey, when they divide the spoils.

9:4. For the yoke of their burden, and the rod of their shoulder, and the sceptre of their oppressor thou hast overcome, as in the day of Madian.

9:5. For every violent taking of spoils, with tumult, and garment mingled with blood, shall be burnt, and be fuel for the fire.

9:6. For a CHILD IS BORN to us, and a son is given to us, and the government is upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, God the Mighty, the Father of the world to come, the Prince of Peace.

9:7. His empire shall be multiplied, and there shall be no end of peace: he shall sit upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom; to establish it and strengthen it with judgment and with justice, from henceforth and for ever: the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

9:8. The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel.

9:9. And all the people of Ephraim shall know, and the inhabitants of Samaria that say in the pride and haughtiness of their heart:

9:10. The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with square stones: they have cut down the sycamores, but we will change them for cedars.

9:11. And the Lord shall set up the enemies of Rasin over him, and shall bring on his enemies in a crowd:

9:12. The Syrians from the east, and, the Philistines from the west: and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his indignation is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

9:13. And the people are not returned to him who hath struck them, and have not sought after the Lord of hosts.

9:14. And the Lord shall destroy out of Israel the head and the tail, him that bendeth down, and him that holdeth back, in one day.

9:15. The aged and honourable, he is the head: and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.

9:16. And they that call this people blessed, shall cause them to err: and they that are called blessed, shall be thrown down, headlong.

9:17. Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men: neither shall he have mercy on their fatherless, and widows: for every one is a hypocrite and wicked, and every mouth hath spoken folly. For all this his indignation is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

9:18. For wickedness is kindled as a fire, it shall devour the brier and the thorn: and shall kindle in the thicket of the forest, and it shall be wrapped up in smoke ascending on high.

9:19. By the wrath of the Lord of hosts the land is troubled, and the people shall be as fuel for the fire: no man shall spare his brother.

9:20. And he shall turn to the right hand, and shall be hungry: and shall eat on the left hand, and shall not be filled: every one shall eat the flesh of his own arm: Manasses Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasses, and they together shall be against Juda.

9:21. After all these things his indignation is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

Isaias Chapter 10

Woe to the makers of wicked laws. The Assyrian shall be a rod for punishing Israel: but for their pride they shall be destroyed: and a remnant of Israel saved.

10:1. Woe to them that make wicked laws: and when they write, write injustice:

10:2. To oppress the poor in judgment, and do violence to the cause of the humble of my people: that widows might be their prey, and that they might rob the fatherless.

10:3. What will you do in the day of visitation, and of the calamity which cometh from afar? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory?

10:4. That you be not bowed down under the bond, and fall with the slain? In all these things his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

10:5. Woe to the Assyrian, he is the rod and the staff of my anger, and my indignation is in their hands.

10:6. I will send him to a deceitful nation, and I will give him a charge against the people of my wrath, to take away the spoils, and to lay hold on the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.

10:7. But he shall not take it so, and his heart shall not think so: but his heart shall be set to destroy, and to cut off nations not a few.

10:8. For he shall say:

10:9. Are not my princes as so many kings? is not Calano as Charcamis: and Emath as Arphad? is not Samaria as Damascus?

10:10. As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idol, so also their idols of Jerusalem, and of Samaria.

10:11. Shall I not, as I have done to Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols?

10:12. And it shall come to pass, that when the Lord shall have performed all his works in mount Sion, and in Jerusalem, I will visit the fruit of the proud heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of the haughtiness of his eyes.

10:13. For he hath said: By the strength of my own hand I have done it, and by my own wisdom I have understood: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have taken the spoils of the princes, and as a mighty man hath pulled down them that sat on high.

10:14. And my hand hath found the strength of the people as a nest; and as eggs are gathered, that are left, so have I gathered all the earth: and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or made the least noise.

10:15. Shall the axe boast itself against him that cutteth with it? or shall the saw exalt itself against him by whom it is drawn? as if a rod should lift itself up against him that lifteth it up, and a staff exalt itself, which is but wood.

10:16. Therefore the sovereign Lord, the Lord of hosts, shall send leanness among his fat ones: and under his glory shall be kindled a burning, as it were the burning of a fire.

10:17. And the light of Israel shall be as a fire, and the Holy One thereof as a flame: and his thorns and his briers shall be set on fire, and shall be devoured in one day.

10:18. And the glory of his forest, and of his beautiful hill, shall be consumed from the soul even to the flesh, and he shall run away through fear.

10:19. And they that remain of the trees of his forest shall be so few, that they shall easily be numbered, and a child shall write them down.

10:20. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and they that shall escape of the house of Jacob, shall lean no more upon him that striketh them: but they shall lean upon the Lord the Holy One of Israel, in truth.

10:21. The remnant shall be converted, the remnant, I say, of Jacob, to the mighty God.

10:22. For if thy people, O Israel, shall be as the sand of the sea, a remnant of them shall be converted, the consumption abridged shall overflow with justice.

A remnant of them shall be converted. . .This was partly verified in the children of Israel who remained after the devastations of the Assyrians, in the time of king Ezechias: and partly in the conversion of a remnant of the Jews to the faithful of Christ.--Ibid. The consumption abridged, etc. . .That is, the number of them cut short, and reduced to few, shall flourish in abundance of justice.

10:23. For the Lord God of hosts shall make a consumption, and an abridgment in the midst of all the land.

10:24. Therefore, thus saith the Lord the God of hosts: O my people that dwellest in Sion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall strike thee with his rod, and he shall lift up his staff over thee in the way of Egypt.

10:25. For yet a little and a very little while, and my indignation shall cease, and my wrath shall be upon their wickedness.

10:26. And the Lord of hosts shall raise up a scourge against him, according to the slaughter of Madian in the rock of Oreb, and his rod over the sea, and he shall lift it up in the way of Egypt.

10:27. And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall putrefy at the presence of the oil.

At the presence of the oil. . .That is, by the sweet unction of divine mercy.

10:28. He shall come into Aiath, he shall pass into Magron: at Machmas he shall lay up his carriages.

Into Aiath, etc. . .Here the prophet describes the march of the Assyrians under Sennacherib; and the terror they should carry with them; and how they should suddenly be destroyed.

10:29. They have passed in haste, Gaba is our lodging: Rama was astonished, Gabaath of Saul fled away.

10:30. Lift up thy voice, O daughter of Gallim, attend, O Laisa, poor Anathoth.

10:31. Medemena is removed: ye inhabitants of Gabim, take courage.

10:32. It is yet day enough, to remain in Nobe: he shall shake his hand against the mountain of the daughter of Sion, the hill of Jerusalem.

10:33. Behold the sovereign Lord of hosts shall break the earthen vessel with terror, and the tall of stature shall be cut down, and the lofty shall be humbled.

10:34. And the thickets of the forest shall be cut down with iron, and Libanus with its high ones shall fall.

Isaias Chapter 11

Of the spiritual kingdom of Christ, to which all nations shall repair.

11:1. And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root.

11:2. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: the spirit of wisdom, and of understanding, the spirit of counsel, and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge, and of godliness.

11:3. And he shall be filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord, He shall not judge according to the sight of the eyes, nor reprove according to the hearing of the ears.

11:4. But he shall judge the poor with justice, and shall reprove with equity the meek of the earth: and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.

11:5. And justice shall be the girdle of his loins: and faith the girdle of his reins.

11:6. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb: and the leopard shall lie down with the kid: the calf and the lion, and the sheep shall abide together, and a little child shall lead them.

11:7. The calf and the bear shall feed: their young ones shall rest together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

11:8. And the sucking child shall play on other hole of the asp: and the weaned child shall thrust his hand into the den of the basilisk.

11:9. They shall not hurt, nor shall they kill in all my holy mountain, for the earth is filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the covering waters of the sea.

11:10. In that day the root of Jesse, who standeth for an ensign of the people, him the Gentiles shall beseech, and his sepulchre shall be glorious.

11:11. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand the second time to possess the remnant of his people, which shall be left from the Assyrians, and from Egypt, and from Phetros, and from Ethiopia, and from Elam, and from Sennaar, and from Emath, and from the islands of the sea.

11:12. And he shall set up a standard unto the nations, and shall assemble the fugitives of Israel, and shall gather together the dispersed of Juda from the four quarters of the earth.

11:13. And the envy of Ephraim shall be taken away, and the enemies of Juda shall perish: Ephraim shall not envy Juda, and Juda shall not fight against Ephraim.

11:14. But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines by the sea, they together shall spoil the children of the east: Edom, till Moab shall be under the rule of their hand, and the children of Ammon shall be obedient.

11:15. And the Lord shall lay waste the tongue of the sea of Egypt, and shall lift up his hand over the river in the strength of his spirit: and he shall strike it in the seven streams, so that men may pass through it in their shoes.

11:16. And there shall be a highway for the remnant of my people, which shall be left from the Assyrians: as there was for Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.

Isaias Chapter 12

A canticle of thanksgiving for the benefits of Christ.

12:1. And thou shalt say in that day: I will give thanks to thee, O Lord, for thou wast angry with me: thy wrath is turned away, and thou hast comforted me.

12:2. Behold, God is my saviour, I will deal confidently, and will not fear: because the Lord is my strength, and my praise, and he is become my salvation.

12:3. Thou shall draw waters with joy out of the saviour's fountains:

12:4. And you shall say in that day: Praise ye the Lord, and call upon his name: make his works known among the people: remember that his name is high.

12:5. Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath done great things: shew this forth in all the earth.

12:6. Rejoice, and praise, O thou habitation of Sion: for great is he that is in the midst of thee, the Holy One of Israel.

Isaias Chapter 13

The desolation of Babylon.

13:1. The burden of Babylon which Isaias the son of Amos saw.

The burden of Babylon. . .That is, a prophecy against Babylon.

13:2. Upon the dark mountain lift ye up a banner, exalt the voice, lift up the hand, and let the rulers go into the gates.

13:3. I have commanded my sanctified ones, and have called my strong ones in my wrath, them that rejoice in my glory.

13:4. The noise of a multitude in the mountains, as it were of many people, the noise of the sound of kings, of nations gathered together: the Lord of hosts hath given charge to the troops of war.

13:5. To them that come from a country afar off, from the end of heaven: the Lord and the instruments of his wrath, to destroy the whole land.

13:6. Howl ye, for the day of the Lord is near: it shall come as a destruction from the Lord.

13:7. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every heart of man shall melt,

13:8. And shall be broken. Gripings and pains, shall take hold of them, they shall be in pain as a woman in labour. Every one shall be amazed at his neighbour, their countenances shall be as faces burnt.

13:9. Behold, the day of the Lord shall come, a cruel day, and full of indignation, and of wrath, and fury, to lay the land desolate, and to destroy the sinners thereof out of it.

13:10. For the stars of heaven, and their brightness shall not display their light: the sun shall be darkened in his rising, and the moon shall not shine with her light.

13:11. And I will visit the evils of the world, and against the wicked for their iniquity: and I will make the pride of infidels to cease, and will bring down the arrogancy of the mighty.

13:12. A man shall be more precious than gold, yea a man than the finest of gold.

13:13. For this I will trouble the heaven: and the earth shall be moved out of her place, for the indignation of the Lord of hosts, and for the day of his fierce wrath.

13:14. And they shall be as a doe fleeing away, and as a sheep: and there shall be none to gather them together: every man shall turn to his own people, and every one shall flee to his own land.

13:15. Every one that shall be found, shall be slain: and every one that shall come to their aid, shall fall by the sword.

13:16. Their inhabitants shall be dashed in pieces before their eyes: their houses shall be pillaged, and their wives shall be ravished.

13:17. Behold I will stir up the Medes against them, who shall not seek silver, nor desire gold:

13:18. But with their arrows they shall kill the children, and shall have no pity upon the sucklings of the womb, and their eye shall not spare their sons.

13:19. And that Babylon, glorious among kingdoms, the famous pride of the Chaldeans, shall be even as the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrha.

13:20. It shall no more be inhabited for ever, and it shall not be founded unto generation and generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch his tents there, nor shall shepherds rest there.

13:21. But wild beasts shall rest there, and their houses shall be filled with serpents, and ostriches shall dwell there, and the hairy ones shall dance there:

13:22. And owls shall answer one another there, in the houses thereof, and sirens in the temples of pleasure.

Isaias Chapter 14

The restoration of Israel after their captivity. The parable or song insulting over the king of Babylon. A prophecy against the Philistines.

14:1. Her time is near at hand, and her days shall not be prolonged. For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose out of Israel, and will make them rest upon their own ground: and the stranger shall be joined with them, and shall adhere to the house of Jacob.

14:2. And the people shall take them, and bring them into their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the Lord for servants and handmaids: and they shall make them captives that had taken them, and shall subdue their oppressors.

14:3. And it shall come to pass in that day, that when God shall give thee rest from thy labour, and from thy vexation, and from the hard bondage, wherewith thou didst serve before,

14:4. Thou shalt take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and shalt say: How is the oppressor come to nothing, the tribute hath ceased?

14:5. The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, the rod of the rulers,

14:6. That struck the people in wrath with an incurable wound, that brought nations under in fury, that persecuted in a cruel manner.

14:7. The whole earth is quiet and still, it is glad and hath rejoiced.

14:8. The fir trees also have rejoiced over thee, and the cedars of Libanus, saying: Since thou hast slept, there hath none come up to cut us down.

14:9. Hell below was in an uproar to meet thee at thy coming, it stirred up the giants for thee. All the princes of the earth are risen up from their thrones, all the princes of nations.

14:10. All shall answer, and say to thee: Thou also art wounded as well as we, thou art become like unto us.

14:11. Thy pride is brought down to hell, thy carcass is fallen down: under thee shall the moth be strewed, and worms shall be thy covering.

14:12. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, who didst rise in the morning? how art thou fallen to the earth, that didst wound the nations?

O Lucifer. . .O day star. All this, according to the letter, is spoken of the king of Babylon. It may also be applied, in a spiritual sense, to Lucifer the prince of devils, who was created a bright angel, but fell by pride and rebellion against God.

14:13. And thou saidst in thy heart: I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, I will sit in the mountain of the covenant, in the sides of the north.

14:14. I will ascend above the height of the clouds, I will be like the most High.

14:15. But yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, into the depth of the pit.

14:16. They that shall see thee, shall turn toward thee, and behold thee. Is this the man that troubled the earth, that shook kingdoms,

14:17. That made the world a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof, that opened not the prison to his prisoners?

14:18. All the kings of the nations have all of them slept in glory, every one in his own house.

14:19. But thou art cast out of thy grave, as an unprofitable branch defiled, and wrapped up among them that were slain by the sword, and art gone down to the bottom of the pit, as a rotten carcass.

14:20. Thou shalt not keep company with them, even in burial: for thou hast destroyed thy land, thou hast slain thy people: the seed of the wicked shall not be named for ever.

14:21. Prepare his children for slaughter for the iniquity of their fathers: they shall not rise up, nor inherit the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities.

14:22. And I will rise up against them, saith the Lord of hosts: and I will destroy the name of Babylon, and the remains, and the bud, and the offspring, saith the Lord.

14:23. And I will make it a possession for the ericius and pools of waters, and I will sweep it and wear it out with a besom, saith the Lord of hosts.

14:24. The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying: Surely as I have thought, so shall it be: and as I have purposed,

14:25. So shall it fall out: That I will destroy the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: and his yoke shall be taken away from them, and his burden shall be taken off their shoulder.

14:26. This is the counsel, that I have purposed upon all the earth, and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all nations.

14:27. For the Lord of hosts hath decreed, and who can disannul it? and his hand is stretched out: and who shall turn it away?

14:28. In the year that king Achaz died, was this burden:

14:29. Rejoice not thou, whole Philistia, that the rod of him that struck thee is broken in pieces: for out of the root of the serpent shall come forth a basilisk, and his seed shall swallow the bird.

14:30. And the firstborn of the poor shall be fed, and the poor shall rest with confidence: and I will make thy root perish with famine, and I will kill thy remnant.

14:31. Howl, O gate; cry, O city: all Philistia is thrown down: for a smoke shall come from the north, and there is none that shall escape his troop.

14:32. And what shall be answered to the messengers of the nations? That the Lord hath founded Sion, and the poor of his people shall hope in him.

Isaias Chapter 15

A prophecy of the desolation of the Moabites.

15:1. The burden of Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, it is silent: because the wall of Moab is destroyed in the night, it is silent.

15:2. The house is gone up, and Dibon to the high places to mourn over Nabo, and over Medaba, Moab hath howled: on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard shall be shaven.

15:3. In their streets they are girded with sackcloth: on the tops of their houses, and in their streets all shall howl and come down weeping.

15:4. Hesebon shall cry, and Eleale, their voice is heard even to Jasa. For this shall the well appointed men of Moab howl, his soul shall howl to itself.

15:5. My heart shall cry to Moab, the bars thereof shall flee unto Segor a heifer of three years old: for by the ascent of Luith they shall go up weeping: and in the way of Oronaim they shall lift up a cry of destruction.

15:6. For the waters of Nemrim shall be desolate, for the grass is withered away, the spring is faded, all the greenness is perished.

15:7. According to the greatness of their work, is their visitation also: they shall lead them to the torrent of the willows.

Torrent of the willows. . .That is, as some say, the waters of Babylon: others render it, a valley of the Arabians.

15:8. For the cry is gone round about the border of Moab: the howling thereof unto Gallim, and unto the well of Elim the cry thereof.

15:9. For the waters of Dibon are filled with blood: for I will bring more upon Dibon: the lion upon them that shall flee of Moab, and upon the remnant of the land.

Isaias Chapter 16

The prophet prayeth for Christ's coming. The affliction of the Moabites for their pride.

16:1. Send forth, O Lord, the lamb, the ruler of the earth, from Petra of the desert, to the mount of the daughter of Sion.

16:2. And it shall come to pass, that as a bird fleeing away, and as young ones flying out of the nest, so shall the daughters of Moab be in the passage of Arnon.

16:3. Take counsel, gather a council: make thy shadow as the night in the midday: hide them that flee, and betray not them that wander about.

16:4. My fugitives shall dwell with thee: O Moab, be thou a covert to them from the face of the destroyer: for the dust is at an end, the wretch is consumed: he hath failed, that trod the earth under foot.

16:5. And a throne shall be prepared in mercy, and one shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging and seeking judgment and quickly rendering that which is just.

16:6. We have heard of the pride of Moab, he is exceeding proud: his pride and his arrogancy, and his indignation is more than his strength.

16:7. Therefore shall Moab howl to Moab, every one shall howl: to them that rejoice upon the brick walls, tell ye their stripes.

16:8. For the suburbs of Hesebon are desolate, and the lords of the nations have destroyed the vineyard of Sabama: the branches thereof have reached even to Jazer: they have wandered in the wilderness, the branches thereof are left, they are gone over the sea.

16:9. Therefore I will lament with the weeping of Jazer the vineyard of Sabama: I will water thee with my tears, O Hesebon, and Eleale: for the voice of the treaders hath rushed in upon thy vintage, and upon thy harvest.

16:10. And gladness and joy shall be taken away from Carmel, and there shall be no rejoicing nor shouting in the vineyards. He shall not tread out wine in the press that was wont to tread it out: the voice of the treaders I have taken away.

Carmel. . .This name is often taken to signify a fair and fruitful hill or field, such as mount Carmel is.

16:11. Wherefore my bowels shall sound like a harp for Moab, and my inward parts for the brick wall.

16:12. And it shall come to pass, when it is seen that Moab is wearied on his high places, that he shall go in to his sanctuaries to pray, and shall not prevail.

16:13. This is the word, that the Lord spoke to Moab from that time:

16:14. And now the Lord hath spoken, saying: In three years, as the years of a hireling, the glory of Moab shall be taken away for all the multitude of the people, and it shall be left small and feeble, not many.

Isaias Chapter 17

Judgments upon Damascus and Samaria. The overthrow of the Assyrians.

17:1. The burden of Damascus. Behold Damascus shall cease to be a city, and shall be as a ruinous heap of stones.

17:2. The cities of Aroer shall be left for flocks, and they shall rest there, and there shall be none to make them afraid.

17:3. And aid shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus: and the remnant of Syria shall be as the glory of the children of Israel: saith the Lord of hosts.

17:4. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall grow lean.

17:5. And it shall be as when one gathereth in the harvest that which remaineth, and his arm shall gather the ears of corn: and it shall be as he that seeketh ears in the vale of Raphaim.

17:6. And the fruit thereof that shall be left upon it, shall be as one cluster of grapes, and as the shaking of the olive tree, two or three berries in the top of a bough, or four or five upon the top of the tree, saith the Lord the God of Israel.

17:7. In that day man shall bow down himself to his Maker, and his eyes shall look to the Holy One of Israel.

17:8. And he shall not look to the altars which his hands made; and he shall not have respect to the things that his fingers wrought, such as groves and temples.

17:9. In that day his strong cities shall be forsaken, as the ploughs, and the corn that were left before the face of the children of Israel, and thou shalt be desolate.

That were left. . .Viz., by the Chanaanites, when the children of Israel came into their land.

17:10. Because thou hast forgotten God thy saviour, and hast not remembered thy strong helper: therefore shalt thou plant good plants, and shalt sow strange seed.

17:11. In the day of thy planting shall be the wild grape, and in the morning thy seed shall flourish: the harvest is taken away in the day of inheritance, and shall grieve thee much.

17:12. Woe to the multitude of many people, like the multitude of the roaring sea: and the tumult of crowds, like the noise of many waters.

The multitude, etc. . .This and all that follows to the end of the chapter, relates to the Assyrian army under Sennacherib.

17:13. Nations shall make a noise like the noise of waters overflowing, but he shall rebuke him, and he shall flee far off: and he shall be carried away as the dust of the mountains before the wind, and as a whirlwind before a tempest.

17:14. In the time of the evening, behold there shall be trouble: the morning shall come, and he shall not be: this is the portion of them that have wasted us, and the lot of them that spoiled us.

Isaias Chapter 18

A woe to the Ethiopians, who fed Israel with vain hopes, their future conversion.

18:1. Woe to the land, the winged cymbal, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia,

18:2. That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, and in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters. Go, ye swift angels, to a nation rent and torn in pieces: to a terrible people, after which there is no other: to a nation expecting and trodden underfoot, whose land the rivers have spoiled.

Angels. . .Or messengers.

18:3. All ye inhabitants of the world, who dwell on the earth, when the sign shall be lifted up on the mountains, you shall see, and you shall hear the sound of the trumpet.

18:4. For thus saith the Lord to me: I will take my rest, and consider in my place, as the noon light is clear, and as a cloud of dew in the day of harvest.

18:5. For before the harvest it was all flourishing, and it shall bud without perfect ripeness, and the sprigs thereof shall be cut off with pruning hooks: and what is left shall be cut away and shaken out.

18:6. And they shall be left together to the birds of the mountains, and the beasts of the earth: and the fowls shall be upon them all the summer, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them.

18:7. At that time shall a present be brought to the Lord of hosts, from a people rent and torn in pieces: from a terrible people, after which there hath been no other: from a nation expecting, expecting and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, to mount Sion.

Isaias Chapter 19

The punishment of Egypt: their call to the church.

19:1. The burden of Egypt. Behold the Lord will ascend upon a swift cloud, and will enter into Egypt, and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst thereof.

19:2. And I will set the Egyptians to fight against the Egyptians: and they shall fight brother against brother, and friend against friend, city against city, kingdom against kingdom.

19:3. And the spirit of Egypt shall be broken in the bowels thereof, and I will cast down their counsel: and they shall consult their idols, and their diviners, and their wizards, and soothsayers.

19:4. And I will deliver Egypt into the hand of cruel masters, and a strong king shall rule over them, saith the Lord the God of hosts.

19:5. And the water of the sea shall be dried up, and the river shall be wasted and dry.

19:6. And the rivers shall fail: the streams of the banks shall be diminished, and be dried up. The reed and the bulrush shall wither away.

19:7. The channel of the river shall be laid bare from its fountain, and every thing sown by the water shall be dried up, it shall wither away, and shall be no more.

19:8. The fishers also shall mourn, and all that cast a hook into the river shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish away.

19:9. They shall be confounded that wrought in flax, combing and weaving fine linen.

19:10. And its watery places shall be dry, all they shall mourn that made pools to take fishes.

19:11. The princes of Tanis are become fools, the wise counsellors of Pharao have given foolish counsel: how will you say to Pharao: I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?

19:12. Where are now thy wise men? let them tell thee, and shew what the Lord of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt.

19:13. The princes of Tanis are become fools, the princes of Memphis are gone astray, they have deceived Egypt, the stay of the people thereof.

19:14. The Lord hath mingled in the midst thereof the spirit of giddiness: and they have caused Egypt to err in all its works, as a drunken man staggereth and vomiteth.

19:15. And there shall be no work for Egypt, to make head or tail, him that bendeth down, or that holdeth back.

19:16. In that day Egypt shall be like unto women, and they shall be amazed, and afraid, because of the moving of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which he shall move over it.

19:17. And the land of Juda shall be a terror to Egypt: everyone that shall remember it shall tremble because of the counsel of the Lord of hosts, which he hath determined concerning it.

19:18. In that day there shall be five cities in the land of Egypt, speaking the language of Chanaan, and swearing by the Lord of hosts: one shall be called the city of the sun.

19:19. In that day there shall be an altar of the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a monument of the Lord at the borders thereof:

19:20. It shall be for a sign, and for a testimony to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt. For they shall cry to the Lord because of the oppressor, and he shall send them a Saviour and a defender to deliver them.

19:21. And the Lord shall be known by Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day, and shall worship him with sacrifices and offerings: and they shall make vows to the Lord, and perform them.

19:22. And the Lord shall strike Egypt with a scourge, and shall heal it, and they shall return to the Lord, and he shall be pacified towards them, and heal them.

19:23. In that day there shall be a way from Egypt to the Assyrians, and the Assyrian shall enter into Egypt, and the Egyptian to the Assyrians, and the Egyptians shall serve the Assyrian.

19:24. In that day shall Israel be the third to the Egyptian and the Assyrian: a blessing in the midst of the land,

19:25. Which the Lord of hosts hath blessed, saying: Blessed be my people of Egypt, and the work of my hands to the Assyrian: but Israel is my inheritance.

Isaias Chapter 20

The ignominious captivity of the Egyptians, and the Ethiopians.

20:1. In the year that Tharthan entered into Azotus, when Sargon the king of the Assyrians had sent him, and he had fought against Azotus, and had taken it:

20:2. At that same time the Lord spoke by the hand of Isaias the son of Amos, saying Go, and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and take off thy shoes from thy feet. And he did so, and went naked, and barefoot.

20:3. And the Lord said: As my servant Isaias hath walked, naked and barefoot, it shall be a sign and a wonder of three years upon Egypt, and upon Ethiopia,

20:4. So shall the king of the Assyrians lead away the prisoners of Egypt, and the captivity of Ethiopia, young and old, naked and barefoot, with their buttocks uncovered to the shame of Egypt.

20:5. And they shall be afraid, and ashamed of Ethiopia their hope, and of Egypt their glory.

20:6. And the inhabitants of this isle shall say in that day: Lo this was our hope, to whom we fled for help, to deliver us from the face of the king of the Assyrians: and how shall we be able to escape?

Isaias Chapter 21

The destruction of Babylon by the Medes and Persians: a prophecy against the Edomites and the Arabians.

21:1. The burden of the desert of the sea. As whirlwinds come from the south, it cometh from the desert from a terrible land.

The desert of the sea. . .So Babylon is here called, because from a city as full of people as the sea is with water, it was become a desert.

21:2. A grievous vision is told me: he that is unfaithful dealeth unfaithfully: and he that is a spoiler, spoileth. Go up, O Elam, besiege, O Mede: I have made all the mourning thereof to cease.

O Elam. . .That is, O Persia.

21:3. Therefore are my loins filled with pain, anguish hath taken hold of me, as the anguish of a woman in labour: I fell down at the hearing of it, I was troubled at the seeing of it.

21:4. My heart failed, darkness amazed me: Babylon my beloved is become a wonder to me.

21:5. Prepare the table, behold in the watchtower them that eat and drink: arise, ye princes, take up the shield.

21:6. For thus hath the Lord said to me: Go, and set a watchman: and whatsoever he shall see, let him tell.

21:7. And he saw a chariot with two horsemen, a rider upon an ass, and a rider upon a camel: and he beheld them diligently with much heed.

A rider upon an ass, etc. . .These two riders are the kings of the Persians and Medes.

21:8. And a lion cried out: I am upon the watchtower of the Lord, standing continually by day: and I am upon my ward, standing whole nights.

And a lion cried out. . .That is, I Isaias seeing the approaching ruin of Babylon, have cried out as a lion roaring.

21:9. Behold this man cometh, the rider upon the chariot with two horsemen, and he answered, and said: Babylon is fallen, she is fallen, and all the graven gods thereof are broken unto the ground.

21:10. O my thrashing, and the children of my floor, that which I have heard of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, I have declared unto you.

21:11. The burden of Duma calleth to me out of Seir: Watchman, what of the night? watchman, what of the night?

Duma. . .That is, Idumea, or Edom.

21:12. The watchman said: The morning cometh, also the night: if you seek, seek: return, come.

21:13. The burden in Arabia. In the forest at evening you shall sleep, in the paths of Dedanim.

21:14. Meeting the thirsty bring him water, you that inhabit the land of the south, meet with bread him that fleeth.

21:15. For they are fled from before the swords, from the sword that hung over them, from the bent bow, from the face of a grievous battle.

21:16. For thus saith the Lord to me: Within a year, according to the years of a hireling, all the glory of Cedar shall be taken away.

Cedar. . .Arabia.

21:17. And the residue of the number of strong archers of the children of Cedar shall be diminished: for the Lord the God of Israel hath spoken it.

Isaias Chapter 22

The prophet laments the devastation of Juda. He foretells the deprivation of Sobna, and the substitution of Eliacim, a figure of Christ.

22:1. The burden of the valley of vision. What aileth thee also, that thou too art wholly gone up to the housetops?

The valley of vision. . .Jerusalem. The temple of Jerusalem was built upon mount Moria, or the mountain of vision. But the city is here called the valley of vision; either because it was lower than the temple, or because of the low condition to which it was to be reduced.

22:2. Full of clamour, a populous city, a joyous city: thy slain are not slain by the sword, nor dead in battle.

22:3. All the princes are fled together, and are bound hard: all that were found, are bound together, they are fled far off.

22:4. Therefore have I said: Depart from me, I will weep bitterly: labour not to comfort me, for the devastation of the daughter of my people.

22:5. For it is a day of slaughter and of treading down, and of weeping to the Lord the God of hosts in the valley of vision, searching the wall, and magnificent upon the mountain.

22:6. And Elam took the quiver, the chariot of the horseman, and the shield was taken down from the wall.

22:7. And thy choice valleys shall be full of chariots, and the horsemen shall place themselves in the gate.

22:8. And the covering of Juda shall be discovered, and thou shalt see in that day the armoury of the house of the forest.

22:9. And you shall see the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and you have gathered together the waters of the lower pool,

22:10. And have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and broken down houses to fortify the wall.

22:11. And you made a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: and you have not looked up to the maker thereof, nor regarded him even at a distance, that wrought it long ago.

22:12. And the Lord, the God of hosts, in that day shall call to weeping, and to mourning, to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:

22:13. And behold joy and gladness, killing calves, and slaying rams, eating flesh, and drinking wine: Let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die.

22:14. And the voice of the Lord of hosts was revealed in my ears: Surely this iniquity shall not be forgiven you till you die, saith the Lord God of hosts.

22:15. Thus saith the Lord God of hosts: Go, get thee in to him that dwelleth in the tabernacle, to Sobna who is over the temple: and thou shalt say to him:

22:16. What dost thou here, or as if thou wert somebody here? for thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, thou hast hewed out a monument carefully in a high place, a dwelling for thyself in a rock.

22:17. Behold the Lord will cause thee to be carried away, as a cock is carried away, and he will lift thee up as a garment.

22:18. He will crown thee with a crown of tribulation, he will toss thee like a ball into a large and spacious country: there shalt thou die, and there shall the chariot of thy glory be, the shame of the house of thy Lord.

22:19. And I will drive thee out from thy station, and depose thee from thy ministry.

22:20. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliacim the son of Helcias,

22:21. And I will clothe him with thy robe, and will strengthen him with thy girdle, and will give thy power into his hand: and he shall be as a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Juda.

22:22. And I will lay the key of the house of David upon his shoulder: and he shall open, and none shall shut: and he shall shut, and none shall open.

22:23. And I will fasten him as a peg in a sure place, and he shall be for a throne of glory to the house of his father.

22:24. And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house, divers kinds of vessels, every little vessel, from the vessels of cups even to every instrument of music.

22:25. In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall the peg be removed, that was fastened in the sure place: and it shall be broken and shall fall: and that which hung thereon, shall perish, because the Lord hath spoken it.

Isaias Chapter 23

The destruction of Tyre. It shall be repaired again after seventy years.

23:1. The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of the sea, for the house is destroyed, from whence they were wont to come: from the land of Cethim it is revealed to them.

23:2. Be silent, you that dwell in the island: the merchants of Sidon passing over the sea, have filled thee.

23:3. The seed of the Nile in many waters, the harvest of the river is her revenue: and she is become the mart of the nations.

23:4. Be thou ashamed, O Sidon: for the sea speaketh, even the strength of the sea, saying: I have not been in labour, nor have I brought forth, nor have I nourished up young men, nor brought up virgins.

23:5. When it shall be heard in Egypt, they will be sorry when they shall hear of Tyre:

23:6. Pass over the seas, howl, ye inhabitants of the island.

23:7. Is not this your city, which gloried from of old in her antiquity? her feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn.

23:8. Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, that was formerly crowned, whose merchants were princes, and her traders the nobles of the earth?

23:9. The Lord of hosts hath designed it, to pull down the pride of all glory, and bring to disgrace all the glorious ones of the earth.

23:10. Pass thy land as a river, O daughter of the sea, thou hast a girdle no more.

23:11. He stretched out his hand over the sea, he troubled kingdoms: the Lord hath given a charge against Chanaan, to destroy the strong ones thereof.

23:12. And he said: Thou shalt glory no more, O virgin daughter of Sidon, who art oppressed: arise and sail over to Cethim, there also thou shalt have no rest.

23:13. Behold the land of the Chaldeans, there was not such a people, the Assyrians founded it: they have led away the strong ones thereof into captivity, they have destroyed the houses thereof, they have, brought it to ruin.

23:14. Howl, O ye ships of the sea, for your strength is laid waste.

23:15. And it shall come to pass in that day that thou, O Tyre, shalt be forgotten, seventy years, according to the days of one king: but after seventy years, there shall be unto Tyre as the song of a harlot.

23:16. Take a harp, go about the city, harlot that hast been forgotten: sing well, sing many a song, that thou mayst be remembered.

23:17. And it shall come to pass after seventy years, that the Lord will visit Tyre, and will bring her back again to her traffic: and she shall commit fornication again with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.

23:18. And her merchandise and her hire shall be sanctified to the Lord: they shall not be kept in store, nor laid up: for her merchandise shall be for them that shall dwell before the Lord, that they may eat unto fulness, and be clothed for a continuance.

Sanctified to the Lord. . .This alludes to the conversion of the Gentiles.

Isaias Chapter 24

The judgments of God upon all the sinners of the world. A remnant shall joyfully praise him.

24:1. Behold the Lord shall lay waste the earth, and shall strip it, and shall afflict the face thereof, and scatter abroad the inhabitants thereof.

24:2. And it shall be as with the people, so with the priest: and as with the servant so with his master: as with the handmaid, so with her mistress: as with the buyer, so with the seller: as with the lender, so with the borrower: as with him that calleth for his money, so with him that oweth.

24:3. With desolation shall the earth be laid waste, and it shall be utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken this word.

24:4. The earth mourned, and faded away, and is weakened: the world faded away, the height of the people of the earth is weakened.

24:5. And the earth is infected by the inhabitants thereof: because they have transgressed the laws, they have changed the ordinance, they have broken the everlasting covenant.

24:6. Therefore shall a curse devour the earth, and the inhabitants thereof shall sin: and therefore they that dwell therein shall be mad, and few men shall be left.

24:7. The vintage hath mourned, the vine hath languished away, all the merry have sighed.

24:8. The mirth of timbrels hath ceased, the noise of them that rejoice is ended, the melody of the harp is silent.

24:9. They shall not drink wine with a song: the drink shall be bitter to them that drink it.

24:10. The city of vanity is broken down, every house is shut up, no man cometh in.

24:11. There shall be a crying for wine in the streets: all mirth is forsaken: the joy of the earth is gone away.

24:12. Desolation is left in the city, and calamity shall oppress the gates.

24:13. For it shall be thus in the midst of the earth, in the midst of the people, as if a few olives, that remain, should be shaken out of the olive tree: or grapes, when the vintage is ended.

24:14. These shall lift up their voice, and shall give praise: when the Lord shall be glorified, they shall make a joyful noise from the sea.

24:15. Therefore glorify ye the Lord in instruction: the name of the Lord God of Israel in the islands of the sea.

24:16. From the ends of the earth we have heard praises, the glory of the just one. And I said: My secret to myself, my secret to myself, woe is me: the prevaricators have prevaricated, and with the prevarication of transgressors they have prevaricated.

24:17. Fear, and the pit, and the snare are upon thee, O thou inhabitant of the earth.

24:18. And it shall come to pass, that he that shall flee from the noise of the fear, shall fall into the pit: and he that shall rid himself out of the pit, shall be taken in the snare: for the flood-gates from on high are opened, and the foundations of the earth shall be shaken.

24:19. With breaking shall the earth be broken, with crushing shall the earth be crushed, with trembling shall the earth be moved.

24:20. With shaking shall the earth be shaken as a drunken man, and shall be removed as the tent of one night: and the iniquity thereof shall be heavy upon it, and it shall fall, and not rise again.

24:21. And it shall come to pass, that in that day the Lord shall visit upon the host of heaven on high, and upon the kings of the earth, on the earth.

The host of heaven on high. . .The stars, which in many places of the Scripture are so called. Some commentators explain that these words here signify the demons of the air.

24:22. And they shall be gathered together as in the gathering of one bundle into the pit, and they shall be shut up there in prison: and after many days they shall be visited.

24:23. And the moon shall blush, and the sun shall be ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Sion, and in Jerusalem, and shall be glorified in the sight of his ancients.

Isaias Chapter 25

A canticle of thanksgiving for God's judgments and benefits.

25:1. O Lord, thou art my God, I will exalt O thee, and give glory to thy name: for thou hast done wonderful things, thy designs of old faithful, amen.

25:2. For thou hast reduced the city to a heap, the strong city to ruin, the house of strangers, to be no city, and to be no more built up for ever.

25:3. Therefore shall a strong people praise thee, the city of mighty nations shall fear thee.

25:4. Because thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress: a refuge from the whirlwind, a shadow from the heat. For the blast of the mighty is like a whirlwind beating against a wall.

25:5. Thou shalt bring down the tumult of strangers, as heat in thirst: and as with heat under a burning cloud, thou shalt make the branch of the mighty to wither away.

25:6. And the Lord of hosts shall make unto all people in this mountain, a feast of fat things, a feast of wine, of fat things full of marrow, of wine purified from the lees.

25:7. And he shall destroy in this mountain the face of the bond with which all people were tied, and the web that he began over all nations.

25:8. He shall cast death down headlong for ever: and the Lord God shall wipe away tears from every face, and the reproach of his people he shall take away from off the whole earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.

25:9. And they shall say in that day: Lo, this is our God, we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord, we have patiently waited for him, we shall rejoice and be joyful in his salvation.

25:10. For the hand of the Lord shall rest in this mountain: and Moab shall be trodden down under him, as straw is broken in pieces with the wain.

Moab. . .That is, the reprobate, whose eternal punishment, from which they can no way escape, is described under these figures.

25:11. And he shall stretch forth his hands under him, as he that swimmeth stretcheth forth his hands to swim: and he shall bring down his glory with the dashing of his hands.

25:12. And the bulwarks of thy high walls shall fall, and be brought low, and shall be pulled down to the ground, even to the dust.

Isaias Chapter 26

A canticle of thanks for the deliverance of God's people.

26:1. In that day shall this canticle be sung in the land of Juda. Sion the city of our strength a saviour, a wall and a bulwark shall be set therein.

26:2. Open ye the gates, and let the just nation, that keepeth the truth, enter in.

26:3. The old error is passed away: thou wilt keep peace: peace, because we have hoped in thee.

26:4. You have hoped in the Lord for evermore, in the Lord God mighty for ever.

26:5. For he shall bring down them that dwell on high, the high city he shall lay low. He shall bring it down even to the ground, he shall pull it down even to the dust.

26:6. The foot shall tread it down, the feet of the poor, the steps of the needy.

26:7. The way of the just is right, the path of the just is right to walk in.

26:8. And in the way of thy judgments, O Lord, we have patiently waited for thee: thy name, and thy remembrance are the desire of the soul.

26:9. My soul hath desired thee in the night: yea, and with my spirit within me in the morning early I will watch to thee. When thou shalt do thy judgments on the earth, the inhabitants of the world shall learn justice.

26:10. Let us have pity on the wicked, but he will not learn justice: in the land of the saints he hath done wicked things, and he shall not see the glory of the Lord.

26:11. Lord, let thy hand be exalted, and let them not see: let the envious people see, and be confounded: and let fire devour thy enemies.

26:12. Lord, thou wilt give us peace: for thou hast wrought all our works for us.

26:13. O Lord our God, other lords besides thee have had dominion over us, only in thee let us remember thy name.

26:14. Let not the dead live, let not the giants rise again: therefore hast visited and destroyed them, and hast destroyed all their memory.

26:15. Thou hast been favourable to the nation, O Lord, thou hast been favourable to the nation: art thou glorified? thou hast removed all the ends of the earth far off.

26:16. Lord, they have sought after thee in distress, in the tribulation of murmuring thy instruction was with them.

26:17. As a woman with child, when she draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs: so are we become in thy presence, O Lord.

26:18. We have conceived, and been as it were in labour, and have brought forth wind: we have not wrought salvation on the earth, therefore the inhabitants of the earth have not fallen.

26:19. Thy dead men shall live, my slain shall rise again: awake, and give praise, ye that dwell in the dust: for thy dew is the dew of the light: and the land of the giants thou shalt pull down into ruin.

26:20. Go, my people, enter into thy chambers, shut thy doors upon thee, hide thyself a little for a moment, until the indignation pass away.

26:21. For behold the Lord will come out of his place, to visit the iniquity of the inhabitant of the earth against him: and the earth shall disclose her blood, and shall cover her slain no more.

Shall cover her slain no more. . .This is said with relation to the martyrs, and their happy resurrection.

Isaias Chapter 27

The punishment of the oppressors of God's people. The Lord's favour to his church.

27:1. In that day the Lord with his hard, and great, and strong sword shall visit leviathan the bar serpent, and leviathan the crooked serpent, and shall slay the whale that is in the sea.

Leviathan. . .That is, the devil, the great enemy of the people of God. He is called the bar serpent from his strength, and the crooked serpent from his wiles; and the whale of the sea, from the tyranny he exercises in the sea of this world. He was spiritually slain by the death of Christ, when his power was destroyed.

27:2. In that day there shall be singing to the vineyard of pure wine.

The vineyard, etc. . .The church of Christ.

27:3. I am the Lord that keep it, I will suddenly give it drink: lest any hurt come to it, I keep it night and day.

I will suddenly give it drink. . .Or, as the Hebrew may also be rendered, I will continually water it.

27:4. There is no indignation in me: who shall make me a thorn and a brier in battle: shall I march against it, shall, I set it on fire together?

No indignation in me, etc. . .Viz., against the church: nor shall I become as a thorn or brier in its regard; or march against it, or set it on fire: but it shall always take fast hold of me, and keep an everlasting peace with me.

27:5. Or rather shall it take hold of my strength, shall it make peace with me, shall it make peace with me?

27:6. When they shall rush in unto Jacob, Israel shall blossom and bud, and they shall fill the face of the world with seed.

When they shall rush in, etc. . .Some understand this of the enemies of the true Israel, that shall invade it in vain. Others of the spiritual invasion made by the apostles of Christ.

27:7. Hath he struck him according to the stroke of him that struck him? or is he slain, as he killed them that were slain by him?

Hath he struck him, etc. . .Hath God punished the carnal persecuting Jews, in proportion to their doings against Christ and his saints?

27:8. In measure against measure, when it shall be cast off, thou shalt judge it. He hath meditated with his severe spirit in the day of heat.

When it shall be cast off, etc. . .When the synagogue shall be cast off, thou shalt judge it in measure, and in proportion to its crimes.--Ibid. He hath meditated, etc. . .God hath designed severe punishments in the day of his wrath.

27:9. Therefore upon this shall the iniquity of the house of Jacob be forgiven: and this is all the fruit, that the sin thereof should be taken away, when he shall have made all the stones of the altar, as burnt stones broken in pieces, the groves and temples shall not stand.

Of the house of Jacob. . .Viz., of such of them as shall be converted.

27:10. For the strong city shall be desolate, the beautiful city shall be forsaken, and shall be left as a wilderness: there the calf shall feed, and there shall he lie down, and shall consume its branches.

The strong city. . .Jerusalem.

27:11. Its harvest shall be destroyed with drought, women shall come and teach it: for it is not a wise people, therefore he that made it, shall not have mercy on it: and he that formed it, shall not spare it.

27:12. And it shall come to pass, that in that day the Lord will strike from the channel of the river even to the torrent of Egypt, and you shall be gathered together one by one, O ye children of Israel.

27:13. And it shall come to pass, that in that day a noise shall be made with a great trumpet, and they that were lost, shall come from the land of the Assyrians, and they that were outcasts in the land of Egypt, and they shall adore the Lord in the holy mount in Jerusalem.

A great trumpet. . .The preaching of the gospel for the conversion of the Jews.

Isaias Chapter 28

The punishment of the Israelites, for their pride, intemperance, and contempt of religion. Christ the cornerstone.

28:1. Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, and to the fading flower the glory his joy, who were on the head of the fat valley, staggering with wine.

Ephraim. . .That is, the kingdom of the ten tribes.--Ibid. The head of the fat valley. . .Samaria, situate on a hill, having under it a most fertile valley.

28:2. Behold the Lord is mighty and strong, as a storm of hail: a destroying whirlwind, as the violence of many waters overflowing, and sent forth upon a spacious land.

28:3. The crown of pride of the drunkards of Ephraim shall be trodden under feet.

28:4. And the fading tower the glory of his joy, who is on the head of the fat valley, shall be as a hasty fruit before the ripeness of autumn: which when he that seeth it shall behold, as soon he taketh it in his hand, he will eat it up.

28:5. In that day the Lord of hosts shall be a crown of glory, and a garland of joy to the residue of his people:

28:6. And a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and strength to them that return out of the battle to the gate.

28:7. But these also have been ignorant through wine, and through drunkenness have erred: the priest and the prophet have been ignorant through drunkenness, they are swallowed up with wine, they have gone astray in drunkenness, they have not known him that seeth, they have been ignorant of judgment.

These also. . .The kingdom of Juda.

28:8. For all the tables were full of vomit and filth, so that there was no more place.

28:9. Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand the hearing? them that are weaned from the milk, that are drawn away from the breasts.

28:10. For command, command again; command, command again; expect, expect again; a little there, a little there.

Command, command again, etc. . .This is said in the person of the Jews, resisting the repeated commands of God, and still putting him off.

28:11. For with the speech of lips, and with another tongue he will speak to this people.

28:12. To whom he said: This is my rest, refresh the weary, and this is my refreshing: and they would not hear.

28:13. And the word of the Lord shall be to them: Command, command again; command, command again; expect, expect again; a little there, a little there: that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.

28:14. Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, who rule over my people that is in Jerusalem.

28:15. For you have said: We have entered into a league with death, and we have made a covenant with hell. When the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come upon us: for we have placed our hope in lies, and by falsehood we are protected.

28:16. Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Behold I will lay a stone in the foundations of Sion, a tried stone, a corner stone, a precious stone, founded in the foundation. He that believeth, let him not hasten.

A stone in the foundations. . .Viz., Christ.--Ibid. Let him not hasten, etc. . .Let him expect his coming with patience.

28:17. And I will set judgment in weight, and justice in measure: and hail shall overturn the hope of falsehood: and waters shall overflow its protection.

28:18. And your league with death shall be abolished, and your covenant with hell shall not stand: when the overflowing scourge shall pass, you shall be trodden down by it.

28:19. Whensoever it shall pass through, it shall take you away: because in the morning early it shall pass through, in the day and in the night, and vexation alone shall make you understand what you hear.

28:20. For the bed is straitened, so that one must fall out, and a short covering cannot cover both.

The bed is straitened, etc. . .It is too narrow to hold two: God will have the bed of our heart all to himself.

28:21. For the Lord shall stand up as in the mountain of divisions: he shall be angry as in the valley which is in Gabaon: that he may do his work, his strange work: that he may perform his work, his work is strange to him.

As in the mountain, etc. . .As the Lord fought against the Philistines in Baal Pharasim, 2 Kings 5., and against the Chanaanites, in the valley of Gabaon, Jos. 10.

28:22. And now do not mock, lest your bonds be tied strait. For I have heard of the Lord the God of hosts a consumption and a cutting short upon all the earth.

28:23. Give ear, and hear my voice, hearken, and hear my speech.

28:24. Shall the ploughman plough all the day to sow, shall he open and harrow his ground?

28:25. Will he not, when he hath made plain the surface thereof, sow gith, and scatter cummin, and put wheat in order, and barley, and millet, and vetches in their bounds?

28:26. For he will instruct him in judgment: his God will teach him.

28:27. For gith shall not be thrashed with saws, neither shall the cart wheel turn about upon cummin: but gith shall be beaten out with a rod, and cumin with a staff.

28:28. But breadcorn shall be broken small: but the thrasher shall not thrash it for ever, neither shall the cart wheel hurt it, nor break it with its teeth.

28:29. This also is come forth from the Lord God of hosts, to make his counsel wonderful, and magnify justice.

This also, etc. . .Such also is the proceeding of the Lord with his land, and the divers seeds he throws therein.

Isaias Chapter 29

God's heavy judgments upon Jerusalem, for their obstinacy: with a prophecy of the conversion of the Gentiles.

29:1. Woe to Ariel, to Ariel the city which David took: year is added to year. the solemnities are at an end.

Ariel. . .This word signifies, the lion of God, and here is taken for the strong city of Jerusalem.

29:2. And I will make a trench about Ariel, and it shall be in sorrow and mourning, and it shall be to me as Ariel.

29:3. And I will make a circle round about thee, and I will cast up a rampart against thee, and raise up bulwarks to besiege thee.

29:4. Thou shalt be brought down, thou shall speak out of the earth, and thy speech shall be heard out of the ground: and thy voice shall be from the earth like that of the python, and out of the earth thy speech shall mutter.

29:5. And the multitude of them that fan thee, shall be like small dust: and as ashes passing away, the multitude of them that have prevailed against thee.

29:6. And it shall be at an instant suddenly. A visitation shall come from the Lord of hosts in thunder, and with earthquake, and with a great noise of whirlwind and tempest; and with the flame of devouring fire.

29:7. And the multitude of all nations that have fought against Ariel, shall be as the dream of a vision by night, and all that have fought, and besieged and prevailed against it.

29:8. And as he that is hungry dreameth, and eateth, but when he is awake, his soul is empty: and as he that is thirsty dreameth, and drinketh and after he is awake, is yet faint with thirst, and his soul is empty: so shall be the multitude of all the Gentiles, that have fought against mount Sion.

29:9. Be astonished, and wonder, waver, and stagger: be drunk, and not with wine: stagger, and not with drunkenness.

29:10. For the Lord hath mingled for you the spirit of a deep sleep, he will shut up your eyes, he will cover your prophets and princes, that see visions.

29:11. And the vision of all shall be unto you as the words of a book that is sealed which when they shall deliver to one that is learned, they shall say: Read this: and he shall answer: I cannot, for it is sealed.

29:12. And the book shall be given to one that knoweth no letters, and it shall be said to him: Read: and he shall answer: I know no letters.

29:13. And the Lord said: Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips glorify me, but their heart is far from me, and they have feared me with the commandment and doctrines of men:

29:14. Therefore behold I will proceed to cause an admiration in this people, by a great and wonderful miracle: for wisdom shall perish from their wise men, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.

29:15. Woe to you that are deep of heart, to hide your counsel from the Lord: and their works are in the dark, and they say: Who seeth us, and who knoweth us?

29:16. This thought of yours is perverse: as if the clay should think against the potter, and the work should say to the maker thereof: Thou madest me not: or the thing framed should say to him that fashioned it: Thou understandest not.

29:17. Is it not yet a very little while, and Libanus shall be turned into charmel, and charmel shall be esteemed as a forest?

Charmel. . .This word signifies a fruitful field.

29:18. And in that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, and out of darkness and obscurity the eyes of the blind shall see.

29:19. And the meek shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

29:20. For he that did prevail hath failed, the scorner is consumed, and they are all cut off that watched for iniquity:

29:21. That made men sin by word, and supplanted him that reproved them in the gate, and declined in vain from the just.

29:22. Therefore thus saith the Lord to the house of Jacob, he that redeemed Abraham: Jacob shall not now be confounded, neither shall his countenance now be ashamed:

29:23. But when he shall see his children, the work of my hands in the midst of him sanctifying my name, and they shall sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall glorify the God of Israel:

29:24. And they that erred in spirit, shall know understanding, and they that murmured, shall learn the law.

Isaias Chapter 30

The people are blamed for their confidence in Egypt. God's mercies towards his church. The punishment of sinners.

30:1. Woe to you, apostate children, saith the Lord, that you would take counsel, and not of me: and would begin a web, and not by my spirit, that you might add sin upon sin:

30:2. Who walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth, hoping for help in the strength of Pharao, and trusting in the shadow of Egypt.

30:3. And the strength of Pharao shall be to your confusion, and the confidence of the shadow of Egypt to your shame.

30:4. For thy princes were in Tanis, and thy messengers came even to Hanes.

30:5. They were all confounded at a people that could not profit them: they were no help, nor to any profit, but to confusion and to reproach.

30:6. The burden of the beasts of the south. In a land of trouble and distress, from whence come the lioness, and the lion, the viper and the flying basilisk, they carry their riches upon the shoulders of beasts, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels to a people that shall not be able to profit them.

30:7. For Egypt shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this: It is pride only, sit still.

30:8. Now therefore go in and write for them upon box, and note it diligently in a book, and it shall be in the latter days for a testimony for ever.

30:9. For it is a people that provoketh to wrath, and lying children that will not hear the law of God.

30:10. Who say to the seers: See not: and to them that behold: Behold not for us those things that are right: speak unto us pleasant things, see errors for us.

30:11. Take away from me the way, turn away the path from me, let the Holy One of Israel cease from before us.

30:12. Therefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel: Because you have rejected this word, and have trusted in oppression and tumult, and have leaned upon it:

30:13. Therefore shall this iniquity be to you as a breach that falleth, and is found wanting in a high wall, for the destruction thereof shall come on a sudden, when it is not looked for.

30:14. And it shall be broken small, as the potter's vessel is broken all to pieces with mighty breaking, and there shall not a sherd be found of the pieces thereof, wherein a little fire may be carried from the hearth, or a little water be drawn out of the pit.

30:15. For thus saith the Lord God the Holy One of Israel: If you return and be quiet, you shall be saved: in silence and in hope shall your strength be. And you would not:

30:16. But have said: No, but we will flee to horses: therefore shall you flee. And we will mount upon swift ones: therefore shall they be swifter that shall pursue after you.

30:17. A thousand men shall flee for fear of one: and for fear of five shall you flee, till you be left as the mast of ship on the top of a mountain, and as an ensign upon a hill.

30:18. Therefore the Lord waiteth that he may have mercy on you: and therefore shall he be exalted sparing you: because the Lord is the God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.

30:19. For the people of Sion shall dwell in Jerusalem: weeping thou shalt not weep, he will surely have pity on thee: at the voice of thy cry, as soon as he shall hear, he will answer thee.

30:20. And the Lord will give you spare bread, and short water: and will not cause thy teacher to flee away from thee any more, and thy eyes shall see thy teacher.

30:21. And thy ears shall hear the word of one admonishing thee behind thy back: This is the way, walk ye in it: and go not aside neither to the right hand, nor to the left.

30:22. And thou shalt defile the plates of thy graven things of silver, and the garment of thy molten things of gold, and shalt cast them away as the uncleanness of a menstruous woman. Thou shalt say to it: Get thee hence.

30:23. And rain shall be given to thy seed, wheresoever thou shalt sow in the land: and the bread of the corn of the land shall be most plentiful, and fat. The lamb in that day shall feed at large in thy possession:

30:24. And thy oxen, and the ass colts that till the ground, shall eat mingled provender as it was winnowed in the floor.

30:25. And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every elevated hill rivers of running waters in the day of the slaughter of many, when the tower shall fall.

30:26. And the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days: in the day when the Lord shall bind up the wound of his people, and shall heal the stroke of their wound.

30:27. Behold the name of the Lord cometh from afar, his wrath burneth, and is heavy to bear: his lips are filled with indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire.

30:28. His breath as a torrent overflowing even to the midst of the neck, to destroy the nations unto nothing, and the bridle of error that was in the jaws of the people.

30:29. You shall have a song as in the night of the sanctified solemnity, and joy of heart, as where one goeth with a pipe, to come into the mountain of the Lord, to the Mighty One of Israel.

30:30. And the Lord shall make the glory of his voice to be heard, and shall shew the terror of his arm, in the threatening of wrath, and the flame of devouring fire: he shall crush to pieces with whirlwind, and hailstones.

30:31. For at the voice of the Lord the Assyrian shall fear being struck with the rod.

30:32. And the passage of the rod shall be strongly grounded, which the Lord shall make to rest upon him with timbrels and harps, and in great battles he shall overthrow them.

30:33. For Topheth is prepared from yesterday, prepared by the king, deep, and wide. The nourishment thereof is fire and much wood: the breath of the Lord as a torrent of brimstone kindling it.

Topheth. . .It is the same as Gehenna, and is taken for hell.

Isaias Chapter 31

The folly of trusting to Egypt, and forgetting God. He will fight for his people against the Assyrians.

31:1. Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help, trusting in horses, and putting their confidence in chariots, because they are many: and in horsemen, because they are very strong: and have not trusted in the Holy One of Israel, and have not sought after the Lord.

31:2. But he that is the wise one hath brought evil, and hath not removed his words: and he will rise up against the house of the wicked, and against the aid of them that work iniquity.

31:3. Egypt is man, and not God: and their horses, flesh, and not spirit: and the Lord shall put down his hand, and the helper shall fall, and he that is helped shall fall, and they shall all be confounded together.

31:4. For thus saith the Lord to me: Like as the lion roareth, and the lions whelp upon his prey, and when a multitude of shepherds shall come against him, he will not fear at their voice, nor be afraid of their multitude: so shall the Lord of hosts come down to fight upon mount Sion, and upon the hill thereof.

31:5. As birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts protect Jerusalem, protecting and delivering, passing over and saving.

31:6. Return as you had deeply revolted, O children of Israel.

31:7. For in that day a man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your hands have made for you to sin.

31:8. And the Assyrian shall fall by the sword not of a man, and the sword not of a man shall devour him, and he shall flee not at the face of the sword, and his young men shall be tributaries.

31:9. And his strength shall pass away with dread, and his princes fleeing shall be afraid: the Lord hath said it, whose fire is in Sion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.

Isaias Chapter 32

The blessings of the reign of Christ. The desolation of the Jews, and prosperity of the church of Christ.

32:1. Behold a king shall reign in justice, and princes shall rule in judgment.

32:2. And a man shall be as when one is hid from the wind, and hideth himself from a storm, as rivers of waters in drought, and the shadow of a rock that standeth out in a desert land.

32:3. The eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken diligently.

32:4. And the heart of fools shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of stammerers shall speak readily and plain.

32:5. The fool shall no more be called prince: neither shall the deceitful be called great:

32:6. For the fool will speak foolish things, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and speak to the Lord deceitfully, and to make empty the soul of the hungry, and take away drink from the thirsty.

32:7. The vessels of the deceitful are most wicked: for he hath framed devices to destroy the meek, with lying words, when the poor man speaketh judgment.

32:8. But the prince will devise such things as are worthy of a prince, and he shall stand above the rulers.

32:9. Rise up, ye rich women, and hear my voice: ye confident daughters, give ear to my speech.

32:10. For after days and a year, you that are confident shall be troubled: for the vintage is at an end, the gathering shall come no more.

32:11. Be astonished, ye rich women, be troubled, ye confident ones: strip you, and be confounded, gird your loins.

32:12. Mourn for your breasts, for the delightful country, for the fruitful vineyard.

32:13. Upon the land of my people shall thorns and briers come up: how much more upon all the houses of joy, of the city that rejoiced?

32:14. For the house is forsaken, the multitude of the city is left, darkness and obscurity are come upon its dens for ever. A joy of wild asses, the pastures of flocks.

32:15. Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high: and the desert shall be as a charmel, and charmel shall be counted for a forest.

32:16. An judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and justice shall sit in charmel.

32:17. And the work of justice shall be peace, and the service of justice quietness, and security for ever.

32:18. And my people shall sit in the beauty of peace, and in the tabernacles of confidence, and in wealthy rest.

32:19. But hail shall be in the descent of the forest, and the city shall be made very low.

32:20. Blessed are ye that sow upon all waters, sending thither the foot of the ox and the ass.

Isaias Chapter 33

God's revenge against the enemies of his church. The happiness of the heavenly Jerusalem.

33:1. Woe to thee that spoilest, shalt not thou thyself also be spoiled? and thou that despisest, shalt not thyself also be despised? when thou shalt have made an end of spoiling, thou shalt be spoiled: when being wearied thou shalt cease to despise, thou shalt be despised.

That spoilest, etc. . .This is particularly directed to Sennacherib.

33:2. O Lord, have mercy on us: for we have waited for thee: be thou our arm in the morning, and our salvation in the time of trouble.

33:3. At the voice of the angel the people fled, and at the lifting up thyself the nations are scattered.

33:4. And your spoils shall be gathered together as the locusts are gathered, as when the ditches are full of them.

33:5. The Lord is magnified, for he hath dwelt on high: he hath filled Sion with judgment and justice.

33:6. And there shall be faith in thy times: riches of salvation, wisdom and knowledge: the fear of the Lord is his treasure.

33:7. Behold they that see shall cry without, the angels of peace shall weep bitterly.

The angels of peace. . .The messengers or deputies sent to negotiate a peace.

33:8. The ways are made desolate, no one passeth by the road, the covenant is made void, he hath rejected the cities, he hath not regarded the men.

33:9. The land hath mourned, and languished: Libanus is confounded, and become foul, and Saron is become as a desert: and Basan and Carmel are shaken.

33:10. Now will I rise up, saith the Lord: now will I be exalted, now will I lift up myself.

33:11. You shall conceive heat, you shall bring forth stubble: your breath as fire shall devour you.

33:12. And the people shall be as ashes after a fire, as a bundle of thorns they shall be burnt with fire.

33:13. Hear, you that are far off, what I have done, and you that are near know my strength.

33:14. The sinners in Sion are afraid, trembling hath seized upon the hypocrites. Which of you can dwell with devouring fire? which of you shall dwell with everlasting burnings?

33:15. He that walketh in justices, and speaketh truth, that casteth away avarice by oppression, and shaketh his hands from all bribes, that stoppeth his ears lest he hear blood, and shutteth his eyes that he may see no evil.

33:16. He shall dwell on high, the fortifications of rocks shall be his highness: bread is given him, his waters are sure.

33:17. His eyes shall see the king in his beauty, they shall see the land far off.

33:18. Thy heart shall meditate fear: where is the learned? where is he that pondered the words of the law? where is the teacher of little ones?

33:19. The shameless people thou shalt not see, the people of profound speech: so that thou canst not understand the eloquence of his tongue, in whom there is no wisdom.

33:20. Look upon Sion the city of our solemnity: thy eyes shall see Jerusalem, a rich habitation, a tabernacle that cannot be removed: neither shall the nails thereof be taken away for ever, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken.

33:21. Because only there our Lord is magnificent: a place of rivers, very broad and spacious streams: no ship with oars shall pass by it, neither shall the great galley pass through it.

Of rivers. . .He speaks of the rivers of endless joys that flow from the throne of God to water the heavenly Jerusalem, where no enemy's ship can come, etc.

33:22. For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king: he will save us.

33:23. Thy tacklings are loosed, and they shall be of no strength: thy mast shall be in such condition, that thou shalt not be able to spread the flag. Then shall the spoils of much prey be divided: the lame shall take the spoil.

Thy tacklings. . .He speaks of the enemies of the church, under the allegory of a ship that is disabled.

33:24. Neither shall he that is near, say: I am feeble. The people that dwell therein, shall have their iniquity taken away from them.

Isaias Chapter 34

The general judgment of the wicked.

34:1. Come near, ye Gentiles, and hear, and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein, the world, and every thing that cometh forth of it.

34:2. For the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath killed them, and delivered them to slaughter.

34:3. Their slain shall be cast forth, and out of their carcasses shall rise a stink: the mountains shall be melted with their blood.

34:4. And all the host of the heavens shall pine away, and the heavens shall be folded together as a book: and all their host shall fall down as the leaf falleth from the vine, and from the fig tree.

And all the host of the heavens. . .That is, the sun, moon, and stars.

34:5. For my sword is inebriated in heaven: behold it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my slaughter unto judgment.

Idumea. . .Under the name of Idumea, or Edom a people that were enemies of the Jews, are here understood the wicked in general, the enemies of God and his church.

34:6. The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, it is made thick with the blood of lambs and buck goats, with the blood of rams full of marrow: for there is a victim of the Lord in Bosra and a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

34:7. And the unicorns shall go down with them, and the bulls with the mighty: their land shall be soaked with blood, and their ground with the fat of fat ones.

The unicorns. . .That is, the great and mighty.

34:8. For it is the day of the vengeance of the Lord, the year of recompenses of the judgment of Sion.

The year of recompenses, etc. . .When the persecutors of Sion, that is, of the church, shall receive their reward.

34:9. And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the ground thereof into brimstone: and the land thereof shall become burning pitch.

34:10. Night and day it shall not be quenched, the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste, none shall pass through it for ever and ever.

34:11. The bittern and ericius shall possess it: and the ibis and the raven shall dwell in it: and a line shall be stretched out upon it, to bring it to nothing, and a plummet, unto desolation.

34:12. The nobles thereof shall not be there: they shall call rather upon the king, and all the princes thereof shall be nothing.

34:13. And thorns and nettles shall grow up in its houses, and the thistle in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be the habitation of dragons, and the pasture of ostriches.

34:14. And demons and monsters shall meet, and the hairy ones shall cry out one to another, there hath the lamia lain down, and found rest for herself.

34:15. There hath the ericius had its hole, and brought up its young ones, and hath dug round about, and cherished them in the shadow thereof: thither are the kites gathered together one to another.

34:16. Search ye diligently in the book of the Lord, and read: not one of them was wanting, one hath not sought for the other: for that which proceedeth out of my mouth, he hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.

34:17. And he hath cast the lot for them, and his hand hath divided it to them by line: they shall possess it for ever, from generation to generation they shall dwell therein.

Isaias Chapter 35

The joyful flourishing of Christ's kingdom: in his church shall be a holy and secure way.

35:1. The land that was desolate and impassable shall be glad, and the wilderness shall rejoice, and shall flourish like the lily.

35:2. It shall bud forth and blossom, and shall rejoice with joy and praise: the glory of Libanus is given to it: the beauty of Carmel, and Saron, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the beauty of our God.

35:3. Strengthen ye the feeble hands, and confirm the weak knees.

35:4. Say to the fainthearted: Take courage, and fear not: behold your God will bring the revenge of recompense: God himself will come and will save you.

35:5. Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

35:6. Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall be free: for waters are broken out in the desert, and streams in the wilderness.

35:7. And that which was dry land, shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water. In the dens where dragons dwelt before, shall rise up the verdure of the reed and the bulrush.

35:8. And a path and a way shall be there, and it shall be called the holy way: the unclean shall not pass over it, and this shall be unto you a straight way, so that fools shall not err therein.

35:9. No lion shall be there, nor shall any mischievous beast go up by it, nor be found there: but they shall walk there that shall be delivered.

35:10. And the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and shall come into Sion with praise, and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.

Isaias Chapter 36

Sennacherib invades Juda: his blasphemies.

36:1. And it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Ezechias, that Sennacherib king of the Assyrians came up against all the fenced cities of Juda, and took them.

36:2. And the king of the Assyrians sent Rabsaces from Lachis to Jerusalem, to king Ezechias with a great army, and he stood by the conduit of the upper pool in the way of the fuller's field.

36:3. And there went out to him Eliacim the son of Helcias, who was over the house, and Sobna the scribe, and Joahe the son of Asaph the recorder.

36:4. And Rabsaces said to them: Tell Ezechias: Thus saith the great king, the king of the Assyrians: What is this confidence wherein thou trustest?

36:5. Or with what counsel or strength dost thou prepare for war? on whom dost thou trust, that thou art revolted from me?

36:6. Lo thou trustest upon this broken staff of a reed, upon Egypt: upon which if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharao king of Egypt to all that trust in him.

36:7. But if thou wilt answer me: We trust in the Lord our God: is it not he whose high places and altars Ezechias hath taken away, and hath said to Juda and Jerusalem: You shall worship before this altar?

36:8. And now deliver thyself up to my lord the king of the Assyrians, and I will give thee two thousand horses, and thou wilt not be able on thy part to find riders for them.

36:9. And how wilt thou stand against the face of the judge of one place, of the least of my master's servants? But if thou trust in Egypt, in chariots and in horsemen:

36:10. And am I now come up without the Lord against this land to destroy it? The Lord said to me: Go up against this land, and destroy it.

36:11. And Eliacim, and Sobna, and Joahe said to Rabsaces: Speak to thy servants in the Syrian tongue: for we understand it: speak not to us in the Jews' language in the hearing of the people, that are upon the wall.

36:12. And Rabsaces said to them: Hath my master sent me to thy master and to thee, to speak all these words; and not rather to the men that sit on the wall; that they may eat their own dung, and drink their urine with you?

36:13. Then Rabsaces stood, and cried out with a loud voice in the Jews' language, and said: Hear the words of the great king, the king of the Assyrians.

36:14. Thus saith the king: Let not Ezechias deceive you, for he shall not be able to deliver you.

36:15. And let not Ezechias make you trust in the Lord, saying: The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be given into the hands of the king of the Assyrians.

36:16. Do not hearken to Ezechias: for thus said the king of the Assyrians: Do with me that which is for your advantage, and come out to me, and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the water of his cistern,

36:17. Till I come and take you away to a land, like to your own, a land of corn and of wine, a land of bread and vineyards.

36:18. Neither let Ezechias trouble you, saying: The Lord will deliver us. Have any of the gods of the nations delivered their land out of the hand of the king of the Assyrians?

36:19. Where is the god of Emath and of Arphad? where is the god of Sepharvaim? have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?

36:20. Who is there among all the gods of these lands, that hath delivered his country out of my hand, that the Lord may deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?

36:21. And they held their peace, and answered him not a word. For the king had commanded, saying: Answer him not.

36:22. And Eliacim the son of Helcias, that was over the house, and Sobna the scribe, and Joahe the son of Asaph the recorder, went in to Ezechias with their garments rent, and told him the words of Rabsaces.

Isaias Chapter 37

Ezechias, his mourning and prayer. God's promise of protection. The Assyrian army is destroyed. Sennacherib is slain.

37:1. And it came to pass, when king Ezechias had heard it, that he rent his garments and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord.

37:2. And he sent Eliacim who was over the house, and Sobna the scribe, and the ancients of the priests covered with sackcloth, to Isaias the son of Amos the prophet.

37:3. And they said to him: Thus saith Ezechias: This day is a day of tribulation, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.

37:4. It may be the Lord thy God will hear the words of Rabsaces, whom the king of the Assyrians his master hath sent to blaspheme the living God, and to reproach with words which the Lord thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up by prayer for the remnant that is left.

37:5. And the servants of Ezechias came to Isaias.

37:6. And Isaias said to them: Thus shall you say to your master: Thus saith the Lord: Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of the Assyrians have blasphemed me.

37:7. Behold, I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a message, and shall return to his own country, and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own country.

37:8. And Rabsaces returned, and found the king of the Assyrians besieging Lobna. For he had heard that he was departed from Lachis.

37:9. And he heard say about Tharaca the king of Ethiopia: He is come forth to fight against thee. And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Ezechias, saying:

37:10. Thus shall you speak to Ezechias the king of Juda, saying: Let not thy God deceive thee, in whom thou trustest, saying: Jerusalem shall not be given into the hands of the king of the Assyrians.

37:11. Behold thou hast heard all that the kings of the Assyrians have done to all countries which they have destroyed, and canst thou be delivered?

37:12. Have the gods of the nations delivered them whom my fathers have destroyed, Gozam, and Haram, and Reseph, and the children of Eden, that were in Thalassar?

37:13. Where is the king of Emath, and the king of Arphad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Ana, and of Ava?

37:14. And Ezechias took the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it, and went up to the house of the Lord, and Ezechias spread it before the Lord.

37:15. And Ezechias prayed to the Lord, saying:

37:16. Lord of hosts, God of Israel who sitteth upon the cherubims, thou alone art the God of all the kingdoms of the earth, thou hast made heaven and earth.

37:17. Incline, O Lord, thy ear, and hear: open, O Lord, thy eyes, and see, and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he hath sent to blaspheme the living God.

37:18. For of a truth, O Lord, the kings of the Assyrians have laid waste lands, and their countries.

37:19. And they have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods, but the works of men's hands, of wood and stone: and they broke them in pieces.

37:20. And now, O Lord our God, save us out of his hand: and let all the kingdoms of the earth know, that thou only art the Lord.

37:21. And Isaias the son of Amos sent to Ezechias, saying: Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: For the prayer thou hast made to me concerning Sennacherib the king of the Assyrians:

37:22. This is the word which the Lord hath spoken of him: The virgin the daughter of Sion hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn: the daughter of Jerusalem hath wagged the head after thee.

37:23. Whom hast thou reproached, and whom hast thou blasphemed, and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thy eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel.

37:24. By the hand of thy servants thou hast reproached the Lord: and hast said: With the multitude of my chariots I have gone up to the height of the mountains, to the top of Libanus: and I will cut down its tall cedars, and its choice fir trees, and will enter to the top of its height, to the forest of its Carmel.

Carmel. . .See these figurative expressions explained in the annotations on the nineteenth chapter of the fourth book of Kings.

37:25. I have digged, and drunk water, and have dried up with the sole of my foot, all the rivers shut up in banks.

37:26. Hast thou not heard what I have done to him of old? from the days of old I have formed it: and now I have brought it to effect: and it hath come to pass that hills fighting together, and fenced cities should be destroyed.

37:27. The inhabitants of them were weak of hand, they trembled, and were confounded: they became like the grass of the field, and the herb of the pasture, and like the grass of the housetops, which withered before it was ripe.

37:28. I know thy dwelling, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me.

37:29. When thou wast mad against me, thy pride came up to my ears: therefore I will put a ring in thy nose, and a bit between thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.

37:30. But to thee this shall be a sign: Eat this year the things that spring of themselves, and in the second year eat fruits: but in the third year sow and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.

37:31. And that which shall be saved of the house of Juda, and which is left, shall take root downward, and shall bear fruit upward:

37:32. For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and salvation from mount Sion: the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this.

37:33. Wherefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of the Assyrians: He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow into it, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a trench about it.

37:34. By the way that he came, he shall return, and into this city he shall not come, saith the Lord.

37:35. And I will protect this city, and will save it for my own sake, and for the sake of David my servant.

37:36. And the angel of the Lord went out and slew in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and eighty-five thousand. And they arose in the morning, and behold they were all dead corpses.

37:37. And Sennacherib the king of the Assyrians went out and departed, and returned, and dwelt in Ninive.

37:38. And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the temple of Nesroch his god, that Adramelech and Sarasar his sons slew him with the sword: and they fled into the land of Ararat, and Asarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.

Isaias Chapter 38

Ezechias being advertised that he shall die, obtains by prayer a prolongation of his life: in confirmation of which the sun goes back. The canticle of Ezechias.

38:1. In those days Ezechias was sick even to death, and Isaias the son of Amos the prophet cane unto him, and said to him: Thus saith the Lord: Take order with thy house, for thou shalt die, and not live.

38:2. And Ezechias turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord,

38:3. And said: I beseech thee, O Lord, remember how I have walked before thee in truth, and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Ezechias wept with great weeping.

38:4. And the word of the Lord came to Isaias, saying:

38:5. Go and say to Ezechias: Thus saith the Lord the God of David thy father: I have heard thy prayer, and I have seen thy tears: behold I will add to thy days fifteen years:

38:6. And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of the Assyrians, and I will protect it.

38:7. And this shall be a sign to thee from the Lord, that the Lord will do this word which he hath spoken:

38:8. Behold I will bring again the shadow of the lines, by which it is now gone down in the sun dial of Achaz with the sun, ten lines backward. And the sun returned ten lines by the degrees by which it was gone down.

38:9. The writing of Ezechias king of Juda, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness.

38:10. I said: In the midst of my days I shall go to the gates of hell: I sought for the residue of my years.

Hell. . .Sheol, or Hades, the region of the dead.

38:11. I said: I shall not see the Lord God in the land of the living. I shall behold man no more, nor the inhabitant of rest.

38:12. My generation is at an end, and it is rolled away from me, as a shepherd's tent. My life is cut off, as by a weaver: whilst I was yet but beginning, he cut me off: from morning even to night thou wilt make an end of me.

38:13. I hoped till morning, as a lion so hath he broken all my bones: from morning even to night thou wilt make an end of me.

38:14. I will cry like a young swallow, I will meditate like a dove: my eyes are weakened looking upward: Lord, I suffer violence, answer thou for me.

38:15. What shall I say, or what shall he answer for me, whereas he himself hath done it? I will recount to thee all my years in the bitterness of my soul.

38:16. O Lord, if man's life be such, and the life of my spirit be in such things as these, thou shalt correct me, and make me to live.

38:17. Behold in peace is my bitterness most bitter: but thou hast delivered my soul that it should not perish, thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.

38:18. For hell shall not confess to thee, neither shall death praise thee: nor shall they that go down into the pit, look for thy truth.

38:19. The living, the living, he shall give praise to thee, as I do this day: the father shall make the truth known to the children.

38:20. O Lord, save me, and we will sing our psalms all the days of our life in the house of the Lord.

38:21. Now Isaias had ordered that they should take a lump of figs, and lay it as a plaster upon the wound, and that he should be healed.

38:22. And Ezechias had said: What shall be the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?

Isaias Chapter 39

Ezechias shews all his treasures to the ambassadors of Babylon: upon which Isaias foretells the Babylonish captivity.

39:1. At that time Merodach Baladan, the son of Baladan king of Babylon, sent letters and presents to Ezechias: for he had heard that he had been sick and was recovered.

39:2. And Ezechias rejoiced at their coming, and he shewed them the storehouses of his aromatical spices, and of the silver, and of the gold, and of the sweet odours, and of the precious ointment, and all the storehouses of his furniture, and all things that were found in his treasures. There was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion that Ezechias shewed them not.

39:3. Then Isaias the prophet came to king Ezechias, and said to him: What said these men, and from whence came they to thee? And Ezechias said: From a far country they came to me, from Babylon.

39:4. And he said: What saw they in thy house? And Ezechias said: All things that are in my house have they seen, there was not any thing which I have not shewn them in my treasures.

39:5. And Isaias said to Ezechias: Hear the word of the Lord of hosts.

39:6. Behold the days shall come that all that is in thy house, and that thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried away into Babylon: there shall not any thing be left, saith the Lord.

39:7. And of thy children, that shall issue from thee, whom thou shalt beget, they shall take away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.

39:8. And Ezechias said to Isaias: The word of the Lord, which he hath spoken, is good. And he said: Only let peace and truth be in my days.

Isaias Chapter 40

The prophet comforts the people with the promise of the coming of Christ to forgive their sins. God's almighty power and majesty.

40:1. Be comforted, be comforted, my people, saith your God.

40:2. Speak ye to the heart of Jerusalem, and call to her: for her evil is come to an end, her iniquity is forgiven: she hath received of the hand of the Lord double for all her sins.

40:3. The voice of one crying in the desert: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the wilderness the paths of our God.

40:4. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough ways plain.

40:5. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh together shall see, that the mouth of the Lord hath spoken.

40:6. The voice of one, saying: Cry. And I said: What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the glory thereof as the flower of the field.

40:7. The grass is withered, and the flower is fallen, because the spirit of the Lord hath blown upon it. Indeed the people is grass:

40:8. The grass is withered, and the flower is fallen: but the word of our Lord endureth for ever.

40:9. Get thee up upon a high mountain, thou that bringest good tidings to Sion: lift up thy voice with strength, thou that bringest good tidings to Jerusalem: lift it up, fear not. Say to the cities of Juda: Behold your God:

40:10. Behold the Lord God shall come with strength, and his arm shall rule: Behold his reward is with him and his work is before him.

40:11. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather together the lambs with his arm, and shall take them up in his bosom, and he himself shall carry them that are with young.

40:12. Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and weighed the heavens with his palm? who hath poised with three fingers the bulk of the earth, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

40:13. Who hath forwarded the spirit of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor, and hath taught him?

40:14. With whom hath he consulted, and who hath instructed him, and taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and shewed him the way of understanding?

40:15. Behold the Gentiles are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the smallest grain of a balance: behold the islands are as a little dust.

40:16. And Libanus shall not be enough to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.

40:17. All nations are before him as if they had no being at all, and are counted to him as nothing, and vanity.

40:18. To whom then have you likened God? or what image will you make for him?

40:19. Hath the workman cast a graven statue? or hath the goldsmith formed it with gold, or the silversmith with plates of silver?

40:20. He hath chosen strong wood, and that will not rot: the skilful workman seeketh how he may set up an idol that may not be moved.

40:21. Do you not know? hath it not been heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have you not understood the foundations of the earth?

40:22. It is he that sitteth upon the globe of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as locusts: he that stretcheth out the heavens as nothing, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in.

40:23. He that bringeth the searchers of secrets to nothing, that hath made the judges of the earth as vanity.

40:24. And surely their stock was neither planted, nor sown, nor rooted in the earth: suddenly he hath blown upon them, and they are withered, and a whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.

40:25. And to whom have ye likened me, or made me equal, saith the Holy One?

40:26. Lift up your eyes on high, and see who hath created these things: who bringeth out their host by number, and calleth them all by their names: by the greatness of his might, and strength, and power, not one of them was missing.

40:27. Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel: My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God?

40:28. Knowest thou not, or hast thou not heard? the Lord is the everlasting God, who hath created the ends of the earth: he shall not faint, nor labour, neither is there any searching out of his wisdom.

40:29. It is he that giveth strength to the weary, and increaseth force and might to them that are not.

40:30. You shall faint, and labour, and young men shall fall by infirmity.

40:31. But they that hope in the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall take wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

Isaias Chapter 41

The reign of the just one: the vanity of idols.

41:1. Let the islands keep silence before me, and the nations take new strength: let them come near, and then speak, let us come near to judgment together.

41:2. Who hath raised up the just one from the east, hath called him to follow him? he shall give the nations in his sight, and he shall rule over kings: he shall give them as the dust to his sword, as stubble driven by the wind, to his bow.

41:3. He shall pursue them, he shall pass in peace, no path shall appear after his feet.

41:4. Who hath wrought and done these things, calling the generations from the beginning? I the Lord, I am the first and the last.

41:5. The islands saw it, and feared, the ends of the earth were astonished, they drew near, and came.

41:6. Every one shall help his neighbour, and shall say to his brother: Be of good courage.

41:7. The coppersmith striking with the hammer encouraged him that forged at that time, saying: It is ready for soldering: and he strengthened it with nails, that it should not be moved.

41:8. But thou Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend:

41:9. In whom I have taken thee from the ends of the earth, and from the remote parts thereof have called thee, and said to thee: Thou art my servant, I have chosen thee, and have not cast thee away.

41:10. Fear not, for I am with thee: turn not aside, for I am thy God: I have strengthened thee, and have helped thee, and the right hand of my just one hath upheld thee.

41:11. Behold all that fight against thee shall be confounded and ashamed, they shall be as nothing, and the men shall perish that strive against thee.

41:12. Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find the men that resist thee: they shall be as nothing: and as a thing consumed the men that war against thee.

41:13. For I am the Lord thy God, who take thee by the hand, and say to thee: Fear not, I have helped thee.

41:14. Fear not, thou worm of Jacob, you that are dead of Israel: I have helped thee, saith the Lord: and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel.

41:15. I have made thee as a new thrashing wain, with teeth like a saw: thou shalt thrash the mountains, and break them in pieces: and shalt make the hills as chaff.

41:16. Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the Lord, in the Holy One of Israel thou shalt be joyful.

41:17. The needy and the poor seek for waters, and there are none: their tongue hath been dry with thirst. I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.

41:18. I will open rivers in the high hills, and fountains in the midst of the plains: I will turn the desert into pools of waters, and the impassable land into streams of waters.

41:19. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, and the thorn, and the myrtle, and the olive tree: I will set in the desert the fir tree, the elm, and the box tree together:

The thorn. . .In Hebrew, the shitta, or setim, a tree resembling the white thorn.

41:20. That they may see and know, and consider, and understand together that the hand of the Lord hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.

41:21. Bring your cause near, saith the Lord: bring hither, if you have any thing to allege, saith the King of Jacob.

41:22. Let them come, and tell us all things that are to come: tell us the former things what they were: and we will set our heart upon them and shall know the latter end of them, and tell us the things that are to come.

41:23. Shew the things that are to come hereafter, and we shall know that ye are gods. Do ye also good or evil, if you can: and let us speak, and see together.

41:24. Behold, you are of nothing, and your work of that which hath no being: he that hath chosen you is an abomination.

41:25. I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come from the rising of the sun: he shall call upon my name, and he shall make princes to be as dirt, and as the potter treading clay.

41:26. Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know: and from time of old, that we may say: Thou art just. There is none that sheweth, nor that foretelleth, nor that heareth your words.

41:27. The first shall say to Sion: Behold they are here, and to Jerusalem I will give an evangelist.

41:28. And I saw, and there was no one even among them to consult, or who, when I asked, could answer a word.

41:29. Behold they are all in the wrong, and their works are vain: their idols are wind and vanity.

Isaias Chapter 42

The office of Christ. The preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles. The blindness and reprobation of the Jews.

42:1. Behold my servant, I will uphold him: my elect, my soul delighteth in him: I have given my spirit upon him, he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.

My servant. . .Christ, who according to his humanity, is the servant of God.

42:2. He shall not cry, nor have respect to person, neither shall his voice be heard abroad.

42:3. The bruised reed he shall not break, and smoking flax he shall not quench, he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.

42:4. He shall not be sad, nor troublesome, till he set judgment in the earth, and the islands shall wait for his law.

42:5. Thus saith the Lord God that created the heavens, and stretched them out: that established the earth, and the things that spring out of it: that giveth breath to the people upon it, and spirit to them that tread thereon.

42:6. I the Lord have called thee in justice, and taken thee by the hand, and preserved thee. And I have given thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles:

42:7. That thou mightest open the eyes of the blind, and bring forth the prisoner out of prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.

42:8. I the Lord, this is my name: I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to graven things.

42:9. The things that were first, behold they are come: and new things do I declare: before they spring forth, I will make you hear them.

42:10. Sing ye to the Lord a new song, his praise is from the ends of the earth: you that go down to the sea, and all that are therein: ye islands, and ye inhabitants of them.

42:11. Let the desert and the cities thereof be exalted: Cedar shall dwell in houses: ye inhabitants of Petra, give praise, they shall cry from the top of the mountains.

Petra. . .A city that gives name to Arabia Petraea.

42:12. They shall give glory to the Lord, and shall declare his praise in the islands.

42:13. The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, as a man of war shall he stir up zeal: he shall shout and cry: he shall prevail against his enemies.

42:14. I have always held my peace, I have kept silence, I have been patient, I will speak now as a woman in labour: I will destroy, and swallow up at once.

42:15. I will lay waste the mountains and hills, and will make all their grass to wither: and I will turn rivers into islands, and will dry up the standing pools.

42:16. And I will lead the blind into the way which they know not: and in the paths which they were ignorant of I will make them walk: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight: these things have I done to them, and have not forsaken them.

42:17. They are turned back: let them be greatly confounded, that trust in a graven thing, that say to a molten thing: You are our god.

42:18. Hear, ye deaf, and, ye blind, behold that you may see.

42:19. Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, but he to whom I have sent my messengers? Who is blind, but he that is sold? or who is blind, but the servant of the Lord?

42:20. Thou that seest many things, wilt thou not observe them? thou that hast ears open, wilt thou not hear?

42:21. And the Lord was willing to sanctify him, and to magnify the law, and exalt it.

42:22. But this is a people that is robbed and wasted: they are all the snare of young men, and they are hid in the houses of prisons: they are made a prey, and there is none to deliver them: a spoil, and there is none that saith: Restore.

42:23. Who is there among you that will give ear to this, that will attend and hearken for times to come?

42:24. Who hath given Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to robbers? hath not the Lord himself, against whom we have sinned? And they would not walk in his ways, and they have not hearkened to his law.

42:25. And he hath poured out upon him the indignation of his fury, and a strong battle, and hath burnt him round about, and he knew not: and set him on fire, and he understood not.

Isaias Chapter 43

God comforts his church, promising to protect her for ever: he expostulates with the Jews for their ingratitude.

43:1. And now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and formed thee, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, and called thee by thy name: thou art mine.

43:2. When thou shalt pass through the waters, I will be with thee, and the rivers shall not cover thee: when thou shalt walk in the fire, thou shalt not be burnt, and the flames shall not burn in thee:

43:3. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I have given Egypt for thy atonement, Ethiopia and Saba for thee.

43:4. Since thou becamest honourable in my eyes, thou art glorious: I have loved thee, and I will give men for thee, and people for thy life.

43:5. Fear not, for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west.

43:6. I will say to the north: Give up: and to the south: Keep not back: bring my sons from afar, and my daughters from the ends of the earth.

43:7. And every one that calleth upon my name, I have created him for my glory. I have formed him, and made him.

43:8. Bring forth the people that are blind, and have eyes: that are deaf, and have ears.

43:9. All the nations are assembled together, and the tribes are gathered: who among you can declare this, and shall make us hear the former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, let them be justified, and hear, and say: It is truth.

43:10. You are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that you may know, and believe me, and understand that I myself am. Before me there was no God formed, and after me there shall be none.

43:11. I am, I am the Lord: and there is no saviour besides me.

43:12. I have declared, and have saved. I have made it heard, and there was no strange one among you. You are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and I am God.

43:13. And from the beginning I am the same, and there is none that can deliver out of my hind: I will work, and who shall turn it away?

43:14. Thus saith the Lord your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: For your sake I sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their bars, and the Chaldeans glorying in their ships.

43:15. I am the Lord your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.

43:16. Thus saith the Lord, who made a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters.

43:17. Who brought forth the chariot and the horse, the army and the strong: they lay down to sleep together, and they shall not rise again: they are broken as flax, and are extinct.

43:18. Remember not former things, and look not on things of old.

43:19. Behold I do new things, and now they shall spring forth, verily you shall know them: I will make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

43:20. The beast of the field shall glorify me, the dragons and the ostriches: because I have given waters in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, to my chosen.

43:21. This people have I formed for myself, they shall shew forth my praise.

43:22. But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob, neither hast thou laboured about me, O Israel.

43:23. Thou hast not offered me the ram of thy holocaust, nor hast thou glorified me with thy victims: I have not caused thee to serve with oblations, nor wearied thee with incense.

43:24. Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy victims. But thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thy iniquities.

43:25. I am, I am he that blot out thy iniquities for my own sake, and I will not remember thy sins.

43:26. Put me in remembrance, and let us plead together: tell if thou hast any thing to justify thyself.

43:27. Thy first father sinned, and thy teachers have transgressed against me.

43:28. And I have profaned the holy princes, I have given Jacob to slaughter, and Israel to reproach.

Isaias Chapter 44

God's favour to his church. The folly of idolatry. The people shall be delivered from captivity.

44:1. And now hear, O Jacob, my servant, and Israel whom I have chosen.

44:2. Thus saith the Lord that made and formed thee, thy helper from the womb: Fear not, O my servant Jacob, and thou most righteous whom I have chosen.

44:3. For I will pour out waters upon the thirsty ground, and streams upon the dry land: I will pour out my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thy stock.

44:4. And they shall spring up among the herbs, as willows beside the running waters.

44:5. One shall say: I am the Lord's, and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob, and another shall subscribe with his hand, To the Lord, and surname himself by the name of Israel.

44:6. Thus saith the Lord the king of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts: I am the first, and I am the last, and besides me there is no God.

44:7. Who is like to me? let him call and declare: and let him set before me the order, since I appointed the ancient people: and the things to come, and that shall be hereafter, let them shew unto them.

44:8. Fear ye not, neither be ye troubled from that time I have made thee to hear, and have declared: you are my witnesses. Is there a God besides me, a maker, whom I have not known?

44:9. The makers of idols are all of them nothing, and their best beloved things shall not profit them. They are their witnesses, that they do not see, nor understand, that they may be ashamed.

44:10. Who hath formed a god, and made a graven thing that is profitable for nothing?

44:11. Behold, all the partakers thereof shall be confounded: for the makers are men: they shall all assemble together, they shall stand and fear, and shall be confounded together.

44:12. The smith hath wrought with his file, with coals, and with hammers he hath formed it, and hath wrought with the strength of his arm: he shall hunger and faint, he shall drink no water, and shall be weary.

44:13. The carpenter hath stretched out his rule, he hath formed it with a plane: he hath made it with corners, and hath fashioned it round with the compass: and he hath made the image of a man as it were a beautiful man dwelling in a house.

44:14. He hath cut down cedars, taken the holm, and the oak that stood among the trees of the forest: he hath planted the pine tree, which the rain hath nourished.

44:15. And it hath served men for fuel: he took thereof, and warmed himself: and he kindled it, and baked bread: but of the rest he made a god, and adored it: he made a graven thing, and bowed down before it.

44:16. Part of it he burnt with fire, and with part of it he dressed his meat: he boiled pottage, and was filled, and was warmed, and said: Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire.

44:17. But the residue thereof he made a god, and a graven thing for himself: he boweth down before it, and adoreth it, and prayeth unto it, saying: Deliver me, for thou art my God.

44:18. They have not known, nor understood: for their eyes are covered that they may not see, and that they may not understand with their heart.

44:19. They do not consider in their mind, nor know, nor have the thought to say: I have burnt part of it in the fire, and I have baked bread upon the coals thereof: I have broiled flesh and have eaten, and of the residue thereof shall I make an idol? shall I fall down before the stock of a tree?

44:20. Part thereof is ashes: his foolish heart adoreth it, and he will not save his soul, nor say: Perhaps there is a lie in my right hand.

44:21. Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for thou art my servant. I have formed thee, thou art my servant, O Israel, forget me not.

44:22. I have blotted out thy iniquities as a cloud, and thy sins as a mist: return to me, for I have redeemed thee.

44:23. Give praise, O ye heavens, for the Lord hath shewn mercy: shout with joy, ye ends of the earth: ye mountains, resound with praise, thou, O forest, and every tree therein: for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and Israel shall be glorified.

44:24. Thus saith the Lord thy redeemer, and thy maker, from the womb: I am the Lord, that make all things, that alone stretch out the heavens, that established the earth, and there is none with me.

44:25. That make void the tokens of diviners, and make the soothsayers mad. That turn the wise backward, and that make their knowledge foolish.

44:26. That raise up the word of my servant and perform the counsel of my messengers, who say to Jerusalem: Thou shalt be inhabited: and to the cities of Juda: You shall be built, and I will raise up the wastes thereof.

44:27. Who say to the deep: Be thou desolate, and I will dry up thy rivers.

44:28. Who say to Cyrus: Thou art my shepherd, and thou shalt perform all my pleasure. Who say to Jerusalem: Thou shalt be built: and to the temple: Thy foundations shall be laid.

Isaias Chapter 45

A prophecy of Cyrus, as a figure of Christ, the great deliverer of God's people.

45:1. Thus saith the Lord to my anointed Cyrus, whose right hand I have taken hold of, to subdue nations before his face, and to turn the backs of kings, and to open the doors before him, and the gates shall not be shut.

45:2. I will go before thee, and will humble the great ones of the earth: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and will burst the bars of iron.

45:3. And I will give thee hidden treasures, and the concealed riches of secret places: that thou mayest know that I am the Lord who call thee by thy name, the God of Israel.

45:4. For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have made a likeness of thee, and thou hast not known me.

45:5. I am the Lord, and there is none else: there is no God besides me: I girded thee, and thou hast not known me:

45:6. That they may know who are from the rising of the sun, and they who are from the west, that there is none besides me. I am the Lord, and there is none else:

45:7. I form the light, and create darkness, I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord that do all these things.

Create evil, etc. . .The evils of afflictions and punishments, but not the evil of sin.

45:8. Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the just: let the earth be opened, and bud forth a saviour: and let justice spring up together: I the Lord have created him.

45:9. Woe to him that gainsayeth his maker, a sherd of the earthen pots: shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it: What art thou making, and thy work is without hands?

45:10. Woe to him that saith to his father: Why begettest thou? and to the woman: Why dost thou bring forth?

45:11. Thus saith the Lord the Holy One of Israel, his maker: Ask me of things to come, concerning my children, and concerning the work of my hands give ye charge to me.

45:12. I made the earth: and I created man upon it: my hand stretched forth the heavens, and I have commanded all their host.

45:13. I have raised him up to justice, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and let go my captives, not for ransom, nor for presents, saith the Lord the God of hosts.

45:14. Thus saith the Lord: The labour of Egypt, and the merchandise of Ethiopia, and of Sabaim, men of stature shall come over to thee, and shall be thine: they shall walk after thee, they shall go bound with manacles: and they shall worship thee, and shall make supplication to thee: only in thee is God, and there is no God besides thee.

45:15. Verily thou art a hidden God, the God of Israel the saviour.

45:16. They are all confounded and ashamed: the forgers of errors are gone together into confusion.

45:17. Israel is saved in the Lord with an eternal salvation: you shall not be confounded, and you shall not be ashamed for ever and ever.

45:18. For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens, God himself that formed the earth, and made it, the very maker thereof: he did not create it in vain: he formed it to be inhabited. I am the Lord, and there is no other.

45:19. I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I have not said to the seed of Jacob: Seek me in vain. I am the Lord that speak justice, that declare right things.

45:20. Assemble yourselves, and come, and draw near together, ye that are saved of the Gentiles: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven work, and pray to a god that cannot save.

45:21. Tell ye, and come, and consult together: who hath declared this from the beginning, who hath foretold this from that time? Have not I the Lord, and there is no God else besides me? A just God and a saviour, there is none besides me.

45:22. Be converted to me, and you shall be saved, all ye ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is no other.

45:23. I have sworn by myself, the word of justice shall go out of my mouth, and shall not return:

45:24. For every knee shall be bowed to me, and every tongue shall swear.

45:25. Therefore shall he say: In the Lord are my justices and empire: they shall come to him, and all that resist him shall be confounded.

45:26. In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified and praised.

Isaias Chapter 46

The idols of Babylon shall be destroyed. Salvation is promised through Christ.

46:1. Bel is broken, Nebo is destroyed: their idols are put upon beasts and cattle, your burdens of heavy weight even unto weariness.

46:2. They are consumed, and are broken together: they could not save him that carried them, and they themselves shall go into captivity.

46:3. Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel who are carried by my bowels, are borne up by my womb.

46:4. Even to your old age I am the same, and to your grey hairs I will carry you: I have made you, and I will bear: I will carry and will save.

46:5. To whom have you likened me, and made me equal, and compared me, and made me like?

46:6. You that contribute gold out of the bag, and weigh out silver in the scales: and hire a goldsmith to make a god: and they fall down and worship.

46:7. They bear him on their shoulders and carry him, and set him in his place, and he shall stand, and shall not stir out of his place. Yea, when they shall cry also unto him, he shall not hear: he shall not save them from tribulation.

46:8. Remember this, and be ashamed: return, ye transgressors, to the heart.

46:9. Remember the former age, for I am God, and there is no God beside, neither is there the like to me:

46:10. Who shew from the beginning the things that shall be at last, and from ancient times the things that as yet are not done, saying: My counsel shall stand, and all my will shall be done:

46:11. Who call a bird from the east, and from a far country the man of my own will, and I have spoken, and will bring it to pass: I have created, and I will do it. Hear me, O ye hardhearted, who are far from justice.

46:12. I have brought my justice near, it shall not be afar off: and my salvation shall not tarry. I will give salvation in Sion, and my glory in Israel.

Isaias Chapter 47

God's judgment upon Babylon.

47:1. Come down, sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne for the daughter of the Chaldeans, for thou shalt no more be called delicate and tender.

47:2. Take a millstone and grind meal: uncover thy shame, strip thy shoulder, make bare thy legs, pass over the rivers.

47:3. Thy nakedness shall be discovered, and thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and no man shall resist me.

47:4. Our redeemer, the Lord of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.

47:5. Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called the lady of kingdoms.

47:6. I was angry with my people, I have polluted my inheritance, and have given them into thy hand: thou hast shewn no mercy to them: upon the ancient thou hast laid thy yoke exceeding heavy.

47:7. And thou hast said: I shall be a lady for ever: thou hast not laid these things to thy heart, neither hast thou remembered thy latter end.

47:8. And now hear these things, thou that art delicate, and dwellest confidently, that sayest in thy heart: I am, and there is none else besides me: I shall not sit as a widow, and I shall not know barrenness.

47:9. These two things shall come upon thee suddenly in one day, barrenness and widowhood. All things are come upon thee, because of the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great hardness of thy enchanters.

47:10. And thou hast trusted in thy wickedness, and hast said: There is none that seeth me. Thy wisdom, and, thy knowledge, this hath deceived thee. And thou hast said in thy heart: I am, and besides me there is no other.

47:11. Evil shall come upon thee, and thou shalt not know the rising thereof: and calamity shall fall violently upon thee, which thou canst not keep off: misery shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know.

47:12. Stand now with thy enchanters, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, in which thou hast laboured from thy youth, if so be it may profit thee any thing, or if thou mayst become stronger.

47:13. Thou hast failed in the multitude of thy counsels: let now the astrologers stand and save thee, they that gazed at the stars, and counted the months, that from them they might tell the things that shall come to thee.

47:14. Behold they are as stubble, fire hath burnt them, they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flames: there are no coals wherewith they may be warmed, nor fire, that they may sit thereat.

47:15. Such are all the things become to thee, in which thou hast laboured: thy merchants from thy youth, every one hath erred in his own way, there is none that can save thee.

Isaias Chapter 48

He reproaches the Jews for their obstinacy: he will deliver them out of their captivity, for his own name's sake.

48:1. Hear ye these things, O house of Jacob, you that are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Juda, you who swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in justice.

48:2. For they are called of the holy city, and are established upon the God of Israel: the Lord of hosts is his name.

48:3. The former things of old, I have declared, and they went forth out of my mouth, and I have made them to be heard: I did them suddenly and they came to pass.

48:4. For I knew that thou art stubborn, and thy neck is as an iron sinew, and thy forehead as brass.

48:5. I foretold thee of old, before they came to pass I told thee, lest thou shouldst say: My idols have done these things, and my graven and molten things have commanded them.

48:6. See now all the things which thou hast heard: but have you declared them? I have shewn thee new things from that time, and things are kept which thou knowest not:

48:7. They are created now, and not of old: and before the day, when thou heardest them not, lest thou shouldst say: Behold I knew them.

48:8. Thou hast neither heard, nor known, neither was thy ear opened of old. For I know that transgressing thou wilt transgress, and I have called thee a transgressor from the womb.

48:9. For my name's sake I will remove my wrath far off: and for my praise I will bridle thee, lest thou shouldst perish.

48:10. Behold I have refined thee, but not as silver, I have chosen thee in the furnace of poverty.

48:11. For my own sake, for my own sake will I do it, that I may not be blasphemed: and I will not give my glory to another.

48:12. Hearken to me, O Jacob, and thou Israel whom I call: I am he, I am the first, and I am the last.

48:13. My hand also hath founded the earth, and my right hand hath measured the heavens: I shall call them, and they shall stand together.

48:14. Assemble yourselves together, all you, and hear: who among them hath declared these things? the Lord hath loved him, he will do his pleasure in Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans.

48:15. I, even I have spoken and called him: I have brought him, and his way is made prosperous.

48:16. Come ye near unto me, and hear this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning: from the time before it was done, I was there, and now the Lord God hath sent me, and his spirit.

48:17. Thus saith the Lord thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the Lord thy God that teach thee profitable things, that govern thee in the way that thou walkest.

48:18. O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments: thy peace had been as a river, and thy justice as the waves of the sea,

48:19. And thy seed had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof: his name should not have perished, nor have been destroyed from before my face.

48:20. Come forth out of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, declare it with the voice of joy: make this to be heard, and speak it out even to the ends of the earth. Say: The Lord hath redeemed his servant Jacob.

48:21. They thirsted not in the desert, when he led them out: he brought forth water out of the rock for them, and he clove the rock, and the waters gushed out.

48:22. There is no peace to the wicked, saith the Lord.

Isaias Chapter 49

Christ shall bring the Gentiles to salvation. God's love to his church is perpetual.

49:1. Give ear, ye islands, and hearken, ye people from afar. The Lord hath called me from the womb, from the bowels of my mother he hath been mindful of my name.

49:2. And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword: in the shadow of his hand he hath protected me, and hath made me as a chosen arrow: in his quiver he hath hidden me.

49:3. And he said to me: Thou art my servant Israel, for in thee will I glory.

49:4. And I said: I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength without cause and in vain: therefore my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God.

49:5. And now saith the Lord, that formed me from the womb to be his servant, that I may bring back Jacob unto him, and Israel will not be gathered together: and I am glorified in the eyes of the Lord, and my God is made my strength.

49:6. And he said: It is a small thing that thou shouldst be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to convert the dregs of Israel. Behold, I have given thee to be the light of the Gentiles, that thou mayst be my salvation even to the farthest part of the earth.

49:7. Thus saith the Lord the redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, to the soul that is despised, to the nation that is abhorred, to the servant of rulers: Kings shall see, and princes shall rise up, and adore for the Lord's sake, because he is faithful, and for the Holy One of Israel, who hath chosen thee.

49:8. Thus saith the Lord: In an acceptable time I have heard thee, and in the day of salvation I have helped thee: and I have preserved thee, and given thee to be a covenant of the people, that thou mightest raise up the earth, and possess the inheritances that were destroyed:

49:9. That thou mightest say to them that are bound: Come forth: and to them that are in darkness: Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in every plain.

49:10. They shall not hunger, nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor the sun strike them: for he that is merciful to them, shall be their shepherd, and at the fountains of waters he shall give them drink.

49:11. And I will make all my mountains a way, and my paths shall be exalted.

49:12. Behold these shall come from afar, and behold these from the north and from the sea, and these from the south country.

49:13. Give praise, O ye heavens, and rejoice, O earth, ye mountains, give praise with jubilation: because the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy on his poor ones.

49:14. And Sion said: The Lord hath forsaken me, and the Lord hath forgotten me.

49:15. Can a woman forget her infant, so as not to have pity on the son of her womb? and if she should forget, yet will not I forget thee.

49:16. Behold, I have graven thee in my hands: thy walls are always before my eyes.

49:17. Thy builders are come: they that destroy thee and make thee waste shall go out of thee.

49:18. Lift up thy eyes round about, and see all these are gathered together, they are come to thee: I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt be clothed with all these as with an ornament, and as a bride thou shalt put them about thee.

49:19. For thy deserts, and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction shall now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be chased far away.

49:20. The children of thy barrenness shall still say in thy ears: The place is too strait for me, make me room to dwell in.

49:21. And thou shalt say in thy heart: Who hath begotten these? I was barren and brought not forth, led away, and captive: and who hath brought up these? I was destitute and alone: and these, where were they?

49:22. Thus saith the Lord God: Behold I will lift up my hand to the Gentiles, and will set up my standard to the people. And they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and carry thy daughters upon their shoulders.

49:23. And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and queens thy nurses: they shall worship thee with their face toward the earth, and they shall lick up the dust of thy feet. And thou shalt know that I am the Lord, for they shall not be confounded that wait for him.

49:24. Shall the prey be taken from the strong? or can that which was taken by the mighty, be delivered?

49:25. For thus saith the Lord: Yea verily, even the captivity shall be taken away from the strong: and that which was taken by the mighty, shall be delivered. But I will judge those that have judged thee, and thy children I will save.

49:26. And I will feed thy enemies with their own flesh: and they shall be made drunk with their own blood, as with new wine: and all flesh shall know, that I am the Lord that save thee, and thy Redeemer the Mighty One of Jacob.

Isaias Chapter 50

The synagogue shall be divorced for her iniquities. Christ for her sake will endure ignominious afflictions.

50:1. Thus saith the Lord: What is this bill of the divorce of your mother, with which I have put her away? or who is my creditor, to whom I sold you: behold you are sold for your iniquities, and for your wicked deeds have I put your mother away.

50:2. Because I came, and there was not a man: I called, and there was none that would hear. Is my hand shortened and become little, that I cannot redeem? or is there no strength in me to deliver? Behold at my rebuke I will make the sea a desert, I will turn the rivers into dry land: the fishes shall rot for want of water, and shall die for thirst.

50:3. I will clothe the heavens with darkness, and will make sackcloth their covering.

50:4. The Lord hath given me a learned tongue, that I should know how to uphold by word him that is weary: he wakeneth in the morning, in the morning he wakeneth my ear, that I may hear him as a master.

50:5. The Lord God hath opened my ear, and I do not resist: I have not gone back.

50:6. I have given my body to the strikers, and my cheeks to them that plucked them: I have not turned away my face from them that rebuked me, and spit upon me.

50:7. The Lord God is my helper, therefore am I not confounded: therefore have I set my face as a most hard rock, and I know that I shall not be confounded.

50:8. He is near that justifieth me, who will contend with me? let us stand together, who is my adversary? let him come near to me.

50:9. Behold the Lord God is my helper: who is he that shall condemn me? Lo, they shall all be destroyed as a garment, the moth shall eat them up.

50:10. Who is there among you that feareth the Lord, that heareth the voice of his servant, that hath walked in darkness, and hath no light? let him hope in the name of the Lord, and lean upon his God.

50:11. Behold all you that kindle a fire, encompassed with flames, walk in the light of your fire, and in the flames which you have kindled: this is done to you by my hand, you shall sleep in sorrows.

Isaias Chapter 51

An exhortation to trust in Christ. He shall protect the children of his church.

51:1. Give ear to me, you that follow that which is just, and you that seek the Lord: look unto the rock whence you are hewn, and to the hole of the pit from which you are dug out.

51:2. Look unto Abraham your father, and to Sara that bore you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and multiplied him.

51:3. The Lord therefore will comfort Sion, and will comfort all the ruins thereof: and he will make her desert as a place of pleasure, and her wilderness as the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of praise.

51:4. Hearken unto me, O my people, and give ear to me, O my tribes: for a law shall go forth from me, and my judgment shall rest to be a light of the nations.

51:5. My just one is near at hand, my saviour is gone forth, and my arms shall judge the people: the islands shall look for me, and shall patiently wait for my arm.

51:6. Lift up your eyes to heaven, and look down to the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish like smoke, and the earth shall be worn away like a garment, and the inhabitants thereof shall perish in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my justice shall not fail.

51:7. Hearken to me, you that know what is just, my people who have my law in your heart: fear ye not the reproach of men, and be not afraid of their blasphemies.

51:8. For the worm shall eat them up as a garment: and the moth shall consume them as wool: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my justice from generation to generation.

51:9. Arise, arise, put on strength, O thou arm of the Lord, arise as in the days of old, in the ancient generations. Hast not thou struck the proud one, and wounded the dragon?

51:10. Hast not thou dried up the sea, the water of the mighty deep, who madest the depth of the sea a way, that the delivered might pass over?

51:11. And now they that are redeemed by the Lord, shall return, and shall come into Sion singing praises, and joy everlasting shall be upon their heads, they shall obtain joy and gladness, sorrow and mourning shall flee away.

51:12. I myself will comfort you: who art thou, that thou shouldst be afraid of a mortal man, and of the son of man, who shall wither away like grass?

51:13. And thou hast forgotten the Lord thy maker, who stretched out the heavens, and founded the earth: and thou hast been afraid continually all the day at the presence of his fury who afflicted thee, and had prepared himself to destroy thee: where is now the fury of the oppressor?

51:14. He shall quickly come that is going to open unto you, and he shall not kill unto utter destruction, neither shall his bread fail.

51:15. But I am the Lord thy God, who trouble the sea, and the waves thereof swell: the Lord of hosts is my name.

51:16. I have put my words in thy mouth, and have protected thee in the shadow of my hand, that thou mightest plant the heavens, and found the earth: and mightest say to Sion: Thou art my people.

51:17. Arise, arise, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath; thou hast drunk even to the bottom of the cup of dead sleep, and thou hast drunk even to the dregs.

51:18. There is none that can uphold her among all the children that she hath brought forth: and there is none that taketh her by the hand among all the children that she hath brought up.

51:19. There are two things that have happened to thee: who shall be sorry for thee? desolation, and destruction, and the famine, and the sword, who shall comfort thee?

51:20. Thy children are cast forth, they have slept at the head of all the ways, and the wild ox that is snared: full of the indignation of the Lord, of the rebuke of thy God.

51:21. Therefore hear this, thou poor little one, and thou that art drunk but not with wine.

51:22. Thus saith thy Sovereign the Lord, and thy God, who will fight for his people: Behold I have taken out of thy hand the cup of dead sleep, the dregs of the cup of my indignation, thou shalt not drink it again any more.

51:23. And I will put it in the hand of them that have oppressed thee, and have said to thy soul: Bow down, that we may go over: and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as a way to them that went over.

Isaias Chapter 52

Under the figure of the deliverance from the Babylonish captivity, the church is invited to rejoice for her redemption from sin. Christ's kingdom shall be exalted.

52:1. Arise, arise, put on thy strength, O Sion, put on the garments of thy glory, O Jerusalem, the city of the Holy One: for henceforth the uncircumcised, and unclean shall no more pass through thee.

52:2. Shake thyself from the dust, arise, sit up, O Jerusalem: loose the bonds from off thy neck, O captive daughter of Sion.

52:3. For thus saith the Lord: You were sold gratis, and you shall be redeemed, without money.

52:4. For thus saith the Lord God: My people went down into Egypt at the beginning to sojourn there: and the Assyrian hath oppressed them without any cause at all.

52:5. And now what have I here, saith the Lord: for my people is taken away gratis. They that rule over them treat them unjustly, saith the Lord, and my name is continually blasphemed all the day long.

52:6. Therefore my people shall know my name in that day: for I myself that spoke, behold I am here.

52:7. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, and that preacheth peace: of him that sheweth forth good, that preacheth salvation, that saith to Sion: Thy God shall reign!

52:8. The voice of thy watchmen: they have lifted up their voice, they shall praise together: for they shall see eye to eye when the Lord shall convert Sion.

52:9. Rejoice, and give praise together, O ye deserts of Jerusalem: for the Lord hath comforted his people: he hath redeemed Jerusalem.

52:10. The Lord hath prepared his holy arm in the sight of all the Gentiles: and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

52:11. Depart, depart, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing: go out of the midst of her, be ye clean, you that carry the vessels of the Lord.

52:12. For you shall not go out in a tumult, neither shall you make haste by flight: for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will gather you together.

52:13. Behold my servant shall understand, he shall be exalted, and extolled, and shall be exceeding high.

52:14. As many have been astonished at thee, so shall his visage be inglorious among men, and his form among the sons of men.

52:15. He shall sprinkle many nations, kings shall shut their mouth at him: for they to whom it was not told of him, have seen: and they that heard not, have beheld.

Isaias Chapter 53

A prophecy of the passion of Christ.

53:1. Who a hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?

53:2. And he shall grow up as a tender plant before him, and as a root out of a thirsty ground: there is no beauty in him, nor comeliness: and we have seen him, and there was no sightliness, that we should be desirous of him:

53:3. Despised, and the most abject of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with infirmity: and his look was as it were hidden and despised, whereupon we esteemed him not.

53:4. Surely he hath borne our infirmities and carried our sorrows: and we have thought him as it were a leper, and as one struck by God and afflicted.

53:5. But he was wounded for our iniquities, he was bruised for our sins: the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his bruises we are healed.

53:6. All we like sheep have gone astray, every one hath turned aside into his own way: and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

53:7. He was offered because it was his own will, and he opened not his mouth: he shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter, and shall be dumb as a lamb before his shearer, and he shall not open his mouth.

53:8. He was taken away from distress, and from judgment: who shall declare his generation? because he is cut off out of the land of the living: for the wickedness of my people have I struck him.

53:9. And he shall give the ungodly for his burial, and the rich for his death: because he hath done no iniquity, neither was there deceit in his mouth.

53:10. And the Lord was pleased to bruise him in infirmity: if he shall lay down his life for sin, he shall see a longlived seed, and the will of the Lord shall be prosperous in his hand.

53:11. Because his soul hath laboured, he shall see and be filled: by his knowledge shall this my just servant justify many, and he shall bear their iniquities.

53:12. Therefore will I distribute to him very many, and he shall divide the spoils of the strong, because he hath delivered his soul unto death, and was reputed with the wicked: and he hath borne the sins of many, and hath prayed for the transgressors.

Isaias Chapter 54

The Gentiles, who were barren before, shall multiply in the church of Christ: from which God's mercy shall never depart.

54:1. Give praise, O thou barren, that bearest not: sing forth praise, and make a joyful noise, thou that didst not travail with child: for many are the children of the desolate, more than of her that hath a husband, saith the Lord.

54:2. Enlarge the place of thy tent, and stretch out the skins of thy tabernacles, spare not: lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes.

54:3. For thou shalt pass on to the right hand, and to the left: and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and shall inhabit the desolate cities.

54:4. Fear not, for thou shalt not be confounded, nor blush: for thou shalt not be put to shame, because thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt remember no more the reproach of thy widowhood.

54:5. For he that made thee shall rule over thee, the Lord of hosts is his name: and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, shall be called the God of all the earth.

54:6. For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and mourning in spirit, and as a wife cast off from her youth, said thy God.

54:7. For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee.

54:8. In a moment of indignation have I hid my face a little while from thee, but with everlasting kindness have I had mercy on thee, said the Lord thy Redeemer.

54:9. This thing is to me as in the days of Noe, to whom I swore, that I would no more bring in the waters of Noe upon the earth: so have I sworn not to be angry with thee, and not to rebuke thee.

54:10. For the mountains shall be moved, and the hills shall tremble; but my mercy shall not depart from thee, and the covenant of my peace shall not be moved: said the Lord that hath mercy on thee.

54:11. O poor little one, tossed with tempest, without all comfort, behold I will lay thy stones in order, and will lay thy foundations with sapphires,

54:12. And I will make thy bulwarks of jasper: and thy gates of graven stones, and all thy borders of desirable stones.

54:13. All thy children shall be taught of the Lord: and great shall be the peace of thy children.

54:14. And thou shalt be founded in justice: depart far from oppression, for thou shalt not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near thee.

54:15. Behold, an inhabitant shall come, who was not with me, he that was a stranger to thee before, shall be joined to thee.

54:16. Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and bringeth forth an instrument for his work, and I have created the killer to destroy.

54:17. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper: and every tongue that resisteth thee in judgment, thou shalt condemn. This is the inheritance of the servants of the Lord, and their justice with me, saith the Lord.

Isaias Chapter 55

God promises abundance of spiritual graces to the faithful, that shall believe in Christ out of all nations, and sincerely serve him.

55:1. All you that thirst, come to the waters: and you that have no money make haste, buy, and eat: come ye, buy wine and milk without money, and without any price.

55:2. Why do you spend money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which doth not satisfy you? Hearken diligently to me, and eat that which is good, and your soul shall be delighted in fatness.

55:3. Incline your ear and come to me: hear and your soul shall live, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, the faithful mercies of David.

55:4. Behold I have given him for a witness to the people, for a leader and a master to the Gentiles.

55:5. Behold thou shalt call a nation, which thou knewest not: and the nations that knew not thee shall run to thee, because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel, for he hath glorified thee.

55:6. Seek ye the Lord, while he may be found: call upon him, while he is near.

55:7. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unjust man his thoughts, and let him return to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God: for he is bountiful to forgive.

55:8. For my thoughts are not your thoughts: nor your ways my ways, saith the Lord.

55:9. For as the heavens are exalted above the earth, so are my ways exalted above your ways, and my thoughts above your thoughts.

55:10. And as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and return no more thither, but soak the earth, and water it, and make it to spring, and give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:

55:11. So shall my word be, which shall go forth from my mouth: it shall not return to me void, but it shall do whatsoever I please, and shall prosper in the things for which I sent it.

55:12. For you shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall sing praise before you, and all the trees of the country shall clap their hands.

55:13. Instead of the shrub, shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the nettle, shall come up the myrtle tree: and the Lord shall be named for an everlasting sign, that shall not be taken away.

Isaias Chapter 56

God invites all to keep his commandments: the Gentiles that keep them shall be the people of God: the Jewish pastors are reproved.

56:1. Thus saith the Lord: Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my justice to be revealed.

56:2. Blessed is the man that doth this, and the son of man that shall lay hold on this: that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, that keepeth his hands from doing any evil.

56:3. And let not the son of the stranger, that adhereth to the Lord, speak, saying: The Lord will divide and separate me from his people. And let not the eunuch say: Behold I am a dry tree.

56:4. For thus saith the Lord to the eunuchs, They that shall keep my sabbaths, and shall choose the things that please me, and shall hold fast my covenant:

56:5. I will give to them in my house, and within my walls, a place, and a name better than sons and daughters: I will give them an everlasting name which shall never perish.

56:6. And the children of the stranger that adhere to the Lord, to worship him, and to love his name, to be his servants: every one that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and that holdeth fast my covenant:

56:7. I will bring them into my holy mount, and will make them joyful in my house of prayer: their holocausts, and their victims shall please me upon my altar: for my house shall be called the house of prayer, for all nations.

56:8. The Lord God, who gathereth the scattered of Israel, saith: I will still gather unto him his congregation.

56:9. All ye beasts of the field come to devour, all ye beasts of the forest.

56:10. His watchmen are all blind, they are all ignorant: dumb dogs not able to bark, seeing vain things, sleeping and loving dreams.

56:11. And most impudent dogs, they never had enough: the shepherds themselves knew no understanding: all have turned aside into their own way, every one after his own gain, from the first even to the last.

56:12. Come, let us take wine, and be filled with drunkenness: and it shall be as to day, so also to morrow, and much more.

Isaias Chapter 57

The infidelity of the Jews: their idolatry. Promises to humble penitents.

57:1. The just perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart, and men of mercy are taken away, because there is none that understandeth; for the just man is taken away from before the face of evil.

57:2. Let peace come, let him rest in his bed that hath walked in his uprightness.

57:3. But draw near hither, you sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer, and of the harlot.

57:4. Upon whom have you jested? upon whom have you opened your mouth wide, and put out your tongue? are not you wicked children, a false seed,

57:5. Who seek your comfort in idols under every green tree, sacrificing children in the torrents, under the high rocks?

57:6. In the parts of the torrent is thy portion, this is thy lot: and thou hast poured out libations to them, thou hast offered sacrifice. Shall I not be angry at these things?

57:7. Upon a high and lofty mountain thou hast laid thy bed, and hast gone up thither to offer victims.

57:8. And behind the door, and behind the post thou hast set up thy remembrance: for thou hast discovered thyself near me, and hast received an adulterer: thou hast enlarged thy bed, and made a covenant with them: thou hast loved their bed with open hand.

57:9. And thou hast adorned thyself for the king with ointment, and hast multiplied thy perfumes. Thou hast sent thy messengers far off, and wast debased even to hell.

57:10. Thou hast been wearied in the multitude of thy ways: yet thou saidst not: I will rest: thou has found life of thy hand, therefore thou hast not asked.

57:11. For whom hast thou been solicitous and afraid, that thou hast lied, and hast not been mindful of me, nor thought on me in thy heart? for I am silent, and as one that seeth not, and thou hast forgotten me.

57:12. I will declare thy justice, and thy works shall not profit thee.

57:13. When thou shalt cry, let thy companies deliver thee, but the wind shall carry them all off, a breeze shall take them away, but he that putteth his trust in me, shall inherit the land, and shall possess my holy mount.

57:14. And I will say: Make a way: give free passage, turn out of the path, take away the stumblingblocks out of the way of my people.

57:15. For thus saith the High and the Eminent that inhabiteth eternity: and his name is Holy, who dwelleth in the high and holy place, and with a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.

57:16. For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be angry unto the end: because the spirit shall go forth from my face, and breathings I will make.

57:17. For the iniquity of his covetousness I was angry, and I struck him: I hid my face from thee, and was angry: and he went away wandering in his own heart.

57:18. I saw his ways, and I healed him, and brought him back, and restored comforts to him, and to them that mourn for him.

57:19. I created the fruit of the lips, peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, said the Lord, and I healed him.

57:20. But the wicked are like the raging sea, which cannot rest, and the waves thereof cast up dirt and mire.

57:21. There is no peace to the wicked, saith the Lord God.

Isaias Chapter 58

God rejects the hypocritical fasts of the Jews: recommends works of mercy, and sincere godliness.

58:1. Cry, cease not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their wicked doings, and the house of Jacob their sins.

58:2. For they seek me from day to day, and desire to know my ways, as a nation that hath done justice, and hath not forsaken the judgment of their God: they ask of me the judgments of justice: they are willing to approach to God.

58:3. Why have we fasted, and thou hast not regarded: have we humbled our souls, and thou hast not taken notice? Behold in the day of your fast your own will is found, and you exact of all your debtors.

58:4. Behold you fast for debates and strife, and strike with the fist wickedly. Do not fast as you have done until this day, to make your cry to be heard on high.

58:5. Is this such a fast as I have chosen: for a man to afflict his soul for a day? is this it, to wind his head about like a circle, and to spread sackcloth and ashes? wilt thou call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the Lord?

58:6. Is not this rather the fast that I have chosen? loose the bands of wickedness, undo the bundles that oppress, let them that are broken go free, and break asunder every burden.

58:7. Deal thy bread to the hungry, and bring the needy and the harbourless into thy house: when thou shalt see one naked, cover him, and despise not thy own flesh.

58:8. Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy health shall speedily arise, and thy justice shall go before thy face, and the glory of the Lord shall gather thee up.

58:9. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall hear: thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou wilt take away the chain out of the midst of thee, and cease to stretch out the finger, and to speak that which profiteth not.

58:10. When thou shalt pour out thy soul to the hungry, and shalt satisfy the afflicted soul, then shall thy light rise up in darkness, and thy darkness shall be as the noonday.

58:11. And the Lord will give thee rest continually, and will fill thy soul with brightness, and deliver thy bones, and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a fountain of water whose waters shall not fail.

58:12. And the places that have been desolate for ages shall be built in thee: thou shalt raise up the foundation of generation and generation: and thou shalt be called the repairer of the fences, turning the paths into rest.

58:13. If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy own will in my holy day, and call the sabbath delightful, and the holy of the Lord glorious, and glorify him, while thou dost not thy own ways, and thy own will is not found, to speak a word:

58:14. Then shalt thou be delighted in the Lord, and I will lift thee up above the high places of the earth, and will feed thee with the inheritance of Jacob thy father. For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

Isaias Chapter 59

The dreadful evil of sin is displayed, as the great obstacle to all good from God: yet he will send a Redeemer, and make an everlasting covenant with his church.

59:1. Behold the hand of the Lord is not shortened that it cannot save, neither is his ear heavy that it cannot hear.

59:2. But your iniquities have divided between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you that he should not hear.

59:3. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity: your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue uttereth iniquity.

59:4. There is none that calleth upon justice, neither is there any one that judgeth truly: but they trust in a mere nothing, and speak vanities: they have conceived labour, and brought forth iniquity.

59:5. They have broken the eggs of asps, and have woven the webs of spiders: he that shall eat of their eggs, shall die: and that which is brought out, shall be hatched into a basilisk.

59:6. Their webs shall not be for clothing, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are unprofitable works, and the work of iniquity is in their hands.

59:7. Their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are unprofitable thoughts: wasting and destruction are in their ways.

59:8. They have not known the way of peace, and there is no judgment in their steps: their paths are become crooked to them, every one that treadeth in them knoweth no peace.

59:9. Therefore is judgment far from us, and justice shall not overtake us. We looked for light, and behold darkness: brightness, and we have walked in the dark.

59:10. We have groped for the wall, and like the blind we have groped as if we had no eyes: we have stumbled at noonday as in darkness, we are in dark places, as dead men.

59:11. We shall roar all of us like bears, and shall lament as mournful doves. We have looked for judgment, and there is none: for salvation, and it is far from us.

59:12. For our iniquities are multiplied before thee, and our sins have testified against us: for our wicked doings are with us, and have known our iniquities:

59:13. In sinning and lying against the Lord: and we have turned away so that we went not after our God, but spoke calumny and transgression: we have conceived, and uttered from the heart, words of falsehood.

59:14. And judgment is turned away backward, and justice hath stood far off: because truth hath fallen down in the street, and equity could not come in.

59:15. And truth hath been forgotten: and he that departed from evil, lay open to be a prey: and the Lord saw, and it appeared evil in his eyes, because there is no judgment.

59:16. And he saw that there is not a man: and he stood astonished, because there is none to oppose himself: and his own arm brought salvation to him, and his own justice supported him.

59:17. He put on justice as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation upon his head: he put on the garments of vengeance, and was clad with zeal as with a cloak.

59:18. As unto revenge, as it were to repay wrath to his adversaries, and a reward to his enemies: he will repay the like to the islands.

59:19. And they from the west, shall fear the name of the Lord: and they from the rising of the sun, his glory when he shall come as a violent stream, which the spirit of the Lord driveth on:

59:20. And there shall come a redeemer to Sion, and to them that return from iniquity in Jacob, saith the Lord.

59:21. This is my covenant with them, saith the Lord: My spirit that is in thee, and my words that I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever.

This is my covenant, etc. . .Note here a clear promise of perpetual orthodoxy to the church of Christ.

Isaias Chapter 60

The light of true faith shall shine forth in the church of Christ, and shall be spread through all nations, and continue for all ages.

60:1. Arise, be enlightened, O Jerusalem: for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.

60:2. For behold darkness shall cover the earth, and a mist the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.

60:3. And the Gentiles shall walk in thy light, and kings in the brightness of thy rising.

60:4. Lift up thy eyes round about, and see: all these are gathered together, they are come to thee: thy sons shall come from afar, and thy daughters shall rise up at thy side.

60:5. Then shalt thou see, and abound, and thy heart shall wonder and be enlarged, when the multitude of the sea shall be converted to thee, the strength of the Gentiles shall come to thee.

60:6. The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Madian and Epha: all they from Saba shall come, bringing gold and frankincense: and shewing forth praise to the Lord.

60:7. All the flocks of Cedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nabaioth shall minister to thee: they shall be offered upon my acceptable altar, and I will glorify the house of my majesty.

60:8. Who are these, that fly as clouds, and as doves to their windows?

60:9. For, the islands wait for me, and the ships of the sea in the beginning: that I may bring thy sons from afar: their silver, and their gold with them, to the name of the Lord thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee.

60:10. And the children of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister to thee: for in my wrath have I struck thee, and in my reconciliation have I had mercy upon thee.

60:11. And thy gates shall be open continually: they shall not be shut day nor night, that the strength of the Gentiles may be brought to thee, and their kings may be brought.

60:12. For the nation and the kingdom that will not serve thee, shall perish: and the Gentiles shall be wasted with desolation.

60:13. The glory of Libanus shall come to thee, the fir tree, and the box tree, and the pine tree together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary: and I will glorify the place of my feet.

60:14. And the children of them that afflict thee, shall come bowing down to thee, and all that slandered thee shall worship the steps of thy feet, and shall call thee the city of the Lord, the Sion of the Holy One of Israel.

60:15. Because thou wast forsaken, and hated, and there was none that passed through thee, I will make thee to be an everlasting glory, a joy unto generation and generation:

60:16. And thou shalt suck the milk of the Gentiles, and thou shalt be nursed with the breasts of kings: and thou shalt know that I am the Lord thy Saviour, and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

60:17. For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver: and for wood brass, and for stones iron: and I will make thy visitation peace, and thy overseers justice.

60:18. Iniquity shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction in thy borders, and salvation shall possess thy walls, and praise thy gates.

60:19. Thou shalt no more have the sun for thy light by day, neither shall the brightness of the moon enlighten thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee for an everlasting light, and thy God for thy glory.

Thou shalt no more, etc. . .In this latter part of the chapter, the prophet passes from the illustrious promises made to the church militant on earth, to the glory of the church triumphant in heaven.

60:20. Thy sun shall go down no more, and thy moon shall not decrease: for the Lord shall be unto thee for an everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.

60:21. And thy people shall be all just, they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hand to glorify me.

60:22. The least shall become a thousand, and a little one a most strong nation: I the Lord will suddenly do this thing in its time.

Isaias Chapter 61

The office of Christ: the mission of the Apostles; the happiness of their converts.

61:1. The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me: he hath sent me to preach to the meek, to heal the contrite of heart, and to preach a release to the captives, and deliverance to them that are shut up.

61:2. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God: to comfort all that mourn:

61:3. To appoint to the mourners of Sion, and to give them a crown for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, a garment of praise for the spirit of grief: and they shall be called in it the mighty ones of justice, the planting of the Lord to glorify him.

61:4. And they shall build the places that have been waste from of old, and shall raise up ancient ruins, and shall repair the desolate cities, that were destroyed for generation and generation.

61:5. And strangers shall stand and shall feed your flocks: and the sons of strangers shall be your husbandman, and the dressers of your vines.

61:6. But you shall be called the priests of the Lord: to you it shall be said: Ye ministers of our God: you shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and you shall pride yourselves in their glory.

61:7. For your double confusion and shame, they shall praise their part: therefore shall they receive double in their land, everlasting joy shall be unto them.

61:8. For I am the Lord that love judgment, and hate robbery in a holocaust: and I will make their work in truth, and I will make a perpetual covenant with them.

61:9. And they shall know their seed among the Gentiles, and their offspring in the midst of peoples: all that shall see them, shall know them, that these are the seed which the Lord hath blessed.

61:10. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, and my soul shall be joyful in my God: for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation: and with the robe of justice he hath covered me, as a bridegroom decked with a crown, and as a bride adorned with her jewels.

61:11. For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth her seed to shoot forth: so shall the Lord God make justice to spring forth, and praise before all the nations.

Isaias Chapter 62

The prophet will not cease from preaching Christ: to whom all nations shall be converted: and whose church shall continue for ever.

62:1. For Sion's sake I will not hold my peace, and for the sake of Jerusalem, I will not rest till her just one come forth as brightness, and her saviour be lighted as a lamp.

62:2. And the Gentiles shall see thy just one, and all kings thy glorious one: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name.

62:3. And thou shalt be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.

62:4. Thou shalt no more be called Forsaken: and thy land shall no more be called Desolate: but thou shalt be called My pleasure in her, and thy land inhabited. Because the Lord hath been well pleased with thee: and thy land shall be inhabited.

62:5. For the young man shall dwell with the virgin, and thy children shall dwell in thee. And the bridegroom shall rejoice over the bride, and thy God shall rejoice over thee.

62:6. Upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen all the day, and all the night, they shall never hold their peace. You that are mindful of the Lord, hold not your peace,

62:7. And give him no silence till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

62:8. The Lord hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength: Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thy enemies: and the sons of the strangers shall not drink thy wine, for which thou hast laboured.

62:9. For they that gather it, shall eat it, and shall praise the Lord: and they that bring it together, shall drink it in my holy courts.

62:10. Go through, go through the gates, prepare the way for the people, make the road plain, pick out the stones, and lift up the standard to the people.

62:11. Behold the Lord hath made it to be heard in the ends of the earth, tell the daughter of Sion: Behold thy Saviour cometh: behold his reward is with him, and his work before him.

62:12. And they shall call them, The holy people, the redeemed of the Lord. But thou shalt be called: A city sought after, and not forsaken.

Isaias Chapter 63

Christ's victory over his enemies: his mercies to his people: their complaint.

63:1. Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bosra, this beautiful one in his robe, walking in the greatness of his strength. I, that speak justice, and am a defender to save.

Edom. . .Edom and Bosra (a strong city of Edom) are here taken in a mystical sense for the enemies of Christ and his church.

63:2. Why then is thy apparel red, and thy garments like theirs that tread in the winepress?

63:3. I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the Gentiles there is not a man with me: I have trampled on them in my indignation, and have trodden them down in my wrath, and their blood is sprinkled upon my garments, and I have stained all my apparel.

63:4. For the day of vengeance is in my heart, the year of my redemption is come.

63:5. I looked about, and there was none to help: I sought, and there was none to give aid: and my own arm hath saved for me, and my indignation itself hath helped me.

63:6. And I have trodden down the people in my wrath, and have made them drunk in my indignation, and have brought down their strength to the earth.

63:7. I will remember the tender mercies of the Lord, the praise of the Lord for all the things that the Lord hath bestowed upon us, and for the multitude of his good things to the house of Israel, which he hath given them according to his kindness, and according to the multitude of his mercies.

63:8. And he said: Surely they are my people, children that will not deny: so he became their saviour.

63:9. In all their affliction he was not troubled, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love, and in his mercy he redeemed them, and he carried them and lifted them up all the days of old.

63:10. But they provoked to wrath, and afflicted the spirit of his Holy One: and he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.

63:11. And he remembered the days of old of Moses, and of his people: Where is he that brought them up out of the sea, with the shepherds of his flock? where is he that put in the midst of them the spirit of his Holy One?

63:12. He that brought out Moses by the right hand, by the arm of his majesty: that divided the waters before them, to make himself an everlasting name.

63:13. He that led them out through the deep, as a horse in the wilderness that stumbleth not.

63:14. As a beast that goeth down in the field, the spirit of the Lord was their leader: so didst thou lead thy people to make thyself a glorious name.

63:15. Look down from heaven, and behold from thy holy habitation and the place of thy glory: where is thy zeal, and thy strength, the multitude of thy bowels, and of thy mercies? they have held back themselves from me.

They have held back, etc. . .This is spoken by the prophet in the person of the Jews at the time when, for their sins, they were given up to their enemies.

63:16. For thou art our father, and Abraham hath not known us, and Israel hath been ignorant of us: thou, O Lord, art our father, our redeemer, from everlasting is thy name.

Abraham hath not know us, etc. . .That is, Abraham will not now acknowledge us for his children, by reason of our degeneracy; but thou, O Lord, art our true father and our redeemer, and no other can be called our parent in comparison with thee.

63:17. Why hast thou made us to err, O Lord, from thy ways: why hast thou hardened our heart, that we should not fear thee? return for the sake of thy servants, the tribes of thy inheritance.

Made us to err, etc. Hardened our heart, etc. . .The meaning is, that God in punishment of their great and manifold crimes, and their long abuse of his mercy and grace, had withdrawn his graces from them, and so given them up to error and hardness of heart.

63:18. They have possessed thy holy people as nothing: our enemies have trodden down thy sanctuary.

63:19. We are become as in the beginning, when thou didst not rule over us, and when we were not called by thy name.

Isaias Chapter 64

The prophet prays for the release of his people; and for the remission of their sins.

64:1. O that thou wouldst rend the heavens, and wouldst come down: the mountains would melt away at thy presence.

64:2. They would melt as at the burning of fire, the waters would burn with fire, that thy name might be made known to thy enemies: that the nations might tremble at thy presence.

64:3. When thou shalt do wonderful things, we shall not bear them: thou didst come down, and at thy presence the mountains melted away.

64:4. From the beginning of the world they have not heard, nor perceived with the ears: the eye hath not seen, O God, besides thee, what things thou hast prepared for them that wait for thee.

64:5. Thou hast met him that rejoiceth, and doth justice: in thy ways they shall remember thee: behold thou art angry, and we have sinned: in them we have been always, and we shall be saved.

64:6. And we are all become as one unclean, and all our justices as the rag of a menstruous woman: and we have all fallen as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

Our justices, etc. . .That is, the works by which we pretended to make ourselves just. This is spoken particularly of the sacrifices, sacraments, and ceremonies of the Jews, after the death of Christ, and the promulgation of the new law.

64:7. There is none that calleth upon thy name: that riseth up, and taketh hold of thee: thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast crushed us in the hand of our iniquity.

64:8. And now, O Lord, thou art our father, and we are clay: and thou art our maker, and we all are the works of thy hands.

64:9. Be not very angry, O Lord, and remember no longer our iniquity: behold, see we are all thy people.

64:10. The city of thy sanctuary is become a desert, Sion is made a desert, Jerusalem is desolate.

64:11. The house of our holiness, and of our glory, where our fathers praised thee, is burnt with fire, and all our lovely things are turned into ruins.

64:12. Wilt thou refrain thyself, O Lord, upon these things, wilt thou hold thy peace, and afflict us vehemently?

Isaias Chapter 65

The Gentiles shall seek and find Christ, but the Jews will persecute him, and be rejected, only a remnant shall be reserved. The church shall multiply, and abound with graces.

65:1. They have sought me that before asked not for me, they have found me that sought me not. I said: Behold me, behold me, to a nation that did not call upon my name.

65:2. I have spread forth my hands all the day to an unbelieving people, who walk in a way that is not good after their own thoughts.

65:3. A people that continually provoke me to anger before my face, that immolate in gardens, and sacrifice upon bricks.

65:4. That dwell in sepulchres, and sleep in the temple of idols: that eat swine's flesh, and profane broth is in their vessels.

65:5. That say: Depart from me, come not near me, because thou art unclean: these shall be smoke in my anger, a fire burning all the day.

65:6. Behold it is written before me: I will not be silent, but I will render and repay into their bosom.

65:7. Your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith the Lord, who have sacrificed upon the mountains, and have reproached me upon the hills; and I will measure back their first work in their bosom.

65:8. Thus saith the Lord: As if a grain be found in a cluster, and it be said: Destroy it not, because it is a blessing: so will I do for the sake of my servants, that I may not destroy the whole.

65:9. And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Juda a possessor of my mountains: and my elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.

65:10. And the plains shall be turned to folds of flocks, and the valley of Achor into a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people that have sought me.

65:11. And you, that have forsaken the Lord, that have forgotten my holy mount, that set a table for fortune, and offer libations upon it,

65:12. I will number you in the sword, and you shall all fall by slaughter: because I called and you did not answer: I spoke, and you did not hear: and you did evil in my eyes, and you have chosen the things that displease me.

65:13. Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Behold my servants shall eat, and you shall be hungry: behold my servants shall drink, and you shall be thirsty.

65:14. Behold my servants shall rejoice, and you shall be confounded: behold my servants shall praise for joyfulness of heart, and you shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for grief of spirit.

65:15. And you shall leave your name for an execration to my elect: and the Lord God shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name.

65:16. In which he that is blessed upon the earth, shall be blessed in God, amen: and he that sweareth in the earth, shall swear by God, amen: because the former distresses are forgotten, and because they are hid from my eyes.

65:17. For behold I create new heavens, and a new earth: and the former things shall not be in remembrance, and they shall not come upon the heart.

65:18. But you shall be glad and rejoice for ever in these things, which I create: for behold I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and the people thereof joy.

65:19. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people, and the voice of weeping shall no more be heard in her, nor the voice of crying.

65:20. There shall no more be an infant of days there, nor an old man that shall not fill up his days: for the child shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed.

65:21. And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruits of them.

65:22. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of my people, and the works of their hands shall be of long continuance.

65:23. My elect shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth in trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their posterity with them.

65:24. And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will hear; as they are yet speaking, I will hear.

65:25. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together; the lion and the ox shall eat straw; and dust shall be the serpent's food: they shall not hurt nor kill in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord.

Isaias Chapter 66

More of the reprobation of the Jews, and of the call of the Gentiles.

66:1. Thus saith the Lord: Heaven is my throne, and the earth my footstool: what is this house that you will build to me? and what is this place of my rest?

What is this house, etc. . .This is a prophecy that the temple should be cast off.

66:2. My hand made all these things, and all these things were made, saith the Lord. But to whom shall I have respect, but to him that is poor and little, and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at my words?

66:3. He that sacrificeth an ox, is as if he slew a man: he that killeth a sheep in sacrifice, as if he should brain a dog: he that offereth an oblation, as if he should offer swine's blood; he that remembereth incense, as if he should bless an idol. All these things have they chosen in their ways, and their soul is delighted in their abominations.

He that sacrificeth an ox, etc. . .This is a prophecy that the sacrifices which were offered in the old law should be abolished in the new; and that the offering of them should be a crime.--Ibid. Remembereth incense. . .Viz., to offer it in the way of a sacrifice.

66:4. Wherefore I also will choose their mockeries, and will bring upon them the things they feared: because I called, and there was none that would answer; I have spoken, and they heard not; and they have done evil in my eyes, and have chosen the things that displease me.

I will choose their mockeries. . .I will turn their mockeries upon themselves; and will cause them to be mocked by their enemies.

66:5. Hear the word of the Lord, you that tremble at his word: Your brethren that hate you, and cast you out for my name's sake, have said: Let the Lord be glorified, and we shall see in your joy: but they shall be confounded.

66:6. A voice of the people from the city, a voice from the temple, the voice of the Lord that rendereth recompense to his enemies.

66:7. Before she was in labour, she brought forth; before her time came to be delivered, she brought forth a man child.

Before she was in labour, etc. . .This relates to the conversion of the Gentiles, who were born, as it were, all on a sudden to the church of God.

66:8. Who hath ever heard such a thing? and who hath seen the like to this? shall the earth bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be brought forth at once, because Sion hath been in labour, and hath brought forth her children?

66:9. Shall not I that make others to bring forth children, myself bring forth, saith the Lord? shall I, that give generation to others, be barren, saith the Lord thy God?

66:10. Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all you that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all you that mourn for her.

66:11. That you may suck, and be filled with the breasts of her consolations: that you may milk out, and flow with delights, from the abundance of her glory.

66:12. For thus saith the Lord: Behold I will bring upon her as it were a river of peace, and as an overflowing torrent the glory of the Gentiles, which you shall suck; you shall be carried at the breasts, and upon the knees they shall caress you.

66:13. As one whom the mother caresseth, so will I comfort you, and you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.

66:14. You shall see and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb, and the hand of the Lord shall be known to his servants, and he shall be angry with his enemies.

66:15. For behold the Lord will come with fire, and his chariots are like a whirlwind, to render his wrath in indignation, and his rebuke with flames of fire.

66:16. For the Lord shall judge by fire, and by his sword unto all flesh, and the slain of the Lord shall be many.

66:17. They that were sanctified, thought themselves clean in the gardens behind the gate within, they that did eat swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse: they shall be consumed together, saith the Lord.

66:18. But I know their works, and their thoughts: I come that I may gather them together with all nations and tongues: and they shall come and shall see my glory.

66:19. And I will set a sign among them, and I will send of them that shall be saved, to the Gentiles into the sea, into Africa, and Lydia them that draw the bow: into Italy, and Greece, to the islands afar off, to them that have not heard of me, and have not seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory to the Gentiles:

66:20. And they shall bring all your brethren out of all nations for a gift to the Lord, upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and on mules, and in coaches, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as if the children of Israel should bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord.

66:21. And I will take of them to be priests, and Levites, saith the Lord.

66:22. For as the new heavens, and the new earth, which I will make to stand before me, saith the Lord: so shall your seed stand, and your name.

66:23. And there shall be month after month, and sabbath after sabbath: and all flesh shall come to adore before my face, saith the Lord.

66:24. And they shall go out, and see the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me: their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched: and they shall be a loathsome sight to all flesh.

THE PROPHECY OF JEREMIAS

Jeremias was a priest, a native of Anathoth, a priestly city in the tribe of Benjamin: and was sanctified from his mother's womb, to be a prophet of God; which office he began to execute when he was yet a child in age. He was in his whole life, according to the signification of his name, Great before the Lord; and a special figure of Jesus Christ, in the persecutions he underwent for discharging his duty; in his charity for his persecutors; and in the violent death he suffered at their hands: it being an ancient tradition of the Hebrews, that he was stoned to death by the remnant of the Jews who had retired into Egypt.

Jeremias Chapter 1

The time, and the calling, of Jeremias: his prophetical visions. God encourages him.

1:1. The words of Jeremias the son of Helcias, of the priests that were in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin.

1:2. The word of the Lord which came to him in the days of Josias the son of Amon king of Juda, in the thirteenth year of his reign.

1:3. And which came to him in the days of Joakim the son of Josias king of Juda, unto the end of the eleventh year of Sedecias the son of Josias king of Juda, even unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive, in the fifth month.

1:4. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

1:5. Before I formed thee in the bowels of thy mother, I knew thee: and before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and made thee a prophet unto the nations.

1:6. And I said: Ah, ah, ah, Lord God: behold, I cannot speak, for I am a child.

1:7. And the Lord said to me: Say not: I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee: and whatsoever I shall command thee, thou shalt speak.

1:8. Be not afraid at their presence: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.

1:9. And the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth: and the Lord said to me: Behold I have given my words in thy mouth:

1:10. Lo, I have set thee this day over the nations, and over kingdoms, to root up, and to pull down, and to waste, and to destroy, and to build, and to plant.

1:11. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: What seest thou, Jeremias? And I said: I see a rod watching.

1:12. And the Lord said to me: Thou hast seen well: for I will watch over my word to perform it.

1:13. And the word of the Lord came to me a second time saying: What seest thou? And I said: I see a boiling caldron, and the face thereof from the face of the north.

1:14. And the Lord said to me: From the north shall an evil break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.

1:15. For behold I will call together all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the Lord: and they shall come, and shall set every one his throne in the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and upon all the walls thereof round about, and upon all the cities of Juda.

1:16. And I will pronounce my judgments against them, touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have sacrificed to strange gods, and have adored the work of their own hands.

1:17. Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak to them all that I command thee. Be not afraid at their presence: for I will make thee not to fear their countenance.

1:18. For behold I have made thee this day a fortified city, and a pillar of iron, and a wall of brass, over all the land, to the kings of Juda, to the princes thereof, and to the priests, and to the people of the land.

1:19. And they shall fight against them, and shall not prevail: for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee.

Jeremias Chapter 2

God expostulates with the Jews for their ingratitude and infidelity.

2:1. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

2:2. Go, and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying: Thus saith the Lord: I have remembered thee, pitying thy youth, and the love of thy espousals, when thou followedst me in the desert, in a land that is not sown.

2:3. Israel is holy to the Lord, the firstfruits of his increase: all they that devour him offend: evils shall come upon them, saith the Lord.

2:4. Hear ye the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all ye families of the house of Israel:

2:5. Thus saith the Lord: What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain?

2:6. And they have not said: Where is the Lord, that made us come up out of the land of Egypt? that led us through the desert, through a land uninhabited and unpassable, through a land of drought, and the image of death, through a land wherein no man walked, nor any man dwelt?

2:7. And I brought you into the land of Carmel, to eat the fruit thereof, and the best things thereof: and when ye entered in, you defiled my land and made my inheritance an abomination.

Carmel. . .That is, a fruitful, plentiful land.

2:8. The priests did not say: Where is the Lord? and they that held the law knew me not, and the pastors transgressed against me: and the prophets prophesied in Baal, and followed idols.

2:9. Therefore will I yet contend in judgment with you, saith the Lord, and I will plead with your children.

2:10. Pass over to the isles of Cethim, and see: and send into Cedar, and consider diligently: and see if there hath been done any thing like this.

2:11. If a nation hath changed their gods, and indeed they are not gods: but my people have changed their glory into an idol.

2:12. Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and ye gates thereof, be very desolate, saith the Lord.

2:13. For my people have done two evils. They have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and have digged to themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

2:14. Is Israel a bondman, or a homeborn slave? why then is he become a prey?

2:15. The lions have roared upon him, and have made a noise, they have made his land a wilderness: his cities are burnt down, and there is none to dwell in them.

2:16. The children also of Memphis, and of Taphnes have defloured thee, even to the crown of the head.

2:17. Hath not this been done to thee, because thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God at that time, when he led thee by the way?

2:18. And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the troubled water? And what hast thou to do with the way of the Assyrians, to drink the water of the river?

2:19. Thy own wickedness shall reprove thee, and thy apostasy shall rebuke thee. Know thou, and see that it is an evil and a bitter thing for thee, to have left the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not with thee, saith the Lord the God of hosts.

2:20. Of old time thou hast broken my yoke, thou hast burst my bands, and thou saidst: I will not serve. For on every high hill, and under every green tree thou didst prostitute thyself.

2:21. Yet, I planted thee a chosen vineyard, all true seed: how then art thou turned unto me into that which is good for nothing, O strange vineyard?

2:22. Though thou wash thyself with nitre, and multiply to thyself the herb borith, thou art stained in thy iniquity before me, saith the Lord God.

Borith. . .An herb used to clean clothes, and take out spots and dirt.

2:23. How canst thou say: I am not polluted, I have not walked after Baalim? see thy ways in the valley, know what thou hast done: as a swift runner pursuing his course.

2:24. A wild ass accustomed to the wilderness in the desire of his heart, snuffed up the wind of his love: none shall turn her away: all that seek her shall not fail: in her monthly filth they shall find her.

2:25. Keep thy foot from being bare, and thy throat from thirst. But thou saidst: I have lost all hope, I will not do it: for I have loved strangers, and I will walk after them.

2:26. As the thief is confounded when he is taken, so is the house of Israel confounded, they and their kings, their princes and their priests, and their prophets.

2:27. Saying to a stock: Thou art my father: and to a stone: Thou hast begotten me: they have turned their back to me, and not their face: and in the time of their affliction they will say: Arise, and deliver us.

2:28. Where are the gods, whom thou hast made thee? let them arise and deliver thee in the time of thy affliction: for according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Juda.

2:29. Why will you contend with me in judgment? you have all forsaken me, saith the Lord.

2:30. In vain have I struck your children, they have not received correction: your sword hath devoured your prophets, your generation is like a ravaging lion.

2:31. See ye the word of the Lord: Am I become a wilderness to Israel, or a lateward springing land? why then have my people said: We are revolted, we will come to thee no more?

2:32. Will a virgin forget her ornament, or a bride her stomacher? but my people hath forgotten me days without number.

2:33. Why dost thou endeavour to shew thy way good to seek my love, thou who hast also taught thy malices to be thy ways,

2:34. And in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor and innocent? not in ditches have I found them, but in all places, which I mentioned before.

2:35. And thou hast said: I am without sin and am innocent: and therefore let thy anger be turned away from me. Behold, I will contend with thee in judgment, because thou hast said: I have not sinned.

2:36. How exceeding base art thou become, going the same ways over again! and thou shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria.

2:37. For from thence thou shalt go, and thy hand shall be upon thy head: for the Lord hath destroyed thy trust, and thou shalt have nothing prosperous therein.

Jeremias Chapter 3

God invites the rebel Jews to return to him, with a promise to receive them: he foretells the conversion of the Gentiles.

3:1. It is commonly said: If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and marry another man, shall he return to her any more? shall not that woman be polluted, and defiled? but thou hast prostituted thyself to many lovers: nevertheless return to me, saith the Lord, and I will receive thee.

3:2. Lift up thy eyes on high: and see where thou hast not prostituted thyself: thou didst sit in the ways, waiting for them as a robber in the wilderness: and thou hast polluted the land with thy fornications, and with thy wickedness.

3:3. Therefore the showers were withholden, and there was no lateward rain: thou hadst a harlot's forehead, thou wouldst not blush.

3:4. Therefore at the least from this time call to me: Thou art my father, the guide of my virginity:

3:5. Wilt thou be angry for ever, or wilt thou continue unto the end? Behold, thou hast spoken, and hast done evil things, and hast been able.

3:6. And the Lord said to me in the days of king Josias: Hast thou seen what rebellious Israel hath done? she hath gone of herself upon every high mountain, and under every green tree, and hath played the harlot there.

3:7. And when she had done all these things, I said: Return to me, and she did not return. And her treacherous sister Juda saw,

3:8. That because the rebellious Israel had played the harlot, I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce: yet her treacherous sister Juda was not afraid, but went and played the harlot also herself.

3:9. And by the facility of her fornication she defiled the land, and played the harlot with stones and with stocks.

3:10. And after all this, her treacherous sister Juda hath not returned to me with her whole heart, but with falsehood, saith the Lord.

3:11. And the Lord said to me: The rebellious Israel hath justified her soul, in comparison of the treacherous Juda.

3:12. Go, and proclaim these words towards the north, and thou shalt say: Return, O rebellious Israel, saith the Lord, and I will not turn away my face from you: for I am holy, saith the Lord, and I will not be angry for ever.

3:13. But yet acknowledge thy iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God: and thou hast scattered thy ways to strangers under every green tree, and hast not heard my voice, saith the Lord.

3:14. Return, O ye revolting children, saith the Lord: for I am your I husband: and I will take you, one of a city, and two of a kindred, and will bring you into Sion.

3:15. And I will give you pastors according to my own heart, and they shall feed you with knowledge and doctrine.

3:16. And when you shall be multiplied, and increase in the land in those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more: The ark of the covenant of the Lord: neither shall it come upon the heart, neither shall they remember it, neither shall it be visited, neither shall that be done any more.

3:17. At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord: and all the nations shall be gathered together to it, in the name of the Lord to Jerusalem, and they shall not walk after the perversity of their most wicked heart.

3:18. In those days the house of Juda shall go to the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land which I gave to your fathers.

3:19. But I said: How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a lovely land, the goodly inheritance of the armies of the Gentiles? And I said: Thou shalt call me father and shalt not cease to walk after me.

3:20. But as a woman that despiseth her lover, so hath the house of Israel despised me, saith the Lord.

3:21. A voice was heard in the highways, weeping and howling of the children of Israel: because they have made their way wicked, they have forgotten the Lord their God.

3:22. Return, you rebellious children, and I will heal your rebellions. Behold we come to thee: for thou art the Lord our God.

3:23. In very deed the hills were liars, and the multitude of the mountains: truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel.

3:24. Confusion hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.

3:25. We shall sleep in our confusion, and our shame shall cover us, because we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers from our youth even to this day, and we have not hearkened to the voice of the Lord our God.

Jeremias Chapter 4

And admonition to sincere repentance, and circumcision of the heart, with threats of grievous punishment to those that persist in sin.

4:1. If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the Lord, return to me: if thou wilt take away thy stumblingblocks out of my sight, thou shalt not be moved.

4:2. And thou shalt swear: As the Lord liveth, in truth, and in judgment, and in justice: and the Gentiles shall bless him, and shall praise him.

4:3. For thus saith the Lord to the men of Juda and Jerusalem: Break up anew your fallow ground, and sow not upon thorns:

4:4. Be circumcised to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your hearts, ye men of Juda, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my indignation come forth like fire, and burn, and there be none that can quench it because of the wickedness of your thoughts.

4:5. Declare ye in Juda, and make it heard in Jerusalem: speak, and sound with the trumpet in the land: cry aloud, and say: Assemble yourselves, and let us go into strong cities.

4:6. Set up the standard in Sion. Strengthen yourselves, stay not: for I bring evil from the north, and great destruction.

4:7. The lion is come up out of his den, and the robber of nations hath roused himself: he is come forth out of his place, to make thy land desolate: thy cities shall be laid waste, remaining without an inhabitant.

4:8. For this gird yourselves with haircloth, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of the Lord is not turned away from us.

4:9. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord: That the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes: and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall be amazed.

4:10. And I said: Alas, alas, alas, O Lord God, hast thou then deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying: You shall have peace: and behold the sword reacheth even to the soul?

4:11. At that time it shall be said to this people, and to Jerusalem: A burning wind is in the ways that are in the desert of the way of the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse.

4:12. A full wind from these places shall come to me: and now I will speak my judgments with them.

4:13. Behold he shall come up as a cloud, and his chariots as a tempest: his horses are swifter than eagles: woe unto us, for we are laid waste.

4:14. Wash thy heart from wickedness, O Jerusalem, that thou mayst be saved: how long shall hurtful thoughts abide in thee?

4:15. For a voice of one declaring from Dan, and giving notice of the idol from mount Ephraim.

4:16. Say ye to the nations: Behold it is heard in Jerusalem, that guards are coming from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Juda.

4:17. They are set round about her, as keepers of fields: because she hath provoked me to wrath, saith the Lord.

4:18. Thy ways, and thy devices have brought these things upon thee: this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it hath touched thy heart.

4:19. My bowels, my bowels are in part, the senses of my heart are troubled within me, I will not hold my peace, for my soul hath heard the sound of the trumpet, the cry of battle.

4:20. Destruction upon destruction is called for, and all the earth is laid waste: my tents are destroyed on a sudden, and my pavilions in a moment.

4:21. How long shall I see men fleeing away, how long shall I hear the sound of the trumpet?

4:22. For my foolish people have not known me: they are foolish and senseless children: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.

4:23. I beheld the earth, and lo it was void, and nothing: and the heavens, and there was no light in them.

4:24. I looked upon the mountains, and behold they trembled: and all the hills were troubled.

4:25. I beheld, and lo there was no man: and all the birds of the air were gone.

4:26. I looked, and behold Carmel was a wilderness: and all its cities were destroyed at the presence of the Lord, and at the presence of the wrath of his indignation.

4:27. For thus saith the Lord: All the land shall be desolate, but yet I will not utterly destroy.

4:28. The Earth shall mourn, and the heavens shall lament from above: because I have spoken, I have purposed, and I have not repented, neither am I turned away from it.

4:29. At the voice of the horsemen, and the archers, all the city is fled away: they have entered into thickets and climbed up the rocks: all the cities are forsaken, and there dwelleth not a man in them.

4:30. But when thou art spoiled what wilt thou do? though thou clothest thyself with scarlet, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, and paintest thy eyes with stibic stone, thou shalt dress thyself out in vain: thy lovers have despised thee, they will seek thy life.

4:31. For I have heard the voice as of a woman in travail, anguishes as of a woman in labour of a child. The voice of the daughter of Sion, dying away, spreading her hands: Woe is me, for my soul hath fainted because of them that are slain.

Jeremias Chapter 5

The judgments of God shall fall upon the Jews for their manifold sins.

5:1. Go about through the streets of Jerusalem, and see, and consider, and seek in the broad places thereof, if you can find a man that executeth judgment, and seeketh faith: and I will be merciful unto it.

5:2. And though they say: The Lord liveth; this also they will swear falsely.

5:3. O Lord, thy eyes are upon truth: thou hast struck them, and they have not grieved: thou hast bruised them, and they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than the rock, and they have refused to return.

5:4. But I said: Perhaps these are poor and foolish, that know not the way of the Lord, the judgment of their God.

5:5. I will go therefore to the great men, and will speak to them: for they have known the way of the Lord, the judgment of their God: and behold these have altogether broken the yoke more, and have burst the bonds.

5:6. Wherefore a lion out of the wood hath slain them, a wolf in the evening hath spoiled them, a leopard watcheth for their cities: every one that shall go out thence shall be taken, because their transgressions are multiplied, their rebellions are strengthened.

5:7. How can I be merciful to thee? thy children have forsaken me, and swear by them that are not gods: I fed them to the full, and they committed adultery, and rioted in the harlot's house.

5:8. They are become as amorous horses and stallions: every one neighed after his neighbour's wife.

5:9. Shall I not visit for these things, saith the Lord? and shall not my soul take revenge on such a nation?

5:10. Scale the walls thereof, and throw them down, but do not utterly destroy: take away the branches thereof, because they are not the Lord's.

5:11. For the house of Israel, and the house of Juda have greatly transgressed against me, saith the Lord.

5:12. They have denied the Lord, and said, It is not he: and the evil shall not come upon us: we shall not see the sword and famine.

5:13. The prophets have spoken in the wind, and there was no word of God in them: these things therefore shall befall them.

5:14. Thus saith the Lord the God of hosts: because you have spoken this word, behold I will make my words in thy mouth as fire, and this people as wood, and it shall devour them.

5:15. Behold I will bring upon you a nation from afar, O house of Israel, saith the Lord: a strong nation, an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou shalt not know, nor understand what they say.

5:16. Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all valiant.

5:17. And they shall eat up thy corn, and thy bread: they shall devour thy sons, and thy daughters: they shall eat up thy flocks, and thy herds: they shall eat thy vineyards, and thy figs: and with the sword they shall destroy thy strong cities, wherein thou trustest.

5:18. Nevertheless in those days, saith the Lord, I will not bring you to utter destruction.

5:19. And if you shall say: Why hath the Lord our God done all these things to us? thou shalt say to them: As you have forsaken me, and served a strange god in your own land, so shall you serve strangers in a land that is not your own.

5:20. Declare ye this to the house of Jacob, and publish it in Juda, saying:

5:21. Hear, O foolish people, and without understanding: who have eyes, and see not: and ears, and hear not.

5:22. Will not you then fear me, saith the Lord: and will you not repent at my presence? I have set the sand a bound for the sea, an everlasting ordinance, which it shall not pass over: and the waves thereof shall toss themselves, and shall not prevail: they shall swell, and shall not pass over it.

5:23. But the heart of this people is become hard of belief and provoking, they are revolted and gone away.

5:24. And they have not said in their heart: Let us fear the Lord our God, who giveth us the early and the latter rain in due season: who preserveth for us the fulness of the yearly harvest.

5:25. Your iniquities have turned these things away, and your sins have withholden good things from you.

5:26. For among my people are found wicked men, that lie in wait as fowlers, setting snares and traps to catch men.

5:27. As a net is full of birds, so their houses are full of deceit: therefore are they become great and enriched.

5:28. They are grown gross and fat: and have most wickedly transgressed my words. They have not judged the cause of the widow, they have not managed the cause of the fatherless, and they have not judged the judgment of the poor.

5:29. Shall I not visit for these things, saith the Lord? or shall not my soul take revenge on such a nation?

5:30. Astonishing and wonderful things have been done in the land.

5:31. The prophets prophesied falsehood, and the priests clapped their hands: and my people loved such things: what then shall be done in the end thereof?

Jeremias Chapter 6

The evils that threaten Jerusalem. She is invited to return, and walk in the good way, and not to rely on sacrifices without obedience.

6:1. Strengthen yourselves, ye sons of Benjamin, in the midst of Jerusalem, and sound the trumpet in Thecua, and set up the standard over Bethacarem: for evil is seen out of the north, and a great destruction.

6:2. I have likened the daughter of Sion to a beautiful and delicate woman.

6:3. The shepherds shall come to her with their flocks: they have pitched their tents against her round about: every one shall feed them that are under his hand.

6:4. Prepare ye war against her: arise, and let us go up at midday: woe unto us, for the day is declined, for the shadows of the evening are grown longer.

6:5. Arise, and let us go up in the night, and destroy her houses.

6:6. For thus saith the Lord of hosts: Hew down her trees, cast up a trench about Jerusalem: this is the city to be visited, all oppression is in the midst of her.

6:7. As a cistern maketh its water cold, so hath she made her wickedness cold: violence and spoil shall be heard in her, infirmity and stripes are continually before me.

6:8. Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee, lest I make thee desolate, a land uninhabited.

6:9. Thus saith the Lord of hosts: They shall gather the remains of Israel, as in a vine, even to one cluster: turn back thy hand, as a grapegatherer into the basket.

6:10. To whom shall I speak? and to whom shall I testify, that he may hear? behold, their ears are uncircumcised, and they cannot hear: behold the word of the Lord is become unto them a reproach: and they will not receive it.

6:11. Therefore am I full of the fury of the Lord, I am weary with holding in: pour it out upon the child abroad, and upon the council of the young men together: for man and woman shall be taken, the ancient and he that is full of days.

6:12. And their houses shall be turned over to others, with their lands and their wives together: for I will stretch forth my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord.

6:13. For from the least of them even to the greatest, all are given to covetousness: and from the prophet even to the priest, all are guilty of deceit.

6:14. And they healed the breach of the daughter of my people disgracefully, saying: Peace, peace: and there was no peace.

6:15. They were confounded, because they committed abomination: yea, rather they were not confounded with confusion, and they knew not how to blush: wherefore they shall fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall fall down, saith the Lord.

6:16. Thus saith the Lord: Stand ye on the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, which is the good way, and walk ye in it: and you shall find refreshment for your souls. And they said: We will not walk.

6:17. And I appointed watchmen over you, saying: Hearken ye to the sound of the trumpet. And they said: We will not hearken.

6:18. Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what great things I will do to them.

6:19. Hear, O earth: Behold I will bring evils upon this people, the fruits of their own thoughts: because they have not heard my words, and they have cast away my law.

6:20. To what purpose do you bring me frankincense from Saba, and the sweet smelling cane from a far country? your holocausts are not acceptable, nor are your sacrifices pleasing to me.

6:21. Therefore thus saith the Lord: Behold I will bring destruction upon this people, by which fathers and sons together shall fall, neighbour and kinsman shall perish.

6:22. Thus saith the Lord: Behold a people cometh from the land of the north, and a great nation shall rise up from the ends of the earth.

6:23. They shall lay hold on arrow and shield: they are cruel, and will have no mercy. Their voice shall roar like the sea: and they shall mount upon horses, prepared as men for war, against thee, O daughter of Sion.

6:24. We have heard the fame thereof, our hands grow feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, as a woman in labour.

6:25. Go not out into the fields, nor walk in the highway: for the sword of the enemy, and fear is on every side.

6:26. Gird thee with sackcloth, O daughter of my people, and sprinkle thee with ashes: make thee mourning as for an only son, a bitter lamentation, because the destroyer shall suddenly come upon us.

6:27. I have set thee for a strong trier among my people: and thou shalt know, and prove their way.

6:28. All these princes go out of the way, they walk deceitfully, they are brass and iron: they are all corrupted.

6:29. The bellows have failed, the lead is consumed in the fire, the founder hath melted in vain: for their wicked deeds are not consumed.

6:30. Call them reprobate silver, for the Lord hath rejected them.

Jeremias Chapter 7

The temple of God shall not protect a sinful people, without a sincere conversion. The Lord will not receive the prayers of the prophet for them: because they are obstinate in their sins.

7:1. The word that came to Jeremias from the Lord, saying:

7:2. Stand in the gate of the house of the Lord, and proclaim there this word, and say: Hear ye the word of the Lord, all ye men of Juda, that enter in at these gates, to adore the Lord.

7:3. Thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: Make your ways and your doings good: and I will dwell with you in this place.

7:4. Trust not in lying words, saying: The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, it is the temple of the Lord.

7:5. For if you will order well your ways, and your doings: if you will execute judgment between a man and his neighbour,

7:6. If you oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, and walk not after strange gods to your own hurt,

7:7. I will dwell with you in this place: in the land, which I gave to your fathers from the beginning and for evermore.

7:8. Behold you put your trust in lying words, which shall not profit you:

7:9. To steal, to murder, to commit adultery, to swear falsely, to offer to Baalim, and to go after strange gods, which you know not.

7:10. And you have come, and stood before me in this house, in which my name is called upon, and have said: We are delivered, because we have done all these abominations.

7:11. Is this house then, in which my name hath been called upon, in your eyes become a den of robbers? I, I am he: I have seen it, saith the Lord.

7:12. Go ye to my place in Silo, where my name dwelt from the beginning: and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel:

7:13. And now, because you have done all these works, saith the Lord: and I have spoken to you rising up early, and speaking, and you have not heard: and I have called you, and you have not answered:

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