judgment.
17:24 Wisdom is before him that hath understanding; but the eyes of a
fool are in the ends of the earth.
17:25 A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her that
bare him.
17:26 Also to punish the just is not good, nor to strike princes for
equity.
17:27 He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of
understanding is of an excellent spirit.
17:28 Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he
that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.
18:1 Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and
intermeddleth with all wisdom.
18:2 A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may
discover itself.
18:3 When the wicked cometh, then cometh also contempt, and with
ignominy reproach.
18:4 The words of a man's mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring
of wisdom as a flowing brook.
18:5 It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to overthrow the
righteous in judgment.
18:6 A fool's lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for
strokes.
18:7 A fool's mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of
his soul.
18:8 The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the
innermost parts of the belly.
18:9 He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a
great waster.
18:10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into
it, and is safe.
18:11 The rich man's wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall in
his own conceit.
18:12 Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour
is humility.
18:13 He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and
shame unto him.
18:14 The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded
spirit who can bear?
18:15 The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge; and the ear of the
wise seeketh knowledge.
18:16 A man's gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great
men.
18:17 He that is first in his own cause seemeth just; but his neighbour
cometh and searcheth him.
18:18 The lot causeth contentions to cease, and parteth between the
mighty.
18:19 A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and
their contentions are like the bars of a castle.
18:20 A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and
with the increase of his lips shall he be filled.
18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love
it shall eat the fruit thereof.
18:22 Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of
the LORD.
18:23 The poor useth intreaties; but the rich answereth roughly.
18:24 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a
friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
19:1 Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is
perverse in his lips, and is a fool.
19:2 Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good; and he
that hasteth with his feet sinneth.
19:3 The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth
against the LORD.
19:4 Wealth maketh many friends; but the poor is separated from his
neighbour.
19:5 A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies
shall not escape.
19:6 Many will intreat the favour of the prince: and every man is a
friend to him that giveth gifts.
19:7 All the brethren of the poor do hate him: how much more do his
friends go far from him? he pursueth them with words, yet they are
wanting to him.
19:8 He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: he that keepeth
understanding shall find good.
19:9 A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies
shall perish.
19:10 Delight is not seemly for a fool; much less for a servant to have
rule over princes.
19:11 The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory
to pass over a transgression.
19:12 The king's wrath is as the roaring of a lion; but his favour is as
dew upon the grass.
19:13 A foolish son is the calamity of his father: and the contentions
of a wife are a continual dropping.
19:14 House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a prudent
wife is from the LORD.
19:15 Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall
suffer hunger.
19:16 He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul; but he that
despiseth his ways shall die.
19:17 He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that
which he hath given will he pay him again.
19:18 Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare
for his crying.
19:19 A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment: for if thou deliver
him, yet thou must do it again.
19:20 Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in
thy latter end.
19:21 There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel
of the LORD, that shall stand.
19:22 The desire of a man is his kindness: and a poor man is better than
a liar.
19:23 The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall
abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.
19:24 A slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom, and will not so much
as bring it to his mouth again.
19:25 Smite a scorner, and the simple will beware: and reprove one that
hath understanding, and he will understand knowledge.
19:26 He that wasteth his father, and chaseth away his mother, is a son
that causeth shame, and bringeth reproach.
19:27 Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from
the words of knowledge.
19:28 An ungodly witness scorneth judgment: and the mouth of the wicked
devoureth iniquity.
19:29 Judgments are prepared for scorners, and stripes for the back of
fools.
20:1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived
thereby is not wise.
20:2 The fear of a king is as the roaring of a lion: whoso provoketh him
to anger sinneth against his own soul.
20:3 It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will
be meddling.
20:4 The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall
he beg in harvest, and have nothing.
20:5 Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of
understanding will draw it out.
20:6 Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful
man who can find?
20:7 The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed
after him.
20:8 A king that sitteth in the throne of judgment scattereth away all
evil with his eyes.
20:9 Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?
20:10 Divers weights, and divers measures, both of them are alike
abomination to the LORD.
20:11 Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and
whether it be right.
20:12 The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both
of them.
20:13 Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and
thou shalt be satisfied with bread.
20:14 It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer: but when he is gone
his way, then he boasteth.
20:15 There is gold, and a multitude of rubies: but the lips of
knowledge are a precious jewel.
20:16 Take his garment that is surety for a stranger: and take a pledge
of him for a strange woman.
20:17 Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall
be filled with gravel.
20:18 Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make
war.
20:19 He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets: therefore
meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips.
20:20 Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out
in obscure darkness.
20:21 An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning; but the end
thereof shall not be blessed.
20:22 Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD, and he
shall save thee.
20:23 Divers weights are an abomination unto the LORD; and a false
balance is not good.
20:24 Man's goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his
own way?
20:25 It is a snare to the man who devoureth that which is holy, and
after vows to make enquiry.
20:26 A wise king scattereth the wicked, and bringeth the wheel over
them.
20:27 The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the
inward parts of the belly.
20:28 Mercy and truth preserve the king: and his throne is upholden by
mercy.
20:29 The glory of young men is their strength: and the beauty of old
men is the grey head.
20:30 The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so do stripes the
inward parts of the belly.
21:1 The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of
water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.
21:2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth
the hearts.
21:3 To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than
sacrifice.
21:4 An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is
sin.
21:5 The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of
every one that is hasty only to want.
21:6 The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to
and fro of them that seek death.
21:7 The robbery of the wicked shall destroy them; because they refuse
to do judgment.
21:8 The way of man is froward and strange: but as for the pure, his
work is right.
21:9 It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a
brawling woman in a wide house.
21:10 The soul of the wicked desireth evil: his neighbour findeth no
favour in his eyes.
21:11 When the scorner is punished, the simple is made wise: and when
the wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge.
21:12 The righteous man wisely considereth the house of the wicked: but
God overthroweth the wicked for their wickedness.
21:13 Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry
himself, but shall not be heard.
21:14 A gift in secret pacifieth anger: and a reward in the bosom strong
wrath.
21:15 It is joy to the just to do judgment: but destruction shall be to
the workers of iniquity.
21:16 The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall
remain in the congregation of the dead.
21:17 He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine
and oil shall not be rich.
21:18 The wicked shall be a ransom for the righteous, and the
transgressor for the upright.
21:19 It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious
and an angry woman.
21:20 There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the
wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up.
21:21 He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life,
righteousness, and honour.
21:22 A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty, and casteth down the
strength of the confidence thereof.
21:23 Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from
troubles.
21:24 Proud and haughty scorner is his name, who dealeth in proud wrath.
21:25 The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to
labour.
21:26 He coveteth greedily all the day long: but the righteous giveth
and spareth not.
21:27 The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination: how much more, when he
bringeth it with a wicked mind?
21:28 A false witness shall perish: but the man that heareth speaketh
constantly.
21:29 A wicked man hardeneth his face: but as for the upright, he
directeth his way.
21:30 There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the LORD.
21:31 The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of
the LORD.
22:1 A GOOD name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving
favour rather than silver and gold.
22:2 The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.
22:3 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the
simple pass on, and are punished.
22:4 By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and
life.
22:5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward: he that doth keep
his soul shall be far from them.
22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he
will not depart from it.
22:7 The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the
lender.
22:8 He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger
shall fail.
22:9 He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his
bread to the poor.
22:10 Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and
reproach shall cease.
22:11 He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the
king shall be his friend.
22:12 The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, and he overthroweth the
words of the transgressor.
22:13 The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain
in the streets.
22:14 The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of
the LORD shall fall therein.
22:15 Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of
correction shall drive it far from him.
22:16 He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that
giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want.
22:17 Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply
thine heart unto my knowledge.
22:18 For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they
shall withal be fitted in thy lips.
22:19 That thy trust may be in the LORD, I have made known to thee this
day, even to thee.
22:20 Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and
knowledge,
22:21 That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth;
that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto
thee?
22:22 Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the
afflicted in the gate:
22:23 For the LORD will plead their cause, and spoil the soul of those
that spoiled them.
22:24 Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou
shalt not go:
22:25 Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.
22:26 Be not thou one of them that strike hands, or of them that are
sureties for debts.
22:27 If thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from
under thee?
22:28 Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.
22:29 Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before
kings; he shall not stand before mean men.
23:1 When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is
before thee:
23:2 And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.
23:3 Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat.
23:4 Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom.
23:5 Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches
certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward
heaven.
23:6 Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire
thou his dainty meats:
23:7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he
to thee; but his heart is not with thee.
23:8 The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy
sweet words.
23:9 Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of
thy words.
23:10 Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the
fatherless:
23:11 For their redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with
thee.
23:12 Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of
knowledge.
23:13 Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him
with the rod, he shall not die.
23:14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from
hell.
23:15 My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.
23:16 Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.
23:17 Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the
LORD all the day long.
23:18 For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut
off.
23:19 Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way.
23:20 Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh:
23:21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and
drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
23:22 Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy
mother when she is old.
23:23 Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and
understanding.
23:24 The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that
begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him.
23:25 Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee
shall rejoice.
23:26 My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.
23:27 For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.
23:28 She also lieth in wait as for a prey, and increaseth the
transgressors among men.
23:29 Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath
babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
23:30 They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.
23:31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his
colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.
23:32 At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
23:33 Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter
perverse things.
23:34 Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea,
or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.
23:35 They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they
have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it
yet again.
24:1 Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with
them.
24:2 For their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of
mischief.
24:3 Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is
established:
24:4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and
pleasant riches.
24:5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.
24:6 For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of
counsellors there is safety.
24:7 Wisdom is too high for a fool: he openeth not his mouth in the
gate.
24:8 He that deviseth to do evil shall be called a mischievous person.
24:9 The thought of foolishness is sin: and the scorner is an
abomination to men.
24:10 If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.
24:11 If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and
those that are ready to be slain;
24:12 If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth
the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know
it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?
24:13 My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb,
which is sweet to thy taste:
24:14 So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast
found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be
cut off.
24:15 Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous;
spoil not his resting place:
24:16 For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the
wicked shall fall into mischief.
24:17 Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be
glad when he stumbleth:
24:18 Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his
wrath from him.
24:19 Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at
the wicked:
24:20 For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the
wicked shall be put out.
24:21 My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them
that are given to change:
24:22 For their calamity shall rise suddenly; and who knoweth the ruin
of them both?
24:23 These things also belong to the wise. It is not good to have
respect of persons in judgment.
24:24 He that saith unto the wicked, Thou are righteous; him shall the
people curse, nations shall abhor him:
24:25 But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing
shall come upon them.
24:26 Every man shall kiss his lips that giveth a right answer.
24:27 Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the
field; and afterwards build thine house.
24:28 Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause; and deceive
not with thy lips.
24:29 Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render
to the man according to his work.
24:30 I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the
man void of understanding;
24:31 And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had
covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.
24:32 Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received
instruction.
24:33 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the
hands to sleep:
24:34 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as
an armed man.
25:1 These are also proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king
of Judah copied out.
25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings
is to search out a matter.
25:3 The heaven for height, and the earth for depth, and the heart of
kings is unsearchable.
25:4 Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a
vessel for the finer.
25:5 Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be
established in righteousness.
25:6 Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king, and stand not in
the place of great men:
25:7 For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up hither; than
that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom
thine eyes have seen.
25:8 Go not forth hastily to strive, lest thou know not what to do in
the end thereof, when thy neighbour hath put thee to shame.
25:9 Debate thy cause with thy neighbour himself; and discover not a
secret to another:
25:10 Lest he that heareth it put thee to shame, and thine infamy turn
not away.
25:11 A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.
25:12 As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise
reprover upon an obedient ear.
25:13 As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful
messenger to them that send him: for he refresheth the soul of his
masters.
25:14 Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift is like clouds and wind
without rain.
25:15 By long forbearing is a prince persuaded, and a soft tongue
breaketh the bone.
25:16 Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest
thou be filled therewith, and vomit it.
25:17 Withdraw thy foot from thy neighbour's house; lest he be weary of
thee, and so hate thee.
25:18 A man that beareth false witness against his neighbour is a maul,
and a sword, and a sharp arrow.
25:19 Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a
broken tooth, and a foot out of joint.
25:20 As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather, and as vinegar
upon nitre, so is he that singeth songs to an heavy heart.
25:21 If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be
thirsty, give him water to drink:
25:22 For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD
shall reward thee.
25:23 The north wind driveth away rain: so doth an angry countenance a
backbiting tongue.
25:24 It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than with a
brawling woman and in a wide house.
25:25 As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far
country.
25:26 A righteous man falling down before the wicked is as a troubled
fountain, and a corrupt spring.
25:27 It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own
glory is not glory.
25:28 He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is
broken down, and without walls.
26:1 As snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honour is not seemly
for a fool.
26:2 As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse
causeless shall not come.
26:3 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the
fool's back.
26:4 Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like
unto him.
26:5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own
conceit.
26:6 He that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool cutteth off the
feet, and drinketh damage.
26:7 The legs of the lame are not equal: so is a parable in the mouth of
fools.
26:8 As he that bindeth a stone in a sling, so is he that giveth honour
to a fool.
26:9 As a thorn goeth up into the hand of a drunkard, so is a parable in
the mouths of fools.
26:10 The great God that formed all things both rewardeth the fool, and
rewardeth transgressors.
26:11 As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.
26:12 Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a
fool than of him.
26:13 The slothful man saith, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in
the streets.
26:14 As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his
bed.
26:15 The slothful hideth his hand in his bosom; it grieveth him to
bring it again to his mouth.
26:16 The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can
render a reason.
26:17 He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him,
is like one that taketh a dog by the ears.
26:18 As a mad man who casteth firebrands, arrows, and death,
26:19 So is the man that deceiveth his neighbour, and saith, Am not I in
sport?
26:20 Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no
talebearer, the strife ceaseth.
26:21 As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a
contentious man to kindle strife.
26:22 The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the
innermost parts of the belly.
26:23 Burning lips and a wicked heart are like a potsherd covered with
silver dross.
26:24 He that hateth dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up deceit
within him;
26:25 When he speaketh fair, believe him not: for there are seven
abominations in his heart.
26:26 Whose hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be shewed
before the whole congregation.
26:27 Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a
stone, it will return upon him.
26:28 A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a
flattering mouth worketh ruin.
27:1 Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may
bring forth.
27:2 Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger,
and not thine own lips.
27:3 A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool's wrath is
heavier than them both.
27:4 Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand
before envy?
27:5 Open rebuke is better than secret love.
27:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are
deceitful.
27:7 The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every
bitter thing is sweet.
27:8 As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth
from his place.
27:9 Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a
man's friend by hearty counsel.
27:10 Thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not; neither go
into thy brother's house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a
neighbour that is near than a brother far off.
27:11 My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him
that reproacheth me.
27:12 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the
simple pass on, and are punished.
27:13 Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, and take a pledge
of him for a strange woman.
27:14 He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the
morning, it shall be counted a curse to him.
27:15 A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman
are alike.
27:16 Whosoever hideth her hideth the wind, and the ointment of his
right hand, which bewrayeth itself.
27:17 Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his
friend.
27:18 Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that
waiteth on his master shall be honoured.
27:19 As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man.
27:20 Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never
satisfied.
27:21 As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a
man to his praise.
27:22 Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a
pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.
27:23 Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to
thy herds.
27:24 For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every
generation?
27:25 The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself, and herbs
of the mountains are gathered.
27:26 The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the
field.
27:27 And thou shalt have goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food
of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens.
28:1 The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as
a lion.
28:2 For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but
by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be
prolonged.
28:3 A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which
leaveth no food.
28:4 They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the
law contend with them.
28:5 Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the LORD
understand all things.
28:6 Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that is
perverse in his ways, though he be rich.
28:7 Whoso keepeth the law is a wise son: but he that is a companion of
riotous men shameth his father.
28:8 He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall
gather it for him that will pity the poor.
28:9 He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer
shall be abomination.
28:10 Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall
fall himself into his own pit: but the upright shall have good things in
possession.
28:11 The rich man is wise in his own conceit; but the poor that hath
understanding searcheth him out.
28:12 When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory: but when the
wicked rise, a man is hidden.
28:13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth
and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
28:14 Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his
heart shall fall into mischief.
28:15 As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over
the poor people.
28:16 The prince that wanteth understanding is also a great oppressor:
but he that hateth covetousness shall prolong his days.
28:17 A man that doeth violence to the blood of any person shall flee to
the pit; let no man stay him.
28:18 Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved: but he that is perverse in
his ways shall fall at once.
28:19 He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that
followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough.
28:20 A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh
haste to be rich shall not be innocent.
28:21 To have respect of persons is not good: for for a piece of bread
that man will transgress.
28:22 He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not
that poverty shall come upon him.
28:23 He that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he
that flattereth with the tongue.
28:24 Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, It is no
transgression; the same is the companion of a destroyer.
28:25 He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife: but he that
putteth his trust in the LORD shall be made fat.
28:26 He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh
wisely, he shall be delivered.
28:27 He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth
his eyes shall have many a curse.
28:28 When the wicked rise, men hide themselves: but when they perish,
the righteous increase.
29:1 He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be
destroyed, and that without remedy.
29:2 When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when
the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.
29:3 Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father: but he that keepeth
company with harlots spendeth his substance.
29:4 The king by judgment establisheth the land: but he that receiveth
gifts overthroweth it.
29:5 A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet.
29:6 In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare: but the
righteous doth sing and rejoice.
29:7 The righteous considereth the cause of the poor: but the wicked
regardeth not to know it.
29:8 Scornful men bring a city into a snare: but wise men turn away
wrath.
29:9 If a wise man contendeth with a foolish man, whether he rage or
laugh, there is no rest.
29:10 The bloodthirsty hate the upright: but the just seek his soul.
29:11 A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till
afterwards.
29:12 If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked.
29:13 The poor and the deceitful man meet together: the LORD lighteneth
both their eyes.
29:14 The king that faithfully judgeth the poor, his throne shall be
established for ever.
29:15 The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself
bringeth his mother to shame.
29:16 When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increaseth: but the
righteous shall see their fall.
29:17 Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give
delight unto thy soul.
29:18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth
the law, happy is he.
29:19 A servant will not be corrected by words: for though he understand
he will not answer.
29:20 Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of
a fool than of him.
29:21 He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child shall have
him become his son at the length.
29:22 An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in
transgression.
29:23 A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the
humble in spirit.
29:24 Whoso is partner with a thief hateth his own soul: he heareth
cursing, and bewrayeth it not.
29:25 The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in
the LORD shall be safe.
29:26 Many seek the ruler's favour; but every man's judgment cometh from
the LORD.
29:27 An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is
upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.
30:1 The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy: the man
spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal,
30:2 Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the
understanding of a man.
30:3 I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy.
30:4 Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered
the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath
established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his
son's name, if thou canst tell?
30:5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their
trust in him.
30:6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be
found a liar.
30:7 Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die:
30:8 Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor
riches; feed me with food convenient for me:
30:9 Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I
be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.
30:10 Accuse not a servant unto his master, lest he curse thee, and thou
be found guilty.
30:11 There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not
bless their mother.
30:12 There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is
not washed from their filthiness.
30:13 There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their
eyelids are lifted up.
30:14 There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw
teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy
from among men.
30:15 The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are
three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is
enough:
30:16 The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with
water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough.
30:17 The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his
mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles
shall eat it.
30:18 There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four
which I know not:
30:19 The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock;
the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a
maid.
30:20 Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her
mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.
30:21 For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it
cannot bear:
30:22 For a servant when he reigneth; and a fool when he is filled with
meat;
30:23 For an odious woman when she is married; and an handmaid that is
heir to her mistress.
30:24 There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are
exceeding wise:
30:25 The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in
the summer;
30:26 The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in
the rocks;
30:27 The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands;
30:28 The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces.
30:29 There be three things which go well, yea, four are comely in
going:
30:30 A lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for
any;
30:31 A greyhound; an he goat also; and a king, against whom there is no
rising up.
30:32 If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast
thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth.
30:33 Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the
wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath
bringeth forth strife.
31:1 The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him.
31:2 What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my
vows?
31:3 Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which
destroyeth kings.
31:4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine;
nor for princes strong drink:
31:5 Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of
any of the afflicted.
31:6 Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto
those that be of heavy hearts.
31:7 Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no
more.
31:8 Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are
appointed to destruction.
31:9 Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor
and needy.
31:10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
31:11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he
shall have no need of spoil.
31:12 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
31:13 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
31:14 She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
31:15 She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her
household, and a portion to her maidens.
31:16 She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her
hands she planteth a vineyard.
31:17 She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.
31:18 She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not
out by night.
31:19 She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the
distaff.
31:20 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth
her hands to the needy.
31:21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her
household are clothed with scarlet.
31:22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and
purple.
31:23 Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the
elders of the land.
31:24 She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto
the merchant.
31:25 Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in
time to come.
31:26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of
kindness.
31:27 She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the
bread of idleness.
31:28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and
he praiseth her.
31:29 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
31:30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth
the LORD, she shall be praised.
31:31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise
her in the gates.
Ecclesiastes
Chapter
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
1:1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
1:2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is
vanity.
1:3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the
sun?
1:4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the
earth abideth for ever.
1:5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his
place where he arose.
1:6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north;
it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to
his circuits.
1:7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the
place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.
1:8 All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not
satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
1:9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which
is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the
sun.
1:10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it
hath been already of old time, which was before us.
1:11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be
any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come
after.
1:12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
1:13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all
things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to
the sons of man to be exercised therewith.
1:14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold,
all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
1:15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is
wanting cannot be numbered.
1:16 I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great
estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before
me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and
knowledge.
1:17 And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly:
I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.
1:18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge
increaseth sorrow.
2:1 I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth,
therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also is vanity.
2:2 I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?
2:3 I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting
mine heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what
was that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven
all the days of their life.
2:4 I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards:
2:5 I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all
kind of fruits:
2:6 I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth
forth trees:
2:7 I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house;
also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that
were in Jerusalem before me:
2:8 I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of
kings and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and
the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all
sorts.
2:9 So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in
Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me.
2:10 And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld
not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and
this was my portion of all my labour.
2:11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on
the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and
vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.
2:12 And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for
what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath
been already done.
2:13 Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth
darkness.
2:14 The wise man's eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in
darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them
all.
2:15 Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it
happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my
heart, that this also is vanity.
2:16 For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for
ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be
forgotten. And how dieth the wise man? as the fool.
2:17 Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the
sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
2:18 Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because
I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me.
2:19 And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall
he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I
have shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.
2:20 Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the
labour which I took under the sun.
2:21 For there is a man whose labour is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and
in equity; yet to a man that hath not laboured therein shall he leave it
for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil.
2:22 For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his
heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun?
2:23 For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart
taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity.
2:24 There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and
drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This
also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.
2:25 For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto, more than I?
2:26 For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and
knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and
to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also
is vanity and vexation of spirit.
3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under
the heaven:
3:2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to
pluck up that which is planted;
3:3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time
to build up;
3:4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to
dance;
3:5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a
time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
3:6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to
cast away;
3:7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a
time to speak;
3:8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of
peace.
3:9 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
3:10 I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to
be exercised in it.
3:11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set
the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God
maketh from the beginning to the end.
3:12 I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and
to do good in his life.
3:13 And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of
all his labour, it is the gift of God.
3:14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing
can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that
men should fear before him.
3:15 That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already
been; and God requireth that which is past.
3:16 And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that
wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was
there.
3:17 I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked:
for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.
3:18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that
God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves
are beasts.
3:19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one
thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they
have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast:
for all is vanity.
3:20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust
again.
3:21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of
the beast that goeth downward to the earth?
3:22 Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man
should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall
bring him to see what shall be after him?
4:1 So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done
under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they
had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power;
but they had no comforter.
4:2 Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the
living which are yet alive.
4:3 Yea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet been, who hath
not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.
4:4 Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this
a man is envied of his neighbour. This is also vanity and vexation of
spirit.
4:5 The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh.
4:6 Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with
travail and vexation of spirit.
4:7 Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun.
4:8 There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither
child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his
eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour, and
bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.
4:9 Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their
labour.
4:10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him
that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.
4:11 Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be
warm alone?
4:12 And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a
threefold cord is not quickly broken.
4:13 Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who
will no more be admonished.
4:14 For out of prison he cometh to reign; whereas also he that is born
in his kingdom becometh poor.
4:15 I considered all the living which walk under the sun, with the
second child that shall stand up in his stead.
4:16 There is no end of all the people, even of all that have been
before them: they also that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely
this also is vanity and vexation of spirit.
5:1 Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready
to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that
they do evil.
5:2 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to
utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth:
therefore let thy words be few.
5:3 For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's
voice is known by multitude of words.
5:4 When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no
pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.
5:5 Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest
vow and not pay.
5:6 Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou
before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at
thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?
5:7 For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers
vanities: but fear thou God.
5:8 If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of
judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he
that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than
they.
5:9 Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is
served by the field.
5:10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he
that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.
5:11 When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what
good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with
their eyes?
5:12 The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or
much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.
5:13 There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely,
riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.
5:14 But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son,
and there is nothing in his hand.
5:15 As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go
as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry
away in his hand.
5:16 And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so
shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?
5:17 All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow
and wrath with his sickness.
5:18 Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat
and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh
under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is
his portion.
5:19 Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath
given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice
in his labour; this is the gift of God.
5:20 For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God
answereth him in the joy of his heart.
6:1 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common
among men:
6:2 A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he
wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him
not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and
it is an evil disease.
6:3 If a man beget an hundred children, and live many years, so that the
days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and
also that he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better
than he.
6:4 For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his
name shall be covered with darkness.
6:5 Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this hath
more rest than the other.
6:6 Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, yet hath he seen no
good: do not all go to one place?
6:7 All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not
filled.
6:8 For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that
knoweth to walk before the living?
6:9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire:
this is also vanity and vexation of spirit.
6:10 That which hath been is named already, and it is known that it is
man: neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he.
6:11 Seeing there be many things that increase vanity, what is man the
better?
6:12 For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of
his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what
shall be after him under the sun?
7:1 A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death
than the day of one's birth.
7:2 It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house
of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it
to his heart.
7:3 Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the
countenance the heart is made better.
7:4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of
fools is in the house of mirth.
7:5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear
the song of fools.
7:6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of
the fool: this also is vanity.
7:7 Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the
heart.
7:8 Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the
patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
7:9 Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the
bosom of fools.
7:10 Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better
than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this.
7:11 Wisdom is good with an inheritance: and by it there is profit to
them that see the sun.
7:12 For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency
of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it.
7:13 Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he
hath made crooked?
7:14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity
consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end
that man should find nothing after him.
7:15 All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just
man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that
prolongeth his life in his wickedness.
7:16 Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why
shouldest thou destroy thyself?
7:17 Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest
thou die before thy time?
7:18 It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from
this withdraw not thine hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth
of them all.
7:19 Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which are in
the city.
7:20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and
sinneth not.
7:21 Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken; lest thou hear
thy servant curse thee:
7:22 For oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself
likewise hast cursed others.
7:23 All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it
was far from me.
7:24 That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can find it out?
7:25 I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out
wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly,
even of foolishness and madness:
7:26 And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares
and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from
her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.
7:27 Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher, counting one by one,
to find out the account:
7:28 Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand
have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.
7:29 Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but
they have sought out many inventions.
8:1 Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a
thing? a man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his
face shall be changed.
8:2 I counsel thee to keep the king's commandment, and that in regard of
the oath of God.
8:3 Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing; for
he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him.
8:4 Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto
him, What doest thou?
8:5 Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise
man's heart discerneth both time and judgment.
8:6 Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the
misery of man is great upon him.
8:7 For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it
shall be?
8:8 There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the
spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no
discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are
given to it.
8:9 All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is
done under the sun: there is a time wherein one man ruleth over another
to his own hurt.
8:10 And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the
place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so
done: this is also vanity.
8:11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily,
therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
8:12 Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be
prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear
God, which fear before him:
8:13 But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong
his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.
8:14 There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be just
men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again,
there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the
righteous: I said that this also is vanity.
8:15 Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under
the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall
abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him
under the sun.
8:16 When I applied mine heart to know wisdom, and to see the business
that is done upon the earth: (for also there is that neither day nor
night seeth sleep with his eyes:)
8:17 Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the
work that is done under the sun: because though a man labour to seek it
out, yet he shall not find it; yea farther; though a wise man think to
know it, yet shall he not be able to find it.
9:1 For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that
the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no
man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them.
9:2 All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous,
and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to
him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good,
so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.
9:3 This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that
there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is
full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after
that they go to the dead.
9:4 For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a
living dog is better than a dead lion.
9:5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any
thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is
forgotten.
9:6 Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished;
neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done
under the sun.
9:7 Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry
heart; for God now accepteth thy works.
9:8 Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.
9:9 Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the
life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days
of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour
which thou takest under the sun.
9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there
is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither
thou goest.
9:11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the
swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor
yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but
time and chance happeneth to them all.
9:12 For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in
an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the
sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
9:13 This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great
unto me:
9:14 There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a
great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against
it:
9:15 Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom
delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.
9:16 Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor
man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.
9:17 The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him
that ruleth among fools.
9:18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth
much good.
10:1 Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a
stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for
wisdom and honour.
10:2 A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his
left.
10:3 Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way, his wisdom
faileth him, and he saith to every one that he is a fool.
10:4 If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy
place; for yielding pacifieth great offences.
10:5 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which
proceedeth from the ruler:
10:6 Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place.
10:7 I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants
upon the earth.
10:8 He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an
hedge, a serpent shall bite him.
10:9 Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith; and he that cleaveth
wood shall be endangered thereby.
10:10 If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he
put to more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct.
10:11 Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and a babbler is
no better.
10:12 The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious; but the lips of a
fool will swallow up himself.
10:13 The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness: and the
end of his talk is mischievous madness.
10:14 A fool also is full of words: a man cannot tell what shall be; and
what shall be after him, who can tell him?
10:15 The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he
knoweth not how to go to the city.
10:16 Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat
in the morning!
10:17 Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and
thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!
10:18 By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness
of the hands the house droppeth through.
10:19 A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money
answereth all things.
10:20 Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich
in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that
which hath wings shall tell the matter.
11:1 Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many
days.
11:2 Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not
what evil shall be upon the earth.
11:3 If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the
earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in
the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.
11:4 He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the
clouds shall not reap.
11:5 As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the
bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou
knowest not the works of God who maketh all.
11:6 In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine
hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that,
or whether they both shall be alike good.
11:7 Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes
to behold the sun:
11:8 But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him
remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh
is vanity.
11:9 Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in
the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the
sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will
bring thee into judgment.
11:10 Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy
flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.
12:1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil
days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no
pleasure in them;
12:2 While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not
darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:
12:3 In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the
strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are
few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,
12:4 And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the
grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all
the daughters of musick shall be brought low;
12:5 Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears
shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the
grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth
to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:
12:6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or
the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the
cistern.
12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit
shall return unto God who gave it.
12:8 Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.
12:9 And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the
people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in
order many proverbs.
12:10 The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which
was written was upright, even words of truth.
12:11 The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the
masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.
12:12 And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books
there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep
his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
12:14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret
thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Song of Solomon
Chapter
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1:1 The song of songs, which is Solomon's.
1:2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better
than wine.
1:3 Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment
poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee.
1:4 Draw me, we will run after thee: the king hath brought me into his
chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love
more than wine: the upright love thee.
1:5 I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of
Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.
1:6 Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked
upon me: my mother's children were angry with me; they made me the
keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept.
1:7 Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou
makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that
turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?
1:8 If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by
the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds'
tents.
1:9 I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh's
chariots.
1:10 Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of
gold.
1:11 We will make thee borders of gold with studs of silver.
1:12 While the king sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the
smell thereof.
1:13 A bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me; he shall lie all
night betwixt my breasts.
1:14 My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of
Engedi.
1:15 Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast
doves' eyes.
1:16 Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant: also our bed is
green.
1:17 The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir.
2:1 I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.
2:2 As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.
2:3 As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved
among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his
fruit was sweet to my taste.
2:4 He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was
love.
2:5 Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love.
2:6 His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me.
2:7 I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the
hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he
please.
2:8 The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the
mountains, skipping upon the hills.
2:9 My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind
our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the
lattice.
2:10 My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one,
and come away.
2:11 For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;
2:12 The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds
is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;
2:13 The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the
tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come
away.
2:14 O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places
of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for
sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.
2:15 Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our
vines have tender grapes.
2:16 My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies.
2:17 Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved,
and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.
3:1 By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him,
but I found him not.
3:2 I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the
broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I
found him not.
3:3 The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw ye
him whom my soul loveth?
3:4 It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my
soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought
him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived
me.
3:5 I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the
hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he
please.
3:6 Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?
3:7 Behold his bed, which is Solomon's; threescore valiant men are about
it, of the valiant of Israel.
3:8 They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword
upon his thigh because of fear in the night.
3:9 King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon.
3:10 He made the pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold,
the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love,
for the daughters of Jerusalem.
3:11 Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the
crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and
in the day of the gladness of his heart.
4:1 Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast
doves' eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that
appear from mount Gilead.
4:2 Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came
up from the washing; whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren
among them.
4:3 Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy
temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks.
4:4 Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon
there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men.
4:5 Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed
among the lilies.
4:6 Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the
mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.
4:7 Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.
4:8 Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look
from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the
lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards.
4:9 Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast
ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck.
4:10 How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy
love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices!
4:11 Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are
under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of
Lebanon.
4:12 A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a
fountain sealed.
4:13 Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits;
camphire, with spikenard,
4:14 Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of
frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices:
4:15 A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from
Lebanon.
4:16 Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden,
that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his
garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.
5:1 I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my
myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have
drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink
abundantly, O beloved.
5:2 I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that
knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled:
for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the
night.
5:3 I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my
feet; how shall I defile them?
5:4 My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels
were moved for him.
5:5 I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh,
and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock.
5:6 I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and
was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not
find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.
5:7 The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they
wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me.
5:8 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that
ye tell him, that I am sick of love.
5:9 What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among
women? what is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so
charge us?
5:10 My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand.
5:11 His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black
as a raven.
5:12 His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed
with milk, and fitly set.
5:13 His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like
lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh.
5:14 His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: his belly is as
bright ivory overlaid with sapphires.
5:15 His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold:
his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.
5:16 His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my
beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.
6:1 Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? whither is
thy beloved turned aside? that we may seek him with thee.
6:2 My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to
feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.
6:3 I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the
lilies.
6:4 Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem,
terrible as an army with banners.
6:5 Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me: thy hair is
as a flock of goats that appear from Gilead.
6:6 Thy teeth are as a flock of sheep which go up from the washing,
whereof every one beareth twins, and there is not one barren among them.
6:7 As a piece of a pomegranate are thy temples within thy locks.
6:8 There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins
without number.
6:9 My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother,
she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and
blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.
6:10 Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon,
clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?
6:11 I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the
valley, and to see whether the vine flourished and the pomegranates
budded.
6:12 Or ever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of
Amminadib.
6:13 Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon
thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two
armies.
7:1 How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince's daughter! the
joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning
workman.
7:2 Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor: thy
belly is like an heap of wheat set about with lilies.
7:3 Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins.
7:4 Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fishpools in
Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim: thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon
which looketh toward Damascus.
7:5 Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like
purple; the king is held in the galleries.
7:6 How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!
7:7 This thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters
of grapes.
7:8 I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the
boughs thereof: now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine,
and the smell of thy nose like apples;
7:9 And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved, that
goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak.
7:10 I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me.
7:11 Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in
the villages.
7:12 Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine
flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud
forth: there will I give thee my loves.
7:13 The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of
pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my
beloved.
8:1 O that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my
mother! when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I
should not be despised.
8:2 I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother's house, who would
instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of
my pomegranate.
8:3 His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should
embrace me.
8:4 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up, nor
awake my love, until he please.
8:5 Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her
beloved? I raised thee up under the apple tree: there thy mother brought
thee forth: there she brought thee forth that bare thee.
8:6 Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for
love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals
thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.
8:7 Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if
a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would
utterly be contemned.
8:8 We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do
for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for?
8:9 If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver: and if
she be a door, we will inclose her with boards of cedar.
8:10 I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as
one that found favour.
8:11 Solomon had a vineyard at Baalhamon; he let out the vineyard unto
keepers; every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces
of silver.
8:12 My vineyard, which is mine, is before me: thou, O Solomon, must
have a thousand, and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred.
8:13 Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy
voice: cause me to hear it.
8:14 Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young
hart upon the mountains of spices.
Isaiah
Chapter
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47
48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62
63 64 65 66
1:1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah
and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings
of Judah.
1:2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I
have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against
me.
1:3 The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel
doth not know, my people doth not consider.
1:4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers,
children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have
provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
1:5 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more:
the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
1:6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness
in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been
closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
1:7 Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your
land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as
overthrown by strangers.
1:8 And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a
lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.
1:9 Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we
should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.
1:10 Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the
law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.
1:11 To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith
the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed
beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of
he goats.
1:12 When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your
hand, to tread my courts?
1:13 Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me;
the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away
with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.
1:14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a
trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.
1:15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from
you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are
full of blood.
1:16 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from
before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
1:17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the
fatherless, plead for the widow.
1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your
sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red
like crimson, they shall be as wool.
1:19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:
1:20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword:
for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
1:21 How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment;
righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.
1:22 Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water:
1:23 Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one
loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the
fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.
1:24 Therefore saith the LORD, the LORD of hosts, the mighty One of
Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine
enemies:
1:25 And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross,
and take away all thy tin:
1:26 And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors
as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of
righteousness, the faithful city.
1:27 Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with
righteousness.
1:28 And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall
be together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed.
1:29 For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye
shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen.
1:30 For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that
hath no water.
1:31 And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and
they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.
2:1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and
Jerusalem.
2:2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the
LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall
be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
2:3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the
mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will
teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion
shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
2:4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people:
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into
pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither
shall they learn war any more.
2:5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.
2:6 Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because
they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the
Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers.
2:7 Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end
of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there
any end of their chariots:
2:8 Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own
hands, that which their own fingers have made:
2:9 And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself:
therefore forgive them not.
2:10 Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the
LORD, and for the glory of his majesty.
2:11 The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men
shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.
2:12 For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is
proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be
brought low:
2:13 And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up,
and upon all the oaks of Bashan,
2:14 And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are
lifted up,
2:15 And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall,
2:16 And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures.
2:17 And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness
of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that
day.
2:18 And the idols he shall utterly abolish.
2:19 And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves
of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty,
when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
2:20 In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of
gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and
to the bats;
2:21 To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged
rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he
ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
2:22 Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is
he to be accounted of?
3:1 For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from
Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of
bread, and the whole stay of water.
3:2 The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and
the prudent, and the ancient,
3:3 The captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counsellor,
and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator.
3:4 And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule
over them.
3:5 And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every
one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the
ancient, and the base against the honourable.
3:6 When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his
father, saying, Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin
be under thy hand:
3:7 In that day shall he swear, saying, I will not be an healer; for in
my house is neither bread nor clothing: make me not a ruler of the
people.
3:8 For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue
and their doings are against the LORD, to provoke the eyes of his glory.
3:9 The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they
declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for
they have rewarded evil unto themselves.
3:10 Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they
shall eat the fruit of their doings.
3:11 Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of
his hands shall be given him.
3:12 As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule
over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and
destroy the way of thy paths.
3:13 The LORD standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people.
3:14 The LORD will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people,
and the princes thereof: for ye have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of
the poor is in your houses.
3:15 What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces
of the poor? saith the Lord GOD of hosts.
3:16 Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty,
and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing
as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet:
3:17 Therefore the LORD will smite with a scab the crown of the head of
the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will discover their secret parts.
3:18 In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling
ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like
the moon,
3:19 The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers,
3:20 The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and
the tablets, and the earrings,
3:21 The rings, and nose jewels,
3:22 The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples,
and the crisping pins,
3:23 The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails.
3:24 And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall
be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair
baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning
instead of beauty.
3:25 Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war.
3:26 And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall
sit upon the ground.
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, to take away our reproach.
4:2 In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious,
and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that
are escaped of Israel.
4:3 And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that
remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is
written among the living in Jerusalem:
4:4 When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of
Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst
thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.
4:5 And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion,
and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a
flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence.
4:6 And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the day time from
the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and
from rain.
5:1 Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his
vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill:
5:2 And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted
it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and
also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth
grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.
5:3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray
you, betwixt me and my vineyard.
5:4 What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done
in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes,
brought it forth wild grapes?
5:5 And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will
take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down
the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down:
5:6 And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but
there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds
that they rain no rain upon it.
5:7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and
the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but
behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.
5:8 Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field,
till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of
the earth!
5:9 In mine ears said the LORD of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall be
desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant.
5:10 Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of an
homer shall yield an ephah.
5:11 Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may
follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!
5:12 And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in
their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider
the operation of his hands.
5:13 Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no
knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude
dried up with thirst.
5:14 Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without
measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he
that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.
5:15 And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be
humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled:
5:16 But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is
holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.
5:17 Then shall the lambs feed after their manner, and the waste places
of the fat ones shall strangers eat.
5:18 Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as
it were with a cart rope:
5:19 That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see
it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come,
that we may know it!
5:20 Woe unto them 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 unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their
own sight!
5:22 Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to
mingle strong drink:
5:23 Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the
righteousness of the righteous from him!
5:24 Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame
consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their
blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the
LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
5:25 Therefore is the anger of the LORD kindled against his people, and
he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them:
and the hills did tremble, and their carcases were torn in the midst of
the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is
stretched out still.
5:26 And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will
hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come
with speed swiftly:
5:27 None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor
sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the
latchet of their shoes be broken:
5:28 Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses'
hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind:
5:29 Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young
lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry
it away safe, and none shall deliver it.
5:30 And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of
the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and
the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.
6:1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the LORD sitting upon a
throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
6:2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he
covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he
did fly.
6:3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD
of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
6:4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and
the house was filled with smoke.
6:5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of
unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for
mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
6:6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his
hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
6:7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy
lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and
who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
6:9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but
understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
6:10 Make the heart of this people fat, 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 convert, and be healed.
6:11 Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be
wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be
utterly desolate,
6:12 And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great
forsaking in the midst of the land.
6:13 But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be
eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when
they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.
7:1 And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son
of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the
son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against
it, but could not prevail against it.
7:2 And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate
with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as
the trees of the wood are moved with the wind.
7:3 Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and
Shearjashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the
highway of the fuller's field;
7:4 And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be
fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the
fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.
7:5 Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil
counsel against thee, saying,
7:6 Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach
therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of
Tabeal:
7:7 Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come
to pass.
7:8 For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is
Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken,
that it be not a people.
7:9 And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is
Remaliah's son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be
established.
7:10 Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying,
7:11 Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or
in the height above.
7:12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD.
7:13 And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for
you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?
7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin
shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
7:15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil,
and choose the good.
7:16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the
good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.
7:17 The LORD shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy
father's house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim
departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria.
7:18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall hiss for
the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for
the bee that is in the land of Assyria.
7:19 And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate
valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon
all bushes.
7:20 In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired,
namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and
the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume the 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 it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they
shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat
that is left in the land.
7:23 And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place shall be,
where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, it shall
even be for briers and thorns.
7:24 With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the
land shall become briers and thorns.
7:25 And on all hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall
not come thither the fear of briers and thorns: but it shall be for the
sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle.
8:1 Moreover the LORD said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in
it with a man's pen concerning Mahershalalhashbaz.
8:2 And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest,
and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.
8:3 And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son.
Then said the LORD to me, Call his name Mahershalalhashbaz.
8:4 For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my
mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken
away before the king of Assyria.
8:5 The LORD spake also unto me again, saying,
8:6 Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go
softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son;
8:7 Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of
the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory:
and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks:
8:8 And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he
shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall
fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.
8:9 Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces;
and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be
broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces.
8:10 Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word,
and it shall not stand: for God is with us.
8:11 For the LORD spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me
that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying,
8:12 Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall
say, A confederacy; 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 for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and
for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a
snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
8:15 And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be
snared, and be taken.
8:16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.
8:17 And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the house
of Jacob, and I will look for him.
8:18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for
signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth
in mount Zion.
8:19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar
spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a
people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?
8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to
this word, it is because there is no light in them.
8:21 And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it
shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret
themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward.
8:22 And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and
darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.
9:1 Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation,
when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land
of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of
the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.
9:2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they
that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light
shined.
9:3 Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy
before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when
they divide the spoil.
9:4 For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his
shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian.
9:5 For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments
rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire.
9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the
government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called
Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The
Prince of Peace.
9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end,
upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to
establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even 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 shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of
Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart,
9:10 The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the
sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars.
9:11 Therefore the LORD shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against
him, and join his enemies together;
9:12 The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall
devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned
away, but his hand is stretched out still.
9:13 For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do
they seek the LORD of hosts.
9:14 Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch
and rush, in one day.
9:15 The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that
teacheth lies, he is the tail.
9:16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are
led of them are destroyed.
9:17 Therefore the LORD shall have no joy in their young men, neither
shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an
hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this
his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.