Say not, How is it that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this.

for he knoweth not that which shall be; for who can tell him how it shall be?

The labour of fools wearieth them, because they know not how to go to the city.

As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, how the bones grow in the womb of her that is with child, even so thou knowest not the work of God who maketh all.

How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! How much better is thy love than wine! And the fragrance of thine ointments than all spices!

I have put off my tunic, how should I put it on? I have washed my feet, how should I pollute them? --

How beautiful are thy footsteps in sandals, O prince's daughter! The roundings of thy thighs are like jewels, The work of the hands of an artist.

How fair and how pleasant art thou, my love, in delights!

How is the faithful city become a harlot! It was full of judgment; righteousness used to lodge in it, but now murderers.

And I said, Lord, how long? And he said, Until the cities be wasted, without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land become an utter desolation,

Howl, for the day of Jehovah is at hand; it cometh as destruction from the Almighty.

that thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased, the exactress of gold ceased!

How art thou fallen from heaven, Lucifer, son of the morning! Thou art cut down to the ground, that didst prostrate the nations!

Howl, O gate! cry, O city! thou, Philistia, art wholly dissolved; for there cometh from the north a smoke, and none remaineth apart in his gatherings of troops.

Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab; every one of them shall howl. For the foundations of Kirhareseth shall ye mourn, verily afflicted.

They are but fools, the princes of Zoan, the wise counsellors of Pharaoh: their counsel is become senseless. How say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?

And the inhabitants of this coast shall say in that day, Behold, such is our confidence, whither we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria; and how shall we escape?

The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish! for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, none entering in. From the land of Chittim it is revealed to them.

Pass over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the coast!

Howl, ships of Tarshish! for your fortress is laid waste.

How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master's servants? And thou reliest upon Egypt for chariots and for horsemen!

and said, Ah, Jehovah, remember, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept much.

For mine own sake, for mine own sake, will I do it; for how should my name be profaned? and I will not give my glory unto another.

The Lord Jehovah hath given me the tongue of the instructed, that I should know how to succour by a word him that is weary. He wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the instructed.

These two things are come unto thee; who will bemoan thee? desolation and destruction, and famine and sword: how shall I comfort thee?

and now, what have I here, saith Jehovah, that my people hath been taken away for nought? They that rule over them make them to howl, saith Jehovah; and continually all the day is my name scorned.

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that announceth glad tidings, that publisheth peace; that announceth glad tidings of good, that publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!

and the dogs are greedy, they know not to be satisfied, and these are shepherds that know not how to discern: they all turn to their own way, every one for his gain, even to the last of them:

behold, my servants shall sing aloud for gladness of heart, and ye shall cry out for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit.

And I, I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed; how then art thou turned into the degenerate shoots of a strange vine unto me?

How sayest thou, I am not defiled, I have not gone after the Baals? See thy way in the valley, acknowledge what thou hast done a swift dromedary traversing her ways!

How dost thou trim thy way to seek love! Therefore hast thou also accustomed thy ways to wickedness.

And as for me, I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee the pleasant land, the goodly inheritance of the hosts of the nations? And I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from following me.

For this, gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl! for the fierce anger of Jehovah is not turned away from us.

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

How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?

How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of Jehovah is with us? Behold, certainly the lying pen of the scribes hath made it falsehood.

Are they ashamed that they have committed abomination? Nay, they are not at all ashamed, and they know not how to blush. Therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall stumble, saith Jehovah.

Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how else could I do for the daughter of my people?

For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we spoiled, sorely put to shame! For we have forsaken the land, for they have cast down our dwellings.

How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of all the fields wither? Because of the wickedness of them that dwell therein, the beasts and the birds perish; for they say, He will not see our end.

If thou hast run with footmen, and they have wearied thee, how wilt thou then contend with horses? And if in a land of peace thou thinkest thyself in security, how wilt thou then do in the swelling of the Jordan?

Thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy fornication, on the hills, in the fields, thine abominations, have I seen. Woe unto thee, Jerusalem! Wilt thou not be made clean? after how long a time yet?

Shall evil be recompensed for good? For they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember how I stood before thee to speak good for them, to turn away thy wrath from them.

Thou inhabitress of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, how pitiful shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, pain as of a woman in travail!

How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, and who are prophets of the deceit of their own heart?

Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the dust, noble ones of the flock: for the days of your slaughter are accomplished, and I will disperse you; and ye shall fall like a precious vessel.

How long wilt thou wander about, thou backsliding daughter? For Jehovah hath created a new thing on the earth, a woman shall encompass a man.

And they asked Baruch, saying, Tell us now, How didst thou write all these words from his mouth?

Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, waters rise up out of the north, and shall become an overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land, and all that is therein; the city, and them that dwell therein: and the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall howl,

Baldness is come upon Gazah; Ashkelon is cut off, the remnant of their valley: how long wilt thou cut thyself?

Alas! sword of Jehovah, how long wilt thou not be quiet? Withdraw into thy scabbard, rest, and be still.

How shouldest thou be quiet? For Jehovah hath given it a charge: against Ashkelon, and against the sea shore, there hath he appointed it.

How do ye say, We are mighty, and men of valour for the war?

All ye that are about him, bemoan him; and all ye that know his name, say, How is the strong staff broken, the beautiful rod!

Moab is put to shame; for he is broken down: howl and cry; tell it in Arnon, that Moab is laid waste.

Therefore will I howl for Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab: for the men of Kir-heres shall there be moaning.

They howl, How is it broken down! how hath Moab turned the back with shame! And Moab shall be a derision and a terror to all that are round about him.

Howl, Heshbon! for Ai is laid waste; cry, daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth, lament and run to and fro within the enclosures: for Malcam shall go into captivity, his priests and his princes together.

How is not the town of praise forsaken, the city of my joy!

How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! How is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!

Babylon is suddenly fallen and ruined. Howl over her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.

How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth seized! How is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!

How doth the city sit solitary that was full of people! She that was great among the nations is become as a widow; the princess among the provinces is become tributary!

How hath the Lord in his anger covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud! He hath cast down from the heavens unto the earth the beauty of Israel, and remembered not his footstool in the day of his anger.

How is the gold become dim! the most pure gold changed! the stones of the sanctuary poured out at the top of all the streets!

The sons of Zion, so precious, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter!

For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the evil beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast!

Behold, when it was whole, it was used for no work; how much less when the fire hath consumed it, and it is burned, should it yet be used for any work?

How weak is thy heart, saith the Lord Jehovah, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of a whorish woman, under no restraint;

Cry and howl, son of man; for it shall be against my people, it shall be against all the princes of Israel: they are given up to the sword along with my people: smite therefore upon the thigh.

And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and say to thee, How hast thou perished, that wast inhabited from the seas, O renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, who caused their terror to be on all them that dwell therein!

Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Howl ye, Alas for the day!

And thou, son of man, say unto the house of Israel, Thus ye speak, saying, Our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we waste away in them, how then should we live?

How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation.

And I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that one who spoke, How long shall be the vision of the continual sacrifice and of the transgression that maketh desolate, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden down under foot?

And how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway there remaineth no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me.

And he said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, How long is it to the end of these wonders?

Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will they be incapable of purity?

How shall I give thee over, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee up, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboim? My heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together.

Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine: for it is cut off from your mouth.

Be ashamed, ye husbandmen; howl, ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley: because the harvest of the field hath perished.

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

How do the beasts groan! The herds of cattle are bewildered, for they have no pasture; the flocks of sheep also are in suffering.

For I know how manifold are your transgressions and your sins mighty: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the right of the needy in the gate.

And it came to pass, when they had wholly eaten the grass of the land, that I said, O Lord Jehovah, forgive, I beseech thee! How shall Jacob arise? for he is small.

Then said I, O Lord Jehovah, cease, I beseech thee! How shall Jacob arise? for he is small.

If thieves had come to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had had enough? If grape-gatherers had come to thee, would they not have left some gleanings?

How is Esau searched! his hidden things sought out!

For this will I lament, and I will howl; I will go stripped and naked: I will make a wailing like the jackals, and mourning like the ostriches.

In that day shall they take up a proverb concerning you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, and say, We are utterly spoiled: he hath changed the portion of my people: how hath he removed it from me! He hath distributed our fields to the rebellious.

Jehovah, how long shall I cry and thou wilt not hear? I cry out unto thee, Violence! and thou dost not save.

Shall not all these take up a proverb about him, and a taunting riddle against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that loadeth himself with pledges!

Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh; for all the people of Canaan are cut down, all they that are laden with silver are cut off.

This is the rejoicing city that dwelt in security, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none else beside me: how is she become a desolation, a couching-place for beasts! Every one that passeth by her shall hiss, shall wave his hand.

Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? and how do ye see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes?

And the angel of Jehovah answered and said, Jehovah of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these seventy years?

For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! Corn shall make the young men flourish, and new wine the maidens.

Howl, cypress, for the cedar is fallen; because the noble ones are spoiled. Howl, ye oaks of Bashan; for the strong forest is come down.

but if thine eye be wicked, thy whole body will be dark. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great the darkness!