The one who says to wood, 'Wake up!' is as good as dead -- he who says to speechless stone, 'Awake!' Can it give reliable guidance? It is overlaid with gold and silver; it has no life's breath inside it.

Lord, I have heard the report of what you did; I am awed, Lord, by what you accomplished. In our time repeat those deeds; in our time reveal them again. But when you cause turmoil, remember to show us mercy!

He stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are everlasting.

I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction: and the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.

Did the Lord rage against the rivers,
Or was Your anger against the rivers,
Or was Your wrath against the sea,
That You rode on Your horses,
On Your chariots of salvation?

Your bow was made quite ready, according to the oaths over your arrows. Selah. You did divide the earth with rivers.

The mountains saw you and were moved with fear; the clouds were streaming with water: the voice of the deep was sounding; the sun did not come up, and the moon kept still in her place.

You did march through the land in indignation, you did trample the nations in anger.

Thou hast pierced, with his own staves, the head of his chiefs, they storm along, to scatter me, - their exultant thought, is, in very deed, to devour the oppressed one, in a secret place!

You did walk through the sea with your horses, through the heap of great waters.

and those who turned back from {following} Yahweh, and who did not seek Yahweh, and did not inquire of him."

Seek Jehovah, all ye humble of the earth, who did his judgment; seek justice, seek humility: perhaps ye shall be covered in the day of the anger of Jehovah.

Those who live by the sea, the people who came from Crete, are as good as dead. The Lord has decreed your downfall, Canaan, land of the Philistines: "I will destroy everyone who lives there!"

The filthy, stained city is as good as dead; the city filled with oppressors is finished!

She did not listen and heed the voice [of God];
She accepted no correction.
She did not trust in the Lord [but trusted her own power];
She did not draw near to her God [but to the pagan gods of Baal or Molech].

I thought, 'Certainly you will respect me! Now you will accept correction!' If she had done so, her home would not be destroyed by all the punishments I have threatened. But they eagerly sinned in everything they did.

In that day you will have no shame on account of all the things in which you did evil against me: for then I will take away from among you those who were lifted up in pride, and you will no longer be lifted up with pride in my holy mountain.

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

Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him, and the people did fear before the LORD.

And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the LORD of hosts, their God,

Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean.

I struck you with blight, and with plant mildew, and hail, all the work of your hands. But {you did not come back to me},' {declares} Yahweh.

Think carefully about the past: from today, the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, to the day work on the temple of the Lord was resumed, think about it.

The seed is still in the storehouse, isn't it? And the vine, fig tree, pomegranate, and olive tree have not produced. Nevertheless, from today on I will bless you.'"

Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the LORD.

"As for your ancestors, where are they? And did the prophets live forever?

But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? and they returned and said, Like as the LORD of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us.

and sore displeased at the careless Heathen: for whereas I was but a little angry, they did their best that I might destroy them.

Then said I, What come these to do? And he spake, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it.

So then the messenger of Yahweh did solemnly affirm unto Joshua, saying:

Hands of Zerubbabel did found this house, And his hands do finish it, And thou hast known that Jehovah of Hosts Hath sent me unto you.

"Go take up an offering from those who came out of the Babylonian exile, that is, from Heldai, from Tobijah, and from Jedaiah. Go along with them today into the house of Zephaniah's son Josiah, who returned from Babylon.

To speak to the priests which were to the house of Jehovah of armies, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself according as I did, how many the years?

Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?

And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?

And it will be, as He called, and they did not listen, so they called, and I did not listen, says Jehovah of Hosts.

But I stormed them away on all the nations whom they did not know. And the land has been wasted behind them, from passing and from returning; for they made the land of desire a waste.

"The Lord who rules over all also says, 'Gather strength, you who are listening to these words today from the mouths of the prophets who were there at the founding of the house of the Lord who rules over all, so that the temple might be built.

""But now I will not treat the survivors of this people as I did formerly,' declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.

For, thus said Jehovah of Hosts, As I did purpose to do evil to you, When your fathers made Me wroth, Said Jehovah of Hosts, and I did not repent,

And Tyrus did build herself a strong hold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets.

Return to the stronghold [of security and prosperity], O prisoners who have the hope;
Even today I am declaring that I will restore double [your former prosperity] to you [as firstborn among nations].

Because the teraphim did speak iniquity, And the diviners have seen a falsehood, And dreams of the vanity they speak, With vanity they give comfort, Therefore they have journeyed as a flock, They are afflicted, for there is no shepherd.

Against the shepherds did Mine anger burn, And against the he-goats I lay a charge, For inspected hath Jehovah of Hosts His flock, the house of Judah, And set them as His beauteous horse in battle.

I hist for them, and I gather them, For I have redeemed them, And they have multiplied as they did multiply.

“And they will pass through the sea of distress and anxiety [with the Lord leading His people, as at the Red Sea]
And He will strike the waves in the sea,
So that all the depths of the Nile will dry up;
And the pride of Assyria will be brought down
And the scepter [of the taskmasters] of Egypt will pass away.

When it was broken, on that day, then did the sheep- merchants who were watching me, know, that, the word of Yahweh, it was.

Then the Lord will go out and make war against those nations, as he did in the day of the fight.

And in that day living waters will flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea (Dead Sea) and half of them to the western sea (the Mediterranean); it will be in summer as well as in winter.

And, if the family of Egypt shall not come up, and shall not enter in, upon whom there falleth none, then shall smite them the plague wherewith Yahweh, did plague, the nations, because they came not up to celebrate the festival of booths.

yea all the kettles in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy unto the LORD of Hosts: and all they that slay offerings, shall come and take of them, and dight them therein. And at that time there shall be no more Cananites in the house of the LORD.

A son will honor the father, and the servant his lord; and if I a father, where mine honor? and if I their lord, where my fear? said Jehovah of armies to you, O priests despising my name. And ye said, In what did we despise thy name?

Bringing polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye said, In what did we pollute thee? In your saying, The table of Jehovah it was despised.

My covenant, was with him, Life and Well-being, so I gave them to him - I as One to be revered - and he did revere me, - and, before my Name, dismayed, was he.

The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity.

Is there not, one Father, to us all? Did not, one GOD, create us? Wherefore should we deal treacherously one with another, profaning the covenant of our fathers?

And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.

Ye wearied Jehovah with your words: and ye said, In what did we weary? In your saying, Every one doing evil is good in the eyes of Jehovah, and he delighted in them; or, Where the God of judgment?

Will man defraud God? For ye defraud me. And ye said, In what did we defraud thee? The tenths and the offerings.

"You have spoken arrogant words against me," says the LORD. "Yet you ask, "What did we say against you?'

You said, "It is futile to serve God,' and, "What did we get out of it when we carried out his requirements and went about like mourners in the presence of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies?'

Remember ye the law of Moses My servant, That I did command him in Horeb, For all Israel -- statutes and judgments.

and Joseph her husband being righteous, and not willing to make her an example, did wish privately to send her away.

Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:

and did not know her till she brought forth her son -- the first-born, and he called his name Jesus.

Then Herod, privately having called the mages, did inquire exactly from them the time of the appearing star,

And they, having heard the king, departed, and lo, the star, that they did see in the east, did go before them, till, having come, it stood over where the child was.

And having come into the house they saw the little child with Mary his mother, and falling down did him homage. And having opened their treasures, they offered to him gifts, gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

and was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt did I call my son.

Then Herod, when he realized that he had been tricked by the magi, was extremely angry, and he sent [soldiers] and put to death all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that area who were two years old and under, according to the date which he had learned from the magi.

"A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping [for] her children, and she did not want to be comforted, because {they exist no longer}."

But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,

Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life.

But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee:

John had clothing made of camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist. His diet consisted of grasshoppers and wild honey.

And having seen many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming about his baptism, he said to them, 'Brood of vipers! who did shew you to flee from the coming wrath?

and lo, a voice out of the heavens, saying, 'This is My Son -- the Beloved, in whom I did delight.'

and having fasted forty days and forty nights, afterwards he did hunger.

But Jesus answered, "It is written [Deut. 8:3], 'A person is not to live by [eating] bread only, but [instead] by [believing and obeying] every statement spoken by God.'"

Jesus said to him, "It is also written [Deut. 6:16], 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

Then Jesus replied to him, "Get away from me Satan, for it is written [Deut. 6:13], 'You are supposed to worship the Lord your God, and serve only Him.'"

And Jesus having heard that John was delivered up, did withdraw to Galilee,

The people that sat in darkness Saw a great light, And to them that sat in the region and shadow of death, To them did light spring up.

and they, immediately, having left the nets, did follow him.

and they, immediately, having left the boat and their father, did follow him.

rejoice ye and be glad, because your reward is great in the heavens, for thus did they persecute the prophets who were before you.

Do not suppose that I came to throw down the law or the prophets -- I did not come to throw down, but to fulfil;

For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will by any means pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

but I -- I say to you, that every one who is looking on a woman to desire her, did already commit adultery with her in his heart.

It was also said [Deut. 24:1-3], 'Whoever divorces his wife, let it be done with a [legally binding] divorce decree, which he must give her.'

When, therefore, you do a charitable deed, do not cause a trumpet to be sounded before you, as the hypocrites do, in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be glorified by men. Verily, I say to you, They have their reward.

But when you do a charitable deed, let not your left hand know what your right hand does;

so that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Give us today our daily bread,

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive and green today and tomorrow is [cut and] thrown [as fuel] into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!

So then, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.

Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name, and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy name do many mighty works?

and the rain came down, and the streams came, and the winds blew and fell upon that house, and it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock.

and the rain did descend, and the streams came, and the winds blew, and they beat on that house, and it fell, and its fall was great.'

for He was teaching them as one who had authority [to teach entirely of His own volition], and not as their scribes [who relied on others to confirm their authority].