Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this,

He will not look on the streams, the rivers, which are the torrents of honey and butter.

For he has oppressed the poor and abandoned them; he has seized a house which he did not build.

Total darkness waits to receive his treasures; a fire which has not been kindled will consume him and devour what is left in his tent.

"Yes, I know what you are thinking, the schemes by which you would wrong me.

For you say, 'Where now is the nobleman's house, and where are the tents in which the wicked lived?'

The earth, from which food comes, is overturned below as though by fire;

a place whose stones are sapphires and which contains dust of gold;

Inside I am like wine which has no outlet, like new wineskins ready to burst!

His flesh wastes away from sight, and his bones, which were not seen, are easily visible.

Gaze at the heavens and see; consider the clouds, which are higher than you!

Remember to extol his work, which people have praised in song.

which the clouds pour down and shower on humankind abundantly.

which I reserve for the time of trouble, for the day of war and battle?

"Look now at Behemoth, which I made as I made you; it eats grass like the ox.

Lord, lead me in your righteousness because of those who wait to ambush me, remove the obstacles in the way in which you are guiding me!

A musical composition by David, which he sang to the Lord concerning a Benjaminite named Cush. O Lord my God, in you I have taken shelter. Deliver me from all who chase me! Rescue me!

When I look up at the heavens, which your fingers made, and see the moon and the stars, which you set in place,

Break the arm of the wicked and evil man! Hold him accountable for his wicked deeds, which he thought you would not discover.

How great is your favor, which you store up for your loyal followers! In plain sight of everyone you bestow it on those who take shelter in you.

Do not be like an unintelligent horse or mule, which will not obey you unless they are controlled by a bridle and bit.

which my lips uttered and my mouth spoke when I was in trouble.

I weep and refrain from eating food, which causes others to insult me.

What we have heard and learned -- that which our ancestors have told us --

He brought them to the border of his holy land, to this mountainous land which his right hand acquired.

He chose the tribe of Judah, and Mount Zion, which he loves.

He made his sanctuary as enduring as the heavens above; as secure as the earth, which he established permanently.

The trees of the Lord receive all the rain they need, the cedars of Lebanon which he planted,

where the birds make nests, near the evergreens in which the herons live.

You make it dark and night comes, during which all the beasts of the forest prowl around.

Over here is the deep, wide sea, which teems with innumerable swimming creatures, living things both small and large.

Their land was overrun by frogs, which even got into the rooms of their kings.

They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them.

They wandered through the wilderness on a desert road; they found no city in which to live.

He led them on a level road, that they might find a city in which to live.

He allowed the hungry to settle there, and they established a city in which to live.

They cultivated fields, and planted vineyards, which yielded a harvest of fruit.

The stone which the builders discarded has become the cornerstone.

Confirm to your servant your promise, which you made to the one who honors you.

I will find delight in your commands, which I love.

I will lift my hands to your commands, which I love, and I will meditate on your statutes.

The arrogant dig pits to trap me, which violates your law.

Your instructions are a doorway through which light shines. They give insight to the untrained.

May they be like the grass on the rooftops which withers before one can even pull it up,

which cannot fill the reaper's hand, or the lap of the one who gathers the grain!

It is like fine oil poured on the head which flows down the beard -- Aaron's beard, and then flows down his garments.

It is like the dew of Hermon, which flows down upon the hills of Zion. Indeed that is where the Lord has decreed a blessing will be available -- eternal life.

and execute the judgment to which their enemies have been sentenced. All his loyal followers will be vindicated. Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary! Praise him in the sky, which testifies to his strength!

The reward which the righteous receive is life; the recompense which the wicked receive is judgment.

There are many plans in a person's mind, but it is the counsel of the Lord which will stand.

The wise person can scale the city of the mighty and bring down the stronghold in which they trust.

Do not move an ancient boundary stone which was put in place by your ancestors.

These also are proverbs of Solomon, which the men of King Hezekiah of Judah copied:

Do not give your strength to women, nor your ways to that which ruins kings.

What benefit do people get from all the effort which they expend on earth?

The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries away to a place from which it rises again.

Is there anything about which someone can say, "Look at this! It is new!"? It was already done long ago, before our time.

So I loathed all the fruit of my effort, for which I worked so hard on earth, because I must leave it behind in the hands of my successor.

Who knows if he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will be master over all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so wisely on earth! This also is futile!

So I began to despair about all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so hard on earth.

I have seen personally what is the only beneficial and appropriate course of action for people: to eat and drink, and find enjoyment in all their hard work on earth during the few days of their life which God has given them, for this is their reward.

So I recommend the enjoyment of life, for there is nothing better on earth for a person to do except to eat, drink, and enjoy life. So joy will accompany him in his toil during the days of his life which God gives him on earth.

Sow your seed in the morning, and do not stop working until the evening; for you do not know which activity will succeed -- whether this one or that one, or whether both will prosper equally.

Come out, O maidens of Zion, and gaze upon King Solomon! He is wearing the crown with which his mother crowned him on his wedding day, on the most joyous day of his life!

The mandrakes send out their fragrance; over our door is every delicacy, both new and old, which I have stored up for you, my lover.

My vineyard, which belongs to me, is at my disposal alone. The thousand shekels belong to you, O Solomon, and two hundred shekels belong to those who maintain it for its fruit.

At that time men will throw their silver and gold idols, which they made for themselves to worship, into the caves where rodents and bats live,

Indeed Israel is the vineyard of the Lord who commands armies, the people of Judah are the cultivated place in which he took delight. He waited for justice, but look what he got -- disobedience! He waited for fairness, but look what he got -- cries for help!

So the Lord told Isaiah, "Go out with your son Shear-jashub and meet Ahaz at the end of the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth.

He will eat sour milk and honey, which will help him know how to reject evil and choose what is right.

Assyria, the club I use to vent my anger, is as good as dead, a cudgel with which I angrily punish.

When the Lord gives you relief from your suffering and anxiety, and from the hard labor which you were made to perform,

For the fields of Heshbon are dried up, as well as the vines of Sibmah. The rulers of the nations trample all over its vines, which reach Jazer and spread to the desert; their shoots spread out and cross the sea.

The cities of Aroer are abandoned. They will be used for herds, which will lie down there in peace.

At that time their fortified cities will be like the abandoned summits of the Amorites, which they abandoned because of the Israelites; there will be desolation.

The Lord revealed the following message during the year in which King Sargon of Assyria sent his commanding general to Ashdod, and he fought against it and captured it.

He will wind you up tightly into a ball and throw you into a wide, open land. There you will die, and there with you will be your impressive chariots, which bring disgrace to the house of your master.

Every blow from his punishing cudgel, with which the Lord will beat them, will be accompanied by music from the tambourine and harp, and he will attack them with his weapons.

Mourn over the land of my people, which is overgrown with thorns and briers, and over all the once-happy houses in the city filled with revelry.

The king of Assyria sent his chief adviser from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem, along with a large army. The chief adviser stood at the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth.

Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "The Lord's word which you have announced is appropriate." Then he thought, "For there will be peace and stability during my lifetime."

All who form idols are nothing; the things in which they delight are worthless. Their witnesses cannot see; they recognize nothing, so they are put to shame.

Persist in trusting your amulets and your many incantations, which you have faithfully recited since your youth! Maybe you will be successful -- maybe you will scare away disaster.

Look, they are like straw, which the fire burns up; they cannot rescue themselves from the heat of the flames. There are no coals to warm them, no firelight to enjoy.

This is what the Lord says: "Where is your mother's divorce certificate by which I divorced her? Or to which of my creditors did I sell you? Look, you were sold because of your sins; because of your rebellious acts I divorced your mother.

"Listen to me, you who pursue godliness, who seek the Lord! Look at the rock from which you were chiseled, at the quarry from which you were dug!

Wake up! Wake up! Get up, O Jerusalem! You drank from the cup the Lord passed to you, which was full of his anger! You drained dry the goblet full of intoxicating wine.

"As for me, this is my promise to them," says the Lord. "My spirit, who is upon you, and my words, which I have placed in your mouth, will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children and descendants from this time forward," says the Lord.

The Lord swears an oath by his right hand, by his strong arm: "I will never again give your grain to your enemies as food, and foreigners will not drink your wine, which you worked hard to produce.

They did not ask: 'Where is the Lord who delivered us out of Egypt, who brought us through the wilderness, through a land of desert sands and rift valleys, through a land of drought and deep darkness, through a land in which no one travels, and where no one lives?'

"Do so because my people have committed a double wrong: they have rejected me, the fountain of life-giving water, and they have dug cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns which cannot even hold water."

Because of that, the Lord, the God who rules over all, said to me, "Because these people have spoken like this, I will make the words that I put in your mouth like fire. And I will make this people like wood which the fiery judgments you speak will burn up."

All of this is because the Lord who rules over all has said: 'Cut down the trees around Jerusalem and build up a siege ramp against its walls. This is the city which is to be punished. Nothing but oppression happens in it.

If you stop doing these things, I will allow you to continue to live in this land which I gave to your ancestors as a lasting possession.

So I will destroy this temple which I have claimed as my own, this temple that you are trusting to protect you. I will destroy this place that I gave to you and your ancestors, just like I destroyed Shiloh.

So," the Lord God says, "my raging fury will be poured out on this land. It will be poured out on human beings and animals, on trees and crops. And it will burn like a fire which cannot be extinguished."

The Lord says, "I have rejected them because the people of Judah have done what I consider evil. They have set up their disgusting idols in the temple which I have claimed for my own and have defiled it.

They will be spread out and exposed to the sun, the moon and the stars. These are things they adored and served, things to which they paid allegiance, from which they sought guidance, and worshiped. The bones of these people will never be regathered and reburied. They will be like manure used to fertilize the ground.

The Lord says, "Yes indeed, I am sending an enemy against you that will be like poisonous snakes which cannot be charmed away. And they will inflict fatal wounds on you."