Believe not in a friend, trust not in a leader, From her who is lying in thy bosom keep the openings of thy mouth.

But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God who will deliver me. My God will hear me.

And see doth mine enemy, And cover her doth shame, Who saith unto me, 'Where is Jehovah thy God?' Mine eyes do look on her, Now she is for a treading-place, As mire of the out-places.

Yet the land shall be desolate because of those who dwell therein, for the fruit of their doings.

Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thy heritage, who dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.

Who is a God like Thee? taking away iniquity, And passing by the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance, He hath not retained for ever His anger, Because He -- He delighteth in kindness.

The Lord is a God who takes care of his honour and gives punishment for wrong; the Lord gives punishment and is angry; the Lord sends punishment on those who are against him, being angry with his haters.

Who rebuketh the sea and hath made it dry, and, all the streams, hath he dried up, - withered are Bashan and Carmel, Even the bloom of Lebanon, is withered:

The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is up heaved at his presence. Yea, the world, and all who dwell therein.

Who may endure before his wrath? Or who is able to abide his grim displeasure? His anger taketh on like fire, and the hard rocks burst in sunder before him.

LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and he knows those who take refuge in him.

But, with an overflow rolling on, a full end, will he make of them who rise up against him, - and, his foes, will he pursue into darkness.

Like tangled thorns,
And like those who are drunken with their drink,
They are consumed
As stubble completely withered.

He has gone forth out of thee, who devises evil against LORD, who counsels wickedness.

Behold, upon the mountains the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace! Keep thy feasts, O Judah. Perform thy vows, for the wicked one shall no more pass through thee. He is utterly cut off.

He who dashes in pieces has come up against thee. Keep the fortress. Watch the way. Make thy loins strong. Fortify thy power mightily.

And she who stood firm is uncovered and caused to go away. And her slave women are moaning like the sound of doves, beating their breast.

Nineveh [is] like a pool of water without its water. {As they flee}, [she cries,] "Stop! Stop!" But there is no one who turns back.

"I am against you!" declares the Lord who commands armies: "I will burn your chariots with fire; the sword will devour your young lions; you will no longer prey upon the land; the voices of your messengers will no longer be heard."

Because of the abundance of the fornications of an harlot, The goodness of the grace of the lady of witchcrafts, Who is selling nations by her fornications, And families by her witchcrafts.

I am against you," declares the Lord who commands armies. "I will strip off your clothes! I will show your nakedness to the nations and your shame to the kingdoms;

And it hath come to pass, Each of thy beholders fleeth from thee, And hath said: 'Spoiled is Nineveh, Who doth bemoan for her?' Whence do I seek comforters for thee?

Art thou better than No-amon, who sat among the Nile-streams, waters round about her, - whose fortress was the sea, from the sea, her wall.

And you will be overcome with wine, you will become feeble; you will be looking for a safe place from those who are fighting against you.

See, the people who are in you are women; the doorways of your land are wide open to your attackers: the locks of your doors have been burned away in the fire.

There is no weakening of thy destruction, Grievous is thy smiting, All hearing thy fame have clapped the hand at thee, For over whom did not thy wickedness pass continually?

Wherefore shouldst thou let me see iniquity, and, wrong, shouldst let me behold, and, force and violence, be straight before me, - and there should have ever been someone who, contention and strife, would uphold?

For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth to possess dwelling-places that are not theirs.

They make fun of kings, deriding those who rule. They laugh at all of the fortified places, constructing ramps to seize them.

They sweep by like the wind and pass on. But the one who considers himself a god will be held guilty."

Thou who are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and who cannot look on perverseness, why do thou look upon those who deal treacherously, and hold thy peace when the wicked man swallows up the man who is more righteous than he,

And Jehovah answereth me and saith: 'Write a vision, and explain on the tables, That he may run who is reading it.

Lo! as for the conceited one, crooked is his soul within him,- but, one who is righteous, by his faithfulness, shall live.

And also, because the wine is treacherous, A man is haughty, and remaineth not at home, Who hath enlarged as sheol his soul, And is as death that is not satisfied, And doth gather unto itself all the nations, And doth assemble unto itself all the peoples,

Do not these -- all of them -- against him a simile taken up, And a moral of acute sayings for him, And say, Woe to him who is multiplying what is not his? Till when also is he multiplying to himself heavy pledges?

Will not thy creditors, suddenly rise up? and they who shall violently shake thee, all at once become active? Then shalt thou serve for booties, unto them!

Because thou have plundered many nations, all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder thee, because of men's blood, and for the violence done to the land, to the city and to all who dwell therein.

Woe to him who is gaining evil gain for his house, To set on high his nest, To be delivered from the hand of evil,

Woe to him who is building a city by blood, And establishing a city by iniquity.

Be sure of this! The Lord who commands armies has decreed: The nations' efforts will go up in smoke; their exhausting work will be for nothing.

Woe to him who is giving drink to his neighbour, Pouring out thy bottle, and also making drunk, In order to look on their nakedness.

For the violence done to Lebanon shall cover thee and the plunder of the beasts ([which] made them afraid), because of men's blood, and for the violence done to the land, to the city and to all who dwell therein.

What help then will the Image do, whom the workman hath fashioned? Or the vain cast Image, wherein because the craftsmen putteth his trust, therefore maketh he dumb Idols?

Woe to him who is saying to wood, 'Awake,' 'Stir up,' to a dumb stone, It a teacher! lo, it is overlaid -- gold and silver, And there is no spirit in its midst.

But the LORD in his holy temple is he, whom all the world should fear.

You went out for the salvation of your people, for the salvation of the one on whom your holy oil was put; wounding the head of the family of the evil-doer, uncovering the base even to the neck. Selah.

You pierced the head of his warriors with his own arrows; they came like a whirlwind to scatter me, their exultation like [one who] devours the afflicted in ambush.

I heard, and my body trembled. My lips quivered at the voice. Rottenness enters into my bones, and I tremble in my place, because I must wait quietly for the day of trouble, for the coming up of the people who invade us.

as for me, I will rejoice in the LORD. I will find my joy in the God who delivers me.

I will take away man and beast, I will take away the bird of the heavens and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks, even them who are lawless, - and will cut off mankind, from off the face of the ground, Declareth Yahweh.

"I will attack Judah and all who live in Jerusalem. I will remove from this place every trace of Baal worship, as well as the very memory of the pagan priests.

and those who worship the host of heaven upon the housetops, and those who worship, who swear to LORD and swear by Malcam,

And those removing from after Jehovah, And who have not sought Jehovah, nor besought Him.

Remain silent in the presence of the Lord GOD, because the Day of the LORD approaches, and because the LORD has prepared a sacrifice for those whom he has invited to be consecrated.

And it will come about in the day of the Lord's offering, that I will send punishment on the rulers and the king's sons and all who are clothed in robes from strange lands.

And I have laid a charge on every one Who is leaping over the threshold in that day, Who are filling the house of their masters With violence and deceit.

Wail, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the people of Canaan are undone. All those who were laden with silver are cut off.

And it hath come to pass, at that time, I search Jerusalem with lights, And I have laid a charge on the men Who are hardened on their preserved things, Who are saying in their heart: Jehovah doth no good, nor doth He evil.

And I will bring distress to mankind, and they shall walk like them who are blind, because, against Yahweh, have they sinned, - and their blood, shall be poured out, as dust, and their bowels like dung.

Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of LORD's wrath, but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy. For he will make an end, yea, a terrible end, of all those who dwell in

Seek Jehovah, all ye humble of the land, Who His judgment have done, Seek ye righteousness, seek humility, It may be ye are hidden in a day of the anger of Jehovah.

Woe to those who live along the coast, the people of Philistia! This message from the LORD is being spoken against you, Canaan, land of the Philistines: "I'll destroy you until no one lives there!'

Those who are left from the kingdom of Judah will take possession of it. By the sea they will graze, in the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down in the evening, for the Lord their God will intervene for them and restore their prosperity.

I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the sons of Ammon, - who have reproached my people, and have magnified themselves up to their bounds.

Therefore as I'm alive and living," declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, "Moab will surely become like Sodom, and the Ammonites like Gomorrah, a place overrun by weeds and salty marshes, unpopulated forever. The survivors of my people will confiscate their property, and those who remain of my nation will inherit what was theirs.

This is how they will be repaid for their arrogance, for they taunted and verbally harassed the people of the Lord who commands armies.

This is the joyous city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none besides me. How she has become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! Everyone who passes by her shall hiss, and wag his hand.

Woe to her who is rebellious and polluted, to the oppressing city!

Her princes are as fierce as roaring lions; her rulers are as hungry as wolves in the desert, who completely devour their prey by morning.

The righteous Lord is in her;
He does no wrong.
He applies His justice morning by morning;
He does not fail at dawn,
yet the one who does wrong knows no shame.

Such as I have subdued, and my children also whom I have scattered abroad, shall bring me presents beyond the waters of Ethiopia.

In that day thou shall not be put to shame for all thy doings, in which thou have transgressed against me. For then I will take away out of the midst of thee those who rejoice in thy pride, and thou shall no more be haughty in my h

So will I leave remaining in thy midst, a people oppressed and poor, - who will seek refuge in the name of Yahweh:

The Israelites who remain will not act deceitfully. They will not lie, and a deceitful tongue will not be found in their mouth. Indeed, they will graze peacefully like sheep and lie down; no one will terrify them."

The Lord has taken away those who were judging you, he has sent your haters far away: the King of Israel, even the Lord, is among you: you will have no more fear of evil.

LORD thy God is in the midst of thee, a mighty one who will save. He will rejoice over thee with joy. He will rest in his love. He will joy over thee with singing.

I will gather them that sorrow for the solemn assemblies, who were of thee: the reproach of it was a burden unto them.

Behold, at that time I will deal with all those who afflict thee. And I will save that which is lame, and gather that which was driven away, and I will make them a praise and a name, whose shame has been in all the earth.

The Lord who rules over all says this: "These people have said, 'The time for rebuilding the Lord's temple has not yet come.'"

Here then is what the Lord who rules over all says: 'Think carefully about what you are doing.

Ye have sown much, and brought in little, To eat, and not to satiety, To drink, and not to drunkenness, To clothe, and none hath heat, And he who is hiring himself out, Is hiring himself for a bag pierced through.

"Moreover, the Lord who rules over all says: 'Pay close attention to these things also.

You expected a large harvest, but instead there was little, and when you brought it home it disappeared right away. Why?' asks the Lord who rules over all. 'Because my temple remains in ruins, thanks to each of you favoring his own house!

Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, along with the whole remnant of the people, obeyed the Lord their God. They responded favorably to the message of the prophet Haggai, who spoke just as the Lord their God had instructed him, and the people began to respect the Lord.

Then Haggai, whom the Lord had sent to give his words to the people, said, I am with you, says the Lord.

So the Lord energized and encouraged Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, and the whole remnant of the people. They came and worked on the temple of their God, the Lord who rules over all.

Who among you hath been left that saw this house in its former honour? And what are ye seeing it now? Is it not, compared with it, as nothing in your eyes?

Even so, take heart, Zerubbabel,' says the Lord. 'Take heart, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you citizens of the land,' says the Lord, 'and begin to work. For I am with you,' says the Lord who rules over all.

with the Word who cut a covenant with you when you came out of Egypt, and My Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.

Moreover, the Lord who rules over all says: 'In just a little while I will once again shake the sky and the earth, the sea and the dry ground.

I will also shake up all the nations, and they will offer their treasures; then I will fill this temple with glory,' says the Lord who rules over all.

The silver and gold will be mine,' says the Lord who rules over all.

The future splendor of this temple will be greater than that of former times,' the Lord who rules over all declares, 'and in this place I will give peace.'"

"The Lord who rules over all says, 'Ask the priests about the law.

Then Haggai said, If a man who is unclean because of a dead body touches any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean.

Then Haggai answered, “‘So is this people. And so is this nation before Me,’ declares the Lord, ‘and so is every work of their hands; and what they offer there [on the altar] is unclean [because they who offer it are unclean].

Who were ye coming to the heap of twenty and it was ten? coming to the wine-vat to draw fifty of the wine-press, and there was twenty?

And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations. And I will overthrow the chariots, and those who ride in them. And the horses and their riders shall come down, each one b

On that day,' says the Lord who rules over all, 'I will take you, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, my servant,' says the Lord, 'and I will make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you,' says the Lord who rules over all."

Therefore say to the people: The Lord who rules over all says, "Turn to me," says the Lord who rules over all, "and I will turn to you," says the Lord who rules over all.