O hear this, ye rulers of the house of Jacob, and ye judges of the house of Israel: ye that abhor the thing that is lawful, and wrest aside the thing that is straight;

Ye that build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with doing wrong.

O ye judges, ye give sentence for gifts; O ye priests, ye teach for lucre; O ye prophets, ye prophesy for money. Yet will they be taken as those that hold upon God, and say, "Is not the LORD among us? Tush, there can no misfortune happen us."

But in the latter days it will come to pass, that the hill of the LORD's house shall be set up higher than any mountains or hills: Yea, the people shall flow unto it,

and the multitude of the Gentiles shall haste them thither, saying, "Come, let us go up to the hill of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob: that he may teach us his way, and that we may walk in his paths." For the law shall come out of Zion, and the word of God from Jerusalem;

And shall give sentence among the multitude of the Heathen and reform the people of far countries: so that of their swords they shall make plowshares, and scythes of their spears. One people shall not lift up a sword against another, yea they shall no more learn to fight.

Why then art thou now so heavy? Is there no king in thee? Are thy counselors away that thou art so pained, as a woman in her travail?

Now also are there many people gathered together against thee, saying that Zion is cursed: "We shall see our lust upon her."

But they know not the thoughts of the LORD; they understand not his counsel, that shall gather them together as the sheaves in the barn.

Therefore get thee up, O thou daughter Zion, and thresh out the corn. For I will make thy horn iron. and thy claws brass, that thou mayest grind many people: their goods shalt thou appropriate unto the LORD, and their substance unto the ruler of the whole world.

After that shalt thou be robbed thyself, O thou robber's daughter: they shall lay siege against us, and smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.

In the meanwhile he plagueth them for a season, until the time that she which shall bear have born: then shall the remnant of his brethren be converted unto the children of Israel.

Then shall there be peace, so that the Assyrian may come into our land, and tread in our houses. We shall bring up seven shepherds and eight princes upon them:

And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the multitude of people, as the dew of the LORD, and as the drops upon the grass, that tarrieth for no man, and waiteth of nobody.

Yea, the residue of Jacob shall be among the gentiles and the multitude of people, as the lion among the beasts of the wood, and as the Lion's whelps among a flock of sheep: which, when he goeth through, treadeth down, teareth in pieces, and there is no man that can help.

The time shall come also, sayeth the LORD, that I will take thine horses from thee, and destroy thy chariots.

Thine Idols and thine Images will I destroy out of thee so that thou shalt no more bow thyself unto the works of thine own hands.

Thus will I be avenged also, upon all the Heathen that will not hear.

Remember, O my people, what Balak the king of Moab had imagined against thee, and what answer that Balaam the son of Beor gave him, from Shittim unto Gilgal, that ye may know the loving-kindness of the LORD.

The LORD's voice crieth unto the city, and the man that shall be saved considereth thy name, O LORD. Hear and that thy name may be righteousness. Hear, O ye tribes: who would else give you such warning?

among those that be full of riches unrighteously gotten: where the citizens deal with falsity, speak lies, and have deceitful tongues in their mouths?

Thou salt eat, and not have enough: yea, thou shalt bring thyself down. Thou shalt flee, but not escape: and those that thou wouldest save, will I deliver to the sword.

Woe is me! I am become as one that goeth a gleaning in the harvest. There are no more grapes to eat, yet would I fain, with all my heart, have of the best fruit.

yet they say they do well when they do evil. As the prince will, so sayeth the judge: that he may do him a pleasure again. The great man speaketh what his heart desireth; and the hearers allow him.

The best of them is but as a thistle, and the most righteous of them is but as a brier in the hedge. But when the day of thy preachers cometh, that thou shalt be visited: then shall they be wasted away.

Let no man believe his friend, nor put his confidence in a prince. Keep the door of thy mouth, from her that lieth in thy bosom:

I will bear the punishment of the LORD - For why? I have offended him - till he sit in judgment upon my cause, and see that I have right. He will bring me forth to the light, and I shall see his righteousness.

She that is mine enemy shall look upon it, and be confounded, which now sayeth, "Where is thy LORD God?" Mine eyes shall behold her, when she shall be trodden down, as the clay in the streets.

The time will come, that thy gaps shall be made up, and the law shall go abroad:

and at that time shall they come unto thee, from Assyria unto the strong cities, and from the strong cities unto the river: from the one sea to the other, from the one mountain to the other.

Notwithstanding, the land must be wasted, because of them that dwell therein, and for the fruits of their own Imaginations.

Therefore feed thy people with thy rod; the flock of thine heritage which dwell desolate in the wood: that they may be fed upon the mount of Carmel, Bashan and Gilead as afore time.

This shall the Heathen see, and be ashamed for all their power: so that they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, and stop their ears.

They shall lick the dust like a serpent, as the worms of the earth, that tremble in their holes. They shall be afraid of the LORD our God, and they shall fear thee.

Where is there such a God as thou? That pardonest wickedness, and forgivest the offenses of the remnant of thine heritage? He keepeth not his wrath for ever. And why? His delight is to have compassion.

The LORD suffereth long, he is of great power, and so innocent that he leaveth no man faultless before him. The LORD goeth forth in tempest and stormy weather; the clouds are the dust of his feet.

The mountains tremble for him, the hills consume. At the sight of him the earth quaketh: yea, the whole world, and all that dwell therein.

Full gracious is the LORD, and a stronghold in time of trouble. He knoweth them that put their trust in him:

For like as the thorns that stick together, and as the dry straw, so shall the drunkards be consumed together, even when they be full.

But the LORD hath given a commandment concerning thee, that there shall come no more seed of thy name. The carved and casten Images will I root out of the house of thy God. Thy grave shall I prepare for thee, and thou shalt be confounded.

Behold, upon the mountains come the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, and preacheth peace. O Judah, keep thy holidays, perform thy promises: for Belial shall come no more in thee, he is utterly rooted out.

Thus must she be spoiled, emptied and clean stripped out: that their hearts may be melted away, their knees tremble, all their loins be weak, and their faces black as a pot.

But the lion spoiled enough for his young ones, and devoured for his lioness: he filled his dens with his prey, and his dwelling place with that he had ravished.

Behold, I will upon thee, sayeth the LORD of Hosts, and will set fire upon thy chariots that they shall smoke withal, and the sword shall devour thy young lions. I will make an end of thy spoiling from out of the earth, and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard.

Woe to that bloodthirsty city, which is all full of lies and robbery, and will not leave off from ravishing.

And that for the great and manifold whoredom of the fair and beautiful harlot: which is a mistress of witchcraft, yea and selleth the people through her whoredom, and the nations through her witchcraft.

Behold, I will upon thee, sayeth the LORD of Hosts, and will pull thy clothes over thy head: that I may show thy nakedness among the Heathen, and thy shame among the kingdoms.

Yea, all they that look upon thee shall start back, and say, "Nineveh is destroyed!" Who will have pity upon thee? Where shall I seek one to comfort thee?

Art thou better than the great city of Alexandria: that lay in the waters, and had the waters round about it? Which was strongly fenced and walled with the sea?

Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and that exceedingly great above measure. Put and Libya were her helpers,

Thy wound cannot be hid, thy plague is so sore. All they that hear this of thee, shall clap their hands over thee. For what is he, to whom thou hast not always been doing hurt?

for the law is torn in pieces, and there can no right judgment go forth. And why? The ungodly is more set by than the righteous: this is the cause that wrong judgment proceedeth.

For lo, I will raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and swift people: which shall go as wide as the land is, to take possession of dwelling places that be not their own.

Their horses are swifter than the cats of the mountain, and bite sorer than the wolves in the evening. Their horsemen come by great heaps from far, they flee hastily to devour as the Eagle.

Then shall they take a fresh courage unto them, to go forth and do more evil, and so ascribe that power unto their God.

Thine eyes are clean, thou mayest not see evil, thou cannot behold the thing that is wicked. Wherefore then doest thou look upon the ungodly, and holdest thy tongue, when the wicked devoureth the man that is better than himself?

Thou makest men as the fish in the sea, and like as the creeping beasts, that have no guide.

Therefore offer they unto their net, and do sacrifice unto their yarn: because that through it their portions is become so fat, and their meat so plenteous.

I stood upon my watch, and set me upon my bulwark, to look and see what he would say unto me, and what answer I should give him that reproveth me.

But the LORD answered me, and said, "Write the vision plainly upon thy tables, that whoso cometh by, may read it:

But shall not all these take up a proverb against him, and mock him with a byword, and say, "Woe unto him that heapeth up other men's goods: How long will he lade himself with thick clay?"

O how suddenly will they stand up, that shall bite thee, and awake, that shall tear thee in pieces? Yea, thou shalt be their prey.

Seeing thou hast spoiled many Heathen, therefore shall the remnant of the people spoil thee: because of men's blood, and for the wrong done in the land, in the city and unto all them that dwell therein.

Woe unto him, that covetously gathereth evil gotten goods into his house: that he may set his nest on high, to escape from the power of misfortune.

so that the very stones of the wall shall cry out of it, and the timber that lieth betwixt the joints of the building shall answer.

Woe unto him, that buildeth the town with blood, and maintaineth the city with unrighteousness.

Shall not the LORD of Hosts bring this to pass, that the laborers of the people shall be burnt with a great fire, and that the thing whereupon the people have wearied themselves, shall be lost?

For the earth shall be full of knowledge of the LORD's honour, like as the waters that cover the sea.

Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, to get him wrathful displeasure for his drunkenness: that he may see his privities.

For the wrong that thou hast done in Lebanon shall overwhelm thee, and the wild beasts shall make thee afraid: because of men's blood, and for the wrong done in the land, in the city, and to all such as dwell therein.

Woe unto him, that sayeth unto a piece of wood, "Arise," and to a dumb stone, "Stand up." For what instruction may such one give? Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath in it.

I saw, that the pavilions of the Ethiopians and the tents of the land of Midian were vexed for weariness.

When I hear this, my body is vexed, my lips tremble at the voice thereof, my bones corrupt, I am afraid where I stand. O that I might rest in the day of trouble, that I might go up unto our people, which are already prepared.

In the same day also will I visit all those that tread over the threshold so proudly, which fill their lords' house with robbery and falsity.

Howl, ye that dwell in the mill! For all the merchant people are gone, and all they that were laden with silver, are rooted out.

At the same time will I seek through Jerusalem with lanterns, and visit them that continue in their dregs, and say in their hearts, "Tush, the LORD will do neither good nor evil."

For that day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and heaviness, a day of utter destruction and misery, a dark and gloomy day, a cloudy and stormy day,

I will bring the people to such vexation, that they shall go about like blind men; because they have sinned against the LORD. Their blood shall be shed as the dust, and their bodies as the mire.

Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in that wrathful day of the LORD, but the whole land shall be consumed through the fire of his jealousy: for he shall soon make clean riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

Before the thing go forth that is concluded; and before the time be passed away as the dust, or the fearful wrath of the LORD come upon you.

Yea, or the day of the LORD's sore displeasure come upon you. Seek the LORD, all ye meek hearted upon earth, ye that work after his judgment: seek righteousness, seek lowliness, that ye may be defended in the wrathful day of the LORD.

Woe unto you that dwell upon the sea coast, ye murderous people: the word of the LORD shall come upon you. O Canaan, thou land of the Philistines, I will destroy thee so that there shall no man dwell in thee any more.

This is the proud and careless city, that said in her heart, "I am, and there is else none." O how is she made so waste, that the beasts lie therein? Whoso goeth by, mocketh her, and pointeth at her with his finger.

But the just LORD that doth no unright, was among them, every morning showing them his law clearly, and ceased not. But the ungodly will not learn to be ashamed.

Therefore will I root out this people, and destroy their towers: yea, and make their streets so void, that no man shall go therein. Their cities shall be broken down, so that no body shall be left, nor dwell there any more.

I said unto them, "O fear me, and be content to be reformed." That their dwelling should not be destroyed, and that there should happen unto them none of these things, wherewith I shall visit them. But nevertheless they stand up early, to follow the filthiness of their own imaginations.

Therefore ye shall wait upon me, sayeth the LORD, until the time that I stand up: for I am determined, to gather the people and to bring the kingdoms together, that I may pour out mine anger, yea all my wrathful displeasure upon them. For all the world shall be consumed with the fire of my jealousy.

And then will I cleanse the lips of the people, that they may every each one call upon the name of the LORD, and serve him with one shoulder.

In that time shalt thou no more be confounded, because of all thy imaginations, wherethrough thou hadst offended me: for I will take away the proud boasters of thine honour from thee, so that thou shalt no more triumph because of my holy hill.

For the LORD hath taken away thy punishment, and turned back thine enemies. The king of Israel, even the LORD himself is with thee: so that thou needest no more to fear any misfortune.

In that time it shall be said unto Jerusalem, "Fear not," and to Zion, "Let not thine hands be slack,

for the LORD thy God is with thee. It is he that hath power to save: he hath a special pleasure in thee, and a marvelous love toward thee: yea he rejoiceth over thee with gladness."

Such as have been in heaviness, will I gather together, and take out of thy congregation: as for the shame and reproof that hath been laid upon thee, it shall be far from thee.

And lo, in that time will I destroy all those that vex thee: I will help the lame, and gather up the cast away: yea, I will get them honour and praise in all lands, where they have been put to shame.

Ye sow much, but ye bring little in; Ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled; ye deck yourselves, but ye are not warm; and he that earneth any wage, putteth it in a broken purse.

get you up to the mountain, fetch wood, and build up the house: that it may be acceptable unto me, and that I may show mine honour, sayeth the LORD.

Ye looked for much, and lo it is come to little: and though ye bring it home, yet do I blow it away. And why so, sayeth the LORD of Hosts? Even because that my house lieth so waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.

I have called for a drought, both upon the land and upon the mountains, upon corn, upon wine, and upon oil, upon everything that the ground bringeth forth, upon men and upon cattle, yea and upon all handy labour."

So the LORD waked up the spirit of Zerubbabel the prince of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jozadak the high priest, and the spirit of the remnant of all the people: that they came and laboured, in the house of the LORD of Hosts their God.

'Who is left among you, that saw this house in her first beauty? But what think ye now by it? Is it not in your eyes, even as though it were nothing?