They say concerning them,

Whoever will sacrifice, let him kiss the calves! 3 Therefore shall they be as the morning cloud, And as the early dew, which passeth away;

As chaff driven with a whirlwind from the thrashing-floor,
And as smoke from the chimney.

4 Yet I, Jehovah, have been thy God from the land of Egypt,

And thou hast known no God but me;

Yea, there was no saviour besides me.

5 I cared for thee in the desert,

In the land of great drought.

6 As they were fed, so they were filled;

They were filled, and their heart was lifted up;
Therefore they forgot me.

7 Therefore have I become to them as a lion;
As a leopard I watch for them in the way;

8 I will meet them as a bear bereaved of her whelps, And I will rend the caul of their heart,

And there will I devour them as a lioness;

The wild beast shall tear them.

9 It hath been thy destruction, O Israel,

That against me, against thy help, thou hast rebelled!

10 Where is now thy king?

Let him save thee in all thy cities!

And where thy judges,

In regard to whom thou saidst, Give me a king and princes!

11 I gave thee a king in mine anger,

And I have taken him away in my wrath.

12 The iniquity of Ephraim is treasured up;

His guilt is laid up in store.

13 The pangs of a travailing woman shall come upon him; He is an unwise son,

14

For else would he not tarry long in the place of the breaking forth of children.

I will ransom them from the power of the grave;

I will redeem them from death;

O death, where is thy plague?

O grave, where is thy destruction?

Repentance is hidden from mine eyes.

15

Though he be fruitful among his brethren,

An east wind shall come,

A wind of Jehovah shall come up from the desert,

And his spring shall become dry,

And his fountain shall be dried up,

And the treasure of all his pleasant vessels shall be

spoiled.

16 Samaria shall suffer for her guilt,

For she hath rebelled against her God.

They shall fall by the sword;

Their infants shall be dashed in pieces,

And their women with child shall be ripped up.

XVI.

An exhortation to repentance, and promise of the future favor of God.CH. XIV.

1

RETURN, O Israel, to Jehovah thy God;

For thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.

2 Take with you words,

And return to Jehovah, saying,

"Forgive all our iniquity, and receive us graciously, And we will render to thee the sacrifices of our lips!

3 Assyria shall not help us;

4

We will not ride on horses;

And no more will we say to the work of our hands,
Ye are our Gods!

For from thee the fatherless obtaineth mercy."

"I will heal their rebellion; I will love them freely; For my anger is turned away from them.

5 I will be as the dew to Israel;

He shall blossom as the lily,

And strike his roots like Lebanon.

6 His sprouts shall spread forth,

And his beauty shall be as the olive-tree,
And his fragrance as Lebanon.

7 They that dwell under his shadow
Shall revive as the corn;

They shall shoot forth as the vine;

Their name shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

8 Ephraim shall say, What have I more to do with idols? I will hear him; I will care for him;

9

I will be like a green cypress-tree ;

From me shall thy fruit be found.”

Who is wise, that he may understand these things, Prudent, that he may know them?

For the ways of Jehovah are right,
And the righteous walk in them ;
But in them transgressors stumble.

ISAIAH.

INSCRIPTION.

1 The visions of Isaiah, the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

2

I.

Remonstrance against the depravity of the times.

CH. I. 2-31.

HEAR, O ye heavens, and give ear, O earth! For Jehovah speaketh:

"I have nourished and brought up children,

And they have rebelled against me.

3 The ox knoweth his owner,

4

And the ass his master's crib;

But Israel doth not know;

My people do not consider.”

Ah, sinful nation! a people laden with iniquity!

A race of evil-doers! degenerate children!

They have forsaken Jehovah; they have despised the Holy One of Israel ;

They have gone backward.

5 Where can ye be smitten again,

Since ye renew your rebellion?

The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint;

6 From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no

soundness in it;

It is all bruises, and stripes, and fresh wounds,

Neither pressed, nor bound up, nor softened with oint

ment.

7 Your country is desolate;

Your cities are burnt with fire;

Your ground, strangers devour it before your eyes;

It is become desolate, destroyed by an enemy.

8 And the daughter of Zion is left as a shed in a vineyard, As a hut in a garden of cucumbers,

As a besieged city.

9 Had not Jehovah of hosts left us a small remnant,

10

We had soon become as Sodom;

We had been like to Gomorrah.

Hear ye the word of Jehovah, ye princes of Sodom! Give ear to the instruction of our God, ye people of Go

morrah!

11 What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? saith Jehovah ;

I am satiated with burnt-offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts;

In the blood of bullocks and of lambs and of goats I have

no delight.

12 When ye come to appear before me,

Who hath required this of you, to tread my courts?

13 Bring no more false oblations!

Incense is an abomination to me,

The new moon also, and the sabbath, and the calling of the assembly;

Iniquity and festivals I cannot endure.

14 Your new moons and your feasts my soul hateth ; They are a burden to me;

I am weary of bearing them.

15 When ye spread forth your hands,

I will hide mine eyes from you;

Yea, when ye multiply prayers, I will not hear;
Your hands are full of blood!

16 Wash you; make you clean ;

Put away your evil doings from before mine eyes;

17 Cease to do evil;

Learn to do well;

Seek justice; relieve the oppressed;

Defend the fatherless; plead for the widow !