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And offerings unto Meni bear,
You will I number to the foe,

And to destruction shall

ye bow.
Because I called, ye came not near;
I spake to you, ye would not hear;
But ye did evil in my sight,

And chose what was not my delight;
Therefore my servants shall be fed,
But

ye shall faint for lack of bread;
I to my servants drink will give,
But nothing shall your thirst relieve;
My servants shall be filled with gladness,
But ye shall sink in utter sadness;
And they for joy of heart shall shout,
for sorrow shall cry out;

But

ye

And ye shall weep for grief and shame;
Ye for a curse shall leave your name;
Jehovah shall destroy you all,

And by another name his servants call.

Behold, whoever on the earth shall bless
Shall in the God of truth blessing express;
And whosoever shall a vow proclaim,
He shall declare it in the same Great Name.
The former provocations shall not rise,
For they are hidden from before my eyes.
New heavens and a new earth do I create,
Nor will I call to mind their former state;
But in the coming age shall ye rejoice

G

For Sion's sake, the object of my choice.
Lo, I create her as a source of joy;
Praise and thanksgiving shall your tongues employ,
And never shall be heard therein again
The voice of weeping, or the cry of pain.

On a dead infant ye no more shall gaze,
Nor an old man who hath not filled his days:
A century the age of youth shall seem;
This shortened term a curse ye shall esteem.
They shall build houses, and inhabit there;

They shall plant vines, and eat the fruit they bear:
For they no more shall build for strangers' hands,
They shall not plant to feed oppressors' bands.
My people's days shall number like a tree,
And their own works they shall rejoice to see;
No more in vain their labours shall they trace,
Nor shall they generate a short-lived race;
For they shall be esteemed a blessed seed,
They, and the offspring who from them proceed:
For I will answer them before they call,

While yet they speak-I shall have heard it all.
The wolf and lamb together shall be led,
The lion like the ox on herbage fed,

But dust shall be the crawling serpent's bread:
Nor shall they hurt amid the blessed place
Where I Jehovah have bestowed my grace.

1

CHAPTER LXVI.

THUS saith Jehovah, Heaven is my throne,
Earth is my footstool. Raise ye stone on stone,
To build a house to be by me possessed?

Where will ye fix this chosen place of rest?

Lo, these are all the framing of my hand,

And all these things are mine, which I have planned; Yet to the humble will I help afford,

The contrite one, who trembleth at my word.

He that a bullock slayed
Hath human offerings made;
The hands a lamb that led
Have severed a dog's head;
Who maketh an oblation
Hath poured abomination;

He who hath incense brought

Hath senseless idols sought.

Yea, they themselves have chosen their own ways, And in abominations take delight;

I too will choose the evils I will raise,

And what they dread will bring before their sight: For when I called, no answer would arise;

And when I spake, they would not hear my voice; They have committed evil in my eyes,

And that which I abhorred have made their choice.

Hear ye the Lord,

Ye that revere his word;

Say to your brethren, those who bear you hate,
Who for my sake would thrust you from your state,
The Lord shall come, and glorify his name,
Come, to your joy, but to their lasting shame.

Hark to those tumultuous cries

That from the city and the temple rise!
The Lord of Hosts requites his enemies.

All unexpected, she beheld her child;
Unlooked for, lo, her new-born infant smiled:
When have such things been ?

Who the like hath seen?

Say, is a country born within a day?

And will a moment's space a host display?
Yet, behold Sion's sons in bright array !
Shall he who called them forth,

Thy God, restrain their birth?
All ye that love Jerusalem, rejoice;

On her account lift up on high your voice:

Rejoice all ye that mourn,
Your grief to gladness turn,
That from her breast's consoling tide
Ye may be fully satisfied,

And that the nourishment may pour
Freely from her abundant store.

Thus saith Jehovah:

Lo, her prosperity do I spread over;

Like an o'erflowing river shall it seem;

The nation's wealth pour like a mighty stream:
Ye shall be nurtured freely at the breast,
To the supporting side shall ye be pressed,
And ye upon the knees shall fondly rest;
And as a mother comfort doth bestow,
So will I comfort show,

And from Jerusalem shall consolation flow.
This shall ye see, it shall rejoice your heart,
And it shall vigour to your bones impart:
Jehovah's hand for these shall be displayed,
His anger shall upon his foes be laid;

In flames of fire he manifests his wrath,

His chariot as the whirlwind rusheth forth,

And his fierce judgments o'er the earth shall reign;
He shall full vengeance by his sword obtain,
And by Jehovah's arm the many shall be slain.

For those who seek purification,
And mid their groves delight

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