The LORD's Controversy with Israel

61 Hear, I pray you, that which Jehovah is saying: 'Rise—strive thou with the mountains, And cause thou the hills to hear thy voice.' 2 Hear, O mountains, the strife of Jehovah, Ye strong ones—foundations of earth! For a strife 'is' to Jehovah, with His people, And with Israel He doth reason. 3 O My people, what have I done to thee? And what—have I wearied thee? Testify against Me. 4 For I brought thee up from the land of Egypt, And from the house of servants I have ransomed thee, And I send before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. 5 O My people, remember, I pray you, What counsel did Balak king of Moab, What answer him did Balaam son of Beor, (From Shittim unto Gilgal,) In order to know the righteous acts of Jehovah.'

What the LORD Requires

6 With what do I come before Jehovah? Do I bow to God Most High? Do I come before Him with burnt-offerings? With calves—sons of a year? 7 Is Jehovah pleased with thousands of rams? With myriads of streams of oil? Do I give my first-born 'for' my transgression? The fruit of my body 'for' the sin of my soul? 8 He hath declared to thee, O man, what 'is' good; Yea, what is Jehovah requiring of thee, Except—to do judgment, and love kindness, And lowly to walk with thy God?

9 A voice of Jehovah to the city calleth, And wisdom doth fear Thy name, Hear ye the rod, and Him who appointed it. 10 Are there yet 'in' the house of the wicked Treasures of wickedness, And the abhorred scanty ephah? 11 Do I reckon 'it' pure with balances of wickedness? And with a bag of deceitful stones? 12 Whose rich ones have been full of violence, And its inhabitants have spoken falsehood, And their tongue 'is' deceitful in their mouth. 13 And I also, I have begun to smite thee, To make desolate, because of thy sins. 14 Thou—thou eatest, and thou art not satisfied, And thy pit 'is' in thy midst, And thou removest, and dost not deliver, And that which thou deliverest, to a sword I give. 15 Thou—thou sowest, and thou dost not reap, Thou—thou treadest the olive, And thou pourest not out oil, And new wine—and thou drinkest not wine. 16 And kept habitually are the statutes of Omri, And all the work of the house of Ahab, And ye do walk in their counsels, For My giving thee for a desolation, And its inhabitants for a hissing, And the reproach of My people ye do bear!

Israel's Moral Corruption

71 My wo 'is' to me, for I have been As gatherings of summer-fruit, As gleanings of harvest, There is no cluster to eat, The first-ripe fruit desired hath my soul. 2 Perished hath the kind out of the land, And upright among men—there are none, All of them for blood lie in wait, Each his brother they hunt 'with' a net. 3 On the evil 'are' both hands to do 'it' well, The prince is asking—also the judge—for recompence, And the great—he is speaking the mischief of his soul, And they wrap it up. 4 Their best one 'is' as a brier, The upright one—than a thorn-hedge, The day of thy watchmen—Thy visitation—hath come. Now is their perplexity. 5 Believe not in a friend, trust not in a leader, From her who is lying in thy bosom keep the openings of thy mouth. 6 For a son is dishonouring a father, A daughter hath stood against her mother, A daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, The enemies of each 'are' the men of his house.

7 And I—in Jehovah I do watch, I do wait for the God of my salvation, Hear me doth my God.

The LORD Brings Light and Deliverance

8 Thou dost not rejoice over me, O mine enemy, When I have fallen, I have risen, When I sit in darkness Jehovah is a light to me. 9 The indignation of Jehovah I do bear, For I have sinned against Him, Till that He doth plead my cause, And hath executed my judgment, He doth bring me forth to the light, I look on His righteousness. 10 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. 11 The day to build thy walls! That day—removed is the limit. 12 That day—even unto thee it doth come in, From Asshur and the cities of the fortress, And from the fortress even unto the river, And from sea to sea, and mount to mount. 13 And the land hath been for a desolation, Because of its inhabitants, Because of the fruit of their doings.

The LORD's Compassion on Israel

14 Rule Thou Thy people with Thy rod, The flock of Thine inheritance, Dwelling alone 'in' a forest in the midst of Carmel, They enjoy Bashan and Gilead as in days of old. 15 According to the days of thy coming forth out of the land of Egypt, I do shew it wonderful things. 16 See do nations, and they are ashamed of all their might, They lay a hand on the mouth, their ears are deaf. 17 They lick dust as a serpent, as fearful things of earth, They tremble from their enclosures, Of Jehovah our God they are afraid, Yea, they are afraid of Thee. 18 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. 19 He doth turn back, He pitieth us, He doth subdue our iniquities, And Thou castest into the depths of the sea all their sins. 20 Thou givest truth to Jacob, kindness to Abraham, That thou hast sworn to our fathers, from the days of antiquity!

The Two Beasts

131 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and I saw out of the sea a beast coming up, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon its horns ten diadems, and upon its heads a name of evil speaking, 2 and the beast that I saw was like to a leopard, and its feet as of a bear, and its mouth as the mouth of a lion, and the dragon did give to it his power, and his throne, and great authority. 3 And I saw one of its heads as slain to death, and its deadly stroke was healed, and all the earth did wonder after the beast, 4 and they did bow before the dragon who did give authority to the beast, and they did bow before the beast, saying, 'Who 'is' like to the beast? who is able to war with it?' 5 And there was given to it a mouth speaking great things, and evil-speakings, and there was given to it authority to make war forty-two months, 6 and it did open its mouth for evil-speaking toward God, to speak evil of His name, and of His tabernacle, and of those who in the heaven tabernacle, 7 and there was given to it to make war with the saints, and to overcome them, and there was given to it authority over every tribe, and tongue, and nation. 8 And bow before it shall all who are dwelling upon the land, whose names have not been written in the scroll of the life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world; 9 if any one hath an ear—let him hear: 10 if any one a captivity doth gather, into captivity he doth go away; if any one by sword doth kill, it behoveth him by sword to be killed; here is the endurance and the faith of the saints.

11 And I saw another beast coming up out of the land, and it had two horns, like a lamb, and it was speaking as a dragon, 12 and all the authority of the first beast doth it do before it, and it maketh the land and those dwelling in it that they shall bow before the first beast, whose deadly stroke was healed, 13 and it doth great signs, that fire also it may make to come down from the heaven to the earth before men, 14 and it leadeth astray those dwelling on the land, because of the signs that were given it to do before the beast, saying to those dwelling upon the land to make an image to the beast that hath the stroke of the sword and did live, 15 and there was given to it to give a spirit to the image of the beast, that also the image of the beast may speak, and 'that' it may cause as many as shall not bow before the image of the beast, that they may be killed. 16 And it maketh all, the small, and the great, and the rich, and the poor, and the freemen, and the servants, that it may give to them a mark upon their right hand or upon their foreheads, 17 and that no one may be able to buy, or to sell, except he who is having the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 18 Here is the wisdom! He who is having the understanding, let him count the number of the beast, for the number of a man it is, and its number 'is' 666.