Woe unto them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria,

Which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came ! Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: Then go down to Gath of the Philistines:

Be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border? Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come

near;

That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, And eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall;

•

That chant to the sound of the viol,

And invent to themselves instruments of music, like David;

That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: But they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.

MICAH.

BUT in the last days it shall come to pass,

That the mountain of the house of the Lord

Shall be established in the top of the mountains,

And it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.

And many nations shall come, and say, Come,

And let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,

And to the house of the God of Jacob;

And he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths:

For the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
And he shall judge among many people,
And rebuke strong nations afar off;

And they shall beat their swords into plough-shares,

And their spears into pruning-hooks:

Nation shall not lift up a sword against nation,

Neither shall they learn war any more.

But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig-tree;

And none shall make them afraid:

For the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it.

For all people will walk every one in the name of his god,

And we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.

In that day, saith the Lord, will I assemble her that halteth,

And I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted;

And I will make her that halted a remnant,

And her that was cast far off a strong nation:

And the Lord shall reign over them in mount Zion
From henceforth, even for ever.

Hear ye, O mountains, the Lord's controversy, . And ye strong foundations of the earth:

For the Lord hath a controversy with his people,
And he will plead with Israel.

O my people, what have I done unto thee?

And wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me.
For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt,

And redeemed thee out of the house of servants;
And I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.

O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted,
And what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal;
That ye may know the righteousness of the Lord.

Wherewith shall I come before the Lord,

And bow myself before the high God?
Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings,
With calves of a year old?

Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
Or with ten thousands of rivers of oil?

Shall I give my first-born for my transgression,
The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He hath showed thee, O man, what is good;
And what doth the Lord require of thee,
But to do justly, and to love mercy,
And to walk humbly with thy God?

NAHUM.

THE Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm,
And the clouds are the dust of his feet.

He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers:

Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth.
The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt,
And the earth is burned at his presence,

Yea, the world, and all that dwell therein.

Who can stand before his indignation?

And who can abide in the fierceness of his anger?

His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him.
The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble;
And he knoweth them that trust in him.

But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof,

And darkness shall pursue his enemies.
Behold upon the mountains the feet of him

That bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace!

O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows:

For the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.

He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face:

Keep the munition, watch the way,

But Nineveh is of old like a pool of water: yet they shall flee away.
Stand, stand, shall they cry; but none shall look back.
Take ye the spoil of silver, take the spoil of gold:

For there is none end of the store and glory out of all the pleasant furniture.
She is empty, and void, and waste:

And the heart melteth, and the knees smite together,

And much pain is in all loins, and the faces of them all gather blackness. Where is the dwelling of the lions, and the feeding-place of the young lions,

Where the lion, even the old lion, walked,

And the lion's whelp, and none made them afraid?
The lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps,

And strangled for his lionesses,

And filled his holes with prey, and his dens with ravin.
Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of hosts,
And I will burn her chariots in the smoke,
And the sword shall devour thy young lions:
And I will cut off thy prey from the earth,
And the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard.

Woo to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery:
The prey departeth not;

The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels,
And of the prancing horses, and of the jumping chariots.

The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear:
And there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcasses.

SOLOMON.

REMEMBER now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;

While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain;

In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,

And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low;

Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in

the way, and the almond-tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:

Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher

be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return

you.

Because I have called, and ye fused;

re

But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall
dwell safely,

And shall be quiet from fear of evil.'

counsel,

And would none of my reproof:
I also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when your fear cometh;
When your fear cometh as desola-
tion,

And your destruction cometh as a
whirlwind;

When distress and anguish cometh
upon you.

Then shall they call upon me,
But I will not answer;

Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
And all her paths are peace.

I have stretched out my hand, and no
man regarded;

She is a tree of life to them that lay
hold upon her:

But ye have set at nought all my And happy is every one that retaineth

her.

Excellence of Wisdom.

Happy is the man that findeth wis-
dom,

And the man that getteth under-
standing.

For the merchandise of it is better
than the merchandise of silver,
And the gain thereof than fine gold.
She is more precious than rubies:
And all the things thou canst desire

are not to be compared unto her.
Length of days is in her right hand;
And in her left hand riches and
honor.

Keep sound wisdom and discretion:
So shall they be life unto thy soul,
And grace to thy neck.

Then shalt thou walk in thy way

They shall seek me early,

But they shall not find me:
For that they hated knowledge,
And did not choose the fear of the And thy foot shall not stumble.

safely,

Lord:

When thou liest down, thou shalt not
be afraid:

They would none of my counsel:
They despised all my reproof.
Therefore shall they eat of the fruit
of their own way,
And be filled with their own devices.
For the turning away of the simple And attend to know understanding.
shall slay them,
For I give you good doctrine,
And the prosperity of fools shall de- Forsake ye not my law.
stroy them.
For I was my father's son,

Yea, thou shalt lie down, and th
sleep shall be sweet.

Hear, ye children, the instruction of a
father,

Tender and only beloved in the sight That shineth more and more unto the of my mother.

perfect day.

He taught me also, and said unto

me,

Let thine heart retain my words:
Keep my commandments, and live.
Get wisdom, get understanding: for-
get it not;
Neither decline from the words of my
mouth.

Love her, and she shall keep thee. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom:

And with all thy getting get understanding.

Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: She shall bring thee to honor, when thou dost embrace her.

Forsake her not; and she shall pre- At the entry of the city,
serve thee:
At the coming in at the doors.
Unto you, O men, I call;
And my voice is to the sons of mau.
O ye simple, understand wisdom:
And, ye fools, be ye of an nnderstand-
ing heart.

Hear; for I will speak of excellent
things;

She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace:

A crown of glory shall she deliver to

thee.

Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings;

And the years of thy life shall be many.
I have taught thee in the way of wis-
dom;

I have led thee in right paths.
When thou goest, thy steps shall not
be straitened;

And when thou runnest, thou shalt not
stumble.

Take fast hold of instruction; let her
not go:

Keep her; for she is thy life.
Enter not into the path of the wicked,
And go not in the way of evil men.
Avoid it, pass not by it,

Turn from it, and pass away.

Call of Wisdom.
Doth not wisdom cry?
And understanding put forth her

voice?

She standeth in the top of high places,
By the way in the places of the paths.
She crieth at the gates,

And the opening of my lips shall be
right things.

For my mouth shall speak truth;
And wickedness is an abomination to
my lips.

All the words of my mouth are in
righteousness;.

There is nothing froward or perverse

But the path of the just is as the shin

in them.

They are all plain to him that understandeth,

And right to them that find knowledge.
Receive my instruction, and not silver;
And knowledge rather than choice
gold.

For wisdom is better than rubies;
And all the things that may be desired
Are not to be compared to it.
I wisdom dwell with prudence,
And find out knowledge of witty in-
ventions.

The fear of the Lord is to hate evil:

For they sleep not, except they have Pride, and arrogancy,

done mischief;

And the evil way, and the froward

And their sleep is taken away, unless mouth, do I hate.

they cause some to fall.

Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom:

For they eat the bread of wickedness, I am understanding; I have strength. And drink the wine of violence.

By me kings reign,

And princes decree justice.