16
2 Gird up yourselves with cloths of sack and hair, bewail your children, and be sorry; for your destruction
is at hand.
6 May any man drive away an hungry lion in the wood? or may any one quench the fire in stubble, when it
hath begun to burn?
12 The earth quaketh, and the foundations thereof; the sea ariseth up with waves from the deep, and the
waves of it are troubled, and the fishes thereof also, before the Lord, and before the glory of his power:
13 For strong is his right hand that bendeth the bow, his arrows that he shooteth are sharp, and shall not
miss, when they begin to be shot into the ends of the world.
16 Like as an arrow which is shot of a mighty archer returneth not backward: even so the plagues that shall
be sent upon earth shall not return again.
18 The beginning of sorrows and great mournings; the beginning of famine and great death; the beginning
of wars, and the powers shall stand in fear; the beginning of evils! what shall I do when these evils
shall come?
20 But for all these things they shall not turn from their wickedness, nor be always mindful of the scourges.
21 Behold, victuals shall be so good cheap upon earth, that they shall think themselves to be in good case,
and even then shall evils grow upon earth, sword, famine, and great confusion.
22 For many of them that dwell upon earth shall perish of famine; and the other, that escape the hunger,
shall the sword destroy.
23 And the dead shall be cast out as dung, and there shall be no man to comfort them: for the earth shall
be wasted, and the cities shall be cast down.
28 For of a city there shall be ten left, and two of the field, which shall hide themselves in the thick
groves, and in the clefts of the rocks.
30 Or as when a vineyard is gathered, there are left some clusters of them that diligently seek through
the vineyard:
31 Even so in those days there shall be three or four left by them that search their houses with the sword.
32 And the earth shall be laid waste, and the fields thereof shall wax old, and her ways and all her paths
shall grow full of thorns, because no man shall travel therethrough.
33 The virgins shall mourn, having no bridegrooms; the women shall mourn, having no husbands; their daughters
shall mourn, having no helpers.
38 As when a woman with child in the ninth month bringeth forth her son, with two or three hours of her
birth great pains compass her womb, which pains, when the child cometh forth, they slack not a moment:
39 Even so shall not the plagues be slack to come upon the earth, and the world shall mourn, and sorrows
shall come upon it on every side.
40 O my people, hear my word: make you ready to thy battle, and in those evils be even as pilgrims upon
the earth.
42 He that occupieth merchandise, as he that hath no profit by it: and he that buildeth, as he that shall
not dwell therein:
43 He that soweth, as if he should not reap: so also he that planteth the vineyard, as he that shall not
gather the grapes:
46 For strangers shall reap their fruits, and spoil their goods, overthrow their houses, and take their
children captives, for in captivity and famine shall they get children.
47 And they that occupy their merchandise with robbery, the more they deck their cities, their houses, their
possessions, and their own persons:
50 So shall righteousness hate iniquity, when she decketh herself, and shall accuse her to her face, when
he cometh that shall defend him that diligently searcheth out every sin upon earth.
52 For yet a little, and iniquity shall be taken away out of the earth, and righteousness shall reign among
you.
53 Let not the sinner say that he hath not sinned: for God shall burn coals of fire upon his head, which
saith before the Lord God and his glory, I have not sinned.
54 Behold, the Lord knoweth all the works of men, their imaginations, their thoughts, and their hearts:
55 Which spake but the word, Let the earth be made; and it was made: Let the heaven be made; and it was
created.
57 He searcheth the deep, and the treasures thereof; he hath measured the sea, and what it containeth.
58 He hath shut the sea in the midst of the waters, and with his word hath he hanged the earth upon the
waters.
60 In the desert hath he made springs of water, and pools upon the tops of the mountains, that the floods
might pour down from the high rocks to water the earth.
61 He made man, and put his heart in the midst of the body, and gave him breath, life, and understanding.
62 Yea and the Spirit of Almighty God, which made all things, and searcheth out all hidden things in the
secrets of the earth,
63 Surely he knoweth your inventions, and what ye think in your hearts, even them that sin, and would hide
their sin.
65 And when your sins are brought forth, ye shall be ashamed before men, and your own sins shall be your
accusers in that day.
67 Behold, God himself is the judge, fear him: leave off from your sins, and forget your iniquities, to
meddle no more with them for ever: so shall God lead you forth, and deliver you from all trouble.
68 For, behold, the burning wrath of a great multitude is kindled over you, and they shall take away certain
of you, and feed you, being idle, with things offered unto idols.
69 And they that consent unto them shall be had in derision and in reproach, and trodden under foot.
70 For there shall be in every place, and in the next cities, a great insurrection upon those that fear
the Lord.
71 They shall be like mad men, sparing none, but still spoiling and destroying those that fear the Lord.
74 Hear, O ye my beloved, saith the Lord: behold, the days of trouble are at hand, but I will deliver you
from the same.
76 And the guide of them who keep my commandments and precepts, saith the Lord God: let not your sins weigh
you down, and let not your iniquities lift up themselves.