Commentary on Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah and Nahum John Calvin
JOHN CALVIN
By these words the Prophet means, that such would be the scattering of the whole kingdom, that there would be no hope of restoration; There will then be none to assemble them He had said before that the chiefs or mighty men would be still.
Though it would be needful to go forth to check the progress of their enemies; yet he says, They shall idly lie down: He refers here to their sloth. But the people who ought to be quiet at home, as being weak and feeble, shall be dispersed on the mountains, and no one will be there to gather them It follows ---
Nahum 3:19
19. There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?
19. Non est contractio (vel, cicatrix) fracturae tuae; dolore est plena plaga tua; omnes qui audierint famam tuam (id est, de te) percutient manum super te; quia super quem non transiit malitia tua jugiter?
The Prophet shows here more clearly, that when the empire of Nineveh should be scattered, it would be an incurable evil, that every hope of a remedy would be taken away. Though the wicked cannot escape calamity, yet they harbor false expectations, and think that they can in a short time gather new strength. Hence, in order to take from them this hope, the Prophet says, that there would be no contraction of the fracture 327 And this is a striking similitude; for he compares the ruin of Nineveh to a wound which cannot be seamed and healed. There is then no contraction; some render it, a wrinkle, but improperly. There is then no contraction: and he adds, Thy stroke is full of pain; 328 that is, the pain of thy stroke cannot be allayed. This is one thing, --- that the ruin of Nineveh would be irreparable.
Then he says, Whosoever shall hear the report, shall strike the hand on thy account Many give this rendering, They shall clap the hand over thee, or with the hands; and they think that the singular is put for the plural number. But as in Hebrew to strike the hand is a token of consent, it would not be unsuitable to say, that the Prophet means, that wherever the report of this calamity would be heard, all would express their approbation, ``See, God has at length proved himself to be the just avenger of so much wickedness.'' To strike the hand is said to be done by those who make an agreements or when any one pledges himself for another. 329 As then in giving pledges, and in other compacts, men are said to strike the hand; so also all shall thus give their assent to God's judgment in this case, ``O how rightly is this done! O how justly has God punished these tyrants, these plunderers.'' They will then strike the hand on thy account; that is, ``This thy ruin will be approved;'' as though he said, ``Not only before God art thou, Nineveh, accursed, but also according to the consent of all nations.'' And thus he intimates, that Nineveh would perish
327{{}כהה-{}לשברך{ אין--- No stopping or restraining to thy breach. The word is applied to the restraint put on men's wickedness, 1 Samuel 3:13, and to the checking and restraining of the spread of leprosy, Leviticus 6:28. The breach or breaking was such that there was no stopping of it from becoming entire and complete. The Septuagint gives the meaning---''{ουκ} {εστιν}
{εασις} {τη} {συντριβη} {σου} --- there is no healing to thy breach.'' --- Ed.
328Rather, "grievous is thy stroke." The verb is {,{נחלהfrom ,{}חלהto be languid, and sometimes, to make languid, grievous or afÒictive, and then in Niphal, as here, to be grievous. See the same clause in Jeremiah 10:19. As a noun it is rendered ``grief'' in Isaiah 17:11. --- Ed.
329The phrase here used, {{}כף{, תקעis found in three other places, Psalm 47:1; Proverbs 17:18; 22:26. In the first it is a symptom of joy; and in the two other places, in the sense here mentioned. --- Ed.
MINOR PROPHETS
in the greatest dishonor and disgrace. It sometimes happens that an empire falls, and all bewail the event: but God here declares, that he would not be satisfied with the simple destruction of the city Nineveh without adding to it a public infamy, so that all might acknowledge that it happened through his righteous judgment.
He afterwards adds, For upon whom has not thy wickedness passed continually?
This is a confirmation of the last clause; and this reason will suit both the views which have been given. If we take the striking of the hand for approbation, this reason will be suitable. --- How? For all nations will rejoice at thy destruction, because there is no nation which thou hast not in many ways injured. So also, in token of their joy, all will congratulate themselves, as though they were made free; or they will clap their hands, that is, acknowledge that thou hast been destroyed by the judgment of God, because all had experienced how unjustly and tyrannically thou hast ruled. As then thy wickedness has been like a deluge, and hast nearly consumed all the earth, all will clap or shake their hands at thy ruin.
And he says, continually, to show that God's forbearance had been long exercised.
Hence, also, it appears, that the Assyrians were inexcusable, because, when God indulgently spared them, they did not repent, but pursued their wicked ways for a long course of time. As then to their sinful licentiousness they added perverseness, every excuse was removed. But the Prophet does, at the same time, remind the Israelites, that there was no reason for them to be cast down in their minds, because
God did not immediately execute punishment; for by the word {,}תמידtamid, he insinuates, that God would so suspend for a time his judgment as to Nineveh, that his forbearance and delay might be an evidence of his goodness and mercy. We hence see that the Prophet here opposes the ardor of men, for they immediately grow angry or complain when God delays to execute vengeance on their enemies.
He shows that God has a just reason for not visiting the wicked with immediate punishment; but yet the time will come when it shall appear that they are altogether past recovery, --- the time, I say, will come, when the Lord shall at length put forth his hand and execute his judgment.
Prayer.
Grant, Almighty God, that as we are not able to keep a firm footing in the way of justice and uprightness, --- O grant, that, being governed by thy Spirit, we may restrain ourselves from doing any harm, and thus abstain from all evil deeds, and that we may labor to do good to all, so that we may, by experience, find that all are protected by thee, who so conform themselves to the rule of thy Law, that they take no advantage of the simple, either for the purpose of ruining or of injuring them, but who, being content with their own small portion, know that there is nothing better than to be wholly subject to thee, and to thy guidance: and may we thus live in forbearance and justice towards our neighbors, that we may, at the same time, rely on thy mercy, by which alone we can be defended, and made safe against so many assaults of Satan and of the wicked, until, having at length completed the course of our warfare, we shall come into that blessed rest which has been prepared for us in heaven by Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
End of the Commentaries on Nahum.
Historical Scripture
Translations
Translation: Joel 1
Chapter 1
1 The word of Jehovah which came to Joel, the son of Pethuel.
2 Hear this, ye the aged; And give ear, al ye inhabitants of the land; Hath this been in your days, Or in the days of your fathers?
3 This to your children declare, And your children to their children, And their children to the next generation, ---
4 ``The residue of the locust hath the chafer eaten, ``The residue of the chafer hath the cankerworm eaten, ``The residue of the cankerworm hath the caterpillar eaten.''
5 Awake ye drunkards, and weep; Howl ye all who drink wine for the new wine; For cut off it is from your mouth.
6 Verily a nation came up over my land, Strong and without number: Its teeth the teeth the teeth of a lion, And its jaw-bones those of a young lion: 7 It exposed my vine to desolation, And my fig-tree to the stripping of the bark; By denuding it denuded it and cast it away, White have been made its branches.---
8 Lament as a young woman, girded with sackcloth, For the husband of her youth.
9 Cut off is offering and libation From the house of Jehovah; Mourn do the priests, the ministers of Jehovah; 10 Wasted is the field, mourn does the land; For laid waste is the corn, Dried up is the wine, destroyed is the oil.
11 Be ashamed, ye husbandmen, howl, ye vinedressers, On account of the wheat and the barley; For perished has the harvest of the field, 12 The vine is dried up, and the fig-tree is destroyed; The pomegranate, the palm also and the apple tree,--- All the trees of the field have dried up: Verily dried up is joy among the children of men!
13 Be girded and lament, ye priests; Howl ye ministers of the altar; Come, spend the night in sackcloth, Ye ministers of my God; For withheld from the house of your
JOHN CALVIN
God Is offering and a libation:
14 Sanctify a fast, call an assembly, Gather the elders, all the inhabitants of the land, Into the house of Jehovah your God, And cry ye to Jehovah.---
15 Alas the day! For nigh is the day of Jehovah, And as a desolation from the Almighty it will come.
16 Has not the meat before your eyes been cut off, Joy and gladness from the house of our God?
17 Rotted have the grains under the clods, Desolate are the granaries, Pulled down have been the barns, For dried up has the corn.
18 How has the beast groaned! Confounded are the herds of oxen! For wanting to them are pastures; The flocks of sheep are also desolate.
19 To thee Jehovah will I cry; For the fire hath consumed the pastures of the desert, And the flame hath burnt all the trees of the field: 20 The beasts of the field will also cry to thee; For dried up have the streams of waters, For the fire hath consumed the pastures of the desert.
Translation: Joel 2
Chapter
1 Sound ye the trumpet in Zion, And cry aloud on my holy mountain: Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; For coming is the day of Jehovah, for nigh it is,--- 2 A day of darkness and thick darkness, A day of cloudiness and of obscurity, Like the dawn expanding over the mountains,--- A people, great and strong, The like of them has not been from the beginning, Nor after them shall be for many generations; 3 Before them, a devouring fire, And after them, a flame, shall burn; Like the garden of Eden the land before them, And after them, a desert of solitude; And so there will be no escape from them: 4 As the appearance of horses, their appearance, And as horsemen they will run; 5 As the sound of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, As the sound of the flame of fire devouring the stubble, As a strong people prepared for battle; 6 Their face will the people dread, All faces will gather blackness; 7 As giants will they run here and there, As men of war will they ascend the wall, And each in his ways will proceed, And they shall not stay their goings; 8 No one will thrust his brother, Every one in his way will march on; On the sword shall they fall, and shall not be wounded; 9 Though the city shall they go, over the wall shall they run, Into houses shall they climb, Into the windows shall they enter like a thief: 10 Before them shall tremble the earth, And in anguish shall be the heavens, The sun and moon shall be darkened, And the stars shall withdraw their brightness; 11 And Jehovah will utter his voice before his army, For very great will be his camp. For strong is he who doeth his word; For great will be the day of Jehovah, And very terrible, and who will endure it?
12 But even now, saith Jehovah, Turn to me with your whole heart, And with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; 13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, And turn to Jehovah your God;
JOHN CALVIN
For he is propitious and merciful, Slow to wrath, and abundant in goodness, And will repent of the evil: 14 Who knows, whether he will return and repent, And leave behind him a blessing--- An offering and a libation to Jehovah your God?
15 Sound ye the trumpet in Zion, Sanctify a fast, proclaim a meeting, 16 Gather the people, sanctify the assembly, Bring together the aged, gather the children And those suckling the breasts; And let the bridegroom come forth from his recess, And the bride from her chamber; 17 Between the porch and the altar let the priests, The ministers of Jehovah, weep and say,--- ``Be propitious, Jehovah, to thy people, ``And give not thy heritage to reproach, ``That the nations should rule over them; ``Why should they say among the people, ```Where is their God?' ''
18 Then jealous will Jehovah be for his land, And he will be propitious to his people; 19 And Jehovah will answer, and say to his people: 330 ``Behold, I will send to you corn, and wine, and oil, ``And ye shall be satisfied with them; ``And I will make you no more a reproach among the nations; 20 ``And the Northlander will I remove far from you, ``And drive him to a desert and dry land, ``With his face to the eastern sea, ``And his rear to the hindmost sea; ``And ascend shall his ill savor, ``And ascend shall his rottenness; ``For high hath he exalted himself to do his purpose.''
21 Fear not, thou land; exult and rejoice; For Jehovah hath high exalted himself to do his purpose: 22 Fear not, ye beasts of the fields; For grow shall the pastures of the desert, For the tree shall bring forth its fruit, The fig-tree and the vine shall yield their substance: 23 And ye children of Zion, exult, And rejoice in Jehovah your God; For he will give you rain in due measure, And make to come down for you the showering rain, And the rain in the first month; 24 And filled shall the floors be with corn, And overflow shall the vats with wine and oil; 25 And I will restore years to you For those which the locust hath eaten, The chafer, and the caterpillar,--- My great army, which I sent to you: 26 And eating, ye shall eat and satisfy yourselves, And shall praise the name of Jehovah your God, Because he hath dealt wondrously with you; And ashamed shall not my people be for ever.
27 And ye shall know that in the midst of Israel I am, And that I Jehovah am your God, and none else; And ashamed shall not my people be forever.
28 And shall it be afterwards, That I will pour my Spirit on all flesh, And prophesy shall your sons and your daughters, And your old men shall dreams dream, And your young men shall visions see; 29 And also on servants and maid-servants Will I in those days pour my spirit: 30 And I will set prodigies in heaven and on earth,--- Blood and fire, and columns of mist; 330This line is rendered to the version of Calvin, and not according to his comment. See p. 75.
MINOR PROPHETS
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, The moon into blood, Before it comes-
--the day of Jehovah, great and terrible:
32 Then it shall be, that whosoever shall call On the name of Jehovah, shall be delivered; For in mount Zion and in Jerusalem Shall be deliverance, as Jehovah hath promised, And for the residue whom Jehovah shall call.
Translation: Joel 3
1 For, behold in those days, and at that time, When I shall restore the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will then gather all the nations, and bring them down to the valley of Jehosaphat; And I will there contend with them, For my people and for my heritage Israel; Because they have scattered them among the nations, 2 And divided my land, and on my people cast lots, And have given a boy for a harlot, And have sold a girl for wine, that they may drink.
3 And yet, what have ye to do with me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the borders of Palestine? Will ye recompense return to me?
4 Now if ye repay me with this, Quickly---suddenly will I return Your recompense on your own head.
5 Because ye have taken away my silver and my gold, And my desirable things have removed to your temples, 6 And have sold the children of Judah and the children of Jerusalem To the children of the Grecians, That ye might drive them far from their own borders;---
7 Behold, I will raise them from the place to which ye have sold them, And will return your recompense on your head; 8 For I will sell your sons and your daughters to the children of Judah, And they shall sell them to the Sabeans, a distant nation; For thus hath Jehovah spoken.
9 Publish this among the nations, Proclaim a war, rouse the strong, Let them come, let them ascend, all the men of war: 10 Beat your plowshares into swords, And your pruning-hooks into spears; Let the weak say, ``I am strong.''
11 Assemble and come all ye nations, Assemble all around; There will Jehovah lay prostrate all thy valiant ones.
12 Awake let the nations, and ascend to the valley of Jehosaphat; For there will I sit to judge all the nations around.
MINOR PROPHETS
13 Put forth the sickle, for ripened has the harvest; Come, go down, for full is the wine-press, Overflowing are the vats, For multiplied has their wickedness.
14 Nations! Nations! In the valley of the sledge; For nigh is Jehovah's day in the valley of the sledge: The sun and the moon shall be darkened, And the stars shall withdraw their brightness; 15 And Jehovah from Zion shall roar, And from Jerusalem shall utter his voice, And tremble shall the heavens and the earth; 16 But Jehovah will be a hope to his people, And a strength to the children of
Israel:
17 Then ye shall know that I Jehovah am your God, Dwelling in Zion, the mount of my holiness; And Jerusalem shall be holiness, And aliens shall pass through it no more.
18 And it shall be in that day, That distill new wine shall the mountains, And the hills shall cause milk to run down, And all the rivers of Judah shall send forth waters; A fountain also from the house of Jehovah shall go forth, And it shall water the valley of Shittim.
19 Egypt shall be a solitude, And Edom shall be a desert of solitude, For the outrage done to the children of Judah, Because they shed innocent blood in their own land: 20 But Judah shall forever safely dwell, And Jerusalem shall be from age to age; And I will cleanse their blood which I have not cleansed, And Jehovah shall dwell in Zion.
Translation: Amos 1
1 The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds at Tekos, which he saw concerning Israel, in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam, the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake; and he said,---
2 Jehovah from Zion will roar, And from Jerusalem will he utter his voice; And perish shall the habitations of shepherds, And wither shall the top of Carmel.
3 Thus saith Jehovah,--- For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not be propitious to it; (157) Because they have threshed Gilead with iron wains: 4 And I will send fire into the house of Hazael, And it shall devour the palaces of
Benhadad;
5 And I will break in pieces the bar of Damascus, And cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, And the holder of the scepter from the house of Eden; And removed shall be the people of Syria to Kir, saith Jehovah.
6 Thus saith Jehovah,--- For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not be propitious to it; For they carried away a complete captivity, To shut them up in
Edom:
7 And I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, And it shall devour its palaces; 8 And I will cut off the inhabitant from Azotus, And the holder of the scepter from Ascalon; And I will turn my hand against Ekron, And perish shall the remnants of the Philistines, Saith the Lord Jehovah.
9 Thus saith Jehovah,--- For three transgressions of Tyrus, and for four, I will not be propitious to it; For they have shut up a complete captivity in Edom, And have not remembered the covenant of brethren: 10 And I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus, And it shall devour its palaces.
11 Thus saith Jehovah,--- For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not be propitious to it; For he pursued with the sword his own brother, And destroyed his own compassions; And raged continually has his anger, And his wrath has he kept
MINOR PROPHETS
perpetually:
12 And I will send a fire on Teman, And it shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.
13 Thus saith Jehovah,--- For three transgressions of the children o Ammon, and for four, I will not be propitious to him; For they have rent the pregnant women of Gilead, That they might extend their own borders: 14 And I will kindle a fire on the wall of Rabbah, And it shall devour its palaces, With clamor in the day of battle, With whirlwind in the day of tempest; 15 And pass shall its king into captivity, He and his princes together, saith Jehovah.
Translation: Amos 2
1 Thus saith Jehovah,--- For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not be propitious to him; For he burnt the bones of the king of Edom into ashes: 2 And I will send a fire on Moab, And it shall devour the palaces of Kirioth; And die in a tumult shall Moab, With shouting, at the sound of the trumpet; 3 And I will cut off the judge from the midst of him, And with him all his princes will I slay, saith Jehovah.
4 Thus saith Jehovah,--- For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not be propitious to him; For they have despised the law of Jehovah, And his statutes have they not kept; And to go astray have their lies made them, After which their fathers walked: 5 And I will send a fire on Judah, And it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.
6 Thus saith Jehovah,--- For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not be propitious to him; For they have sold the just for silver, and the poor for shoes; 7 Panting for the dust of the earth on the head of the needy, They turn aside the way of the miserable; The son and his father enter in into the same maid, So that they profane my holy name; 8 And on pledged garments they lie near every altar, And the wine of the condemned they drink In the house of their god.
9 Yet I exterminated the Amorite before their face, Whose tallness was like the tallness of cedars, And who was strong like the oak; And I destroyed his fruit above and his root beneath; 10 And I brought you up from the land of Egypt, And led you in the desert forty years, That you might possess the land of the Amorite; 11 And I raised up Prophets from your sons, And from your youths, Nazarites;---
Have I not done all this, O children of Israel, saith Jehovah: 12 But to the Nazarites have ye quaffed wine; And on my Prophets have ye laid
MINOR PROPHETS
a command, Saying, ``Ye shall not prophesy.''
13 Behold, I am fast bound under you, (196) As a wagon is bound, which is full of sheaves.---
14 Perish shall flight from the swift, And the valiant shall not confirm his strength, And the strong shall not deliver his life, 15 And the holder of the bow shall not stand, And the swift on foot shall not escape, Nor shall he who mounts a horse save his life; 16 Yea, the strong of heart, among the valiant, Shall flee away naked in that day, saith Jehovah.
Translation: Amos 3
1 Hear ye this word which Jehovah pronounces Against you, children of Israel--- against the whole family, Which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying,---
2 ``Only you have I known of all the families of the earth, ``I will therefore visit on you all your iniquities.''
3 Can two walk together, except they be agreed?
4 Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Will a young lion roar in his den, when nothing is taken?
5 Will a bird fall into a snare on the ground without a fowler? Will a fowler take up his snare from the ground before he catches?
6 Shall a trumpet sound in a city, and the people tremble not? Shall there be an evil in a city, which Jehovah hath not done?
7 For nothing will the Lord Jehovah do, Except he has revealed his secret to his servants the Prophets.
8 The lion hath roared, who would not fear? The Lord Jehovah hath spoken, who would not prophesy?
9 Publish in the palaces of Ashdod, And in the palaces of the land of Egypt, and say,--- ``Assemble ye on the mountains of Samaria, ``And see the great tumults within it, ``And the oppressions in the midst of it.''
10 And they know not how to do right, saith Jehovah,--- Treasuring up the fruit of robbery and plunder in their palaces.
11 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah,--- Lo, an adversary! And one around the land! And he will take from thee thy strength, And plundered shall be thy palaces.
12 Thus saith Jehovah,--- As when a shepherd snatches from the mouth of a lion
Two legs and the extreme part of the ear, So shall be rescued the children of Israel, Who dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, And in Damascus on a couch.
13 Hear ye and testify to the house of Israel, Saith the Lord Jehovah, the God of
MINOR PROPHETS
hosts,---
14 That in the day in which I shall visit upon him the sins of Israel, I will also visit the altars of Bethel; And broken shall be the horns of the altar, And they shall fall to the ground; 15 And I will smite the winter-house with the summer-house, And perish shall the houses of ivory, And come to an end shall the great houses, saith Jehovah.
Translation: Amos 4
1 Hear this word, ye cows of Bashan, Which are on the mountain of Samaria, Which oppress the poor, which crush the needy, Which say to their masters, ``Bring, and we shall drink.''
2 Sworn hath the Lord Jehovah by his sanctuary, That, lo, in the days are coming on you, That he will take you away by a hook, And your residue by a fishing-hook; 3 And through the breaches shall ye go out, Each one over against her; And ye shall cast yourselves down from the palace, saith Jehovah.
4 Go ye to Bethel and transgress, And in Gilgal transgress still more, And bring, in the morning, your sacrifices, In the third year, your tithes, 5 And burn incense with the leaven of thanks-offering. And publish voluntary offerings, proclaim them; For so it hath pleased you, O children of Israel, Saith the Lord Jehovah.
6 But I even gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, And want of bread in all your borders; Yet ye turned not to me, saith Jehovah: 7 I also withheld from you the rain, When as yet there were three months to the harvest; And I rained on one city, And on another city I made it not to rain; One part was rained upon, And the part where it rained not dried up; 8 And there came two and three cities to one city, To drink water, and were not satisfied; Yet ye turned not to me, saith Jehovah: 9 I smote you with the east wind and mildew; Your large gardens and your vineyards, (236) And your fig-trees and your olives the chafer devoured; Yet ye turned not to me, saith Jehovah: 10 I sent on to you the plague after the manner of Egypt; I smote with the sword your strong men, And led captive your horses; I made to ascend the stench of your camps even to your nostrils; Yet ye turned not to me, saith Jehovah: 11 I overthrew you as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, And ye were as a
MINOR PROPHETS
brand snatched from the burning; Yet ye turned not to me, saith Jehovah.
12 Therefore thus will I do to thee, Israel, And because I will do this to thee, Prepare thyself to meet thy God, Israel.
13 For, behold he who formed the mountains, Who created the spirit, Who declares to man what is his thought, Who makes the dawn and the darkness, Who walks on the high places of the earth,--- Jehovah, God of Hosts, is his name.
Translation: Amos 5
1 Hear ye this word which I raise upon you, Even a lamentation, O house of Israel.
2 Fallen is the virgin of Israel, and she will rise no more; Left is she on her land, none is there to raise her up.
3 For thus saith the Lord Jehovah,--- The city from which went forth a thousand, There will remain in it a hundred; And that from which it went forth a hundred, There will remain ten to the house of Israel.
4 For thus saith Jehovah to the house of Israel,--- Seek ye me, and ye shall live; 5 And seek not Bethel, and to Gilgal go not, And pass not over to Beersheba; 331
For Gilgal by migrating shall migrate, And Bethel shall be as nothing: 6 Seek Jehovah, and ye shall live, Lest he advance as a fire on the house of Joseph, And devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel.
7 They turn judgment into wormwood, And righteousness they cast on the ground.---
8 He who made Pleiades and Orion, (261) Who turns darkness into morning, And darkens the day into night, Who calls the waters of the sea, And pours them on the face of the earth,--- Jehovah is his name; 9 Who strengthens a waster against the strong, And against a fortress shall a waster ascend. (263)
10 They hate in the gate a reprover, And the speaker of right they abominate.
11 As ye have trodden the poor under foot, (266) And a burden of corn have taken from him, Houses of hewn stone shall ye build, But ye shall not dwell in them; And pleasant vineyards shall ye plant, But ye shall not drink their wine; 12 For I know your many iniquities, and your mighty sins; Oppressors of the just!
And takers of ransom! And the poor in the gate they turn aside.
331"And travel not to Beersheba," or "make no pilgrimage to Beersheba." The verb {{עבר expresses going abroad to another country. Beersheba belonged to the kingdom of Judah. --- Bp. Horsley.
MINOR PROPHETS
13 Therefore the prudent at that time will be silent, For an evil time it is. (270)
14 Seek ye good, and not evil, that ye may live; And so Jehovah, the God of Hosts, Will be with you, as ye have said.
15 Hate evil, and love good, And set up judgment in the gate; It may be, that Jehovah, the God of Hosts, Will show mercy to the remnants of Joseph.
16 Therefore Jehovah, the God of Hosts, the Lord, saith,--- In all the streets of concourse shall be lamentation, And in all the highways shall they say, ``Woe! Woe!''
(279) And they shall call the husbandman to mourning, And lamentation shall be to all skillful in mourning; 17 And in all the vineyards shall be lamentation; For I will pass through the midst of thee, saith Jehovah.
18 Woe to those who desire the day of Jehovah! What will this be to you? The day of Jehovah will be darkness and not light; 19 As when one flees before a lion, and a bear meets him; Or comes to his house, and leans with his hand on a wall, And a serpent bites him.
20 Shall not the day of Jehovah be darkness and not light? And thick darkness and no brightness?
21 I hate, I abhor your festal-days, And I will not smell at your solemnities; 22 Verily, when ye offer me your burnt-offerings and your gifts, I will not count them acceptable; And the peace offering of your fat things I will not regard.
23 Take away from me the number of thy songs, And the harmony of the lyres; I will not hear them: 24 And run down as waters shall judgment, And righteousness as an impetuous torrent. (292)
25 Have ye offered to me sacrifices and an oblation In the desert for forty years, O house of Israel?
26 But ye bore Sicuth, your king, and Chion, Your images, the stars being your gods; Which ye made for yourselves. (295)
27 To migrate therefore I will make you beyond Damascus, Saith Jehovah, the God of Hosts is his name.
Translation: Amos 6
1 Woe to the secure in Zion, And to the confident on the mount of Samaria; (302)
Which have been renowned from the beginning of the nations; And entered in into them has the house of Israel.
2 Pass ye over into Calneh and see, Go hence to Hamath the great, And come down to Gath of the Philistines, Are they better than these kingdom? Is their border larger than your border?
3 Woe to you who drive far off the evil day, And draw nigh the throne of violence; 4 Who lie down on beds of ivory, And extend themselves on their couches; Who eat lambs from the flock, And calves from the midst of the stall; 5 Who sing to the sound of the harp, And like David invent instruments of music; 6 Who drink wine in bowls, And with the chief ointments anoint themselves, And grieve not for the bruising of Joseph.
7 They shall now therefore emigrate at the head of the emigrants, And come shall the mourning of those who extend themselves. (312)
8 Sworn hath the Lord Jehovah by himself, Saith Jehovah, the God of hosts,---
Abhor do I the excellency of Jacob, And his palaces I regard with hatred, And I will deliver up the city and its fullness.
9 And it shall be, that when there shall remain Ten men together in one house, they shall die: 10 And take him shall one's uncle and burn him, In order to take away his bones from the house, And shall say to him who shall be at the sides of the house, ``Is there yet any one with thee?'' And he will say, ``There is an end;'' Then he shall say, ``Be silent, For it is not for us to remember the name of Jehovah.''
11 For, behold, Jehovah commands, And he will smite the great house with confusions, And the small house with fissures.
12 Will horses run on a rock? Will it be ploughed by oxen? For to gall have ye
MINOR PROPHETS
turned judgment, And the fruit of righteousness to hemlock; 13 Ye rejoice in a thing of nought, ye say,--- Have we not in our own strength
Raised up for ourselves horns?
14 Behold, I will surely raise against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith Jehovah, the God of hosts: And they shall straighten you from the entrance of Hamath to the river of the plain.
Translation: Amos 7
1 Thus hath the Lord Jehovah showed me,--- Even lo, he formed locusts when grass began to grow, And, lo, it was the grass after the cuttings of the king: 2 And it was, after they had finished to eat, That I then said, ``Lord Jehovah, spare, I pray; Who will restore Israel, for he is small?''
3 Jehovah repented of this; ``It shall not be,'' said Jehovah.
4 Thus hath the Lord Jehovah showed me,--- Even lo, the Lord Jehovah called to contend by fire; And it devoured the great deep and their portion: 5 And I said, ``Lord Jehovah, cease, I pray; Who will restore Israel, for he is small?
6 Jehovah repented of this; ``This also shall not be,'' said the Lord Jehovah.
7 Thus hath he showed me,--- Even lo, the Lord stood on a plumbline wall, And in his hand a plumbline, 8 And Jehovah said to me, ``What seest thou, Amos?'' And I said, ``A plumbline:''
Then said the Lord, ``Behold, I shall set A plumbline in the midst of my people Israel; I will no longer pass by them: 9 And destroyed shall be the high places of Isaac, And overthrown shall be the sanctuaries of Israel, And I shall rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.''
10 Then sent Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, To Jeroboam, king of Israel, saying,-
-- ``Conspired against thee has Amos In the midst of the house of Israel; The land cannot bear all his words: 11 For thus saith Amos,--- `By the sword shall Jeroboam die, And Israel, by migrating, shall migrate from their own land.'''
12 Amaziah said also to Amos,--- ``Seer, go, flee into the land of Judah, And there eat bread, and there prophesy: 13 But in Bethel, prophesy no more; For it is the king's sanctuary, and the house of the kingdom.''
MINOR PROPHETS
14 Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah,--- ``No Prophet was I, nor was I a Prophet's son, For a shepherd I was, and a gatherer of sycamores: 15 But Jehovah took me from after the sheep, And Jehovah said to me,--- `Go, prophesy to my people Israel.'
16 And now hear the word of Jehovah, thou who sayest,--- `Prophesy not concerning Israel, And speak not concerning the house of Isaac:'
17 Therefore thus saith Jehovah,--- Thy wife in the city shall be prostituted, And thy sons and thy daughters shall by the sword fall, And thy land shall by a line be divided, And thou in a polluted land shalt die, And Israel, by migrating, shall migrate from their own land.''
Translation: Amos 8
1 Thus hath the Lord Jehovah showed me,--- Even lo, a basket of summer-fruit; 2 And he said, ``What seest thou, Amos?'' And I said, ``A basket of summer-fruit.''
Then Jehovah said to me,--- ``Come has the end of my people Israel, I will no more pass by them.''
3 And howlings shall be the songs of the temple In that day, saith the Lord Jehovah; Many a dead body, in every place, Shall be cast down in silence. (362)
4 Hear this, ye who swallow up the poor, And exterminate the needy of the land, saying,---
5 ``When will pass the new moon, that we may sell corn? And the Sabbath, that we may bring out wheat, And lesson the ephah, and increase the shekel, And turn one side the deceitful balances?
6 That we may buy with silver the poor, And the needy for shoes, And sell the refuse of corn.''
7 Sworn hath Jehovah by the excellency of Jacob, ``I shall not forget any of their works.''
8 Shall not the land be for this in a tumult, And every one who dwells in it mourn?
Yea, heave up as a river shall the whole of it, (371) And it shall be driven and sunk as by the river of Egypt.
9 And it shall be in that day, saith the Lord Jehovah, That I will cause the sun to set at noon, And will darken the land in a clear day; 10 I will also turn your festal-days to mourning, And all your songs to lamentation; And to come up on all loins will I make sackcloth, And upon every head, baldness; And I will set her as in mourning for an only son, And her posterity as in the day of bitterness. (375)
11 Behold, the days are coming, saith Jehovah, When I shall send a famine on the land, Not the famine of bread, nor thirst for waters, But for hearing the words of
MINOR PROPHETS
Jehovah;
12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, And from the south to the east shall they run, To seek the word of Jehovah, and shall not find it: 13 And in that day shall faint, The fair virgins and young men, for thirst; 14 Who swear by the sin of Samaria, and who say,--- ``Live does thy God, O Dan, And live does the way of Beersheba;'' And they shall fall and rise again no more.
Translation: Amos 9
1 I saw the Lord standing on the altar, and he said,--- ``Smite the lintel, and moved shall be the pillars, And strike the head of them all; And the rest of them with the sword shall I slay: Flee from them shall not he who fleeth, And escape from them shall not he who escapeth: (385)
2 If they dig to hell, thence my hand shall bring them out; And if they ascend to heaven, I will thence draw them down; 3 And if they hide themselves on the top of Carmel, There will I search for and draw them forth; And if they be hid from my eyes in the bottom of the sea, I will there command the serpent to bite them; 4 And if they go to captivity before their enemies, I will there command the sword to slay them; Yea, I will set my eyes on them For evil, and not for good.''
5 And the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, will smite the land, And it will tremble, and mourn shall all who dwell in it; And heave up like a river shall the whole of it, And it shall be sunk as by the river of Egypt.---
6 He who builds his ascendings in the heavens, And founds his jointings on the earth, Who calls the waters of the sea, And pours them on the face of the earth,---
Jehovah is his name. (392-3)
7 Are ye not as the children of the Ethiopians to me? O house of Israel, saith Jehovah; Did I not make Israel to ascend from Egypt, And the Philistines from Cappadocia, And the Syrians from Kir?
8 Behold, the eyes of Jehovah are on every wicked kingdom; And I will destroy it from the face of the earth; Except that by destroying I shall not destroy The house of Jacob! Saith Jehovah.
9 For, behold, I will command, And I shall shake the house of Israel among all nations, As wheat is shaken in a sieve, And fall shall not a grain on the ground: 10 By the sword shall die all the wicked of my people, Who say, ``Draw near and
MINOR PROPHETS
overtake us Shall not, for our sake, the evil.''
11 In that day I will raise up the tent of David, That is fallen, and I will fence in its breaches, And its ruins will I raise up; And I will build it as in ancient days; 12 That possess they may the remnants of Edom, And all the nations on whom my name shall be called, Saith Jehovah, the doer of this.
13 Behold, the days are coming, saith Jehovah, That meet shall the plowman the reaper, And the treader of grapes the bearer of seed; And distill shall the mountains sweet wine, And all the hills shall flow down with milk
14 And I will restore the captivity of my people Israel; And they shall build wasted cities, and dwell in them; They shall plant vineyards, and drink their wine; They shall make gardens, and eat their fruit: 15 And I will plant them in their own land, And they shall be plucked up no more
From their own land, which I have given to them, Saith Jehovah, thy God.
Translation: Obadiah 1
CHAPTER 1
1 The vision of Obadiah: Thus saith the Lord Jehovah against Edom,--- A rumor have we heard from Jehovah, And a messenger to the nations has been sent,---(423)
ye, and we shall arise against her to battle.''
2 Lo, small have I set thee among the nations, Despised greatly wert thou: (425)
3 The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, Who dwellest in the clefts of the rock: ``Who shall draw me down to the ground?''
4 If thou shouldst rise high as the eagle, And if among the clouds thou shouldest set thy nest, Thence shall I draw thee down, saith Jehovah.
5 Have thieves come to thee, or night-robbers? How hast thou been reduced to silence? Have they not stolen what sufÏced them? Have vintagers come to thee?
Have they not left some clusters?---
6 How much sought out have been the things of Esau, And thoroughly searched his hidden places!
7 To the border have they driven thee, All the men of thy confederacy; Deceived thee, prevailed against thee, have they, The men who were at peace with thee; The men who did eat thy bread Have set a wound under thee:--- There is in him no understanding!
8 Shall I not in that day, saith Jehovah, Destroy the wise from Edom, And understanding from the mount of Esau? Yea, broken down shall be thy valiant ones, O
Teman,
9 So that cut off shall be every man, From the mount of Esau by slaughter.
10 For the oppression of thy brother Jacob, Cover thee shall reproach, And thou shalt be cut off forever.
11 In the day when thou didst stand on the other side, In the day when aliens took away his substance, And foreigners entered his gates, And on Jerusalem did cast lots, Even thou wert as one of them.
MINOR PROPHETS
12 But thou shouldest not look on the day of thy brother, In the day of his alienation; Nor shouldest rejoice over the children of Judah, In the day of their destruction; Nor speak with thy mouth proud things, In the day of distress; 13 Nor shouldest thou enter the gate of my people, In the day of their destruction; Nor look on him, especially thou, in his distress, In the day of his destruction; Nor stretch thy hand to his substance, In the day of his destruction: 14 Nor shouldest thou stand on the outlets, To destroy those who were escaping; Nor deliver up his remnants in the day of distress.
15 Seeing that near is the day of Jehovah on all nations, As thou hast done, it shall be done to thee, Thy reward shall be returned on thine own head; 16 For as ye have drunk on my holy mountain, Drink shall all nations continually; They shall drink and drink up; And they shall be as though they never had been.
17 But in mount Zion shall be deliverance, And Zion shall be holiness; And possess shall the house of Jacob their own possessions: 18 The house of Jacob shall be also a fire, And the house of Joseph a flame, And the house of Esau shall be chaff; And kindled they shall be among them, and consume them; And no remnant shall be to the house of Esau; For thus hath Jehovah spoken.
19 They shall also possess the south of the mount of Esau, And the plain, even that of the Philistines; And they shall possess the fields of Ephraim And the fields of Samaria, And Benjamin shall possess Gilead: 20 And the emigrants of this host of the children of Israel Shall possess the land of the Canaanites to Zarephath; And the emigrants of Jerusalem, what is in Sepharad, Even the southern cities: (451)
21 And ascend shall saviors to mount Zion, To judge the mount of Esau; And Jehovah's shall be the kingdom.
Translation: Jonah 1
1 And the word of Jehovah came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 ``Arise, go to Nineveh, to that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness has ascended before my face.''
3 But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of Jehovah, and went down to Joppa, and found a ship, which was going to Tarshish; and he paid the fare, and went down into it,, that he might go with them to Tarshish from the presence of Jehovah.
4 And Jehovah sent a strong wind on the sea, and a great tempset arose in the sea, and the ship was thought to be breaking: 5 And the mariners feared, and cried every one to his god, and cast out the wares, which were in the ship, into the sea, that it might be lightened of them; but Jonah had gone down to the sides of the ship; and he lay down and slept.
6 And the pilot came to him, and he said to him, --- ``What meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise, call on thy God, if so be that God will show himself propitious to us, that we may not perish.''
7 And they said each to his friend, --- ``Come and let us cast lots, that we may know for what cause is this evil come upon us.'' And they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.
8 And they said to him, --- ``Tell us now why has this evil happened to us, what is thy work, and whence comest thou, what is thy country, and from what people art thou?''
9 And he said to them, --- ``I am an Hebrew, and I fear Jehovah, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.''
10 And the men feared with great fear, and said to him, --- ``Why hast thou done this?'' (52) For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of Jehovah, because he had told them.
MINOR PROPHETS
11 And they said to him, ``What shall we do to thee, that the sea may be still to us?'' for the sea was going and was tempestuous.
12 And he said to them, --- ``Take me and cast me into the sea, and the sea will be still to you; for I know that on my account is this great tempest come upon you.''
13 But the men toiled to bring back the ship, (59) and they could not; for the sea was going and was tempestuous against them.
14 And they cried to Jehovah, and said, --- ``We beseech, Jehovah, we pray, that we perish not for the life of this man, and lay not on us innocent blood; for thou, Jehovah, hast done as it has seemed good to thee.'' (62)
15 Then they took Jonah, and cast him into the sea; and the sea stopped from its raging.
16 And with great fear, the men feared Jehovah, and sacrificed a sacrifice to Jehovah, and vowed vows.
17 And Jehovah provided a great fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the bowels of the fish three days and three nights.
Translation: Jonah 2
1 And Jonah prayed to Jehovah his God from the belly of the fish, 2 And said, --- I cried in my distress to Jehovah, and he heard me; (75) From the belly of the grave I cried, thou didst hear my voice.
3 But cast me hadst thou into the deep, Into the midst of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; All thy billows and waves over me passed: 4 Then I said, --- ``I am driven from the sight of thine eyes; But I would again see the temple of thy holiness.''
5 Beset me did the waters even to the soul, The deep on every side surrounded me, The sedge was wrapped around my head: 6 To the roots of the mountains I descended, The earth with its bars was around me forever: But to ascend hast thou made my life from the grave, O Jehovah my God.
7 When fail did my soul within me, Jehovah did I remember, And enter did my prayer into the temple of thy holiness.
8 They who observe lying vanities, Their own mercy forsake: (87)
9 But I, with the voice of praise, will sacrifice to thee; What I have vowed will I pay: To Jehovah belongs salvation.
10 And Jehovah commanded the fish, and it cast forth Jonah on the dry land.
Translation: Jonah 3
1 And the word of Jehovah came to Jonah the second time, saying, ---
2 ``Arise, go to Nineveh, to that great city, and proclaim to it the proclamation which I command thee.'' (92)
3 And Jonah arose, and went to Nineveh, according to the command of Jehovah.
4 Now Nineveh was a very great city, a journey of three days. And Jonah began to enter a journey of one day, and cried and said, ``Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.''
5 And the men of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them: 6 For word had come to the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and cast aside his splendid robe from him, and put on sackcloth and sat on ashes; 7 And it was proclaimed and published through Nineveh, by the counsel of the king and his nobles, saying, --- ``Man and beast! Ox and sheep! Let them taste nothing, let them not be fed, and let them not drink water; 8 And let man and beast put on sackcloth, and cry to God mightily; (107) and return let every one from his evil way, and from the plunder that is in their hands.
9 Who knows, whether God will change and repent, and turn away from the fury of his wrath, that we perish not?''
10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil which he had declared that he would do to them, and did it not.
Translation: Jonah 4
1 And Jonah was grievously displeased, and he was very angry; (116) and he prayed to Jehovah, and said, ---
2 ``I pray thee, Jehovah, was not this my word, when I was yet in my own land?
I therefore hastened to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that thou are a God full of grace, and merciful, slow to wrath, great in kindness, and who repentest of evil.
3 And thou, Jehovah, take, I pray, my life from me; for better it is for me to die than to live.''
4 And Jehovah said to him, --- ``Doest thou well in being angry?'' (129)
5 And Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east over against the city, and made there for himself a tent, and sat under it in the shade, until he saw what might be in the city.
6 And Jehovah God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up for Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, and free him from his distress; and Jonah rejoiced for the gourd with great joy.
7 God also prepared a worm, when the morning rose the next day, which smote the gourd, and it withered: 8 And it was, when the sun arose, that God prepared an impetuous wind, and the sun smote the head of Jonah, and he fainted, and wished for himself that he might die, and said, ``Better is my death than my life.''
9 And God said to Jonah, --- ``Doest thou well in being angry for the gourd?'' and he said, --- ``I do well in being angry even unto death.''
10 And Jehovah said, --- ``Thou wouldest have spared the gourd, for which thou hast not labored, and which thou has not raised up; the daughter of a night it was, 332 and as the daughter of a night it has passed away; 332It is literally, "the son of a night," but as cucurbita, gourd, is feminine, Calvin adopted filia instead of filius — Ed.
MINOR PROPHETS
11 And should I not spare Nineveh, this great city, in which there are twelve times ten thousand men, every one of whom knows not his right hand from his left, and also many animals?''
Translation: Micah 1
1 The word of Jehovah, which came to Micah, the Morasthite, in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and
Jerusalem:
2 Hear, all ye people, Give ear, O earth, and its fullness; (155) And the Lord
Jehovah shall be against you a witness, Even the Lord from the temple of his holiness: 3 For, behold, Jehovah goeth forth from his place, And will descend and tread on the heights of the earth; 4 And melt shall the mountains under him, And rent shall be the valleys; As wax before the fire, As waters rolling into a lower place. (160)
5 For the wickedness of Jacob is all this, And for the transgressions of the house of Israel: What is the wickedness of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what are the high places of Judah? Are they not those of Jerusalem? (162)
6 I will therefore make Samaria A heap of the field, a plantation for vineyards; And I will roll into the valley its stones, And its foundations will I discover; 7 And all her graven images shall be broken down, And all her rewards shall be burnt in the fire, And all her idols will I lay desolate; For from the reward of a harlot hath she gathered, And to the reward of a harlot shall they return.
8 For this will I wail and howl, I will go spoiled and naked; I will make wailing as the dragons, And mourning as the daughters of the ostrich: (170)
9 For grievous is her stroke, For it has come to Judah, It has reached the gate of my people---even Jerusalem.
10 In Gath tell ye it not; weeping, weep not; In the house of Ophrah, roll thyself in the dust.
11 Pass over also, thou inhabitant of Saphir, Naked and in shame; Go forth shall not the inhabitant of Zaanan, In the mourning of Beth-ezel; She will take from you her station. (176)
MINOR PROPHETS
12 Verily, grieved for good has the inhabitant of Maroth; For come down has evil from Jehovah To the gate of Jerusalem.
13 Tie the chariot to the dromedary, Thou inhabitant of Lachish; The beginning of sin has she been to the daughter of Zion; For in thee have been found the transgressions of Israel.
14 Thou shalt therefore send presents, For Moresheth-gath, to the sons of Achzib, (180) Who have been a deception to the kings of Israel.
15 Yet a possessor will I send to thee, inhabitant of Mareshah; Even to Adullam, the glory of Israel, shall he come.
16 Make bald, and poll thyself, For the children of thy delicacies; Enlarge thy baldness as the eagle, Inasmuch as they have migrated from thee.
Translation: Micah 2
1 Woe to those who devise iniquity, And contrive wickedness on their beds! When the morning shines, they execute it; For to do it their hand is ready.
2 And they covet fields, and forcibly take them; And houses, and they take them away; And they oppress a man and his house, A man and his heritage. (187)
3 Therefore, thus saith Jehovah, --- Behold, I am devising against this family an evil, From which ye shall not remove your necks; And ye shall not walk in your height, For an evil time will it be.
4 In that day shall they take up against thee a proverb, And bewail with a lamentable lament, And say, ``Wasted, we are laid waste; The portion of my people has he changed; How he takes away from me instead of restoring! Our fields he divides.'' (191)
5 There shall not therefore be for thee One to cast a line for lot in the assembly of Jehovah.
6 ``Prophecy not, ye who prophesy;'' --- They shall not prophesy for them; --- He will not take reproaches. (195)
7 O thou who art called the house of Jacob! Is the Spirit of Jehovah straightened?
Are these his works? Are not my words good to him Who walks uprightly? (201)
8 And they who were heretofore my people, Have risen up as an enemy against me; The robe of beauty they plunder From those who pass by securely, As those who return from war. (203)
9 The women of my people have ye expelled From the house of their delights; From their children have ye taken away My ornament forever. (204)
10 Arise, depart, for this is not your rest; Because it has been polluted: (206) He will scatter you with a violent scattering.
11 If a man, walking in the spirit, and lying deceitfully, says, ``I will prophesy to thee of wine and of strong drink,'' He shall be the prophet of this people. (208)
MINOR PROPHETS
12 Gathering, I will gather the whole of thee Jacob, Assembling, I will assemble the residue of Israel; I will set them together as the sheep of Bozrah, As a flock in the midst of its fold; They shall make a noise on account of the number of men.
13 Ascend shall a breaker before them, They shall break through and pass the gate; Yea, they shall go out through it; And pass shall their king before them, And Jehovah at their head. (215)
Translation: Micah 3
1 And I said, ``Hear, I pray, ye princes of Jacob; And ye rulers of the house of Israel: Is it not for you to know judgment?''
2 But they hate good and love evil; They pull off the skin from them, And the flesh from their bones: 3 Yea, they devour the flesh of my people, And their skin they strip from them, And their bones they break, And make them small as for the pot, And their flesh for the cauldron.
4 They shall then cry to Jehovah, And he will not answer them, But he will hide his face from them at that time, As they have acted perversely in their doings.
5 Thus saith Jehovah to the Prophets, Who deceive my people, And bite with their teeth, and cry, ``Peace;'' And when any one putteth not in their mouth, Against him they declare war; 6 Night shall therefore be to you instead of a vision, And darkness shall be to you instead of divination;' And set shall the sun on the Prophets, And darkened over them shall be the day: (227)
7 And ashamed shall be the seers, And confounded shall be the diviners; And they shall all cover their lips, For there will be no answer from God.
8 But I indeed am filled with power, By the Spirit of Jehovah, yea, with judgment and courage, To declare to Jacob his wickedness, And to Israel his sin.
9 Hear this, I pray, ye princes of the house of Jacob, And ye rulers of the house of Israel, Who abominate judgment, And all rectitude pervert; (237)
10 Who build Zion by blood, And Jerusalem by iniquity.
11 Its princes judge for reward, And its priests for wages teach, And its prophets for money divine; And on Jehovah they lean, saying, ``Is not Jehovah in the midst of us? Come upon us shall no evil.''
12 Therefore for you Zion as a field shall be plowed, And Jerusalem shall be a
MINOR PROPHETS
heap, And the mount of the house as the heights of a forest.
Translation: Micah 4
1 But it shall be in the last days, That the mount of the house of Jehovah Shall be set in order on the top of the mountains, And elevated shall it be above the hills; And assemble there shall nations; (252)
2 And go shall many nations and say, --- ``Come and let us ascend to the mount of Jehovah, 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 from Zion shall go forth a law, And the word of
Jehovah from Jerusalem;
3 And he will rule among many people, And convince strong nations afar off; (260)
And beat their swords shall they into plowshares, And their spears into pruninghooks; And lift up shall not a nation against a nation a sword, And they shall learn war no more; 4 And they shall sit everyone under his own vine, And under his own fig-tree; And none will there be to terrify them; For thus hath the mouth of Jehovah of hosts spoken.
5 For all people shall walk, Every one in the name of his god; (271) But we will walk In the name of Jehovah our God forever.
6 In that day, saith Jehovah, I will assemble the lame, And the driven out will I gather, And her whom I have afÒicted: 7 And I will make the lame a remnant, And the driven out a strong nation; Reign over them shall Jehovah on mount Zion, From henceforth, even forever.
8 And thou tower of the flock, The fortress of the daughter of Zion, To thee it shall come; Yea, come shall the former dominion; The kingdom, to the daughter of Jerusalem.
9 Why dost thou now cry with a loud crying? Is there no king in thee? Has thy counselor perished? For seized thee has pain as one in travail.
10 Be in pain, and groan, O daughter of Zion, As a woman in travail; For go forth
MINOR PROPHETS
shalt thou from the city, And thou shalt dwell in the field, Yea, thou shalt go as far as Babylon; There shalt thou be delivered, There shall Jehovah redeem thee From the hand of thy enemies.
11 And now gathered against thee are many nations, Who say, ``Let her be condemned, And look shall our eye on Zion.'' (284)
12 But they know not the thoughts of Jehovah, And understand not his counsel; For he shall gather them as a handful to the floor.
13 Arise, and thrash, thou daughter of Zion; For thy horn will I make iron, And thy hoofs will I make brass; And thou shalt tear in pieces strong nations; And consecrate to Jehovah their wealth, And their substance to the Lord of the whole earth.
Translation: Micah 5
1 Assemble now thyself, thou daughter of a troop; A siege has he set against us: (294) With a rod shall they smite on the cheek the judge of Israel.
2 And thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, Art small to be among the thousands of Judah!
From thee shall to me come forth One to be a ruler in Israel; And his goings forth are from the beginning, From the days of ages.
3 He will therefore give them up till the time, When she who travails shall bring forth, And return to the children of Israel Shall the residue of his brethren: 4 And he shall stand and feed in the power of Jehovah, In the majesty of the name of Jehovah his God; And they shall quietly dwell, For he shall now be magnified to the ends of the earth.
5 And he shall be our peace; When the Assyrian shall come into our land, And when he shall tread in our palaces, Then we shall set up against him seven shepherds, And eight princes of men; 6 And they shall lay waste The land of the Assyrian by the sword, And the land of Nimrod by their swords; (311) And he will deliver us from the Assyrian, When he shall come into our land, And when he shall tread in our borders.
7 And the residue of Jacob shall be, Among the nations, in the midst of many people, As a dew from Jehovah, as drops of rain on the grass; Which tarries not for man, nor waits for the sons of men.
8 The residue of Jacob shall also be, Among the nations, in the midst of many people, As a lion among the beasts of the forest, As a young lion among a flock of sheep, Who, when he passes through, tears and carries away, And no one can deliver.
9 Exalted shall be thy hand above thine enemies, And all thine adversaries shall be cut off.
10 And it shall be in that day, saith Jehovah, That I will cut off thy horses from the
MINOR PROPHETS
midst of thee, And I will destroy thy chariots; 11 And cut off will I the cities of thy land, And will overthrow all thy fortresses; 12 And I will cut off diviners from thine hand, And soothsayers shall not be to thee; 13 And cut off will I thy graven images, And thy stature from the midst of thee, And thou shalt no more bow down Before the work of thy hands; 14 And I will demolish thy groves from the midst of thee, That I man destroy thine enemies; 15 And in anger and fury will I execute on the nations A vengeance, which they have not heard.
Translation: Micah 6
1 Hear ye now what Jehovah saith, --- ``Arise, contend before the mountains, And let the hills hear thy voice.''
2 Hear, ye mountains, the controversy of Jehovah, And ye strong foundations of the earth; For Jehovah has a controversy with his people, And with Israel he will contend: ---
3 ``My people! What have I done to thee? And in what have I molested thee?
Testify against me.
4 I have indeed made thee to ascend from Egypt, And from the house of servants
I redeemed thee; I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
5 My people! Remember now What Balak, the king of Moab, consulted, And what Balaam, the son of Bosor, answered him, And what happened from Shittim even to Gilgal, That thou mayest know the righteousness of Jehovah.'' (336)
6 ``Wherewith shall I approach Jehovah? And bow down myself before the high
God? Shall I approach him with burnt-sacrifices? With calves a year old?
7 Will Jehovah be pleased with thousands of rams? With ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my first-born as my sin-offering? The fruit of my loins as an expiation
For the wickedness of my soul?'' ---
8 He hath declared to thee, O man, what is good: And what does Jehovah require from thee, But to do justice, and to love mercy, And to humble thyself to walk with thy God?
9 The voice of Jehovah crieth to arouse; And the man of understanding will see his name: Hear ye the rod, and who testifies of it.
10 Are there still in the house of the wicked The treasures of iniquity, And the scanty detestable measure?
11 Shall I justify balances of wickedness, And the bag of deceitful weights?
12 For her rich men have filled themselves by violence, And her inhabitants have
MINOR PROPHETS
spoken falsehood, And their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
13 And I also by smiting will afÒict thee, And thee will I destroy for thy sins: (352)
14 Thou shalt eat and not be satisfied, And thy casting down shall be in the midst of thee; And thou shalt lay hold, and not deliver, And what thou deliverest will I give up to the sword: 15 Thou shalt sow and not reap, Thou shalt press the oil, and not anoint thyself with oil, And the new wine, and not drink wine.
16 For observed are the statues of Omri, And every work of the house of Ahab; And ye walk in their counsels, That I should make thee a desolation, And her inhabitants an hissing; And the reproach of my people ye shall bear.
Translation: Micah 7
1 Woe is me! For I am as the ingatherings of summer, And as the bunches of the vintage: There is no cluster to eat; The ripe fruits my soul hath desired. (360)
2 Perished has the meek from the land, And upright among men there is none; For all lie in wait for blood, Every one hunts his brother with a net.
3 To effect the wickedness of their hands, The prince asketh, and the judge also, for reward. And the great man speaks himself Of the mischief of his soul; and they wrap it up. (365)
4 The good among them is like a brier, The upright is worse than a thorn-hedge: The day of thy watchmen, thy visitation, is coming; They shall be their confusion.
5 Trust not a friend, put no faith in a counselor; From her who sleepeth in thy bosom, Guard the openings of thy mouth: 6 For the son dishonors his father, The daughter rises up against her mother, The daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; Enemies to man are his own domestics.
7 But I to Jehovah will look, I will wait for the God of my salvation; Hear me will my God.
8 Rejoice not thou over me, my enemy; (374) Though I have fallen, I shall rise again; When I sit in darkness, Jehovah will be my light.
9 The wrath of Jehovah will I bear, (For I have sinned against him,) Until he plead my cause, And execute judgment for me; He will bring me to light, I shall see his righteousness: 10 And see shall my enemy, And cover her shall shame, who said to me, ---
is Jehovah thy God?'' Mine eyes shall see her; And now trodden shall she be as the mire of the street.
11 The day to build thy walls! That day shall remove far the decree: 12 And in that day to thee shall they come From Assyria and the cities of the fortress, From the fortress also to the river, (386) And from sea to sea, and from
MINOR PROPHETS
mountain to mountain, ---
13 But the land shall become a desolation, On account of its inhabitants, For the fruit of their works.
14 Feed thy people by thy crook, Thy flock of thy heritage, Who dwell in solitude, in the wood, As in the midst of Carmel; They shall be fed in Bashan and Gilead, As in the days of old. (392)
15 As in the days of thy going forth from the land of Egypt, I will show to him wonderful things.
16 Shall see the nations, And be ashamed of all their might; They shall lay their hand on their mouth, Their ears shall become deaf; 17 They shall lick the dust as a serpent, As reptiles of the earth shall they move from their holes; Jehovah our God shall they dread, And they shall be afraid of thee.
18 What God is like thee, Taking away iniquity, And passing over transgression, As to the remnant of his heritage? He will not retain forever his anger, For he loveth mercy: 19 He will return, he will have mercy on us; He will tread down our iniquities, And cast into the depths of the sea all their sins: 20 Thou wilt grant truth to Jacob, Mercy to Abraham; Which thou hast sworn to our fathers In the days of old.
Translation: Nahum 1
1 The burden of Nineveh, --- the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite: 2 A God jealous, and an avenger is Jehovah; Avenger is Jehovah, and a retainer of wrath; Take vengeance does Jehovah on his enemies, And keep it for his adversaries: 3 Jehovah is slow to wrath, and great in power, And by clearing he will not clear: Jehovah! In the whirlwind and tempest is his way, And the cloud is the dust of his feet: (424)
4 He chides the sea, and it becomes dry; And all the rivers he dried up; Languish do Bashan and Carmel, And the flower of Lebanon languishes: 5 Mountains tremble at him, and hills melt; And burn does the earth before his face, Yea, the world, and all who dwell in it. (427)
6 Before his indignation who can stand? And who can bear the fierceness of his wrath? (429) His fury is poured out like fire, And rocks dissolve before him.
7 Good is Jehovah for strength in the day of distress; And he knoweth them who hope in him.
8 But with an inundation, he, passing through, Will make a consummation in her place; (433) And pursue shall darkness his enemies.
9 What do ye imagine against Jehovah? A consummation he makes! Not rise again shall afÒiction.
10 They who are like entangled thorns, And drunken as with their own drinking
--- Devoured shall they be as stubble fully dry. (437)
11 From thee has gone forth a contriver of evil Against Jehovah, a wicked counselor.
12 Thus saith Jehovah, --- Though they are secure, and though they are many, They shall yet be cut off, and he shall pass through: (443) And through I have afflicted thee, I will afÒict thee no more;
MINOR PROPHETS
13 For now will I break off from thee his yoke, And his bonds will I burst asunder.
14 And a command respecting thee hath Jehovah given, --- ``Let none be sown hereafter of thy name;'' From the house of thy gods will I cut off The graven and the molten image; I will make thy grave, for thou art execrable.
15 Behold on the mountains the feet of him Who announceth, who publisheth peace! Celebrate thou, Judah, thy solemnities, Perform thy vows; for pass through thee Shall the wicked one no more, --- he is wholly cut off.
Translation: Nahum 2
1 Come up is the destroyer before thy face; Watch the fortress, guard the way, (455) Make strong the loins, fortify mightily thy strength: 2 (For taken away hath Jehovah the pride of Jacob, As he had done as to the pride of Israel; As he had done as to the pride of Israel; For emptied them the emptiers, And their branches have they cut down:)
3 The shield of his mighty ones are made red, The men of his strength are clad in scarlet; With the fire of torches is the chariot, In the day of his expedition; And the fir-trees tremulously shake: 4 In the wide places they madden with their chariots, The hurry away through the streets, The appearance of them is that of lamps, As lightnings they run here and there.
5 He will remember his valiant men, They shall stumble in their march, They shall hasten to her wall, And prepared will be the defense.
6 The gates of the rivers are opened, And the palace is dissolved; 7 And she which stood firm is cast into exile, And her maids lead her as with the voice of doves, Beating on their breasts. (463)
8 And yet Nineveh had been As a pool of waters from ancient days; But now they flee --- ``Stand ye, stand;'' And no one regards.
9 Take ye away the silver, take away the gold; For there is no end of her preparations; Her glory is from every desirable vessel. (468)
10 Emptied and emptied is she, and denuded; And the heart is melted; And there is a knocking of the knees, And trembling in all loins, And the faces of all withdraw their brightness. (472)
11 Where is the abode of lions? Where came the lion, the lioness, the cub of the lion; And none terrified them. (474)
12 The lion tare what sufÏced his whelps, And strangled for his lionesses, And
MINOR PROPHETS
filled with raving his caves, And his dens with prey.
13 Behold, I am against thee, saith Jehovah of hosts, And I will burn with smoke her chariot, And thy young lions shall the sword devour, And I will cut off from the land thy prey, And the sound of thy teeth shall no more be heard.
Translation: Nahum 3
1 Oh blood city! The whole is full of deceit, and of ravin; From it the prey departs not.
2 The sound of the whip! The sound of the rattling of the wheel! And the horse prancing, and the chariot bounding!
3 The horseman urging onward! And the flame of the sword, and the lightning of the spear! And the number of the slain, and the mass of carcasses! And there is no end to her dead bodies, They stumble on their carcasses!
4 This is for the multitude of the fornications Of the harlot who excels in beauty, The mistress of sorceries, Who sells nations by her fornications, And tribes by her sorceries. (481)
5 Behold, I am against thee, saith Jehovah of hosts: And I will throw thy skirts over thy face, And show to the nations thy nakedness, And to kingdoms thy filthiness; 6 And I will cast on thee filth, and disgrace thee, And I will make thee an example: 7 And it shall be, that whosoever seeth thee Shall flee away from thee, and say, --- ``Wasted is Nineveh! Who will condole with her? Whence shall I seek comforters for thee?
8 Are thou better than populous No, Which dwelt among the rivers? The sea was around her; Whose mound was the sea, and the sea was her wall; 9 From Ethiopia was her strength, and from Egypt, And there was no end to it; Africa and Lybia were her auxiliaries: 10 Even she migrated, she went into captivity; And her infants were bound in chains.
11 Thou also shalt be inebriated, thou shalt be hid; And thou shat seek strength from the enemy.
12 All thy fortresses shall be like fig-trees with ripe fruit; If they be shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater.
MINOR PROPHETS
13 Behold, thy people shall be women in the midst of thee; To thine enemies shall be opened in the gates of thy land, Devour shall the fire thy bars.
14 Waters for the siege draw for thyself, Strengthen thy fortresses, Enter into the clay, tread the mortar, Make strong the brick-kiln: 15 There shall the fire devour you, Exterminate thee shall the sword, It shall devour thee as the chafer. Increase as the chafer, increase as the locust; 16 Thou hast multiplied thy merchants More than the stars of heaven; --- The chafer has spoiled, and flies away.
17 Thy princes are as locusts, And thy captains are as the largest locusts; Which encamp in the fences in the cold day; The sun rises, and they fly away, And not known is the place where they are. (502)
18 Slept have thy shepherds, king of Assyria; Lie down did thy mighty men: Dispersed is thy people on the mountains, And no one gathers them.
19 There is no binding for thy fracture, Altogether grievous is thy wound; All who shall hear a report of thee, Shall, on thy account, strike the hand; For upon whom hath not passed Thy wickedness continually?
Addenda to Joel
ADDenda to Joel
Joel 1:4, The residue of the locusts, etc. ``A comparison,'' says Dr. Henderson, ``of the different passages in which these names occur, renders it more than probable that they are here employed by the Prophet, not with any reference to the species into which the locusts may be scientifically divided, but to designate four successive swarms, according to certain destructive qualities, by which, as a genus of insects, they are distinguished, and thereby to heighten the terror which this description was intended to produce.''
Mercerius, as quoted in Poli Syn., tells us, that almost all divines, both ancient and modern, understood this narrative of the locusts allegorically; and it appears that, according to some, they designate the four incursions of the Chaldeans into the land, that is, by Tiglathpileser, Shalmanezer, Sennacherib, and Nebuchadnezzar; or, according to Cyril, by Shalmanezer, Nebuchadnezzar, Antiochus, and the Romans; or, according to Jerome, the four empires which successively ruled over the Jews, the first locust representing the Chaldeans, --- the second, the Medes and Persians, --- the third, the Macedonians, --- and the fourth, the Romans. But these are hallucinations and not expositions. Much more appropriate is the opinion stated and approved by Henderson, that in this chapter Joel describes a devastation of the country by natural locusts; and that in the second he predicts a devastation by the Assyrians in a language highly metaphorical, borrowed in some measure from the scene described here; and this is exactly the view of Calvin.
Joel 2:12, But even now, etc. Our version, ``Therefor also now,'' is not so emphatical as that of Calvin. The full meaning has been perceived by Newcome, ``Yet even now,'' though omitted by Henderson, whose rendering is, ``Now therefore,'' which comes short of our common version.
Joel 2:13, For he is propitious, etc. It is of great importance that this declaration of what God is should be correctly rendered. Newcome's version is the same with
MINOR PROPHETS
our common translation. Henderson's is different; it is this, ---
he is pitiful and compassionate,
Long-suffering and of great mercy,
And repenteth of the evil.''
The first, {,}חנוןis not ``pitiful,'' but gracious, benevolent, propitious, gratuitously kind, favorable to the undeserving; it comes from {,}חןto show favor or kindness; and the last letter being doubled, it may be rendered, very kind, or very gracious. The second is {,}רחוםwhich more properly means pitiful, but rightly rendered, ``compassionate,'' rather than ``merciful,'' as in our version. The third, {,}ארך{ }אפיםis better expressed by ``slow to anger,'' or to wrath, than by ``long-suffering.'' The fourth is, {}חסד-{,}רבmuch, or abundant in goodness: the word {}חסדis sometimes rendered mercy, but not properly; it means overflowing goodness, or exuberant benevolence. Adam Clarke has given an accurate description of these terms: ---
--- good and benevolent in his own nature, --- merciful* --- pitying and forgiving, --- slow to anger --- not easily provoked to punish, --- of great kindness --- exuberant goodness to all them who return to him.''
Joel 2:14, who knows, etc. Henderson has been very felicitous in his version of this line, ---
knoweth? He may turn and repent.''
It is an instance of the potential or subjunctive meaning of the future tense in Hebrew; which is the case probably much oftener than what is generally thought.
But not so felicitous is the rendering of {,}חוסהin verse 17, by ``Have pity.'' The meaning of the verb is, no doubt to spare, as it is rendered, I believe, uniformly in our version. It may be seen in connection with two other verbs, which include the ideas of pity and sympathy, in Jeremiah 13:14; 21:7
Joel 2:20, For high hath he exalted himself to do his purpose. Both Newcome and Henderson retain the common version, only the former reads, ``Though,'' instead of ``because he hath done great things.'' {`` ,}כי{ }הגדיל{ }לעשותFor he made himself great in (or, by) doing,'' or, ``Became great in doing.'' It is the greatness of the doer that is set forth, rather than of the things done. Henderson very justly observes, that those words ``convey the idea of moral agency, and can with no propriety be interpreted of the locusts.'' Exactly the same words are adopted in the next verse in reference to God.
Joel 2:25, My great army, etc. Newcome says, ``We have here a key to the grand and beautiful description which runs through these two chapters.'' He considered that the Prophet is to be understood throughout ``as foretelling a plague of locusts.'' But this can be no key to such an interpretation, for what is said in this verse coalesces much better with the other view. On the supposition that there had been locusts, as related in the first chapter, and that the Prophet threatens a heavier judgment in this, which could only be prevented by repentance, to which he exhorts them, it appears most appropriate for him to say, that not only ``the Northlander,'' of whose invasion he had spoken, would be driven away and destroyed, but that also the devastations already produced by the locusts would be repaired. So far then is this verse from being a key to the proposed interpretation, that it is much more
JOHN CALVIN
suitable to the other.
Joel 2:30, And I will set prodigies, etc. Calvin extends the range of these prodigies beyond what most commentators do. They are viewed by most as those prodigies, recorded even by the historian Josephus, which preceded the overthrow of the city and the temple by the Romans, when the whole kingdom, in a civil and ecclesiastical sense, was completely abolished. The day of the Lord, as mentioned here, has therefore been regarded as the day or time when this awful calamity happened to the Jews: but Calvin regards it as the day of final judgment. There is no doubt much truth in what he says about prodigies or awful judgments ever accompanying the gospel, not as its effects, but as visitations for unbelief, and willful and malicious opposition to it. There is much in the history of the world in confirmation of what he advances. The determinate suppression of the gospel by those who had opportunity of knowing it, or the evident depravation of it either by the influence of infidelity or of superstition, have often been visited in this world with awful judgments, such as wars and political disturbances.
Addenda to Amos
Addenda to AMOS
Amos 2:7, Who pant, etc. Our common version is the literal one, which is followed by Henderson, but altered for the worse by Newcome, who was led astray by Hobigant and the Septuagint. Not only are the words inverted, but a change is made in the verb, without the authority of any MS. It is a strong mode of expression to set forth the extreme cruelty and avariciousness of the persons referred to. ``They even begrudged them,'' as Henderson observes, ``the small quantity of dust they had cast on their heads in token of mourning:'' or, as Parkhurst says, They ``longed to see the poor and miserable still more wretched: a most diabolical character surely!'' To cast dust on the head was then customary in seasons of great distress. See Job 2:12; Ezekiel 27:30; and 2 Samuel 13:19
Amos 3:5, Will a bird fall into a snare on the earth without a fowler? etc. Newcome, with whom Henderson materially agrees, renders this verse differently, ---
a bird fall into a snare upon the earth,
Where no gin is set for him?
Will a snare spring from the ground,
When it hath not taken anything?''
The comparison is more appropriate according to the version of Calvin; and the probability is that it is the right one. The word {,}מוקשrendered, ``gin'' by Newcome, as it is in our version, is considered by Henderson as redundant; and this very circumstance creates a suspicion that the passage is not rightly understood.
This word is often rendered in our version ``snare,'' but it means more properly the act, ensnaring, than the instrument, snare: and it may be considered here a Hiphil participle --- ``he who ensnares,'' or, ``the ensnarer.'' It is rendered {ἱξευτης}, a bird catcher by the Septuagint. Then the two following lines will admit naturally of Calvin's rendering, and there will be no need of having recourse to Henderson's
snare,'' or to Adam Clarke's ``spring-trap,'' neither of which is, I believe,