The Daily Audio Bible
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19 My womb acheth, my womb acheth; the wits of mine heart be troubled in me. I shall not be still, for my soul heard the voice of a trump, the cry of battle.
20 Sorrow is called on sorrow, and all the land is destroyed; my tabernacles be wasted suddenly, my skins be wasted suddenly (my tents suddenly be destroyed, my curtains suddenly be all torn in pieces).
21 How long shall I see them that flee, shall I hear the voice of a clarion? (How long shall I see those who attack, shall I hear the sound of the trumpet?)
22 For my fond people knew not me; they be unwise sons, and cowards; they be wise to do evils, but they know not (how) to do well. (For my foolish people knew me not; they be unwise sons and daughters, and cowards; they be wise in doing evil, but they do not know how to do good.)
23 I beheld the land, and lo! it was void, and nought; and I beheld heavens, and no light there was in them (and I beheld the heavens, and there was no light in them).
24 I saw (the) mountains, and lo! they were moved (they were shaken), and all (the) little hills were troubled.
25 I looked, and no man there was, and each bird of heaven was gone away. (I looked, and there was no one, and each bird of the heavens had gone away.)
26 I beheld, and lo! Carmel is forsaken, and all cities thereof be destroyed from the face of the Lord, and from the face of the ire of his strong vengeance. (I beheld, and lo! the plentiful land was deserted, and all its cities were destroyed before the Lord, yea, before the anger of his strong vengeance.)
27 For the Lord saith these things, All the land shall be forsaken, but nevertheless, I shall not make a [full] ending.
28 The earth shall mourn, and (the) heavens above shall make sorrow, for that I spake; I thought, and it repented not me (I thought, and I shall not repent), neither I am turned away from it.
29 Each city fled from the voice of a knight, and a man shooting an arrow (Each city fled from the shouts of the horsemen, and the men shooting arrows); they entered into hard places, and ascended into rocks of stone; all [the] cities be forsaken, and no man dwelleth in them.
30 But what shalt thou (that art to be) destroyed, do? When thou shalt clothe thee with red scarlet, when thou shalt be adorned with a golden brooch, and shalt anoint thine eyes with woman’s ointment, thou shalt be arrayed in vain; thy lovers have despised thee, they shall seek thy soul. (But thou who art doomed, what shalt thou do? Even though thou shalt clothe thyself with red scarlet, and be adorned with a gold brooch, and shalt anoint thine eyes with woman’s ointment, thou shalt be arrayed in vain; for thy lovers despise thee, and they shall seek thy soul/and they shall seek thy life.)
31 For I heard a voice as a woman travailing of child, the anguishes as of a woman childing; the voice of the daughter of Zion among them that die, and spread abroad her hands; Woe to me, for my soul failed for them that be slain. (For I heard a sound like a woman in labour, like the anguishes of a woman giving birth; the voice of the daughter of Zion among those who die, spreading abroad her hands, and saying, Woe to me, for my soul, or my life, failed over those who be killed.)
5 Compass ye the ways of Jerusalem, and look, and behold ye, and seek ye in the streets thereof, whether ye find a man doing doom, and seeking faith; and I shall be merciful to them. (Go ye about the ways of Jerusalem, and look, and behold ye, and seek ye in its streets, whether ye can find anyone doing justice, and seeking faith; and I shall be merciful to them.)
2 That if also they say, The Lord liveth, yea, they shall swear this falsely. (But even if they say, As the Lord liveth, yea, they shall swear this falsely.)
3 Lord, thine eyes behold faith; thou hast smitten them, and they made not sorrow; thou hast all-broken them, and they forsook to take chastising; they made their faces harder than a stone, and would not turn again. (Lord, thine eyes look for faithfulness; thou hast struck them, but they did not have sorrow; thou hast all-broken them, but they refused to accept their discipline, or their correction; they made their faces harder than a stone, and would not return to thee.)
4 Forsooth I said, In hap they be poor men, and fools, that know not the way of the Lord, and the doom of their God. (And I said, Perhaps they be the poor, and the foolish, and they do not know the way of the Lord, and the judgement, or the justice, of their God.)
5 Therefore I shall go to the principal men, and I shall speak to them; for they knew the way of the Lord, and the doom of their God. And lo! they have more broken together the yoke, and have broken [the] bonds. (And so I shall go to the principal men, or to the leaders, and I shall speak to them; for they knew the way of the Lord, and the judgement, or the justice, of their God. But lo! they also have altogether broken the yoke, and have broken their bonds.)
6 Therefore a lion of the wood smote them; a wolf at eventide wasted them, a leopard watching on the cities of them. Each man that goeth out of them, shall be taken; for the trespassings of them be multiplied, the turnings away of them be comforted (Each person who goeth out of them, shall be taken, or shall be torn apart; for their trespassings be multiplied, their turnings away be increased).
7 On what thing may I be merciful to thee? Thy sons have forsaken me, and swear by them that be not gods. I [full-]filled them, and they did adultery, and in the house of an whore they did lechery. (For what thing can I be merciful to thee? Thy children have deserted me, and swear by those that be not gods. I filled them full, and they still did adultery, that is, idolatry, yea, they still did lechery in a whorehouse.)
8 They be made horses, and stallions, lovers to women (lovers of women); each man neighed to the wife of his neighbour.
9 Whether I shall not visit on these things, saith the Lord, and shall not my soul take vengeance on such a folk? (Shall I not punish them for these things? saith the Lord, and shall not my soul take vengeance on such a nation?)
10 Go ye up on the walls thereof, and destroy ye; but do not ye make an ending. Do ye away the scions thereof, for they be not servants of the Lord.
11 For why the house of Israel and the house of Judah hath trespassed by trespassing against me, saith the Lord; (Because the house of Israel and the house of Judah have trespassed by trespassing against me, saith the Lord;)
12 they denied the Lord, and said, He is not, neither evil shall come [up]on us; we shall not see sword and hunger (we shall not see the sword and hunger).
13 The prophets spake against the wind, and none answer was in them; therefore these things shall come to them. (The prophets spoke nothing but wind, and there was no word of God in them; and so these things shall come to them.)
14 The Lord God of hosts saith these things, For ye spake this word, lo! I give my words in thy mouth into fire, and this people into trees, and it shall devour them. (The Lord God of hosts saith these things, Because ye spoke these words, lo! I shall make my words in thy mouth into fire, and this people into wood, and it shall devour them.)
15 Lo! thou house of Israel, saith the Lord, I shall bring on you a folk from [a]far; a strong folk, an old folk, a folk whose language thou shalt not know, neither shalt understand what it speaketh. (Lo! O house of Israel, saith the Lord, I shall bring upon you a nation from far away; a strong nation, an old nation, a nation whose language thou shalt not know, nor shalt thou understand what they say.)
16 The arrow case thereof is as an open sepulchre; all be strong men. (Its arrow case, or its quiver, is an open grave, or an empty tomb; they all be strong men.)
17 And it shall eat thy corns, and it shall devour thy bread, thy sons and thy daughters; it shall eat thy flock, and thy droves, it shall eat also thy vinery, and thy fig tree; it shall all-break thy strong cities with sword, in which thou hast trusted. (And they shall eat thy corn, or thy harvest, and shall devour thy bread, or thy food, and thy sons and thy daughters; they shall eat thy flocks, and thy herds, and they shall eat thy vines, and thy fig trees; and they shall all-break with the sword thy strong cities, in which thou hast trusted.)
18 Nevertheless in those days, saith the Lord, I shall not make you into (a) [full] ending. (Nevertheless in those days, saith the Lord, I shall not make an end of you.)
19 That if ye say, Why hath our Lord God done all these things to us? thou shalt say to them, As ye forsook me, and served an alien god in your land, so ye shall serve alien gods in a land not yours. (And when they ask, Why hath the Lord our God done all these things to us? thou shalt say to them, As ye deserted me, and served a strange, or a foreign, god in your own land, so now ye shall serve strange, or foreign, gods in a land not your own.)
20 Tell ye this to the house of Jacob, and make ye (it) heard in Judah, and say ye,
21 Hear, thou fond people, that hast none heart; which have eyes, and see not, and ears, and hear not. (Listen, O foolish people, ye who have no heart; yea, ye who have eyes, but cannot see, and ears, but cannot hear.)
22 Therefore shall not ye dread me, saith the Lord, and shall not ye make sorrow for my face? Which have set gravel to be a term, either end, to the sea, an everlasting commandment, which it shall not pass; and the waves thereof shall be moved, and shall not have power; and shall wax great, and shall not pass it. (And so shall ye not fear me, saith the Lord, and shall ye not tremble before my face? Yea, before I, who hath set the sand to be the term, or the boundary, of the sea, by an everlasting commandment, which it shall not pass over; and its waves shall be moved, but they shall not have the power to pass over it; yea, they shall grow great, but they shall not pass over it.)
23 Forsooth an heart unbelieveful and stirring (me) to wrath is made to this people; they departed, and went away, (But this people hath an unbelieving heart, and stirreth me to anger; they departed, and went away,)
24 and they said not in their heart, Dread we our Lord God, that giveth to us rain timeful, and lateful in his time; that keepeth to us the plenty of harvest of the year. (and they did not say in their hearts, Let us fear the Lord our God/Let us revere the Lord our God, who giveth us timely rain, and late rain in its time; and who giveth us the plenty of the harvest every year.)
25 Your wickednesses did away these things, and your sins forbidded good from (coming to) you.
26 For there be found wicked men in my people, setting treason, as fowlers setting snares and traps, to take men. (For the wicked be found among my people, setting treason, like fowlers settings snares and traps, to take hold of, or to catch, people.)
27 As a net, either a trap, (is) full of birds, so the houses of them be full of guile. (Like a net, or a trap, is full of birds, so their houses be full of deceit.)
28 Therefore they be magnified, and made rich, made fat within, and made fat withoutforth, and they passed worst my words; they deemed not the cause of a widow, they (ad)dressed not the cause of a fatherless child, and they deemed not the doom of poor men. (And so they be magnified, or enlarged, and made rich, made fat within, and made fat outside, and their deeds surpassed even those of the very worst; they judged not justly a widow’s case, they did not even address the case of a fatherless child, and they judged not justly for the poor.)
29 Whether I shall not visit on these things, saith the Lord, either shall not my soul take vengeance on such a folk? (Shall I not punish them for these things? saith the Lord, or shall I not take vengeance upon such a nation?)
30 Wonder and marvelous things be made in the land; (A horrible and terrible thing is done in the land;)
31 prophets prophesied leasing, and priests joyed with their hands, and my people loved such things. What therefore shall be done in the last thing thereof? (prophets prophesied lies, and the priests clapped their hands, and my people loved such things. And so what shall be done in its last things, or at the end of it all?)
6 Sons of Benjamin, be ye comforted in the middle of Jerusalem, and make ye noise with a clarion in Tekoa, and raise ye a banner on Bethhaccerem; for why evil and great sorrow is seen from the north. (Sons of Benjamin, escape ye from the midst of Jerusalem, and make ye a sound with a trumpet in Tekoa, and raise ye up a banner over Bethhaccerem; for evil and great sorrow is seen coming from the north.)
2 I have likened the daughter of Zion to a fair woman and delicate. (I have likened, or compared, the daughter of Zion to a beautiful and delicate woman.)
3 Shepherds and their flocks shall come to it; they have pitched tents in it in compass; each man shall feed them, that be under his hand. (Shepherds and their flocks shall come to her; they shall pitch their tents all around her; each one shall feed his beasts there, that be under his hand.)
4 Hallow ye battle on it. Rise ye together, and ascend we in midday (Prepare ye battle against her. Rise ye up together, and go we up at midday). Woe to us, for the day hath bowed down, for shadows be made longer in the eventide.
5 Rise ye, and ascend we in the night, and destroy we the houses thereof. (Rise ye, and go we up in the night, and let us destroy its houses.)
6 For the Lord of hosts saith these things, Cut ye down the tree(s) thereof, and shed ye earth about Jerusalem; this is the city of visitation; all false challenge is in the midst thereof. (For the Lord of hosts saith these things, Cut ye down its trees, and heap ye earth all around Jerusalem; this is the city to be punished; for oppression is widespread in its midst.)
7 As a cistern maketh his water cold, so it made his malice cold; wickedness and destroying shall ever be heard therein before me, sickness and wound. (Like a cistern maketh its water cold, so Jerusalem made its malice cold; wickedness and destruction be heard there, sickness and wounds be ever before me.)
8 Jerusalem, be thou taught, lest peradventure my soul go away from thee; lest peradventure I set thee forsaken, a land unhabitable. (Jerusalem, make thyself able to be taught, lest perhaps my soul go away from thee; lest perhaps I make thee deserted, yea, a land uninhabited/yea, an uninhabitable land.)
9 The Lord of hosts saith these things, They shall gather till to a raisin, they shall gather the remnants of Israel as in a vinery (they shall gather the remnants of Israel like in a vineyard); turn thine hand, as a gatherer of grapes to the basket.
10 To whom shall I speak, and to whom shall I say witnessing, that he hear? Lo! the ears of them be uncircumcised, and they be not able to hear; lo! the word of the Lord is made to them into despite, and they shall not receive it (lo! the word of the Lord is taken as a rebuke to them, and they shall not accept it).
11 Therefore I am full of the strong vengeance of the Lord, and I travailed suffering. Shed thou out vengeance on a little child withoutforth, and on the counsel(s) of young men together (Pour thou out vengeance upon a little child outside, and upon young men who make plans together); for a man with his wife shall be taken, and an eld man with him that is full of days.
12 And the houses of them, (with) the fields and wives together, shall go to other men; for I shall stretch forth mine hand on the dwellers of the land, saith the Lord.
13 For from the less unto the greater, all study to avarice; and all do guile, from the prophet unto the priest. (For from the least unto the greatest, all work hard to do avarice, or to fulfill their greed; and all be deceitful, from the prophet unto the priest.)
14 And they healed the sorrow of the daughter of my people with evil fame, saying, Peace, peace, and no peace was. (And they tried to heal the sorrow of the daughter of my people with shallow words, by simply saying, Peace, peace, when there was no peace.)
15 They be shamed, that did abomination; yea, rather they were not shamed by confusion, and they could not be ashamed. Wherefore they shall fall down among them that shall fall down; they shall fall down in the time of their visitation, saith the Lord. (Were they ashamed, who did these abominations? nay, they were not ashamed, and they could not be ashamed. And so they shall fall among the fallen; they shall fall down at the time of their punishment, saith the Lord.)
18 And he is head of the body of the church; which is the beginning and the first begotten of dead men, that he hold the first dignity in all things[a].
19 For in him it pleased all plenty to inhabit,
20 and by him all things to be reconciled into him, and made peace by the blood of his cross, those things that be in earth's, either that be in heavens [either those things that be in earth's, or that be in heavens].
21 And when ye were sometime aliened, and enemies by wit in evil works, now he hath reconciled you
22 in the body of his flesh by death, to have you holy, and unwemmed, and without reproof before him.
23 If nevertheless ye dwell in the faith, founded, and stable [founded, and stabled], and unmoveable from the hope of the gospel that ye have heard, which is preached in all creature that is under heaven. Of which I Paul am made a minister,
24 and now I have joy in passion for you, and I fill those things that fail of the passions of Christ in my flesh, for his body, that is the church. [the which now I have joy in passions for you, and full-fill those things that fail of the passions of Christ in my flesh, for his body, that is the church.]
25 Of which I Paul am made [a] minister by the dispensation of God, that is given to me in you, that I fill the word of God,[b]
26 the private [the mystery, or private], that was hid from worlds and generations. But now it is showed to his saints,
27 to whom God would make known the riches of the glory of this sacrament in heathen men, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
28 Whom we show, reproving each man, and teaching each man in all wisdom, that we offer each man perfect in Christ Jesus.
29 In which thing also I travail, in striving by the working of him [In which thing and I travail, striving after the working of him], that he worketh in me in virtue.
2 But I will that ye know, what busyness I have for you, and for them that be at Laodicea, and whichever saw not my face in flesh,
2 that their hearts be comforted, and they be taught in charity, into all the riches of the plenty of understanding [that the hearts of them be comforted, taught in charity, and into all riches of plenty of understanding], into the knowing of [the] mystery of God, the Father of Jesus Christ,
3 in whom all the treasures of wisdom and of science be hid. [in whom be all the treasures of wisdom and knowing hid.]
4 For this thing I say, that no man deceive you in height of words.
5 For though I be absent in body, [but] by spirit I am with you, joying and seeing your order and the firmness of your belief that is in Christ.
6 Therefore as ye have taken Jesus Christ our Lord, walk ye in him,
7 and be ye rooted and builded above in him [rooted and built above in Christ], and confirmed in the belief, as ye have learned, abounding in him in doing of thankings.
77 To the victory on Jeduthun, the psalm of Asaph. (To victory, to Jeduthun, the song of Asaph.) With my voice I cried to the Lord, with my voice to God; and he gave attention to me.
2 In the day of my tribulation I sought God with mine hands; in the night before him/in the night toward him, and I am not deceived. My soul forsook to be comforted; (In the day of my trouble I sought out God; all night long, I raised up my hands before him/I raised up my hands toward him. But my soul forsook to be comforted;)
3 I was mindful of God, and I delighted, and I was exercised; and my spirit failed. (I remembered God, and I was troubled, and I was upset; and my spirit failed.)
4 Mine eyes before took wakings; I was troubled, and I spake not. (My eyes opened in the morning; I was troubled, and I did not speak.)
5 I thought eld days; and I had in mind everlasting years. (I thought about the old days; I remembered the years long ago.)
6 And I thought (deeply) in the night with mine heart; and I was exercised (and I was upset), and I cleansed my spirit.
7 Whether God shall cast away [into] without end; either shall he not lay to, that he be more pleased yet? (Shall God throw us away, or reject us, forever? shall he never be pleased with us again?)
8 Either shall he cut away his mercy into the end; from generation into generation? (Or hath he taken away his love from us forever; yea, for all generations?)
9 Either shall God forget to do mercy; either shall he withhold his mercies in his ire? (Or shall God forget to do mercy to us? or in his anger, shall he withhold his constant love from us?)
10 And I said, Now I began; this is the changing of the right hand of the high God. (And I said, Indeed; hath the right hand of the Most High God now lost its power?)
11 I had mind on the works of the Lord; for I shall have mind from the beginning of thy marvels. (But I remembered the works of the Lord; I shall always remember thy marvellous deeds done in the beginning.)
12 And I shall think on all thy works; and I shall be exercised, either occupied, in thy findings. (And I shall think about all thy works; and about all thy deeds.)
13 God, thy way was in the holy (place); what God is great as our God? (God, thy way is in the holy place, or in the sanctuary/God, thy way is holy; and what god is as great as our God?)
14 thou art God, that doest marvels. Thou madest thy virtue known among peoples; (thou art God, who doest marvellous deeds. Thou madest thy strength known among the nations;)
15 thou again-boughtest in thine arm thy people, the sons of Jacob and of Joseph. (with thy arm thou hast redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and of Joseph.)
16 God, waters saw thee, waters saw thee, and dreaded; and depths of waters were troubled. (God, the waters saw thee, the waters saw thee, and were afraid; and the depths of the waters were troubled.)
17 The multitude of the sound of waters; clouds gave voice. For why thine arrows pass [through]; (The clouds gave forth water, or the rain; the heavens sent out a multitude of sounds. Thy arrows passed through them;)
18 the voice of thy thunder was in a wheel. Thy lightnings shined to the world; the earth was moved, and trembled. (the sound of thy thunder was in the whirlwind. Thy lightnings shone upon the world; the earth was shaken, and trembled.)
19 Thy way in the sea, and thy paths in many waters; and thy steps shall not be known.
20 Thou leddest forth thy people as sheep; in the hand of Moses and Aaron. (Thou leddest forth thy people like sheep; by the guidance of Moses and Aaron.)
23 Also these things that follow be to wise men. It is not good to know a person in doom. (And these things that follow also be for the wise. It is not good to know a person whom thou is judging.)
24 Peoples shall curse them that say to a wicked man, Thou art just; and lineages shall hold them abominable. (The peoples, or the nations, shall curse those who say to a wicked person, Thou art righteous; and the tribes, or all the people, shall hold them as abominable.)
25 They that reprove justly sinners, shall be praised (They who justly rebuke sinners, shall be praised); and blessing shall come [up]on them.
2001 by Terence P. Noble