The Daily Audio Bible

4 How is gold made dark, the best colour is changed? the stones of the saintuary be scattered in the head of all streets. (How the gold is made dark, the best colour is changed! the stones from the sanctuary be scattered at the head, or at the top, of every street.)

² The noble sons of Zion, and clothed with the best gold, how be they areckoned into earthen vessels, into the work of the hands of a potter? (The noble sons of Zion, and clothed with the best gold, how they be reckoned like clay vessels, yea, the work of the hands of a potter!)

³ But also lamias made naked their teats, gave milk to their whelps; (but) the daughter of my people is cruel, as an ostrich in desert (like an ostrich in the wilderness).

⁴ The tongue of the sucking child cleaved to his palate in thirst; little children asked (for) bread, and none was that brake to them (but no one gave them any).

⁵ They that ate lustfully, perished in ways; they that were nourished in cradles, embraced turds. (They who ate lustfully, perished on the ways; they who were nourished in cradles, hung onto dung.)

⁶ And the wickedness of the daughter of my people is made more than the sin of (the) men of Sodom, that was destroyed in a moment, and hands took not therein.

⁷ (The) Nazarites thereof were whiter than snow, shininger than milk; ruddier than eld ivory, fairer than sapphire (redder than old ivory, more beautiful than sapphire).

⁸ The face of them was made blacker than coals, and they were not known in (the) streets; the skin cleaved to their bones, it dried, and was made as a stick (it dried up, and was made like a stick).

⁹ It was better to men slain with sword, than to men slain with hunger; for these men waxed rotten, they were wasted of the barrenness of [the] earth. (It was better for those who were killed with the sword, than for those killed by hunger; for these people slowly grew rotten, and they wasted away for the barrenness of the land.)

¹⁰ The hands of merciful women seethed their children; they were made the meats of those women in the sorrow of the daughter of my people. (The hands of merciful women boiled their own children; they were made the food for those women in the horror of the wounding of my people.)

¹¹ The Lord [ful]filled his strong vengeance, he shedded out the ire of his indignation (he poured out his anger); and the Lord kindled a fire in Zion, and it devoured the foundaments thereof.

¹² The kings of [the] earth, and all the dwellers of the world believed not (and all the inhabitants of the world could not believe it), that an adversary and [the] enemy should enter in by the gates of Jerusalem.

¹³ For the sins of the prophets thereof, and for [the] wickednesses of priests thereof, that shedded out the blood of just men in the midst thereof. (For the sins of its prophets, and for the wickednesses of its priests, who poured out the blood of the just in its midst.)

¹⁴ Blind men erred in streets, they were defouled in blood (They wandered about like the blind in the streets, they were defiled in blood); and when they might not go, they held (onto) their hems.

¹⁵ They cried to them, Depart away, ye defouled men, depart ye, go ye away, do not ye touch; forsooth they chided, and were stirred; they said among heathen men (they said among the heathen), God shall no more add to, that he dwell among them.

¹⁶ The face of the Lord parted them, he shall no more lay to, that he behold them; they were not ashamed of the faces of priests, neither they had mercy on eld men (they were not ashamed before the priests, nor did they have any mercy for the elders).

¹⁷ The while we stood yet, our eyes failed to our vain help; when we beheld attentive to a folk, that might not save us. (Yet while we stood, our eyes looked in vain for our help; we looked attentively for a nation, that could not save us.)

¹⁸ Our steps were slidery in the way of our streets; our end nighed, our days were [ful]filled, for our end came.

¹⁹ Our pursuers were swifter than the eagles of heaven; they pursued us on [the] hills, they setted ambushments to us in desert. (Our pursuers were swifter than the eagles of the heavens; they pursued us over the hills, they set ambush for us in the wilderness.)

²⁰ The spirit of our mouth, Christ the Lord, was taken in our sins; to whom we said, We shall live in thy shadow among heathen men. (The very breath of our mouth, yea, the Lord’s anointed king, was caught in their sins; he of whom we had said, We shall live under thy shadow, among the heathen.)

²¹ Thou daughter of Edom, make joy, and be glad, that dwellest in the land of Uz; the cup shall come also to thee, thou shalt be made drunken, and shalt be made bare. (O daughter of Edom, rejoice, and be happy, thou who livest in the land of Uz; the cup shall also come to thee, and thou shalt be made drunk, and shalt be made naked.)

²² Thou daughter of Zion, thy wickedness is [ful]filled; he shall not add more, that he make thee to pass over (again into captivity); thou daughter of Edom, he shall visit thy wickedness, he shall uncover thy sins (O daughter of Edom, he shall punish thy wickedness, he shall uncover thy sins).

5 Lord, have thou mind what befell to us (Lord, remember what hath happened to us); see thou, and behold our shame.

² Our heritage is turned to aliens, our houses be turned to strangers. (Our inheritance is turned, or given, over to foreigners, our houses be turned over to strangers.)

³ We be made fatherless children without (a) father; our mothers be as widows (our mothers be like widows).

⁴ We drank our water for money, we bought our wood for silver. (We must buy our water to drink with money, and we must buy our wood to burn with silver.)

⁵ We were driven by our heads, and rest was not given to faint men. (The yoke is upon our necks, and rest is not given to the weary.)

⁶ We gave (the) hand to Egypt, and to Assyrians, that we should be [ful]filled with bread. (We put forth our hands to Egypt, and to Assyria, for food to eat.)

⁷ Our fathers sinned, and be not, and we bare the wickednesses of them (Our forefathers sinned, and be not, and we carry their wickednesses.)

⁸ Servants were lords of us, and none was, that again-bought from the hand of them. (Servants be our lords, and there is no one who can rescue us from their hands.)

⁹ In our lives we brought bread to us, from the face of [the] sword in desert. (Risking our lives, we brought in food for us, from the face of the sword in the wilderness.)

¹⁰ Our skin is burnt as a furnace, of the face of tempests of hunger. (Our skin is burned like from a furnace, from being buffeted by the tempests of hunger.)

¹¹ They made low (the) women in Zion, and (the) virgins in the cities of Judah.

¹² Princes were hanged [up] by the hand; they were not ashamed of the faces of eld men. (Our leaders were hung up by their hands; no one showed any honour to the old men, or the elders.)

¹³ They misused young waxing men unchastely, and children fell down in (the) tree. (They used the young men unchastely, and children fell down under loads of wood.)

¹⁴ Eld men failed from [the] gates; young men failed from the quire of singers. (Old men no longer sit at the city gates; young men no longer sing in the choir.)

¹⁵ The joy of our heart failed; our song is turned into mourning.

¹⁶ The crown of our head fell down (The crowns have fallen from our heads); woe to us! for we (all have) sinned.

¹⁷ Therefore our heart is made sorrowful, therefore our eyes be made dark.

¹⁸ For the hill of Zion, for it perished; foxes went in it. (For Mount Zion, for it hath perished; and now foxes run all over it.)

¹⁹ But thou, Lord, shalt dwell without end; thy seat shall dwell in generation and into generation. (But thou, Lord, shalt live forever; thy throne shall remain for all generations.)

²⁰ Why shalt thou forget us [into] without end, shalt thou forsake us into [the] length of days? (Why hast thou forgotten us for so long, shalt thou abandon us forever?)

²¹ Lord, convert thou us to thee, and we shall be converted; make thou new our days, as at the beginning. (Lord, turn thou us back to thee, and we shall come back to thee; renew thou our days, like at the beginning.)

²² But thou casting away hast cast away us; thou art wroth against us greatly. (But thou casting away hath cast us away; thou still hath great anger against us.)

2 Therefore more plenteously it behooveth us to keep those things [Therefore it behooveth us to keep more plenteously those things], that we have heard, lest peradventure we float away.

² For if that word that was said by angels, was made firm, and each breaking of the law and unobedience [and each trespassing, or breaking of the law, and unobedience] took just retribution of meed,

³ how shall we escape, if we despise so great an health? Which, when it had taken beginning to be told out by the Lord, of them that heard is confirmed into us.

⁴ For God witnessed together by miracles, and wonders, and great marvels, and diverse works of power, and partings of the Holy Ghost, by his will. [God together witnessing by signs, and wonders, and great marvels, and diverse virtues, and distributions of the Holy Ghost, after his will.]

⁵ But not to angels God subjected the world that is to coming [Forsooth not to angels God subjected the roundness of the earth to come], of which we speak.

⁶ But some man witnessed in a place, and said [Soothly some man witnessed in some place, saying], What thing is man, that thou art mindful of him, or man's son, for thou visitest him?

⁷ Thou hast made him a little less than angels [Thou madest him a little less from angels]; thou hast crowned him with glory and honour; and thou hast ordained him on [upon] the works of thine hands.

⁸ Thou hast made all things subject under his feet. And in that that he subjected all things to him, he left nothing unsubject to him [he left nothing unsubjected to him]. But now we see not yet all things subject to him;

⁹ but we see him that was made a little less than angels, Jesus, for the passion of death crowned with glory and honour, that he through [the] grace of God should taste death for all men.

¹⁰ For it beseemed him, for whom all things, and by whom all things were made, which had brought many sons into glory, and was author of the health of them, that he had an end by passion.^[a]

¹¹ For he that halloweth, and they that be hallowed, be all of one; for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,

¹² saying, I shall tell thy name to my brethren; in the middle of the church I shall praise thee.

¹³ And again, I shall be trusting into him; and again, Lo! I and my children, which God gave to me.

¹⁴ Therefore for children communed to flesh and blood, and he also took part of the same, that by death he should destroy him that had lordship of death, that is to say, the devil,

¹⁵ and that he should deliver them that by dread of death [and should deliver them that by dread of death], by all life were bound to servage.

¹⁶ And he took [to] never angels, but he took [to] the seed of Abraham.

¹⁷ Wherefore he ought to be likened to brethren by all things, that he should be made merciful and a faithful bishop to God, that he should be merciful to the trespasses of the people.

¹⁸ For in that thing in which he suffered, and was tempted, he is mighty to help also them that be tempted.

103 A psalm of David. (A song of David.) My soul, bless thou the Lord, and all things that be within me, bless his holy name.

² My soul, bless thou the Lord; and do not thou forget all the yieldings of him. (My soul, bless thou the Lord; and do not thou forget about all his gifts to thee.)

³ Which doeth mercy to all thy wickednesses; which healeth all thy sicknesses. (Who showeth mercy to all thy sins, or all thy wickednesses; who healeth all thy sicknesses.)

⁴ Which again-buyeth thy life from death; which crowneth thee in mercy and merciful doings. (Who redeemeth thy life from death; who crowneth thee with love and merciful doings.)

⁵ Which [ful]filleth thy desire in goods; thy youth shall be renewed as the youth of an eagle. (Who fulfilleth thy desires with good things; thy youth shall be renewed like the youth of an eagle.)

⁶ The Lord doing mercies; and doom, to all men suffering wrong. (The Lord giveth mercy, and justice, to all who suffer wrong.)

⁷ He made his ways known to Moses; his wills to the sons of Israel (his deeds to the Israelites).

⁸ The Lord is a merciful doer, and merciful in will (The Lord is a giver of love, and a giver of mercy); long abiding, and much merciful.

⁹ He shall not be wroth [into] without end; and he shall not threaten [into] without end. (He shall not be angry forever; and he shall not threaten forever.)

¹⁰ He did not to us after our sins; neither he yielded to us after our wickednesses. (He did not do to us what we deserved for our sins; nor did he punish us for all our wickednesses.)

¹¹ For by the highness of heaven from earth; he made strong his mercy on men dreading him. (For as high as the heavens be above the earth, is how strong his love is, for those who fear him/for those who revere him.)

¹² As much as the east is from the west; he made [a]far our wickednesses from us.

¹³ As a father hath mercy on his sons, the Lord had mercy on men dreading him; (Like a father hath love for his sons and daughters, so the Lord hath love for those who fear him/for those who revere him;)

¹⁴ for he knew our making. He bethought that we be dust (He remembered that we be but dust),

¹⁵ a man is as hay; his day[s] shall flower out so as a flower of the field. (for a person’s days be like the hay, or the grass; and he shall flower out like the flowers in the field.)

¹⁶ For the spirit shall pass in him, and it shall not abide; and it shall no more know his place. (For the wind passeth over it, and it shall not remain there long; and then its place shall know it no more.)

¹⁷ But the mercy of the Lord is from without beginning, and till into without end; on men dreading him. And his rightfulness is into the sons of sons; (But the Lord’s love is without beginning, and without end; for those who fear him/for those who revere him. And his righteousness shall never fail the children of their children,)

¹⁸ to them that keep his testament. And be mindful of his commandments; to do those. (yea, they who keep his covenant; and who remember his commandments, and who do them.)

¹⁹ The Lord hath made ready his seat in heaven; and his realm shall be lord of all. (The Lord hath prepared his throne in heaven; and he shall rule over all as their King.)

²⁰ Angels of the Lord, bless ye the Lord; ye mighty in virtue, doing his word, to hear the voice of his words. (Angels of the Lord, bless ye the Lord; ye mighty and strong, who do his word, yea, ye who obey him.)

²¹ All virtues of the Lord, bless ye the Lord; ye ministers of him, that do his will. (All the hosts of the Lord, bless ye the Lord; ye who be his servants, who do his will.)

²² All works of the Lord, bless ye the Lord, in each place of his lordship (All his creatures, bless ye the Lord, everywhere that he ruleth); my soul, bless thou the Lord.

²³ As if thou wouldest adorn a vessel of earth, (that is, a cheap pot made out of clay,) with the dross of silver, so be swelling lips fellowshipped with a full wicked heart.