Now the serpent
was more subtil
than any beast
of the field
which the LORD God
had made.
And he
said
unto the woman,
Yea,
hath
God said,
Ye shall not eat
of every tree
of the garden?
And Pharaoh said,
Who is the LORD,
that I
should obey
his voice
to let Israel go?
I know not
the LORD,
neither will
I let
Israel go.
And they
said
unto Moses,
Because there were no graves
in Egypt,
hast thou
taken us away
to die
in the wilderness?
wherefore hast
thou dealt thus
with us,
to carry us forth
out of Egypt?
And he
called
the name
of the place Massah,
and Meribah,
because of
the chiding of the children
of Israel,
and
because
they tempted
the LORD,
saying,
Is the LORD
among us,
or not?
But the soul
that doeth ought presumptuously,
whether he
be born
in the land,
or a stranger,
the same
reproacheth the LORD;
and that soul
shall be cut off from
among his people.
And it
come
to pass,
when
he heareth
the words
of this curse,
that he
bless himself
in his heart,
saying,
I shall have peace,
though I
walk
in the imagination
of mine heart,
to add drunkenness
to thirst:
The LORD
will not spare him,
but
then the anger
of the LORD
and his jealousy
shall smoke
against that man,
and all
the curses
that
are written
in this book
shall lie upon him,
and the LORD
shall blot
out his name from
under heaven.
But Jeshurun
waxed fat,
and kicked:
thou art waxen fat,
thou art
grown thick,
thou art
covered
with fatness;
then he
forsook
God which
made him,
and lightly esteemed
the Rock
of his salvation.
And there came a man
of God,
and spake unto the king
of Israel,
and said,
Thus saith the LORD,
Because the Syrians
have said,
The LORD
is God
of the hills,
but
he is not God
of the valleys,
therefore will
I deliver all this
great multitude
into thine hand,
and ye
shall know
that I
am the LORD.
But Zedekiah
the son
of Chenaanah
went near,
and smote Micaiah
on the cheek,
and said,
Which way
went the Spirit
of the LORD
from me
to speak
unto thee?
And
he went up from
thence unto Bethel:
and as he
was going up
by the way,
there came
forth little children
out of the city,
and mocked him,
and
said unto him,
Go up,
thou bald head;
go up,
thou bald head.
So the posts
went with the letters
from the king
and his princes
throughout all Israel
and Judah,
and
according to
the commandment
of the king,
saying,
Ye children
of Israel,
turn
again
unto the LORD God
of Abraham, Isaac,
and Israel,
and
he will return
to the remnant
of you,
that are escaped
out of the hand
of the kings
of Assyria.
So the posts
passed
from city to city
through the country
of Ephraim
and Manasseh
even unto Zebulun:
but
they laughed them
to scorn,
and mocked them.
Now therefore let not Hezekiah
deceive you,
nor persuade you
on this manner,
neither yet believe him:
for no god
of any nation
or kingdom
was able
to deliver his people
out of mine hand,
and
out of the hand
of my fathers:
how much less
shall
your God
deliver you
out of mine hand?
But they
mocked
the messengers
of God,
and despised
his words,
and misused
his prophets,
until the wrath
of the LORD
arose
against his people,
till there was
no remedy.
For he stretcheth out
his hand
against God,
and strengtheneth himself
against the Almighty.
He runneth upon him,
even on his neck,
upon the thick bosses
of his bucklers:
Therefore they
say
unto God,
Depart from us;
for we
desire not the knowledge
of thy ways.
What is the Almighty,
that we
should serve him?
and
what profit
should
we have,
if we
pray unto him?
And thou sayest,
How doth
God know?
can he
judge
through the dark cloud?
Thick clouds
are
a covering
to him,
that he
seeth not;
and
he walketh in the circuit
of heaven.
Which said
unto God,
Depart from us:
and what
can
the Almighty
do for them?
What man
is like Job,
who drinketh up scorning like water?
For he
hath said,
It profiteth a man
nothing
that he
should delight himself
with God.
Shall even
he that
hateth right govern?
and wilt
thou condemn him
that is most just?
Is it
fit
to say
to a king,
Thou art wicked?
and to princes,
Ye are ungodly?
How much less
to him
that accepteth not
the persons
of princes,
nor regardeth
the rich more than the poor?
for they all are
the work
of his hands.
Should
it be according to
thy mind?
he will recompense it,
whether thou refuse,
or whether
thou choose;
and not I:
therefore speak
what thou knowest.
For thou saidst,
What
advantage
will
it be
unto thee?
and,
What
profit
shall
I have,
if I
be cleansed
from my sin?
Who hath enjoined him
his way?
or who
can say,
Thou
hast wrought
iniquity?
Blessed is the man
that walketh not in the counsel
of the ungodly,
nor standeth in the way
of sinners,
nor sitteth in the seat
of the scornful.
Many there be which
say of my soul,
There
is
no help for him
in God.
Selah.
There be
many that say,
Who will shew us any good?
LORD,
lift
thou
up the light
of thy countenance
upon us.
He hath said
in his heart,
God hath forgotten:
he hideth his face;
he will never see it.
The LORD
shall cut off
all flattering lips,
and the tongue
that speaketh proud things:
Who have said,
With our tongue
will
we prevail;
our lips
are our own:
who is
lord over us?
The fool
hath said
in his heart,
There is no God.
They are corrupt,
they have done
abominable works,
there is none
that doeth good.
My tears
have been my meat
day and night,
while they
continually say unto me,
Where is thy God?
These things
hast
thou done,
and
I kept silence;
thou thoughtest that
I was altogether
such an one
as thyself:
but
I will reprove thee,
and set them
in order
before thine eyes.
Behold,
they belch out
with their mouth:
swords
are in their lips:
for who,
say they,
doth hear?
They encourage themselves
in an evil matter:
they commune
of laying
snares privily;
they say,
Who shall see them?
And they say,
How doth
God know?
and is there knowledge
in the most High?
Yea,
they spake against God;
they said,
Can God
furnish a table
in the wilderness?
Yet they say,
The LORD
shall not see,
neither shall
the God of Jacob
regard it.
Understand,
ye brutish
among the people:
and ye fools,
when will
ye be wise?
He that
planted the ear,
shall
he not hear?
he that
formed the eye,
shall he not see?
Yea,
they despised
the pleasant land,
they believed not
his word:
How long,
ye simple ones,
will
ye love
simplicity?
and the scorners
delight
in their scorning,
and fools
hate knowledge?
Surely
he scorneth the scorners:
but
he giveth
grace unto the lowly.
If thou
be wise,
thou shalt be wise
for thyself:
but
if thou scornest,
thou alone
shalt bear it.
A scorner
seeketh wisdom,
and findeth it not:
but knowledge
is easy
unto him that understandeth.
Judgments
are prepared
for scorners,
and stripes
for the back
of fools.
The thought
of foolishness
is sin:
and the scorner
is an abomination
to men.
For Jerusalem
is ruined,
and Judah
is fallen:
because
their tongue
and their doings
are against the LORD,
to provoke the eyes
of his glory.
Woe unto them that draw iniquity
with cords
of vanity,
and sin as it
were with a cart rope:
That say,
Let him make speed,
and hasten
his work,
that we
may see it:
and let
the counsel
of the Holy One
of Israel
draw nigh
and come,
that we
may know it!
Therefore as the fire
devoureth the stubble,
and the flame
consumeth the chaff,
so their root
shall be
as rottenness,
and their blossom
shall go up
as dust:
because
they have cast away
the law
of the LORD
of hosts,
and despised
the word
of the Holy One
of Israel.
Therefore is
the anger
of the LORD
kindled
against his people,
and
he hath stretched
forth his hand
against them,
and hath smitten them:
and the hills
did tremble,
and their carcases
were torn
in the midst
of the streets.
For all
this his anger
is not turned away,
but his hand
is stretched out still.
Shall
the axe
boast itself
against him that
heweth therewith?
or shall
the saw
magnify itself
against him that
shaketh it?
as if the rod
should shake itself
against them that lift it up,
or as if the staff
should lift
up itself,
as if it
were no wood.
Whom shall
he teach knowledge?
and whom shall
he make
to understand doctrine?
them that
are weaned
from the milk,
and drawn
from the breasts.
For precept
must be
upon precept,
precept
upon precept;
line upon line,
line upon line;
here a little,
and
there a little:
Wherefore hear the word
of the LORD,
ye scornful men,
that rule this people
which is in Jerusalem.
Because
ye have said,
We have made
a covenant
with death,
and with hell
are
we at agreement;
when the overflowing
scourge
shall pass through,
it shall not come unto us:
for we
have made
lies our refuge,
and
under falsehood
have
we hid ourselves:
Judgment
also will
I lay
to the line,
and righteousness
to the plummet:
and the hail
shall sweep
away the refuge
of lies,
and the waters
shall overflow
the hiding place.
And your covenant
with death
shall be disannulled,
and
your agreement
with hell
shall not stand;
when the overflowing
scourge
shall pass through,
then
ye shall be
trodden down by it.
From the time
that it
goeth forth it
shall take you:
for morning by morning
shall
it pass over,
by day and
by night:
and it
shall be
a vexation
only
to understand the report.
For the bed
is shorter than
that a man
can stretch himself on it:
and the covering narrower
than
that he
can wrap himself in it.
For the LORD
shall rise up as
in mount Perazim,
he shall be wroth
as in the valley
of Gibeon,
that he
may do his work,
his strange work;
and bring
to pass his act,
his strange act.
Now therefore be
ye not mockers,
lest your bands
be made strong:
for I
have heard
from the Lord GOD
of hosts
a consumption,
even determined
upon the whole earth.
Woe unto them that seek deep
to hide their counsel
from the LORD,
and their works
are in the dark,
and they say,
Who seeth us?
and
who knoweth us?
Surely your turning
of things upside
down shall be esteemed
as the potter's clay:
for shall
the work
say of him that
made it,
He made me not?
or shall
the thing
framed
say of him that
framed it,
He had
no understanding?
For the terrible one
is brought
to nought,
and the scorner
is consumed,
and all
that watch
for iniquity
are cut off:
Woe unto him that
striveth with his Maker!
Let the potsherd strive
with the potsherds
of the earth.
Shall
the clay
say
to him
that fashioneth it,
What makest thou?
or thy work,
He hath
no hands?
Woe unto him that
saith unto his father,
What begettest thou?
or to the woman,
What
hast
thou brought forth?
For thou
hast trusted
in thy wickedness:
thou hast said,
None seeth me.
Thy wisdom
and thy knowledge,
it hath perverted thee;
and
thou hast said
in thine heart,
I am,
and none else
beside me.
Therefore shall
evil come upon thee;
thou shalt not know
from whence
it riseth:
and mischief
shall fall
upon thee;
thou shalt not be able
to put it off:
and desolation
shall come upon thee
suddenly,
which thou
shalt not know.
Against whom do
ye sport
yourselves?
against whom make
ye a wide mouth,
and draw
out the tongue?
are
ye not children
of transgression,
a seed
of falsehood.
And of whom hast
thou been afraid
or feared,
that thou
hast lied,
and hast not remembered me,
nor laid it
to thy heart?
have not
I held
my peace
even of old,
and
thou fearest me not?
O generation,
see
ye the word
of the LORD.
Have
I been
a wilderness
unto Israel?
a land
of darkness?
wherefore say
my people,
We are lords;
we will come no more
unto thee?
They have belied
the LORD,
and said,
It is not he;
neither shall
evil come upon us;
neither shall
we see sword
nor famine:
Behold,
they say unto me,
Where is the word
of the LORD?
let it come now.
And Moab
shall be destroyed
from being
a people,
because
he hath magnified himself
against the LORD.
I have laid
a snare
for thee,
and
thou art
also taken,
O Babylon,
and
thou wast not aware:
thou art found,
and also caught,
because
thou hast striven
against the LORD.
Call
together the archers
against Babylon:
all
ye that bend
the bow,
camp
against it round about;
let none
thereof escape:
recompense her
according to her work;
according to all
that
she hath done,
do unto her:
for she
hath been proud
against the LORD,
against the Holy One
of Israel.
Jerusalem
remembered
in the days
of her affliction
and of her miseries all
her pleasant things
that she
had in the days
of old,
when her people
fell
into the hand
of the enemy,
and none
did help her:
the adversaries
saw her,
and did mock
at her sabbaths.
Then said
he unto me,
The iniquity
of the house
of Israel
and Judah
is exceeding great,
and the land
is full of blood,
and the city full of perverseness:
for they say,
The LORD
hath forsaken
the earth,
and the LORD
seeth not.
And
as for me also,
mine
eye
shall not spare,
neither will
I have pity,
but
I will recompense
their way
upon their head.
Son of man,
what is
that proverb that
ye have
in the land
of Israel,
saying,
The days
are prolonged,
and every vision faileth?
What mean ye,
that ye
use
this proverb
concerning the land
of Israel,
saying,
The fathers
have eaten
sour grapes,
and the children's teeth
are set
on edge?
Yet saith
the house
of Israel,
The way
of the LORD is not equal.
O house
of Israel,
are not
my ways equal?
are not
your ways unequal?
Then said I,
Ah Lord GOD!
they say of me,
Doth
he not speak parables?
Yet ye say,
The way
of the Lord is not equal.
O ye
house
of Israel,
I will judge
you every one
after his ways.
Also,
thou son of man,
the children
of thy people
still are talking
against thee
by the walls
and in the doors
of the houses,
and speak one
to another,
every one
to his brother,
saying,
Come,
I pray you,
and hear
what is the word
that cometh forth
from the LORD.
Thus saith the Lord GOD;
Because the enemy
hath said
against you,
Aha,
even
the ancient high places
are ours
in possession:
Now
if ye
be ready
that at what
time
ye hear
the sound
of the cornet,
flute,
harp,
sackbut,
psaltery,
and dulcimer,
and all kinds
of musick,
ye fall down
and worship
the image
which I
have made;
well:
but
if ye
worship not,
ye shall be cast
the same hour
into the midst
of a burning fiery furnace;
and
who is that God
that shall deliver you
out of my hands?
And
through his policy also
he shall cause
craft
to prosper
in his hand;
and
he shall magnify himself
in his heart,
and by peace
shall destroy many:
he shall also stand up
against the Prince
of princes;
but
he shall be broken
without hand.
In the day
of our king
the princes
have made him sick
with bottles
of wine;
he stretched out his hand
with scorners.
Woe unto them!
for they have fled from me:
destruction
unto them!
because
they
have transgressed against me:
though I
have redeemed them,
yet
they have spoken
lies against me.
Though I
have bound
and strengthened
their arms,
yet do
they imagine mischief
against me.
Woe unto you
that desire
the day
of the LORD!
to what
end
is it for you?
the day
of the LORD
is darkness,
and not light.
Now therefore hear
thou the word
of the LORD:
Thou sayest,
Prophesy
not against Israel,
and drop not thy
word
against the house
of Isaac.
Then
she that is mine enemy
shall see it,
and shame
shall cover
her which said
unto me, Where
is the LORD
thy God?
mine
eyes
shall behold her:
now shall
she be trodden down
as the mire
of the streets.
And it
shall come
to pass
at that time,
that I
will search Jerusalem
with candles,
and punish
the men that
are settled
on their lees:
that say
in their heart,
The LORD
will not do good,
neither will
he do evil.
Ye offer
polluted bread
upon mine altar;
and ye say,
Wherein
have
we polluted thee?
In that
ye say,
The table
of the LORD
is contemptible.
Your words
have been stout
against me,
saith the LORD.
Yet ye say,
What
have
we spoken so much
against thee?
Ye have said,
It is vain
to serve God:
and
what profit
is it that
we have kept
his ordinance,
and that
we have walked mournfully
before the LORD
of hosts?
But
when the Pharisees
heard it,
they said,
This fellow
doth not cast
out devils,
but by Beelzebub
the prince
of the devils.
Then he
which had received
the one talent
came
and said,
Lord,
I knew thee
that thou art
an hard man,
reaping
where thou
hast not sown,
and gathering
where thou
hast not strawed:
And I
was afraid,
and went
and hid
thy talent
in the earth:
lo,
there
thou hast
that is thine.
His lord answered
and said unto him,
Thou wicked
and slothful servant,
thou knewest that
I reap
where I
sowed not,
and gather
where I
have not strawed:
Thou oughtest therefore
to have put my money
to the exchangers,
and
then
at my coming
I should have received
mine
own
with usury.
And they
that passed
by reviled him,
wagging their heads,
And saying,
Thou that
destroyest the temple,
and buildest
it in three days,
save thyself.
If thou
be the Son
of God,
come down
from the cross.
Likewise also
the chief priests
mocking him,
with the scribes
and elders,
said,
He saved others;
himself he
cannot save.
If he
be the King
of Israel,
let him
now come down
from the cross,
and
we will believe him.
He trusted
in God;
let him
deliver him now,
if he
will have him:
for he said,
I am the Son
of God.
The thieves also,
which were crucified with him,
cast the same
in his teeth.
And
he said unto them,
Ye will surely say
unto me this proverb,
Physician,
heal thyself:
whatsoever
we have heard
done in Capernaum,
do also here
in thy country.
But his citizens
hated him,
and sent
a message
after him,
saying,
We will not have
this man
to reign over us.
But
those mine enemies,
which would not
that I
should reign over them,
bring hither,
and slay them
before me.
Others mocking said,
These men
are full of new wine.
But
when the Jews
saw the multitudes,
they were filled
with envy,
and spake against those things
which were spoken
by Paul,
contradicting and blaspheming.
Then certain philosophers
of the Epicureans,
and
of the Stoicks,
encountered him.
And some said,
What
will
this babbler say?
other some,
He seemeth to be
a setter forth
of strange gods:
because
he preached
unto them Jesus,
and the resurrection.
And
when they
heard
of the resurrection
of the dead,
some mocked:
and others said,
We will hear thee
again of this matter.
For the Sadducees
say that
there is
no resurrection,
neither angel,
nor spirit:
but the Pharisees
confess both.
Nay but,
O man,
who art
thou
that repliest against God?
Shall
the thing formed
say
to him
that formed it,
Why hast
thou made me thus?
Hath not
the potter power
over the clay,
of the same lump
to make one vessel
unto honour,
and another
unto dishonour?
Of how much
sorer punishment,
suppose ye,
shall
he be thought worthy,
who hath trodden
under foot
the Son
of God,
and hath counted
the blood
of the covenant,
wherewith
he was sanctified,
an unholy thing,
and hath done despite
unto the Spirit
of grace?
But there were
false prophets
also among the people,
even as
there shall be
false teachers
among you,
who privily shall bring in
damnable heresies,
even denying
the Lord
that bought them,
and bring
upon themselves
swift destruction.
Knowing this first,
that there shall come in
the last days scoffers,
walking
after their own lusts,
For there are certain men
crept
in unawares,
who were before
of old
ordained to this condemnation,
ungodly men,
turning the grace
of our God
into lasciviousness,
and denying
the only Lord God,
and our Lord Jesus Christ.
To execute judgment
upon all,
and to convince all
that are ungodly
among them
of all their ungodly deeds
which they
have ungodly committed,
and
of all
their hard speeches
which ungodly sinners
have spoken against him.
How that
they told you
there should be mockers
in the last time,
who should walk
after their own
ungodly lusts.