New English [1970], THE NEW ENGLISH BIBLE (OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS; CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE) [word count] [B16000].
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The Lord's judgement on the earth
1 Beware, the Lord will empty the earth,
split it open and turn it upside down,
and scatter its inhabitants.
2 Then it will be the same for priest and people,
the same for master and slave, mistress and slave-girl,
seller and buyer,
borrower and lender, debtor and creditor.
3 The earth is emptied clean away
and stripped clean bare.
For this is the word that the Lord has spoken.
4 The earth dries up and withers,
the whole world withers and grows sick;
the earth's high places note sicken,
5 and earth itself is desecrated by the feet of those who live in it,
because they have broken the laws, disobeyed the statutes
and violated the eternal covenant.
6 For this a curse has devoured the earth
and its inhabitants stand aghast.
For this those who inhabit the earth dwindle
and only a few men are left.
7 The new wine dries up, the vines sicken,
and all the revellers turn to sorrow.
8 Silent the merry beat of tambourines,
-- --
The Lord's judgement on the earth
hushed the shouts of revelry,
the merry harp is silent.
9 No one shall drink wine to the sound of song;
the liquor will be bitter to the man who drinks it.
10 The city of chaos is a broken city,
every house barred, that no one may enter.
11 Men call for wine in the streets;
all revelry is darkened,
and mirth is banished from the land.
12 Desolation alone is left in the city
and the gate is broken into pieces.
13 So shall it be in all the world, in every nation,
as when an olive-tree is beaten and stripped,
as when the vintage is ended.
14 Men raise their voices and cry aloud,
they shout in the west, note so great is the Lord's majesty.
15 Therefore let the Lord be glorified in the regions of the east, note
and the name of the Lord the God of Israel
in the coasts and islands of the west.
16 From the ends of the earth we have heard them sing,
How lovely is righteousness!
But I thought, Villainy, villainy!
Woe to the traitors note and their treachery!
Traitors double-dyed they are indeed!
17 The hunter's scare, the pit, and the trap
threaten all who dwell in the land;
18 if a man runs from the rattle of the scare
he will fall into the pit;
if he climbs out of the pit
he will be caught in the trap.
When the windows of heaven above are opened
and earth's foundations shake,
19 the earth is utterly shattered,
it is convulsed and reels wildly.
20 The earth reels to and fro like a drunken man
and sways like a watchman's shelter;
the sins of men weigh heavy upon it,
and it falls to rise no more.
21 On that day the Lord will punish
the host of heaven in heaven, and on earth the kings of the earth,
-- --
The Lord's judgement on the earth
22 herded together, close packed like prisoners in a dungeon;
shut up in gaol, after a long time they shall be punished.
23 The moon shall grow pale and the sun hide its face in shame;
for the Lord of Hosts has become king
on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
and shows his glory before their elders.
New English [1970], THE NEW ENGLISH BIBLE (OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS; CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE) [word count] [B16000].
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