1   Behold speake into the eares of my people the wordes of prophecie, which I shal put into thy mouth, sayth our Lord:

2   and see that they be written in paper, because they be faithful and true.

3   Be not afrayd of the cogitations against thee, neither let the incredulities truble thee of them that speake.

4   Because euerie incredulous person shal dye in his incredulitie.

5   Behold I bring in, sayth our Lord, vpon the whole earth euils, sword, and famine, and death, and destruction.

6   Because iniquitie hath fully polluted ouer al the earth, and their hurtful workes are accomplished.

7   Therefore sayth our Lord:

8   I wil not now kepe silence of their impieties which they doe irreligiously, neither wil I beare with those thinges, which they practise vniustly. Behold the innocent & iust bloud crieth to me, & the soules of the iust crie continually.

9   Reuenging I wil reuenge them, sayth our Lord, and I wil take al innocent bloud out of them vnto me.

10   Behold my people is led to slaughter as a flocke, I wil no more suffer it to dwel in the land of Ægypt.

11   But I wil bring them forth in a mightie hand and valiant arme, and wil strike with plague as before, and wil corrupt al the land thereof.

12   Ægypt

shal mourne, and the fundations thereof beaten with plague, and with the chastisement which God wil bring vpon it.

13   The husbandmen that til the ground shal mourne, because their seedes shal perish by blasting, and haile, and by a terible starre.

14   Woe to the world and them that dwel therein.

15   Because the sword is at hand and the destruction of them, and nation shal rise vp against nation to sight, & sword in their handes.

16   For there shal be instabilitie to men, & growing one against an other they shal not care for their king, & the princes of the way of their doinges, in their might.

17   For a man shal desire to go into the citie & can not.

18   Because of their prides the cities shal be trubled, the houses raised, the men shal feare.

19   Man shal not pitie his neighbour, to make their houses nothing worth in the sword, to spoyle their goodes for famine of bread, & much tribulation.

20   Behold, I cal together sayth God, al the kinges of the earth to feare me, that are from the Orient, & from the South, from the East, & from Libanus, to be turned vpon themselues, and to render the thinges that they haue geuen them.

21   As they doe vntil this day to myne elect, so wil I doe, and render in their bosome. Thus sayth our Lord God:

22   My righthand shal not spare sinners, neither shal the sword cease vpon them that shede innocent bloud vpon the earth.

23   Fire came forth from his wrath, and hath deuoured the fundations of the earth, and sinners as it were straw set on fire.

24   Woe to them that sinne, and obserue not my comandmentes, sayth our Lord.

25   I wil not spare them: depart ô children from the powre. Defile not my sanctification:

26   because the Lord knoweth al that sinne against him; therefore hath he deliuered them into death and into slaughter.

27   For now are euils come vpon the world, and you shal tarrie in them. For God wil not deliuer you, because you haue sinned against him.

28   Behold an horrible vision, and the face of it from the east.

29   And the nations of dragons of Arabians shal comeforth in manie chariots, & as a winde the number of them is caried vpon the earth, so that now al doe feare and tremble, that shal heare them.

30   the Carmonians madde for anger, and they shal goe forth as wild boares out of the wood, & they shal come with great power, and shal stand in fight with them, & they shal waste the portion of the land of the Assirians.

31   And after these thinges the dragons shal preuaile mindful of their natiuitie, and conspiring shal turne themselues in great force to pursue them.

32   These shal be trubled and hold their peace at their force, and shal turne their fete into flight.

33   And from the territorie of the Assirians the besiegers shal beseige them, and shal consume one of them, and there shal be feare and trembling in their armie, and contention against their kinges.

34   Behold cloudes from the east, and from the north vnto the south, and their face very horrible, ful of wrath and storme.

35   And they shal beate one against an other, and they shal beate downe manie starres, and their starre vpon the earth, and bloud shal be from the sword vnto the bellie.

36   And mans dung vnto the camels litter, and there shal be much feare, and trembling vpon the earth.

37   And they shal shake that shal see that wrath, and tremble shal take them: and after these thinges there shal manie showers be moued:

38   from the south, and the north: and an other portion from the weast.

39   And the windes from the east shal preuaile vpon it, and shal shut it vp, and the cloudes which he raised in wrath, and the starre to make terrour to the east winde, and the west shal be destroyed.

40   And there shal be exalted great and mightie cloudes ful of wrath, and a starre to terrifie al the earth, and the inhabitantes therof, and they shal powre in vpon euerie high, and eminent place a terrible starre,

41   fire, and haile, and flying swordes, and manie waters, so that al fildes also shal be filled, and al riuers with the fulnes of manie waters.

42   And they shal throw downe cities, and walles, and mountaines, and hilles, and the trees of the woodes, and the grasse of the medowes, and their corne.

43   And they shal passe constant vnto Babylon, and shal raise her.

44   They shal come together against her, and shal compasse her, and shal power out the starre, and al wrath vpon her, and the dust and smoke shal goe vp euen into heauen, and round about shal lament her.

45   And they that shal remaine vnder her, shal serue them that terified her.

46   And thou Asia agreeing into the hope of Babylon, and the glorie of her person,

47   woe be to thee thou wretch, because thou art like to her, and hast adorned thy daughters in fornication, to please & glorie in thy louers, which haue desired alwayes to fornicate with thee.

48   Thou hast imitated the odious in al her workes, and in her inuentions: therefore sayth God:

49   I wil send in euils vpon thee, widowhood, pouertie, and famine, and sword, and pestilence, to destroy thy houses by violation, and death, and glorie of thy vertue.

50   As a flower shal be withered, when the heate shal rise that is sent forth vpon thee,

51   thou shalt be weakned as a litle poore soule plaged and chastised of wemen, that the mightie and the louers may

not receiue thee.

52   Wil I be zealous against thee sayth our Lord,

53   vnles thou hadst slayne myne elect at al times, exalting the slaughter of the handes, and saying vpon their death, when thou wast drunken.

54   Adorne the beautie of thy countenance.

55   The reward of thy fornication is in thy bosome, therefore thou shalt receiue recompence.

56   As thou shalt doe to my elect, sayth our Lord, so shal God do to thee, and shal deliuer thee vnto euil.

57   And thy children shal dye for famine: and thou shalt fal by the sword, and thy cities shal be destroyed, & al thyne shal fal in the filde by the sword.

58   And they that are in the mountaines, shal perish, with famine, and shal eate their owne flesh, & drinke kloud, for the famine of bread and thirst of waters.

59   Vnhappie by the seas shalt thou come, and againe thou shalt receiue euils.

60   And in the passage they shal beare against the idle citie, and shal destroy some portion of thy land, and shal deface part of thy glorie, againe returning to Babylon ouerthrowen.

61   And being throwen downe thou shalt be to them for stubble, and they shal be to thee fire:

62   and deuoure thee, and thy cities, thy land, and thy mountaynes, al thy woodes and fruitful trees they wil burne with fire.

63   Thy children they shal lead captiue, & shal haue thy goodes for a praye, and the glorie of thy face they shal destroy.

Previous section

Next section