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unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananel II unto the king's winepresses. And men shall dwell therein, and there shall be no more curse; but Jerusalem shall dwell safely.

And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the peoples that have warred against Jerusalem: their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their sockets, and their tongue 13 shall consume away in their mouth. And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour. And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the nations round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abun15 dance. And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in those camps, as this plague. And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep 17 the feast of tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso of all the families of the earth goeth not up unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, upon them there shall be no rain. And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, shall there not be upon them the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the nations that go not up to keep the feast of tabernacles? This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations that go not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

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In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, Holy unto the Lord; and the pots in the LORD's house shall be like the bowls before the altar. Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holy unto the LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more a trafficker in the house of the LORD of hosts.

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ness.

MALACHI, OR, MY MESSENGER

I

I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob; but Esau I hated, and made his mountains a desolation, and gave his heritage to the jackals of the wilderWhereas Edom saith, We are beaten down, but we will return and build the waste places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down: and men shall call them The border of wickedness, and The people against whom 5 the LORD hath indignation for ever. And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The LORD be magnified beyond the border of Israel.

II

6 A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name? Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar. And ye say, Wherein have we 8 polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible. And when ye offer the blind for sacrifice, it is no evil! and when ye offer the lame and sick, it is no evil! Present it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee? or will he accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts. 'And now, I pray you, intreat the favour of God, that he may be gracious unto us: this hath been from your hand:' To will he accept any because of you? saith the LORD of hosts. Oh that there were one

among you that would shut the doors, that ye might not kindle fire on mine altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand. For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of 11 the same my name is great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense is offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name is great among the Gentiles, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye profane it, in that ye say, The table of the LORD is polluted, and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible. Ye say also, Behold, 13 what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed at it, saith the LORD of hosts; and ye have brought that which was taken by violence, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye bring the offering: should I accept this of your hand? saith the LORD. But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a blemished thing: for I am a great king, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name is terrible among the Gentiles. And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. 2 If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, then will I send the curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart. Behold, I will rebuke the seed for your sake, and will spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your sacrifices; and ye shall be taken away with it. And ye shall know that Ï 4 have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the LORD of hosts. My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him that he might fear, and he feared me, and stood in awe of my name. The law of truth was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and uprightness, and did turn many away from iniquity. For the 7 priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts. But ye are turned aside out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble in the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts. Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base 9 before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have had respect of persons in the law.

III

Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treach- 10 erously every man against his brother, profaning the covenant of our fathers? Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the LORD which he loveth, and hath married the daughter of a strange god. The LORD will cut off to the man that doeth this 12 him that waketh and him that answereth, out of the tents of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering unto the LORD of hosts. And this again ye do: ye cover the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with sighing, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, neither receiveth it with good will at your hand. Yet ye 14 say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously, though she is thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant. And not one hath done so who had a residue of the spirit. Or what? is there one that seeketh a godly seed? Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. For I 16 hate putting away, saith the LORD, the God of Israel, and him that covereth his garment with violence, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.

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Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we 17 wearied him? In that ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or where is the God of judgement? Behold, I 3 send My Messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom

ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant, whom 2 ye delight in, behold, he cometh, saith the LORD of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver; and they shall offer 4 unto the LORD offerings in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in ancient years. And I will come near to you to judgement; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers; and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn 6 aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts. For I the LORD change not; therefore ye, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.

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7 From the days of your fathers ye have turned aside from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye say, Wherein shall we return? Will a man rob God? yet ye rob me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed 10 with the curse; for ye rob me, even this whole nation. Bring ye the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you II out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts. And all nations shall call you happy: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.

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VI

Your words have been stout against me, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein have we spoken against thee? Ye have said, 'It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his charge, and that we have walked mournfully before the LORD of hosts? And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness 16 are built up; yea, they tempt God, and are delivered.' Then they that feared the LORD spake one with another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard, and a book of remembrance was written before him, for them that feared the LORD, and that thought 17 upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in the day that I do make, even a peculiar treasure; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return and discern between the righteous and 4 the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. For, behold, the day cometh, it burneth as a furnace; and all the proud, and all that work wickedness, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye 3 shall go forth, and gambol as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I do make, saith the LORD of hosts.

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VII

Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, even statutes and judgements: behold, I will send you Elijah the Prophet before the great and terrible day of the LORD come. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart.of the children to their fathers; st I come and smite the earth with a curse.

BIBLE POETRY

The Psalms

Lamentations

The Song of Songs

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