Deep Within My Sorrows 4/29/2014

 'Deep within my sorrows, 
Dear Lord I do not why, 
There is an eternal soft cry...
For even I somehow mask my shame,
Falling down and somehow you bring me up from the dust again; 
I struggle to perfect myself for you...be right in all my ways.
Mind, heart, body, and Soul...
For my small part in this world
Shall be at your will, 
I want to give all I can give.
Keep a smile on my face.
But even I grow weary...
For I can feel the darkness drawing upon me, 
And the rain is your Tears...
Somehow I thought I had faced all of my fears...
This Woman is Me,

But no, sometimes it feels as if the damned one is 
constantly near, 
I hear what they say about You,
I hear what my own blood say about You, 
I hear what they write about you and envision of You...
I cling to your children Father, 
They are the small glimmers of light,
My hope,
As I see a bunch of snake heads everywhere,  
Hissing hateful, wicked, disgusting, and hurtful things,
About Your, About Your Children.
It breaks me and strengthens me at the same time. 

Faith is a beautiful thing, 
Charity cometh first, 
At all times,
For we are put here on this earth for the same reasons,
To love, to give, to help, and be with Thy Father's children. 
Raise up Good Men and Good Women. 
Raise up thy Children to Love, 
Not to Hate...
To Not Steal From Thy Brother,
To Not Murder Thy Brother, 
To Honor Thy Mother and Thy Father, 
To Not Covet, 
To Honor Thy Wife and Thy Husband,
Do Not commit Adultery, 
Do Not Bear False Witness, 
Nor Lie,
Do Not Use the Lord's name in Vain, 
Do Not Cloth yourself in a false image,
Most of all Place No Gods Before Him.
Yet it is Not the Law of This Ages People. 

Yet, this is the generation of the Hybrid, 
Mixture to the maximum, 
In all aspects of life, 
A globe divided to the ultimate ends, 
A self-destructing globe, 
Seeking solace and dependency, 
On man-made creations and inventions...
Clothed in ignorance,
Trying to escape judgment and death...
Killing our children,
Starving our people,
Not providing shelter, 
Not even acknowledging Thy Neighbor, 
Wasting our Animals, Our Earth...
Abusing our gifts...

Greed, Wealth, and Power, 
Demons among the land...
Frightening times, 
Scared of the night, 
Images from early stages,
Play like nightmares in my mind,
This reality, this world, 
I am the owl before her time... 
The clock is ticking, 
Dreams our evaporating, 
Body after body, 
back to dust, 

It is getting tough out there,
A young woman trying to survive,
A God-fearing fallen woman,
On the rise, 
Came above the tide, 
Saw the Sunrise, 
Grabbed a hold of the ladder, 
Began my climb, 
The voyage to self-righteousness and salvation;
Battle strong tides and storms,
From time to time; 
Yet all I need is the Lord, 
Each and every time, 
My ship almost sinks, takes a blow, tips to one side, 
He sets my sail straight, clears my paths, and is my Compass. 
Stronger each and every day, 
I continue to sail further and further away;
Always I pray and give Him thanks,
My Faith is here to stay. 
But My love, my charity, my dreams... 
That I will continue to give away each and everyday.
Amen. 
-Wise Owl Lady 

I. CORINTHIANS CHAPTER XVI.

 NOW concerning the collection for the saints, as 
I have given order to the churches of Galatia,
even so do ye. 
2 Upon the first day of the week let every one 
of you lay by him in store, as God  hath prospered
him, that there be no gatherings when I come. 
3 And when I come, 'whomsoever ye shall 
approve by your  letters, them will I send to bring 
your liberality unto Jerusalem.
4 And if it be meet that I go also, they shall go 
with me. 
5 Now I will come unto you, when I shall pass 
through Macedonia: for I do pass through Macedonia.
6 And it may be that I will abide, yea, and 
winter with you, that ye may bring me on my 
journey withersoever I go.
7 For I will not see you now by the way; but I 
trust to tarry a while with you, if the Lord permit.
8 But I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost.
9 For a great door and effectual is opened unto 
me, and there are many adversaries.
10 Now if Timotheus come, see that he may be 
with you without fear; for he worketh the work of 
the Lord, as I also do. 
11 Let no man therefore despise him: but conduct 
him forth in peace, that he may come unto 
me: for I look for him with the brethren.
12 As touching our brother Apollos, I greatly
desired him to come unto you with the brethren:
but his will was not at all to come at this time; but 
he will come when he shall have convenient time. 
13 Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you 
like men, be strong. 
14 Let all your things be done with charity.
15 I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of 
Stephanas, that it is the first-fruits of Achaia,
and that they have addicted themselves to the 
ministry of the saints,)
16 That ye submit yourselves unto such, and to 
every one that helpeth with us, and laboureth.
17 I am glad of the coming of Stephanas, and 
Fortunatus, and Achaicus: for that which was 
lacking on your part, they have supplied.
18 For they have refreshed my spirit and yours:
therefore acknowledge ye them that are such.
19 The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila
and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with 
the church that is in their house.
20 All the brethren greet you. Greet ye one 
another with an holy kiss.
21 The salutation of me Paul with mine own hand.
22 If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ,
let him be Anathema, Maran-atha .
23 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
24 My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen. 

(The first epistle to the Corinthians was written from 
Philippi, by Stephanus, and Fortunatus, and 
Achaicus, and Timotheus.)

Thank You Lord 4/27/14

'Today I want to thank the Lord,
And nothing more...
For He has brought me this far,
Heaven bound, left His mark,
And to think that I had ever been,
In some of the places that I was,
To even fathom that with all of my actions,
Somehow I could still find His love,
Fear no death,
Young troubled soul,
And fear no death,
The weary old soul,
For he has given us His Promise.
He covers His children with a safe jacket,
And brings His storms upon the ignorant.
He has blessed us on the this daily Sabbath,
With rains of April.
I will rejoice, because he cleanses His earth,
And cleanses His creatures, His waters.
So today,  I want to ask of nothing,
Not even courage, love, dignity, or hope.
But to just say thank you Father,
For life, for breath, for thy spirit, and the rains of April.'
-Love - Wise Owl Lady

Wisdom of Solomon XVI

This excerpt is taken from The Apocrypha An American Translation by: Edgar J. Goodspeed. Vintage Books (A Division of Random House) New York. C. 1959. 1938.

16 Therefore, they were punished as they deserved, by
similar animals,
And tormented with a multitude of vermin.
2 And instead of this punishment, you benefited your people,
And to satisfy the desire of their appetite, you prepared
something with a strange taste--
3 So that those others, when they desired food,
Because of the hideousness of the things sent among them,
Should lose even the smallest appetite,
While they, after being in want for a little while,
Should partake of something with a strange taste.
4 For it was necessary that an unescapable want should come 
upon those others for their tyrannical behavior,
But these should only be shown how their enemies were tormented.
5 For when the terrible fury of wild animals came upon 
them,
And they were perishing by the bites of wriggling snakes,
Your wrath did not continue to the uttermost,
6 But they were harassed for a little while to admonish them,
For they had a token of preservation to remind them of the 
commandment of your law;
7 For the one who turned toward it was saved not because of 
what he saw,
But because of you, preserver of all.
8 And by this you persuaded our enemies
That you are the one who saves from every evil.
9 For they were killed by the bites of locusts and flies,
and no cure was found for their life,
For they deserved to be punished by such means.
10 But not even the teeth of venomous serpents could 
overcome your sons,
11 For it was to remind them of your oracles that they were 
stung,
and they were quickly delivered,
to keep them from falling into deep forgetfulness
And becoming sundered from your kindness.
12 For it was no plant or plaster that cured them,
But your word, Lord, that heals all men.
13 For you have power over life and death, 
And you take men down to the gates of Hades and bring
them up again.
14 A man may kill in his wickedness,
But the spirit once it is gone out he cannot bring back,
Nor can he release the imprisoned soul.  
15 But it is impossible to escape your hand,
16 For ungodly men, refusing to know you,
Were flogged with the strength of your arm,
Pursued by unusual rains and hailstorms and relentless 
showers,
And utterly consumed by fire.
17 For, strangest of all, on the water, which quenches every 
thing,
The fire had the greater effect,
For the universe is the champion of the upright;
18 For now the flame was quieted,
So that it should not burn up the animals sent against the ungodly, 
But that they, when they saw it, might recognize that they
were pursued by the judgment of God;
19 And again it blazed up in the midst of the water, with 
more than fiery power,
to destroy the products of an unrighteous land.
20 Instead of these you gave your people angels' food,
And untiringly supplied them with bread from heaven,
ready to eat,
Strong in all enjoyment and suited to every taste;
21 For your support manifested your sweetness toward your children, 
And the bread, responding to desire of the man that 
took it, 
Was changed to what each one desired.
22 But snow and ice endured fire without melting,
So that they should know that fire was destroying the crops 
of their enemies,
Blazing in the hail,
and flashing in the rain;
23 And that this again, in order that upright men might be fed,
Had forgotten its power.
24 For creation, serving you who made it, 
Strains against the unrighteous, to punish them,
But relaxes on behalf of those who trust in you, to benefit 
them.
25 Therefore even then, assuming all forms, 
It served your all-sustaining bounty,
In response to the desire of those who were in need,
26 So that your sons, whom you have loved, Lord, might 
learn
That is is not the production of the crops that supports 
man,
But that it is your word that preserves those who believe in 
you.
27 For what the fire could not destroy
Melted away when it was simply warmed by a fleeting
sunbeam,
28 So that is might be known that we must rise before the 
sun to give you thanks,
And appeal to you at the rising of the light.
29 For the unthankful man's hope will melt like the wintry 
hoarfrost,
And run off like useless water. 

Wise Owl Lady 4/24/2014

The beauty of life,
Sun by the day and Moon by the night,
He is always by my side,
Even when I am not always right,
He sets me straight,
All I have to do is pray;
He hears and knows,
My sorrows and pain.
Darkness is upon the land,
Times are worse than they ever have been.

Just want to take a walk and get away...
My body is here,
But my spirit elsewhere.
A dreamer from the start,
Never thought we would part;
Somehow, still made it with an abandoned heart.
Wandered astray,
But the Lord carried me far.

Scarred, bruised, flawed, and used;
A woman with unbreakable strength,
With warrior's wounds,
She went every length;
Her eyes turned to fire,
Salvation her desire,
Repentance daily,
He became manifest.
Thy body is the temple,
I opened the door and let Him in;

Ancient soul,
The rattling of bones;
Knew no home,
Only had love to sow;
Wise owl lady,
With all her might,
Endures the day,
Flies at night.
xoxo -Wise Owl Lady

Wisdom of Solomon Chapter XV.

This excerpt is taken from The Apocrypha An American Translation by: Edgar J. Goodspeed. Vintage Books (A Division of Random House) New York. C. 1959. 1938.

But you, our God, are kind and true,
You are long-suffering, and govern everything in mercy.
2 For even if we sin, we are yours, and know your might;
But we will not sin, for we know that we are accounted 
yours.
3 For to know you is perfect uprightness,
And to recognize your might is the root of immortality.
4 For no artful device of men has led us astray,
Nor the fruitless labor of scene-painters,
A figure smeared with varied colors,
5 The appearance of which leads to desire in fools,
And they long for the lifeless form of a dead image.
6 Lovers of evil and deserving of such hopes
Are those who make them and those who feel desire for 
them and those who worship them. 
7 For a potter, molding the soft earth,
Laboriously shapes each object for our use;
Why, from the same clay he forms
Dishes to serve clean purposes,
And those of the opposite kind, all alike;
But of what use shall be made of either, 
The potter is the judge.
8 And with misdirected toil he shapes a futile god out of the 
same clay,
And having shortly before sprung from the earth,
After a little goes to that from which he was taken,
When he is called upon to return the soul that was lent 
him.
9 But he is concerned, not because he will grow tired,
Nor because his life is short, 
But he competes with gold- and silversmiths,
And copies those who mold brass,
And thinks it a glory that he can form counterfeits.
10 His heart is ashes, and his hope cheaper than dirt,
And his life more worthless than clay,
11 For he has not recognized the one who formed him,
And inspired him with an active soul,
And breathed into him the breath of life.
12 But they consider our existence play,
And life a lucrative fair,
for, they say, one must make money any way one can,
even by evil.
13 For this man knows better than all others that he sins,
Producing from an earthy material fragile dishes and carved 
images.
14 But most foolish, and more wretched than a baby's soul,
Are all those enemies of your people, who oppress them,
15 For they consider all the idols of the heathen gods, 
Which can neither use eyes to see with, 
Nor noses to inhale the air,
Nor ears to hear with,
Nor fingers on their hands to feel with,
And their feet are of no use to walk on.
16 For a man made them,
And one whose own spirit is borrowed formed them;
For no man can form a god like him;
17 For mortal as he is, what he makes with his lawless hands is 
dead;
For he is better than the things he worships, 
For of the two, he has life, but they never had it.
18 Why, they worship even the most hateful animals;
For by comparison, they are worse than the other animals 
in their lack of intelligence;
19 Nor are they in their appearance as animals so beautiful 
as to be desired,
But they have escaped both the praise of God and his 
blessing. 

I. CORINTHIANS CHAPTER XV.

MOREOVER, brethren, I declare unto you the 
gospel which I preached unto you, which also 
ye have received, wherein ye stand;
2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in 
memory what I preached unto you, unless ye 
have believed in vain.
3 For I delivered unto you first of all, that 
which I also received, how that Christ died for our 
sins according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again 
the third day according to the scriptures:
5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the 
twelve:
6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all 
the apostles.
8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of 
one born out of due time.
9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not 
meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted 
the church of God.  
10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: 
and his grace which was bestowed upon me, was not in 
vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all:
yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 
11 Therefore whether it were I or they, so we 
preach, and so ye believed.
12 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the 
dead, how say some among you that there is no 
resurrection of the dead?
13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, 
then is Christ not risen:
14 And if Christ not be risen, then is our preaching 
in vain, and your faith is also vain.
15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God;
because we have testified of God that he raised up
Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the 
dead rise not.
16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain;
ye are yet in your sins.
18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in 
Christ are perished.
19 If in this life only, we have hope in Christ,
we are of all men most miserable. 
20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and 
become the first-fruits of them that slept.
21 For since by man came death, by man came
also the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ 
shall all be made alive.
23 But every man in his own order: Christ the 
first-fruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his 
coming.
24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have
delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father;
when he shall have put down all rule, and all authority,
and power.
25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies 
under his feet.
26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
27 For he hath put all things under his feet.
But when he saith all things are put under him, it is 
manifest that he is excepted which did put all things 
under him.
28 And when all things shall be subdued unto 
him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto 
him that put all things under him, that God may be 
all in all.
29 Else what shall they do, which are baptized 
for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are 
they then baptized for the dead?
30 And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?
31 I protest by your rejoicing which I have in 
Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
32 If after the manner of men I have fought
with beasts at Esphesus, what advantageth it me, if 
the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for tomorrow 
we die.
33 Be not deceived: Evil communications corrupt
good manners.
34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for 
some have not the knowledge of God. I speak 
this to your shame.
35 But some man will say, How are the dead 
raised up? and with what body do they come?
36 Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not
quickened except it die:
37 And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not 
that body that shall be, but bare grain; it may 
chance of wheat, or of some other grain:
38 But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased 
him, and to every seed his own body.
39 All flesh is not the same flesh; but there is
one kind  of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts,
another of fishes, and another of birds.
40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies 
terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and 
the glory  of the terrestrial is another.
41 There is one glory of the sun, and another 
glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; 
for one star differeth from another star in glory.
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It
is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption:
43 It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory
it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power:
44 It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual
body.
45 And so it is written, The first man Adam
was made a living soul, the last Adam was made
a quickening spirit.
46 Howbeit, that was not first which is spiritual, 
but that which is natural; and afterward that which 
is spiritual.
47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the 
second man is the Lord from heaven.
48 As is earthy, such are they also that are 
earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also 
that are heavenly.
49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy,
we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood
cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth 
corruption inherit incorruption.
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall
not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at 
the last trump: for the last trumpet shall sound, and 
the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall
be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, 
and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on 
incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on 
immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying 
that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is they sting? O grave, 
where is thy victory?
56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of 
sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the 
victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ. 
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast,
unmoveable, always abounding in the work of 
the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour
is not in vain in the Lord.  

Wisdom of Solomon Chapter XIV.

This excerpt is taken from The Apocrypha An American Translation by: Edgar J. Goodspeed. Vintage Books (A Division of Random House) New York. C. 1959. 1938.

Again, a man setting out on a voyage, and about to 
travel over wild waves,
Calls upon a piece of wood more unsound than the ship
that carries him.
2 For it was designed through the desire for gain,
And wisdom was the craftsman that built it.
3 And your providence, Father, pilots it,
For you give a way even in the sea,
And a safe path through the waves,
4 Showing that you can save from anything,
So that even without skill a man may go to sea.
5 But it is your will that the works of your wisdom should
not be idle;
Therefore men trust their lives to even the smallest plank,
And cross the flood on a raft and get safely over.
6 For in the beginning, when the haughty giants perished,
The hope of the world took refuge on a raft,
And steered by your hand left to the world a generating
germ. 
7 For blessed is wood through which uprightness comes,
8 But what is made with hands is accursed, along with the 
man who made it,
Because he shaped it, and what was perishable was called
a god. 
9 For the ungodly man and his ungodliness are equally hateful
to God.
10 For what is done must be punished with the man who did it.
11 Therefore there will be an examination of the idols of the 
heathen,
For, although part of God's creation, they became an 
abomination. 
And snares to the souls of men,
And a trap for the feet of the foolish.
12 For the devising of idols is the beginning of fornication,
And the invention of them is the corruption of life.
13 For they did not exist from the beginning, and they will 
not last forever; 
14 For through the vanity of men they came into the world,
And therefore a speedy end for them was designed. 
15 For a father afflicted with untimely grief
Made a likeness of his child, that had been quickly taken 
from him,
And presently honored as a god him who was once a dead 
man,
And handed down to his subjects mysteries and rites. 
16 Then the ungodly practice, strengthened by time, came 
to be observed as law,
And by the orders of monarchs carved images were worshiped.
17 And when men could not honor them in their presence,
because they lived far away,
They imagined how they looked, far away,
And made a visible image of the king they honored,
So as by their zeal to flatter the absent one as though he 
were present.
18 But the ambition of the artist stimulated
Even those who did not know the subject to intensified 
worship;
19 For he, perhaps wishing to gratify someone in authority,
Elaborated the likeness by his art into greater beauty;
20 And the multitude, attracted by the charm of his workmanship,
Now regarded as an object of worship the one whom they
had recently honored as a man.
21 And this proved an ambush for man's life,
Because men in bondage to misfortune or royal authority
Clothed stick and stones with the Name that cannot be 
shared with others.
22 And then it was not enough for them to go astray about 
the knowledge of God.
But though living in a great war of ignorance,
They call such evils peace.
23 For neither while they murder children in their rites nor 
celebrate secret mysteries,
Nor hold frenzied revels with alien laws
Do they keep their lives or marriages pure,
24 But one man waylays another and kills him, or grieves him
by adultery.
25 And it is all a confusion of blood and murder, theft and 
fraud, 
Depravity, faithlessness, discord, perjury,
26 Clamor at the good, forgetfulness of favors,
Defilement of souls, confusion of sex,
Irregularity in marriage, adultery, and indecency.
27 For the worship of the unspeakable idols
Is the beginning and cause and end of every evil.
28 For they either rejoice in madness, or prophesy falsely,
Or live unrighteously, or readily forswear themselves. 
29 For since they believe in lifeless idols,
They do not expect to be harmed for swearing wickedly.
30 But justice will overtake them for both matters,
Because they thought wickedly of God and gave heed to 
idols,
And because they swore unrighteously to deceive, in disregard
of holiness.
31 For it is not the power of the gods men swear by,
But the penalty of those who sin
That always pursues the transgression of the unrighteous.  

Wisdom of Solomon Ch. XIII.

This excerpt is taken from The Apocrypha An American Translation by: Edgar J. Goodspeed. Vintage Books (A Division of Random House) New York. C. 1959. 1938.


And from the good things that were visible they had not 
the power to know him who is,
Nor through paying attention to his works did they recognize 
the workman,
2 But either fire, or wind, or swift air,
Or the circle of the stars, or rushing water,
Or the heavenly luminaries, the rulers of the world, they 
considered gods.
3 And if through delight in their beauty they supposed that 
these were gods, 
Let them know how far superior is the Lord of these
For the originator of beauty created them;
4 But if it was through awe at their power and operation,
Let them conclude from them how much mightier he who 
formed them is.
5 For from the greatness and beauty of what is created,
The originator of them is correspondingly perceived.
6 But yet little blame attaches to these men,
For perhaps they just go astray
In their search for God and their desire to find him;
7 For living among his works they search
And believe the testimony of their sight, that what they see
is beautiful.
8 But again, even they are not to be excused;
9 For if they had power to know so much
That they could try to make out the world,
Why did they not sooner find the Lord of all this?
10 For they are miserable, and their hopes are set on the 
dead,
Who have called the works of men's hands gods,
Gold and silver, the subject of art,
And likeness of animals,
Or useless stone, worked by some ancient hand.
11 But if some carpenter saws down a tree he can handle,
And skillfully strips off all its bark,
And shaping it nicely
Makes a dish suited to the uses of life,
12 And burns the chips of his work
To prepare his food, and eats his fill;
13 But the worst of them, which is good for nothing,
A crooked piece, full of knots,
He takes and carves to occupy his spare time,
And shapes it with understanding skill,
He makes it a copy of a human form, 
Or makes it like some common animal,
14 Smearing it with vermilion, and painting its surface red,
And coating every blemish in it;
15 And making an abode for it worthy of it,
he fixes it on the wall, and fastens it with iron.
16 So he plans for it, so that it will not fall down,
For he knows that it cannot help itself;
For it is only an image and needs help.
17 But he prays to it about his property and his marriage and 
his children,
And is not ashamed to speak to a lifeless thing,
18 And appeals to something that is weak, for health,
And asks something that is dead, for life,
And supplicates what is itself utterly inexperienced, for aid,
and something that cannot even take a step, about a 
journey,
19 And he asks strength  for gain and business and success in what he
undertakes 
From something whose hands are most feeble. 

JOEL I and II

The Word of the Lord came to Joel the son 
of Pethuel.
2 Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye 
inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your
days, or even in the days of your fathers?
3 Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell
their children, and their children another generation. 
4 That which the palmer-worm hath left hath 
the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left
hath the canker-worm eaten; and the which the 
canker-worm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten.
5 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl,
all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; 
for it is cut off from your mouth.
6 For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, 
and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a 
lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion.
7 He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my 
fig-tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it
away: the branches thereof are made white. 
8 Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth 
for the husband of her youth.
9 The meat-offering and the drink-offering is 
cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests,
the LORD'S minsters, mourn.
10 The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the 
corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up,
the oil languisheth. 
11 Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O 
ye vine-dressers, for the wheat and for the barley;
because the harvest of the field is perished.
12 The vine is dried up, and the fig-tree languisheth;
the pomegranate-tree, the palm-tree also,
and the apple-tree, even, all the trees of the field, 
are withered: because joy is withered away from 
the sons of men.
13 Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests:
howl, ye ministers of the alter: come, lie all night 
in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat-
offering and the drink-offering is withholden from 
the house of your God.
14 Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly,
gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land
into the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto
the LORD.
15 Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD 
is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty 
shall it come.
16 Is not the meat cut off before our eyes, yea,
joy and gladness from the house of our God?
17 The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners
are laid desolate, the barns are broken down;
for the corn is withered.
18 How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle
are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea,
the flocks of sheep are made desolate.
19 O LORD, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath
devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the 
flame hath burned all the trees of the field. 
20 The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for 
the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath
devoured the pastures of the wilderness.

Chapter II

BLOW ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an 
alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants 
of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD 
cometh, for it is nigh at hand;
2 A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds
and of thick darkness, as the morning spread
upon the mountains: a great people and a strong;
there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any 
more after it, even the years of many generations.
3 A fire devoureth before them; and behind 
them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of 
Eden before them, and behind them a desolate
wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
4 The appearance of them is as the appearance 
of horses; and as horsemen so shall they run.
5 Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains 
shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire
that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people 
set in battle-array.
6 Before their face the people shall be much 
pained: all faces shall gather blackness.
7 They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb
the wall like men of war; and they shall march every 
one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks:
8 Neither shall one thrust another; they shall 
walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon 
the sword, they shall not be wounded. 
9 They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall
run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; 
they shall enter in at the windows like a thief.
10 The earth shall quake before them; the heavens 
shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be 
dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:
11 And the LORD shall utter his voice before his 
army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong
that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD
is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?
12 Therefore also now, saith the LORD, Turn 
ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting,
and with weeping, and with mourning:
13 And rend your heart, and not your garments,
and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is
gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great 
kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
14 Who knoweth if he will return and repent,
and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat-offering
and a drink-offering unto the LORD your God?
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, 
call a solemn assembly:
16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation,
assemble the elders, gather the children, and those 
that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth 
of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.
17 Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD,
weep between the porch and the altar, and let them
say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine
heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule
over them: wherefore should they say among the 
people, Where is their God?
18 Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, 
and pity his people.
19 Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his
people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and 
oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will 
no more make you a reproach among the heathen:
20 But I will remove far off from you the 
northern army, and will drive him into a land barren
and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and 
his hinder part toward the utmost sea; and his 
stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come 
up, because he hath done great things.
21 Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice for 
the LORD will do great things.
22 Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures
of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her
fruit, the fig-tree and the vine do yield their strength.
23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice 
in the LORD your God: for he hath given you
the former rain moderately, and he will cause to 
come down for you the rain, the former rain, and 
the latter rain in the first month. 
24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the 
fats shall overflow with wine and oil.
25 And I will restore to you the years that the 
locust hath eaten, the canker-worm, and the caterpillar,
and the palmer-worm, my great army which 
I sent among you.
26 And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied,
and praise the name of the LORD your God, that 
hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people 
shall never be ashamed.
27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst 
of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and 
none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.
28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I 
will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons
and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men
shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
29 And also upon the servants and upon the 
handmaids in those days will I pour out my Spirit.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and 
in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into
blood, before the great and the terrible 
day of the LORD come.
32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever 
shall call on the name of the LORD shall be 
delivered: for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall 
be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the 
remnant whom the LORD shall call.