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| 1 Take your goods into safety, ye sons of Benjamin, out of the midst of Jerusalem, And, in Tekoa, blow ye a horn, And, on Beth-haccherem, raise a fire-signal,–For, calamity, hath looked out from the North, Even a great destruction. |
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| 2 To a comely and delicate woman, have I likened the daughter of Zion: |
Daughter of Zion – The nominal church. D23
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| 3 Against her, shall come shepherds, with their flocks; They have pitched against her their tents, round about, They tend their flocks, every one near at hand. |
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| 4 Hallow ye against her a war, Arise! and let us go up in broad noon. Woe to us, for the day, hath turned, for the shadows of evening, stretch along. |
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| 5 Arise! and let us go up in the night, And let us destroy her palaces. |
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| 6 For, Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts, Cut ye down timber, And cast up, against Jerusalem, a mound,–That, is the city to be punished! There is, nothing, but oppression in her midst; |
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| 7 Like the casting forth by a well of its waters, So, hath she cast forth her wickedness,–Violence and destruction, are heard in her, Before my face, continually, are suffering and smiting. |
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| 8 Receive thou correction, O Jerusalem, Lest my soul be torn from thee,–Lest I make thee A desolation, A land not habitable. |
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| 9 Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts, They shall thoroughly glean, as a vine, the remnant of Israel–Turn back thy hand, as a grape gatherer, over the tendrils. |
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| 10 Unto whom, can I speak–and bear witness, that they may hear? Lo! uncircumcised, is their ear, that they cannot attend,–Lo! the word of Yahweh, hath become to them a reproach, they take no delight therein. |
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| 11 So then, with the indignation of Yahweh, am I full, I am too weary to hold it in, [I am constrained] to pour it out, upon the boy in the street, and, upon the circle of young men, together,–For, even husband with wife, will be captured, The elder with him who is full of days; |
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| 12 And their houses shall be turned over to others, Fields and wives together,–For I will stretch out my hand against the inhabitants of the land, Declareth Yahweh. |
With their fields – Of labor. C157
And wives – Churches. C157
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| 13 For, from the least of them, even unto the greatest of them, Every one, graspeth with greed,–And, from the prophet even unto the priest, Every one, dealeth, falsely; |
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| 14 And so they have healed the grievous wound of my people, slightly, Saying, Peace, peace, when there was no, peace, |
Peace, peace – The whole world boasts that civilization and Christianity have won the day, that the world has become God's empire and the blessings of the Millennium are ours to enjoy. R4795:3
As at the World Parliament of Religions, it is merely a stroke of human policy to try to quiet the fears of the church. D238
As at the opening of the Kiel ship canal, where 120 ironclads participated. D156
As at the First National Arbitration Board, convened at Geneva, Switzerland, Sept. 14, 1872. R5554:1
Ever since the first peace conference at The Hague the church systems have been declaring that war has come to an end. Q529:2
Their theory has been that universal peace between the nations would speedily usher in the Messianic Kingdom. R5554:2
There can be no true peace as long as there is sin; for sin is the great difficulty with the world. Q529:2
The Lord will raise up other servants who will not seek to please the ear with soft words, nor to lull the drowsy, but will proclaim the unvarnished truth concerning hypocrisy and deception. R563:3
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| 15 Were they led to turn pale, because, an abominable thing, they had done! Nay! they did not, at all turn pale, Nay! they did not so much as know how, to exhibit shame, Therefore, shall they fall among them who are falling, In the time when I punish them, shall they be overthrown, Saith Yahweh. |
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| 16 Thus, saith Yahweh–Stand ye at the ways–and see, And ask for the paths of age-past times, Where is the good, way? And walk therein, And ye shall find rest, to your souls. But they said, We will not walk [therein]! |
Ask for – If our ways are not in harmony with those of God. R705:6*
This is the appropriate lesson for each of us, to come to the Bible afresh, to hear its message. SM543:1
The old paths – Not the theories of the Dark Ages; not Higher Criticism, Evolution, Theosophy, etc.; but the doctrines of Jesus and the apostles. SM302:1, SM543:1; E62
The finding of the Word began afresh with the introduction of the art of printing. R3609:4
The doctrines older than Wesley, Calvinism or Roman Catholicism--the doctrines of Jesus and the apostles and prophets. HG433:5
For example, celebrating the Memorial Supper upon its anniversary. R1943:2, R2115:2
As the "old paths" are found, pompous human titles which seem so much to the world and to Babylon come to appear vain, inappropriate and deceitful. R2826:2
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| 17 Therefore will I raise up over you, watchmen, Give ye heed to the sound of a horn,–But they said, We will not give heed! |
Watchmen – The prophets and others. R1795:6
Of the trumpet – Let the trumpet give no uncertain sound. (1 Cor. 14:8) R309:1*
The trumpet is to sound until a company shall be developed who will be the virgins, the companions of the Bride. (Psa. 45:14) R309:1*
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| 18 Therefore, hear, O ye nations,–And take knowledge, O assembly, Of that which befalleth them: |
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| 19 Hear thou–O earth, Lo! I, am bringing in Calamity against this people, the fruit of their own devices,–For, unto my words, have they not given heed, And, as for my law, they have rejected it. |
Hear, O earth – Society. A318
I will bring evil – Prophetic of the siege of Jerusalem after Jesus' death. R2787:3
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| 20 What then is, it to me, that–Frankincense from Shebah, come in, or, Sweet cane, from a land afar off? Your own ascending-offerings, are not acceptable, Nor are, your sacrifices, pleasing to me. |
Incense – Representing praise. R3703:4
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| 21 Wherefore, Thus, saith Yahweh, Behold me! laying before this people, stumblingblocks,–And fathers and sons together, shall stumble against them, The neighbour and his friend, shall perish. |
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| 22 Thus, saith Yahweh, Lo! a people coming in from the land of the North,–Yea, a great nation, shall be stirred up out of the remote parts of the earth: |
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| 23 Bow and javelin, shall they grasp, Cruel, is he! So they will not have compassion, Their voice, like the sea, will roar, And, on horses, will they ride,–Arrayed each one, like a man for battle, Against thee, O daughter of Zion! |
Like the sea – The restless, turbulent, dissatisfied masses of the world. A318
Ride upon horses – Doctrines. C316
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| 24 We have heard the report thereof, Relaxed, are our hands,–Anguish, hath taken hold on us, Pangs, as on her that is giving birth. |
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| 25 Do not go out into the field, And, in the road, do not walk,–Because, a sword, hath the foe,–Terror round about! |
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| 26 O daughter of my people, Gird thee with sackcloth, and roll thyself in ashes,–The mourning for an only son, make thou for thyself, Most bitter lamentation! For, suddenly, shall the destroyer come upon us. |
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| 27 An assayer, have I set thee amongst my people, of gold-ore,–That thou mayest note and try their way: |
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| 28 They all, are rebels of rebels, Slander-walkers, [They are] bronze and iron! As for them all, corrupters, they are! |
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| 29 Scorched, are the bellows, By fire, is lead, [wont to be], consumed,–In vain, hath he gone on refining, For, the wicked, have not been drawn out: |
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| 30 Rejected silver, are they called, For, Yahweh, hath rejected them. |
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