The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knows them that trust in him.

The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knows them that trust in him.

The word above, in Nahum (comforter, who leads us into all truth) 1:7, rendered “strong hold,” is the Hebrew word ma’owz, here meaning an invincible defense. The chapter is speaking of the burden of Nineveh, those to whom the LORD has come preaching repentance and offering salvation, by entering His stronghold. The word is mentioned as the LORD speaks, in Isaiah 23, against Tyre, the false rock, the false “strongholds” and “strength,” in which men put their trust. This chapter is the burden of Tyre, who are called the ships of Tarshish, meaning they’re those who’ve carried God’s people away from the work to which He has sent them, to Nineveh as His voice.

Isaiah 23
1 The burden of Tyre. Howl, you ships of Tarshish; for it [God’s people] is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in [to His invincible defense]: from the land of Chittim [from the LORD’s writing] it is revealed to them.
2 Be still, you inhabitants of the isle [the dry places, without this word of God]; you whom the merchants of Zidon [those whose business it is to hunt souls], that pass over the sea [to subdue the masses], have replenished [with whose words, ideas and ways, your minds have been filled].
3 And by great waters the seed of Sihor [by words sowing seeds of darkness], the harvest of the river, is her revenue [which is the payment they have desired]; and she is a mart [the buyer and seller] of nations.
4 Be you ashamed, O Zidon [you who hunt the souls of men]: for the sea has spoken [the masses you have agitated have cried out to God], even the strength [ma’owz] of the sea, saying, I travail not, nor bring forth children, neither do I nourish up young men, nor bring up virgins [they deny their false strength has produced this corrupt thinking in this generation].
5 As at the report concerning Egypt [referring to Isaiah 19 & 20, where the inhabitants of Egypt are turned one against the other, due to their darkened minds, the idols God’s people are said to refuse to give up], so shall they be sorely pained at the report of Tyre.
6 Pass you over to Tarshish; howl, you inhabitants of the isle [you dry places without this word of God, be delivered from those who’ve carried you away from God’s calling].
7 Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days? her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn.
8 Who has taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honorable of the earth?
9 The LORD of hosts has purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth.
10 Pass through your land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish: there is no more strength.
11 He stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook the kingdoms: the LORD has given a commandment against the merchant city, to destroy the strong holds [ma’owz] thereof.
12 And he said, You shall no more rejoice, O you oppressed virgin, daughter of Zidon: arise, pass over to Chittim; there also shall you have no rest.
13 Behold the land of the Chaldeans [those who’ve used their words to manipulate and control others]; this people was not, till the Assyrian [the communists] founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up the towers thereof [to see into the future and give their false report of what is coming], they raised up the palaces thereof; and he brought it to ruin.
14 Howl, you ships of Tarshish: for your strength [ma’owz] is laid waste.
15 And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as a harlot [as an unfaith church, who’s been carried away from their LORD].
16 Take a harp, go about the city, you harlot that have been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that you may be remembered.
17 And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years [of desolation by your abominations], that the LORD will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.
18 And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the LORD: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the LORD, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing.

From the post of 26 November 2019:

He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.

As we have seen in many previous posts, the title is the final verse of Psalms 110, a Psalm describing the time before the conclusion, of which this last verse speaks. The head spoken of is the one who comes in the order of Melchisedec, who comes as the rod (Branch) of the LORD’s strength. It is he that drinks from the book in way, which is the word of God that is His judgment and brings us to this end, lifting up the head.

Psalms 110
1 The LORD said unto my LORD, Sit you at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.
2 The LORD shall send the rod of your strength out of Zion: rule you in the midst of your enemies.
3 Your people shall be willing in the day of your power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: you have the dew of your youth.
4 The LORD has sworn, and will not repent, You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
5 The LORD at your right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.
6 He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries.
7 He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.

In the context of recent studies, lifting up the head is referring us to Genesis 40 and is speaking of lifting the head that will bring Joseph out of prison to the throne. This one is the “chief butler,” from the Hebrew word mashqeh, who is also the “cupbearer” the queen of the south (Sheba) sees, just before she sees the “ascent by which he [the son of David] went up unto the house of the LORD.”

Solomon and Shiloh, meaning peaceful and tranquility, both seem to be from the Hebrew word shalam, from which also comes the word Salem, as in Jerusalem, and the prince of Salem, the prince of peace, Melchisedec, who is Christ, the son of man. The word shalam also means to complete, as in what makes perfect, the point without need of any further preparation.

Here is the Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary definition: #7999: shalam (pronounced shaw-lam’) a primitive root; to be safe (in mind, body or estate); figuratively, to be (causatively, make) completed; by implication, to be friendly; by extension, to reciprocate (in various applications):–make amends, (make an) end, finish, full, give again, make good, (re-)pay (again), (make) (to) (be at) peace(-able), that is perfect, perform, (make) prosper(-ous), recompense, render, requite, make restitution, restore, reward, X surely.

Genesis 40
1 And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their LORD the king of Egypt.
2 And Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers.
3 And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound.
4 And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them: and they continued a season in ward.
5 And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, which were bound in the prison.
6 And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad.
7 And he asked Pharaoh’s officers that were with him in the ward of his LORD’s house, saying, Wherefore look you so sadly today?
8 And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you.
9 And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, behold, a vine was before me;
10 And in the vine were three branches: and it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes:
11 And Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand: and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.
12 And Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days:
13 Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up your head, and restore you unto your place: and you shall deliver Pharaoh’s cup into his hand, after the former manner when you were his butler.
14 But think on me when it shall be well with you, and show kindness, I pray you, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house:
15 For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon.
16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I also was in my dream, and, behold, I had three white baskets on my head:
17 And in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of bake-meats for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head.
18 And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days:
19 Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up your head from off you, and shall hang you on a tree; and the birds shall eat your flesh from off you.
20 And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants.
21 And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand:
22 But he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them.
23 Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgot him.

As we know from previous discussions, the butler is one who brings drink, merely bearing the cup filled with what someone else has prepared. The baker is one who makes, prepares the dough, adding leaven (corrupting it), and then baking. Both of these are referring to Joseph’s prison, the “dungeon,” from the Hebrew word bowr, which is a pit, well, or fountain, where there is no water (Zechariah 9:11). The cupbearer is released and restored to bear the water, the word of God, given as received. The one adding leaven, corrupting God’s word away from His meaning, in doing so perishes (apoleia – as in 2 Peter 3:16).

As we see in the final verse above, the butler forgets the vow he made to Joseph. He remembers two years later when the Pharaoh had a dream, and Joseph is released to interpret, “And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”

Genesis 41
38 And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?
39 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is none so discreet and wise as you are:
40 You shall be over my house, and according unto your word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than you.
41 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.
42 And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph’s hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck;
43 And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.
44 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without you shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.
45 And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphnathpaaneah; and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On. And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.

The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon says the name Zaphnathpaaneah means “treasure of the glorious rest.” A more in-depth look shows it to mean hidden treasure given by his presence. Asenath, appears to be from the word ‘acam, meaning storehouse. In these again we see the ideas of the treasures and the storehouse of God’s hidden word.

Regarding the butler’s keeping his vow, the word shalam appears several times rendered “pay” and “perform” concerning keeping vows made.

Jonah 2
6 I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet have you brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God.
7 When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto you, into your holy temple.
8 They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
9 But I will sacrifice unto you with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay [shalam] that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.
10 And the LORD spoke unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.

Jonah 3
1 And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying,
2 Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid you.
3 So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days’ journey.
4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.
5 So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.

Nahum 1
1 The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite [these names tell of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, the LORD unknown, as God the ensnarer, who catches the adversaries in the trap they’ve created].
2 God is jealous, and the LORD revenges; the LORD revenges, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserves wrath for his enemies.
3 The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD has his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
4 He rebukes the sea, and makes it dry, and dries up all the rivers: Bashan [fruitfulness] languishes, and Carmel [the garden], and the flower of Lebanon [purity in high places] languishes.
5 The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein.
6 Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him.
7 The LORD is good, a strong hold [ma’owz] in the day of trouble; and he knows them that trust in him.
8 But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.
9 What do you imagine against the LORD? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time.
10 For while they be folded together as thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry.
11 There is one come out of you, that imagines evil against the LORD, a wicked counselor.
12 Thus says the LORD; Though they be quiet, and likewise many, yet thus shall they be cut down, when he shall pass through. Though I have afflicted you, I will afflict you no more.
13 For now will I break his yoke from off you, and will burst your bonds in sunder.
14 And the LORD has given a commandment concerning you, that no more of your name be sown: out of the house of your gods will I cut off the graven image and the molten image: I will make your grave; for you are vile.
15 Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that brings good tidings, that publishes peace! O Judah [God’s leaders], keep your solemn feasts, perform [shalam] your vows [as Jonah kept his vow, and was then returned to Nineveh – see Jonah 2:9]: for the wicked shall no more pass through you; he is utterly cut off.

Ecclesiastes 5
1 Keep your foot when you go to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.
2 Be not rash with your mouth, and let not your heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and you upon earth: therefore let your words be few.
3 For a dream comes through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.
4 When you vow a vow unto God, defer not to pay [shalam] it; for he has no pleasure in fools: pay that which you have vowed.
5 Better is it that you should not vow, than that you should vow and not pay.
6 Suffer not your mouth to cause your flesh to sin; neither say you before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at your voice, and destroy the work of your hands?
7 For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear you God.

As we’ve seen, Solomon says in ending Ecclesiastes, His conclusion is the whole duty of man is to fear God and keep his commandments. He says, “For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”

The word “conclusion” is from the Hebrew word cowph, a word only appearing four other times, meaning termination, as in an ending. In 2 Chronicles 20:16 it is the “end” of the brook mentioned in the title verse

2 Chronicles 20
1 It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.
2 Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There comes a great multitude against you from beyond the sea on this side Syria [those who have risen up against us, exalted themselves above God]; and, behold, they be in Hazazontamar [to cause a division among the upright], which is Engedi [fountain of the goat, the word of these misleaders].
3 And Jehoshaphat [Jehovah is the judge] feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
4 And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.
5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court,
6 And said, O LORD God of our fathers, are not you God in heaven? and rule not you over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in your hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand you?
7 Are not you our God, who did drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and gave it to the seed of Abraham your friend forever?
8 And they dwelt therein, and have built you a sanctuary therein for your name, saying,
9 If, when evil comes upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in your presence, (for your name is in this house,) and cry unto you in our affliction, then you will hear and help.
10 And now, behold, the children of Ammon [those have exalted themselves above God] and Moab [the gates of hell that hold God’s people therein] and mount Seir [the leaders of Esau, the enemy mixed among us], whom you would not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not;
11 Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit.
12 O our God, will you not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that comes against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon you.
13 And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.
14 Then upon Jahaziel [those beheld by God] the son of Zechariah [who’ve remembered Jehovah], the son of Benaiah [who Jehovah has built up], the son of Jeiel [from whom God has, by His hail, “swept away” the lies – see Isaiah 28:17], the son of Mattaniah [who Jehovah has given a gift {his hidden treasures}], a Levite [and joined them to Himself] of the sons of Asaph [and gathered them into one body], came the Spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation;
15 And he said, Hearken you, all Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you king Jehoshaphat, Thus says the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.
16 Tomorrow go you down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz [the self-inflicted cliff the enemies is going over, which is now blooming before our eyes]; and you shall find them at the end [cowph] of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel [what is flowing from God, the teaching that is the foundation of the new world, now fully aware of the danger of wickedness un-confronted].
17 You shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand you still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.
18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshipping the LORD.
19 And the Levites [you who have joined him], of the children of the Kohathites [and your allies], and of the children of the Korhites [all who have been cleansed and awakened by the hail that has swept away all the lies], stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high.
20 And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa [from where the last trumpet is heard sounding, calling all to assemble in one flock]: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat [Jehovah the judge] stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall you be established; believe his prophets, so shall you prosper.
21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endures forever.
22 And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.
23 For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.
24 And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.
25 And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much.
26 And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah [blessing]; for there they blessed the LORD: therefore the name of the same place was called, The valley of Berachah, unto this day.
27 Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the LORD had made them to rejoice over their enemies.
28 And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the LORD.
29 And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the LORD fought against the enemies of Israel.
30 So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him [glorious] rest round about.

The word cowph appears two other times in Ecclesiastes, in Ecclesiastes 3:11 & 7:2. The name Ecclesiastes is actually from the Greek word ekklesia, from the word ek, meaning out, and kaleo, meaning call. Kaleo is the same word in parakaleo (Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, the LORD unknown leading us into all truth and back to Himself), meaning to call near, to join with Him in His army.

Ecclesiastes 3
10 I have seen the travail, which God has given to the sons of men to be exercised in it [to work the lies out of us].
11 He has made every thing beautiful in his time: also he has set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God makes from the beginning to the end [cowph – this end].
12 I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.
13 And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labor, it is the gift of God.
14 I know that, whatsoever God does, it shall be forever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God does it, that men should fear before him.
15 That which has been is now; and that which is to be has already been; and God requires [that we understand] that which is past.
16 And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.
17 I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.
18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate [dibrah – order] of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts [confused].
19 For that which befalls the sons of men befalls beasts; even one thing befalls them: as the one dies, so dies the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man has no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.
20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
21 Who knows the spirit of man that goes upward, and the spirit of the beast that goes downward to the earth?
22 Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?

Ecclesiastes 7
1 A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.
2 It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end [cowph] of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.
6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.
7 Surely oppression makes a wise man mad; and a gift destroys the heart.
8 Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
9 Be not hasty in your spirit to be angry: for anger rests in the bosom of fools.
10 Say not you, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for you do not enquire wisely concerning this.
11 Wisdom is good with an inheritance: and by it there is profit to them that see the sun.
12 For wisdom is a defense, and money is a defense: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom gives life to them that have it.
13 Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he has made crooked [made twisted – speaking of words of confusion, asking, can confusion make itself understand]?
14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider [evil and trouble]: God also has set the one over against the other, to the end [dibrah – order] that man should find nothing after him [if he is unaware, lacks God’s wisdom, not realizing the ways of the wicked, of which we must always be aware].
15 All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just man that perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongs his life in his wickedness [because the just man is not aware he is always the target of the wicked. When we are aware, the wicked can only destroy the wicked and themselves].
16 Be not righteous over much; neither make yourself over wise: why should you destroy yourself?
17 Be not over much wicked [do not allow the wicked to increase], neither be you foolish: why should you die before your time?
18 It is good that you should take hold of this; yea, also from this withdraw not your hand: for he that fears God shall come forth of them all.

The final time the word cowph appears is in Joel 2:20.

Joel 2
1 Blow you 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 comes, 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 has not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.
3 A fire devours before them; and behind them a flame burns: 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 executes his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?
12 Therefore also now, says the LORD, turn you 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 repent him of the evil.
14 Who knows 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 your people, O LORD, and give not your 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 you 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 [the bugs, men who have made the world become without form, and void], and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea [the dead masses, who have no idea they are dead], and his hinder [cowd – this end of the old world] part toward the utmost sea [this final generation, who will cross over into the new world], and his stink [of the dead] shall come up, and his ill savor [what is in their mouths shall be understood as in bad taste – their misconceptions] shall come up, because he has done great things [they have destroyed the world].
21 Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things [an even greater thing in creating the new world on a firm foundation].
22 Be not afraid, you beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree bears her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength.
23 Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he has 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 vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.
26 And you shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that has dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed.
27 And you 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 show 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 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 has said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.

Psalms 81
1 Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.
2 Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery.
3 Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.
4 For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob.
5 This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out through the land of Egypt: where I heard a language that I understood not.
6 I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots.
7 You called in trouble, and I delivered you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder: I proved you at the waters of Meribah [strife]. Selah.
8 Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto you: O Israel, if you will hearken unto me;
9 There shall no strange god be in you; neither shall you worship any strange god.
10 I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt: open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
11 But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me.
12 So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels.
13 Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!
14 I would soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.
15 The haters of the LORD would have submitted themselves unto him: but their time would have endured forever.
16 He would have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock would I have satisfied you.