A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the LORD will hasten it in his time.
The above is Isaiah 60:22, the final verse in a chapter that tells of when the light (understanding) has come into the gross darkness (ignorance) covering the earth and her people. The time of the increase, the harvest now hastening is in the time when people no longer put their trust in government, of church or state, but in Him to whom it appertains.
Jeremiah 10
1 Hear you the word which the LORD speaks unto you, O house of Israel:
2 Thus says the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
3 For the customs of the people are vain: for one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.
4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it moves not.
5 They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must need be borne [carried], because they cannot go [their strength is to sit still]. Be not afraid of them [because they are idols and nothing]; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.
6 Forasmuch as there is none like unto you, O LORD; you are great, and your name is great in might.
7 Who would not fear you, O King of nations? for to you does it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto you.
8 But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities.
9 Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish [those who’ve fled from their vows], and gold from Uphaz [whose god is gold: the wealth they extort], the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple is their clothing [they put their creations in God’s place and call them God]: they are all the work of cunning men.
10 But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.
11 Thus shall you say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.
12 He has made the earth by his power, he has established the world by his wisdom, and has stretched out the heavens by his discretion.
13 When he utters his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; he makes lightning with rain, and brings forth the wind [His Spirit] out of his treasures [by his understanding].
14 Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath [life] in them.
15 They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
16 The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The LORD of hosts [the army of heaven] is his name.
17 Gather up your wares out of the land, O inhabitant of the fortress.
18 For thus says the LORD, Behold, I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this once, and will distress them, that they may find it so.
19 Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous; but I said, Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it.
20 My tabernacle is spoiled, and all my cords are broken: my children are gone forth of me, and they are not: there is none to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains.
21 For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.
22 Behold, the noise of the bruit is come, and a great commotion out of the north country [commotions caused by things brought forth from their hiding in men’s ignorance] to make the cities of Judah desolate, and a den of dragons.
23 O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walks to direct his steps.
24 O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing.
25 Pour out your fury upon the heathen that know you not, and upon the families that call not on your name: for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate.
As we know, the question above, “Who would not fear you, O King of nations?” which tells us to whom it appertains, is quoted in Revelation 15, which speaks of the victory over the idols. It comes when the testimony in heaven is opened, and the wrath of God has come to smoke the vermin from their hiding places. It, as does Isaiah 60, tells of when all gather to the light, describing it here (in Revelation 15) as when the LORD’s “judgments are made manifest.”
The above, in speaking of Uphaz, refers us to Daniel 10, the name’s only other appearance. There Daniel tells of seeing the glorious (splendid and pure) looking idol that comes first, by which his strength is removed, he becomes corrupt, and falls into a deep sleep. He, in the person of Gabriel (warrior of God), later calls this idol the prince of Persia (meaning splendid and pure), against who he fights. He (Gabriel) says after he has gone forth, “the prince of Grecia [Yavan] shall come,” the name said to be “probably from the same as 3196; effervescing (i.e. hot and active).”
The Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary definition of #3196: yayin, is “from an unused root meaning to effervesce; wine (as fermented); by implication, intoxication.” The name is speaking of the time of intoxication (stupefaction) that is Daniel’s deep sleep.
Gabriel ends, speaking of the one to whom it appertains, none hold with (has this understanding with) him in these things, but Michael (who is like God) your prince. As we know, Michael is the one described (in Daniel 12), as here in the latter days awakening God’s people from the earth’s dust (ashes and ruin). This is the person in Daniel 10, whose voice wakes Him, after he’s become dumb (silent) and without strength, when his mouth is touched and opened by one like (similitude of) the appearance of the son of man.
These are describing what is now hastening, and to who it appertains.
Daniel 10
1 In the third year of Cyrus [LORD of the furnace – as in Genesis 15:12 thru 17, when Abram, in darkness in a deep sleep, saw the furnace] the king of Persia [the King of kings, who is truly splendid and pure] a thing was revealed unto Daniel [the judgment of God], whose name was called Belteshazzar [“LORD of the straitened’s treasure” the LORD of understanding held in Shinar – see Daniel 1:2]; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision.
2 In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks.
3 I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.
4 And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel [the hastening – as in the title];
5 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz [whose god is gold]:
6 His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in color to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. [Jeremiah 10: 8 But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities. 9 Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish [those who’ve fled from their vows], and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple is their clothing they are all the work of cunning men.]
7 And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.
8 Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.
9 Yet heard I the voice of his words [misleading]: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground.
10 And, behold, a hand [of God’s anointed son] touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands.
11 And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto you, and stand upright: for unto you am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.
12 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that you did set your heart to understand, and to chasten yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I am come for your words.
13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia [the prince of the power of the air, who claims to be splendid and pure, but instead corrupts and destroys] withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael [the one who is like God], one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia [the King of kings].
14 Now I am come to make you understand what shall befall your people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days [days we know are explained in Daniel 12, and there showing us the deep sleep started with Abram’s vision and ends now].
15 And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb.
16 And, behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men [son of man] touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spoke, and said unto him that stood before me, O my LORD, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength.
17 For how can the servant of this my LORD talk with this my LORD? for as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath [life] left in me. [Now, in judgment, when this is confessed, the resurrection, the quickening to life, takes place and now hastens]
18 Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me,
19 And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto you, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my LORD speak [these words which return strength, as understanding, light]; for you have strengthened me.
20 Then said he, Know you wherefore I come unto you? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.
21 But I will show you that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holds with me in these things, but Michael your prince.
Daniel 12
12 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of your people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time your people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever.
4 But you, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
Isaiah 60
1 Arise, shine; for your light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon you.
2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon you, and his glory shall be seen upon you.
3 And the Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
4 Lift up your eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to you: your sons shall come from far, and your daughters shall be nursed at your side.
5 Then you shall see, and flow together, and your heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto you, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto you.
6 The multitude of camels shall cover you, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall show forth the praises of the LORD.
7 All the flocks of Kedar [those who’ve been held in darkness] shall be gathered together unto you, the rams of Nebaioth [those who were in endless strife and agitation] shall minister unto you: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory.
8 Who are these that fly as a cloud [in the heavens, in the clear air, with understanding], and as the doves to their windows [to see the hastening of the expected end]?
9 Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first [those who fled their vows, will return first, as Jonah from the belly of {Hell on} the earth, calling all to repent], to bring your sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD your God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he has glorified you.
10 And the sons of strangers shall build up your walls, and their kings shall minister unto you: for in my wrath I smote you, but in my favor have I had mercy on you.
11 Therefore your gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto you the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought.
12 For the nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.
13 The glory of Lebanon shall come unto you, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious.
14 The sons also of them that afflicted you shall come bending unto you; and all they that despised you shall bow themselves down at the soles of your feet; and they shall call you; The city of the LORD, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
15 Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through you, I will make you an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations.
16 You shall also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shall suck the breast of kings: and you shall know that I the LORD am your Saviour and your Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.
17 For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make your officers peace, and your exactors righteousness.
18 Violence shall no more be heard in your land, wasting nor destruction within your borders; but you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.
19 The sun shall be no more your light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto you: but the LORD shall be unto you an everlasting light, and your God your glory.
20 Your sun shall no more go down; neither shall your moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning shall be ended.
21 Your people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.
22 A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the LORD will hasten it in his time.
The word “hasten” in the title verse is chuwsh, meaning “to hurry; figuratively, to be eager with excitement or enjoyment:–(make) haste(-n), ready.” Its meaning implies the opposite of shame (the disappointment and dishonor when what is foretold and therefore expected, doesn’t come).
It (chuwsh) is the elation (rapture) occurring when what is expected is seen coming, as we rush toward it hurry its meeting. As we know, this is also a facet in the word harpazo, rendered “caught up” in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 (which the false prophets and false teachers of our time have twisted into their fly away false doctrines).
The word (harpazo) means to seize, by force, and is rendered “pulling” in Jude 1:23 where we’re told to, with fear, pull some from the fire caused by their garments spotted by the flesh. The referenced “spot” is that spoken of earlier in the chapter, in verse 12, when describing of the false prophets among us, who “are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water [without God-given understanding], carried about of winds [of false doctrine]; trees whose fruit wither [as it now does in the presence of the LORD], without fruit, twice dead [the “second death” in this judgment], plucked up by the roots; 13 Raging waves [proud men] of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness [ignorance] forever.”
Jude 1
14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the LORD comes with ten thousands of his saints,
15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaks great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.
17 But, beloved, remember you the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our LORD Jesus Christ;
18 How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.
19 These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.
20 But you, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our LORD Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
22 And of some have compassion, making a difference:
23 And others save with fear, pulling [harpazo] them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh [false prophets, from where we are pulled into His clear air].
24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
25 To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
As we’ve seen, the LORD forcefully pulling us to Him, implies we (the church) don’t want to go there, and neither can we get to Him by ourselves (by our own means). He is the only way, through His truth and light. This aspect is what He speaks of, recorded in John 21:18, saying “Truly, truly, I say unto you, When you were young, you girded yourself, and walked where you would: but when you shall be old, you shall stretch forth your hands, and another shall gird you [prepare you with thing needed], and carry you where you would not [and could not, go yourself].”
What hastens our return to Him is our, “eager with excitement or enjoyment,” taking His now stretched-out hand. This same event is the calamity that falls upon those who’ve scattered and now hold down (katecho) God’s people, who will hold them down (let) until they are taken out of the way.
Deuteronomy 32
9 O that they [My people] were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!
30 How should one [a little one who shall become the many thousands, and tens of thousands times tens of thousands] chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up?
31 For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.
32 For their vine is of the vine of Sodom [burning flames], and of the fields of Gomorrah [ruin – of the world now “become without form, and void”]: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter:
33 Their wine is the poison of dragons [devouring mouths], and the cruel venom of asps, [against which, the son of man must be lifted up, and all who look to Him shall be saved].
34 Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures?
35 To me belongs vengeance and recompense; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste [chuwsh].
36 For the LORD shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he sees that their power is gone, and there is none shut up, or left.
37 And he shall say, Where are their gods, their rock [idols] in whom they trusted,
38 Which [false prophets and false teachers with their false god, whose god is their belly] did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offerings? let them rise up and help you, and be your protection.
39 See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.
40 For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live forever.
41 If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me.
42 I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword [this word of truth] shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy.
43 Rejoice, O you nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people.
This event is described in Job 20, as one of Job’s accusers tells of a truth He’s known, speaking of the disappointment of the hypocrites (of which, he is unknowingly among – who by his own words judges himself).
Job 20
2 Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer, and for this I make haste [chuwsh].
3 I have heard the check of my reproach, and the spirit of my understanding causes me to answer.
4 Know you not this of old, since man was placed upon earth,
5 That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?
6 Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds [though he is given understanding, because he doesn’t know the One to whom it appertains];
7 Yet he shall perish forever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he?
8 He shall fly away as a dream [a deception created by his own mind], and shall not be found: yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night.
9 The eye also which saw him shall see him no more; neither shall his place any more behold him.
10 His children shall seek to please the poor, and his hands shall restore their goods.
11 His bones are full of the sin of his youth, which shall lie down with him in the dust.
12 Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue;
13 Though he spare it, and forsake it not; but keep it still within his mouth [his devouring poison – words and ideas]:
14 Yet his meat in his bowels is turned, it is the gall of asps within him.
15 He has swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again: God shall cast them out of his belly.
16 He shall suck the poison of asps: the viper’s tongue shall slay him.
17 He shall not see the [these] rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter.
18 That which he labored for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down: according to his substance shall the restitution be, and he shall not rejoice therein.
19 Because he has oppressed and has forsaken the poor; because he has violently taken away a house which he built not;
20 Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly, he shall not save of that which he desired [this is his disappointment and shame].
21 There shall none of his meat be left; therefore shall no man look for his goods.
22 In the fullness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: every hand of the wicked shall come upon him.
23 When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating.
24 He shall flee from the iron weapon, and the bow of steel shall strike him through.
25 It is drawn, and comes out of the body; yea, the glittering sword comes out of his gall: terrors are upon him [by his own words he shall be judged].
26 All darkness [his ignorance] shall be hid in his secret places: a fire not blown shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle [therefore, “Come out of her, My people, that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of their plagues.” Revelation 18:4].
27 The heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up against him.
28 The increase of his house shall depart, and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath.
29 This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed unto him by God.
The only other time chuwsh appears in Job is in Job 31:5, which we saw in the previous post, there describing it as a “heinous crime,” to be “eager with excitement or enjoyment,” thinking you’re going to reach the end you expect when reaching for it through “vanity” and “deceit.”
Job 31
2 For what portion of God is there from above? and what inheritance [the end to be expected] of the Almighty from on high?
3 Is not destruction to the wicked? and a strange punishment to the workers of iniquity?
4 Does not he see my ways, and count all my steps?
5 If I have walked with vanity, or if my foot has hasted [chuwsh] to deceit;
6 Let me be weighed in an even balance that God may know mine integrity.
11 For this [verse 5] is a heinous crime; yea, it is an iniquity to be punished by the judges.
12 For it [verse 5] is a fire [of Hell] that consumes to destruction [‘abaddown], and would root out all mine increase.
13 If I did despise the cause of my manservant or of my maidservant, when they contended with me; [hereafter are the questions of judgment – judge yourself: what have you done, are your works vanity and deceit, as God sees them and has properly assessed?]
14 What then shall I do when God rises up? and when he visits, what shall I answer him?
Isaiah 28
5 In that day shall the LORD of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem [tsphiyrah] of beauty, unto the residue of his people,
6 And for a spirit of judgment to him that sits in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate.
7 But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
8 For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.
9 Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine [shmuw’ah]? them that are weaned from the milk, and [have] drawn from the breasts [of the Ancient of Days].
10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:
11 For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.
12 To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith you may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.
13 But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, you scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because you have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies [kazab – only used by Isaiah here and in verse 17] our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus says the LORD God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believes shall not make haste [chuwsh – shall not be ashamed, because they have not been, “eager with excitement or enjoyment,” expecting to reach it through a covenant with death and an agreement with Hell].
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies [kazab], and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then you shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goes forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report [shmuw’ah].
20 For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it.
21 For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim [2 Samuel 5:20 & 21: as waters, this word of God, breaking forth upon the enemies], he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon [Joshua 10:10 & 11: God’s word, reserved in heaven for this moment, coming as hailstones], that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.
22 Now therefore be you not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the LORD God of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.
23 Give you ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech.
Isaiah 5
1 Now will I sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My well-beloved has a vineyard in a very fruitful hill:
2 And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.
3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.
4 What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?
5 And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down:
6 And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns [the misleaders now in power, in church and state]: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it [and there is no light, understanding, in them].
7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.
8 Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth!
9 In mine ears said the LORD of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant.
10 Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of a homer shall yield an ephah.
11 Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!
12 And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands.
13 Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honorable men are famished [without this bread of heaven, manna not known to be the word from the mouth of God, by which only does man live], and their multitude dried up with thirst [without these living waters].
14 Therefore hell has enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoices, shall descend into it.
15 And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled:
16 But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified [declared to be in the Holy One] in righteousness.
17 Then shall the lambs feed after their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat.
18 Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope:
19 That say, Let him make speed, and hasten [chuwsh] his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it!
20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
22 Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle [macak] strong drink:
23 Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!
24 Therefore as the fire devours the stubble, and the flame consumes the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25 Therefore is the anger of the LORD kindled against his people, and he has stretched forth his hand against them, and has smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcasses were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
26 And he will lift up an ensign [nec – the son of man lifted up, as Moses lifted the serpent in the wilderness, and all who look to him died not from the bites of the poisonous mouths among them] to the nations from far, and will hiss [draw their attention to Him] unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:
27 None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:
28 Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses’ hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind:
29 Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it.
30 And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.
Psalms 70
1 Make haste, O God, to deliver me; make haste [chuwsh] to help me, O LORD.
2 Let them be ashamed and confounded that seek after my soul: let them be turned backward, and put to confusion, that desire my hurt.
3 Let them be turned back for a reward of their shame that say, Aha, aha.
4 Let all those that seek you rejoice and be glad in you: and let such as love your salvation say continually, Let God be magnified.
5 But I am poor and needy: make haste [chuwsh] unto me, O God: you are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, make no tarrying.
