16th December

¹ Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,² Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer, and for this I make haste.³ I have heard the check of my reproach, and the spirit of my understanding causeth me to answer.⁴ Knowest thou 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;⁷ Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he?⁸ He shall fly away as a dream, 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:¹⁴ Yet his meat in his bowels is turned, it is the gall of asps within him.¹⁵ He hath 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 rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter.¹⁸ That which he laboured 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 hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor; because he hath violently taken away an house which he builded not;²⁰ Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly, he shall not save of that which he desired.²¹ There shall none of his meat be left; therefore shall no man look for his goods.²² In the fulness 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 cometh out of the body; yea, the glittering sword cometh out of his gall: terrors are upon him.²⁶ All darkness 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.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.

¹ Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired;² Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD's anger come upon you.³ Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD's anger.⁴ For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod at the noon day, and Ekron shall be rooted up.⁵ Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites! the word of the LORD is against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant.⁶ And the sea coast shall be dwellings and cottages for shepherds, and folds for flocks.⁷ And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed thereupon: in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening: for the LORD their God shall visit them, and turn away their captivity.⁸ I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, whereby they have reproached my people, and magnified themselves against their border.⁹ Therefore as I live, saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them.¹⁰ This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of the LORD of hosts.¹¹ The LORD will be terrible unto them: for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and men shall worship him, every one from his place, even all the isles of the heathen.¹² Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be slain by my sword.¹³ And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like a wilderness.¹⁴ And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it; their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds; for he shall uncover the cedar work.¹⁵ This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none beside me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his hand.

¹ That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;² (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)³ That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.⁴ And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.⁵ This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.⁶ If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.⁸ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.¹⁰ If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

¹ My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:² And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for our's only, but also for the sins of the whole world.³ And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.⁴ He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.⁵ But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.⁶ He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.⁷ Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.⁸ Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.⁹ He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.¹⁰ He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.¹¹ But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.¹² I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.¹³ I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.¹⁴ I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.¹⁵ Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.¹⁶ For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.¹⁷ And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.¹⁸ Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.¹⁹ They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.²⁰ But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.²¹ I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.²² Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.²³ Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.²⁴ Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.²⁵ And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.²⁶ These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.²⁷ But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.²⁸ And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.²⁹ If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.