26th December

¹ Elihu spake moreover, and said,² Thinkest thou this to be right, that thou saidst, My righteousness is more than God's?³ For thou saidst, What advantage will it be unto thee? and, What profit shall I have, if I be cleansed from my sin?⁴ I will answer thee, and thy companions with thee.⁵ Look unto the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds which are higher than thou.⁶ If thou sinnest, what doest thou against him? or if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto him?⁷ If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? or what receiveth he of thine hand?⁸ Thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art; and thy righteousness may profit the son of man.⁹ By reason of the multitude of oppressions they make the oppressed to cry: they cry out by reason of the arm of the mighty.¹⁰ But none saith, Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night;¹¹ Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven?¹² There they cry, but none giveth answer, because of the pride of evil men.¹³ Surely God will not hear vanity, neither will the Almighty regard it.¹⁴ Although thou sayest thou shalt not see him, yet judgment is before him; therefore trust thou in him.¹⁵ But now, because it is not so, he hath visited in his anger; yet he knoweth it not in great extremity:¹⁶ Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain; he multiplieth words without knowledge.

¹ Elihu also proceeded, and said,² Suffer me a little, and I will shew thee that I have yet to speak on God's behalf.³ I will fetch my knowledge from afar, and will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.⁴ For truly my words shall not be false: he that is perfect in knowledge is with thee.⁵ Behold, God is mighty, and despiseth not any: he is mighty in strength and wisdom.⁶ He preserveth not the life of the wicked: but giveth right to the poor.⁷ He withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous: but with kings are they on the throne; yea, he doth establish them for ever, and they are exalted.⁸ And if they be bound in fetters, and be holden in cords of affliction;⁹ Then he sheweth them their work, and their transgressions that they have exceeded.¹⁰ He openeth also their ear to discipline, and commandeth that they return from iniquity.¹¹ If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures.¹² But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge.¹³ But the hypocrites in heart heap up wrath: they cry not when he bindeth them.¹⁴ They die in youth, and their life is among the unclean.¹⁵ He delivereth the poor in his affliction, and openeth their ears in oppression.¹⁶ Even so would he have removed thee out of the strait into a broad place, where there is no straitness; and that which should be set on thy table should be full of fatness.¹⁷ But thou hast fulfilled the judgment of the wicked: judgment and justice take hold on thee.¹⁸ Because there is wrath, beware lest he take thee away with his stroke: then a great ransom cannot deliver thee.¹⁹ Will he esteem thy riches? no, not gold, nor all the forces of strength.²⁰ Desire not the night, when people are cut off in their place.²¹ Take heed, regard not iniquity: for this hast thou chosen rather than affliction.²² Behold, God exalteth by his power: who teacheth like him?²³ Who hath enjoined him his way? or who can say, Thou hast wrought iniquity?²⁴ Remember that thou magnify his work, which men behold.²⁵ Every man may see it; man may behold it afar off.²⁶ Behold, God is great, and we know him not, neither can the number of his years be searched out.²⁷ For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof:²⁸ Which the clouds do drop and distil upon man abundantly.²⁹ Also can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, or the noise of his tabernacle?³⁰ Behold, he spreadeth his light upon it, and covereth the bottom of the sea.³¹ For by them judgeth he the people; he giveth meat in abundance.³² With clouds he covereth the light; and commandeth it not to shine by the cloud that cometh betwixt.³³ The noise thereof sheweth concerning it, the cattle also concerning the vapour.

¹ Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.² Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down.³ There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.⁴ Thus saith the LORD my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter;⁵ Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, Blessed be the LORD; for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not.⁶ For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD: but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbour's hand, and into the hand of his king: and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them.⁷ And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.⁸ Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me.⁹ Then said I, I will not feed you: that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another.¹⁰ And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people.¹¹ And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the LORD.¹² And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.¹³ And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.¹⁴ Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.¹⁵ And the LORD said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd.¹⁶ For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces.¹⁷ Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.

¹ And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:² And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.³ And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.⁴ And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.⁵ And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.⁶ And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.⁷ And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,⁸ And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.⁹ And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.¹⁰ And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.¹¹ And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.¹² Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.¹³ And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.¹⁴ And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.¹⁵ And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.¹⁶ And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.¹⁷ And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

¹ And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.² And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.³ And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.⁴ And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?⁵ And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.⁶ And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.⁷ And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.⁸ And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.⁹ If any man have an ear, let him hear.¹⁰ He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.¹¹ And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.¹² And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.¹³ And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,¹⁴ And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.¹⁵ And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.¹⁶ And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:¹⁷ And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.¹⁸ Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.