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⁴³And he caused him to ascend upon his second swift chariot, with the herald proclaiming that everyone should bend their knee before him, and that they should know that he was governor over the entire land of Egypt.

¹For behold, the sovereign Lord of hosts will take away, from Jerusalem and from Judah, the powerful and the strong: all the strength from bread, and all the strength from water; ²the strong man, and the man of war, the judge and the prophet, and the seer and the elder; ³the leader over fifty and the honorable in appearance; and the counselor, and the wise among builders, and the skillful in mystical speech. ⁴And I will provide children as their leaders, and the effeminate will rule over them. ⁵And the people will rush, man against man, and each one against his neighbor. The child shall rebel against the elder, and the ignoble against the noble. ⁶For a man will apprehend his brother, from the household of his own father, saying: “The vestment is yours. Be our leader, but let this ruin be under your hand.”

³And they were crying out to one another, and saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts! All the earth is filled with his glory!”

¹And it happened that, in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth of the month, when I was in the midst of the captives beside the river Chebar, the heavens were opened, and I saw the visions of God. ²On the fifth of the month, the same is the fifth year of the transmigration of king Joachin, ³the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel, a priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans, next to the river Chebar. And the hand of the Lord was over him there. ⁴And I saw, and behold, a whirlwind arrived from the north. And a great cloud, wrapped in fire and brightness, was all around it. And from its midst, that is, from the midst of the fire, there was something with the appearance of amber. ⁵And in its midst, there was the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: the likeness of a man was in them. ⁶Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings.

¹The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite. ²God is a rival, and the Lord is avenging. The Lord is avenging, and one who applies wrath. The Lord is avenging with his enemies, and he becomes angry with his adversaries. ³The Lord is patient and great in strength, and those who are not clean, he makes innocent. The Lord is in a tempest, and his way is a whirlwind, and the clouds are dust at his feet. ⁴He is the one who rebukes the sea, and who dries it up, and who leads all the rivers to the desert. Basan has been weakened, and also Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon has languished. ⁵The mountains have trembled before him, and the hills have become desolate, and the earth has quaked before his face, both the world and all that dwells in it. ⁶Who can stand firm before the face of his indignation? And who can continue against the fury of his wrath? His indignation has broken out like a fire, and the rocks have been dissolved before him.

¹Naaman, the leader of the military of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man with his lord. For through him the Lord gave salvation to Syria. And he was a strong and rich man, but a leper. ²Now robbers had gone out from Syria, and they had led away captive, from the land of Israel, a little girl. And she was in the service of the wife of Naaman. ³And she said to her lady: “I wish that my lord had been with the prophet who is in Samaria. Certainly, he would have cured him of the leprosy that he has.” ⁴And so, Naaman entered to his lord, and he reported to him, saying: “The girl from the land of Israel spoke in such a manner.” ⁵And the king of Syria said to him, “Go, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” And when he had set out, he had taken with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand gold coins, and ten changes of fine clothing. ⁶And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, in these words: “When you will receive this letter, know that I have sent to you my servant, Naaman, so that you may heal him of his leprosy.”

¹And the Lord revealed to me: Jesus the high priest, standing in the sight of the angel of the Lord. And Satan stood before his right hand, so as to be his adversary. ²And the Lord said to Satan, “May the Lord rebuke you, Satan! And may the Lord, who chose Jerusalem, rebuke you! Are you not a firebrand plucked from the fire?” ³And Jesus was clothed with filthy garments. And he stood before the face of an angel. ⁴He answered and spoke to those who stood before him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And he said to him, “Behold, I have taken away from you your iniquity, and I have clothed you with a change of clothing.” ⁵And he said, “Place a clean diadem on his head.” And they placed a clean diadem on his head, and they clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord remained standing. ⁶And the angel of the Lord contested with Jesus, saying:

¹There was a certain man from Ramah of Zophim, on Mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. ²And he had two wives: the name of one was Hannah, and the name of the second was Peninnah. And Peninnah had sons. But Hannah did not have children. ³And this man went up from his city, on the established days, so that he might adore and sacrifice to the Lord of hosts at Shiloh. Now the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, priests of the Lord, were in that place. ⁴Then the day arrived, and Elkanah immolated. And he gave portions to his wife Peninnah, and to all her sons and daughters. ⁵But to Hannah he gave one portion with sorrow. For he loved Hannah, but the Lord had closed her womb. ⁶And her rival afflicted her and vehemently distressed her, to a great extent, for she rebuked her that the Lord had closed her womb.

¹Then Solomon said: “The Lord has promised that he would dwell in a cloud. ²But I have built a house to his name, so that he may dwell there forever.” ³And the king turned his face, and he blessed the entire multitude of Israel, (for the whole crowd was standing and attentive) and he said: ⁴“Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, who has completed the work that he spoke to David my father, saying: ⁵‘From the day when I led my people away from the land of Egypt, I did not choose a city from all the tribes of Israel, so that a house would be built in it to my name. And I did not choose any other man, so that he would be the ruler of my people Israel. ⁶But I chose Jerusalem, so that my name would be in it. And I chose David, so that I might appoint him over my people Israel.’

¹And so Joshua, the son of Nun, sent two men from Shittim to explore in secret. And he said to them, “Go and consider the land and the city of Jericho.” And while traveling, they entered into the house of a harlot woman named Rahab, and they rested with her. ²And it was reported to the king of Jericho, and it was said: “Behold, men have entered to this place in the night, from the sons of Israel, so that they might explore the land.” ³And the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying: “Bring out the men who came to you, and who entered into your house. For certainly they are spies, and they have arrived to consider the entire land.” ⁴And the woman, taking the men, hid them. And she said: “I admit that they came to me, but I did not know where they were from. ⁵And when the gate was closed, they went out together in the darkness. I do not know where they have gone. Pursue them quickly, and you will overtake them.” ⁶But she caused the men to ascend to the roof of her house, and she covered them with the stalks of flax that were there.

¹And so the heavens and the earth were completed, with all their adornment. ²And on the seventh day, God fulfilled his work, which he had made. And on the seventh day he rested from all his work, which he had accomplished. ³And he blessed the seventh day and sanctified it. For in it, he had ceased from all his work: the work whereby God created whatever he should make. ⁴These are the generations of heaven and earth, when they were created, in the day when the Lord God made heaven and earth, ⁵and every sapling of the field, before it would rise up in the land, and every wild plant, before it would germinate. For the Lord God had not brought rain upon the earth, and there was no man to work the land. ⁶But a fountain ascended from the earth, irrigating the entire surface of the land.

¹The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. ²The word of the Lord, which came to him in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign, ³and which came to him in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, even until the completion of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, even until the transmigration of Jerusalem in the fifth month. ⁴And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ⁵“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. And before you went forth from the womb, I sanctified you. And I made you a prophet to the nations.” ⁶And I said: “Alas, alas, alas, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am a boy.”

¹Now it happened that, after Saul died, David returned from the slaughter of Amalek, and he remained for two days at Ziklag. ²Then, on the third day, a man appeared, arriving from the camp of Saul, with his garments torn and dust sprinkled on his head. And when he came to David, he fell on his face, and he reverenced. ³And David said to him, “Where have you come from?” And he said to him, “I have fled from the camp of Israel.” ⁴And David said to him: “What is the word that has happened? Reveal it to me.” And he said: “The people have fled from the battle, and many of the people have fallen and died. Moreover, Saul and his son Jonathan have passed away.” ⁵And David said to the youth who was reporting to him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan have died?” ⁶And the youth, who was reporting it to him, said: “I arrived by chance on mount Gilboa. And Saul was lying upon his spear. Then the chariots and horsemen drew near to him.

¹The burden that Habakkuk the prophet saw. ²How long, O Lord, shall I cry out, and you will not heed? Shall I shout to you while suffering violence, and you will not save? ³Why have you revealed to me iniquity and hardship, to see plunder and injustice opposite me? And there has been judgment, but the opposition is more powerful. ⁴Because of this, the law has been torn apart, and judgment does not persevere to its conclusion. For the impious prevail against the just. Because of this, a perverse judgment is issued. ⁵Gaze among the nations, and see. Admire, and be astounded. For a work has been done in your days, which no one will believe when it is told. ⁶For behold, I will raise up the Chaldeans, a bitter and swift people, marching across the width of the earth, to possess tabernacles not their own.

¹In the second year of king Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came, by the hand of Haggai the prophet, to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Jesus the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying: ²Thus says the Lord of hosts, saying: This people claims that the time has not yet arrived for building the house of the Lord. ³But the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, saying: ⁴Is it time for you to dwell in paneled houses, while this house is deserted? ⁵And now, thus says the Lord of hosts: Set your hearts upon your ways. ⁶You sowed much and have brought in little. You consumed and have not been satisfied. You drank and have not been inebriated. You covered yourselves and have not been warmed. And whoever gathered wages, has put them in a bag with holes.

¹And an Angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to the Place of Weeping, and he said: “I led you away from Egypt, and I led you into the land, about which I swore to your fathers. And I promised that I would not nullify my covenant with you, even forever: ²but only if you would not form a pact with the inhabitants of this land. Instead, you should overturn their altars. Yet you were not willing to listen to my voice. Why have you done this? ³For this reason, I am not willing to destroy them before your face, so that you may have enemies, and so that their gods may be your ruin.” ⁴And when the Angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, they lifted up their voice, and they wept. ⁵And the name of that place was called, the Place of Weeping, or the Place of Tears. And they immolated victims to the Lord in that place. ⁶Then Joshua dismissed the people, and the sons of Israel went away, each one to his own possession, so that they might obtain it.

¹Hiram, the king of Tyre, also sent his servants to Solomon. For he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father. Now Hiram had been a friend to David the entire time. ²Then Solomon sent to Hiram, saying: ³“You know the will of my father David, and that he was not able to build a house to the name of the Lord his God, because of the wars that were imminent all around him, until the Lord set them under the steps of his feet. ⁴But now the Lord my God has given rest to me on all sides. And there is no adversary, nor occurrence of evil. ⁵For this reason, I intend to build a temple to the name of the Lord my God, just as the Lord spoke to my father David, saying: ‘Your son, whom I will set in your place, upon your throne, he himself shall build a house to my name.’ ⁶Therefore, order that your servants may cut down for me cedars from Lebanon. And let my servants be with your servants. Then I will give to you, for the wages of your servants, whatever you will ask. For you know that there is not a man among my people who knows how to cut wood as well as the Sidonians.”

¹After these things, a man from the house of Levi went out, and he took a wife from his own stock. ²And she conceived and bore a son. And seeing him to be handsome, she hid him for three months. ³And when she was no longer able to hide him, she took a small basket woven of bulrushes, and she smeared it with pitch as well as tar. And she placed the little infant inside, and she laid him in the sedges by the bank of the river. ⁴His sister was standing at a distance and was wondering what would happen. ⁵Then, behold, the daughter of Pharaoh descended to wash in the river. And her maids walked along the edge of the cove. And when she had seen the small basket among the papyruses, she sent one of her servants for it. And when it was brought, ⁶she opened it; and realizing that within it was a little one crying, she took pity on him, and she said: “This is one of the infants of the Hebrews.”

¹Adam, Seth, Enos, ²Cainan, Mahalalel, Jared, ³Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, ⁴Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. ⁵The sons of Japheth: Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, Tubal, Meshech, Tiras. ⁶And the sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.

¹The word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel. ²Listen to this, elders, and pay close attention, all inhabitants of the land. Did this ever happen in your days or in the days of your fathers? ³Talk this over with your sons, and your sons with their sons, and their sons with another generation. ⁴The locust has eaten what the caterpillar has left, and the beetle has eaten what the locust has left, and the mildew has eaten what the beetle has left. ⁵Rouse yourselves, you drunkards, and weep and wail, all you who delight in drinking wine; for it has been cut off from your mouth. ⁶For a nation has ascended over my land: strong and without number. His teeth are like the teeth of a lion, and his molars are like that of a lion’s young.

¹Woe to you who devise useless things and who work evil in your beds. In the morning light, they undertake it, because their hand is against God. ²And they have desired fields and have taken them by violence, and they have stolen houses. And they have made false accusations against a man and his house, a man and his inheritance. ³For this reason, thus says the Lord: Behold, I devise an evil against this family, from which you will not steal away your necks. And you will not walk in arrogance, because this is a most wicked time. ⁴In that day, a parable will be taken up about you, and a song will be sung with sweetness, saying: “We have been devastated by depopulation.” The fate of my people has been altered. How can he withdraw from me, when he might be turned back, he who might tear apart our country? ⁵Because of this, there will be for you no casting of the cord of fate in the assembly of the Lord. ⁶Do not speak by saying, “It will not drop on these ones; shame will not embrace them.”

¹Bride: May he kiss me with the kiss of his mouth.. Groom to Bride: So much better than wine are your breasts, ²fragranced with the finest perfumes. Bride to Groom: Your name is oil that has been poured out; therefore, the maidens have loved you. ³Draw me forward. Chorus to Bride: We will run after you in the odor of your perfumes. Bride to Chorus: The king has led me into his storerooms. Chorus to Bride: We will exult and rejoice in you, remembering your breasts above wine. Groom to Bride: The righteous love you. ⁴Bride to Chorus: O daughters of Jerusalem: I am black, but shapely, like the tabernacles of Kedar, like the tents of Solomon. ⁵Do not be concerned that I am dark, for the sun has changed my color. The sons of my mother have fought against me. They have made me the keeper of the vineyards. My own vineyard I have not kept. ⁶Bride to Groom: Reveal to me, you whom my soul loves, where you pasture, where you recline at midday, lest I begin to wander after the flocks of your companions.