Human Resources

Edom’s eviction notice. The shortest book in the Hebrew scriptures delivered as a termination letter — you built high, you watched your brother burn, and the file is closed.

“Though you mount on high as the eagle, and though your nest is set among the stars, I will bring you down from there,” says Yahweh.”— Obadiah 1:4 (WEB)

Full passage — Obadiah 1:1-21 WEB

1. 1The vision of Obadiah. This is what the Lord Yahweh says about Edom. We have heard news from Yahweh, and an ambassador is sent among the nations, saying, “Arise, and let’s rise up against her in battle.
2. 2Behold, I have made you small among the nations. You are greatly despised.
3. 3The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high, who says in his heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’
4. 4Though you mount on high as the eagle, and though your nest is set among the stars, I will bring you down from there,” says Yahweh.
5. 5“If thieves came to you, if robbers by night—oh, what disaster awaits you—wouldn’t they only steal until they had enough? If grape pickers came to you, wouldn’t they leave some gleaning grapes?
6. 6How Esau will be ransacked! How his hidden treasures are sought out!
7. 7All the men of your alliance have brought you on your way, even to the border. The men who were at peace with you have deceived you, and prevailed against you. Friends who eat your bread lay a snare under you. There is no understanding in him.”
8. 8“Won’t I in that day”, says Yahweh, “destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mountain of Esau?
9. 9Your mighty men, Teman, will be dismayed, to the end that everyone may be cut off from the mountain of Esau by slaughter.
10. 10For the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame will cover you, and you will be cut off forever.
11. 11In the day that you stood on the other side, in the day that strangers carried away his substance, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots for Jerusalem, even you were like one of them.
12. 12But don’t look down on your brother in the day of his disaster, and don’t rejoice over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction. Don’t speak proudly in the day of distress.
13. 13Don’t enter into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity. Don’t look down on their affliction in the day of their calamity, neither seize their wealth on the day of their calamity.
14. 14Don’t stand in the crossroads to cut off those of his who escape. Don’t deliver up those of his who remain in the day of distress.
15. 15For the day of Yahweh is near all the nations! As you have done, it will be done to you. Your deeds will return upon your own head.
16. 16For as you have drunk on my holy mountain, so will all the nations drink continually. Yes, they will drink, swallow down, and will be as though they had not been.
17. 17But in Mount Zion, there will be those who escape, and it will be holy. The house of Jacob will possess their possessions.
18. 18The house of Jacob will be a fire, the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble. They will burn among them, and devour them. There will not be any remaining to the house of Esau.” Indeed, Yahweh has spoken.
19. 19Those of the South will possess the mountain of Esau, and those of the lowland, the Philistines. They will possess the field of Ephraim, and the field of Samaria. Benjamin will possess Gilead.
20. 20The captives of this army of the children of Israel, who are among the Canaanites, will possess even to Zarephath; and the captives of Jerusalem, who are in Sepharad, will possess the cities of the Negev.
21. 21Saviors will go up on Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau, and the kingdom will be Yahweh’s.

Paneled houses and a ruined temple. A prophet doing time-and-motion study on a whole nation: you plant much and harvest little, you earn wages to put in a bag with holes.

“You have sown much, and bring in little. You eat, but you don’t have enough. You drink, but you aren’t filled with drink. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm, and he who earns wages earns wages to put them into a bag with holes in it.””— Haggai 1:6 (WEB)

Full passage — Haggai 1:1-15 WEB

1. 1In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, Yahweh’s word came by Haggai, the prophet, to Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying,
2. 2“This is what Yahweh of Armies says: These people say, ‘The time hasn’t yet come, the time for Yahweh’s house to be built.’”
3. 3Then Yahweh’s word came by Haggai, the prophet, saying,
4. 4“Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies waste?
5. 5Now therefore this is what Yahweh of Armies says: Consider your ways.
6. 6You have sown much, and bring in little. You eat, but you don’t have enough. You drink, but you aren’t filled with drink. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm, and he who earns wages earns wages to put them into a bag with holes in it.”
7. 7This is what Yahweh of Armies says: “Consider your ways.
8. 8Go up to the mountain, bring wood, and build the house. I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified,” says Yahweh.
9. 9“You looked for much, and, behold, it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?” says Yahweh of Armies, “Because of my house that lies waste, while each of you is busy with his own house.
10. 10Therefore for your sake the heavens withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit.
11. 11I called for a drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on that which the ground produces, on men, on livestock, and on all the labor of the hands.”
12. 12Then Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed Yahweh, their God’s voice, and the words of Haggai, the prophet, as Yahweh, their God, had sent him; and the people feared Yahweh.
13. 13Then Haggai, Yahweh’s messenger, spoke Yahweh’s message to the people, saying, “I am with you,” says Yahweh.
14. 14Yahweh stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of Yahweh of Armies, their God,
15. 15in the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.

Consolation for the ones who remember the old building. The latter glory promised to a foundation that looks like nothing, delivered over a slow, patient build.

“‘The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,’ says Yahweh of Armies; ‘and in this place will I give peace,’ says Yahweh of Armies.””— Haggai 2:9 (WEB)

Full passage — Haggai 2:1-23 WEB

1. 1In the seventh month, in the twenty-first day of the month, Yahweh’s word came by Haggai the prophet, saying,
2. 2“Speak now to Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, saying,
3. 3‘Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Isn’t it in your eyes as nothing?
4. 4Yet now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ says Yahweh. ‘Be strong, Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’ says Yahweh, ‘and work, for I am with you,’ says Yahweh of Armies.
5. 5This is the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, and my Spirit lived among you. ‘Don’t be afraid.’
6. 6For this is what Yahweh of Armies says: ‘Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the dry land;
7. 7and I will shake all nations. The precious things of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory, says Yahweh of Armies.
8. 8The silver is mine, and the gold is mine,’ says Yahweh of Armies.
9. 9‘The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,’ says Yahweh of Armies; ‘and in this place will I give peace,’ says Yahweh of Armies.”
10. 10In the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, Yahweh’s word came by Haggai the prophet, saying,
11. 11“Yahweh of Armies says: Ask now the priests concerning the law, saying,
12. 12‘If someone carries holy meat in the fold of his garment, and with his fold touches bread, stew, wine, oil, or any food, will it become holy?’” The priests answered, “No.”
13. 13Then Haggai said, “If one who is unclean by reason of a dead body touch any of these, will it be unclean?” The priests answered, “It will be unclean.”
14. 14Then Haggai answered, “‘So is this people, and so is this nation before me,’ says Yahweh; ‘and so is every work of their hands. That which they offer there is unclean.
15. 15Now, please consider from this day and backward, before a stone was laid on a stone in Yahweh’s temple.
16. 16Through all that time, when one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten. When one came to the wine vat to draw out fifty, there were only twenty.
17. 17I struck you with blight, mildew, and hail in all the work of your hands; yet you didn’t turn to me,’ says Yahweh.
18. 18‘Consider, please, from this day and backward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, since the day that the foundation of Yahweh’s temple was laid, consider it.
19. 19Is the seed yet in the barn? Yes, the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree haven’t produced. From today I will bless you.’”
20. 20Yahweh’s word came the second time to Haggai in the twenty-fourth day of the month, saying,
21. 21“Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, ‘I will shake the heavens and the earth.
22. 22I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms. I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations. I will overthrow the chariots, and those who ride in them. The horses and their riders will come down, everyone by the sword of his brother.
23. 23In that day, says Yahweh of Armies, will I take you, Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel,’ says Yahweh, ‘and will make you as a signet, for I have chosen you,’ says Yahweh of Armies.”

A personnel matter handled with extraordinary tact. Paul writes to a slaveholder about a runaway and quietly dismantles the category — no longer a servant, but a brother.

“no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much rather to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.”— Philemon 1:16 (WEB)

Full passage — Philemon 1:1-25 WEB

1. 1Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon, our beloved fellow worker,
2. 2to the beloved Apphia, to Archippus, our fellow soldier, and to the assembly in your house:
3. 3Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4. 4I thank my God always, making mention of you in my prayers,
5. 5hearing of your love, and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all the saints;
6. 6that the fellowship of your faith may become effective, in the knowledge of every good thing which is in us in Christ Jesus.
7. 7For we have much joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.
8. 8Therefore though I have all boldness in Christ to command you that which is appropriate,
9. 9yet for love’s sake I rather beg, being such a one as Paul, the aged, but also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.
10. 10I beg you for my child, whom I have become the father of in my chains, Onesimus,
11. 11who once was useless to you, but now is useful to you and to me.
12. 12I am sending him back. Therefore receive him, that is, my own heart,
13. 13whom I desired to keep with me, that on your behalf he might serve me in my chains for the Good News.
14. 14But I was willing to do nothing without your consent, that your goodness would not be as of necessity, but of free will.
15. 15For perhaps he was therefore separated from you for a while, that you would have him forever,
16. 16no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much rather to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
17. 17If then you count me a partner, receive him as you would receive me.
18. 18But if he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, put that to my account.
19. 19I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it (not to mention to you that you owe to me even your own self besides).
20. 20Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in the Lord.
21. 21Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even beyond what I say.
22. 22Also, prepare a guest room for me, for I hope that through your prayers I will be restored to you.
23. 23Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you,
24. 24as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.
25. 25The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

The job description. Appoint elders in every town, and here is exactly what disqualifies a candidate. Blunt, procedural, and set to a crushing tempo.

“holding to the faithful word which is according to the teaching, that he may be able to exhort in the sound doctrine, and to convict those who contradict him.”— Titus 1:9 (WEB)

Full passage — Titus 1:1-16 WEB

1. 1Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s chosen ones, and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness,
2. 2in hope of eternal life, which God, who can’t lie, promised before time began;
3. 3but in his own time revealed his word in the message with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior;
4. 4to Titus, my true child according to a common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.
5. 5I left you in Crete for this reason, that you would set in order the things that were lacking, and appoint elders in every city, as I directed you;
6. 6if anyone is blameless, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, who are not accused of loose or unruly behavior.
7. 7For the overseer must be blameless, as God’s steward; not self-pleasing, not easily angered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for dishonest gain;
8. 8but given to hospitality, a lover of good, sober minded, fair, holy, self-controlled;
9. 9holding to the faithful word which is according to the teaching, that he may be able to exhort in the sound doctrine, and to convict those who contradict him.
10. 10For there are also many unruly men, vain talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision,
11. 11whose mouths must be stopped; men who overthrow whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for dishonest gain’s sake.
12. 12One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, and idle gluttons.”
13. 13This testimony is true. For this cause, reprove them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith,
14. 14not paying attention to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn away from the truth.
15. 15To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their mind and their conscience are defiled.
16. 16They profess that they know God, but by their deeds they deny him, being abominable, disobedient, and unfit for any good work.

Instructions by department — older men, older women, the young, the enslaved. The grace that trains rather than excuses, delivered as a company-wide memo.

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men,”— Titus 2:11 (WEB)

Full passage — Titus 2:1-15 WEB

1. 1But say the things which fit sound doctrine,
2. 2that older men should be temperate, sensible, sober minded, sound in faith, in love, and in perseverance:
3. 3and that older women likewise be reverent in behavior, not slanderers nor enslaved to much wine, teachers of that which is good;
4. 4that they may train the young wives to love their husbands, to love their children,
5. 5to be sober minded, chaste, workers at home, kind, being in subjection to their own husbands, that God’s word may not be blasphemed.
6. 6Likewise, exhort the younger men to be sober minded;
7. 7in all things showing yourself an example of good works; in your teaching showing integrity, seriousness, incorruptibility,
8. 8and soundness of speech that can’t be condemned; that he who opposes you may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say about us.
9. 9Exhort servants to be in subjection to their own masters, and to be well-pleasing in all things; not contradicting;
10. 10not stealing, but showing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God, our Savior, in all things.
11. 11For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men,
12. 12instructing us to the intent that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we would live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age;
13. 13looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ;
14. 14who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good works.
15. 15Say these things and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no man despise you.

Not by works of righteousness. The washing of regeneration set against foolish questions and genealogies, with a directive to avoid the argument entirely after the second warning.

“not by works of righteousness which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,”— Titus 3:5 (WEB)

Full passage — Titus 3:1-15 WEB

1. 1Remind them to be in subjection to rulers and to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work,
2. 2to speak evil of no one, not to be contentious, to be gentle, showing all humility toward all men.
3. 3For we were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
4. 4But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love toward mankind appeared,
5. 5not by works of righteousness which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,
6. 6whom he poured out on us richly, through Jesus Christ our Savior;
7. 7that being justified by his grace, we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
8. 8This saying is faithful, and concerning these things I desire that you affirm confidently, so that those who have believed God may be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men;
9. 9but shun foolish questionings, genealogies, strife, and disputes about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.
10. 10Avoid a factious man after a first and second warning,
11. 11knowing that such a one is perverted and sins, being self-condemned.
12. 12When I send Artemas to you, or Tychicus, be diligent to come to me to Nicopolis, for I have determined to winter there.
13. 13Send Zenas, the lawyer, and Apollos on their journey speedily, that nothing may be lacking for them.
14. 14Let our people also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they may not be unfruitful.
15. 15All who are with me greet you. Greet those who love us in faith. Grace be with you all. Amen.

Contend for the faith. Jude drops the letter he intended to write and files an incident report instead — clouds without water, wandering stars, and a doxology that lands like a door closing.

“Beloved, while I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I was constrained to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.”— Jude 1:3 (WEB)

Full passage — Jude 1:1-25 WEB

1. 1Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ:
2. 2Mercy to you and peace and love be multiplied.
3. 3Beloved, while I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I was constrained to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
4. 4For there are certain men who crept in secretly, even those who were long ago written about for this condemnation: ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into indecency, and denying our only Master, God, and Lord, Jesus Christ.
5. 5Now I desire to remind you, though you already know this, that the Lord, having saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who didn’t believe.
6. 6Angels who didn’t keep their first domain, but deserted their own dwelling place, he has kept in everlasting bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day.
7. 7Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them, having, in the same way as these, given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are shown as an example, suffering the punishment of eternal fire.
8. 8Yet in the same way, these also in their dreaming defile the flesh, despise authority, and slander celestial beings.
9. 9But Michael, the archangel, when contending with the devil and arguing about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him an abusive condemnation, but said, “May the Lord rebuke you!”
10. 10But these speak evil of whatever things they don’t know. They are destroyed in these things that they understand naturally, like the creatures without reason.
11. 11Woe to them! For they went in the way of Cain, and ran riotously in the error of Balaam for hire, and perished in Korah’s rebellion.
12. 12These are hidden rocky reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you, shepherds who without fear feed themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;
13. 13wild waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the blackness of darkness has been reserved forever.
14. 14About these also Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with ten thousands of his holy ones,
15. 15to execute judgment on all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their works of ungodliness which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
16. 16These are murmurers and complainers, walking after their lusts (and their mouth speaks proud things), showing respect of persons to gain advantage.
17. 17But you, beloved, remember the words which have been spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.
18. 18They said to you that “In the last time there will be mockers, walking after their own ungodly lusts.”
19. 19These are they who cause divisions, and are sensual, not having the Spirit.
20. 20But you, beloved, keep building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.
21. 21Keep yourselves in God’s love, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.
22. 22On some have compassion, making a distinction,
23. 23and some save, snatching them out of the fire with fear, hating even the clothing stained by the flesh.
24. 24Now to him who is able to keep them from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory in great joy,
25. 25to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.

A short letter to a chosen lady about walking in truth and about who not to let in the door. Thirteen verses, no wasted motion.

“This is love, that we should walk according to his commandments. This is the commandment, even as you heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it.”— 2 John 1:6 (WEB)

Full passage — 2 John 1:1-13 WEB

1. 1The elder, to the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in truth; and not I only, but also all those who know the truth;
2. 2for the truth’s sake, which remains in us, and it will be with us forever:
3. 3Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
4. 4I rejoice greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth, even as we have been commanded by the Father.
5. 5Now I beg you, dear lady, not as though I wrote to you a new commandment, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.
6. 6This is love, that we should walk according to his commandments. This is the commandment, even as you heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it.
7. 7For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who don’t confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the Antichrist.
8. 8Watch yourselves, that we don’t lose the things which we have accomplished, but that we receive a full reward.
9. 9Whoever transgresses and doesn’t remain in the teaching of Christ, doesn’t have God. He who remains in the teaching, the same has both the Father and the Son.
10. 10If anyone comes to you, and doesn’t bring this teaching, don’t receive him into your house, and don’t welcome him,
11. 11for he who welcomes him participates in his evil deeds.
12. 12Having many things to write to you, I don’t want to do so with paper and ink, but I hope to come to you, and to speak face to face, that our joy may be made full.
13. 13The children of your chosen sister greet you. Amen.

Gaius, Demetrius, and Diotrephes — who loves to be first. Church politics in fourteen verses, scored with a wry, jazz-fusion swagger.

“Beloved, don’t imitate that which is evil, but that which is good. He who does good is of God. He who does evil hasn’t seen God.”— 3 John 1:11 (WEB)

Full passage — 3 John 1:1-14 WEB

1. 1The elder to Gaius the beloved, whom I love in truth.
2. 2Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be healthy, even as your soul prospers.
3. 3For I rejoiced greatly, when brothers came and testified about your truth, even as you walk in truth.
4. 4I have no greater joy than this, to hear about my children walking in truth.
5. 5Beloved, you do a faithful work in whatever you accomplish for those who are brothers and strangers.
6. 6They have testified about your love before the assembly. You will do well to send them forward on their journey in a way worthy of God,
7. 7because for the sake of the Name they went out, taking nothing from the Gentiles.
8. 8We therefore ought to receive such, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.
9. 9I wrote to the assembly, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, doesn’t accept what we say.
10. 10Therefore if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words. Not content with this, neither does he himself receive the brothers, and those who would, he forbids and throws out of the assembly.
11. 11Beloved, don’t imitate that which is evil, but that which is good. He who does good is of God. He who does evil hasn’t seen God.
12. 12Demetrius has the testimony of all, and of the truth itself; yes, we also testify, and you know that our testimony is true.
13. 13I had many things to write to you, but I am unwilling to write to you with ink and pen;
14. 14but I hope to see you soon, and we will speak face to face. Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends by name.

The locust years. Four waves of insects strip the land bare and the prophet calls a fast; what the crawling locust left, the swarming locust ate.

“What the swarming locust has left, the great locust has eaten. What the great locust has left, the grasshopper has eaten. What the grasshopper has left, the caterpillar has eaten.”— Joel 1:4 (WEB)

Full passage — Joel 1:1-20 WEB

1. 1Yahweh’s word that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel.
2. 2Hear this, you elders, And listen, all you inhabitants of the land. Has this ever happened in your days, or in the days of your fathers?
3. 3Tell your children about it, and have your children tell their children, and their children, another generation.
4. 4What the swarming locust has left, the great locust has eaten. What the great locust has left, the grasshopper has eaten. What the grasshopper has left, the caterpillar has eaten.
5. 5Wake up, you drunkards, and weep! Wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.
6. 6For a nation has come up on my land, strong, and without number. His teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he has the fangs of a lioness.
7. 7He has laid my vine waste, and stripped my fig tree. He has stripped its bark, and thrown it away. Its branches are made white.
8. 8Mourn like a virgin dressed in sackcloth for the husband of her youth!
9. 9The meal offering and the drink offering are cut off from Yahweh’s house. The priests, Yahweh’s ministers, mourn.
10. 10The field is laid waste. The land mourns, for the grain is destroyed, The new wine has dried up, and the oil languishes.
11. 11Be confounded, you farmers! Wail, you vineyard keepers; for the wheat and for the barley; for the harvest of the field has perished.
12. 12The vine has dried up, and the fig tree withered; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all of the trees of the field are withered; for joy has withered away from the sons of men.
13. 13Put on sackcloth and mourn, you priests! Wail, you ministers of the altar. Come, lie all night in sackcloth, you ministers of my God, for the meal offering and the drink offering are withheld from your God’s house.
14. 14Sanctify a fast. Call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders, and all the inhabitants of the land, to the house of Yahweh, your God, and cry to Yahweh.
15. 15Alas for the day! For the day of Yahweh is at hand, and it will come as destruction from the Almighty.
16. 16Isn’t the food cut off before our eyes; joy and gladness from the house of our God?
17. 17The seeds rot under their clods. The granaries are laid desolate. The barns are broken down, for the grain has withered.
18. 18How the animals groan! The herds of livestock are perplexed, because they have no pasture. Yes, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.
19. 19Yahweh, I cry to you, For the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame has burned all the trees of the field.
20. 20Yes, the animals of the field pant to you, for the water brooks have dried up, And the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.

Rend your heart and not your garments. An army like the dawn spread on the mountains, then an abrupt turn: the Spirit poured out on all flesh.

““It will happen afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; and your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams. Your young men will see visions.”— Joel 2:28 (WEB)

Full passage — Joel 2:1-32 WEB

1. 1Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of Yahweh comes, for it is close at hand:
2. 2A day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness. As the dawn spreading on the mountains, a great and strong people; there has never been the like, neither will there be any more after them, even to the years of many generations.
3. 3A 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. Yes, and no one has escaped them.
4. 4Their appearance is as the appearance of horses, and as horsemen, so do they run.
5. 5Like the noise of chariots on the tops of the mountains do they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devours the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.
6. 6At their presence the peoples are in anguish. All faces have grown pale.
7. 7They run like mighty men. They climb the wall like warriors. They each march in his line, and they don’t swerve off course.
8. 8Neither does one jostle another; they march everyone in his path, and they burst through the defenses, and don’t break ranks.
9. 9They rush on the city. They run on the wall. They climb up into the houses. They enter in at the windows like thieves.
10. 10The earth quakes before them. The heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.
11. 11Yahweh thunders his voice before his army; for his forces are very great; for he is strong who obeys his command; for the day of Yahweh is great and very awesome, and who can endure it?
12. 12“Yet even now,” says Yahweh, “turn to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning.”
13. 13Tear your heart, and not your garments, and turn to Yahweh, your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and relents from sending calamity.
14. 14Who knows? He may turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, even a meal offering and a drink offering to Yahweh, your God.
15. 15Blow the trumpet in Zion! Sanctify a fast. Call a solemn assembly.
16. 16Gather the people. Sanctify the assembly. Assemble the elders. Gather the children, and those who nurse from breasts. Let the bridegroom go out of his room, and the bride out of her room.
17. 17Let the priests, the ministers of Yahweh, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, “Spare your people, Yahweh, and don’t give your heritage to reproach, that the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’”
18. 18Then Yahweh was jealous for his land, And had pity on his people.
19. 19Yahweh answered his people, “Behold, I will send you grain, new wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied with them; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations.
20. 20But I will remove the northern army far away from you, and will drive it into a barren and desolate land, its front into the eastern sea, and its back into the western sea; and its stench will come up, and its bad smell will rise.” Surely he has done great things.
21. 21Land, don’t be afraid. Be glad and rejoice, for Yahweh has done great things.
22. 22Don’t be afraid, you animals of the field; for the pastures of the wilderness spring up, for the tree bears its fruit. The fig tree and the vine yield their strength.
23. 23“Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in Yahweh, your God; for he gives you the former rain in just measure, and he causes the rain to come down for you, the former rain and the latter rain, as before.
24. 24The threshing floors will be full of wheat, and the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.
25. 25I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the great locust, the grasshopper, and the caterpillar, my great army, which I sent among you.
26. 26You will have plenty to eat, and be satisfied, and will praise the name of Yahweh, your God, who has dealt wondrously with you; and my people will never again be disappointed.
27. 27You will know that I am among Israel, and that I am Yahweh, your God, and there is no one else; and my people will never again be disappointed.
28. 28“It will happen afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; and your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams. Your young men will see visions.
29. 29And also on the servants and on the handmaids in those days, I will pour out my Spirit.
30. 30I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood, fire, and pillars of smoke.
31. 31The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of Yahweh comes.
32. 32It will happen that whoever will call on Yahweh’s name shall be saved; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape, as Yahweh has said, and among the remnant, those whom Yahweh calls.

The valley of decision. Plowshares beaten into swords — the verse run backwards — and multitudes waiting while the sun and moon go dark.

“Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of Yahweh is near, in the valley of decision.”— Joel 3:14 (WEB)

Full passage — Joel 3:1-21 WEB

1. 1“For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,
2. 2I will gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will execute judgment on them there for my people, and for my heritage, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations. They have divided my land,
3. 3and have cast lots for my people, and have given a boy for a prostitute, and sold a girl for wine, that they may drink.
4. 4“Yes, and what are you to me, Tyre, and Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Will you repay me? And if you repay me, I will swiftly and speedily return your repayment on your own head.
5. 5Because you have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried my finest treasures into your temples,
6. 6and have sold the children of Judah and the children of Jerusalem to the sons of the Greeks, that you may remove them far from their border.
7. 7Behold, I will stir them up out of the place where you have sold them, and will return your repayment on your own head;
8. 8and I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hands of the children of Judah, and they will sell them to the men of Sheba, to a faraway nation, for Yahweh has spoken it.”
9. 9Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for war! Stir up the mighty men. Let all the warriors draw near. Let them come up.
10. 10Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’
11. 11Hurry and come, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves together.” Cause your mighty ones to come down there, Yahweh.
12. 12“Let the nations arouse themselves, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the surrounding nations.
13. 13Put in the sickle; for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the wine press is full, the vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.”
14. 14Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of Yahweh is near, in the valley of decision.
15. 15The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.
16. 16Yahweh will roar from Zion, and thunder from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth will shake; but Yahweh will be a refuge to his people, and a stronghold to the children of Israel.
17. 17“So you will know that I am Yahweh, your God, dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain. Then Jerusalem will be holy, and no strangers will pass through her any more.
18. 18It will happen in that day, that the mountains will drop down sweet wine, the hills will flow with milk, all the brooks of Judah will flow with waters, and a fountain will flow out from Yahweh’s house, and will water the valley of Shittim.
19. 19Egypt will be a desolation, and Edom will be a desolate wilderness, for the violence done to the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.
20. 20But Judah will be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
21. 21I will cleanse their blood, that I have not cleansed: for Yahweh dwells in Zion.”

The complaint. How long shall I cry and you will not hear? A prophet filing a grievance about violence, and receiving an answer worse than the silence.

“Yahweh, how long will I cry, and you will not hear? I cry out to you “Violence!” and will you not save?”— Habakkuk 1:2 (WEB)

Full passage — Habakkuk 1:1-17 WEB

1. 1The revelation which Habakkuk the prophet saw.
2. 2Yahweh, how long will I cry, and you will not hear? I cry out to you “Violence!” and will you not save?
3. 3Why do you show me iniquity, and look at perversity? For destruction and violence are before me. There is strife, and contention rises up.
4. 4Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails; for the wicked surround the righteous; therefore justice comes out perverted.
5. 5“Look among the nations, watch, and wonder marvelously; for I am working a work in your days, which you will not believe though it is told you.
6. 6For, behold, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, that march through the width of the earth, to possess dwelling places that are not theirs.
7. 7They are feared and dreaded. Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.
8. 8Their horses also are swifter than leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves. Their horsemen press proudly on. Yes, their horsemen come from afar. They fly as an eagle that hurries to devour.
9. 9All of them come for violence. Their hordes face the desert. He gathers prisoners like sand.
10. 10Yes, he scoffs at kings, and princes are a derision to him. He laughs at every stronghold, for he builds up an earthen ramp, and takes it.
11. 11Then he sweeps by like the wind, and goes on. He is indeed guilty, whose strength is his god.”
12. 12Aren’t you from everlasting, Yahweh my God, my Holy One? We will not die. Yahweh, you have appointed him for judgment. You, Rock, have established him to punish.
13. 13You who have purer eyes than to see evil, and who cannot look on perversity, why do you tolerate those who deal treacherously, and keep silent when the wicked swallows up the man who is more righteous than he,
14. 14and make men like the fish of the sea, like the creeping things, that have no ruler over them?
15. 15He takes up all of them with the hook. He catches them in his net, and gathers them in his dragnet. Therefore he rejoices and is glad.
16. 16Therefore he sacrifices to his net, and burns incense to his dragnet, because by them his life is luxurious, and his food is good.
17. 17Will he therefore continually empty his net, and kill the nations without mercy?

Standing on the watch to see what he will say. Write the vision, make it plain — then five woes against the one who builds a town with blood.

“Behold, his soul is puffed up. It is not upright in him, but the righteous will live by his faith.”— Habakkuk 2:4 (WEB)

Full passage — Habakkuk 2:1-20 WEB

1. 1I will stand at my watch, and set myself on the ramparts, and will look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint.
2. 2Yahweh answered me, “Write the vision, and make it plain on tablets, that he who runs may read it.
3. 3For the vision is yet for the appointed time, and it hurries toward the end, and won’t prove false. Though it takes time, wait for it; because it will surely come. It won’t delay.
4. 4Behold, his soul is puffed up. It is not upright in him, but the righteous will live by his faith.
5. 5Yes, moreover, wine is treacherous. A haughty man who doesn’t stay at home, who enlarges his desire as Sheol, and he is like death, and can’t be satisfied, but gathers to himself all nations, and heaps to himself all peoples.
6. 6Won’t all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, ‘Woe to him who increases that which is not his, and who enriches himself by extortion! How long?’
7. 7Won’t your debtors rise up suddenly, and wake up those who make you tremble, and you will be their victim?
8. 8Because you have plundered many nations, all the remnant of the peoples will plunder you, because of men’s blood, and for the violence done to the land, to the city and to all who dwell in it.
9. 9Woe to him who gets an evil gain for his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the hand of evil!
10. 10You have devised shame to your house, by cutting off many peoples, and have sinned against your soul.
11. 11For the stone will cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the woodwork will answer it.
12. 12Woe to him who builds a town with blood, and establishes a city by iniquity!
13. 13Behold, isn’t it of Yahweh of Armies that the peoples labor for the fire, and the nations weary themselves for vanity?
14. 14For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of Yahweh’s glory, as the waters cover the sea.
15. 15“Woe to him who gives his neighbor drink, pouring your inflaming wine until they are drunk, so that you may gaze at their naked bodies!
16. 16You are filled with shame, and not glory. You will also drink, and be exposed! The cup of Yahweh’s right hand will come around to you, and disgrace will cover your glory.
17. 17For the violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, and the destruction of the animals, which made them afraid; because of men’s blood, and for the violence done to the land, to every city and to those who dwell in them.
18. 18“What value does the engraved image have, that its maker has engraved it; the molten image, even the teacher of lies, that he who fashions its form trusts in it, to make mute idols?
19. 19Woe to him who says to the wood, ‘Awake!’ or to the mute stone, ‘Arise!’ Shall this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all within it.
20. 20But Yahweh is in his holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before him!”

The prayer on stringed instruments. Though the fig tree doesn’t flourish and there is no herd in the stalls — the album closes on a defiant, unwarranted joy.

“Yahweh, the Lord, is my strength. He makes my feet like deer’s feet, and enables me to go in high places. For the music director, on my stringed instruments.”— Habakkuk 3:19 (WEB)

Full passage — Habakkuk 3:1-19 WEB

1. 1A prayer of Habakkuk, the prophet, set to victorious music.
2. 2Yahweh, I have heard of your fame. I stand in awe of your deeds, Yahweh. Renew your work in the middle of the years. In the middle of the years make it known. In wrath, you remember mercy.
3. 3God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and his praise filled the earth.
4. 4His splendor is like the sunrise. Rays shine from his hand, where his power is hidden.
5. 5Plague went before him, and pestilence followed his feet.
6. 6He stood, and shook the earth. He looked, and made the nations tremble. The ancient mountains were crumbled. The age-old hills collapsed. His ways are eternal.
7. 7I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction. The dwellings of the land of Midian trembled.
8. 8Was Yahweh displeased with the rivers? Was your anger against the rivers, or your wrath against the sea, that you rode on your horses, on your chariots of salvation?
9. 9You uncovered your bow. You called for your sworn arrows. Selah. You split the earth with rivers.
10. 10The mountains saw you, and were afraid. The storm of waters passed by. The deep roared and lifted up its hands on high.
11. 11The sun and moon stood still in the sky, at the light of your arrows as they went, at the shining of your glittering spear.
12. 12You marched through the land in wrath. You threshed the nations in anger.
13. 13You went out for the salvation of your people, for the salvation of your anointed. You crushed the head of the land of wickedness. You stripped them head to foot. Selah.
14. 14You pierced the heads of his warriors with their own spears. They came as a whirlwind to scatter me, gloating as if to devour the wretched in secret.
15. 15You trampled the sea with your horses, churning mighty waters.
16. 16I heard, and my body trembled. My lips quivered at the voice. Rottenness enters into my bones, and I tremble in my place, because I must wait quietly for the day of trouble, for the coming up of the people who invade us.
17. 17For though the fig tree doesn’t flourish, nor fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive fails, the fields yield no food; the flocks are cut off from the fold, and there is no herd in the stalls:
18. 18yet I will rejoice in Yahweh. I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!
19. 19Yahweh, the Lord, is my strength. He makes my feet like deer’s feet, and enables me to go in high places. For the music director, on my stringed instruments.