text:
Bible (Berean Standard)/Nahum

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The Burden against Nineveh

(Jonah 1:1–3)

This is the burden against Nineveh, the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite:

 * The LORD is a jealous and avenging God;
 * the LORD is avenging and full of wrath.
 * The LORD takes vengeance on His foes
 * and reserves wrath for His enemies.
 * The LORD is slow to anger
 * and great in power;
 * the LORD will by no means
 * leave the guilty unpunished.
 * His path is in the whirlwind and storm,
 * and clouds are the dust beneath His feet.
 * He rebukes the sea and dries it up;
 * He makes all the rivers run dry.
 * Bashan and Carmel wither,
 * and the flower of Lebanon wilts.
 * The mountains quake before Him,
 * and the hills melt away;
 * the earth trembles at His presence—
 * the world and all its dwellers.
 * Who can withstand His indignation?
 * Who can endure His burning anger?
 * His wrath is poured out like fire;
 * even rocks are shattered before Him.

 * The LORD is good,
 * a stronghold in the day of distress;
 * He cares for those who trust in Him.
 * But with an overwhelming flood
 * He will make an end of Nineveh
 * and pursue His enemies into darkness.

 * Whatever you plot against the LORD,
 * He will bring to an end.
 * Affliction will not rise up
 * a second time.
 * For they will be entangled as with thorns
 * and consumed like the drink of a drunkard—
 * like stubble that is fully dry.
 * From you, O Nineveh, comes forth
 * a plotter of evil against the LORD,
 * a counselor of wickedness.

This is what the LORD says:

 * “Though they are allied and numerous,
 * yet they will be cut down and pass away.
 * Though I have afflicted you, O Judah,
 * I will afflict you no longer.
 * For I will now break their yoke from your neck
 * and tear away your shackles.”

The LORD has issued a command concerning you, O Nineveh:

 * “There will be no descendants
 * to carry on your name.
 * I will cut off the carved image and cast idol
 * from the house of your gods;
 * I will prepare your grave,
 * for you are contemptible.”

 * Look to the mountains—
 * the feet of one who brings good news,
 * who proclaims peace!
 * Celebrate your feasts, O Judah;
 * fulfill your vows.
 * For the wicked will never again march through you;
 * they will be utterly cut off.

The Overthrow of Nineveh

 * One who scatters advances
 * against you, O Nineveh.
 * Guard the fortress!
 * Watch the road!
 * Brace yourselves!
 * Summon all your strength!

 * For the LORD will restore the splendor of Jacob
 * like the splendor of Israel,
 * though destroyers have laid them waste
 * and ruined the branches of their vine.

 * The shields of his mighty men are red;
 * the valiant warriors are dressed in scarlet.
 * The fittings of the chariots flash like fire
 * on the day they are prepared,
 * and the spears of cypress
 * have been brandished.
 * The chariots dash through the streets;
 * they rush around the plazas,
 * appearing like torches,
 * darting about like lightning.
 * He summons his nobles;
 * they stumble as they advance.
 * They race to its wall;
 * the protective shield is set in place.
 * The river gates are thrown open
 * and the palace collapses.

 * It is decreed that the city be exiled
 * and carried away;
 * her maidservants moan like doves,
 * and beat upon their breasts.
 * Nineveh has been like a pool of water
 * throughout her days,
 * but now it is draining away.
 * “Stop! Stop!” they cry,
 * but no one turns back.
 * “Plunder the silver!
 * Plunder the gold!”
 * There is no end to the treasure,
 * an abundance of every precious thing.
 * She is emptied!
 * Yes, she is desolate and laid waste!
 * Hearts melt, knees knock,
 * bodies tremble, and every face grows pale!

 * Where is the lions’ lair
 * or the feeding ground of the young lions,
 * where the lion and lioness prowled with their cubs,
 * with nothing to frighten them away?
 * The lion mauled enough for its cubs
 * and strangled prey for the lioness.
 * It filled its dens with the kill,
 * and its lairs with mauled prey.

 * “Behold, I am against you,”
 * declares the LORD of Hosts.
 * “I will send your chariots up in smoke,
 * and the sword will devour your young lions.
 * I will cut off your prey from the earth,
 * and the voices of your messengers
 * will no longer be heard.”

Judgment on Nineveh

 * Woe to the city of blood,
 * full of lies,
 * full of plunder,
 * never without prey.
 * The crack of the whip,
 * the rumble of the wheel,
 * galloping horse
 * and bounding chariot!
 * Charging horseman,
 * flashing sword,
 * shining spear;
 * heaps of slain,
 * mounds of corpses,
 * dead bodies without end—
 * they stumble over their dead—
 * because of the many harlotries of the harlot,
 * the seductive mistress of sorcery,
 * who betrays nations by her prostitution
 * and clans by her witchcraft.

 * “Behold, I am against you,”
 * declares the LORD of Hosts.
 * “I will lift your skirts over your face.
 * I will show your nakedness to the nations
 * and your shame to the kingdoms.
 * I will pelt you with filth
 * and treat you with contempt;
 * I will make a spectacle of you.
 * Then all who see you
 * will recoil from you and say,
 * ‘Nineveh is devastated;
 * who will grieve for her?’
 * Where can I find
 * comforters for you?”

 * Are you better than Thebes,
 * stationed by the Nile with water around her,
 * whose rampart was the sea,
 * whose wall was the water?
 * Cush and Egypt were her boundless strength;
 * Put and Libya were her allies.
 * Yet she became an exile;
 * she went into captivity.
 * Her infants were dashed to pieces
 * at the head of every street.
 * They cast lots for her dignitaries,
 * and all her nobles were bound in chains.
 * You too will become drunk;
 * you will go into hiding
 * and seek refuge from the enemy.

 * All your fortresses are fig trees
 * with the first ripe figs;
 * when shaken, they fall
 * into the mouth of the eater!

 * Look at your troops—
 * they are like your women!
 * The gates of your land
 * are wide open to your enemies;
 * fire consumes their bars.

 * Draw your water for the siege;
 * strengthen your fortresses.
 * Work the clay and tread the mortar;
 * repair the brick kiln!
 * There the fire will devour you;
 * the sword will cut you down
 * and consume you like a young locust.
 * Make yourself many like the young locust;
 * make yourself many like the swarming locust!
 * You have multiplied your merchants
 * more than the stars of the sky.
 * The young locust strips the land
 * and flies away.
 * Your guards are like the swarming locust,
 * and your scribes like clouds of locusts
 * that settle on the walls on a cold day.
 * When the sun rises, they fly away,
 * and no one knows where.

 * O king of Assyria, your shepherds slumber;
 * your officers sleep.
 * Your people are scattered on the mountains
 * with no one to gather them.
 * There is no healing for your injury;
 * your wound is severe.
 * All who hear the news of you
 * applaud your downfall,
 * for who has not experienced
 * your constant cruelty?

title: Bible (Berean Standard)/Nahum


text:
Bible (Berean Standard)/Habakkuk

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Habakkuk’s First Complaint

This is the burden that Habakkuk the prophet received in a vision:

 * How long, O LORD, must I call for help
 * but You do not hear,
 * or cry out to You, “Violence!”
 * but You do not save?
 * Why do You make me see iniquity?
 * Why do You tolerate wrongdoing?
 * Destruction and violence are before me.
 * Strife is ongoing, and conflict abounds.
 * Therefore the law is paralyzed,
 * and justice never goes forth.
 * For the wicked hem in the righteous,
 * so that justice is perverted.

The LORD’s Answer

 * “Look at the nations and observe—
 * be utterly astounded!
 * For I am doing a work in your days
 * that you would never believe
 * even if someone told you.
 * For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans —
 * that ruthless and impetuous nation
 * which marches through the breadth of the earth
 * to seize dwellings not their own.
 * They are dreaded and feared;
 * from themselves they derive justice and sovereignty.
 * Their horses are swifter than leopards,
 * fiercer than wolves of the night.
 * Their horsemen charge ahead,
 * and their cavalry comes from afar.
 * They fly like a vulture,
 * swooping down to devour.
 * All of them come bent on violence;
 * their hordes advance like the east wind;
 * they gather prisoners like sand.
 * They scoff at kings
 * and make rulers an object of scorn.
 * They laugh at every fortress
 * and build up siege ramps to seize it.
 * Then they sweep by like the wind
 * and pass on through.
 * They are guilty;
 * their own strength is their god.”

Habakkuk’s Second Complaint

(Psalm 11:1–7)

 * Are You not from everlasting,
 * O LORD, my God, my Holy One?
 * We will not die.
 * O LORD, You have appointed them
 * to execute judgment;
 * O Rock, You have established them
 * for correction.
 * Your eyes are too pure to look upon evil,
 * and You cannot tolerate wrongdoing.
 * So why do You tolerate the faithless?
 * Why are You silent
 * while the wicked swallow up
 * those more righteous than themselves?
 * You have made men like the fish of the sea,
 * like creeping things that have no ruler.
 * The foe pulls all of them up with a hook;
 * he catches them in his dragnet,
 * and gathers them in his fishing net;
 * so he rejoices gladly.
 * Therefore he sacrifices to his dragnet
 * and burns incense to his fishing net,
 * for by these things his portion is sumptuous
 * and his food is rich.
 * Will he, therefore, empty his net
 * and continue to slay nations without mercy?

The LORD Answers Again

 * I will stand at my guard post
 * and station myself on the ramparts.
 * I will watch to see what He will say to me,
 * and how I should answer when corrected.

Then the LORD answered me:

 * “Write down this vision
 * and clearly inscribe it on tablets,
 * so that a herald may run with it.
 * For the vision awaits an appointed time;
 * it testifies of the end and does not lie.
 * Though it lingers, wait for it,
 * since it will surely come and will not delay.
 * Look at the proud one; his soul is not upright —
 * but the righteous will live by faith —
 * and wealth indeed betrays him.
 * He is an arrogant man never at rest.
 * He enlarges his appetite like Sheol,
 * and like Death, he is never satisfied.
 * He gathers all the nations to himself
 * and collects all the peoples as his own.

Woe to the Chaldeans

 * Will not all of these take up a taunt against him,
 * speaking with mockery and derision:

 * ‘Woe to him who amasses what is not his
 * and makes himself rich with many loans!
 * How long will this go on?’
 * Will not your creditors suddenly arise
 * and those who disturb you awaken?
 * Then you will become their prey.
 * Because you have plundered many nations,
 * the remnant of the people will plunder you—
 * because of your bloodshed against man
 * and your violence against the land, the city,
 * and all their dwellers.

 * Woe to him who builds his house
 * by unjust gain,
 * to place his nest on high
 * and escape the hand of disaster!
 * You have plotted shame for your house
 * by cutting off many peoples
 * and forfeiting your life.
 * For the stones will cry out from the wall,
 * and the rafters will echo it from the woodwork.

 * Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed
 * and establishes a town by iniquity!
 * Is it not indeed from the LORD of Hosts
 * that the labor of the people only feeds the fire,
 * and the nations weary themselves in vain?
 * For the earth will be filled
 * with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD
 * as the waters cover the sea.

 * Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors,
 * pouring it from the wineskin until they are drunk,
 * in order to gaze at their nakedness!
 * You will be filled with shame instead of glory.
 * You too must drink
 * and expose your uncircumcision!
 * The cup in the LORD’s right hand
 * will come around to you,
 * and utter disgrace will cover your glory.
 * For your violence against Lebanon will overwhelm you,
 * and the destruction of animals will terrify you,
 * because of your bloodshed against men
 * and your violence against the land, the city,
 * and all their dwellers.

 * What use is an idol,
 * that a craftsman should carve it—
 * or an image,
 * a teacher of lies?
 * For its maker trusts in his own creation;
 * he makes idols that cannot speak.
 * Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’
 * or to silent stone, ‘Arise!’
 * Can it give guidance?
 * Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver,
 * yet there is no breath in it at all.”

 * But the LORD is in His holy temple;
 * let all the earth be silent before Him.

Habakkuk’s Prayer

This is a prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth:

 * O LORD, I have heard the report of You;
 * I stand in awe, O LORD, of Your deeds.
 * Revive them in these years;
 * make them known in these years.
 * In Your wrath, remember mercy!

 * God came from Teman,
 * and the Holy One from Mount Paran.

Selah
 * His glory covered the heavens,
 * and His praise filled the earth.
 * His radiance was like the sunlight;
 * rays flashed from His hand,
 * where His power is hidden.
 * Plague went before Him,
 * and fever followed in His steps.
 * He stood and measured the earth;
 * He looked and startled the nations;
 * the ancient mountains crumbled;
 * the perpetual hills collapsed.
 * His ways are everlasting.

 * I saw the tents of Cushan in distress;
 * the curtains of Midian were trembling.
 * Were You angry at the rivers, O LORD?
 * Was Your wrath against the streams?
 * Did You rage against the sea
 * when You rode on Your horses,
 * on Your chariots of salvation?
 * You brandished Your bow;
 * You called for many arrows.

Selah
 * You split the earth with rivers.
 * The mountains saw You and quaked;
 * torrents of water swept by.
 * The deep roared with its voice
 * and lifted its hands on high.
 * Sun and moon stood still
 * in their places
 * at the flash of Your flying arrows,
 * at the brightness of Your shining spear.
 * You marched across the earth with fury;
 * You threshed the nations in wrath.
 * You went forth for the salvation of Your people,
 * to save Your anointed.
 * You crushed the head of the house of the wicked
 * and stripped him from head to toe.

Selah
 * With his own spear You pierced his head,
 * when his warriors stormed out to scatter us,
 * gloating as though ready
 * to secretly devour the weak.
 * You trampled the sea with Your horses,
 * churning the great waters.

 * I heard and trembled within;
 * my lips quivered at the sound.
 * Decay entered my bones;
 * I trembled where I stood.
 * Yet I must wait patiently for the day of distress
 * to come upon the people who invade us.

Habakkuk Rejoices

 * Though the fig tree does not bud
 * and no fruit is on the vines,
 * though the olive crop fails
 * and the fields produce no food,
 * though the sheep are cut off from the fold
 * and no cattle are in the stalls,
 * yet I will exult in the LORD;
 * I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!
 * GOD the Lord is my strength;
 * He makes my feet like those of a deer;
 * He makes me walk upon the heights!

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Bible (Berean Standard)/Habakkuk


text:
Bible (Berean Standard)/Zephaniah

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Zephaniah Prophesies Judgment on Judah

(Matthew 13:36–43)

This is the word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah:

 * “I will completely sweep away
 * everything from the face of the earth,”

declares the LORD.
 * “I will sweep away man and beast;
 * I will sweep away the birds of the air,
 * and the fish of the sea,
 * and the idols with their wicked worshipers.
 * I will cut off mankind
 * from the face of the earth,”

declares the LORD.
 * “I will stretch out My hand against Judah
 * and against all who dwell in Jerusalem.
 * I will cut off from this place every remnant of Baal,
 * the names of the idolatrous and pagan priests—
 * those who bow on the rooftops
 * to worship the host of heaven,
 * those who bow down and swear by the LORD
 * but also swear by Milcom,
 * and those who turn back
 * from following the LORD,
 * neither seeking the LORD
 * nor inquiring of Him.”

The Day of the LORD

(Malachi 4:1–6; 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11; 2 Peter 3:8–13)

 * Be silent in the presence of the Lord GOD,
 * for the Day of the LORD is near.
 * Indeed, the LORD has prepared a sacrifice;
 * He has consecrated His guests.

 * “On the Day of the LORD’s sacrifice
 * I will punish the princes,
 * the sons of the king,
 * and all who are dressed in foreign apparel.
 * On that day I will punish
 * all who leap over the threshold,
 * who fill the house of their master
 * with violence and deceit.
 * On that day,” declares the LORD,
 * “a cry will go up from the Fish Gate,
 * a wail from the Second District,
 * and a loud crashing from the hills.
 * Wail, O dwellers of the Hollow,
 * for all your merchants will be silenced;
 * all who weigh out silver will be cut off.

 * And at that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps
 * and punish the men settled in complacency,
 * who say to themselves,
 * ‘The LORD will do nothing,
 * either good or bad.’
 * Their wealth will be plundered
 * and their houses laid waste.
 * They will build houses but not inhabit them,
 * and plant vineyards but never drink their wine.

 * The great Day of the LORD is near—
 * near and coming quickly.
 * Listen, the Day of the LORD!
 * Then the cry of the mighty will be bitter.
 * That day will be
 * a day of wrath,
 * a day of trouble and distress,
 * a day of destruction and desolation,
 * a day of darkness and gloom,
 * a day of clouds and blackness,
 * a day of horn blast and battle cry
 * against the fortified cities,
 * and against the high corner towers.
 * I will bring such distress on mankind
 * that they will walk like the blind,
 * because they have sinned against the LORD.
 * Their blood will be poured out like dust
 * and their flesh like dung.
 * Neither their silver nor their gold
 * will be able to deliver them
 * on the Day of the LORD’s wrath.
 * The whole earth will be consumed
 * by the fire of His jealousy.”

 * For indeed, He will make a sudden end
 * of all who dwell on the earth.

A Call to Repentance

(Joel 1:13–20; Amos 5:4–15; Luke 13:1–5)

 * Gather yourselves, gather together,
 * O shameful nation,
 * before the decree takes effect
 * and the day passes like chaff,
 * before the burning anger of the LORD comes upon you,
 * before the Day of the LORD’s anger comes upon you.
 * Seek the LORD, all you humble of the earth
 * who carry out His justice.
 * Seek righteousness; seek humility.
 * Perhaps you will be sheltered
 * on the day of the LORD’s anger.

Judgment on the Philistines

(Jeremiah 47:1–7)

 * For Gaza will be abandoned,
 * and Ashkelon left in ruins.
 * Ashdod will be driven out at noon,
 * and Ekron will be uprooted.
 * Woe to the dwellers of the seacoast,
 * O nation of the Cherethites!
 * The word of the LORD is against you,
 * O Canaan, land of the Philistines:
 * “I will destroy you,
 * and no one will be left.”
 * So the seacoast will become a land of pastures,
 * with wells for shepherds and folds for sheep.
 * The coast will belong to the remnant of the house of Judah;
 * there they will find pasture.
 * They will lie down in the evening
 * among the houses of Ashkelon,
 * for the LORD their God will attend to them
 * and restore their captives.

Judgment on Moab and Ammon

(Isaiah 16:1–14; Jeremiah 48:1–47)

 * “I have heard the reproach of Moab
 * and the insults of the Ammonites,
 * who have taunted My people
 * and threatened their borders.
 * Therefore, as surely as I live,”
 * declares the LORD of Hosts,
 * the God of Israel,
 * “surely Moab will be like Sodom
 * and the Ammonites like Gomorrah—
 * a place of weeds and salt pits,
 * a perpetual wasteland.
 * The remnant of My people will plunder them;
 * the remainder of My nation will dispossess them.”

 * This they shall have in return for their pride,
 * for taunting and mocking the people
 * of the LORD of Hosts.
 * The LORD will be terrifying to them
 * when He starves all the gods of the earth.
 * Then the nations of every shore
 * will bow in worship to Him,
 * each in its own place.

Judgment on Cush and Assyria

 * “You too, O Cushites,
 * will be slain by My sword.”

 * And He will stretch out His hand against the north
 * and destroy Assyria;
 * He will make Nineveh a desolation,
 * as dry as a desert.
 * Herds will lie down in her midst,
 * creatures of every kind.
 * Both the desert owl and screech owl
 * will roost atop her pillars.
 * Their calls will sound from the window,
 * but desolation will lie on the threshold,
 * for He will expose the beams of cedar.

 * This carefree city
 * that dwells securely,
 * that thinks to herself:
 * “I am it, and there is none besides me,”
 * what a ruin she has become,
 * a resting place for beasts.
 * Everyone who passes by her
 * hisses and shakes his fist.

Judgment on Jerusalem

 * Woe to the city of oppressors,
 * rebellious and defiled!
 * She heeded no voice;
 * she accepted no correction.
 * She does not trust in the LORD;
 * she has not drawn near to her God.
 * Her princes are roaring lions;
 * her judges are evening wolves,
 * leaving nothing for the morning.
 * Her prophets are reckless,
 * faithless men.
 * Her priests profane the sanctuary;
 * they do violence to the law.
 * The LORD within her is righteous;
 * He does no wrong.
 * He applies His justice morning by morning;
 * He does not fail at dawn,
 * yet the unjust know no shame.

Purification of the Nations

 * “I have cut off the nations;
 * their corner towers are destroyed.
 * I have made their streets deserted
 * with no one to pass through.
 * Their cities are laid waste,
 * with no man, no inhabitant.
 * I said, ‘Surely you will fear Me
 * and accept correction.’
 * Then her dwelling place would not be cut off
 * despite all for which I punished her.
 * But they rose early
 * to corrupt all their deeds.
 * Therefore wait for Me,”
 * declares the LORD,
 * “until the day
 * I rise to testify.
 * For My decision is to gather nations,
 * to assemble kingdoms,
 * to pour out upon them My indignation—
 * all My burning anger.
 * For all the earth will be consumed
 * by the fire of My jealousy.

A Faithful Remnant

 * For then I will restore
 * pure lips to the peoples,
 * that all may call upon the name of the LORD
 * and serve Him shoulder to shoulder.
 * From beyond the rivers of Cush
 * My worshipers, My scattered people,
 * will bring Me an offering.
 * On that day you will not be put to shame
 * for any of the deeds
 * by which you have transgressed against Me.
 * For then I will remove from among you
 * those who rejoice in their pride,
 * and you will never again be haughty
 * on My holy mountain.
 * But I will leave within you a meek and humble people,
 * and they will trust in the name of the LORD.
 * The remnant of Israel
 * will no longer do wrong or speak lies,
 * nor will a deceitful tongue
 * be found in their mouths.
 * But they will feed and lie down,
 * with no one to make them tremble.”

Israel’s Restoration

 * Sing for joy, O Daughter of Zion;
 * shout aloud, O Israel!
 * Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
 * O Daughter of Jerusalem!
 * The LORD has taken away your punishment;
 * He has turned back your enemy.
 * Israel’s King, the LORD, is among you;
 * no longer will you fear any harm.
 * On that day they will say to Jerusalem:
 * “Do not fear, O Zion;
 * do not let your hands fall limp.
 * The LORD your God is among you;
 * He is mighty to save.
 * He will rejoice over you with gladness;
 * He will quiet you with His love;
 * He will rejoice over you with singing.”

 * “I will gather those among you who grieve
 * over the appointed feasts,
 * so that you will no longer suffer reproach.
 * Behold, at that time,
 * I will deal with all who afflict you.
 * I will save the lame
 * and gather the scattered;
 * and I will appoint praise and fame
 * for the disgraced throughout the earth.
 * At that time I will bring you in;
 * yes, at that time I will gather you.
 * For I will give you fame and praise
 * among all the peoples of the earth
 * when I restore your captives
 * before your very eyes,”

says the LORD.

title: Bible (Berean Standard)/Zephaniah


text:
Page:Pentagon-Papers-Part IV. C. 2. a.djvu/66

Rh

V. The Question of Pressures Against the North

With the policy line and the courses of action for dealing with Laos determined, and with the Laotian military situation having become somewhat stabilized, the Administration turned to the broader issues of its Southeast Asian policy. These were among the principal concerns of the Honolulu Conference, 1-2 June 1964.

A. The Honolulu Conference: Defining the U.S. Commitment.

The Honolulu Conference was approached with the realization that the "gravest decisions are in front of us and other governments about the free world's interest in and commitment to the security of Southeast Asia." The State Department sew such decisions focusing on three "central questions": (1) Is the security of Southeast Asia vital to the United States and the Free World? (2) Are additional steps which carry risks of escalation necessary? (3) Will the additional steps accomplish our goals of stopping intrusions of Hanoi and Peking into South Vietnam? The Conference apparently began with the answer to the first question as a basic assumption. Again State:

"Our point of departure is and must be that we cannot accept the overrunning of Southeast Asia by Hanoi and Peiping."

In addition to considering specific proposals for improving conditions in South Vietnam (Administration officials entered the Conference with another assumption that "we must do everything in our power to stiffen and strengthen the situation in South Vietnam" ), the discussions in Honolulu were intended to help clarify issues with respect to exerting pressures against North Vietnam.

B. At Honolulu: Exerting Pressure on NVN

In preparation for the conference, CINCPAC and COMUSIACV had been asked by JCS Chairman Taylor to develop their views on such questions as:

"(1) What military actions might be taken in ascending order of gravity to impress Hanoi with our intention to strike NVN?

(2) What should be the purpose and pattern of the initial air strikes against NVN?

(3)What is your concept of the actions and reactions which may arise from the progressive implementation of CINCPAC 37-64 and 32-64? How may NVN and Communist China respond to our escalating pressures?

(4) If at some point Hanoi agrees to desist from further help to VC & PL, how can we verify fulfillment? How long should we be prepared to maintain our readiness posture while awaiting verification? Rh


text:
Page:Works of Charles Dickens, ed. Lang - Volume 1.djvu/221

 "This is very strange," said Mr. Pickwick.

"What is strange?" inquired Mr. Tupman, staring eagerly "God bless me, at every object near him, but the right one. what's the matter?"

This last was an ejaculation of irrepressible astonishment, occasioned by seeing Mr. Pickwick, in his enthusiasm for discovery, fall on his knees before the little stone, and commence wiping the dust off it with his pocket-handkerchief.

"There is an inscription here," said Mr. Pickwick.

"Is it possible?" said Mr. Tupman.

"I can discern," continued Mr. Pickwick, rubbing away with all his might, and gazing intently through his spectacles:

"I can discern a cross, and a B, and then a T. This is important," continued Mr. Pickwick, starting up. "This is some very old inscription, existing perhaps long before the ancient alms-houses in this place. It must not be lost."

He tapped at the cottage door. A labouring man opened it.

"Do you know how this stone came here, my friend?" inquired the benevolent Mr. Pickwick.

"No, I doan't sir," replied the man civilly. "It was here long afore I war born, or any on us."

Mr. Pickwick glanced triumphantly at his companion.

"You—you—are not particularly attached to it, I dare say," said Mr. Pickwick, trembling with anxiety. "You wouldn't mind selling it, now?"

"Ah! but who'd buy it?" inquired the man, with an expression of face which he probably meant to be very cunning.

"I'll give you ten shillings for it, at once," said Mr Pickwick, "if you would take it up for me."

The astonishment of the village may be easily imagined, when (the little stone having been raised with one wrench of a spade), Mr. Pickwick, by dint of great personal exertion, bore it with his own hands to the inn, and after having carefully washed it, deposited it on the table.

The exultation and joy of the Pickwickians knew no bounds, when their patience and assiduity, their washing and


text:
Bible (Berean Standard)/Haggai

1 · 2

A Call to Rebuild the Temple

(Ezra 5:1–5)

In the second year of the reign of Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the LORD came through Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, stating that this is what the LORD of Hosts says:

 * “These people say, ‘The time has not yet come
 * to rebuild the house of the LORD.’”

Then the word of the LORD came through Haggai the prophet, saying:

 * “Is it a time for you yourselves
 * to live in your paneled houses,
 * while this house lies in ruins?”

Now this is what the LORD of Hosts says:

 * “Consider carefully your ways.

 * You have planted much
 * but harvested little.
 * You eat but never have enough.
 * You drink but never have your fill.
 * You put on clothes but never get warm.
 * You earn wages to put into a bag pierced through.”

This is what the LORD of Hosts says:

 * “Consider carefully your ways.

 * Go up into the hills,
 * bring down lumber, and build the house,
 * so that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,
 * says the LORD.
 * You expected much,
 * but behold, it amounted to little.
 * And what you brought home, I blew away.
 * Why? declares the LORD of Hosts.
 * Because My house still lies in ruins,
 * while each of you is busy
 * with his own house.

 * Therefore, on account of you
 * the heavens have withheld their dew
 * and the earth has withheld its crops.
 * I have summoned a drought
 * on the fields and on the mountains,
 * on the grain, new wine, and oil,
 * and on whatever the ground yields,
 * on man and beast,
 * and on all the labor of your hands.”

The People Obey

Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, as well as all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God and the words of the prophet Haggai, because the LORD their God had sent him. So the people feared the LORD.

Haggai, the messenger of the LORD, delivered the message of the LORD to the people:

 * “I am with you,”
 * declares the LORD.

So the LORD stirred the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, as well as the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and began the work on the house of the LORD of Hosts, their God, on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of King Darius.

The Coming Glory of God’s House

On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of the LORD came through Haggai the prophet, saying: “Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and also to the remnant of the people. Ask them, ‘Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not appear to you like nothing in comparison?’

 * But now be strong, O Zerubbabel,
 * declares the LORD.
 * Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak,
 * the high priest.
 * And be strong, all you people of the land,
 * declares the LORD.
 * Work! For I am with you,
 * declares the LORD of Hosts.
 * This is the promise I made to you
 * when you came out of Egypt.
 * And My Spirit remains among you;
 * do not be afraid.”

For this is what the LORD of Hosts says:

 * “Once more, in a little while,
 * I will shake the heavens and the earth,
 * the sea and the dry land.
 * I will shake all the nations,
 * and they will come with all their treasures,
 * and I will fill this house with glory,
 * says the LORD of Hosts.
 * The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,
 * declares the LORD of Hosts.
 * The latter glory of this house
 * will be greater than the former,
 * says the LORD of Hosts.
 * And in this place I will provide peace,
 * declares the LORD of Hosts.”

Blessings for a Defiled People

On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Haggai the prophet, saying, “This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Ask the priests for a ruling. If a man carries consecrated meat in the fold of his garment, and it touches bread, stew, wine, oil, or any other food, does that item become holy?’”

“No,” replied the priests.

So Haggai asked, “If one who is defiled by contact with a corpse touches any of these, does it become defiled?”

“Yes, it becomes defiled,” the priests answered.

Then Haggai replied, “So it is with this people and this nation before Me, declares the LORD, and so it is with every work of their hands; whatever they offer there is defiled.

Now consider carefully from this day forward: Before one stone was placed on another in the temple of the LORD, from that time, when one came expecting a heap of twenty ephahs of grain, there were but ten. When one came to the winepress to draw out fifty baths, there were but twenty. I struck you—all the work of your hands—with blight, mildew, and hail, but you did not turn to Me, declares the LORD.

Consider carefully from this day forward—from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, the day the foundation of the LORD’s temple was laid—consider carefully: Is there still seed in the barn? The vine, the fig, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have not yet yielded fruit. But from this day on, I will bless you.”

Zerubbabel the LORD’s Signet Ring

For the second time that day, the twenty-fourth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to Haggai, saying, “Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah that I am about to shake the heavens and the earth:

 * I will overturn royal thrones
 * and destroy the power
 * of the kingdoms of the nations.
 * I will overturn chariots and their riders;
 * horses and their riders will fall,
 * each by the sword of his brother.
 * On that day,
 * declares the LORD of Hosts,
 * I will take you, My servant,
 * Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,
 * declares the LORD,
 * and I will make you like My signet ring,
 * for I have chosen you,
 * declares the LORD of Hosts.”

title: Bible (Berean Standard)/Haggai


text:
Bible (Berean Standard)/Zechariah

1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13 · 14

A Call to Repentance

(Jeremiah 3:11–25; Hosea 14:1–3)

In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, saying:

“The LORD was very angry with your fathers. So tell the people that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Return to Me, declares the LORD of Hosts, and I will return to you, says the LORD of Hosts.’

Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets proclaimed that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Turn now from your evil ways and deeds.’

But they did not listen or pay attention to Me, declares the LORD.

Where are your fathers now? And the prophets, do they live forever? But did not My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, overtake your fathers? They repented and said, ‘Just as the LORD of Hosts purposed to do to us according to our ways and deeds, so He has done to us.’”

The Vision of the Horses

On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo.

I looked out into the night and saw a man riding on a red horse. He was standing among the myrtle trees in the hollow, and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses.

“What are these, my lord?” I asked.

And the angel who was speaking with me replied, “I will show you what they are.”

Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, “They are the ones the LORD has sent to patrol the earth.”

And the riders answered the angel of the LORD who was standing among the myrtle trees, “We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth is at rest and tranquil.”

Then the angel of the LORD said, “How long, O LORD of Hosts, will You withhold mercy from Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which You have been angry these seventy years?”

So the LORD spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who was speaking with me.

Then the angel who was speaking with me said, “Proclaim this word: This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, but I am fiercely angry with the nations that are at ease. For I was a little angry, but they have added to the calamity. ’

Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there My house will be rebuilt, declares the LORD of Hosts, and a measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem.’

Proclaim further that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘My cities will again overflow with prosperity; the LORD will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.’”

The Vision of the Horns and the Craftsmen

Then I looked up and saw four horns. So I asked the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these?”

And he told me, “These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”

Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen.

“What are these coming to do?” I asked.

And He replied, “These are the horns that scattered Judah so that no one could raise his head; but the craftsmen have come to terrify them and throw down these horns of the nations that have lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter it.”

The Vision of the Measuring Line

(Ezekiel 40:1–4)

Then I lifted up my eyes and saw a man with a measuring line in his hand.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“To measure Jerusalem,” he replied, “and to determine its width and length.”

Then the angel who was speaking with me went out, and another angel came out to meet him and said to him, “Run and tell that young man: ‘Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the multitude of men and livestock within it. For I will be a wall of fire around it, declares the LORD, and I will be the glory within it.’”

The Redemption of Zion

(Hosea 3:1–5)

“Get up! Get up! Flee from the land of the north,” declares the LORD, “for I have scattered you like the four winds of heaven,” declares the LORD. “Get up, O Zion! Escape, you who dwell with the Daughter of Babylon!”

For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “After His Glory has sent Me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of His eye— I will surely wave My hand over them, so that they will become plunder for their own servants. Then you will know that the LORD of Hosts has sent Me.”

“Shout for joy and be glad, O Daughter of Zion, for I am coming to dwell among you,” declares the LORD. “On that day many nations will join themselves to the LORD, and they will become My people. I will dwell among you, and you will know that the LORD of Hosts has sent Me to you. And the LORD will take possession of Judah as His portion in the Holy Land, and He will once again choose Jerusalem. Be silent before the LORD, all people, for He has roused Himself from His holy dwelling.”

The Vision of Joshua the High Priest

Then the angel showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, with Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.

And the LORD said to Satan: “The LORD rebukes you, Satan! Indeed, the LORD, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebukes you! Is not this man a firebrand snatched from the fire?”

Now Joshua was dressed in filthy garments as he stood before the angel. So the angel said to those standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes!”

Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have removed your iniquity, and I will clothe you with splendid robes.”

Then I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So a clean turban was placed on his head, and they clothed him, as the angel of the LORD stood by.

Then the angel of the LORD gave this charge to Joshua: “This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘If you walk in My ways and keep My instructions, then you will govern My house and will also have charge of My courts; and I will give you a place among these who are standing here.

Hear now, O high priest Joshua, you and your companions seated before you, who are indeed a sign. For behold, I am going to bring My servant, the Branch. See the stone I have set before Joshua; on that one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave on it an inscription, declares the LORD of Hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. On that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, you will each invite your neighbor to sit under your own vine and fig tree.’”

The Vision of the Lampstand and Olive Trees

Then the angel who was speaking with me returned and woke me, as a man is awakened from his sleep.

“What do you see?” he asked.

“I see a solid gold lampstand,” I replied, “with a bowl at the top and seven lamps on it, with seven spouts to the lamps. There are also two olive trees beside it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left.”

“What are these, my lord?” I asked the angel who was speaking with me.

“Do you not know what they are?” replied the angel.

“No, my lord,” I answered.

So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts. What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain. Then he will bring forth the capstone accompanied by shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’”

Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will complete it. Then you will know that the LORD of Hosts has sent me to you. For who has despised the day of small things? But these seven eyes of the LORD, which scan the whole earth, will rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.”

Then I asked the angel, “What are the two olive trees on the right and left of the lampstand?” And I questioned him further, “What are the two olive branches beside the two gold pipes from which the golden oil pours?”

“Do you not know what these are?” he inquired.

“No, my lord,” I replied.

So he said, “These are the two anointed ones who are standing beside the Lord of all the earth.”

The Vision of the Flying Scroll

Again I lifted up my eyes and saw before me a flying scroll.

“What do you see?” asked the angel.

“I see a flying scroll,” I replied, “twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide. ”

Then he told me, “This is the curse that is going out over the face of all the land, for according to one side of the scroll, every thief will be removed; and according to the other side, every perjurer will be removed. I will send it out, declares the LORD of Hosts, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of him who swears falsely by My name. It will remain inside his house and destroy it, down to its timbers and stones.”

The Vision of the Woman in a Basket

Then the angel who was speaking with me came forward and told me, “Now lift up your eyes and see what is approaching.”

“What is it?” I asked.

And he replied, “A measuring basket is going forth.” Then he continued, “This is their iniquity in all the land.”

And behold, the cover of lead was raised, and there was a woman sitting inside the basket.

“This is Wickedness,” he said. And he shoved her down into the basket, pushing down the lead cover over its opening.

Then I lifted up my eyes and saw two women approaching, with the wind in their wings. Their wings were like those of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between heaven and earth.

“Where are they taking the basket?” I asked the angel who was speaking with me.

“To build a house for it in the land of Shinar, ” he told me. “And when it is ready, the basket will be set there on its pedestal.”

The Vision of the Four Chariots

And again I lifted up my eyes and saw four chariots coming out from between two mountains—mountains of bronze. The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses, the third white horses, and the fourth dappled horses—all of them strong.

So I inquired of the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?”

And the angel told me, “These are the four spirits of heaven, going forth from their station before the Lord of all the earth. The one with the black horses is going toward the land of the north, the one with the white horses toward the west, and the one with the dappled horses toward the south.”

As the strong horses went out, they were eager to go and patrol the earth; and the LORD said, “Go and patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth.

Then the LORD summoned me and said, “Behold, those going to the land of the north have given rest to My Spirit in the land of the north.”

The Crown and the Temple

The word of the LORD also came to me, saying, “Take an offering from the exiles—from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon—and go that same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. Take silver and gold, make an ornate crown, and set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua son of Jehozadak.

And you are to tell him that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Here is a man whose name is the Branch, and He will branch out from His place and build the temple of the LORD. Yes, He will build the temple of the LORD; He will be clothed in splendor and will sit on His throne and rule. And He will be a priest on His throne, and there will be peaceful counsel between the two.’

The crown will reside in the temple of the LORD as a memorial to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and the gracious son of Zephaniah. Even those far away will come and build the temple of the LORD, and you will know that the LORD of Hosts has sent Me to you. This will happen if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God.”

A Call to Justice and Mercy

In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Chislev. Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech, along with their men, to plead before the LORD by asking the priests of the house of the LORD of Hosts, as well as the prophets, “Should I weep and fast in the fifth month, as I have done these many years?”

Then the word of the LORD of Hosts came to me, saying, “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for these seventy years, was it really for Me that you fasted? And when you were eating and drinking, were you not doing so simply for yourselves? Are these not the words that the LORD proclaimed through the earlier prophets, when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were populous and prosperous, and the Negev and the foothills were inhabited?’”

Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying, “This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Administer true justice. Show loving devotion and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. And do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.’

But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they stopped up their ears from hearing. They made their hearts like flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD of Hosts had sent by His Spirit through the earlier prophets. Therefore great anger came from the LORD of Hosts.

And just as I had called and they would not listen, so when they called I would not listen, says the LORD of Hosts. But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known, and the land was left desolate behind them so that no one could come or go. Thus they turned the pleasant land into a desolation.”

The Restoration of Jerusalem

(Micah 4:6–13)

Again the word of the LORD of Hosts came to me, saying: This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “I am jealous for Zion with great zeal; I am jealous for her with great fervor.”

This is what the LORD says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD of Hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.”

This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Old men and old women will again sit along the streets of Jerusalem, each with a staff in hand because of great age. And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing there.”

This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “If this is impossible in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be impossible in My eyes?” declares the LORD of Hosts.

This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “I will save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west. I will bring them back to dwell in Jerusalem, where they will be My people, and I will be their faithful and righteous God.”

This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Let your hands be strong, you who now hear these words spoken by the prophets who were present when the foundations were laid to rebuild the temple, the house of the LORD of Hosts. For before those days neither man nor beast received wages, nor was there safety from the enemy for anyone who came or went, for I had turned every man against his neighbor. But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as I did in the past,” declares the LORD of Hosts.

“For the seed will be prosperous, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will yield its produce, and the skies will give their dew. To the remnant of this people I will give all these things as an inheritance. As you have been a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid; let your hands be strong.”

For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Just as I resolved to bring disaster upon you when your fathers provoked Me to anger, and I did not relent,” says the LORD of Hosts, “so now I have resolved to do good again to Jerusalem and Judah. Do not be afraid. These are the things you must do: Speak truth to one another, render true and sound judgments in your gates, do not plot evil in your hearts against your neighbor, and do not love to swear falsely, for I hate all these things,” declares the LORD.

Then the word of the LORD of Hosts came to me, saying, “This is what the LORD of Hosts says: The fasts of the fourth, the fifth, the seventh, and the tenth months will become times of joy and gladness, cheerful feasts for the house of Judah. Therefore you are to love both truth and peace.”

This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Peoples will yet come—the residents of many cities— and the residents of one city will go to another, saying: ‘Let us go at once to plead before the LORD and to seek the LORD of Hosts. I myself am going.’ And many peoples and strong nations will come to seek the LORD of Hosts in Jerusalem and to plead before the LORD.”

This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue will tightly grasp the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’”

The Burden against Israel’s Enemies

 * This is the burden of the word of the LORD
 * against the land of Hadrach
 * and Damascus its resting place—
 * for the eyes of men
 * and of all the tribes of Israel
 * are upon the LORD —
 * and also against Hamath,
 * which borders it,
 * as well as Tyre and Sidon,
 * though they are very shrewd.

 * Tyre has built herself a fortress;
 * she has heaped up silver like dust,
 * and gold like the dirt of the streets.
 * Behold, the Lord will impoverish her
 * and cast her wealth into the sea,
 * and she will be consumed by fire.

 * Ashkelon will see and fear;
 * Gaza will writhe in agony,
 * as will Ekron,
 * for her hope will wither.
 * There will cease to be a king in Gaza,
 * and Ashkelon will be uninhabited.
 * A mixed race will occupy Ashdod,
 * and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.
 * I will remove the blood from their mouths
 * and the abominations from between their teeth.
 * Then they too will become a remnant for our God;
 * they will become like a clan in Judah,
 * and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.
 * But I will camp around My house because of an army,
 * because of those who march to and fro,
 * and never again will an oppressor overrun My people,
 * for now I keep watch with My own eyes.

Zion’s Coming King

(Matthew 21:1–11; Mark 11:1–11; Luke 19:28–40; John 12:12–19)

 * Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!
 * Shout in triumph, O Daughter of Jerusalem!
 * See, your King comes to you,
 * righteous and victorious,
 * humble and riding on a donkey,
 * on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
 * And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
 * and the horse from Jerusalem,
 * and the bow of war will be broken.
 * Then He will proclaim peace to the nations.
 * His dominion will extend from sea to sea,
 * and from the Euphrates
 * to the ends of the earth.
 * As for you,
 * because of the blood of My covenant,
 * I will release your prisoners
 * from the waterless pit.
 * Return to your stronghold,
 * O prisoners of hope;
 * even today I declare
 * that I will restore to you double.
 * For I will bend Judah as My bow
 * and fit it with Ephraim.
 * I will rouse your sons, O Zion,
 * against the sons of Greece.
 * I will make you like the sword
 * of a mighty man.

The LORD Will Save His People

 * Then the LORD will appear over them,
 * and His arrow will go forth like lightning.
 * The Lord GOD will sound the ram’s horn
 * and advance in the whirlwinds of the south.
 * The LORD of Hosts will shield them.
 * They will destroy and conquer with slingstones;
 * they will drink and roar as with wine.
 * And they will be filled like sprinkling bowls,
 * drenched like the corners of the altar.
 * On that day the LORD their God will save them
 * as the flock of His people;
 * for like jewels in a crown
 * they will sparkle over His land.
 * How lovely they will be,
 * and how beautiful!
 * Grain will make the young men flourish,
 * and new wine, the young women.

Judah and Israel Will Be Restored

 * Ask the LORD for rain in springtime;
 * the LORD makes the storm clouds,
 * and He will give everyone showers of rain
 * and crops in the field.
 * For idols speak deceit
 * and diviners see illusions;
 * they tell false dreams
 * and offer empty comfort.
 * Therefore the people wander like sheep,
 * oppressed for lack of a shepherd.

 * “My anger burns against the shepherds,
 * and I will punish the leaders.
 * For the LORD of Hosts attends to His flock,
 * the house of Judah;
 * He will make them
 * like His royal steed in battle.
 * The cornerstone will come from Judah,
 * the tent peg from him,
 * as well as the battle bow
 * and every ruler together.
 * They will be like mighty men in battle,
 * trampling the enemy in the mire of the streets.
 * They will fight because the LORD is with them,
 * and they will put the horsemen to shame.

 * I will strengthen the house of Judah
 * and save the house of Joseph.
 * I will restore them because I have compassion on them,
 * and they will be as though I had not rejected them.
 * For I am the LORD their God,
 * and I will answer them.
 * Ephraim will be like a mighty man,
 * and their hearts will be glad as with wine.
 * Their children will see it and be joyful;
 * their hearts will rejoice in the LORD.

 * I will whistle for them to gather,
 * for I have redeemed them;
 * and they will be as numerous
 * as they once were.
 * Though I sow them among the nations,
 * they will remember Me in distant lands;
 * they and their children
 * will live and return.
 * I will bring them back from Egypt
 * and gather them from Assyria.
 * I will bring them to Gilead and Lebanon
 * until no more room is found for them.
 * They will pass through the sea of distress
 * and strike the waves of the sea;
 * all the depths of the Nile will dry up.
 * The pride of Assyria will be brought down,
 * and the scepter of Egypt will depart.
 * I will strengthen them in the LORD,
 * and in His name they will walk,”

declares the LORD.

The Doomed Flock

 * Open your doors, O Lebanon,
 * that the fire may consume your cedars!
 * Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen;
 * the majestic trees are ruined!
 * Wail, O oaks of Bashan,
 * for the dense forest has been cut down!
 * Listen to the wailing of the shepherds,
 * for their glory is in ruins.
 * Listen to the roaring of the young lions,
 * for the thickets of the Jordan are destroyed.

This is what the LORD my God says: “Pasture the flock marked for slaughter, whose buyers slaughter them without remorse. Those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, for I am rich!’ Even their own shepherds have no compassion on them.

For I will no longer have compassion on the people of the land, declares the LORD, but behold, I will cause each man to fall into the hands of his neighbor and his king, who will devastate the land, and I will not deliver it from their hands.”

So I pastured the flock marked for slaughter, especially the afflicted of the flock. Then I took for myself two staffs, calling one Favor and the other Union, and I pastured the flock. And in one month I dismissed three shepherds.

My soul grew impatient with the flock, and their souls also detested me. Then I said, “I will no longer shepherd you. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish; and let those who remain devour one another’s flesh.”

Thirty Pieces of Silver

(Matthew 27:3–10)

Next I took my staff called Favor and cut it in two, revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations. It was revoked on that day, and so the afflicted of the flock who were watching me knew that it was the word of the LORD.

Then I told them, “If it seems right to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” So they weighed out my wages, thirty pieces of silver.

And the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—this magnificent price at which they valued me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD.

Then I cut in two my second staff called Union, breaking the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

And the LORD said to me: “Take up once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. For behold, I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will neither care for the lost, nor seek the young, nor heal the broken, nor sustain the healthy, but he will devour the flesh of the choice sheep and tear off their hooves.

 * Woe to the worthless shepherd,
 * who deserts the flock!
 * May a sword strike his arm
 * and his right eye!
 * May his arm be completely withered
 * and his right eye utterly blinded!”

The Coming Deliverance of Jerusalem

Thus declares the LORD, who stretches out the heavens and lays the foundation of the earth, who forms the spirit of man within him:

“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples. Judah will be besieged, as well as Jerusalem.

On that day, when all the nations of the earth gather against her, I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who would heave it away will be severely injured.

On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and every rider with madness. I will keep a watchful eye on the house of Judah, but I will strike with blindness all the horses of the nations.

Then the leaders of Judah will say in their hearts: ‘The people of Jerusalem are my strength, for the LORD of Hosts is their God.’

On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among the sheaves; they will consume all the peoples around them on the right and on the left, while the people of Jerusalem remain secure there.

The LORD will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and of the people of Jerusalem may not be greater than that of Judah. On that day the LORD will defend the people of Jerusalem, so that the weakest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD going before them.

So on that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

Mourning the One They Pierced

(John 19:31–37)

Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son.

On that day the wailing in Jerusalem will be as great as the wailing of Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. The land will mourn, each clan on its own: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives, the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives, and all the remaining clans and their wives.

An End to Idolatry

“On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the people of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity. And on that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, I will erase the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will also remove the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land.

And if anyone still prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not remain alive, because you have spoken falsely in the name of the LORD.’ When he prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will pierce him through.

And on that day every prophet who prophesies will be ashamed of his vision, and he will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive. He will say, ‘I am not a prophet; I work the land, for I was purchased as a servant in my youth. ’ If someone asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your chest ?’ he will answer, ‘These are the wounds I received in the house of my friends.’

The Shepherd Struck, the Sheep Scattered

(Matthew 26:31–35; Mark 14:27–31)

 * Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd,
 * against the man who is My Companion,
 * declares the LORD of Hosts.
 * Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered,
 * and I will turn My hand against the little ones.
 * And in all the land,
 * declares the LORD,
 * two-thirds will be cut off and perish,
 * but a third will be left in it.
 * This third I will bring through the fire;
 * I will refine them like silver
 * and test them like gold.
 * They will call on My name,
 * and I will answer them.
 * I will say, ‘They are My people,’
 * and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’”

The Destroyers of Jerusalem Destroyed

Behold, a day of the LORD is coming when your plunder will be divided in your presence. For I will gather all the nations for battle against Jerusalem, and the city will be captured, the houses looted, and the women ravished. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be removed from the city.

Then the LORD will go out to fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle. On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half the mountain moving to the north and half to the south. You will flee by My mountain valley, for it will extend to Azal. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with Him.

On that day there will be no light, no cold or frost. It will be a day known only to the LORD, without day or night; but when evening comes, there will be light.

And on that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it toward the Eastern Sea and the other half toward the Western Sea, in summer and winter alike. On that day the LORD will become King over all the earth—the LORD alone, and His name alone.

All the land from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem will be turned into a plain, but Jerusalem will be raised up and will remain in her place, from the Benjamin Gate to the site of the First Gate to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses. People will live there, and never again will there be an utter destruction. So Jerusalem will dwell securely.

And this will be the plague with which the LORD strikes all the peoples who have warred against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.

On that day a great panic from the LORD will come upon them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of one will rise against the other. Judah will also fight at Jerusalem, and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected—gold, silver, and apparel in great abundance. And a similar plague will strike the horses and mules, camels and donkeys, and all the animals in those camps.

All Nations Will Worship the King

(Leviticus 23:33–44; Nehemiah 8:13–18)

Then all the survivors from the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of Hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. And should any of the families of the earth not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of Hosts, then the rain will not fall on them. And if the people of Egypt will not go up and enter in, then the rain will not fall on them; this will be the plague with which the LORD strikes the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. This will be the punishment of Egypt and of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.

On that day, HOLY TO THE LORD will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots in the house of the LORD will be like the sprinkling bowls before the altar. Indeed, every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the LORD of Hosts, and all who sacrifice will come and take some pots and cook in them. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of Hosts.

title: Bible (Berean Standard)/Zechariah


text:
Bible (Berean Standard)/Malachi

1 · 2 · 3 · 4

The LORD’s Love for Israel

(Genesis 25:19–28; Romans 9:6–29)

This is the burden of the word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi:

“I have loved you,” says the LORD.

But you ask, “How have You loved us?”

“Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated, and I have made his mountains a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals. ” Though Edom may say, “We have been devastated, but we will rebuild the ruins,” this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Land of Wickedness, and a people with whom the LORD is indignant forever. You will see this with your own eyes, and you yourselves will say, ‘The LORD is great—even beyond the borders of Israel.’”

The Polluted Offerings

“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. But if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is your fear of Me?” says the LORD of Hosts to you priests who despise My name.

“But you ask, ‘How have we despised Your name?’ By presenting defiled food on My altar.

But you ask, ‘How have we defiled You ?’

By saying that the table of the LORD is contemptible. When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is it not wrong? And when you present the lame and sick ones, is it not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you or show you favor?” asks the LORD of Hosts.

“But ask now for God’s favor. Will He be gracious? Since this has come from your hands, will He show you favor?” asks the LORD of Hosts.

“Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would no longer kindle useless fires on My altar! I take no pleasure in you,” says the LORD of Hosts, “and I will accept no offering from your hands. For My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place, incense and pure offerings will be presented in My name, because My name will be great among the nations,” says the LORD of Hosts. “But you profane it when you say, ‘The table of the Lord is defiled, and as for its fruit, its food is contemptible.’

You also say: ‘Oh, what a nuisance!’ And you turn up your nose at it,” says the LORD of Hosts.

“You bring offerings that are stolen, lame, or sick! Should I accept these from your hands?” asks the LORD.

“But cursed is the deceiver who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but sacrifices a defective animal to the Lord. For I am a great King,” says the LORD of Hosts, “and My name is to be feared among the nations.

A Warning to the Priests

“And now this decree is for you, O priests:

If you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to honor My name,” says the LORD of Hosts, “I will send a curse among you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already begun to curse them, because you are not taking it to heart.

Behold, I will rebuke your descendants, and I will spread dung on your faces, the waste from your feasts, and you will be carried off with it.

Then you will know that I have sent you this commandment so that My covenant with Levi may continue,” says the LORD of Hosts. “My covenant with him was one of life and peace, which I gave to him; it called for reverence, and he revered Me and stood in awe of My name.

True instruction was in his mouth, and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity. For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the LORD of Hosts. But you have departed from the way, and your instruction has caused many to stumble. You have violated the covenant of Levi,” says the LORD of Hosts. “So I in turn have made you despised and humiliated before all the people, because you have not kept My ways, but have shown partiality in matters of the law.”

Judah’s Unfaithfulness

Do we not all have one Father? Did not one God create us? Why then do we break faith with one another so as to profane the covenant of our fathers?

Judah has broken faith; an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the LORD’s beloved sanctuary by marrying the daughter of a foreign god. As for the man who does this, may the LORD cut off from the tents of Jacob everyone who is awake and aware—even if he brings an offering to the LORD of Hosts.

And this is another thing you do: You cover the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping and groaning, because He no longer regards your offerings or receives them gladly from your hands.

Yet you ask, “Why?”

It is because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have broken faith, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.

Has not the LORD made them one, having a portion of the Spirit? And why one? Because He seeks godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. “For I hate divorce,” says the LORD, the God of Israel. “He who divorces his wife covers his garment with violence,” says the LORD of Hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith.

You have wearied the LORD with your words; yet you ask, “How have we wearied Him?”

By saying, “All who do evil are good in the sight of the LORD, and in them He delights,” or, “Where is the God of justice?”

I Will Send My Messenger

(Matthew 11:7–19; Luke 7:24–35)

“Behold, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple—the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight—see, He is coming,” says the LORD of Hosts.

But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap.

And He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to the LORD in righteousness.

Then the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will please the LORD, as in days of old and years gone by.

“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.

Robbing God

“Because I, the LORD, do not change, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed. Yet from the days of your fathers, you have turned away from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD of Hosts.

“But you ask, ‘How can we return?’ Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me!

But you ask, ‘How do we rob You?’

In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, yet you—the whole nation—are still robbing Me. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this,” says the LORD of Hosts. “See if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out for you blessing without measure. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your land, and the vine in your field will not fail to produce fruit,” says the LORD of Hosts.

“Then all the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight,” says the LORD of Hosts.

The Book of Remembrance

“Your words against Me have been harsh,” says the LORD. “Yet you ask, ‘What have we spoken against You?’ You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What have we gained by keeping His requirements and walking mournfully before the LORD of Hosts? So now we call the arrogant blessed. Not only do evildoers prosper, they even test God and escape.’” At that time those who feared the LORD spoke with one another, and the LORD listened and heard them. So a scroll of remembrance was written before Him regarding those who feared the LORD and honored His name.

“They will be Mine,” says the LORD of Hosts, “on the day when I prepare My treasured possession. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him. So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”

The Day of the LORD

(Zephaniah 1:7–18; 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11; 2 Peter 3:8–13)

“For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble; the day is coming when I will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of Hosts. “Not a root or branch will be left to them.”

“But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and leap like calves from the stall. Then you will trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day I am preparing,” says the LORD of Hosts.

“Remember the law of My servant Moses, the statutes and ordinances I commanded him for all Israel at Horeb.

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.”

title: Bible (Berean Standard)/Malachi


text:
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 mate birth of time And you would have us doubt the guiding hand !"

He ceased with a gesture.

Mr. Dad made a noise like responses in church.

"A certain beauty in the world is no mark of God's favour," said Mr. Huss. "There is no beauty one may not balance by an equal ugliness. The warthog and the hyæna, the tapeworm and the stinkhorn, are equally God's creations. Nothing you have said points to anything but a cold indifference towards us of this order in which we live. Beauty happens; it is not given. Pain, suffering, happiness; there is no heed. Only in the heart of man burns the fire of righteousness."

For a time Mr. Huss was silent. Then he went on answering Sir Eliphaz.

"You spoke of the wonder of the cross-fertilisation of plants. But do you not know that half these curious and elaborate adaptations no longer work? Scarcely was their evolution completed before the special need that produced them ceased. Half the intricate flowers you see are as futile as the ruins of Palmyra. They are self-fertilised or wind-fertilised. The transformation of the higher insects which give us our gnats and wasps, our malaria and apple-maggots in due season, are a matter for human astonishment rather than human gratitude. If there is any design in these strange and intricate happenings,


text: The Proletarian Revolution in Russia/Part 3/Chapter 7


text:
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 "That's the great merit of his style of speaking," rejoined Mr. Muzzle. "Take care of the last step, Mr. Weller. Would you like to wash your hands, sir, before we join the ladies? Here's a sink, with the water laid on, sir, and a clean jack towel behind the door."

"Ah! perhaps I may as well have a rinse," replied Mr. Weller, applying plenty of yellow soap to the towel, and rubbing away, till his face shone again."How many ladies are there?"

"Only two in our kitchen," said Mr. Muzzle, "cook and 'ousemaid. We keep a boy to do the dirty work, and a gal besides, but they dine in the washus."

"Oh, they dines in the washus, do they?" said Mr. Weller.

"Yes," replied Mr. Muzzle, "we tried 'em at our table when they first come, but we couldn't keep 'em. The gal's manners is dreadful vulgar; and the boy breathes so very hard while he's eating, that we found it impossible to sit at table with him."

"Young grampus!" said Mr. Weller.

"Oh, dreadful," rejoined Mr. Muzzle; "but that is the worst of country service, Mr. Weller; the juniors is always so very savage. This way, sir, if you please; this way."

Preceding Mr. Weller, with the utmost politeness, Mr. Muzzle conducted him into the kitchen.

"Mary," said Mr. Muzzle to the pretty servant-girl, "this is Mr. Weller: a gentleman as master has sent down, to be made as comfortable as possible."

"And your master 's a knowin' hand, and has just sent me to the right place," said Mr. Weller, with a glance of admiration at Mary. "If I wos master o' this here house, I should alvays find the materials for comfort vere Mary wos.

"Lor, Mr. Weller!" said Mary, blushing.

"Well, I never!" ejaculated the cook.

"Bless me, cook, I forgot you," said Mr. Muzzle. "Mr. Weller, let me introduce you."

"How are you, ma'am," said Mr. Weller. "Werry glad to


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 remain until the Captain's arrival, and then to give Mr. Pickwick the opportunity he sought. If it appeared that he had spoken truly, the Captain could be turned out of the house without noising the matter abroad, and they could easily account to the Porkenhams for his disappearance, by saying that he had been appointed, through the Court influence of his family, to the Governor-Generalship of Sierra Leone, or Saugur Point, or any other of those salubrious climates which enchant Europeans so much that, when they once get there, they can hardly ever prevail upon themselves to come back again.

When Mrs. Nupkins dried up her tears, Miss Nupkins dried up hers, and Mr. Nupkins was very glad to settle the matter as Mrs. Nupkins had proposed. So Mr. Pickwick and his friends, having washed off all marks of their late encounter, were introduced to the ladies, and soon afterwards to their dinner; and Mr. Weller, whom the magistrate with his peculiar sagacity had discovered in half an hour to be one of the finest fellows alive, was consigned to the care and guardianship of Mr. Muzzle, who was specially enjoined to take him below, and make much of him.ssag "How de do, sir?" said Mr. Muzzle, as he conducted Mr. Weller down the kitchen stairs.

"Why, no con-siderable change has taken place in the state of my system, since I see you cocked up behind your governor's chair in the parlour, a little vile ago," replied Sam.

"You will excuse my not taking more notice of you then," said Mr. Muzzle. "You see, master hadn't introduced us, then. Lord, how fond he is of you, Mr. Weller, to be sure!"

"Ah," said Sam, "what a pleasant chap he is!"

"Ain't he?" replied Mr. Muzzle.

"So much humour," said Sam.

"And such a man to speak," said Mr. Muzzle. "How his ideas flow, don't they?"

"Wonderful," replied Sam; "they come's a pouring out, knocking each other's heads so fast, that they seems to stun one another; you hardly know what he's arter, do you?"


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Rh

(5) What help should be sought from SEATO nations in relation to the situation (a) in Laos? (b) in SVN?"

Just prior to the conference, the JCS also submitted their views, to which General Taylor did not subscribe. Expressing concern over "a lack of definition" of U.S. objectives, the ICS asserted that it was "their first obligation to define a militarily valid objective for Southeast Asia and then advocate a desirable military course of action to achieve that objective." With its basis identified as "military considerations," they then made the recommendation that:

""...the United States should seek through military actions to accomplish destruction of the North Vietnamese will and capabilities as necessary to compel the Democratic Government of Vietnam (DRV to cease providing support to the insurgencies in South Vietnam and Laos. Only a course of action geared to this objective can assure that the North Vietnamese support of the subversive efforts in Laos and South Vietnam will terminate.""

However, the JCS went on to note that "some current thinking appears to dismiss the objective in favor of a lesser objective, one visualizing limited military action which, hopefully, would cause the North Vietnamese to decide to terminate their subversive support.." Drawing a distinction between destroying DRV capability to support the insurgencies and "an enforced changing of policy...which, if achieved may well be temporary," they stated their opinion that "this lesser objective" was inadequate for the current situation They agreed, however, to undertake a course of action to achieve this lesser objective as an "initial measure."

What the JCS proposed as this "initial measure" were a pair of sustained attacks to destroy target complexes directly associated with support of the communist efforts in Laos and South Vietnam. Military installations at Vinh, which served as a major resupply facility for transshipping war materiel into Laos, and a similar facility at Dien Bien Phu were recommended. In support of these operations, which would require U.S. participation to achieve "timely destruction" as necessary to achieve the objectives, the JCS stated a need to demonstrate forcefully that our pattern of responses to Hanoi's aggression had changed. They argued:

"We should not waste critical time and more resources in another protracted series of "messages," but rather we should take positive, prompt, and meaningful military action to underscore our meaning that after more than two years of tolerating this North Vietnamese support we are now determined that it will stop."

Aside from the JCS, whose views were not shared by their spokesman at Honolulu, the main voices in support of the idea of attacking the North in early June 1964 seemed to come from Saigon. But this source of advocacy Rh


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 "The idea!" said Miss Nupkins, forcing a tear of very scanty proportions into the corner of each eye; "the idea of my being made such a fool of!"

"Ah! you may thank your papa, my dear," said Mrs. Nupkins; "how have I implored and begged that man to inquire into the Captain's family connections; how have I urged and entreated him to take some decisive step! I am quite certain nobody would believe it—quite."

"But, my dear," said Mr. Nupkins.

"Don't talk to me, you aggravating thing, don't!" said Mrs. Nupkins. My love," said Mr. Nupkins, "you professed yourself very fond of Captain Fitz-Marshall. You have constantly asked him here, my dear, and you have lost no opportunity of introducing him elsewhere."

"Didn't I say so, Henrietta?" cried Mrs. Nupkins, appealing to her daughter, with the air of a much-injured female. "Didn't I say that your papa would turn round and lay all this at my door? Didn't I say so?" Here Mrs. Nupkins sobbed.

"Oh pa!" remonstrated Miss Nupkins. And here she sobbed too.

"Isn't it too much, when he has brought all this disgrace and ridicule upon us, to taunt me with being the cause of it?" exclaimed Mrs. Nupkins.

"How can we ever show ourselves in society!" said Miss Nupkins.

"How can we face the Porkenhams!" cried Mrs. Nupkins.

"Or the Griggs's!" cried Miss Nupkins.

"Or the Slummintowkens!" cried Mrs. Nupkins. "But what does your papa care! What is it to him! At this dreadful reflection, Mrs. Nupkins wept with mental anguish, and Miss Nupkins followed on the same side.

Mrs. Nupkins's tears continued to gush forth, with great velocity, until she had gained a little time to think the matter over: when she decided, in her own mind, that the best thing to do would be to ask Mr. Pickwick and his friends to


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 "Not in the least," replied Mr. Pickwick, "I like it very much, although I am no smoker myself."

"I should be very sorry to say I wasn't," interposed another gentleman on the opposite side of the table. "It's board and lodging to me, is smoke."

Mr. Pickwick glanced at the speaker, and thought that if it were washing too, it would be all the better.

Here there was another pause. Mr. Pickwick was a stranger, and his coming had evidently cast a damp upon the party.

"Mr. Grundy's going to oblige the company with a song," said the chairman.

"No he ain't," said Mr. Grundy.

"Why not?" said the chairman.

"Because he can't," said Mr. Grundy.

"You had better say he won't," replied the chairman.

"Well, then, he won't," retorted Mr. Grundy. Mr. Grundy's positive refusal to gratify the company, occasioned another silence.

"Won't anybody enliven us?" said the chairman, despondingly.

"Why don't you enliven us yourself, Mr. Chairman?" said a young man with a whisker, a squint, and an open shirt collar (dirty), from the bottom of the table.

"Hear! hear!" said the smoking gentleman in the Mosaic jewellery.

"Because I only know one song, and I have sung it already, and it's a fine of glasses round' to sing the same song twice in a night," replied the chairman.

This was an unanswerable reply, and silence prevailed again.

"I have been to-night, gentlemen," said Mr. Pickwick, hoping to start a subject which all the company could take a part in discussing, "I have been to-night in a place which you all know very well, doubtless, but which I have not been in before for some years, and know very little of; I mean Gray's Inn, gentlemen. Curious little nooks in a great place, like London, these old Inns are."


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Rh IV.C Evolution of the War (26 Vols.) Direct Action: The Johnson Commitments, 1964-1968 (16 Vols.)

2. Military Pressures Against NVN (3 Vols.) a. February - June 1 964


text:
Ha'e ye seen

 * "Ha'e ye seen", song by J. M.
 * "Ha'e ye seen", song by Robert Burns Jr.

title: Ha'e ye seen


text: Index:Jay William Hudson - America's International Ideals (1915).djvu


text:
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 surely it is the design of a misplaced and inhuman ingenuity. The scales of the lepidoptera, again, have wasted their glittering splendours for millions of years. If they were meant for man, why do the most beautiful species fly by night in the tropical forests? As for the human eye, oculists and opticians are scarcely of your opinion. You hymn the peculiar properties of water that make life possible. They make it possible. Do they make it other than it is?

"You have talked of the marvels of embryonic growth in the egg. I admit the wonderful precision of the process; but how does it touch my doubts? Rather it confuses them, as though the God who rules the world ruled not so much in love as in irony. Wonderfully indeed do the cells divide and the chromoplasts of the division slide along their spindle lines. They divide not as if a divine hand guided them but with remorseless logic, with the pitiless consistency of a mathematical process. They divide and marshal themselves and turn this way and that, to make an idiot, to make a congenital cripple. Millions of such cripples pile up—and produce the swaying drunkard at the pot-house door.

"You talk of the crescendo of evolution, of the first beginnings of life, and how the scheme unfolds until it culminates in us—us, here, under these circumstances, you and Mr. Dad and Farr and me—waiting for the knife. Would that I could see any such crescendo! I see change indeed and change and change, without plan and without heart. Consider for example the migrations of birds across the Mediterranean, and the tragic absurdity of its incidents.


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 to detain you at this end of the room for five minutes, I shall be very much obliged to you."

The puffy-faced young man rose, and drawing a chair close to Mr. Pickwick in an obscure corner of the room, listened attentively to his tale of woe.

"Ah," he said, when Mr. Pickwick had concluded, "Dodson and Fogg—sharp practice theirs—capital men of business, Dodson and Fogg, sir."

Mr. Pickwick admitted the sharp practice of Dodson and Fogg, and Lowten resumed. -Perker ain't in town, and he won't be, neither, before the end of next week; but if you want the action defended, and will leave the copy with me, I can do all that's needful till he comes back."

"That's exactly what I came here for," said Mr. Pickwick, handing over the document. "If anything particular occurs, you can write to me at the post-office, Ipswich."

"That's all right," replied Mr. Perker's clerk; and then seeing Mr. Pickwick's eye wandering curiously towards the table, he added, "Will you join us, for half-an-hour or so? We are capital company here to-night. There's Samkin and Green's managing-clerk, and Smithers and Price's chancery, and Pimkin and Thomas's out o' door—sings a capital song, he does—and Jack Bamber, and ever so many more. You're come out of the country, I suppose. Would you like to join us?"

Mr. Pickwick could not resist so tempting an opportunity of studying human nature. He suffered himself to be led to the table, where, after having been introduced to the company in due form, he was accommodated with a seat near the chairman, and called for a glass of his favourite beverage.

A profound silence, quite contrary to Mr. Pickwick's expectation, succeeded.

"You don't find this sort of thing disagreeable, I hope, sir?" said his right hand neighbour, a gentleman in a checked shirt, and Mosaic studs, with a cigar in his mouth.


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 Dantzic spruce, while a large black board, announcing in white letters to an enlightened public that there were 500,000 barrels of double stout in the cellars of the establishment, left the mind in a state of not unpleasing doubt and uncertainty as to the precise direction in the bowels of the earth, in which this mighty cavern might be supposed to extend. When we add, that the weather-beaten sign-board bore the half-obliterated semblance of a magpie intently eyeing a crooked streak of brown paint, which the neighbours had been taught from infancy to consider as the "stump," we I have said all that need be said of the exterior of the edifice.

On Mr. Pickwick's presenting himself at the bar, an elderly female emerged from behind a screen therein, and presented herself before him.

"Is Mr. Lowten here, ma'am?" inquired Mr. Pickwick.

"Yes he is, sir," replied the landlady. "Here, Charley, show the gentleman in, to Mr. Lowten."

"The gen'lm'n can't go in just now," said a shambling pot-boy, with a red head, cos Mr. Lowten's a singin' a comic song, and he'll put him out. He'll be done d'rectly, sir."

The red-headed pot-boy had scarcely finished speaking, when a most unanimous hammering of tables, and jingling of glasses, announced that the song had that instant terminated; and Mr. Pickwick, after desiring Sam to solace himself in the tap, suffered himself to be conducted into the presence of Mr. Lowten.

At the announcement of "gentleman to speak to you, sir," a puffy-faced young man, who filled the chair at the head of the table, looked with some surprise in the direction from whence the voice proceeded: and the surprise seemed to be by no means diminished, when his eyes rested on an individual whom he had never seen before.

"I beg your pardon, sir," said Mr. Pickwick, "and I am 'very sorry to disturb the other gentlemen, too, but I come on very particular business; and if you will suffer me


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 office, which she had by this time opened, indicated a rooted antipathy to the application of soap and water; "do you know where I can find Mr. Perker, my good woman?"

"No, I don't," replied the old woman, gruffly; "he's out o' town now."

"That's unfortunate," said Mr. Pickwick; "where's his clerk? Do you know?"

"Yes, I know where he is, but he won't thank me for telling you," replied the laundress.

"I have very particular business with him," said Mr. Pickwick.

"Won't it do in the morning?" said the woman.

"Not so well," replied Mr. Pickwick.

"Well," said the old woman, "if it was anything very particular, I was to say where he was, so I suppose there's no harm in telling. If you just go to the Magpie and Stump, and ask at the bar for Mr. Lowten, they'll show you in to him, and he's Mr. Perker's clerk."

With this direction, and having been furthermore informed that the hostelry in question was situated in a court, happy in the double advantage of being in the vicinity of Clare Market, and closely approximating to the back of New Inn, Mr. Pickwick and Sam descended the ricketty staircase in safety, and issued forth in quest of the Magpie and Stump.

This favoured tavern, sacred to the evening orgies of Mr. Lowten and his companions, was what ordinary people would designate a public-house. That the landlord was a man of a money-making turn, was sufficiently testified by the fact of a small bulk-head beneath the tap-room window, in size and shape not unlike a sedan-chair, being underlet to a mender of shoes: and that he was a being of a philanthropic mind, was evident from the protection he afforded to a pieman, who vended his delicacies without fear of interruption on the very door-step. In the lower windows, which were decorated with curtains of a saffron hue, dangled two or three printed cards, bearing reference to Devonshire cyder and


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 wictim o' connubiality, as Blue Beard's domestic chaplain said, with a tear of pity, ven he buried him."

There was no replying to this very apposite conclusion, and, therefore, Mr. Pickwick, after settling the reckoning, resumed his walk to Gray's Inn. By the time he reached its secluded groves, however, eight o'clock had struck, and the unbroken stream of gentlemen in muddy high-lows, soiled white hats, and rusty apparel, who were pouring towards the different venues of egress, warned him that the majority of the offices had closed for that day.

After climbing two pairs of steep and dirty stairs, he found his anticipations were realised. Mr. Perker's "outer door" was closed; and the dead silence which followed Mr. Weller's repeated kicks thereat, announced that the officials had retired from business for the night.

"This is pleasant, Sam," said Mr. Pickwick; "I shouldn't lose an hour in seeing him; I shall not be able to get one wink of sleep to-night, I know, unless I have the satisfaction of reflecting that I have confided this matter to a professional man."

"Here's an old 'ooman comin' up-stairs, sir," replied Mr. Weller; "p'raps she knows where we can find somebody. Hallo, old lady, vere's Mr. Perker's people?"

"Mr. Perker's people," said a thin, miserable-looking old woman, stopping to recover breath after the ascent of the staircase, "Mr. Perker's people's gone, and I'm a goin' to do the office out."

"Are you Mr. Perker's servant?" inquired Mr. Pickwick.

"I am Mr. Perker's laundress," replied the old woman.

"Ah," said Mr. Pickwick, half aside to Sam, "it's a curious circumstance, Sam, that they call the old women in these inns, laundresses. I wonder what's that for."

Cos they has a mortal awersion to washing anythin', I suppose, sir," replied Mr. Weller.

"I shouldn't wonder," said Mr. Pickwick, looking at the old woman, whose appearance, as well as the condition of the


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 "I'll follow him," said Mr. Pickwick, with an emphatic blow on the table.

"I shall work down to Ipswich the day arter to-morrow, sir," said Mr. Weller the elder, "from the Bull in Whitechapel; and if you really mean go, you'd better go with me."

"So we had," said Mr. Pickwick; " "very true; true; I can write to Bury, and tell them to meet me at Ipswich. We will go with you. But don't hurry away, Mr. Weller; won't you take anything?"

"You're wery good, sir," replied Mr. W., stopping short; "perhaps a small glass of brandy to drink your health, and success to Sammy, sir, wouldn't be amiss."

"Certainly not," replied Mr. Pickwick. "A glass of brandy here!" The brandy was brought: and Mr. Weller, after pulling his hair to Mr. Pickwick, and nodding to Sam, jerked it down his capacious throat as if it had been a small thimble-full.

"Well done, father," said Sam, "take care, old fellow, or you'll have a touch of your old complaint, the gout."

"I've found a sov'rin' cure for that, Sammy," said Mr. Weller, setting down the glass.

"A sovereign cure for the gout," said Mr. Pickwick, hastily producing his note-book—"what is it?"

"The gout, sir," replied Mr. Weller, "the gout is a complaint as arises from too much ease and comfort. If ever you're attacked with the gout, sir, jist you marry a widder as has got a good loud woice, with a decent notion of usin' it, and you'll never have the gout agin. It's a capital prescription, sir. I takes it reg'lar, and I can warrant it to drive away any illness as is caused by too much jollity." Having imparted this valuable secret, Mr. Weller drained his glass once more, produced a laboured wink, sighed deeply, and slowly retired.

"Well, what do you think of what your father says, Sam?" inquired Mr. Pickwick, with a smile.

"Think, sir!" replied Mr. Weller; "why, I think he's the


text: The Amulet for 1826/The Cypress

title: The Amulet for 1826/The Cypress