For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand,
and instructed me
that I should not walk
in the way of this people, saying:
Say ye not,
A confederacy, to all to whom this people shall say,
A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear,
nor be afraid.
Sanctify the Lord of Hosts himself,
and let him be your fear,
and let him be your dread.
And he shall be for a sanctuary;
but for a stone of stumbling,
and for a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel,
for a gin and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
And many among them shall stumble and fall,
and be broken,
and be snared,
and be taken.
Bind up the testimony,
seal the law among my disciples.
And I will wait upon the Lord,
that hideth his face from the house of Jacob,
and I will look for him.”
Behold,
I and the children
whom the Lord hath given me
are for signs and for wonders
in Israel from the Lord of Hosts,
which dwelleth in mount Zion.
And when they shall say unto you:
Seek unto them that have familiar spirits,
and unto wizards that peep and mutter—
should not a people seek unto their God
for the living to hear from the dead?
To the law and to the testimony;
and if they speak not according to this word,
it is because there is no light in them.
And they shall pass through it hardly bestead and hungry;
and it shall come to pass that when they shall be hungry,
they shall fret themselves,
and curse their king and their God,
and look upward.
And they shall look unto the earth and behold trouble,
and darkness,
dimness of anguish,
and shall be driven to darkness.