CHAPTER XXVIII
Project Gutenberg EPUB3 edition
Smith, George Adam and Nicoll, W. Robertson (William Robertson), Sir
generation.
Before it the fire devours,[1211]
And behind the flame consumes.
Like the garden of Eden[1212] is the land in front,
And behind it a desolate desert;
Yea, it lets nothing escape.
Their visage is the visage of horses,
And like horsemen they run.
They rattle like chariots over the tops of the hills,
Like the crackle of flames devouring stubble,
Like a powerful people prepared for battle.
Peoples are writhing before them,
Every face gathers blackness.
Like warriors they run,
Like fighting-men they come up the wall;
They march every man by himself,[1213]
And they ravel[1214] not their paths.
None jostles his comrade,
They march every man on his track,[1215]
And plunge through the missiles unbroken.[1216]
They scour the city, run upon the walls,
Climb into the houses, and enter the windows like a
thief.
Earth trembles before them,
Heaven quakes,
Sun and moon become black,
The stars withdraw their shining.
And Jehovah utters His voice before His army:
For very great is His host;
Yea, powerful is He that performeth His word.
Great is the Day of Jehovah, and very awful:
Who may abide it?[1217]
But now hear the oracle of Jehovah:
Turn ye to Me with all your heart,
And with fasting and weeping and mourning.
Rend ye your hearts and not your garments,
And turn to Jehovah your God:
For He is gracious and merciful,
Long-suffering and plenteous in love,
And relents of the evil.