衣索比亞馬加比二書 第 2 章

And thus said the prophet whom they call Reay: As for now, rejoice for a little while in the light of the hour; but the Holy One of Israel, the Lord, is about to take vengeance upon you in a manner you did not expect.

Will you say to us, 'My horses are swift, and therefore I will escape by flight'?

But I tell you: those who pursue you run swifter than eagles, and you shall not escape from the calamity and the wrath of the Lord that is upon you.

Or will you say, 'I clothe myself in iron, and the dart of the bow and the cast of the spear cannot harm me'? Even so, neither shall I take vengeance upon you with the cast of iron, said the Holy One of Israel, the Lord. Rather, I will bring upon you grievous sickness into your heart, that is worse than the dart of the bow and the cast of the spear, and the disease of consumption and of swelling.

And I will bring grievous sickness into your heart, and you shall find none to help you, for you have provoked My wrath; and you shall not escape from My hand until I have blotted out the remembrance of you from the earth.

And you shall know that I am the Lord your Creator, when I bring this thing to pass swiftly, as in the twinkling of an eye; for you have stiffened your neck and lifted up yourself over My land. You are like grass before the face of the wind, which the fire devours before my eyes, and like ashes which the winds and the storm bear away from off the face of the earth—so are you before Me.

For you have provoked My wrath and have not acknowledged your Creator; and I also will not spare any that belong to you, nor will I leave any that may be reckoned among all your fortresses.

And now, repent of all the evil you have done; and if you repent and humble yourself before the Lord with tears and weeping, and entreat Him with a pure heart, the Lord will forgive you your sin in all wherein you have transgressed before Him.

And at that time Meqabis wept before the Lord because of his sin, and he clothed himself in ashes, for the Lord was wroth with him.

And he knew that the Lord would not delay the calamity which He had spoken by the mouth of His prophet; for His eyes are watchful and slumber not, and His ears are open and grow not deaf, and He makes not false the word which He has spoken, but performs it in one moment, as in the twinkling of an eye.

And he cast off his garments and put on sackcloth of hair, and he laid ashes upon his head, and he wept and groaned before the Lord his God because of the evil he had done.