The Bible, quoted
in its own voices.

For my sword has drunk its fill in the sky. Behold, it will come down on Edom, and on the people of my curse, for judgment. The LORD’s sword is filled with blood. It is covered with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams; for the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Edom. The wild oxen will come down with them, and the young bulls with the mighty bulls; and their land will be drunken with blood, and their dust made greasy with fat.

The words of King Lemuel—the revelation which his mother taught him:

“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me! The Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his temple. Behold, the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, is coming!” says the LORD of Armies. “But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like launderers’ soap; and he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them as gold and silver; and they shall offer to the LORD offerings in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasant to the LORD as in the days of old and as in ancient years. I will come near to you to judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against the perjurers, and against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and who deprive the foreigner of justice, and don’t fear me,” says the LORD of Armies.

Thus he showed me: behold, the Lord stood beside a wall made by a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. The LORD said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “Behold, I will set a plumb line in the middle of my people Israel. I will not again pass by them any more. The high places of Isaac will be desolate, the sanctuaries of Israel will be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.” Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the middle of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words. For Amos says, ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of his land.’”

They will eat, and not have enough. They will play the prostitute, and will not increase; because they have abandoned listening to the LORD. Prostitution, wine, and new wine take away understanding. My people consult with their wooden idol, and answer to a stick of wood. Indeed the spirit of prostitution has led them astray, and they have been unfaithful to their God. They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains, and burn incense on the hills, under oaks, poplars, and terebinths, because its shade is good. Therefore your daughters play the prostitute, and your brides commit adultery. I will not punish your daughters when they play the prostitute, nor your brides when they commit adultery; because the men consort with prostitutes, and they sacrifice with the shrine prostitutes; so the people without understanding will come to ruin.

Let my cry come before you, LORD. Give me understanding according to your word. Let my supplication come before you. Deliver me according to your word. Let my lips utter praise, for you teach me your statutes. Let my tongue sing of your word, for all your commandments are righteousness. Let your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts. I have longed for your salvation, LORD. Your law is my delight. Let my soul live, that I may praise you. Let your ordinances help me. I have gone astray like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I don’t forget your commandments.

“There are three things which are stately in their march, four which are stately in going: The lion, which is mightiest among animals, and doesn’t turn away for any; the greyhound; the male goat; and the king against whom there is no rising up. “If you have done foolishly in lifting up yourself, or if you have thought evil, put your hand over your mouth. For as the churning of milk produces butter, and the wringing of the nose produces blood, so the forcing of wrath produces strife.”

Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King comes to you! He is righteous, and having salvation; lowly, and riding on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

In your name they rejoice all day. In your righteousness, they are exalted. For you are the glory of their strength. In your favor, our horn will be exalted. For our shield belongs to the LORD, our king to the Holy One of Israel. Then you spoke in vision to your saints, and said, “I have given strength to the warrior. I have exalted a young man from the people. I have found David, my servant. I have anointed him with my holy oil, with whom my hand shall be established. My arm will also strengthen him. No enemy will tax him. No wicked man will oppress him.

You, even you, are to be feared. Who can stand in your sight when you are angry? You pronounced judgment from heaven. The earth feared, and was silent, when God arose to judgment, to save all the afflicted ones of the earth. Selah. Surely the wrath of man praises you. The survivors of your wrath are restrained. Make vows to the LORD your God, and fulfill them! Let all of his neighbors bring presents to him who is to be feared. He will cut off the spirit of princes. He is feared by the kings of the earth.