2 Meqabyan 8:1-24

¹He lived firmly established in the malice and arrogance of his mind.

²And as iron is called firm - just as Daniel saw it regarding his kingdom - he turned against the peoples and countries in his region.

³He lived firmly in evil, in all his laziness, and in the harassment of people.

⁴He totally destroyed what was spoken of formerly, and he consumed the wealth of others.

⁵For he was diligent in evil, like his father the Devil who strengthened his resolve, and he destroyed what remained with his army.

⁶He said, My era has become like the era of the Sun - yet he did not know the Lord was his Creator.

⁷And in his mind, he thought that the Sun originated from him.

⁸He rose up in power; he camped in the portion of the Tribe of Zebulun and began a military formation in Macedonia. He received his food from Samaria, and they gave him presents from Samaria.

⁹He camped in the regions of the nomads and reached as far as Sidon; he placed a tax upon Achaia and elevated his pride as far as the flowing sea. He returned and sent messengers as far as the Indian Sea.

¹⁰And likewise, he elevated his pride even unto Heaven.

¹¹He lived firmly in arrogance and evil, yet he would not humble his own self.

¹²His path led toward darkness, slipperiness, crime, and arrogance; toward the shedding of blood and tribulation.

¹³All his works were what the Lord hates. He acted according to the robbery and sin taught by his teacher, the Devil; he made the orphan cry and was not kind to the poor.

¹⁴He defeated and destroyed the kings of peoples by his authority.

¹⁵He ruled over the chiefs of enemies and many peoples, and he taxed them according to his own desire.

¹⁶Even if he destroyed, he did not stop; there was no person from whom he did not snatch wealth, from the Tarshish sea to the Jericho sea.

¹⁷He would bow to idols; he would eat what was found dead, blood, and what was cut by the sword and sacrificed to idols. All his work was without justice, for he had no justice.

¹⁸As he did all that he desired, there was no fear of the Lord before him; he lived in malice before the Lord who created him.

¹⁹He did not act like his Creator; and just as he did evil to his companion when he was angry and seized him, the Lord shall also repay him with hardship.

²⁰As the Lord has said: I shall take revenge and destroy sinful persons who do not live by My Command, so that I might destroy the mention of their name from this world.

²¹And just as evil persons did evil things, they shall receive their hardship.

²²But as commanded by the Lord, good works shall follow those who perform good works.

²³For just as Joshua destroyed the five Canaanite kings in a cave in one day, and as he made the sun stand still in Gibeon by his prayer so that he might destroy their armies - and just as he killed twenty thousand people at one time, and as he bound them, placing his foot on their necks, and as he killed them in the cave by the spear and placed a stone over them.

²⁴Tribulation like this shall find all persons who grieve the Lord with their evil works.