Four Prophets

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First UK edition FourProphets.jpg
First UK edition

Four Prophets: Amos, Hosea, First Isaiah and Micah: A Modern Translation from the Hebrew by J. B. Phillips is a modern translation from Hebrew sources of the books of Amos, Hosea, First Isaiah and Micah by scholar J. B. Phillips. The book was published in 1963 Macmillan in the US and Geoffrey Bles in the UK. Phillips also published The New Testament in Modern English . The remainder of the Old Testament was never completed by him.

Contents

Textual example

Excerpt from First Isaiah 21:1-2, translated in a "thought-for-thought" pattern:

A Warning from the desert:
A dreadful vision has come to me,
Roaring out of the desert
From the terrible land,
Sweeping on like the whirlwinds in the south.
The plunderer continues his plundering,
The destroyer continues his destruction.
Up then, men of Elam, Besiege them, men of Media!
Put an end to their boastings.

The same text from the American Standard Version translation, a "word-for-word" translation:

The burden of the wilderness of the sea. As whirlwinds in the South sweep through, it cometh from the wilderness, from a terrible land. A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous man dealeth treacherously, and the destroyer destroyeth. Go up, O Elam; besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease.

See also


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Book of Amos</span> Book of the Bible

The Book of Amos is the third of the Twelve Minor Prophets in the Old Testament (Tanakh) and the second in the Greek Septuagint tradition. Amos, an older contemporary of Hosea and Isaiah, was active c. 750 BC during the reign of Jeroboam II of Samaria, making Amos the first prophetic book of the Bible to be written. Amos lived in the kingdom of Judah but preached in the northern kingdom of Israel. His major themes of social justice, God's omnipotence, and divine judgment became staples of prophecy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Book of Isaiah</span> Book of the Bible

The Book of Isaiah is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible and the first of the Major Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. It is identified by a superscription as the words of the 8th-century BCE prophet Isaiah ben Amoz, but there is extensive evidence that much of it was composed during the Babylonian captivity and later. Johann Christoph Döderlein suggested in 1775 that the book contained the works of two prophets separated by more than a century, and Bernhard Duhm originated the view, held as a consensus through most of the 20th century, that the book comprises three separate collections of oracles: Proto-Isaiah, containing the words of the 8th-century BCE prophet Isaiah; Deutero-Isaiah, the work of an anonymous 6th-century BCE author writing during the Exile; and Trito-Isaiah, composed after the return from Exile. Isaiah 1–33 promises judgment and restoration for Judah, Jerusalem and the nations, and chapters 34–66 presume that judgment has been pronounced and restoration follows soon. While virtually no scholars today attribute the entire book, or even most of it, to one person, the book's essential unity has become a focus in more recent research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Book of Joel</span> Book of the Bible

The Book of Joel is a Jewish prophetic text containing a series of "divine announcements". The first line attributes authorship to "Joel the son of Pethuel". It forms part of the Book of the twelve minor prophets or the Nevi'im ("Prophets") in the Hebrew Bible, and is a book in its own right in the Christian Old Testament. Joel is not mentioned elsewhere in either collection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Book of Micah</span> Book in the Hebrew Bible

The Book of Micah is the sixth of the twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew Bible. Ostensibly, it records the sayings of Micah, whose name is Mikayahu, meaning "Who is like Yahweh?", an 8th-century BCE prophet from the village of Moresheth in Judah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isaiah</span> Israelite prophet

Isaiah, also known as Isaias or Esaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twelve Minor Prophets</span> Book or collection of books in the Bible

The Minor Prophets or Twelve Prophets, occasionally Book of the Twelve, is a collection of prophetic books, written between about the 8th and 4th centuries BCE, which are in both the Jewish Tanakh and Christian Old Testament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amos (prophet)</span> Hebrew prophet

In the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament, Amos was one of the Twelve Minor Prophets. An older contemporary of Hosea and Isaiah, Amos was active c. 760–755 BCE during the rule of kings Jeroboam II of Israel and Uzziah of Judah. He was from the southern Kingdom of Judah but preached in the northern Kingdom of Israel. Amos wrote at a time of relative peace and prosperity but also of neglect of God's laws. He spoke against an increased disparity between the very wealthy and the very poor. His major themes of justice, God's omnipotence, and divine judgment became staples of prophecy. The Book of Amos is attributed to him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prophetic books</span> Parts of the Bible

The prophetic books are a division of the Christian Bible, grouping 18 books or 17 books in the Old Testament. In terms of the Tanakh, it includes the Latter Prophets from the Nevi'im, with the addition of Lamentions and Daniel, both of which are included among the books of the Hebrew Ketuvim.

The Phillips New Testament in Modern English (Phi) is an English translation of the New Testament of the Bible translated by Anglican clergyman J. B. Phillips first published in 1958.

John Bertram Phillips or J. B. Phillips was an English Bible translator, author and Anglican clergyman. He is most noted for his The New Testament in Modern English.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Micah (prophet)</span> Prophet in Judaism

According to the Hebrew Bible, Micah, also known as Micheas, was a prophet in Judaism and is the author of the Book of Micah. He is considered one of the Twelve Minor Prophets of the Hebrew Bible and was a contemporary of the prophets Isaiah, Amos and Hosea. Micah was from Moresheth-Gath, in southwest Judah. He prophesied during the reigns of kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hosea 1</span>

Hosea 1 is the first chapter of the Book of Hosea in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Hosea son of Beeri, and this chapter especially sets forth the spiritual whoredom of Israel by symbolical acts. It is a part of the Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeremiah 1</span> Book of Jeremiah, chapter 1

Jeremiah 1 is the first chapter of the Book of Jeremiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book, one of the Nevi'im or Books of the Prophets, contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Jeremiah. This chapter serves as an introduction to the Book of Jeremiah and relates Jeremiah's calling as a prophet.

Isaiah 1 is the first chapter of the Book of Isaiah, one of the Book of the Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, which is the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. In this "vision of Isaiah concerning Judah and Jerusalem", the prophet calls the nation to repentance and predicts the destruction of the first temple in the siege of Jerusalem. This chapter provides an introduction to the issues of sin, judgement, and hoped-for restoration which form the overarching structure of the whole book. It concludes with 'a reference to the burning of those who trust in their own strength', in a fire which cannot be 'quenched', a relatively rare word which is also used in the last verse of the book, thereby linking together beginning and ending of this whole book. It is traditionally read on the black sabbath immediately preceding the 9th of Av fast day.

Isaiah 21 is the twenty-first chapter of the Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Isaiah, and is one of the Books of the Prophets. This chapter contains prophecies against Babylon, Edom and Arabia.

Isaiah 33 is the thirty-third chapter of the Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Isaiah, and is one of the Books of the Prophets. The Jerusalem Bible groups chapters 28-35 together as a collection of "poems on Israel and Judah".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Micah 1</span>

Micah 1 is the first chapter of the Book of Micah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Micah, and is a part of the Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amos 3</span>

Amos 3 is the third chapter of the Book of Amos in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Amos, especially God's extraordinary love, being repaid by Israel with ingratitude, of necessity calls for judgments. It is a part of the Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amos 8</span>

Amos 8 is the eighth chapter of the Book of Amos in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Amos; in particular, the seventh, eighth, and ninth chapters contain visions and their explanations. It is a part of the Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hosea 12</span> Chapter 12 of the Book of Hosea

Hosea 12 is the twelfth chapter of the Book of Hosea in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This chapter contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Hosea son of Beeri, and was delivered about the time of Israel's seeking the aid of the Egyptian king So, in violation of their covenant with Assyria. He exhorts them to follow their father Jacob's persevering prayerfulness, which brought God's favor upon him. As God is unchangeable, He will show the same favor to Jacob's posterity as He did to Jacob, if, like him, they seek God. It is a part of the Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets.