oor;
Yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household;
For all her household are clothed with scarlet. {257}
She maketh for herself carpets of tapestry;
Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sitteth among the elders of the land.
She maketh linen garments and selleth them;
And delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
Strength and dignity are her clothing;
And she laugheth at the time to come.
She openeth her mouth with wisdom;
And the law of kindness is on her tongue.
She looketh well to the ways of her household,
And eateth not the bread of idleness.
Her children rise up, and call her blessed;
Her husband also, and he praiseth her, saying:
"Many daughters have done virtuously,
But thou excellest them all."

Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain:
But a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands;
And let her works praise her in the gates.

{258}

{259}

SELECTIONS FROM THE PROPHETS

{260}

The Roll of the Prophets

Isaiah.
Jeremiah.
Daniel.
Ezekiel.
Amos.
Hosea.
Micah.
Obadiah.
Joel.
Jonah.
Zephaniah.
Nahum.
Habakkuk.
Haggai.
Zechariah.
Malachi.

{261}{262}

[Illustration]
"THE PROPHETS"

From the frieze of "The Prophets," by Sargent, in the Public Library
at Boston.

The prophets here represented are Jeremiah, Jonah, Isaiah, Habakkuk.
[End illustration]

{263}

THE PROPHETS

There are two groups of prophetic books in the Old Testament: the
longer books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, and Ezekiel, in one group,
and what are known as the books of the "Twelve Minor Prophets," in
another group. These books, especially those of the "Minor Prophets."
are often neglected by readers of the Bible. "Minor Prophets" is a
very unfortunate name for that group of great souls whose messages
have come down to us from the ages. The word came into use because
these books; smaller in size than some others, were grouped together
in the Bible. The writers themselves were not minor or inferior in any
sense of the word. The word "prophet" is also, in itself, somewhat
misleading. The men who are called prophets did not simply predict
future events. They were really what we would call reformers. They
cried out against the evils of the times in which they lived, and
tried to