FOUR PROPHETS A Modern Translation into Modern English from the Hebrew AMOS HOSEA MICAH ISAIAH Hardback book with Dust Jacket by J.B. Phillips Over 160 pages Second Printing 1963 © J.B. Phillips 1963 " In this book J.B. Phillips brings into the language of today the eloquence of four men who lived and wrote during one of the crucial periods of human history - a turning point marked by an outbreak of fresh creativity throughout the world. In some remarkable way the spirit of man was stirred during the hundred years from 750 B.C. to 650 B.C. This was the time of the first four writing Prophets: Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and Micah. At this time also The Iliad and The Odyssey were being written, the skills that led to the Parthenon originated, Zoroaster was born, the Upanishads appeared, Hinduism blossomed in preparation for the great reforming movement of Buddhism, and in China arose the movement leading to Confucius and the Taoism of Lao-tse. The four Prophets has little in common except that they all spoke Hebrew, believed that what they declared to their people was the Word of God, and lived at a time when Judah and Israel were crushed between the world empires of Assyria and Egypt. Their prophesy has both intrinsic excitement and relevance to our lives today. Here are the rustic shepherd Amos, denouncing an overformalized religion; the obedient Hosea who marries a prostitute to demonstrate in his own life God's love for Israel despite her misdoings; the urbane courtier Isaiah who reminds Israel that God and not man determines the course of history; and Micah, passionately excoriating the exploitation of the weak by the strong. All four hold fast to the hope of an eventually purified and restored Israel. J.B. Phillips' preface tells of the special difficulties of rendering the Hebrew language, in which "every letter is like a tensed muscle," into intelligible modern English. "I was awed," he says, "but I was also fascinated by the sheer authority of this uncompromising tongue." The achievement of this encounter is a text of great power and beauty that speaks to the mind as well as the emotions. The manuscript has been read by an expert in Hebrew, the Reverend Edwin H. Robertson, who also has contributed a brief introduction to each book and a general historical essay. " Contents includes: " TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS HISTORICAL BACKGROUND THE BOOK OF AMOS THE BOOK OF HOSEA THE FIRST BOOK OF ISAIAH THE BOOK OF MICAH MAPS THE LAND IN THE TIME OF THE FOUR PROPHETS THE WORLD SURROUNDING THE FOUR PROPHETS " This book is in pretty nice condition. The previous owner's name is written on the first blank page. The side edges of the pages have some aging spots, mostly visible from the side view. The dust jacket is very worn and torn along the edges and has several aging spots. No torn or ripped pages. |