Joy

Passages

Every passage tagged with this emotion in the Vela corpus. Search the body text, narrow by source or register, click through to a book’s profile to see how the passage sits with the rest of the work.

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• From The Beautiful Room Is Empty (1988)

  “I was in for a year. That’s why I don’t want to sleep with you right away. I’m very tender, just like a crayfish between shells.” We both laughed at the image. Our remarks slowed and scattered; a composer wouldn’t have had an easy time scoring them. My feet were warming up. Fred seemed really perfect because he needed me. I had a function to serve. Ordinarily I couldn’t imagine what use I could be to anyone. I asked him what he was studying. He said he was finishing a degree in English. “I’m writing on Herrick, on his ‘Corinna’s Going a-Maying,’ which is odd to think of in the snow.” A long sighing silence, the sigh of contentment. “What does ‘green-gown’ mean?” I asked. “A ‘green-gown’ is a tumble in the grass. I suppose it’s like a birthday suit.” And we both laughed together. “But surely you already knew that. You had to know it in order to ask,” and we both laughed harder. I liked the way our laughs sounded, although I still cringed at the sound of my speaking voice. I couldn’t lower it. Physically I could, but psychologically it felt presumptuous, as though it were arrogant to sound like a man instead of a boy. He told me his story. When I glanced over at him, his Adam’s apple was as prominent as his chin and nose. The idea that his voice resided in this box intrigued me. I wanted to touch it. I told him I needed to sleep with him because my insecurities were sexual. “But then you might not see me again. And that could be a little … risky for me.” He said he thought gay men lost interest after they did the “deed of darkness.” I said I wasn’t a generic gay man. “I certainly don’t want to be in the absurd position of rejecting you,” he said, “because to me you’re a wonderfully romantic young man, so tense. Intense. That’s the word.” And he opened the wet papaya pulp of his kiss to me. We kissed and undressed. The sheets smelled freshly ironed and felt as flimsy as rose petals. We kept stopping to talk, which at first vaguely irritated me, who thought sex was a crime to be committed as quickly as possible. Perhaps I’d been conditioned by the toilets. But then the realness of what we were doing touched me. I was here in a bed with cool sheets we were heating up, and each part of my body he stroked released some new thought in him and feeling in me. The heroics of sexual frenzy had been replaced by this voice, confiding secrets to me in the dark, lit by reflections off the deep lovely miles of snow outside.

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  1 I T IS a good and delightful thing to give thanks to the LORD , To sing praises to Your name, O Most High, 2 To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning And Your faithfulness by night, 3 With an instrument of ten strings and with the harp, With a solemn sound on the lyre. 4 For You, O LORD , have made me glad by Your works; At the works of Your hands I joyfully sing. 5 How great are Your works, O LORD ! Your thoughts are very deep [beyond man’s understanding]. 6 A senseless man [in his crude and uncultivated state] knows nothing, Nor does a [self-righteous] fool understand this: 7 That though the wicked sprout up like grass And all evildoers flourish, They will be destroyed forever. 8 But You, LORD , are on high forever. 9 For behold, Your enemies, O LORD , For behold, Your enemies will perish; All who do evil will be scattered. 10 But my horn [my emblem of strength and power] You have exalted like that of a wild ox; I am anointed with fresh oil [for Your service]. 11 My eye has looked on my foes; My ears hear of the evildoers who rise up against me. 12 The righteous will flourish like the date palm [long-lived, upright and useful]; They will grow like a cedar in Lebanon [majestic and stable]. 13 Planted in the house of the LORD , They will flourish in the courts of our God. 14 [Growing in grace] they will still thrive and bear fruit and prosper in old age; They will flourish and be a vital and fresh [rich in trust and love and contentment]; 15 [They are living memorials] to declare that the LORD is upright and faithful [to His promises]; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. [Rom 9:14 ] Psalm 93 The Majesty of the LORD . 1 T he LORD reigns, He is clothed with majesty and splendor; The LORD has clothed and encircled Himself with strength; the world is firmly established, it cannot be moved. 2 Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting. 3 The floods have lifted up, O LORD , The floods have lifted up their voice; The floods lift up their pounding waves. 4 More than the sounds of many waters, More than the mighty breakers of the sea, The LORD on high is mighty. 5 Your precepts are fully confirmed and completely reliable; Holiness adorns Your house, O LORD , forever. Psalm 94 The LORD Implored to Avenge His People. 1 O LORD God, You to whom vengeance belongs, O God, You to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth [in judgment]! 2 Rise up, O Judge of the earth; Give to the proud a fitting compensation. 3 O LORD , how long will the wicked, How long will the wicked rejoice in triumph?

• From The Decameron (1353)

  Accordingly, on the morrow, towards dinner-time, Tedaldo's four brothers, clad all in black as they were, came, with sundry of their friends, to the house of Aldobrandino, who stayed for them, and there, in the presence of all who had been bidden of him to bear them company, cast down their arms and committed themselves to his mercy, craving forgiveness of that which they had wrought against him. Aldobrandino, weeping, received them affectionately, and kissing them all on the mouth, despatched the matter in a few words, remitting unto them every injury received. After them came their wives and sisters, clad all in sad-coloured raiment, and were graciously received by Madam Ermellina and the other ladies. Then were all, ladies and men alike, magnificently entertained at the banquet, nor was there aught in the entertainment other than commendable, except it were the taciturnity occasioned by the yet fresh sorrow expressed in the sombre raiment of Tedaldo's kinsfolk. Now on this account the pilgrim's device of the banquet had been blamed of some and he had observed it; wherefore, the time being come to do away with the constraint aforesaid, he rose to his feet, according as he had foreordained in himself, what while the rest still ate of the fruits, and said, 'Nothing hath lacked to this entertainment that should make it joyful, save only Tedaldo himself; whom (since having had him continually with you, you have not known him) I will e'en discover to you.' So saying, he cast off his palmer's gown and all other his pilgrim's weeds and abiding in a jerkin of green sendal, was with no little amazement, long eyed and considered of all, ere any would venture to believe it was indeed he. Tedaldo, seeing this, recounted many particulars of the relations and things betided between them, as well as of his own adventures; whereupon his brethren and the other gentlemen present ran all to embrace him, with eyes full of joyful tears, as after did the ladies on like wise, as well strangers as kinswomen, except only Madam Ermellina. Which Aldobrandino seeing, 'What is this, Ermellina?' quoth he. 'Why dost thou not welcome Tedaldo, as do the other ladies?' Whereto she answered, in the hearing of all, 'There is none who had more gladly welcomed and would yet welcome him than myself, who am more beholden to him than any other woman, seeing that by his means I have gotten thee again; but the unseemly words spoken in the days when we mourned him whom we deemed Tedaldo made me refrain therefrom.' Quoth her husband, 'Go to; thinkest thou I believe in the howlers?[188] He hath right well shown their prate to be false by procuring my deliverance; more by token that I never believed it. Quick, rise and go and embrace him.' [Footnote 188: Lit. barkers (_abbajatori_), _i.e._ slanderers.]

• From The Decameron (1353)

  The king, moved by a royal generosity of mind, answered forthright that he would well and sending for Alatiel, brought her with all honour and worship to Famagosta, where she was received by himself and the queen with inexpressible rejoicing and entertained with magnificent hospitality. Being presently questioned of the king and queen of her adventures, she answered according to the instructions given her by Antigonus and related everything;[119] and a few days after, at her request, the king sent her, under the governance of Antigonus, with a goodly and worshipful company of men and women, back to the Soldan, of whom let none ask if she was received with rejoicing, as also was Antigonus and all her company. [Footnote 119: Sic (_contò tutto_); but this is an oversight of the author's, as it is evident from what follows that she did _not_ relate everything.] As soon as she was somewhat rested, the Soldan desired to know how it chanced that she was yet alive and where she had so long abidden, without having ever let him know aught of her condition; whereupon the lady, who had kept Antigonus his instructions perfectly in mind, bespoke him thus, 'Father mine, belike the twentieth day after my departure from you, our ship, having sprung a leak in a terrible storm, struck in the night upon certain coasts yonder in the West,[120] near a place called Aguamorta, and what became of the men who were aboard I know not nor could ever learn; this much only do I remember that, the day come and I arisen as it were from death to life, the shattered vessel was espied of the country people, who ran from all the parts around to plunder it. I and two of my women were first set ashore and the latter were incontinent seized by certain of the young men, who fled with them, one this way and the other that, and what came of them I never knew. [Footnote 120: Lit. Ponant (_Ponente_), _i.e._ the Western coasts of the Mediterranean, as opposed to the Eastern or Levant.]

• From The Beautiful Room Is Empty (1988)

  “It was here, right here, that I met him one night.” “At three in the morning.” “Four. The bars had closed. I hadn’t scored and, anyway, I couldn’t feature another night with a grown-up, some accountant from Jersey City with a screw-on collar pin who wants to sixty-nine because he thinks it’s fair !” Horrified laugh. He’d been leaning across the sticky Formica table, scrutinizing me, his face in mine, but now he slammed back and disturbed the man behind him. “So, discouraged and rather tipsy”—a grimace to indicate his disgust with himself—“I came in here, ordered my mournful stack and two burned sausages, and looked in the corner and saw a divinity, a little blond god or goddess smiling at me. I could focus on him only by closing one eye, and I was so ashamed of myself I wanted to head home and hide. I’d fallen so low I was completely bitter and paranoid and really thought he and his little drag friends, all so chic and desirable, had decided to pick on me as a comically woebegone specimen. But finally this little goddess—I really wasn’t sure what sex she was, she’d been sewn into white jeans with green thread, she had an Hermès scarf tied to her shoulder bag—anyway, she came over and I bought her a cup of coffee and now she’s moved in, I can’t believe my luck, a perfect little boy-girl all my own, he makes me dinner just like a little wife and goes to sleep listening to rock ’n’ roll from the radio under the pillow, our whole nights are afloat on a sea of rock-’n’-roll wisdom.” I had dinner several times with Lou and Misty, but Lou never participated in the conversation. He preferred to watch me interview Misty. Then he’d watch Misty respond at tedious, childlike, mendacious length—I say “watch” us because he sat at some distance from us, as though we were actors having a quick runthrough and whispering our lines. His pleasure at having such a fabulous creature in his house was increased when he gazed at Misty from a distance. When summer came, we three went to Riis Park together, taking the subway all the way to the end of the line, then switching to a bus that let us off at the big Brooklyn public beach. One section was gay, and there, late in the long hot afternoon, these cute Puerto Rican guys would start dancing to a portable radio or even a stack of the latest 45s. Beers would pass from hand to hand, a circle gathered, the late sun stared into its own reflection, the smell of seaweed blended with the cooking smells drifting over from the takeout stands along the boardwalk, the smell of franks and steamer clams. Gay boys sat and combed each other’s hair or scampered into the nearly becalmed surf as someone’s mother, a Mrs. Meyer, “spritzed” herself by flicking drops over her shoulders from diamonded old fingers.

• From The Beautiful Room Is Empty (1988)

  Just as music is invisible but suggests motion, in the same way our muscles generated a sort of music we could see in the candlelight. His shoulders were broad, too broad given his slender torso, as though a man were climbing up out of the adolescent. We looked down at ourselves in the mirror, not as one might watch pornography starring oneself but to confirm the happy fiction that we were in each other’s arms. The commotion of happiness ringing in my head was so loud I could scarcely hear what was happening. Such moments in a whole long life are neither as rare as one fears at first nor as frequent as later one hopes. His penis was crooked when erect. It was big and veered off to one side. The next day I said, “Lou says it’s wrong to see each day as a separate beginning. It’s wrong to divide time up into days and weeks. He says you should live as though time is one unbroken flow.” “Is that right?” Again that look of anxiety, that wincing look of concentration. “Yes, and I have no business saying this now, after I’ve just met you, but I feel that you’re going to turn my life into something like that. Today, all day at the office, I was so full of expectation.” Sean nodded. We ate our salad out of a battered saucepan, sharing Sean’s only fork. “Tell me about Lou,” Sean said. What a fool I am, I thought. “Oh, he’s terrific; I love him very much.” “Were you and he ever lovers?” “Yes.” “When?” “About a hundred years ago. The best friends are old lovers, don’t you think?” “I don’t know. I never had a lover.” “I can’t believe that.” “Well,” Sean said, “I had an affair with this guy Ted. But we’re not friends now. He drove me nuts. He’s a professional broken heart. Moons around all the time, threatens suicide, calls me up when he’s drunk.” Sean leapt up and opened the refrigerator. Staring into it he said, “I guess that’s what I think. That’s what my friend Julio says. It sounds right.” “You don’t know?” He sank back down. “I don’t know anything. Tell me anything and I’ll believe it. And that’s not even true.” “Who’s Julio?” “Oh, this great guy I met through Ted. You’ll meet him. He’s a famous dress designer.” All evening long I questioned Sean about every detail of his life. I memorized each name. I wanted to know all of Sean’s history right away. Every word he uttered either raised or dashed my hopes. “I’m very tired tonight”—bad, he wants to get rid of me. “But who needs sleep? It’s more important to talk to you and” (radiant smile) “more fun”—good, very, very good. “I should study some Latin”—bad. “Can you read while I work? I don’t want you to go. I like you here” (pats the couch deliberately, looking me in the eye)—good. Excellent.

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  6 The [malevolent] words of the wicked lie in wait for [innocent] blood [to slander], But the mouth of the upright will rescue and protect them. 7 The wicked are overthrown [by their evil] and are no more, But the house of the [consistently] righteous will stand [securely]. 8 A man will be commended according to his insight and sound judgment, But the one who is of a perverse mind will be despised. 9 a Better is he who is lightly esteemed and has a servant, Than he who [boastfully] honors himself [pretending to be what he is not] and lacks bread. 10 A righteous man has kind regard for the life of his animal, But even the compassion of the wicked is cruel. [Deut 25:4 ] 11 He who tills his land will have plenty of bread, But he who follows worthless things lacks common sense and good judgment. 12 The wicked desire the plunder of evil men, But the root of the righteous yields richer fruit. 13 An evil man is [dangerously] ensnared by the transgression of his lips, But the righteous will escape from trouble. 14 A man will be satisfied with good from the fruit of his words, And the deeds of a man’s hands will return to him [as a harvest]. 15 The way of the [arrogant] fool [who rejects God’s wisdom] is right in his own eyes, But a wise and prudent man is he who listens to counsel. [Prov 3:7 ; 9:9 ; 21:2 ] 16 The [arrogant] fool’s anger is quickly known [because he lacks self-control and common sense], But a prudent man ignores an insult. 17 He who speaks truth [when he testifies] tells what is right, But a false witness utters deceit [in court]. 18 There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword, But the tongue of the wise brings healing. 19 Truthful lips will be established forever, But a lying tongue is [credited] only for a moment. 20 Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, But counselors of peace have joy. 21 No harm befalls the righteous, But the wicked are filled with trouble. [Job 5:19 ; Ps 91:3 ; Prov 12:13 ; Is 46:4 ; Jer 1:8 ; Dan 6:27 ; 2 Tim 4:18 ] 22 Lying lips are extremely disgusting to the LORD , But those who deal faithfully are His delight. [Prov 6:17 ; 11:20 ; Rev 22:15 ] 23 A shrewd man is reluctant to display his knowledge [until the proper time], But the heart of [over-confident] fools proclaims foolishness. [Is 32:6 ] 24 The hand of the diligent will rule, But the negligent and lazy will be put to forced labor. 25 Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down, But a good (encouraging) word makes it glad. [Ps 50:4 ; Prov 15:13 ] 26 The righteous man is a guide to his neighbor, But the way of the wicked leads them astray.

• From The Beautiful Room Is Empty (1988)

  At this time I read James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room, in which Giovanni stops being attractive the moment he abandons his heterosexuality. Against this absolutism of heterosexuality, few merits held up. A large penis or a muscular body or lots of money had some appeal, but they were fraudulent when they belonged to another queer. We would piously list all the great dead fags of history, but if someone mentioned a living conductor or pianist, we’d say contemptuously, “Who, her?” as though “her” (or “huh” in New Yorkese) homosexuality were instantly disqualifying. Still more damaging to a man’s celebrity was the claim that one had actually slept with him. A New York queen would blow on what he pretended were freshly painted nails and say, “Who? huh? Had huh.” I had not yet “had” Sean, and I wanted to forestall that inevitable disappointment. Although everyone at the time congratulated me on my new body, contact lenses, and surfer hairstyle, I now wonder whether my transformation wasn’t a capitulation to a dangerous commodity psychology. Of course, it’s better to be handsome than ugly, but I never came to feel good about myself. I had the mole between my shoulder blades burned off, every night I did facial isometrics, I trimmed the hairs around my scrotum to throw my penis into relief and make it look larger, but melancholy self-regard continued to alternate with a generalized guilt as the background to all my feelings. After dinner Sean talked to me about Catullus. He struggled to express himself. Like me, he was a Midwesterner, someone without a ready way of discussing ideas. If the New York style was nonchalance toward the topic and aggressiveness toward the listener, our Midwestern way was to assume the listener was neutral and to burrow relentlessly into the question. Sean was serious, very serious, and when he spoke he winced. He led me to his bed. He undressed me and lit a candle and put it beside a mirror on the floor. I looked at myself in the mirror. I was perfect now except for the white silk stitches along my side, the stretch marks where I’d been fat. My vision of us, of Sean and me, was so large that it belittled our gestures or any moment we lived through as though our proper medium was myth, not history. We couldn’t stop smiling at each other. I was so happy. Gratitude and love burned in my heart. I felt Sean was a superior being who was lifting me up and placing me on a throne beside him. Perhaps because I’d never lived with a happy couple, I had no notion of domestic love; dailiness even threatened what I knew about, which was ecstasy. I was ecstatic now, but the feeling wasn’t a crisis, rather a slow turning in the amber crosslight. Just as music is invisible but suggests motion, in the same way our muscles generated a sort of music we could see in the candlelight.

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  2 As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; As wax melts before the fire, So let the wicked and guilty perish before [the presence of] God. 3 But let the righteous be glad; let them be in good spirits before God, Yes, let them rejoice with delight. 4 Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Lift up a song for Him who rides through the desert— His name is the LORD —be in good spirits before Him. 5 A father of the fatherless and a judge and protector of the widows, Is God in His holy habitation. 6 God makes a home for the lonely; He leads the prisoners into prosperity, Only the stubborn and rebellious dwell in a parched land. 7 O God, when You went out before Your people, When You marched through the wilderness, Selah. 8 The earth trembled; The heavens also poured down rain at the presence of God; Sinai itself trembled at the presence of God, the God of Israel. 9 You, O God, sent abroad plentiful rain; You confirmed Your inheritance when it was parched and weary. 10 Your flock found a dwelling place in it; O God, in Your goodness You provided for the poor. 11 The Lord gives the command [to take Canaan]; The women who proclaim the good news are a great host (army); 12 “The kings of the [enemies’] armies flee, they flee, And the beautiful woman who remains at home divides the spoil [left behind].” 13 When you lie down [to rest] among the a sheepfolds, You [Israel] are like the wings of a dove [of victory] overlaid with silver, Its feathers glistening with gold [trophies taken from the enemy]. 14 When the Almighty scattered [the Canaanite] kings in the land of Canaan, It was snowing on b Zalmon. 15 A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan; A [high] mountain of many summits is Mount Bashan [rising east of the Jordan]. 16 Why do you look with envy, mountains with many peaks, At the mountain [of the city of Zion] which God has desired for His dwelling place? Yes, the LORD will dwell there forever. 17 The chariots of God are c myriads, thousands upon thousands; The Lord is among them as He was at Sinai, in holiness. 18 You have ascended on high, You have led away captive Your captives; You have received gifts among men, Even from the rebellious also, that the LORD God may dwell there. [Eph 4:8 ] 19 Blessed be the Lord, who bears our burden day by day, The God who is our salvation! Selah. 20 God is to us a God of acts of salvation; And to d GOD the Lord belong escapes from death [setting us free]. 21 Surely God will shatter the head of His enemies, The hairy scalp of one who goes on in his guilty ways.

• From Vox (1992)

  34 think I've ever called this very number before—2vox." "What do you mean by 'success'?" "No women with any kind of spark. Or, actually, hon estly, few women at all, period, except the ones who are paid by the phone service to make mechanical sexual small talk and moan occasionally. It's mostly just men saying 'Hey, any ladies out there?' But then once in a while a real woman will call. And at least with this, as opposed to pictures, at least there's the remote possibility of something clicking. Perhaps it's presumptuous of me to say that we, you and I, click, but there is that possi bility." "Yes." "In a way it's like the radio. Do you know that I've never actually gone to a store and bought a record? That's probably why I never learned to appreciate the fade-out, as you describe it, since on the radio, one song melts into the next. But it seems to me that you really need the feeling of radio luck in listening to pop music, since after all it's about somebody meeting, out of all the zillions of people in the world, this one other nice person, or at least several adequate people. And so, if you buy the record, or the tape, then you control when you can hear it, when what you want is for it to be like luck, and like fate, and to zoom up and down the dial, looking for the song you want, hoping some station will play it—and the joy when it finally rotates around is so intense. You're not hearing it, you're overhearing it."

• From Vox (1992)

  58 "Mm! Shouldn't that bra come off, really?" "No it really should not, and I'll tell you why. When I dither myself off ... no, I don't want to tell you." "Please, yes you do, please tell me, yes you do, please, right now. " "When I masturbate and I'm not in the shower, I need my breasts to be tended to, but, boo-hoo, there's nobody to tend to them, so what I do is I pull my bra down so that the edge of it catches under my nipples, and then they're all taken care of, and I can use both hands to tend to matters below." "This is a miracle," he said. "It's just a telephone conversation." "It's a telephone conversation I want to have. I love the telephone." "Well, I like it too," she said. "There's a power it has. My sister's little babe has a toy phone, which is white, with horses and pigs and ducks on the dial, and a blue receiver that has no weight to it at all, and I find there is an astonishing feeling of power when you pretend to be talking to someone on it. You cover the mouthpiece with your hand and you say in this dramatic whisper, 'Stevie, it's Horton the Elephant on the phone. He wants to speak to you!' and you hand it over to Stevie and his eyes get big and you and he both for that second believe that Horton the Elephant really is on the phone. And then you get two phones going. Stevie's on the white phone with the ducks and pigs, and I'm on the yellow phone with

• From The Beautiful Room Is Empty (1988)

  She was talking to a young man who seemed all hair, a haystack of hair; his shoulder-length hair merged into a russet-highlighted beard, which in turn seemed to grow into his brown poncho, to be its father. Maria was wielding a cigarette unconvincingly, sipping wine, and squinting. But when I glanced back a moment later, she was wide-eyed and laughing. Her smile looked so clean, as white as the whites of her eyes. She was really laughing in an almost soundless quake, but her eyes were blind with tears of amusement. When Ivan introduced us, she wiped away the tears and dialed down the brilliance of her smile. “You’re the one!” she said, very kindly. “Everyone’s talking about the Boy Who Dared to Cross the Street.” And she laughed in the softest, most reassuring way to invite me to see myself as a droll rebel. “Let me get you some more wine,” she said, and a second later she was pushing past dangling panels of colored glass. We found ourselves in her dormitory room. Like everything else in the art academy, her room had a distinctive odor I’ve never encountered since except once, recently, in the Chanel boutique of a Paris department store. I almost asked the saleswoman what the smell could be, but the most important things in our intimate lives can’t be discussed with strangers, except in books. I was flushed from the wine, which, like an old-fashioned movie director, had edited out the entrances and exits and now was tracing a halo around the starlet’s profile. Everything in the common room had been chosen by the great Finnish architect who’d built the school, from the molded blond plywood chair I was sitting in to the unbleached muslin curtains. Outside, saltimbanques of snow were leaping up and flipping backward. That first visit I noticed several things about Maria that don’t usually go together—her hard intellectual zeal, for she was telling me about John Dewey’s Art and Experience, and her motherly kindness and love of coziness, for she’d tucked a down comforter over my legs, something she called a “bleemo” and that years later I realized must be a funny German-American pronunciation of plumeau. She did have a sharp way of arguing ideas, of saying “Nonsense!” or “What rubbish!” which reminded me of our English exchange student, who, despite his shingles and shyness, was intellectually combative. Of course, Maria was sufficiently American to smile every time she called me a “total idiot.” She worried I might find her room drafty. “You should try our dorms,” I said. “Deep freeze. Their tribute to Merrie Olde England.” She poured out a cup of tea to sober me up for my return to school. “I picture your school as far more decadent than ours.” “No such luck,” I said.

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  [Esth 8:17 ] 2 The peoples will take them along and bring them to their own place (Judea), and the house of Israel will possess them as an inheritance in the land of the LORD as male and female servants; and they will take captive those whose captives they have been, and they will rule over their [former] oppressors. [Ezra 1 ] 3 And it will be in the day when the LORD gives you rest from your pain and turmoil and from the harsh service in which you have been enslaved, 4 that you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon, and say, “How the oppressor has ceased [his insolence], And how the fury has ceased! 5 “The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked, The scepter of the [tyrant] rulers 6 Which used to strike the peoples in anger with incessant blows, Which subdued and ruled the nations in wrath with unrelenting persecution. 7 “The whole earth is at rest and is quiet; They break into shouts of joy. 8 “Even the cypress trees rejoice over you [kings of Babylon], even the cedars of Lebanon, saying, ‘Since you were laid low, no woodcutter comes up against us.’ 9 “a Sheol below is excited about you to meet you when you come [you tyrant of Babylon]; It stirs up the spirits of the dead [to greet you], all the leaders of the earth; It raises all the kings of the nations from their thrones [in astonishment at your fall]. 10 “All of them will respond [tauntingly] and say to you, ‘You have become as weak as we are. You have become like us. 11 ‘Your pomp and magnificence have been brought down to Sheol, Along with the music of your harps; The maggots [which prey on the dead] are spread out under you [as a bed] And worms are your covering [Babylonian rulers].’ 12 “How you have fallen from heaven, O b star of the morning [light-bringer], son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the ground, You who have weakened the nations [king of Babylon]! 13 “But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit on the mount of assembly In the remote parts of the north. 14 ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ 15 “But [in fact] you will be brought down to Sheol, To the remote recesses of the pit (the region of the dead). 16 “Those who see you will gaze at you, They will consider you, saying, ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms, 17 Who made the world like a wilderness And overthrew its cities, Who did not permit his prisoners to return home?’ 18 “All the kings of the nations, all of them lie [dead] in glorious array, Each one in his own sepulcher.

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  Isaiah 35 Zion’s Joyful Future 1 T he wilderness and the dry land will be glad; The Arabah (desert) will shout in exultation and blossom Like the a autumn crocus. 2 It will blossom abundantly And rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, The majesty of [Mount] Carmel and [the plain] of Sharon. They will see the glory of the LORD , The majesty and splendor of our God. 3 Encourage the exhausted, and make staggering knees firm. [Heb 12:12 ] 4 Say to those with an anxious and panic-stricken heart, “Be strong, fear not! Indeed, your God will come with vengeance [for the ungodly]; The retribution of God will come, But He will save you.” 5 Then the eyes of the blind will be opened And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. 6 Then the lame will leap like a deer, And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy. For waters will break forth in the wilderness And streams in the desert. [Matt 11:5 ] 7 And the burning sand (mirage) will become a pool [of water] And the thirsty ground springs of water; In the haunt of jackals, b where they lay resting, Grass becomes reeds and c rushes. 8 A highway will be there, and a roadway; And it will be called the Holy Way. The unclean will not travel on it, But it will be for those who walk on the way [the redeemed]; And fools will not wander on it . 9 No lion will be there, Nor will any predatory animal come up on it; They will not be found there. But the redeemed will walk there . 10 And the ransomed of the LORD will return And come to Zion with shouts of jubilation, And everlasting joy will be upon their heads; They will find joy and gladness, And sorrow and sighing will flee away. Isaiah 36 Sennacherib Invades Judah 1 N OW IN the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and conquered them. [2 Kin 18:13 , 17–37 ; 2 Chr 32:9–19 ] 2 And the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh [his military commander] from Lachish [the Judean fortress commanding the road from Egypt] to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem with a large army. And he stood by the canal of the Upper Pool on the highway to the Fuller’s Field. 3 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the [royal] household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recording historian, came out to [meet] him. 4 Then the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say to Hezekiah, ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria says, “What is [the reason for] this confidence that you have?

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  And its stench will arise and its foul odor of decay will come up [this is the fate of the northern army in the final day of the LORD ], For a He has done great things.” [Is 34:1–4 , 8 ; Amos 4:10 ] 21 Do not fear, O land; be glad and rejoice, For the LORD has done great things! [Zech 12:8–10 ] 22 Do not be afraid, you animals of the field, For the pastures of the wilderness have turned green; The tree has produced its fruit, And the fig tree and the vine have yielded in full. 23 So rejoice, O children of Zion, And delight in the LORD , your God; For He has given you the early [autumn] rain in vindication And He has poured down the rain for you, The early [autumn] rain and the late [spring] rain, as before. 24 And the threshing floors shall be full of grain, And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. 25 “And I will compensate you for the years That the swarming locust has eaten, The creeping locust, the stripping locust, and the gnawing locust— My great army which I sent among you. 26 “You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied And praise the name of the LORD your God Who has dealt wondrously with you; And My people shall never be put to shame. 27 “And you shall know [without any doubt] that I am in the midst of Israel [to protect and bless you], And that I am the LORD your God, And there is no other; My people will never be put to shame. The Promise of the Spirit 28 “It shall come about after this That I shall pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. 29 “Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. The Day of the LORD 30 “I will show signs and wonders [displaying My power] in the heavens and on the earth, Blood and fire and columns of smoke. 31 “The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood Before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes. [Is 13:6 , 9–11 ; 24:21–23 ; Ezek 32:7–10 ; Matt 24:29 , 30 ; Rev 6:12–17 ] 32 “And it shall come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD Will be saved [from the coming judgment] For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem There will be those who escape, As the LORD has said, Even among the remnant [of survivors] whom the LORD calls.

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  [Luke 13:13 ; John 9:7 , 32 ] 9 The LORD protects the strangers; He supports the fatherless and the widow; But He makes crooked the way of the wicked. 10 The LORD shall reign forever, Your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD ! (Hallelujah!) [Ps 10:16 ; Rev 11:15 ] Psalm 147 Praise for Jerusalem’s Restoration and Prosperity. 1 P RAISE THE LORD ! For it is good to sing praises to our [gracious and majestic] God; Praise is becoming and appropriate. 2 The LORD is building up Jerusalem; He is gathering [together] the exiles of Israel. 3 He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds [healing their pain and comforting their sorrow]. [Ps 34:18 ; Is 57:15 ; 61:1 ; Luke 4:18 ] 4 He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by their names. 5 Great is our [majestic and mighty] Lord and abundant in strength; His understanding is inexhaustible [infinite, boundless]. 6 The LORD lifts up the humble; He casts the wicked down to the ground. 7 Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; Sing praises to our God with the lyre, 8 Who covers the heavens with clouds, Who provides rain for the earth, Who makes grass grow on the mountains. 9 He gives to the beast its food, And to the young ravens that for which they cry. 10 He does not delight in the strength (military power) of the horse, Nor does He take pleasure in the legs (strength) of a man. 11 The LORD favors those who fear and worship Him [with awe-inspired reverence and obedience], Those who wait for His mercy and lovingkindness. [Ps 145:20 ] 12 Praise the LORD , O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion! 13 For He has strengthened the bars of your gates, He has blessed your children within you. 14 He makes peace in your borders; He satisfies you with the finest of the wheat. 15 He sends His command to the earth; His word runs very swiftly. 16 He gives [to the earth] snow like [a blanket of] wool; He scatters the frost like ashes. 17 He casts out His ice like fragments; Who can stand before His cold? 18 He sends out His word and melts the ice; He causes His wind to blow and the waters to flow. 19 He declares His word to Jacob, His statutes and His ordinances to Israel. [Mal 4:4 ] 20 He has not dealt this way with any [other] nation; They have not known [understood, appreciated, heeded, or cherished] His ordinances. Praise the LORD ! (Hallelujah!) [Ps 79:6 ; Jer 10:25 ] Psalm 148 The Whole Creation Invoked to Praise the LORD . 1 P RAISE THE LORD ! Praise the LORD from the heavens; Praise Him in the heights! 2 Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts (armies)! 3 Praise Him, sun and moon: Praise Him, all stars of light!

• From Henry Miller on Writing (1964)

  And poor Mona exclaiming: “Are you really putting all that into the story? or the book?” (Neither of us, in such moments, ever specified what book.) When the word book sprang up it was always assumed that it was the book, that is to say, the one I would soon get started on—or else it was the one I was writing secretly, which I would show her only when finished. (She always acted as if she were certain this secret travail was going on. She even pretended that she had searched everywhere for the script during my periods of absence.) In this sort of atmosphere it was not at all unusual, therefore, that reference be made occasionally to certain chapters, or certain passages, chapters and passages which never existed, to be sure, but which were “taken for granted” and which, no doubt, had a greater reality (for us) than if they were in black and white. Mona would sometimes indulge in this kind of talk in the presence of a third person, which led, of course, to fantastic and often most embarrassing situations. If it were Ulric who happened to be listening in, there was nothing to worry about. He had a way of entering into the game which was not only gallant but stimulating. He knew how to rectify a bad slip in a humorous and fortifying way. For example, he might have forgotten for a moment that we were employing the present tense and begun using the future tense. (“I know you will write a book like that someday!”) A moment later, realizing his error he would add: “I didn’t mean will write—I meant the book you are writing—and very obviously writing, too, because nobody on God’s earth could talk the way you do about something in which he wasn’t deeply engrossed. Perhaps I’m being too explicit—forgive me, won’t you?” At such junctures we all enjoyed the relief of letting go. We would indeed laugh uproariously. Ulric’s laughter was always the heartiest—and the dirtiest, if I may put it that way. “Ho! Ho!” he seemed to laugh, “but aren’t we all wonderful liars! I’m not doing so bad myself, by golly. If I stay with you people long enough I won’t even know I’m lying any more. Ho Ho Ho! Haw Haw! Ha Ha! Hee Hee!” And he would slap his thighs and roll his eyes like a darkie, ending with a smacking of the lips and a mute request for a wee bit of schnapps…. With other friends it didn’t go so well. They were too inclined to ask “impertinent” questions, as Mona put it. Or else they grew fidgety and uncomfortable, made frantic efforts to get back to terra firma. Kronski, like Ulric, was one who knew how to play the game. He did it somewhat differently from Ulric, but it seemed to satisfy Mona. She could trust him . That’s how she put it to herself, I felt.

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  [Heb 13:6 ] 7 The LORD is on my side, He is among those who help me; Therefore I will look [in triumph] on those who hate me. 8 It is better to take refuge in the LORD Than to trust in man. 9 It is better to take refuge in the LORD Than to trust in princes. 10 All nations encompassed me; In the name of the LORD I will surely cut them off. 11 They encompassed me, yes, they surrounded me [on every side]; In the name of the LORD I will cut them off. 12 They swarmed around me like bees; They flare up and are extinguished like a fire of thorns; In the name of the LORD I will surely cut them off. [Deut 1:44 ] 13 You [my enemy] pushed me violently so that I was falling, But the LORD helped me. 14 The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation. 15 The sound of joyful shouting and salvation is in the tents of the righteous: The right hand of the LORD does valiantly. 16 The right hand of the LORD is exalted; The right hand of the LORD does valiantly. 17 I will not die, but live, And declare the works and recount the illustrious acts of the LORD . 18 The LORD has disciplined me severely, But He has not given me over to death. [2 Cor 6:9 ] 19 Open to me the [temple] gates of righteousness; I shall enter through them, I shall give thanks to the LORD . 20 This is the gate of the LORD ; The righteous will enter through it. [Ps 24:7 ] 21 I will give thanks to You, for You have heard and answered me; And You have become my salvation [my Rescuer, my Savior]. 22 The stone which the builders rejected Has become the a chief corner stone . 23 This is from the LORD and is His doing; It is marvelous in our eyes. [Matt 21:42 ; Acts 4:11 ; 1 Pet 2:7 ] 24 This [day in which God has saved me] is the day which the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it. 25 O LORD , save now, we beseech You; O LORD , we beseech You, send now prosperity and give us success! 26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD ; We have blessed you from the house of the LORD [you who come into His sanctuary under His guardianship]. [Mark 11:9 , 10 ] 27 The LORD is God, and He has given us light [illuminating us with His grace and freedom and joy]. Bind the festival sacrifices with b cords to the horns of the altar. 28 You are my God, and I give thanks to You; [You are] my God, I extol You. 29 O give thanks to the LORD , for He is good; For His lovingkindness endures forever.

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  7 Go your way, eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a cheerful heart [if you are righteous, wise, and in the hands of God]; for God has already approved and accepted your works. 8 Let your clothes always be white [with purity], and do not let the oil [of gladness] be lacking on your head. 9 Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given you under the sun—all the days of vanity and futility. For this is your reward in life and in your work in which you have labored under the sun. Whatever Your Hand Finds to Do 10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) where you are going. 11 I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift and the battle is not to the strong, and neither is bread to the wise nor riches to those of intelligence and understanding nor favor to men of ability; but time and chance overtake them all. [Ps 33:16–19 ; Rom 9:16 ] 12 For man also does not know his time [of death]; like fish caught in a treacherous net, and birds caught in the snare, so the sons of men are ensnared in an evil time when a dark cloud suddenly falls on them. 13 This [illustration of] wisdom I have also seen under the sun, and great it was to me: 14 There was a little city with few men in it and a great king came against it and besieged it and built great battlements against it. 15 But there was found in it a poor wise man, and by his wisdom he rescued the city. Yet no man [seriously] remembered that poor man. 16 But I say that wisdom is better than strength, though the poor man’s wisdom is despised and his words are not heeded. 17 The words of wise men heard in quietness are better than the shouting of one who rules among fools. 18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good. Ecclesiastes 10 A Little Foolishness 1 D EAD FLIES make the oil of the perfumer give off a foul odor; so a little foolishness [in one who is esteemed] outweighs wisdom and honor. 2 A wise man’s heart turns him toward the right [which is the way of blessing], but a fool’s heart turns him toward the left [which is the way of condemnation]. [Matt 25:31–41 ] 3 Even when a fool walks along the road, his [common] sense and good judgment fail him and he demonstrates to everyone that he is a fool. 4 If the temper of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your post [showing resistance], because composure and calmness prevent great offenses.

• From Amplified Holy Bible (2015)

  4 Praise Him, highest heavens, And the waters above the heavens! 5 Let them praise the name of the LORD , For He commanded and they were created. 6 He has also established them forever and ever; He has made a decree which shall not pass away. 7 Praise the LORD from the earth, Sea monsters and all deeps; 8 Lightning and hail, snow and fog; Stormy wind, fulfilling His orders; 9 Mountains and all hills; Fruitful trees and all cedars; 10 Beasts and all cattle; Creeping things and winged birds; 11 Kings of the earth and all people; Princes and all judges of the earth; 12 Both young men and virgins; Old men and children. 13 Let them praise the name of the LORD , For His name alone is exalted and supreme; His glory and majesty are above earth and heaven. 14 He has lifted up a horn for His people [giving them strength, prosperity, dignity, and preeminence], Praise for all His godly ones; For the people of Israel, a people near to Him. Praise the LORD ! (Hallelujah!) [Ps 75:10 ; Eph 2:17 ] Psalm 149 Israel Invoked to Praise the LORD . 1 P RAISE THE LORD ! Sing to the LORD a new song, And praise Him in the congregation of His godly ones (believers). 2 Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; Let Zion’s children rejoice in their King. [Zech 9:9 ; Matt 21:5 ] 3 Let them praise His name with dancing; Let them sing praises to Him with the tambourine and lyre. 4 For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation. 5 Let the godly ones exult in glory; Let them sing for joy on their beds. 6 Let the high praises of God be in their throats, And a two-edged sword in their hands, [Heb 4:12 ; Rev 1:16 ] 7 To execute vengeance on the nations And punishment on the peoples, 8 To bind their kings with chains And their nobles with fetters of iron, 9 To execute on them the judgment written. This is the honor for all His godly ones. Praise the LORD ! (Hallelujah!) Psalm 150 A Psalm of Praise. 1 P RAISE THE LORD ! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty heavens. 2 Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to [the abundance of] His greatness. [Deut 3:24 ; Ps 145:5 , 6 ] 3 Praise Him with trumpet sound; Praise Him with harp and lyre. 4 Praise Him with tambourine and dancing; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flute. 5 Praise Him with resounding cymbals; Praise Him with loud cymbals. 6 Let everything that has breath and every breath of life praise the LORD ! Praise the LORD ! (Hallelujah!) Psalms 1 a 1:1 This has been called “The Preface Psalm” because in some respects it introduces the complete book of Psalms as a godly message.