# verses

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And I also applied myself to the work on this wall. And we did not acquire fields, and all my servants were gathered there for the work.


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And there were at my table one hundred fifty men, Jews and rulers, besides those who came to us from the nations that surrounded us.


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And what was prepared for one day was one ox and six choice sheep; also fowl was prepared for me, as well as all kinds of wine in abundance every ten days. Yet for this I did not demand the food appointed for the governor, for the service was heavy upon t


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And when it was reported to Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem the Arabian and the rest of our enemies that I had built the wall and that no breach remained in it (though as yet I had not set up the doors in the gates),


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Sanballat and Geshem sent word to me, saying, Come; let us meet together among the villages in the plain of Ono. But they intended to do me harm.


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And I sent messengers to them, saying, I am doing a great work and cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it to come down to you?


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In which was written:It is reported among the nations, and Geshem says it, that you and the Jews intend to rebel; therefore you are building the wall. And, according to these words, you are to be their king.


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And you have also set up prophets to declare in Jerusalem concerning you, saying, There is a king in Judah! And now a report will be made to the king according to these words. Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together.


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Then I sent word to him, saying, None of these things that you are saying have happened; rather you have invented them in your own heart.


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For all of them tried to frighten us, thinking, Their hands will be weakened from working, and it will not be done. But now strengthen my hands!


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And I went to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who had shut himself up. And he said, Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple; and let us shut the doors of the temple, for they are coming to slay you; inde


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But I said, Should a man like me flee? And who, being like me, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.


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Then I perceived that surely God had not sent him but that he spoke this prophecy against me and that Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.


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He had been hired for this reason, that I would be frightened and that I would act in such a way as to sin; then they would have cause for an evil report in order to reproach me.


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Remember, O my God, Tobiah and Sanballat according to these works of theirs, and also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets, who tried to frighten me.


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And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations that surrounded us were afraid and fell very low in their own eyes, for they knew that this work was done with the help of our God.


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Moreover in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters unto Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came to them;


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For many in Judah were sworn to his cause because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah; and his son Jehohanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah as his wife.


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They also spoke of his good deeds before me and reported my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to intimidate me.


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And when the wall was built and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers and the singers and Levites had been appointed,


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I gave my brother Hanani, as well as Hananiah the commander of the citadel, charge over Jerusalem, for he was a faithful man and feared God more than most.


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And I said to them, Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot; and while some are standing guard, let them shut the doors, and you bar them; and appoint watches from the inhabitants of Jerusalem, each at his own watch and each oppos


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Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles and the rulers and the people to be enrolled by genealogy. And I found the book of the genealogy of those who had first come up, and I found this written in it:


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These are the children of the province who went up out of the captivity of those who had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away and who returned to Jerusalem and to Judah, each man to his city;


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Who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel:


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The children of Pahath-moab, of the children of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred eighteen.


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The gatekeepers:the children of Shallum, the children of Ater, the children of Talmon, the children of Akkub, the children of Hatita, the children of Shobai, one hundred thirty-eight.


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The children of Solomon's servants:the children of Sotai, the children of Sophereth, the children of Perida,


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The children of Shephatiah, the children of Hattil, the children of Pochereth- hazzebaim, the children of Amon.


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And of the priests:the children of Hobaiah, the children of Hakkoz, the children of Barzillai, who took a wife from among the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called after their name.


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Besides their male servants and their female servants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred thirty-seven; and they had two hundred forty-five male singers and female singers.


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And some from among the heads of fathers' houses gave to the work. The governor gave to the treasury one thousand darics of gold, fifty basins, and five hundred thirty priests' garments.


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And some of the heads of fathers' houses gave into the treasury of the work twenty thousand darics of gold and two thousand two hundred minas of silver.


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And that which the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand darics of gold and two thousand minas of silver and sixty-seven priests' garments.


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So the priests and the Levites and the gatekeepers and the singers and some of the people and the temple servants and all Israel dwelt in their cities. And when the seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their cities.


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And all the people gathered as one man in the open area that was before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which Jehovah had commanded to Israel.


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And Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly, both men and women, and all who could hear with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month.


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And he read in it before the open area that was before the Water Gate from first light until midday in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law.


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And Ezra the scribe stood upon a wooden platform that had been made for that purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah and Shema and Anaiah and Uriah and Hilkiah and Maaseiah at his right hand; and at his left hand, Pedaiah and Mishael and Malchijah and Ha


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And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people (for he was above all the people); and when he opened it, all the people stood up.


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And Ezra blessed Jehovah the great God; and all the people answered, Amen, Amen, lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshipped Jehovah with their faces to the ground.


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Also Jeshua and Bani and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites helped the people understand the law; and the people stood in their place.


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And they read in the book, in the law of God, interpreting and giving the sense, so that they understood the reading.


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And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who helped the people understand said to all the people, This day is holy unto Jehovah your God; do not mourn or weep. For all the people wept when they heard the words of


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Then he said to them, Go your way; eat the fat, and drink the sweet wine, and send portions to him for whom nothing has been prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of Jehovah is your strength.


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So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Be quiet, for the day is holy; and do not be grieved.


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And all the people went their way to eat and to drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.


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And on the second day the heads of fathers' houses of all the people, the priests, and the Levites were gathered to Ezra the scribe, that is, in order to gain insight into the words of the law.


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And they found it written in the law that Jehovah had commanded through Moses that the children of Israel dwell in booths during the feast in the seventh month,


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And that they publish and proclaim in all their cities and in Jerusalem, saying, Go out to the mountain and bring olive branches and wild olive branches and myrtle branches and palm branches and branches of other leafy trees to make booths, as it is writt


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So the people went out and brought them, and all made booths for themselves on their roofs and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God and in the open area before the Water Gate and in the open area before the Gate of Ephraim.


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And all the assembly of those who returned from the captivity made booths and dwelt in the booths, for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun to that day the children of Israel had not done so; and there was very great rejoicing.


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And day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they held the feast seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the ordinance.


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Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, with earth on their heads.


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And the descendants of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.


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And they stood up in their place and read in the book of the law of Jehovah their God for a fourth part of the day, and for another fourth part they confessed and worshipped Jehovah their God.


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Then Jeshua and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood up on the Levites' platform and cried out with a loud voice to Jehovah their God.


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Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, Stand up and bless Jehovah your God from eternity to eternity:And may Your glorious name be blessed, Which is exalted above all blessing and prai


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You are Jehovah, You alone; You have made heaven, The heaven of heavens with all its host, The earth and all that is on it, The seas and all that is in them; And You give life to all of them; And the host of heaven worships You.


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You are Jehovah God, Who chose Abram And brought him forth from Ur of the Chaldees And gave him the name Abraham.


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And You found his heart faithful before You And made a covenant with him, To give him the land of the Canaanites, The Hittites, the Amorites, And the Perizzites and the Jebusites and the Girgashites, To give it to his seed. And You have fulfilled Your pr


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And You performed signs and wonders on Pharaoh, And on all his servants, and on all the people of his land; For You knew that they acted arrogantly toward them; And You made Yourself a name, as it is to this day.


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And You divided the sea before them, So that they might pass through the midst of the sea on the dry land; But their pursuers You threw into the depths, Like a stone into mighty waters.


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Then in a pillar of cloud You led them by day, And in a pillar of fire by night, To light the way for them, On which they should go.


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And You came down upon Mount Sinai And spoke with them from heaven. And You gave them just ordinances and true laws, Good statutes and commandments.


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And You made known to them Your holy Sabbath And prescribed commandments and statutes and a law for them Through Moses Your servant.


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And You gave them bread from heaven For their hunger, And You made water come forth from a rock for them For their thirst. And You told them to enter In order to possess the land, Which You swore To give them.


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But they and our fathers acted arrogantly And stiffened their neck and would not listen to Your commandments.


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And they refused to listen And would not remember Your wondrous acts, Which You had done among them. And they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader To return to their slavery in Egypt. But You are a God of forgiveness, Gracious and compassionate, Lo


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Indeed when they made for themselves A molten calf, And said, This is your God, Who brought you up out of Egypt, And showed great contempt;


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You, in Your great compassion, Did not forsake them in the wilderness; The pillar of cloud did not depart from over them by day, To guide them on their way; Nor the pillar of fire by night, To light the way for them, on which they should go.


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And You gave Your good Spirit To instruct them, And did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, And gave them water for their thirst.


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Indeed for forty years You sustained them in the wilderness; They did not lack; Their clothes did not wear out, And their feet did not swell.


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And You gave them kingdoms and peoples, And divided these to them as boundaries. So they took possession of the land of Sihon, even the land of the king of Heshbon, And the land of Og the king of Bashan.


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And their children You multiplied Like the stars of heaven, And You brought them into the land That You told their fathers To enter and possess.


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And the children entered And possessed the land; And You subdued before them The inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites; And You gave them into their hand, With their kings and the peoples of the land, That they might do with them as they pleased.


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And they took their fortified cities And a fertile land, And took possession of their houses, Full of every good thing, Hewn cisterns, vineyards, and olive groves, And fruit trees in abundance; And they ate and were satisfied and grew fat, And they deligh


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But they were disobedient and rebelled gainst You And cast Your law behind their back. And they slew Your prophets, Who had testified against them In order to turn them back to You; And they showed great contempt.


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Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their oppressors, And they oppressed them; But when they cried out to You in the time of their oppression, You heard from heaven, And according to Your great compassions You gave them deliverers, Who delivered


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Then after they had rest, They again did evil before You; And You abandoned them to the hand of their enemies, And they had dominion over them. But when they cried out to You again, You heard from heaven And delivered them many times According to Your com


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And You testified against them in order to turn them back to Your law, But they acted arrogantly and would not listen to Your commandments; And they sinned against Your ordinances (By which, if a man does them, he will live), And they turned a stubborn sh


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Yet You bore with them For many years And testified to them by Your Spirit Through Your prophets, But they would not give heed; So You delivered them Into the hand of the peoples of the lands.


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Nevertheless in Your abundant compassions You did not make an end of them; And You did not forsake them, For You are a gracious and compassionate God.


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And now, our God, The great, the mighty, and the awesome God, Who keeps covenant and lovingkindness, Do not let all the hardship seem small in Your sight Which has come upon us, on our kings, on our rulers, And on our priests and on our prophets And on ou


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But You are righteous In all that has come upon us, For You have acted faithfully While we have acted wickedly;


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And our kings, our rulers, our priests, and our fathers Have not performed Your law Nor heeded Your commandments and Your testimonies, By which You testified against them.


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But they, in their kingdom and in Your great goodness, Which You gave them, And in the broad and fat land That You put before them, Did not serve You, nor did they turn From their evil works.


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Here we are, slaves today; And as for the land that You gave to our fathers To eat of its fruit and its goodness, Here we are, slaves upon it.


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And its abundant produce is for the kings Whom You have put over us because of our sins; And they rule over our bodies and over our cattle at their pleasure, And we are in great distress.


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And because of all this we are making a firm covenant and setting it in writing, and upon the sealed document are the names of our rulers, our Levites, and our priests.


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And those who are upon the sealed document are:Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hacaliah, and Zedekiah,


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And the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands unto the law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, all who had kn


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Join with their brothers, their nobles, and enter into a curse and an oath, to walk in the law of God, which was given through Moses the servant of God, and to keep and do all the commandments of Jehovah our Lord, as well as His ordinances and His statute


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And swear that we will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land nor take their daughters for our sons;


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And if the peoples of the land bring in wares or any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, we will not buy it from them on the Sabbath or on any holy day; and we will forego the crops of the seventh year and the exaction of every debt.


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We also lay upon ourselves obligations to charge ourselves one-third shekel yearly for the service of the house of our God,


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For the rows of bread, and for the continual meal offering, and for the continual burnt offering, for the Sabbaths, for the new moons, for the appointed feasts, and for the holy things, and for the sin offerings, to make expiation for Israel, and for all


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And we the priests, the Levites, and the people have cast lots for the wood offering, in order to bring it to the house of our God, according to our fathers' houses, at appointed times year by year, to burn on the altar of Jehovah our God as it is written


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And in order to bring the firstfruits of our land and the firstfruits of all the fruit of every tree year by year to the house of Jehovah,


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As well as the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, as it is written in the law; and in order to bring the firstlings of our herds and of our flocks to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God.


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We will also bring the first of our dough and of our heave offerings and the fruit of every tree, the new wine and the fresh oil, to the priests at the chambers of the house of our God, and the tithe of our land to the Levites; for they, the Levites, are


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And the priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive the tithes; and the Levites shall ring the tithe of the tithes up to the house of our God, to the chambers of the storehouse.


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For the children of Israel and the sons of Levi shall bring the heave offering of the grain, of the new wine, and of the fresh oil to the chambers, where the vessels of the sanctuary, the priests who minister, and the gatekeepers and the singers are; and


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And the rulers of the people dwelt in Jerusalem, and the rest of the people cast lots in order to bring one in ten to dwell in Jerusalem, the holy city, while nine-tenths remained in the other cities.


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Now these are the heads of the province who dwelt in Jerusalem (but in the cities of Judah all dwelt in their possession in their cities, that is, Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the temple servants, and the children of Solomon's servants):


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And in Jerusalem some of the children of Judah and some of the children of Benjamin dwelt. Of the children of Judah:Athaiah the son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalalel, of the children of Perez


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And Maaseiah the son of Baruch, the son of Col-hozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of Zechariah, the son of the Shilonite.


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And these are the sons of Benjamin:Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Joed, the son of Pedaiah, the son of Kolaiah, the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ithiel, the son of Jeshaiah;


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And Joel the son of Zichri was their overseer; and Judah the son of Hassenuah was second over the city.


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Seraiah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the ruler of the house of God,


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And their brothers who did the work of the house, eight hundred twenty-two; and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pelaliah, the son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malchijah,


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And his brothers, heads of fathers' houses, two hundred forty-two; and Amashsai the son of Azarel, the son of Ahzai, the son of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer,


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And their brothers, mighty men of valor, one hundred twenty-eight; and their overseer was Zabdiel the son of Haggedolim.


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And of the Levites:Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni;


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And Shabbethai and Jozabad, of the heads of the Levites, who were over the outside work of the house of God;


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And Mattaniah the son of Mica, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, who was the first to begin the thanksgiving in prayer, with Bakbukiah, the second among his brothers; and Abda the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun.


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And the gatekeepers, Akkub, Talmon, and their brothers, who kept watch at the gates, were one hundred seventy- two.


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And the rest of Israel, the priests and the Levites, were in all the cities of Judah, every one in his own inheritance.


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And the overseer of the Levites at Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Mica, of the sons of Asaph, the singers, for the work of the house of God.


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For there was a commandment from the king concerning them and fixed provisions for the singers, as each day required.


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And Pethahiah the son of Meshezabel, of the children of Zerah the son of Judah, was at the king's hand in all matters concerning the people.


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And as for the villages, with their fields, some of the children of Judah dwelt in Kiriath-arba and its villages, and in Dibon and its villages, and in Jekabzeel and its outlying villages,


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Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages, Lachish and its fields, Azekah and its villages. So they encamped from Beer-sheba as far as the valley of Hinnom.


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And the children of Benjamin dwelt from Geba onward, at Michmash and Aija, and at Beth-el and its villages,


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Now these are the priests and the Levites who went up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua:Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,


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Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah. These were the heads of the priests and of their brothers in the days of Jeshua.


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And the Levites:Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who was over the thanksgiving, he and his brothers.


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And in the days of Joiakim, the priests, the heads of fathers' houses, were:of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;


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As for the Levites, in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, and Johanan and Jaddua, the heads of fathers' houses were recorded, as well as the priests, in the reign of Darius the Persian.


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The sons of Levi, the heads of fathers' houses, were written in the book of the chronicles until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib.


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And the heads of the Levites:Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers opposite them, to praise and give thanks, according to the commandment of David the man of God, service group next to service group.


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Mattaniah and Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, Akkub were gatekeepers keeping the watch at the storehouses of the gates.


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These were in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor and of Ezra the priest, the scribe.


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And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites from all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem in order to hold the dedication with rejoicing and thanksgiving and singing with cymbals, harps, and lyres.


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So the sons of the singers gathered together from the plain around Jerusalem and from the villages of the Netophathites


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And from Beth-gilgal and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth; for the singers had built outlying villages for themselves around Jerusalem.


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And the priests and the Levites purified themselves; and they purified the people and the gates and the wall.


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Then I brought the leaders of Judah up onto the wall and appointed two great companies that gave thanks and went in procession. One went to the right upon the wall toward the Dung Gate;


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And some of the priests' sons with trumpets:Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph;


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And his brothers, Shemaiah and Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel and Judah, Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God; and Ezra the scribe was before them.


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And at the Fountain Gate, and straight in front of them, they went up by the stairs of the city of David, at the ascent of the wall, above the house of David, to the Water Gate on the east.


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And the second company that gave thanks went to meet them, and I after them, with half of the people, upon the wall, above the Tower of the Furnaces, to the Broad Wall,


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And above the Gate of Ephraim, and by the Old Gate, and by the Fish Gate and the Tower of Hananel and the Tower of the Hundred, to the Sheep Gate; and they stopped at the Gate of the Guard.


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So the two companies that gave thanks stood in the house of God, as well as I and half of the rulers with me;


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And the priests, Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets;


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And Maaseiah and Shemaiah and Eleazar and Uzzi and Jehohanan and Malchijah and Elam and Ezer. And the singers sang loud, with Jezrahiah as the overseer.


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And they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had caused them to rejoice greatly; and the women and children also rejoiced. And the joy of Jerusalem was heard from afar.


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And on that day men were appointed over the chambers for the stores, for the heave offerings, for the firstfruits, and for the tithes, to gather into them, according to the cities' fields, the portions assigned by the law for the priests and the Levites,


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And they kept the charge of their God and the charge of the purification, as did the singers and the gatekeepers, according to the command of David and Solomon his son.


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For in the days of David and Asaph, long ago, there were leaders of the singers, and there were songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.


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And in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah all Israel gave the portions for the singers and the gatekeepers as each day required; and they consecrated portions for the Levites, and the Levites consecrated portions for the sons of Aaron.


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On that day they read in the book of Moses in the hearing of the people; and it was found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite should enter the assembly of God forever,


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For they did not meet the children of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them; yet our God turned the curse into a blessing.


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Now before this, Eliashib the priest, who had been appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, because he was related to Tobiah,


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Had prepared for him a large chamber where previously they had put the meal offering, the frankincense, and the vessels, as well as the tithes of the grain, the new wine, and the fresh oil, as commanded for the Levites and the singers and the gatekeepers,


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But during all this time I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king of Babylon I went to the king; then after some time I asked leave from the king.


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And I came to Jerusalem and perceived the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah by preparing him a chamber in the courts of the house of God.


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Then I gave commands, and they purified the chambers; and I returned the vessels of the house of God, the meal offering, and the frankincense there.


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I also found out that the portions of the Levites had not been given to them and thus the Levites and the singers, who performed the service, had gone back, each to his own fields.


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So I contended with the rulers and said, Why has the house of God been forsaken? Then I gathered them together and set them in their stations.


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And I appointed treasurers over the storehouses, Shelemiah the priest, and Zadok the scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah; and next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for they were counted faithful, and it was their charge to distri


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Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not blot out my loyal deeds, which I have done for the house of my God and for its services.


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In those days I saw some in Judah treading wine presses on the Sabbath and bringing in heaps of grain and loading them on their donkeys, as well as wine, grapes and figs, and every kind of load, and they were bringing them into Jerusalem on the Sabbath da


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And Tyrians who dwelt there were also bringing in fish and every kind of merchandise, and selling it on the Sabbath to the children of Judah and in Jerusalem.


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Then I contended with the nobles of Judah and said to them, What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the Sabbath day?


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Did not your fathers act this way, and did not our God bring all this trouble upon us and upon this city? But you bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the Sabbath.


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And when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the Sabbath, I commanded that the doors be shut and commanded that they not be opened until after the Sabbath; and I set some of my servants at the gates so that no load could enter on the Sabbath da


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Then the merchants and sellers of all kinds of merchandise spent the night outside Jerusalem once or twice.


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But I testified against them and said to them, Why do you spend the night in front of the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath.


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And I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves and that they should come and keep the gates, in order to sanctify the Sabbath day. For this also remember me, O my God, and spare me according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness.


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And as for their children, half spoke in the language of Ashdod; and none of them could speak the language of Judah, but they spoke the language of the respective peoples.


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And I contended with them and cursed them and struck some of them and pulled out their hair; and I made them swear by God, saying, You shall not give your daughters to their sons nor take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.


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Did not Solomon the king of Israel sin in these matters? And among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel; yet the foreign wives caused even him to sin.


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Shall we then listen to you and do all this great evil by acting unfaithfully against our God in marrying foreign women?


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And one of the sons of Joiada the son of Eliashib the high priest was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite, so I chased him away from me.


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Remember them, O my God; for they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites.


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Thus I cleansed them from everything foreign. And I appointed duties for the priests and the Levites, each in his work,


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And for the wood offering, at the appointed times, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, for good.


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Now in the days of Ahasuerus (this is the Ahasuerus who reigned from India to Ethiopia over one hundred twenty- seven provinces)


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In the third year of his reign, he held a banquet for all his princes and his servants. The army of Persia and Media, the nobles, and the princes of the provinces were before him


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As he showed the glorious wealth of his kingdom and the splendor of his great majesty for many days, for one hundred eighty days.


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And when these days were completed, the king held a banquet for seven days for all the people found in Susa the capital, both great and small, in the court of the garden of the king's palace.


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There were white cotton curtains and blue hangings tied with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings and marble pillars, as well as couches of gold and silver upon a pavement of porphyry, white marble, mother-of-pearl, and mosaics.


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And drinks were served in vessels of gold, and the vessels were different from one another; and the royal wine was abundant, according to the king's bounty.


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And the drinking was, by commandment, without constraint; for so the king had ordered all the officials of his house to do as each man desired.


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Also Vashti the queen held a banquet for the women in the royal house that belonged to King Ahasuerus.


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On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven eunuchs who served in the presence of Ahasuerus the king,


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To bring Vashti the queen before the king with the royal crown, in order to show her beauty to the peoples and the princes; for she was beautiful in appearance.


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But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king's command given through the king's eunuchs; and the king became very angry, and his wrath burned within him.


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Then the king said to the wise men, who knew the times (for such was the custom of the king toward all who knew law and justice;


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And those next to him were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, who saw the king's face and sat first in the kingdom):


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According to the law, what is to be done to Queen Vashti because she has not performed the command of King Ahasuerus given through the eunuchs?


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And Memucan answered before the king and the princes, Vashti the queen has done wrong not only to the king but also to all the princes and all the peoples who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus.


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For this deed of the queen will go out to all women, causing them to view their husbands contemptibly as they say, King Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the queen to be brought to his presence, but she did not come.


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And this day the princesses of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen's deed will speak likewise to all the king's princes, and contempt and wrath will abound.


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If it please the king, let a royal order go forth from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, so that it cannot be overruled, that Vashti come no more into the presence of King Ahasuerus and that the king give her royal e


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And when the king's decree which he will make is heard throughout all his kingdom, vast though it is, all women will give honor to their husbands, great and small.


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So he sent letters to all the king's provinces, to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, that every man should be master in his own house and speak in the language of his own people.


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After these things, when the anger of King Ahasuerus subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what had been decreed against her.


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Then the king's attendants who served him said, Let young virgins, beautiful in appearance, be sought for the king;


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And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the young virgins, beautiful in appearance, to Susa the capital, to the house of the women and into the custody of Hegai the king's eunuch, who is in charge of the women;


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And let the young woman who pleases the king become queen in place of Vashti. And the word pleased the king, and he did so.


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There was a Jew in Susa the capital whose name was Mordecai the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjaminite,


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Who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captives who had been carried away with Jeconiah the king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away.


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And he was foster father to Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle's daughter, for she had neither father nor mother; and the young woman was beautiful in form and appearance. And when her father and mother died, Mordecai took her to himself as his daughter


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So when the king's commandment and his decree were heard, and when many young women were gathered to Susa the capital into the custody of Hegai, Esther was taken to the king's house into the custody of Hegai, who was in charge of the women.


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And the young woman pleased him, and she obtained kindness in his presence. And he quickly gave her her cosmetics and her portions as well as the seven choice young maids who were to be given her from the king's house. And he transferred her and her young


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Esther did not make known her people or her kindred, for Mordecai had charged her not to make these known.


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And every day Mordecai walked in front of the court of the house of the women to learn how Esther was and what was happening to her.


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Now when the turn of each young woman came to go in to King Ahasuerus, at the end of the twelve months of her preparation according to the regulation for the women (for the days of their beautification were completed as follows:six months with oil of myr


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The young woman would go in to the king in this way:Anything that she desired was given her to go with her from the house of the women to the house of the king.


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In the evening she would go in, and in the morning she would return to the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz the king's eunuch, who was in charge of the concubines. She would not go again in to the king unless the king delighted in he


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Now when the turn of Esther the daughter of Abihail, the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her to himself as his daughter, came to go in to the king, she requested nothing except what Hegai the king's eunuch, who was in charge of the women, advised. And Es


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So Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus in his royal palace in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.


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And the king loved Esther more than all the other women. And she obtained favor and kindness with him more than all the other virgins, so he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen in place of Vashti.


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And the king held a great banquet for all his princes and his servants, Esther's banquet; and he made it a holiday for the provinces and gave gifts according to the king's bounty.


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And when the virgins were gathered together the second time, Mordecai was sitting in the king's gate.


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Esther had not yet made known her kindred or her people, as Mordecai had charged her; for Esther did what Mordecai told her, as she had when he was bringing her up.


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In those days, while Mordecai was sitting in the king's gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs, among those who were in charge of the threshold, became angry and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus.


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And the thing became known to Mordecai, and he told Esther the queen; and Esther told the king in Mordecai's name.


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And when the matter was investigated and found to be so, the two of them were hanged on the gallows; and it was written in the book of the chronicles in the presence of the king.


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After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and he advanced him and set his seat above all the princes who were with him.


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And all the king's servants who were in the king's gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, for so had the king commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage.


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Then the king's servants who were in the king's gate said to Mordecai, Why do you transgress the king's command?


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And when they had spoken to him day after day and he did not listen to them, they told Haman, in order to see whether Mordecai's words would stand; for he had told them that he was a Jew.


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But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone, for they had told him who the people of Mordecai were; therefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, who were throughout the kingdom of Ahasuerus.


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In the first month, which is the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day and from month to month, until it fell on the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar.


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And Haman said to King Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the peoples throughout all the provinces of your kingdom; and their laws differ from those of all the people, nor do they keep the king's laws. Therefore it is not f


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If it please the king, let it be decreed in writing that they be destroyed, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who have charge of the king's affairs, that they may bring it into the king's treasuries.


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Then the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews' enemy.


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And the king said to Haman, The silver has been given to you, as well as the people, to do with them as it seems good to you.


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Then the king's scribes were summoned in the first month, on the thirteenth day of the month; and it was decreed in writing, according to all that Haman commanded, to the king's satraps and to the governors who were over each province and to the princes o


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And letters were sent by couriers to all the king's provinces to destroy, to slay, and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, children and women, in one day, that is, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to plunde


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A copy of the written decree to be issued as law in all the provinces was published to all the peoples so that they would be ready for that day.


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The couriers went out, driven in haste by the king's command; and the decree was issued in Susa the capital. And the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was in confusion.


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Now when Mordecai learned about all that had been done, Mordecai rent his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes; and he went out into the midst of the city and wailed loudly and bitterly.


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And he went up to the entrance of the king's gate, for no one was to enter the king's gate clothed in sackcloth.


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And throughout every province, wherever the king's commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting and weeping and wailing; many lay in sackcloth and ashes.


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And Esther's maids and her eunuchs came and told her, and the queen was greatly distressed. And she sent garments to clothe Mordecai, so that he might remove his sackcloth from him; but he would not accept them.


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Then Esther called for Hathach, one of the king's eunuchs, whom he had appointed to serve her, and she commanded him to go out to Mordecai to find out what this was and why it was.


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And Mordecai told him all that had happened to him and the exact sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king's treasuries for the destruction of the Jews.


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And he also gave him a copy of the written decree which was issued in Susa for their destruction, that he might show Esther and tell her about it and charge her to go in to the king to supplicate him and make a request for her people before him.


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All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that for any man or woman who comes in to the king at the inner court who has not been called for, there is but one law, that he be put to death, unless the king holds out his scepter of


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Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, Do not imagine that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the Jews.


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For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from some other place, and you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?


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Go; assemble all the Jews who are to be found in Susa, and fast for me; and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day; I also and my maids will fast in the same way. And so will I go in to the king, which is not according to the law; and if I peris


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And on the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king's house, in front of the king's house. And the king was sitting on his royal throne in the royal house, opposite the entrance to the house.


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And when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, she obtained favor in his sight. And the king held out to Esther his scepter of gold, which was in his hand; and Esther drew near and touched the top of the scepter.


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Then the king said to her, What troubles you, Queen Esther? And what is your request? It shall be given to you, even to the half of my kingdom.


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And Esther said, If it please the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet I have prepared for him.


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Then the king said, Bring Haman quickly, so that we may do as Esther says. And the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared.


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And the king said to Esther during the banquet of wine, What is your petition? For it shall be granted to you. And what is your request? Even to the half of the kingdom it shall be done.


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If I have found favor in the king's sight, and if it please the king to grant my petition and do what I request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I will prepare for them; and tomorrow I will do as the king says.


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And Haman went out that day joyful and glad in heart; but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate and that he did not arise or tremble because of him, Haman was filled with anger against Mordecai.


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But Haman restrained himself and went to his house. And he sent word and had his friends and Zeresh his wife brought to him.


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And Haman recounted to them the glory of his riches and the multitude of his children and all the things in which the king had promoted him and how he had advanced him above the princes and the king's servants.


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Haman also said, Even Esther the queen let no one come with the king to the banquet that she had prepared except me, and tomorrow also I am invited by her, together with the king.


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Then Zeresh his wife and all his friends said to him, Let a gallows be made fifty cubits high, and in the morning ask the king to have Mordecai hanged on it; then go with the king to the banquet rejoicing. And the word seemed good to Haman, and he had the


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On that night the king could not sleep, so he gave orders to bring the book of the records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king.


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And it was found written that Mordecai had given a report concerning Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs, among those who were in charge of the threshold, who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus.


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And the king said, What honor and dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this? Then the king's servants who attended him said, Nothing has been done for him.


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And the king said, Who is in the court? Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king's house to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him.


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And the king's servants said to him, Haman is now standing in the court. And the king said, Let him come in.


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So Haman came in; and the king said to him, What shall be done for the man whom the king desires to honor? Now Haman said in his heart, Whom would the king desire to honor more than me?


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Let a royal robe be brought, one which the king has worn, and a horse on which the king has ridden and on whose head a royal crown has been set.


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And let the robe and the horse be delivered into the hand of one of the king's most noble princes; and let them array the man whom the king desires to honor and make him ride on horseback through the street of the city; and let them proclaim before him, T


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Then the king said to Haman, Quickly take the robe and the horse, as you have said, and do so to Mordecai the Jew, who sits in the king's gate. Let nothing fail of all that you have said.


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Then Haman took the robe and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and made him ride through the street of the city; and he proclaimed before him, Thus shall it be done for the man whom the king desires to honor.


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And Mordecai returned to the king's gate. But Haman hurried to his house, mourning and with his head covered.


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And Haman recounted to Zeresh his wife and to all his friends all that had happened to him. Then his wise men and Zeresh his wife said to him, If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the seed of the Jews, you will not prevail against him; b


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While they were still talking with him, the king's eunuchs arrived and hurriedly brought Haman to the banquet that Esther had prepared.


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And the king said again unto Esther on the second day during the banquet of wine, What is your petition, Queen Esther? And it shall be granted to you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom it shall be done.


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Then Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me as my petition, and that of my people as my request;


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For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. And if we had been sold as slaves, men and women, I would have remained silent, for the adversary is not worth the annoyance to the king.


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Then King Ahasuerus spoke and said to Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he, who presumes to do so?


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And Esther said, An adversary and an enemy, this wicked Haman. Then Haman became terrified before the king and the queen.


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And the king arose in his anger from the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden, and Haman stood up to make a request for his life to Esther the queen; for he saw that harm had been determined against him by the king.


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And when the king returned from the palace garden into the house of the banquet of wine, Haman was prostrate on the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, Will he even humble the queen in front of me in this house? When the word went forth from the k


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Then Harbonah, one of the eunuchs who were before the king, said, And also there is the gallows standing in Haman's house, fifty cubits high, which Haman has made for Mordecai, who spoke good on behalf of the king. And the king said, Hang him on it.


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So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king's anger subsided.


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On that day King Ahasuerus gave the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews, to Esther the queen. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had disclosed what he was to her.


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And the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.


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And Esther spoke again before the king; and she fell down at his feet and wept and pleaded with him to overturn the evil plan of Haman the Agagite and his plot which he had plotted against the Jews.


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And she said, If it please the king, and if I have found favor before him, and the thing seem right before the king, and I be pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote


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For how can I bear to see the evil that will befall my people? Or how can I bear to see the destruction of my kindred?


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Then King Ahasuerus said to Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, I have now given Esther the house of Haman, and him have they hanged on the gallows because he stretched out his hand against the Jews.


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Write also to the Jews, as it pleases you, in the king's name, and seal it with the king's signet ring; for a decree which has been written in the king's name and sealed with the king's signet ring cannot be reversed.


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Then the king's scribes were called at that time, in the third month, which is the month Sivan, on the twenty-third day of the month. And it was decreed in writing, according to all that Mordecai commanded, to the Jews and to the satraps and governors and


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And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed it with the king's signet ring; and he sent letters by couriers on horseback, riding on swift steeds that were used in the king's service, bred of the royal stud,


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In which letters the king allowed the Jews that were in every city to assemble and to stand for their life, to destroy, to slay, and to annihilate all the power of the people and province that might assault them, their little ones, and their women, and to


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On one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar.


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A copy of the written decree to be issued as law in every province was published to all the peoples so that the Jews would be ready for that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.


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So the couriers, riding on swift steeds that were used in the king's service, went out, driven in haste by the king's command; and the decree was issued in Susa the capital.


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And Mordecai went forth from the presence of the king in royal robes of blue and white, and with a large crown of gold, and with a garment of fine linen and purple; and the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced.


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And throughout every province and throughout every city, wherever the king's commandment and his decree came, there was for the Jews joy and gladness, a feast and a good day. And many from among the peoples of the land became Jews, for the fear of the Jew


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Now in the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, on the thirteenth day of the month, when the king's commandment and his decree were about to be executed, on the day that the Jew's enemies hoped to rule over them (but it turned out to the contrary, so t


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The Jews assembled in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hand on those who sought their harm. And no one could withstand them, for the fear of them had fallen upon all the peoples.


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And all the princes of the provinces and the satraps and the governors and those who did the king's business, helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai had fallen upon them.


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For Mordecai was great in the king's house, and his fame went forth throughout all the provinces; for the man Mordecai became greater and greater.


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And the Jews struck all their enemies with the stroke of the sword and with slaughter and destruction, and they did as it pleased them to those who hated them.


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The ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Jew's enemy, they slew; but they did not lay their hand on the spoil.


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And the king said to Esther the queen, The Jews have slain and destroyed five hundred men in Susa the capital as well as the ten sons of Haman. What then have they done in the rest of the king's provinces! Now what is your petition? And it shall be grante


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Then Esther said, If it please the king, let it be granted to the Jews who are in Susa to do tomorrow also according to this day's decree, and let Haman's ten sons be hanged upon the gallows.


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And the king commanded it to be so done; and a decree was issued in Susa, and they hanged Haman's ten sons.


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And the Jews who were in Susa assembled also on the fourteenth day of the month Adar and slew three hundred men in Susa, but they did not lay their hand on the spoil.


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And the rest of the Jews who were in the king's provinces assembled and stood for their lives, and they had rest from their enemies. And they slew seventy-five thousand of those who hated them; but they did not lay their hand on the spoil.


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This happened on the thirteenth day of the month Adar; and on the fourteenth day of the same they rested and made it a day of feasting and rejoicing.


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But the Jews who were in Susa assembled on the thirteenth day of the month and on the fourteenth of the month; and on the fifteenth day of the same they rested and made it a day of feasting and rejoicing.


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Therefore the Jews of the villages, who dwell in towns in the open, make the fourteenth day of the month Adar a day of rejoicing and feasting, and a good day, and a day of sending portions to one another.


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And Mordecai wrote these things down, and he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far,


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Enjoining them that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar and the fifteenth day of the same, year by year,


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As the days on which the Jews had rest from their enemies, and as the month which was turned for them from sorrow to rejoicing and from mourning into a good day; that they should make them days of feasting and rejoicing, and of sending portions to one ano


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For Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast Pur, that is, the lot, to vex them and destroy them;


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But when Esther came before the king, he commanded by letter that his wicked plot, which he had plotted against the Jews, should return upon his own head and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.


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Therefore they called these days Purim, after the name of Pur. Therefore because of all the words of this letter and what they had seen in this regard and what had happened to them,


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The Jews established and made a custom for themselves and their seed and all who joined themselves to them, that they would not fail to keep these two days according to what has been written about them and according to the appointed time for them, year by


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And that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; and that these days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor the remembrance of them fade from their seed.


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Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew wrote with all authority to confirm this second letter of Purim.


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And he sent letters to all the Jews, to the one hundred twenty-seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, that is, words of peace and truth,


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Establishing these days of Purim at their appointed times, as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had established for them and as they had established for themselves and for their seed in the matter of the fastings and their cry.


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And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the full account of the greatness of Mordecai, to which the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia?


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For Mordecai the Jew was second to King Ahasuerus and great among the Jews and well-regarded by the multitude of his brothers, one who sought the good of his people and who spoke for the welfare of all his seed.


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There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and this man was perfect and upright, and he feared God and turned away from evil.


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And his possessions were seven thousand sheep and three thousand camels and five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred female donkeys and a great many servants; and this man was greater than all the sons of the east.


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And his sons would go and hold feasts in each one's house, each on his own day, and they would send word and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.


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And when the days of feasting ran their course, Job would send word and sanctify them; and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, Perhaps my children have sinned and have cursed God


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Then one day, when the sons of God came to present themselves before Jehovah, Satan also came among them.


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And Jehovah said to Satan, Where have you come from? And Satan answered Jehovah and said, From roving the earth and going about in it.


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And Jehovah said to Satan, Have you considered My servant Job? For there is none like him on the earth, a perfect and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil.


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Have You not set a hedge around him and his household and all that he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his possessions are spread throughout the land.


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And Jehovah said to Satan, Here is all that he has, in your hand; only do not stretch forth your hand against him. And Satan went forth from Jehovah's presence.


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Then one day, when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their firstborn brother,


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And the Sabeans fell upon them and took them away, and they struck the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to relate these things to you.


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While this one was still speaking, another came and said, The fire of God has fallen from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and devoured them; and I alone have escaped to relate these things to you.


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While this one was still speaking, another came and said, The Chaldeans formed three companies and raided the camels and took them, and they struck the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to relate these things to you.


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While this one was still speaking, another came and said, Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their firstborn brother;


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And suddenly a great wind came from beyond the desert and struck the four corners of the house, so that it fell upon the young people and they died; and I alone have escaped to relate these things to you.


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And he said, Naked I came out of my mother's womb, And naked I will return there. Jehovah gives and Jehovah takes away; Blessed be the name of Jehovah.


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Then one day, when the sons of God came to present themselves before Jehovah, Satan also came among them to present himself before Jehovah.


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And Jehovah said to Satan, Have you considered My servant Job? For there is none like him on the earth, a perfect and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil. And he still holds fast his integrity, though you have moved Me against him to dest


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Then Satan answered Jehovah and said, Skin for skin! Indeed all that a man has he will give for the sake of his life.


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But stretch forth Your hand, and touch his bone and his flesh; and he will surely curse You to Your face.


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And Satan went forth from Jehovah's presence and struck Job with severe boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.


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But he said to her, You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Should we receive the good from God but not receive the ill? In all this Job did not sin with his lips.


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Now when Job's three friends heard of all this misfortune that came upon him, each came from his place, Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite; and they together made an appointment to come to console him and comfort him.


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And when they lifted up their eyes from a distance and did not recognize him, they lifted up their voice and wept; and they all tore their clothes and cast dust over their heads toward heaven.


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And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights; but none spoke a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.


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Let darkness and the shadow of death reclaim it; Let a cloud dwell upon it; Let the things that blacken the day terrify it.


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As for that night, let deep darkness take hold of it; Let it not rejoice among the days of the year; Let it not come up in the number of the months.


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Let its predawn stars be dark; Let it wait for light and there be none, And do not let it see the eyelids of the dawn.


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For now I would have lain down and been undisturbed; I would have slept; then I would have been at rest


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Or like a miscarriage that has been concealed, I would not have been, Like infants that do not see the light.


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The roaring of the lion and the sound of the fierce lion And the teeth of the young lions are broken;


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It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance; A form stood before my eyes; I heard a murmur of a voice:


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How much more those who dwell in houses of clay, Whose foundation is in dust, Who are crushed like a moth!


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From morning to evening they are smashed to pieces; Without any considering it, they continually perish.


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His children are far from safety, And they are crushed in the gate; and there is no one to deliver them.


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The hungry eat his harvest And even take it out from the thorns, And the thirsty pant after his wealth.


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Indeed, blessed is the man whom God corrects; Therefore do not reject the chastening of the Almighty.


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From the scourge of the tongue you will be hidden, And you will not be afraid of destruction when it comes.


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At destruction and at famine you will laugh, And you will not be afraid of the animals of the earth.


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For you will be in an alliance with the stones of the field, And the animals of the field will be at peace with you.


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Oh that my vexation were weighed indeed, And that my ruin were lifted onto the scales together with it!


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For the arrows of the Almighty are in me, The poison of which my spirit drinks up; The terrors of God are arrayed against me.


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Then there would still be comfort for me; And I would exult, even in writhing pain that does not spare, That I did not deny the words of the Holy One.


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To him who is fainting there should be kindness from his friend, Else he will forsake the fear of the Almighty.


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My brothers have dealt as treacherously as a desert brook, As the rivulets of the desert brooks that pass away,


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When they are scorched, they are completely consumed; When it is hot, they are dried up from their place.


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Does not man have a term of hard service on earth? And are his days not like the days of a hired hand?


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If I lie down, I say, When will I arise? But the evening is long, And I am full of tossings until the dawn.


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For my part, I also will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the distress of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.


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If I have sinned, what have I done to You, O Watcher of man? Why have You made me Your target so that I have become a burden to myself?


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And why do You not forgive my transgression And take away my iniquity? For now I may lie down in the dust; And You will seek me out, and I will not be.


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How long will you speak these things? And how long will the words of our mouth be like a mighty wind?


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If your children have sinned against Him, He has delivered them into the hand of their transgression.


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If you are pure and upright, Then surely He will rouse Himself for you And restore well-being to your righteous habitation.


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If we speak of strength, indeed, He is mighty! Or if of judgment, Who, says He, can appoint Me a time?


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The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; He covers the faces of its judges. If not He, then who is it?


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For He is not a man, as I am, that I should answer Him, That we should enter into litigation together.


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My soul loathes my own life; I will let my complaint have free course in me; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.


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Does it seem good to You to oppress, To despise the toil of Your hands And shine upon the counsel of the wicked?


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If I am wicked, woe unto me; If I am righteous, I cannot lift up my head, Being filled with dishonor and looking on my affliction.


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And if my head should be lifted up, You would hunt me down like a lion, And You would again demonstrate wonders on me.


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You renew Your witnesses against me And increase Your anger against me; Attacking waves and a host are against me.


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The land of gloom like deep darkness, The shadow of death without order, Which shines like deep darkness.


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And that He would tell you the secrets of wisdom! For there are two sides to sound reason. Know then that God has forgotten some of your iniquity.


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Then indeed you would lift up your face without blemish, And you would be steadfast and would not be afraid.


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And your time here will rise more brightly than the noonday; Dark though it may be, it will be like the morning.


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But the eyes of the wicked will fail, And fleeing will be lost to them, And their hope will be to breathe out their life.


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I also have understanding as you do; I am not inferior to you. And who does not know things like these?


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I have become a laughingstock to my friends, I, who have called out to God and He answers me. The righteous man, the perfect man, is a laughingstock.


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There is contempt for calamity in the thought of him who is at ease:It is prepared for those whose foot slips.


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The tents of robbers prosper, And those who provoke God have security, Those who carry their god in their own might.


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But ask now of the beasts, and they will teach you; And of the birds of heaven, and they will tell you.


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Indeed, He withholds the waters, and they dry up; And He sends them forth, and they overturn the earth.


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He removes the understanding of the heads of the people of the earth And causes them to wander in a pathless waste.


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Will it be well with you when He searches you out? Or will you deceive Him as one might deceive a man?


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Since his days are determined, And the number of his months is with You; Since You have appointed his bounds, and he cannot go beyond;


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For there is hope for a tree:If it is cut down, it will sprout again, And its tender shoot will not cease.


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So a man lies down and does not rise up; Until the heavens are no more, he will not awake, Nor will he be roused from his sleep.


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Oh that You would hide me in Sheol, That You would conceal me until Your anger has passed, That You would set me an appointed time and remember me!


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If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my service I would wait, Until a change for me should come.


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Waters wear away stones; Their torrents wash away the dust of the earth:So You destroy the hope of man.


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His sons gain honor, but he does not know it; And they become insignificant, but he does not perceive it.


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Should a wise man answer with the knowledge of wind, And should he fill his belly with the east wind?


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For all his days the wicked man travails in pain, And numbered years are stored up for the ruthless man.


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And he dwelt in desolated cities, In houses which should not have been inhabited, Which were appointed to become heaps.


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He will not go away from darkness; The flame will dry up his shoots, And by the breath of His mouth he will go away.


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He will shake off his unripe grapes like a vine, And he will cast off his blossom like an olive tree.


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I also could speak like you, If your soul were in my soul's stead; I could join my words together against you And shake my head at you.


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And You have seized me; it is a testimony against me; And my leanness rises up against me; it testifies to my face.


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In His wrath He has torn me to pieces and been adverse toward me; He has gnashed His teeth at me. My Adversary sharpens His eyes at me.


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With their mouth they gape at me; They strike my cheek reproachfully; They mass themselves together against me.


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I was at ease, and He broke me apart; Indeed He took me by my neck and dashed me to pieces. And He set me up as His target;


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His archers surrounded me; He split open my kidneys and did not desist; He poured out my gall upon the earth.


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That He would plead for a man in his case with God And for a son of man in his case with his neighbor.


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He who denounces his friends for a share of the profit taken, Even the eyes of his children will fail.


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Yet the righteous man will hold fast to his way, And he whose hands are clean will wax yet stronger.


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You who tear yourself in your anger, Will the earth be forsaken for your sake, Or will the rock be removed from its place?


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He has no posterity and no progeny among his people, And there are none remaining where he sojourned.


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Those who sojourn in my house and my maids consider me as a stranger; I am a foreigner in their eyes.


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Whom I, even I, will look on for myself, And my eyes will see; I, and no other. My inward parts that long for God are consumed within me.


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Be fearful of the sword, For wrath brings the punishment of the sword, That you may know that there is a judgment.


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That the joyous shouting of the wicked is short, And the rejoicing of the profane is but for a moment?


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He will return what he toiled for and will not swallow it down; And he will not rejoice according to the wealth of his trading.


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In the fullness of his sufficiency he will be distressed; The hand of everyone in trouble will come against him.


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In order to fill his belly, God will send the burning fierceness of His wrath on him And will rain it upon him as his food.


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He draws the arrow out, and it comes out of his body; Indeed the glittering point goes forth from his gall. Terrors come upon him.


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Total darkness is laid up as his treasures; A fire not fanned by man will devour him; It will feed on what is left in his tent.


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What is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? And what profit is there, that we should pray to Him?


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How often is the lamp of the wicked put out, So that their calamity comes upon them, So that God distributes sorrows in His anger?


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You say, God stores up the punishment of his iniquity for his children. I say, Let Him recompense him, so that he knows it.


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For what is there for him to delight in, in his house after him, When the number of his months is cut off?


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That the wicked man is spared in the day of calamity, That they are led forth at the day of overflowing wrath?


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The clods of the valley are sweet to him; And all men go in procession after him, And those who went before him are without number.


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Is it a matter of delight to the Almighty that you are righteous? Or is it a gain to Him that you make your ways perfect?


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For you have taken pledges from your brothers without cause And stripped the naked of their clothing.


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Saying, Surely those who rose up against us are cut off, And the remnant of them the fire has devoured.


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You will also decree something, and it will be established for you; And light will shine on your ways.


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He will deliver him who is not innocent; Yes, you will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.


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To the left, where He acts, but I cannot look on Him; He hides Himself on the right, so I cannot see Him.


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As for the commandment of His lips, I have not turned back from it; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my apportioned food.


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Why are times of judgment not stored up by the Almighty? And why do those who know Him not see His days?


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Indeed, like wild asses in the desert, They go forth to their work, Diligently seeking some prey; The wilderness provides them food for their children.


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These are among those who rebel against the light; They are not acquainted with its ways, Nor do they abide in its paths.


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The eye of the adulterer also watches for the twilight, Saying, Not an eye will see me; And he disguises his face.


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For morning is to all of them like the shadow of death, Because they are acquainted with the terrors of the shadow of death.


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Swift are they upon the face of the waters; Their portion is cursed in the earth; There is none who turns toward the vineyards.


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The womb forgets him; The worm finds him sweet; He is remembered no more; And wrongdoing is broken like a tree.


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They are exalted a little while, then they are no more; And they are brought low; like all others, they are gathered in And are cut off like the tops of the ears of grain.


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How you have helped him who is without power! How you have saved the arm of him who is without strength!


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Indeed, these are but the fringes of His ways; And how small a whisper do we hear of Him! But as for the thundering of His mightiness, who can comprehend it?


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To my righteousness I will hold fast, I will not let it go; My heart does not reproach me for any of my days.


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This is the portion with God for a wicked man, And the inheritance that oppressors receive from the Almighty:


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If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword; And his offspring will not be satisfied with bread;


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The miner sets an end to the darkness, And to the very end he searches out The stones of deep darkness and of gloom.


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He breaks open a shaft apart from where men dwell; They are forgotten by the foot; They are suspended apart from men, they sway about.


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He dams up the streams so that they do not trickle, And that which is hidden he brings out to the light.


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Coral and crystal cannot be mentioned with it; Indeed the acquisition of wisdom is above that of pearls.


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And He said to man, Indeed, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.


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I smiled on them - they could not believe it; And they did not cast down the light of my countenance.


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I chose the way for them and sat as chief, And I dwelt as a king among the troops, As one who comforts those who mourn.


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But now those who are younger than I Hold me in derision, Those whose fathers I disdained To put with the dogs of my flock.


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For He has loosened my cord and afflicted me; Therefore they have cast off restraint in my presence.


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At my right hand a brood rises up; They send my feet running And cast up against me their ways of destruction.


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Terrors are turned upon me; My honor is pursued as by a wind, And my prosperity passes away like a cloud.


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Nevertheless does not a man put forth his hand when he falls, Or because of his disaster therefore cry out?


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If my step has turned from the way, And my heart has gone after my own eyes, And if any spot has stuck to my hands;


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If my heart has been enticed into following after a woman, Or I have lain in wait at my neighbor's door;


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Rather, from my youth he grew up with me as with a father, And from my mother's womb I guided the widow -


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If I have raised my hand against the orphan Because I saw that I had support among those in the gate;


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If the men of my tent have not said, Who can find one who has not been filled with our master's meat? -


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Because I so dreaded the great multitude, And the contempt of the families so frightened me, That I was silent and did not go out my door -


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Oh that I had someone to hear me! Here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me. And let my accuser write up the charge.


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May thorns come forth instead of wheat, And pungent weeds instead of barley. The words of Job are ended.


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And the anger of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was kindled. Against Job was his anger kindled because he justified himself rather than God;


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And against his three friends was his anger kindled because they had found no answer but had condemned Job.


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So Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said, I am young, And you are aged; Therefore I shrank back and was afraid To declare to you what I know.


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Indeed, I have waited out your words; I have given ear to your reasonings, While you searched for what to say.


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Indeed I gave you my full attention; But, no one here could refute Job; None of you answered his words.


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Indeed, my inward parts are like wine that is not vented; Like new wineskins, they are about to burst.


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If there is with him an angel, An interpreter, one of a thousand, To declare to man what is right for him,


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Then He will be gracious to him and will say, Redeem him from going down into the pit; I have found a ransom.


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He will pray to God, and He will accept him, So that he sees His face with joyous shouting; And God restores to man his righteousness.


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Therefore, you men of understanding, hear me:Far be it from God that He would do evil, And from the Almighty that He would commit iniquity.


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For He will render a man's work to him And will cause a man to find that which is according to his own way.


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He who does not respect the persons of princes, Nor regard the rich man more than the poor, For they are all the work of His hands?


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In a moment they die, and in the middle of the night The people are shaken, and they pass away; And the mighty are taken away, but by no human hand.


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When He is silent, who can condemn Him? When He hides His face, who can behold Him? He does so toward a nation and toward a man alike,


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Should He recompense to fit you, since you have rejected it? For you must choose, and not I. So speak what you know.


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If you sin, what do you accomplish against Him? And if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to Him?


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Because of the multitude of oppressions they cry out; They cry for help because of the arm of the mighty.


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How much less when you say that you do not behold Him, That the cause is before Him and you are waiting on Him!


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He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous; And with kings on the throne, He sets them forever, and they are exalted.


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If they hear and serve Him, They will spend their days in prosperity And their years in pleasantness.


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Indeed He allures you from the jaws of distress Into a spacious place, where there is no constraint; And what is upon your table is full of fatness.


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Beware lest wrath allures you into scoffing, And do not let the greatness of the ransom turn you aside.


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After it a voice roars; He thunders with the voice of His majesty And does not withhold the lightning When His voice is heard.


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And they turn about by His guidance, That they may accomplish All that He has commanded them Upon the surface of the inhabited earth;


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Do you know about the balancing of the thick clouds, The wondrous acts of Him who is perfect in knowledge?


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But now men do not look at the light, Which is brilliant in the skies When the wind has passed and cleared them.


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The Almighty - we cannot find Him out; He is excellent in power, And justice and the abundance of righteousness He will not damage.


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Have you ever commanded the morning since your days began? Have you ever caused the dawn to know its place,


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Where is the way to the place where the light is divided, To the place where the east wind scatters upon the earth?


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Who provides for the raven its prey When its young ones cry out to God And wander about for lack of food?


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Do you know the time when the mountain goats bring forth? Can you mark the time when the hinds calve?


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Will you have confidence in him that he will bring in your seed And gather your grain to your threshing floor?


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She is hard with her children, as if they were not hers; Though her labor may be in vain, she has no fear;


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As often as the trumpet sounds, he says, Aha! And from afar he smells the battle, The thundering of captains and the shouting.


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Indeed, if a river overflows, he does not tremble; He is confident, though the Jordan rushes against his mouth.


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I will not be silent about his limbs Or about the account of his mighty deeds or about the beauty of his frame.


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Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.


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And after Jehovah had spoken these words to Job, Jehovah said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My anger is kindled against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken concerning Me that which is right, as My servant Job has.


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Now therefore take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer them as a burnt offering for yourselves. And My servant Job will pray for you; for I will accept him, so that I do not deal with you according to your folly;


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So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as Jehovah told them; and Jehovah accepted Job.


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And Jehovah turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends, and Jehovah gave Job twice as much as he had before.


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And all his brothers and all his sisters and all his previous acquaintances came to him and ate bread with him in his house. And they consoled and comforted him for all the misfortune that Jehovah had brought upon him. And each gave to him a piece of mone


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Thus Jehovah blessed Job's latter end more than his beginning; and he had fourteen thousand sheep and six thousand camels and a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand female donkeys.


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And in all the land no women were found as beautiful as the daughters of Job. And their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers.


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And after this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; and he saw his children and his grandchildren, even four generations.


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Blessed is the man Who does not walk In the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand on the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of mockers;


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And he will be like a tree Transplanted beside streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season, And whose foliage does not wither; And everything he does prospers.


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Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment; Nor the sinners, in the assembly of the righteous.


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The kings of the earth take their stand, And the rulers sit in counsel together, Against Jehovah and against His Anointed:


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Ask of Me, And I will give the nations as Your inheritance And the limits of the earth as Your possession.


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Kiss the Son Lest He be angry and you perish from the way; For His anger may suddenly be kindled. Blessed are all those who take refuge in Him.


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Arise, O Jehovah; Save me, O my God! Oh that you would strike all my enemies on the cheek; And break the teeth of the wicked.


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When I call out, answer me, O God of my righteousness; Make room for me when I am in straits; Be gracious to me and hear my prayer.


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O sons of men, how long will my glory be made a reproach? How long will you love vanity, will you seek a lie?


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But know that Jehovah sets apart the faithful man for Himself. Jehovah hears when I call out to Him.


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Many are those who say, Who will show us any good? Lift up upon us the light of Your countenance, O Jehovah.


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O Jehovah, in the morning You will hear my voice; In the morning I will set forth my words in order to You, And I will watch.


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But as for me, in the abundance of Your lovingkindness I will come into Your house; I will bow down toward Your holy temple In fear of You.


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O Jehovah, lead me in Your righteousness On account of those who lie in wait for me; Make Your way straight before me.


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For there is no truth in their mouth; Their inward part is corruption itself; Their throat is an open grave; They flatter with their tongue.


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Hold them guilty, O God; Let them fall by their own counsels; Because of the multitude of their transgressions thrust them out, For they have rebelled against You.


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But let all who take refuge in You rejoice; Let them shout for joy forever; And may You spread a cover over them; And those who love Your name Will exult in You.


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All my enemies will be ashamed and greatly dismayed; They will turn back; they will be put to shame suddenly.


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If I have recompensed with evil him who was at peace with me (Rather, I have delivered him who vexed me without cause);


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Let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake me, And let him trample my life to the ground And lay my glory down in the dust.


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Arise, O Jehovah, in Your anger; Lift Yourself up against the overflowing wrath of those who vex me, And awake for me:You have commanded judgment.


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Jehovah will execute judgment on the peoples; Judge me, O Jehovah, according to my righteousness And according to my integrity that is with me.


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Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end, But establish the righteous man. For the righteous God Tries the hearts and the inward parts.


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I will give thanks to Jehovah according to His righteousness, And I will sing psalms to the name of Jehovah the Most High.


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O Jehovah our Lord, How excellent is Your name In all the earth, You who have set Your glory over the heavens!


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Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings You have established strength Because of Your adversaries, To stop the enemy and the avenger.


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When I see Your heavens, the works of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,


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For You have caused him to rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet:


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You have rebuked the nations; You have destroyed the wicked; You have blotted out their name forever and ever.


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The enemies are finished; they are in perpetual ruins; And You have uprooted their cities; the very memory of them has perished.


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And it is He who judges the world with righteousness; He executes judgment on the peoples with equity.


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And those who know Your name put their trust in You, For You have not forsaken those who seek You, O Jehovah.


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For He who avenges bloodshed remembers those who were slain; He does not forget the cry of the afflicted.


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Be gracious to me, O Jehovah; look on my affliction from those who hate me, You who raise me from the gates of death,


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That I may tell out all Your praises And, in the gates of the daughter of Zion, exult in Your salvation.


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The nations have sunk in the pit that they have made; In the net that they hid, their own foot is caught.


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Jehovah has made Himself known; He has executed justice; The wicked have been snared in the work of their hands.


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For the wicked man boasts of the desire of his soul, And the rapacious man curses, even despises, Jehovah.


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The wicked man, according to the haughtiness of his countenance, Says, He will not require it; All his thoughts are this:There is no God!


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His ways succeed at all times; Your judgments are on high, out of his sight; As for all his adversaries, he snorts at them.


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His mouth is full of curses and of deceit and oppression; Under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.


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He sits in the ambushes of the open villages; In hidden places he murders the innocent; His eyes secretly watch for the unfortunate.


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He lurks in secret like a lion in its covert; He lurks ready to seize the poor; He seizes the poor, drawing them up in his net.


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You do see! For You observe mischief and vexation, To requite it with Your own hand. To You the unfortunate one commits his cause; You have been the help of the orphan.


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You have heard the desire of the lowly, O Jehovah; You will establish their heart; You will cause Your ears to listen,


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In order to execute justice for the orphan and the oppressed one, That the mortal man of the earth may terrorize no longer.


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For behold, the wicked bend the bow; They ready their arrow on the string To shoot in the dark at the upright in heart.


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Jehovah is in His holy temple; Jehovah - His throne is in heaven. His eyes behold; His eyelids try the sons of men.


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He will rain down snares upon the wicked; Fire and brimstone and a scorching wind will be the portion of their cup.


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Save, O Jehovah; for the faithful man is no more, For the trustworthy have vanished from among the sons of men.


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Because of the devastation of the poor, because of the sighing of the needy, I will now arise, says Jehovah; I will set him in the safety that he longs for.


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The words of Jehovah are pure words, Silver refined in a furnace on the earth, Purified seven times.


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How long will I bear concern in my soul And sorrow in my heart day after day? How long will my enemy be exalted over me?


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The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt; they commit abominable deeds; There is none who does good.


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Jehovah looked down from heaven Upon the sons of men To see if there was anyone who had insight, Who seeks after God.


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They have all turned aside; They are together perverse. There is none who does good; There is not even one.


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Have they no knowledge, all the workers of iniquity, Who eat up my people as they would eat up bread And do not call upon Jehovah?


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O that the salvation of Israel might come forth from Zion! When Jehovah turns the captivity of His people, Jacob will exult, Israel will rejoice.


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He does not slander with his tongue; He does not do evil to his friend, Nor does he take up a reproach against his neighbor.


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In his eyes a reprobate is despised, But he honors those who fear Jehovah. Should he swear to his harm, He does not change.


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He does not lend his money on interest, Nor accept a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will not be shaken forever.


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The sorrows of them who bartered for some other god will be multiplied; Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer, Nor will I take up their names upon my lips.


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The measuring lines have fallen on pleasant places for me; Indeed the inheritance is beautiful to me.


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You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand there are pleasures forever.


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Hear, O Jehovah, what is righteous; Give heed to my cry; Give ear to my prayer, Which is not made with lips of deceit.


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You have examined my heart; You have visited me by night; You have tried me:You have found nothing. I have resolved that my mouth will not transgress.


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Regarding the works of man, by the word of Your lips, I have kept myself from the paths of the violent man.


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Wondrously display Your lovingkindness, You who save by Your right hand Those who take refuge in You from them who rise up against them.


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Now they have surrounded us in our steps; They have fixed their eyes on casting us down to the ground.


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From mortal men with Your hand, O Jehovah, From mortal men of the world, whose portion is in this life, And whose belly You fill with Your treasure; They are satisfied with children, And they leave their abundance for their little ones.


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As for me, in righteousness I will behold Your face; When I awake, I will be satisfied with Your likeness.


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Jehovah is my crag and my fortress and my Deliverer; My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my high retreat.


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In my distress I called upon Jehovah And cried out to my God. He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry before Him came to His ears.


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Then the earth shook and quaked, And the foundations of the mountains trembled and shook about, For He was furious.


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He made darkness His hiding place, His pavilion around Him:Dark waterclouds, thick clouds of the skies.


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And He sent forth His arrows and scattered my enemies; And He shot forth lightning bolts and discomfited them.


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The channels of the sea were seen, And the foundations of the habitable land were laid bare At Your rebuke, O Jehovah, At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.


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Therefore Jehovah recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.


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As for God - His way is perfect ; The word of Jehovah is tried. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.


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And You have given me the shield of Your salvation, And Your right hand supports me; And Your condescending gentleness has made me great.


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They cried out, but there was no one to save them; They cried out to Jehovah, but He did not answer them.


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You rescued me from the strivings of the people; You have made me the head of the nations; A people whom I had not known serves me.


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Who rescues me from my enemies. Indeed You exalted me above those who rise up against me; From the violent man You delivered me.


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In all the earth their line has gone forth, And their words to the end of the world. In the heavens He has made a tent for the sun,


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And he, like a bridegroom, goes forth from his canopy; He rejoices like a mighty man running the course.


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His going forth is from the end of the heavens, And his circuit is unto their ends; And there is nothing hidden from his heat.


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The law of Jehovah is perfect, Restoring the soul; The testimony of Jehovah is faithful, Making the simple wise;


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The precepts of Jehovah are right, Making the heart joyous; The commandment of Jehovah is clear, Enlightening the eyes;


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The fear of Jehovah is pure, Enduring forever; The judgments of Jehovah are truth And altogether righteous.


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More to be desired are they than gold, Even much refined gold; Sweeter also than honey And the drippings of the honeycomb.


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Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; Do not let them have dominion over me; Then I will be blameless and cleared Of great transgression.


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May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable before You, O Jehovah, my rock and my Redeemer.


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May we shout victoriously in Your salvation And raise the banner in the name of our God. May Jehovah fulfill all your petitions.


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Now I know That Jehovah saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven With mighty acts of salvation from His right hand.


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For You have made him to be blessings forever; You have made him glad with rejoicing in Your presence.


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For the king trusts in Jehovah; And because of the lovingkindness of the Most High, he is not shaken.


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You make them like a furnace of fire When Your presence appears. Jehovah swallows them in His anger, And fire devours them.


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My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from saving me, From the words of my groaning?


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O my God, I call out in the day, but You do not answer; And in the night, but there is no rest for me.


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He committed himself to Jehovah; let Him rescue him; Let Him deliver him since He takes pleasure in him.


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But You are the One who drew me forth from the womb, Who made me trust while at my mother's breasts.


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I am poured out like water, And all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax; It is melted within me.


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My strength is dried up like a shard, And my tongue is stuck to my jaws; You have put me in the dust of death.


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You who fear Jehovah, praise Him! All you seed of Jacob, glorify Him! And stand in awe of Him, all you seed of Israel!


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For He has not despised nor detested The affliction of him who is afflicted; And He has not hidden His face from him; But when he cried out to Him, He heard.


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The lowly will eat and be satisfied; Those who seek after Jehovah will praise Him - May your hearts live forever!


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All the ends of the earth Will remember and return to Jehovah, And all families of the nations Will worship before You;


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All the flourishing of the earth Will eat and worship. All who go down into the dust will bow down before Him, Even he who does not keep his soul alive.


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Even though I walk Through the valley of the shadow of death, I do not fear evil, For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, They comfort me.


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You spread a table before me In the presence of my adversaries; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.


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Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me All the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of Jehovah For the length of my days.


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He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood Or sworn deceitfully.


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Lift up your heads, O gates; And be lifted up, O long enduring doors; And the King of glory will come in.


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Lift up your heads, O gates; And lift up, O long enduring doors; And the King of glory will come in.


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Indeed may all who wait on You not be ashamed; May those who deal treacherously without cause be ashamed.


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Guide me in Your truth, and teach me; For You are the God of my salvation; I wait on You all the day long.


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The sins of my youth and my transgressions, do not remember; According to Your lovingkindness, remember me, For the sake of Your goodness, O Jehovah.


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All the paths of Jehovah are lovingkindness and truth To those who observe His covenant and His testimonies.


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Who then is the man who fears Jehovah? Him will He instruct concerning the way that he should choose.


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The intimate counsel of Jehovah is to those who fear Him, And His covenant will He make known to them.


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Judge me, O Jehovah; For I have walked in my integrity, And in Jehovah I have trusted; I will not waver.


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Jehovah is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? Jehovah is the strength of my life; Whom shall I dread?


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When evildoers come near me To devour my flesh, It is they, my adversaries and my enemies, Who stumble and fall.


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If an army camps against me, My heart does not fear; If a battle arises against me, In spite of this I am confident.


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One thing I have asked from Jehovah; That do I seek:To dwell in the house of Jehovah All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of Jehovah, And to inquire in His temple.


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For He will conceal me in His shelter In the day of trouble; He will hide me in the hiding place of His tent; He will raise me up upon a rock.


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And now my head is lifted up Above my enemies who surround me. And I will offer in His tent Sacrifices of shouts of joy:I will sing and psalm to Jehovah.


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Do not hide Your face from me; Do not turn Your servant away in Your anger; You have been my help. Do not abandon me or forsake me, O God of my salvation.


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Do not give me over To the desire of my adversaries; For false witnesses have risen up against me, And those who breathe out threats.


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To You, O Jehovah, do I call out; My rock, do not be deaf to me, Lest, if You are silent to me, I become like those who go down into the pit.


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Hear the voice of my supplications When I cry out to You, When I lift up my hands Unto Your innermost sanctuary.


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Do not drag me away with the wicked And with the workers of iniquity, Who speak peace to their neighbors While evil is in their heart.


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Repay them according to what they have done And according to the evil of their deeds; According to the work of their hands repay them; Return to them their due.


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For they do not regard the acts of Jehovah Or the work of His hands; He will tear them down And not rebuild them.


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Jehovah is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults; And with my song do I give thanks to Him.


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The voice of Jehovah causes the hinds to calve And strips the forests bare; And in His temple all say, Glory!


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O Jehovah, You have brought up my soul from Sheol; You have preserved me alive that I would not go down into the pit.


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For His anger lasts but a moment, His favor, a lifetime; Weeping may linger in the evening, But a ringing shout goes up in the morning.


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What profit is there in my blood if I go down into the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your faithfulness?


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You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have loosened my sackcloth And girded me with rejoicing,


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That my glory might sing psalms to You and not be silent. O Jehovah my God, I will praise You forever.


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I will exult and rejoice in Your lovingkindness, Since You have seen my affliction; You know the distress of my soul.


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And You have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy; You have made my feet stand in a place broad and free.


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Be gracious to me, O Jehovah, for I am in distress. My eye is wasted away with grief, Indeed my soul and body.


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For my life has been consumed in sorrow, And my years, in sighing. My strength fails because of my iniquity, And my bones have wasted away.


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Because of all my adversaries, I have become a reproach, And especially so to my neighbors, And something dreaded to my acquaintances; Those who see me on the street flee from me.


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For I hear the slander of many; Terror is on every side. When they take counsel together against me, They scheme to take my life.


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O Jehovah, do not let me be put to shame when I call out to You; Let the wicked be put to shame; let them be silent in Sheol.


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Let the lips of falsehood be made dumb, Which speak arrogantly against the righteous With pride and contempt.


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How great is Your goodness, Which You have stored up for those who fear You, Which You have accomplished in the sight of the sons of men For those who take refuge in You!


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You hide them in the hiding place of Your presence Apart from the conspiracies of men; You lay them away secretly in a shelter Apart from the contention of tongues.


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I, on my part, had said in my alarm, I am cut off before Your eyes; But instead You heard The voice of my supplications When I cried out to You.


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Love Jehovah, all you who are His faithful ones; Jehovah guards the trustworthy, And recompenses abundantly Him who acts haughtily.


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For day and night Your hand Was heavy upon me; My life sap was dried up As in the drought of summer.


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I acknowledged my sin to You, And I did not cover my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to Jehovah. Then You forgave the iniquity of my sin.


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Because of this let everyone who is faithful Pray to You at a time when You may be found; Surely when great waters overflow, They will not reach him.


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You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with the ringing shouts of deliverance.


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I will instruct you and teach you concerning the way you should go; I will counsel you; my eye is upon you.


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Do not be like a horse or like a mule, without understanding; Whose trappings consist of bit and bridle to restrain them, Else they do not come near you.


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Many are the sorrows that the wicked have; But he who trusts in Jehovah is encompassed by lovingkindness.


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Rejoice in Jehovah and exult, O righteous ones; And give a ringing shout, all you who are upright in heart.


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The counsel of Jehovah stands forever; The intentions of His heart stand from generation to generation.


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Draw out also the spear, and close up the way Against those who pursue me; Say to my soul, I am your salvation.


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Let those who seek my life Be put to shame and humiliated; Let those who devise evil for me Be turned back and confounded.


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Let destruction come upon him unawares, And let his net, which he hid, catch him; Let him fall into it, into destruction.


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All my bones will say, Jehovah, who is like You, Who delivers the poor from him who is too strong for him, And the poor and needy from him who robs him?


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But I, when they were sick, Had sackcloth as my clothing; I afflicted my soul with fasting, And my prayer returned to my own bosom.


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I conducted myself as if it had been my friend or my brother; Like one mourning for his mother, I bowed down gloomily.


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But at my stumbling they rejoice and gather together; The attackers, whom I did not know Gather together against me; They tear at me and do not cease.


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O Lord, how long will You look on? Rescue my soul from their destruction, My precious life from the lions.


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Do not let those who are wrongly my enemies rejoice over me; Do not let those who hate me without cause narrow their eyes at me.


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Vindicate me according to Your righteousness, O Jehovah my God; And do not let them rejoice over me.


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Do not let them say in their heart, Aha! That is what we wanted. Do not let them say, We have swallowed him up.


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May those who rejoice at my trouble Be ashamed and confounded together; May those who magnify themselves against me Be clothed with shame and humiliation.


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May those who delight in the vindication of my righteousness Give a ringing shout and rejoice, And may they say continually, Jehovah be magnified, Who delights in the well-being of His servant.


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Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; Your judgments are like the great deep; You preserve man and beast, O Jehovah.


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How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Thus the sons of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.


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They are saturated with the fatness of Your house, And You cause them to drink of the river of Your pleasures.


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Continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You, And Your righteousness to those who are upright in heart.


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Be still before Jehovah, and wait for Him; Do not be incensed because of him who enjoys prosperity on his way, Because of the man who performs his evil schemes.


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And in a little while longer there will be no wicked man; Indeed, you will look diligently for his place, and he will not be there.


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The wicked have drawn out the sword And bent their bow, To cast the poor and the needy down, To slaughter those who are upright in their way.


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But the wicked will perish, And the enemies of Jehovah will be like the glory of the pastures:They are consumed; in smoke they are consumed.


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I was once a young man; now I am old. Yet I have not seen the righteous man forsaken, Nor his seed seeking bread.


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For Jehovah loves justice And does not abandon His faithful ones; They are kept forever; But the seed of the wicked is cut off.


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Wait for Jehovah, And keep His way; And He will exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.


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And Jehovah helps them and rescues them; He rescues them from the wicked, And saves them, for they take refuge in Him.


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There is no soundness in my flesh due to Your indignation; There is no wholeness in my bones due to my sin.


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Those who love me and those who are my friends stand aloof from my plague, And my relatives stand far away.


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And those who seek my soul lay traps for me, And those who pursue my misfortune speak of destruction, And they contemplate deceit all day long.


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I said, I will keep my ways, So that I do not sin with my tongue; I will keep a muzzle on my mouth When the wicked are before me.


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O Jehovah, cause me to know my end, And the measure of my days, what it is. May I know how transient I am.


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Behold, You have made my days as mere handbreadths, And my lifetime is as nothing before You; Surely every man at his best is altogether vanity.


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Surely man goes about as a semblance; Surely they bustle about in vain:He heaps up riches yet knows not Who will gather them.


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With rebukes You chasten a man because of iniquity, And cause what is desirous to him to disappear like a moth. Surely every man is vanity.


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Hear my prayer, O Jehovah; And give ear to my cry; Do not hold Your peace at my tears. For I am a stranger with You, A sojourner, as all my fathers were.


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Then He brought me up out of a pit of destruction, Out of the miry clay; And He set my feet upon a rock, Establishing my steps.


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Then He put a new song in my mouth, A praise to our God. Many see it and fear, And they trust in Jehovah.


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Blessed is the man Who makes Jehovah his trust And does not turn to the proud Or to those who turn aside after deception.


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Many, O Jehovah my God, are the wonderful deeds which You have done And Your thoughts toward us; They cannot be set in order unto You. Were I to declare and speak of them, They would be too numerous to recount.


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You do not delight in sacrifice and offering; You have prepared ears for Me; You do not require burnt offering and sin offering.


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I bear tidings of righteousness In the great congregation. Behold, I will not withhold My lips; O Jehovah, You know.


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I have not hidden Your righteousness Within My heart; I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great congregation.


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You, O Jehovah, do not withhold Your compassions from me; May Your lovingkindness and Your truth Preserve me continually.


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For evils encompass me until they cannot be counted; My iniquities have so overtaken me That I cannot see; They are more numerous than the hairs of my head; Thus my heart fails me.


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May those who seek my life to destroy it Be put to shame and confounded together; May those who take delight in my misfortune Be turned back and humiliated.


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May all those who seek You Be glad and rejoice in You; May those who love Your salvation say continually, May Jehovah be magnified!


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But I am poor and needy; May the Lord think about me. You are my help and my Deliverer; O my God, do not delay.


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May Jehovah keep him and preserve him alive; May he be blessed in the land; And do not give him over to the hdesire of his enemies.


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And if he comes to see me, he speaks falsehood. His heart gathers iniquity to itself; When he goes out, he speaks it.


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Some evil illness, they say, has been poured out on him; And when he lies down, he will not rise again.


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These things I remember, And I pour out my soul within me:That I passed through with the throng; I led them to the house of God With the voice of a joyous shout and praise, The festal multitude.


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Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I will yet praise Him For the salvation of His countenance.


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O my God, my soul is cast down within me; Therefore I remember You From the land of the Jordan and the Hermons, From Mount Mizar.


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Deep calls unto deep At the sound of Your water spouts; All Your waves and Your billows Pass over me.


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By day Jehovah commands His lovingkindness, And by night His song is with me, A prayer to the God of my life.


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I say to God my rock, Why have You forgotten me? Why do I go mourning Because of the oppression of the enemy?


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As with a shattering in my bones, My adversaries reproach me, While they say to me all day long, Where is your God?


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Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I will yet praise Him, The salvation of my countenance and my God.


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Render judgment for me, O God; And plead my cause Before an unfaithful nation; From the deceitful and unjust man Deliver me.


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For You are the God of my protection. Why have You rejected me? Why do I go about mourning Because of the oppression of the enemy?


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Send forth Your light and Your truth; They will lead me; They will bring me to Your holy mountain And to Your tabernacles.


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And I will go to the altar of God, To od my exceeding joy; And I will praise You with the harp, O God, my God.


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Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, The salvation of my countenance and my God.


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O God, we have heard with our ears; Our fathers have recounted it to us, The work You did in their days, In the days of old.


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You, by Your hand, Have dispossessed nations, but You have planted our fathers; You afflicted peoples, but You spread our fathers forth.


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For they did not possess the land by their sword, Nor did their arm save them; Rather it was Your right hand and Your arm, And the light of Your countenance; For You delighted in them.


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Through You we thrust back our adversaries; Through Your name we trample those who rise up against us.


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You have caused us to turn back from the adversary, And those who hate us take spoil for themselves.


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Because of the voice of him who reproaches and reviles, Because of the presence of the enemy and of him who avenges himself.


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My heart overflows with a good matter; I speak what I have composed concerning the King. My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.


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You are fairer than the sons of men; Grace is poured upon Your lips; Therefore God has blessed You forever.


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And in Your splendor ride on victoriously Because of truth and meekness and righteousness; And let Your right hand teach You awesome deeds.


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Your arrows are sharp:The peoples fall under You; The arrows are in the heart of the King's enemies.


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You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness above Your companions.


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All Your garments smell of myrrh and aloes, of cassia; From palaces of ivory, harpstrings have made You glad.


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The daughters of kings are among Your most prized; The queen stands at Your right hand in the gold of Ophir.


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The King's daughter is all glorious within the royal abode; Her garment is a woven work inwrought with gold.


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She will be led to the King in embroidered clothing; The virgins behind her, her companions, Will be brought to You.


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I will cause Your name to be remembered in all generations; Therefore the peoples will praise You forever and ever.


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Therefore we will not fear, Though the earth change, And the mountains slip into the heart of the seas;


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There is a river whose streams gladden the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High.


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He makes wars cease unto the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear to pieces; He burns the war wagons with fire.


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The princes of the peoples have been gathered As the people of the God of Abraham; For the shields of the earth belong to God; He is greatly exalted.


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Beautiful in elevation, The joy of the whole earth, Is Mount Zion, the sides of the north, The city of the great King.


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As we have heard, So we have seen In the city of Jehovah of hosts, In the city of our God. God will establish her forever.


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As Your name is, O God, So is Your praise Unto the ends of the earth; Your right hand is full of righteousness.


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Consider carefully her bulwarks; Pass between her palaces; That you may recount it to the generation following.


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For he will see that wise men die; The foolish one and the senseless one perish alike And leave their wealth to others.


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Their inward thought is that their houses will remain forever, That their habitations will remain from generation to generation; They call lands after their own names.


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Such is the way of those who are self-confident, And of those after them who approve of their sayings.


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Like a flock, they are appointed for Sheol; Death will shepherd them. And straight to the grave they will descend, And their form will be for Sheol to consume That there be no abode for them.


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The Mighty One, God Jehovah, Speaks and summons the earth From the rising of the sun to its setting.


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Our God has come and will not be silent; Fire devours before Him, And around Him it is exceedingly tempestuous.


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I will not reprove you because of your sacrifices, And your burnt offerings are before Me continually.


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But to the wicked God says, What right do you have to declare My statutes And take up My covenant in your mouth,


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These things you do, and I keep silent; You think that I am altogether like you. I will rebuke you and set forth the matter in order before your eyes.


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Whoever offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifies Me; And to him who sets his way right I will show the salvation of God.


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Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassions blot out my transgressions.


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Against You and You alone have I sinned, And I have done what is evil in Your sight. Therefore You are righteous when You speak; You are clear when You judge.


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Behold, You delight in truth in the inward parts; And in the hidden part You would make known wisdom to me.


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Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, O God of my salvation; And my tongue will ring forth Your righteousness.


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For You do not delight in sacrifice; Otherwise I would offer it; You take no pleasure in burnt offerings.


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The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.


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Then You will delight in the sacrifices of righteousness, In burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; Then they will offer bulls upon Your altar.


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God will likewise break you down forever; He will take you and pluck you up from your tent, And uproot you from the land of the living.


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Behold, this is that mighty man Who did not make God his strength, But trusted in the multitude of his riches And strengthened himself in his desire.


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But I, like a flourishing olive tree In the house of God, Trust in God's lovingkindness Forever and ever.


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I will give You thanks forever, For You have acted; And I will hope in Your name in the presence of Your faithful ones, For it is good.


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The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt and commit abominable deeds; There is none who does good.


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God looked down from heaven Upon the sons of men To see if there was anyone who had insight, Who seeks after God.


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All of them have turned back; They are together perverse. There is none who does good; There is not even one.


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Have they no knowledge, the workers of iniquity, Who eat up my people as they would eat up bread And do not call upon God?


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There they were in great fear, Where there was no fear. For God scattered the bones Of him who encamped against you. You put them to shame Because God has rejected them.


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Oh that the salvation of Israel might come forth from Zion! When God turns the captivity of His people, Jacob will exult, Israel will rejoice.


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For strangers have risen up against me, And those who terrorize seek my life; They do not set God before them.


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Because of the voice of the enemy, Because of the oppression of the wicked man; For they drop iniquity upon me, And in anger they make me their enemy.


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For it is not an enemy who reproaches me; Otherwise I could bear it. It is not he who hates me who magnifies himself against me; Otherwise I could hide myself from him.


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Let death surprise them; May they go down into Sheol alive. For evil is in their dwelling, in the midst of them.


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God hears and answers them - Even He who sits enthroned from of old - Because with them there is no change, And they do not fear God.


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Smooth were the buttery words of his mouth, But his heart was war; More soothing than oil were his words, But they were in fact drawn swords.


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Cast your burden upon Jehovah, And He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be moved.


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But You, O God, will bring them down Into the lowest pit. Men of bloodshed and deceit Will not live out half their days; But I will trust in You.


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Those who lie in wait for me trample me all day long, For many are those who arrogantly fight against me.


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Will there be deliverance for them in spite of their iniquity? In anger cast down the peoples, O God.


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For You have delivered my soul from death, Indeed, my feet from stumbling, That I may walk before God In the light of the living.


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Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me; For my soul takes refuge in You; Indeed in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge, Until the destruction passes by.


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He sends forth from heaven and saves me; He reproaches him who would trample me; God sends forth His lovingkindness and His faithfulness.


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My soul is among lions; I lie down among those who blaze forth, the sons of men, Whose teeth are spears and arrows, And whose tongue is a sharp sword.


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They have prepared a net for my steps; My soul is bowed down. They have dug a pit before me; They have fallen into it themselves.


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Let them melt like water that runs off. When he shoots his arrows, Let them be as though they were cut off.


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Let them be like a snail that melts and goes away, Like a woman's miscarriage, which by no means sees the sun.


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Before your pots can feel the fire of the thorns, Whether green or burning, He will sweep them away.


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The righteous man will rejoice when he sees vengeance; He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.


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And men will say, Indeed there is fruit for the righteous man; Indeed there is a God who judges on earth.


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For behold, they lie in wait for my soul; The strong gather themselves against me. Not because of any transgression of mine nor because of any sin of mine, O Jehovah,


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Indeed You, O Jehovah, God of hosts, God of Israel, Arise to punish all the nations; Have no mercy upon any who treacherously commit iniquity.


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My God in His lovingkindness will meet me; God will let me look triumphantly upon those who lie in wait for me.


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Do not slay them, lest my people forget; Scatter them by Your power, and bring them down, O Lord our shield.


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For the sin of their mouth, For the word of their lips, Let them even be taken in their arrogance, And because of the cursing and the lying that they speak.


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Consume them in wrath; consume them so that they are no more; And men will know that God rules in Jacob Unto the ends of the earth.


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But I will sing of Your strength; And I will joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning. For You have been my high retreat And a refuge in the day of my distress.


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God has spoken in His holiness:I will exult; I will divide Shechem And measure out the Valley of Succoth.


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From the end of the earth I will call out unto You When my heart faints; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.


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May he dwell forever before God; Appoint lovingkindness and faithfulness, that they may preserve him.


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How long will you assail a man So that you may slay him, all of you, Like a leaning wall or a tottering fence?


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They only make plans to thrust him down from his dignity; They take delight in lies; With their mouth they bless, But inwardly they curse.


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Men of low degree are but a vapor; Men of high degree, a lie. In the balances they go up; Together they are less than a vapor.


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Do not trust in oppression, And do not vainly hope in robbery; If wealth increases, Do not set your heart on it.


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O God, You are my God; I seek You diligently. My soul thirsts for You, My flesh faints in longing for You, In a dry and weary land without water.


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My soul is satisfied as with the rich fatness, And my mouth praises You with lips of joyous shouting,


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But the king will rejoice in God; Everyone who swears by Him will boast; For the mouth of those who speak falsehood will be stopped.


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They firm up for themselves an evil matter; They talk of laying snares secretly; They say, Who will see them?


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They seek out injustices, saying:We have completed a carefully sought-out plan. Indeed each man's inward thought And heart are deep.


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The righteous man will rejoice in Jehovah and take refuge in Him, And all the upright in heart will boast.


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Blessed is he whom You have chosen and bring near To dwell in Your courts. We will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Of Your holy temple.


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By awesome deeds You answer us in righteousness, O God of our salvation, You who are the trust of all the ends of the earth And of the remotest sea;


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And they who dwell in the uttermost parts Are afraid of Your signs; You make the exitways of the morning and the evening Shout for joy.


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You visit the earth and water it; You enrich it greatly:The river of God is full of water. You provide men grain, for so You have prepared the earth.


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Saturating its furrows, settling its ridges, You soften it with showers; You bless its sprouting forth.


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The meadows are clothed with the flock, And the valleys cover themselves in grain; They shout for joy; indeed they sing.


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Say to God, How awesome are Your deeds! Because of the greatness of Your strength, Your enemies come cringing to You.


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He rules by His might forever; His eyes observe the nations:Let not the rebellious exalt themselves.


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You have made men ride over our heads; We have gone through fire and water; But You have brought us forth into abundance.


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I will offer to You burnt offerings of fatlings With the smoke of rams; I will offer cattle with goats.


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Let the nations rejoice and shout for joy, For You will judge the peoples equitably And will guide the nations on the earth.


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As smoke is driven away, You will drive them away; As wax melts before fire, The wicked will perish before God.


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Sing to God; sing psalms to His name; Triumph in Him who rides through the deserts - For Jah is His name - and exult before Him.


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God causes the solitary to dwell in a household; He brings the prisoners forth into prosperity; But the rebellious dwell in a parched land.


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The earth trembled, the heavens also dripped, At the presence of God; Sinai there quaked At the presence of God, the God of Israel.


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Though you lie among the sheepfolds, There are dove wings covered with silver, And its pinions, with greenish yellow gold.


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Why do you look with envy, O many-peaked mountains, At the mountain on which God desires to dwell? Indeed Jehovah will dwell there forever.


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The chariots of God are twenty thousand, Thousands upon thousands; The Lord is among them, As at Sinai, in the sanctuary.


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You have ascended on high; You have led captive those taken captive; You have received gifts among men, Even the rebellious ones also, That Jehovah God may dwell among them.


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Indeed God will smash The head of His enemies, The hairy crown Of him who goes about in his guiltiness.


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The Lord said, I will bring them again from Bashan; I will bring them again from the depths of the sea,


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That you may bathe your foot in blood, That the tongue of your dogs may have their portion from the enemies.


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There are little Benjamin, who rules them, And the princes of Judah in their company, The princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.


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Rebuke the animals of the reeds, The herd of the bulls among the calves of the peoples, Trampling on those who lust after silver; Scatter the peoples who take delight in war.


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You are awesome, O God, from Your sanctuaries. The God of Israel, He gives strength and power to the people. Blessed be God!


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I sink in deep mire, And there is no place to stand; I have come to the depths of water, And the flood flows over me.


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More numerous than the hairs of my head Are those who hate me without cause; Mighty are those who would destroy me, Those who are wrongly my enemies. What I did not steal, I must then restore.


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Do not let those who wait on You be put to shame because of me, O Lord Jehovah of hosts; Do not let those who seek You be humiliated because of me, O God of Israel.


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For the zeal of Your house has devoured me, And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.


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But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Jehovah, in an acceptable time; O God, in the abundance of Your lovingkindness answer me, In the faithfulness of Your salvation.


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Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink; May I be delivered from those who hate me, And out of the depths of water.


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Do not let the flood of water flow over me, Nor let the deep swallow me, Nor let the pit close its mouth over me.


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Answer me, O Jehovah; for Your lovingkindness is good; According to the abundance of Your compassions turn to me.


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Reproach has broken my heart, And I am sick; I looked for pity, but there was none; And for comforters, but I found none.


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For they persecute him whom You have stricken, And they recount the pain of those whom You have wounded.


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May those who seek my life Be put to shame and confounded; May those who take delight in my misfortune Be turned back and humiliated;


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May all those who seek You Be glad and rejoice in You; And may those who love Your salvation Say continually, May God be magnified!


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But I am poor and needy; O God, hasten to me. You are my help and my Deliverer; O Jehovah, do not delay.


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Be to me a rock of habitation for me to come to continually. You have given command to save me, For You are my rock and my fortress.


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On You I have been sustained since birth; It was You who took from my mother's womb; My praise is continually of You.


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May those who are the adversaries to my soul Be put to shame and consumed; May those who seek my misfortune Wrap themselves in reproach and humiliation.


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My mouth will recount Your righteousness, Your salvation, all day long; For I do not know its full numbers.


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I will come with the proof of the mighty acts of the Lord Jehovah; I will remind men of Your righteousness, Yours alone.


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So even into my old age and greyheadedness, O God, do not forsake me, Until I have declared Your strength Unto the next generation, Your might unto everyone who is to come.


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You who have shown me Many great troubles Will revive me again And bring me up again From the depths of the earth.


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I will also praise You with the harp, I will praise Your faithfulness, my God; I will sing psalms to You with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.


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My tongue also will declare Your righteousness all day long; For they are put to shame, for they are confounded, They who seek my misfortune.


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He will judge the poor of the people; He will save the children of the needy And crush the oppressor.


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They will fear You as long as the sun endures And as long as the moon endures Throughout the generations.


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In His days the righteous will flourish, And there will be an abundance of peace Until the moon is no more.


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The kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands Will pay tribute; The kings of Sheba and Seba Will present gifts.


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From oppression and violence He will redeem their soul, And their blood will be precious in His sight.


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So He shall live and to Him shall be given The gold of Sheba; And prayer shall be made continually for Him; He shall be blessed all the day long.


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There will be an abundance of grain on the earth, Even at the tops of the mountains. Its fruit will wave like the forests of Lebanon, And those of the city will blossom like the foliage of the earth.


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His name will be forever; As long as the sun endures, His name will spread; And men will be blessed in Him; All the nations will call Him blessed.


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For behold, those who are far from You will perish; You destroy all who go about as harlots away from You.


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But as for me, drawing near to God is good for me; I have made the Lord Jehovah my refuge, That I may declare all Your works.


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Why, O God, have You cast us off forever? Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture?


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Remember Your assembly, which You have purchased of old, Which You have redeemed as the tribe of Your inheritance, And Mount Zion, where You dwell.


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Your adversaries have roared in the midst of Your assembly place; They have set up their symbols as signs.


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They have set fire to Your sanctuary; They have defiled the dwelling place of Your name to the ground.


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They said in their heart, Let us oppress them completely. They have burned down all God's assembly places in the land.


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We do not see our signs; there is no longer a prophet, Nor is there anyone among us who knows how long.


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Why do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand? Bring it forth from the midst of Your bosom; destroy them .


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Do not give the soul of Your turtledove to the wild beast; Do not forget the life of Your poor forever.


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Do not forget the voice of Your adversaries; The roar of those who rise up against You goes up continually.


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We give thanks to You, O God; we give thanks, For Your name is near; men tell of Your wondrous deeds.


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For there is a cup in the hand of Jehovah, And the wine foams; it is full of mixture, And He pours from it; indeed its dregs will all the wicked of the earth Drain off and drink up.


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The stouthearted are despoiled; They slept their sleep, And none of the men of strength Have found their hands.


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Make vows and pay them to Jehovah your God; Let all who are around Him bring gifts to Him who is to be feared.


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My voice calls out to God, and I will cry out; My voice calls out to God, and He will give ear to me.


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In the day of my distress I sought the Lord; My hand was stretched out in the night, and it did not drop. My soul refused to be comforted.


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Then I said, This is my infirmity; These are the years given me from the right hand of the Most High.


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The clouds poured forth water; The skies sent forth a sound; Indeed Your arrows went here and there.


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The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; Lightning illuminated the world; The earth trembled and quaked.


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We will not hide them from their children, But will relate to the generation to come The praises of Jehovah and His strength And His wondrous deeds that He has done.


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Indeed He has established a testimony in Jacob And appointed a law in Israel, Which He commanded our fathers That they should make them known to their children;


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That the generation to come, The children to be born, may know them, Who should arise and relate them to their children;


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That they might set their hope in God, And not forget the deeds of God, But observe His commandments;


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That they might not be like their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that did not set their heart right, And whose spirit was not faithful to God.


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He did something wonderful in the sight of their fathers In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.


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Behold, He struck the rock, And water gushed out, And streams overflowed; Can He also give us bread, Or provide meat for His people?


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Therefore Jehovah heard and was angry. And a fire was kindled against Jacob, And also anger went up against Israel;


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When the anger of God went up against them And slew some of their fattest ones And struck down the choice men of Israel.


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But He, being merciful, forgave their iniquity And did not destroy them; Indeed He turned back His anger many times And did not stir up all His wrath.


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He sent among them the burning fierceness of His anger, Overflowing wrath and indignation and trouble, A mission of angels of evils.


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He leveled a path for His anger; He did not spare their soul from death, But gave their life over to the pestilence.


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And He drove out the nations before them And allotted them as an inheritance by line, And He made the tribes of Israel dwell there in their tents.


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Yet they put Him to the test and rebelled against God the Most High, And did not keep His testimonies.


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And they turned back and dealt treacherously, as their fathers had done; They turned aside like a deceitfulbow.


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Indeed they provoked Him to anger with their high places And made Him jealous with their graven images.


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From following after the ewes He brought him To shepherd Jacob His people And Israel His inheritance.


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And he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.


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O God, the nations have come into Your inheritance; They have defiled Your holy temple; They have turned Jerusalem into heaps.


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They have given the dead bodies of Your servants As food for the birds of heaven, The flesh of Your saints to the animals of the earth.


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Pour out Your wrath upon the nations Who do not know You, And upon the kingdoms Who do not call upon Your name.


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Do not remember against us the iniquities of our forefathers; May Your compassions quickly meet us, For we have been brought very low.


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Help us, O God of our salvation, For the glory of Your name; And deliver us and expiate our sins, For Your name's sake.


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Why should the nations say, Where is their God? May the avenging of the blood of Your servants, which has been poured out, Be known among the nations in our sight.


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May the sighing of the prisoner come before You. According to the greatness of Your power preserve those appointed to die,


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And render to our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom Their reproach, with which they have reproached You, O Lord.


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And we, Your people and the sheep of Your pasture, Will give You thanks forever; From generation to generation we will tell out Your praise.


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O Shepherd of Israel, give ear, You who lead Joseph like a flock; You who sit between the cherubim, shine forth.


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Even the stock which Your right hand has planted And the son whom You have strengthened for Yourself.


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Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, Upon the son of man whom You have strengthened for Yourself;


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He appointed it as a testimony in Joseph When He went out over the land of Egypt. I heard a language that I did not know:


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You called in trouble, and I delivered you; I answered you from the secret place of thunder; I proved you at the waters of Meribah.


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I am Jehovah your God, Who brought you up out of the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.


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And He would have fed them with the finest of wheat; Indeed with honey from the rock I would have satisfied you.


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You do not know, nor do you understand; You go about in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are shaken.


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They have said, Come and let us destroy them from being a nation, That the name of Israel may no longer be remembered.


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My soul longs, indeed even faints, For the courts of Jehovah; My heart and my flesh cry out To the living God.


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At Your two altars even the sparrow has found a home; And the swallow, a nest for herself, Where she may lay her young, O Jehovah of hosts, my King and my God.


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Passing through the valley of Baca, They make it a spring; Indeed the early rain covers it with blessings.


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For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand; I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of the wicked.


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For Jehovah God is a sun and a shield; Jehovah gives grace and glory; He does not withhold anything good From those who walk uprightly.


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I will hear what God Jehovah will speak, For He will speak peace To His people and to His faithful ones; But let them not turn again unto folly.


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For You, O Lord, are good and ready to forgive And abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You.


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All the nations which You have made will come And worship before You, O Lord; And they will glorify Your name.


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Teach me, O Jehovah, Your way; I will walk in Your truth. Make my heart single in fearing Your name.


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O God, the proud have risen up against me, And a company of violent men seek my life; And they do not set You before them.


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But You, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, Long-suffering and abundant in lovingkindness and truth.


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Turn to me and be gracious to me; Give Your strength to Your servant, And save the son of Your female servant.


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Show me a token of goodness, That those who hate me may see it and be ashamed; For You, O Jehovah, have helped me and comforted me.


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I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon as those who know Me; Behold, Philistia and Tyre along with Cush:This one was born there, they say .


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But of Zion it will be said, This one and that one were born in her, And the Most High Himself will establish her.


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Abandoned among the dead, Like the slain that lie in the grave, Whom You remember no more, And they are cut off from Your hand.


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You have put my acquaintances far from me; You have made me an abomination to them. I am shut in and cannot go out.


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My eye wastes away at the affliction; I have called out to You, O Jehovah, every day; I have spread out my hands to You.


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Will Your wonders be made known in the darkness, Or Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?


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I will sing of the lovingkindness of Jehovah forever; From generation to generation I will make known Your faithfulness with my mouth.


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For I have said, Lovingkindness will be built up forever; In the heavens themselves You will establish Your faithfulness.


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And the heavens will praise Your wonders, O Jehovah, Indeed Your faithfulness in the congregation of the holy ones.


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Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Lovingkindness and truth go before Your face.


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Blessed are the people who know the joyful shout; They walk, O Jehovah, in the light of Your countenance.


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Then You spoke in vision Of Your Holy One, and You said, I have given help to One who is mighty; I have exalted One chosen from My people.


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And My faithfulness and My lovingkindness will be with Him, And in My name His horn will be exalted.


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But My lovingkindness I will not utterly take away from Him, Nor will I be false to My own faithfulness.


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You have abhorred the covenant of Your servant; You have profaned his crown by casting it to the ground.


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Where are Your former acts of lovingkindness, O Lord, Which You swore to David in Your faithfulness?


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Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Your servants, How I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty peoples,


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With which Your enemies have reproached, O Jehovah, With which they have reproached the footsteps of Your anointed.


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Before the mountains were brought forth, And before You gave birth to the earth and the world, Indeed from eternity to eternity, You are God.


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For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it passes by And like a watch in the night.


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You sweep them away as with a rain flood; they are as in a sleep:In the morning they are like grass that comes up anew.


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For all our days have passed away in Your overflowing wrath; We bring our years to an end like a sigh.


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The days of our years are seventy years, Or, if because of strength, eighty years; But their pride is labor and sorrow, For it is soon gone, and we fly away.


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Who knows the power of Your anger, And Your overflowing wrath according to the fear that is due You?


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Satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness That we may give a ringing shout and rejoice all our days.


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Cause us to rejoice according to the days that You have afflicted us, According to the years that we have seen evil.


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And let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands upon us; Indeed the work of our hands, establish it.


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With His pinions He will cover You, And under His wings You will take refuge; His truth is a shield and a buckler.


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A thousand will fall at Your side, And ten thousand at Your right hand; But it will not come near to You.


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Because He has set His love upon Me, I will rescue Him; I will set Him on high, because He has known My name.


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He will call upon Me, and I will answer Him. I will be with Him in distress; I will deliver Him and honor Him.


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For You have made me rejoice, O Jehovah, because of what You have done; Because of the works of Your hands I will shout for joy.


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When the wicked sprout like grass, And all the workers of iniquity blossom, It is so that they may be destroyed forever.


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For behold, Your enemies, O Jehovah; For behold, Your enemies will perish; All the workers of iniquity will be scattered.


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And my eye has seen its desire for my enemies; My ears have heard their desire for the evildoers who rise up against me.


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Jehovah reigns; He is clothed with majesty. Jehovah is clothed, He has girded Himself, with strength. Indeed the world has been established; it will not be moved.


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The floods have lifted up, O Jehovah; The floods have lifted up their voice; The floods lift up their roaring.


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More than the voices of many waters, Than the mighty breakers of the sea, Jehovah on high is mighty!


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Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?


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And He will return their iniquity upon them And destroy them in their own evil; Jehovah our God will destroy them.


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For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture And the flock of His hand. Today, if you hear His voice,


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For forty years I loathed that generation, And I said, They are a people who go astray in heart; And they do not know My ways;


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Say among the nations, Jehovah reigns; Indeed the world has been established; it will not be moved; He will judge the peoples with equity.


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Before Jehovah, for He is coming; For He is coming to judge the earth; He will judge the world with righteousness, And the peoples with His truth.


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The mountains melt like wax at the presence of Jehovah, At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.


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Let all who serve a graven image be ashamed, Who make their boast in idols; Worship Him, all you gods.


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O you who love Jehovah, hate evil! He preserves the souls of His faithful ones; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.


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Sing to Jehovah a new song, For He has done wonderful things. His right hand and His holy arm Have accomplished salvation for Him.


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Jehovah has made His salvation known; In the sight of the nations He has revealed His righteousness.


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He remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness Toward the house of Israel; All the ends of the earth have seen The salvation of our God.


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Before Jehovah, for He is coming To judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness And the peoples with equity.


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And the strength of the King, who loves justice. You have established equity; You have executed Justice and righteousness in Jacob.


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Moses and Aaron among His priests, And Samuel among those who called on His name - They called out to Jehovah, And He answered them.


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In the pillar of cloud He spoke to them; They kept His testimonies and the statute that He gave them.


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O Jehovah our God, You answered them; You were a forgiving God to them, Yet One avenging their deeds.


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Know that it is Jehovah who is God; It is He who has made us and not we ourselves. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.


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I will give careful heed to the way of the perfect. When will You come to me? I will walk in the perfectness of my heart Within my house.


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I will not set anything base Before my eyes; I hate what those who turn aside do; It will not cling to me.


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He who secretly slanders his neighbor, Him I will destroy; He who is of a haughty look and a proud heart, Him I will not tolerate.


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My eyes are on the faithful of the land, That they may abide with me; He who walks in the way of the perfect, He will minister to me.


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He who practices deceit Will not dwell within my house; He who speaks lies will not be maintained In my sight.


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Morning by morning I will destroy All the wicked of the land, In order to cut off from the city of Jehovah All the workers of iniquity.


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Do not hide Your face from me On the day of my distress; Incline Your ear to me; On the day when I call out, answer me quickly.


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You will arise and have compassion on Zion, For it is time to be gracious to her; the appointed time has come.


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I said, My God, Do not take me away in the middle of my days; Your years are throughout all generations.


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They will perish, but You endure; Indeed all of them will wear out like a garment; Like clothing You will change them, And they will be changed.


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He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor has He recompensed us according to our iniquities.


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For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness upon those who fear Him.


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As compassionate as a father is toward his children, So compassionate is Jehovah toward those who fear Him.


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But Jehovah's lovingkindness is from eternity Unto eternity upon those who fear Him, And His righteousness is to the children's children;


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Bless Jehovah, you His angels, Who are mighty in strength to perform His word, By obeying the voice of His word.


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Bless Jehovah, O my soul. O Jehovah my God, You are very great. You are clothed with majesty and splendor,


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He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters; He makes the clouds His chariot; He walks upon the wings of the wind.


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He waters the mountains from His upper chambers. The earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works.


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He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, And herbage for man's use, That he may bring forth food from the earth:


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Even wine that cheers man's heart, Oil that makes his face shine, And bread that sustains man's heart.


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How many are Your works, O Jehovah! In wisdom You have made all of them; The earth is full of Your creatures.


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Yonder is the sea, great and extensively wide; There the creeping things are, even without number, The small animals with the great.


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You hide Your face; they are troubled. You take away their breath; they perish, And return to their dust.


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May the sinners be consumed from off the earth, And may the wicked be no more. Bless Jehovah, O my soul. Hallelujah.


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That I may see the prosperity of Your chosen ones, That I may rejoice in the joy of Your nation, That I may glory with Your inheritance.


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Our fathers in Egypt Did not understand Your wonders; They did not remember the multitude of Your acts of lovingkindness, But rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.


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Thus He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up; And He led them through the depths as through the wilderness.


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And He saved them from the hand of him who hated them, And redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.


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Therefore He said that He would destroy them, And would have, had not Moses His chosen one Stood in the breach before Him To turn away His wrath from destroying them.


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And that He would make their seed fall among the nations, And that He would disperse them among the lands.


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And poured out innocent blood, The blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; And the land was polluted with bloodshed.


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Many times He delivered them, But they were rebellious in their counsel, And they were brought low in their iniquity.


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And for their sake He remembered His covenant, And repented according to the multitude of His acts of lovingkindness;


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Save us, O Jehovah our God; And gather us out of the nations, That we may give thanks to Your holy name, That we may glory in Your praise.


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Blessed be Jehovah the God of Israel, From eternity to eternity. And let all the people say, Amen. Hallelujah.


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Let them give thanks to Jehovah for His lovingkindness And for His wondrous deeds to the children of men.


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Some were fools, because of their way of transgression; And because of their iniquities, they were afflicted.


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And let them exalt Him in the congregation of the people And praise Him in the assembly of the elders.


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I will give thanks to You among the peoples, O Jehovah; And I will sing psalms to You among the nations.


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For the mouth of the wicked man and the mouth of deceit are opened against me; They speak to me with a lying tongue.


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And may his children wander all about and beg, And may they seek food far from their desolated ruins.


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May his father's iniquity be remembered before Jehovah, And may his mother's sin not be blotted out.


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Because he did not remember to show lovingkindness, But persecuted the poor and needy and brokenhearted, To put them to death.


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Indeed he loved cursing, so it came on him; And he took no delight in blessing, so it was far from him.


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And he clothed himself with cursing like his garment, So it came into his inward parts like water And into his bones like oil.


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Let it be to him like the cloak that he wraps around himself, And as a belt with which he constantly girds himself.


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But You, O Jehovah Lord, deal with me, For Your name's sake; Because Your lovingkindness is good, deliver me.


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Let them curse, but You bless; When they arise, they will be put to shame, And Your servant will rejoice.


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May my adversaries be clothed with humiliation, And may they wrap themselves with their own shame as with a mantle.


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I will give much thanks to Jehovah with my mouth, And in the midst of the multitude I will praise Him;


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Your people will offer themselves willingly In the day of Your warfare, In the splendor of their consecration. Your young men will be to You Like the dew from the womb of the dawn.


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Jehovah has sworn, And He will not change:You are a Priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.


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He will execute judgment among the nations; He will fill the place with corpses; He will shatter the head Over a great land.


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Hallelujah! I will give thanks to Jehovah with all my heart In the council of the upright and in the assembly.


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He has sent redemption to His people; He has commanded His covenant forever; Holy and awesome is His name.


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The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom; All who practice His precepts have a good understanding. His praise endures forever.


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He has scattered abroad; he has given to the needy; His righteousness endures forever; His horn will be exalted with honor.


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The wicked man will see it and be angry; He will gnash his teeth and melt away; The desire of the wicked will perish.


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Not to us, O Jehovah, not to us, But to Your name give glory, For the sake of Your lovingkindness and Your truth.


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They have hands, but they do not feel; They have feet, but they do not walk; They make no sound in their throat.


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Jehovah has been mindful of us; He will bless us; He will bless the house of Israel; He will bless the house of Aaron;


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The bonds of death encompassed me, And the distresses of Sheol fell upon me; I fell upon trouble and sorrow.


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Oh, Jehovah! Surely I am Your servant; I am Your servant, the son of Your female servant; You have loosed my bonds.


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They surrounded me like bees; They were extinguished like a fire of thorns; In the name of Jehovah I indeed cut them down!


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The voice of rejoicing and salvation Is in the tents of the righteous. The right hand of Jehovah does valiantly;


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Jehovah is God, And He has given us light; Bind the sacrifice of the feast with cords To the horns of the altar.


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Let the proud be put to shame, for they have subverted my cause with a lie; But I will muse upon Your precepts.


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I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, For I have not forgotten Your commandments.


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To which the tribes go up, The tribes of Jehovah - A custom for Israel - To give thanks to the name of Jehovah.


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Behold, as the eyes of the servants Look to the hand of their masters, As the eyes of a servant girl Look to the hand of her mistress, So our eyes look to Jehovah our God, Until He is gracious to us.


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Our soul has escaped like a bird, Out of the snare of the fowlers; The snare is broken, And we have escaped.


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For the scepter of wickedness will not rest Upon the allotment of the righteous, That the righteous would not put forth Their hands to iniquity.


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But as for those who turn aside to their crooked ways, Jehovah will lead them off with the workers of iniquity. Peace be upon Israel.


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At that time our mouth was filled with laughter And our tongue with a ringing shout. At that time they said among the nations, Jehovah has done great things for them.


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He who goes forth and weeps, Bearing seed for scattering, Will no doubt come in with a ringing shout, Bearing his sheaves with him.


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Unless Jehovah builds the house, Those who build it labor in vain. Unless Jehovah keeps the city, The guard watches in vain.


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It is vain for you to rise up early, To lie down late, To eat the bread of toil; All the same, He gives to His beloved while they sleep.


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Blessed is the man Who fills his quiver with them. He will not be put to shame When he speaks with enemies in the gate.


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Your wife will be like a fruitful vine In the innermost parts of your house. Your children will be like olive shoots Round about your table.


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Nor may those who pass by say, The blessing of Jehovah be upon you! We bless you in the name of Jehovah.


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Hope in Jehovah, O Israel; For with Jehovah there is lovingkindness, And with Him abundantly there is redemption;


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O Jehovah, my heart is not proud, Nor are my eyes haughty; Nor do I go about in things too great Or too wondrous for me.


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Surely I have calmed And quieted my soul, Like a weaned child with its mother; Like a weaned child is my soul within me.


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Jehovah has sworn unto David in truth; He will not turn from it:Of the fruit of your body I will set One upon your throne.


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If your children keep My covenant And My testimonies that I will teach them, Their children also will sit Upon your throne forever.


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And its priests I will clothe with salvation, And its faithful ones will shout with a ringing shout.


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It is like the fine oil upon the head That ran down upon the beard, Upon Aaron's beard, That ran down upon the hem of his garments;


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Like the dew of Hermon That came down upon the mountains of Zion. For there Jehovah commanded the blessing:Life forever.


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He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain; He brings forth wind from His treasuries.


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For Jehovah will execute judgment for His people, And He will have compassion concerning His servants.


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For there our captors required of us songs, And those who tormented us required of us mirth, saying, Sing for us One of the songs of Zion.


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Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth, If I do not remember you, If I do not prefer Jerusalem Above my chief joy.


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Remember, O Jehovah, Against the children of Edom, The day of Jerusalem, Who said, Lay it bare! Lay it bare, Down to its foundation!


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O daughter of Babylon, who are to be devastated, Happy will he be who repays you The recompense of what you have rendered to us.


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I will bow toward Your holy temple And give thanks to Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth, For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.


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All the kings of the earth will give thanks to You, O Jehovah; For they have heard the words of Your mouth.


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Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will preserve me; Against the wrath of my enemies You will stretch out Your hand, And Your right hand will save me.


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Jehovah will complete that which concerns me. O Jehovah, Your lovingkindness is forever; Do not forsake the works of Your own hands.


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I will praise You, for I am awesomely and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, And my soul knows it well.


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My frame was not hidden from You When I was made in secret, Skillfully fashioned in the depths of the earth.


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Your eyes saw my unformed substance; And in Your book all of them were written:The days that were ordained for me, When not one of them was yet.


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Keep me, O Jehovah, from the hands of the wicked; From violent men preserve me; Who devise schemes to thrust me down.


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The proud have hidden a trap for me and cords; They have spread a net by the wayside; They have set snares for me.


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O Jehovah, do not grant the desires of the wicked man; Do not let his evil scheme advance, Lest he be exalted.


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May burning coals drop down upon them; May they be thrown down into the fire, Into deep pits, never to rise again.


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Do not let my heart turn to anything evil, To practice deeds of wickedness With men who commit iniquity; And let me not eat of their delicacies.


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Let the righteous strike me in kindness and reprove me; Let not my head refuse oil upon the head, For still my prayer is against their evil deeds.


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Their judges are thrown down by the sides of the rock, And they hear my words, that they are pleasant.


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When my spirit fainted within me, You knew my path. On the way on which I walked They have hidden a trap for me.


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Look on my right hand and see, For there is no one who regards me; Refuge has failed me; No one cares for me.


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Give heed to my cry, For I have been brought very low; Deliver me from those who persecute me, For they are stronger than I.


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Bring my soul out of prison, That I may give thanks to Your name. The righteous will surround me, For You will deal bountifully with me.


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O Jehovah, hear my prayer; Give ear to my supplications; Answer me in Your faithfulness and in Your righteousness;


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For the enemy has persecuted my soul; He has crushed my life down to the ground; He has caused me to dwell in dark places, like those who have been long dead.


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I remember the days of old; I meditate upon all that You have done; I muse upon the work of Your hands.


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Hurry and answer me, O Jehovah; My spirit fails. Do not hide Your face from me, Lest I become like those who go down into the pit.


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Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, For in You I trust. Make known to me the way on which I should walk, For to You I lift up my soul.


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For Your name's sake, O Jehovah, preserve me alive; In Your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble.


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And in Your lovingkindness cut off my enemies And destroy all those who oppress my soul, For I am Your servant.


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My Lord of lovingkindness and my fortress, My high retreat and my Deliverer, My shield and He in whom I take refuge, Who subdues my people under me.


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Stretch forth Your hand from on high; Rescue me and deliver me From the great waters, From the hand of foreigners;


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Rescue me and deliver me from the hand of foreigners, Whose mouth speaks deceit, And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.


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May our sons be like plants Grown up in their youth; May our daughters be like corner pillars Hewn out in fashion for a palace;


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May our barns be full, Furnishing produce of all kinds; May our sheep bring forth thousands And ten thousands in our fields;


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May our oxen be fully laden; May there be no breaking in to rob or going forth to fight, Or outcry in our streets.


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Who executes judgment for the oppressed; Who gives food to the famished. Jehovah frees the prisoners;


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Jehovah opens the eyes of the blind; Jehovah raises up those who are bowed down; Jehovah loves the righteous;


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Jehovah preserves the sojourners; He upholds the orphan and the widow; But He subverts the way of the wicked.


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Who covers the heavens with clouds, Who prepares rain for the earth, Who causes grass to grow on the mountains,


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He has not dealt so with any other nation; And as for His ordinances, they have not known them. Hallelujah!


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Let them praise the name of Jehovah, For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and the heavens.


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And He has raised up a horn for His people, The praise of all His faithful ones, The children of Israel, a people near to Him. Hallelujah!


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Let them praise His name with dancing; Let them sing psalms to Him with the tambourine and the lyre.


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Praise Him with the tambourine and with dancing; Praise Him with the stringed instrument and the pipe.


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That the wise man may hear and increase in learning, And he who has understanding may acquire sound counsel;


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At the head of the tumultuous street she cries; At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings:


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How long, O simple ones, will you love simpleness, And will scoffers delight themselves in scoffing, And will fools hate knowledge?


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Turn yourselves at my reproof - Immediately I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.


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When what you dread comes like a storm, And your calamity comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you.


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Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.


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For the turning away of the simple will kill them, And the prosperity of the foolish will cause them to perish;


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Do not let lovingkindness and truth forsake you:Bind them around your neck; Write them upon the tablet of your heart.


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Do not say to your neighbor, Go, and come back; And tomorrow I will give it - when you have it with you.


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The curse of Jehovah is in the house of the wicked man, But He blesses the dwelling place of the righteous.


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And he taught me and said to me, Let your heart hold fast to my words; Keep my commandments and live;


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For they cannot sleep unless they do evil; And they are robbed of their sleep unless they cause someone to stumble.


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But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, Which shines brighter and brighter until the full day.


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A lovely hind and a graceful doe. Let her breasts satisfy you at all times. May you be ravished with her love always.


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For why should you be ravished, my son, with a strange woman And embrace the bosom of an adulteress?


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My son, if you have become a surety for your neighbor, If you have given your hands as a pledge for a stranger,


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Do this now, my son, and deliver yourself, Since you have come into the hand of your neighbor:Go, humble yourself, and plead with your neighbor.


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Therefore his calamity will come suddenly; In a moment he will be broken, and there will be no remedy.


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When you walk about, it will guide you, When you lie down, it will watch over you; And when you awake, it will talk with you.


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For the commandment is a lamp, and the teaching a light, And the reproofs of instruction are the way of life,


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For the price of a harlot is a loaf of bread, But the wife of another man hunts for the precious soul.


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But if he is found out, he shall restore sevenfold; He must give over all the substance of his house.


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He goes after her immediately, As an ox goes to the slaughter, Or as someone in fetters, to the correction of the fool,


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Until an arrow pierces through his liver. As a bird hastens to the snare, So he does not know that this will cost him his life.


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For many are those whom she has brought down wounded, And numerous are all who have been slain by her.


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The fear of Jehovah is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth, I hate.


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When He established the heavens, I was there; When He inscribed a circle upon the surface of the deep,


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When He set for the sea its boundary, That the waters should not transgress His commandment, When He marked out the foundations of the earth;


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He who corrects a scorner gets dishonor for himself, And he who reproves a wicked man blemishes himself.


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Impart something to a wise man, and he will become wiser still; Teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.


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The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a father glad, But a foolish son is a grief to his mother.


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Jehovah will not allow the soul of the righteous man to go hungry, But he thrusts away the desire of the wicked.


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He who gathers in summer is a prudent son, But he who sleeps at harvest time is a son who brings shame.


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The mouth of the righteous man is a fountain of life, But the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.


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In the lips of one who has understanding wisdom is found, But a rod is for the back of him who lacks sense.


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When the whirlwind passes, the wicked man is no more; But the righteous man is an everlasting foundation.


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The integrity of the upright will guide them, But the perverseness of the treacherous will destroy them.


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The righteousness of the perfect man will make his way straight, But the wicked man will fall by his own wickedness.


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The righteousness of the upright will deliver them, But the treacherous will be taken in their own craving.


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With his mouth the profane man destroys his neighbor, But through knowledge the righteous will be delivered.


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When it goes well with the righteous, the city exults; And when the wicked perish, there is a ringing shout.


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He who goes about as a gossip reveals secrets, But he who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter.


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He who is steadfast in righteousness shall attain to life, And he who pursues evil advances to his own death.


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Those who are perverse in heart are an abomination to Jehovah, But those who are perfect in their way are His delight.


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There is one who scatters and increases yet more, And there is one who withholds what is appropriate but ends up only in want.


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As for him who withholds grain, the people will curse him; But blessing will be upon the head of him who sells it.


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He who diligently seeks good seeks favor; But as for him who searches after evil, it will come to him.


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He who troubles his own house will inherit the wind, And a fool will be servant to the wise in heart.


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A worthy woman is the crown of her husband, But she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones.


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A man will be praised according to his prudence, But he who is of a perverse heart will be despised.


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In the transgression of the lips there is a snare for the evil man, But the righteous man will come out of trouble.


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A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth, And the result of man's deeds will be rendered to him.


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There is one who speaks rashly like the piercings of a sword, But the tongue of the wise brings healing.


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There is one who pretends to be rich yet has nothing; There is one who pretends to be poor yet has great wealth.


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Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself, But he who fears the commandment will be rewarded.


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Poverty and shame will come to him who refuses correction, But he who regards reproof will be honored.


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A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, But the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous man.


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The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, And a good man will be satisfied from himself.


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In a multitude of people is the king's glory, But in an absence of people is the ruin of the prince.


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Wisdom rests quietly in the heart of one who has understanding, But in the inward part of fools it makes itself known.


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The king's favor is toward a servant who acts prudently, But his overflowing wrath will be toward him who causes shame.


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In the house of the righteous man there is much treasure, But in the income of the wicked there is trouble.


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The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to Jehovah, But the prayer of the upright is His delight.


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Where there is no counsel, plans are frustrated; But in the multitude of counselors they are established.


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The heart of the righteous man ponders how to answer, But the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.


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He who ignores instruction despises his own soul, But he who listens to reproof acquires understanding.


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How much better it is to acquire wisdom than gold, And to acquire understanding is to be chosen above silver.


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He who shuts his eyes does so to devise perverse things; He who compresses his lips brings evil to pass.


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He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty; And he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city.


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A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who causes shame, And will share in the inheritance among brothers.


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The beginning of contention is like letting out water; Therefore abandon strife before it breaks out.


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He who justifies the wicked man, and he who condemns the righteous man, Both of them are an abomination to Jehovah.


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Wisdom is before the face of him who has understanding, But the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.


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He who restrains his words has knowledge, And he who is cool in spirit is one who has understanding.


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To respect the person of the wicked man is not good, Nor to turn aside the righteous man in judgment.


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The words of a whisperer are like dainty morsels, And they go down into the innermost parts of the body.


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A brother offended is harder to be gained than a strong city, And contentions are like the bars of a castle.


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With the fruit of his mouth a man's stomach will be satisfied; With the produce of his lips he will be satisfied.


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A man of many friends comes to destruction, But there is a true friend that sticks closer than a brother.


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Also it is not good for a person to be without knowledge, And he who makes haste with his feet sins.


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All the brothers of the poor man hate him; How much more do his friends go far from him! He pursues them with words, but they are not there.


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A man of great wrath will bear the penalty; For if you deliver him, you will only have to do it again.


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The fear of Jehovah leads to life, And he who has it will lodge in contentment; He will not be visited with evil.


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Strike a scorner, and the simple will learn prudence; And reprove one who has understanding, and he will understand knowledge.


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He who does violence to his father and chases away his mother Is a son that causes shame and brings reproach.


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The terror of a king is like the roaring of a lion; He who provokes him to anger sins against his own life.


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Take his garment when he becomes surety for a stranger, And hold the pledge when he becomes surety for foreigners.


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He who goes about as a gossip reveals secrets; Therefore do not associate with one who opens his lips wide.


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When the scorner is punished, the simple man becomes wise; And when the wise man is instructed, he receives knowledge.


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The wicked man is a ransom for the righteous man, And the treacherous man is in the place of the upright.


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There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise man, But a foolish man swallows it up.


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Train up a child according to the way he should go; Even when he is old, he will not depart from it.


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Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; But the rod of correction will drive it far from him.


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He who oppresses the poor to multiply his gain, And he who gives to the rich will only come to want.


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To make you know the certainty of the words of truth, That you may answer back words of truth to those who send you?


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Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before obscure men.


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When you set your eyes upon it, it is gone; For wealth certainly makes itself wings, Like an eagle that flies toward heaven.


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For as he thinks within himself, so he is. He says to you, Eat and drink; But his heart is not with you.


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The father of the righteous man will greatly exult, And he who begets a wise child will rejoice in him.


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Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes?


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And you will be like one who lies down while at sea, Or like one who lies down at the top of a mast.


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They struck me, you will say, but I was not hurt; They beat me, but I did not feel it; When will I awake? I will seek another drink.


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Deliver those who are being taken away to death, And those who are staggering to be slain, oh, hold back!


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If you say, Look, we did not know this - Does not He who weighs the hearts consider it? And He who keeps your soul, does He not know it? And will He not render to every man according to his work?


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My son, eat honey, for it is good, And the drippings from the honeycomb, which are sweet to your taste:


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Know that wisdom is such for your soul; If you find it , then there will be a latter end, And your hope will not be cut off.


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Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous man; Do not destroy his resting place;


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For a righteous man falls seven times and rises up again, But the wicked are overthrown by calamity.


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Prepare your work outside, And make it ready for yourself in the field, And afterward build your house.


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And there it was, all overgrown with thorns; Its surface was covered with nettles, And its stone wall was broken down.


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Do not claim honor for yourself in the presence of the king, And do not stand in the place of great men;


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For it is better that it is said to you, Come up here, Than that you should be put lower in the presence of the noble, Whom your eyes have seen.


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Do not go out hastily to strive; Otherwise what will you do in the end, When your neighbor puts you to shame?


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Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest Is a faithful messenger to those who send him, For he refreshes the soul of his masters.


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Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor's house, Otherwise he will become weary of you and hate you.


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He who sings songs to a troubled heart Is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, Or like vinegar on soda.


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Like a muddied fountain and a polluted spring Is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked man.


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Like the sparrow in its fluttering, like the swallow in its flying, So a curse without cause does not alight.


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He who passes by and meddles with strife that does not belong to him, Is like one who takes a dog by the ears.


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The words of a whisperer are like dainty morsels, And they go down into the innermost parts of the inner being.


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Do not forsake your own friend or your father's friend To go to your brother's house in the day of your calamity:Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother far away.


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Take the garment of him who is surety for a stranger, And hold one in pledge who is surety for a foreign woman.


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He who blesses his friend with a loud voice, Arousing him early in the morning, It will be reckoned as a curse to him.


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The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, And a man is tried by the praise given him.


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Though you pound a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, His folly will not depart from him.


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Then when the grass has disappeared, and the tender grass is seen, And the herbs of the mountains have been gathered in,


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And there will be goats' milk enough for your food, For the food of your household, And for the sustenance for your maidens.


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Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity Than he who is perverse in his ways though he is rich.


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Whoever keeps the law is an understanding son, But he who is a companion of gluttons shames his father.


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He who increases his substance by interest and usury Gathers it for him who is gracious to the poor.


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Whoever causes the upright to go astray in an evil way Will himself fall into his own pit, But the perfect will inherit good.


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He who covers his transgressions will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.


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The ruler who lacks understanding is also a great oppressor, But he who hates unjust gain will prolong his days.


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Whoever walks uprightly will be delivered, But he who is perverse in his ways will fall all at once.


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He who tills his land will have plenty of bread, But he who pursues worthless things will have plenty of poverty.


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A faithful man will abound with blessings, But he who makes haste to be rich will not go unpunished.


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Whoever robs his father or his mother and says, It is no transgression, Is the companion of a man who destroys.


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Whoever loves wisdom makes his father glad, But he who keeps company with harlots wastes his substance.


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The righteous man knows the rights of the poor; The wicked man has no understanding of such knowledge.


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If a wise man has a controversy with a foolish man, The fool is either angry or laughs, and there is no rest.


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A servant will not be corrected by words alone; For though he understands, there will be no response.


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An unjust man is an abomination to the righteous, And he who is upright in the way is an abomination to the wicked man.


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Who has ascended into heaven and descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in His garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son's name, if you know?


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Remove far from me falsehood and lies. Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion,


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Lest I become full and deny You and say, Who is Jehovah? Or lest I become poor and steal and profane the name of my God.


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There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, And yet are not washed from their filthiness.


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There is a generation whose teeth are like swords, And their jaw teeth like knives, To devour the afflicted from off the earth, And the needy from among men.


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The leech has two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, Indeed, four that do not say, Enough:


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Sheol and the barren womb, The earth that is not satisfied with water, And the fire that does not say, Enough.


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The eye that mocks his father And despises to obey his mother, The ravens of the valley will pick it out, And the young eagles will eat it.


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The way of an eagle in the sky, The way of a serpent upon a rock, The way of a ship in the midst of the sea, And the way of a man with a maiden.


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This is the way of an adulterous woman:She eats and wipes her mouth And says, I have done no wickedness.


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The strutting cock girded in the loins, or a male goat, And a king who has a band of soldiers with him.


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If you have been foolish in exalting yourself, Or if you have thought an evil scheme, Put your hand upon your mouth.


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For the churning of milk produces butter, And the wringing of the nose brings forth blood, So the pressing of wrath brings forth strife.


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It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; Nor for princes to say, Where is strong drink?


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She rises also while it is still night And gives food to her household, And their task to her serving girls.


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Going to the south, then turning to the north, Turning about continually, the wind goes on; And following its circuits, the wind returns.


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All the rivers run to the sea, Yet the sea is not full; To the place where the rivers run, There they run again.


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All things are wearisome; No one is able to tell it; The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor is the ear filled with hearing.


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What has been is what will be, And what has been done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun.


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Is there anything of which one can say, See, this is new? Already it has been, in the ages that were before us.


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There is no remembrance of those who were before; And also those who will come to be afterward, for them there will be no remembrance With those who come to be after them.


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And I set my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. It is grievous travail that God has given to the children of men to travail in.


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I have seen all the works that are done under the sun, and indeed, all is vanity and a chasing after wind.


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I spoke to my own heart, saying, Now I have magnified and increased my wisdom more than all who have been over Jerusalem before me; and my heart has observed in abundance wisdom and knowledge.


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And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly; I perceived that this also is a chasing after wind.


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I said in my heart, Come now, I will test out pleasure; so taste enjoyment. But indeed, this also is vanity.


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I searched with my heart how to cheer my flesh with wine while my heart guided me with wisdom, and how to take hold of folly, until I could see what good there is for the children of men to do under the heavens the few days of their lives.


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I bought male and female servants, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of herds and flocks, more than all that had been before me in Jerusalem.


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I gathered also silver and gold for myself and the treasures of kings and provinces; I got for myself male singers and female singers and the delights of the children of men, concubine after concubine.


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And I became great and increased more than all who had been before me in Jerusalem; also my wisdom remained with me.


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And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them; I did not keep my heart from any pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my labor, and this was my portion from all my labor.


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Then I turned to all the works that my hands had done and the labor by which I had labored in doing them, and indeed, all was vanity and a chasing after wind; and there was no advantage under the sun.


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And I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly, for what will the man do who comes after the king? Only that which has been done already.


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The wise man's eyes are in his head, and the fool walks in darkness; yet I also perceived that one fate happens to them all.


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And I said in my heart, As it happens to the fool, so also will it happen to me. Why then have I been so wise? And I said in my heart, This also is vanity.


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For of the wise man, even as of the fool, there is no remembrance forever, seeing that in the days to come all will be forgotten. And how the wise man dies just like the fool!


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So I hated life, for the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me, because everything is vanity and a chasing after wind.


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And I hated all my labor for which I had labored under the sun, because I will leave it to the man who comes after me.


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And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will be master over all my labor for which I have labored and in which I exercised wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity.


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Therefore I turned and gave my heart up to despair of all the labor for which I had labored under the sun;


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For there is a man whose labor has been with wisdom and with knowledge and with skill, and to a man who has not labored on it he gives it as his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil.


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For what will a man have with all his labor and with the striving of his heart by which he labors under the sun?


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For all his days are sorrow, and his travail is vexation; even at night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.


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There is nothing better for man than to eat and to drink and to make his soul taste enjoyment in his labor. This also I saw, that it is from the hand of God.


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For to the man who is good in His sight He gives wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner He gives the travail of gathering and heaping up that it may be given to him who is good in God's sight. This also is vanity and a chasing after wind.


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A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;


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He has made everything beautiful in its own time; also He has put eternity in their heart, yet so that man does not find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.


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Moreover, that every man should eat and drink and taste enjoyment in all his labor; it is the gift of God.


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I know that whatever God does, it will be forever; nothing can be added to it, nor can anything be taken from it. God has so done, that all would fear Him.


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That which is has already been, and that which will be has already been; and God seeks what has passed.


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Moreover I saw under the sun that in the place of judgment, wickedness is there; and in the place of righteousness, wickedness is there.


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I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked; for there is a time there for every purpose and every work.


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I said in my heart, This is so for the sake of the children of men, that God may prove them and that they may see for themselves that they are but beasts.


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For what happens to the children of men happens also to beasts; even the same thing happens to them both:As the one dies, so dies the other; and they all have one breath; and man has no advantage over the beast; for all is vanity.


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Who knows the breath of the children of men, that it goes upward; or the breath of the beasts, that it goes downward to the earth?


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Therefore I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his works, for that is his portion. For who will bring him to see what will be after him?


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Then again I saw all the acts of oppression that are done under the sun; and indeed, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of the oppressors was power, and they had no comforter.


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And better than both is he who has not yet been, who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.


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Then I saw all labor and all skill in work, that it is man's jealousy for his neighbor. This also is vanity and a chasing after wind.


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There is one alone and without a second; also he has no son or brother. Yet there is no end to all his labor; moreover his eye is not satisfied with riches. For whom then, he says, do I labor and deprive myself of good? This also is vanity and grievous tr


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For if they fall, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls and does not have another to lift him up!


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And while a man may prevail against the one, the two will withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.


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Better is a poor but wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knows how to be admonished.


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I saw all the living that went about under the sun with the youth, the successor, who stood up in place of him.


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There was no end to all the people, to all before whom he stood, yet even those who come after will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a chasing after wind.


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Guard your steps when you go to the house of God, and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know that they are doing evil.


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Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart hastily utter anything before God; for God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few.


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When you make a vow to God, do not delay in paying it; for He takes no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow.


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Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the works of your hands?


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If you see the oppression of the poor and the wresting of justice and righteousness in a province, do not be astonished at the matter; for one higher official watches over another high official, and there are higher officials over them.


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He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver, nor he who loves abundance with income. This is also vanity.


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When goods increase, those who eat them increase; so what advantage do their owners have except to see them with their eyes?


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Sweet is the sleep of the laborer, whether he eats little or much; but the fullness of the rich will not let him sleep.


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As he came forth from his mother's womb, he will return naked as he came; and he will take nothing of his labor that he may carry in his hand.


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And this also is a grievous evil:in all points, as he came, so will he go; so what is the advantage to him who has labored for the wind?


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Here is what I have seen to be good and what is pleasant:to eat and to drink and to taste enjoyment in all his labor by which he labors under the sun during the few days of his life, which God has given him; for this is his portion.


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Moreover, for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and has empowered him to eat of them and to take his portion and to rejoice in his labor - this is the gift of God.


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For he will not brood much over the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the gladness of his heart.


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A man to whom God gives riches, wealth, and honor, so that nothing is lacking to his soul of all that he desires, and yet God does not empower him to eat of it, but a stranger eats it. This is vanity and an evil plague.


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If a man begets a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not filled with good and even does not get a proper burial, I say that the stillborn is better off than he;


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Moreover it has not seen the sun and does not know anything; this one has rest rather than that one.


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Indeed, even if he lives a thousand years twice and does not taste enjoyment, do not all go to one place?


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For what advantage does the wise man have over the fool? What advantage does the poor man have in knowing how to walk before the living?


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Better is seeing with the eyes than wandering with the soul. This also is vanity and a chasing after wind.


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That which is has already been determined, and it is known what man is and that he cannot contend with him who is stronger than he.


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For who knows what is good for a man in life during the few days of his vain life, which he will spend as a shadow? For who can tell a man what will be after him under the sun?


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It is better to go to the house of mourning Than to go to the house of feasting, Because that is the end of every man, And the living takes it to heart.


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Better is the end of a thing than its beginning; Better is patience of spirit than haughtiness of spirit.


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Do not say, How is it that the former days were better than these? For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.


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For wisdom is a defense, as money is a defense; But the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of those who have it.


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In the day of prosperity be joyful, And in the day of adversity consider. God has made the one as well as the other, So that man may not find out anything about what is after him.


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I have seen everything in my days of vanity:There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his wickedness.


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It is better for you to take hold of the one without letting go of the other, for he who fears God will come out of it with them all.


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I turned and my heart was set to know and to search and seek out wisdom and the sum of things, and to know that wickedness is folly and that foolishness is madness.


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And I found more bitter than death the woman whose heart is traps and snares, whose hands are fetters. One who is well-pleasing to God escapes from her, but the sinner is taken by her.


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Which my soul is still seeking but has not found. One man among a thousand I have found, but a woman among all these I have not found.


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Who is like the wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man's wisdom makes his face shine, and the sternness of his face is changed.


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He who keeps the commandment will know nothing evil, and a wise man's heart will know the proper time and manner.


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For there is a proper time and manner for every purpose, although the misery of man is heavy upon him;


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There is no man who has power over his breath to retain his breath, and no one has power over the day of death; and there is no discharge in the battle, nor will wickedness deliver its own master.


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All this I have seen, and I applied my heart to every work that is done under the sun when a man overpowers another man to his hurt.


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And then I saw the wicked buried, who before had gone in and come forth from the holy place and were forgotten in the city where they had thus acted. This also is vanity.


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Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the children of men is fully set within them to do evil.


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Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I also know that it will be well with the God- fearing who are in fear before Him;


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But it will not be well with the wicked man, nor will he prolong his days like a shadow, because he is not in fear before God.


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There is a vanity that is done on the earth, that there are righteous men to whom things happen according to the deeds of the wicked and there are wicked men to whom things happen according to the deeds of the righteous. I say that this also is vanity.


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So I praised pleasure, because there is nothing better for man under the sun than to eat and to drink and to rejoice; for that will stay with him in his labor during the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.


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When I set my heart to know wisdom and to see the travail that is done on the earth (even though man's eyes do not see sleep day or night),


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Then I saw every work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun, because however man labors to seek it out, he will not find it out; and even if the wise man says that he will come to know it, he is not able to find it out.


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For all this I laid on my heart, so that I might explain all this, that the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God; man knows neither love nor hate; all is before them.


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All things are alike to all:One thing happens to the righteous man and to the wicked man, to the good and to the clean and to the unclean, to him who sacrifices and to him who does not sacrifice; as the good man is, so is the sinner; he who swears is lik


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This is an evil among all that is done under the sun, that one thing happens to all; moreover the heart of the children of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live; and after that, they go to the dead.


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For there is hope for whomever is joined to all the living - surely a living dog is better than a dead lion -


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For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten.


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Their love, their hate, and their envy have already perished, nor do they have some portion yet in all that is done under the sun forever.


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Go; eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has already accepted your works.


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Enjoy life with the wife whom you have loved all the days of your life of vanity which He has given you under the sun, all the days of your vanity; for this is your portion in life and in your labor by which you have labored under the sun.


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Whatever your hand finds to do, do with all your might; for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, where you are going.


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Again I saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor is the battle to the mighty, nor is even the bread to the wise, nor are riches to those who have understanding, nor is favor to those who have knowledge; but time and chance happen to them a


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For also man does not know his time:Like fish that are caught in a deadly net and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of men are ensnared in an evil time when it falls suddenly on them.


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There was a small city with a few men in it; and a great king came against it and surrounded it and built great siegeworks against it.


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And in it there was found a poor wise man, and he delivered the city by his wisdom; yet no one remembered that poor man.


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So I said, Wisdom is better than strength; but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heard.


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Dead flies cause the perfumer's ointment to stink, to ferment; so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.


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And also, when the fool walks on the way, his sense fails him, and he tells everyone that he is a fool.


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If the ruler's spirit rises up against you, do not leave your place; for composure allays great offenses.


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If the iron is blunt, and one does not whet the edge, then he must apply more strength; but wisdom has the advantage of giving success.


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Yet the fool multiplies words. No man knows what will be; and what will be after him, who can tell him?


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Happy are you, O land whose king is the son of nobles and whose princes feast at the proper time, for strength and not for drunkenness!


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Do not curse the king even in your thought, and do not curse a rich man in your bedroom; for a bird of heaven will carry the sound, or something with wings will tell the matter.


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Give a portion to seven, and even to eight, for you do not know what calamity will happen on the earth.


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If the clouds are full, they pour forth rain on the earth; and whether a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, in the place where it falls, there will it be.


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Just as you do not know what the path of the wind is or how the bones are formed in the mother's womb, so you do not know the work of God, who makes everything.


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In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not hold back your hands; for you do not know which will prosper, this one or that, or whether both alike will be good.


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Indeed if a man should live many years, let him rejoice in all of them; but let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. All that comes is vanity.


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Rejoice, young man, in your childhood, and let your heart be merry in the days of your youth; and walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.


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So remove vexation from your heart, and put away evil from your flesh; for childhood and the dawn of life are vanity.


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Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, I have no pleasure in them;


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Before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened, and the clouds return after the rain;


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In the day when the keepers of the house tremble and the men of strength bow themselves and the women who grind cease because they are few, and those who look out of the windows see dimly;


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And when the doors are shut on the street; when the sound of the grinding is low, and one arises at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low;


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When also men are afraid of what is high, and terrors are on the way; and the almond tree blossoms, and the grasshopper is a burden, and the caperberry is ineffective (for man will go to his everlasting home while mourners go around in the street);


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Before the silver cord is undone, and the golden bowl is broken, and the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, and the wheel is broken at the cistern,


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And in addition to being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge; and he pondered and studied and arranged many proverbs.


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The words of the wise are like goads, and like well-driven nails are the collections of them; they are given by one Shepherd.


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And of what is beyond these, my son, beware:Of the making of many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.


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The end of the matter, when all has been heard, is this:Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of man.


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Your anointing oils have a pleasant fragrance; Your name is like ointment poured forth; Therefore the virgins love you.


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Draw me; we will run after you - The king has brought me into his chambers - We will be glad and rejoice in you; We will extol your love more than wine. Rightly do they love you.


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I am black but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, Like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.


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Do not look at me, because I am black, Because the sun has scorched me. My mother's sons were angry with me; They made me keeper of the vineyards, But my own vineyard I have not kept.


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Tell me, you whom my soul loves, Where do you pasture your flock? Where do you make it lie down at noon? For why should I be like one who is veiled Beside the flocks of your companions?


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If you yourself do not know, You fairest among women, Go forth on the footsteps of the flock, And pasture your young goats By the shepherds' tents.


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As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, So is my beloved among the sons:In his shade I delighted and sat down, And his fruit was sweet to my taste.


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I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles or by the hinds of the fields, Not to rouse up or awaken my love Until she pleases.


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My beloved is like a gazelle or a young hart. Now he stands behind our wall; He is looking through the windows, He is glancing through the lattice.


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Flowers appear on the earth; The time of singing has come, And the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.


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The fig tree has ripened its figs, And the vines are in blossom - they give forth their fragrance. Rise up, my love, My beauty, and come away.


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My dove, in the clefts of the rock, In the covert of the precipice, Let me see your countenance, Let me hear your voice; For your voice is sweet, And your countenance is lovely.


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Catch the foxes for us, The little foxes, That ruin the vineyards While our vineyards are in blossom.


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Until the day dawns and the shadows flee away, Turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young hart On the mountains of Bether.


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I will rise now and go about in the city; In the streets and in the squares I will seek him whom my soul loves. I sought him, but found him not.


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Scarcely had I passed them When I found him whom my soul loves; I held him and would not let go Until I had brought him into my mother's house And into the chamber of her who conceived me.


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Who is she who comes up from the wilderness Like pillars of smoke, Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, With all the fragrant powders of the merchant?


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All of them wield the sword and are expert in war; Each man has his sword at his thigh Because of the night alarms.


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Its posts he made of silver, Its bottom, of gold; Its seat, of purple; Its midst was inlaid with love From the daughters of Jerusalem.


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Go forth, O daughters of Zion, And look at King Solomon with the crown With which his mother crowned him On the day of his espousals, Yes, on the day of the gladness of his heart.


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Oh, you are beautiful, my love! Oh, you are beautiful! Your eyes are like doves behind your veil; Your hair is like a flock of goats That repose on Mount Gilead.


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Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes That have come up from the washing, All of which have borne twins, And none of them is bereaved of her young.


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Your lips are like a scarlet thread, And your mouth is lovely; Your cheeks are like a piece of pomegranate Behind your veil.


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Your neck is like the tower of David, Built for an armory:A thousand bucklers hang on it, All the shields of the mighty men.


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Until the day dawns and the shadows flee away, I, for my part, will go to the mountain of myrrh And to the hill of frankincense.


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Come with me from Lebanon, my bride; With me from Lebanon come. Look from the top of Amana, From the top of Senir and Hermon, From the lions' dens, From the leopards' mountains.


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You have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride; You have ravished my heart with one glance of your eyes, With one strand of your necklace.


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How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much better is your love than wine, And the fragrance of your ointments Than all spices!


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Your lips drip fresh honey, my bride; Honey and milk are under your tongue; And the fragrance of your garments Is like the fragrance of Lebanon.


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Spikenard and saffron; Calamus and cinnamon, With all the trees of frankincense; Myrrh and aloes, With all the chief spices.


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Awake, O north wind; And come, O south wind! Blow upon my garden:Let its spices flow forth; Let my beloved come into his garden And eat his choicest fruit.


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I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, O friends; Drink, and drink deeply, O beloved ones!


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I sleep, but my heart is awake. A sound! My beloved is knocking:Open to me, my sister, my love, My dove, my perfect one; For my head is full of dew, My locks with the drops of night.


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I have put off my garment; How can I put it on again? I have washed my feet; How can I dirty them again?


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I rose up to open to my beloved; And my hands dripped with myrrh, My fingers with liquid myrrh, Upon the handles of the bolt.


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I opened to my beloved, But my beloved had withdrawn; he was gone. My soul failed when he spoke; I sought him, but found him not; I called him - he answered me not.


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The watchmen who go about the city found me. They struck me; they wounded me; The keepers of the walls took my veil from me.


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I adjure, O daughters of Jerusalem, If you find my beloved, What shall you tell him? That I am sick with love.


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What is your beloved more than some other's beloved, O you most beautiful among women? What is your beloved more than some other's beloved, That you adjure us so?


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His cheeks are like a bed of spices, Mounds of sweetly fragrant herbs; His lips are lilies, Dripping with liquid myrrh.


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His legs are pillars of white marble, Set upon bases of gold; His appearance is like Lebanon, As excellent as the cedars.


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His mouth is sweetness itself, And he is altogether desirable. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.


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Where has your beloved gone, O you most beautiful among women? Where has your beloved turned, That we may seek him with you?


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My beloved has gone down to his garden, To the beds of spices, To feed in the gardens And gather lilies.


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You are as beautiful, my love, as Tirzah, As lovely as Jerusalem, As terrible as an army with banners.


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Turn your eyes away from me, For they overwhelm me, Your hair is like a flock of goats That repose on Mount Gilead.


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Your teeth are like a flock of ewes That have come up from the washing, All of which have borne twins, And none of them is bereaved of her young.


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My dove, my perfect one, is but one; She is the only one of her mother; She is the choice one of her who bore her. The daughters saw her, and they called her blessed; The queens and the concubines, They also praised her.


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Who is this woman who looks forth like the dawn, As beautiful as the moon, As clear as the sun, As terrible as an army with banners?


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I went down to the orchard of nuts To see the freshness of the valley, To see whether the vine had budded, Whether the pomegranates were in bloom.


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Return, return, O Shulammite; Return, return, that we may gaze at you. Why should you gaze at the Shulammite, As upon the dance of two camps?


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How beautiful are your footsteps in sandals, O prince's daughter! Your rounded thighs are like jewels, The work of the hands of a skilled artist.


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Your navel is a round goblet That never lacks mixed wine; Your belly is a heap of wheat, Fenced in by lilies.


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Your neck is like a tower of ivory; Your eyes, like the pools in Heshbon By the gate of Bath-rabbim; Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon, Which faces Damascus.


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Your head upon you is like Carmel, And the locks of your head like purple. The king is fettered by your tresses.


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I said, I will climb the palm tree; I will take hold of its branches; And let your breasts be like clusters of the vine, And the fragrance of your nose like apples,


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And the roof of your mouth like the best wine - Going down smoothly for my beloved, Gliding through the lips of those who sleep.


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Let us rise up early for the vineyards; Let us see if the vine has budded, If the blossom is open, If the pomegranates are in bloom; There I will give you my love.


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The mandrakes give forth fragrance, And over our doors are all choice fruits, New as well as old. These, my beloved, I have stored up for you.


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O that you were like a brother to me, Who nursed at my mother's breasts! If I found you outside, I would kiss you, And none would despise me.


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I would lead you and bring you Into my mother's house, Who has instructed me; I would make you drink spiced wine From the juice of my pomegranate.


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Who is this who comes up from the wilderness, Leaning on her beloved? I awakened you under the apple tree:There your mother was in labor with you; There she was in labor and brought you forth.


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Set me as a seal on your heart, As a seal on your arm; For love is as strong as death, Jealousy is as cruel as Sheol; Its flashes are the flashes of fire, A flame of Jehovah.


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Many waters cannot quench love, Nor do floods drown it. If a man gave all the substance of his house for love, It would be utterly despised.


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We have a little sister, And she has no breasts:What shall we do for our sister On the day when she is spoken for?


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If she is a wall, We will build on her a battlement of silver; And if she is a door, We will enclose her with boards of cedar.


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Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon:He let out the vineyard to keepers; Each was to bring a thousand shekels of silver for its fruit.


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My vineyard, which is mine, is before me. You will have the thousand, O Solomon; And those who keep its fruit, two hundred.


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The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, the kings of Judah:


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Hear, O heavens, and hearken, O earth, For Jehovah has spoken:I have brought up children, and I have raised them; And yet they have rebelled against Me.


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The ox knows his owner, And the donkey, his master's manger; But Israel does not know, My people do not much consider.


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Alas, sinful nation, A people heavy with iniquity, Seed of evildoers, Children acting corruptly! They have forsaken Jehovah; They have despised the Holy One of Israel; They have become estranged and have gone backward.


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Where will you be stricken again? Will you continue your apostasy? The whole head has become sick, And the whole heart faint;


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From the sole of the foot even to the head, There is no soundness in it, Only bruises and blows And raw wounds - They have not been pressed out nor bound up Nor softened with oil.


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Your land is a desolation; Your cities are burned with fire; Your field - in your sight Strangers devour it; It is a desolation, like something overthrown by strangers.


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And the daughter of Zion is left Like a booth in a vineyard, Like a hut in a cucumber field, Like a besieged city.


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Unless Jehovah of hosts Had left to us a surviving few, We would have been like Sodom, We would have resembled Gomorrah.


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Hear the word of Jehovah, You rulers of Sodom; Hearken to the instruction of our God, You people of Gomorrah.


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What is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me? Says Jehovah. I have had My fill of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; The blood of bulls and lambs And goats, I do not delight in.


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Bring no more vain offerings; Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and Sabbath, the calling of convocations - I cannot bear iniquity and the solemn assembly.


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Your new moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; They have become a burden on Me; I am weary of bearing them.


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Thus, when you spread forth your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you multiply your prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood;


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Wash yourselves; cleanse yourselves. Turn away the evil of your deeds From before My eyes. Cease doing what is evil;


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Come now and let us reason together, Says Jehovah. Though your sins are like scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are as red as crimson, They will be like wool.


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But if you refuse and rebel, You will be devoured by the sword; For the mouth of Jehovah has spoken.


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How the faithful city Has become a harlot! She who was full of justice, She in whom righteousness once lodged, But now murderers!


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Your rulers are rebellious And companions of thieves; They all love bribes And chase after rewards; They do not defend the orphan, Nor does the widow's plea come before them.


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Hence, the Lord Jehovah of hosts, The Mighty One of Israel, declares:Ah, I will ease Myself of My adversaries, And I will avenge Myself of My enemies;


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And I will turn My hand against you. I will thoroughly purge away your dross as with lye, And I will remove all your alloy.


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And I will restore your judges as at the first And your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you will be called the city of righteousness, The faithful city.


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And there will be the shattering of rebels and sinners together, And those who forsake Jehovah will meet their end.


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For you will be ashamed of the terebinths That you have taken pleasure in; And you will be embarrassed at the gardens That you have chosen.


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For you will be like a terebinth Whose leaves are falling, And like a garden In which there is no water;


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And the strong man will become tow, And his work a spark; And they will both burn together, And there will be none to extinguish them.


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But in the last days The mountain of the house of Jehovah will be established On the top of the mountains; And it will be lifted up among the hills; And all the nations will stream to it,


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And many peoples will come and say, Come and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, To the house of the God of Jacob, That He may instruct us in His ways, And that we may walk in His paths. For from Zion will go forth instruction, And the word of Jehov


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And He will judge between the nations, And will decide matters for many peoples. And they will beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning knives; Nation will not lift up sword against nation, Nor will they learn war anymore.


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For You have abandoned Your people, The house of Jacob; Because they are full of customs from the east, And they are soothsayers like the Philistines, And they clasp hands with the children of foreigners.


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Their land is full of silver and gold, And their treasures are limitless; Their land is also full of horses, And their chariots are limitless.


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And their land is full of idols; They bow down to the work of their hands, To that which their fingers have made.


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Enter into the rock, And hide in the dust, From the dread of Jehovah, And from the splendor of His majesty.


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Man's haughty look will be abased, And the loftiness of men will be humbled; But Jehovah alone will be exalted In that day.


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For Jehovah of hosts will have a day Over everything proud and lofty, And over everything lifted up that it may be abased;


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And the haughtiness of the ordinary man will be humbled, And the loftiness of the men of distinction will be abased; But Jehovah alone will be exalted In that day.


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And men will go into caves in the rocks And into holes in the dust, From the dread of Jehovah, And from the splendor of His majesty, When He arises to make the earth tremble.


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In that day a man will cast His idols of silver and his idols of gold, Which they made for themselves to bow down to, To the moles and to the bats,


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So that they may go into the crevices of the rocks And into the clefts of the cliffs, From the dread of Jehovah, And from the splendor of His majesty, When He arises to make the earth tremble.


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For now the Lord Jehovah of hosts Is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah Every kind of support - All the support of bread And all the support of water;


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The captain of fifty and the highly regarded; And the counselor, the wise magician, and the knowledgeable enchanter.


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And the people will be oppressed, each by the other, And each by his neighbor. The youth will be arrogant to the elder, And the contemned one to the one who is honored.


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When a man takes hold of his brother In his father's house and says, You have clothing, you be our ruler, And these ruins will be under your hand;


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He will solemnly say, I will not be the one who binds your wounds, For in my house there is no food or clothing; Do not appoint me as ruler of the people.


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For Jerusalem stumbles, And Judah falls, Because their speech and their actions are against Jehovah, To rebel against the eyes of His glory.


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The countenance of their faces witnesses against them, And they declare their sin like Sodom; They do not hide it. Woe to their soul! For they have brought evil upon themselves.


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My people - their oppressors are children, And women rule over them. O My people, those who lead you are leading you astray; And the path for your ways they have hidden.


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Jehovah will enter into judgment With the elders of His people and their rulers. It is you who have consumed the vineyard; The spoil of the poor is in your houses.


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What do you mean by crushing My people And grinding the faces of the poor? Declares the Lord Jehovah of hosts.


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Moreover Jehovah said, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, And walk around with outstretched necks And lusting eyes, And trip along with quick, little steps, And rattle the anklets on their feet;


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The Lord will strike the scalp of the daughters of Zion with scabs, And Jehovah will expose their secret parts.


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And instead of a sweet smell there will be rottenness; And instead of a belt, an encircling rope; Instead of well-set hair, baldness; And instead of fine garments, the girding of oneself with sackcloth; A brand instead of beauty.


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And seven women will grasp One man in that day, Saying, We will eat our own bread And wear our own clothes; Just let us bear your name; Take away our reproach .


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In that day the Shoot of Jehovah will be beauty and glory, and the Fruit of the earth, excellence and splendor, to those of Israel who have escaped.


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And he who is left over in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who has been written down in Jerusalem for life;


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When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and has cleansed away the bloodstains of Jerusalem from her midst, by the judging Spirit and the burning Spirit.


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Jehovah will create over the entire region of Mount Zion and over all her convocations a cloud of smoke by day, and the brightness of a fiery flame by night; for the glory will be a canopy over all.


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And there will be a tabernacle as a daytime shade from the heat and as a refuge and a cover from storm and rain.


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Let me sing of my Beloved, A song of my Beloved concerning His vineyard. My Beloved had a vineyard On a fertile hill.


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And He dug it up and cleared away its stones, And He planted it with the choicest vine. Then He built a tower in the middle of it, And hewed out a wine vat in it. And He looked for it to produce grapes, But it produced only wild grapes.


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What more could I have done for My vineyard That I have not already done for it? Why then, when I looked for it to produce grapes, Did it produce only wild grapes?


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And now I will make known to you What I will now do to My vineyard:I will remove its hedge, and it will be consumed; I will break down its wall, and it will become a trampled place.


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And I will make it a waste; It will not be pruned, nor will it be hoed; But thorns and thistles will come on it. And I will command the clouds Not to rain upon it.


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For the vineyard of Jehovah of hosts is the house of Israel, And the men of Judah, the plant of His good pleasure; And He expected justice, but instead, bloodshed! He expected righteousness, but instead, an outcry of distress!


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Woe to those who join house to house, Who lay field to field, Till there is no place left, And you dwell alone in the midst of the land!


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In my ears Jehovah of hosts has sworn:Many houses shall indeed become desolate; Great ones and fine ones shall be without inhabitants.


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For ten acres of vineyard will produce a mere bath of wine, And a homer of seed will produce an ephah of grain.


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Woe to those who rise early in the morning That they may run after liquor, To those who linger into the evening That wine may inflame them!


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Lyre and harp, tambourine and flute, And wine are the essence of their banquets; And they do not consider what has been done by Jehovah, Nor do they regard the work of His hands.


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Hence, my people go into exile For lack of knowledge; Their nobility become famished men, And their multitudes, parched with thirst.


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Hence, Sheol enlarges its appetite And opens its mouth wide, without limit, And Jerusalem's splendor descends, and her din And her uproar and the jubilant within her.


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Thus the ordinary man is humbled, and the man of distinction is abased; And the eyes of the haughty are abased;


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Who say, He should hurry up; He should hasten His work, So that we may see it; And the counsel of the Holy One of Israel Should draw near and happen, So that we may know it!


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Woe to those who call evil good, And good evil; Who put darkness for light, And light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, And sweet for bitter!


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Therefore as a tongue of fire consumes the stubble, And the chaff sinks in flames, Their root will be like decay, And their bud will disappear like dust; For they have rejected the instruction of Jehovah of hosts And despised the speaking of the Holy One


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For this reason the anger of Jehovah burns against His people, And He stretches out His hand over them and strikes them. And the mountains quake, and their corpses are Like garbage in the middle of the street. In spite of all this His anger is not turned


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He also lifts up a standard to a distant nation, And whistles to it from the ends of the earth; And indeed it comes with swift speed.


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None of them is weary, and none stumbles among them; No one slumbers or sleeps; And their belts are not loosened at their waists, Nor are their sandal thongs broken.


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The arrows of these are sharpened, And all their bows are drawn; The hooves of their horses are considered to be like flint, And their chariot wheels like a whirlwind.


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Their roar is like a lion's, And they roar like young lions; When they growl and seize prey, They carry it away safe, and there is none to rescue it.


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And they will growl over it in that day, Like the roaring of the sea. When one will look upon the land, indeed, there will be darkness and distress, And the light will be darkened with its clouds.


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In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting on a high and lofty throne, and the train of His robe filled the temple.


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Seraphim hovered over Him, each having six wings:With two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.


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And one called to the other, saying:Holy, holy, holy, Jehovah of hosts; The whole earth is filled with His glory.


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And the foundations of the threshold shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.


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Then I said, Woe is me, for I am finished! For I am a man of unclean lips, And in the midst of a people of unclean lips I dwell; Yet my eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts.


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Then one of the seraphim flew to me with an ember in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs.


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And he touched my mouth with it and said, Now that this has touched your lips, Your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is purged.


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Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us? And I said, Here am I; send me.


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And He said to me, Go and say to this people, Hear indeed, but do not perceive; And see indeed, but do not understand.


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Make the heart of this people numb; Dull their ears, And seal their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears, And their heart perceive and return, and they are healed.


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And I said, For how long, Lord? And He said, Until cities lie devastated, Without inhabitants, And houses are without people, And the land is devastated and a waste;


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But there will still be a tenth part in it; And it in turn is to be burned Like a terebinth or an oak, Whose stump remains after its felling; Its stump will be a holy seed.


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In the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, the king of Judah, Rezin the king of Aram and Pekah the son of Remaliah, the king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but they were not able to prevail against it.


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And it was reported to the house of David that Aram allied with Ephraim, and his heart and the heart of his people quivered as the trees of the forest quiver in the face of a wind.


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Then Jehovah said to Isaiah, Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-jashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the road to the Fuller's Field;


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And say to him, Be careful and be quiet; do not fear, and do not be faint hearted because of these two smoking firebrand stubs, at the burning anger of Rezin and Aram, and the son of Remaliah.


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Let us go up against Judah and make it sick with terror and break it open for ourselves, and let us set the son of Tabel in its midst as king;


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For the head of Aram is Damascus, And the head of Damascus is Rezin; And in another sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered as a people.


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And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, And the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah; If you do not believe, surely you will not remain standing.


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And he said, Hear now, O house of David, is it too small a thing for you to exhaust the patience of men that you will exhaust the patience of my God as well?


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Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign:Behold, the virgin will conceive and will bear a son, and she will call his name Immanuel.


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For before this boy knows how to refuse evil and choose good, the land whose two kings you dread will be abandoned.


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Jehovah will bring upon you and your people and the house of your father such days as have not been since the days when Ephraim turned away from Judah; He will bring upon you the king of Assyria.


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And in that day Jehovah will whistle for the flies which are at the ends of the rivers of Egypt and for the bees which are in the land of Assyria.


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And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines and the clefts of the cliffs and on all the thornbushes and on all watering places.


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In that day the Lord will shave with the razor hired from beyond the River, with the king of Assyria, the head and the hair of the legs; and it will take away he beard as well.


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And because of the abundance of milk produced, he will eat curds; for everyone left behind in the midst of the land will eat curds and honey.


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And in that day every place where there could be a thousand vines, worth a thousand shekels of silver, will become thorns and thistles.


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And to all the hills that once were hoed with the hoe you will not go for fear of thorns and thistles; but they will become a place for cattle to roam in and for sheep to trample.


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Then Jehovah said to me, Take a large tablet and write on it in plain letters, For Maher-shalal-hash-baz;


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And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. And Jehovah said to me, Call his name Maher-shalal- hash-baz,


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For before this boy knows how to call, Father, and, Mother, they will carry off the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria before the king of Assyria.


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Because these people have rejected The gently flowing waters of Shiloah, and exult In Rezin and the son of Remaliah,


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Now therefore the Lord is bringing up upon them The mighty and abundant waters of the Euphrates, The king of Assyria and all his glory; And it will overflow all its channels, And go over all its banks.


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It will sweep through Judah; it will overflow and rise Until it reaches the neck; And the spreading out of its wings Will fill the breadth of Your land, O Immanuel.


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Be broken, O peoples, and be shattered; Hearken, all you distant places of the earth:Gird yourselves, yet be shattered; Gird yourselves, yet be shattered.


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For Jehovah spoke to me in this way with great force and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying,


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You shall not call it conspiracy All that this people calls conspiracy; And you shall not fear what they fear nor be awed by it.


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You shall sanctify Jehovah of hosts; He shall be the One to fear and He shall be the One to be awed by.


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Then He will become a sanctuary, yet a stone to strike against And a rock of stumbling To both houses of Israel, A trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.


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And many will stumble at these, And will fall and be broken to pieces, And will be snared and taken captive.


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And I will wait on Jehovah, who hides His face from the house of Jacob, and I will look eagerly for Him.


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See, I and the children whom Jehovah has given me are for signs and wonders in Israel from Jehovah of hosts, who abides on Mount Zion.


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When they say to you, Inquire of the necromancers and the familiar spirits, who twitter and mutter; say to them, Should not a people inquire of their God? Should they go to the dead on behalf of the living -


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To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because in them there is no dawn.


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And they go through it hard-pressed and hungry; and when they are hungry, they rage and curse their king and their God. They turn their faces upward,


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And they look to the earth, but, there is only distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish and being thrust into darkness.


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But gloom does not remain in the place where there was anguish:formerly He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali contemptibly, but afterward He treats the way of the sea, across the Jordan, with glory, Galilee of the nations.


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The people who walked in the darkness Have seen a great light; Upon those who dwell in the land of the shadow of death Light has shined.


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You have multiplied the nation; You have increased their gladness; They are glad before You as with the gladness of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.


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For You break the yoke of their burden And the staff on their shoulder, The rod of their oppressor, As in the day of Midian.


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For all the boots Of those who in boots trample in the battle quake And the garments Rolled in blood Are for burning; They are fuel for fire.


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For a child is born to us, A son is given to us; And the government Is upon His shoulder; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.


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To the increase of His government And to His peace there is no end, Upon the throne of David And over His kingdom, To establish it And to uphold it In justice and righteousness From now to eternity. The zeal of Jehovah of hosts Will accomplish this.


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And all the people know it, Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, Saying in pride and haughtiness of heart,


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The bricks have fallen, but we will build with cut stone; The sycamores have been felled, but we will put cedars in their place.


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Aram from the east and the Philistines from the west:They devour Israel with an open mouth. By all this His anger is not turned; His hand is still outstretched.


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The elder and the highly regarded - he is the head; The prophet and the teacher of falsehood - he is the tail.


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And those who lead this people are those who mislead them; And those who are led are those who are confused.


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Because of this the Lord will not rejoice in their young men, And He will not have compassion on their orphans and widows; For all of them are profane and evildoers, And every mouth speaks foolishness. By all this His anger is not turned; His hand is stil


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For wickedness burns like a fire; It devours thorn and thistle, And burns in the forest thickets; And it rolls up into a column of smoke.


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At the overflowing wrath of Jehovah of hosts a land is burned up, And the people are like fuel for fire; No one spares even his brother.


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One carves on the right side, but is hungry; And another eats on the left side, but is not satisfied. Each eats the flesh of his own arm:


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Manasseh, Ephraim, and Ephraim, Manasseh; These together against Judah. By all this His anger is not turned; His hand is still outstretched.


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In order to turn the poor away from judgment, And to tear justice away from the afflicted among my people; That widows may be their spoil, And they may plunder orphans.


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And what will you do for the day of visitation, And for the devastation that comes from afar? To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your glory,


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Unless one crouches behind prisoners, And they fall behind the slain? By all this His anger is not turned; His hand is still outstretched.


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Against a profane nation I send them out, And against the people of My overflowing wrath I command them, To make spoil of the spoil and to make plunder of the plunder, To make them a trampling ground, like street mire.


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But they do not think so, And their heart does not conceive it so; For destroying is in their heart, And the cutting down of no few nations.


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Since my hand has reached The kingdoms of the idols, And their graven images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,


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But when the Lord has completed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He says, I will punish the fruit of the king of Assyria's haughtiness of heart and the glory of his haughty eyes.


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For he has said, By the strength of my own hand I have done it, And by my own wisdom; for I have understanding. And I have removed the boundaries of the peoples; And their stored possessions I have plundered. And like a bull, I brought down those who sit


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And my hand reached in, like in a nest, For the wealth of the peoples; And like one who gathers abandoned eggs, I myself gathered in all the earth; And none fluttered a wing, Or opened a beak and chirped.


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Should the ax glorify itself above him who chops with it? Or should the saw magnify itself above him who wields it? It would be like the rod wielding him who lifts it up, Like the staff lifting up him who is not wood.


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Therefore the Lord Jehovah of hosts will send Leanness to his fat ones; And under his glory He will kindle a kindling, Like the kindling of fire.


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And the Light of Israel will become a fire, And His Holy One a flame; And it will burn and devour his thorns And his thistles in one day.


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The glory of his forest and of his garden land He will destroy, both soul and body; And he will be like a sick man wasting away.


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And what is left of the trees of his forest will be so few in number That a young boy could record them.


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Then in that day the remnant of Israel and those of the house of Jacob who have escaped will no longer rely upon him who strikes them, but they will rely upon Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.


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For though your people, O Israel, are like the sand of the sea, only a remnant among them will return. Annihilation is strictly decided, overflowing with righteousness.


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For utter destruction and a strict decision is the Lord Jehovah of hosts performing in the midst of the whole land.


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Therefore thus says the Lord Jehovah of hosts, O my people dwelling in Zion, do not fear Assyria, who strike with the rod and lift up their staff against you the way Egypt did.


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For in a very little while My indignation will be completed, and My anger will be turned toward their destruction.


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And against them Jehovah of hosts will rouse up a whip like the stroke against Midian at the rock of Oreb; and His staff will be over the sea, and He will lift it up the way He did in Egypt.


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And in that day their burden will be removed from your shoulders, and their yoke from off your neck; and the yoke will be broken due to the fatness.


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They go through the pass, saying, Geba will be our lodging overnight. Ramah is quaking; Gibeah of Saul flees away.


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So it is until this day when he halts at Nob. He swings his hand over the mountain of the daughter of Zion, Over the hill of Jerusalem.


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But now the Lord Jehovah of hosts Is lopping off the boughs with an awful crash:Those which are tall in height are hewn down, And those which are lofty are laid low.


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And He chops away the forest thickets with an iron ax; And Lebanon falls at the hands of a majestic One.


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And the Spirit of Jehovah will rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and the fear of Jehovah.


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He will delight in the fear of Jehovah:He will neither judge by what His eyes see, Nor decide by what His ears hear.


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But He will judge the poor in righteousness, And decide with equity for the afflicted of the land. And He will strike the land with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.


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Righteousness will be that which girds His loins, And faithfulness will be that which girds His hips.


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And the wolf will dwell with the lamb; And the leopard will lie down with the kid, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a young boy will lead them about.


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The cow and the bear will graze; Their young will lie down together; And the lion will eat straw like the ox.


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The nursing child will play by the cobra's hole, And upon the viper's den The weaned child will stretch his hand.


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They will not harm nor destroy In all My holy mountain, For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah, As water covers the sea.


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And in that day the root of Jesse, Who stands as a banner to the peoples - Him will the nations seek, And His resting place will be the glory.


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And in that day the Lord, By His hand for the second time again, Will recover the remnant of His people Who remain, from Assyria and from Egypt, From Pathros, Cush, and Elam, From Shinar, Hamath, and the islands of the sea.


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He will lift up a standard to the nations, And will gather the outcasts of Israel; And the dispersed of Judah He will assemble From the four corners of the earth.


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And Ephraim's jealousy will depart, And the adversaries in Judah will be cut off; Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, Nor will Judah be hostile to Ephraim.


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And they will fly down upon the shoulders of the Philistines on the west; Together they will plunder the children of the east. Edom and Moab will come into the grasp of their hand, And the children of Ammon will submit to them.


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And Jehovah will utterly destroy the tongue of the sea of Egypt; And will wave His hand over the River with the scorching of His wind, And He will strike it into seven streams, And march men through it dryshod.


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And there will be a highway from Assyria For the remnant of His people which remain, As there was for Israel In the day that they came up from the land of Egypt.


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And you will say in that day, I will praise You, O Jehovah. You were angry with me, But Your anger has turned and You have consoled me.


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God is now my salvation; I will trust and not dread; For Jah Jehovah is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation.


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And you will say in that day, Give thanks to Jehovah; call upon His name! Make His deeds known among the peoples; Remind them that His name is exalted.


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Cry out and give a ringing shout, O inhabitant of Zion, For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.


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Upon a bare mountain raise up a standard; Lift up your voice to them. Wave your hand that they may enter The gates of the nobles.


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I Myself have commanded My sanctified ones; I have also called My mighty ones to My wrath, Those who exult in My majesty.


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The sound of a tumult in the mountains, Like that of many peoples! The sound of an uproar of the kingdoms, Of nations gathered together! Jehovah of hosts is mustering An army for battle.


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They are coming from a distant land, From the ends of heaven - Jehovah and the instruments of His indignation - To ruin all the land.


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And people will be dismayed. Pangs and anguish will seize them; Like a woman giving birth, they will writhe. Each man will look toward his neighbor dumbfounded; Their faces are inflamed.


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Now the day of Jehovah is coming - Cruel and with overflowing wrath and burning anger - To make the land a desolation; And He will destroy its sinners off of it.


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For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not shine forth their light; The sun will be dark at its rising, And the moon will not let its light shine.


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And I will punish the world for its evil, And the wicked for their iniquity; I will stop the arrogance of the proud, And the haughtiness of the terrible I will abase.


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Hence, I will make the heavens shake, And the earth will quake out of its place, At the overflowing wrath of Jehovah of hosts, In the day of His burning anger.


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And like the hunted gazelle And sheep without someone to gather them, Each man will turn to his own people, And each will flee to his own land.


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And their little ones will be dashed to pieces Before their eyes; Their houses will be plundered, And their wives will be attacked.


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Their bows will shatter the young men; And they will not have compassion on the fruit of the womb:Their eyes will have no pity on children.


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And Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms, The glory of the Chaldeans' majesty, Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah:


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It will not be inhabited forever; It will not be dwelt in from generation to generation. And the Arab will not set up his tent there, Nor will the shepherds make their flocks lie down there.


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But desert animals will lie down there, And their houses will be full of wild dogs; There ostriches will dwell, And wild goats will prance there;


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Hyenas will respond in their citadels, And jackals in their exquisite palaces. Her time is about to come, And her days will not be prolonged.


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When Jehovah has compassion on Jacob and again chooses Israel and settles them in their land, the sojourners will join them and attach themselves to the house of Jacob.


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And nations will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will take possession of them in the land of Jehovah as male and female servants; and they will lead captive those who were their captors and rule over those who oppressed t


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In the day when Jehovah gives you rest from your pain and turmoil and from the hard service that was done by you as slaves,


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You will lift up this discourse concerning the king of Babylon and you will say:How the oppressor has ceased! How the raging has ceased!


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That struck the peoples in wrath, With strikes that would not stop; That ruled the nations in anger, With pursuit that would not let up.


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Even the cypress trees rejoice over you, And the cedars of Lebanon:Since you are brought down, no tree cutter Will come up against us.


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Sheol beneath is excited because of you, That it will meet you when you come. It rouses the dead because of you, All the great ones of the earth. It makes all the kings of the nations Rise from their thrones.


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All of them will respond And say to you, Even you have been weakened, just as we have; You have become like us.


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Your majesty has been brought down to Sheol, Even the sound of your harps. Beneath you maggots are spread; Worms are your covering.


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How you have fallen from heaven, O Daystar, son of the dawn! How you have been hewn down to earth, You who made nations fall prostrate!


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But you, you said in your heart:I will ascend to heaven; Above the stars of God I will exalt my throne. And I will sit upon the mount of assembly In the uttermost parts of the north.


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Those who see you will gaze at you; They will ponder concerning you, asking, Is this the man who made the earth tremble, The one who shook kingdoms;


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Who made the world like a wilderness And tore down its cities; Who did not release his captives to their homes?


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But you have been thrown out away from your tomb, Like some shoot that is viewed with disgust; Or like the garments of the slain, of those pierced with the sword, Who go down to the stones of the pit; Like a corpse that has been trampled under.


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You shall not be united with them in burial, For you have destroyed your land, You have slain your people; The seed of evildoers Will never be renowned.


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Prepare a slaughterhouse for his children Because of the iniquity of their fathers, So that they do not rise up and possess the land, And fill the surface of the world with cities.


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And I will rise up against them, Declares Jehovah of hosts. And I will cut off from Babylon name and remnant, And posterity and progeny, declares Jehovah of hosts.


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And I will make it a possession for porcupines And muddied pools of water, And I will sweep it with the broom of destruction, Declares Jehovah of hosts.


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Jehovah of hosts has sworn, saying, Surely just as I conceived it, so has it happened; And just as I have purposed it, so shall this stand,


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That I will break Assyria in My land, And upon My mountains I will trample him. Then his yoke will be taken off of them, And his burden will be removed from off their shoulders.


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This is the purpose that I have purposed over all the earth, And this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations.


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For Jehovah of hosts has purposed it, and who will frustrate it? And thus His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?


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Do not rejoice, all of you, Philistia, That the rod that strikes you is broken, For from the serpent's root a viper will come forth, And his fruit will be a flying fiery serpent.


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And the poorest of the poor will feed, And the needy will lie down securely. And I will kill your root by famine, And he will slay your remnant.


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Howl, O gate! Cry out, O city! The whole of you, Philistia, is melted away. For from the north smoke has come, And there are no stragglers in his ranks.


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And what shall one answer this nation's messengers? That Jehovah has founded Zion, And in her the poor of His people take refuge.


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The burden concerning Moab:Indeed in a night it is devastated - Ar of Moab is cut off. Indeed in a night it is devastated - Kir of Moab is cut off.


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They have gone up to their temple and to Dibon, That is, to their high places, to weep. Over Nebo and over Medeba Moab howls; Upon all their heads is baldness; Every beard is shaved off.


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In their streets they have girded themselves with sackcloth; On their roofs And in their open squares everyone will howl, Melting in tears.


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And Heshbon and Elealeh cry out; Their voice is heard as far as Jahaz. Because of this the armed men of Moab raise a cry; Their soul quivers within them.


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My heart cries out for Moab; Its fugitives reach as far as Zoar, as far as Eglath-shelishiyah:By the ascent of Luhith With weeping they will go up; On the way that leads to Horonaim They will raise up a cry of destruction;


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The waters of Nimrim Will be a devastation; The foliage will be dried up, the grass wasted away; There will be nothing green.


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As a result, the abundance they have produced And placed in reserve Will be carried off To the poplar brook.


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For the cry has gone about The border of Moab; Their howling goes as far as Eglaim, Even to Beer-elim their howling reaches.


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For the waters of Dimon are full of blood, For I will bring upon Dimon additional things:Lions upon those in Moab who escape And upon the remnant of the land.


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Send a lamb of tribute To the ruler of the land, From Sela across the wilderness To the mountain of the daughter of Zion.


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Like wandering birds, Like a scattered nest, Will the daughters of Moab be At the fords of the Arnon.


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Give us counsel, Make a judgment concerning us. Make your shadow at high noon Like night to us. Hide the outcasts; Do not expose him who wanders.


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Let the outcasts of Moab Dwell with you; Be a hiding place to them From the destroyer. When the extortioner finishes And destruction ends, When the oppressor is completely gone from the land,


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Then will a throne be established in lovingkindness, And upon it One will sit in truth In the tent of David, Judging and pursuing justice And hastening righteousness.


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We have heard of the pride of Moab - He is extremely proud - Of his haughtiness and pride and insolence; His boastings are all untrue.


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Therefore Moab will howl for Moab; They all will howl. For the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth You will mourn, utterly.


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Because the fields of Heshbon have withered, And the vine of Sibmah, too. The lords of the nations Have trampled under its choicest vines, Which reached as far as Jazer, Which meandered into the desert. Its shoots spread abroad; They crossed over to the s


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Therefore I will weep bitterly for Jazer, For the vine of Sibmah; I will soak you with my tears, Heshbon and Elealeh. For the harvest shout is hushed Over your summer fruit and over your reapings.


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Rejoicing is taken away, and exultation from the fruited field; In the vineyards there will be no singing for joy; no shouts will be uttered. The treader will not tread out wine in the presses - I have made the harvest shout stop.


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And when Moab appears, When they weary themselves at their high place, And come to their sanctuary to pray, It will not avail.


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And now Jehovah has spoken, saying, Within three years, like the years of a hired man, the glory of Moab will be disgraced, with all its great multitude, and its remnant will be small - a mere trifle, nothing great.


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The burden concerning Damascus:See, Damascus - turned from being a city, It will become a heap of ruin.


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The cities of Aroer will be forsaken; They will be for flocks That lie down with no one to frighten them.


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And fortified cities will cease to be in Ephraim, As well as the kingdom in Damascus; And the remnant of Syria Will be like the glory of the children of Israel, Declares Jehovah of hosts.


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And it will be as when the reaper gathers the standing grain, And his arms reap the ears; And it will be as when one gleans the ears In the valley of Rephaim.


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Yet gleanings will be left in it, Like at the shaking of an olive tree - Two or three fruit at the very top, Four or five in the boughs of the fruiting tree - Declares Jehovah the God of Israel.


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And he will not look to the altars, the works of his hands; And what his fingers have made he will not regard, That is, the Asherahs and the images to the sun.


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In that day his cities of protection will be Like abandoned places of the forest and like the mountaintop Which was abandoned before the children of Israel; And there will be desolation.


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For you have forgotten the God of your salvation, And the Rock of your stronghold you have not remembered. Therefore you plant plants of delight And set them with plant cuttings to a strange god.


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On the day that you plant them you fence them in carefully, And in the morning you bring your seed to blossom; But the harvest is a heap on a day of sickness And incurable pain.


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Woe! The roar of many peoples, Who roar like the roaring of the seas; The din of nations, Who crash like the crashing of mighty waters!


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The nations crash like the crashing of many waters. But He will rebuke them; And they will flee far away, And will be chased like mountain chaff before the wind And like a whirlwind of dust before storm wind.


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At evening time, indeed, there is calamity; Before the morning they are no more. This is the portion of those who plunder us, And the allotment of those who take us as spoil.


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The land that sends envoys on the sea, Even in papyrus vessels upon the surface of the water. Go, swift messengers, To a nation tall and smooth of skin, To a people feared from there and beyond, A nation of command upon command and of treading down othe


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All you inhabitants of the world and dwellers on the earth, When the standard is raised on the mountains, you will see it; And when the horn is blown, you will hear it.


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For thus has Jehovah spoken to me, I will be quiet and observe in My lodging place, Like glowing heat in the sunshine, Like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.


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For before the harvest, when the bud is full And the flower becomes the ripening grape, He will cut off the sprigs with pruning knives, And the tendrils He will remove and cut away.


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They will be left together for the mountain birds And for the beasts of the earth. And the birds will spend summer on them, And all the beasts of the earth will spend harvest time on them.


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At that time a gift will be brought to Jehovah of hosts from a people tall and smooth of skin, even from a people feared from there and beyond, a nation of command upon command and of treading down others, whose land the rivers cut through, unto the place


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The burden concerning Egypt:See, Jehovah is riding upon a swift cloud, And He is coming to Egypt. And the idols of Egypt will quiver at His presence, And the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.


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Thus I will spur on Egyptian against Egyptian; And each will fight against his brother, and each against his neighbor, City against city, and kingdom against kingdom.


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The spirit of the Egyptians will fail within them, And their counsel I will swallow up; Then they will seek after idols and mediums, And after spirits of the dead and familiar spirits.


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And I will shut the Egyptians up under the hand of hard masters, And a mighty king will rule over them, Declares the Lord Jehovah of hosts.


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The river canals will stink; The streams of Egypt's Nile will diminish and be desolate. The reeds and rushes will rot;


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The plants at the Nile, at the mouth of the Nile, And every place sown by the Nile Will dry up, be driven away, and be no more.


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The fishermen will mourn; And all who cast the hook into the Nile will lament; And those who spread nets upon the waters will languish.


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Mere fools are the princes of Zoan; The counsel of the wisest of Pharaoh's counselors has become stupidity. How can you say to Pharaoh, I am a son of the wise men, a son of ancient kings?


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Where are they? Where are your wise men? Let them tell you and let them know What Jehovah of hosts has purposed against Egypt.


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The princes of Zoan have become fools; the princes of Memphis are beguiled; They have misled Egypt, who are the cornerstone of her tribes.


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Jehovah has mixed within her a spirit of distortings, And they have misled Egypt in all that it does, As a drunken man staggers in his vomit.


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In that day the Egyptians will be like women, and they will tremble and be in dread before the waving of the hand of Jehovah of hosts, which He will be waving over them.


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And the land of Judah will become a source of crazed terror to Egypt - everyone to whom it is mentioned will be in dread of it because of the purpose of Jehovah of hosts, which He purposes against them.


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In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will be speaking the language of Canaan and swearing to Jehovah of hosts; one will be called the City of Destruction.


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In that day there will be an altar to Jehovah in the midst of the land of Egypt and a pillar to Jehovah near its border;


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And it will become a sign and a testimony to Jehovah of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry unto Jehovah because of their oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and Mighty One; and He will deliver them.


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And Jehovah will make Himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know Jehovah in that day; they will worship Him with sacrifice and offering and will vow a vow to Jehovah and accomplish it.


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And Jehovah will strike Egypt, striking yet healing; and they will turn to Jehovah, and He will be entreated of by them and will heal them.


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In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrians will come to Egypt, and the Egyptians to Assyria; and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.


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In that day Israel will be the third party with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the land,


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With which Jehovah of hosts will bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt My people and Assyria the work of My hands and Israel My inheritance.


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In the year that the tartan came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and took it,


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At that time Jehovah spoke through Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loosen the sackcloth from your loins and take your sandals off your feet. And he did so, going about stripped and barefooted.


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And Jehovah said, Just as My servant Isaiah has gone about stripped and barefoot for three years as a sign and a wonder against Egypt and Cush,


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So shall the king of Assyria lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young men and old men, stripped and barefoot, with their buttocks uncovered, to Egypt's shame.


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And the inhabitant of this coastland will say in that day, Such is now our expectation, to whom we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria! And how shall we escape?


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The burden concerning the wilderness of the sea:Like storm winds In the Negev passing through, It comes from the wilderness From an awesome land.


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A harsh vision Has been announced to me; The unfaithful one deals unfaithfully, And the destroyer destroys. Go up, Elam; Lay siege, Media; I have put an end To all her groaning.


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Therefore my loins Are full of anguish; Pangs have taken hold of me Like the pangs of a woman in labor. I am bent over at the hearing of it;I am terrified at the seeing it


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My heart reels; Shuddering overwhelms me. The twilight that I love Has become a source of trembling to me.


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And he saw riders, A team of horsemen; Riders of donkeys, Riders of camels; And he attends with attention, With much attention.


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And he calls out like a lion:On the watchtower, Lord, I stand continually by day; At my guardpost I am stationed Every night.


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And now there come Riding men, A team of horsemen. And one answers and says, Fallen, fallen is Babylon! And all the idols of her gods Has he shattered to the earth.


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My threshed ones, And the son of the threshing floor! What I have heard From Jehovah of hosts, The God of Israel, I have declared to you . I.Jehovah to Have No Judgment on Dumah


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The burden concerning Dumah:Someone is calling to me from Seir:Guard, what remains of the night? Guard, what remains of the night?


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The burden against Arabia:In the thicket of Arabia you must spend the night, You nomad clans of the Dedanim.


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They bring water To meet the thirsty; The inhabitants of the land of Tema Meet with bread those who flee;


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For they flee from swords - From the drawn sword, From the bent bow, And from the harshness of battle.


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For thus has the Lord said to me, Within a year, like a wage worker's year, all the glory of Kedar will end,


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And the remainder of the number of the archers, the mighty men of the sons of Kedar, will be few; for Jehovah the God of Israel has spoken.


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The burden concerning the valley of vision:What then troubles you That all have gone up to the housetops?


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You who are full of noise, you tumultuous city, You exultant town, Your slain were not slain with the sword, Nor are they dead because of battle.


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All your rulers have fled together; Apart from the bow they have been captured. All of you who were found have been captured together, Though they had fled far away.


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Therefore I said, Look away from me! Let me weep bitterly. Do not hasten to comfort me About the destruction of the daughter of my people.


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For there is a day of turmoil and trampling down and confusion With the Lord Jehovah of hosts In the valley of vision, a breaking down of walls And crying to the mountains.


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Then your choicest valleys Were full of chariots, And the horsemen firmly fixed themselves at the gate;


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And he removed the covering of Judah. And you looked in that day To the weapons of the Forest House,


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While the breaches of the city of David You saw to be many. So you gathered the water of the lower pool;


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Then you made a reservoir between the walls For the water of the old pool. But you did not look to its very Maker, And He who formed it long ago you did not regard.


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Therefore the Lord Jehovah of hosts Called you in that day To weeping and to mourning, To head shaving and to wearing sackcloth.


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But now there is gladness and joy, The slaying of cattle and the slaughtering of sheep, The eating of meat and the drinking of wine; Eating and drinking, for tomorrow we die!


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But in my ears the Lord Jehovah of hosts revealed this:This iniquity shall by no means be covered for you until you die, Says the Lord Jehovah of hosts.


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Thus says the Lord Jehovah of hosts:Get up, go to this steward, To Shebna, who is over the king's house, saying,


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What are you doing here, and whom do you have here That you have hewn a tomb for yourself here, As he who has hewn a tomb on the heights, As he who has cut out a resting place for himself in the rock?


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He will wind you up tightly; Like a ball He will toss you into a wide land. There you will die; and there the chariots of your glory Will become the disgrace of the house of your master.


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And I will clothe him with your tunic, And I will strengthen him with your girding sash, And I will put your dominion into his hand; And he will become a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem And to the house of Judah.


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And I will set the key of the house of David upon his shoulder - When he opens, no one will shut; When he shuts, no one will open.


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And I will drive him as a peg into a sure place, And he will become a throne of glory for his father's house.


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And they will hang upon him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the issue, all the smallest vessels, from the bowls to all the jars.


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In that day, declares Jehovah of hosts, the peg driven into the sure place will be removed, even cut away, and it will fall; and the burden that was upon it will be cut down; for Jehovah has spoken.


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The burden concerning Tyre:Howl, O ships of Tarshish, For it is destroyed - lacking house, Lacking entrance. From as far away as the land of Kittim It is told to them.


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Hush, you inhabitants of the coastland, You, whom the merchants of Sidon, Who cross the sea, have replenished.


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And by way of many waters The grain of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue; And she was profit to the nations.


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Be ashamed, O Sidon, for the sea has spoken, The stronghold of the sea, saying, I have not been in labor nor given birth; Neither have I brought up young men, Nor have I raised virgins.


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Is this your jubilant city, Whose antiquity is from the days of antiquity, Whose feet carried her off afar to sojourn?


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Who has purposed this Against Tyre, the giver of crowns, Whose merchants were princes, Whose traders were the honorable of the earth?


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Jehovah of hosts has purposed it, To defile the pride of all beauty, To bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth.


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He has stretched out His hand over the sea; He has shaken kingdoms. Jehovah has given commandment concerning Canaan To destroy its strongholds.


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And He has said, You shall not continue to exult any longer, O crushed virgin daughter of Sidon. Arise; cross over to Kittim - There also you will have no rest.


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See the land of the Chaldeans, this people! They were not - the Assyrians assigned it to desert animals; they raised their siege towers; they stripped their citadels; they brought it to ruin.


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In that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, like the days of one king. At the end of the seventy years Tyre will be like her in the harlot's song:


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Take a harp; Compass the city, Forgotten harlot. Play well; Abound in song, That you may be remembered.


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And at the end of the seventy years Jehovah will visit Tyre. And she will return to the wages of her harlotry and will be a harlot to all the kingdoms of the earth on land's surface.


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And her profit and the wages of her harlotry will be dedicated to Jehovah; it will not be stored up, nor will it be hoarded, for her profit will be for those who dwell before Jehovah, as their sufficient food and their choice clothing.


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Jehovah now makes the earth desolate and lays it waste; He distorts its surface and scatters its inhabitants:


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As it is with the people, so will it be with the priest; As it is with the servant, so will it be with the master; As it is with the maid, so will it be with the mistress; As it is with the buyer, so will it be with the seller; As it is with the lender,


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The earth dries up and fades away; The world languishes and fades away; The exalted of the people of the earth languish.


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And the earth is polluted under the weight of its inhabitants; For they have transgressed laws, they have violated statutes, They have broken an eternal covenant.


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Therefore a curse devours the earth And the inhabitants of it are held guilty; Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, And few men are left.


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The mirth of the tambourines ceases; The noise of those who exult stops; The mirth of the lyre ceases.


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For thus will it be in the midst of the earth, Among the peoples:Like the shaking of an olive tree, Like the gleanings when the grape harvest is completed.


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They will lift up their voice; they will give a ringing shout; Because of the majesty of Jehovah they will cry out from the west.


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Therefore in the east glorify Jehovah, Even the name of Jehovah the God of Israel in the coastlands of the sea.


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From the ends of the earth we hear songs:Glory to the righteous One! But I say, Leanness to me! Leanness to me! Woe to me! The unfaithful deal unfaithfully! Indeed the unfaithful deal most unfaithfully!


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And he who flees from the sound of dread Will fall into the pit, And he who comes up out of the pit Will be taken in the snare; For the windows from on high are open, And the foundations of the earth shake.


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The earth staggers back and forth like a drunkard And sways about like a field hut. And its transgression weighs heavily upon it; It will fall and will not rise again.


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And in that day Jehovah will punish On high the host on high, And the kings of the earth on the earth.


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And they will be gathered together, Like prisoners gathered in a dungeon; And will be shut up in prison, And after many days they will be punished.


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Then the moon will be abashed, and the sun will be ashamed; For Jehovah of hosts will reign In Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, And His glory will be before His elders.


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O Jehovah, You are my God; I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name, For You have done wonderful things - Counsels of old, in faithfulness, perfect faithfulness.


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For You have made of a city a heap, Of a fortified town a ruin. A palace of strangers becomes no city at all; It will never be rebuilt.


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For You have been a stronghold to the weak, A stronghold to the needy in his distress, A refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat; For the breath of those who terrify is like a tempest against a wall.


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Like the heat in a drought, You will subdue the uproar of strangers; Like the heat through the shadow of a cloud, The song of those who terrify will be brought low.


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And Jehovah of hosts will make on this mountain For all the peoples A feast of fat things, A feast of wine matured on the lees, Of fat things full of marrow, And of filtered wine matured on the lees.


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And on this mountain He will swallow up The covering that covers up all the peoples, Even the veil that veils all the nations.


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He will swallow up death forever; And the Lord Jehovah will wipe away the tears from all faces; And the reproach of His people He will remove from all the earth; For Jehovah has spoken.


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And it will be said in that day, Here, this is our God, For whom we have waited that He may save us. This is Jehovah, for whom we have waited; Let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation.


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For the hand of Jehovah will rest on this mountain, And Moab will be threshed in his place, Even as straw is threshed in the water of a dung heap.


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And he will spread out his hands in the middle of it, As a swimmer spreads out his hands to swim; But Jehovah will abase his pride together with the trickery of his hands.


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And the lofty fortification of your walls He will bring down, Lay low, and cast to the ground, even to the dust.


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In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:We have a strong city; He will set up salvation as walls and a rampart.


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For He has brought down those who dwell on high, The lofty city; He lays it low, He lays it low to the ground; He casts it into the dust.


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The path of the righteous is smoothness; O You who are upright, You make the path of the righteous level.


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Indeed in the path of Your judgments, O Jehovah, we have waited for You. Your name, that is, Your memorial, Is the desire of our soul.


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My soul desires You in the night; Indeed my spirit within me seeks You at the dawn; For when Your judgments are in the earth, The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.


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Though the wicked is shown grace, He does not learn righteousness; In the land of straightforwardness he deals unjustly And does not perceive the majesty of Jehovah.


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O Jehovah, Your hand is lifted up, But they do not see it. They will see Your zeal for the people and will be put to shame; Indeed fire will devour Your adversaries.


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O Jehovah our God, other lords besides You have been master to us, But through You alone do we mention Your name.


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The dead will not live, The deceased will not rise; Therefore You have visited and destroyed them, And You have caused all memory of them to perish.


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You have increased the nation, O Jehovah; You have increased the nation - You are glorified; You have far extended all the edges of the land.


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O Jehovah, in distress they sought You; They whispered out a prayer, for Your chastening was upon them.


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As a pregnant woman draws near to giving birth, She writhes and cries out in her pain; So we have been before You, O Jehovah.


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We were pregnant; we writhed; we gave birth, as it were, to wind. We have not accomplished deliverance for the earth, Nor have the inhabitants of the world been born.


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Your dead will live; my corpses will rise. Awake and give a ringing shout, you who dwell in dust, For your dew is like the dew of the dawn, And the earth will bring forth the deceased.


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Come, my people, enter your rooms, And shut your doors behind you; Hide for a short moment Until the indignation has passed;


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For Jehovah is now coming forth from His place To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; And the earth will reveal her bloodshed And will no longer conceal her slain.


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In that day Jehovah will punish, With His harsh, great, and mighty sword, Leviathan the fleeing serpent, And leviathan the crooked serpent; And He will slay the dragon that is in the sea.


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I, Jehovah, am its keeper; Every moment I water it. Lest anyone visit harm upon it, By night and by day I guard it.


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I have no wrath. Oh, that I had thorns and thistles! In battle I would march against them; I would burn them completely.


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In the days to come Jacob will take root; Israel will blossom and bud; And they will fill the surface of the world with their produce.


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By expulsion and by banishing them, You contended with them; He sent them away with His harsh wind in the day of the east wind.


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Thus by this the iniquity of Jacob will be expiated, And this is all the fruit of the removal of their sin; When they make all the stones of their altar Like chalk stones beaten to powder - Asherahs and sun images will not stand.


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For the fortified city is isolated; The habitation is given up and abandoned like a wilderness. There the calf will feed, And there he will lie down and consume its branches.


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When its boughs are withered, they will be broken off; Women come and make a fire with them; For they are not a people of understanding. Therefore He who made them will not have compassion on them, And He who formed them will not show favor to them.


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And in that day Jehovah will beat out the grain from the flowing stream of the River Unto the brook of Egypt; And you will be gleaned One by one, O you children of Israel.


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And in that day a great trumpet will be blown, And the ones lost in the land of Assyria will come, As well as the outcasts in the land of Egypt, And they will worship Jehovah On the holy mountain in Jerusalem.


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Woe to the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim And to the fading flower of its glorious beauty, Which is at the head of the fat valley of those who are overcome by wine.


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Indeed the Lord has someone strong and mighty; As a hailstorm and a tempest of destruction, As a storm of mighty overflowing waters, He will cast down to the earth with His hand.


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And the fading flower of its glorious beauty, Which is at the head of the fat valley, Will be like the first-ripe fig before the summer, Which when someone looks upon it he sees it, And in an instant it is in his hand, and he swallows it up.


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In that day Jehovah of hosts Will become a crown of beauty and a diadem of glory to the remnant of His people,


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And a spirit of justice for him who sits in judgment And strength to those who turn away the battle at the gate.


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But these also reel with wine And stagger from liquor:The priest and the prophet stagger from liquor; They are swallowed up with wine; They stagger from liquor, They reel in their visions, They totter in their judgments.


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Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he instruct with the report? Those weaned from milk? Those drawn from the breasts?


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For his words are:Rule upon rule, rule upon rule; Line upon line, line upon line; Here a little, there a little.


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He who said to them, This is rest; give rest to the weary; And, This is repose. But they would not hear.


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Therefore Jehovah's word to them will be:Rule upon rule, rule upon rule; Line upon line, line upon line; Here a little, there a little; That they may go and stumble backward, And be broken, snared, and taken.


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Because you have said, We have made A covenant with death, And with Sheol We have made an agreement:When the overflowing scourge passes through, It will not come upon us; For we have made falsehood our refuge And have hidden ourselves in deception.


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Therefore thus says The Lord Jehovah:Indeed I lay a stone in Zion as a foundation, A tested stone, A precious cornerstone as a foundation firmly established; He who believes will not hasten away.


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And I will make justice the line And righteousness the plummet; And the hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, And the waters will overflow the secret place.


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And your covenant with death will be annulled, And your agreement with Sheol will not stand; When the overflowing scourge passes through, You will be a trampling ground to it.


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As often as it passes through, It will take hold of you. For morning by morning it will pass through, By day and by night; And it will be nothing but terror To understand the report of it.


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For the bed is too short for a man to stretch on, And the sheet is too narrow for him to wrap himself in.


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For Jehovah will rise as on Mount Perazim, He will be agitated as in the valley of Gibeon, To do His deed, His strange deed, And to do His work, His most different work.


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Now therefore do not be mockers, Lest your fetters become stronger; For I have heard from the Lord Jehovah of hosts Of complete and decisive destruction upon the whole earth.


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Does he not, once he levels the surface, Scatter dill and broadcast cummin, And put the wheat in rows and the barley in its appointed place And the rye where it belongs?


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For dill is not threshed with a sharp tool, Nor is the cart wheel turned upon the cummin; But dill is beaten out with a rod, And cummin with a stick.


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Bread grains are ground, Yet one does not thresh and thresh forever. And once the wheel of his cart and his horses drive over it, One does not grind it.


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This also comes forth from Jehovah of hosts, He who makes His counsel extraordinary and His sound wisdom great.


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Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, The city where David camped! Add year to year; let the feasts run their course.


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But I will distress Ariel, And she will become mourning and lamentation And will be like an Ariel to me.


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And I will encamp in a circle against you, And will besiege you with palisades, And will raise up siegeworks against you.


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And you will be brought down; from the ground you will speak, And your speech will come from low in the dust. And your voice will be like that of a departed spirit from the ground, And your speech will twitter from the dust.


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But the multitude of your enemies will be like fine dust, And the multitude of those who terrorize will be like chaff that passes away; And it will happen in an instant, suddenly.


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From Jehovah of hosts you will be visited, With thunder and earthquake and great noise, With whirlwind and tempest and the flame of consuming fire.


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And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, Even all who fight against her and her stronghold and who distress her, Will be like a dream, like a vision in the night.


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And as when a hungry man dreams and finds himself eating, But he awakens and what he desires is not there; Or as when a thirsty man dreams and finds himself drinking, But he awakens and is indeed faint and what he desires is far from him; So will the mult


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Linger and be astounded, Blind yourselves and be blind. They are drunk, but not with wine; They stagger, but not with liquor.


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For Jehovah has poured out upon you A spirit of deep sleep And has shut your eyes, the prophets; And your heads, the seers, He has covered.


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And all the vision will be to you like the words of a book that has been sealed, which when they give to him who is literate, saying, Please read this, he will say, I am not able to, for it is sealed.


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Then the book will be given to him who is illiterate, saying, Please read this, and he will say, I am illiterate.


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And the Lord said, Because this people draws near with their mouth, And with their lips they honor Me, Yet they remove their heart far from Me, And their fear for Me Is a commandment of men merely learned;


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Therefore, indeed, I will once again Do something wondrous with this people, something wondrously marvelous; And the wisdom of their wise men will perish, And the understanding of those who understand will be hidden.


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Woe to those who hide deeply Their counsel from Jehovah, And whose deeds are in the dark And who say, Who sees us? And, Who knows us?


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You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be considered to be like the clay, That what is made should say of him who made it, He did not make me, Or what is formed should say of him who formed it, He has no understanding?


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Is it not yet a little while Before Lebanon will be turned into a fruitful field, And the fruitful field will be considered to be a forest.


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And in that day the deaf will hear the words of the book, And out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see,


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And the afflicted will increase their joy in Jehovah, And the needy of mankind will exult in the Holy One of Israel.


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For he who terrorizes will cease to be, and the scorner will be consumed, And all who watch for iniquity will be cut off,


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Those who make a man sin by his words And ensnare him who judges at the gate And turn aside the righteous with an empty argument.


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Therefore thus says Jehovah, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob, Jacob will not now be ashamed, Nor will his face now turn pale;


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But when he sees his children, the work of My hands, in his midst, They will sanctify My name And sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, And hold the God of Israel in awe.


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Woe to the rebellious children, Declares Jehovah, Who devise counsel, but not of Me, And who make an alliance, but not of My Spirit, In order to add Sin upon sin;


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Who go down to Egypt, Yet do not ask of My mouth, To take refuge in the refuge of Pharaoh, And to take shelter in the shadow of Egypt.


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Therefore the refuge of Pharaoh will be your shame, And shelter in the shadow of Egypt, your humiliation.


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All are ashamed Of a people that cannot profit them, Nor be a help or profit to them, But rather a shame and also a reproach.


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The burden concerning the beasts of the Negev:Through the land of distress and anguish, From which come lioness and lion, Viper and flying fiery serpent, They carry their riches upon young donkeys' backs And their treasures upon camels' humps To a people


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Go now; write it on a tablet before them, And inscribe it on a scroll, That it may be, for the time to come, As a witness forever.


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For this is a rebellious people, False children, Children who refuse to hear The instruction of Jehovah;


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Who say to those who see, Do not see; And to those who have visions, Do not give us true visions; Speak pleasant things to us; Give us illusions as your visions;


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Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, Because you despise this word And trust in oppression and guile, And rely on them,


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Therefore this iniquity Will be to you Like a breach ready to fall, Sticking out on a high wall, Whose crashing comes In an instant, suddenly.


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And its crashing will be like the crashing of the potters' vessel:Crushed - he will not spare; And there will not be found Among the crushed pieces a shard With which to take fire from the hearth Or to draw water from the cistern.


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For thus says the Lord Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, In returning and rest you will be saved; In quietness and in trust will be your strength; But you were not willing,


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And said, No, for we will flee on horses; Therefore you will flee. And, We will ride upon the swift; Therefore those who chase you will be swift.


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One thousand will flee at the rebuke of one; At the rebuke of five you will flee, Until you are left Like a bare mast upon a mountaintop And a standard on a hill.


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And therefore Jehovah waits to be gracious to you, And therefore He remains on high to have compassion on you; For Jehovah is a God of justice; Blessed are those who wait for Him.


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For a people will dwell in Zion at Jerusalem - You will weep no more; He will be most gracious to you at the sound of your cry; When He hears it, He will answer you.


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And though the Lord has given you The bread of adversity and the water of oppression, Your Teacher will no longer hide Himself in a corner, But your eyes will see your Teacher.


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And your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way, walk in it, When you turn to the right or turn to the left.


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And you will defile the silver covering of your graven images And the gold plating of your molten idols; You will scatter them like some dirty thing; You will say to it, Go away!


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Then He will give rain for your seed, Which you will sow in the ground, And the bread of the increase of the ground; And it will be fat and plenteous. Your livestock will feed in that day In a vast pasture.


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And the oxen and donkeys that work the ground Will eat salted fodder that has been winnowed with shovel and fork.


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And upon every high mountain And upon every prominent hill There will be brooks and streams of water In the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.


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And the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, And the light of the sun will be sevenfold, like the light of seven days, On the day when Jehovah binds up the breach of His people And heals the wound left from His stroke.


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Behold, the name of Jehovah comes from a distance, Burning with His anger and heavy with smoke; His lips are full of indignation, And His tongue is like a devouring fire;


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His breath, like an overflowing stream, Reaches up to the neck, To sift the nations with the sieve of nothingness; And a bridle that leads them to err is in the jaws of the peoples.


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You will have a song As in the night when the feast is sanctified, And gladness of heart as when one marches to the flute To go to the mountain of Jehovah, to the Rock of Israel.


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And Jehovah will cause the majesty of His voice to be heard And the descending of His arm to be seen, With the blasting of anger and the flame of devouring fire, In cloudburst, downpour, and hailstones.


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And every pass of the appointed rod, Which Jehovah will lay upon him, Will be with tambourines and harps; And in battles of brandishing weapons He will fight against them.


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For Topheth has been arranged since long ago; Indeed it has been prepared for the king; He made it deep; He made it large. The pile in it is of fire and much wood; The breath of Jehovah, like a stream of brimstone, Sets it on fire.


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Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help; They rely on horses And trust in chariots because they are many And in horsemen because they are very strong; But they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, Nor seek Jehovah!


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But He also is wise and will bring ill upon them; And He does not turn back His words, But will rise up against the house of evildoers And against the help of the workers of iniquity.


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The Egyptians are mere men and not God, And their horses are mere flesh and not spirit; Thus Jehovah will stretch out His hand, And he who helps will stumble and he who is helped will fall, And all of them will be consumed together.


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For Jehovah has spoken thus to me, As the lion or the lion cub Roars over its prey And because of it a crowd of shepherds Is called out, But it is not frightened by their voice, Nor overcome by their noise; So Jehovah of hosts will descend To wage war on


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Like flying birds So Jehovah of hosts will protect Jerusalem; He will protect and deliver it; He will pass over and rescue it.


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For in that day each man will cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which your hands have made for you as a sin.


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And the Assyrian will fall by the sword not of a man, And the sword not of man will devour him. Thus he will flee from a sword, And his young men will be forced into labor.


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And his rock will pass away in terror, And his princes will be dismayed by the standard, Declares Jehovah, whose fire is in Zion And whose furnace is in Jerusalem.


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And a man will be like a refuge from the wind And a covering from the tempest, Like streams of water in a dry place, Like the shadow of a massive rock in a wasted land.


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And the heart of the hasty will understand knowledge, And the tongue of those who stammer will hasten to speak elegantly.


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For the fool will speak foolishness, And his heart will commit iniquity By committing profaneness And by speaking error against Jehovah, By leaving the soul of the hungry empty And by causing drink for the thirsty to fail.


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And as for the cheat, his tools are evil; He devises wicked schemes To destroy the poor with false words Even when the needy speaks rightly.


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Rise up, O women who are at ease, And hear my voice; O daughters of complacency, Hearken to my words.


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In a year and some days You will be troubled, O complacent ones; For the vintage is at its end; The ingathering will not come.


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Tremble, O women at ease; Be troubled, O complacent ones. Strip yourselves and be bare, And gird your loins with sackcloth.


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Upon the land of my people Will come up thorns and briers, Indeed upon all the jubilant houses In the exultant city.


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Because the palace will be abandoned; The multitude of the city will be forsaken; The Hill and the watchtower Will become caves forever, A joy for wild asses, A pasture for flocks;


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Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, And the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, And the fruitful field is considered to be a forest.


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And the work of righteousness will be peace, And the result of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.


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And my people will live in a peaceful habitation And in secure dwellings and carefree resting places.


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Woe to you who destroy and were not destroyed, And to him who deals unfaithfully and was not dealt with unfaithfully! When you have finished destroying, you will be destroyed; And when you cease to deal unfaithfully, they will deal unfaithfully with you.


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O Jehovah, be gracious to us; we have waited for You; Be our arm every morning, Our salvation also in the time of distress.


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At the noise of the tumult the peoples flee; At the lifting up of Yourself the nations were scattered.


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And your spoil will be gathered as the caterpillar gathers; As locusts rush to and fro, men will rush to and fro upon it.


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And there will be stability for your times:A wealth of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; The fear of Jehovah is his treasure.


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The highways are desolate; The traveler ceases to travel. He has broken the covenant; he despises the cities; He does not regard man.


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The land mourns and languishes; Lebanon is ashamed and withers away; Sharon is like a desert, And Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.


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You will conceive chaff; you will give birth to stubble; Your own breath, like fire, will devour you;


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The sinners in Zion are terrified; Trembling has seized the profane:Who among us can dwell with consuming fire? Who among us can dwell with everlasting burning?


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He who walks in righteousness and speaks uprightness; He who rejects gains seized by extortion; He who shakes his hands lest they hold on to a bribe, Who stops his ears so as not to hear of bloodshed And shuts his eyes so as not to look at evil.


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This one will dwell on the heights; His lofty retreat will be the rocky strongholds; His bread will be given to him; his water will be sure.


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Your heart will meditate on terror:Where is he who counts? Where is he who weighs? Where is he who counts the towers?


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You will not see a fierce people, A people of unintelligible speech, hardly audible, Of a stammering tongue which cannot be understood.


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Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts; Your eyes will see Jerusalem, A secure habitation, a tent that will not be removed; Its stakes will never be pulled up, And none of its cords will be torn apart.


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But there the Majestic, Jehovah, will be for us A place of rivers and broad streams, On which no boat with oars will go And no majestic ship will pass.


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Your tackle has been slackened; It does not support its mast firmly, Nor does it spread out the sail. Then the prey of abundant spoil is divided; The lame take the plunder.


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And the inhabitant will not say, I am sick; The people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity.


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Draw near, O nations, to hear; And listen, O peoples! Let the earth and all that fills it hear, The world and all that springs forth from it.


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For Jehovah's indignation is upon all the nations, And His wrath is upon all their armies; He has utterly destroyed them; He has delivered them unto the slaughter.


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Thus their slain are cast away, And from their corpses their stench will come up; And the mountains will be melted with their blood.


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And all the armies of heaven will be dissolved, And the heavens will be rolled up like a scroll, And all their host will wither away, As the leaf withers from the vine, Or like a leaf withering from the fig tree.


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For My sword has drunk its fill in heaven. Now it will descend in judgment upon Edom And upon the people whom I have devoted to judgment.


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Jehovah's sword is full of blood; It has fattened itself with fat, With the blood of lambs and goats, With the fat of the kidneys of rams; For Jehovah has a sacrifice in Bozrah And a great slaughter in the land of Edom.


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Wild oxen will also go down with them, The young bulls with the bulls; And their land will drink its fill of their blood, And their dust will become fat with their fat.


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And its streams will be turned into pitch, And its dust into brimstone; And its land will become burning pitch.


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It will not be quenched by night or by day; Its smoke will go up forever; It will be desolate from generation to generation; No one will pass through it forever and ever.


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But the pelican and the porcupine will inherit it, And the owl and the raven will dwell in it; And He will stretch over it The line of nothingness and the plummet weights of emptiness.


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As for its nobles, there is no one there whom they may call to assume the kingdom, And all its princes will be nothing.


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And thorns will come up in its citadels, Nettles and thistles in its fortified cities; And it will be a habitation for jackals, And an abode for ostriches.


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Desert animals will meet with hyenas; And the demon will call to his kind, Indeed there Lilith will settle And find a resting place for herself.


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There the owl will make its nest and lay eggs, And hatch them and gather them under its protection; Indeed there the vultures will be gathered together, Each with its kind.


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Seek from the book of Jehovah and read. Not one of these will be missing; Not one will lack her mate; For His mouth has commanded it, And it is His Spirit who has gathered them.


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And He has cast the lot for them, And His hand has divided it by line unto them; They will inherit it forever; From generation to generation they will dwell in it.


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It will blossom and blossom, And even exult with exultation and a ringing shout. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, The splendor of Carmel and Sharon; They will see the glory of Jehovah, The splendor of our God.


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Say to those who are of anxious heart, Be strong; fear not; Indeed your God Will come with vengeance, With the recompense of God; He will come and save you.


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Then the lame will leap like a hart, And the tongue of the dumb will give a ringing shout; For water will break forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert.


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And the desert mirage will become a pool, And the thirsty ground, springs of water; In the habitation of jackals, their resting place, There will be grass with reeds and rushes.


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And a highway will be there, and a way, And it will be called, The Way of Holiness. The unclean will not pass on it, But it will be for him who walks on the way; No fools will err in it.


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There will be no lion there, Nor will any ravenous animal go up on it; They will not be found there; But the redeemed will walk on it.


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And the ransomed of Jehovah will return And will come to Zion with a ringing shout, And eternal joy will be upon their heads. They will lay hold on gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing will flee away.


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In the fourteenth year of King Heze kiah, Sennacherib the king of Assyria went up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them.


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And the king of Assyria sent Rab- shakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem to King Hezekiah with a great force. And he stood at the conduit of the upper pool, on the road to the Fuller's Field.


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Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to him.


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And Rab-shakeh said to them, Say now to Hezekiah, Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria, What is this confidence in which you trust?


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I say, It is but a vain word that you say, There is counsel and strength for war. Now in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me?


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You now have put your trust in the staff of this broken reed, in Egypt, which, if a man should lean on it, will go into his hand and pierce it, for so is Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to all who trust in him.


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And if you say to me, We trust in Jehovah our God; is it not He whose high places and altars Hezekiah has taken away and has said to Judah and Jerusalem, You shall worship only before this altar?


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Now therefore give pledges to my master, the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if indeed you are able to set riders on them.


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And have I now come up apart from Jehovah against this land to destroy it? Jehovah said to me, Go up against this land and destroy it.


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And Eliakim and Shebna and Joah said to Rab-shakeh, Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, because we understand it; and do not speak to us in the Jews' language, in the ears of the people upon the wall.


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But Rab-shakeh said, Has my master sent me only to your master and to you to speak these words, and not to the men who sit on the wall, that they may eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you?


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Then Rab-shakeh stood and cried out with a loud voice in the Jews' language, and said, Listen to the words of the great king, the king of Assyria:


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Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria, Make your peace with me, and come out to me, and let each eat from his own vine and each from his own fig tree, and let each drink the waters of his own cistern;


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Until I come and take you away to a land like your land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.


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Be careful lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, Jehovah will deliver us. Have any of the gods of the nations delivered their land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?


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Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? And have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?


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But they were silent and did not answer him a word, because of the commandment of the king that said, You shall not answer him.


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Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn and told him the words of Rab-shakeh.


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And when King Hezekiah heard, he tore his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of Jehovah.


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And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe and the elders of the priests, who had covered themselves in sackcloth, to Isaiah the son of Amoz, the prophet.


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And they said to him, Thus says Hezekiah, This day is a day of affliction, rebuke, and contempt, for children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth.


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It may be that Jehovah your God will hear the words of Rab-shakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria sent to reproach the living God, and will reprove the words which Jehovah your God has heard. Therefore lift up a prayer for the remnant which is left.


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And Isaiah said to them, Thus you shall say to your master, Thus says Jehovah, Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me.


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Indeed I will put a spirit in him, so that he will hear a report and return to his land. And I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.


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And he heard a report about Tirhakah the king of Ethiopia which said, He has come forth to make war with you. And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,


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In this way you shall speak to Hezekiah the king of Judah, saying, Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, Jerusalem will not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.


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Indeed you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, destroying them utterly. And will you be delivered?


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Have the gods of the nations, whom my fathers destroyed, delivered them:Gozan and Haran and Rezeph and the children of Eden, who were in Telassar?


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O Jehovah of hosts, God of Israel, who dwells between the cherubim, You, You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth; You made the heavens and the earth.


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Incline Your ear, O Jehovah, and hear; open Your eyes, O Jehovah, and see; and listen to all the words of Sennacherib, who has sent messengers to reproach the living God.


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And have cast their gods into the fire, because they were not gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone; so they destroyed them.


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And now, O Jehovah our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone are Jehovah.


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Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah, saying, Thus says Jehovah the God of Israel, Because you have prayed to Me concerning Sennacherib the king of Assyria,


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By your servants you have reproached the Lord, And you have said, In the multitude of my chariots, I have come up to the heights of the mountains, To the sides of Lebanon. And I will cut down its tall cedars, And the choicest of its cypresses:I will ente


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Have you not heard That long ago I did it; And from the days of old I had formed it? Now I have brought it to pass, That you should destroy fortified cities, And make them into ruinous heaps.


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Therefore their inhabitants were short of strength; They were dismayed and felt ashamed; And they were like vegetation of the field And green shoots of tender grass, Like grass which grows on the housetops And is scorched before it has grown up.


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Because your raging against Me And your arrogance has come up into My ears, I will put My hook in your nose And My bridle in your lips, And turn you back on the way by which you came.


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This shall be the sign to you:This year you shall eat that which grows up of itself, and the second year that which shoots up from the same, and in the third year sow and reap and plant vineyards and eat their fruit.


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Therefore, thus says Jehovah concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come to this city, Nor shoot an arrow there; Neither shall he come against it with shields, And build up a mound against it.


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And around this city I will put an enclosure To save it, For My own sake And for the sake of David, My servant.


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Then the angel of Jehovah went out and struck the Assyrians' camp, a hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when they arose early in the morning, all of them were dead corpses.


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And when he was worshipping in the house of his god Nisroch, Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons slew him with the sword; and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esar-haddon his son reigned in his place.


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And said, Now, O Jehovah, please remember how I have walked before You in truth and with a perfect heart and have done that which is good in Your sight. And Hezekiah wept many tears.


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Go and speak to Hezekiah, Thus says Jehovah, the God of David your father, I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; I will now add to your life fifteen years.


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And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will put an enclosure around this city.


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Behold, I will cause the shadow on the steps, which has gone down with the sun on the steps of Ahaz, to go back ten steps. So the sun's shadow went back ten steps on the steps on which it had gone down.


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The writing of Hezekiah the king of Judah when he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness:


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I said, In the middle of my days, I will go into the gates of Sheol; I have been deprived of the rest of my years.


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I said, I will not see Jah, Jah in the land of the living; I will not look on man any longer, While I am with those who dwell where everything has ceased.


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Like a shepherd's tent, My dwelling has been pulled up and removed from me. Like a weaver, I have rolled up my life. He will cut me off from the loom; From day until night You make an end of me.


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I have stilled myself until the morning; Like a lion, so He breaks all my bones; From day until night You make an end of me.


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Like a swallow and a crane, so I twitter; Like a dove, I mourn; My eyes look languishingly above; O Lord, I am oppressed; be my surety.


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What shall I say? He has both spoken to me, And He Himself has done it; I will walk deliberately all my years, Because of the bitterness of my soul.


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O Lord, upon all these things men live; And in all of these things is the life of my spirit; Therefore may You restore my strength And make me live.


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Indeed for peace I had bitterness, yes, bitterness; But You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of destruction, Because You have cast behind Your back All my sins.


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For Sheol cannot thank You, And Death cannot praise You; They that go down to the pit Cannot hope in Your truth.


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The living, the living, he will praise You, As I do today; A father shall make known Your truth to his children.


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Jehovah is ready to save me; Therefore we will sing my songs, With stringed instruments, All the days of our life, In the house of Jehovah.


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At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, the king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah because he had heard that he had been sick and had recovered.


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And Hezekiah was glad for them and showed them his treasury, the silver and the gold, and the spices and the fine oil, and his whole armory and everything which was found among his treasures; there was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Heze


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Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and said to him, What did these men say? And from where have they come to you? And Hezekiah said, They have come to me from a distant land, from Babylon.


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Speak unto the heart of Jerusalem, And cry out to her, That her warfare has finished, That the penalty for her iniquity has been accepted; For she has received from the hand of Jehovah double For all her sins.


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The voice of one who cries In the wilderness:Make clear The way of Jehovah; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God.


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Every valley will be lifted up, And every mountain and hill will be made low, And the crooked places will become straight, And the rough places, a broad plain.


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Then the glory of Jehovah will be revealed, And all flesh will see it together, Because the mouth of Jehovah has spoken.


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A voice said, Cry out. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass And all its glory is like the flower of the field;


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The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of Jehovah blows upon it. Surely the people are grass.


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Go up to a high mountain, O Zion, who brings glad tidings; Lift up your voice with power, O Jerusalem, who brings glad tidings; Lift it up, Do not be afraid. Say to the cities of Judah, Behold your God!


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Behold, the Lord Jehovah will come as a mighty One, And His arm will rule for Him. Behold, His reward is with Him, And His recompense before Him.


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He will feed His flock as a Shepherd; In His arm He will gather the lambs; In His bosom He will carry them. He will lead those who are nursing the young.


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Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, Who has calculated the extent of the heavens with a handspan, And measured out the dust of the earth by a measure, And weighed the mountains in scales And the hills in balances?


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With whom did He consult and who instructed Him, And taught Him in the path of justice, And taught Him knowledge, And caused Him to know the way of understanding?


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Indeed the nations are like a drop from a bucket, And are accounted as specks of dust on the scales. Indeed He takes up the islands as very fine powder.


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When the workman has cast an idol, A goldsmith overlays it with gold Also refining chains of silverfor it.


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He that is so impoverished that he lacks an offering Chooses wood that will not rot, And seeks a skillful craftsman for himself To prepare an idol that will not be moved.


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Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?


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It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in;


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They have scarcely been planted; They have scarcely been sown; Their stem has scarcely taken root in the earth; Nevertheless He blows on them and they are withered, And the storm wind carries them away like stubble.


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Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls all of them by name. Through the greatness of His might and the strength of His power Not one of them is missing.


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Why do you say, O Jacob, And why do you speak, O Israel, My way is hidden from Jehovah, And my judgment has been passed over by my God?


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Do you not know, Or have you not heard, That the eternal God, Jehovah, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Does not faint and does not become weary? There is no searching out of His understanding.


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Yet those who wait on Jehovah will renew their strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles; They will run and will not faint; They will walk and will not become weary.


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Listen to Me in silence, O coastlands. Let the people renew their strength; Let them approach, then let them speak; Let us come together for judgment.


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Who has stirred up someone from the east, Called him in righteousness to His feet? He gave up the nations before him, And caused him to have dominion over kings. He gave them to his sword like the dust, Like the driven stubble to his bow.


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Who has wrought this and done this, Calling the generations from the beginning? I, Jehovah, am the first, And with the last, I am He.


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So the craftsman encourages the goldsmith, And he who smoothes metal with a hammer encourages him who strikes the anvil, Saying that the soldering is good; And he fastens it with nails so that it should not be moved.


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You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And from its extremities have called, And said to you, You are My servant; I have chosen you and have not cast you away.


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Do not be afraid, for I am with you; Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; surely I will help you; Surely I will uphold you with the right hand of My righteousness.


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Indeed all those who were increased against you Will be ashamed and confounded; The men who strive against you Will be as nothing and will perish.


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You will seek but not find The men who contend with you; The men who war with you Will be as nothing and as without existence.


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For I am Jehovah your God, Who takes hold of your right hand, Who says to you, Do not be afraid; I will help you.


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Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob, You few men of Israel; I will help you, declares Jehovah, Even your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.


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Now I will make you into a sharp threshing instrument, One that is new and possessing teeth. You shall thresh the mountains and make them powder, And you shall make the hills like chaff.


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You shall winnow them, and the wind will carry them away And the storm wind will scatter them. And you will rejoice in Jehovah, You will glory in the Holy One of Israel.


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When the poor and needy seek for water, and there is none, And their tongue is dry from thirst, I, Jehovah, will answer them; As the God of Israel I will not forsake them.


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I will open up rivers on the bare heights, And in the midst of the valleys, springs. I will make the wilderness into a pool of water, And the dry land into springs of water.


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I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, The acacia, the myrtle, and the olive tree; I will place in the desert the fir tree, The pine tree, and the box tree together;


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That they may see and know, And consider and understand together, That the hand of Jehovah has done this, And the Holy One of Israel has created it.


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Let them bring forth and declare to us What will take place; Let them show what the former things were, That we may consider them, And may know the end of them; Or let us hear the things that are coming.


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Declare to us the things that are coming afterward, That we may know that you are gods; Indeed do good or do evil, That we may look at one another anxiously and be afraid together.


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I have raised up one from the north and he has come; From the rising of the sun he will call upon my name. He will come upon rulers as upon mortar, As the potter treads the clay.


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Who has declared it from the beginning that we may know, And in advance that we may say, He is right? Indeed there was no one who declared it; indeed no one who let us hear; Indeed no one who heard your words.


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Formerly I said to Zion, Here, here they are; And to Jerusalem, I will give someone who preaches glad tidings.


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But I looked and there was no man, And from among these there was no counselor, Who, when I asked, would give Me an answer.


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Indeed all of them are vanity; Their works are of no consequence; Their molten images are a wind and a waste.


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Here is My Servant, whom I uphold, My chosen One in whom My soul delights; I have put My Spirit upon Him, And He will bring forth justice to the nations.


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A bruised reed He will not break; And a dimly burning flax He will not extinguish; He will bring forth justice in truth.


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He will not faint, nor will He be discouraged, Until He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands will wait for His instruction.


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Thus says God Jehovah, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread forth the earth and what springs up from it, Who gives breath to the people upon it And spirit to those who wal k on it:


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I am Jehovah; I have called You in righteousness; I have held You by the hand; I have kept You and I have given You As a covenant for the people, as a light for the nations;


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To open the eyes of the blind, To bring the prisoner out from the prison, Those who dwell in darkness from the prison house.


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Indeed, the former things have come to pass, And new things I am telling you; Before they spring forth I will let you hear them.


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Sing a new song to Jehovah; Sing His praise from the end of the earth; You who go down to the sea and all that fills it, You coastlands and their inhabitants.


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Let the wilderness and its cities, The villages which Kedar inhabits, lift up their voices; Let the inhabitants of Sela sing for joy; Let them shout from the tops of the mountains.


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Jehovah will go forth as a mighty man, Like a man of war He will stir up His jealousy; He will raise a war cry; He will even roar. He will prevail over His enemies.


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For a long time I have been silent; I have kept still, I have restrained Myself. Now I will cry like a woman in travail; I will gasp and pant at the same time.


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I will lay waste the mountains and hills, And all of their vegetation I will dry up; And I will make the rivers into islands; I will dry up the pools.


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I will bring the blind on a way they do not know; I will guide them in paths they do not know; I will make the darkness into light before them, And crooked things straight. These are the things I will do for them and will not forsake them.


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They who have turned back will be utterly put to shame, That is, those who trust in grave images, Those who say to molten images, You are our gods.


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Who is blind except My servant, And as deaf as My messenger, whom I will send? Who is as blind as the one at peace with Me, And as blind as the servant of Jehovah?


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But this is a people plundered and spoiled:All of them are trapped in holes, And they are hidden in prison houses; They have become plunder, and there is no one to deliver; They have become spoil, and there is no one to say, Restore them.


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Who gave Jacob to the plunderers, And Israel to the robbers? Was it not Jehovah, against whom we have sinned, And in whose ways they were not willing to walk, And whose law they would not obey?


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Therefore He poured out upon them the heat of His anger And the strength of battle; And set them on fire round about, yet they did not realize it; And He burned against them and they did not take it to heart.


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But now thus says Jehovah Who created you, O Jacob, and who formed you, O Israel:Do not fear, because I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine.


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When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, And through the rivers, they will not flow over you. And when you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, And the flame will not consume you.


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Because I am Jehovah your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior, I have given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba instead of you.


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Since you were precious in My eyes, Since you have been honorable and I have loved you, I will give up men in your place, And peoples in exchange for your life.


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Do not fear, because I am with you; I will bring your seed from the east, And gather you from the west.


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I will say to the north, Give them up, And to the south, Do not keep them back. Bring My sons from afar, And My daughters from the end of the earth,


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Let all the nations be gathered together, And let the peoples assemble. Who among them can declare this And relate to us the former things? Let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified, And let them hear and say, It is true.


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You are My witnesses, declares Jehovah, And My servant whom I have chosen, In order that you may know and believe Me And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Neither will there be any after Me.


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I have declared, and I have saved, and I have let them hear; There is no strange god among you. And you are My witnesses, declares Jehovah, And I am God.


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Indeed, before the day was, I am He, And there is no one who can deliver from My hand. I will work and who will reverse it?


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Thus says Jehovah, Your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, For your sake I have sent to Babylon, And I will bring down all of them as fugitives, Even the Chaldeans, whose rejoicing is in the ships.


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Who brings forth the chariot and the horse, The army and the powerful together. They will lie down, they will not rise; They are extinct, they are quenched like flax.


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Indeed, I am doing a new thing; It will now spring forth; Do you not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert.


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The animals of the field will honor Me, The jackals and the ostriches, Because I have given them water in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert, To give a drink to My people, My chosen ones.


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You have not brought Me a sheep for your burnt offerings, And you have not honored Me with your sacrifices; I have not made you serve Me with a meal offering, Nor wearied you with incense.


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You did not buy calamus for Me with money, And you did not fill Me with the fat of your sacrifices. Indeed, you have burdened Me with your sins; You have wearied Me with your iniquities.


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I, even I, am He who wipes away your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins.


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Put Me in remembrance; let us plead in judgment together:Declare your case that you may be justified.


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Therefore I profaned the princes of the sanctuary, And I delivered up Jacob to destruction, And Israel to reviling.


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Thus says Jehovah your Maker And the One who formed you from the womb, who will help you, Do not fear, O Jacob, My servant, And Jeshurun whom I have chosen,


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For I will pour water upon the thirsty land, And streams upon the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit upon your seed, And My blessing upon your offspring.


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One will say, I am Jehovah's; Another will call himself by the name of Jacob; Another will write with his hand, I am Jehovah's; He will name himself with the name Israel.


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Thus says Jehovah the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts, I am the First and I am the Last, And apart from Me there is no God.


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And who can proclaim as I can? Then let him declare it and recount it in order for Me, Since I set forth the people of ancient times. Let them declare to them both the coming things And the things which will take place.


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Do not tremble and do not be afraid. Have I not related to you from that time and declared it? And you are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Or is there any other Rock? I do not know of any.


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All those who make idols are a waste. And the things they delight in will not profit them. And those who are witnesses for them do not see, And they do not know, that they may be put to shame.


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Indeed, all those joined to him will be put to shame, For the craftsmen are only men. Let all of them be gathered together, let them stand up; Let them be afraid and be put to shame together.


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The ironsmith sharpens a cutting tool, And works over the coals, And forms the idol with hammers, And he works it with the strength of his arm. Yet he becomes hungry and has no strength; If he does not drink water, he faints.


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The carpenter stretches out a line; He marks it out with a marking tool; He works it with planes, And marks it with a compass. He makes it according to the likeness of a man, Like the beautiful appearance of man, to dwell in a house.


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Someone prepares to cut down cedars for himself, Or he takes a cypress or an oak; He lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest; He plants an ash, and the rain nourishes it.


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It is also something for a man to burn; He takes one of them and warms himself; He even kindles a fire and bakes bread. With the same he also makes a god and worships it; He makes it into a graven image and bows down before it.


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Half of it he burns in a fire; Over this half he eats flesh, And he roasts a roast and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, Ha! I am warm, I have seen fire.


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The rest of it he makes into a god, into his idol; He bows down to it and worships it And prays to it and says, Deliver me, for you are my god.


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They do not know, and they do not understand, For He has covered their eyes so that they cannot see, And their minds so that they cannot understand.


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And no one considers in his heart, And there is no knowledge or understanding to say, I have burned half of it in the fire, And I have even baked bread over its coals; I have roasted flesh and eaten it. Then shall I make the rest of it into an abomination


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He feeds on ashes; A deceived heart has led him astray; And he cannot deliver his soul; Nor does he say, Is this not a lie in my right hand?


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Remember these things, O Jacob, And Israel, for you are My servant. I have formed you; you are My servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me.


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I have wiped away, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, And like a cloud, your sins. Return unto Me, for I have redeemed you.


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Sing for joy, O heavens, for Jehovah has accomplished it. Shout, O lower parts of the earth; Break forth with singing, O mountains, The forest and every tree in it; For Jehovah has redeemed Jacob And is glorified in Israel.


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Thus says Jehovah who redeemed you And formed you from the womb, I am Jehovah who makes all things, Who alone stretches out the heavens, Who spread out the earth (Who was with Me?);


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Who frustrates the signs of liars, And makes fools of the diviners; Who turns back the wise men, And makes their knowledge foolish;


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Who confirms the word of His servant, And fulfills the counsel of His messengers; Who says to Jerusalem, She will be inhabited, And to the cities of Judah, They will be built, And I will raise up their ruins;


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Who says to Cyrus, He is My shepherd, And he will fulfill all My desire, Even by saying of Jerusalem, She will be built, And of the temple, Her foundations will be laid.


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Thus says Jehovah to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, To subdue the nations before him; And I will loosen the loins of kings; To open before him double doors So that the gates will not be shut:


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I will go before you And make level the rough places; I will shatter the doors of brass And cut through the bars of iron,


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And give to you the treasures of darkness And the hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I am Jehovah, who calls you by your name, The God of Israel.


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For the sake of My servant, Jacob, And Israel, My chosen one, I have also called you by your name; I have surnamed you, although you do not know Me.


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I am Jehovah and there is no one else; Besides Me there is no God; I girded you, although you do not know Me;


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That they might know from the rising of the sun and from the west That there is no one besides Me. I am Jehovah and there is no one else;


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He who forms the light and creates darkness, He who makes peace and creates evil, I am Jehovah who makes all these things.


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Drip down, O heavens, from above, And let the clouds flow down righteousness; Let the earth open And bring forth salvation and righteousness; Let them spring forth together; I, Jehovah, have created it.


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Woe to him who strives with the One who formed him - The shards among the shards of earthenware. Shall the clay say to the One who forms it, What are You making? And your work say, He has no hands?


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Woe to him who says to his father, What are you begetting? Or to a woman, What are you bringing forth?


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Thus says Jehovah, The Holy One of Israel and the One who formed him, Ask Me about the things to come concerning My sons, And concerning the work of My hands, command Me.


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I have made the earth, And created man upon it; My own hands stretched out the heavens, And I commanded all of their host.


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I raised him up in righteousness, And will make straight all his ways; He will build My city, And send away My captives, Neither for a price nor for a reward, Says Jehovah of hosts.


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Thus says Jehovah, The wealth of Egypt, and the merchandise of Cush, And the Sabeans, men of stature, Will pass to you and will be yours. They will walk behind you; they will come over in chains And bow down to you and petition you, saying, Surely God is


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Israel has been saved by Jehovah With an eternal salvation; You will not be ashamed or confounded Forever and ever.


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For thus says Jehovah, Who created the heavens - He is the God Who formed the earth and made it; He established it; He did not create it waste, But He formed it to be inhabited:I am Jehovah and there is no one else;


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I have not spoken in secret, In a dark place of the earth; I did not say to the seed of Jacob, Seek Me in vain. I, Jehovah, speak righteousness, Declaring things that are right.


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Gather yourselves together and come; Draw near together, You who have escaped from the nations. Those who set up their wooden idol And pray unto a god who cannot save Have no knowledge.


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Declare and present your case; Indeed, let them take counsel together. Who related this long ago; Who declared it from that time? Was it not I, Jehovah? And there is no other God besides Me; A righteous God and Savior, And there is no one except Me.


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I have sworn by Myself; A word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness And will not return, That every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall swear.


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It shall be said of Me, Only in Jehovah Is there righteousness and strength. To Him shall men come, And all those who are burning in anger against Him shall be ashamed.


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Bel has bowed down; Nebo stoops; Their idols are on beasts and cattle; The things which you carry are a burden, A load for a weary beast.


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They stoop and have bowed down together; They are not able to escape the burden; But they themselves have gone into captivity.


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Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, And all the remnant of the house of Israel, You who have been borne from birth, Who have been carried from the womb,


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Even unto old age, I am He; Even unto your gray-haired years, I will bear you. I have made and I will carry, And I will bear and deliver.


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To whom will you liken Me, And with whom will you make Me equal And compare Me, that we should be considered alike?


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Those who lavish gold from the purse And weigh silver in scales And hire a goldsmith, and he makes a god - They bow down and even worship it;


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They lift it up on their shoulder; they carry it And set it in its place and stand it up. It will not move from its place; Someone even cries out to it, and it does not answer, Nor save him from his distress.


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Remember the former things of old, That I am God and there is no one else; I am God and there is no one like Me,


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Who declares the end from the beginning And things which have not been done from ancient times, Saying, My counsel will stand, And all My desire I will accomplish;


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Who calls for a bird of prey from the east, And from a distant land a man to be His counselor. Indeed, I have spoken; surely I will bring it to pass. I have purposed; surely I will do it.


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I will bring My righteousness near - it is not far off; And My salvation will not delay; And I will give salvation in Zion, And to Israel My glory.


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Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; Sit on the ground where there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans; For you will no longer be called Tender and delicate.


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Take millstones and grind meal; Remove your veil; Strip off your flowing skirt; uncover your thigh; Cross over the rivers.


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Your nakedness will be uncovered; Your shame will also be seen; I will take vengeance and will not spare any man.


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Sit in silence and go in darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; For you will no longer be called The queen of kingdoms.


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I was angry with My people; I profaned My inheritance, And I have delivered them up into your hand. You have not shown any mercy to them; You have made your yoke Very heavy upon the elderly.


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You have said, I will be A queen forever; You did not put these things into your heart; You did not remember the end of them.


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And now hear this, O lover of pleasure, Who dwells securely And says in your heart, I am, and there is none besides me; I will not dwell as a widow, And I will not know loss of children.


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But these two things will come upon you Suddenly, in one day:Loss of children and widowhood; In full measure they will come upon you In spite of the multitude of your sorceries; In spite of the great power of your spells.


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And you felt secure in your wickedness; You said, No one sees me. Your wisdom and your knowledge Have seduced you, And you said in your heart, I am, and there is none besides me.


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But evil will come upon you, And you will not know its origin; Disaster will fall upon you Which you cannot propitiate for; Desolation will come upon you suddenly, About which you do not know.


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Stand now with your enchantments And the multitude of your sorceries, With which you have labored from your youth; Perhaps you can profit; Perhaps you will inspire terror.


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You are wearied with the multitude of your counsels. Let the astrologers, who gaze at the stars, Who predict according to the new moons, Stand up and save you from what is coming upon you.


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Indeed, they are like stubble; Fire consumes them; They cannot deliver themselves From the power of the flame; There is no coal for warming themselves, Nor the light of a fire to sit before.


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So will those with whom you have labored be to you, Those who have traded with you from your youth; Each one will wander off in his own direction; There will be no one to save you.


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Hear this, O house of Jacob, Who are called by the name of Israel; And who came out from the waters of Judah, Who swear by the name of Jehovah And make mention of the God of Israel, But not in truth nor in righteousness.


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For they call themselves after the holy city And lean upon the God of Israel; Jehovah of hosts is His name.


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I have declared the former things from the beginning; And they went out from My mouth, and I let them hear them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass.


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Therefore I declared them to you long ago; Before things came to pass I let you hear; Lest you should say, My idol has done them, And my graven image and my molten image commanded them.


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You have heard; look at all this. And will you not declare it? From this time I will let you hear new things And hidden things which you have not known.


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They have been created now, and not long ago; And before this day you have not even heard them; Lest you should say, Indeed, I knew them.


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You also have not heard and have not known; Your ears were not even open from that time; For I knew that you would deal very treacherously And would be called a transgressor from the womb.


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For My name's sake I will defer My anger, And for the sake of My praise I will restrain it for you, In order not to cut you off.


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For My own sake, yes, for My own sake, I will do it, For how can My name be profaned? And I will not give My glory to another.


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Indeed, My hand laid the foundations of the earth, And My right hand spread out the heavens; When I call to them, They stand together.


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Assemble yourselves, all of you, and hear! Who among them has declared these things? Jehovah loves him; he will do His pleasure On Babylon, and His arm will be upon the Chaldeans.


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Draw near to Me and listen to this:From the beginning I have not spoken in secret; From the time it took place, I was there. And now the Lord Jehovah Has sent me and His Spirit.


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Thus says Jehovah, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel, I am Jehovah your God, Who teaches you to do that which is profitable, Who leads you in the way that you should go.


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If only you had hearkened to My commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, And your righteousness like the waves of the sea,


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And your seed would have been like the sand, And the offspring of your bowels like the gravel; His name would not have been cut off Or destroyed before Me.


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Come out from Babylon; Flee from the Chaldeans; With a voice of shouting declare; Let them hear this, Send it out unto the end of the earth; Say, Jehovah has redeemed His servant Jacob.


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And they did not thirst When He led them through the dry places; He caused water to flow From the rock for them; And He split the rock, And the waters gushed out.


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Listen to me, O coastlands, And hearken, you peoples from afar. Jehovah has called me from the womb; From the bowels of my mother He has made mention of my name.


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And He has made my mouth like a sharp sword; He has concealed me in the shadow of His hand, And He has made me a polished arrow; He has hidden me in His quiver.


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But I said, I have labored in vain; I have used up my strength for nothing and vanity; Yet surely the justice due to me is with Jehovah, And my recompense with my God.


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And now says Jehovah, Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, So that Israel would be gathered to Him; And I will be glorified in the sight of Jehovah, And My God will be My strength.


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He says, It is too small a thing that You would be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob And bring back the preserved of Israel; I will also set You as a light of the nations That You may be My salvation unto the ends of the earth.


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Thus says Jehovah, The Redeemer of Israel, His Holy One, To the despised One, the One abhorred by the nation, The One subjected to tyrants, Kings will see and arise, And princes will bow down; Because of Jehovah, who is faithful, The Holy One of Israel,


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Thus says Jehovah, In an acceptable time I have answered You, And in a day of salvation I have helped You; And I will preserve You and give You for a covenant of the people, To restore the land, to apportion the desolate inheritances,


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To say to the prisoners, Come forth, To say to those who are in darkness, Show yourselves. They will feed along the roads, And their pasture will be on all the bare heights;


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They will not hunger or thirst; Neither the scorching heat nor the sun will strike them; For He who has compassion on them will lead them And will guide them beside the springs of water;


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Indeed, these will come from a distance, And indeed these will come from the north and the west, And these from the land of the Sinim.


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Give a ringing shout, O heavens, and exult, O earth, And break forth into shouting, O mountains; For Jehovah has comforted His people And will have compassion on His afflicted ones.


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Can a woman forget her nursing child, That she would not have compassion on the son of her womb? Even though they may forget, Yet I will not forget you.


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Lift up your eyes and look around; All of these gather themselves together and come to you. As I live, declares Jehovah, You will put all of them on like an ornament And gird yourself with them like a bride.


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For your waste and desolate places And your devastated land - For you will be too constricted now because of its inhabitants, And those who swallowed you up will be far away.


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The children of whom you were bereaved Will yet say in your ears, This place is too constricted for me; Make room for me that I may dwell here.


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Then you will say in your heart, Who has borne these for me, Since I have been bereaved of children and am barren, An exile and driven about? And who brought these up? Indeed, I was left alone; From where did these come?


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Thus says the Lord Jehovah, Indeed, I will lift up My hand to the nations, And unto the peoples I will lift up My banner; And they will bring your sons in their arms, And they will carry your daughters on their shoulders.


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And kings will be your foster fathers; And their princesses will be those who nurse you; They will bow down to you with their faces toward the earth And lick the dust of your feet; And you will know that I am Jehovah; Those who wait on Me will not be asha


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Surely, thus says Jehovah, Even the captive may be taken from the strong man, And the booty may be released from the tyrant; For I will strive with those who strive with you, And I will save your children;


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And I will feed those who oppress you with their own flesh; And they will be drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine; Then all flesh will know That I am Jehovah your Savior And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.


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Thus says Jehovah, Where is the bill of your mother's divorce With which I have put her away? Or to which of My creditors Have I sold you? Indeed, for your iniquities you were sold, And for your transgressions your mother was put away.


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Why when I came was there no man? And when I called why was there no one to answer? Is My hand so short that it cannot redeem? Or do I have no power to deliver? Indeed, at My rebuke I dry up the sea; I make the rivers a wilderness; Their fish stink beca


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The Lord Jehovah has given me The tongue of the instructed, That I should know how to sustain the weary with a word. He awakens me morning by morning; He awakens my ear To hear as an instructed one.


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I gave my back to those who strike me And my cheeks to those who pluck out the hair; I did not hide my face From humiliation and spitting.


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The Lord Jehovah helps me; Therefore I have not been dishonored; Therefore I have set my face like a flint, And I know that I will not be put to shame.


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The One who justifies me is near; who will contend with me? Let us stand up together! Who is my adversary in judgment? Let him come near to me.


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Indeed, the Lord Jehovah helps me, Who is the one who condemns me? Indeed, they will all wear out like a garment; The moth will consume them.


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Who among you fears Jehovah; Who hears the voice of His servant; Who walks in darkness And has no light? Let him trust in the name of Jehovah, And rely on his God.


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Indeed, all of you who kindle a fire, Who surround yourselves with firebrands, Walk into the light of your fire And into the firebrands which you have lit. You will have this from My hand:You will lie down in torment.


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Listen to Me, you who pursue righteousness, Who seek after Jehovah, Look to the rock from which you were hewn, And to the excavation of the quarry from which you were dug.


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Look to Abraham your father, And to Sarah who travailed with you; For I called him when he was one person, And blessed him and multiplied him.


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For Jehovah has comforted Zion; He has comforted all her waste places, And made her wilderness like Eden, And her desert like the garden of Jehovah. Gladness and joy will be found in her, Thanksgiving and the voice of song.


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Hearken to Me, O My people; Give ear to Me, O My nation; For instruction will go out from Me; And I will set My judgment as a light for the peoples.


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My righteousness is near; My salvation has gone forth; My arms will judge the peoples; The coastlands will wait for Me And place their hope in My arm.


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Lift up your eyes to the heavens, And look upon the earth beneath; For the heavens will vanish away like smoke, And the earth will wear out like a garment, And those who dwell there will die in like manner; But My salvation will be forever, And My righteo


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Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, A people in whose heart is My instruction, Do not fear the reproach of man; Do not be terrified at their revilings.


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For the moth will eat them up like a garment, And the worm will eat them like wool; But My righteousness will be forever, And My salvation from generation to generation.


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Awake, awake! Put on strength, O arm of Jehovah; Awake as in the days of old, As in the generations of past ages. Was it not You who cut Rahab in pieces, Who pierced through the dragon?


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Was it not You who dried up the sea, The waters of the great deep; Who made the depths of the sea into a way For the redeemed to pass through?


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Therefore the ransomed of Jehovah will return And will come to Zion with a ringing shout, And eternal joy will be upon their heads. They will lay hold on gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing will flee away.


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I, even I, am He who will comfort you. Who are you that you are afraid of man who will die, And of the son of man who will be made like grass,


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That you have forgotten Jehovah who made you, Who stretched out the heavens And laid the foundations of the earth, That you have been continually afraid every day, Because of the fury of the oppressor When he sets himself up to destroy you? But where is


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The one who is bowed down will soon be released And will not die in the pit, Nor will his bread be lacking.


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And I have put My words in your mouth, And I have covered you in the shadow of My hand, To plant the heavens and lay the foundations of the earth, And to say to Zion, You are My people.


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Wake yourself up, wake yourselfup; Stand up, O Jerusalem, You who have drunk from the hand of Jehovah The cup of His wrath; The bowl of the cup of staggering You have drunk; you have drained it out.


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There is no one to guide her Among all the children whom she has brought forth; There is no one to take her by the hand Among all the children she has raised up.


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These two things have happened to you; Who will lament for you? Desolation and destruction, and famine and sword. How will I comfort you?


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Your sons have fainted; They lie at the head of every street like an antelope in a net, Full of the wrath of Jehovah, The rebuke of your God.


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Thus says your Lord Jehovah and your God Who pleads the cause of His people, Indeed, I have taken from your hand The cup of staggering; You will no longer need to drink The bowl of the cup of My wrath anymore;


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And I will put it into the hand of those who afflict you, Who have said to your soul, Bow down That we may walk over you; And you have made your back like the ground, Like the street for them to cross over.


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Awake! Awake! Put on Your strength, O Zion; Put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, O holy city; For the uncircumcised and the unclean Will no longer come into you.


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Shake yourself from the dust; arise, Sit down, O Jerusalem; Loose yourself from the bonds on your neck, O captive daughter of Zion.


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For thus says Jehovah, You are those who have been sold for nothing, and you will be redeemed without money.


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For thus says the Lord Jehovah, At first My people went down to Egypt to sojourn there; then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.


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Now then what do I have here, declares Jehovah, since My people have been taken away for nothing? Those who rule over them howl, declares Jehovah, and My name is continually blasphemed all day long.


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Therefore My people will know My name; therefore in that day they will know that I am He who speaks; here I am.


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How beautiful on the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Of him who announces peace, who brings news of good things, Who announces salvation; Of him who says to Zion, Your God reigns!


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The voice of your watchmen! They lift up their voice; They give a ringing shout together; For they will see with their very own eyes When Jehovah restores Zion.


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Break forth, give a ringing shout together, You wasted places of Jerusalem, For Jehovah has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem.


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Jehovah has bared His holy arm In the sight of all the nations, And all the ends of the earth will see The salvation of our God.


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Depart! Depart! Go out from there! Do not touch any unclean thing! Go out from the midst of her! Cleanse yourselves, You who bear the vessels of Jehovah!


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For you will not go out in haste, And you will not go in flight; For Jehovah will go before you, And the God of Israel will be your rear guard.


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Indeed, My Servant will act wisely and will prosper; He will be exalted and lifted up and very high.


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Even as many were astonished at Him - His visage was marred more than that of any man, And His form more than that of the sons of men -


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So will He surprise many nations; Kings will shut their mouths because of Him; For what had not been recounted to them they will see, And what they had not heard of they will contemplate.


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For He grew up like a tender plant before Him, And like a root out of dry ground. He has no attracting form nor majesty that we should look upon Him, Nor beautiful appearance that we should desire Him.


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He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised; and we did not esteem Him.


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Surely He has borne our sicknesses, And carried our sorrows; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God and afflicted.


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But He was wounded because of our transgressions; He was crushed because of our iniquities; The chastening for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we have been healed.


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We all like sheep have gone astray; Each of us has turned to his own way, And Jehovah has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.


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He was oppressed, and it was He who was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter And like a sheep that is dumb before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth.


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By oppression and by judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation, who among them had the thought That He was cut off out of the land of the living For the transgression of my peopleto whom the stroke was due?


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And they assigned His grave with the wicked, But with a rich man in His death, Although He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.


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But Jehovah was pleased to crush Him, to afflict Him with grief. When He makes Himself an offering for sin, He will see a seed, He will extend His days, And the pleasure of Jehovah will prosper in His hand.


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He will see the fruit of the travail of His soul, And He will be satisfied; By the knowledge of Him, the righteous One, My Servant, will make the many righteous, And He will bear their iniquities.


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Therefore I will divide to Him a portion with the Great, And He will divide the spoil with the Strong; Because He poured out His life unto death And was numbered with the transgressors, Yet He alone bore the sin of many And interceded for the transgressors.


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Give a ringing shout, O barren one, you who have not borne; Break forth into joyful shouting and cry out, you who have not been in labor; For more numerous are the children of the desolate one Than the children of the married woman, says Jehovah.


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Enlarge your tent site, Let them stretch out the curtains of your habitations; Spare not; Lengthen your cords, And strengthen your pegs;


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For on the right and on the left you will break open, And your seed will possess the nations And will cause the desolate cities to be inhabited.


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Fear not, for you will not be put to shame; Neither be humiliated, for you will not be ashamed; But you will forget the shame of your youth, And the reproach of your widowhood you will no longer remember.


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For your Maker is your Husband; Jehovah of hosts is His name. And the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; He is called the God of all the earth.


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For Jehovah has called you, Like a wife who has been forsaken and is grieved in spirit, Even like a wife of one's youth when she has been rejected, Says your God.


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In a flood of wrath I hid My face from you for a moment, But with eternal lovingkindness I will have mercy on you, Says Jehovah your Redeemer.


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For this is like the waters of Noah to Me, When I swore that the waters of Noah Would not overflow the earth ever again; So I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, Nor will I rebuke you.


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For the mountains may depart, And the hills may shake, But My lovingkindness will not depart from you, And My covenant of peace will not shake, Says Jehovah who has compassion on you.


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O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted, Indeed, I Myself will lay down your stones in dark mortar, And will lay your foundations with sapphires.


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And I will make your battlements of rubies, And your gates of carbuncles, And all your borders will be precious stones.


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In righteousness you will be established; You will be far from oppression, for you will not fear, And far from terror, for it will not come near you.


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Indeed, they may fiercely attack you, but it is not of Me; Whoever attacks you will fall because of you.


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Indeed, it is I who have created the blacksmith Who blows the fire of the coals, And brings out a weapon for its work; And it is I who have created the destroyer to ruin.


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No weapon that is formed against you will prosper, And every tongue that rises up to judge you, you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of Jehovah, And their righteousness which is of Me, declares Jehovah.


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Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, And you who have no money; Come, buy and eat; Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price.


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Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And the result of your labor for what does not satisfy? Hear Me attentively, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in fatness.


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Incline your ear and come to Me; Hear, so that your soul may live; And I will make an eternal covenant with you, Even the sure mercies shown to David.


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Indeed, you will call a nation that you do not know, And a nation that does not know you will run to you, Because of Jehovah your God, even the Holy One of Israel, For He has glorified you.


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Let the wicked forsake his way, And the evildoer, his thoughts; And let him return to Jehovah, and He will have compassion on him; And to our God, for He will pardon abundantly.


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For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So My ways are higher than your ways, And My thoughts higher than your thoughts.


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For just as the rain comes down And the snow from heaven, And does not return there, Until it waters the earth And makes it bear and sprout forth, That it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater;


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So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me vainly, But it will accomplish what I delight in, And it will prosper in the matter to which I have sent it.


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For you will go out with rejoicing, And you will be led forth in peace; The mountains and the hills Will break forth before you with a ringing shout, And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.


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In place of the thornbush, the fir tree will come up; In place of the brier, the myrtle will come up; And it will be to Jehovah as a name, As an eternal sign that will not be cut off.


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Thus says Jehovah, Preserve justice and do righteousness, For My salvation is about to come And My righteousness is about to be revealed.


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Blessed is the man who does this, And the son of man who takes hold of it, Who keeps the Sabbath so as not to profane it And keeps his hand from doing any evil.


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And let not the son of a foreigner Who has joined himself to Jehovah speak, saying, Jehovah will surely separate me from His people; Nor let the eunuch say, Now I am a dry tree.


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For thus says Jehovah, To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths And choose what pleases Me, And hold fast My covenant,


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To them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial and a name Better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an eternal name Which will not be cut off.


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Also the children of the foreigner who join themselves to Jehovah, To minister to Him and to love the name of Jehovah, To be servants to Him, Everyone who keeps the Sabbath so as not to profane it And holds fast My covenant,


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Even these will I cause to come to My holy mountain And to rejoice in My house of prayer; Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable upon My altar; For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.


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The Lord Jehovah, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares:Yet will I gather others to Him besides those gathered to Him already.


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His watchmen are blind; All of them know nothing; All of them are dumb dogs, They cannot bark; Dreamers who lie down And love to slumber.


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And these dogs are greedy; They know no satisfaction. And they are shepherds Who lack understanding. All of them have turned to their own way, Each to his own gain, to the last of them.


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Come, they say, let me get some wine, And let us drink down some liquor; And tomorrow will be like today, Only much more abundant.


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The righteous man perishes, And no one takes it to heart; And godly men are being swept away, While no one considers That the righteous man is being swept away from evil.


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But draw near here, You children of a sorceress, You seed of an adulterer and of her who prostitutes herself.


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Whom are you mocking, And against whom are you opening your mouth wide And sticking out your tongue? Are you not children of transgression, A seed of falsehood,


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Who inflame yourselves among the terebinths, Under every flourishing tree, Who slaughter the children in the valleys Under the clefts of the rocks?


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Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion, They, yes, they are your lot. Indeed, to them you have poured out a drink offering, You have offered a meal offering. Shall I ease Myself of these?


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And behind the door and doorpost You have put your reminder. For apart from Me, you have uncovered yourself and gone up; You have extended your bed; And you have made an agreement for yourself with them; You loved their bed; you saw their nakedness.


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And you went to the king with oil, And you increased your perfumes; You sent your envoys far away And debased yourself even as far as Sheol.


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You were wearied with the length of your way, Yet you did not say, It is hopeless; You found the renewing of your strength, Therefore you did not weaken.


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And whom have you been worried about and feared, That you have lied and not remembered Me, Nor taken it to heart? Was I not silent, and that for a long time, Yet you did not fear Me?


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When you cry out, let your heaps of idols deliver you. But the wind will carry them all away; A breath will take them away. But he who takes refuge in Me will inherit the land And possess My holy mountain.


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And it will be said, Cast up, cast up; prepare the way; Take up the obstacle out of the way of My people.


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For thus says the high and exalted One, Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:I will dwell in the high and holy place, And with the contrite and lowly of spirit, To revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite.


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For I will not contend forever, Nor will I always be angry; For the spirit would faint before Me, And the souls which I have made.


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Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry, And I struck him; I hid Myself and was angry; And he went on, turning away in the way of his heart.


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I have seen his ways And will heal him; And I will lead him and restore comfort to him And to his mourning ones,


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Creating the fruit of the lips:Peace, peace to him who is far off and to him who is near, Says Jehovah; and I will heal him.


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Cry loudly; do not hold back; Raise your voice like a trumpet, And declare to My people their transgression And to the house of Jacob their sins.


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Yet they seek Me day by day And take delight in knowing My ways, Like a nation that has done righteousness And has not forsaken the judgment of their God. They ask Me for righteous judgments; They take delight in approaching God.


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Why have we fasted, and yet You do not see? Why have we afflicted our soul, and yet You do not acknowledge? Indeed, on the day of your fast you find delight, And oppress all your laborers.


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Indeed, you fast for contention and strife, And to strike with a fist of wickedness; You do not fast, in the way you do today, To make your voice heard on high.


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Is such the fast that I choose, The day when a man afflicts his soul? Is it for bowing his head like a rush And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as his bed? Will you call this a fast, And an acceptable day to Jehovah?


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Is this not the fast that I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free, And to break every yoke?


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Is it not to divide your bread to the hungry, And to bring the wandering poor home; When you see the naked, to cover him, And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?


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Then your light will break forth like the dawn, And your recovery will speedily spring forth. And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of Jehovah will guard you from behind.


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Then you will call, and Jehovah will answer; You will cry out, and He will say, Here I am. If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger and the speaking of wickedness,


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And if you draw out your soul to the hungry And satisfy the desires of the afflicted; Then your light will rise in the darkness, And your gloom will be like midday;


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And Jehovah will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in the dry times, And strengthen your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, Whose waters do not deceive.


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And those who are of you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the foundations of generation upon generation; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the paths in which to dwell.


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If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, From doing whatever you please on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a delight, That which is holy to Jehovah honorable, And honor it, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure and speaking idle wor


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Then you will have delight in Jehovah; And I will cause you to ride upon the heights of the earth, And I will feed you with the inheritance of Jacob your father; For the mouth of Jehovah has spoken.


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No, Jehovah's hand is not so short that it cannot save; Nor is His ear so heavy that it cannot hear.


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But your iniquities have become a separation Between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face From you so that He does not hear.


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For your hands are defiled with blood, And your fingers with iniquity; Your lips have spoken falsehood, Your tongue has muttered injustice.


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No one sues righteously, And no one pleads in truth; They trust in vanity and speak lies; They conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity.


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They hatch adders' eggs And weave the spider's web; He who eats of their eggs dies, And that which is crushed breaks forth into a viper.


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Their webs will not become garments, Nor will they cover themselves with their works; Their works are works of iniquity, And an act of violence is in their palms.


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Their feet run toward evil, And they hasten to shed innocent blood; Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; Desolation and destruction are in their highways.


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The way of peace they do not know, And there is no justice in their course; They have made their paths crooked; Whoever goes on it does not know peace.


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Therefore justice is far from us, And righteousness does not overtake us; We look eagerly for light, but, ah, darkness, For brightness, but we walk in gloom.


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We grope like blind men at the wall; We grope like those without eyes; We stumble at midday as we would at dusk; Among the prospering we are like dead men.


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All of us roar like bears And moan incessantly like doves; We look eagerly for justice, but there is none, For salvation, but it is far from us.


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For our transgressions are multiplied before You, And our sins respond to You against us; For our transgressions are with us, And as for our iniquities, we know what they are:


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Transgressing and denying Jehovah, And turning away from our God; Speaking oppression and revolt, Conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.


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And justice is turned back, And righteousness stands far off; For truth has stumbled in the street, And uprightness cannot come in.


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And truth is lacking, And he who turns from evil becomes plunder. And Jehovah saw it, and it was evil in His sight That there was no justice.


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And He saw that there was no man, And He was appalled that there was no intercessor. Therefore His arm accomplished salvation for Him, And His righteousness sustained Him.


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Thus He put on righteousness as a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation upon His head; And He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle.


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According to their dealings, so will He repay:Wrath to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies; To the coastlands He will repay with recompense.


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So they will fear the name of Jehovah from the west, And His glory from the rising of the sun; When the adversary comes like a flood, The Spirit of Jehovah will lift up a standard against him.


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And a Redeemer will come to Zion, And unto those who turn from transgression in Jacob, Declares Jehovah.


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And as for Me, this is My covenant with them, says Jehovah:My Spirit which is upon you and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your seed, nor from the mouth of your seed's seed, says Jehovah, fr


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For, behold, the darkness will cover the earth, And deep darkness the peoples; But Jehovah will rise upon you, And His glory will be seen upon you.


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Lift up your eyes around you and see:They all gather together; they come to you; Your sons will come from far away, And your daughters will be carried on the hip.


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Then you will see and you will beam, And your heart will be in awe and will swell with joy, For the abundance of the sea will be turned to you, The wealth of the nations will come to you.


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A multitude of camels will cover you, The young camels of Midian and Ephah; All those from Sheba will come; They will carry gold and frankincense, And they will bear the good news of Jehovah's praises.


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All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered together to you; The rams of Nebaioth will minister to you; They will go up acceptably upon My altar, And I will beautify the house of My beauty.


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Surely the coastlands will look eagerly for Me; And the ships of Tarshish will come first, To bring your children from afar, Their silver and their gold with them, Unto the name of Jehovah your God And unto the Holy One of Israel; for He has beautified y


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And the children of foreigners will build up your walls, And their kings will minister to you; For in My wrath I struck you, But in My favor I had compassion on you.


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And your gates will be open continually; They will not be closed day or night, So that they may bring to you the wealth of the nations And their kings being led in procession.


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For the nation and the kingdom that will not serve you will perish, and the nations will be utterly wasted.


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The glory of Lebanon will come to you, The fir tree, the pine tree, and the box tree together, To beautify the place of My sanctuary; And I will make the place for My feet glorious.


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And the sons of those who afflicted you Will come bowing down to you, And all those who despised you will bow down At the soles of your feet; And they will call you the City of Jehovah, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.


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Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, So that no one would pass through you, I will make you an eternal excellency, A joy from generation to generation.


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And you will suck the milk of nations And suck the breast of kings; Thus you will know that I, Jehovah, am your Savior And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.


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Instead of brass I will bring gold, And instead of iron I will bring silver; And instead of wood there will be brass, And instead of stones there will be iron; And I will make peace your officers, And righteousness your rulers.


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Violence will no longer be heard in your land, Nor desolation and destruction within your borders; But you will call your walls Salvation, And your gates Praise.


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You will no longer have the sun for your light by day, Nor for brightness will the moon give you light; But Jehovah will be an eternal light to you, And your God your beauty.


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Your sun will no longer go down, Nor will your moon withdraw; For Jehovah will be an eternal light to you, And the days of your mourning will be ended.


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Then all your people will be righteous; They will possess the land forever, The branch of My planting, The works of My hands, That I may be beautified.


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The least one will become a thousand, And the smallest a strong nation. I, Jehovah, will hasten it in its time.


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The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon Me, Because Jehovah has anointed Me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent Me to bind up the wounds of the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the eyes to those who are bo


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To proclaim the acceptable year of Jehovah And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn;


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To grant to those who mourn in Zion, To give to them a headdress instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of heaviness; That they may be called the terebinths of righteousness, The planting of Je


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And they will rebuild the ancient ruins; They will raise up the former desolations; And they will repair the cities of waste, The desolations of generation upon generation.


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And strangers will stand and feed your flocks, And the sons of the foreigner will be your plowmen and vinedressers.


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But you will be called the priests of Jehovah; People will speak of you as the ministers of our God. You will eat the wealth of nations, And you will boast in their glory.


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Instead of your shame there will be a double portion, And instead of humiliation they will give a ringing shout for their portion. Therefore in their land they will possess double; Eternal joy will be theirs.


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For I, Jehovah, love justice; I hate robbery with wrong; And I will faithfully give them their recompense, And I will make an eternal covenant with them.


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Then their seed will be known among the nations, And their offspring in the midst of the peoples; All who see them will acknowledge them, That they are the seed whom Jehovah has blessed.


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I will rejoice greatly in Jehovah, My soul will exult in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with the robe of righteousness; I am like a bridegroom who wears the headdress of the priest, And like a bride who ado


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For as the earth brings forth its sprout, And as the garden causes the things sown in it to spring up, So will the Lord Jehovah cause righteousness and praise To spring up before all the nations.


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For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, And for Jerusalem's sake I will not be quiet, Until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, And her salvation like a burning torch.


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And the nations will see your righteousness, And all the kings, your glory; And you will be called by a new name, Which the mouth of Jehovah will designate.


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You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of Jehovah, And a royal turban in the palm of your God.


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And it will no longer be said to you, Forsaken! Nor to your land will it be said any longer, Desolate! But you will be called, My delight is in her, And your land, Married; For Jehovah delights in you, And your land will be married.


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For as a young man marries a virgin, Your sons will marry you; And with the joy of the bridegroom over the bride Your God will rejoice over you.


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Upon your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; All day and all night They will never keep silent. You who remind Jehovah, Do not be dumb;


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Jehovah has sworn by His right hand And by His strong arm:Surely I will never again give your grain As food for your enemies, And surely the children of the foreigner will not drink your new wine For which you have labored;


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But they who have gathered it will eat it, And they will praise Jehovah, And they who have collected it will drink it In the courts of My holiness.


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Go through, go through the gates; Prepare the way for the people; Cast up, cast up the highway; Free it of stones; Raise up a standard for the people.


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See, Jehovah has announced To the end of the earth:Say to the daughter of Zion, Your salvation is now coming; Now His reward is with Him And His recompense before Him.


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And they will call them, The holy people, The redeemed of Jehovah; And you will be called, Sought after! A city not forsaken!


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Who is this who comes from Edom With red-stained garments, from Bozrah? This One who is majestic in His apparel, Marching in the greatness of His strength? It is I who speak in righteousness, Mighty to save.


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I have trodden the wine trough alone, And from the peoples there was no man with Me. And I trod them in My anger And trampled them in My wrath; And their lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments, And I have stained all My apparel.


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And I looked and there was no one to help; And I was appalled that there was no one to uphold. Therefore My own arm accomplished salvation for Me, And My wrath, it upheld Me.


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And I trod down the peoples in My anger And made them drunk in My wrath, And I poured out their lifeblood upon the earth.


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I will make mention of the lovingkindnesses of Jehovah, The praises of Jehovah, According to all that Jehovah has bestowed on us And the great goodness toward the house of Israel, Which He has bestowed on them according to His compassions And according to


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For He said, Surely, they are My people, Children who will not deal falsely; So He became their Savior.


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In all their affliction He was afflicted, And the Angel of His presence saved them; In His love and in His mercy He redeemed them, And He bore them up and carried them All the days of old.


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But they rebelled and grieved His Spirit of holiness; Therefore He turned to become their enemy; He fought against them.


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Then He remembered the days of old, Moses and His people:Where is He who brought them up out of the sea With the shepherds of His flock? Where is He who put in their midst His Spirit of holiness;


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Who made His glorious arm Go at the right hand of Moses; Who divided the waters before them, To make for Himself a name forever;


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Like the cattle which go down into the valley, The Spirit of Jehovah caused them to rest. Thus did You lead Your people, To make for Yourself a glorious name.


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Look down from heaven, And see from the habitation of Your holiness and Your beauty:Where are Your zeal and Your mighty acts? The stirring of Your inward parts And Your compassions are restrained toward me.


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For You are our Father, Since Abraham does not know us, And Israel does not acknowledge us. You, Jehovah, are our Father; Our Redeemer from of old is Your name.


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Why, O Jehovah, do You cause us to wander from Your ways And harden our hearts so that we do not fear You? Return for the sake of Your servants, The tribes of Your inheritance.


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Your holy people have possessed Your sanctuary for a little while; Our adversaries have trodden it down.


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We have become like those over whom You have never ruled, Like those who have not been called by Your name.


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Oh that You would rend the heavens, that You would come down - That the mountains would shake at Your presence -


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Like fire that kindles brushwood, Like fire that causes water to boil, To make Your name known to Your adversaries, That the nations may tremble at Your presence!


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When You did awesome things that we did not expect, You came down, the mountains shook at Your presence.


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For from of old, men have not heard, Nor perceived with the ear, Neither has eye seen a God besides You, Who acts for him who waits for Him.


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You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness, Those who remember You in Your ways. Yes, You were angry, for we sinned; We have been in them for a long time, and shall we be saved?


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For all of us became like him who is unclean, And all our righteousnesses are like a soiled garment; And we all wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, carry us away.


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And there is no one who calls upon Your name, Who stirs himself up to lay hold of You; For You have hidden Your face from us And have consumed us by our iniquities.


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But now, Jehovah, You are our Father; We are the clay; and You, our Potter; And all of us are the work of Your hand.


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Do not be angry to an extreme, O Jehovah, Neither remember iniquity forever; Look now, we pray:We all are Your people.


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Our holy and beautiful house, Where our fathers praised You, Is burned with fire; And all the things that we delighted in have become a ruin.


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Will You restrain Yourself from these, O Jehovah? Will You keep silent and afflict us to an extreme?


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I let Myself be inquired of by those who did not ask for Me, And found by those who did not seek Me. I said, Here I am; here I am; To a nation that was not called by My name.


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I have stretched out My hands all day long To a rebellious people, Who walk in a way that is not good, After their own thoughts;


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A people who provoke Me to anger To My face continually, Who sacrifice in gardens And burn incense upon the bricks;


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Who sit among the graves And lodge overnight in the secret places; Who eat swine's flesh And the broth of abominations in their pots;


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Who say, Keep to yourself, Do not come near me; for I am holier than you. These are smoke in My nose, A fire that burns all day.


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It is written here before Me:I will not keep silent without first recompensing; And I will recompense, into their bosom,


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Your iniquities and the iniquities of your fathers together, Says Jehovah, Who have burned incense upon the mountains And have scorned Me upon the hills; Therefore I will measure their work first Into their bosom.


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Thus says Jehovah, As the new wine is found in the cluster, And someone says, Do not destroy it, For there is a blessing in it; So will I do for My servants' sake, In order not to destroy them all.


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And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, And out of Judah one who will possess My mountain; And My chosen ones will possess it, And My servants will dwell there.


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And Sharon will be an abode for the flock, And the valley of Achor a resting place for the herd, For My people who have sought Me.


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But you who forsake Jehovah, Who forget My holy mountain, Who prepare a table to Fortune And fill vessels with drink offerings to Destiny,


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I will destine you to the sword, And you all will bow down to the slaughter; Because I called you, but you did not answer; I spoke, but you did not listen; But you did evil in My sight And chose that in which I did not delight.


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Therefore thus says the Lord Jehovah, Indeed, My servants shall eat, But you shall hunger; Indeed, My servants shall drink, But you shall thirst; Indeed, My servants shall rejoice, But you shall be put to shame;


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Indeed, My servants shall give a ringing shout Because of a heart of joy, But you shall cry out Because of a heart of pain, And because of a broken spirit you shall wail.


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And you will leave your name as a curse to My chosen ones, And the Lord Jehovah will slay you; And He will call His servants by another name,


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So that he who blesses himself in the earth Will bless himself in the God of faithfulness, And he who swears in the earth Will swear by the God of faithfulness; Because the former troubles are forgotten And because they are hidden from My sight.


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For I am now creating new heavens And a new earth, And the former things will not be remembered, Nor will they come up in the heart.


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But rejoice and exult forever, In what I create, For I am now creating Jerusalem as an exultation And her people as a rejoicing.


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And I will exult in Jerusalem And rejoice in My people; And there will no longer be heard in her The voice of weeping and the voice of crying.


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There will no longer be in her An infant who reaches the age of only a few days Nor an old man who does not fill up his days; For the lad will die at a hundred years of age, And the sinner, being a hundred years of age, will be cursed.


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They will not build and another inhabit; They will not plant and another eat; For like the days of a tree are the days of My people, And My chosen ones will enjoy the work of their hands to the full;


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They will not labor in vain, Nor bear children unto turmoil; For they are the seed of those blessed of Jehovah, And their offspring with them.


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The wolf and the lamb will feed as one, And the lion will eat straw like the ox, And dust will be the serpent's food; They will not harm nor destroy In all My holy mountain, says Jehovah.


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Thus says Jehovah, Heaven is my throne, And the earth the footstool for My feet. Where then is the house that you will build for Me, And where is the place of My rest?


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For all these things My hand has made, And so all these things have come into being, declares Jehovah. But to this kind of man will I look, to him who is poor And of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.


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He who kills an ox is like him who slays a man; He who sacrifices a lamb, like him who breaks a dog's neck; He who offers a meal offering is like him who offers the blood of swine; He who burns incense is like him who blesses an idol. As surely as they ha


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Just as surely I will choose what will treat them ill, And I will bring upon them what they dread; Because I called, but no one answered; I spoke, but they did not listen; But they did evil in My sight, And chose that in which I did not delight.


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Hear the word of Jehovah, You who tremble at His word:Your brothers who hate you, Who cast you out because of My name, said, Let Jehovah be glorified So that we may see your joy. But they will be put to shame.


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A voice of tumult from the city! A voice from the temple! The voice of Jehovah giving full Recompense to His enemies.


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Who has heard of such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Or can a nation be brought forth all at once? For as soon as Zion travailed, She brought forth her children.


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Shall I bring to the point of birth and not cause to bring forth? Says Jehovah. Or shall I who cause to bring forth shut the womb? Says your God.


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Be joyful with Jerusalem and exult for her, All you who love her; Rejoice with her in joy, All you who mourn over her,


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So that you may nurse and be satisfied With her breasts of consolations, So that you may draw out from her and take excellent delight In the abundance of her glory.


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For thus says Jehovah, I now am extending to her Peace like a river, And the glory of the nations Like an overflowing stream; And you will nurse, you will be carried on the hip, And you will be bounced on the knees.


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And you will see this, and your heart will rejoice, And your bones will flourish like new grass; And the hand of Jehovah will be made known to His servants, And He will be indignant toward His enemies.


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For behold, Jehovah will come with fire, And His chariots will be like a whirlwind, To render His anger with fury And His rebuke with flames of fire.


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For with fire Jehovah will execute judgment, And with His sword, upon all flesh; And those slain by Jehovah will be many.


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Those who sanctify and purify themselves for the gardens, Following after one in the midst, Eating swine's flesh And what is abominable and even mice, Will come to an end together, declares Jehovah.


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But I - their works and their thoughts I will repay; the time is coming to gather all the nations and tongues; and they will come and see My glory.


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And I will set a sign among them and will send those who have escaped from them unto the nations:to Tarshish, Put, and Lud, to those who draw the bow; to Tubal and Javan, to the distant coastlands that have not heard My fame nor seen My glory; and they w


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And they will bring all your brothers from all the nations as a meal offering to Jehovah, on horses and in chariots and in wagons and on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain, Jerusalem, says Jehovah, just as the children of Israel bring their meal off


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For as the new heavens And new earth, which I make, Remain before Me, declares Jehovah, So will your seed and your name remain.


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And from new moon to new moon And from Sabbath to Sabbath All flesh will come To bow down before Me, says Jehovah.


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Then they will go forth and look On the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against Me; For their worm will not die, Nor will their fire be quenched; And they will be an abhorrence to all flesh.


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The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin,


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To whom the word of Jehovah came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon the king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.


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It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah the king of Judah until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah the king of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.


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Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; And before you came forth from the womb, I sanctified you. I have appointed you as a prophet to the nations.


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But Jehovah said to me, Do not say, I am a youth; For everywhere I send you, you shall go; And everything I command you, you shall speak.


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Then Jehovah stretched out His hand and touched my mouth; and Jehovah said to me, Now I have put My words in your mouth.


text:
See, I have appointed you this day Over the nations and over the kingdoms To pluck up and to break down, To destroy and to tear down, To build up and to plant.


text:
Then the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, What do you see, Jeremiah? And I said, I see a branch of an almond tree.


