# verses

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And after certain years he went down to Ahab in Samaria. And Ahab killed sheep and oxen for him in abundance and for the people whom he had with him, and persuaded him to go up with him to Ramothgilead. 


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And Ahab king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat king of Judah, "Will you go with me to Ramothgilead?" And he answered him, "I am as you art, and my people as your people; and we will be with you in the war." 


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And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, "Inquire, I pray you, at the word of the LORD today." 


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Therefore the king of Israel gathered together of prophets four hundred men, and said unto them, "Shall we go to Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear?" And they said, "Go up; for God will deliver it into the king's hand." 


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But Jehoshaphat said, "Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides these, that we might inquire of him?" 


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And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, "There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD; but I hate him, for he never prophesied good unto me, but always evil. The same is Micaiah the son of Imla." And Jehoshaphat said, "Let not the king say so!" 


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And the king of Israel called for one of his officers and said, "Fetch quickly Micaiah the son of Imla." 


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And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah sat each of them on his throne, clothed in their robes, and they sat in an open place at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them. 


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And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah had made him horns of iron, and said, "Thus says the LORD: `With these you shall push Syria until they be consumed.'" 


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And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, "Go up to Ramothgilead and prosper, for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king." 


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And the messenger who went to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, "Behold, the words of the prophets declare good to the king with one assent. Let your word therefore, I pray you, be like one of theirs, and speak you good." 


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And when he had come to the king, the king said unto him, "Micaiah, shall we go to Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear?" And he said, "Go you up and prosper, and they shall be delivered into your hand." 


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And the king said to him, "How many times shall I adjure you that you say nothing but the truth to me in the name of the LORD?" 


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Then he said, "I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the LORD said, `These have no master. Let them return therefore every man to his house in peace.'" 


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And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good unto me, but evil?" 


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Again Micaiah said, "Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting upon His throne, and all the host of heaven standing on His right hand and on His left. 


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And the LORD said, `Who shall entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead?' And one spoke saying in this manner, and another saying in that manner. 


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Then there came out a spirit, and stood before the LORD and said, `I will entice him.' And the LORD said unto him, `How?' 


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And he said, `I will go out, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' And the LORD said, `You shall entice him, and you shall also prevail. Go out, and do even so.' 


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Now therefore, behold, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these your prophets, and the LORD has spoken evil against you." 


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Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and smote Micaiah upon the cheek and said, "Which way went the spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto you?" 


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And Micaiah said, "Behold, you shall see on that day when you shall go into an inner chamber to hide yourself." 


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Then the king of Israel said, "Take you Micaiah, and carry him back to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king's son, 


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and say, `Thus says the king: Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction until I return in peace.'" 


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And Micaiah said, "If you certainly return in peace, then has not the LORD spoken by me." And he said, "Hearken, all you people." 


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And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, "I will disguise myself and will go to the battle; but put you on your robes." So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went to the battle. 


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Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of the chariots who were with him, saying, "Fight you not with small or great, but only with the king of Israel." 


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And it came to pass when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat that they said, "It is the king of Israel." Therefore they compassed about him to fight. But Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him; and God moved them to depart from him. 


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For it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back again from pursuing him. 


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And a certain man drew a bow at random, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the armor. Therefore he said to his chariot man, "Turn your hand, that you may carry me out of the host, for I am wounded." 


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And the battle increased that day. Nonetheless the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot against the Syrians until the evening. And about the time of the sun going down he died.


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Jehoshaphat's Additional Reforms<br/>And Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned to his house in peace to Jerusalem.


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And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to King Jehoshaphat, "Shouldest you help the ungodly, and love those who hate the LORD? Therefore is wrath upon you from before the LORD. 


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Nevertheless there are good things found in you, in that you have taken away the Asherah poles out of the land, and have prepared your heart to seek God ." 


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The Reforms of Jehoshaphat<br/>And Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem; and he went out again through the people from Beersheba to Mount Ephraim, and brought them back unto the LORD God of their fathers. 


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and said to the judges, "Take heed what you do; for you judge not for man, but for the LORD, who is with you in the matter of judgment. 


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Therefore now, let the fear of the LORD be upon you. Take heed and do it; for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of bribes." 


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Moreover in Jerusalem, Jehoshaphat set some of the Levites and some of the priests and some of the chief of the fathers of Israel for the judgment of the LORD and for controversies, when they returned to Jerusalem. 


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And he charged them, saying, "Thus shall you do in the fear of the LORD, faithfully, and with a perfect heart. 


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And whatsoever cause shall come to you from your brethren who dwell in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, statutes and judgments, you shall even warn them, that they trespass not against the LORD, and so wrath come upon you and upon your brethren. This do, and you shall not trespass. 


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And behold, Amariah the chief priest is over you in all matters of the LORD, and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, for all the king's matters. Also the Levites shall be officers before you. Deal courageously, and the LORD shall be with the good." 


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Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir Defeated; Jahaziel Promises a Great Deliverance<br/>It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab and the children of Ammon, and with them others besides the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle. 


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Then there came some who told Jehoshaphat, saying, "There comes  a great multitude against you from beyond the sea on this side of Syria; and behold, they are in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi." 


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And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 


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And Judah gathered themselves together to ask help of the LORD; even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.


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And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court, 


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and said, "O LORD God of our fathers, are not You God in heaven? And rulest not You over all the kingdoms of the heathen? And in Your hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand You? 


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Are not You our God, who did drive out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the seed of Abraham Your friend for ever? 


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`If, when evil comes  upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house and in Your presence <n>(for Your name is in this house)</n>, and cry unto You in our affliction, then You will hear and help.' 


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And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom You would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and destroyed them not" 


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behold, I say, how they reward us by coming to cast us out of Your possession, which You have given us to inherit. 


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O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no might against this great company that comes  against us, neither know we what to do; but our eyes are upon You." 


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Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation. 


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And he said, "You hearken <n>(listen, pay attention)</n>, all Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the LORD unto you: `Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's. 


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Tomorrow go you down against them. Behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz, and you shall find them at the end of the brook, before the Wilderness of Jeruel. 


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You shall not need to fight in this battle. Set yourselves, stand you still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem.' Fear not, nor be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD will be with you." 


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And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshiping the LORD. 


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And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high. 


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And they rose early in the morning and went forth into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Hear me, O Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the LORD your God; so shall you be established. Believe His prophets; so shall you prosper." 


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And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD who should praise the beauty of holiness as they went out before the army, and to say, "Praise the LORD, for His mercy endures for ever." 


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And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were smitten. 


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For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir utterly to slay and destroy them; and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, everyone helped to destroy another. 


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And when Judah came toward the watchtower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude; and behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped. 


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And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil from them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away; and they were three days in gathering the spoil, it was so much. 


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And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the Valley of Berachah <n>(that is, Blessing)</n>, for there they blessed the LORD. Therefore the name of the same place was called The Valley of Berachah unto this day. 


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Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat at the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the LORD had made them to rejoice over their enemies. 


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And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they had heard that the LORD fought against the enemies of Israel.


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The End of Jehoshaphat's Reign<br/>And Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. 


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And he walked in the way of Asa his father and departed not from it, doing that which was right in the sight of the LORD. 


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However the high places were not taken away, for as yet the people had not prepared their hearts unto the God of their fathers. 


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Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani, who is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel. 


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And after this Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly. 


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And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish; and they made the ships in Eziongeber.


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Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, "Because you have joined yourself with Ahaziah, the LORD has broken your works." And the ships were broken up, so that they were not able to go to Tarshish. 


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Jehoram Reigns in Judah<br/>Now Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. And Jehoram his son reigned in his stead. 


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And he had brethren, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, and Jehiel, and Zechariah, and Azariah, and Michael, and Shephatiah; all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel. 


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And their father gave them great gifts of silver and gold and precious things, with fortified cities in Judah; but the kingdom he gave to Jehoram, because he was the firstborn. 


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Now when Jehoram had risen up to the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself and slew all his brethren with the sword, and others also of the princes of Israel. 


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Jehoram was thirty and two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 


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And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab, for he had the daughter of Ahab as wife; and he wrought that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD. 


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However the LORD would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that He had made with David, and as He promised to give a light to him and to his sons for ever. 


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Then Jehoram went forth with his princes, and all his chariots with him; and he rose up by night and smote the Edomites who compassed him about and the captains of the chariots. 


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So the Edomites revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day. The same time also did Libnah revolt from under his hand, because he had forsaken the LORD God of his fathers. 


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Moreover he made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication, and compelled Judah thereto. 


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And there came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, "Thus says the LORD God of David your father: `Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father, nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah, 


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but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and have made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to go a whoring like the whoredoms of the house of Ahab, and also have slain your brethren of your father's house, who were better than yourself, 


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behold, with a great plague will the LORD smite your people and your children and your wives and all your goods. 


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And you shall have great sickness with a disease of your bowels, until your bowels fall out by reason of the sickness day by day.'" 


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Moreover the LORD stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and of the Arabians who were near the Ethiopians.


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And they came up into Judah and broke into it, and carried away all the substance that was found in the king's house, and his sons also and his wives, so that there was not a son left him, save Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons. 


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And it came to pass that in process of time, after the end of two years, his bowels fell out by reason of his sickness; so he died of grievous diseases. And his people made no burning for him like the burning of his fathers. 


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Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years and departed without being desired. However they buried him in the City of David, but not in the sepulchers of the kings. 


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Ahaziah Reigns in Judah<br/>And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son king in his stead, for the band of men who came with the Arabians to the camp had slain all the eldest. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, reigned. 


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Forty and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri. 


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Therefore he did evil in the sight of the LORD like the house of Ahab; for they were his counselors after the death of his father, to his destruction. 


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He walked also after their counsel, and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramothgilead; and the Syrians smote Joram. 


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And he returned to be healed in Jezreel because of the wounds which were given him at Ramah when he fought with Hazael king of Syria. And Azariah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab at Jezreel, because he was sick. 


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And the destruction of Ahaziah was of God by his coming to Joram; for when he had come, he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom the LORD had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab. 


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And it came to pass, when Jehu was executing judgment upon the house of Ahab, and found the princes of Judah and the sons of the brethren of Ahaziah who ministered to Ahaziah, that he slew them. 


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And he sought Ahaziah, and they caught him <n>(for he had hid in Samaria)</n> and brought him to Jehu. And when they had slain him, they buried him, "because," said they, "he is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart." So the house of Ahaziah had no power to keep the kingdom still. 


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Athaliah Reigns in Judah<br/>But when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal seed of the house of Judah. 


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But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's sons who were slain, and put him and his nurse in a bedchamber. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest <n>(for she was the sister of Ahaziah)</n>, hid him from Athaliah, so that she slew him not. 


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Joash Crowned King of Judah; Joash Reigns in Judah<br/>And in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself, and took the captains of hundreds into a covenant with him: Azariah the son of Jeroham, and Ishmael the son of Jehohanan, and Azariah the son of Obed, and Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri. 


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And they went about in Judah and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the chief of the fathers of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem. 


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And all the congregation made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said unto them, "Behold, the king's son shall reign, as the LORD has said of the sons of David. 


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This is the thing that you shall do: A third part of you entering on the Sabbath, of the priests and of the Levites, shall be keepers of the doors; 


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and a third part shall be at the king's house; and a third part at the Gate of the Foundation; and all the people shall be in the courts of the house of the LORD.


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But let none come into the house of the LORD save the priests and those who minister of the Levites. They shall go in, for they are holy, but all the people shall keep the watch of the LORD. 


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And the Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whosoever else comes  into the house, he shall be put to death; but be you with the king when he comes  in and when he goes out." 


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So the Levites and all Judah did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest had commanded, and took every man his men who were to come in on the Sabbath, with those who were to go out on the Sabbath; for Jehoiada the priest dismissed not the courses. 


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Moreover, Jehoiada the priest delivered to the captains of hundreds spears and bucklers and shields that had been King David's, which were in the house of God . 


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And he set all the people, every man having his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the temple to the left side of the temple, along by the altar and the temple, by the king round about. 


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Then they brought out the king's son, and put upon him the crown, and gave him the testimony, and made him king. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and said, "godsave the king." 


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Death of Athaliah<br/>Now when Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came to the people into the house of the LORD. 


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And she looked, and behold, the king stood at his pillar at the entrance, and the princes and the trumpets by the king; and all the people of the land rejoiced and sounded with trumpets, also the singers with instruments of music, and such as taught to sing praise. Then Athaliah rent her clothes and said, "Treason! Treason!" 


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Then Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds who were set over the host, and said unto them, "Take her forth among the ranks. And whoso follows her, let him be slain with the sword." For the priest said, "Slay her not in the house of the LORD." 


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So they laid hands on her; and when she had come to the entrance of the Horse Gate by the king's house, they slew her there. 


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And Jehoiada made a covenant between him and between all the people and between the king, that they should be the LORD's people. 


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Then all the people went to the house of Baal and broke it down, and broke his altars and his images in pieces, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. 


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Also Jehoiada appointed the offices of the house of the LORD by the hand of the priests, the Levites, whom David had distributed in the house of the LORD, to offer the burnt offerings of the LORD, as it is written in the Law of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, as it was ordained by David. 


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And he set the gatekeepers at the gates of the house of the LORD, that none who was unclean in anything should enter in. 


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And he took the captains of hundreds, and the nobles, and the governors of the people, and all the people of the land, and brought down the king from the house of the LORD; and they came through the High Gate into the king's house, and set the king upon the throne of the kingdom. 


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And all the people of the land rejoiced; and the city was quiet after they had slain Athaliah with the sword.


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Joash Repairs the Temple<br/>Joash was seven years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. Also his mother's name was Zibiah of Beersheba. 


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And he gathered together the priests and the Levites, and said to them, "Go out unto the cities of Judah, and gather from all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that you hasten the matter." However the Levites hastened it not. 


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And the king called for Jehoiada the chief priest and said unto him, "Why have you not required the Levites to bring in out of Judah and out of Jerusalem the collection, according to the commandment of Moses, the servant of the LORD, and of the congregation of Israel, for the tabernacle of witness?" 


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For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken up the house of God; and also all the dedicated things of the house of the LORD did they bestow upon the Baalim. 


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And at the king's commandment they made a chest, and set it outside at the gate of the house of the LORD. 


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And they made a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem to bring in to the LORD the collection that Moses the servant of God laid upon Israel in the wilderness.


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And all the princes and all the people rejoiced, and brought in and cast into the chest until they had made an end. 


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Now it came to pass, at whatever time the chest was brought unto the king's office by the hand of the Levites, and when they saw that there was much money, that the king's scribe and the high priest's officer came and emptied the chest, and took it and carried it to his place again. Thus they did day by day, and gathered money in abundance. 


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And the king and Jehoiada gave it to such as did the work of the service of the house of the LORD; and they hired masons and carpenters to repair the house of the LORD, and also such as wrought iron and brass to mend the house of the LORD. 


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So the workmen wrought, and the work was perfected by them; and they set the house of God in order, and strengthened it. 


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And when they had finished it, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada, of which were made vessels for the house of the LORD, even vessels to minister and to offer withal, and spoons, and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the LORD continually all the days of Jehoiada. 


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Apostasy of Joash<br/>But Jehoiada waxed old, and was full of days when he died: a hundred and thirty years old was he when he died. 


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And they buried him in the City of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, both toward God and toward His house. 


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Now after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah, and made obeisance to the king. Then the king hearkened unto them. 


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And they left the house of the LORD God of their fathers, and served Asherah poles and idols; and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their trespass. 


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Yet He sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the LORD; and they testified against them, but they would not give ear. 


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And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood above the people, and said unto them, "Thus says God : 'Why transgress you the commandments of the LORD, that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the LORD, He has also forsaken you.'" 


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And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the LORD. 


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Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he said, "The LORD look upon it, and require it." 


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Death of Joash<br/>And it came to pass at the end of the year that the host of Syria came up against him; and they came to Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people, and sent all their spoil unto the king of Damascus. 


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For the army of the Syrians came with a small company of men; and the LORD delivered a very great host into their hand, because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers. So they executed judgment against Joash. 


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And when they had departed from him <n>(for they left him with grave diseases)</n>, his own servants conspired against him for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and slew him on his bed, and he died. And they buried him in the City of David, but they buried him not in the sepulchers of the kings. 


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And these are those who conspired against him: Zabad the son of Shimeath an Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith a Moabitess. 


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Now concerning his sons, and the greatness of the burdens laid upon him, and the repairing of the house of God, behold, they are written in the commentary of the book of the kings. And Amaziah his son reigned in his stead. 


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Amaziah Reigns in Judah; War Between Judah and Israel<br/>Amaziah was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. 


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Now it came to pass, when the kingdom was established to him, that he slew his servants who had killed the king his father. 


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But he slew not their children, but did as it is written in the law in the Book of Moses, where the LORD commanded, saying, "The fathers shall not die for the children, neither shall the children die for the fathers, but every man shall die for his own sin." 


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The War Against Edom<br/>Moreover Amaziah gathered Judah together and made them captains over thousands and captains over hundreds, according to the houses of their fathers, throughout all Judah and Benjamin. And he numbered them from twenty years old and above, and found them three hundred thousand choice men, able to go forth to war, who could handle spear and shield. 


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But there came a man of God to him, saying, "O king, let not the army of Israel go with you, for the LORD is not with Israel, to wit, with all the children of Ephraim. 


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But if you will go, do it; be strong for the battle. But God shall make you fall before the enemy, for God has the power to help and to cast down." 


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And Amaziah said to the man of God, "But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel?" And the man of God answered, "The LORD is able to give you much more than this." 


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Then Amaziah separated them <n>(to wit, the army that had come to him out from Ephraim)</n> to go home again. Therefore their anger was greatly kindled against Judah, and they returned home in great anger. 


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And Amaziah strengthened himself, and led forth his people and went to the Valley of Salt, and smote ten thousand of the children of Seir. 


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And another ten thousand left alive did the children of Judah carry away captive, and brought them unto the top of the rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, so that they all were broken in pieces. 


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But the soldiers of the army which Amaziah sent back, that they should not go with him to battle, fell upon the cities of Judah from Samaria even unto Bethhoron, and smote three thousand of them and took much spoil. 


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Now it came to pass, after Amaziah had come from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the Gods of the children of Seir and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them and burned incense unto them. 


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Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against Amaziah, and He sent unto him a prophet, who said unto him, "Why have you sought after the Gods of the people, which could not deliver their own people out of your hand?" 


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And it came to pass as he talked with him, that the king said unto him, "Are you made the king's counsel? Forbear! Why should you be smitten?" Then the prophet forbore and said, "I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not hearkened unto my counsel." 


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Israel Defeats Judah<br/>Then Amaziah king of Judah took advice, and sent to Joash the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, "Come, let us look one another in the face." 


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And Joash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, "The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, `Give your daughter to my son as wife'; and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trod down the thistle. 


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You say, `Lo, you have smitten the Edomites,' and your heart lifts you up to boast. Abide now at home. Why should you meddle to your hurt, that you should fall, even you and Judah with you?" 


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But Amaziah would not hear; for it came from God, that He might deliver them into the hand of their enemies, because they sought after the Gods of Edom. 


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So Joash the king of Israel went up; and they looked one another in the face, both he and Amaziah king of Judah, at Bethshemesh, which belongs to Judah. 


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And Joash the king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, at Bethshemesh; and he brought him to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate, four hundred cubits. 


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And he took all the gold and the silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of God with Obededom, and the treasures of the king's house, the hostages also, and returned to Samaria. 


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Death of Amaziah<br/>And Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, lived after the death of Joash son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel, fifteen years. 


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Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, first and last, behold, are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel? 


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Now after the time that Amaziah turned away from following the LORD, they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem; and he fled to Lachish, but they sent to Lachish after him and slew him there. 


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And they brought him upon horses and buried him with his fathers in the City of Judah <n>(that is, the City of David)</n>. 


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Uzziah Reigns in Judah<br/>Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah. 


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Sixteen years old was Uzziah when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and two years in Jerusalem. Also his mother's name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. 


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And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah did. 


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And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God; and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him to prosper. 


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And he went forth and warred against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gath and the wall of Jabneh and the wall of Ashdod, and built cities about Ashdod and among the Philistines. 


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And God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians who dwelt in Gurbaal, and the Meunites. 


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And the Ammonites gave gifts to Uzziah; and his name spread abroad even to the entrance of Egypt, for he strengthened himself exceedingly. 


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Moreover Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate and at the Valley Gate and at the turning of the wall, and fortified them. 


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Also he built towers in the desert and dug many wells, for he had much cattle, both in the low country and in the plains; husbandmen also, and vine dressers in the mountains and in Carmel, for he loved husbandry. 


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Moreover Uzziah had a host of fighting men who went out to war by bands, according to the number of their count by the hand of Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the ruler, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king's captains. 


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The whole number of the chief of the fathers of the mighty men of valor was two thousand and six hundred.


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And under their hand was an army, three hundred and seven thousand and five hundred, that made war with mighty power to help the king against the enemy. 


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And Uzziah prepared for them, throughout all the host, shields, and spears, and helmets, and jackets of mail, and bows, and slings to cast stones. 


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And he made in Jerusalem engines, invented by skillful men, to be on the towers and upon the bulwarks with which to shoot arrows and great stones. And his name spread far abroad, for he was marvelously helped till he was strong. 


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The Penalty for Uzziah's Pride<br/>But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction; for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense. 


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And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the LORD, who were valiant men. 


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And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, "It pertains not unto you, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed; neither shall it be for your honor from the LORD God ." 


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Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense; and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up on his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, beside the incense altar. 


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And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked upon him, and behold, he was leprous on his forehead, and they thrust him out from thence. Yea, he himself hastened also to go out, because the LORD had smitten him. 


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And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death; and he dwelt in a separate house, being a leper, for he was cut off from the house of the LORD. And Jotham his son was over the king's house, judging the people of the land. 


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Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, did Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, write. 


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So Uzziah slept with his fathers; and they buried him with his fathers in the field of the burial which belonged to the kings, for they said, "He is a leper." And Jotham his son reigned in his stead. 


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Jotham Reigns in Judah<br/>Jotham was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. Also his mother's name was Jerushah, the daughter of Zadok. 


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And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Uzziah did. Howbeit, he entered not into the temple of the LORD, and the people did yet corruptly. 


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Moreover he built cities in the mountains of Judah, and in the forests he built strongholds and towers. 


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He fought also with the king of the Ammonites, and prevailed against them. And the children of Ammon gave him the same year a hundred talents of silver, and ten thousand measures of wheat, and ten thousand of barley. The same did the children of Ammon pay unto him both the second year and the third. 


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Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars and his ways, lo, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. 


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And Jotham slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David; and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead. 


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Ahaz Reigns in Judah; War Between Ahaz and Pekah<br/>Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; but he did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD like David his father. 


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Moreover he burned incense in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and burned his children in the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. 


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He sacrificed also and burned incense in the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.


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Syria and Israel Defeat Judah<br/>Therefore the LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria; and they smote him, and carried away a great multitude of them captives, and brought them to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter. 


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For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah a hundred and twenty thousand in one day, who were all valiant men, because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers. 


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And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah the king's son, and Azrikam the governor of the house, and Elkanah who was next to the king. 


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And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren two hundred thousand women, sons, and daughters, and took also away much spoil from them and brought the spoil to Samaria. 


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Israel Returns the Captives<br/>But a prophet of the LORD was there, whose name was Oded; and he went out before the host that came to Samaria, and said unto them, "Behold, because the LORD God of your fathers was wroth with Judah, He has delivered them into your hand, and you have slain them in a rage that reaches up unto heaven. 


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And now you purpose to keep under the children of Judah and Jerusalem as bondmen and bondwomen unto you. But are there not with you, even with you, sins against the LORD your God ? 


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Now hear me therefore, and deliver the captives back, whom you have taken captive from your brethren; for the fierce wrath of the LORD is upon you." 


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Then certain of the heads of the children of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, and Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against those who came from the war 


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and said unto them, "You shall not bring in the captives hither, for whereas we have offended against the LORD already, you intend to add more to our sins and to our trespass; for our trespass is great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel." 


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And the men who were mentioned by name rose up and took the captives, and with the spoil clothed all who were naked among them, and arrayed them, and shod them, and gave them to eat and to drink, and anointed them, and carried all the feeble of them upon Asses and brought them to their brethren at Jericho, the city of palm trees. Then they returned to Samaria. 


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Assyria Refuses to Help Judah<br/>At that time King Ahaz sent unto the kings of Assyria to help him.


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The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the low country and of the south of Judah, and had taken Bethshemesh, and Aijalon, and Gederoth, and Shocho with the villages thereof, and Timnah with the villages thereof, Gimzo also and the villages thereof; and they dwelt there. 


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For the LORD brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he made Judah naked and transgressed sorely against the LORD. 


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For Ahaz took away a portion out of the house of the LORD, and out of the house of the king and from the princes, and gave it unto the king of Assyria; but he helped him not. 


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Apostasy and Death of Ahaz<br/>And in the time of his distress he trespassed yet more against the LORD: this is that King Ahaz.


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For he sacrificed unto the Gods of Damascus which smote him; and he said, "Because the Gods of the kings of Syria help them, therefore will I sacrifice to them, that they may help me." But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel. 


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And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God, and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and shut up the doors of the house of the LORD, and he made himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem. 


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And in every separate city of Judah he made high places to burn incense unto other gods, and provoked to anger the LORD God of his fathers. 


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Now the rest of his acts and of all his ways, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 


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And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, even in Jerusalem; but they brought him not into the sepulchers of the kings of Israel. And Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead. 


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Hezekiah Reigns in Judah<br/>Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. 


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Temple Worship Restored<br/>And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done. 


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Hezekiah Cleanses the Temple<br/>He, in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the LORD and repaired them. 


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and said unto them, "Hear me, you Levites! Sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place. 


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For our fathers have trespassed and done that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD our God, and have forsaken Him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the LORD, and turned their backs. 


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Also they have shut up the doors of the porch and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place unto the God of Israel. 


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Therefore the wrath of the LORD was upon Judah and Jerusalem, and He has delivered them to trouble, to astonishment, and to hissing, as you see with your eyes. 


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For lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. 


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Now it is in mine heart to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel, that His fierce wrath may turn away from us. 


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My sons, be not now negligent; for the LORD has chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, and that you should minister unto Him and burn incense." 


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Then the Levites arose: Mahath the son of Amasai and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites; and of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi and Azariah the son of Jehalelel; and of the Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah and Eden the son of Joah; 


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And they gathered their brethren and sanctified themselves, and came, according to the commandment of the king by the words of the LORD, to cleanse the house of the LORD. 


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And the priests went into the inner part of the house of the LORD to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the LORD into the court of the house of the LORD. And the Levites took it to carry it out abroad into the Brook Kidron. 


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Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of the LORD. So they sanctified the house of the LORD in eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished. 


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Then they went in to Hezekiah the king and said, "We have cleansed all the house of the LORD, and the altar of burnt offering with all the vessels thereof, and the showbread table with all the vessels thereof. 


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Moreover all the vessels which King Ahaz in his reign cast away in his transgression, have we prepared and sanctified; and behold, they are before the altar of the LORD." 


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Hezekiah Restores Temple Worship<br/>Then Hezekiah the king rose early, and gathered the rulers of the city, and went up to the house of the LORD. 


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And they brought seven bullocks, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven hegoats for a sin offering for the kingdom and for the sanctuary and for Judah. And he commanded the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the LORD. 


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So they killed the bullocks, and the priests received the blood and sprinkled it on the altar. Likewise, when they had killed the rams they sprinkled the blood upon the altar. They killed also the lambs, and they sprinkled the blood upon the altar. 


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And they brought forth the hegoats for the sin offering before the king and the congregation, and they laid their hands upon them. 


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And the priests killed them, and they made reconciliation with their blood upon the altar to make an atonement for all Israel; for the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel. 


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And he set the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the king's seer, and Nathan the prophet; for so was the commandment of the LORD by his prophets. 


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And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of the LORD began also with the trumpets and with the instruments ordained by David king of Israel. 


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And all the congregation worshiped, and the singers sang and the trumpeters sounded; and all this continued until the burnt offering was finished. 


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And when they had made an end of offering, the king and all who were present with him bowed themselves and worshiped. 


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Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the LORD with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshiped. 


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Then Hezekiah answered and said, "Now you have consecrated yourselves unto the LORD; come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the LORD." And the congregation brought in sacrifices and thank offerings, and as many as were of a free heart burned offerings. 


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And the number of the burnt offerings which the congregation brought was threescore and ten bullocks, a hundred rams, and two hundred lambs. All these were for a burnt offering to the LORD. 


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But the priests were too few, so that they could not flay all the burnt offerings. Therefore their brethren the Levites helped them till the work was ended and until the other priests had sanctified themselves; for the Levites were more upright in heart to sanctify themselves than the priests. 


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And also the burnt offerings were in abundance, with the fat of the peace offerings, and the drink offerings for every burnt offering. So the service of the house of the LORD was set in order. 


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And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people; for the thing was done suddenly. 


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Hezekiah Keeps the Passover<br/>And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem to keep the Passover unto the LORD God of Israel. 


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For the king had taken counsel with his princes and all the congregation in Jerusalem to keep the Passover in the second month.


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For they could not keep it at that time, because the priests had not sanctified themselves sufficiently, neither had the people gathered themselves together at Jerusalem. 


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So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the Passover unto the LORD God of Israel at Jerusalem; for they had not done it for a long time in such manner as it was written. 


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So the couriers went with the letters from the king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah, and according to the commandment of the king, saying, "You children of Israel, turn again unto the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and He will return to the remnant of you that have escaped out of the hand of the kings of Assyria. 


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And be not you like your fathers and like your brethren who trespassed against the LORD God of their fathers, so that He therefore gave them up to desolation, as you see. 


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Now be you not stiff-necked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the LORD and enter into His sanctuary, which He has sanctified for ever; and serve the LORD your God, that the fierceness of His wrath may turn away from you. 


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For if you turn again unto the LORD, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before those who lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land; for the LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away His face from you if you return unto Him." 


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So the couriers passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, even unto Zebulun; but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them. 


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Nevertheless some from Asher and Manasseh and from Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.


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Also the hand of God was in Judah, to give them one heart to do the commandment of the king and of the princes by the word of the LORD. 


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And there assembled at Jerusalem many people to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month, a very great congregation. 


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And they arose and took away the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for incense took they away and cast them into the Brook Kidron. 


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Then they killed the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month; and the priests and the Levites were ashamed, and sanctified themselves and brought in the burnt offerings into the house of the LORD. 


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And they stood in their place according to their order, according to the law of Moses the man of God. The priests sprinkled the blood which they received from the hand of the Levites. 


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For there were many in the congregation who were not sanctified: therefore the Levites had the charge of the killing of the Passover lambs for everyone who was not clean, to sanctify them unto the LORD. 


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For a multitude of the people, even many from Ephraim, and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the Passover otherwise than it was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, "The good LORD pardon every one 


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who prepares his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary." 


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And the children of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness; and the Levites and the priests praised the LORD day by day, singing with loud instruments unto the LORD. 


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And Hezekiah spoke comfortingly unto all the Levites who taught the good knowledge of the LORD; and they ate throughout the feast seven days, offering peace offerings and making confession to the LORD God of their fathers. 


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And the whole assembly took counsel to keep another seven days, and they kept another seven days with gladness. 


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For Hezekiah king of Judah gave to the congregation a thousand bullocks and seven thousand sheep, and the princes gave to the congregation a thousand bullocks and ten thousand sheep; and a great number of priests sanctified themselves. 


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And all the congregation of Judah, with the priests and the Levites and all the congregation that came out of Israel, and the strangers who came out of the land of Israel and who dwelt in Judah rejoiced. 


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So there was great joy in Jerusalem; for since the time of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, there was not the like in Jerusalem. 


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Then the priests, the Levites, arose and blessed the people; and their voice was heard and their prayer came up to His holy dwelling place, even unto heaven. 


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Hezekiah's Provision for Priests and Levites<br/>Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah, and broke the images in pieces, and cut down the Asherah poles, and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, into their own cities. 


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And Hezekiah appointed the watches of the priests and the Levites according to their courses, every man according to his service, the priests and Levites for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to minister and to give thanks and to praise in the gates of the tents of the LORD. 


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He appointed also the king's portion of his substance for the burnt offerings, to wit: for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the Sabbaths and for the new moons and for the set feasts, as it is written in the law of the LORD. 


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Moreover he commanded the people who dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites, that they might be encouraged in the law of the LORD. 


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And as soon as the commandment came abroad, the children of Israel brought in abundance the first fruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly. 


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And concerning the children of Israel and Judah, who dwelt in the cities of Judah, they also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the tithe of holy things which were consecrated unto the LORD their God, and laid them in heaps. 


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In the third month they began to lay the foundation of the heaps, and finished them in the seventh month. 


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And when Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed the LORD and His people Israel. 


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And Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok answered him and said, "Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the LORD, we have had enough to eat and have left plenty; for the LORD has blessed His people, and that which is left is this great store. 


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Then Hezekiah commanded to prepare storage chambers in the house of the LORD; and they prepared them, 


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and faithfully brought in the offerings and the tithes and the dedicated things, over which Cononiah the Levite was ruler and Shimei his brother was the next. 


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And Jehiel, and Azaziah, and Nahath, and Asahel, and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Ismachiah, and Mahath, and Benaiah were overseers under the hand of Cononiah and Shimei his brother at the commandment of Hezekiah the king and Azariah the ruler of the house of God . 


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And Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the gatekeeper toward the east, was over the freewill offerings of God to distribute the oblations of the LORD and the most holy things. 


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And next to him were Eden, and Miniamin, and Jeshua, and Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah in the cities of the priests, in their set office, to give to their brethren by courses, as well to the great as to the small; 


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besides their genealogy of males from three years old and upward, even unto everyone who enters into the house of the LORD, his daily portion for their service in their charges, according to their courses, 


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both to the genealogy of the priests by the house of their fathers, and the Levites from twenty years old and upward, in their charges by their courses; 


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and to the genealogy of all their little ones, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, through all the congregation; for in their set office they sanctified themselves in holiness; 


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also of the sons of Aaron the priests, who were in the fields of the suburbs of their cities in every separate city, the men who were expressed by name to give portions to all the males among the priests and to all who were reckoned by genealogies among the Levites. 


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And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the LORD his God . 


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And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered. 


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Sennacherib Boasts Against the LORD and Invades Judah<br/>After these things and the establishment thereof, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and entered into Judah, and encamped against the fortified cities, and thought to win them for himself. 


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And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come, and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem, 


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he took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains which were outside the city; and they helped him.


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So there were gathered many people together, who stopped all the fountains and the brook that ran through the midst of the land, saying, "Why should the kings of Assyria come and find much water?" 


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Also he strengthened himself, and built up all the wall that was broken, and raised it up to the towers, and another wall outside, and repaired Millo in the City of David, and made darts and shields in abundance. 


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And he set captains of war over the people, and gathered them together to him in the street of the gate of the city, and spoke comfortingly to them, saying, 


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"Be strong and courageous. Be not afraid nor dismayed by the king of Assyria and all the multitude that is with him, for there are more with us than with him. 


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With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles." And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah. 


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After this Sennacherib king of Assyria sent his servants to Jerusalem <n>(but he himself laid siege against Lachish, and all his power with him)</n> unto Hezekiah king of Judah, and unto all Judah who were at Jerusalem, saying, 


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"Thus says Sennacherib king of Assyria: `Whereon do you trust, that you abide in the siege in Jerusalem? 


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Does not Hezekiah persuade you to give yourselves over to die by famine and by thirst, saying, "The LORD our God shall deliver us out of the hand of the king of Assyria"? 


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Hath not the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, "You shall worship before one altar and burn incense upon it"? 


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Know you not what I and my fathers have done unto all the people of other lands? Were the Gods of the nations of those lands any way able to deliver their lands out of mine hand?


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Who was there among all the Gods of those nations that my fathers utterly destroyed that could deliver his people out of mine hand, that your God should be able to deliver you out of mine hand? 


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Now therefore let not Hezekiah deceive you nor persuade you on this manner, neither yet believe him; for no God of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people out of mine hand and out of the hand of my fathers. How much less shall your God deliver you out of mine hand?'" 


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He wrote also letters to rail at the LORD God of Israel and to speak against Him, saying, "As the Gods of the nations of other lands have not delivered their people out of mine hand, so shall not the God of Hezekiah deliver his people out of mine hand." 


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Then they cried with a loud voice in the Jews' speech unto the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall to frighten them and to trouble them, that they might take the city. 


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And they spoke against the God of Jerusalem as against the Gods of the people of the earth, which were the work of the hands of man. 


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Sennacherib's Defeat and Death<br/>And for this cause Hezekiah the king and the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, prayed and cried to heaven. 


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And the LORD sent an angel who cut off all the mighty men of valor, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he had come into the house of his God, those who came forth from his own loins slew him there with the sword. 


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Thus the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria and from the hand of all others, and guided them on every side. 


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And many brought gifts unto the LORD to Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that he was magnified in the sight of all nations from thenceforth. 


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Hezekiah Humbles Himself<br/>In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death, and prayed unto the LORD; and He spoke unto him, and He gave him a sign. 


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But Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him, for his heart was lifted up. Therefore there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem. 


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Notwithstanding, Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah. 


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Hezekiah's Wealth and Honor<br/>And Hezekiah had exceeding much riches and honor; and he made himself treasuries for silver, and for gold, and for precious stones, and for spices, and for shields, and for all manner of pleasant jewels; 


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storehouses also for the increase of corn and wine and oil, and stalls for all manner of beasts, and cotes for flocks. 


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Moreover he provided for himself cities, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance; for God had given him very much substance. 


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This same Hezekiah also stopped the upper watercourse of Gihon, and brought it straight down to the west side of the City of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works. 


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Howbeit, in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to inquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him to try him, that He might know all that was in his heart. 


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Death of Hezekiah<br/>Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and his goodness, behold, they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, and in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 


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And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the upper sepulchers of the sons of David; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did him honor at his death. And Manasseh his son reigned in his stead. 


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Manasseh Reigns in <n>(over)</n> Judah<br/>Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem. 


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But he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, like the abominations of the heathen whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. 


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For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for the Baalim, and made Asherah poles, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. 


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Also he built altars in the house of the LORD, whereof the LORD had said, "In Jerusalem shall My name be forever." 


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And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom; also he observed omens, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with mediums and with wizards. He wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD to provoke Him to anger. 


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And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, "In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel, will I put My name for ever; 


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neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from out of the land which I have appointed for your fathers, so that they will take heed to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses." 


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So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err and to do worse than the heathen whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel.


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Manasseh Restored After Repentance<br/>And the LORD spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they would not hearken. 


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Therefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon. 


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And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, 


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and prayed unto Him; and He was entreated by him and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD, He was God . 


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Now after this he built a wall outside the City of David on the west side of Gihon in the valley, even to the entrance at the Fish Gate, and it compassed about Ophel; and he raised it up a very great height, and put captains of war in all the fortified cities of Judah. 


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And he took away the strange Gods and the idol out of the house of the LORD, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the LORD and in Jerusalem, and cast them out of the city. 


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And he repaired the altar of the LORD, and sacrificed thereon peace offerings and thank offerings, and commanded Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel. 


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Death of Manasseh<br/>Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer unto his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the LORD God of Israel, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel. 


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His prayer also and how God was entreated by him, and all his sins and his trespass, and the places wherein he built high places and set up Asherah poles and graven images before he was humbled, behold, they are written among the sayings of the seers. 


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So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house; and Amon his son reigned in his stead. 


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Amon's Reign and Death<br/>Amon was two and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned two years in Jerusalem. 


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But he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as did Manasseh his father; for Amon sacrificed unto all the carved images which Manasseh his father had made and served them. 


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And he humbled not himself before the LORD, as Manasseh his father had humbled himself; but Amon trespassed more and more. 


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But the people of the land slew all those who had conspired against King Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead.


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Josiah Reigns in Judah<br/>Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years. 


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And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined neither to the right hand nor to the left. 


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For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, and the Asherah poles, and the carved images, and the molten images. 


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And they broke down the altars of the Baalim in his presence, and the sun images that were on high above them he cut down; and the Asherah poles and the carved images and the molten images he broke in pieces, and made dust of them and strewed it upon the graves of those who had sacrificed unto them. 


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And so did he in the cities of Manasseh and Ephraim and Simeon, even unto Naphtali, with their mattocks round about. 


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And when he had broken down the altars and the Asherah poles, and had beaten the graven images into powder, and cut down all the idols throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem. 


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Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God . 


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And when they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites who kept the doors had gathered from the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, and from all the remnant of Israel, and from all Judah and Benjamin; and they returned to Jerusalem. 


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And they put it in the hand of the workmen who had the oversight of the house of the LORD; and they gave it to the workmen who wrought in the house of the LORD to repair and mend the house.


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Even to the artificers and builders they gave it to buy hewn stone and timber for couplings and to floor the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed.


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And the men did the work faithfully. And the overseers of them were Jahath and Obadiah the Levites, of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to move it forward, and others of the Levites, all who had skill with instruments of music. 


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Also they were over the bearers of burdens, and were overseers of all who wrought the work in any manner of service; and of the Levites there were scribes and officers and doorkeepers. 


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And when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found a book of the law of the LORD given by Moses. 


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And Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, "I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD." And Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan. 


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And Shaphan carried the book to the king and brought the king word back again, saying, "All that was committed to your servants, they do it. 


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And they have gathered together the money that was found in the house of the LORD, and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers and to the hand of the workmen." 


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Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book." And Shaphan read it before the king. 


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And the king commanded Hilkiah, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Abdon the son of Micah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king, saying, 


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"Go, inquire of the LORD for me, and for those who are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found; for great is the wrath of the LORD that is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD, to do according to all that is written in this book." 


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And Hilkiah and those whom the king had appointed went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe <n>(now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college)</n>, and they spoke to her to that effect. 


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`Thus says the LORD: Behold, I will bring evil upon this place and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the king of Judah, 


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because they have forsaken Me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore My wrath shall be poured out upon this place and shall not be quenched.' 


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And as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, so shall you say unto him, `Thus says the LORD God of Israel concerning the words which you have heard: 


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Because your heart was tender, and you did humble yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against the inhabitants thereof, and humbled yourself before Me, and did rend your clothes and weep before Me, I have even heard you also, says the LORD. 


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Behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, neither shall your eyes see all the evil that I will bring upon this place and upon the inhabitants of the same.'" So they brought the king word again. 


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Josiah Restores True Worship<br/>Then the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.


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And the king went up into the house of the LORD, and all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests and the Levites, and all the people, great and small; and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant that was found in the house of the LORD. 


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And the king stood in his place, and made a covenant before the LORD to walk after the LORD, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes, with all his heart and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book. 


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And he caused all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand to it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. 


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And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel to serve, even to serve the LORD their God. And all his days they departed not from following the LORD, the God of their fathers. 


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Josiah Keeps the Passover<br/>Moreover Josiah kept a Passover unto the LORD in Jerusalem; and they killed the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the first month.


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And he set the priests in their charges, and encouraged them to the service of the house of the LORD, 


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and said unto the Levites who taught all Israel, who were holy unto the LORD, "Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, built. It shall not be a burden upon your shoulders. Serve now the LORD your God and His people Israel, 


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and prepare yourselves according to the houses of your fathers by your courses, according to the writing of David king of Israel and according to the writing of Solomon his son. 


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And stand in the holy place according to the divisions of the families of the fathers of your brethren the people and according to the division of the families of the Levites.


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So kill the Passover lamb, and sanctify yourselves and prepare your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses." 


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And Josiah gave to the people lambs and kids from the flock, all for the Passover offerings for all who were present, to the number of thirty thousand, and three thousand bullocks; these were from the king's substance. 


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And his princes gave willingly unto the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. Hilkiah and Zechariah and Jehiel, rulers of the house of God, gave unto the priests for the Passover offerings two thousand and six hundred small cattle and three hundred oxen. 


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Conaniah also, and Shemaiah and Nethaneel, his brethren, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, chief of the Levites, gave unto the Levites for Passover offerings five thousand small cattle and five hundred oxen. 


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So the service was prepared, and the priests stood in their place and the Levites in their courses, according to the king's commandment. 


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And they killed the Passover lamb, and the priests sprinkled the blood from their hands, and the Levites flayed them. 


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And they removed the burnt offerings, that they might give according to the divisions of the families of the people to offer unto the LORD, as it is written in the Book of Moses. And so did they with the oxen. 


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And they roasted the Passover lamb with fire according to the ordinance; but the other holy offerings boiled they in pots and in caldrons and in pans, and divided them speedily among all the people. 


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And afterward they made ready for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron, were busy in offering burnt offerings and the fat until night; therefore the Levites prepared for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron. 


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And the singers, the sons of Asaph, were in their place, according to the commandment of David and Asaph and Heman and Jeduthun the king's seer. And the doorkeepers waited at every gate; they needed not depart from their service, for their brethren the Levites prepared for them. 


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So all the service of the LORD was prepared the same day to keep the Passover and to offer burnt offerings upon the altar of the LORD, according to the commandment of King Josiah. 


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And the children of Israel who were present kept the Passover at that time, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days. 


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And there was no Passover like to that kept in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet; neither did all the kings of Israel keep such a Passover as Josiah kept, and the priests and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel that were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 


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Josiah Dies in Battle<br/>After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Carchemish by the Euphrates; and Josiah went out against him. 


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But he sent ambassadors to him, saying, "What have I to do with you, you king of Judah? I come not against you this day, but against the house wherewith I have war; for God commanded me to make haste. Forbear you from meddling with God, who is with me, that He destroy you not." 


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Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself, that he might fight with him, and hearkened not unto the words of Necho from the mouth of God, and came to fight in the Valley of Megiddo. 


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And the archers shot at King Josiah; and the king said to his servants, "Take me away, for I am sorely wounded." 


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His servants therefore took him out of that chariot and put him in the second chariot that he had, and they brought him to Jerusalem; and he died, and was buried in one of the sepulchers of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. 


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And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah. And all the singing men and the singing women spoke of Josiah in their lamentations to this day, and made them an ordinance in Israel; and behold, they are written in the lamentations. 


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Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and his goodness, according to that which was written in the law of the LORD, 


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and his deeds, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. 


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The Reign and Captivity of Jehoahaz; Jehoiakim Reigns in Judah<br/>Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in his father's stead in Jerusalem. 


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Jehoahaz was twenty and three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. 


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And the king of Egypt deposed him at Jerusalem, and levied upon the land a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 


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And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. And Necho took Jehoahaz his brother and carried him to Egypt. 


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The Reign and Captivity of Jehoiakim<br/>Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD his God . 


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Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and bound him in fetters to carry him to Babylon. 


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Nebuchadnezzar also carried part of the vessels of the house of the LORD to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon. 


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Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim and his abominations which he did, and that which was found in him, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah; and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead. 


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The Reign and Captivity of Jehoiachin<br/>Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem; and he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD. 


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And when the year had expired, King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylon with the goodly vessels of the house of the LORD, and made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem. 


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Zedekiah Reigns in Judah<br/>Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. 


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And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet who spoke from the mouth of the LORD. 


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And he also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God; but he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart from turning unto the LORD God of Israel. 


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Moreover all the chief of the priests and the people transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen, and polluted the house of the LORD which He had hallowed in Jerusalem. 


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The Fall of Jerusalem<br/>And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by His messengers, rising up early, and sending, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. 


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But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised His words, and misused His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, till there was no remedy. 


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Therefore He brought upon them the king of the Chaldeans, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped with age; He gave them all into his hand. 


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And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon. 


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And they burned the house of God, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all the palaces thereof with fire and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof. 


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And those who had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia, 


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to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths; for as long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill threescore and ten years. 


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The Proclamation of Cyrus<br/>Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and put it also in writing, saying, 


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"Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth has the LORD God of heaven given me; and He has charged me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all His people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up." 


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End of the Babylonian Captivity<br/>Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and put it also in writing, saying, 


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The Return of the Exiles to Jerusalem<br/>"Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: `The LORD God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and He has charged me to build Him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 


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Who is there among you of all His people? His God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel <n>(He is the God)</n>, which is in Jerusalem. 


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And whosoever remains in any place where he sojourns, let the men of his place help him with silver and with gold, and with goods and with beasts, besides the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.'" 


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Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, with all those whose spirit God had raised, to go up to build the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem. 


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And all those who were about them strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, and with beasts, and with precious things, besides all that was willingly offered. 


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Also Cyrus the king brought forth the vessels of the house of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem and had put them in the house of his gods; 


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even those did Cyrus king of Persia bring forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and counted them over to Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah. 


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And this is the number of them: thirty chargers of gold, a thousand chargers of silver, nine and twenty knives, 


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thirty basins of gold, four hundred and ten silver basins of a second sort, and other vessels a thousand. 


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All the vessels of gold and of silver were five thousand and four hundred. All these did Sheshbazzar bring up with those of the captivity, who were brought up from Babylon unto Jerusalem. 


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The Captives Who Returned to Jerusalem<br/>Now these are the children of the province who came up out of the captivity, of those who had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away unto Babylon, and came again unto Jerusalem and Judah, everyone unto his city, 


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who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel: 


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the children of Pahathmoab, of the children of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and twelve; 


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The children of 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, in all a hundred thirty and nine. 


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


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the children of Shephatiah, the children of Hattil, the children of Pochereth of Zebaim, the children of Ami. 


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And these were they who went up from Telmelah, Telharsa, Cherub, Addan, and Immer; but they could not show their father's house and their seed, whether they were of Israel: 


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the children of Delaiah, the children of Tobiah, the children of Nekoda, six hundred fifty and two. 


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And of the children of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Koz, the children of Barzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called after their name. 


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These sought their register among those who were reckoned by genealogy, but they were not found; therefore were they as polluted, put from the priesthood. 


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And the Tirshatha said unto them that they should not eat of the most holy things until there stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim.


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besides their servants and their maids, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred thirty and seven; and there were among them two hundred singing men and singing women. 


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And some of the chief of the fathers, when they came to the house of the LORD which is at Jerusalem, offered freely for the house of God to set it up in his place. 


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They gave according to their ability to the treasury of the work, threescore and one thousand drams of gold, and five thousand pounds of silver, and one hundred priests' garments. 


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So the priests and the Levites and some of the people, and the singers and the gatekeepers and the Nethinim, dwelt in their cities, and all Israel in their cities. 


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Worship Restored at Jerusalem<br/>And when the seventh month had come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem. 


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Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his brethren, and built the altar of the God of Israel to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God . 


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And they set the altar upon his bases, for fear was upon them because of the people of those countries; and they offered burnt offerings thereon unto the LORD, even burnt offerings morning and evening. 


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They kept also the Feast of Tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number according to the custom, as the duty of every day required; 


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and afterward offered the continual burnt offering, both of the new moons and of all the set feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, and of everyone who willingly offered a freewill offering unto the LORD. 


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From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings unto the LORD. But the foundation of the temple of the LORD was not yet laid.


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They gave money also unto the masons and to the carpenters, and meat and drink and oil unto those of Sidon and to those of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea at Joppa, according to the grant that they had from Cyrus king of Persia. 


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Restoration of the Temple Begins<br/>Now in the second year of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren, the priests and the Levites, and all those who had come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem; and they appointed the Levites from twenty years old and upward, to press forward the work of the house of the LORD. 


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Then stood Jeshua with his sons and his brethren, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah together, to supervise the workmen in the house of God : the sons of Henadad with their sons and their brethren the Levites. 


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And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals to praise the LORD, according to the ordinance of David king of Israel. 


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And they sang together by course, praising and giving thanks unto the LORD: "Because He is good, for His mercy endures forever toward Israel." And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. 


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But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers who were elderly men who had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy, 


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so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people; for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off. 


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Resistance <n>(from the Enemies)</n> Try to Stop the Rebuilding <n>(Work of)</n> the Temple<br/>Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity were building the temple unto the LORD God of Israel, 


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then they came to Zerubbabel and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, "Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do; and we have done sacrifice unto Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up hither." 


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But Zerubbabel and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel said unto them, "You have nothing to do with us in building a house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto the LORD God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us." 


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Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building, 


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and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. 


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Rebuilding of Jerusalem Opposed <n>(by Enemies)</n><br/>And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote unto him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. 


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And in the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of their companions wrote unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue. 


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Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king of this sort:


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Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions, the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Shushanites, the Dehavites, and the Elamites, 


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and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnapper brought over and set in the cities of Samaria, and the rest who are on this side of the river and at such a time: 


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<n>(This is the copy of the letter that they sent unto him, even unto Artaxerxes the king.)</n> "Your servants, the men on this side of the river, and at such a time. 


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Be it known unto the king that the Jews who came up from you to us have come unto Jerusalem, building the rebellious and the bad city, and have set up the walls thereof, and joined the foundations. 


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Be it known now unto the king that, if this city be built and the walls set up again, then they will not pay toll, tribute, and custom, and so you shall bring damage to the revenue of the kings. 


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Now because we have maintenance from the king's palace, and it was not meet for us to see the king's dishonor, therefore have we sent and certified this to the king, 


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that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers. So shall you find in the book of the records and know that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful unto kings and provinces, and that they have moved sedition within the same in old times, for which cause this city was destroyed. 


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We certify to the king that if this city be built again, and the walls thereof set up, by this means you shall have no portion on this side of the river." 


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Then sent the king an answer unto Rehum the chancellor, and to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their companions who dwell in Samaria, and unto the rest beyond the river: "Peace, and at such a time. 


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And I commanded, and search has been made, and it is found that this city in old times has made insurrection against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made therein. 


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There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, who have ruled over all countries beyond the river; and toll, tribute, and custom were paid unto them. 


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Give you now command to cause these men to cease, and that this city be not built until another command shall be given from me. 


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Now when the copy of King Artaxerxes' letter was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem unto the Jews, and made them cease by force and power. 


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Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.


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Restoration <n>(Rebuilding)</n> of the Temple Resumed<br/>Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them. 


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Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem; and with them were the prophets of God helping them. 


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At the same time came to them Tattenai, governor on this side of the river, and Shetharboznai and their companions, and said thus unto them: "Who has commanded you to build this house, and to make up this wall?" 


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But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, that they could not cause them to cease until the matter came to Darius, and then they returned answer by letter concerning this matter. 


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The copy of the letter that Tattenai, governor on this side of the river, and Shetharboznai, and his companions the Apharsachites, who were on this side of the river, sent unto Darius the king -- 


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Be it known unto the king that we went into the province of Judea to the house of the great God, which is built with great stones, and timber is laid in the walls, and this work goes fast on and prospers in their hands. 


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Then asked we those elders, and said unto them thus: `Who commanded you to build this house, and to make up these walls?' 


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We asked their names also, to inform you, that we might write the names of the men who were the chief of them. 


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And thus they returned us answer, saying, `We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and build the house that was built these many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and set up. 


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But after our fathers had provoked the God of heaven unto wrath, He gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house and carried the people away into Babylon. 


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But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon, the same King Cyrus made a decree to build this house of God . 


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And the vessels also of gold and silver of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that was in Jerusalem and brought them into the temple of Babylon, those did Cyrus the king take out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered unto one whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor. 


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And he said unto him, "Take these vessels; go, carry them into the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be built in his place." 


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Then came the same Sheshbazzar, and laid the foundation of the house of God which is in Jerusalem. And since that time even until now has it been in building, and yet it is not finished.' 


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Now therefore, if it seem good to the king, let there be search made in the king's treasure house which is there at Babylon, whether it be so that a decree was made by Cyrus the king to build this house of God at Jerusalem; and let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this matter." 


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The Decree of Darius Confirms the Decree of Cyrus<br/>Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon. 


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And there was found at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of the Medes, a scroll, and therein was a record thus written: 


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"In the first year of Cyrus the king, the same Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem: Let the house be built, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid -- the height thereof threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof threescore cubits, 


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with three rows of great stones, and a row of new timber -- and let the expenses be given out of the king's house. 


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And also let the golden and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took forth out of the temple which is at Jerusalem and brought unto Babylon, be restored and brought again unto the temple which is at Jerusalem, everyone to his place, and place them in the house of God . 


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"Now therefore, Tattenai, governor beyond the river, Shetharboznai, and your companions the Apharsachites, who are beyond the river, be you far from thence. 


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Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God in his place.


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Moreover I make a decree what you shall do for the elders of these Jews for the building of this house of God : that of the king's goods, even of the tribute beyond the river, forthwith expenses be given unto these men, that they be not hindered. 


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And that which they have need of -- both young bullocks and rams and lambs for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the appointment of the priests who are at Jerusalem -- let it be given them day by day without fail, 


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that they may offer sacrifices of sweet savors unto the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king and of his sons. 


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Also I have made a decree, that whosoever shall alter this word, let timber be pulled down from his house, and being set up, let him be hanged thereon; and let his house be made a dunghill for this. 


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And the God who has caused His name to dwell there, destroy all kings and people who shall put forth their hand to alter and to destroy this house of God which is at Jerusalem. I Darius have made a decree. Let it be done with speed." 


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The Temple Completed and Dedicated<br/>Then Tattenai, governor on this side of the river, Shetharboznai and their companions, according to that which Darius the king had sent, so they did speedily. 


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And the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Idd. And they built and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia. 


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And this house was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king. 


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And the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy, 


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and offered at the dedication of this house of God a hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and for a sin offering for all Israel, twelve hegoats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. 


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And they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem, as it is written in the Book of Moses. 


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The Passover Celebrated<br/>And the children of the captivity kept the Passover upon the fourteenth day of the first month.


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For the priests and the Levites were purified together; all of them were pure, and killed the Passover lamb for all the children of the captivity, and for their brethren the priests, and for themselves. 


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And the children of Israel, who had come again out of captivity, and all such as had separated themselves unto them from the filthiness of the heathen of the land to seek the LORD God of Israel, ate, 


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and kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy; for the LORD had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel. 


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Ezra Goes to <n>(Arrivesl at)</n> Jerusalem<br/>Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, 


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this Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the Law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given. And the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him. 


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And there went up some of the children of Israel, and of the priests and the Levites, and the singers and the gatekeepers, and the Nethinim, unto Jerusalem in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king. 


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For upon the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him. 


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For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments. 


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The Letter of Artaxerxes to Ezra<br/>Now this is the copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra the priest, the scribe, even a scribe of the words of the commandments of the LORD and of His statutes to Israel: 


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"Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven. Perfect peace, and at such a time. 


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I make a decree that all those of the people of Israel and of his priests and Levites in my realm, who are minded of their own free will to go up to Jerusalem, go with you. 


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Inasmuch as you are sent by the king and by his seven counselors to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of your God which is in your hand, 


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and to carry the silver and gold which the king and his counselors have freely offered unto the God of Israel, whose habitation is in Jerusalem, 


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and all the silver and gold that you canst find in all the province of Babylon, with the freewill offering of the people and of the priests, offering willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem" 


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you may buy speedily with this money bullocks, rams, lambs, with their meat offerings and their drink offerings, and offer them upon the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem. 


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And whatsoever shall seem good to you and to your brethren to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, that do after the will of your God . 


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The vessels also that are given you for the service of the house of your God, those deliver you before the God of Jerusalem. 


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And whatsoever more shall be needful for the house of your God, which you shall have occasion to bestow, bestow it out of the king's treasure house. 


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"And I, even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers who are beyond the river, that whatsoever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, it be done speedily, 


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up to a hundred talents of silver, and to a hundred measures of wheat, and to a hundred baths of wine, and to a hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much. 


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Whatsoever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be diligently done for the house of the God of heaven. For why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons? 


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Also we inform you, that concerning any of the priests and Levites, singers, gatekeepers, Nethinim, or ministers of this house of God, it shall not be lawful to impose toll, tribute, or custom upon them. 


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"And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God that is in your hand, set magistrates and judges who may judge all the people who are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of your God; and teach you those who know them not. 


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And whosoever will not do the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily upon him, whether it be unto death or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods or to imprisonment." 


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Blessed be the LORD God of our fathers, who has put such a thing as this in the king's heart, to beautify the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem, 


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and has extended mercy unto me before the king and his counselors, and before all the king's mighty princes. And I was strengthened as the hand of the LORD my God was upon me, and I gathered together out of Israel chief men to go up with me. 


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List of Heads of Families <n>(Companions)</n> Who Returned with Ezra<br/>Now these are the chiefs of their fathers, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylon in the reign of Artaxerxes the king. 


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of the sons of Shecaniah, of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah; and with him were reckoned by genealogy of the males, a hundred and fifty. 


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and of the last sons of Adonikam, whose names are these -- Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah -- and with them threescore males; 


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Servants for the Temple<br/>And I gathered them together at the river that runneth to Ahava; and there abode we in tents three days. And I viewed the people and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi. 


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Then sent I for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, chief men; also for Joiarib and for Elnathan, men of understanding. 


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And I sent them with commandment unto Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia, and I told them what they should say unto Iddo and to his brethren the Nethinim at the place Casiphia, that they should bring unto u ministers for the house of our God . 


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And by the good hand of our God upon us, they brought us a man of understanding of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brethren, eighteen; 


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also of the Nethinim, whom David and the princes had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinim; all of them were expressed by name. 


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Fasting and Prayer for Protection<br/>Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek of Him a right way for us and for our little ones, and for all our substance. 


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For I was ashamed to request of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the way, because we had spoken unto the king, saying, "The hand of our God is upon all those for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath is against all those who forsake Him." 


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Gifts for the Temple<br/>Then I separated twelve of the chief of the priests --Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them -- 


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and weighed unto them the silver and the gold and the vessels, even the offering of the house of our God, which the king and his counselors and his lords and all Israel there present had offered. 


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I even weighed unto their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and silver vessels a hundred talents, and of gold a hundred talents; 


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And I said unto them, "You are holy unto the LORD; the vessels are holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering unto the LORD God of your fathers. 


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You watch, and keep them until you weigh them before the chief of the priests and the Levites, and chief of the fathers of Israel at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the LORD." 


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So the priests and the Levites took the weight of the silver and the gold and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem unto the house of our God . 


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The Return to Jerusalem<br/>Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month to go unto Jerusalem; and the hand of our God was upon us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from such as lay in wait by the way. 


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Now on the fourth day the silver and the gold and the vessels were weighed in the house of our God by the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas, and with them were the Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui. 


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Also the children of those who had been carried away, who had come out of the captivity, offered burnt offerings unto the God of Israel: twelve bullocks for all Israel, ninety and six rams, seventy and seven lambs, twelve hegoats for a sin offering; all this was a burnt offering unto the LORD. 


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And they delivered the king's commissions unto the king's lieutenants, and to the governors on this side of the river; and they furthered the people and the house of God . 


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Ezra's Prayer of Confession - Intermarriage with Pagans<br/>Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, "The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 


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For they have taken their daughters for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands; yea, the hand of the princes and rulers has been chief in this trespass." 


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And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down stunned. 


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Then were assembled unto me everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those who had been carried away; and I sat dismayed until the evening sacrifice. 


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And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees and spread out my hands unto the LORD my God , 


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and said: "O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to You, my God; for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens. 


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Since the days of our fathers we have been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day. 


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And now for a little space grace has been shown from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a constant and sure abode in His holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage. 


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For we were bondmen; yet our God has not forsaken us in our bondage, but has extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving to set up the house of our God and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem. 


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which You have commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, `The land unto which you go to possess it, is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations which have filled it from one end to another with their uncleanness. 


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Now therefore give not your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their wealth forever, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.' 


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And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great trespass, seeing that You our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such deliverance as this, 


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should we again break Your commandments and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? Would not You be angry with us until You had consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping? 


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O LORD God of Israel, You are righteous, for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day. Behold, we are before You in our trespAsses, for we cannot stand before You because of this." 


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Confession of Improper <n>(Pagan)</n> Marriages Annulled<br/>Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children; for the people wept very sorely. 


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And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, "We have trespassed against our God, and have taken foreign wives of the people of the land. Yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing. 


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Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. 


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Then arose Ezra, and made the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel to swear that they should do according to this word. And they swore. 


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Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib. And when he came thither, he ate no bread nor drank water, for he mourned because of the transgression of those who had been carried away. 


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And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem, 


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and that whosoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the congregation of those who had been carried away. 


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Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the street of the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of the great rain. 


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And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, "You have transgressed and have taken foreign wives, to increase the trespass of Israel. 


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Now therefore make confession unto the LORD God of your fathers, and do His pleasure, and separate yourselves from the people of the land and from the foreign wives." 


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But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand outside, neither is this a work of one day or two; for we are many who have transgressed in this thing. 


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Let now our rulers of all the congregation stand, and let all those who have taken foreign wives in our cities come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city and the judges thereof, until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter be turned from us." 


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Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah stood against this matter, and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them. 


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And the children of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain chief of the fathers, were separated according to the house of their fathers, and all of them by their names. And they sat down on the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter, 


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and they made an end with all the men who had taken foreign wives by the first day of the first month.


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Pagan Wives Put Away<br/>And among the sons of the priests who had taken foreign wives <n>(namely, of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brethren)</n>, there were found: Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah. 


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And they gave their hands that they would put away their wives; and being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their trespass. 


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also of the Levites: Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah <n>(the same is Kelita)</n>, Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer; 


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moreover of Israel: of the sons of Parosh: Ramiah and Jeziah, and Malchiah, and Mijamin, and Eleazar, and Malchijah, and Benaiah; 


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and of the sons of Pahathmoab: Adna, and Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezaleel, and Binnui, and Manasseh; 


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Nehemiah Prays for His People <n>(at)</n> Jerusalem<br/>The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in the palace at Shushan, 


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that Hanani one of my brethren came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who were left behind from the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. 


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And they said unto me, "The remnant who are left behind from the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire." 


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And it came to pass when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven 


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and said: "I beseech you, O LORD God of heaven, the great and fearsome God, who keeps covenant and mercy for those who love Him and observe His commandments, 


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let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant, which I pray before You now day and night for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both I and my father's house have sinned. 


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We have dealt very corruptly against You, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments which You commanded Your servant Moses. 


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Remember, I beseech You, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, `If you transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations; 


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but if you turn unto Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though there were some of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set My name there.' 


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Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand. 


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O Lord, I beseech You, let now Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name; and prosper, I pray You, Your servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man." For I was the king's cupbearer. 


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Nehemiah Sent to Judah &amp; Jerusalem<br/>And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him; and I took up the wine and gave it unto the king. Now I had not before been sad in his presence. 


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Therefore the king said unto me, "Why is your countenance sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing else but sorrow of heart." Then I was very sore afraid, 


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and said unto the king, "Let the king live forever. Why should not my countenance be sad when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchers, lies waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?" 


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And I said unto the king, "If it please the king, and if your servant have found favor in your sight, that you would send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchers, that I may build it." 


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And the king said unto me <n>(the queen also sitting by him)</n>, "For how long shall your journey be? And when will you return?" So it pleased the king to send me, and I set him a time. 


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Moreover I said unto the king, "If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over until I come into Judah, 


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also a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city and for the house that I shall enter into." And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me. 


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Then I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me. 


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When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the servant the Ammonite heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there had come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel. 


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And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me. Neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem; neither was there any beast with me, except the beast that I rode upon. 


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And I went out by night by the Gate of the Valley, even before the Dragon Well and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire. 


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Then I went on to the Gate of the Fountain and to the King's Pool, but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass. 


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Then went I up in the night by the brook and viewed the wall, and turned back and entered by the Gate of the Valley, and so returned. 


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And the rulers knew not where I went or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest who did the work. 


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Then said I unto them, "You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. Come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach." 


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Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me, as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, "Let us rise up and build." So they strengthened their hands for this good work. 


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But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian heard it, they laughed us to scorn and despised us, and said, "What is this thing that you do? Will you rebel against the king?" 


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Then answered I them and said unto them, "The God of heaven, He will prosper us. Therefore we His servants will arise and build; but you have no portion, nor right, nor memorial in Jerusalem." 


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The Builders are Rebuilding the Wall<br/>Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they built the Sheep Gate. They sanctified it and set up the doors of it; even unto the Tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the Tower of Hananeel. 


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But the Fish Gate did the sons of Hassenaah build, who also laid the beams thereof and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof and the bars thereof. 


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And next unto them repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of Koz. And next unto them repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabeel. And next unto them repaired Zadok the son of Baana. 


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And next unto them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles put not their necks to the work of their LORD.


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Moreover Jehoiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah repaired the Old Gate; they laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof and the locks thereof and the bars thereof. 


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And next unto them Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, repaired unto the throne of the governor on this side of the river. 


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Next unto him Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, of the goldsmiths, repaired. Next unto him also repaired Hananiah the son of one of the apothecaries; and they fortified Jerusalem unto the Broad Wall. 


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And next unto them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph repaired, even opposite his house. And next unto him Hattush the son of Hashabniah repaired. 


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Malchijah the son of Harim and Hashub the son of Pahathmoab repaired the other piece, and the Tower of the Furnaces. 


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And next unto him Shallum the son of Hallohesh, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, repaired -- he and his daughters. 


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The Valley Gate was repaired by Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah; they built it and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof and the bars thereof, and a thousand cubits on the wall unto the Dung Gate. 


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But Malchijah the son of Rechab, the ruler of part of Bethhaccerem repaired the Dung Gate; he built it and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof and the bars thereof. 


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But the Gate of the Fountain Shallun the son of Colhozeh, the ruler of part of Mizpah, repaired; he built it and covered it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof and the bars thereof, and the wall of the Pool of Shelah by the king's garden and unto the stairs that go down from the City of David. 


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After him Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the ruler of the half part of Bethzur, repaired unto the place opposite the sepulchers of David, and to the pool that was made and unto the House of the Mighty. 


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After him repaired the Levites, Rehum the son of Bani. Next unto him repaired Hashabiah, the ruler of the half part of Keilah, in his part. 


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And next to him Ezer the son of Jeshua, the ruler of Mizpah, repaired another piece opposite the ascent to the armory at the turning of the wall. 


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After him Baruch the son of Zabbai earnestly repaired the other piece, from the turning of the wall unto the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest. 


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After him Meremoth the son of Urijah the son of Koz repaired another piece, from the door of the house of Eliashib even to the end of the house of Eliashib. 


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After him repaired Benjamin and Hashub opposite their house. After him repaired Azariah the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ananiah, by his house. 


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After him Binnui the son of Henadad repaired another piece, from the house of Azariah unto the turning of the wall, even unto the corner. 


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Palal the son of Uzai made repairs opposite the turning of the wall, and the tower which lies out from the king's high house that was by the court of the prison; after him Pedaiah the son of Parosh. 


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Moreover the Nethinim dwelt in Ophel unto the place opposite the Water Gate toward the east, and the tower that lies out. 


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After them the Tekoites repaired another piece, opposite the great tower that lies out, even unto the wall of Ophel. 


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After them Zadok the son of Immer repaired opposite his house. After him repaired also Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah, the keeper of the East Gate. 


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After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph repaired another piece. After him repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah opposite his chamber.


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After him Malchijah the goldsmith's son repaired unto the place of the Nethinim and of the merchants, opposite the Gate Miphkad and to the ascent of the corner chamber. 


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The Wall Defended Against Enemies; Nehemiah Opposed and Ridiculed<br/>But it came to pass that when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was wroth and felt great indignation and mocked the Jews. 


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And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, "What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they make sacrifice? Will they finish it in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?" 


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Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, "Indeed that which they build, if a fox go up, even he shall break down their stone wall." 


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Hear, O our God, for we are despised; and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them as a prey in the land of captivity. 


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And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before You; for they have provoked You to anger before the builders. 


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So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto half its height, for the people had a mind to work. 


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But it came to pass that when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabians and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being rebuilt, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth, 


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and conspired <n>(plotted)</n> all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem and to hinder <n>(to cause confusion and failure in)</n> it.


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Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them. 


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And Judah said, "The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish, so that we are not able to build the wall." 


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And our adversaries said, "They shall not know, neither see, until we come in the midst among them and slay them and cause the work to cease." 


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And it came to pass that when the Jews who dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times, "From all places where you shall return unto us, they will be upon you." 


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Therefore set I men in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places; I even set the people by families with their swords, their spears, and their bows. 


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And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles and to the rulers and to the rest of the people, "Be not you afraid of them; remember the Lord, who is great and fearsome, and fight for your brethren, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your houses." 


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And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, everyone unto his work. 


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And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields and the bows and the jackets of mail; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah. 


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Those who built on the wall and those who bore burdens with those who loaded -- everyone with one of his hands wrought in the work and with the other hand held a weapon.


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For the builders, every one, had his sword girded by his side, and so built. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me. 


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And I said unto the nobles and to the rulers and to the rest of the people, "The work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another. 


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In what place therefore you hear the sound of the trumpet, resort you thither unto us. Our God shall fight for us." 


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So we labored in the work; and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning until the stars appeared.


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Likewise at the same time said I unto the people, "Let everyone with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and labor in the day." 


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So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us, put off our clothes, except that everyone put them off for washing. 


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Nehemiah Deals with Oppression and Opposes Injustice<br/>And there was a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brethren the Jews.


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For there were those who said, "We, our sons and our daughters are many; therefore we take up corn for them, that we may eat and live." 


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There were some also who said, "We have mortgaged our lands, vineyards, and houses, that we might buy corn because of the dearth." 


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There were also those who said, "We have borrowed money for the king's tribute, and that upon our lands and vineyards. 


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Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children; and lo, we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants, and some of our daughters are brought unto bondage already; neither is it in our power to redeem them, for other men have our lands and vineyards." 


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Then I consulted with myself, and I rebuked the nobles and the rulers and said unto them, "You exact usury, everyone from his brother." And I set a great assembly against them. 


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And I said unto them, "We, according to our ability, have redeemed our brethren the Jews who were sold unto the heathen. And will you even sell your brethren? Or shall they be sold unto us?" Then they held their peace, and found nothing to answer. 


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Also I said, "It is not good what you do. Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the heathen, our enemies? 


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I likewise, and my brethren and my servants, might exact from them money and corn; I pray you, let us leave off this usury. 


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Restore, I pray you, to them even this day their lands, their vineyards, their olive yards, and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money and of the corn, the wine, and the oil that you exact from them." 


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Then said they, "We will restore them, and will require nothing of them. So will we do as you say." Then I called the priests and took an oath from them, that they should do according to this promise. 


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Also I shook my lap, and said, "So God shake out every man from his house and from his labor who performs not this promise; even thus be he shaken out and emptied." And all the congregation said, "Amen," and praised the LORD. And the people did according to this promise. 


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The Generosity of Nehemiah<br/>Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even unto the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes the king <n>(that is, twelve years)</n>, I and my brethren have not eaten the bread of the governor. 


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But the former governors who had been before me were chargeable unto the people, and had taken from them bread and wine, besides forty shekels of silver. Yea, even their servants ruled over the people, but so did I not, because of the fear of God . 


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Yea, also I continued in the work of this wall, neither bought we any land; and all my servants were gathered thither for the work. 


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Moreover there were at my table a hundred and fifty of the Jews and rulers, besides those who came unto us from among the heathen who are about us. 


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Now that which was prepared for me daily was one ox and six choice sheep; also fowls were prepared for me, and once in ten days, a store of all sorts of wine; yet for all this I required not the bread of the governor, because the bondage was heavy upon this people. 


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Conspiracy <n>(Plot)</n> Against Nehemiah <br/>Now it came to pass, when Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem the Arabian and the rest of our enemies heard that I had built the wall and that there was no breach left therein <n>(though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates)</n>, 


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that Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, "Come, let us meet together in one of the villages in the plain of Ono." But they thought to do me mischief. 


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


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Then Sanballat sent his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand, 


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wherein was written: "It is reported among the heathen, and Geshem says it, that you and the Jews think to rebel; for which cause you to build the wall, that you may be their king according to these words. 


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And you have also appointed prophets to preach of you at Jerusalem, saying, `There is a king in Judah!' And now shall it be reported to the king according to these words. Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together." 


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Then I sent unto him, saying, "There are no such things done as you say, but you invent them out of your own heart." 


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For they all made us afraid, saying, "Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done." Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands. 


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Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel, who was shut 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 will come to slay you, yea, in the night will they come to slay you." 


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And I said, "Should such a man as I flee? And who is there that, being as I am, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in." 


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And lo, I perceived that God had not sent him, but that he pronounced this prophecy against me; for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 


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Therefore was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they might have cause for an evil report, that they might reproach me. 


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My God, think You upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and on the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who would have put me in fear. 


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The Wall Completed<br/>So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month of Elul, in fifty and two days. 


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And it came to pass that when all our enemies heard thereof, and all the heathen who were about us saw these things, they were much cast down in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was wrought by 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 unto them. 


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For there were many in Judah sworn unto him, because he was the son-in-law of Shechaniah the son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah. 


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Also they reported his good deeds before me, and uttered my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear. 


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List of Returning Exiles<br/>Now it came to pass, when the wall was built and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers and the singers and the Levites were appointed, 


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that I gave my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the ruler of the palace, charge over Jerusalem, for he was a faithful man and feared God above many. 


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And I said unto them, "Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot; and while they stand by, let them shut the doors and bar them. And appoint watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, everyone in his watch, and everyone to be opposite his house." 


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The Captives Who Returned to Jerusalem<br/>Now the city was large and great, but the people were few therein, and the houses were not built. 


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And my God put into mine heart to gather together the nobles and the rulers and the people, that they might be reckoned by genealogy. And I found a register of the genealogy of those who came up at the first, and found written therein: 


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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 came again to Jerusalem and to Judah, everyone unto his city, 


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


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the children of Pahathmoab, of the children of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand and eight hundred and 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, a hundred thirty and 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 of Zebaim, the children of Amon. 


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And these were the ones who went up also from Telmelah, Telharesha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer; but they could not show their father's house nor their seed, whether they were of Israel. 


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The children of Delaiah, the children of Tobiah, the children of Nekoda, six hundred forty and two. 


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And of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Koz, the children of Barzillai, who took one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite for a wife, and was called after their name. 


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These sought their register among those who were reckoned by genealogy, but it was not found; therefore they were as polluted, put from the priesthood. 


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And the governor said unto them that they should not eat of the most holy things until there stood up a priest with Urim and Thummim.


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besides their man-servants and their maid-servants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred thirty and seven; and they had two hundred forty and five singing men and singing women. 


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And some of the chief of the fathers gave unto the work. The governor gave to the treasury a thousand drams of gold, fifty basins, five hundred and thirty priests' garments. 


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And some of the chief of the fathers gave to the treasury of the work twenty thousand drams of gold and two thousand and two hundred pounds of silver.


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And that which the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand drams of gold, and two thousand pounds of silver, and threescore and 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 Nethinim, 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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Ezra Reads and Explains the Law<br/>And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the Water Gate; and they spoke unto Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to Israel. 


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


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And he read therein before the street that was before the Water Gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the Book of the Law. 


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And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood which they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah and Shema and Anaiah, and Urijah and Hilkiah and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah and Mishael and Malchijah, and Hashum and Hashbadana, Zechariah and Meshullam. 


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


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


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


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So they read in the book, in the law of God, distinctly, and gave the sense and caused them to understand the reading. 


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And Nehemiah, who is the governor, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites who taught the people, said unto all the people, "This day is holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep." For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. 


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Then he said unto them, "Go your way, eat the fat and drink the sweet, and send portions unto those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy unto our LORD; neither be you sorry, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." 


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So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, "Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be you 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 mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them. 


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The Feast of Tabernacles<br/>And on the second day were gathered together the chief of the fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, unto Ezra the scribe, even to understand the words of the law. 


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And they found written in the law, which the LORD had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month; 


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and that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities and in Jerusalem, saying, "Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches and pine branches and myrtle branches, and palm branches and branches of thick trees to make booths, as it is written." 


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So the people went forth, and brought them and made themselves booths, everyone upon the roof of his house, and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street of the Water Gate and in the street of the Gate of Ephraim. 


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And all the congregation of those who had come again out of the captivity made booths and sat under the booths; for since the days of Joshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness.


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Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the Book of the Law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner. 


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The People Confess Their Sins<br/>Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting and with sackcloth and earth upon them.


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And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and 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 the LORD their God for one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed and worshiped the LORD their God .


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Then stood up upon the stairs of the Levites, Jeshua and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and cried with a loud voice unto the LORD their God . 


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Then the Levites, Jeshua and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said: "Stand up and bless the LORD your God forever and ever! And blessed be Your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise! 


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You, even You, are LORD alone; You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens with all their host, the earth and all things that are therein, the seas and all that is therein; and You preserve them all; and the host of heaven worships You. 


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You are the LORD the God, who did choose Abram, and brought him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gave him the name of Abraham; 


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and foundest his heart faithful before You, and made a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites and the Perizzites, and the Jebusites and the Girgashites--to give it, I say, to his seed, and have performed Your words, for You are righteous" 


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and showedst signs and wonders upon Pharaoh and on all his servants and on all the people of his land. For You knewest that they dealt proudly against them. So did You get You a name, as it is this day. 


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And You did divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors You threwest into the deep, as a stone into the mighty waters. 


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Moreover You leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar, and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go. 


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You camest down also upon Mount Sinai and spokest with them from heaven, and gave them right judgments and true laws, good statutes and commandments; 


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and made known unto them Your holy Sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws by the hand of Moses Your servant; 


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and gave them bread from heaven for their hunger, and brought forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which You had sworn to give them. 


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"But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks and hearkened not to Your commandments. 


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And they refused to obey, neither were mindful of Your wonders that You did among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage. But You are a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness, and forsookest them not. 


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Yea, when they had made them a molten calf and said, `This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,' and had wrought great provocations, 


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yet You in Your manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness. The pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to show them light and the way wherein they should go. 


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You gave also Your good Spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not Your manna from their mouth, and gave them water for their thirst. 


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Yea, forty years did You sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old and their feet swelled not. 


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Moreover You gave them kingdoms and nations, and did divide them into corners; so they possessed the land of Sihon and the land of the king of Heshbon and the land of Og, king of Bashan. 


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Their children also did You multiply as the stars of heaven, and brought them into the land which You hadst promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it. 


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So the children went in and possessed the land, and You did subdue before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hands, with their kings and the people of the land, that they might do with them as they would. 


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And they took strong cities and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wells dug out, vineyards and olive yards, and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in Your great goodness. 


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"Nevertheless they were disobedient and rebelled against You, and cast Your law behind their backs, and slew Your prophets who testified against them to turn them to You; and they wrought great provocations. 


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Therefore You deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them. And in the time of their trouble when they cried unto You, You heard them from heaven; and according to Your manifold mercies You gave them saviors who saved them out of the hand of their enemies. 


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"But after they had rest, they did evil again before You. Therefore leftest You them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them; yet when they returned and cried unto You, You heard them from heaven. And many times did You deliver them according to Your mercies, 


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and testifiedst against them, that You might bring them again unto Your law. Yet they dealt proudly and hearkened not unto Your commandments, but sinned against Your judgments <n>(which if a man do, he shall live in them)</n>, and withdrew the shoulder and hardened their neck and would not hear. 


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"Yet many years did You forbear them, and testifiedst against them by Your Spirit in Your prophets. Yet would they not give ear; therefore gave You them into the hand of the people of the lands. 


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Nevertheless for Your great mercies' sake You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them, for You are a gracious and merciful God . 


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"Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the fearsome God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before You that has come upon us--on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all Your people since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day. 


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Nevertheless, You are just in all that is brought upon us; for You have done right, but we have done wickedly. 


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Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers kept Your law, nor hearkened unto Your commandments and Your testimonies, wherewith You did testify against them. 


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For they have not served You in their kingdom, and in Your great goodness that You gave them, and in the large and fat land which You gave before them, neither turned they from their wicked works. 


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Behold, we are servants this day; and for the land that You gave unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it. 


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And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom You have set over us because of our sins; also they have dominion 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 make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, Levites, and priests set their seal unto it." 


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The People Who Sealed the Covenant<br/>Now those who sealed were: Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hachaliah, and Zedekiah, 


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The Covenant That Was Sealed<br/>And the rest of the people --the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the Nethinim, and all those who had separated themselves from the people of the lands unto the law of God, their wives, their sons and their daughters, everyone having knowledge and having understanding 


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they cleaved to their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse and into an oath to walk in God's law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord, and His judgments and His statutes; 


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and that we would not give our daughters unto the people of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons; 


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and if the people of the land bring wares or any victuals on the Sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy it from them on the Sabbath or on the holy day; and that we would leave the seventh year and the exaction of every debt. 


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Also we made ordinances for us to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God :


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for the showbread, and for the continual meat offering, and for the continual burnt offering of the Sabbaths, of the new moons, for the set feasts, and for the holy things, and for the sin offerings to make an atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God . 


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And we cast the lots among the priests, the Levites, and the people for the wood offering, to bring it into the house of our God according to the houses of our fathers, at times appointed year by year to burn upon the altar of the LORD our God, as it is written in the law; 


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and to bring the firstfruits of our ground and the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, unto the house of the LORD; 


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also the firstborn of our sons, and of our cattle <n>(as it is written in the law)</n> and the firstlings of our herds and of our flocks, to bring to the house of our God, unto the priests who minister in the house of our God ; 


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and that we should bring the firstfruits of our dough, and our offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, of wine and of oil, unto the priests to the chambers of the house of our God, and the tithes of our ground unto the Levites, that the same Levites might have the tithes in all the cities of our tillage. 


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And the priest the son of Aaron shall be with the Levites when the Levites take tithes; and the Levites shall bring up a tenth of the tithes unto the house of our God, to the chambers, into the treasure house. 


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For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the offering of the corn, of the new wine, and the oil, unto the chambers where are the vessels of the sanctuary and the priests who minister and the gatekeepers and the singers. And we will not forsake the house of our God . 


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The People Dwelling in Jerusalem<br/>And the rulers of the people dwelt at Jerusalem; the rest of the people also cast lots to bring one of ten to dwell in Jerusalem, the holy city, and nine parts to dwell in other cities. 


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Now these are the chief of the province who dwelt in Jerusalem; but in the cities of Judah dwelt everyone in his possession in their cities, to wit: Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the Nethinim, and the children of Solomon's servants. 


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And at Jerusalem dwelt certain of the children of Judah and of the children of Benjamin. 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 Mahalaleel, of the children of Perez; 


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and Maaseiah the son of Baruch, the son of Colhozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of Zechariah, the son of Shiloni. 


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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 Senuah 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, was the ruler of the house of God . 


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And their brethren who did the work of the house were eight hundred twenty and 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 brethren, chief of the fathers, were two hundred forty and two; and Amashai the son of Azareel, the son of Ahzai, the son of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer, 


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and their brethren, mighty men of valor, were a hundred twenty and eight; and their overseer was Zabdiel, the son of one of the great men. 


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Also 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 chief of the Levites, had the oversight of the outside business of the house of God . 


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And Mattaniah the son of Micha, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, was the principal to begin the thanksgiving in prayer, and Bakbukiah the second among his brethren, and Abda the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun. 


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Moreover the gatekeepers, Akkub, Talmon, and their brethren who kept the gates, were a hundred seventy and two. 


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And the residue of Israel, of the priests, and the Levites, were in all the cities of Judah, everyone in his inheritance. 


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The overseer also of the Levites at Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micha. Of the sons of Asaph, the singers were over the business of the house of God . 


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For it was the king's commandment concerning them, that a certain portion should be for the singers, due for every day. 


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And Pethahiah the son of Meshezabeel, 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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The People Dwelling Outside Jerusalem<br/>And for the villages with their fields, some of the children of Judah dwelt at Kirjatharba and in the villages thereof, and at Dibon and in the villages thereof, and at Jekabzeel and in the villages thereof, 


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Zanoah, Adullam, and in their villages; at Lachish and the fields thereof, at Azekah and in the villages thereof. And they dwelt from Beersheba unto the valley of Hinnom. 


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The children also of Benjamin from Geba dwelt at Michmash, and Aija and Bethel and in their villages, 


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Priests and Levites Who Came with Zerubbabel<br/>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 chief of the priests and of their brethren in the days of Jeshua. 


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Moreover the Levites: Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who was over the psalms of thanksgiving, he and his brethren. 


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And Jeshua begot <n>(fathered)</n> Joiakim, Joiakim also begot <n>(fathered)</n> Eliashib, and Eliashib begot <n>(fathered)</n> Joiada, 


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


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The Levites in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, and Johanan, and Jaddua, were recorded chief of the fathers; also the priests, until the reign of Darius the Persian. 


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The sons of Levi, the chief of the fathers, were written in the book of the Chronicles, even until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib. 


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And the chief of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brethren opposite them, to praise and to give thanks, according to the commandment of David the man of God, watch opposite watch. 


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Mattaniah and Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, Akkub, were porters keeping the watch at the thresholds 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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Nehemiah Dedicates the Wall<br/>And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to keep the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings and with singing, with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps. 


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And the sons of the singers gathered themselves together, both out of the plain country round about Jerusalem and from the villages of the Netophathites, 


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also from the house of Gilgal, and out of the fields of Geba and Azmaveth; for the singers had built themselves villages round about Jerusalem. 


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And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and purified the people and the gates and the wall. 


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Then I brought up the princes of Judah upon the wall, and appointed two great companies of those who gave thanks, whereof one went on the right hand upon the wall toward the Dung Gate; 


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and certain of the priests' sons with trumpets, namely, Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Michaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph; 


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and his brethren, Shemaiah, and Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethaneel, and Judah, Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God, and Ezra the scribe before them. 


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And at the Fountain Gate, which was opposite them, they went up by the stairs of the City of David, at the going up of the wall, above the house of David, even unto the Water Gate eastward. 


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And the other company of those who gave thanks went opposite them, and I after them with half of the people upon the wall, from beyond the Tower of the Furnaces even unto the Broad Wall, 


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and from above the Gate of Ephraim and above the Old Gate, and above the Fish Gate and the Tower of Hananeel and the Tower of Meah, even unto the Sheep Gate; and they stood still at the Prison Gate. 


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So stood the two companies of those who gave thanks in the house of God, and I, and half of the rulers with me; 


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and the priests, Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Michaiah, 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 their overseer. 


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Also that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the wives also and the children rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off. 


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Temple Responsibilities<br/>And at that time some were appointed over the chambers of the treasuries for the offerings, for the firstfruits, and for the tithes, to gather into them out of the fields of the cities the portions appointed by the law for the priests and Levites; for Judah rejoiced for the priests and for the Levites who waited. 


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And both the singers and the gatekeepers kept the watch of their God and the watch of the purification, according to the commandment of David and of Solomon his son. 


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For in the days of David and Asaph of old there were chiefs of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving unto God . 


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And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah gave the portions for the singers and the gatekeepers, every day his portion; and they sanctified holy things unto the Levites, and the Levites sanctified them unto the children of Aaron. 


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Principles of Separation<br/>On that day they read in the Book of Moses in the audience of the people, and therein was found written that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God, ever, 


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because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them, that he should curse them. However that be, our God turned the curse into a blessing. 


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Now it came to pass, when they had heard the law, that they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude. 


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The Reforms of Nehemiah<br/>And before this, Eliashib the priest, having the oversight of the chamber of the house of our God, was allied unto Tobiah. 


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And he had prepared for him a great chamber, where previously they laid the meat offerings, the frankincense and the vessels and the tithes of the corn, the new wine and the oil, which were commanded to be given to the Levites and the singers and the gatekeepers, and the offerings of the priests. 


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But in all this time I was not at Jerusalem; for in the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I came unto the king, and after certain days I obtained leave from the king. 


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


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And it grieved me sore; therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber.


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Then I commanded, and they cleansed the chambers; and thither I brought back the vessels of the house of God, with the meat offering and the frankincense. 


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And I perceived that the portions for the Levites had not been given them; for the Levites and the singers who did the work had fled everyone to his field.


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Then I contended with the rulers and said, "Why is the house of God forsaken?" And I gathered them together, and set them in their place. 


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And I made 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 their office was to distribute unto their brethren. 


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Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God and for the offices thereof. 


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In those days I saw in Judah some treading of wine presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves and loading them on Asses, as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I testified against them as to the day wherein they sold victuals. 


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There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, who brought fish and all manner of wares, and sold on the Sabbath unto the children of Judah and in Jerusalem. 


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Then I contended with the nobles of Judah and said unto them, "What evil thing is this that you do, and profane the Sabbath day? 


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Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us and upon this city? Yet you bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the Sabbath." 


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And it came to pass, when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the Sabbath, that I commanded that the gates should be shut,and charged that they should not be opened until after the Sabbath; and some of my servants I set at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the Sabbath day. 


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Then I testified against them and said unto them, "Why lodge you about the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you." From that time forth they came no more on the Sabbath. 


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And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the Sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of Your mercy. 


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and their children spoke half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews' language, but according to the language of each people. 


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And I contended with them and cursed them, and smote certain of them and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, "You shall not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons or for yourselves. 


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Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? Yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did women from other lands cause to sin. 


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Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great evil, to transgress against our God in marrying foreign wives?" 


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


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


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Thus I cleansed them from all strangers, and appointed the watches of the priests and the Levites, everyone in his business, 


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


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The King Dethrones Queen Vashti<br/>Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus <n>(this is Ahasuerus who reigned from India even unto Ethiopia, over a hundred and seven and twenty provinces)</n>, 


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that in those days when the King Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in the palace in Shushan, 


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in the third year of his reign he made a feast unto all his princes and his servants. The power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces being before him, 


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he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the honor of his excellent majesty many days, even a hundred and fourscore days. 


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And when these days had passed, the king made a feast unto all the people who were present in the palace at Shushan, both unto great and small, for seven days in the court of the garden of the king's palace. 


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There were white, green, and blue hangings fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings, and pillars of marble. The beds were of gold and silver, upon a pavement of red and blue and white and black marble. 


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And they gave them drink in vessels of gold <n>(the vessels being diverse one from another)</n> and royal wine in abundance, according to the state of the king. 


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And the drinking was according to the law. None did compel, for so the king had appointed to all the officers of his house that they should do according to every man's pleasure. 


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Also, Vashti the queen made a feast for the women in the royal house which 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 chamberlains who served in the presence of Ahasuerus the king, 


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to bring Vashti the queen before the king, with the crown royal, to show the people and the princes her beauty; for she was fair to look on. 


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But the queen, Vashti, refused to come at the king's commandment brought by his chamberlains. Therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him. 


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Then the king said to the wise men who knew the times <n>(for so was the king's manner toward all who knew law and judgment;


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and the next unto him were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, who saw the king's face and who sat first in the kingdom)</n>: 


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"What shall we do unto Queen Vashti according to law, because she has not performed the commandment of King Ahasuerus by the chamberlains?" 


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


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For this deed of the queen shall come abroad unto all women, so that they shall despise their husbands in their eyes, when it shall be reported, `King Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the queen to be brought in before him, but she came not.' 


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Likewise shall the ladies of Persia and Media say this day unto all the king's princes, who have heard of the deed of the queen. Thus shall there arise too much contempt and wrath. 


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If it please the king, let there go a royal commandment from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, that it be not altered, that Vashti come no more before King Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal estate unto another who is better than she. 


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And when the king's decree which he shall make shall be published throughout all his empire <n>(for it is great)</n>, all the wives shall give to their husbands honor, both to great and small." 


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And the saying pleased the king and the princes, and the king did according to the word of Memucan. 


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For he sent letters into all the king's provinces, into every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people in their language, that every man should bear rule in his own house, and that it should be published according to the language of every people. 


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Esther Becomes <n>(Made)</n> Queen<br/>After these things, when the wrath of King Ahasuerus was appeased, he remembered Vashti and what she had done, and what was decreed against her. 


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Then said the king's servants who ministered unto him, "Let there be fair young virgins sought for the king; 


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and let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather together all the fair young virgins unto the palace at Shushan, to the house of the women unto the custody of Hegai the king's chamberlain, keeper of the women; and let their things for purification be given them. 


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And let the maiden who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti." And the thing pleased the king, and he did so. 


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Now in the palace at Shushan there was a certain Jew whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite, 


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


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And he brought up Hadassah <n>(that is, Esther)</n>, his uncle's daughter; for she had neither father nor mother, and the maid was fair and beautiful, whom Mordecai, when her father and mother were dead, took for his own daughter. 


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So it came to pass, when the king's commandment and his decree were heard, and when many maidens were gathered together unto the palace at Shushan under the custody of Hegai, that Esther was brought also unto the king's house into the custody of Hegai, keeper of the women. 


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And the maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindness from him; and he speedily gave her her things for purification, with such things as belonged to her, and seven maidens who were meet to be given to her out of the king's house; and he preferred her and her maids unto the best place in the house of the women. 


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Esther had not shown her people nor her kindred, for Mordecai had charged her that she should not show it. 


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And Mordecai walked every day before the court of the women's house to know how Esther did and what should become of her.


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Now when every maid's turn had come to go in to King Ahasuerus, after she had been twelve months according to the manner of the women <n>(for so were the days of their purifications accomplished, to wit, six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odors and with other things for the purifying of the women)</n>, 


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then thus came every maiden unto the king. Whatsoever she desired was given her to go with her out of the house of the women unto he king's house.


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In the evening she went, and on the morrow she returned to the second house of the women to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king's chamberlain, who kept the concubines. She came in unto the king no more unless the king delighted in her and she were called by name. 


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Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her for his daughter, had come to go in unto the king, she required nothing but what Hegai the king's chamberlain, the keeper of the women, appointed. And Esther obtained favor in the sight of all those who looked upon her. 


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


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And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti. 


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Then the king made a great feast unto all his princes and his servants, even Esther's feast; and he made a release to the provinces, and gave gifts according to the state of the king. 


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Mordecai Discovers a Plot<br/>And when the virgins were gathered together the second time, then Mordecai sat at the king's gate. 


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Esther had not yet shown her kindred nor her people, as Mordecai had charged her, for Esther did the commandment of Mordecai as when she was brought up by him. 


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In those days, while Mordecai sat at the king's gate, two of the king's chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, of those who kept the door, were wroth and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. 


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And the thing was known to Mordecai, who told it unto Esther the queen, and Esther informed the king thereof in Mordecai's name. 


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And when inquisition was made of the matter, it was found out. Therefore they were both hanged on a tree, and it was written in the book of the chronicles before the king. 


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Haman's Conspiracy Against <n>(Plot to Destroy)</n> the Jews<br/>After these things did King Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and 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 and reverenced Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence. 


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Then the king's servants, who were in the king's gate, said unto Mordecai, "Why transgressest you the king's commandment?" 


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Now it came to pass, when they spoke daily unto him and he hearkened not unto them, that they told Haman to see whether Mordecai's matters would stand; for he had told them that he was a Jew. 


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And he scorned to lay hands on Mordecai alone, for they had shown him the people of Mordecai. Therefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai. 


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In the first month, that is, the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast Pur <n>(that is, the lot)</n> before Haman, from day to day and from month to month to the twelfth month, that is, the month of Adar. 


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And Haman said unto King Ahasuerus, "There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of your kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people, neither keep they the king's laws. Therefore it is not to the king's profit to suffer them. 


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If it please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed; and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the hands of those who have charge of the business, to bring it into the king's treasuries." 


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


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And the king said unto Haman, "The silver is given to you, the people also, to do with them as it seems  good to you." 


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Then were the king's scribes called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and there was written according to all that Haman had commanded unto the king's lieutenants, and to the governors who were over every province, and to the rulers of every people of every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people in their language. In the name of King Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king's ring. 


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And the letters were sent by posts into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish all Jews, both young and old, little children and women in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to take the spoil of them for plunder. 


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The copy of the writing, to be given for a commandment in every province, was published unto all people, that they should be ready against that day. 


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The posts went out, being hastened by the king's commandment, and the decree was given in the palace of Shushan. And the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Shushan was perplexed. 


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Esther Agrees to Help the Jews by Fasting<br/>When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city and cried with a loud and a bitter cry, 


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and came even before the king's gate; for none might enter into the king's gate clothed with sackcloth.


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


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So Esther's maids and her chamberlains came and told it to her. Then was the queen exceedingly grieved; and she sent raiment to clothe Mordecai, and to take away his sackcloth from him; but he received it not. 


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Then called Esther for Hathach, one of the king's chamberlains whom he had appointed to attend her, and gave him a commandment to Mordecai, to know what it was and why it was. 


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And Mordecai told him of all that had happened unto him, and of the sum of money that Haman had promised to pay to the king's treasuries for the Jews, to destroy them. 


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Also he gave him the copy of the written decree that was given at Shushan to destroy them, to show it unto Esther and to explain it unto her, and to charge her that she should go in unto the king to make supplication unto him, and to make request before him for her people. 


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"All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces do know that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court who is not called, there is one law of his: to put him to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden scepter, that he may live. But I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days." 


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Then Mordecai commanded them to answer Esther: "Think not concerning yourself that you shall escape in the king's house any more than all the Jews. 


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For if you altogether holdest your peace at this time, then shall there arise respite and deliverance to the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house shall be destroyed. And who knows whether you are come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" 


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"Go, gather together all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast you for me; and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day. I also and my maidens will fast likewise. And so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish." 


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The Courage of Esther <n>(at the Banquet)</n><br/>Now it came to pass on the third day that Esther put on her royal apparel and stood in the inner court of the king's house, opposite the king's house; and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, opposite the gate of the house. 


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


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


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And Esther answered, "If it seem good unto the king, let the king and Haman come this day unto the banquet that I have prepared for him." 


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Then the king said, "Cause Haman to make haste, that he may do as Esther has said." So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared. 


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And the king said unto Esther at the banquet of wine, "What is your petition? And it shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed." 


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If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shall prepare for them, and I will do tomorrow as the king has said." 


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Haman's Plot Against Mordecai<br/>Then went Haman forth that day joyful and with a glad heart; but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, that he stood not up nor moved for him, he was full of indignation against Mordecai. 


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Nevertheless Haman refrained himself; and when he came home, he sent and called for his friends and Zeresh his wife. 


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And Haman told them of the glory of his riches and the multitude of his children, and all the things wherein the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king. 


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Haman said moreover, "Yea, Esther the queen let no man but myself come in with the king unto the banquet that she had prepared, and tomorrow am I invited unto her also with the king. 


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Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, "Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high, and tomorrow speak you unto the king, that Mordecai may be hanged thereon. Then go you in merrily with the king unto the banquet." And the thing pleased Haman, and he caused the gallows to be made. 


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The King Honors Mordecai <n>(and)</n> Forced Haman to Honor Mordecai<br/>On that night the king could not sleep; and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles, and they were read before the king. 


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And it was found written that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's chamberlains, the keepers of the door, who sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. 


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And the king said, "What honor and dignity has been done to Mordecai for this?" Then said the king's servants who ministered unto him, "There is nothing done for him." 


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And the king said, "Who is in the court?" Now Haman had come into the outer court of the king's house to speak unto the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him. 


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And the king's servants said unto him, "Behold, Haman stands in the court." And the king said, "Let him come in." 


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So Haman came in. And the king said unto him, "What shall be done unto the man whom the king delights to honor?" Now Haman thought in his heart, "To whom would the king delight to do honor more than to myself?" 


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let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rides upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head. 


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And let this apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king's most noble princes, that they may array the man thereby whom the king delights to honor; and bring him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before him: `Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!'" 


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Then the king said to Haman, "Make haste, and take the apparel and the horse as you have said, and do even so to Mordecai the Jew who sits at the king's gate. Let nothing fail of all that you have spoken." 


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Then Haman took the apparel and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai and brought him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaimed before him, "Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delights to honor!" 


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And Mordecai came again to the king's gate. But Haman hastened to his house, mourning and having his head covered. 


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And Haman told Zeresh his wife and all his friends every thing that had befallen him. Then said his wise men and Zeresh his wife unto him, "If Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews, before whom you have begun to fall, you shall not prevail against him, but shall surely fall before him." 


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And while they were yet talking with him, the king's chamberlains came and hastened to bring Haman unto the banquet that Esther had prepared. 


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And the king said again unto Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine, "What is your petition, Queen Esther? And it shall be granted you. And what is your request? And it shall be performed, even to the half of the kingdom." 


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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 at my petition, and my people at my request. 


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For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain and to perish. But if we had been sold as bondmen and bondwomen, I would have held my tongue, although the enemy could not compensate for the king's damage." 


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Then King Ahasuerus answered and said unto Esther the queen, "Who is he, and where is he, who dared presume in his heart to do so?" 


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And Esther said, "The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman." Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen. 


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And the king, arising from the banquet of wine in his wrath, went into the palace garden; and Haman stood up to make request for his life to Esther the queen, for he saw that there was evil determined against him by the king. 


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Then the king returned from the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine, and Haman had fallen upon the bed whereon Esther was. Then said the king, "Will he force the queen also before me in the house?" As the word went out of the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face. 


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And Harbonah, one of the chamberlains, said before the king, "Behold also the gallows fifty cubits high which Haman had made for Mordecai, who had spoken good for the king, stands in the house of Haman." Then the king said, "Hang him thereon!" 


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So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king's wrath pacified.


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Esther Saves the Jews<br/>On that day did King Ahasuerus give the house of Haman, the Jews' enemy, unto Esther the queen. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told what he was unto her. 


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


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And Esther spoke yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet and besought him with tears to put away the wickedness of Haman the Agagite and his plot that he had devised against the Jews. 


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Then the king held out the golden scepter toward Esther. So Esther arose and stood before the king, 


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and said, "If it please the king and if I have found favor in his sight, and the thing seem right before the king and I am pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the king's provinces. 


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For how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people? Or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?" 


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Then King Ahasuerus said unto Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, "Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him they have hanged upon the gallows because he laid his hand upon the Jews. 


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Write you also for the Jews, as it pleases you, in the king's name, and seal it with the king's ring; for the writing which is written in the king's name and sealed with the king's ring may no man reverse." 


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Then were the king's scribes called at that time in the third month <n>(that is, the month of Sivan)</n>, on the three and twentieth day thereof; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded, unto the Jews and to the lieutenants, and the deputies and rulers of the provinces which are from India unto Ethiopia, a hundred twenty and seven provinces, unto every province according to the writing thereof and unto every people in their language, and to the Jews according to their writing and according to their language. 


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And he wrote in King Ahasuerus' name and sealed it with the king's ring, and sent letters by posts on horseback, and riders on mules, camels, and young dromedaries. 


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Therein the king granted the Jews who were in every city to gather themselves together and to stand for their life" to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish all the power of the people and province that would assault them, both little ones and women, and to take the spoil of them for a prey 


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


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The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in every province was published unto all people, that the Jews should be ready against that day to avenge themselves on their enemies. 


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So the posts who rode upon mules and camels went out, being hastened and pressed on by the king's commandment. And the decree was given at the palace at Shushan. 


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And Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold and with a garment of fine linen and purple; and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad. 


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And in every province and in every city, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day. And many of the people of the land became Jews, for the fear of the Jews fell upon them. 


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The Jews Destroy Their Tormentors <n>(Enemies)</n><br/>Now in the twelfth month <n>(that is, the month of Adar)</n> on the thirteenth day of the same, when the king's commandment and his decree drew near to be put in execution, in the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to have power over them <n>(though it was turned to the contrary, so that the Jews had rule over those who hated them)</n>, 


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the Jews gathered themselves together in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on such as sought their hurt; and no man could withstand them, for the fear of them fell upon all people. 


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And all the rulers of the provinces, and the lieutenants and the deputies, and those who did the business that belonged to the king, helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them. 


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


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Thus the Jews smote all their enemies with the stroke of the sword and slaughter and destruction, and did what they would unto those who hated them. 


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<n>(the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews)</n> they slew; but on the spoil they laid not their hand. 


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On that day the number of those who were slain in the palace at Shushan was brought before the king.


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And the king said unto Esther the queen, "The Jews have slain and destroyed five hundred men in the palace in Shushan, and the ten sons of Haman. What have they done in the rest of the king's provinces? Now what is your petition? And it shall be granted you. Or what is your further request? And it shall be done." 


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


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And the king commanded it so to be done; and the decree was given at Shushan, and they hanged Haman's ten sons. 


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For the Jews who were in Shushan gathered themselves together on the fourteenth day also of the month of Adar, and slew three hundred men at Shushan; but on the spoil they laid not their hand. 


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But the other Jews who were in the king's provinces gathered themselves together and stood for their lives, and had rest from their enemies, and slew of their foes seventy and five thousand; but they laid not their hands on the spoil. 


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On the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth day of the same they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness. 


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The Feast of Purim<br/>But the Jews who were at Shushan assembled together on the thirteenth day thereof and on the fourteenth thereof; and on the fifteenth day of the same they rested and made it a day of feasting and gladness.


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Therefore the Jews of the villages who dwelt in the unwalled towns made the fourteenth day of the month of Adar a day of gladness and feasting, and a good day, and of sending portions one to another. 


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And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters unto all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both nigh and far, 


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to establish this among them: that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and the fifteenth day of the same yearly, 


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as the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to joy and from mourning into a good day; that they should make them days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to another and gifts to the poor. 


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because Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had schemed against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur <n>(that is, the lot)</n> to consume them and to destroy them. 


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But when Esther came before the king, he commanded by letters that this wicked scheme which Haman devised 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 <n>(that is, Lot)</n>. Therefore for all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning this matter and what had come upon them, 


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the Jews ordained and took upon them and upon their seed and upon all such as joined themselves unto them, that without fail they would keep these two days according to their writing and according to their appointed time every year; 


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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 pass from among the Jews, nor the memorial of them perish 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 the letters unto all the Jews, to the hundred twenty and seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth 


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to confirm these days of Purim in their times appointed, according as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had enjoined them, and as they had decreed for themselves and for their seed regarding the matters of the fastings and their cry. 


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Mordecai's Great Advancement<br/>And King Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land and upon the isles of the sea.


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And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the declaration 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 next unto King Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews and accepted by the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wellbeing of his people and speaking peace to all his seed. 


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Job and His Family in Uz; The Wealth and Faithfulness of Job<br/>There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one who feared God and eschewed evil. 


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His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred sheAsses, and a very great household, so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the East. 


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And his sons went and feasted in their houses, everyone his day, and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. 


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And it was so, that when the days of their feasting were ended, Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, "It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." Thus did Job continually. 


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Satan Attacks Job's Character <br/>Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. 


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And the LORD said unto Satan, "From where comest you?" Then Satan answered the LORD and said, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down upon it." 


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And the LORD said unto Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one who fears God and escheweth evil?" 


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Have not You made a hedge about him and about his house, and about all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his substance has increased in the land. 


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And the LORD said unto Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power; only upon himself put not forth your hand." So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD. 


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Job Loses His Property and Children <br/>And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house, 


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and there came a messenger unto Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the Asses feeding beside them, 


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and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them away. Yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword, and I only have escaped alone to tell you!" 


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While he was yet speaking, there came also another and said, "The fire of God has fallen from heaven, and has burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; and I only have escaped alone to tell you!" 


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While he was yet speaking, there came also another and said, "The Chaldeans made up three bands, and fell upon the camels and have carried them away, yea, and have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only have escaped alone to tell you!" 


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While he was yet speaking, there came also another and said, "Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house, 


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and behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only have escaped alone to tell you!" 


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Then Job arose, and rent his mantle and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground and worshiped, 


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and said, "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." 


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Satan Attacks Job's Health <br/>Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD. 


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And the LORD said unto Satan, "From where comest you?" And Satan answered the LORD and said, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down upon it." 


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And the LORD said unto Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one who fears God and escheweth evil? And still he holds fast his integrity, although you movedst Me against him to destroy him without cause." 


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And Satan answered the LORD and said, "Skin for skin, yea, all that a man has will he give for his life. 


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So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. 


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But he said unto her, "You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" In all this did not Job sin with his lips. 


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Job's Three Friends<br/>Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came everyone from his own place: Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. For they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him. 


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And when they lifted up their eyes afar off and knew him not, they lifted up their voice and wept; and they rent everyone his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven. 


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So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spoke a word unto him; for they saw that his grief was very great. 


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"Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, `There is a manchild conceived.' 


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Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.


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As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months. 


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Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day, 


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For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept; then would I have been at rest 


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For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me. 


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"If we attempt to commune with you, will you be grieved? But who can withhold himself from speaking? 


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The roaring of the lion, and the voice 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 the form thereof; an image was before mine eyes. There was silence and I heard a voice, saying, 


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How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed before the moth? 


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Job Is Chastened by God and Rebuked by Eliphaz<br/>"Call now, if there be any that will answer you; and to which of the saints will you turn? 


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His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither is there any to deliver them. 


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His harvest the hungry eats up and takes it even out of the thorns, and the robber swallowes up their substance. 


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"Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth; therefore despise not you the chastening of the Almighty. 


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You shall be hid from the scourge of the tongue, neither shall you be afraid of destruction when it cometh. 


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For you shall be in league with the stones of the field, and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you. 


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And you shall know that your tabernacle shall be in peace; and you shall visit your habitation, and shall not sin. 


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For the arrows of the Almighty are within me; the poison thereof drinks up my spirit; the terrors of God set themselves in array against me.


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Then should I yet have comfort; yea, I would harden myself in sorrow. Let Him not spare, for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One. 


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"To him that is afflicted, pity should be shown by his friend; but he forsakes the fear of the Almighty. 


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Job Pleads with God; My Suffering Is Comfortless<br/>"Is there not an appointed time for man upon earth? Are not his days also like the days of a hireling? 


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When I lie down, I say, `When shall I arise and the night be gone?' And I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day. 


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As the cloud is consumed and vanishes away, so he that goes down to the grave shall come up no more. 


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Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.


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I have sinned. What shall I do unto You, O You preserver of men? Why have You set me as a mark against You, so that I am a burden to myself? 


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And why dost You not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? For now shall I sleep in the dust, and You shall seek me in the morning, but I shall not be." 


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"How long will you speak these things? And how long shall the words of your mouth be like a strong wind? 


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if you wert pure and upright, surely now He would awake for you and make the habitation of your righteousness prosperous. 


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"For inquire, I pray you, of the former age, and prepare yourself for the searching of their fathers; 


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He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand; he shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure. 


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They that hate you shall be clothed with shame, and the dwelling place of the wicked shall come to nought." 


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He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who has hardened himself against Him and has prospered-- 


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If I had called and He had answered me, yet would I not believe that He had hearkened unto my voice. 


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If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me; if I say, `I am perfect,' it shall also prove me perverse. 


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The earth is given into the hand of the wicked. He covers the faces of the judges thereof. If not, where and who is He? 


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Job Pleads Further with God<br/>"My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. 


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Is it good unto You that You should oppress, that You should despise the work of Your hands, and shine upon the counsel of the wicked? 


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If I be wicked, woe unto me! And if I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head. I am full of confusion; therefore see You mine affliction, 


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for it increaseth. You huntest me as a fierce lion, and again You showe Yourself marvelous upon me. 


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You renewest Your witnesses against me, and increasest Your indignation upon me; changes and war are against me. 


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Why then have You brought me forth out of the womb? Oh that I had given up the spirit, and no eye had seen me! 


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a land of darkness, as darkness itself, and of the shadow of death without any order, and where the light is as darkness.'" 


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and that He would show you the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of you less than your iniquity deserveth. 


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And your age shall be clearer than the noonday; you shall shine forth, you shall be as the morning. 


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And you shall be secure, because there is hope; yea, you shall dig about you, and you shall take your rest in safety. 


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But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape; and their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost." 


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But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you; yea, who knows not such things as these? 


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I am as one mocked by his neighbor, who calls upon God, and He answereth him; the just and upright man is laughed to scorn. 


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The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure, into whose hand God brings abundantly. 


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"But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach you; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell you. 


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Behold, He breaks down, and it cannot be built again; He shuts up a man, and there can be no opening. 


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Behold, He withholdeth the waters, and they dry up; also He sends them out, and they overturn the earth. 


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He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them; He enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again. 


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He takes away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causes them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way. 


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Job's Despondent Prayer <br/>"Only do not two things unto me; then will I not hide myself from You: 


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You put my feet also in the stocks, and look narrowly unto all my paths; You set a mark upon the heels of my feet. 


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Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with You; You have appointed his bounds, that he cannot pass. 


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For there is hope for a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. 


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so man lies down and rises not; till the heavens be no more they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. 


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"O that You would hide me in the grave, that You would keep me secret until Your wrath be past; that You would appoint me a set time, and remember me! 


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If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. 


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The waters wear away the stones; You wash away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth, and You destroy the hope of man. 


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His sons come to honor, and he knows it not; and they are brought low, but he perceives it not of them. 


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The wicked man travails with pain all his days, and the number of years is hidden to the oppressor. 


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He wanders abroad for bread, saying, `Where is it?' He knows that the day of darkness is ready at his hand. 


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Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall prevail against him, as a king ready for the battle: 


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and he dwells in desolate cities and in houses which no man inhabits, which are ready to become heaps, 


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he shall not be rich, neither shall his substance continue; neither shall he prolong the perfection thereof upon the earth. 


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He shall not depart out of darkness; the flame shall dry up his branches, and by the breath of His mouth shall he go away. 


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For the congregation of hypocrites shall be desolate, and fire shall consume the tabernacles of bribery. 


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Job Shames <n>(Reproaches)</n> His Unsympathetic <n>(Pitiless)</n> Friends <br/>Then Job answered and said:


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I also could speak as you do; if your soul were in my soul's stead, I could heap up words against you, and shake mine head at you. 


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And You have filled me with wrinkles, which is a witness against me; and my leanness rising up in me bears witness to my face. 


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He tears me in his wrath, who hates me; he gnashes upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpens his eyes upon me. 


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They have gaped upon me with their mouth; they have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully; they have gathered themselves together against me.


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"I was at ease, but he has broken me asunder; he has also taken me by my neck and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark. 


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His archers compass me round about; he cleaves my reins asunder and does not spare; he pours out my gall upon the ground.


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Upright men shall be astonished at this, and the innocent shall stir up himself against the hypocrite. 


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The righteous also shall hold to his way, and he that has clean hands shall be stronger and stronger. 


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He tears himself in his anger. Shall the earth be forsaken for you? And shall the rock be removed out of his place?


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His confidence shall be rooted out of his tabernacle, and it shall bring him to the king of terrors. 


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It shall dwell in his tabernacle, because it is none of his; brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation. 


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whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another, though my reins be consumed within me. 


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Be you afraid of the sword; for wrath brings the punishments of the sword, that you may know there is a judgment." 


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He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found; yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night. 


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He has swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again; God shall cast them out of his belly. 


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That which he labored for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down; according to his substance shall the restitution be, and he shall not rejoice therein. 


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Because he has oppressed and has forsaken the poor, because he has violently taken away a house which he built not, 


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In the fullness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits; every hand of the wicked shall come upon him.


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When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of His wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating. 


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It is drawn and comes  out of the body; yea, the glittering sword comes  out of his gall; terrors are upon him. 


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All darkness shall be hid in his secret places; a fire not blown upon shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle.


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Their bull breeds, and fails not <n>(without failure)</n>; their cow calves and castes not her calf <n>(without miscarriage)</n>. 


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What is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? And what profit should we have, if we pray unto Him?' 


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"How often is the candle of the wicked put out! And how often comes their destruction upon them! God distributes sorrows in His anger. 


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For what pleasure has he in his house after him, when the number of his months is cut off in the midst? 


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that the wicked are reserved for the day of destruction? They shall be brought forth on the day of wrath.


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The clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him, and every man shall draw after him, as there are innumerable before him. 


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Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that you are righteous? Or is it gain to Him that you make your ways perfect?


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For you have taken a pledge from your brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing. 


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If you return to the Almighty, you shall be built up; you shall put away iniquity far from your tabernacles. 


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You shall also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto you; and the light shall shine upon your ways. 


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When men are cast down, then you shall say, `There is lifting up!' And He shall save the humble person. 


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on the left hand where He does work, but I cannot behold Him; He hides himself on the right hand, that I cannot see Him. 


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Neither have I gone back from the commandment of His lips; I have esteemed the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.


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Job Complains of Violence on the Earth<br/>"Why, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty, do they that know Him not, see His days? 


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Behold, as wild Asses in the desert go they forth to their work, rising early for a prey; the wilderness yieldeth food for them and for their children. 


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Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded cries out; yet God lays not folly to them. 


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"They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof. 


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The eye also of the adulterer  waits for the twilight, saying, `No eye shall see me,' and disguiseth his face. 


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In the dark they dig through houses which they had marked for themselves in the daytime; they know not the light.


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For the morning is to them even as the shadow of death; if one know them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death. 


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"He is swift as the waters; their portion is cursed on the earth; he beholdeth not the way of the vineyards. 


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The womb shall forget him, the worm shall feed sweetly on him; he shall be no more remembered, and wickedness shall be broken as a tree. 


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They are exalted for a little while, but are gone and brought low; they are taken out of the way as all others, and cut off as the tops of the ears of corn. 


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Bildad: How Can Man Be Righteous? or Justified with God? <br/>Then answered Bildad the Shuhite and said:


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How have you counseled him that has no wisdom? And how have you plentifully declared the thing as it is?


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Lo, these are parts of His ways, but how little a portion is heard of Him! But the thunder of His power, who can understand?" 


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Job Maintains His Integrity; The Hypocrite's Hopelessness <br/>Moreover Job continued his parable and said:


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My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go; my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live. 


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"This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, which they shall receive from the Almighty. 


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If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword; and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread. 


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Job's Discourse on Wisdom <n>(Is God's Gift)</n><br/>"Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they refine it. 


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Man sets an end to darkness, and searches out all perfection, the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death. 


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The flood breaks out from the inhabitant, even the waters forgotten by the foot; they are dried up, they are gone away from men. 


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The gold and the crystal cannot equal it; and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold.


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And unto man He said, `Behold, the fear of the Lord: that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.'" 


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The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me; and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.


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I chose out their way and sat as chief, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one that comforts the mourners. 


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Job's Wealth Now Poverty <br/>"But now they that are younger than I hold me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock. 


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From want and famine they were solitary, fleeing into the wilderness, in former time desolate and waste, 


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Upon my right hand rise the youth; they push away my feet, and they raise up against me the ways of their destructiveness. 


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They came upon me as a wide breaking in of waters; in the desolation they rolled themselves upon me.


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Terrors are turned upon me; they pursue my soul as the wind, and my welfare passes away as a cloud. 


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By the great force of my disease is my garment changed; it bindeth me about as the collar of my coat.


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Job Defends His Righteousness<br/>"I made a covenant with mine eyes. Why then should I think upon a maid? 


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If my step has turned out of the way, and mine heart walked after mine eyes, and if any blot has cleaved to mine hands, 


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<n>(for from my youth he was brought up with me as with a father, and I have guided her from my mother's womb)</n>; 


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this also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge, for I should have denied the God that is above. 


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did I fear a great multitude, or did the contempt of families terrify me, that I kept silence and went not out of the door? 


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Oh, that One would hear me! Behold, my desire is that the Almighty would answer me, and that mine adversary had written a book! 


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if I have eaten the fruits thereof without money, or have caused the owners thereof to lose their life, 


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Elihu Contradicts Job's Friends <br/>So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. 


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Then was kindled the wrath of Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram. Against Job was his wrath kindled, because he justified himself rather than God . 


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Also against his three friends was his wrath kindled, because they had found no answer and yet had condemned Job. 


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When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, then his wrath was kindled. 


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And Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, answered and said: "I am young, and you are very old; therefore I was afraid, and dared not show you mine opinion. 


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Yea, I attended unto you, and behold, there was none of you that convinced Job or that answered his words, 


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Elihu Contradicts Job<br/>"Therefore, Job, I pray you, hear my speeches and hearken to all my words. 


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If there be a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand to show unto man his uprightness, 


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then he is gracious unto him and says, `Deliver him from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom.' 


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He shall pray unto God, and He will be favorable unto him; and he shall see His face with joy, for He will render unto man His righteousness. 


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He looks upon men, and if any say, `I have sinned and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not,' 


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"Therefore hearken unto me, you men of understanding; far be it from God that He should do wickedness, and from the Almighty that He should commit iniquity. 


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How much less to Him that accepteth not the persons of princes, nor regards the rich more than the poor! For they all are the work of His hands. 


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In a moment shall they die, and the people shall be troubled at midnight, and pass away; and the mighty shall be taken away without hand. 


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When He gives quietness, who then can make trouble? And when He hides His face, who then can behold Him, whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only?-- 


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Should it be according to your mind? He will recompense it, whether you refuse or whether you choose, and not I; therefore speak what you know. 


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For he addeth rebellion unto his sin; he clappeth his hands among us, and multiplies his words against God ." 


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For you saidst, `What advantage will it be unto You?' and, `What profit shall I have if I be cleansed from my sin?' 


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If you sinnest, what do you against Him? Or if your transgressions be multiplied, what do you unto Him? 


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"By reason of the multitude of oppressions they make the oppressed to cry; they cry out by reason of the arm of the mighty. 


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But now, because it is not so, He has visited in His anger; yet he knows it not in his great extremity. 


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He withdraweth not His eyes from the righteous, but with kings are they on the throne; yea, He does establish them for ever, and they are exalted. 


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If they obey and serve Him, they shall spend their days in prosperity and their years in pleasures. 


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Even so would He have removed you out of your straits into a broad place where there is no straitness; and that which should be set on your table should be full of fatness.


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Because there is wrath, beware lest He take you away with His stroke; then a great ransom cannot deliver you. 


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Elihu Proclaims God's Majesty <br/>Who has enjoined Him His way? Or who can say, `You have wrought iniquity'? 


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After it a voice roareth; He thundereth with the voice of His excellency, and He will not stay them when His voice is heard. 


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For He says to the snow, `Be you on the earth'; likewise to the small rain and to the great rain of His strength. 


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and it is turned round about by His counsels, that they may do whatsoever He commands them upon the face of the world in the earth. 


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And now men see not the bright light which is in the clouds, but the wind passes and cleanseth them. 


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Concerning the Almighty, we cannot find Him out; He is excellent in power and in judgment, and abounding in justice; He will not afflict. 


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The LORD Reveals <n>(Shows)</n> His Omnipotence to Job and Job's Ignorance<br/>Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said: 


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that you should take it to the boundary thereof, and that you should know the paths to the house thereof? 


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"Have you entered into the treasure house of the snow, or have you seen the treasure house of the hail, 


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Who has divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder, 


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Who provideth for the raven his food, when his young ones cry unto God, and wander for lack of meat? 


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God Continues to Challenge Job<br/>"Knowe you the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? Or canst you mark when the hinds do calve? 


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She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers; her labor is in vain without fear; 


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He swallowes the ground with fierceness and rage, neither believes he that it is the sound of the trumpet. 


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He says among the trumpets, `Ha, ha!' And he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting. 


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"Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct Him? He that reproveth God, let him answer it." 


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Behold, he drinks up a river and hasteneth not; he trusteth that he can draw up the Jordan into his mouth. 


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God's Power in the Leviathan<br/>"Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook? Or his tongue with a cord which you let down? 


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`Who is he that hides counsel without knowledge?' Therefore have I uttered what I understood not, things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. 


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And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends; for you have not spoken of Me the thing that is right, as My servant Job has. 


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Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering. And My servant Job shall pray for you; for him will I accept, lest I deal with you after your folly in that you have not spoken of Me the thing which is right, like My servant Job." 


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So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did according as the LORD commanded them. The LORD also accepted Job.


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And the LORD released Job from captivity when he prayed for his friends. Also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.


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Then came there unto him all his brethren and all his sisters, and all those who had been of his acquaintance before, and ate bread with him in his house. And they bemoaned him and comforted him over all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him. Every man also gave him a piece of money, and everyone an earring of gold. 


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So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand sheAsses. 


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And he called the name of the first Jemimah, and the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Kerenhappuch. 


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And in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job, and their father gave them an inheritance among their brethren. 


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After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his sons and his sons' sons, even four generations. 


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The Way of the Righteous and the End of the Ungodly<br/>Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 


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And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he does shall prosper. 


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Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 


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The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, 


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"I will declare the decree: The LORD has said unto Me, `You are My Son; this day have I begotten You. 


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Ask of Me, and I shall give You the heathen for Your inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Your possession. 


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Kiss the Son, lest He be angry and you perish from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him. 


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The LORD Helps His Troubled People; A Psalm of David when he fled from Absalom his son. <br/>LORD, how they have increased that trouble me! Many are they that rise up against me! 


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Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! For You have smitten all mine enemies upon the cheekbone; You have broken the teeth of the ungodly. 


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The Safety of the Faithful; To the Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. A Psalm of David. <br/>Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You hast set me at large when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer. 


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O you sons of men, how long will you turn my glory into shame? How long will you love vanity and seek after lies? Selah 


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But know that the LORD has set apart him that is godly for Himself; the LORD will hear when I call unto Him.


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There are many that say, "Who will show us any good?" LORD, lift You up the light of Your countenance upon us. 


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A Prayer for Guidance; To the Chief Musician. With flutes. A Psalm of David. <br/>Give ear to my words, O LORD; consider my meditation. 


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My voice shall You hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto You and will look up. 


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But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy, and in Your fear will I worship toward Your holy temple. 


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Lead me, O LORD, in Your righteousness because of mine enemies; make Your way straight before my face. 


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For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is exceeding wickedness. Their throat is an open sepulcher; they flatter with their tongue.


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Destroy You them, O God! Let them fall by their own counsels. Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions, for they have rebelled against You. 


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But let all those that put their trust in You rejoice; let them ever shout for joy, because You defendest them; let them also that love Your name be joyful in You. 


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A Prayer of Faith in Time of Distress; To the Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. On an eight-stringed harp. A Psalm of David. <br/>O LORD, rebuke me not in Thine anger, neither chasten me in Your hot displeasure. 


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Prayer and Praise for Deliverance from Enemies; A Meditation of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning the words of Cush, a Benjamite. <br/>O LORD my God, in  You do I put my trust. Save me from all them that persecute me; and deliver me, 


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if I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me <n>(yea, I have delivered him that without cause is mine enemy)</n>, 


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let the enemy persecute my soul and take it; yea, let him tread down my life upon the earth, and lay mine honor in the dust. Selah 


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Arise, O LORD, in Your anger; lift up Yourself against the rage of mine enemies, and awaken for me the judgment that You have commanded. 


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So shall the congregation of the people compass You about; for their sakes, therefore, return You on high. 


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The LORD shall judge the people: Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness and according to mine integrity that is in me. 


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O let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the just; for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins. 


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He has also prepared for Him the instruments of death; He ordaineth His arrows against the persecutors.


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His mischief shall return upon his own head; and his violent dealings shall come down upon his own pate.


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I will praise the LORD according to His righteousness, and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High. 


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The Glory of the LORD in Creation; To the Chief Musician. On the instrument of Gath. A Psalm of David. <br/>O LORD, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth, who hast set Your glory above the heavens! 


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Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings have You ordained strength because of Your enemies, that You might still the enemy and the avenger. 


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When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars which You have ordained, 


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You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, 


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Prayer and Thanksgiving for the LORD's Righteous Judgments; To the Chief Musician. To the tune of "Death of the Son." A Psalm of David. <br/>I will praise Thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will show forth all Your marvelous works. 


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


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O you enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and You have destroyed their cities; their memorial is perished with them. 


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And He shall judge the world with righteousness; He shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.


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And they that know Your name will put their trust in You; for You, LORD, have not forsaken them that seek You. 


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Have mercy upon me, O LORD! Consider my trouble which I suffer from them that hate me, You that liftest me up from the gates of death, 


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that I may show forth all Your praise at the gates of the daughter of Zion. I will rejoice in Your salvation.


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The heathen have sunk down into the pit that they made; in the net which they hid, their own foot is taken. 


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The LORD is known by the judgment which He executeth; the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah


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A Song of Confidence in God's Triumph over Evil <br/>Why standest You afar off, O LORD? Why hidest You Yourself in times of trouble? 


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The wicked in his pride does persecute the poor; let them be caught in the devices that they have contrived.


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The wicked, in the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God; God is not in all his thoughts. 


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His ways are always grievous; Your judgments are far above, out of his sight; as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them. 


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He sits in the lurking places of the villages; in secret places does he murder the innocent; his eyes are privily set against the poor.


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He lies in wait secretly as a lion in his den; he lies in wait to catch the poor; he does catch the poor when he draws him into his net.


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But You have seen it, for You beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with Your hand. The poor commits himself unto You; You are the helper of the fatherless. 


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LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart, You will cause Your ear to hear, 


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Faith in the LORD's Righteousness; To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. <br/>In the LORD I put my trust; how say you to my soul, "Flee as a bird to your mountain, 


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for lo, the wicked bend their bow and make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart; 


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The LORD is in His holy temple! The LORD's throne is in heaven! His eyes behold; His eyelids test the children of men!


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Upon the wicked He shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and a horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup. 


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Man's Treachery and God's Constancy; To the Chief Musician. On an eight-stringed harp. A Psalm of David. <br/>Help, LORD, for the godly man ceases; for the faithful fail from among the children of men. 


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They speak vanity everyone with his neighbor; with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.


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"For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise," says the LORD; "I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him." 


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Trust in the Salvation of the LORD; To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. <br/>How long will You forget me, O LORD? For ever? How long will You hide Your face from me? 


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How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? How long shall mine enemy be exalted over me? 


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lest mine enemy say, "I have prevailed against him"; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved. 


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Folly of the Godless, and God's Final Triumph; To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. <br/>The fool hath said in his heart, "There is no God ." They are corrupt; they have done abominable works; there is none that does good. 


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The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand and seek God . 


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They have all turned aside; they are all together become filthy. There is none that does good; no, not one. 


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Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread and call not upon the LORD? 


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Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When the LORD brings back His people from captivity, Jacob shall rejoice and Israel shall be glad. 


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The Character of Those Who May Dwell with the LORD; A Psalm of David. <br/>LORD, who shall abide in Your tabernacle? Who shall dwell in Your holy hill? 


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he that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor spreads a reproach against his neighbor; 


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in whose eyes a vile person is contemned, but he honors them that fear the LORD; he that takes an oath to his own hurt, and changes not; 


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he that puts not out his money to usury, nor takes a bribe against the innocent. He that does these things shall never be moved. 


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The Hope of the Faithful, and the Messiah's Victory; A Michtam of David. <br/>Preserve me, O God, for in You do I put my trust. 


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Their sorrows shall be multiplied, that hasten after another God; their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names upon my lips. 


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You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand there are pleasures for evermore.


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Prayer with Confidence in Final Salvation; A Prayer of David. <br/>Hear the right, O LORD; attend unto my cry! Give ear unto my prayer, which goes not out of feigned lips. 


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You have tested mine heart; You have visited me in the night; You have tried me and shall find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.


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Concerning the works of men, by the word of Your lips I have been kept from the paths of the destroyer. 


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I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God; incline Your ear unto me and hear my speaking. 


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Show Your marvelous lovingkindness, O You that savest by Your right hand them that put their trust in You from those that rise up against them. 


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from men which are Your hand, O LORD, from men of the world that have their portion in this life, and whose belly You fillest with Your hid treasure: They are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes. 


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


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God the Sovereign Savior; To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD, who spoke to the LORD the words of this song on the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said:<br/>I will love You, O LORD, my strength. 


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The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. 


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In my distress I called upon the LORD and cried unto my God; He heard my voice out of His temple, and my cry came before Him, even unto His ears. 


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Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because He was wroth. 


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There went up smoke out of His nostrils, and a devouring fire out of His mouth; coals were kindled by it. 


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He made darkness His secret place; His pavilion round about Him was dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.


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The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest uttered His voice with hail stones and coals of fire. 


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Then the channels of the waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were uncovered at Your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils. 


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He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them that hated me, for they were too strong for me. 


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The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands has He recompensed me.


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Therefore has the LORD recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His eyes. 


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With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; with an upright man You will show Yourself upright;


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As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is proved; He is a buckler to all those that trust in Him. 


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You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your right hand has held me up, and Your gentleness has made me great. 


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For You have girded me with strength for the battle; You have subdued under me those that rose up against me.


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Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind; I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets.


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You have delivered me from the strivings of the people; and You have made me the head of the heathen; a people whom I have not known shall serve me.


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He delivereth me from mine enemies. Yea, You liftest me up above those that rise up against me; You have delivered me from violent men. 


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Great deliverance gives He to His king and shows mercy to His anointed, to David and to his seed for evermore. 


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The Perfect Revelation of the LORD; To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. <br/>The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showes His handiwork.


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Their sound has gone forth through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them has He set a tabernacle for the sun, 


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His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it; and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof. 


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The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. 


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The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. 


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The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever; the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. 


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More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. 


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Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me. Then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent of the great transgression. 


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Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my Strength and my Redeemer. 


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The Assurance of God's Saving Work; To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. <br/>The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble! The name of the God of Jacob defend thee!


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We will rejoice in your salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners; the LORD fulfill all your petitions! 


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Now I know that the LORD saveth His anointed; He will hear him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand.


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Joy in the Salvation of the LORD; To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. <br/>The king shall rejoice in Your strength, O LORD; and in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! 


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For You have made him most blessed for ever; You have made him exceeding glad with Your countenance.


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You shall make them as a fiery oven in the time of Your anger; the LORD shall swallow them up in His wrath, and the fire shall devour them. 


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For they intended evil against You; they contrived a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform. 


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Therefore shall You make them turn their back when You shall ready Your arrows upon Your strings against the face of them.


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The Suffering, Praise, and Posterity of the Messiah; To the Chief Musician. Set to "The Deer of the Dawn." A Psalm of David. <br/>My God, My God, why hast You forsaken Me? Why art You so far from helping Me, and from the words of My groaning? 


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"He trusted in the LORD that He would deliver him; let Him deliver him, seeing He delighted in him!" 


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But You are He that took Me out of the womb; You did make Me hope when I was upon 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 in the midst of My body. 


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My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and My tongue cleaves to My jaws; and You have brought Me into the dust of death. 


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For dogs have surrounded Me; the assembly of the wicked have enclosed Me; they pierced My hands and My feet.


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You that fear the LORD, praise Him! All you the seed of Jacob, glorify Him; and fear Him, all you the seed of Israel. 


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For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither has He hid His face from Him, but when He cried unto Him, He heard. 


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The meek shall eat and be satisfied; they shall praise the LORD that seek Him. Your heart shall live for ever.


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All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD, and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before You. 


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All they that are fat upon the earth shall eat and worship; all they that go down to the dust shall bow before Him, for none can keep alive his own soul. 


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They shall come and shall declare His righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that He has done this. 


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The LORD the Shepherd of His People; A Psalm of David. <br/>The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.


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Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 


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You preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; You anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.


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Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.


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The King of Glory and His Kingdom; A Psalm of David. <br/>The earth is the LORD's, and the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein. 


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He that has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. 


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Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be you lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. 


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Lift up your heads, O you gates! Even lift them up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. 


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A Plea for Deliverance and Forgiveness; A Psalm of David. <br/>Unto Thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul; 


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Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You do I wait all the day. 


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Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; according to Your mercy remember You me, for Your goodness' sake, O LORD. 


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All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth, unto them that keep His covenant and His testimonies. 


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A Prayer for Divine Scrutiny and Redemption; A Psalm of David. <br/>Judge me, O LORD, for I have walked in mine integrity. I have also trusted in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide. 


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An Exuberant Declaration of Faith; A Psalm of David.<br/>The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?


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When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. 


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Though an army should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war should rise against me, even in this will I be confident. 


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One thing have I desired of the LORD; that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in His temple. 


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For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; in the secret places of His tabernacle shall He hide me; He shall set me upon a rock.


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And then shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me; therefore I will offer in His tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD. 


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Hide not Your face far from me; put not Your servant away in anger. You have been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation. 


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Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies; for false witnesses have risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty. 


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I would have fainted, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. 


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Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the LORD! 


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Rejoicing in Answered Prayer; A Psalm of David. <br/>Unto You will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent to me, lest, if You be silent, I become like them that go down into the pit. 


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Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry unto You, when I lift up my hands toward the oracle of Your sanctuary. 


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Draw me not away with the wicked and with the workers of iniquity, who speak peace to their neighbors, but mischief is in their hearts. 


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Give to them according to their deeds and according to the wickedness of their endeavors; give to them according to the work of their hands; render to them their deserts.


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Because they regard not the works of the LORD, nor the operation of His hands, He shall destroy them and not build them up. 


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The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth, and with my song will I praise Him. 


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Praise to God in His Holiness and Majesty; A Psalm of David. <br/>Give unto the LORD, O you mighty; give unto the LORD glory and strength. 


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The voice of the LORD is upon the waters; the God of glory thundereth; the LORD is upon many waters.


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The voice of the LORD makes the hinds to calve, and lays bare the forests, and in His temple does everyone speak of His glory. 


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The Blessedness of Answered Prayer; A Psalm. A Song at the dedication of the house of David. <br/>I will extol Thee, O LORD, for You hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. 


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O LORD, You have brought up my soul from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. 


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For His anger endures but a moment, and in His favor is life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes  in the morning. 


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LORD, by Your favor You have made my mountain to stand strong; when You did hide Your face, I was troubled. 


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"What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise You? Shall it declare Your truth? 


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You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and girded me with gladness, 


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to the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto You for ever. 


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The LORD a Fortress in Adversity; To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.<br/>In Thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed; deliver me in Your righteousness. 


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Bow down Your ear to me, deliver me speedily; be You my strong rock, a house of defense to save me. 


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I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy, for You have considered my trouble. You have known my soul in adversities, 


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Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble; mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my belly. 


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For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed. 


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I am a reproach among all mine enemies, but especially among my neighbors, and a fear to mine acquaintances; they that see me in the streets flee from me. 


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For I have heard the slander of many; fear was on every side; while they took counsel together against me, they schemed to take away my life. 


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My times are in Your hand; deliver me from the hand of mine enemies and from them that persecute me.


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Let me not be ashamed, O LORD, for I have called upon You; let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave. 


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Let the lying lips be put to silence, which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous. 


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O how great is Your goodness which You have laid up for them that fear You, which You have wrought for them that trust in You before the sons of men! 


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You shall hide them in the safety of Your presence from the pride of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.


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For I said in my haste, "I am cut off from before Your eyes!" Nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications when I cried unto You. 


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O love the LORD, all you His saints! For the LORD preserveth the faithful, but plentifully rewardeth the proud doer. 


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The Joy of Forgiveness; A Psalm of David. A Contemplation. <br/>Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 


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Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. 


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For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; the sap of my soul was turned into the drought of summer. Selah


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I acknowledged my sin unto You, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, "I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD," and You forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah 


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For this shall everyone that is godly pray unto You in a time when You may be found; surely the floods of great waters shall not come nigh unto him.


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You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah


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Be you not as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they not come near unto you." 


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Many shall be the sorrows of the wicked; but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about. 


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Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous; and shout for joy, all you that are upright in heart! 


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The Sovereignty of the LORD in Creation and History <br/>Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous! For praise is comely for the upright. 


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By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. 


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The LORD brings the counsel of the heathen to nought; He makes the devices of the people of no effect.


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Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, and the people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance. 


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The Happiness of Those Who Trust in God; A Psalm of David when he pretended madness before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed. <br/>I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. 


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The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 


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The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as are of a contrite spirit. 


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The LORD the Avenger of His People; A Psalm of David. <br/>Plead my cause, O LORD, with them that strive with me; fight against them that fight against me. 


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Draw out also the spear, and block the way against them that persecute me. Say unto my soul, "I am your salvation." 


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Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul; let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise my hurt.


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For without cause they have hid their net for me in a pit, which without cause they have dug for my soul. 


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Let destruction come upon him unawares; and let the net which he has hidden catch himself; into that very destruction let him fall.


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All my bones shall say, "LORD, who is like unto You, who deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and needy from him that would plunder him?" 


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But as for me, when they were sick my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled my soul with fasting, and my prayer returned unto mine own bosom. 


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I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother; I bowed down in heaviness, as one that mourneth for his mother. 


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But in mine adversity they rejoiced and gathered themselves together; yea, the abjects gathered themselves together against me, and I knew it not; they tore at me and ceased not. 


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Lord, how long will You look on? Rescue my soul from their destructions, my precious soul from the lions. 


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Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me; neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause.


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For they speak not peace, but they devise deceitful matters against them that are quiet in the land. 


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Let them not say in their hearts, "Ah, so would we have it!" Let them not say, "We have swallowed him up." 


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Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion together that rejoice at my hurt; let them be clothed with shame and dishonor that magnify themselves against me.


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Let them shout for joy and be glad that favor my righteous cause; yea, let them say continually, "Let the LORD be magnified who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant." 


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Man's Wickedness and God's Perfections; To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD. <br/>The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart that there is no fear of God before his eyes.


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He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil.


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Your righteousness is like the great mountains; Your judgments are a great deep; O LORD, You preservest man and beast. 


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How excellent is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. 


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They shall be abundantly satisfied with the bounty of Your house, and You shall make them drink of the river of Your pleasures. 


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O continue Your lovingkindness unto them that know You, and Your righteousness to the upright in heart. 


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The Heritage of the Righteous and the Calamity of the Wicked; A Psalm of David. <br/>Fret not yourself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. 


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Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; fret not yourself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass. 


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For yet a little while and the wicked shall not be; yea, you shall diligently look for his place, and it shall not be. 


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The wicked have drawn out the sword and have bent their bows to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright manner of living. 


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But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall be consumed; into smoke shall they be consumed away. 


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for such as are blessed by Him shall inherit the earth, but they that are cursed by Him shall be cut off. 


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I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging for bread. 


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For the LORD loves judgment, and forsakes not His saints; they are preserved for ever, but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. 


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Wait on the LORD and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you shall see it. 


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And the LORD shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked and save them, because they trust in Him. 


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Prayer in Time of Chastening; A Psalm of David. To bring to remembrance. <br/>O LORD, rebuke me not in Your wrath, neither chasten me in Your hot displeasure! 


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There is no soundness in my flesh, because of Your anger; neither is there any rest in my bones, because of my sin. 


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They also that seek after my life lay snares for me; and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and devise deceits all the day long. 


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For I said, "Hear me, lest otherwise they should rejoice over me; when my foot slippeth, they magnify themselves against me." 


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Prayer for Wisdom and Forgiveness; To the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. <br/>I said, "I will take heed of my ways, that I sin not with my tongue; I will keep my mouth with a bridle while the wicked is before me." 


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"LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is, that I may know how frail I am. 


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Behold, You have made my days as a handbreadth, and mine age is as nothing before You; verily every man in his best state is altogether vanity. Selah 


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"Surely every man walks in a vain show; surely they are disquieted in vain; he heapeth up riches, and knows not who shall gather them. 


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When with rebukes You dost correct man for iniquity, You makest his beauty to be consumed away like a moth; surely every man is vanity. Selah 


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"Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not Your peace at my tears; for I am a stranger with You and a sojourner, as all my fathers were. 


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Faith Persevering in Trial; To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.<br/>I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined unto me and heard my cry.


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He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock and established my goings. 


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And He has put a new song in my mouth; even praise unto our God; many shall see it and fear, and shall trust in the LORD. 


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Blessed is that man that makes the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. 


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Many, O LORD my God, are Your wonderful works which You have done; and Your thoughts which are directed toward us, they cannot be reckoned up in order unto You. If I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered. 


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Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; mine ears have You opened; burnt offering and sin offering have You not required.


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I have preached righteousness in the great congregation; lo, I have not restrained my lips, O LORD, You know. 


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I have not hid 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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Withhold not You Your tender mercies from me, O LORD; let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me. 


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For innumerable evils have compassed me about; mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up. They are more than the hairs of mine head; therefore my heart fails me. 


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Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward and put to shame that wish me evil.


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Let all those that seek You rejoice and be glad in You; let those that love Your salvation say continually, "The LORD be magnified!" 


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But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinks of me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not tarry, O my God ! 


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The Blessing and Suffering of the godly; To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.<br/>Blessed is he that considereth the poor; the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.


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The LORD will preserve him and keep him alive, and he shallbe blessed upon the earth; and You will not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. 


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The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing; You will turn him on his bed in his sickness.


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And if he come to see me, he speaks vanity; his heart gathers iniquity to itself, and when he goes out, he telleth it. 


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"An evil disease," they say, "cleaves fast unto him, and now that he lies down, he shall rise up no more." 


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Yea, mine own familiar friend in whom I trusted, that ate of my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. 


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Yearning for God in the Midst of Distresses; To the Chief Musician. A Contemplation of the sons of Korah. <br/>As the hart panteth for the water brooks, so panteth my soul for Thee, O God. 


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My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, "Where is your God ?" 


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When I remember these things, I pour out my soul within me, for I had gone with the multitude; I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday. 


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


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O my God, my soul is cast down within me; therefore will I remember You from the land of Jordan and of the Hermonites, from the hill of Mizar. 


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Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterspouts; all Your waves and Your billows have gone over me.


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Yet the LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me and my prayer unto the God of my life. 


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I will say unto God my rock, "Why have You forgotten me? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?" 


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As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me, while they say daily unto me, "Where is your God ?" 


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Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope you in God, for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance and my God . 


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Prayer to God in Time of Trouble<br/>Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation; O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man. 


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For You are the God of my strength; why dost You cast me off? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?


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O send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me. Let them bring me unto Your holy hill and to Your tabernacles.


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Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy; yea, upon the harp will I praise You, 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 shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance and my God . 


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Redemption Remembered in Present Dishonor; To the Chief Musician. A Contemplation of the sons of Korah. <br/>We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us what work You did in their days, in the times of old: 


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how You did drive out the heathen with Your hand, and planted them; how You did afflict the people, and cast them out. 


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For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them, but by Your right hand and Your arm and the light of Your countenance, because You hadst favor unto them. 


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Through You will we push down our enemies; through Your name will we tread them under that rise up against us.


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All this has come upon us; yet have we not forgotten You, neither have we dealt falsely in Your covenant. 


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The Glories of the Messiah and His Bride; To the Chief Musician. Set to "The Lilies." A Contemplation of the sons of Korah. A Song of Love. <br/>My heart is composing a goodly matter; I speak of the verses which I have made concerning the King; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. 


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You are fairer than the children of men; grace is poured into Your lips; therefore God has blessed You for ever.


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And in Your majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and Your right hand shall teach You fearsome things.


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You love righteousness and hatest wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness above Your fellows. 


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All Your garments smell of myrrh and aloes and cassia, out of the ivory palaces whereby they have made You glad. 


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Kings' daughters were among Your honorable women; at Your right hand stood the queen in gold of Ophir.


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Hearken, O daughter, and consider and incline your ear; forget also your own people and your father's house. 


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And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; even the rich among the people shall entreat your favor.


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She shall be brought unto the King in raiment of needlework; the virgins, her companions that follow her, shall be brought unto You. 


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I will make Your name to be remembered in all generations; therefore shall the people praise You forever and ever.


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God the Refuge of His People and Conqueror of the Nations; To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song for Alamoth.<br/>God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 


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Therefore will we not fear though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, 


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though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah 


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There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. 


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He makes wars to cease unto the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cutteth the spear in sunder; He burns the chariot with fire.


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Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted on the earth. 


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Praise to God, the Ruler of the Earth; To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.<br/>O clap your hands, all you people! Shout unto God with the voice of triumph! 


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The princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong unto God; He is greatly exalted. 


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The Glory of God in Zion; A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. <br/>Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, on the mountain of His holiness. 


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Beautiful in situation, the joy of the whole earth is Mount Zion; on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. 


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As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God : God will establish it for ever. Selah 


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According to Your name, O God, so is Your praise unto the ends of the earth; Your right hand is full of righteousness. 


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mark you well her bulwarks, consider her palaces, that you may tell it to the generation that follows. 


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The Confidence of the Foolish; To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. <br/>Hear this, all you people; give ear, all you inhabitants of the world, 


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I will incline <n>(submit and consent)</n> mine ear to a parable <n>(or a proverb)</n>; I will open <n>(unfold)</n> my dark saying <n>(riddle or problem)</n> upon the harp <n>(music of a lyre)</n>.


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For he see that wise men die; likewise the fool and the brutish person perish and leave their wealth to others.


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Their inward thought is that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names. 


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Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them, and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning, and their beauty shall be consumed in the grave away from their dwelling. 


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Though while he lived he blessed his soul <n>(and men will praise you when you do well for yourself)</n>, 


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God the Righteous Judge; A Psalm of Asaph.<br/>The Mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof. 


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Our God shall come and shall not keep silence; a devouring fire shall go before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about Him. 


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"Hear, O My people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you: I am God, even your God . 


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I will not reprove you for your sacrifices or your burnt offerings, to have been continually before Me. 


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But unto the wicked God saith: "What have you to do to declare My statutes, or that you should take My covenant in your mouth, 


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These things have you done, and I kept silence; you thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as yourself. But I will reprove you and set them in order before your eyes. 


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Whoso offers praise glorifieth Me; and to him that ordereth his manner of living aright, I will show the salvation of God ." 


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A Prayer of Repentance; To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.<br/>Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according unto the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. 


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Against You, You only, have I sinned and done this evil in Your sight, that You might be justified when You speakest, and be clear when You judgest. 


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Behold, You desirest truth in my inward parts; in the hidden part You shall make me to know wisdom. 


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Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, You God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness. 


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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 shall You be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering; then shall they offer bullocks upon Your altar. 


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The End of the Wicked and the Peace of the Godly; To the Chief Musician. A Contemplation of David when Doeg the Edomite went and told Saul, and said to him, "David has gone to the house of Ahimelech." <br/>Why boastest thou in thine own mischief, O mighty man? The goodness of God endures continually. 


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God shall likewise destroy you for ever; He shall take you away, and pluck you out of your dwelling place, and root you out of the land of the living. Selah 


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"Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength, but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his own wickedness." 


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I will praise You for ever, because You have done it, and I will wait on Your name, for it is good before Your saints. 


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Folly of the Godless, and the Restoration of Israel; To the Chief Musician. Set to "Mahalath." A Contemplation of David. <br/>The fool hath said in his heart, "There is no God ." They are corrupt and have done abominable iniquity; there is none that does good. 


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God looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any that understood, that had sought God . 


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Everyone of them has turned back; they have altogether become filthy; there is none that does good, no, not one. 


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Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge--those who eat up my people as they eat bread? They have not called upon God .


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There they were in great fear, where no fear was; for God has scattered the bones of him that encampeth against you; you have put them to shame, because God has despised them. 


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O that the salvation of Israel might come out of Zion! When God brings back His captive people, Jacob shall rejoice and Israel shall be glad. 


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Answered Prayer for Deliverance from Adversaries; To the Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. A Contemplation of David when the Ziphites went and said to Saul, "Is David not hiding with us?" <br/>Save me, O God, by Your name, and judge me by Your strength. 


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For strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek after my soul; they have not set God before them. Selah 


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Trust in God Concerning the Treachery of Friends; To the Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. A Contemplation of David. <br/>Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not Yourself from my supplication. 


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because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked; for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me. 


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Day and night they go about it upon the walls thereof; mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it.


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For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it. Neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him.


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Let death seize upon them, and let them go down alive into hell; for wickedness is in their dwellings and among them. 


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He has delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me, for there were many with me. 


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God shall hear and afflict them, even He that abides of old. Selah Because they have not changed, therefore they fear not God . 


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The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords. 


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Cast your burden upon the LORD, and He shall sustain you. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. 


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But You, O God, shall bring them down into the pit of destruction; bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in You. 


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Prayer for Relief from Tormentors; To the Chief Musician. Set to "The Silent Dove in Distant Lands." A Michtam of David when the Philistines captured him in Gath.<br/>Be merciful unto me, O God, for man would swallow me up; he, fighting daily, oppresseth me. 


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In God I will praise His word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me. 


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They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps as they lie in wait for my soul. 


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For You have delivered my soul from death; will You not deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living? 


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Prayer for Safety from Enemies; To the Chief Musician. Set to "Do Not Destroy." A Michtam of David when he fled from Saul into the cave. <br/>Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me, for my soul trusteth in Thee. Yea, in the shadow of Your wings will I make my refuge until these calamities pass by. 


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He shall send from heaven and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up; Selah God shall send forth His mercy and His truth.


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My soul is among lions, and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue 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, into the midst whereof they themselves are fallen. Selah 


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The Just Judgment of the Wicked; To the Chief Musician. Set to "Do Not Destroy." A Michtam of David. <br/>Do you indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? Do you judge uprightly, O you sons of men? 


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Let them melt away as waters which run continually; when he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces. 


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As a snail which melteth, let everyone of them pass away like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun. 


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Before your pots can feel the thorns, He shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in His wrath. 


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The righteous shall rejoice when he see the vengeance; he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked, 


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so that a man shall say, "Verily there is a reward for the righteous; verily He is a God that judgeson the earth." 


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The Assured Judgment of the Wicked; To the Chief Musician. Set to "Do Not Destroy." A Michtam of David when Saul sent men, and they watched the house in order to kill him. <br/>Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God; defend me from them that rise up against me. 


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For lo, they lie in wait for my soul; the mighty are gathered against me, not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O LORD. 


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You therefore, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, awake to visit all the heathen; be not merciful to any wicked transgressors. Selah 


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Behold, they belch out with their mouth; swords are in their lips; "For who," say they, "does hear?" 


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Slay them not, 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 and the words of their lips, let them even be taken in their pride, and for the cursing and lying which they speak. 


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Consume them in wrath, consume them, that they may not be; and let them know that God ruleth in Jacob unto the ends of the earth. Selah 


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But I will sing of Your power, yea, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning; for You have been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble. 


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Urgent Prayer for the Restored Favor of God; To the Chief Musician. Set to "Lily of the Testimony." A Michtam of David. For teaching. When he fought against Mesopotamia and Syria of Zobah, and Joab returned and killed twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.<br/>O God, You hast cast You hast scattered us, You hast been displeased; O, turn Yourself to us again! 


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You have given a banner to them that fear You, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah 


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God has spoken in His holiness: "I will rejoice; I will divide Shechem and portion out the Valley of Succoth. 


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Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine; Ephraim also is the strength of Mine head; Judah is My lawgiver. 


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Assurance of God's Eternal Protection; To the Chief Musician. On a stringed instrument. A Psalm of David. <br/>Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. 


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From the end of the earth will I cry unto You when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.


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A Calm Resolve to Wait for the Salvation of God; To the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. <br/>Truly my soul  waits upon God; from Him cometh my salvation.


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How long will you conjure mischief against a man? You shall be slain, all of you; as a bulging wall shall you be, and as a tottering fence. 


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They consult only to cast him down from his excellency, they delight in lies, they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. Selah 


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Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah 


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Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie; if weighed in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity. 


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Trust not in oppression, and put not vain hope in robbery; if riches increase, set not your heart upon them. 


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Joy in the Fellowship of God; A Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah. <br/>O God, You art my God; early will I seek Thee. My soul thirsteth for Thee, my flesh longeth for Thee, in a dry and thirsty land where no water is, 


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My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips, 


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But the king shall rejoice in God; everyone that swears by Him shall glory, but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped. 


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Oppressed by the Wicked but Rejoicing in the LORD; To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. <br/>Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer; preserve my life from fear of the enemy. 


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They encourage each other in an evil purpose; they commune in laying snares privily; they say, "Who shall see them?" 


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They search out iniquities, they conduct a diligent search; both the inward thought of everyone of them, and the heart, is deep. 


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And all men shall fear and shall declare the work of God, for they shall wisely consider His doing. 


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The righteous shall be glad in the LORD and shall trust in Him, and all the upright in heart shall glory. 


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Praise to God for His Salvation and Providence; To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song.<br/>Praise  waits for Thee, O God, in Zion; and unto You shall the vow be performed. 


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Blessed is the man whom You choosest and causest to approach unto You, that he may dwell in Your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, even of Your holy temple. 


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By fearsome deeds of righteousness will You answer us, O God of our salvation, who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth and of them that are afar off upon the sea, 


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They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at Your signs; You makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice.


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You visitest the earth and waterest it; You greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water; You preparest them corn when You have so provided it. 


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You waterest the ridges thereof abundantly, You settlest the furrows thereof; You makest it soft with showers, You blessest the sprouting thereof. 


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The pastures are clothed with flocks, the valleys also are covered over with corn. They shout for joy, they also sing. 


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Praise to God for His Awesome Works; To the Chief Musician. A Song. A Psalm. <br/>Make a joyful noise unto God, all you lands! 


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Say unto God, "How fearsome are You in Your works! Through the greatness of Your power shall Your enemies submit themselves unto You. 


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He ruleth by His power for ever, His eyes behold the nations; let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah 


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You have caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water, but You brought us out into a fruitful place. 


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I will offer unto You burnt sacrifices of fatlings with the incense of rams; I will offer bullocks and goats. Selah


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An Invocation and a Doxology; To the Chief Musician. On stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song. <br/>God be merciful unto us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us, Selah 


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O let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for You shall judge the people righteously and govern the nations upon the earth. Selah 


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The Glory of God in His Goodness to Israel; To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song. <br/>Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered; let them also that hate Him flee before Him. 


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As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God . 


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Sing unto God, sing praises to His name! Extol Him that rides upon the heavens by His name Jehovah; and rejoice before Him. 


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God sets the solitary in families, He brings out those who are bound with chains; but the rebellious dwell in a dry land. 


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the earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God; even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel. 


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Though you have lain among the pots, yet shall you be as the wings of a dove, covered with silver and her feathers with yellow gold. 


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Why leap, you high hills? This is the hill which God desires to dwell in; yea, the LORD will dwell in it for ever. 


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The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels; the Lord is among them as in Sinai, in the holy place. 


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You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive; You have received gifts for men, yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them. 


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But God shall wound the head of His enemies, and the hairy scalp of such a one as goes on still in his trespAsses. 


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The Lord said, "I will bring again from Bashan; I will bring My people again from the depths of the sea, 


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that your foot may be dipped in the blood of your enemies, and the tongues of your dogs in the same." 


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The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after; among them were the damsels playing with timbrels: 


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There is little Benjamin with their ruler, the princes of Judah and their council, the princes of Zebulun and the princes of Naphtali. 


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Rebuke the company of spearmen, the multitude of the bulls with the calves of the people, until everyone submit himself with pieces of silver; scatter You the people that delight in war. 


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to Him that rides upon the heavens of heavens, which were of old; lo, He does send out His voice, and that a mighty voice. 


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O God, You are fearsome out of Your holy places; the God of Israel is He that gives strength and power unto His people. Blessed be God ! 


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An Urgent Plea for Help in Trouble; To the Chief Musician. Set to "The Lilies." A Psalm of David. <br/>Save me, O God, for the waters have come in unto my soul. 


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I sink into deep mire where there is no standing; I have come into deep waters where the floods overflow me.


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They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head; they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty. Then I was made to restore that which I took not away. 


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Let not them that wait on You, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed for my sake, let not those that seek You be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel, 


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For the zeal for Your house has eaten me up, and the reproaches of them that reproached You have fallen upon me. 


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But as for me, my prayer is unto You: O LORD, in an acceptable time, O God, in the multitude of Your mercy hear me in the truth of Your salvation. 


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Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink; let me be delivered from them that hate me and out of the deep waters. 


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Let not the floodwater overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up; and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me. 


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Hear me, O LORD, for Your lovingkindness is good; turn unto me according to the multitude of Your tender mercies. 


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Reproach has broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness; I looked for some to take pity, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none. 


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Let their table become a snare before them, and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap. 


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For they persecute him whom You have smitten, and they talk of the grief of those whom You have wounded. 


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For God will save Zion and will build the cities of Judah, that they may dwell there and possess it. 


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Prayer for Relief from Adversaries; To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. To bring to remembrance. <br/>Make haste, O God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O LORD! 


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Let them be ashamed and confounded that seek after my soul; let them be turned backward and put to confusion that desire my hurt.


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Let all those that seek You rejoice and be glad in You; and let such as love Your salvation say continually, "Let God be magnified!" 


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But I am poor and needy; make haste unto me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, make no tarrying. 


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God the Rock of Salvation <br/>In You, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be put to confusion. 


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Be You my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort; You have given commandment to save me, for You are my rock and my fortress. 


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Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man. 


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By You have I been held from the womb; You are He that took me out of my mother's womb. My praise shall be continually of You.


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Let them be confounded and consumed that are adversaries to my soul; let them be covered with reproach and dishonor that seek my hurt.


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My mouth shall show forth Your righteousness and Your salvation all the day, for I know not the numbers thereof. 


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I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD; I will make mention of Your righteousness, even of Your only. 


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Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not, until I have shown Your strength unto this generation and Your power to everyone that is to come. 


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Your righteousness also, O God, is very high, who have done great things. O God, who is like unto You! 


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You, who have shown me great and sore troubles, shall quicken me again, and shall bring me up again from the depths of the earth. 


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I will also praise You with the psaltery for Your truth, O my God; unto You will I sing with the harp, O You Holy One of Israel. 


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My tongue also shall talk of Your righteousness all the day long; for they are confounded, for they are brought to shame that seek my hurt. 


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Glory and Universality of the Messiah's Reign; A Psalm of Solomon. <br/>Give the king Your judgments, O God, and Your righteousness unto the king's son. 


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He shall judge the poor of the people; he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor. 


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The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents; the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.


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He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence, and precious shall their blood be in his sight. 


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And he shall live, and to him shall be given from the gold of Sheba; prayer also shall be made for him continually, and daily shall he be praised. 


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There shall be corn by the handful in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall wave like Lebanon, and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth. 


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His name shall endure for ever, his name shall be continued as long as the sun, and men shall be blessed in him; all nations shall call him blessed. 


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And blessed be His glorious name for ever, and let the whole earth be filled with His glory! Amen and Amen. 


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The Tragedy of the Wicked, and the Blessedness of Trust in God; A Psalm of Asaph. <br/>Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart. 


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For lo, they that are far from You shall perish; You have destroyed all them that go a whoring from You. 


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But it is good for me to draw near to God. I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all Your works. 


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A Plea for Relief from Oppressors; A Contemplation of Asaph. <br/>O God, why hast You cast us off for ever? Why does Thine anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture? 


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Remember Your congregation, which You have purchased of old, the rod of Your inheritance, which You have redeemed, this Mount Zion, wherein You have dwelt. 


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Lift up Your feet unto the perpetual desolations, even all that the enemy has done wickedly in the sanctuary. 


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They have cast fire into Your sanctuary; they have defiled by casting down to the ground the dwelling place of Your name.


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They said in their hearts, "Let us destroy them together!" They have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land. 


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We see not our signs; there is no more any prophet; neither is there among us any that knows how long.


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You breakest the heads of Leviathan in pieces, and gave him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness. 


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Remember this, that the enemy has reproached, O LORD, and that the foolish people have blasphemed Your name. 


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O deliver not the soul of Your turtledove unto the multitude of the wicked; forget not the congregation of Your poor for ever.


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Have respect unto the covenant, for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty. 


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Forget not the voice of Your enemies; the tumult of those that rise up against You increaseth continually.


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Thanksgiving for God's Righteous Judgment; To the Chief Musician. Set to "Do Not Destroy." A Psalm of Asaph. A Song. <br/>Unto Thee, O God, do we give thanks, unto You do we give thanks. For that Your name is near, Your wondrous works declare. 


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For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup, and the wine is red and fully mixed; and He poureth out the same. But as for the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out and drink them. 


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The Majesty of God in Judgment; To the Chief Musician. On stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song. <br/>In Judah is God known; His name is great in Israel.


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The stouthearted are despoiled; they have slept their sleep, and none of the men of might have found their hands. 


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Make vows, and pay them unto the LORD your God; let all that be round about Him bring presents unto Him that ought to be feared. 


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The Consoling Memory of God's Redemptive Works; To the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph. <br/>I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and He gave ear unto me. 


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In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; my sore ran in the night and ceased not; my soul refused to be comforted.


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I call to remembrance my song in the night; I commune with mine own heart, and my spirit makes diligent search. 


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And I said, "This is my infirmity, but I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High." 


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The voice of Your thunder was in the heavens, the lightnings lightened the world; the earth trembled and shook. 


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God's Kindness to Rebellious Israel; A Contemplation of Asaph. <br/>Give ear, O my people, to my law; incline your ears to the words of my mouth. 


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We will not hide them from their children, showing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD and His strength, and His wonderful works that He has done. 


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For He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded to our fathers, that they should make them known to their children; 


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that the generation to come might know them, even the children who should be born, who should arise and declare them to their children, 


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and so might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not steadfast with God . 


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Behold, He smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed. Can He give bread also? Can He provide flesh for His people?" 


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Therefore the LORD heard this and was wroth; so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also rose up against Israel, 


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the wrath of God came upon them and slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen men of Israel. 


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But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity and destroyed them not. Yea, many a time turned He His anger away, and did not stir up all His wrath; 


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He cast upon them the fierceness of His anger, wrath, indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them. 


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He made a path to His anger; He spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence, 


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And He brought them to the border of His sanctuary, even to this mountain, which His right hand had purchased. 


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He cast out the heathen also before them, and apportioned them an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents. 


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but turned back and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers; they were turned aside like a deceitful bow.


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For they provoked Him to anger with their high places, and moved Him to jealousy with their graven images. 


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from following the ewes great with young He brought him to feed Jacob His people, and Israel His inheritance. 


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So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands. 


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A Prayer for Israel, Destroyed by Enemies; A Psalm of Asaph. <br/>O God, the heathen have come into Thine inheritance; Your holy temple have they defiled, they have laid Jerusalem in heaps. 


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The dead bodies of Your servants have they given to be meat unto the fowls of the heavens, the flesh of Your saints unto the beasts of the earth. 


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Pour out Your wrath upon the heathen that have not known You, and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon Your name; 


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O remember not former iniquities against us; let Your tender mercies go speedily before us, for we are brought very low. 


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Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name; and deliver us and purge away our sins, for Your name's sake. 


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Why should the heathen say, "Where is their God ?" Let Him be known among the heathen in our sight by the avenging of the blood of Your servants which is shed. 


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Let the sighing of the prisoner come before You; according to the greatness of Your power, preserve You those that are appointed to die. 


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And render unto the bosom of our neighbors sevenfold their reproach wherewith they have reproached You, O Lord. 


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So we Your people and the sheep of Your pasture, will give You thanks for ever; we will show forth Your praise to all generations. 


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Prayer for Israel's Restoration; To the Chief Musician. Set to "The Lilies." A Testimony of Asaph. A Psalm. <br/>Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, You that leadest Joseph like a flock; You that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth. 


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and the vineyard which Your right hand has planted, and the branch that You made strong for Yourself. 


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Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself. 


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An Appeal for Israel's Repentance; To the Chief Musician. On an instrument of Gath. A Psalm of Asaph. <br/>Sing aloud unto God our strength; make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.


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This He ordained in Joseph as a testimony, when He went out through the land of Egypt, where I heard a language that I understood not: 


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You called in trouble, and I delivered you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder. I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah 


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I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. 


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The haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto Him, but their time should have endured for ever. 


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He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat, and, "With honey out of the rock should I have satisfied you." 


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A Plea for Justice; A Psalm of Asaph. <br/>godstands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods.


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They know not, neither will they understand. They walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course. 


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Prayer to Frustrate Conspiracy Against Israel; A Song. A Psalm of Asaph. <br/>Keep You not silence, O God; hold not Your peace, and be not still, O God. 


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They have said, "Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance." 


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The Blessedness of Dwelling in the House of God; To the Chief Musician. On an instrument of Gath. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. <br/>How amiable are Your tabernacles, O LORD of hosts! 


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My soul longeth, yea, even faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cries out for the living God . 


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Yea, the sparrow has found a house, and the swallow a nest for herself where she may lay her young" even Your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God . 


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For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. 


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For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.


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Prayer that the LORD Will Restore Favor to the Land; To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. <br/>LORD, You hast been favorable unto Your land; You hast released the captives of Jacob. 


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I will hear what God the LORD will speak, for He will speak peace unto His people and to His saints; but let them not turn again to folly. 


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Prayer for Mercy, with Meditation on the Excellencies of the LORD; A Prayer of David. <br/>Bow down Your ear, O LORD; hear me, for I am poor and needy. 


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For You, Lord, are good and ready to forgive, and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon You. 


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Among the Gods there is none like unto You, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto Your works. 


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All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, and shall glorify Your name. 


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O God, the proud have risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul, and have not set You before them. 


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But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth. 


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O turn unto me and have mercy upon me; give Your strength unto Your servant, and save the son of Your handmaid. 


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Show me a token for good, that they that hate me may see it and be ashamed, because You, LORD, have helped me and comforted me. 


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The Glories of the City of God; A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song. <br/>His foundation is in the holy mountains.


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"I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know Me; behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia: `This man was born there.'" 


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And of Zion it shall be said, "This and that man were born in her; and the Highest Himself shall establish her." 


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A Prayer for Help in Despondency; A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. To the Chief Musician. Set to "Mahalath Leannoth." A Contemplation of Heman the Ezrahite. <br/>O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before Thee. 


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cast among the dead like the slain that lie in the grave, whom You rememberest no more, and who are cut off from Your hand. 


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You have put away mine acquaintances far from me; You have made me an abomination unto them. I am shut up, and I cannot come forth; 


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mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction. LORD, I have called daily upon You; I have stretched out my hands unto You. 


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Remembering the Covenant with David, and Sorrow for Lost Blessings; A Contemplation of Ethan the Ezrahite. <br/>I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever; with my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations. 


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For I have said, "Mercy shall be built up for ever; Your faithfulness shall You establish in the very heavens." 


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And the heavens shall praise Your wonders, O LORD, Your faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints. 


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For who in the heaven can be compared unto the LORD? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the LORD?


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God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be held in reverence by all them that are about Him. 


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You have broken Rahab in pieces, as one that is slain; You have scattered Your enemies with Your strong arm. 


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The heavens are Thine, the earth also is Thine; as for the world and the fullness thereof, You have founded them. 


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Blessed <n>(happy, fortunate, to be envied)</n> is the People that know the joyful sound <n>(who understand and appreciate the spiritual blessings symbolized by the feasts)</n>: They shall walk, O LORD, in the light and favor of Your countenance <n>(face)</n>. 


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Then You did speak in a vision to Your holy one and said, "I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people. 


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Nevertheless My lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor permit My faithfulness to fail. 


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You have made void the covenant of Your servant; You have profaned his crown by casting it to the ground.


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What man is he that lives and shall not see death? Shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Selah


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Remember, Lord, the reproach against Your servants" how I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty people 


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wherewith Your enemies have reproached, O LORD, wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of Your anointed. 


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The Eternity of God, and Man's Frailty; A Prayer of Moses the man of God. <br/>LORD, You hast been our dwelling place in all generations. 


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Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God . 


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For a thousand years in Your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night. 


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You carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which grows up;


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The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off and we fly away. 


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Make us glad according to the days wherein You have afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil. 


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And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us, and establish You the work of our hands for us--yea, the work of our hands, establish You it. 


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Safety of Abiding in the Presence of God<br/>He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.


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He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings shall you trust; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. 


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A thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come nigh you. 


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"Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. 


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He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. 


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Praise to the LORD for His Love and Faithfulness; A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath day. <br/>It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto Your name, O Most High, 


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when the wicked spring up as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish, it is that they shall be destroyed for ever; 


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For lo, Your enemies, O LORD, for lo, Your enemies shall perish; all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered. 


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Mine eye also shall see what I desire on mine enemies, and mine ears shall hear what I desire upon the wicked that rise up against me. 


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The Eternal Reign of the LORD<br/>The LORD reigns; He is clothed with majesty. The LORD is clothed with strength, wherewith He has girded Himself. The world also is established, that it cannot be moved. 


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The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves. 


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God the Refuge of the Righteous <br/>O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongs--O God, to whom vengeance belongs, show Yourself. 


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He that chastiseth the heathen, shall not He correct? He that teaches man knowledge, shall not He know? 


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Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?


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And He shall bring upon them their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness; yea, the LORD our God shall cut them off! 


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A Call to Worship and Obedience<br/>O come, let us sing unto the LORD! Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! 


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For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice: 


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Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said `It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known My ways.' 


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A Song of Praise to God Coming in Judgment <br/>O sing unto the LORD a new song; sing unto the LORD, all the earth. 


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Say among the heathen that the LORD reigns; the world also shall be established, that it shall not be moved; He shall judge the people righteously. 


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before the LORD. For He cometh, for He comes  to judge the earth; He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with His truth. 


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A Song of Praise to the Sovereign LORD<br/>The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice! Let the multitude of isles be glad thereof! 


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Clouds and darkness are round about Him; righteousness and judgment are the habitation of His throne.


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The hills melted like wax at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. 


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Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols. Worship Him, all you gods! 


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You that love the LORD, hate evil! He preserveth the souls of His saints; He delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked. 


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A Song of Praise to the LORD for His Salvation and Judgment; A Psalm. <br/>O sing unto the LORD a new song, for He hath done marvelous things! His right hand and His holy arm hath gotten Him the victory. 


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The LORD has made known His salvation; His righteousness has He openly shown in the sight of the heathen.


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He has remembered His mercy and His truth toward the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God .


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before the LORD. For He comes  to judge the earth; with righteousness shall He judge the world, and the people with equity. 


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Praise to the LORD for His Holiness<br/>The LORD reigns; let the people tremble! He sits between the cherubims; let the earth be moved!


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The King's strength also loves judgment; You dost establish equity; You executest judgment and righteousness in Jacob.


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Moses and Aaron are among His priests, and Samuel among them that call upon His name; they called upon the LORD, and He answered them. 


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He spoke unto them in the cloudy pillar; they kept His testimonies and the ordinance that He gave them.


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You did answer them, O LORD our God; You wast a God that forgavest them, though You took vengeance on their inventions. 


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A Song of Praise for the Faithfulness to His People; A Psalm of Thanksgiving. <br/>Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all you lands! 


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Know you that the LORD, He is God; it is He that has made us, and not we ourselves. We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. 


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Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise! Be thankful unto Him, and bless His name! 


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Promised Faithfulness to the LORD; A Psalm of David. <br/>I will sing of mercy and judgment; unto You, O LORD, will I sing. 


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I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when will You come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.


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I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes; I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.


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Whoso privily slandereth his neighbor, him will I cut off; him that has a haughty look and a proud heart will I not suffer. 


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Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; he that walks in a perfect way, he shall serve me. 


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He that works deceit shall not dwell within my house; he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight.


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I will early destroy all the wicked of the land, that I may cut off all wicked doers from the city of the LORD. 


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The LORD's Eternal Love; A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before the LORD. <br/>Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto Thee. 


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Hide not Your face from me in the day when I am in trouble; incline Your ear unto me. In the day when I call, answer me speedily. 


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This shall be written for the generation to come, and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD. 


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For He has looked down from the height of His sanctuary; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth, 


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I said, "O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days; Your years are throughout all generations. 


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They shall perish, but You shall endure; yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; and as a vesture shall You change them, and they shall be changed. 


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Praise for the LORD's Mercies; A Psalm of David. <br/>Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! 


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But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear Him, and His righteousness unto children's children, 


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Bless the LORD, you His angels that excel in strength, that do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His word. 


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Praise to the Sovereign LORD for His Creation and Providence<br/>Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, You are very great; You are clothed with honor and majesty-- 


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who lays the beams of His chambers in the waters, who makes the clouds His chariot, who walks upon the wings of the wind; 


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They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which You have founded for them.


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He causes the grass to grow for the cattle and herbs for the service of man, that he may bring forth food out of the earth, 


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and wine that makes glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart. 


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O LORD, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom have You made them all; the earth is full of Your riches. 


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So also is this great and wide sea, wherein are innumerable creeping things, both small and great beasts. 


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You hidest Your face, they are troubled; You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. 


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Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless you the LORD, O my soul! Praise you the LORD! 


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The Eternal Faithfulness of the LORD<br/>O give thanks unto the LORD, call upon His name; make known His deeds among the people. 


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He brought them forth also with silver and gold, and there was not one feeble person among their tribes. 


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Joy in Forgiveness of Israel's Sins<br/>Praise you the LORD! O give thanks unto the LORD, for He is good, for His mercy endures for ever. 


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Remember me, O LORD, with the favor which You bearest unto Your people; O visit me with Your salvation, 


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that I may see the good of Your chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation, that I may glory with Your inheritance. 


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Our fathers understood not Your wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of Your mercies, but provoked You at the sea, even at the Red Sea. 


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He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it was dried up; so He led them through the depths, as through the wilderness. 


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And He saved them from the hand of him that hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. 


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Therefore He said that He would destroy them, had not Moses His chosen stood before Him in the breach, to turn away His wrath, lest He should destroy them. 


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and shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with blood. 


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Therefore was the wrath of the LORD kindled against His people, insomuch that He abhorred His own inheritance. 


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Many times did He deliver them, but they provoked Him with their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity. 


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Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from among the heathen, to give thanks unto Your holy name, and to triumph in Your praise. 


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Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting, and let all the people say, "Amen." Praise you the LORD! 


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Thanksgiving to the LORD for His Great Works of Deliverance<br/>O give thanks unto the LORD, for He is good; for His mercy endures for ever. 


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and gathered them out of the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. 


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Oh that men would praise the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! 


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They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths; their soul is melted because of trouble. 


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Let them exalt Him also in the congregation of the people, and praise Him in the assembly of the elders. 


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He blesseth them also so that they are multiplied greatly, and allowes not their cattle to decrease. 


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He poureth contempt upon princes, and causes them to wander in the wilderness where there is no way. 


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Whoso is wise and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD. 


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Assurance of God's Victory over Enemies; A Song. A Psalm of David. <br/>O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even with my inmost being. 


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God has spoken in His holiness: "I will rejoice; I will divide Shechem, and mete out the Valley of Succoth. 


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Plea for Judgment of False Accusers; To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. <br/>Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise. 


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For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me; they have spoken against me with a lying tongue.


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Let his children be continually vagabonds and beg; let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places.


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Let there be none to extend mercy unto him, neither let there be any to favor his fatherless children. 


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Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered by the LORD, and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out. 


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because he remembered not to show mercy, but persecuted the poor and needy man, that he might even slay the broken in heart. 


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As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him; as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him. 


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As he clothed himself with cursing as with his garment, so let it come into his bowels like water and like oil into his bones. 


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Let it be unto him as the garment which covers him, and as a girdle wherewith he is girded continually. 


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Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the LORD and of them that speak evil against my soul.


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But do You for me, O GOD the Lord, for Your name's sake; because Your mercy is good, deliver You me. 


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Let mine adversaries be clothed with shame, and let them cover themselves with their own confusion, as with a mantle. 


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Announcement of the Messiah's Reign; A Psalm of David. <br/>The LORD said unto my Lord, "Sit You at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Your footstool." 


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Your people shall be willing in the day of Your power; in the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, You have the dew of Your youth. 


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The LORD has sworn and will not repent: "You are a priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek." 


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He shall judge among the heathen, He shall fill the places with dead bodies, He shall wound the heads over many countries. 


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Praise to God for His Faithfulness and Justice <br/>Praise you the LORD! I will praise the LORD with my whole heart in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.


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He sent redemption unto His people; He has commanded His covenant for ever; holy and reverend is His name.


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The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all they that do His commandments. His praise endures for ever!


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The Blessed State of the Righteous <br/>Praise you the LORD! Blessed is the man that fears the LORD, that delights greatly in His commandments. 


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Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness; he is gracious and full of compassion and righteous.


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He has dispersed, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honor. 


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The wicked shall see it and be grieved, he shall gnash with his teeth and melt away; the desire of the wicked shall perish. 


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The Majesty and Condescension of God<br/>Praise you the LORD! Praise, O you servants of the LORD; praise the name of the LORD! 


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He makes the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise you the LORD! 


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The Power of God in His Deliverance of Israel<br/>When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of a strange language, 


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The Futility of Idols and the Trustworthiness of God<br/>Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto Your name give glory, for Your mercy and for Your truth's sake. 


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They have hands, but they handle not; feet have they, but they walk not; neither speak they through their throat. 


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The LORD 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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Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Death<br/>I love the LORD, because He has heard my voice and my supplications. 


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The sorrows of death encompassed me, and the pains of hell got hold upon me; I found trouble and sorrow. 


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O LORD, truly I am Your servant; I am Your servant and the son of Your handmaid; You have loosed my bonds. 


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Let All Peoples Praise the LORD<br/>O praise the LORD, all you nations! Praise Him, all you people! 


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For His merciful kindness is great toward us, and the truth of the LORD endures for ever. Praise you the LORD! 


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Praise to God for His Everlasting Mercy<br/>O give thanks unto the LORD, for He is good, for His mercy endures for ever! 


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The LORD takes my part among them that help me; therefore shall I see what I desire upon them that hate me.


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They compassed me about, yea, they compassed me about; but in the name of the LORD I will destroy them. 


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They compassed me about like bees, they are quenched as the fire of thorns; for in the name of the LORD I will destroy them. 


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The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous; the right hand of the LORD does valiantly.


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God is the LORD, who has shown us light; bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar. 


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Meditations on the Excellencies of the Word of God<br/><n>(Aleph א)</n> Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD. 


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<n>(Daleth ד)</n> My soul cleaves <n>(clings)</n> unto the dust; quicken <n>(revive)</n> me according to Your word.


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<n>(Waw ו)</n> Let Your mercies come also unto me, O LORD, even Your salvation according to Your word; 


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My hands also will I lift up unto Your commandments, which I have loved; and I will meditate on Your statutes. 


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<n>(Yod י)</n> Your hands have made me and fashioned me; give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments. 


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Let, I pray You, Your merciful kindness be for my comfort, according to Your word unto Your servant. 


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Let the proud be ashamed, for they dealt perversely with me without cause; but I will meditate on Your precepts. 


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You, through Your commandments, have made me wiser than mine enemies; for Your commands are ever with me. 


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Therefore I esteem all Your precepts concerning all things to be right, and I hate every false way. 


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<n>(Tau תּ)</n> Let my cry come near before You, O LORD; give me understanding according to Your word. 


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Plea for Relief from Bitter Foes; A Song of Ascents. <br/>In my distress I cried unto the LORD, and He heard me. 


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God the Help of Those Who Seek Him; A Song of Ascents. <br/>I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from where cometh my help! 


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The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore. 


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The Joy of Going to the House of the LORD; A Song of Ascents. Of David. <br/>I was glad when they said unto me, "Let us go into the house of the LORD." 


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where the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, according to the testimony of Israel to give thanks unto the name of the LORD. 


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Prayer for Relief from Contempt; A Song of Ascents. <br/>Unto You I lift up mine eyes, O You that dwellest in the heavens. 


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Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress, so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God until He has mercy upon us. 


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Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud. 


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The LORD the Defense of His People; A Song of Ascents. Of David. <br/>"If it had not been the LORD who was on our side"--now may Israel say—


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Our soul has escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped. 


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The LORD the Strength of His People; A Song of Ascents.<br/>They that trust in the LORD shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abides for ever. 


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As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about His people from henceforth, even for ever. 


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For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the allotment of the righteous, lest the righteous put forth their hands to do iniquity. 


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As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, the LORD shall lead them away with the workers of iniquity; but peace shall be upon Israel. 


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A Joyful Return to Zion; A Song of Ascents. <br/>When the LORD returned the captives to Zion, we were like them that dream. 


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Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing. Then said they among the heathen, "The LORD has done great things for them." 


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He that goes forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. 


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Laboring and Prospering with the LORD; A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon.<br/>Except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it. Except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. 


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It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; for so He gives His beloved sleep. 


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Happy is the man that has his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies at the gate. 


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Blessings of Those Who Fear the LORD; A Song of Ascents. <br/>Blessed is every one that fears the LORD, that walks in His ways. 


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Your wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of your house, your children like olive plants round about your table. 


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The LORD shall bless you out of Zion, and you shall see the good of Jerusalem all the days of your life. 


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Song of Victory over Zion's Enemies; A Song of Ascents. <br/>"Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth"--may Israel now say—


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Neither do those who go by say, "The blessing of the LORD be upon you; we bless you in the name of the LORD." 


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Waiting for the Redemption of the LORD; A Song of Ascents. <br/>Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O LORD; 


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My soul  waits for the LORD more than they that watch for the morning-- I say, more than they that watch for the morning. 


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Let Israel hope in the LORD, for with the LORD there is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption. 


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Simple Trust in the LORD; A Song of Ascents. Of David. <br/>LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty; neither do I exercise myself <n>(soul)</n> with great matters, or in things too high for me. 


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Surely I have behaved <n>(calm, stilled)</n> and quieted myself <n>(soul)</n> as a child that is weaned from his mother <n>('s breast <n>(milk)</n>; my soul is even as a weaned child. 


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The Eternal Dwelling of God in Zion; A Song of Ascents. <br/>LORD, remember David and all his afflictions—


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The LORD has sworn in truth unto David; He will not turn from it: "Of the fruit of your body I will set upon your throne. 


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If your children will keep My covenant and My testimony that I shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon your throne for evermore." 


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Blessed Unity of the People of God; A Song of Ascents. Of David.<br/>Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! 


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It is like the precious ointment upon the head that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard that went down to the skirts of his garments. 


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It is as the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion; for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore. 


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Praising the LORD in His House at Night; A Song of Ascents. <br/>Behold, bless you the LORD, all you servants of the LORD, who by night stand in the house of the LORD. 


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Praise to God in Creation and Redemption<br/>Praise you the LORD, praise you the name of the LORD! Praise Him, O you servants of the LORD! 


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Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did He in heaven and on earth, in the seas and in all deep places. 


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He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; He makes lightnings for the rain; He brings the wind out of His treasuries.


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Thanksgiving to God for His Enduring Mercy <br/>O give thanks unto the LORD, for He is good, for His mercy endures for ever. 


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Longing for Zion in a Foreign Land<br/>By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down; yea, we wept when we remembered Zion. 


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For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song, and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!" 


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If I do not remember you, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy. 


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Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem's fall, who said, "Raze it, raze it, even to the foundation thereof!" 


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O daughter of Babylon who are to be destroyed, happy shall he be, that rewardeth you as you have served us. 


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The LORD's Goodness to the Faithful; A Psalm of David. <br/>I will praise You with my whole heart; before the Gods will I sing praise unto Thee.


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I will worship toward Your holy temple, and praise Your name for Your lovingkindness and for Your truth, for You have magnified Your word above all Your name. 


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Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You shall stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and Your right hand shall save me. 


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The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me; Your mercy, O LORD, endures for ever; forsake not the works of Your own hands. 


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God's Perfect Knowledge of Man; For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.<br/>O LORD, You have searched me and known me. 


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Yea, the darkness hides not from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You. 


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I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows right well. 


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My substance was not hid from You when I was made in secret, and intricately wrought in the lowe parts of the earth. 


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Your eyes did see my substance, yet being imperfect; and in Your book all my members were written, which in continuity were fashioned, when as yet there were none of them. 


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Do I not hate them, O LORD, that hate You? And am I not grieved with those that rise up against You? 


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Prayer for Deliverance from Evil Men; To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. <br/>Deliver me, O LORD, from the evil man; preserve me from the violent man, 


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Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from the violent man, who has purposed to overthrow my goings. 


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The proud have hid a snare for me, and with cords they have spread a net by the wayside; they have set traps for me. Selah 


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Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked; further not his wicked device, lest they exalt themselves. Selah 


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Let burning coals fall upon them; let them be cast into the fire, into deep pits, that they rise not up again. 


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Let not an evil speaker be established on the earth; evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him." 


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Prayer for Safekeeping from Wickedness; A Psalm of David. <br/>LORD, I cry unto Thee! Make haste unto me! Give ear unto my voice when I cry unto Thee. 


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Let my prayer be set before You as incense, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. 


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Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men that work iniquity; and let me not eat of their dainties. 


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Let the righteous smite me: it shall be a kindness. And let him reprove me: it shall be as an excellent oil, which shall not break my head; for yet my prayer shall be with them in their calamities. 


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A Plea for Relief from Persecutors; A Contemplation of David. A Prayer when he was in the cave. <br/>I cried unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice unto the LORD did I make my supplication.


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When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then You knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me. 


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I looked on my right hand and beheld, but there was no man that would know me. Refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul. 


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Attend unto my cry, for I am brought very low; deliver me from my persecutors, for they are stronger than I. 


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Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise Your name; the righteous shall compass me about, for You shall deal bountifully with me." 


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An Earnest Appeal for Guidance and Deliverance; A Psalm of David. <br/>Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications; in Your faithfulness answer me, and in Your righteousness. 


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For the enemy has persecuted my soul; he has smitten my life down to the ground. He has made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead. 


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Hear me speedily, O LORD; my spirit faileth. Hide not Your face from me, lest I be like them that go down into the pit. 


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Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, for in You do I trust. Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk, for I lift up my soul unto You. 


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Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God. Your Spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness. 


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Quicken me, O LORD, for Your name's sake; for Your righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble. 


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And in Your mercy cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul; for I am Your servant. 


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A Song to the LORD Who Preserves and Prospers His People; A Psalm of David. <br/>Blessed be the LORD my strength, who teaches my hands to war and my fingers to fight; 


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my goodness and my fortress, my high tower and my deliverer, my shield and He in whom I trust, who subdues my people under me. 


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Send Your hand from above; rescue me and deliver me out of great waters from the hand of strangers, 


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I will sing a new song unto You, O God; upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten strings will I sing praises unto You. 


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Rescue me and deliver me from the hand of strangers, whose mouth speaks vanity and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood, 


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that our sons may be as plants full grown in their youth, that our daughters may be as cornerstones, polished after the similitude of a palace; 


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that our garners may be full, affording all manner of store, that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets; 


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that our oxen may be strong to labor, that there be no breaking in, nor going out, that there be no complaining in our streets. 


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A Song of God's Majesty and Love; A Praise of David. <br/>I will extol Thee, my God, O King; and I will bless Your name forever and ever. 


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They shall abundantly utter the memory of Your great goodness, and shall sing of Your righteousness. 


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My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD, and let all flesh bless His holy name forever and ever. 


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The Happiness of Those Whose Help Is the LORD <br/>Praise you the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul! 


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who executeth judgment for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry; the LORD looseth the prisoners. 


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The LORD opens the eyes of the blind; the LORD raises them that are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous.


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The LORD preserveth the strangers, He relieveth the fatherless and the widow; but the way of the wicked He turns upside down. 


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Praise to God for His Word and Providence<br/>Praise you the LORD! For it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant, and praise is comely. 


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who covers the heavens with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who makes grass to grow upon the mountains. 


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He has not dealt so with any nation; and as for His judgments, they have not known them. Praise you the LORD! 


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Praise to the LORD from Creation<br/>Praise you the LORD! Praise you the LORD from the heavens; praise Him in the heights!


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Let them praise the name of the LORD, for His name alone is excellent; His glory is above the earth and heaven. 


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He also exalts the horn of His people, the praise of all His saints, even of the children of Israel, a people near unto Him. Praise you the LORD! 


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Praise to God for His Salvation and Judgment <br/>Praise you the LORD! Sing unto the LORD a new song, and His praise in the congregation of saints! 


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Let All Things Praise the LORD <br/>Praise you the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in the firmament of His power!


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A wise man will hear and will increase learning, and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsel 


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Shun Evil Counsel<br/>My son, hear the instruction of your father, and forsake not the law of your mother; 


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If they say, "Come with us; let us lie in wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause; 


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So are the ways of everyone that is greedy for gain, which takes away the life of the owners thereof. 


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She cries in the chief places of concourse, in the openings of the gates; in the city she  utters her words, saying, 


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"How long, you simple ones, will you love to be simple, and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? 


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Turn you at my reproof: Behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you; I will make known my words unto you. 


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when your fear comes  as desolation, and your destruction comes  as a whirlwind, when distress and anguish comes  upon you. 


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Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me, 


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For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them; 


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Wisdom will deliver you from the strange woman, even from the stranger, who flattereth with her words, 


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Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them about your neck, write them upon the tablet of your heart. 


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Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding <n>(reasoning)</n>; 


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for the merchandising of it is better than the merchandising of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. 


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She is more precious than rubies, and all the things you canst desire are not to be compared to her. 


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when you liest down, you shall not be afraid; yea, you shall lie down, and your sleep shall be sweet. 


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Say not unto your neighbor, "Go, and come again, and tomorrow I will give," when you have it with you. 


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Security in Wisdom<br/>Hear, you children, the instruction of a father, and be attentive to know understanding. 


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He taught me also and said unto me, "Let your heart retain my words: keep my commandments and live. 


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For they sleep not unless they have done mischief, and their sleep is taken away unless they cause some to fall. 


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The Peril of Adultery and Warning Against Immorality<br/>My son, attend unto my wisdom and bow your ear to my understanding, 


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Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy you at all times, and be you ravished always with her love. 


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Dangerous Promises and Seven Deadly Sins<br/>My son, if you be surety for your friend, if you have struck your hand with a stranger, 


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Do this now, my son, and deliver yourself when you have come into the hand of your friend: Go, humble yourself, so that you shall prevail with your friend. 


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The Folly of Indolence<br/>Deliver yourself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler. 


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Beware of Adultery<br/>My son, keep your father's commandment, and forsake not the law of your mother. 


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When you goest, it shall lead you; when you sleepest, it shall keep you; when you awakest, it shall talk with you. 


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For the commandment is a lamp, and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life 


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For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought down to a piece of bread, and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life. 


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But whoso commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding; he that does it destroyeth his own soul.


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The Wiles <n>(Strategies)</n> of a Harlot<br/>My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with you. 


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and I beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youth, a young man void of understanding, 


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He goes after her straightway, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks, 


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until a dare strike through his liver, as a bird hasteneth to the snare and knows not that it is for his life. 


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The Excellence of Wisdom <n>(Is Everlasting)</n><br/>Does not wisdom cry out, and understanding put forth her voice? 


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for wisdom is better than rubies, and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it. 


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The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the froward mouth do I hate.


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when He gave to the sea His decree that the waters should not pass His commandment, when He appointed the foundations of the earth" 


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then I was by Him, as one brought up with Him, and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him, 


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The Way <n>(Invitation)</n> of Wisdom <br/>Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn out her seven pillars.


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He that reproveth a scorner getteth for himself shame, and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a reproach. 


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Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser; teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. 


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"Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither." And as for him that lacks understanding, she says to him, 


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But he knows not that the dead are there, and that her guests are in the depths of hell. The proverbs of Solomon: 


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Wise Sayings of Solomon; A Wise Son and a Foolish Son<br/>A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother. 


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The LORD will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish, but He casts away the substance of the wicked. 


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On the lips of him that has understanding wisdom is found, but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding. 


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As the whirlwind passes, so is the wicked no more; but the righteous is as an everlasting foundation. 


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The way of the LORD is strength to the upright, but destruction shall come to the workers of iniquity. 


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The Folly of Wickedness<br/>A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, but a just weight is His delight. 


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The integrity of the upright shall guide them, but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them. 


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The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way, but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness. 


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The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them, but the transgressors shall be taken in their own wickedness. 


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A hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbor, but through knowledge shall the just be delivered. 


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When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth; and when the wicked perish, there is shouting. 


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By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted, but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked. 


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They that are of a froward heart are an abomination to the LORD, but such as are upright in their ways are His delight. 


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Though they join hand in hand, the wicked shall not go unpunished; but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered. 


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There is one that scatters and yet prospereth; and there is another that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. 


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He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him; but blessings shall be upon the head of him that selleth it. 


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He that troubles his own house shall inherit the wind, and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart. 


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The House of the Righteous Shall Stand<br/>Whoso loves instruction loves knowledge, but he that hates reproof is brutish. 


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The counsels of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood, but the mouths of the upright shall deliver them. 


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A man shall be commended according to his wisdom, but he that is of a perverse heart shall be despised. 


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A righteous man has regard for the life of his beast, but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. 


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He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread, but he that followes vain persons is void of understanding. 


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A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth, and the recompense of a man's hands shall be rendered unto him. 


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The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting, but the substance of a diligent man is precious. 


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Wisdom Loves Righteousness<br/>A wise son hears his father's instruction, but a scorner hears not rebuke. 


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A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth, but the soul of the transgressor shall eat violence. 


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There is one that makes himself rich, yet has nothing; there is one that makes himself poor, yet has great riches. 


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Poverty and shame shall be with him that refuseth instruction, but he that has regard for reproof shall be honored. 


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The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul, but it is an abomination to fools to depart from evil. 


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A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just. 


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Much food is in the tillage of the poor, but there is that which is destroyed for want of judgment. 


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The Ways of Life and Death<br/>Every wise woman builds her house, but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands. 


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The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways, and a good man shall be satisfied from himself. 


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In a multitude of people is the honor of the king, but the lack of people is the destruction of the prince. 


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Wisdom rests in the heart of him that has understanding, but that which is innermost in fools is made known. 


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A Soft Answer Turns Away Wrath<br/>A soft answer turns away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger. 


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The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is His delight. 


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The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the LORD, but He loves him that followes after righteousness. 


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Hell and destruction are the concern of the LORD; how much more then, the hearts of the children of men? 


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The heart of him that has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouth of fools feeds on foolishness. 


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Without counsel purposes are disappointed, but in the multitude of counselors they are established. 


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The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD, but the words of the pure are pleasant words. 


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The heart of the righteous studieth how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things. 


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He that refuseth instruction despises his own soul, but he that hears reproof getteth understanding. 


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Wisdom Is Better Than Gold<br/>The preparation of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD. 


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Everyone that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; though they join hands, they shall not go unpunished. 


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It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness, for the throne is established by righteousness. 


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How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is rather to be chosen than silver!


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He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he that ruleth his spirit than he that takes a city. 


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The LORD Tests Hearts<br/>Better is a dry morsel and quietness therewith than a house full of feasting with strife.


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A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causes shame, and shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren. 


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Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker, and he that is glad at calamities shall not go unpunished. 


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A gift is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that has it; whithersoever it turns, it prospereth. 


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The beginning of strife is like the letting out of water: therefore break off contention before it is meddled with.


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He that justifieth the wicked and he that condemneth the just, both alike are an abomination to the LORD. 


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Why should there be in the hands of a fool the price to purchase wisdom, seeing he has no heart to acquire it? 


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A man void of understanding shaketh hands in pledge, and becomes  surety in the presence of his friend. 


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Even a fool, when he holds his peace, is counted wise, and he that shuts his lips is esteemed a man of understanding. 


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The Name of the LORD Is a Strong Tower<br/>Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeks and intermeddleth with all wisdom. 


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An offended brother is harder to be won back than a stronghold city, and his contentions are like the bars of a castle. 


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A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the harvest of his lips shall he be filled.


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A man that has friends must show himself friendly, and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. 


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The Fear of the Lord Leads to Life<br/>Better is the poor that walks in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips and is a fool. 


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All the brethren of the poor hate him--how much more do his friends go far from him! He pursues them with words, yet they are not forthcoming to him. 


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A foolish son is the calamity of his father, and the contentions of a wife are a continual dripping. 


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He that has pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD, and that which he has given, He will repay him again. 


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The fear of the LORD tendeth to life, and he that has it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil. 


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Smite a scorner, and the simple will beware; reprove one that has understanding, and he will gain knowledge. 


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He that afflicteth his father and chaseth away his mother is a son that causes shame and brings reproach.


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Wine Is a Mocker<br/>Wine is a mocker, strong drink is enraging; and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. 


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The wrath of a king is as the roaring of a lion; whoso provoketh him to anger sins against his own soul.


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The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest and have nothing.


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He that goes about as a talebearer reveales secrets; therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips.


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The LORD Considers the Heart<br/>The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; as the rivers of water, He turns it whithersoever He will. 


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The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness, but of everyone that is hasty, only to want. 


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The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity which is tossed to and fro by them that seek death.


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When the scorner is punished, the simple is made wise; and when the wise is instructed, he receives knowledge. 


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The righteous man wisely considereth the house of the wicked, how God overthrowes the wicked for their wickedness. 


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The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead.


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There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man spendeth it up. 


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The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination; how much more so when he brings it with a wicked mind!


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The Value of a Good Name<br/>A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver and gold. 


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Thorns and snares are in the path of the froward; he that does keep his soul shall stay far from them.


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Foolishness is bound into the heart of a child, but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. 


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He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that gives to the rich, shall surely come to want. 


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Sayings of the Wise<br/>Bow down <n>(incline)</n> your ear and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart unto my knowledge. 


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For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you, that they may indeed be ready upon your lips. 


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that I might make you know the certainty of the words of truth, that you might answer the words of truth to them that send unto you? 


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See you a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before men of low estate.


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Listen to Your Father<br/>When you sit to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before you; 


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Will you set your eyes upon that which is not? For riches certainly build themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward the heavens.


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for as he thinks in his heart, so is he. "Eat and drink," says he to you, but his heart is not with you. 


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for the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty, and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags. 


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The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice, and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy in him. 


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Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has babbling? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes?


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Look not you upon the wine when it is red, when it gives his color in the cup, when it moves itself aright. 


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Yea, you shall be as he that lies down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lies upon the top of a mast. 


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"They have struck me," shall you say, "and I was not sick! They have beaten me, and I felt it not! When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again!" 


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if you sayest, "Behold, we knew it not"--does not He that pondereth the heart consider it? And He that keeps your soul, does He not know it? And shall not He render to every man according to his works? 


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So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto your soul when you have found it; then there shall be a reward, and your expectation shall not be cut off. 


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Further Sayings of the Wise<br/>These sayings also belong to the wise: It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment.


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He that says unto the wicked, "You are righteous": him shall the people curse; nations shall abhor him. 


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Say not: "I will do so to him as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work." 


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and lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down. 


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Rule Your Spirit - Wise Sayings of Solomon<br/>These are also proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah, copied out: 


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Take away the wicked from the presence of the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness. 


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for better it is that it be said unto you, "Come up hither," than that you should be put lower in the presence of the prince whom your eyes have seen. 


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Go not forth hastily to contend, lest you know not what to do in the end thereof when your neighbor has put you to shame. 


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As the cold of snow at the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to them that send him, for he refresheth the soul of his masters. 


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Have you found honey? Eat only so much as is sufficient for you, lest you be filled therewith and vomit it. 


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Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint. 


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As he that takes away a garment in cold weather, and as vinegar upon soda, so is he that singeth songs to a heavy heart. 


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Honor Is Not Fitting for a Fool<br/>As snow in summer and as rain in harvest, so honor is not seemly for a fool. 


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He that passes by and meddleth in strife belonging not to him, is like one that takes a dog by the ears. 


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Ointment and perfume make the heart rejoice; so does the sweetness of a man's friend by counsel from the heart.


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Your own friend and your father's friend, forsake not; neither go to your brother's house in the day of your calamity; for better is a neighbor that is near than a brother far off. 


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He that, rising early in the morning, blesseth his friend with a loud voice: it shall be counted as a curse to him. 


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Whosoever would hide her would hide the wind, and the ointment of his right hand which betrays itself. 


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Whoso keeps the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof; so he that  waits on his master shall be honored.


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Though you should grind a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him. 


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and you shall have goats' milk enough for your food, for the food for your household, and for the maintenance of your maidens. 


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The Righteous Are Bold as a Lion<br/>The wicked flee when no man pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion. 


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For the transgression of a land, many are the princes thereof; but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged. 


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Better is the poor that walks in his uprightness than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich. 


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He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, shall gather it for him that will pity the poor. 


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Whoso causes the righteous to go astray in an evil way shall himself fall into his own pit, but the upright shall possess good things. 


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The prince that lacks understanding is also a great oppressor, but he that hates covetousness shall prolong his days. 


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He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread, but he that followes after vain persons shall have poverty enough. 


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A faithful man shall abound with blessings, but he that makes haste to be rich shall not be innocent. 


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Whoso robbeth his father or his mother and says, "It is no transgression," the same is the companion of a destroyer. 


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Happy Is He Who Keeps the Law<br/>He that, being often reproved, stiffeneth his neck shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. 


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When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when the wicked rule, the people mourn. 


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Whoso loves wisdom makes his father rejoice, but he that keeps company with harlots spendeth his substance. 


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An unjust man is an abomination to the just, and he that is upright in the way is an abomination to the wicked. 


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The Wisdom of Agur<br/>The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy: the man spoke unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal: 


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Who has ascended up into heaven or has descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son's name, if you canst tell? 


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Remove far from me vanity and lies; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me only food sufficient for me, 


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lest I be full, and deny You, and say, "Who is the LORD?"" or lest I be poor and steal, and take the name of my God in vain. 


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There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness. 


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There is a generation whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men. 


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The horseleech has two daughters, crying, "Give, give!" There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things that say not, "It is enough": 


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the grave, the barren womb, the earth that is not filled with water, and the fire that says not, "It is enough." 


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The eye that mocketh at his father and despises to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it. 


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the way of an eagle in the air, 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 maid. 


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Such is the way of an adulterous woman: she eats, and wipeth her mouth, and says, "I have done no wickedness." 


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If you have done foolishly in exalting yourself, or if you have thought evil, lay your hand upon your mouth. 


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Surely the churning of milk brings forth butter, and the wringing of the nose brings forth blood: so the stirring of wrath brings forth strife. 


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The Words of King Lemuel's Mother<br/>The words of King Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him: 


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She  rises also while it is yet night, and gives meat to her household and a portion to her maidens. 


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The Vanity of Life<br/>"Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher. "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." 


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The wind goes toward the south and turns about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits. 


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All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; unto the place from where the rivers come, thither they return again. 


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All things are full of labor; man cannot utter it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. 


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The thing that has been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done, is that which shall be done; and there is no new thing under the sun. 


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Is there any thing whereof it may be said, "See, this is new"? It has been already in olden times which were before us. 


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There is no remembrance of former things, neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come by those that shall come after. 


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And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven. This sore travail has God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.


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I have seen all the works that are done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. 


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I communed with mine own heart, saying, "Lo, I have come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem; yea, my heart had great experience in wisdom and knowledge." 


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And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly. But I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit. 


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The Vanity of Pleasure Is Vain<br/>I said in mine heart, "Go now, I will test you with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure." And behold, this also is vanity. 


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I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine <n>(yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom)</n>, and to lay hold on folly, until I might see what was good for the sons of men, which they should do under heaven all the days of their life. 


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I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house. Also I had great possessions of great and small cattle, above all that were in Jerusalem before me. 


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I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces. I got me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, and musical instruments, and those of all sorts. 


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So I was great and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me.


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And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them; I withheld not my heart from any joy, for my heart rejoiced in all my labor, and this was my portion from all my labor. 


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Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I had labored to do; and behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun. 


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The End of the Wise and the Fool<br/>Then I turned myself to behold wisdom and madness and folly; for what can the man do that comes  after the king? Even that which has been already done.


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The wise man's eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all. 


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Then I said in my heart, "As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me, and why was I then more wise?" Then I said in my heart, "This also is vanity." 


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For there is no more remembrance of the wise forever than of the fool, since all that now is shall be forgotten in the days to come. And how dies the wise man? As the fool! 


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Therefore I hated life, because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me. For all is vanity and vexation of spirit. 


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Yea, I hated all my labor which I had done under the sun, because I must leave it unto the man who shall be after me. 


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And who knows whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? Yet shall he have rule over all my labor wherein I have labored, and wherein I have shown myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity. 


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Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labor which I had done under the sun.


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For a man may labor in wisdom and in knowledge and in equity; yet to a man who has not labored therein shall he leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil.


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For what has man for all his labor and for the vexation of his heart wherewith he has labored under the sun?


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For all his days are sorrows and his travail grief. Yea, his heart takes not rest in the night. This is also vanity. 


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There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labor. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God . 


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For God gives to a man what is good in His sight: wisdom and knowledge and joy; but to the sinner He gives travail to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit. 


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Everything Has Its Season and Time<br/>To every thing there is a season, and a time for every purpose under the heaven: 


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a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 


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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 every thing beautiful in his time. Also He has set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God  makes from the beginning to the end. 


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and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor: it is the gift of God .


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I know that whatsoever God does, it shall be for ever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. And God does it, that men should fear before Him. 


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That which has been <n>(long ago)</n> is now, and that which is <n>(going)</n> to be has already been <n>(before)</n>; and God requires <n>(seeks)</n> that which is in the distant past <n>(and disappeared, so that history repeats itself)</n>. 


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Injustice Seems to Prevail<br/>And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there. 


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I said in mine heart, "godshall judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work." 


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I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts. 


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For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dies, so dies the other. Yea, they have all one breath, so that man has no preeminence above a beast, for all is vanity. 


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Who knows the spirit of man that goes upward, and the spirit of the beast that goes downward to the earth? 


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Therefore I perceived that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his portion; for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him? 


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The Uselessness of Selfish Toil<br/>So I returned and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: And behold, the tears of those who were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power, but they had no comforter. 


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yea, better than both of them is he who has not yet been, who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun. 


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The Vanity of Selfish Toil<br/>Again, I considered all travail and every right work for which a man is envied by his neighbor. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit. 


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Better is a handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of the spirit. 


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There is one who is alone, and there is not a second; yea, he has neither child nor brother, yet there is no end to all his labor. Neither is his eye satisfied with riches; nor says he, "For whom do I labor and bereave my soul of good?" This is also vanity; yea, it is a sore travail. 


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The Value of a Friend<br/>Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. 


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For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him that is alone when he falls, for he has not another to help him up. 


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And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threestrand cord is not quickly broken. 


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Popularity Passes Away<br/>Better is a poor and wise child, than an old and foolish king who will no more be admonished. 


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I considered all the living who walk under the sun, with the second child who shall stand up in his stead. 


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There is no end of all the people, even of all that have been before them; they also who came after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and vexation of spirit. 


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Fear God and Keep Your Word <n>(Vows)</n><br/>Guard your feet when you go into the house of God; and be more ready to hear than to make the sacrifice of fools, for they consider not that they do evil. 


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Be not rash with your mouth, and let not your heart be hasty to utter anything before God. For God is in heaven and you upon earth: therefore let your words be few. 


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For a dream comes  through a multitude of business, and a fool's voice is known by a multitude of words. 


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When you vow a vow unto God, defer not to pay it, for He has no pleasure in fools; pay that which you have vowed. 


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Let not your mouth cause your flesh to sin, neither say you before God's angel that the vow was an error. Why should God be angry at your voice, and destroy the work of your hands? 


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The Vanity of Gain and Honor<br/>If you see the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter; for he that is higher than the highest regardeth, and there are higher than they. 


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He that loves silver shall not be satisfied with silver, nor he that loves abundance with increase. This is also vanity. 


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When goods increase, they are increased who eat them; and what good is there to the owners thereof, except the beholding of them with their eyes? 


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The sleep of the laboring man is sweet whether he eat little or much, but the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep. 


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There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely: riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt. 


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But those riches perish by evil travail; and when he begetteth a son, there is nothing in his hand. 


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As he came forth from his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labor which he may carry away in his hand. 


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And this also is a sore evil: that in all ways as he came, so shall he go. And what profit has he that has labored for the wind? 


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Behold that which I have seen: It is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor that he takes under the sun all the days of his life, which God gives him; for it is his portion. 


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Every man also to whom God has given riches and wealth, and has given power to eat thereof and to take his portion and to rejoice in his labor, this is the gift of God . 


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For he shall not much remember the days of his life, because God answereth him in the joy of his heart. 


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Wealth Is Not the Goal of Life<br/>There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men: 


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a man to whom God has given riches, wealth and honor, so that he wants nothing for his soul of all that he desires, yet God gives him not the power to eat thereof, but a stranger eats it. This is vanity, and it is an evil disease. 


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If a man beget a hundred children and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also that he have no burial, I say that an untimely birth is better than he, 


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yea, though he live a thousand years twicetold, yet he has seen no good. Do not all go to one place? 


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For what has the wise more than the fool? What has the poor, who knows how to walk before the living? 


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Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit.


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That which has been is named already, and it is known what man is; neither may he contend with Him that is mightier than he. 


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For who knows what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life being spent as a shadow? For who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun? 


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The Value of Practical Wisdom<br/>A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of one's birth. 


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It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting; for that is the end of all men, and the living will lay it to his heart. 


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The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. 


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For as is the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This also is vanity. 


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Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. 


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Say not you, "Why were the former days better than these?" For you dost not inquire wisely concerning this. 


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For wisdom is a safeguard, as money is a safeguard, but the excellency of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to them that have it. 


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In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider this: God also has set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him. 


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All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: There is a just man who perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongeth his life in his wickedness. 


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It is good that you should take hold of this; yea, also from the other withdraw not your hand. For he that fears God shall come forth from them all. 


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I applied mine heart to know and to search and to seek out wisdom and the reason for things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness. 


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And I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are as bonds. Whoso pleases God shall escape from her, but the sinner shall be taken by her. 


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which yet my soul seeks, but I find not: One man among a thousand have I found, but a woman among all those have I not found. 


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Lo, this only have I found: that God has made man upright, but they have sought out many inventions." 


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Obey Authorities for God's Sake<br/>Who is as the wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man's wisdom makes his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed. 


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Be not hasty to go out of his sight. Stand not for an evil cause, for he does whatsoever pleases him. 


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Whoso keeps the commandment shall feel no evil thing, and a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment. 


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Because for every purpose there is a time and a judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him. 


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There is no man who has power over the spirit to retain the spirit, neither has he power in the day of death. And there is no discharge in that war, neither shall wickedness deliver those who are given to it. 


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All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time wherein a man ruleth over another to his own hurt. 


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Death Comes to All<br/>And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done. This is also vanity. 


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Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. 


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Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him. 


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But it shall not be well with the wicked; neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he fears not before God . 


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There is a vanity which is done upon the earth: that there be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the works of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the works of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity. 


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Then I commended mirth, because a man has no better thing under the sun than to eat and to drink and to be merry, for that shall abide with him from his labor the days of his life, which God gives him under the sun. 


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When I applied mine heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the earth <n>(for also is there that neither day nor night see sleep with his eyes)</n>, 


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then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun, because though a man labor to seek it out, yet shall he not find it; yea further, though even a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it. 


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Death Comes to All<br/>For all this I considered in my heart, even that I might declare all this: that the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God. No man knows either love or hatred by all that is before him. 


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All things come alike to all: there is one event that happeneth to the righteous and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that does not sacrifice: As is the good, so is the sinner, and he that takes an oath, as he that fears an oath. 


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This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun: that there is one event that happeneth unto all. Yea, also the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live; and after that they go to the dead. 


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For him that is joined to all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. 


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For the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. 


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Also their love and their hatred and their envy is now perished; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun.


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Go your way, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth your works. 


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Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of the life of your vanity, which He has given you under the sun, all the days of your vanity; for that is your portion in this life, and in your labor which you have done under the sun. 


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Whatsoever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave where you goest. 


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I returned and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. 


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For man also knows not his time: As the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare, so are the sons of men snared in an evil time when it falls suddenly upon them. 


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Wisdom Superior to Folly<br/>This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me: 


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There was a little city and few men within it. And there came a great king against it, and besieged it and built great bulwarks against it. 


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Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man. 


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Then said I, "Wisdom is better than strength"; nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard. 


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Wisdom and Folly<br/>Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savor; so does a little folly in him that has a reputation for wisdom and honor.


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Yea also, when he that is a fool walks along the way, his wisdom fails him, and he says to everyone that he is a fool. 


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If the ire of the ruler rise up against you, leave not your station; for yielding pacifieth great offenses. 


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He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaks through a hedge, a serpent shall bite him. 


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Whoso removes out stones shall be hurt therewith; and he that cleaves wood shall be endangered thereby.


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If the ax be blunt and one does not whet the edge, then must he put to it more strength; but wisdom is profitable to direct him. 


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the beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness, and the end of his talk is mischievous madness. 


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A fool also is full of words: A man cannot tell what shall be; and what shall be after him -- who can tell him?


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Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles, and your princes eat in due season, for strength and not for drunkenness! 


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Curse not the king, no, not even in your thoughts, and curse not the rich in your bedchamber; for a bird of the air shall carry your voice, and that which has wings shall tell the matter. 


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If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth; and if the tree fall toward the south or toward the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it shall be. 


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As you know not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones grow in the womb of her that is with child, even so you know not the works of God who makes all. 


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In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening withhold not your hand; for you know not whether either this or that shall prosper, or whether they both shall be alike good. 


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but if a man live many years and rejoice in them all, yet let him remember the days of darkness, for they shall be many. All that comes  is vanity. 


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Seek God in Early Life<br/>Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. And walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes; but know you that for all these things, God will bring you into judgment. 


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Therefore remove sorrow from your heart, and put away evil from your flesh, for childhood and youth are vanity. 


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Seek God in Early Life<br/>Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh when you shall say, "I have no pleasure in them"; 


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while neither the sun nor the light, nor the moon nor the stars be darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain; 


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in the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and the eyes that look out of the windows be darkened; 


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and the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low; and he shall rise up at the voice of a bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low; 


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also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way; and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail; because man goes to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets; 


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or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern-- 


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then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. 


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The Whole Duty of Man<br/>And moreover because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed and sought out and set in order many proverbs. 


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The Preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth! 


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The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the master builders, which are given from one Shepherd. 


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And further, my son, by these words be admonished: of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness to the flesh. 


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Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 


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For God shall bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil. 


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The Shulamite Banquet <br/>"Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for your love is better than wine. 


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Because of the savor of your good ointments, your name is as ointment poured forth; therefore do 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 remember your love more than wine; the upright love you." 


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The Shulamite Daughters of Jerusalem<br/>"I am black, but comely, O you daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. 


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Look not upon me because I am black, because the sun has looked upon me. My mother's children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards, but mine own vineyard have I not kept. 


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To Her Beloved<br/>Tell me, O you whom my soul loves, where you feedest, where you makest your flock to rest at noon; for why should I be as one that turns aside by the flocks of your companions?" 


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The Beloved<br/>"If you know not, O you fairest among women, go your way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed your kids beside the shepherds' tents. 


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The Shulamite<br/>"As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. 


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The Shulamite to the Daughters of Jerusalem<br/>He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love. 


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I charge you, O you daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes and by the hinds of the field, that you stir not up nor awake my love till he please. 


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The Shulamite Beloved's Request<br/>The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes  leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills. 


