# verses

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 Tell them therefore: Thus saith the Lord GOD: I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto them: The days are at hand, and the word of every vision.


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 For I am the LORD; I will speak, what word soever it be that I shall speak, and it shall be performed; it shall be no more delayed; for in your days, O rebellious house, will I speak the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord GOD.'


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 'Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say: The vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of times that are far off.


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 Therefore say unto them: Thus saith the Lord GOD: There shall none of My words be delayed any more, but the word which I shall speak shall be performed, saith the Lord GOD.'


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 'Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own heart: Hear ye the word of the LORD:


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 Thus saith the Lord GOD: Woe unto the vile prophets, that follow their own spirit, and things which they have not seen!


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 Ye have not gone up into the breaches, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel, to stand in the battle in the day of the LORD.


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 They have seen vanity and lying divination, that say: The LORD saith; and the LORD hath not sent them, yet they hope that the word would be confirmed!


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 Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say: The LORD saith; albeit I have not spoken?


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 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord GOD.


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 And My hand shall be against the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies; they shall not be in the council of My people, neither shall they be written in the register of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.


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 Because, even because they have led My people astray, saying: Peace, and there is no peace; and when it buildeth up a slight wall, behold, they daub it with whited plaster;


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 say unto them that daub it with whited plaster, that it shall fall; there shall be an overflowing shower, and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall, and a stormy wind shall break forth,


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 and, lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you: Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it?


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 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: I will even cause a stormy wind to break forth in My fury; and there shall be an overflowing shower in Mine anger, and great hailstones in fury to consume it.


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 So will I break down the wall that ye have daubed with whited plaster, and bring it down to the ground, so that the foundation thereof shall be uncovered; and it shall fall, and ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.


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 Thus will I spend My fury upon the wall, and upon them that have daubed it with whited plaster; and I will say unto you: The wall is no more, neither they that daubed it;


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 to wit, the prophets of Israel that prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and that see visions of peace for her, and there is no peace, saith the Lord GOD.


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 And thou, son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people, that prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them,


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 and say: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Woe to the women that sew cushions upon all elbows, and make pads for the head of persons of every stature to hunt souls! Will ye hunt the souls of My people, and save souls alive for yourselves?


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 And ye have profaned Me among My people for handfuls of barley and for crumbs of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to My people that hearken unto lies.


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 Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against your cushions, wherewith ye hunt the souls as birds, and I will tear them from your arms; and I will let the souls go, even the souls that ye hunt as birds.


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 Your pads also will I tear, and deliver My people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand to be hunted; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.


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 Because with lies ye have cowed the heart of the righteous, when I have not grieved him; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, that he be saved alive;


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 therefore ye shall no more see vanity, nor divine divinations; and I will deliver My people out of your hand; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.'


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 'Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their mind, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face; should I be inquired of at all by them?


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 Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his mind, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet--I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;


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 that I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all turned away from Me through their idols.


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 Therefore say unto the house of Israel: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Return ye, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.


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 For every one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that separateth himself from Me, and taketh his idols into his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet, that he inquire for him of Me--I the LORD will answer him by Myself,


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 and I will set My face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of My people; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.


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 And when the prophet is enticed and speaketh a word, I the LORD have enticed that prophet, and I will stretch out My hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of My people Israel.


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 And they shall bear their iniquity; the iniquity of the prophet shall be even as the iniquity of him that inquireth;


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 that the house of Israel may go no more astray from Me, neither defile themselves any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be My people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord GOD.'


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 'Son of man, when a land sinneth against Me by trespassing grievously, and I stretch out My hand upon it, and break the staff of the bread thereof, and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast;


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 though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD.


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 If I cause evil beasts to pass through the land, and they bereave it, and it be desolate, so that no man may pass through because of the beasts;


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 though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only shall be delivered, but the land shall be desolate.


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 Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say: Let the sword go through the land, so that I cut off from it man and beast;


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 though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only shall be delivered themselves.


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 Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out My fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast;


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 though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.


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 For thus saith the Lord GOD: How much more when I send My four sore judgments against Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the evil beasts, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast.


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 And, behold, though there be left a remnant therein that shall be brought forth, both sons and daughters; behold, when they come forth unto you, and ye see their way and their doings, then ye shall be comforted concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, even concerning all that I have brought upon it;


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 and they shall comfort you, when ye see their way and their doings, and ye shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, saith the Lord GOD.'


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 'Son of man, what is the vine-tree more than any tree, the vine branch which grew up among the trees of the forest?


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 Shall wood be taken thereof to make any work? or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon?


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 Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire hath devoured both the ends of it, and the midst of it is singed; is it profitable for any work?


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 Behold, when it was whole, it was meet for no work; how much less, when the fire hath devoured it, and it is singed, shall it yet be meet for any work?


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 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: As the vine-tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so do I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem.


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 And I will set My face against them; out of the fire are they come forth, and the fire shall devour them; and ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I set My face against them.


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 and say: Thus saith the Lord GOD unto Jerusalem: Thine origin and thy nativity is of the land of the Canaanite; the Amorite was thy father, and thy mother was a Hittite.


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 And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water for cleansing; thou was not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.


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 No eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field in the loathsomeness of thy person, in the day that thou wast born.


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 And when I passed by thee, and saw thee wallowing in thy blood, I said unto thee: In thy blood, live; yea, I said unto thee: In thy blood, live;


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 I cause thee to increase, even as the growth of the field. And thou didst increase and grow up, and thou camest to excellent beauty: thy breasts were fashioned, and thy hair was grown; yet thou wast naked and bare.


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 Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, and, behold, thy time was the time of love, I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness; yea, I swore unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest Mine.


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 Then washed I thee with water; yea, I cleansed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.


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 I clothed thee also with richly woven work, and shod thee with sealskin, and I wound fine linen about thy head, and covered thee with silk.


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 Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and richly woven work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil; and thou didst wax exceeding beautiful, and thou wast meet for royal estate.


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 And thy renown went forth among the nations for thy beauty; for it was perfect, through My splendour which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD.


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 But thou didst trust in thy beauty and play the harlot because of thy renown, and didst pour out thy harlotries on every one that passed by; his it was.


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 And thou didst take of thy garments, and didst make for thee high places decked with divers colours, and didst play the harlot upon them; the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so.


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 Thou didst also take thy fair jewels of My gold and of My silver, which I had given thee, and madest for thee images of men, and didst play the harlot with them;


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 and thou didst take thy richly woven garments and cover them, and didst set Mine oil and Mine incense before them.


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 My bread also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou didst even set it before them for a sweet savour, and thus it was; saith the Lord GOD.


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 Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto Me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Were thy harlotries a small matter,


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 And in all thine abominations and thy harlotries thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast wallowing in thy blood.


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 Thou hast built thy lofty place at every head of the way, and hast made thy beauty an abomination, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy harlotries.


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 Thou hast also played the harlot with the Egyptians, thy neighbours, great of flesh; and hast multiplied thy harlotry, to provoke Me.


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 Behold, therefore I have stretched out My hand over thee, and have diminished thine allowance, and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, that are ashamed of thy lewd way.


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 Thou hast played the harlot also with the Assyrians, without having enough; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet thou wast not satisfied.


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 Thou hast moreover multiplied thy harlotry with the land of traffic, even with Chaldea; and yet thou didst not have enough herewith.


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 How weak is thy heart, saith the Lord GOD, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of a wanton harlot;


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 in that thou buildest thine eminent place in the head of every way, and makest thy lofty place in every street; and hast not been as a harlot that enhanceth her hire.


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 to all harlots gifts are given; but thou hast given thy gifts to all thy lovers, and hast bribed them to come unto thee from every side in thy harlotries.


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 And the contrary is in thee from other women, in that thou didst solicit to harlotry, and wast not solicited; and in that thou givest hire, and no hire is given unto thee, thus thou art contrary.


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 Thus saith the Lord GOD: Because thy filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness uncovered through thy harlotries with thy lovers; and because of all the idols of thy abominations, and for the blood of thy children, that thou didst give unto them;


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 therefore behold, I will gather all thy lovers, unto whom thou hast been pleasant, and all them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated; I will even gather them against thee from every side, and will uncover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness.


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 And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will bring upon thee the blood of fury and jealousy.


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 I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thine eminent place, and break down thy lofty places; and they shall strip thee of thy clothes, and take thy fair jewels; and they shall leave thee naked and bare.


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 They shall also bring up an assembly against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords.


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 And they shall burn thy houses with fire, and execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women; and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou shalt also give no hire any more.


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 So will I satisfy My fury upon thee, and My jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry.


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 Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast fretted Me in all these things; lo, therefore I also will bring thy way upon thy head, saith the Lord GOD; or hast thou not committed this lewdness above all thine abominations?


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 Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying: As the mother, so her daughter.


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 Thou art thy mother's daughter, that loatheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children; your mother was a Hittite, and your father an Amorite.


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 And thine elder sister is Samaria, that dwelleth at thy left hand, she and her daughters; and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.


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 Yet hast thou not walked in their ways, nor done after their abominations; but in a very little while thou didst deal more corruptly than they in all thy ways.


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 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters.


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 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom: pride, fulness of bread, and careless ease was in her and in her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.


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 And they were haughty, and committed abomination before Me; therefore I removed them when I saw it.


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 Neither hath Samaria committed even half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters by all thine abominations which thou hast done.


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 Thou also, bear thine own shame, in that thou hast given judgment for thy sisters; through thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they, they are more righteous than thou; yea, be thou also confounded, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters.


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 And I will turn their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, and the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them;


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 that thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be ashamed because of all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them.


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 And thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, and thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate.


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 before thy wickedness was uncovered, as at the time of the taunt of the daughters of Aram, and of all that are round about her, the daughters of the Philistines, that have thee in disdain round about.


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 For thus saith the Lord GOD: I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, who hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant.


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 Nevertheless I will remember My covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.


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 Then shalt thou remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder sisters and thy younger; and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not because of thy covenant.


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 that thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more, because of thy shame; when I have forgiven thee all that thou hast done, saith the Lord GOD.'


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 and say: Thus saith the Lord GOD: A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the top of the cedar;


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 He cropped off the topmost of the young twigs thereof, and carried it into a land of traffic; he set it in a city of merchants.


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 He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful soil; he placed it beside many waters, he set it as a slip.


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 And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose tendrils might turn toward him, and the roots thereof be under him; so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs.


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 There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers; and, behold, this vine did bend its roots toward him, and shot forth its branches toward him, from the beds of its plantation, that he might water it.


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 It was planted in a good soil by many waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a stately vine.


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 Say thou: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither, yea, wither in all its sprouting leaves? neither shall great power or much people be at hand when it is plucked up by the roots thereof.


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 Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? Shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? In the beds where it grew it shall wither.'


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 'Say now to the rebellious house: Know ye not what these things mean? tell them: Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and brought them to him to Babylon;


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 and he took of the seed royal, and made a covenant with him, and brought him under an oath, and the mighty of the land he took away;


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 that his might be a lowly kingdom, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping his covenant it might stand.


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 But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? shall he escape that doeth such things? shall he break the covenant, and yet escape?


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 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he broke, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die.


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 Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company succour him in the war, when they cast up mounds and build forts, to cut off many souls;


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 seeing he hath despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand, and hath done all these things, he shall not escape.


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 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: As I live, surely Mine oath that he hath despised, and My covenant that he hath broken, I will even bring it upon his own head.


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 And I will spread My net upon him, and he shall be taken in My snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will plead with him there for his treachery that he hath committed against Me.


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 And all his mighty men in all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward every wind; and ye shall know that I the LORD have spoken it.


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 Thus saith the Lord GOD: Moreover I will take, even I, of the lofty top of the cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I will plant it upon a high mountain and eminent;


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 in the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it; and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a stately cedar; and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing, in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell.


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 And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish; I the LORD have spoken and have done it.'


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 'What mean ye, that ye use this proverb in the land of Israel, saying: The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge?


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 Behold, all souls are Mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is Mine; the soul that sinneth, it shall die.


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 and hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbour's wife, neither hath come near to a woman in her impurity;


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 and hath not wronged any, but hath restored his pledge for a debt, hath taken nought by robbery, hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment;


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 he that hath not given forth upon interest, neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath executed true justice between man and man,


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 hath walked in My statutes, and hath kept Mine ordinances, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord GOD.


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 If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth to a brother any of these things,


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 whereas he himself had not done any of these things, for he hath even eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbour's wife,


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 hath wronged the poor and needy, hath taken by robbery, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, hath committed abomination,


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 hath given forth upon interest, and hath taken increase; shall he then live? he shall not live--he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely be put to death, his blood shall be upon him.


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 Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father's sins, which he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not such like,


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 that hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, hath not defiled his neighbour's wife,


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 neither hath wronged any, hath not taken aught to pledge, neither hath taken by robbery, but hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment,


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 that hath withdrawn his hand from the poor, that hath not received interest nor increase, hath executed Mine ordinances, hath walked in My statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live.


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 As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, committed robbery on his brother, and did that which is not good among his people, behold, he dieth for his iniquity.


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 Yet say ye: Why doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father with him? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all My statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live.


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 The soul that sinneth, it shall die; the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father with him, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son with him; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.


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 But if the wicked turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all My statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.


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 None of his transgressions that he hath committed shall be remembered against him; for his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.


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 Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD; and not rather that he should return from his ways, and live?


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 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? None of his righteous deeds that he hath done shall be remembered; for his trespass that he trespassed, and for his sin that he hath sinned, for them shall he die.


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 Yet ye say: The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel: Is it My way that is not equal? is it not your ways that are unequal?


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 When the righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall die therefor; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.


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 Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.


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 Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.


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 Yet saith the house of Israel: The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, is it My ways that are not equal? is it not your ways that are unequal?


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 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Return ye, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so shall they not be a stumblingblock of iniquity unto you.


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 Cast away from you all your transgressions, wherein ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?


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 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD; wherefore turn yourselves, and live.


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 and say: How was thy mother a lioness; among lions she couched, in the midst of the young lions she reared her whelps!


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 And she brought up one of her whelps, he became a young lion; and he learned to catch the prey, he devoured men.


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 Then the nations assembled against him, he was taken in their pit; and they brought him with hooks unto the land of Egypt.


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 Now when she saw that she was disappointed, and her hope was lost, then she took another of her whelps, and made him a young lion.


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 And he went up and down among the lions, he became a young lion; and he learned to catch the prey, he devoured men.


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 And he knew their castles, and laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and the fulness thereof, because of the noise of his roaring.


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 Then the nations cried out against him on every side from the provinces; and they spread their net over him, he was taken in their pit.


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 And they put him in a cage with hooks, and brought him to the king of Babylon; that they might bring him into strongholds, so that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel.


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 Thy mother was like a vine, in thy likeness, planted by the waters; she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters.


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 And she had strong rods to be sceptres for them that bore rule; and her stature was exalted among the thick branches, and she was seen in her height with the multitude of her tendrils.


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 But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit; her strong rods were broken off and withered, the fire consumed her.


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 And fire is gone out of the rod of her branches, it hath devoured her fruit, so that there is in her no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule.' This is a lamentation, and it was for a lamentation.


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 And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and sat before me.


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 'Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Are ye come to inquire of Me? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you.


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 Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? cause them to know the abominations of their fathers;


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 and say unto them: Thus saith the Lord GOD: In the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up My hand unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made Myself known unto them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up My hand unto them, saying: I am the LORD your God;


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 in that day I lifted up My hand unto them, to bring them forth out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had sought out for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the beauty of all lands;


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 and I said unto them: Cast ye away every man the detestable things of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the LORD your God.


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 But they rebelled against Me, and would not hearken unto Me; they did not every man cast away the detestable things of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt; then I said I would pour out My fury upon them, to spend My anger upon them in the midst of the land of Egypt.


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 But I wrought for My name's sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, among whom they were, in whose sight I made Myself known unto them, so as to bring them forth out of the land of Egypt.


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 And I gave them My statutes, and taught them Mine ordinances, which if a man do, he shall live by them.


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 Moreover also I gave them My sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them.


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 But the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness; they walked not in My statutes, and they rejected Mine ordinances, which if a man do, he shall live by them, and My sabbaths they greatly profaned; then I said I would pour out My fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them.


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 But I wrought for My name's sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I brought them out.


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 Yet also I lifted up My hand unto them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the beauty of all lands;


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 because they rejected Mine ordinances, and walked not in My statutes, and profaned My sabbaths--for their heart went after their idols.


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 Nevertheless Mine eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make a full end of them in the wilderness.


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 And I said unto their children in the wilderness: Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their ordinances, nor defile yourselves with their idols;


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 and hallow My sabbaths, and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God.


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 But the children rebelled against Me; they walked not in My statutes, neither kept Mine ordinances to do them, which if a man do, he shall live by them; they profaned My sabbaths; then I said I would pour out My fury upon them, to spend My anger upon them in the wilderness.


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 Nevertheless I withdrew My hand, and wrought for My name's sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I brought them forth.


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 I lifted up My hand unto them also in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the nations, and disperse them through the countries;


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 because they had not executed Mine ordinances, but had rejected My statutes, and had profaned My sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers' idols.


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 Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and ordinances whereby they should not live;


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 and I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they set apart all that openeth the womb, that I might destroy them, to the end that they might know that I am the LORD.


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 Therefore, son of man, speak unto the house of Israel, and say unto them: Thus saith the Lord GOD: In this moreover have your fathers blasphemed Me, in that they dealt treacherously with Me.


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 For when I had brought them into the land, which I lifted up My hand to give unto them, then they saw every high hill, and every thick tree, and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of their offering, there also they made their sweet savour, and there they poured out their drink-offerings.


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 Then I said unto them: What meaneth the high place whereunto ye go? So the name thereof is called Bamah unto this day.


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 Wherefore say unto the house of Israel: Thus saith the Lord GOD: When ye pollute yourselves after the manner of your fathers, and go after their abominations,


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 and when, in offering your gifts, in making your sons to pass through the fire, ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, unto this day; shall I then be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you;


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 and that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all; in that ye say: We will be as the nations, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.


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 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out, will I be king over you;


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 and I will bring you out from the peoples, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out;


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 and I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there will I plead with you face to face.


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 Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord GOD.


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 and I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against Me; I will bring them forth out of the land where they sojourn, but they shall not enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.


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 As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD: Go ye, serve every one his idols, even because ye will not hearken unto Me; but My holy name shall ye no more profane with your gifts, and with your idols.


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 For in My holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them, serve Me in the land; there will I accept them, and there will I require your heave-offerings, and the first of your gifts, with all your holy things.


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 With your sweet savour will I accept you, when I bring you out from the peoples, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you in the sight of the nations.


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 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country which I lifted up My hand to give unto your fathers.


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 And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have polluted yourselves; and ye shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed.


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 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have wrought with you for My name's sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.'


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 'Son of man, set thy face toward the South, and preach toward the South, and prophesy against the forest of the field in the South;


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 and say to the forest of the South: Hear the word of the LORD: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree, it shall not be quenched, even a flaming flame; and all faces from the south to the north shall be seared thereby.


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 'Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and preach toward the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel;


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 and say to the land of Israel: Thus saith the LORD: Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth My sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked.


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 Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall My sword go forth out of its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north;


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 and all flesh shall know that I the LORD have drawn forth My sword out of its sheath; it shall not return any more.


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 Sigh therefore, thou son of man; with the breaking of thy loins and with bitterness shalt thou sigh before their eyes.


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 And it shall be, when they say unto thee: Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt say: Because of the tidings, for it cometh; and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be slack, and every spirit shall be faint, and all knees shall drip with water; behold, it cometh, and it shall be done, saith the Lord GOD.'


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 'Son of man, prophesy, and say: Thus saith the LORD: Say: A sword, a sword, it is sharpened, and also furbished:


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 It is sharpened that it may make a sore slaughter, it is furbished that it may glitter--or shall we make mirth?--against the rod of My son, contemning every tree.


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 And it is given to be furbished, that it may be handled; the sword, it is sharpened, yea, it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the slayer.


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 Cry and wail, son of man; for it is upon My people, it is upon all the princes of Israel; they are thrust down to the sword with My people; smite therefore upon thy thigh.


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 For there is a trial; and what if it contemn even the rod? It shall be no more, saith the Lord GOD.


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 Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thy hands together; and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of those to be slain; it is the sword of the great one that is to be slain, which compasseth them about.


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 I have set the point of the sword against all their gates, that their heart may melt, and their stumblings be multiplied; ah! it is made glittering, it is sharpened for slaughter.


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 'Now, thou son of man, make thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come; they twain shall come forth out of one land; and mark a signpost, mark it clear at the head of the way to the city.


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 Thou shalt make a way, that the sword may come to Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and to Judah in Jerusalem the fortified.


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 For the king of Babylon standeth at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination; he shaketh the arrows to and fro, he inquireth of the teraphim, he looketh in the liver.


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 In his right hand is the lot Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth for the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up mounds, to build forts.


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 And it shall be unto them as a false divination in their sight, who have weeks upon weeks! but it bringeth iniquity to remembrance, that they may be taken.


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 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that your sins do appear in all your doings; because that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand.


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 And thou, O wicked one, that art to be slain, the prince of Israel, whose day is come, in the time of the iniquity of the end;


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 thus saith the Lord GOD: The mitre shall be removed, and the crown taken off; this shall be no more the same: that which is low shall be exalted, and that which is high abased.


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 A ruin, a ruin, a ruin, will I make it; this also shall be no more, until he come whose right it is, and I will give it him.


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 And thou, son of man, prophesy, and say: Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning the children of Ammon, and concerning their taunt; and say thou: O sword, O sword keen-edged, furbished for the slaughter, to the uttermost, because of the glitterings;


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 While they see falsehood unto thee, while they divine lies unto thee, to lay thee upon the necks of the wicked that are to be slain, whose day is come, in the time of the iniquity of the end!


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 Cause it to return into its sheath!--In the place where thou wast created, in the land of thine origin, will I judge thee.


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 And I will pour out My indignation upon thee, I will blow upon thee with the fire of My wrath; and I will deliver thee into the hand of brutish men, skilful to destroy.


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 Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of the land, thou shalt be no more remembered; for I the LORD have spoken it.'


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 'Now, thou, son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? then cause her to know all her abominations.


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 And thou shalt say: Thus saith the Lord GOD: O city that sheddest blood in the midst of thee, that thy time may come, and that makest idols unto thyself to defile thee;


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 thou art become guilty in thy blood that thou hast shed, and art defiled in thine idols which thou hast made; and thou hast caused thy days to draw near, and art come even unto thy years; therefore have I made thee a reproach unto the nations, and a mocking to all the countries!


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 Those that are near, and those that are far from thee, shall mock thee, thou defiled of name and full of tumult.


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 In thee have they made light of father and mother; in the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the stranger; in thee have they wronged the fatherless and the widow.


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 In thee have been talebearers to shed blood; and in thee they have eaten upon the mountains; in the midst of thee they have committed lewdness.


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 In thee have they uncovered their fathers' nakedness; in thee have they humbled her that was unclean in her impurity.


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 And each hath committed abomination with his neighbour's wife; and each hath lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law; and each in thee hath humbled his sister, his father's daughter.


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 In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken interest and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by oppression, and hast forgotten Me, saith the Lord GOD.


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 Behold, therefore, I have smitten My hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee.


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 Can thy heart endure, or can thy hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee? I the LORD have spoken it, and will do it.


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 And I will scatter thee among the nations, and disperse thee through the countries; and I will consume thy filthiness out of thee.


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 And thou shalt be profaned in thyself, in the sight of the nations; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.'


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 'Son of man, the house of Israel is become dross unto Me; all of them are brass and tin and iron and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are the dross of silver.


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 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Because ye are all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.


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 As they gather silver and brass and iron and lead and tin into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in Mine anger and in My fury, and I will cast you in, and melt you.


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 Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you with the fire of My wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof.


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 As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the LORD have poured out My fury upon you.'


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 'Son of man, say unto her: Thou art a land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon in the day of indignation.


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 There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls, they take treasure and precious things, they have made her widows many in the midst thereof.


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 Her priests have done violence to My law, and have profaned My holy things; they have put no difference between the holy and the common, neither have they taught difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.


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 Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey: to shed blood, and to destroy souls, so as to get dishonest gain.


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 And her prophets have daubed for them with whited plaster, seeing falsehood, and divining lies unto them, saying: Thus saith the Lord GOD, when the LORD hath not spoken.


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 The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have wronged the poor and needy, and have oppressed the stranger unlawfully.


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 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the breach before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found none.


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 Therefore have I poured out Mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; their own way have I brought upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD.'


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 and they committed harlotries in Egypt; they committed harlotries in their youth; there were their bosoms pressed, and there their virgin breasts were bruised.


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 And the names of them were Oholah the elder, and Oholibah her sister; and they became Mine, and they bore sons and daughters. And as for their names, Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem Oholibah.


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 And Oholah played the harlot when she was Mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians, warriors,


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 clothed with blue, governors and rulers, handsome young men all of them, horsemen riding upon horses.


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 And she bestowed her harlotries upon them, the choicest men of Assyria all of them; and on whomsoever she doted, with all their idols she defiled herself.


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 Neither hath she left her harlotries brought from Egypt; for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised her virgin breasts; and they poured out their lust upon her.


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 Wherefore I delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted.


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 These uncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and her daughters, and her they slew with the sword; and she became a byword among women, for judgments were executed upon her.


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 And her sister Oholibah saw this, yet was she more corrupt in her doting than she, and in her harlotries more than her sister in her harlotries.


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 She doted upon the Assyrians, governors and rulers, warriors, clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them handsome young men.


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 And she increased her harlotries; for she saw men portrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion,


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 girded with girdles upon their loins, with pendant turbans upon their heads, all of them captains to look upon, the likeness of the sons of Babylon, even of Chaldea, the land of their nativity.


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 And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their lust; and she was polluted with them, and her soul was alienated from them.


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 So she uncovered her harlotries, and uncovered her nakedness; then My soul was alienated from her, like as My soul was alienated from her sister.


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 Yet she multiplied her harlotries, remembering the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.


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 And she doted upon concubinage with them, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.


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 Thus thou didst call to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, when they from Egypt bruised thy breasts for the bosom of thy youth.


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 Therefore, O Oholibah, thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy soul is alienated, and I will bring them against thee on every side:


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 the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, handsome young men, governors and rulers all of them, captains and councillors, all of them riding upon horses.


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 And they shall come against thee with hosts, chariots, and wheels, and with an assembly of peoples; they shall set themselves in array against thee with buckler and shield and helmet round about; and I will commit the judgment unto them, and they shall judge thee according to their judgments.


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 And I will set My jealousy against thee, and they shall deal with thee in fury; they shall take away thy nose and thine ears, and thy residue shall fall by the sword; they shall take thy sons and thy daughters, and thy residue shall be devoured by the fire.


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 Thus will I make thy lewdness to cease from thee, and thy harlotry brought from the land of Egypt, so that thou shalt not lift up thine eyes unto them, nor remember Egypt any more.


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 For thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will deliver thee into the hand of them whom thou hatest, into the hand of them from whom thy soul is alienated;


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 and they shall deal with thee in hatred, and shall take away all thy labour, and shall leave thee naked and bare; and the nakedness of thy harlotries shall be uncovered, both thy lewdness and thy harlotries.


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 These things shall be done unto thee, for that thou hast gone astray after the nations, and because thou art polluted with their idols.


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 Thus saith the Lord GOD: Thou shalt drink of thy sister's cup, which is deep and large; thou shalt be for a scorn and a derision; it is full to the uttermost.


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 Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and appalment, with the cup of thy sister Samaria.


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 Thou shalt even drink it and drain it, and thou shalt craunch the sherds thereof, and shalt tear thy breasts; for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.


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 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Because thou hast forgotten Me, and cast Me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewdness and thy harlotries.'


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 The LORD said moreover unto me: 'Son of man, wilt thou judge Oholah and Oholibah? then declare unto them their abominations.


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 For they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery; and their sons, whom they bore unto Me, they have also set apart unto them to be devoured.


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 Moreover this they have done unto Me: they have defiled My sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned My sabbaths.


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 For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into My sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus have they done in the midst of My house.


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 And furthermore ye have sent for men that come from far; unto whom a messenger was sent, and, lo, they came; for whom thou didst wash thyself, paint thine eyes, and deck thyself with ornaments;


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 and sattest upon a stately bed, with a table prepared before it, whereupon thou didst set Mine incense and Mine oil.


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 And the voice of a multitude being at ease was therein; and for the sake of men, they were so many, brought drunken from the wilderness, they put bracelets upon their hands, and beautiful crowns upon their heads.


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 Then said I of her that was worn out by adulteries: Still they commit harlotries with her, even her.


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 For every one went in unto her, as men go in unto a harlot; so went they in unto Oholah and unto Oholibah, the lewd women.


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 But righteous men, they shall judge them as adulteresses are judged, and as women that shed blood are judged; because they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands.


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 For thus saith the Lord GOD: An assembly shall be brought up against them, and they shall be made a horror and a spoil.


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 And the assembly shall stone them with stones, and despatch them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses with fire.


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 Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness.


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 And your lewdness shall be recompensed upon you, and ye shall bear the sins of your idols; and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.'


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 And the word of the LORD came unto me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, saying:


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 'Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this selfsame day; this selfsame day the king of Babylon hath invested Jerusalem.


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 And utter a parable concerning the rebellious house, and say unto them: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Set on the pot, set it on, and also pour water into it;


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 Gather into it the pieces belonging to it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones.


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 Take the choice of the flock, and pile also the bones under it; make it boil well, that the bones thereof may also be seethed in the midst of it.


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 Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose filth is therein, and whose filth is not gone out of it! bring it out piece by piece; no lot is fallen upon it.


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 For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon the bare rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust;


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 that it might cause fury to come up, that vengeance might be taken, I have set her blood upon the bare rock, that it should not be covered.


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 heaping on the wood, kindling the fire, that the flesh may be consumed; and preparing the mixture, that the bones also may be burned;


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 then will I set it empty upon the coals thereof, that it may be hot, and the bottom thereof may burn, and that the impurity of it may be molten in it, that the filth of it may be consumed.


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 It hath wearied itself with toil; yet its great filth goeth not forth out of it, yea, its noisome filth.


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 Because of thy filthy lewdness, because I have purged thee and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have satisfied My fury upon thee.


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 I the LORD have spoken it; it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord GOD.'


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 'Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke; yet neither shalt thou make lamentation nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down.


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 Sigh in silence; make no mourning for the dead, bind thy headtire upon thee, and put thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thine upper lip, and eat not the bread of men.'


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 So I spoke unto the people in the morning, and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.


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 And the people said unto me: 'Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so?'


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 Speak unto the house of Israel: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will profane My sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and the longing of your soul; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left behind shall fall by the sword.


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 and your tires shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet; ye shall not make lamentation nor weep; but ye shall pine away in your iniquities, and moan one toward another.


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 Thus shall Ezekiel be unto you a sign; according to all that he hath done shall ye do; when this cometh, then shall ye know that I am the Lord GOD.


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 And thou, son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their stronghold, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and the yearning of their soul, their sons and their daughters,


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 In that day shall thy mouth be opened together with him that is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb; so shalt thou be a sign unto them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.'


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 and say unto the children of Ammon: Hear the word of the Lord GOD: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Because thou saidst: Aha! against My sanctuary, when it was profaned, and against the land of Israel, when it was made desolate, and against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity;


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 therefore, behold, I will deliver thee to the children of the east for a possession, and they shall set their encampments in thee, and make their dwellings in thee; they shall eat thy fruit, and they shall drink thy milk.


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 And I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels, and the children of Ammon a couching-place for flocks; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.


text:
 For thus saith the Lord GOD: Because thou hast clapped thy hands, and stamped with the feet, and rejoiced with all the disdain of thy soul against the land of Israel;


text:
 therefore, behold, I stretch out My hand upon thee, and will deliver thee for a spoil to the nations; and I will cut thee off from the peoples, and I will cause thee to perish out of the countries; I will destroy thee, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.


text:
 Thus saith the Lord GOD: Because that Moab and Seir do say: Behold, the house of Judah is like unto all the nations,


text:
 therefore, behold, I will open the flank of Moab on the side of the cities, on the side of his cities which are on his frontiers, the beauteous country of Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim,


text:
 together with the children of Ammon, unto the children of the east, and I will give them for a possession, that the children of Ammon may not be remembered among the nations;


text:
 Thus saith the Lord GOD: Because that Edom hath dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and hath greatly offended, and revenged himself upon them;


text:
 therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: I will stretch out My hand upon Edom, and will cut off man and beast from it; and I will make it desolate from Teman, even unto Dedan shall they fall by the sword.


text:
 And I will lay My vengeance upon Edom by the hand of My people Israel; and they shall do in Edom according to Mine anger and according to My fury; and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord GOD.


text:
 Thus saith the Lord GOD: Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with disdain of soul to destroy, for the old hatred;


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 therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will stretch out My hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites, and destroy the remnant of the sea-coast.


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 And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall lay My vengeance upon them.'


text:
 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying:


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 'Son of man, because that Tyre hath said against Jerusalem: Aha, she is broken that was the gate of the peoples; she is turned unto me; I shall be filled with her that is laid waste;


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 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against thee, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth its waves to come up.


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 And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre, and break down her towers; I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her a bare rock.


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 She shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea; for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD; and she shall become a spoil to the nations.


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 And her daughters that are in the field shall be slain with the sword; and they shall know that I am the LORD.


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 For thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will bring upon Tyre Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and a company, and much people.


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 He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field; and he shall make forts against thee, and cast up a mound against thee, and set up bucklers against thee.


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 And he shall set his battering engines against thy walls, and with his axes he shall break down thy towers.


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 By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover thee; at the noise of the horsemen, and of the wheels, and of the chariots, thy walls shall shake, when he shall enter into thy gates, as men enter into a city wherein is made a breach.


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 With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets; he shall slay thy people with the sword, and the pillars of thy strength shall go down to the ground.


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 And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise; and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy the houses of thy delight; and thy stones and thy timber and thy dust shall they lay in the midst of the waters.


text:
 And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease, and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard.


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 And I will make thee a bare rock; thou shalt be a place for the spreading of nets, thou shalt be built no more; for I the LORD have spoken, saith the Lord GOD.


text:
 Thus saith the Lord GOD to Tyre: Shall not the isles shake at the sound of thy fall, when the wounded groan, when the slaughter is made in the midst of thee?


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 Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and lay away their robes, and strip off their richly woven garments; they shall clothe themselves with trembling; they shall sit upon the ground, and shall tremble every moment, and be appalled at thee.


text:
 And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and say to thee: how art thou destroyed, that wast peopled from the seas, the renowned city, that wast strong in the sea, thou and thy inhabitants, that caused your terror to be on all that inhabit the earth!


text:
 Now shall the isles tremble in the day of thy fall; yea, the isles that are in the sea shall be affrighted at thy going out.


text:
 For thus saith the Lord GOD: When I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and the great waters shall cover thee;


text:
 then will I bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, to the people of old time, and will make thee to dwell in the nether parts of the earth, like the places that are desolate of old, with them that go down to the pit, that thou be not inhabited; and I will set glory in the land of the living;


text:
 I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more; though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, saith the Lord GOD.'


text:
 and say unto Tyre, that dwelleth at the entry of the sea, that is the merchant of the peoples unto many isles: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Thou, O Tyre, hast said: I am of perfect beauty.


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 Of cypress-trees from Senir have they fashioned all thy planks; they have taken cedars from Lebanon to make masts for thee.


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 Of the oaks of Bashan have they made thine oars; thy deck have they made of ivory inlaid in larch, from the isles of the Kittites.


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 Of fine linen with richly woven work from Egypt was thy sail, that it might be to thee for an ensign; blue and purple from the isles of Elishah was thine awning.


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 The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were thy rowers; thy wise men, O Tyre, were in thee, they were thy pilots.


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 The elders of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in thee thy calkers; all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee to exchange thy merchandise.


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 Persia and Lud and Put were in thine army, thy men of war; they hanged the shield and helmet in thee, they set forth thy comeliness.


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 The men of Arvad and Helech were upon thy walls round about, and the Gammadim were in thy towers; they hanged their shields upon thy walls round about; they have perfected thy beauty.


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 Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kinds of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded for thy wares.


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 Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy traffickers; they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass for thy merchandise.


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 The men of Dedan were thy traffickers; many isles were the mart of thy hand; they brought thee as tribute horns of ivory and ebony.


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 Aram was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of thy wealth; they traded for thy wares with carbuncles, purple, and richly woven work, and fine linen, and coral, and rubies.


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 Judah, and the land of Israel, they were thy traffickers; they traded for thy merchandise wheat of Minnith, and balsam, and honey, and oil, and balm.


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 Damascus was thy merchant for the multitude of thy wealth, by reason of the multitude of all riches, with the wine of Helbon, and white wool.


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 Vedan and Javan traded with yarn for thy wares; massive iron, cassia, and calamus, were among thy merchandise.


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 Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they were the merchants of thy hand; in lambs, and rams, and goats, in these were they thy merchants.


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 The traffickers of Sheba and Raamah, they were thy traffickers; they traded for thy wares with chief of all spices, and with all precious stones, and gold.


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 These were thy traffickers in gorgeous fabrics, in wrappings of blue and richly woven work, and in chests of rich apparel, bound with cords and cedar-lined, among thy merchandise.


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 The ships of Tarshish brought thee tribute for thy merchandise; so wast thou replenished, and made very heavy in the heart of the seas.


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 Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters; the east wind hath broken thee in the heart of the seas.


text:
 Thy riches, and thy wares, thy merchandise, thy mariners, and thy pilots, thy calkers, and the exchangers of thy merchandise, and all thy men of war, that are in thee, with all thy company which is in the midst of thee, shall fall into the heart of the seas in the day of thy ruin.


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 And all that handle the oar, the mariners, and all the pilots of the sea, shall come down from their ships, they shall stand upon the land,


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 And shall cause their voice to be heard over thee, and shall cry bitterly, and shall cast up dust upon their heads, they shall roll themselves in the ashes;


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 And they shall make themselves utterly bald for thee, and gird them with sackcloth, and they shall weep for thee in bitterness of soul with bitter lamentation.


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 And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and lament over thee: who was there like Tyre, fortified in the midst of the sea?


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 When thy wares came forth out of the seas, thou didst fill many peoples; with the multitude of thy riches and of thy merchandise didst thou enrich the kings of the earth.


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 Now that thou art broken by the seas in the depths of the waters, and thy merchandise and all thy company are fallen in the midst of thee,


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 All the inhabitants of the isles are appalled at thee, and their kings are horribly afraid, they are troubled in their countenance;


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 The merchants among the peoples hiss at thee; thou art become a terror, and never shalt be any more.'


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 'Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyre: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Because thy heart is lifted up, and thou hast said: I am a god, I sit in the seat of God, in the heart of the seas; yet thou art man, and not God, though thou didst set thy heart as the heart of God--


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 By thy wisdom and by thy discernment thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures;


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 In thy great wisdom by thy traffic hast thou increased thy riches, and thy heart is lifted up because of thy riches--


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 Therefore, behold, I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations; and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness.


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 They shall bring thee down to the pit; and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain, in the heart of the seas.


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 Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee: I am God? But thou art man, and not God, in the hand of them that defile thee.


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 Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers; for I have spoken, saith the Lord GOD.'


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 'Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say unto him: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Thou seal most accurate, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty,


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 thou wast in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the carnelian, the topaz, and the emerald, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the carbuncle, and the smaragd, and gold; the workmanship of thy settings and of thy sockets was in thee, in the day that thou wast created they were prepared.


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 Thou wast the far-covering cherub; and I set thee, so that thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of stones of fire.


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 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till unrighteousness was found in thee.


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 By the multitude of thy traffic they filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned; therefore have I cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God; and I have destroyed thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.


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 Thy heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness; I have cast thee to the ground, I have laid thee before kings, that they may gaze upon thee.


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 By the multitude of thine iniquities, in the unrighteousness of thy traffic, thou hast profaned thy sanctuaries; therefore have I brought forth a fire from the midst of thee, it hath devoured thee, and I have turned thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.


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 All they that know thee among the peoples shall be appalled at thee; thou art become a terror, and thou shalt never be any more.'


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 and say: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against thee, O Zidon, and I will be glorified in the midst of thee; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall have executed judgments in her, and shall be sanctified in her.


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 For I will send into her pestilence and blood in her streets; and the wounded shall fall in the midst of her by the sword upon her on every side; and they shall know that I am the LORD.


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 And there shall be no more a pricking brier unto the house of Israel, nor a piercing thorn of any that are round about them, that did have them in disdain; and they shall know that I am the Lord GOD.


text:
 Thus saith the Lord GOD: When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the nations, then shall they dwell in their own land which I gave to My servant Jacob.


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 And they shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses, and plant vineyards; yea, they shall dwell safely; when I have executed judgments upon all those that have them in disdain round about them; and they shall know that I am the LORD their God.'


text:
 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, in the twelfth day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying:


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 'Son of man, set thy face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt;


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 speak, and say: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh King of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, that hath said: My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself.


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 And I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales; and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of thy rivers shall stick unto thy scales.


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 And I will cast thee into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers; thou shalt fall upon the open field; thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered; to the beasts of the earth and to the fowls of the heaven have I given thee for food.


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 And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the LORD, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.


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 When they take hold of thee with the hand, thou dost break, and rend all their shoulders; and when they lean upon thee, thou breakest, and makest all their loins to be at a stand.


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 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will bring a sword upon thee, and will cut off from thee man and beast.


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 And the land of Egypt shall be desolate and waste, and they shall know that I am the LORD; because he hath said: The river is mine, and I have made it.


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 Therefore, behold, I am against thee, and against thy rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from Migdol to Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia.


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 No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years.


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 And I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities among the cities that are laid waste shall be desolate forty years; and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries.


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 For thus saith the Lord GOD: At the end of forty years will I gather the Egyptians from the peoples whither they were scattered;


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 and I will turn the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their origin; and they shall be there a lowly kingdom.


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 It shall be the lowliest of the kingdoms, neither shall it any more lift itself up above the nations; and I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations.


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 And it shall be no more the confidence of the house of Israel, bringing iniquity to remembrance, when they turn after them; and they shall know that I am the Lord GOD.'


text:
 And it came to pass in the seven and twentieth year, in the first month, in the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying:


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 'Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyre; every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled; yet had he no wages, nor his army, from Tyre, for the service that he had served against it;


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 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall carry off her abundance, and take her spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be the wages for his army.


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 I have given him the land of Egypt as his hire for which he served, because they wrought for Me, saith the Lord GOD.


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 In that day will I cause a horn to shoot up unto the house of Israel, and I will give thee the opening of the mouth in the midst of them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.'


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 For the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near, a day of clouds, it shall be the time of the nations.


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 And a sword shall come upon Egypt, and convulsion shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt; and they shall take away her abundance, and her foundation shall be broken down.


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 Ethiopia, and Put, and Lud, and all the mingled people, and Cub, and the children of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.


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 Thus saith the LORD: They also that uphold Egypt shall fall, and the pride of her power shall come down; from Migdol to Syene shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the Lord GOD.


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 And they shall be desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted.


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 And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have set a fire in Egypt, and all her helpers are destroyed.


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 In that day shall messengers go forth from before Me in ships to make the confident Ethiopians afraid; and there shall come convulsion upon them in the day of Egypt; for, lo, it cometh.


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 Thus saith the Lord GOD: I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease, by the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon.


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 He and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, shall be brought in to destroy the land; and they shall draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain.


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 And I will make the rivers dry, and will give the land over into the hand of evil men; and I will make the land desolate, and all that is therein, by the hand of strangers; I the LORD have spoken it.


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 Thus saith the Lord GOD: I will also destroy the idols, and I will cause the things of nought to cease from Noph; and there shall be no more a prince out of the land of Egypt; and I will put a fear in the land of Egypt.


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 And I will set a fire in Egypt; Sin shall be in great convulsion, and No shall be rent asunder; and in Noph shall come adversaries in the day-time.


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 The young men of Aven and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword; and these cities shall go into captivity.


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 At Tehaphnehes also the day shall withdraw itself, when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt, and the pride of her power shall cease in her; as for her, a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity.


text:
 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, in the seventh day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying:


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 'Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, lo, it hath not been bound up to be healed, to put a roller, that it be bound up and wax strong, that it hold the sword.


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 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, the strong, and that which was broken; and I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand.


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 And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put My sword in his hand; but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly wounded man.


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 And I will hold up the arms of the king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land of Egypt.


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 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them through the countries; and they shall know that I am the LORD.'


text:
 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying:


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 'Son of man, say unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude: whom art thou like in thy greatness?


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 Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon, with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of a high stature; and its top was among the thick boughs.


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 The waters nourished it, the deep made it to grow; her rivers ran round about her plantation, and she sent out her conduits unto all the trees of the field.


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 Therefore its stature was exalted above all the trees of the field; and its boughs were multiplied, and its branches became long, because of the multitude of waters, when it shot them forth.


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 All the fowls of heaven made their nests in its boughs, and all the beasts of the field did bring forth their young under its branches, and under its shadow dwelt all great nations.


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 The cedars in the garden of God could not hide it; the cypress-trees were not like its boughs, and the plane-trees were not as its branches; nor was any tree in the garden of God like unto it in its beauty.


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 I made it fair by the multitude of its branches; so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied it.


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 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Because thou art exalted in stature, and he hath set his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height;


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 I do even deliver him into the hand of the mighty one of the nations; he shall surely deal with him; I do drive him out according to his wickedness.


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 And strangers, the terrible of the nations, do cut him off, and cast him down; upon the mountains and in all the valleys his branches are fallen, and his boughs lie broken in all the channels of the land; and all the peoples of the earth do go down from his shadow, and do leave him.


text:
 Upon his carcass all the fowls of the heaven do dwell, and upon his branches are all the beasts of the field;


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 to the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves in their stature, neither set their top among the thick boughs, nor that their mighty ones stand up in their height, even all that drink water; for they are all delivered unto death, to the nether parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with them that go down to the pit.


text:
 Thus saith the Lord GOD: In the day when he went down to the nether-world I caused the deep to mourn and cover itself for him, and I restrained the rivers thereof, and the great waters were stayed; and I caused Lebanon to mourn for him, and all the trees of the field fainted for him.


text:
 I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to the nether-world with them that descend into the pit; and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, were comforted in the nether parts of the earth.


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 They also went down into the nether-world with him unto them that are slain by the sword; yea, they that were in his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the nations.


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 To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? yet shall thou be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the nether parts of the earth; thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised, with them that are slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD.'


text:
 And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying:


text:
 'Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him: thou didst liken thyself unto a young lion of the nations; whereas thou art as a dragon in the seas; and thou didst gush forth with thy rivers, and didst trouble the waters with thy feet, and foul their rivers.


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 Thus saith the Lord GOD: I will therefore spread out My net over thee with a company of many peoples; and they shall bring thee up in My net.


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 And I will cast thee upon the land, I will hurl thee upon the open field, and will cause all the fowls of the heaven to settle upon thee, and I will fill the beasts of the whole earth with thee.


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 I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest, even to the mountains; and the channels shall be full of thee.


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 And when I shall extinguish thee, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof black; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light.


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 All the bright lights of heaven will I make black over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord GOD.


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 I will also vex the hearts of many peoples, when I shall bring thy destruction among the nations, into the countries which thou hast not known.


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 Yea, I will make many peoples appalled at thee, and their kings shall be horribly afraid for thee, when I shall brandish My sword before them; and they shall tremble at every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of thy fall.


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 By the swords of the mighty will I cause thy multitude to fall; the terrible of the nations are they all; and they shall spoil the pride of Egypt, and all the multitude thereof shall be destroyed.


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 I will destroy also all the beasts thereof from beside many waters; neither shall the foot of man trouble them any more, nor the hoofs of beasts trouble them.


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 Then will I make their waters to settle, and cause their rivers to run like oil, saith the Lord GOD.


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 When I shall make the land of Egypt desolate and waste, a land destitute of that whereof it was full, when I shall smite all them that dwell therein, then shall they know that I am the LORD.


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 This is the lamentation wherewith they shall lament; the daughters of the nations shall lament therewith; for Egypt, and for all her multitude, shall they lament therewith, saith the Lord GOD.'


text:
 It came to pass also in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying:


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 'Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, even her, with the daughters of the mighty nations, unto the nether parts of the earth, with them that go down into the pit.


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 They shall fall in the midst of them that are slain by the sword; she is delivered to the sword; draw her down and all her multitudes.


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 The strong among the mighty shall speak of him out of the midst of the nether-world with them that helped him; they are gone down, they lie still, even the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.


text:
 Asshur is there and all her company; their graves are round about them; all of them slain, fallen by the sword;


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 whose graves are set in the uttermost parts of the pit, and her company is round about her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who caused terror in the land of the living.


text:
 There is Elam and all her multitude round about her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who are gone down uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth, who caused their terror in the land of the living; yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit.


text:
 They have set her a bed in the midst of the slain with all her multitude; her graves are round about them; all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; because their terror was caused in the land of the living, yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit; they are put in the midst of them that are slain.


text:
 There is Meshech, Tubal, and all her multitude; her graves are round about them; all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; because they caused their terror in the land of the living.


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 And they that are inferior to the uncircumcised shall not lie with the mighty that are gone down to the nether-world with their weapons of war, whose swords are laid under their heads, and whose iniquities are upon their bones; because the terror of the mighty was in the land of the living.


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 But thou, in the midst of the uncircumcised shalt thou be broken and lie, even with them that are slain by the sword.


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 There is Edom, her kings and all her princes, who for all their might are laid with them that are slain by the sword; they shall lie with the uncircumcised, and with them that go down to the pit.


text:
 There are the princes of the north, all of them, and all the Zidonians, who are gone down with the slain, ashamed for all the terror which they caused by their might, and they lie uncircumcised with them that are slain by the sword, and bear their shame with them that go down to the pit.


text:
 These shall Pharaoh see, and shall be comforted over all his multitude; even Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword, saith the Lord GOD.


text:
 For I have put My terror in the land of the living; and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised, with them that are slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD.'


text:
 'Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them: When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man from among them, and set him for their watchman;


text:
 then whosoever heareth the sound of the horn, and taketh not warning, if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head;


text:
 he heard the sound of the horn, and took not warning, his blood shall be upon him; whereas if he had taken warning, he would have delivered his soul.


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 But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the horn, and the people be not warned, and the sword do come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.


text:
 So thou, son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore, when thou shalt hear the word at My mouth, warn them from Me.


text:
 When I say unto the wicked: O wicked man, thou shalt surely die, and thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way; that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at thy hand.


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 Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it, and he turn not from his way; he shall die in his iniquity, but thou hast delivered thy soul.


text:
 Therefore, O thou son of man, say unto the house of Israel: Thus ye speak, saying: Our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we pine away in them; how then can we live?


text:
 Say unto them: As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?


text:
 And thou, son of man, say unto the children of thy people: The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression; and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not stumble thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall he that is righteous be able to live thereby in the day that he sinneth.


text:
 When I say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his righteousness, and commit iniquity, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, for it shall he die.


text:
 Again, when I say unto the wicked: Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right;


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 if the wicked restore the pledge, give back that which he had taken by robbery, walk in the statutes of life, committing no iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die.


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 None of his sins that he hath committed shall be remembered against him; he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.


text:
 Yet the children of thy people say: The way of the Lord is not equal; but as for them, their way is not equal.


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 When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby.


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 And when the wicked turneth from his wickedness, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby.


text:
 Yet ye say: The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.'


text:
 And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying: 'The city is smitten.'


text:
 Now the hand of the LORD had been upon me in the evening, before he that was escaped came; and He had opened my mouth against his coming to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb.


text:
 'Son of man, they that inhabit those waste places in the land of Israel speak, saying: Abraham was one, and he inherited the land; but we are many; the land is given us for inheritance.


text:
 Wherefore say unto them: Thus saith the Lord GOD. Ye eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes unto your idols, and shed blood; and shall ye possess the land?


text:
 Ye stand upon your sword, ye work abomination, and ye defile every one his neighbour's wife; and shall ye possess the land?


text:
 Thus shalt thou say unto them: Thus saith the Lord GOD: As I live, surely they that are in the waste places shall fall by the sword, and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts to be devoured, and they that are in the strongholds and in the caves shall die of the pestilence.


text:
 And I will make the land most desolate, and the pride of her power shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, so that none shall pass through.


text:
 Then shall they know that I am the LORD, when I have made the land most desolate, because of all their abominations which they have committed.


text:
 And as for thee, son of man, the children of thy people that talk of thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying: Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the LORD;


text:
 and come unto thee as the people cometh, and sit before thee as My people, and hear thy words, but do them not--for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness;


text:
 and, lo, thou art unto them as a love song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument; so they hear thy words, but they do them not--


text:
 when this cometh to pass--behold, it cometh--then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.'


text:
 'Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, even to the shepherds: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Woe unto the shepherds of Israel that have fed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the sheep?


text:
 Ye did eat the fat, and ye clothed you with the wool, ye killed the fatlings; but ye fed not the sheep.


text:
 The weak have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought back that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force have ye ruled over them and with rigour.


text:
 So were they scattered, because there was no shepherd; and they became food to all the beasts of the field, and were scattered.


text:
 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill, yea, upon all the face of the earth were My sheep scattered, and there was none that did search or seek.


text:
 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely forasmuch as My sheep became a prey, and My sheep became food to all the beasts of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did My shepherds search for My sheep, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not My sheep;


text:
 Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require My sheep at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the sheep; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; and I will deliver My sheep from their mouth, that they may not be food for them.


text:
 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are separated, so will I seek out My sheep; and I will deliver them out of all places whither they have been scattered in the day of clouds and thick darkness.


text:
 And I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them upon the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the habitable places of the country.


text:
 I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be; there shall they lie down in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.


text:
 I will seek that which was lost, and will bring back that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick; and the fat and the strong I will destroy, I will feed them in justice.


text:
 And as for you, O My flock, thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, even the rams and the he- goats.


text:
 Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have fed upon the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture? and to have drunk of the settled waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?


text:
 And as for My sheep, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet, and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.


text:
 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them: Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and the lean cattle.


text:
 Because ye thrust with side and with shoulder, and push all the weak with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad;


text:
 therefore will I save My flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.


text:
 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even My servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.


text:
 And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause evil beasts to cease out of the land; and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.


text:
 And I will make them and the places round about My hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in its season; there shall be showers of blessing.


text:
 And the tree of the field shall yield its fruit, and the earth shall yield her produce, and they shall be safe in their land; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bars of their yoke, and have delivered them out of the hand of those that made bondmen of them.


text:
 And they shall no more be a prey to the nations, neither shall the beast of the earth devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid.


text:
 And I will raise up unto them a plantation for renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the nations any more.


text:
 And they shall know that I the LORD their God am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people, saith the Lord GOD.


text:
 and say unto it: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against thee, O mount Seir, and I will stretch out My hand against thee, and I will make thee most desolate.


text:
 Because thou hast had a hatred of old, and hast hurled the children of Israel unto the power of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time of the iniquity of the end;


text:
 therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee; surely thou hast hated thine own blood, therefore blood shall pursue thee.


text:
 Thus will I make mount Seir most desolate, and cut off from it him that passeth through and him that returneth.


text:
 And I will fill his mountains with his slain; in thy hills and in thy valleys and in all thy streams shall they fall that are slain with the sword.


text:
 I will make thee perpetual desolations, and thy cities shall not return; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.


text:
 Because thou hast said: These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess it; whereas the LORD was there;


text:
 therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will do according to thine anger and according to thine envy, which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them; and I will make Myself known among them, when I shall judge thee.


text:
 And thou shalt know that I the LORD have heard all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying: They are laid desolate, they are given us to devour.


text:
 And ye have magnified yourselves against Me with your mouth, and have multiplied your words against Me; I have heard it.


text:
 As thou didst rejoice over the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do unto thee; thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir, and all Edom, even all of it; and they shall know that I am the LORD.


text:
 And thou, son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say: Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD.


text:
 Thus saith the Lord GOD: Because the enemy hath said against you: Aha! even the ancient high places are ours in possession;


text:
 therefore prophesy, and say: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Because, even because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the rest of the nations, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and the evil report of the people;


text:
 therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD: Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains and to the hills, to the streams and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes and to the cities that are forsaken, which are become a prey and derision to the residue of the nations that are round about;


text:
 therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Surely in the fire of My jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the nations, and against all Edom, that have appointed My land unto themselves for a possession with the joy of all their heart, with disdain of soul, to cast it out for a prey;


text:
 therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains and to the hills, to the streams and to the valleys: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy and in My fury, because ye have borne the shame of the nations;


text:
 therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: I have lifted up My hand: Surely the nations that are round about you, they shall bear their shame.


text:
 But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to My people Israel; for they are at hand to come.


text:
 and I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it; and the cities shall be inhabited, and the waste places shall be builded;


text:
 and I will multiply upon you man and beast, and they shall increase and be fruitful; and I will cause you to be inhabited after your former estate, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.


text:
 Yea, I will cause men to walk upon you, even my people Israel, and they shall possess thee, and thou shalt be their inheritance; and thou shalt no more henceforth bereave them of children.


text:
 Thus saith the Lord GOD: Because they say unto you: Thou land art a devourer of men, and hast been a bereaver of thy nations;


text:
 neither will I suffer the shame of the nations any more to be heard against thee, neither shalt thou bear the reproach of the peoples any more, neither shalt thou cause thy nations to stumble any more, saith the Lord GOD.'


text:
 'Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their way and by their doings; their way before Me was as the uncleanness of a woman in her impurity.


text:
 Wherefore I poured out My fury upon them for the blood which they had shed upon the land, and because they had defiled it with their idols;


text:
 and I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries; according to their way and according to their doings I judged them.


text:
 And when they came unto the nations, whither they came, they profaned My holy name; in that men said of them: These are the people of the LORD, and are gone forth out of His land.


text:
 But I had pity for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations, whither they came.


text:
 Therefore say unto the house of Israel: Thus saith the Lord GOD: I do not this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name, which ye have profaned among the nations, whither ye came.


text:
 And I will sanctify My great name, which hath been profaned among the nations, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.


text:
 For I will take you from among the nations, and gather you out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land.


text:
 And I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean; from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.


text:
 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.


text:
 And I will put My spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep Mine ordinances, and do them.


text:
 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be My people, and I will be your God.


text:
 And I will save you from all your uncleannesses; and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you.


text:
 And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye may receive no more the reproach of famine among the nations.


text:
 Then shall ye remember your evil ways, and your doings that were not good; and ye shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations.


text:
 Not for your sake do I this, saith the Lord GOD, be it known unto you; be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel.


text:
 Thus saith the Lord GOD: In the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be builded.


text:
 And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, whereas it was a desolation in the sight of all that passed by.


text:
 And they shall say: This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are fortified and inhabited.


text:
 Then the nations that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD have builded the ruined places, and planted that which was desolate; I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it.


text:
 Thus saith the Lord GOD: I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock.


text:
 As the flock for sacrifice, as the flock of Jerusalem in her appointed seasons, so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men; and they shall know that I am the LORD.'


text:
 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and the LORD carried me out in a spirit, and set me down in the midst of the valley, and it was full of bones;


text:
 and He caused me to pass by them round about, and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.


text:
 And He said unto me: 'Son of man, can these bones live?' And I answered: 'O Lord GOD, Thou knowest.'


text:
 Then He said unto me: 'Prophesy over these bones, and say unto them: O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD:


text:
 Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live.


text:
 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.'


text:
 So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a commotion, and the bones came together, bone to its bone.


text:
 And I beheld, and, lo, there were sinews upon them, and flesh came up, and skin covered them above; but there was no breath in them.


text:
 Then said He unto me: 'Prophesy unto the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.'


text:
 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great host.


text:
 Then He said unto me: 'Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say: Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off.


text:
 Therefore prophesy, and say unto them: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, O My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel.


text:
 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, and caused you to come up out of your graves, O My people.


text:
 And I will put My spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I will place you in your own land; and ye shall know that I the LORD have spoken, and performed it, saith the LORD.'


text:
 'And thou, son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it: For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions; then take another stick, and write upon it: For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and of all the house of Israel his companions;


text:
 And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying: Wilt thou not tell us what thou meanest by these?


text:
 say into them: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his companions; and I will put them unto him together with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in My hand.


text:
 And say unto them: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, whither they are gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land;


text:
 and I will make them one nation in the land, upon the mountains of Israel, and one king shall be king to them all; and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all;


text:
 neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will save them out of all their dwelling-places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them; so shall they be My people, and I will be their God.


text:
 And My servant David shall be king over them, and they all shall have one shepherd; they shall also walk in Mine ordinances, and observe My statutes, and do them.


text:
 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob My servant, wherein your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, they, and their children, and their children's children, for ever; and David My servant shall be their prince for ever.


text:
 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them--it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will establish them, and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in the midst of them for ever.


text:
 And the nations shall know that I am the LORD that sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for ever.'


text:
 'Son of man, set thy face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,


text:
 and say: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal;


text:
 and I will turn thee about, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed most gorgeously, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them handling swords:


text:
 Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah in the uttermost parts of the north, and all his bands; even many peoples with thee.


text:
 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou guarded of them.


text:
 After many days thou shalt be mustered for service, in the latter years thou shalt come against the land that is brought back from the sword, that is gathered out of many peoples, against the mountains of Israel, which have been a continual waste; but it is brought forth out of the peoples, and they dwell safely all of them.


text:
 And thou shalt ascend, thou shalt come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many peoples with thee.


text:
 Thus saith the Lord GOD: It shall come to pass in that day, that things shall come into thy mind, and thou shalt devise an evil device;


text:
 and thou shalt say: I will go up against the land of unwalled villages; I will come upon them that are at quiet, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates;


text:
 to take the spoil and to take the prey; to turn thy hand against the waste places that are now inhabited, and against the people that are gathered out of the nations, that have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the middle of the earth.


text:
 Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the magnates thereof, shall say unto thee: Comest thou to take the spoil? hast thou assembled thy company to take the prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take great spoil?


text:
 Therefore, son of man, prophesy, and say unto Gog: Thus saith the Lord GOD: In that day when My people Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?


text:
 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the uttermost parts of the north, thou, and many peoples with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company and a mighty army;


text:
 and thou shalt come up against My people Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the end of days, and I will bring thee against My land, that the nations may know Me, when I shall be sanctified through thee, O Gog, before their eyes.


text:
 Thus saith the Lord GOD: Art thou he of whom I spoke in old time by My servants the prophets of Israel, that prophesied in those days for many years, that I would bring thee against them?


text:
 And it shall come to pass in that day, when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that My fury shall arise up in My nostrils.


text:
 For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath have I spoken: Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;


text:
 so that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field and all creeping things that creep upon the ground, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at My presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.


text:
 And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD; every man's sword shall be against his brother.


text:
 And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will cause to rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many peoples that are with him, an overflowing shower, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.


text:
 Thus will I magnify Myself, and sanctify Myself, and I will make Myself known in the eyes of many nations; and they shall know that I am the LORD.


text:
 And thou, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal;


text:
 and I will turn thee about and lead thee on, and will cause thee to come up from the uttermost parts of the north; and I will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel;


text:
 and I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.


text:
 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the peoples that are with thee; I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort and to the beasts of the field, to be devoured.


text:
 And I will send a fire on Magog, and on them that dwell safely in the isles; and they shall know that I am the LORD.


text:
 And My holy name will I make known in the midst of My people Israel; neither will I suffer My holy name to be profaned any more; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.


text:
 Behold, it cometh, and it shall be done, saith the Lord GOD; This is the day whereof I have spoken.


text:
 And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall make fires of the weapons and use them as fuel, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the hand-staves, and the spears, and they shall make fires of them seven years;


text:
 so that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests, for they shall make fires of the weapons; and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord GOD.


text:
 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place fit for burial in Israel, the valley of them that pass through on the east of the sea; and it shall stop them that pass through; and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude; and they shall call it the valley of Hamon-gog.


text:
 Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them, and it shall be to them a renown; in the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD.


text:
 And they shall set apart men of continual employment, that shall pass through the land to bury with them that pass through those that remain upon the face of the land, to cleanse it; after the end of seven months shall they search.


text:
 And when they that pass through shall pass through the land, and any seeth a man's bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamon-gog.


text:
 And thou, son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD: Speak unto the birds of every sort, and to every beast of the field: Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to My feast that I do prepare for you, even a great feast, upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh and drink blood.


text:
 The flesh of the mighty shall ye eat, and the blood of the princes of the earth shall ye drink; rams, lambs, and goats, bullocks, fatlings of Bashan are they all of them.


text:
 And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of My feast which I have prepared for you.


text:
 And ye shall be filled at My table with horses and horsemen, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD.


text:
 And I will set My glory among the nations, and all the nations shall see My judgment that I have executed, and My hand that I have laid upon them.


text:
 And the nations shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity, because they broke faith with Me, and I hid My face from them; so I gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and they fell all of them by the sword.


text:
 According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions did I unto them; and I hid My face from them.


text:
 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Now will I bring back the captivity of Jacob, and have compassion upon the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name.


text:
 And they shall bear their shame, and all their breach of faith which they have committed against Me, when they shall dwell safely in their land, and none shall make them afraid;


text:
 when I have brought them back from the peoples, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations.


text:
 And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, in that I caused them to go into captivity among the nations, and have gathered them unto their own land; and I will leave none of them any more there;


text:
 neither will I hide My face any more from them; for I have poured out My spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.'


text:
 In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was smitten, in the selfsame day, the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me thither.


text:
 In the visions of God brought He me into the land of Israel, and set me down upon a very high mountain, whereon was as it were the frame of a city on the south.


text:
 And He brought me thither, and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate.


text:
 And the man said unto me: 'Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thy heart upon all that I shall show thee, for to the intent that I might show them unto thee art thou brought thither; declare all that thou seest to the house of Israel.'


text:
 And behold a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man's hand a measuring reed of six cubits long, of a cubit and a hand-breadth each; so he measured the breadth of the building, one reed, and the height, one reed.


text:
 Then came he unto the gate which looketh toward the east, and went up the steps thereof; and he measured the jamb of the gate, one reed broad, and the other jamb, one reed broad.


text:
 And every cell was one reed long, and one reed broad; and the space between the cells was five cubits; and the jambs of the gate by the porch of the gate within were one reed.


text:
 Then measured he the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and the posts thereof, two cubits; and the porch of the gate was inward.


text:
 And the cells of the gate eastward were three on this side, and three on that side; they three were of one measure; and the posts had one measure on this side and on that side.


text:
 And he measured the breadth of the entry of the gate, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits;


text:
 and a border before the cells, one cubit , and a border, one cubit on that side; and the cells, six cubits on this side, and six cubits on that side.


text:
 And he measured the gate from the roof of the one cell to the roof of the other, a breadth of five and twenty cubits; door against door.


text:
 He made also posts of threescore cubits; even unto the posts of the court in the gates round about.


text:
 And from the forefront of the gate of the entrance unto the forefront of the inner porch of the gate were fifty cubits.


text:
 And there were narrow windows to the cells and to their posts within the gate round about, and likewise to the arches; and windows were round about inward; and upon each post were palm-trees.


text:
 Then brought he me into the outer court, and, lo, there were chambers and a pavement, made for the court round about; thirty chambers were upon the pavement.


text:
 And the pavement was by the side of the gates, corresponding unto the length of the gates, even the lower pavement.


text:
 Then he measured the breadth from the forefront of the lower gate unto the forefront of the inner court without, a hundred cubits, eastward as also northward.


text:
 And the gate of the outer court that looked toward the north, he measured the length thereof and the breadth thereof.


text:
 And the cells thereof were three on this side and three on that side; and the posts thereof and the arches thereof were after the measure of the first gate; the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.


text:
 And the windows thereof, and the arches thereof, and the palm-trees thereof, were after the measure of the gate that looketh toward the east; and it was ascended by seven steps; and the arches thereof were before them.


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 And there was a gate to the inner court over against the other gate, northward as also eastward; and he measured from gate to gate a hundred cubits.


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 And he led me toward the south, and behold a gate toward the south; and he measured the posts thereof, and the arches thereof according to these measures.


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 And there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about, like those windows; the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.


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 And there were seven steps to go up to it, and the arches thereof were before them; and it had palm-trees, one on this side, and another on that side, upon the posts thereof.


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 And there was a gate to the inner court toward the south; and he measured from gate to gate toward the south a hundred cubits.


text:
 Then he brought me to the inner court by the south gate; and he measured the south gate according to these measures;


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 and the cells thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, according to these measures; and there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about; it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad.


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 And the arches thereof were toward the outer court; and palm-trees were upon the posts thereof; and the going up to it had eight steps.


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 And he brought me into the inner court toward the east; and he measured the gate according to these measures;


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 and the cells thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, according to these measures; and there were windows therein and in the arches thereof round about; it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad.


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 And the arches thereof were toward the outer court; and palm-trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side; and the going up to it had eight steps.


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 the cells thereof, the posts thereof, and the arches thereof; and there were windows therein round about; the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.


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 And the posts thereof were toward the outer court; and palm-trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side; and the going up to it had eight steps.


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 And a chamber with the entry thereof was by the posts at the gates; there was the burnt-offering to be washed.


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 And in the porch of the gate were two tables on this side, and two tables on that side, to slay thereon the burnt-offering and the sin-offering and the guilt-offering.


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 And on the one side without, as one goeth up to the entry of the gate toward the north, were two tables; and on the other side of the porch of the gate were two tables.


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 Four tables were on this side, and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate; eight tables, whereupon to slay the sacrifices.


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 Moreover there were four tables for the burnt-offering, of hewn stone, a cubit and a half long, and a cubit and a half broad, and one cubit high, whereupon to lay the instruments wherewith the burnt-offering and the sacrifice are slain.


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 And the slabs, a handbreadth long, were fastened within round about; and upon the tables was to be the flesh of the offering.


text:
 And without the inner gate were chambers for the guard in the inner court, which was at the side of the north gate, and their prospect was toward the south; one at the side of the east gate having the prospect toward the north.


text:
 And he said unto me: 'This chamber, whose prospect is toward the south, is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the house.


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 And the chamber whose prospect is toward the north is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the altar; these are the sons of Zadok, who from among the sons of Levi come near to the LORD to minister unto Him.'


text:
 And he measured the court, a hundred cubits long, and a hundred cubits broad, foursquare; and the altar was before the house.


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 Then he brought me to the porch of the house, and measured each post of the porch, five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side; and the breadth of the gate was three cubits on this side, and three cubits on that side.


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 The length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the breadth eleven cubits; and it was by steps that it was ascended; and there were pillars by the posts, one on this side, and another on that side.


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 And he brought me to the temple, and measured the posts, six cubits broad on the one side, and six cubits broad on the other side, which was the breadth of the tent.


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 And the breadth of the entrance was ten cubits; and the sides of the entrance were five cubits on the one side, and five cubits on the other side; and he measured the length thereof, forty cubits, and the breadth, twenty cubits.


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 Then went he inward, and measured each post of the entrance, two cubits; and the entrance, six cubits; and the breadth of the entrance, seven cubits.


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 And he measured the length thereof, twenty cubits, and the breadth, twenty cubits, before the temple; and he said unto me: 'This is the most holy place.'


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 Then he measured the wall of the house, six cubits; and the breadth of every side-chamber, four cubits, round about the house on every side.


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 And the side-chambers were one over another, three and thirty times; and there were cornices in the wall which belonged to the house for the side-chambers round about, that they might have hold therein, and not have hold in the wall of the house.


text:
 And the side-chambers were broader as they wound about higher and higher; for the winding about of the house went higher and higher round about the house; therefore the breadth of the house continued upward; and so one went up from the lowest row to the highest by the middle.


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 I saw also that the house had a raised basement round about; the foundations of the side-chambers were a full reed of six cubits to the joining.


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 The breadth of the outer wall which belonged to the side-chambers was five cubits; and so that which was left by the structure of the side-chambers that belonged to the house.


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 And the doors of the side-chambers were toward the place that was left, one door toward the north, and another door toward the south; and the breadth of the place that was left was five cubits round about.


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 And the building that was before the separate place at the side toward the west was seventy cubits broad; and the wall of the building was five cubits thick round about, and the length thereof ninety cubits.


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 And he measured the house, a hundred cubits long; and the separate place, and the building, with the walls thereof, a hundred cubits long;


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 also the breadth of the face of the house and of the separate place toward the east, a hundred cubits.


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 And he measured the length of the building before the separate place which was at the back thereof, and the galleries thereof on the one side and on the other side, a hundred cubits. Now the temple, and the inner place, and the porches of the court,


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 the jambs, and the narrow windows, and the galleries, that they three had round about, over against the jambs there was a veneering of wood round about, and from the ground up to the windows; and the windows were covered;


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 to the space above the door, even unto the inner house, and without, and on all the wall round about within and without, by measure.


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 And it was made with cherubim and palm-trees; and a palm-tree was between cherub and cherub, and every cherub had two faces;


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 so that there was the face of a man toward the palm-tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm-tree on the other side; thus was it made through all the house round about.


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 From the ground unto above the door were cherubim and palm-trees made; and so on the wall of the temple.


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 As for the temple, the jambs were squared; and the face of the sanctuary had an appearance such as is the appearance.


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 The altar, three cubits high, and the length thereof two cubits, was of wood, and so the corners thereof; the length thereof, and the walls thereof, were also of wood; and he said unto me: 'This is the table that is before the LORD.'


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 And the doors had two leaves , two turning leaves; two leaves for the one door, and two leaves for the other.


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 And there were made on them, on the doors of the temple, cherubim and palm-trees, like as were made upon the walls; and there were thick beams of wood upon the face of the porch without.


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 And there were narrow windows and palm-trees on the one side and on the other side, on the sides of the porch; there were also the brackets of the house, and the thick beams.


text:
 Then he brought me forth into the outer court, the way toward the north; and he brought me into the chamber that was over against the separate place, and which was over against the building, toward the north,


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 even to the front of the length of a hundred cubits, with the door on the north, and the breadth of fifty cubits,


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 over against the twenty cubits which belonged to the inner court, and over against the pavement which belonged to the outer court; with gallery against gallery in three stories.


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 And before the chambers was a walk of ten cubits breadth inward, a way of one cubit; and their doors were toward the north.


text:
 Now the upper chambers were shorter; for the galleries took away from these, more than from the lower and the middlemost, in the building.


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 For they were in three stories, and they had not pillars as the pillars of the courts; therefore room was taken away from the lowest and the middlemost, in comparison with the ground.


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 And the wall that was without by the side of the chambers, toward the outer court in front of the chambers, the length thereof was fifty cubits.


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 For the length of the chambers that were toward the outer court was fifty cubits; and, lo, before the temple were a hundred cubits.


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 And from under these chambers was the entry on the east side, as one goeth into them from the outer court.


text:
 In the breadth of the wall of the court toward the east, before the separate place, and before the building, there were chambers,


text:
 with a way before them; like the appearance of the chambers which were toward the north, as long as they, and as broad as they, with all their goings out, and according to their fashions; and as their doors,


text:
 so were also the doors of the chambers that were toward the south, there was a door in the head of the way, even the way directly before the wall, toward the way from the east, as one entereth into them.


text:
 Then said he unto me: 'The north chambers and the south chambers, which are before the separate place, they are the holy chambers, where the priests that are near unto the LORD shall eat the most holy things; there shall they lay the most holy things, and the meal-offering, and the sin-offering, and the guilt-offering; for the place is holy.


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 When the priests enter in, then shall they not go out of the holy place into the outer court, but there they shall lay their garments wherein they minister, for they are holy; and they shall put on other garments, and shall approach to that which pertaineth to the people.'


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 Now when he had made an end of measuring the inner house, he brought me forth by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east, and measured it round about.


text:
 He measured the east side with the measuring reed, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed round about.


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 He measured it by the four sides; it had a wall round about, the length five hundred, and the breadth five hundred, to make a separation between that which was holy and that which was common.


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 and, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east; and His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth did shine with His glory.


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 And the appearance of the vision which I saw was like the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city; and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face.


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 And the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east.


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 And a spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house.


text:
 And He said unto me: 'Son of man, this is the place of My throne, and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever; and the house of Israel shall no more defile My holy name, neither they, nor their kings, by their harlotry, and by the carcasses of their kings in their high places;


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 in their setting of their threshold by My threshold, and their door-post beside My door-post, and there was but the wall between Me and them; and they have defiled My holy name by their abominations which they have committed; wherefore I have consumed them in Mine anger.


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 Now let them put away their harlotry, and the carcasses of their kings, far from Me, and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever.


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 Thou, son of man, show the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure accurately.


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 And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, make known unto them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof, and write it in their sight; that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them.


text:
 This is the law of the house: upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.


text:
 And these are the measures of the altar by cubits--the cubit is a cubit and a handbreadth: the bottom shall be a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and the border thereof by the edge thereof round about a span; and this shall be the base of the altar.


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 And from the bottom upon the ground to the lower settle shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit; and from the lesser settle to the greater settle shall be four cubits, and the breadth a cubit.


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 And the settle shall be fourteen cubits long by fourteen broad in the four sides thereof; and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and the bottom thereof shall be a cubit about; and the steps thereof shall look toward the east.'


text:
 And He said unto me: 'Son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD: These are the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt-offerings thereon, and to dash blood against it.


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 Thou shalt give to the priests the Levites that are of the seed of Zadok, who are near unto Me, to minister unto Me, saith the Lord GOD, a young bullock for a sin-offering.


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 And thou shalt take of the blood thereof, and put it on the four horns of it, and on the four corners of the settle, and upon the border round about; thus shalt thou purify it and make atonement for it.


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 Thou shalt also take the bullock of the sin-offering, and it shall be burnt in the appointed place of the house, without the sanctuary.


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 And on the second day thou shalt offer a he-goat without blemish for a sin-offering; and they shall purify the altar, as they did purify it with the bullock.


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 When thou hast made an end of purifying it, thou shalt offer a young bullock without blemish, and a ram out of the flock without blemish.


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 And thou shalt present them before the LORD, and the priests shall cast salt upon them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt-offering unto the LORD.


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 Seven days shalt thou prepare every day a goat for a sin-offering; they shall also prepare a young bullock, and a ram out of the flock, without blemish.


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 And when they have accomplished the days, it shall be that upon the eighth day, and forward, the priests shall make your burnt-offerings upon the altar, and your peace-offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord GOD.'


text:
 Then he brought me back the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary, which looketh toward the east; and it was shut.


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 And the LORD said unto me: 'This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, neither shall any man enter in by it, for the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it; therefore it shall be shut.


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 As for the prince, being a prince, he shall sit therein to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of the gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.'


text:
 Then he brought me the way of the north gate before the house; and I looked, and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD; and I fell upon my face.


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 And the LORD said unto me: 'Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the LORD, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary.


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 And thou shalt say to the rebellious, even to the house of Israel: Thus saith the Lord GOD: O ye house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations,


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 in that ye have brought in aliens, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary, to profane it, even My house, when ye offer My bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken My covenant, to add unto all your abominations.


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 And ye have not kept the charge of My holy things; but ye have set keepers of My charge in My sanctuary to please yourselves.


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 Thus saith the Lord GOD: No alien, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into My sanctuary, even any alien that is among the children of Israel.


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 But the Levites, that went far from Me, when Israel went astray, that went astray from Me after their idols, they shall bear their iniquity;


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 and they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house, and ministering in the house: they shall slay the burnt-offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them.


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 Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and became a stumblingblock of iniquity unto the house of Israel; therefore have I lifted up My hand against them, saith the Lord GOD, and they shall bear their iniquity.


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 And they shall not come near unto Me, to minister unto Me in the priest's office, nor to come near to any of My holy things, unto the things that are most holy; but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed.


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 And I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein.


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 But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of My sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near to Me to minister unto Me; and they shall stand before Me to offer unto Me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD;


text:
 they shall enter into My sanctuary, and they shall come near to My table, to minister unto Me, and they shall keep My charge.


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 And it shall be that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, while they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within.


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 They shall have linen tires upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat.


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 And when they go forth into the outer court, even into the outer court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they minister, and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other garments, that they sanctify not the people with their garments.


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 Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall only poll their heads.


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 Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, nor her that is put away; but they shall take virgins of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow that is the widow of a priest.


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 And they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the common, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.


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 And in a controversy they shall stand to judge; according to Mine ordinances shall they judge it; and they shall keep My laws and My statutes in all My appointed seasons, and they shall hallow My sabbaths.


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 And they shall come near no dead person to defile themselves; but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister that hath had no husband, they may defile themselves.


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 And in the day that he goeth into the sanctuary, into the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin- offering, saith the Lord GOD.


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 And it shall be unto them for an inheritance: I am their inheritance; and ye shall give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession.


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 The meal-offering, and the sin-offering, and the guilt-offering, they, even they, shall eat; and every devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs.


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 And the first of all the first-fruits of every thing, and every heave-offering of every thing, of all your offerings, shall be for the priests; ye shall also give unto the priest the first of your dough, to cause a blessing to rest on thy house.


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 The priests shall not eat of any thing that dieth of itself, or is torn, whether it be fowl or beast.


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 Moreover, when ye shall divide by lot the land for inheritance, ye shall set apart an offering unto the LORD, a holy portion of the land; the length shall be the length of five and twenty thousand reeds, and the breadth shall be ten thousand; it shall be holy in all the border thereof round about.


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 Of this there shall be for the holy place five hundred in length by five hundred in breadth, square round about; and fifty cubits for the open land round about it.


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 And of this measure shalt thou measure a length of five and twenty thousand, and a breadth of ten thousand; and in it shall be the sanctuary, which is most holy.


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 It is a holy portion of the land; it shall be for the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, that come near to minister unto the LORD; and it shall be a place for their houses, and a place consecrated for the sanctuary.


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 And five and twenty thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth, which shall be unto the Levites, the ministers of the house, for a possession unto themselves, for twenty chambers.


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 And ye shall appoint the possession of the city five thousand broad, and five and twenty thousand long, side by side with the offering of the holy portion; it shall be for the whole house of Israel.


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 And for the prince, on the one side and on the other side of the holy offering and of the possession of the city, in front of the holy offering and in front of the possession of the city, on the west side westward, and on the east side eastward; and in length answerable unto one of the portions, from the west border unto the east border


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 of the land; it shall be to him for a possession in Israel, and My princes shall no more wrong My people; but they shall give the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes.


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 Thus saith the Lord GOD: Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel; remove violence and spoil, and execute justice and righteousness; take away your exactions from My people, saith the Lord GOD.


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 The ephah and the bath shall be of one measure, that the bath may contain the tenth part of a homer, and the ephah the tenth part of a homer; the measure thereof shall be after the homer.


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 And the shekel shall be twenty gerahs; twenty shekels, five and twenty shekels, ten, and five shekels, shall be your maneh.


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 This is the offering that ye shall set apart: the sixth part of an ephah out of a homer of wheat, and ye shall give the sixth part of an ephah out of a homer of barley;


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 and the set portion of oil, the bath of oil, shall be the tithe of the bath out of the cor, which is ten baths, even a homer; for ten baths are a homer;


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 and one lamb of the flock, out of two hundred, from the well-watered pastures of Israel; for a meal-offering, and for a burnt- offering, and for peace-offerings, to make atonement for them, saith the Lord GOD.


text:
 And it shall be the prince's part to give the burnt-offerings, and the meal-offerings, and the drink-offerings, in the feasts, and in the new moons, and in the sabbaths, in all the appointed seasons of the house of Israel; he shall prepare the sin-offering, and the meal-offering, and the burnt-offering, and the peace-offerings, to make atonement for the house of Israel.


text:
 Thus saith the Lord GOD: In the first month, in the first day of the month, thou shalt take a young bullock without blemish; and thou shalt purify the sanctuary.


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 And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin-offering, and put it upon the door-posts of the house, and upon the four corners of the settle of the altar, and upon the posts of the gate of the inner court.


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 And so thou shalt do on the seventh day of the month for every one that erreth, and for him that is simple; so shall ye make atonement for the house.


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 In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the passover; a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten.


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 And upon that day shall the prince prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bullock for a sin-offering.


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 And the seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt-offering to the LORD, seven bullocks and seven rams without blemish daily the seven days; and a he-goat daily for a sin-offering.


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 And he shall prepare a meal-offering, an ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and a hin of oil to an ephah.


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 In the seventh month, in the fifteenth day of the month, in the feast, shall he do the like the seven days; to the sin-offering as well as the burnt-offering, and the meal-offering as well as the oil.


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 Thus saith the Lord GOD: The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath day it shall be opened, and in the day of the new moon it shall be opened.


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 And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of the gate without, and shall stand by the post of the gate, and the priests shall prepare his burnt-offering and his peace-offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate; then he shall go forth; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening.


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 Likewise the people of the land shall worship at the door of that gate before the LORD in the sabbaths and in the new moons.


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 And the burnt-offering that the prince shall offer unto the LORD shall be in the sabbath day six lambs without blemish and a ram without blemish;


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 and the meal-offering shall be an ephah for the ram, and the meal-offering for the lambs as he is able to give, and a hin of oil to an ephah.


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 And in the day of the new moon it shall be a young bullock without blemish; and six lambs, and a ram; they shall be without blemish;


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 and he shall prepare a meal-offering, an ephah for the bullock, and an ephah for the ram, and for the lambs according as his means suffice, and a hin of oil to an ephah.


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 And when the prince shall enter, he shall go in by the way of the porch of the gate, and he shall go forth by the way thereof.


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 But when the people of the land shall come before the LORD in the appointed seasons, he that entereth by the way of the north gate to worship shall go forth by the way of the south gate; and he that entereth by the way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate; he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth straight before him.


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 And the prince, when they go in, shall go in in the midst of them; and when they go forth, they shall go forth together.


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 And in the feasts and in the appointed seasons the meal-offering shall be an ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and for the lambs as he is able to give, and a hin of oil to an ephah.


text:
 And when the prince shall prepare a freewill-offering, a burnt-offering or peace-offerings as a freewill-offering unto the LORD, one shall open for him the gate that looketh toward the east, and he shall prepare his burnt-offering and his peace-offerings, as he doth on the sabbath day; then he shall go forth; and after his going forth one shall shut the gate.


text:
 And thou shalt prepare a lamb of the first year without blemish for a burnt-offering unto the LORD daily; morning by morning shalt thou prepare it.


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 And thou shalt prepare a meal-offering with it morning by morning, the sixth part of an ephah, and the third part of a hin of oil, to moisten the fine flour: a meal-offering unto the LORD continually by a perpetual ordinance.


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 Thus shall they prepare the lamb, and the meal-offering, and the oil, morning by morning, for a continual burnt-offering.


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 Thus saith the Lord GOD: If the prince give a gift unto any of his sons, it is his inheritance, it shall belong to his sons; it is their possession by inheritance.


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 But if he give of his inheritance a gift to one of his servants, it shall be his to the year of liberty; then it shall return to the prince; but as for his inheritance, it shall be for his sons.


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 Moreover the prince shall not take of the people's inheritance, to thrust them wrongfully out of their possession; he shall give inheritance to his sons out of his own possession; that My people be not scattered every man from his possession.'


text:
 Then he brought me through the entry, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy chambers for the priests, which looked toward the north; and, behold, there was a place on the hinder part westward.


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 And he said unto me: 'This is the place where the priests shall boil the guilt-offering and the sin-offering, where they shall bake the meal-offering; that they bring them not forth into the outer court, to sanctify the people.'


text:
 Then he brought me forth into the outer court, and caused me to pass by the four corners of the court; and, behold, in every corner of the court there was a court.


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 In the four corners of the court there were courts inclosed, forty cubits long and thirty broad; these four in the corners were of one measure.


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 And there was a row of masonry round about in them, round about the four, and it was made with boiling-places under the rows round about.


text:
 Then said he unto me: 'These are the boiling-places, where the ministers of the house shall boil the sacrifices of the people.'


text:
 And he brought me back unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward, for the forefront of the house looked toward the east; and the waters came down from under, from the right side of the house, on the south of the altar.


text:
 Then brought he me out by the way of the gate northward, and led me round by the way without unto the outer gate, by the way of the gate that looketh toward the east; and, behold, there trickled forth waters on the right side.


text:
 When the man went forth eastward with the line in his hand, he measured a thousand cubits, and he caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the ankles.


text:
 Again he measured a thousand, and caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and caused me to pass through waters that were to the loins.


text:
 Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass through; for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed through.


text:
 And he said unto me: 'Hast thou seen this, O son of man?' Then he led me, and caused me to return to the bank of the river.


text:
 Now when I had been brought back, behold, upon the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.


text:
 Then said he unto me: 'These waters issue forth toward the eastern region, and shall go down into the Arabah; and when they shall enter into the sea, into the sea of the putrid waters, the waters shall be healed.


text:
 And it shall come to pass, that every living creature wherewith it swarmeth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live; and there shall be a very great multitude of fish; for these waters are come thither, that all things be healed and may live whithersoever the river cometh.


text:
 And it shall come to pass, that fishers shall stand by it from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim; there shall be a place for the spreading of nets; their fish shall be after their kinds, as the fish of the Great Sea, exceeding many.


text:
 But the miry places thereof, and the marshes thereof, shall not be healed; they shall be given for salt.


text:
 And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow every tree for food, whose leaf shall not wither, neither shall the fruit thereof fail; it shall bring forth new fruit every month, because the waters thereof issue out of the sanctuary; and the fruit thereof shall be for food, and the leaf thereof for healing.'


text:
 Thus saith the Lord GOD: 'This shall be the border, whereby ye shall divide the land for inheritance according to the twelve tribes of Israel, Joseph receiving two portions.


text:
 And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another, concerning which I lifted up My hand to give it unto your fathers; and this land shall fall unto you for inheritance.


text:
 And this shall be the border of the land: on the north side, from the Great Sea, by the way of Hethlon, unto the entrance of Zedad;


text:
 Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazer-hatticon, which is by the border of Hauran.


text:
 And the border from the sea shall be Hazar-enon at the border of Damascus, and on the north northward is the border of Hamath. This is the north side.


text:
 And the east side, between Hauran and Damascus and Gilead, and the land of Israel, by the Jordan, from the border unto the east sea shall ye measure. This is the east side.


text:
 And the south side southward shall be from Tamar as far as the waters of Meriboth-kadesh, to the Brook, unto the Great Sea. This is the south side southward.


text:
 And the west side shall be the Great Sea, from the border as far as over against the entrance of Hamath. This is the west side.


text:
 And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you and to the strangers that sojourn among you, who shall beget children among you; and they shall be unto you as the home-born among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.


text:
 And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his inheritance, saith the Lord GOD.


text:
 Now these are the names of the tribes: from the north end, beside the way of Hethlon to the entrance of Hamath, Hazar-enan, at the border of Damascus, northward, beside Hamath; and they shall have their sides east and west: Dan, one portion.


text:
 And by the border of Judah, from the east side unto the west side, shall be the offering which ye shall set aside, five and twenty thousand reeds in breadth, and in length as one of the portions, from the east side unto the west side; and the sanctuary shall be in the midst of it.


text:
 The offering that ye shall set apart unto the LORD shall be five and twenty thousand reeds in length, and ten thousand in breadth.


text:
 And for these, even for the priests, shall be the holy offering; toward the north five and twenty thousand , and toward the west ten thousand in breadth, and toward the east ten thousand in breadth, and toward the south five and twenty thousand in length; and the sanctuary of the LORD shall be in the midst thereof.


text:
 The sanctified portion shall be for the priests of the sons of Zadok, that have kept My charge, that went not astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray.


text:
 And it shall be unto them a portion set apart from the offering of the land, a thing most holy, by the border of the Levites.


text:
 And answerable unto the border of the priests, the Levites shall have five and twenty thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth; all the length shall be five and twenty thousand, and the breadth ten thousand.


text:
 And they shall not sell of it, nor exchange, nor alienate the first portion of the land; for it is holy unto the LORD.


text:
 And the five thousand that are left in the breadth, in front of the five and twenty thousand, shall be for common use, for the city, for dwelling and for open land; and the city shall be in the midst thereof.


text:
 And these shall be the measures thereof: the north side four thousand and five hundred, and the south side four thousand and five hundred, and on the east side four thousand and five hundred, and the west side four thousand and five hundred.


text:
 And the city shall have open land: toward the north two hundred and fifty, and toward the south two hundred and fifty, and toward the east two hundred and fifty, and toward the west two hundred and fifty.


text:
 And the residue in the length, answerable unto the holy offering, shall be ten thousand eastward, and ten thousand westward; and it shall be answerable unto the holy offering; and the increase thereof shall be for food unto them that serve the city.


text:
 All the offering shall be five and twenty thousand by five and twenty thousand; ye shall set apart the holy offering foursquare, with the possession of the city.


text:
 And the residue shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy offering and of the possession of the city, in front of the five and twenty thousand of the offering toward the east border, and westward in front of the five and twenty thousand toward the west border, answerable unto the portions, it shall be for the prince; and the holy offering and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the midst thereof.


text:
 Thus the possession of the Levites, and the possession of the city, shall be in the midst of that which is the prince's; between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin shall be the prince's.


text:
 And by the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar unto the waters of Meribath- kadesh, to the Brook, unto the Great Sea.


text:
 This is the land which ye shall divide by lot unto the tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these are their portions, saith the Lord GOD.


text:
 And these are the goings out of the city: on the north side four thousand and five hundred reeds by measure;


text:
 and the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel; three gates northward: the gate of Reuben, one; the gate of Judah, one; the gate of Levi, one;


text:
 and at the east side four thousand and five hundred reeds; and three gates: even the gate of Joseph, one; the gate of Benjamin, one; the gate of Dan, one;


text:
 and at the south side four thousand and five hundred reeds by measure; and three gates: the gate of Simeon, one; the gate of Issachar, one; the gate of Zebulun, one;


text:
 at the west side four thousand and five hundred reeds, with their three gates: the gate of Gad, one; the gate of Asher, one; the gate of Naphtali, one.


text:
 It shall be eighteen thousand reeds round about. And the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there.'


text:
 IN THE third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it.


text:
 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God; and he carried them into the land of Shinar to the house of his god, and the vessels he brought into the treasure-house of his god.


text:
 And the king spoke unto Ashpenaz his chief officer, that he should bring in certain of the children of Israel, and of the seed royal, and of the nobles,


text:
 youths in whom was no blemish, but fair to look on, and skilful in all wisdom, and skilful in knowledge, and discerning in thought, and such as had ability to stand in the king's palace; and that he should teach them the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.


text:
 And the king appointed for them a daily portion of the king's food, and of the wine which he drank, and that they should be nourished three years; that at the end thereof they might stand before the king.


text:
 And the chief of the officers gave names unto them: unto Daniel he gave the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abed-nego.


text:
 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king's food, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the officers that he might not defile himself.


text:
 And the chief of the officers said unto Daniel: 'I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your food and your drink; for why should he see your faces sad in comparison with the youths that are of your own age? so would ye endanger my head with the king.'


text:
 Then said Daniel to the steward, whom the chief of the officers had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:


text:
 'Try thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink.


text:
 Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the youths that eat of the king's food; and as thou seest, deal with thy servants.'


text:
 And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer, and they were fatter in flesh, than all the youths that did eat of the king's food.


text:
 Now as for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.


text:
 And at the end of the days which the king had appointed for bringing them in, the chief of the officers brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.


text:
 And the king spoke with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; therefore stood they before the king.


text:
 And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his realm.


text:
 And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams; and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep broke from him.


text:
 Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the enchanters, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.


text:
 And the king said unto them: 'I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.'


text:
 Then spoke the Chaldeans to the king in Aramaic: 'O king, live for ever! tell thy servants the dream, and we will declare the interpretation.'


text:
 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans: 'The thing is certain with me; if ye make not known unto me the dream and the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.


text:
 But if ye declare the dream and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour; only declare unto me the dream and the interpretation thereof.'


text:
 They answered the second time and said: 'Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will declare the interpretation.'


text:
 The king answered and said: 'I know of a truth that ye would gain time, inasmuch as ye see the thing is certain with me,


text:
 that, if ye make not known unto me the dream, there is but one law for you; and ye have agreed together to speak before me lying and corrupt words, till the time be changed; only tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can declare unto me the interpretation thereof.'


text:
 The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said: 'There is not a man upon the earth that can declare the king's matter; forasmuch as no great and powerful king hath asked such a thing of any magician, or enchanter, or Chaldean.


text:
 And it is a hard thing that the king asketh, and there is none other that can declare it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.'


text:
 For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.


text:
 So the decree went forth, and the wise men were to be slain; and they sought Daniel and his companions to be slain.


text:
 Then Daniel returned answer with counsel and discretion to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, who was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon;


text:
 he answered and said to Arioch the king's captain: 'Wherefore is the decree so peremptory from the king?' Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.


text:
 Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, that he might declare unto the king the interpretation.


text:
 Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions;


text:
 that they might ask mercy of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his companions should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.


text:
 Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.


text:
 Daniel spoke and said: Blessed be the name of God from everlasting even unto everlasting; for wisdom and might are His;


text:
 And He changeth the times and the seasons; He removeth kings, and setteth up kings; He giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding;


text:
 He revealeth the deep and secret things; He knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with Him.


text:
 I thank Thee, and praise Thee, O Thou God of my fathers, who hath given me wisdom and might, and hast now made known unto me what we desired of Thee; for Thou hast made known unto us the king's matter.


text:
 Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and said thus unto him: 'Destroy not the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will declare unto the king the interpretation.'


text:
 Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him: 'I have found a man of the children of the captivity of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation.'


text:
 The king spoke and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar: 'Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?'


text:
 Daniel answered before the king, and said: 'The secret which the king hath asked can neither wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor astrologers, declare unto the king;


text:
 but there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and He hath made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the end of days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these:


text:
 as for thee, O king, thy thoughts came upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter; and He that revealeth secrets hath made known to thee what shall come to pass.


text:
 But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but to the intent that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that thou mayest know the thoughts of thy heart.


text:
 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This image, which was mighty, and whose brightness was surpassing, stood before thee; and the appearance thereof was terrible.


text:
 As for that image, its head was of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass,


text:
 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them to pieces.


text:
 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them; and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.


text:
 Thou, O king, king of kings, unto whom the God of heaven hath given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory;


text:
 and wheresoever the children of men, the beasts of the field, and the fowls of the heaven dwell, hath He given them into thy hand, and hath made thee to rule over them all; thou art the head of gold.


text:
 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee; and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.


text:
 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron; forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and beateth down all things; and as iron that crusheth all these, shall it break in pieces and crush.


text:
 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but there shall be in it of the firmness of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.


text:
 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so part of the kingdom shall be strong, and part thereof broken.


text:
 And whereas thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves by the seed of men; but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron doth not mingle with clay.


text:
 And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed; nor shall the kingdom be left to another people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, but it shall stand for ever.


text:
 Forasmuch as thou sawest that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter; and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.'


text:
 Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an offering and sweet odours unto him.


text:
 The king spoke unto Daniel, and said: 'Of a truth it is, that your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou hast been able to reveal this secret.'


text:
 Then the king made Daniel great, and gave him many great gifts, and made him to rule over the whole province of Babylon, and to be chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.


text:
 And Daniel requested of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel was in the gate of the king.


text:
 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits; he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.


text:
 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.


text:
 Then the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.


text:
 that at what time ye hear the sound of the horn, pipe, harp, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up;


text:
 and whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.'


text:
 Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, harp, trigon, psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the peoples, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.


text:
 Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the horn, pipe, harp, trigon, psaltery, and bagpipe, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image;


text:
 and whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.


text:
 There are certain Jews whom thou hast appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed- nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.'


text:
 Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then were these men brought before the king.


text:
 Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said unto them: 'Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, that ye serve not my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?


text:
 Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the horn, pipe, harp, trigon, psaltery, and bagpipe, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made ; but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is the god that shall deliver you out of my hands?'


text:
 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king: 'O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer thee in this matter.


text:
 If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us, He will deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and out of thy hand, O king.


text:
 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.'


text:
 Then was Nebuchadnezzar filled with fury, and the form of his visage was changed, against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed- nego; he spoke, and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was wont to be heated.


text:
 And he commanded certain mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.


text:
 Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, and their robes, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.


text:
 Therefore because the king's commandment was peremptory, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.


text:
 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.


text:
 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was alarmed, and rose up in haste; he spoke and said unto his ministers: 'Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?' They answered and said unto the king: 'True, O king.'


text:
 He answered and said: 'Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.'


text:
 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace; he spoke and said: 'Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed- nego, ye servants of God Most High, come forth, and come hither.' Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, came forth out of the midst of the fire.


text:
 And the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, and the king's ministers, being gathered together, saw these men, that the fire had no power upon their bodies, nor was the hair of their head singed, neither were their cloaks changed, nor had the smell of fire passed on them.


text:
 Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said: 'Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent His angel, and delivered His servants that trusted in Him, and have changed the king's word, and have yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.


text:
 Therefore I make a decree, that every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill; because there is no other god that is able to deliver after this sort.'


text:
 'Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all peoples, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; peace be multiplied unto you.


text:
 It hath seemed good unto me to declare the signs and wonders that God Most High hath wrought toward me.


text:
 How great are His signs! and how mighty are His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion is from generation to generation.


text:
 I saw a dream which made me afraid; and imaginings upon my bed and the visions of my head affrighted me.


text:
 Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream.


text:
 Then came in the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers; and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof.


text:
 But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and I told the dream before him:


text:
 O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret causeth thee trouble, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof.


text:
 Thus were the visions of my head upon my bed: I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great.


text:
 The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth.


text:
 The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was food for all; the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the branches thereof, and all flesh was fed of it.


text:
 I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and a holy one came down from heaven.


text:
 He cried aloud, and said thus: Hew down the tree, and cut off its branches, shake off its leaves, and scatter its fruit; let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from its branches.


text:
 Nevertheless leave the stump of its roots in the earth, even in a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth;


text:
 Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him.


text:
 The matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the sentence by the word of the holy ones; to the intent that the living may know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will, and setteth up over it the lowest of men.


text:
 This dream I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen; and thou, O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation, forasmuch as all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the interpretation; but thou art able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee.'


text:
 Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was appalled for a while, and his thoughts affrighted him. The king spoke and said: 'Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation, affright thee.' Belteshazzar answered and said: 'My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine adversaries.


text:
 The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth;


text:
 whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was food for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation;


text:
 it is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong; for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth.


text:
 And whereas the king saw a watcher and a holy one coming down from heaven, and saying: Hew down the tree, and destroy it; nevertheless leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even in a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him--


text:
 this is the interpretation, O king, and it is the decree of the Most High, which is come upon my lord the king,


text:
 that thou shalt be driven from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and thou shalt be made to eat grass as oxen, and shalt be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee; till thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will.


text:
 And whereas it was commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree, thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule.


text:
 Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by almsgiving, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if there may be a lengthening of thy prosperity.'


text:
 The king spoke, and said: 'Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for a royal dwelling-place, by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?'


text:
 While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven: 'O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken: the kingdom is departed from thee.


text:
 And thou shalt be driven from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field; thou shalt be made to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee; until thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will.'


text:
 The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar; and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hair was grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws.


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 'And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honoured Him that liveth for ever; for His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom from generation to generation;


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 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and He doeth according to His will in the host of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him: What doest Thou?


text:
 At the same time mine understanding returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and my splendour returned unto me; and my ministers and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and surpassing greatness was added unto me.


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 Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven; for all His works are truth, and His ways justice; and those that walk in pride He is able to abase.'


text:
 Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.


text:
 Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king and his lords, his consorts and his concubines, might drink therein.


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 Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his lords, his consorts and his concubines, drank in them.


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 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.


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 In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace; and the king saw the palm of the hand that wrote.


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 Then the king's countenance was changed in him, and his thoughts affrighted him; and the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.


text:
 The king cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. The king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon: 'Whosoever shall read this writing, and declare unto me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall rule as one of three in the kingdom.'


text:
 Then came in all the king's wise men: but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation.


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 Then was king Belshazzar greatly affrighted, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were perplexed.


text:
 Now the queen by reason of the words of the king and his lords came into the banquet house; the queen spoke and said: 'O king, live for ever! let not thy thoughts affright thee, nor let thy countenance be changed;


text:
 there is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; and the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made him master of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers;


text:
 forasmuch as a surpassing spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and declaring of riddles, and loosing of knots, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will declare the interpretation.'


text:
 Then was Daniel brought in before the king. The king spoke and said unto Daniel: 'Art thou Daniel, who is of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Judah?


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 I have heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding and surpassing wisdom is found in thee.


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 And now the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation thereof; but they could not declare the interpretation of the thing.


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 But I have heard of thee, that thou canst give interpretations, and loose knots; now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt rule as one of three in the kingdom.'


text:
 Then Daniel answered and said before the king: 'Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; nevertheless I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation.


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 O thou king, God Most High gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father the kingdom, and greatness, and glory, and majesty;


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 and because of the greatness that He gave him, all the peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew, and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he raised up, and whom he would he put down.


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 But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened that he dealt proudly, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him;


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 and he was driven from the sons of men, and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses; he was fed with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; until he knew that God Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and that He setteth up over it whomsoever He will.


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 but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before thee, and thou and thy lords, thy consorts and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know; and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified;


text:
 This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE, God hath numbered thy kingdom, and brought it to an end.


text:
 Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with purple, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made proclamation concerning him, that he should rule as one of three in the kingdom.


text:
 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom a hundred and twenty satraps, who should be throughout the whole kingdom;


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 and over them three presidents, of whom Daniel was one; that these satraps might give account unto them, and that the king should have no damage.


text:
 Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the presidents and the satraps, because a surpassing spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.


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 Then the presidents and the satraps sought to find occasion against Daniel as touching the kingdom; but they could find no occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.


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 Then said these men: 'We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him in the matter of the law of his God.'


text:
 Then these presidents and satraps came tumultuously to the king, and said thus unto him: 'King Darius, live for ever!


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 All the presidents of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the ministers and the governors, have consulted together that the king should establish a statute, and make a strong interdict, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any god or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.


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 Now, O king, establish the interdict, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.'


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 And when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house--now his windows were open in his upper chamber toward Jerusalem--and he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.


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 Then these men came tumultuously, and found Daniel making petition and supplication before his God.


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 Then they came near, and spoke before the king concerning the king's interdict: 'Hast thou not signed an interdict, that every man that shall make petition unto any god or man within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?' The king answered and said: 'The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.'


text:
 Then answered they and said before the king: 'That Daniel, who is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the interdict that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day.'


text:
 Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him; and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him.


text:
 Then these men came tumultuously unto the king, and said unto the king: 'Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians, that no interdict nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed.'


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 Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spoke and said unto Daniel: 'Thy God whom thou servest continually, He will deliver thee.'


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 And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel.


text:
 Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting; neither were diversions brought before him; and his sleep fled from him.


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 And when he came near unto the den to Daniel, he cried with a pained voice; the king spoke and said to Daniel: 'O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?'


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 My God hath sent His angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, and they have not hurt me; forasmuch as before Him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.'


text:
 Then was the king exceeding glad, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he had trusted in his God.


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 And the king commanded, and they brought those men that had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and they had not come to the bottom of the den, when the lions had the mastery of them, and broke all their bones in pieces.


text:
 Then king Darius wrote unto all the peoples, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth: 'Peace be multiplied unto you.


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 I make a decree, that in all the dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel; for He is the living God, and stedfast for ever, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall be even unto the end;


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 He delivereth and rescueth, and He worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth; who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.'


text:
 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed; then he wrote the dream and told the sum of the matters.


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 Daniel spoke and said: I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven broke forth upon the great sea.


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 The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings; I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon two feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.


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 And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was said thus unto it: 'Arise, devour much flesh.'


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 After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the sides of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.


text:
 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet; and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.


text:
 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots; and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.


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 I beheld till thrones were placed, and one that was ancient of days did sit: his raiment was as white snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames, and the wheels thereof burning fire.


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 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him; thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the judgment was set, and the books were opened.


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 I beheld at that time because of the voice of the great words which the horn spoke, I beheld even till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed, and it was given to be burned with fire.


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 And as for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away; yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.


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 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, there came with the clouds of heaven one like unto a son of man, and he came even to the Ancient of days, and he was brought near before Him.


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 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.


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 As for me Daniel, my spirit was pained in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head affrighted me.


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 I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things:


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 But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.'


text:
 Then I desired to know the truth concerning the fourth beast, which was diverse from all of them, exceeding terrible, whose teeth were of iron, and its nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet;


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 and concerning the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, and before which three fell; even that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spoke great things, whose appearance was greater than that of its fellows.


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 until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High; and the time came, and the saints possessed the kingdom.


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 Thus he said: 'The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all the kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.


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 And as for the ten horns, out of this kingdom shall ten kings arise; and another shall arise after them; and he shall be diverse from the former, and he shall put down three kings.


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 And he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High; and he shall think to change the seasons and the law; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and half a time.


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 But the judgment shall sit, and his dominions shall be taken away, to be consumed and to be destroy unto the end.


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 And the kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; their kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey them.'


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 Here is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my thoughts much affrighted me, and my countenance was changed in me; but I kept the matter in my heart.


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 In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first.


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 And I saw in the vision; now it was so, that when I saw, I was in Shushan the castle, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in the vision, and I was by the stream Ulai.


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 And I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the stream a ram which had two horns; and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.


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 I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; and no beasts could stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and magnified himself.


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 And as I was considering, behold, a he-goat came from the west over the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground; and the goat had a conspicuous horn between his eyes.


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 And he came to the ram that had the two horns, which I saw standing before the stream, and ran at him in the fury of his power.


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 And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and broke his two horns; and there was no power in the ram to stand before him; but he cast him down to the ground, and trampled upon him; and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand.


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 And the he-goat magnified himself exceedingly; and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and instead of it there came up the appearance of four horns toward the four winds of heaven.


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 And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the beauteous land.


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 And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and some of the host and of the stars it cast down to the ground, and trampled upon them.


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 Yea, it magnified itself, even to the prince of the host; and from him the continual burnt-offering was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.


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 And the host was given over to it together with the continual burnt-offering through transgression; and it cast down truth to the ground, and it wrought, and prospered.


text:
 Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said unto that certain one who spoke: 'How long shall be the vision concerning the continual burnt-offering, and the transgression that causes appalment, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled under foot?'


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 And he said unto me: 'Unto two thousand and three hundred evenings and mornings; then shall the sanctuary be victorious.'


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 And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, that I sought to understand it; and, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man.


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 And I heard the voice of a man between the banks of Ulai, who called, and said: 'Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.'


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 So he came near where I stood; and when he came, I was terrified, and fell upon my face; but he said unto me: 'Understand, O son of man; for the vision belongeth to the time of the end.'


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 Now as he was speaking with me, I fell into a deep sleep with my face toward the ground; but he touched me, and set me upright.


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 And he said: 'Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the latter time of the indignation; for it belongeth to the appointed time of the end.


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 And the rough he-goat is the king of Greece; and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.


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 And as for that which was broken, in the place whereof four stood up, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not with his power.


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 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have completed their transgression, there shall stand up a king of fierce countenance, and understanding stratagems.


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 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper and do; and he shall destroy them that are mighty and the people of the saints.


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 And through his cunning he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and in time of security shall he destroy many; he shall also stand up against the prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.


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 And the vision of the evenings and mornings which hath been told is true; but thou, shut thou up the vision; for it belongeth to many days to come.'


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 And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; then I rose up, and did the king's business; and I was appalled at the vision, but understood it not.


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 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;


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 in the first year of his reign I Daniel meditated in the books, over the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish for the desolations of Jerusalem seventy years.


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 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes.


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 And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made confession, and said: 'O Lord, the great and awful God, who keepest covenant and mercy with them that love Thee and keep Thy commandments,


text:
 we have sinned, and have dealt iniquitously, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, and have turned aside from Thy commandments and from Thine ordinances;


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 neither have we hearkened unto Thy servants the prophets, that spoke in Thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.


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 Unto Thee, O Lord, belongeth righteousness, but unto us confusion of face, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither Thou hast driven them, because they dealt treacherously with Thee.


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 O LORD, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against Thee.


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 neither have we hearkened to the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets.


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 Yea, all Israel have transgressed Thy law, and have turned aside, so as not to hearken to Thy voice; and so there hath been poured out upon us the curse and the oath that is written in the Law of Moses the servant of God; for we have sinned against Him.


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 And He hath confirmed His word, which He spoke against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil; so that under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.


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 As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us; yet have we not entreated the favour of the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and have discernment in Thy truth.


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 And so the LORD hath watched over the evil, and brought it upon us; for the LORD our God is righteous in all His works which He hath done, and we have not hearkened to His voice.


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 And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought Thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten Thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.


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 O Lord, according to all Thy righteousness, let Thine anger and Thy fury, I pray Thee, be turned away from Thy city Jerusalem, Thy holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.


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 Now therefore, O our God, hearken unto the prayer of Thy servant, and to his supplications, and cause Thy face to shine upon Thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake.


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 O my God, incline Thine ear, and hear; open Thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city upon which Thy name is called; for we do not present our supplications before Thee because of our righteousness, but because of Thy great compassions.


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 O Lord, hear, O Lord, forgive, O Lord, attend and do, defer not; for Thine own sake, O my God, because Thy name is called upon Thy city and Thy people.'


text:
 And while I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God;


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 yea, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, approached close to me about the time of the evening offering.


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 And he made me to understand, and talked with me, and said: 'O Daniel, I am now come forth to make thee skilful of understanding.


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 At the beginning of thy supplications a word went forth, and I am come to declare it; for thou art greatly beloved; therefore look into the word, and understand the vision.


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 Seventy weeks are decreed upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sin, and to forgive iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal vision and prophet, and to anoint the most holy place.


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 Know therefore and discern, that from the going forth of the word to restore and to build Jerusalem unto one anointed, a prince, shall be seven weeks; and for threescore and two weeks, it shall be built again, with broad place and moat, but in troublous times.


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 And after the threescore and two weeks shall an anointed one be cut off, and be no more; and the people of a prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; but his end shall be with a flood; and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.


text:
 And he shall make a firm covenant with many for one week; and for half of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease; and upon the wing of detestable things shall be that which causeth appalment; and that until the extermination wholly determined be poured out upon that which causeth appalment.'


text:
 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a word was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the word was true, even a great warfare; and he gave heed to the word, and had understanding of the vision.


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 I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.


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 And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Tigris,


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 I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz;


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 his body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as torches of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to burnished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.


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 And I Daniel alone saw the vision; for the men that were with me saw not the vision; howbeit a great trembling fell upon them, and they fled to hide themselves.


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 So that I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me; for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.


text:
 Yet heard I the voice of his words; and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I fallen into a deep sleep on my face, with my face toward the ground.


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 And, behold, a hand touched me, which set me tottering upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands.


text:
 And he said unto me: 'O Daniel, thou man greatly beloved, give heed unto the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright; for now am I sent unto thee'; and when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.


text:
 Then said he unto me: 'Fear not, Daniel; for from the first day that thou didst set thy heart to understand, and to humble thyself before thy God, thy words were heard; and I am come because of thy words.


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 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days; but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I was left over there beside the kings of Persia.


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 Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the end of days; for there is yet a vision for the days.'


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 And when he had spoken unto me according to these words, I set my face toward the ground, and was dumb.


text:
 And, behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips; then I opened my mouth, and spoke and said unto him that stood before me: 'O my lord, by reason of the vision my pains are come upon me, and I retain no strength.


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 For how can this servant of my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither was there breath left in me.'


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 And he said: 'O man greatly beloved, fear not! peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong.' And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said: 'Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me.'


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 Then said he: Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia; and when I go forth, lo, the prince of Greece shall come.


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 Howbeit I will declare unto thee that which is inscribed in the writing of truth; and there is none that holdeth with me against these, except Michael your prince.


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 And as for me, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to be a supporter and a stronghold unto him.


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 And now will I declare unto thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all; and when he is waxed strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece.


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 And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.


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 And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; but not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion wherewith he ruled; for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those.


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 And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion.


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 And at the end of years they shall join themselves together; and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement; but she shall not retain the strength of her arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm; but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begot her, and he that obtained her in those times.


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 But one of the shoots of her roots shall stand up in his place, and shall come unto the army, and shall enter into the stronghold of the king of the north, and shall deal with them, and shall prevail;


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 and also their gods, with their molten images, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold, shall he bring into captivity into Egypt; and he shall desist some years from the king of the north.


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 And he shall come into the kingdom of the king of the south, but he shall return into his own land.


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 And his sons shall stir themselves up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces, and he shall come on, and overflow, as he passes through; and he shall return and stir himself up, even to his stronghold.


text:
 And the king of the south shall be moved with choler, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north; and he shall set forth a great multitude, but the multitude shall be given into his hand.


text:
 and the multitude shall be carried away, and his heart shall be lifted up; and he shall cast down tens of thousands; but he shall not prevail.


text:
 And the king of the north shall again set forth a multitude, greater than the former; and he shall come on at the end of the times, even of years, with a great army and with much substance.


text:
 And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south; also the children of the violent among thy people shall lift themselves up to establish the vision; but they shall stumble.


text:
 And the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mound, and take a well-fortified city; and the arms of the south shall not withstand; and as for his chosen people, there shall be no strength in them to withstand.


text:
 But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him; and he shall stand in the beauteous land, and in his hand shall be extermination.


text:
 And he shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, but shall make an agreement with him; and he shall give him the daughter of women, to destroy it; but it shall not stand, neither be for him.


text:
 After this shall he set his face unto the isles, and shall take many; but a captain shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease; yea, he shall cause his own reproach to return upon him.


text:
 Then he shall turn his face toward the strongholds of his own land; but he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found.


text:
 Then shall stand up in his place one that shall cause an exactor to pass through the glory of the kingdom; but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle.


text:
 And in his place shall stand up a contemptible person, upon whom had not been conferred the majesty of the kingdom; but he shall come in time of security, and shall obtain the kingdom by blandishments.


text:
 And the arms of the flood shall be swept away from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant.


text:
 And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully; and he shall come up and become strong, with a little nation.


text:
 In time of security shall he come even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers: he shall scatter among them prey, and spoil, and substance; yea, he shall devise his devices against fortresses, but only until the time.


text:
 And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall stir himself up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand, for they shall devise devices against him.


text:
 Yea, they that eat of his food shall destroy him, and his army shall be swept away; and many shall fall down slain.


text:
 And as for both these kings, their hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper, for the end remaineth yet for the time appointed.


text:
 And he shall return to his own land with great substance; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do his pleasure, and return to his own land.


text:
 At the time appointed he shall return, and come into the south; but it shall not be in the latter time as it was in the former.


text:
 For ships of Kittim shall come against him, and he shall be cowed, and he shall return, and have indignation against the holy covenant, and shall do his pleasure; and he shall return, and have regard unto them that forsake the holy covenant.


text:
 And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall profane the sanctuary, even the stronghold, and shall take away the continual burnt-offering, and they shall set up the detestable thing that causeth appalment.


text:
 And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall be corrupt by blandishments; but the people that know their God shall show strength, and prevail.


text:
 And they that are wise among the people shall cause the many to understand; yet they shall stumble by the sword and by flame, by captivity and by spoil, many days.


text:
 Now when they shall stumble, they shall be helped with a little help; but many shall join themselves unto them with blandishments.


text:
 And some of them that are wise shall stumble, to refine among them, and to purify, and to make white, even to the time of the end; for it is yet for the time appointed.


text:
 And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak strange things against the God of gods; and he shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished; for that which is determined shall be done.


text:
 Neither shall he regard the gods of his fathers; and neither the desire of women, nor any god, shall he regard; for he shall magnify himself above all.


text:
 But in his place shall he honour the god of strongholds; and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and costly things.


text:
 And he shall deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god; whom he shall acknowledge, shall increase glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for a price.


text:
 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him; and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow, as he passes through.


text:
 He shall enter also into the beauteous land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall be delivered out of his hand, Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.


text:
 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.


text:
 But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall affright him; and he shall go forth with great fury to destroy and utterly to take away many.


text:
 And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the beauteous holy mountain; and he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.


text:
 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince who standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time; and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.


text:
 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to reproaches and everlasting abhorrence.


text:
 And they that are wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn the many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.


text:
 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.'


text:
 Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on the bank of the river on this side, and the other on the bank of the river on that side.


text:
 And one said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river: 'How long shall it be to the end of the wonders?'


text:
 And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he lifted up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and swore by Him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and a half; and when they have made an end of breaking in pieces the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.


text:
 And I heard, but I understood not; then said I: 'O my Lord, what shall be the latter end of these things?'


text:
 Many shall purify themselves, and make themselves white, and be refined; but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand; but they that are wise shall understand.


text:
 And from the time that the continual burnt-offering shall be taken away, and the detestable thing that causes appalment set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.


text:
 But go thou thy way till the end be; and thou shalt rest, and shalt stand up to thy lot, at the end of the days.'


text:
 THE WORD of the LORD that came unto Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.


text:
 When the LORD spoke at first with Hosea, the LORD said unto Hosea: 'Go, take unto thee a wife of harlotry and children of harlotry; for the land doth commit great harlotry, departing from the LORD.'


text:
 And the LORD said unto him: 'Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will visit the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.


text:
 And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.'


text:
 And she conceived again, and bore a daughter. And He said unto him: 'Call her name Lo-ruhamah; for I will no more have compassion upon the house of Israel, that I should in any wise pardon them.


text:
 But I will have compassion upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, nor by horses, nor by horsemen.'


text:
 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass that, instead of that which was said unto them: 'Ye are not My people', it shall be said unto them: 'Ye are the children of the living God.'


text:
 And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint themselves one head, and shall go up out of the land; for great shall be the day of Jezreel.


text:
 Plead with your mother, plead; for she is not My wife, neither am I her husband; and let her put away her harlotries from her face, and her adulteries from between her breasts;


text:
 Lest I strip her naked, and set her as in the day that she was born, and make her as a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst.


text:
 For their mother hath played the harlot, she that conceived them hath done shamefully; for she said: 'I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink.'


text:
 Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and I will make a wall against her, that she shall not find her paths.


text:
 And she shall run after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them, and she shall seek them, but shall not find them; then shall she say: 'I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now.'


text:
 For she did not know that it was I that gave her the corn, and the wine, and the oil, and multiplied unto her silver and gold, which they used for Baal.


text:
 Therefore will I take back My corn in the time thereof, and My wine in the season thereof, and will snatch away My wool and My flax given to cover her nakedness.


text:
 And now will I uncover her shame in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of My hand.


text:
 I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feasts, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her appointed seasons.


text:
 And I will lay waste her vines and her fig-trees, whereof she hath said: 'These are my hire that my lovers have given me'; and I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them.


text:
 And I will visit upon her the days of the Baalim, wherein she offered unto them, and decked herself with her ear-rings and her jewels, and went after her lovers, and forgot Me, saith the LORD.


text:
 Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly unto her.


text:
 And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope; and she shall respond there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.


text:
 And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call Me Ishi, and shalt call Me no more Baali.


text:
 For I will take away the names of the Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be mentioned by their name.


text:
 And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground; and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the land, and will make them to lie down safely.


text:
 And I will betroth thee unto Me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto Me in righteousness, and in justice, and in lovingkindness, and in compassion.


text:
 And it shall come to pass in that day, I will respond, saith the LORD, I will respond to the heavens, and they shall respond to the earth;


text:
 And the earth shall respond to the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall respond to Jezreel.


text:
 And I will sow her unto Me in the land; and I will have compassion upon her that had not obtained compassion; and I will say to them that were not My people: 'Thou art My people'; and they shall say: 'Thou art my God.'


text:
 And the LORD said unto me: 'Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend and an adulteress, even as the LORD loveth the children of Israel, though they turn unto other gods, and love cakes of raisins.


text:
 So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver and a homer of barley, and a half-homer of barley;


text:
 and I said unto her: 'Thou shalt sit solitary for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be any man's wife; nor will I be thine.'


text:
 For the children of Israel shall sit solitary many days without king, and without prince, and without sacrifice, and without pillar, and without ephod or teraphim;


text:
 afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall come trembling unto the LORD and to His goodness in the end of days.


text:
 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel! for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.


text:
 Swearing and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery! they break all bounds, and blood toucheth blood.


text:
 Therefore doth the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein doth languish, with the beasts of the field, and the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also are taken away.


text:
 Yet let no man strive, neither let any man reprove; for thy people are as they that strive with the priest.


text:
 Therefore shalt thou stumble in the day, and the prophet also shall stumble with thee in the night; and I will destroy thy mother.


text:
 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to Me; seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I also will forget thy children.


text:
 The more they were increased, the more they sinned against Me; I will change their glory into shame.


text:
 And it is like people, like priest; and I will punish him for his ways, and will recompense him his doings.


text:
 And they shall eat, and not have enough, they shall commit harlotry, and shall not increase; because they have left off to take heed to the LORD.


text:
 My people ask counsel at their stock, and their staff declareth unto them; for the spirit of harlotry hath caused them to err, and they have gone astray from under their God.


text:
 They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and offer upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and terebinths, because the shadow thereof is good; therefore your daughters commit harlotry, and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.


text:
 I will not punish your daughters when they commit harlotry, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery; for they themselves consort with lewd women, and they sacrifice with harlots; and the people that is without understanding is distraught.


text:
 Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah become guilty; and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Beth- aven, nor swear: 'As the LORD liveth.'


text:
 For Israel is stubborn like a stubborn heifer; now shall the LORD feed them as a lamb in a large place?


text:
 Hear this, O ye priests, and attend, ye house of Israel, and give ear, O house of the king, for unto you pertaineth the judgment; for ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.


text:
 I, even I, know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from Me; for now, O Ephraim, thou hast committed harlotry, Israel is defiled.


text:
 Their doings will not suffer them to return unto their God; for the spirit of harlotry is within them, and they know not the LORD.


text:
 But the pride of Israel shall testify to his face; and Israel and Ephraim shall stumble in their iniquity, Judah also shall stumble with them.


text:
 With their flocks and with their herds they shall go to seek the LORD, but they shall not find Him; He hath withdrawn Himself from them.


text:
 They have dealt treacherously against the LORD, for they have begotten strange children; now shall the new moon devour them with their portions.


text:
 Blow ye the horn in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah; sound an alarm at Beth-aven: 'Behind thee, O Benjamin!'


text:
 Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke; among the tribes of Israel do I make known that which shall surely be.


text:
 The princes of Judah are like them that remove the landmark; I will pour out My wrath upon them like water.


text:
 And when Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his wound, Ephraim went to Assyria, and sent to King Contentious; but he is not able to heal you, neither shall he cure you of your wound.


text:
 For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah; I, even I, will tear and go away, I will take away, and there shall be none to deliver.


text:
 I will go and return to My place, till they acknowledge their guilt, and seek My face; in their trouble they will seek Me earnestly:


text:
 'Come, and let us return unto the LORD; for He hath torn, and He will heal us, He hath smitten, and He will bind us up.


text:
 After two days will He revive us, on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His presence.


text:
 And let us know, eagerly strive to know the LORD, His going forth is sure as the morning; and He shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter rain that watereth the earth.'


text:
 O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the dew that early passeth away.


text:
 Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets, I have slain them by the words of My mouth; and thy judgment goeth forth as the light.


text:
 And as troops of robbers wait for a man, so doth the company of priests; they murder in the way toward Shechem; yea, they commit enormity.


text:
 In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing; there harlotry is found in Ephraim, Israel is defiled.


text:
 Also, O Judah, there is a harvest appointed for thee! When I would turn the captivity of My people,


text:
 when I would heal Israel, then is the iniquity of Ephraim uncovered, and the wickedness of Samaria, for they commit falsehood; and the thief entereth in, and the troop of robbers maketh a raid without.


text:
 And let them not say to their heart--I remember all their wickedness; now their own doings have beset them about, they are before My face.


text:
 They are all adulterers, as an oven heated by the baker, who ceaseth to stir from the kneading of the dough until it be leavened.


text:
 On the day of our king the princes make him sick with the heat of wine, he stretcheth out his hand with scorners.


text:
 For they have made ready their heart like an oven, while they lie in wait; their baker sleepeth all the night, in the morning it burneth as a flaming fire.


text:
 They are all hot as an oven, and devour their judges; all their kings are fallen, there is none among them that calleth unto Me.


text:
 Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not; yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, and he knoweth it not.


text:
 And the pride of Israel testifieth to his face; but they have not returned unto the LORD their God, nor sought Him, for all this.


text:
 And Ephraim is become like a silly dove, without understanding; they call unto Egypt, they go to Assyria.


text:
 Even as they go, I will spread My net upon them; I will bring them down as the fowls of the heaven; I will chastise them, as their congregation hath been made to hear.


text:
 Woe unto them! for they have strayed from Me; Destruction unto them! for they have transgressed against Me; Shall I then redeem them, seeing they have spoken lies against Me?


text:
 And they have not cried unto Me with their heart, though they wail upon their beds; they assemble themselves for corn and wine, they rebel against Me.


text:
 They return, but not upwards; they are become like a deceitful bow; their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue; this shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.


text:
 Set the horn to thy mouth. As a vulture he cometh against the house of the LORD; because they have transgressed My covenant, and trespassed against My law.


text:
 They have set up kings, but not from Me, they have made princes, and I knew it not; of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off.


text:
 Thy calf, O Samaria, is cast off; Mine anger is kindled against them; how long will it be ere they attain to innocency?


text:
 For from Israel is even this: the craftsman made it, and it is no God; yea, the calf of Samaria shall be broken in shivers.


text:
 For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind; it hath no stalk, the bud that shall yield no meal; if so be it yield, strangers shall swallow it up.


text:
 Yea, though they hire among the nations, now will I gather them up; and they begin to be minished by reason of the burden of king and princes.


text:
 As for the sacrifices that are made by fire unto Me, let them sacrifice flesh and eat it, for the LORD accepteth them not. Now will He remember their iniquity, and punish their sins; they shall return to Egypt.


text:
 For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and builded palaces, and Judah hath multiplied fortified cities; but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the castles thereof.


text:
 Rejoice not, O Israel, unto exultation, like the peoples, for thou hast gone astray from thy God, thou hast loved a harlot's hire upon every corn-floor.


text:
 They shall not dwell in the LORD'S land; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean food in Assyria.


text:
 They shall not pour out wine-offerings to the LORD, neither shall they be pleasing unto Him; their sacrifices shall be unto them as the bread of mourners, all that eat thereof shall be polluted; for their bread shall be for their appetite, it shall not come into the house of the LORD.


text:
 For, lo, they are gone away from destruction, yet Egypt shall gather them up, Memphis shall bury them; their precious treasures of silver, nettles shall possess them, thorns shall be in their tents.


text:
 The days of visitation are come, the days of recompense are come, Israel shall know it. The prophet is a fool, the man of the spirit is mad! For the multitude of thine iniquity, the enmity is great.


text:
 Ephraim is a watchman with my God; as for the prophet, a fowler's snare is in all his ways, and enmity in the house of his God.


text:
 They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah; He will remember their iniquity, He will punish their sins.


text:
 I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness, I saw your fathers as the first-ripe in the fig-tree at her first season; but so soon as they came to Baal-peor, they separated themselves unto the shameful thing, and became detestable like that which they loved.


text:
 As for Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird; there shall be no birth, and none with child, and no conception.


text:
 Yea, though they bring up their children, yet will I bereave them, that there be not a man left; yea, woe also to them when I depart from them!


text:
 Ephraim, like as I have seen Tyre, is planted in a pleasant place; but Ephraim shall bring forth his children to the slayer.


text:
 All their wickedness is in Gilgal, for there I hated them; because of the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of My house; I will love them no more, all their princes are rebellious.


text:
 Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit; yea, though they bring forth, yet will I slay the beloved fruit of their womb.


text:
 My God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto Him; and they shall be wanderers among the nations.


text:
 Israel was a luxuriant vine, which put forth fruit freely: as his fruit increased, he increased his altars; the more goodly his land was, the more goodly were his pillars.


text:
 Their heart is divided; now shall they bear their guilt; He will break down their altars, He will spoil their pillars.


text:
 Surely now shall they say: 'We have no king; for we feared not the LORD; and the king, what can he do for us?'


text:
 They speak words, they swear falsely, they make covenants; thus judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the field.


text:
 The inhabitants of Samaria shall be in dread for the calves of Beth-aven; for the people thereof shall mourn over it, and the priests thereof shall tremble for it, for its glory, because it is departed from it.


text:
 It also shall be carried unto Assyria, for a present to King Contentious; Ephraim shall receive shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel.


text:
 The high places also of Aven shall be destroyed, even the sin of Israel. The thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars; and they shall say to the mountains: 'Cover us', and to the hills: 'Fall on us.'


text:
 From the days of Gibeah thou hast sinned, O Israel; there they stood; no battle was to overtake them in Gibeah, nor the children of arrogancy.


text:
 When it is My desire, I will chastise them; and the peoples shall be gathered against them, when they are yoked to their two rings.


text:
 And Ephraim is a heifer well broken, that loveth to thresh, and I have passed over upon her fair neck; I will make Ephraim to ride, Judah shall plow, Jacob shall break his clods.


text:
 Sow to yourselves according to righteousness, reap according to mercy, break up your fallow ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, till He come and cause righteousness to rain upon you.


text:
 Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity, ye have eaten the fruit of lies; for thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men.


text:
 Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy hosts, and all thy fortresses shall be spoiled, as Shalman spoiled Beth-arbel in the day of battle; the mother was dashed in pieces with her children.


text:
 So hath Beth-el done unto you because of your great wickedness; at daybreak is the king of Israel utterly cut off.


text:
 The more they called them, the more they went from them; they sacrificed unto the Baalim, and offered to graven images.


text:
 I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love; and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I fed them gently.


text:
 He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return.


text:
 And the sword shall fall upon his cities, and shall consume his bars, and devour them, because of their own counsels.


text:
 And My people are in suspense about returning to Me; and though they call them upwards, none at all will lift himself up.


text:
 How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? How shall I surrender thee, Israel? How shall I make thee as Admah? How shall I set thee as Zeboim? My heart is turned within Me, My compassions are kindled together.


text:
 I will not execute the fierceness of Mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim; for I am God, and not man, the Holy One in the midst of thee; and I will not come in fury.


text:
 They shall walk after the LORD, who shall roar like a lion; for He shall roar, and the children shall come trembling from the west.


text:
 They shall come trembling as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria; and I will make them to dwell in their houses, saith the LORD.


text:
 Ephraim compasseth Me about with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit; and Judah is yet wayward towards God, and towards the Holy One who is faithful.


text:
 Ephraim striveth after wind, and followeth after the east wind; all the day he multiplieth lies and desolation; and they make a covenant with Assyria, and oil is carried into Egypt.


text:
 The LORD hath also a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways, according to his doings will He recompense him.


text:
 So he strove with an angel, and prevailed; he wept, and made supplication unto him; at Beth-el he would find him, and there he would speak with us;


text:
 And Ephraim said: 'Surely I am become rich, I have found me wealth; in all my labours they shall find in me no iniquity that were sin.'


text:
 But I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt; I will yet again make thee to dwell in tents, as in the days of the appointed season.


text:
 I have also spoken unto the prophets, and I have multiplied visions; and by the ministry of the prophets have I used similitudes.


text:
 If Gilead be given to iniquity becoming altogether vanity, in Gilgal they sacrifice unto bullocks; yea, their altars shall be as heaps in the furrows of the field.


text:
 Ephraim hath provoked most bitterly; therefore shall his blood be cast upon him, and his reproach shall his Lord return unto him.


text:
 When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling, he exalted himself in Israel; but when he became guilty through Baal, he died.


text:
 And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, according to their own understanding, even idols, all of them the work of the craftsmen; of them they say: 'They that sacrifice men kiss calves.'


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 Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the dew that early passeth away, as the chaff that is driven with the wind out of the threshing-floor, and as the smoke out of the window.


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 Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt; and thou knowest no God but Me, and beside Me there is no saviour.


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 When they were fed, they became full, they were filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten Me.


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 I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the enclosure of their heart; and there will I devour them like a lioness; the wild beast shall tear them.


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 Ho, now, thy king, that he may save thee in all thy cities! and thy judges, of whom thou saidst: 'Give me a king and princes!'


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 The throes of a travailing woman shall come upon him; he is an unwise son; for it is time he should not tarry in the place of the breaking forth of children.


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 Shall I ransom them from the power of the nether-world? Shall I redeem them from death? Ho, thy plagues, O death! Ho, thy destruction, O nether-world! Repentance be hid from Mine eyes!


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 For though he be fruitful among the reed-plants, an east wind shall come, the wind of the LORD coming up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up; he shall spoil the treasure of all precious vessels.


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 Samaria shall bear her guilt, for she hath rebelled against her God; they shall fall by the sword; their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up.


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 Take with you words, and return unto the LORD; say unto Him: 'Forgive all iniquity, and accept that which is good; so will we render for bullocks the offering of our lips.


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 Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses; neither will we call any more the work of our hands our gods; for in Thee the fatherless findeth mercy.'


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 I will be as the dew unto Israel; he shall blossom as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.


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 His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive-tree, and his fragrance as Lebanon.


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 They that dwell under his shadow shall again make corn to grow, and shall blossom as the vine; the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.


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 Ephraim : 'What have I to do any more with idols?' As for Me, I respond and look on him; I am like a leafy cypress-tree; from Me is thy fruit found.


text:
 Whoso is wise, let him understand these things, whoso is prudent, let him know them. For the ways of the LORD are right, and the just do walk in them; but transgressors do stumble therein.


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 Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or in the days of your fathers?


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 Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.


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 That which the palmer-worm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the canker-worm eaten; and that which the canker-worm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten.


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 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep, and wail, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine, for it is cut off from your mouth.


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 For a people is come up upon my land, mighty, and without number; his teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the jaw- teeth of a lioness.


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 He hath laid my vine waste, and blasted my fig-tree; he hath made it clean bare, and cast it down, the branches thereof are made white.


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 The meal-offering and the drink-offering is cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests mourn, even the LORD'S ministers.


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 The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted, the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth.


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 Be ashamed, O ye husbandmen, wail, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished.


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 The vine is withered, and the fig-tree languisheth; the pomegranate-tree, the palm-tree also, and the apple-tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered; for joy is withered away from the sons of men.


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 Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests, wail, ye ministers of the altar; come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God; for the meal-offering and the drink-offering is withholden from the house of your God.


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 Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land unto the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD.


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 Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.


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 The grains shrivel under their hoes; the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered.


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 How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.


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 Unto Thee, O LORD, do I cry; for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath set ablaze all the trees of the field.


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 Yea, the beasts of the field pant unto Thee; for the water brooks are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.


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 Blow ye the horn in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain; let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is at hand;


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 A day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, as blackness spread upon the mountains; a great people and a mighty, there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after them, even to the years of many generations.


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 A fire devoureth before them, and behind them a flame blazeth; the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing escapeth them.


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 Like the noise of chariots, on the tops of the mountains do they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a mighty people set in battle array.


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 They run like mighty men, they climb the wall like men of war; and they move on every one in his ways, and they entangle not their paths.


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 Neither doth one thrust another, they march every one in his highway; and they break through the weapons, and suffer no harm.


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 They leap upon the city, they run upon the wall, they climb up into the houses; they enter in at the windows like a thief.


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 Before them the earth quaketh, the heavens tremble; the sun and the moon are become black, and the stars withdraw their shining.


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 And the LORD uttereth His voice before His army; for His camp is very great, for he is mighty that executeth His word; for great is the day of the LORD and very terrible; and who can abide it?


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 Yet even now, saith the LORD, turn ye unto Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with lamentation;


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 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God; for He is gracious and compassionate, long-suffering, and abundant in mercy, and repenteth Him of the evil.


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 Who knoweth whether He will not turn and repent, and leave a blessing behind Him, even a meal-offering and a drink- offering unto the LORD your God?


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 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts; let the bridegroom go forth from his chamber, and the bride out of her pavilion.


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 Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say: 'Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not Thy heritage to reproach, that the nations should make them a byword: wherefore should they say among the peoples: Where is their God?'


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 And the LORD answered and said unto His people: 'Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations;


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 But I will remove far off from you the northern one, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the eastern sea, and his hinder part toward the western sea; that his foulness may come up, and his ill savour may come up, because he hath done great things.'


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 Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field; for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth its fruit, the fig-tree and the vine do yield their strength.


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 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God; for He giveth you the former rain in just measure, and He causeth to come down for you the rain, the former rain and the latter rain, at the first.


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 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the canker-worm, and the caterpiller, and the palmer- worm, My great army which I sent among you.


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 And ye shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and shall praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you; and My people shall never be ashamed.


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 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and there is none else; and My people shall never be ashamed.


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 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions;


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 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD come.


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 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered; for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those that escape, as the LORD hath said, and among the remnant those whom the LORD shall call.


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 For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring back the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,


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 I will gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them there for My people and for My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and divided My land.


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 And they have cast lots for My people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, and have drunk.


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 And also what are ye to Me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the regions of Philistia? will ye render retribution on My behalf? and if ye render retribution on My behalf, swiftly, speedily will I return your retribution upon your own head.


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 Forasmuch as ye have taken My silver and My gold, and have carried into your temples My goodly treasures;


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 the children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the sons of Jevanim, that ye might remove them far from their border;


text:
 behold, I will stir them up out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your retribution upon your own head;


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 and I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the men of Sheba, to a nation far off; for the LORD hath spoken.


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 Proclaim ye this among the nations, prepare war; stir up the mighty men; let all the men of war draw near, let them come up.


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 Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears; let the weak say: 'I am strong.'


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 Haste ye, and come, all ye nations round about, and gather yourselves together; thither cause Thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD!


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 Let the nations be stirred up, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the nations round about.


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 Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; come, tread ye, for the winepress is full, the vats overflow; for their wickedness is great.


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 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.


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 And the LORD shall roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shall shake; but the LORD will be a refuge unto His people, and a stronghold to the children of Israel.


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 So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God, dwelling in Zion My holy mountain; then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.


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 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the brooks of Judah shall flow with waters; and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim.


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 Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.


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 And I will hold as innocent their blood that I have not held as innocent; and the LORD dwelleth in Zion.


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 THE WORDS of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.


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 And he said: The LORD roareth from Zion, and uttereth His voice from Jerusalem; and the pastures of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.


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 For thus saith the LORD: For three transgressions of Damascus, yea, for four, I will not reverse it: because they have threshed Gilead with sledges of iron.


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 And I will break the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from Bikath-Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from Beth- eden; and the people of Aram shall go into captivity unto Kir, saith the LORD.


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 Thus saith the LORD: For three transgressions of Gaza, yea, for four, I will not reverse it: because they carried away captive a whole captivity, to deliver them up to Edom.


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 And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holdeth the sceptre from Ashkelon; and I will turn My hand against Ekron, and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord GOD.


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 Thus saith the LORD: For three transgressions of Tyre, yea, for four, I will not reverse it: because they delivered up a whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant.


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 Thus saith the LORD: For three transgressions of Edom, yea, for four, I will not reverse it: because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever.


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 Thus saith the LORD: For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, yea, for four, I will not reverse it: because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border.


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 So will I kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind;


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 Thus saith the LORD: For three transgressions of Moab, yea, for four, I will not reverse it: because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime.


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 So will I send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth; and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the horn;


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 And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith the LORD.


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 Thus saith the LORD: For three transgressions of Judah, yea, for four, I will not reverse it: because they have rejected the law of the LORD, and have not kept His statutes, and their lies have caused them to err, after which their fathers did walk.


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 Thus saith the LORD: For three transgressions of Israel, yea, for four, I will not reverse it: because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes;


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 That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the humble; and a man and his father go unto the same maid, to profane My holy name;


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 And they lay themselves down beside every altar upon clothes taken in pledge, and in the house of their God they drink the wine of them that have been fined.


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 Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.


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 Also I brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and led you forty years in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorites.


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 And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazirites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the LORD.


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 And flight shall fail the swift, and the strong shall not exert his strength, neither shall the mighty deliver himself;


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 Neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself; neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself;


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 Hear this word that the LORD hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up out of the land of Egypt, saying:


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 You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will visit upon you all your iniquities.


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 Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? Will a young lion give forth his voice out of his den, if he have taken nothing?


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 Will a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where there is no lure for it? Will a snare spring up from the ground, and have taken nothing at all?


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 Shall the horn be blown in a city, and the people not tremble? Shall evil befall a city, and the LORD hath not done it?


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 Proclaim it upon the palaces at Ashdod, and upon the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say: 'Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria, and behold the great confusions therein, and the oppressions in the midst thereof.'


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 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: An adversary, even round about the land! And he shall bring down thy strength from thee, and thy palaces shall be spoiled.


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 Thus saith the LORD: As the shepherd rescueth out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so shall the children of Israel that dwell in Samaria escape with the corner of a couch, and the leg of a bed.


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 For in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him, I will also punish the altars of Beth-el, and the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and fall to the ground.


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 And I will smite the winter-house with the summer-house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, saith the LORD.


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 Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, that oppress the poor, that crush the needy, that say unto their lords: 'Bring, that we may feast.'


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 The Lord GOD hath sworn by His holiness: Lo, surely the days shall come upon you, that ye shall be taken away with hooks, and your residue with fish-hooks.


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 And ye shall go out at the breaches, every one straight before her; and ye shall be cast into Harmon, saith the LORD.


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 Come to Beth-el, and transgress, to Gilgal, and multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices in the morning, and your tithes after three days;


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 And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened, and proclaim freewill-offerings and publish them; for so ye love to do, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.


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 And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places; yet have ye not returned unto Me, saith the LORD.


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 And I also have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest; and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city; one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered.


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 So two or three cities wandered unto one city to drink water, and were not satisfied; yet have ye not returned unto Me, saith the LORD.


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 I have smitten you with blasting and mildew; the multitude of your gardens and your vineyards and your fig-trees and your olive- trees hath the palmer-worm devoured; yet have ye not returned unto Me, saith the LORD.


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 I have sent among you the pestilence in the way of Egypt; your young men have I slain with the sword, and have carried away your horses; and I have made the stench of your camp to come up even into your nostrils; yet have ye not returned unto Me, saith the LORD.


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 I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a brand plucked out of the burning; yet have ye not returned unto Me, saith the LORD.


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 Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel; because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.


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 For, lo, He that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth; the LORD, the God of hosts, is His name.


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 The virgin of Israel is fallen, she shall no more rise; she is cast down upon her land, there is none to raise her up.


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 For thus saith the Lord GOD: The city that went forth a thousand shall have a hundred left, and that which went forth a hundred shall have ten left, of the house of Israel.


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 But seek not Beth-el, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beer-sheba; for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Beth-el shall come to nought.


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 Seek the LORD, and live--lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and it devour, and there be none to quench it in Bethel--


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 Him that maketh the Pleiades and Orion, and bringeth on the shadow of death in the morning, and darkeneth the day into night; that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth; the LORD is His name;


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 Therefore, because ye trample upon the poor, and take from him exactions of wheat; ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them, ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine thereof.


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 For I know how manifold are your transgressions, and how mighty are your sins; ye that afflict the just, that take a ransom, and that turn aside the needy in the gate.


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 Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live; and so the LORD, the God of hosts, will be with you, as ye say.


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 Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts, will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.


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 Therefore thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord: Lamentation shall be in all the broad places, and they shall say in all the streets: 'Alas! alas!' and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and proclaim lamentation to such as are skilful of wailing.


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 And in all vineyards shall be lamentation; for I will pass through the midst of thee, saith the LORD.


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 Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! Wherefore would ye have the day of the LORD? It is darkness, and not light.


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 As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; and went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.


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 Yea, though ye offer me burnt-offerings and your meal-offerings, I will not accept them; neither will I regard the peace- offerings of your fat beasts.


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 So shall ye take up Siccuth your king and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves.


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 Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith He, whose name is the LORD God of hosts.


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 Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and to them that are secure in the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the first of the nations, to whom the house of Israel come!


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 Pass ye unto Calneh, and see, and from thence go ye to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines; are they better than these kingdoms? or is their border greater than your border?


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 That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall;


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 That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments; but they are not grieved for the hurt of Joseph.


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 Therefore now shall they go captive at the head of them that go captive, and the revelry of them that stretched themselves shall pass away.


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 The Lord GOD hath sworn by Himself, saith the LORD, the God of hosts: I abhor the pride of Jacob, and hate his palaces; and I will deliver up the city with all that is therein.


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 And when a man's uncle shall take him up, even he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is in the innermost parts of the house: 'Is there yet any with thee?' and he shall say: 'No'; then shall he say: 'Hold thy peace; for we must not make mention of the name of the LORD.'


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 For, behold, the LORD commandeth, and the great house shall be smitten into splinters, and the little house into chips.


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 Do horses run upon the rocks? Doth one plow there with oxen? that ye have turned justice into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood;


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 Ye that rejoice in a thing of nought, that say: 'Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength?'


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 For, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith the LORD, the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entrance of Hamath unto the Brook of the Arabah.


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 Thus the Lord GOD showed me; and, behold, He formed locusts in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings.


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 And if it had come to pass, that when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land--so I said: O Lord GOD, forgive, I beseech Thee; how shall Jacob stand? for he is small.


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 Thus the Lord GOD showed me; and, behold, the Lord GOD called to contend by fire; and it devoured the great deep, and would have eaten up the land.


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 Thus He showed me; and, behold, the Lord stood beside a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in His hand.


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 And the LORD said unto me: 'Amos, what seest thou?' And I said: 'A plumbline.' Then said the Lord: Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of My people Israel; I will not again pardon them any more;


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 And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.


text:
 Then Amaziah the priest of Beth-el sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying: 'Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words.


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 For thus Amos saith: Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of his land.'


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 Also Amaziah said unto Amos: 'O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there;


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 but prophesy not again any more at Beth-el, for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is a royal house.'


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 Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah: 'I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was a herdman, and a dresser of sycamore-trees;


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 and the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said unto me: Go, prophesy unto My people Israel.


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 Now therefore hear thou the word of the LORD: Thou sayest: Prophesy not against Israel, and preach not against the house of Isaac;


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 Therefore thus saith the LORD: Thy wife shall be a harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou thyself shalt die in an unclean land, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of his land.'


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 And He said: 'Amos, what seest thou?' And I said: 'A basket of summer fruit.' Then said the LORD unto me: The end is come upon My people Israel; I will not again pardon them any more.


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 And the songs of the palace shall be wailings in that day, saith the Lord GOD; the dead bodies shall be many; in every place silence shall be cast.


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 Saying: 'When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell grain? and the sabbath, that we may set forth corn? making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances of deceit;


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 That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes, and sell the refuse of the corn?'


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 Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? Yea, it shall rise up wholly like the River; and it shall be troubled and sink again, like the River of Egypt.


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 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day.


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 And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning for an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.


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 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.


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 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east; they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.


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 They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say: 'As thy God, O Dan, liveth'; and: 'As the way of Beer-sheba liveth'; even they shall fall, and never rise up again.


text:
 I saw the Lord standing beside the altar; and He said: Smite the capitals, that the posts may shake; and break them in pieces on the head of all of them; and I will slay the residue of them with the sword; there shall not one of them flee away, and there shall not one of them escape.


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 Though they dig into the nether-world, thence shall My hand take them; and though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down.


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 And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from My sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them.


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 And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them; and I will set Mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.


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 For the Lord, the GOD of hosts, is He that toucheth the land and it melteth, and all that dwell therein mourn; and it riseth up wholly like the River, and sinketh again, like the River of Egypt;


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 It is He that buildeth His upper chambers in the heaven, and hath founded His vault upon the earth; He that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth; The LORD is His name.


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 Are ye not as the children of the Ethiopians unto Me, O children of Israel? saith the LORD. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor, and Aram from Kir?


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 Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the LORD.


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 For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all the nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.


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 All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, that say: 'The evil shall not overtake nor confront us.'


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 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof, and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old;


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 That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the nations, upon whom My name is called, saith the LORD that doeth this.


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 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.


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 And I will turn the captivity of My people Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.


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 And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be plucked up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.


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 THE VISION of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom: We have heard a message from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the nations: 'Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle.'


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 The pride of thy heart hath beguiled thee, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, thy habitation on high; that sayest in thy heart: 'Who shall bring me down to the ground?'


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 Though thou make thy nest as high as the eagle, and though thou set it among the stars, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the LORD.


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 If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night--how art thou cut off!--would they not steal till they had enough? If grape-gatherers came to thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes?


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 All the men of thy confederacy have conducted thee to the border; the men that were at peace with thee have beguiled thee, and prevailed against thee; they that eat thy bread lay a snare under thee, in whom there is no discernment.


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 Shall I not in that day, saith the LORD, destroy the wise men out of Edom, and discernment out of the mount of Esau?


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 And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one may be cut off from the mount of Esau by slaughter.


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 For the violence done to thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.


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 In the day that thou didst stand aloof, in the day that strangers carried away his substance, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them.


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 But thou shouldest not have gazed on the day of thy brother in the day of his disaster, neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress.


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 Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of My people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have gazed on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity.


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 Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress.


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 For the day of the LORD is near upon all the nations; as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee; thy dealing shall return upon thine own head.


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 For as ye have drunk upon My holy mountain, so shall all the nations drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and swallow down, and shall be as though they had not been.


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 But in mount Zion there shall be those that escape, and it shall be holy; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.


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 And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken.


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 And they of the South shall possess the mount of Esau, and they of the Lowland the Philistines; and they shall possess the field of Ephraim, and the field of Samaria; and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.


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 And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel, that are among the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath, and the captivity of Jerusalem, that is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the South.


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 And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD'S.


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 'Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim against it; for their wickedness is come up before Me.'


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 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD; and he went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish, from the presence of the LORD.


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 But the LORD hurled a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.


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 And the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god; and they cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it unto them. But Jonah was gone down into the innermost parts of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.


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 So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him: 'What meanest thou that thou sleepest? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.'


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 And they said every one to his fellow: 'Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us.' So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.


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 Then said they unto him: 'Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us: what is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?'


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 And he said unto them: 'I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who hath made the sea and the dry land.'


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 Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him: 'What is this that thou hast done?' For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.


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 Then said they unto him: 'What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us?' for the sea grew more and more tempestuous.


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 And he said unto them: 'Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you; for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.'


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 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not; for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them.


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 Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said: 'We beseech Thee, O LORD, we beseech Thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood; for Thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased Thee.'


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 Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly; and they offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows.


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 And the LORD prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.


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 And he said: I called out of mine affliction unto the LORD, and He answered me; out of the belly of the nether-world cried I, and Thou heardest my voice.


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 For Thou didst cast me into the depth, in the heart of the seas, and the flood was round about me; all Thy waves and Thy billows passed over me.


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 The waters compassed me about, even to the soul; the deep was round about me; the weeds were wrapped about my head.


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 I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars closed upon me for ever; yet hast Thou brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God.


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 When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the LORD; and my prayer came in unto Thee, into Thy holy temple.


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 But I will sacrifice unto Thee with the voice of thanksgiving; that which I have vowed I will pay. Salvation is of the LORD.


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 So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city, of three days' journey.


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 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he proclaimed, and said: 'Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.'


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 And the people of Nineveh believed God; and they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.


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 And the tidings reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.


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 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying: 'Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing; let them not feed, nor drink water;


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 but let them be covered with sackcloth, both man and beast, and let them cry mightily unto God; yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.


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 Who knoweth whether God will not turn and repent, and turn away from His fierce anger, that we perish not?'


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 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, which He said He would do unto them; and He did it not.


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 And he prayed unto the LORD, and said: 'I pray Thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in mine own country? Therefore I fled beforehand unto Tarshish; for I knew that Thou art a gracious God, and compassionate, long- suffering, and abundant in mercy, and repentest Thee of the evil.


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 Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech Thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.'


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 Then Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.


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 And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his evil. So Jonah was exceeding glad because of the gourd.


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 But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd, that it withered.


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 And it came to pass, when the sun arose, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and requested for himself that he might die, and said: 'It is better for me to die than to live.'


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 And God said to Jonah: 'Art thou greatly angry for the gourd?' And he said: 'I am greatly angry, even unto death.'


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 And the LORD said: 'Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow, which came up in a night, and perished in a night;


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 and should not I have pity on Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand, and also much cattle?'


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 THE WORD of the LORD that came to Micah the Morashtite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.


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 Hear, ye peoples, all of you; Hearken, O earth, and all that therein is; and let the Lord GOD be witness against you, the Lord from His holy temple.


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 For, behold, the LORD cometh forth out of His place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth.


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 And the mountains shall be molten under Him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, as waters that are poured down a steep place.


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 For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? is it not Samaria? And what are the high places of Judah? are they not Jerusalem?


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 Therefore I will make Samaria a heap in the field, a place for the planting of vineyards; and I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley, and I will uncover the foundations thereof.


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 And all her graven images shall be beaten to pieces, and all her hires shall be burned with fire, and all her idols will I lay desolate; for of the hire of a harlot hath she gathered them, and unto the hire of a harlot shall they return.


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 For this will I wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked; I will make a wailing like the jackals, and a mourning like the ostriches.


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 For her wound is incurable; for it is come even unto Judah; it reacheth unto the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem.


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 Pass ye away, O inhabitant of Saphir, in nakedness and shame; the inhabitant of Zaanan is not come forth; the wailing of Beth- ezel shall take from you the standing-place thereof.


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 For the inhabitant of Maroth waiteth anxiously for good; because evil is come down from the LORD unto the gate of Jerusalem.


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 Bind the chariots to the swift steeds, O inhabitant of Lachish; she was the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion; for the transgressions of Israel are found in thee.


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 Therefore shalt thou give a parting gift to Moresheth-gath; the houses of Achzib shall be a deceitful thing unto the kings of Israel.


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 I will yet bring unto thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah, him that shall possess thee; the glory of Israel shall come even unto Adullam.


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 Make thee bald, and poll thee for the children of thy delight; enlarge thy baldness as the vulture; for they are gone into captivity from thee.


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 Woe to them that devise iniquity and work evil upon their beds! When the morning is light, they execute it, because it is in the power of their hand.


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 And they covet fields, and seize them; and houses, and take them away; thus they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.


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 Therefore thus saith the LORD: Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks, neither shall ye walk upright; for it shall be an evil time.


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 In that day shall they take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, and say: 'We are utterly ruined; he changeth the portion of my people; how doth he remove it from me! Instead of restoring our fields, he divideth them.'


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 'Preach ye not', they preach; 'They shall not preach of these things, that they shall not take shame.'


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 Do I change, O house of Jacob? Is the spirit of the LORD straitened? Are these His doings? Do not My words do good to him that walketh uprightly?


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 But of late My people is risen up as an enemy; with the garment ye strip also the mantle from them that pass by securely, so that they are as men returning from war.


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 The women of My people ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their young children ye take away My glory for ever.


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 Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your resting-place; because of the uncleanness thereof, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction.


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 If a man walking in wind and falsehood do lie: 'I will preach unto thee of wine and of strong drink'; he shall even be the preacher of this people.


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 I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will render them all as sheep in a fold; as a flock in the midst of their pasture; they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men.


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 The breaker is gone up before them; they have broken forth and passed on, by the gate, and are gone out thereat; and their king is passed on before them, and the LORD at the head of them.


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 And I said: Hear, I pray you, ye heads of Jacob, and rulers of the house of Israel: is it not for you to know justice?


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 Who hate the good, and love the evil; who rob their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones;


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 Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them, and break their bones; yea, they chop them in pieces, as that which is in the pot, and as flesh within the caldron.


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 Then shall they cry unto the LORD, but He will not answer them; yea, He will hide His face from them at that time, according as they have wrought evil in their doings.


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 Thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that make my people to err; that cry: 'Peace', when their teeth have any thing to bite; and whoso putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him:


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 Therefore it shall be night unto you, that ye shall have no vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down upon the prophets, and the day shall be black over them.


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 And the seers shall be put to shame, and the diviners confounded; yea, they shall all cover their upper lips; for there shall be no answer of God.


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 But I truly am full of power by the spirit of the LORD, and of justice, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.


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 Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and rulers of the house of Israel, that abhor justice, and pervert all equity;


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 The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money; yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say: 'Is not the LORD in the midst of us? No evil shall come upon us'?


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 Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.


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 But in the end of days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established as the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and peoples shall flow unto it.


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 And many nations shall go and say: 'Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths'; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.


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 And He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide concerning mighty nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.


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 But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig-tree; and none shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken.


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 For let all the peoples walk each one in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever.


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 In that day, saith the LORD, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven away, and her that I have afflicted;


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 And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a mighty nation; and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from thenceforth even for ever.


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 And thou, Migdal-eder, the hill of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come; yea, the former dominion shall come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.


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 Now why dost thou cry out aloud? Is there no King in thee, is thy Counsellor perished, that pangs have taken hold of thee as of a woman in travail?


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 Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail; for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and shalt dwell in the field, and shalt come even unto Babylon; there shalt thou be rescued; there shall the LORD redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.


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 And now many nations are assembled against thee, that say: 'Let her be defiled, and let our eye gaze upon Zion.'


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 But they know not the thoughts of the LORD, neither understand they His counsel; for He hath gathered them as the sheaves to the threshing-floor.


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 Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion; for I will make thy horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass; and thou shalt beat in pieces many peoples; and thou shalt devote their gain unto the LORD, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.


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 Now shalt thou gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops; they have laid siege against us; they smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.


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 But thou, Beth-lehem Ephrathah, which art little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall one come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, from ancient days.


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 Therefore will He give them up, until the time that she who travaileth hath brought forth; then the residue of his brethren shall return with the children of Israel.


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 And he shall stand, and shall feed his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide, for then shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.


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 And this shall be peace: when the Assyrian shall come into our land, and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight princes among men.


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 And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod with the keen-edged sword; and he shall deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our border.


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 And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples, as dew from the LORD, as showers upon the grass, that are not looked for from man, nor awaited at the hands of the sons of men.


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 And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he go through, treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and there is none to deliver.


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 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and will destroy thy chariots;


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 And I will cut off thy graven images and thy pillars out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thy hands.


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 Hear ye now what the LORD saith: Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice.


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 Hear, O ye mountains, the LORD'S controversy, and ye enduring rocks, the foundations of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with His people, and He will plead with Israel.


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 For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of bondage, and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.


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 O My people, remember now what Balak king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him; from Shittim unto Gilgal, that ye may know the righteous acts of the LORD.


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 'Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before Him with burnt-offerings, with calves of a year old?


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 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?'


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 It hath been told thee, O man, what is good, and what the LORD doth require of thee: only to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.


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 Hark! the LORD crieth unto the city--and it is wisdom to have regard for Thy name--hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.


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 Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is abominable?


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 For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.


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 Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied; and thy sickness shall be in thine inward parts; and thou shalt conceive, but shalt not bring forth; and whomsoever thou bringest forth will I give up to the sword.


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 Thou shalt sow, but shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olives, but shalt not anoint thee with oil; and the vintage, but shalt not drink wine.


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 For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and ye walk in their counsels; that I may make thee an astonishment, and the inhabitants thereof a hissing; and ye shall bear the reproach of My people.


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 Woe is me! for I am as the last of the summer fruits, as the grape gleanings of the vintage; there is no cluster to eat; nor first-ripe fig which my soul desireth.


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 The godly man is perished out of the earth, and the upright among men is no more; they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.


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 Their hands are upon that which is evil to do it diligently; the prince asketh, and the judge is ready for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth the evil desire of his soul; thus they weave it together.


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 The best of them is as a brier; the most upright is worse than a thorn hedge; the day of thy watchmen, even thy visitation, is come; now shall be their perplexity.


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 Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a familiar friend; keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.


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 For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house.


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 'But as for me, I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.


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 Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy; though I am fallen, I shall arise; though I sit in darkness, the LORD is a light unto me.


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 I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against Him; until He plead my cause, and execute judgment for me; He will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold His righteousness.


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 Then mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her; who said unto me: Where is the LORD thy God? Mine eyes shall gaze upon her; now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets.'


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 There shall be a day when they shall come unto thee, from Assyria even to the cities of Egypt, and from Egypt even to the River, and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain.


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 Tend Thy people with Thy staff, the flock of Thy heritage, that dwell solitarily, as a forest in the midst of the fruitful field; let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.


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 'As in the days of thy coming forth out of the land of Egypt will I show unto him marvellous things.'


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 The nations shall see and be put to shame for all their might; they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf.


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 They shall lick the dust like a serpent; like crawling things of the earth they shall come trembling out of their close places; they shall come with fear unto the LORD our God, and shall be afraid because of Thee.


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 Who is a God like unto Thee, that pardoneth the iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retaineth not His anger for ever, because He delighteth in mercy.


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 He will again have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities; and Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.


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 Thou wilt show faithfulness to Jacob, mercy to Abraham, as Thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.


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 The LORD is a jealous and avenging God, the LORD avengeth and is full of wrath; the LORD taketh vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserveth wrath for His enemies.


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 The LORD is long-suffering, and great in power, and will by no means clear the guilty; the LORD, in the whirlwind and in the storm is His way, and the clouds are the dust of His feet.


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 He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers; Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth.


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 The mountains quake at Him, and the hills melt; and the earth is upheaved at His presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein.


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 Who can stand before His indignation? And who can abide in the fierceness of His anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken asunder before Him.


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 But with an overrunning flood He will make a full end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue His enemies.


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 What do ye devise against the LORD? He will make a full end; trouble shall not rise up the second time.


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 For though they be like tangled thorns, and be drunken according to their drink, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry.


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 Thus saith the LORD: Though they be in full strength, and likewise many, even so shall they be cut down, and he shall pass away; and though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more.


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 And the LORD hath given commandment concerning thee, that no more of thy name be sown; out of the house of thy god will I cut off the graven image and the molten image; I will make thy grave; for thou art become worthless.


text:
 Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that announceth peace! Keep thy feasts, O Judah, perform thy vows; for the wicked one shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.


text:
 A maul is come up before thy face; guard the defences, watch the way, make thy loins strong, fortify thy power mightily!--


text:
 For the LORD restoreth the pride of Jacob, as the pride of Israel; for the emptiers have emptied them out, and marred their vine-branches.--


text:
 The shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant men are in scarlet; the chariots are fire of steel in the day of his preparation, and the cypress spears are made to quiver.


text:
 The chariots rush madly in the streets, they jostle one against another in the broad places; the appearance of them is like torches, they run to and fro like the lightnings.


text:
 He bethinketh himself of his worthies; they stumble in their march; they make haste to the wall thereof, and the mantelet is prepared.


text:
 And the queen is uncovered, she is carried away, and her handmaids moan as with the voice of doves, tabering upon their breasts.


text:
 But Nineveh hath been from of old like a pool of water; yet they flee away; 'Stand, stand'; but none looketh back.


text:
 Take ye the spoil of silver, take the spoil of gold; for there is no end of the store, rich with all precious vessels.


text:
 She is empty, and void, and waste; and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and convulsion is in all loins, and the faces of them all have gathered blackness.


text:
 Where is the den of the lions, which was the feeding-place of the young lions, where the lion and the lioness walked, and the lion's whelp, and none made them afraid?


text:
 The lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his caves with prey, and his dens with ravin.


text:
 Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will burn her chariots in the smoke, and the sword shall devour thy young lions; and I will cut off thy prey from the earth, and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard.


text:
 The horseman charging, and the flashing sword, and the glittering spear; and a multitude of slain, and a heap of carcases; and there is no end of the corpses, and they stumble upon their corpses;


text:
 Because of the multitude of the harlotries of the well-favoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her harlotries, and families through her witchcrafts.


text:
 Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will uncover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will shew the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame.


text:
 And it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say: 'Nineveh is laid waste; who will bemoan her? whence shall I seek comforters for thee?'


text:
 Art thou better than No-amon, that was situate among the rivers, that had the waters round about her; whose rampart was the sea, and of the sea her wall?


text:
 Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity; her young children also were dashed in pieces at the head of all the streets; and they cast lots for her honourable men, and all her great men were bound in chains.


text:
 All thy fortresses shall be like fig-trees with the first-ripe figs: if they be shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater.


text:
 Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women; the gates of thy land are set wide open unto thine enemies; the fire hath devoured thy bars.


text:
 Draw thee water for the siege, strengthen thy fortresses; go into the clay, and tread the mortar, lay hold of the brickmould.


text:
 There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off, it shall devour thee like the canker-worm; make thyself many as the canker-worm, make thyself many as the locusts.


text:
 Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven; the canker-worm spreadeth itself, and flieth away.


text:
 Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy marshals as the swarms of grasshoppers, which camp in the walls in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are.


text:
 Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria, thy worthies are at rest; thy people are scattered upon the mountains, and there is none to gather them.


text:
 There is no assuaging of thy hurt, thy wound is grievous; all that hear the report of thee clap the hands over thee; for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?


text:
 How long, O LORD, shall I cry, and Thou wilt not hear? I cry out unto Thee of violence, and Thou wilt not save.


text:
 Why dost Thou show me iniquity, and beholdest mischief? And why are spoiling and violence before me? so that there is strife, and contention ariseth.


text:
 Therefore the law is slacked, and right doth never go forth; for the wicked doth beset the righteous; therefore right goeth forth perverted.


text:
 Look ye among the nations, and behold, and wonder marvellously; for, behold, a work shall be wrought in your days, which ye will not believe though it be told you.


text:
 For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and impetuous nation, that march through the breadth of the earth, to possess dwelling-places that are not theirs.


text:
 Their horses also are swifter than leopards, and are more fierce than the wolves of the desert; and their horsemen spread themselves; yea, their horsemen come from far, they fly as a vulture that hasteth to devour.


text:
 They come all of them for violence; their faces are set eagerly as the east wind; and they gather captives as the sand.


text:
 And they scoff at kings, and princes are a derision unto them; they deride every stronghold, for they heap up earth, and take it.


text:
 Then their spirit doth pass over and transgress, and they become guilty: even they who impute their might unto their god.


text:
 Art not Thou from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O LORD, Thou hast ordained them for judgment, and Thou, O Rock, hast established them for correction.


text:
 Thou that art of eyes too pure to behold evil, and that canst not look on mischief, wherefore lookest Thou, when they deal treacherously, and holdest Thy peace, when the wicked swalloweth up the man that is more righteous than he;


text:
 They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag; therefore they rejoice and exult.


text:
 Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and offer unto their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their food plenteous.


text:
 I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will look out to see what He will speak by me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.


text:
 And the LORD answered me, and said: 'Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that a man may read it swiftly.


text:
 For the vision is yet for the appointed time, and it declareth of the end, and doth not lie; though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not delay.'


text:
 Behold, his soul is puffed up, it is not upright in him; but the righteous shall live by his faith.


text:
 Yea, moreover, wine is a treacherous dealer; the haughty man abideth not; he who enlargeth his desire as the nether-world, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all peoples.


text:
 Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting riddle against him, and say: 'Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and that ladeth himself with many pledges!'


text:
 Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall exact interest of thee, and awake that shall violently shake thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them?


text:
 Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the peoples shall spoil thee; because of men's blood, and for the violence done to the land, to the city and to all that dwell therein.


text:
 Woe to him that gaineth evil gains for his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!


text:
 Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the peoples labour for the fire, and the nations weary themselves for vanity?


text:
 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.


text:
 Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy venom thereto, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!


text:
 Thou art filled with shame instead of glory, drink thou also, and be uncovered; the cup of the LORD'S right hand shall be turned unto thee, and filthiness shall be upon thy glory.


text:
 For the violence done to Lebanon shall cover thee, and the destruction of the beasts, which made them afraid; because of men's blood, and for the violence done to the land, to the city and to all that dwell therein.


text:
 What profiteth the graven image, that the maker thereof hath graven it, even the molten image, and the teacher of lies; that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols?


text:
 Woe unto him that saith to the wood: 'Awake', to the dumb stone: 'Arise!' Can this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.


text:
 O LORD, I have heard the report of Thee, and am afraid; O LORD, revive Thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember compassion.


text:
 God cometh from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covereth the heavens, and the earth is full of His praise.


text:
 And a brightness appeareth as the light; rays hath He at His side; and there is the hiding of His power.


text:
 He standeth, and shaketh the earth, He beholdeth, and maketh the nations to tremble; and the everlasting mountains are dashed in pieces, the ancient hills do bow; His goings are as of old.


text:
 Is it, O LORD, that against the rivers, is it that Thine anger is kindled against the rivers, or Thy wrath against the sea? that Thou dost ride upon Thy horses, upon Thy chariots of victory?


text:
 Thy bow is made quite bare; sworn are the rods of the word. Selah. Thou dost cleave the earth with rivers.


text:
 The mountains have seen Thee, and they tremble; the tempest of waters floweth over; the deep uttereth its voice, and lifteth up its hands on high.


text:
 The sun and moon stand still in their habitation; at the light of Thine arrows as they go, at the shining of Thy glittering spear.


text:
 Thou art come forth for the deliverance of Thy people, for the deliverance of Thine anointed; Thou woundest the head out of the house of the wicked, uncovering the foundation even unto the neck. Selah


text:
 Thou hast stricken through with his own rods the head of his rulers, that come as a whirlwind to scatter me; whose rejoicing is as to devour the poor secretly.


text:
 When I heard, mine inward parts trembled, my lips quivered at the voice; rottenness entereth into my bones, and I tremble where I stand; that I should wait for the day of trouble, when he cometh up against the people that he invadeth.


text:
 For though the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no food; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls;


text:
 God, the Lord, is my strength, and He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and He maketh me to walk upon my high places. For the Leader. With my string-music.


text:
 THE WORD of the LORD which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.


text:
 I will consume man and beast, I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the face of the earth, saith the LORD.


text:
 And I will stretch out My hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the idolatrous priests with the priests;


text:
 And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship, that swear to the LORD and swear by Malcam;


text:
 Them also that are turned back from following the LORD; and those that have not sought the LORD, nor inquired after Him.


text:
 Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD; for the day of the LORD is at hand, for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, He hath consecrated His guests.


text:
 And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD'S sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king's sons, and all such as are clothed with foreign apparel.


text:
 In the same day also will I punish all those that leap over the threshold, that fill their master's house with violence and deceit.


text:
 And in that day, saith the LORD, Hark! a cry from the fish gate, and a wailing from the second quarter, and a great crashing from the hills.


text:
 Wail, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant people are undone; all they that were laden with silver are cut off.


text:
 And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with lamps; and I will punish the men that are settled on their lees, that say in their heart: 'The LORD will not do good, neither will He do evil.'


text:
 Therefore their wealth shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation; yea, they shall build houses, but shall not inhabit them, and they shall plant vineyards, but shall not drink the wine thereof.


text:
 The great day of the LORD is near, it is near and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD, wherein the mighty man crieth bitterly.


text:
 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,


text:
 And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the LORD; and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as dung.


text:
 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole earth shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy; for He will make and end, yea, a terrible end, of all them that dwell in the earth.


text:
 Before the decree bring forth the day when one passeth as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD'S anger come upon you.


text:
 Seek ye the LORD, all ye humble of the earth, that have executed His ordinance; seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD'S anger.


text:
 For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation; they shall drive out Ashdod at the noonday, and Ekron shall be rooted up.


text:
 Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea-coast, the nation of the Cherethites! the word of the LORD is against you, O Canaan, the land of the Philistines; I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant.


text:
 And it shall be a portion for the remnant of the house of Judah, whereon they shall feed; in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening; for the LORD their God will remember them, and turn their captivity.


text:
 I have heard the taunt of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, wherewith they have taunted My people, and spoken boastfully concerning their border.


text:
 Therefore as I live, saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding-place of nettles, and saltpits, and a desolation, for ever; the residue of My people shall spoil them, and the remnant of My nation shall inherit them.


text:
 This shall they have for their pride, because they have taunted and spoken boastfully against the people of the LORD of hosts.


text:
 The LORD will be terrible unto them; for He will famish all the gods of the earth; then shall all the isles of the nations worship Him, every one from its place.


text:
 And He will stretch out His hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like the wilderness.


text:
 And all beasts of every kind shall lie down in the midst of her in herds; both the pelican and the bittern shall lodge in the capitals thereof; voices shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the posts; for the cedar-work thereof shall be uncovered.


text:
 This is the joyous city that dwelt without care, that said in her heart: 'I am, and there is none else beside me'; how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! Every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his hand.


text:
 She hearkened not to the voice, she received not correction; she trusted not in the LORD, she drew not near to her God.


text:
 Her princes in the midst of her are roaring lions; her judges are wolves of the desert, they leave not a bone for the morrow.


text:
 Her prophets are wanton and treacherous persons; her priests have profaned that which is holy, they have done violence to the law.


text:
 The LORD who is righteous is in the midst of her, He will not do unrighteousness; every morning doth He bring His right to light, it faileth not; but the unrighteous knoweth no shame.


text:
 I have cut off nations, their corners are desolate; I have made their streets waste, so that none passeth by; their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, so that there is no inhabitant.


text:
 I said: 'Surely thou wilt fear Me, thou wilt receive correction; so her dwelling shall not be cut off, despite all that I have visited upon her'; but they betimes corrupted all their doings.


text:
 Therefore wait ye for Me, saith the LORD, until the day that I rise up to the prey; for My determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them Mine indignation, even all My fierce anger; for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of My jealousy.


text:
 For then will I turn to the peoples a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve Him with one consent.


text:
 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia shall they bring My suppliants, even the daughter of My dispersed, as Mine offering.


text:
 In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against Me; for then I will take away out of the midst of thee thy proudly exulting ones, and thou shalt no more be haughty in My holy mountain.


text:
 And I will leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall take refuge in the name of the LORD.


text:
 The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies, neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.


text:
 Sing, O daughter of Zion, shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.


text:
 The LORD hath taken away thy judgments, He hath cast out thine enemy; The King of Israel, even the LORD, is in the midst of thee; thou shalt not fear evil any more.


text:
 The LORD thy God is in the midst of thee, a Mighty One who will save; He will rejoice over thee with joy, He will be silent in His love, He will joy over thee with singing.'


text:
 I will gather them that are far from the appointed season, who are of thee, that hast borne the burden of reproach.


text:
 Behold, at that time I will deal with all them that afflict thee; and I will save her that is lame, and gather her that was driven away; and I will make them to be a praise and a name, whose shame hath been in all the earth.


text:
 At that time will I bring you in, and at that time will I gather you; for I will make you to be a name and a praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I turn your captivity before your eyes, saith the LORD.


text:
 IN THE second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying:


text:
 'Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying: This people say: The time is not come, the time that the LORD'S house should be built.'


text:
 Ye have sown much, and brought in little, ye eat, but ye have not enough, ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink, ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages for a bag with holes.


text:
 Go up to the hill-country, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD.


text:
 Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of My house that lieth waste, while ye run every man for his own house.


text:
 Therefore over you the heaven hath kept back, so that there is no dew, and the earth hath kept back her produce.


text:
 And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands.'


text:
 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, hearkened unto the voice of the LORD their God, and unto the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him; and the people did fear before the LORD.


text:
 Then spoke Haggai the LORD'S messenger in the LORD'S message unto the people, saying: 'I am with you, saith the LORD.'


text:
 And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the LORD of hosts, their God,


text:
 in the four and twentieth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.


text:
 In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying:


text:
 'Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, saying:


text:
 Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? and how do ye see it now? is not such a one as nothing in your eyes?


text:
 Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work; for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts.


text:
 The word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt have I established, and My spirit abideth among you; fear ye not.


text:
 For thus saith the LORD of hosts: Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;


text:
 and I will shake all nations, and the choicest things of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.


text:
 The glory of this latter house shall be greater than that of the former, saith the LORD of hosts; and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.'


text:
 In the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying:


text:
 If one bear hallowed flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any food, shall it be holy?' And the priests answered and said: 'No.'


text:
 Then said Haggai: 'If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean?' And the priests answered and said: 'It shall be unclean.'


text:
 Then answered Haggai, and said: 'So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the LORD; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean.


text:
 And now, I pray you, consider from this day and forward--before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the LORD,


text:
 through all that time, when one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten; when one came to the winevat to draw out fifty press-measures, there were but twenty;


text:
 I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the work of your hands; yet ye turned not to Me, saith the LORD--


text:
 consider, I pray you, from this day and forward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the LORD'S temple was laid, consider it;


text:
 is the seed yet in the barn? yea, the vine, and the fig-tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive-tree hath not brought forth--from this day will I bless you.'


text:
 And the word of the LORD came the second time unto Haggai in the four and twentieth day of the month, saying:


text:
 and I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.


text:
 In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, My servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the LORD, and will make thee as a signet; for I have chosen thee, saith the LORD of hosts.'


text:
 IN THE eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet, saying:


text:
 Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts: Return unto Me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.


text:
 Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets proclaimed, saying: Thus saith the LORD of hosts: Return ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings; but they did not hear, nor attend unto Me, saith the LORD.


text:
 But My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers? so that they turned and said: Like as the LORD of hosts purposed to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath He dealt with us.'


text:
 Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet, saying--


text:
 I saw in the night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle-trees that were in the bottom; and behind him there were horses, red, sorrel, and white.


text:
 Then said I: 'O my lord, what are these?' And the angel that spoke with me said unto me: 'I will show thee what these are.'


text:
 And the man that stood among the myrtle-trees answered and said: 'These are they whom the LORD hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth.'


text:
 And they answered the angel of the LORD that stood among the myrtle-trees, and said: 'We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest.'


text:
 Then the angel of the LORD spoke and said: 'O LORD of hosts, how long wilt Thou not have compassion on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which Thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years?


text:
 so the angel that spoke with me said unto me: 'Proclaim thou, saying: Thus saith the LORD of hosts: I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy;


text:
 and I am very sore displeased with the nations that are at ease; for I was but a little displeased, and they helped for evil.


text:
 Therefore thus saith the LORD: I return to Jerusalem with compassions: My house shall be built in it, saith the LORD of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth over Jerusalem.


text:
 Again, proclaim, saying: Thus saith the LORD of hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity; and the LORD shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.'


text:
 And I said unto the angel that spoke with me: 'What are these?' And he said unto me: 'These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.'


text:
 Then said I: 'What come these to do?' And he spoke, saying: 'These--the horns which scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head--these then are come to frighten them, to cast down the horns of the nations, which lifted up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.'


text:
 Then said I: 'Whither goest thou?' And he said unto me: 'To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof.'


text:
 and said unto him: 'Run, speak to this young man, saying: 'Jerusalem shall be inhabited without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein.


text:
 For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and I will be the glory in the midst of her.


text:
 Ho, ho, flee then from the land of the north, saith the LORD; for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the LORD.


text:
 For thus saith the LORD of hosts who sent me after glory unto the nations which spoiled you: 'Surely, he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.


text:
 For, behold, I will shake My hand over them, and they shall be a spoil to those that served them'; and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me.


text:
 'Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion; for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD.


text:
 And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be My people, and I will dwell in the midst of thee'; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee.


text:
 And the LORD shall inherit Judah as His portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.


text:
 And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.


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 And the LORD said unto Satan: 'The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan, yea, the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee; is not this man a brand plucked out of the fire?'


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 And he answered and spoke unto those that stood before him, saying: 'Take the filthy garments from off him.' And unto him he said: 'Behold, I cause thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with robes.'


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 And I said: 'Let them set a fair mitre upon his head.' So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments; and the angel of the LORD stood by.


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 'Thus saith the LORD of hosts: If thou wilt walk in My ways, and if thou wilt keep My charge, and wilt also judge My house, and wilt also keep My courts, then I will give thee free access among these that stand by.


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 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou and thy fellows that sit before thee; for they are men that are a sign; for, behold, I will bring forth My servant the Shoot.


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 For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone are seven facets; behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts: And I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.


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 In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig-tree.


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 And the angel that spoke with me returned, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep.


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 And he said unto me: 'What seest thou?' And I said: 'I have seen, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and its seven lamps thereon; there are seven pipes, yea, seven, to the lamps, which are upon the top thereof;


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 and two olive-trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.'


text:
 Then the angel that spoke with me answered and said unto me: 'Knowest thou not what these are?' And I said: 'No, my lord.'


text:
 Then he answered and spoke unto me, saying: 'This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying: Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.


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 Who art thou, O great mountain before Zerubbabel? thou shalt become a plain; and he shall bring forth the top stone with shoutings of Grace, grace, unto it.'


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 'The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you.


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 For who hath despised the day of small things? even they shall see with joy the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel, even these seven, which are the eyes of the LORD, that run to and fro through the whole earth.'


text:
 Then answered I, and said unto him: 'What are these two olive-trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?'


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 And I answered the second time, and said unto him: 'What are these two olive branches, which are beside the two golden spouts, that empty the golden oil out of themselves?'


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 And he said unto me: 'What seest thou?' And I answered: 'I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits.'


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 Then said he unto me: 'This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole land; for every one that stealeth shall be swept away on the one side like it; and every one that sweareth shall be swept away on the other side like it.


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 I cause it to go forth, saith the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by My name; and it shall abide in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.'


text:
 Then the angel that spoke with me went forth, and said unto me: 'Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth.'


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 And I said: 'What is it?' And he said: 'This is the measure that goeth forth.' He said moreover: 'This is their eye in all the land--


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 and, behold, there was lifted up a round piece of lead--and this is a woman sitting in the midst of the measure.'


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 And he said: 'This is Wickedness.' And he cast her down into the midst of the measure, and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof.


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 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there came forth two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork; and they lifted up the measure between the earth and the heaven.


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 And he said unto me: 'To build her a house in the land of Shinar; and when it is prepared, she shall be set there in her own place.


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 And again I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between the two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass.


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 And the angel answered and said unto me: 'These chariots go forth to the four winds of heaven, after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth.


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 That wherein are the black horses goeth forth toward the north country; and the white went forth after them; and the grizzled went forth toward the south country;


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 and the bay went forth'. And they sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth; and he said: 'Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth.' So they walked to and fro through the earth.


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 Then cried he upon me, and spoke unto me, saying: 'Behold, they that go toward the north country have eased My spirit in the north country.'


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 'Take of them of the captivity, even of Heldai, of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah, that are come from Babylon; and come thou the same day, and go into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah;


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 yea, take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set the one upon the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest;


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 and speak unto him, saying: Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying: Behold, a man whose name is the Shoot, and who shall shoot up out of his place, and build the temple of the LORD;


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 even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and there shall be a priest before his throne; and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.


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 And the crowns shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to Hen the son of Zephaniah, as a memorial in the temple of the LORD.


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 And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the LORD, and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. And it shall come to pass, if ye will diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD your God--.'


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 And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chislev;


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 and to speak unto the priests of the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying: 'Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?'


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 'Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying: When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh month, even these seventy years, did ye at all fast unto Me, even to Me?


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 Should ye not hearken to the words which the LORD hath proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, and the South and the Lowland were inhabited?'


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 'Thus hath the LORD of hosts spoken, saying: Execute true judgment, and show mercy and compassion every man to his brother;


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 and oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart.


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 But they refused to attend, and turned a stubborn shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they might not hear.


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 Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His spirit by the hand of the former prophets; therefore came there great wrath from the LORD of hosts.


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 And it came to pass that, as He called, and they would not hear; so they shall call, and I will not hear, said the LORD of hosts;


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 but I will scatter them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they have not known. Thus the land was desolate after them, so that no man passed through nor returned; for they laid the pleasant land desolate.'


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 'Thus saith the LORD of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great fury.


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 Thus saith the LORD: I return unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and Jerusalem shall be called The city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts The holy mountain.


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 Thus saith the LORD of hosts: There shall yet old men and old women sit in the broad places of Jerusalem, every man with his staff in his hand for very age.


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 And the broad places of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the broad places thereof.


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 Thus saith the LORD of hosts: If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in those days, should it also be marvellous in Mine eyes? saith the LORD of hosts.


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 Thus saith the LORD of hosts: Behold, I will save My people from the east country, and from the west country;


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 And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.


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 Thus saith the LORD of hosts: Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words from the mouth of the prophets that were in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, even the temple, that it might be built.


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 For before those days there was no hire for man, nor any hire for beast; neither was there any peace to him that went out or came in because of the adversary; for I set all men every one against his neighbour.


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 But now I will not be unto the remnant of this people as in the former days, saith the LORD of hosts.


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 For as the seed of peace, the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things.


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 And it shall come to pass that, as ye were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing; fear not, but let your hands be strong.


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 For thus saith the LORD of host: As I purposed to do evil unto you, when your fathers provoked Me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I repented not;


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 so again do I purpose in these days to do good unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; fear ye not.


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 These are the things that ye shall do: Speak ye every man the truth with his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates;


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 and let none of you devise evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath; for all these are things that I hate, saith the LORD.'


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 'Thus saith the LORD of hosts: The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful seasons; therefore love ye truth and peace.


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 Thus saith the LORD of hosts: It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come peoples, and the inhabitants of many cities;


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 and the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying: Let us go speedily to entreat the favour of the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts; I will go also.


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 Yea, many peoples and mighty nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to entreat the favour of the LORD.


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 Thus saith the LORD of hosts: In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold, out of all the languages of the nations, shall even take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying: We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.'


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 The burden of the word of the LORD. In the land of Hadrach, and in Damascus shall be His resting-place; for the LORD'S is the eye of man and all the tribes of Israel.


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 And Tyre did build herself a stronghold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets.


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 Behold, the Lord will impoverish her, and He will smite her power into the sea; and she shall be devoured with fire.


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 Ashkelon shall see it, and fear, Gaza also, and shall be sore pained, and Ekron, for her expectation shall be ashamed; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.


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 And I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his detestable things from between his teeth, and he also shall be a remnant for our God; and he shall be as a chief in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite.


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 And I will encamp about My house against the army, that none pass through or return; and no oppressor shall pass through them any more; for now have I seen with Mine eyes.


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 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy king cometh unto thee, he is triumphant, and victorious, lowly, and riding upon an ass, even upon a colt the foal of an ass.


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 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace unto the nations; and his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.


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 As for thee also, because of the blood of thy covenant I send forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water.


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 Return to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope; even to-day do I declare that I will render double unto thee.


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 For I bend Judah for Me, I fill the bow with Ephraim; and I will stir up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Javan, and will make thee as the sword of a mighty man.


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 And the LORD shall be seen over them, and His arrow shall go forth as the lightning; and the Lord GOD will blow the horn, and will go with whirlwinds of the south.


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 The LORD of hosts will defend them; and they shall devour, and shall tread down the sling-stones; and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine; and they shall be filled like the basins, like the corners of the altar.


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 And the LORD their God shall save them in that day as the flock of His people; for they shall be as the stones of a crown, glittering over His land.


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 For how great is their goodness, and how great is their beauty! Corn shall make the young men flourish, and new wine the maids.


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 Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain, even of the LORD that maketh lightnings; and He will give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.


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 For the teraphim have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and the dreams speak falsely, they comfort in vain; therefore they go their way like sheep, they are afflicted, because there is no shepherd.


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 Mine anger is kindled against the shepherds, and I will punish the he-goats; for the LORD of hosts hath remembered His flock the house of Judah, and maketh them as His majestic horse in the battle.


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 Out of them shall come forth the corner-stone, out of them the stake, out of them the battle bow, out of them every master together.


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 And they shall be as mighty men, treading down in the mire of the streets in the battle, and they shall fight, because the LORD is with them; and the riders on horses shall be confounded.


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 And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them back, for I have compassion upon them, and they shall be as though I had not cast them off; for I am the LORD their God, and I will hear them.


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 And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine; yea, their children shall see it, and rejoice, their heart shall be glad in the LORD.


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 I will hiss for them, and gather them, for I have redeemed them; and they shall increase as they have increased.


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 And I will sow them among the peoples, and they shall remember Me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and shall return.


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 I will bring them back also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; and place shall not suffice them.


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 And over the sea affliction shall pass, and the waves shall be smitten in the sea, and all the depths of the Nile shall dry up; and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away.


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 And I will strengthen them in the LORD; and they shall walk up and down in His name, saith the LORD.


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 Wail, O cypress-tree, for the cedar is fallen; because the glorious ones are spoiled; wail, O ye oaks of Bashan, for the strong forest is come down.


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 Hark! the wailing of the shepherds, for their glory is spoiled; Hark! the roaring of young lions, for the thickets of the Jordan are spoiled.


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 whose buyers slay them, and hold themselves not guilty; and they that sell them say: Blessed be the LORD, for I am rich; and their own shepherds pity them not.


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 For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD; but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbour's hand, and into the hand of his king; and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them.'


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 So I fed the flock of slaughter, verily the poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Graciousness, and the other I called Binders; and I fed the flock.


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 And I cut off the three shepherds in one month; 'for My soul became impatient of them, and their soul also loathed Me.'


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 Then said I: 'I will not feed you; that which dieth, let it die; and that which is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let them that are left eat every one the flesh of another.'


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 And I took my staff Graciousness, and cut it asunder, 'that I might break My covenant which I had made with all the peoples.'


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 And it was broken in that day; and the poor of the flock that gave heed unto me knew of a truth that it was the word of the LORD.


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 And I said unto them: 'If ye think good, give me my hire; and if not, forbear.' So they weighed for my hire thirty pieces of silver.


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 And the LORD said unto me: 'Cast it into the treasury, the goodly price that I was prized at of them.' And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them into the treasury, in the house of the LORD.


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 Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Binders, that the brotherhood between Judah and Israel might be broken.


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 For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, who will not think of those that are cut off, neither will seek those that are young, nor heal that which is broken; neither will he feed that which standeth still, but he will eat the flesh of the fat, and will break their hoofs in pieces.'


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 Woe to the worthless shepherd that leaveth the flock! The sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye; his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.


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 The burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel. The saying of the LORD, who stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundation of the earth, and formed the spirit of man within him:


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 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of staggering unto all the peoples round about, and upon Judah also shall it fall to be in the siege against Jerusalem.


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 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will make Jerusalem a stone of burden for all the peoples; all that burden themselves with it shall be sore wounded; and all the nations of the earth shall be gathered together against it.


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 In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with bewilderment, and his rider with madness; and I will open Mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the peoples with blindness.


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 And the chiefs of Judah shall say in their heart: 'The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength through the LORD of hosts their God.'


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 In that day will I make the chiefs of Judah like a pan of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire among sheaves; and they shall devour all the peoples round about, on the right hand and on the left; and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.


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 The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem be not magnified above Judah.


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 In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that stumbleth among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as a godlike being, as the angel of the LORD before them.


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 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.


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 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they shall look unto Me because they have thrust him through; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born.


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 In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.


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 And the land shall mourn, every family apart: the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart;


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 The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of the Shimeites apart, and their wives apart;


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 In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for purification and for sprinkling.


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 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered; and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.


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 And it shall come to pass that, when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begot him shall say unto him: 'Thou shalt not live, for thou speakest lies in the name of the LORD'; and his father and his mother that begot him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth.


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 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be brought to shame every one through his vision, when he prophesieth; neither shall they wear a hairy mantle to deceive;


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 but he shall say: 'I am no prophet, I am a tiller of the ground; for I have been made a bondman from my youth.'


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 And one shall say unto him: 'What are these wounds between thy hands?' Then he shall answer: 'Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.'


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 Awake, O sword, against My shepherd, and against the man that is near unto Me, saith the LORD of hosts; smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered; and I will turn My hand upon the little ones.


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 And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.


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 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried; they shall call on My name, and I will answer them; I will say: 'It is My people', and they shall say: 'The LORD is my God.'


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 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, but the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.


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 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when He fighteth in the day of battle.


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 And His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleft in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, so that there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.


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 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azel; yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah; and the LORD my God shall come, and all the holy ones with Thee.


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 And there shall be one day which shall be known as the LORD'S, not day, and not night; but it shall come to pass, that at evening time there shall be light.


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 And it shall come to pass in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem: half of them toward the eastern sea, and half of them toward the western sea; in summer and in winter shall it be.


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 And the LORD shall be King over all the earth; in that day shall the LORD be One, and His name one.


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 All the land shall be turned as the Arabah, from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; and she shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananel unto the king's winepresses.


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 And men shall dwell therein, and there shall be no more extermination; but Jerusalem shall dwell safely.


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 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the peoples that have warred against Jerusalem: their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their sockets, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.


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 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.


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 And Judah also shall fight against Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the nations round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.


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 And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in those camps, as this plague.


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 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.


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 And it shall be, that whoso of the families of the earth goeth not up unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, upon them there shall be no rain.


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 And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, they shall have no overflow; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the nations that go not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.


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 This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations that go not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.


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 In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses: HOLY UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD'S house shall be like the basins before the altar.


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 Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holy unto the LORD of hosts; and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein; and in that day there shall be no more a trafficker in the house of the LORD of hosts.


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 I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say: 'Wherein hast Thou loved us?' Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the LORD; yet I loved Jacob;


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 But Esau I hated, and made his mountains a desolation, and gave his heritage to the jackals of the wilderness.


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 Whereas Edom saith: 'We are beaten down, but we will return and build the waste places'; thus saith the LORD of hosts: They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall be called The border of wickedness, and The people whom the LORD execrateth for ever.


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 A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master; if then I be a father, where is My honour? and if I be a master, where is My fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise My name. And ye say: 'Wherein have we despised Thy name?'


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 Ye offer polluted bread upon Mine altar. And ye say: 'Wherein have we polluted thee?' In that ye say: 'The table of the LORD is contemptible.'


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 And when ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it no evil! And when ye offer the lame and sick, is it no evil! Present it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee? or will he accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts.


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 And now, I pray you, entreat the favour of God that He may be gracious unto us!--This hath been of your doing.--Will He accept any of your persons? saith the LORD of hosts.


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 Oh that there were even one among you that would shut the doors, that ye might not kindle fire on Mine altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand.


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 For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same My name is great among the nations; and in every place offerings are presented unto My name, even pure oblations; for My name is great among the nations, saith the LORD of hosts.


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 But ye profane it, in that ye say: 'The table of the LORD is polluted, and the fruit thereof, even the food thereof, is contemptible.'


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 Ye say also: 'Behold, what a weariness is it!' and ye have snuffed at it, saith the LORD of hosts; and ye have brought that which was taken by violence, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye bring the offering; should I accept this of your hand? saith the LORD.


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 But cursed be he that dealeth craftily, whereas he hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a blemished thing; for I am a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and My name is feared among the nations.


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 If ye will not hearken, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto My name, saith the LORD of hosts, then will I send the curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings; yea, I curse them, because ye do not lay it to heart.


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 Behold, I will rebuke the seed for your hurt, and will spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your sacrifices; and ye shall be taken away unto it.


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 Know then that I have sent this commandment unto you, that My covenant might be with Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.


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 My covenant was with him of life and peace, and I gave them to him, and of fear, and he feared Me, and was afraid of My name.


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 The law of truth was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found in his lips; he walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and did turn many away from iniquity.


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 For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth; for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.


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 But ye are turned aside out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble in the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.


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 Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept My ways, but have had respect of persons in the law.


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 Have we not all one father? Hath not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, profaning the covenant of our fathers?


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 Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the LORD which He loveth, and hath married the daughter of a strange god.


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 May the LORD cut off to the man that doeth this, him that calleth and him that answereth out of the tents of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering unto the LORD of hosts.


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 And this further ye do: ye cover the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with sighing, insomuch that He regardeth not the offering any more, neither receiveth it with good will at your hand.


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 Yet ye say: 'Wherefore?' Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously, though she is thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.


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 And not one hath done so who had exuberance of spirit! For what seeketh the one? a seed given of God. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.


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 For I hate putting away, saith the LORD, the God of Israel, and him that covereth his garment with violence, saith the LORD of hosts; therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.


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 Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say: 'Wherein have we wearied Him?' In that ye say: 'Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and He delighteth in them; or where is the God of justice?'


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 Behold, I send My messenger, and he shall clear the way before Me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, will suddenly come to His temple, and the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in, behold, he cometh, saith the LORD of hosts.


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 But who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap;


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 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver; and there shall be they that shall offer unto the LORD offerings in righteousness.


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 Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in ancient years.


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 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers; and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not Me, saith the LORD of hosts.


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 From the days of your fathers ye have turned aside from Mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto Me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye say: 'Wherein shall we return?'


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 Will a man rob God? Yet ye rob Me. But ye say: 'Wherein have we robbed Thee?' In tithes and heave-offerings.


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 Bring ye the whole tithe into the store-house, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall be more than sufficiency.


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 And I will rebuke the devourer for your good, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your land; neither shall your vine cast its fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.


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 Your words have been all too strong against Me, saith the LORD. Yet ye say: 'Wherein have we spoken against thee?'


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 Ye have said: 'It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept His charge, and that we have walked mournfully because of the LORD of hosts?


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 And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are built up; yea, they try God, and are delivered.'


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 Then they that feared the LORD spoke one with another; and the LORD hearkened, and heard, and a book of remembrance was written before Him, for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon His name.


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 And they shall be Mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in the day that I do make, even Mine own treasure; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.


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 Then shall ye again discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not.


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 For, behold, the day cometh, it burneth as a furnace; and all the proud, and all that work wickedness, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall set them ablaze, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.


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 But unto you that fear My name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings; and ye shall go forth, and gambol as calves of the stall.


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 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I do make, saith the LORD of hosts.


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 Remember ye the law of Moses My servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, even statutes and ordinances.


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 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD.


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 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers; lest I come and smite the land with utter destruction.


